Unusual Bearings 2019 Letter

[rudigersmooch]

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Dear Stork,

Thank you so much for offering one of my requested fandoms/ships! I am very excited for all the potential stories that you might come up with, and I'm thrilled to be taking part in this exchange with you. I hope we'll both get the weird pregnancy fic/art of our dreams, and also that this letter and my thoughts on these pairings/tags are helpful for you, and that the length of especially the general section isn't too overwhelming. If you have any questions/concerns/need clarification about any of it, though, please don't hesitate to ask either through the mods or by an anonymous comment on this post.

Now, onto the letter!

General Preferences
       Do Not Wants
       General Things I Enjoy
       Smut Things I Enjoy
       Pregnancy Things I Enjoy
Person of Interest
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Stargate Atlantis

General Preferences
I'm not going to lie, my DNW list is pretty extensive, but hopefully you find it manageable enough. Some of these are things that seem opt-in to me anyway and I've listed them just in case; if you don't see something on the DNW list, you can safely assume that I don't mind seeing it in fic.

DO NOT WANTS

• unrequested crossovers/fusions/AUs


• non-canonical character death


• relationships other than the ones requested (I'm fine with canon ones being mentioned)


• unrequested poly ships or open relationships


• hurt without comfort


• dark!characters


• unhappy endings (open endings fine)


• shovel talks


• character or ship bashing


• Dom/sub


• BDSM


• soulbonds (soulmates are fine, I just don't like telepathic/empathic bonds of any kind)


• Hanahaki disease


• daddykink/mommykink/ageplay in general


• trans* or genderswapped characters


• sexualities other than heterosexual, gay/lesbian, or bisexual


• a social justice/current event focus of any kind (for example, no long discussions about the importance of consent/age of consent, no discussion of politics and the awfulness therein, etc.)


• rape/non-con


• loss of limbs or eyes/other permanent injuries


• scat


• infidelity


• breakup fic


• non-canonical nicknames or endearments OR non-canonical use of first names


• pregnant male characters being called "mother" or impregnator female characters being called "father" in narration or by other characters (even jokingly)


• abortion (mentions or discussions are fine, but the baby must stay for Reasons)


• male lactation

GENERAL THINGS I ENJOY

• pining. There are very few situations where I don't want or like pining.


• everybody lives, or at least the people in the ship do.


• a whole host of ridiculous romance tropes, including but not limited to: fake dating, arranged marriage, mistaken identity, blind dates gone wrong, jealousy/insecurity due to misunderstandings, temporary telepathy, convenient amnesia, bed sharing, sex pollen, A/B/O, identity kink, secretly pining friends-with-benefits, huddling for warmth, misheard confessions, etc. Whether I like setting change/time period change AUs depends on the fandom, but I'll note that in the fandom-specific sections.


• a ship focus. The romantic ships for these fandoms don't need to be the central focus the entire time (I also like mission fic/case fic that has more of a pre-relationship feel) but I don't really like established relationships where ships get a one-line mention at the end. My favorite type of shipfic in general is first time/get together fic, but really, as long as the ship is noticeably there throughout the story, I'm fine.


• characters who are competent in their respective roles, whether that's a sniper, farmer, werewolf, hunter, ice skater, vampire, whatever.


• characters experiencing same-sex attraction for the first time, especially if the character is over-40 and/or from a time period or setting where this is more plausible. I'm not much a fan of Only Gay For You, but I do like Didn't Realize I Was Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Until I Realized I Had Feelings For You.


• while we're on the subject of first time attraction: also something I love for my alien/human ships. First time that alien found a human attractive, or vice versa? I'm into it.


• age differences leading to guilty "I shouldn't be attracted to this person" feelings from one or both parties, where applicable. I still don't care for power dynamics, but I am all about using an age gap as an excuse for pining/repression.


• mysteries and case fic. I know some people worry about writing mysteries because they think the villain is too obvious/not subtle enough, and I'm here to say that I don't care. I love mysteries whether I guess the ending along the way or not, and I adore case-of-the-week type canons to begin with.


• characters working hard to build trust/earn forgiveness/eventually settling their differences. It's like fictional catnip for me.


• xeno! This is pretty far down the list, considering how much I actually love it, but I really enjoy when creators take aliens and emphasize the less-human elements (in a porn way or not.) I love my lizard/buggy humanoid faves and like the ways they're not human, so by all means, go into detail.


• lots of kissing, especially when there's some contrast with the situation (didn't expect kissing at all during a sex pollening or FWB situation, gentle kissing between enemies, rough kissing during slow sex, etc.) I'm a sap, and I just really like kissing.

SMUT THINGS I ENJOY

• "Cock" for penis and "cunt" for vagina, but feel free to use whatever you think is best for the time period/narrating character/your own preference.


• xeno! (cloacas, tentacles, knots, etc.)


• biting/nibbling/nuzzling. I love nuzzling into throats, it's my favorite.


• hair pulling or petting


• nice wet oral sex (and also rimming)


• partially-clothed sex, either of the "clothes pushed aside in desperation" flavor or the "one character clothed, one not" variety


• first time sex


• rough/desperate sex


• gentle sex


• handjobs/frottage


• tribadism


• nipple play (for female characters)


• anal sex (men or women receiving)


• the impregnated character bottoming in m/m


• taller person kneeling at the feet of the standing shorter person, in a sexy using-their-mouth kind of way (oral sex, foot fetish, boot kissing, licking their stomach, whatever and etc.)

PREGNANCY THINGS I ENJOY

• the pregnant person feeling insecure about their body you can probably sense a theme with the insecurity huh


• TOUCHIN' THE BABY BUMP. Kiss it, pet it, love it.


• happy endings with a beautiful and healthy baby or else a happy ending with the pregnancy still on-going. I'm not very interested in the actual kids.


• the pregnant person still managing to work/be active for at least part of their pregnancy


• the couple wondering/worrying what this pregnancy means for their relationship.


• pregnancy in general or with that specific person being unplanned. There are a few exceptions to this, which I'll mention around those specific tags, but in general, I'm here for the "oops" element.


• any sort of story ranging from impregnation porn to "character shows up pregnant," but the most important part is that all the involved characters within the ship find out the pregnancy is a thing during the story. I don't want characters to successfully hide it forever, even if they make an attempt to do so.


• pregnancy-induced horniness and morning sickness. (Not together.) They're my favorite pregnancy side effects.


• I have a preference for either mammalian-style pregnancies or eggpreg, but am open to other options.

There are a lot more things that belong on these likes lists, but I'll probably just leave it at this for this exchange because they're getting way too long already. And on another note: please don't be put off by the fandom-specific prompts, because I tend to get large ideas that I have difficulty narrowing down. They're more just examples of the type of things I'd like to see, and even short snippets along those lines would make me very happy.

Now: onto specific fandoms!

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Person of Interest
General things that should be mentioned: I've mentioned this before in other letters, but my feelings on this show still stand: namely, that I am crazy in love with it and all its characters. Season 1 and 2 are my favorite (I just generally prefer case-of-the-week formats over longer arcs and always will) and the entire show left me with so many questions and fic ideas that I'm not sure where to even start. I love the characters and their interactions with each other, and I love how everyone is more than they seem when the situation calls for it. Reese is a whole lot kinder than he seems at first, while Finch is a whole lot darker, Fusco is a whole lot braver, Shaw is a whole lot more caring, etc. It's just so interesting to me that they all have these contradictory sides, and I like what the show did with them in the end, even if I didn't like their particular endings. Also, because I love the characters so much and would love them in any context: I'm fine with pretty much any AU idea, although I'd ask that you please avoid too many mentions of either Reese/Iris or Harold/Grace.

For ship-specifics:

Harold Finch/John Reese who is pregnant with Kara's child OR Harold Finch/Pregnant John Reese OR Harold Finch impregnates John Reese: John Reese is one of those characters that I just really want pregnant, apparently, and I'm not going to try to explain it. I like the pairing for the loyalty and the bonding, the slow building trust, the teasing/flirting/snarking dialogue, the secrets, the potential. It takes no effort at all for me to believe that they really do love each other, and although Person of Interest the show was never very big about letting people move on...well, I think they could, together, if they had the chance. I just really love Finch/Reese and think John needs a good relationship regardless of the circumstances, and what better way to get that then a surprise pregnancy?

For the requested tags:

• Character thought they were too old to get pregnant OR Character thought they were infertile: I love the happy-excited-scared combo that comes from someone thinking they'd lost their chance for children only to be proven wrong with a surprise pregnancy, and I also love the scared-horrified-worried combo that comes from someone thinking they didn't have to worry about potential pregnancies and be proven wrong with a surprise pregnancy. Either fluffy or miserable works for me for this option.


• Supporting Their Pregnant Partner (Baby Not Theirs): Harold would be the most supportive. After all, they've already cared for a baby together once, and Harold had to handle that one on the fly. Does he go out of his way to make sure the Library/John's apartment gets baby-proofed? Does he make sure John takes more frequent breaks/eats properly/is less reckless because he's at a disadvantage? The Machine could even get in on this if it picked up on Harold prioritizing John's well-being, even if the reason might seem baffling.


• Pregnant While At Work/In the Field OR Impregnated on a Mission OR Getting/staying pregnant to maintain cover: There are a lot of places these tags could go, and all of them are amazing and painful. Was it a mission set during canon, where John had to seduce someone/be seduced and then oops? Was it something more insidious, like the timeline of The Witness stretching over more than a day and then John willingly sleeping with someone who he thought was a nice schoolteacher? Was it a mission where he and Harold had to pretend to be together and then oops? Was it a CIA something? So many possibilities.


• Pregnant while on the run/a fugitive: NGL, the idea of John being pregnant either before the events of the pilot or while running from Samaritan appeals to me so much. For the first, I can just imagine that awkward first conversation with Harold recruiting John and assuring him that his pregnancy won't be a problem and then it does turn out to be, but not for the reasons either person expected (feelings, the reason is feelings.) Or maybe Detective Riley only finds out he's pregnant after their identities are in place, and he can't exactly contact Harold to tell him, "hey, I'm pregnant."


• Caring for pregnant partner: John is usually so self-sufficient and inclined to be a caregiver to Harold that I'm somewhat desperate to see the reverse. What would make Harold end up protecting John and from what? He has a very specific skillset, and I have to assume he would use them ruthlessly based on canon.


• Adoption: I wasn't sure how adoption would work in a pregnancy exchange, but after thinking about it for a while, I decided it could work really well! For whatever reason, Harold assures John that (if something happens to him) Harold will take care of his child as his own, and John is truly touched, since he was adopted himself. Maybe this leads to them getting together, or maybe it leads to an awkward conversation where John ends up going "actually, Harold, no adoption required, because it's already yours (biologically or not) and so am I." /is a sap


• Mating Cycles/In Heat OR Beta Impregnates Omega OR Alpha Impregnates Omega OR Alpha Impregnates Beta OR "Alpha" turns out to be secret Omega: If you couldn't guess from this assortment of tags: I'm really into omega!John and alpha!Harold (separate or in combination) and also just A/B/O in general, so you can really go wild with this one. While I really enjoy Alpha/Omega stuff (heat sex! Rutting! Oops!) I also find the less traditional combos to be very interesting, because they're the A/B/O equivalent of "I didn't even know this was possible???" and I'm into that sort of thing.


• Angst About Pregnancy: The reason why this is an angsty thing is up to you. Is it the other-father (or mother, if Kara/Carter/Zoe/whoever) that bothers John? Is it the pregnancy itself? Is it the prospect of raising a kid alone (not realizing that Harold is totally going to volunteer)? Is it because he doesn't think he deserves to have a family and be happy? John needs very little encouragement to angst, as far as I can tell, so the possibilities are endless.


• Hiding Pregnancy From Others: This could go in a very angsty direction (hiding pregnancy because otherwise he'd be forced to think about how it happened, via rape/deception/whatever) or a slightly fluffier direction (really wants to keep working with Carter & Harold & Fusco & Shaw on their daring deeds, but knows or suspects they'd keep him out of the action if they knew.) It can all come to a head and be revealed in the worst way possible, or it can just be a fic about John being sneaky. Either works.


• Courting Pregnant Love Interest OR Getting Together While Pregnant: These are both so sweet to me, and I just love courting and get togethers so much that I want to read all varieties of them. We know how Harold already courts the people he's interested in, and he was all adorably considerate and thoughtful when it came to Grace—does that change when it's John, specifically pregnant John, who knows a bit more of Harold's secret identities than Grace did? I'd love to see a Harold who can't quite keep his cool or can't figure out his plan immediately, because it would be new and different either way.


• Pregnant Character Continues Canonical Perilous Activity Despite Pregnancy: This tag is really interesting to me, because John in canon is 0% likely to endanger a child deliberately but also he's really careless with his own life, and the intersection of the two is bound to make for a fun story. Is he in denial that his usual abilities would be affected? Does he consider the work too important? How does Harold feel about this choice? I have questions.


• Character is wary of being pregnant because of bad experiences in the past: This is such an angsty tag, and I love it to bits. Your choice what the "bad experiences in the past" are (miscarriage? Abusive Alpha, if going the A/B/O sort of route? Orphanage experiences? CIA stuff?) but all options are good options.

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
General things that should be mentioned: I love Star Trek: Deep Space Nine a crazy amount, and I end up requesting several pairings for it in every exchange I sign up in. I like the episode-of-the-week format of the early seasons but I also like the arc format, and I think Star Trek in general and DS9 in particular is perfect for whatever magic-y/alien explanation you need for weird pregnancy shenanigans. Go wild, really, though I do have a couple things I should mention: please don't have Bareil die, if you're writing that pairing, and please don't have Leeta completely heartbroken over Rom. I'm fine with past-Leeta/Rom or pining-that-didn't-become-a-relationship Leeta/Rom, but I hope she can grow to love Nerys as more than a friend in either case.

For ship specifics:

Kira Nerys/Pregnant Bareil Antos OR Kira Nerys impregnates Bareil Antos OR Kira Nerys impregnates Leeta: It's ridiculous how much I love Nerys and ship her with everybody, and it's double ridiculous how much I was into her pregnant-because-reasons surrogacy in canon. I've decided she needs a baby of her own through convoluted means, and this exchange is just perfect for that. On a more personal level, though: my favorite Nerys ships are the ones where she gets to laugh and be friendly with her love interests, and both Bareil and Leeta would be really good for her in that respect. (Also, I find Leeta and her squeaky crying to be completely adorable, so there's that too.)

• Blessed by Deity/Magical Creature OR Magical Being or Alien AI thinks it's helping by impregnanting "mother" with "father"'s child OR Wished Upon a Star: Intervention by the Prophets! They're actually terribly nosy, those wormhole aliens, so maybe they overheard Vedek Bareil's wish for a child and granted it, or Leeta was cooing over a child during a Bajoran fertility holiday, or Nerys decided she wanted to have a child after all about that business with the O'Brien's kid and this was the likeliest way. Hell, maybe there's even an established bit of Bajoran religious text that says the Prophets do this stuff sometimes. Aside from the nonsense with Sisko's mother, which we won't talk about.


• Sexswapped Man Gets Pregnant in Female Body (Consensual): I don't have any specific prompt for this tag, except to say that an all-powerful being might consider this the easiest route to take for their blessed magical pregnancy. An option, in any case; I like straight-up mpreg too.


• Religious/Spiritual/Magic Rites: Whether this is a Bajoran religious thing or some other religion entirely, I find it impossible to believe DS9 never saw an alien species that demands an obscure ritual. Maybe Kira and Leeta agree to participate because it's not like they can get pregnant, lol, and then oops. Or maybe it's supposed to be a different ritual entirely on Bajor and someone says something wrong to summon the Prophets, and then oops. Maybe it's an entirely separate Bajoran religion, even, that's trying to show potential followers the benefits of their truth!


• Cis Females Impregnate Cis Males OR Cis Females Impregnate Cis Females OR Female Alphas grow cocks during sex: I don't have any specific prompts for these tags, except to say that this is the way I prefer the impregnation to happen if it happens through actual sex. How that works is up to you.


• Lady with so much swag she can impregnate anyone with a look: I find this tag delightful, and consider it a perfect chance for weird space shenanigans! So, some alien decides Nerys is just THAT hot, and then DS9 is hit with a flood of swag-induced pregnancies of all types. I'm okay with either romantic interpretations of this (leads to Nerys realizing she wants a family with Leeta or Antos?) or with crackier interpretations (what exactly is she going to do with all these pregnancies, she never signed up for this, she should probably wear a helmet at all times) and am also okay with abortion for this tag, if you want to have characters "fix" the mass pregnancy issue.


• Forced marriage because of pregnancy OR Obvious baby bump during wedding OR Marriage to Avert Illegitimacy: Considering how Nerys reacted to the Guinevere/Lancelot RP Jadzia convinced her to do, I think it's completely plausible that some Bajorans have OPINIONS about babies born out of wedlock. Marching down that altar (or the Bajoran equivalent) sounds like something that could happen to avoid a scandal (to avoid ruining Vedek Bareil's chances at becoming Kai? To avoid undermining Nerys's authority? To save Leeta's reputation?), and I'd love to see the "regretful but maybe secretly pleased to be marrying (person)" parts of it.


• Accidental pregnancy as result of hilariously bad sex-ed OR Hands-on sex-ed leads to pregnancy: I like these two tags so much, especially in the context of either Leeta or Bareil being the ones in need of sex ed. Nobody would expect a Dabo girl or a grown Vedek to not know about the Bajoran birds-and-bee-and-birds, but apparently they don't? Oops?


• Sex pollen results in pregnancy OR Mating Cycles/In Heat OR Public Impregnation: My needs are simple, and sometimes those needs are porn! Sex pollen and Mating Cycles/In Heat are some of my favorite scenarios period, but throw that Public Impregnation in there and now we just have a great recipe for things that appeal to me. I love the desperation leading to throwing caution to the wind (and then that impulsiveness backfiring!) and ESPECIALLY if it's something that people know about/witnessed personally. Imagine the gossip. :D


• Getting pregnant by the wrong person: This is an angsty tag that I requested just for Leeta, because it breaks my heart to imagine Leeta (still in love with Rom) getting into a situation where she gets pregnant by Nerys instead. And maybe she loves Nerys too (maybe in a different way) but it still wasn't quite what she wanted.


• Customs and Culture Related to Pregnancy/Childbirth: We saw some aspects of this during Nerys's canon surrogacy for the O'Briens, but I want more! Does it change when it's a Vedek having a child? Are the children of Vedeks required to be raised in a spiritual center? Would Nerys be okay with that, and not seeing her child for long stretches of time? Does Leeta even want the same sort of ritual that Nerys did in canon? Who ends up sneezing? :D


• Getting Together While Pregnant: This tag always appeals to me (see: me requesting it for every request) but for Nerys/Leeta and Nerys/Antos in particular, I'm very curious about the "why." Is this a canon AU where Nerys/Antos doesn't become a thing until they meet again after Vedek Bareil is pregnant (is he pregnant when Quark tries his scheming get together scheme?) Or did Leeta end up pregnant by accident and is looking for a comforting shoulder/support system and Nerys is more than happy to help oops feelings?

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Stargate Atlantis
General things that should be mentioned: I'm relatively new to Stargate Atlantis and I didn't actually expect to get into the fandom, so imagine my surprise when I hit season 4 and realized that I love Todd (unnamed for a while) a crazy amount. Alien characters are always my favorites, but I wasn't expecting a fun Wraith (no one ever expects the fun Wraith) and his presence pretty much took the show from entertaining fun to something I love in one fell swoop. I would love anything you could manage for this canon, following my prompts or not, and I'll probably add it to my list of fandoms that I request forever more too.

For ship specifics:

John Sheppard/Pregnant Todd OR John Sheppard impregnates Todd: I don't even know where to begin with John/Todd, except that it seems obvious to me in canon that Todd has a thing for him and that John tries really hard not to return said thing, as he is weirded out by said thing. I find their interactions in the canon delightful, and while I haven't read the tie-in novels, I've osmosed that they have more reluctant life-saving and trust in there and I like that too.

Special note: While I didn't DNW DADT specifically, I'd prefer stories from this fandom/any in-fic reactions to John-getting-Todd-pregnant were a little less "GAYS, in OUR MILITARY???" and a little more "You did what? With Todd?" So, a bit more about the human-Wraith aspects than the two-men ones.

• Sex pollen results in pregnancy OR One night stand results in pregnancy OR Huddling for Warmth Leads to Impregnation: Situational tags for the win! All of them are a great way to get over that would-probably-try-not-to-sleep-with-the-enemy hurdle that's somewhat inherent in John/Todd, and then there's the added and delicious complication of pregnancy too! You really can't go wrong here.


• Getting Together While Pregnant: No specific prompts here, though my love of get togethers plus pregnancy drama remains.


• Customs and Culture Related to Pregnancy/Childbirth OR (Literal) Nesting/Nestbuilding: I like xeno a crazy amount, and the Wraith's creepy bug-related origins make for some great stuff when it comes to how they might reproduce. I'd like to see more of it, with particular emphasis on how weird it would seem to us.


• Bad Guys Want The Baby OR Hiding Pregnancy From Others OR Preparing For Baby By Removing Threats: I have a deep love for both drama and badassery, and if Todd got human/Wraith baby pregnant within the context of the show, you can BET that would be the baby Michael would be most interested in for his hybrid stuff. It's a great excuse for ass kicking and also a pregnancy reveal, because there's also a solid chance of Todd abstaining from ass kicking and seeking asylum instead. :D


• Baby's genes remixed from "mother" (no genetic "father") OR Clownfish - strongest male turns female after death of dominant female: These tags are both very Wraith-y, based on what we know about Wraith & cloning and Wraith & their Queen worship, and they're also both very good tags for ambitious!Todd. The first one I could see being on purpose, a result of deliberate medical experimentation on himself in a bid to grab power; for the second, I see it more as a result of the Wraith getting down to their last few queens and then EMERGENCY BIOLOGY kicking in. Either way, they have great potential to be interesting as hell.


• Biological Urge to Get Pregnant OR Getting pregnant by the wrong person OR Unexpected Crossfertility With Another Species OR Partner Doesn't Believe Baby Is Theirs: These are all great tags for the assumption that Todd knew it was possible for male Wraith to get pregnant and/or that he was totally going to get that way on purpose for power-hungry reasons, but he really didn't expect to be compatible with a human. John expected it even less, and then…oops.


• Got Pregnant for Diplomacy: Another tag for interpolating from how much the Wraith value Queens. What better way to show you value your alliance? Why, children, of course! The humans should really be grateful for this, since it's an increase in their numbers too.


• Politically loaded pregnancy: The biggest understatement in any of these tags, for sure. How would humans react to a human/Wraith pregnancy? How would the Wraith? Horror/repulsion, obviously, but there's room for a variety of reactions here too, especially if it was something that happened/was revealed during one of the tentative alliance periods.


• Pregnancy as a side effect of a Healing/Resurrection Spell (Spellcaster Pregnant): The GIFT OF LIFE, now with a rare and baffling side effect! :D Bonus if it's a result of the events in the episode Todd & John met, which leads to a season 4 reunion going "we need to do something about these Replicators, and also we should talk" and "WHAT NO HOW."


• Pregnancy requires the parents to be intimate regularly: I chose this tag specifically because we can definitely use handwavey SGA science and say that if a Wraith was pregnant with a human/Wraith baby, their body might keep trying to absorb the pregnancy/feed off the baby. What better way to avoid that than by a continual re-introduction of the donor father's DNA? :D


• Weapon causes pregnancy instead of injuries: Those Ancient weapons, am I right? A weapon meant to kill Wraith by introducing the DNA of the person holding/operating the gun or whatever backfires in a completely unintended way, and now there's a…problem.

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