[comm] dear notprimetime author:

[we_protect_each_other]

Dear NPTimer,

I am failsafe.

Thank you for writing something for me! I love this exchange, and I do my best to participate every year. I am requesting some different things from my usual, but I am very interested to see what you come up with for any of the requests you choose to fill. As usual, if you have a story you want to tell that doesn't quite line up with a prompt I've provided, please go for it. My dislikes list is short and should be easy to get around. Otherwise, consider everything in this letter flexible and write something that you are interested in writing so we'll both have fun!

Any characters from given fandoms that are not within the requested relationship are welcome to appear in your fic, if you'd like! I am fine with any rating but do not care for PWP. Crossovers are fine if it is something I've written or you've seen mentioned in one of my dear author letters which you can find by clicking the tag link (basically, anything as long as you have reason to believe I know what you're talking about). AUs are also totally fine but I do not really want mundane/no powers AUs where applicable.

The rest of this letter is: dislikes, likes, then fandom-specific prompts which you can CTRL + F if you like.

Dislikes: character bashing towards anybody, noncon, explicit gore, breathplay, serious or permanent injury related to sexuality, nihilism, hopeless endings (but sad is okay)

Likes: canon-typical violence, missing scenes, UST, emotional ambiguity, found families, developing or established relationships, time travel, pre-canon, post-canon, bedsharing, loyalty, worldbuilding, epistolary/journal/log fiction, monster-of-the-week / slice of ordinary life adventures, earned second chances, dealing with consequences, "what if" / canon divergent AUs, earned happy endings, holidays, casefic, groundhog day trope, mysteries, healing, survival (wilderness, zombie apocalypse, etc.), last stands, trying against impossible odds, succeeding against impossible odds, heartfelt goodbyes, unexpected reunions, foils



Mass Effect | Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard

I do not mind whether you use a customized Shepard or the default male or female; choose the approach that is most comfortable for you. Any background/psych profile is also fine for Shepard.

Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian

- A slice of life fic on the Citadel or a peaceful, habitable planet. For them, I would like to see something that involves them being faced with something domestic that they find they don't really agree on but coming to a resolution that works for both of them.
- Shepard meets Garrus's family. In-Laws antics. As romcom or serious as you want.
- After Shepard survives the war (Destroy + War Assets or AU of your choosing/creation), Garrus and Shepard pick up the pieces. Does not have to primarily focus on kids but if they could do something to help war orphans together, I would have a major soft spot for that, though it is totally optional. Perhaps Shepard gets a bit of happy revenge for the dancing date with something that puts Garrus out of his comfort zone in an equally cute way.

Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard

- A slice of life fic on the Citadel or a peaceful, habitable planet. For them, I would like to see something that involves how they respond to their relationship as it pertains to their military careers. Political tensions either in peace or war and overcoming them in a way that helps their relationship develop. Developing or established relationship definitely flexible.
- Trapped together on a cold/stormy/rainy/otherwise hostile planet. Nothing to do but wait. Unresolved tensions, getting to know each other in a way that is more personal, or fighting against the threat together.
- A scene set before ME3 when there was some romantic tension that contributes to anything that may arise later.



Portal | Chell/Wheatley

If you want to put Wheatley in an android format or human body, go for it, but I prefer fics that do not interpret him as never having been his little robot ball form, regardless of before/after goings-on. Canon compliance initially is preferred, then diverge all you like, if you want to do that.

Prompts:

- At some point, Wheatley has an opportunity to actually get a message to Earth, either in "person" or only through a transmission. What does he say? How does Chell receive this message? Does it change anything?
- An AU where Wheatley's role in Portal 2 goes differently in some plot-impacting way such that Chell can respond to the situation differently as well.
- Blue Sky compliant/additive/acknowledging fic is welcome.



Star Wars Prequel Trilogy | Padmé Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker

I'd love anything that emphasizes Padmé's political position and ability. I find Obi-Wan's relationship to being a "good" Jedi very interesting given the issues that exist in the Jedi Order. I like rebellious Anakin but I wish someone would help him with his anger and fear and you know, that stuff.

Padmé Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi

- A canon-divergent AU where something develops between them in the interim between Episode I and Episode II.
- Palace intrigue. Not necessarily a literal palace, but I would love a fic where they are in some vaulted hall in the Star Wars universe, dealing with complicated politics and each other.
- What if Obi-Wan had been able to save Padmé somehow in Episode III/get her better and more reasonable obstetric care? If they both survived and went away together after Episode III. What becomes of the twins? What becomes of them? Is there romance? Is there guilt? How do they cope? Bittersweet sort-of-fix-it AU.

Padmé Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker

- In Episode II, Obi-Wan is less oblivious and more directly interspersed in the events. Healthy (or mostly healthy) polyamory results, but not without some hiccups and complications.
- In Episode III, someone notices what is going on with Anakin and is able to help him before it is too late, turning the tide for everything including his relationship with his wife and Obi-Wan.
- See the third prompt above, then add a reunion after a situation like that.