sugarspankhorn | justmarriedexchange 2020 letter (Reply)

dear creator,

thank you for taking the time to write for me! i'm very enthusiastic about this exchange-- marriage and what that idea means to the characters, what that in turn means for their relationship, is something really interesting to explore and i can't wait to see your take on my prompts! i've outlined some of my general likes+dislikes for this exchange, and listed some tags that i feel would suit the fandoms i've requested. feel free to use my general likes as prompting if none of the tags ive used strike your fancy! my username on ao3 is theultimateburrito if you wanna spool through.

likes: non-traditional relationships/romantic expressions, "we know how we feel, so we don't have to say anything", canon compliance, nonlinear narrative, slow burn, character studies, fake dating, missing scenes, banter

dislikes: "soulmates", 5-times-1-time formats (i do like vignettes though!), aus heavily removed from canon (example: i dont like hogwarts aus but canon-divergence and what-if scenarios within the context of the source are great!), chatfic/groupchat fic, crack fic

dnw: non-con, torture, guro, pregnancy/mpreg, character bashing, eating disorders, body dysphoria, suicide, crossovers, kidfic, genderswap/gender headcanons, abo dynamics, unhappy ending, unrequested aus

lupin iii
oh lupin. what can i say about my love for this whole team and the interplay of their dynamic. jigen and lupin always staying together between jobs and their whole thing really gets me. there's so much history with all of the group, but particularly with these two. and goemon being something of a "straight man" to the group's antics and his sense of pride and tradition rubbing up against the others is always so much fun. all of them have something just so special! and zenigata... just no longer thinking in "on the clock" or "off the clock" anymore because lupin is his life. their cat-and-mouse thing is so playful and fun.

goemon/lupin/jigen

characters get married during the mission not to break their cover but then they catch feelings
finding a way to celebrate marriage while in hiding/on the run
friend basically part of the marriage at this point
getting married repeatedly
having to convince the person they're asking that their proposal and feelings are genuine
unconventional courtship
work partnerships considered marriages

jigen/lupin

characters consider themselves married even if in the eyes of the law they're not
common law marriage
getting married because you can't trust anyone else
getting married repeatedly
marriage as part of a con
no one believes they're married
unconventional courtship
work partnerships considered marriages

lupin/zenigata

getting married because you can't trust anyone else
getting married so you can't testify against each other in court
having to convince the person they're asking that their proposal and feelings are genuine
marriage as part of a con
marriage as criminal rehabilitation
marrying someone to investigate their past/crimes
unconventional courtship
proposal being misunderstood for ulterior motives

it (2017+2019)
to put it succinctly, IT has become incredibly dear to my heart. the themes of trauma, cycles of abuse, memory and recovery resonated with me a lot and i find myself constantly revisiting the book and the films. ben and bev have something so powerful that really hits me. no matter how much i rewatch, i always cry when ben feels he can only confess in his final moments and cries it out. i want to see what the after looks like for them, how their insecurities manifest and change in pursuing a relationship. there's lots of avenues i'd be keen on! i would love to see some non-traditional ideas of "marriage" here, with bev having been trapped in an abusive marriage and having some hangups about the idea-- but finally being with someone where it doesn't feel like there's a pressure to marry. ben also has so many fears about loneliness and being left, so seeing these things mesh and having them overcome it together would be lovely. perhaps ben is so secure with their relationship that he doesn't worry about these old fears. maybe they do get married later in life quietly and privately with those that matter most to them! i'll be happy with whatever you do, i guarantee.

ben/bev

wedding toasts
wedding jitters
unconventional courtship
small wedding
second marriage for someone whose first marriage was abusive
pining for spouse
marrying late in life
married in every way except legally
first anniversary
common law marriage
characters consider themselves married even if in the eyes of the law they're not
character fantasizes about getting married
carried over the threshold
marriage proposal is initially rejected due to misunderstanding
character a not as over traumatic first marriage as they thought

the lighthouse (2019)
" Now look here; I ain't never intended to be no housewife nor slave in taking this job."
the lighthouse 2019 had become one of my favorite movies of all time in one viewing. i love the complete loss of any sense of time or space, the surrealism, and the lighthouse just becoming this insular place where wake and winslow are the only two people that exist in the world. i perceive the movie to be just one big repression narrative for winslow-- running to the edges of the world to escape yourself, being obsessed and consumed with thoughts of other men before violently rejecting it, "do you feel shame when you lie with a woman?". it's a chefs kiss from me. whether you go with an angle where winslow can overcome that repression (the "i trust you" line... powerful) and they have some semblance of surprising domesticity, or if you wanna get fully weird, surreal and dark -- go ham!!

thomas wake/ephraim winslow