1. They don't need to be present onscreen in equal amounts, but I want them both to be fully essential to the story, if that makes sense. If B disappears in the first scene and A spends the rest of the fic profiling them to figure out where they went, that's fine. If B disappears in the first scene and is never mentioned again and their disappearance has no effect on anything else A does, I don't like that.
2. If I request two characters and require them both to appear, I always want fic about the dynamic between the two characters. It doesn't have to be "relationship" in the usual / or & sense but I want a story about the two of them in relation to each other, if that makes sense. It could be shipfic that's intensely about their romantic relationship. It could be two 500 word sections where the two have never met, never interact, and never think about each other, but the whole thing is set up structurally to focus on all the parallels and contrasts between them. If it's a casefic where Detective A interviews witness B about the crime and then goes on to solve the crime using a fact that B mentioned, I'm going to be very meh. If it's a casefic where Detective A interviews witness B and something B said in the interview about their family makes them rethink the entire case, re-evaluate their relationship with their dad, and keep coming back to thinking about that thing B said, I'll be happy.
3. If I request three characters and want them all written, I almost certainly specifically want fic that focuses on their dynamic with each other as a set of three (I am much less likely to require all characters for 3+ though.)
4. It depends on what else you are doing with all that wordcount. If you're filling my Hail Mary this-definitely-needs-a-novel prompt and doing a good job, I honestly couldn't care less if you completely ignore my requested characters. If you're filling every single prompt in my letter with the crossover of my dreams, do whatever the fuck you want. If you write 10000 words of your favorite characters being gooey together and mine each pop in for five hundred words, I hate it thanks. But generally if all my requested characters are substantially present in the novel and I get at least the equivalent of my 1000+ words exploring their dynamic with each other, it's probably fine if most of the novel is actually an ensemble genfic about finding the Hidden Treasure of the Starling People. My desire for focus on characterization/relationship work decreases proportionally with your ability to write a really good novel plot.
Also if I request more than one character and require them all to be written, I probably at least & ship them whether I specifically prompt for it or not. I may not care if you ship it but I usually request either any or just one character unless there's a particular relationship that has really grabbed me (and unless I DNW it specifically I am happy to see what happens if it goes romantic too.)
Re: Gift Must Feature All Of My Requested Characters
2. If I request two characters and require them both to appear, I always want fic about the dynamic between the two characters. It doesn't have to be "relationship" in the usual / or & sense but I want a story about the two of them in relation to each other, if that makes sense. It could be shipfic that's intensely about their romantic relationship. It could be two 500 word sections where the two have never met, never interact, and never think about each other, but the whole thing is set up structurally to focus on all the parallels and contrasts between them. If it's a casefic where Detective A interviews witness B about the crime and then goes on to solve the crime using a fact that B mentioned, I'm going to be very meh. If it's a casefic where Detective A interviews witness B and something B said in the interview about their family makes them rethink the entire case, re-evaluate their relationship with their dad, and keep coming back to thinking about that thing B said, I'll be happy.
3. If I request three characters and want them all written, I almost certainly specifically want fic that focuses on their dynamic with each other as a set of three (I am much less likely to require all characters for 3+ though.)
4. It depends on what else you are doing with all that wordcount. If you're filling my Hail Mary this-definitely-needs-a-novel prompt and doing a good job, I honestly couldn't care less if you completely ignore my requested characters. If you're filling every single prompt in my letter with the crossover of my dreams, do whatever the fuck you want. If you write 10000 words of your favorite characters being gooey together and mine each pop in for five hundred words, I hate it thanks. But generally if all my requested characters are substantially present in the novel and I get at least the equivalent of my 1000+ words exploring their dynamic with each other, it's probably fine if most of the novel is actually an ensemble genfic about finding the Hidden Treasure of the Starling People. My desire for focus on characterization/relationship work decreases proportionally with your ability to write a really good novel plot.
Also if I request more than one character and require them all to be written, I probably at least & ship them whether I specifically prompt for it or not. I may not care if you ship it but I usually request either any or just one character unless there's a particular relationship that has really grabbed me (and unless I DNW it specifically I am happy to see what happens if it goes romantic too.)