Dear Author Letter (rarewomen 2014)
Dear Author,
First off, thank you so much for signing up for rarewomen 2014, and for accepting this assignment. I am sure that I am going to love the story that you end up writing for me, and I do hope that you also have fun creating it.
I am not especially fussy about story style. I love everything from missing scenes that would fit between episodes/chapters of canon to elaborate alternate universes where only the characters remain the same, fluff to PWP, light humour to heavy dark!fic. Endings can be happy, hopeful, ambiguous, or tragic - whatever works best for the story. Genfic, het, and femslash are all fine. Slash is also fine, although the main storyline should focus on the main female character/s.
I dislike character bashing. No matter how much I like or dislike a character, I am much more interested in stories that explore their motivations rather than villainising them pointlessly.
If you lean toward the heavier ratings, I would prefer that you stay away from chan, scatplay and watersports. Everything else (including - but not limited to - non-con, dub-con, BDSM, infidelity) is fair game. Graphic violence and graphic sexual situations are fine. (Castle-specific: Stay away from incest in Castle fandom, please. Fine in all other fandoms.)
Optional Details are Optional:
If you are looking for inspiration or a place to start, here are some of the reasons I would like to read about the ladies I have chosen, and a couple of vague story ideas/prompts. If you already know who and what you want to write about, please disregard this. It is intended in the spirit of helpfulness, not hindrance.
This list is sorted alphabetically, not in any order of preference.
1) Angel: the Series: Anne Steele (aka Chanterelle, Lily), Darla, Gwen Raiden, Harmony Kendall, Illyria, Lilah Morgan. AND 2) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Anne Steele (aka Chanterelle, Lily), Buffybot, Harmony Kendall, Kendra Young, Nikki Wood.
I have combined these two fandoms for the purposes of the letter simply because they have two characters (Harmony and Anne - three, given that Darla first appeared in BtVS also) in common, and because the things that I love about these characters and these fandoms are very similar: strong, unique women struggling to find their places in the world.
a) Anne Steele (aka Chanterelle, Lily): I love the way Anne's character develops from Chanterelle, the naive, vampire-worshipping girl, to Lily, struggling to find a place in the world, clinging to the idea of someone to look after her (Rickie, Buffy), to Anne Steele, disillusioned, strong, and ruthless, prepared to cross any lines she has to to protect the people under her care, but still so very kind, generous, loving. I would love to see:
i) Anne Steele/Charles Gunn - especially in the later season of AtS.
ii) Lily/Buffy Summers - I'm thinking start of season 3, but an AU where Buffy stayed on in LA, or something set post-series would all be very welcome.
iii) Anne coming across Spike during season 5 of AtS: How does she feel about the reminder of her past as Chanterelle? About the part Spike played in making her who she is now? Does he recognise her, or was he too focused on Buffy at the time to even remember her face?
b) Buffybot: Anything exploring the inner workings of the Buffybot. Does she think/feel, and to what extent? And if she does feel, how does she feel about Buffy? Any (or no) pairings.
c) Darla:
i) Backstory for Darla would be fantastic - Scourge of Europe era, or even back before she turned Liam/Angelus. Any pairings, OCs welcome.
ii) Darla/Buffy - as dark and twisted (or light and fluffy) as you want.
d) Gwen Raiden: Would love to see something on her electricity, and the way it affects her interactions with the world in general or with specific people. Can be genfic, can be any femslash or het pairing, OCs welcome.
e) Harmony Kendall: Although she can be ditzy at times, and is frequently treated as comic relief in both AtS and BtVS, Harmony also shows herself to be quite sharp at times, ambitious, lonely. I would love to see some kind of character exploration set in either Sunnydale or LA, at any point in either series.
f) Illyria:
i) Any exploration of how her reduced power/weak shell affect her.
ii) Memories of, or fic set during, her time as a God-King of Primordium.
iii) How much of Fred is really left in her?
iv) Illyria/Buffy OR Illyria/Spike OR Illyria/Buffy/Spike
g) Kendra Young:
i) Being raised by a Watcher, to be a Slayer.
ii) Now there are three - Kendra survives Drusilla's attack, but briefly flatlines. How will Sunnydale/the world handle three Slayers as different as Buffy Summers, Faith Lehane and Kendra Young at the same time? Any/all/no pairings welcome. Remember that the fic should focus primarily on Kendra.
h) Lilah Morgan:
i) Lilah/Wesley - I ship these two like crazy. Love their canon dynamic, and also all the unexplored potential between them.
ii) Lilah + or / Lindsey McDonald - anything about their personal and/or professional relationships, can be canon or completely AU.
iii) Lilah genfic - Does the glass ceiling still exist in a world of demons and dark rituals?
i) Nikki Wood: Her relationship with Bernard Crowley (her Watcher) and/or her son, Robin. Or anything, really.
3) Castle: Alexis Castle, Martha Rodgers.
I love everything about this show and about these gorgeous redheads. Anything you write will be adored, but if you are searching for ideas:
a) Alexis' first days of college, right after moving, living away from home (and a very closeknit family) for the first time in her life. Is she instantly homesick, or does she thrive on her new found freedom? How did she meet Sara el-Masri? (Season 5.)
b) Martha's thoughts/feelings about the women in her son's life: Meredith and/or Gina and/or Kate Beckett. (Any season.)
c) Kate Beckett/Richard Castle get married or just move in together. How does Alexis feel about gaining a new stepmother? (Post-series/AU.)
d) Castle is away, and Kate needs Alexis' help on a case. (Any season/AU.) Genfic or femslash.
e) Martha, Meredith and Alexis doing girl-bonding type activities.
4) Everworld Series - K. A. Applegate: April O'Brien, Senna Wales.
Genfic adventures in Everworld, trying to kill each other in either world (literally or figuratively), femslash, unexpected family bonding, childhood recollections. Anything at all about either or both of them will be most welcome.
5) Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare: Beatrice.
Anything in which Beatrice is her sassy, kick-ass self. Can include any characters, set in canon or complete AU.
6) Suits: Jessica Pearson, Rachel Zane.
I just love their take-no-bullshit attitudes, that they are every bit as intelligent and powerful as the men they work with, and take great pleasure in flaunting that fact.
Ships I love: Jessica/Donna, Jessica/Harvey, Jessica/Mike, Jessica/Lewis, Jessica/Rachel, Rachel/Donna, Rachel/Mike, Rachel/Lewis. I am open to trying other pairings, though, and would also be thrilled with genfic focused on either Jessica or Rachel.
First off, thank you so much for signing up for rarewomen 2014, and for accepting this assignment. I am sure that I am going to love the story that you end up writing for me, and I do hope that you also have fun creating it.
I am not especially fussy about story style. I love everything from missing scenes that would fit between episodes/chapters of canon to elaborate alternate universes where only the characters remain the same, fluff to PWP, light humour to heavy dark!fic. Endings can be happy, hopeful, ambiguous, or tragic - whatever works best for the story. Genfic, het, and femslash are all fine. Slash is also fine, although the main storyline should focus on the main female character/s.
I dislike character bashing. No matter how much I like or dislike a character, I am much more interested in stories that explore their motivations rather than villainising them pointlessly.
If you lean toward the heavier ratings, I would prefer that you stay away from chan, scatplay and watersports. Everything else (including - but not limited to - non-con, dub-con, BDSM, infidelity) is fair game. Graphic violence and graphic sexual situations are fine. (Castle-specific: Stay away from incest in Castle fandom, please. Fine in all other fandoms.)
Optional Details are Optional:
If you are looking for inspiration or a place to start, here are some of the reasons I would like to read about the ladies I have chosen, and a couple of vague story ideas/prompts. If you already know who and what you want to write about, please disregard this. It is intended in the spirit of helpfulness, not hindrance.
This list is sorted alphabetically, not in any order of preference.
1) Angel: the Series: Anne Steele (aka Chanterelle, Lily), Darla, Gwen Raiden, Harmony Kendall, Illyria, Lilah Morgan. AND 2) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Anne Steele (aka Chanterelle, Lily), Buffybot, Harmony Kendall, Kendra Young, Nikki Wood.
I have combined these two fandoms for the purposes of the letter simply because they have two characters (Harmony and Anne - three, given that Darla first appeared in BtVS also) in common, and because the things that I love about these characters and these fandoms are very similar: strong, unique women struggling to find their places in the world.
a) Anne Steele (aka Chanterelle, Lily): I love the way Anne's character develops from Chanterelle, the naive, vampire-worshipping girl, to Lily, struggling to find a place in the world, clinging to the idea of someone to look after her (Rickie, Buffy), to Anne Steele, disillusioned, strong, and ruthless, prepared to cross any lines she has to to protect the people under her care, but still so very kind, generous, loving. I would love to see:
i) Anne Steele/Charles Gunn - especially in the later season of AtS.
ii) Lily/Buffy Summers - I'm thinking start of season 3, but an AU where Buffy stayed on in LA, or something set post-series would all be very welcome.
iii) Anne coming across Spike during season 5 of AtS: How does she feel about the reminder of her past as Chanterelle? About the part Spike played in making her who she is now? Does he recognise her, or was he too focused on Buffy at the time to even remember her face?
b) Buffybot: Anything exploring the inner workings of the Buffybot. Does she think/feel, and to what extent? And if she does feel, how does she feel about Buffy? Any (or no) pairings.
c) Darla:
i) Backstory for Darla would be fantastic - Scourge of Europe era, or even back before she turned Liam/Angelus. Any pairings, OCs welcome.
ii) Darla/Buffy - as dark and twisted (or light and fluffy) as you want.
d) Gwen Raiden: Would love to see something on her electricity, and the way it affects her interactions with the world in general or with specific people. Can be genfic, can be any femslash or het pairing, OCs welcome.
e) Harmony Kendall: Although she can be ditzy at times, and is frequently treated as comic relief in both AtS and BtVS, Harmony also shows herself to be quite sharp at times, ambitious, lonely. I would love to see some kind of character exploration set in either Sunnydale or LA, at any point in either series.
f) Illyria:
i) Any exploration of how her reduced power/weak shell affect her.
ii) Memories of, or fic set during, her time as a God-King of Primordium.
iii) How much of Fred is really left in her?
iv) Illyria/Buffy OR Illyria/Spike OR Illyria/Buffy/Spike
g) Kendra Young:
i) Being raised by a Watcher, to be a Slayer.
ii) Now there are three - Kendra survives Drusilla's attack, but briefly flatlines. How will Sunnydale/the world handle three Slayers as different as Buffy Summers, Faith Lehane and Kendra Young at the same time? Any/all/no pairings welcome. Remember that the fic should focus primarily on Kendra.
h) Lilah Morgan:
i) Lilah/Wesley - I ship these two like crazy. Love their canon dynamic, and also all the unexplored potential between them.
ii) Lilah + or / Lindsey McDonald - anything about their personal and/or professional relationships, can be canon or completely AU.
iii) Lilah genfic - Does the glass ceiling still exist in a world of demons and dark rituals?
i) Nikki Wood: Her relationship with Bernard Crowley (her Watcher) and/or her son, Robin. Or anything, really.
3) Castle: Alexis Castle, Martha Rodgers.
I love everything about this show and about these gorgeous redheads. Anything you write will be adored, but if you are searching for ideas:
a) Alexis' first days of college, right after moving, living away from home (and a very closeknit family) for the first time in her life. Is she instantly homesick, or does she thrive on her new found freedom? How did she meet Sara el-Masri? (Season 5.)
b) Martha's thoughts/feelings about the women in her son's life: Meredith and/or Gina and/or Kate Beckett. (Any season.)
c) Kate Beckett/Richard Castle get married or just move in together. How does Alexis feel about gaining a new stepmother? (Post-series/AU.)
d) Castle is away, and Kate needs Alexis' help on a case. (Any season/AU.) Genfic or femslash.
e) Martha, Meredith and Alexis doing girl-bonding type activities.
4) Everworld Series - K. A. Applegate: April O'Brien, Senna Wales.
Genfic adventures in Everworld, trying to kill each other in either world (literally or figuratively), femslash, unexpected family bonding, childhood recollections. Anything at all about either or both of them will be most welcome.
5) Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare: Beatrice.
Anything in which Beatrice is her sassy, kick-ass self. Can include any characters, set in canon or complete AU.
6) Suits: Jessica Pearson, Rachel Zane.
I just love their take-no-bullshit attitudes, that they are every bit as intelligent and powerful as the men they work with, and take great pleasure in flaunting that fact.
Ships I love: Jessica/Donna, Jessica/Harvey, Jessica/Mike, Jessica/Lewis, Jessica/Rachel, Rachel/Donna, Rachel/Mike, Rachel/Lewis. I am open to trying other pairings, though, and would also be thrilled with genfic focused on either Jessica or Rachel.