Dear Yuletide Author
Dear Yuletide Author,
Thank you so much for writing for me! I love all of these fandoms and I'm really looking forward to seeing what you write!
First, optional details are entirely optional. If you have a brilliant idea for a story, please go ahead and write it, and don't worry about my specific requests. (Although if you can try to avoid my "do not wants," I'd appreciate that.)
Second, I'm flexible on both genre and rating. Action, introspection, plot, character studies, slice of life, gen, romance...it's all good. And so is anything from G to NC-17. Whatever the story calls for.
If you want more info:
Things I Like: In general, I'm a fan of first times of all kinds, competence (so much love for characters being competent!), friendship, understated romance, secrets being revealed, stories that draw on the characters' pasts, and stories that pick up dropped plot threads. Happy fic is good, and so is mild to moderate angst with a happy or hopeful or bittersweet ending. I also enjoy a good trope story. (Some of my favourite tropes can be found here, if you're interested.)
Things I'd Rather Not Read: Major power imbalances in romantic or sexual relationships (including Dom/sub and A/B/O), long and detailed descriptions of recoveries from traumatic events, permanent mental or physical injuries to major characters that don't occur in canon, and crack. I'd rather avoid complete AUs (coffee shop AUs, high school AUs, and so on). What-if, fork-in-the-road AUs are totally fine, however. (The one exception to the no-AU rule is noir detective AUs. I'm always up for a good hardboiled detective story.)
Other Things: I have squicks but no triggers. I'm happy to read any rating of fic, but I tend to find the lead-up more interesting than the sex, so if there's to be porn, I like a little plot as well. Character death is okay if that's where the story takes you, including main or requested characters. Non-con is fine in the background if it's helpful for the story, but I'd rather it not be the primary focus of the story. Holiday fic is fine if that's what you're in the mood to write.
The Collector
Requested Characters: Morgan Pym, Maya Kandinski
Original Prompt: I'd love to see a story that explores Morgan and Maya's relationship after Maya finds out the truth about what Morgan does. Something that answers some of the questions left unanswered at the end of the show would be lovely, or something addressing the UST, or just a client of the week case where Maya knowing the truth enables her to help Morgan in some way. Gen, UST, and full-out ship fic would all be awesome.
Morgan can be a difficult character at times, but I love his persistence in trying to help others despite having no hope that he'll ever achieve salvation himself. I also love Maya's stubborn efforts to rebuild her life and take advantage of her second chance, and her courage in being willing to go to hell to save someone else.
My main interest here is to see more of what happens after Maya learns the truth. Seeing her learn more about what collectors do, or hearing stories about Morgan's past, or just making use of the fact that Maya is the only person Morgan sees regularly who knows the truth would all be good. What does it mean for Morgan to have someone he can talk to? What does it mean for Maya to know all the truth? Does Maya ever meet any of the other people Morgan has saved?
From a ship perspective, Maya and Morgan's relationship seems to run hot and cold, largely due to Morgan pulling away at key moments (and confessing his love at the most inconvenient times). I'd love to see something that addresses that. Is it Morgan's attempt to protect Maya from the devil? From himself? Is he not used to the idea yet that he can talk to her without sending her to hell? Is there something else going on? Even if they don't end up together, it would be interesting to see them talk about their relationship.
If you want to go in a completely different direction, something about Maya's job or her friendship with Taylor would be awesome. I'd also enjoy something about Morgan's hobby as a medical researcher--how does he do it, what other discoveries really came from him, etc. If you're going this route, I'm okay with only including one of the two characters in the story.
If you're feeling ambitious, I'd adore seeing someone address one of the many plotlines left dangling after cancellation. What's Gabriel's purpose? Why did the devil agreed to let Morgan try to save people? What role is heaven is playing in all of this? Will Morgan ever achieve any sort of salvation? Why did the devil want Morgan to take Maya to Europe? Again, I'm okay with leaving Maya out of this kind of story if the plot doesn't lend itself to her presence.
Intelligence
Requested Characters: Gabriel Vaughn
Original Prompt: This show didn't run nearly as long as I would have liked, which means that I'm pretty flexible, because I mostly just want to more about the things the show didn't have time to tell us.
I requested Gabriel because he's central to the basic premise of the show, but I love all of the characters and would be happy to see any of them show up. I'm always up for reading about Gabriel and Riley's partnership, on or off the job. (Ship fic is great too, if you want to go there.) I also really enjoyed Gabriel's dynamic with both Lillian and Shen Cassidy, and would happily read more about that. Something pre-series, or him being caught with one of them in some challenging situation, or even just a heart-to-heart conversation of some sort. Or more about Gabriel's family or his friendship with Norris, or him tackling some unexpected emergency alone, trying to keep people safe without revealing his secret. Or if you'd like to pick up from where the show ended, and show them tracking down the remaining Tigers or figuring out who the sleeper candidate is or finding out what Leland Strand was up to, that would be great too.
So it's pretty much like the prompt says. There's only one season of Intelligence and not that much fic, and so many things I'd love to read that just about anything you write is going to be loved.
If you want to write about Gabriel and Riley's partnership, gen and ship fic are equally welcome. I love that Gabriel and Riley both super-competent and both regularly get moments to shine. I love how protective they are of each other. I love the snark. I love that Riley is willing to protect Gabriel, but refuses to be the one to keep him in line--that she decides early on that he has the right to look for his wife, and she's not going to stop him. I also love that she pushes everyone, including him, to remember that he's human. I love that they both do what they think is right, rather than what they're ordered to do. And I love how much they respect and trust each other.
As far as specific ideas go, mission fic is always great, especially if it involves new and creative uses for the chip. Tropes like drunken confessions and undercover as a couple and minor hurt/comfort (especially if Gabriel is doing the comforting) could be fun. I'd also totally read more about Gabriel's mother. Or a new sister or cousin. Or Riley's family, with her undoubtedly complicated relationships with her parents, or her little brother. If you want to send them to some event--a wedding, a funeral, a high school reunion--to arrange the family interaction, that could be fun. And if trouble finds them along the way, well, that's par for the course for them.
I'd also love to see more about Gabriel's relationship with other people in Cyber Command, if you want to go there. Pre-series stuff about Gabriel and Shen or Gabriel and Lillian could be interesting. How he got into the program. What his early relationship with them was like. Details on his training. How he became a surrogate son of sorts fo Shen. Or maybe something more current, especially with Lillian, where there's a bit of tension along with a reasonable degree of trust and support. What would they do for each other? How far will they trust each other? Under what circumstances might Lillian turn to Gabriel for support?
Or anything that picks up threads from the show would be great. More about he Athens list, or finding the sleeper agent who's the potential presidential candidate, or maybe tracking down some of the other Tigers from the photo, or finding out what Leland was up to with Mei Chen, or looking at whether Amelia really turned (and why she warned Gabriel about the hospital). Or have Norris or one of the people Gabriel and Riley helped turn up again. Or just more about how they go about rebuilding the intelligence community after stopping the initial rise of the Flood.
Or stay away from the Cyber Com stuff and write more about Gabriel's past or daily life. His hobbies. His neighbours. His pre-series relationship with Amelia. Why he joined the army and why he joined Delta Force. How he found out about his brother's death. His mother's implied breakdown, and how he dealt with her alcohol problems. Why she tried to keep him out of the army. Whatever you like. Really.
Murdoch Mysteries
Requested Characters: William Murdoch, James Pendrick
Original Prompt: Pendrick once told Murdoch that they ought to be friends because they have so much in common. I'd love a story where Murdoch and Pendrick are finally on the same side, and Murdoch doesn't end up suspecting Pendrick of some terrible crime. Maybe one of them decides it's time to promote closer ties. Maybe they're forced to work together in some difficult situation. Maybe Pendrick steps in and helps Murdoch in a difficult situation. Or just jump ahead and show what their friendship/relationship might look like after it's established. Gen and slash are equally welcome.
These two have so much in common as men of science enthralled with the future that it seems a shame that the show nearly always sets them at odds. I'd really like to see them finally come together as friends, maybe allied in some project of science or on some adventure together. Or frustrating each other, but ultimately forging a bond based on their common interests. (I like Julia too, and if you want to bring her into the story, I'd definitely be happy to see her. I also like William/Julia, so feel free to include them together if you like. Obviously you can also leave her out if you prefer, or if she just doesn't fit the story. Whatever works best for you.)
If you want to go the slash route, I kind of like the idea that the reason Murdoch gets so exasperated so quickly around Pendrick is because he's secretly attracted to Pendrick (and is perhaps unaware of that fact). This might be a tricky relationship to write about, given the era, Murdoch's faith, and his reactions in the episode that dealt with the 19th century gay subculture, but if you can see a way to work through those issues and create a possibility for them to be happy, I'd be interested in reading about it. (If you choose to write slash, I'm perfectly happy to ignore or skim over why William/Julia didn't work out rather than make one of them the villain. Or you can go AU from one of their break-ups. Maybe Julia never returned from Buffalo. Maybe she returned to Toronto but remained happily married to Darcy. Maybe the two of them never got together as a couple at all, but simply remained good friends. Whatever approach you like, as long as it doesn't involve one of them being awful or William cheating on Julia or deliberately using Julia for cover without her knowledge and consent.)
If some specific suggestions would help:
Earth: Final Conflict
Requested Characters: Liam Kincaid
Original Prompt: I'd love something that addresses Liam-as-protector or Liam-as-alien (or both). Alternately, something about his relationship with Sandoval--especially something that brings some sort of resolution to the father/son issue--or his friendship with Renee would be great too.
As I mentioned in my original prompt, there are a few different things I'd be equally interested in seeing. In no particular order:
1. Liam-as-Protector. I'd love to read more about what daily life is like for a Companion Protector. How does Liam feel about his job? How does he get along with the other Protectors? (There were indications in "Phantom Companion" that some of the Protectors resent Liam's easy rise. Does that attitude continue after "Phantom Companion"? What effect does it have on him? Does Lieutenant Roberts ever get his rematch?) Was there hazing? Other Protector rituals? Does Liam have any friends among the Protectors? Alternately, what is like for Liam interacting with other Taelons as Da'an's protector? What is it like dealing with the public? How often do people recognize him when he's off-duty, and what does it mean? Where ever you want to go.
2. Liam-as-alien. The show often didn't seem to know what to do with this, so kind of ignored it except when convenient, but I'd love to see it explored more. What's it like to grow to adulthood in matter of minutes and take on an adult role immediately? How does one develop interests and personality and purpose in that time? How does his intimate knowledge of Sandoval and Beckett influence his interactions with them? Or with the people they know? What's it like living a life where so much of his knowledge is mediated by Sandoval's and Beckett's perceptions? Or what about dating? How does he integrate the memories and experiences of his parents to form a coherent basis for his own personality and decisions, and what does that mean in a romantic or sexual context? (Clearly he's an adult by our standards, but how does it actually work for him?)
3. Liam and Sandoval. Another storyline that was never really resolved. Clearly Liam has issues here (and who wouldn't have issues after their own father tortures them?), so anything around this--especially if it involves Sandoval finding out something about the situation, even if he doesn't learn everything--would be great. Or just Liam making peace with the relationship somehow.
4. I really love Liam's partnership with Renee, after they get past their initial mistrust. Anything about that would be great. Renee really dealing with Liam's alien heritage. Battling against some new Taelon technology. Dealing with issues within the resistance. Trope fic (Taelon-created sex pollen or a portal malfunction leading to a temporary body swap or undercover as a couple and so on) could be fun too. Or post-series fic. I'll also take ship fic if you want to go there. Although again, of course...Liam and sex/romance are kind of complicated issues, given his background, but it could be fun to explore. It could also be fun if it's Renee who's concerned about it, while Liam is nonchalant.
Final Notes
I'm skieswideopen on AO3 as well.
If somehow what I have above isn't enough, there's a little more on the things I like and don't like here. Please don't feel you have to read that, though, unless you're pulling out your hair and really, really want more information.
This entry was originally posted at http://skieswideopen.dreamwidth.org/163912.html, where it has
comments. Comments are equally welcome on either entry.
Thank you so much for writing for me! I love all of these fandoms and I'm really looking forward to seeing what you write!
First, optional details are entirely optional. If you have a brilliant idea for a story, please go ahead and write it, and don't worry about my specific requests. (Although if you can try to avoid my "do not wants," I'd appreciate that.)
Second, I'm flexible on both genre and rating. Action, introspection, plot, character studies, slice of life, gen, romance...it's all good. And so is anything from G to NC-17. Whatever the story calls for.
If you want more info:
Things I Like: In general, I'm a fan of first times of all kinds, competence (so much love for characters being competent!), friendship, understated romance, secrets being revealed, stories that draw on the characters' pasts, and stories that pick up dropped plot threads. Happy fic is good, and so is mild to moderate angst with a happy or hopeful or bittersweet ending. I also enjoy a good trope story. (Some of my favourite tropes can be found here, if you're interested.)
Things I'd Rather Not Read: Major power imbalances in romantic or sexual relationships (including Dom/sub and A/B/O), long and detailed descriptions of recoveries from traumatic events, permanent mental or physical injuries to major characters that don't occur in canon, and crack. I'd rather avoid complete AUs (coffee shop AUs, high school AUs, and so on). What-if, fork-in-the-road AUs are totally fine, however. (The one exception to the no-AU rule is noir detective AUs. I'm always up for a good hardboiled detective story.)
Other Things: I have squicks but no triggers. I'm happy to read any rating of fic, but I tend to find the lead-up more interesting than the sex, so if there's to be porn, I like a little plot as well. Character death is okay if that's where the story takes you, including main or requested characters. Non-con is fine in the background if it's helpful for the story, but I'd rather it not be the primary focus of the story. Holiday fic is fine if that's what you're in the mood to write.
The Collector
Requested Characters: Morgan Pym, Maya Kandinski
Original Prompt: I'd love to see a story that explores Morgan and Maya's relationship after Maya finds out the truth about what Morgan does. Something that answers some of the questions left unanswered at the end of the show would be lovely, or something addressing the UST, or just a client of the week case where Maya knowing the truth enables her to help Morgan in some way. Gen, UST, and full-out ship fic would all be awesome.
Morgan can be a difficult character at times, but I love his persistence in trying to help others despite having no hope that he'll ever achieve salvation himself. I also love Maya's stubborn efforts to rebuild her life and take advantage of her second chance, and her courage in being willing to go to hell to save someone else.
My main interest here is to see more of what happens after Maya learns the truth. Seeing her learn more about what collectors do, or hearing stories about Morgan's past, or just making use of the fact that Maya is the only person Morgan sees regularly who knows the truth would all be good. What does it mean for Morgan to have someone he can talk to? What does it mean for Maya to know all the truth? Does Maya ever meet any of the other people Morgan has saved?
From a ship perspective, Maya and Morgan's relationship seems to run hot and cold, largely due to Morgan pulling away at key moments (and confessing his love at the most inconvenient times). I'd love to see something that addresses that. Is it Morgan's attempt to protect Maya from the devil? From himself? Is he not used to the idea yet that he can talk to her without sending her to hell? Is there something else going on? Even if they don't end up together, it would be interesting to see them talk about their relationship.
If you want to go in a completely different direction, something about Maya's job or her friendship with Taylor would be awesome. I'd also enjoy something about Morgan's hobby as a medical researcher--how does he do it, what other discoveries really came from him, etc. If you're going this route, I'm okay with only including one of the two characters in the story.
If you're feeling ambitious, I'd adore seeing someone address one of the many plotlines left dangling after cancellation. What's Gabriel's purpose? Why did the devil agreed to let Morgan try to save people? What role is heaven is playing in all of this? Will Morgan ever achieve any sort of salvation? Why did the devil want Morgan to take Maya to Europe? Again, I'm okay with leaving Maya out of this kind of story if the plot doesn't lend itself to her presence.
Intelligence
Requested Characters: Gabriel Vaughn
Original Prompt: This show didn't run nearly as long as I would have liked, which means that I'm pretty flexible, because I mostly just want to more about the things the show didn't have time to tell us.
I requested Gabriel because he's central to the basic premise of the show, but I love all of the characters and would be happy to see any of them show up. I'm always up for reading about Gabriel and Riley's partnership, on or off the job. (Ship fic is great too, if you want to go there.) I also really enjoyed Gabriel's dynamic with both Lillian and Shen Cassidy, and would happily read more about that. Something pre-series, or him being caught with one of them in some challenging situation, or even just a heart-to-heart conversation of some sort. Or more about Gabriel's family or his friendship with Norris, or him tackling some unexpected emergency alone, trying to keep people safe without revealing his secret. Or if you'd like to pick up from where the show ended, and show them tracking down the remaining Tigers or figuring out who the sleeper candidate is or finding out what Leland Strand was up to, that would be great too.
So it's pretty much like the prompt says. There's only one season of Intelligence and not that much fic, and so many things I'd love to read that just about anything you write is going to be loved.
If you want to write about Gabriel and Riley's partnership, gen and ship fic are equally welcome. I love that Gabriel and Riley both super-competent and both regularly get moments to shine. I love how protective they are of each other. I love the snark. I love that Riley is willing to protect Gabriel, but refuses to be the one to keep him in line--that she decides early on that he has the right to look for his wife, and she's not going to stop him. I also love that she pushes everyone, including him, to remember that he's human. I love that they both do what they think is right, rather than what they're ordered to do. And I love how much they respect and trust each other.
As far as specific ideas go, mission fic is always great, especially if it involves new and creative uses for the chip. Tropes like drunken confessions and undercover as a couple and minor hurt/comfort (especially if Gabriel is doing the comforting) could be fun. I'd also totally read more about Gabriel's mother. Or a new sister or cousin. Or Riley's family, with her undoubtedly complicated relationships with her parents, or her little brother. If you want to send them to some event--a wedding, a funeral, a high school reunion--to arrange the family interaction, that could be fun. And if trouble finds them along the way, well, that's par for the course for them.
I'd also love to see more about Gabriel's relationship with other people in Cyber Command, if you want to go there. Pre-series stuff about Gabriel and Shen or Gabriel and Lillian could be interesting. How he got into the program. What his early relationship with them was like. Details on his training. How he became a surrogate son of sorts fo Shen. Or maybe something more current, especially with Lillian, where there's a bit of tension along with a reasonable degree of trust and support. What would they do for each other? How far will they trust each other? Under what circumstances might Lillian turn to Gabriel for support?
Or anything that picks up threads from the show would be great. More about he Athens list, or finding the sleeper agent who's the potential presidential candidate, or maybe tracking down some of the other Tigers from the photo, or finding out what Leland was up to with Mei Chen, or looking at whether Amelia really turned (and why she warned Gabriel about the hospital). Or have Norris or one of the people Gabriel and Riley helped turn up again. Or just more about how they go about rebuilding the intelligence community after stopping the initial rise of the Flood.
Or stay away from the Cyber Com stuff and write more about Gabriel's past or daily life. His hobbies. His neighbours. His pre-series relationship with Amelia. Why he joined the army and why he joined Delta Force. How he found out about his brother's death. His mother's implied breakdown, and how he dealt with her alcohol problems. Why she tried to keep him out of the army. Whatever you like. Really.
Murdoch Mysteries
Requested Characters: William Murdoch, James Pendrick
Original Prompt: Pendrick once told Murdoch that they ought to be friends because they have so much in common. I'd love a story where Murdoch and Pendrick are finally on the same side, and Murdoch doesn't end up suspecting Pendrick of some terrible crime. Maybe one of them decides it's time to promote closer ties. Maybe they're forced to work together in some difficult situation. Maybe Pendrick steps in and helps Murdoch in a difficult situation. Or just jump ahead and show what their friendship/relationship might look like after it's established. Gen and slash are equally welcome.
These two have so much in common as men of science enthralled with the future that it seems a shame that the show nearly always sets them at odds. I'd really like to see them finally come together as friends, maybe allied in some project of science or on some adventure together. Or frustrating each other, but ultimately forging a bond based on their common interests. (I like Julia too, and if you want to bring her into the story, I'd definitely be happy to see her. I also like William/Julia, so feel free to include them together if you like. Obviously you can also leave her out if you prefer, or if she just doesn't fit the story. Whatever works best for you.)
If you want to go the slash route, I kind of like the idea that the reason Murdoch gets so exasperated so quickly around Pendrick is because he's secretly attracted to Pendrick (and is perhaps unaware of that fact). This might be a tricky relationship to write about, given the era, Murdoch's faith, and his reactions in the episode that dealt with the 19th century gay subculture, but if you can see a way to work through those issues and create a possibility for them to be happy, I'd be interested in reading about it. (If you choose to write slash, I'm perfectly happy to ignore or skim over why William/Julia didn't work out rather than make one of them the villain. Or you can go AU from one of their break-ups. Maybe Julia never returned from Buffalo. Maybe she returned to Toronto but remained happily married to Darcy. Maybe the two of them never got together as a couple at all, but simply remained good friends. Whatever approach you like, as long as it doesn't involve one of them being awful or William cheating on Julia or deliberately using Julia for cover without her knowledge and consent.)
If some specific suggestions would help:
- Maybe Murdoch apologizes for all the times he's suspected Pendrick of murder and they carry on from there.
- Maybe Pendrick is stubbornly determined to finally win Murdoch over, and takes steps to do so.
- Maybe one helps the other with some problem, big or small.
- Maybe they're forced to rely on each other in some crisis. (Snowed in? Lost in the woods? Once again battling American spies? Feel free to embrace the tropes.)
- Maybe some other (trope?) situation arises that forces them to acknowledge their feelings? (I'd rather not bring outright magic into the show because SCIENCE!, but if you want to have someone invent bracelets whose wearers can't be more than twenty feet apart without passing out, or a hat that allows its wearer to read minds, or anything along those lines, I'd be all over that.)
- Or maybe they've gotten past all that and are now engaged in some grand adventure together.
Earth: Final Conflict
Requested Characters: Liam Kincaid
Original Prompt: I'd love something that addresses Liam-as-protector or Liam-as-alien (or both). Alternately, something about his relationship with Sandoval--especially something that brings some sort of resolution to the father/son issue--or his friendship with Renee would be great too.
As I mentioned in my original prompt, there are a few different things I'd be equally interested in seeing. In no particular order:
1. Liam-as-Protector. I'd love to read more about what daily life is like for a Companion Protector. How does Liam feel about his job? How does he get along with the other Protectors? (There were indications in "Phantom Companion" that some of the Protectors resent Liam's easy rise. Does that attitude continue after "Phantom Companion"? What effect does it have on him? Does Lieutenant Roberts ever get his rematch?) Was there hazing? Other Protector rituals? Does Liam have any friends among the Protectors? Alternately, what is like for Liam interacting with other Taelons as Da'an's protector? What is it like dealing with the public? How often do people recognize him when he's off-duty, and what does it mean? Where ever you want to go.
2. Liam-as-alien. The show often didn't seem to know what to do with this, so kind of ignored it except when convenient, but I'd love to see it explored more. What's it like to grow to adulthood in matter of minutes and take on an adult role immediately? How does one develop interests and personality and purpose in that time? How does his intimate knowledge of Sandoval and Beckett influence his interactions with them? Or with the people they know? What's it like living a life where so much of his knowledge is mediated by Sandoval's and Beckett's perceptions? Or what about dating? How does he integrate the memories and experiences of his parents to form a coherent basis for his own personality and decisions, and what does that mean in a romantic or sexual context? (Clearly he's an adult by our standards, but how does it actually work for him?)
3. Liam and Sandoval. Another storyline that was never really resolved. Clearly Liam has issues here (and who wouldn't have issues after their own father tortures them?), so anything around this--especially if it involves Sandoval finding out something about the situation, even if he doesn't learn everything--would be great. Or just Liam making peace with the relationship somehow.
4. I really love Liam's partnership with Renee, after they get past their initial mistrust. Anything about that would be great. Renee really dealing with Liam's alien heritage. Battling against some new Taelon technology. Dealing with issues within the resistance. Trope fic (Taelon-created sex pollen or a portal malfunction leading to a temporary body swap or undercover as a couple and so on) could be fun too. Or post-series fic. I'll also take ship fic if you want to go there. Although again, of course...Liam and sex/romance are kind of complicated issues, given his background, but it could be fun to explore. It could also be fun if it's Renee who's concerned about it, while Liam is nonchalant.
Final Notes
I'm skieswideopen on AO3 as well.
If somehow what I have above isn't enough, there's a little more on the things I like and don't like here. Please don't feel you have to read that, though, unless you're pulling out your hair and really, really want more information.
This entry was originally posted at http://skieswideopen.dreamwidth.org/163912.html, where it has
comments. Comments are equally welcome on either entry.