My Old Fandom letter
Mar. 24th, 2016 12:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolorosa_12Thank you for writing for me!
I'm pretty easygoing about what type of fic you want to write for me. I read fic of any rating, and would be equally happy with plotty genfic or something very shippy. I read gen, femslash, het and slash, although I have a slight preference towards femslash, het, and gen that focuses on female characters. I mainly read fic to find out what happens to characters after the final page has turned or the credits have rolled, so I would particularly love to have futurefic of some kind. Don't feel you have to limit yourself to the characters I specifically mention — I'm happy with others being included if they fit with the story you want to tell.
General likes include feminism (and women's stories more broadly), found families, people with very different perspectives and/or life experiences coming together (either romantically, as friends, or as reluctant allies), human/non-human pairings, relationships with power imbalances, and characters reflecting on power and/or the reasons for their own powerlessness. My other favourite themes are dispossession and exile, and place and the way it shapes people — what do particular characters understand by 'home'? Can they return to it? Is home a place for them, or is it an age, or is it particular other people? Feel free to have a look around at my Ao3 profile as it should give you a good idea of the types of things I like to read.
Major dislikes and squicks: AUs (except in certain circumstances, which I will outline below), fusions and crossovers, excessive descriptions of bodily fluids, Mpreg, incest. I am only interested in shipfic if it focuses on the pairings I specifically mention in my prompts.
Fandom specific prompts:
Galax Arena series
As Terra Farma was published so much later than Galax Arena, it's not very well known, and I'm happy for it not to be treated as canon if ignoring it makes the story you want to tell about these characters easier.
My favourite things about this series are the ways in which the peb of Galax Arena find ways to build community and assert their humanity in the face of dispossession and exploitation. I love the ways they carve out spaces for themselves, the joy they feel in performing circus acts in spite of the cruel system that forces them to do so, and the choices they make in order to survive. I've always found Presh and Allyman to be the most interesting characters, and their relationship to be the most intriguing in the series, particularly as all are seen through Joella's rather biased, uncomprehending eyes. Presh's refusal to make her birth name known, and her emotionless, resigned persona have always struck me as deliberate choices she made in order to survive in terrible circumstances, while Allyman's complicity in the system that exploited him has always struck me as a subject ripe for exploration.
I'd be really interested to read any fic that delved further into Presh and Allyman's relationship, particularly how it evolves and is affected by their respective relationships with the Arena. That Allyman gave Presh the name by which she is known in the series seems incredibly significant, and I'd love to read a fic that dealt with that particular act of naming. These two characters don't get much happiness in the series, and I'd be thrilled to receive any fic that captured small, missing moments of happiness for this pairing amidst the greater chaos and tragedy of the series. This is also another canon in which I'd be happy to read a canon-divergent AU in which Allyman survived the events of Terra Farma.
I also find Presh's interactions with Liane and Fenja to be a really interesting aspect of Galax Arena: they idolise and admire her so much, and look up to her, and I imagine this is very uncomfortable and painful to Presh. How does their adoration make her feel? I'd love to read fic that explored this.
Legendsong series
I would be really keen to read futurefic for this series. I want to know what happens when Ember and Glynn (and the respective people they've gathered around them) meet on Keltor. How does Glynn react to the fact that Ember - who she's always felt she had to protect - has been getting along just fine on her own? How do the political factions with which the two have aligned themselves affect how they react to the various problems and conflicts plaguing that world?
I would also be very interested in reading about how the various romantic relationships in the series - Solen and Glynn, Ember and Bleyd, and Tareed and Feyt - resolve themselves. I'm not necessarily looking for a happy ending for everyone, but I would be interested in seeing what happened if, for example, Ember was finally able to acknowledge Bleyd's feelings for her.
I would prefer that any fic you write avoided pitting Ember and Glynn against each other. I don't mind if they have opposing aims, but I do not want to read about an antagonistic relationship between them, and would like if any conflicts or differences of opinion between them were resolved by the end of the fic.
Sally Lockhart series
My favourite things about this series are the brilliant characters, and the deep trust they all have for each other. I adore that this trust has been forged in dangerous and frightening circumstances, and that conflicts are resolved by a combination of various characters' fierce intelligence and abilities. Each character has different strengths, and they all have a good sense of where those strengths are best used to everyone's advantage.
I also really love the strong focus on issues of social justice and the characters' deep ethical sense of right and wrong and desire to fight injustice. I would be very keen to read any fic in which the characters had to solve a case that had broader implications in terms of some historical injustice.
I'm happy with any combination of the characters in the tagset, although I'd particularly enjoy reading fic that included Daniel Goldberg, as we haven't really seen him working with any of the other characters (besides Sally) and I'm keen to see how he interacts with others such as Jim, Adelaide and Becky. How easy was it, for example, for him to fit in with the established dynamic of Sally, Jim and Webster? How did the arrival of characters like Adelaide and Becky work with this? There's a throwaway reference in The Tin Princess to Daniel potentially running for Parliament. What would his campaign look like? Would it even be possible for him to run, and what sort of mud would the establishment throw at him?
As you can probably tell from the prompt, I'm a big fan of the Sally/Daniel pairing, and I'd love shipfic focusing on them. However, I do also love Fred Garland, and I don't want to read anything that bashes him, or ignores the place he had in Sally's (and other characters') life.
Space Demons trilogy
My favourite thing about this series was its emphasis on people from vastly different backgrounds working together to solve individual and collective problems, and the intense bonds this forged between the characters as a result. I love how much empathy and love the characters have for one another by the end of Shinkei. I also appreciate how technology is woven into their lives, almost like another character. I also really like the strong sense of place in the series, particularly the Australian locations, which are vividly realised.
I would be very interested in reading any fic that shows us the characters' lives several years after the events of Shinkei. How are Andrew and Midori dealing with their international relationship? Is Ben more confident after the events of the series? How does Elaine's relationship with her mother unfold? What does an adult Mario look like? Do the characters stay in touch, and if so, how? It would be great to read about them coming together to deal with a new technological threat. How does the ubiquity and speed of the internet (as compared with what we saw in Shinkei) affect their ability to combat new sentient technology?
One other aspect of the series that I don't think was explored as fully as it could have been was the near-telepathic connection between the characters. I'd be thrilled to read about them in a Sense8-like scenario, sharing memories and experiences, jumping in and out of each others' heads. This could be something that they can control, or not, as the fancy takes you.
In terms of shipfic, I only really ship canon pairings, or pairings that are hinted at as potential in the canon: so Andrew/Midori, and Mario/Elaine. I can also see Mario, Elaine and Ben ending up in some kind of complicated polyamorous scenario (either Mario/Ben/Elaine, or Mario in relationships with both Ben and Elaine with the consent and knowledge of all involved). I'd be happy to read any fic that focused on the pairings I've outlined in this paragraph. Alternatively, if you wanted to take the Sense8 prompt and run with it, I'd be happy to read fic that paired Andrew/Midori/Mario/Elaine/Ben, with however much angst and awkwardness you feel is appropriate!
Sunshine
Relationship: Sunshine/Constantine
This is one canon where I really want to read futurefic! Robin McKinley left everything on such a cliffhanger, with so many unresolved threads, and I'd really love to know, for example, whether the world the characters inhabit really is on the brink of collapse, and what such a collapse would look like, and whether anything Sunshine and co could do would stop or slow this collapse.
I'm particularly keen to read fic that explores Sunshine and Constantine's relationship further. What happened after the last page turned and Sunshine 'went with [Constantine] into the night'? I love that in becoming allies and facing danger together, Sunshine became a little bit more like Constantine, and vice versa. I love the way they were able to bring each other into their worlds - Sunshine leading Con around in the daylight that would kill him if not for her presence is a particularly resonant scene, and one of my favourites in the book. Likewise, I enjoy the way Con's presence opens up the darkness to Sunshine. I would love reading any fic that explores this aspect of their relationship.
It would also be great to read about the pair of them teaming up to deal with new supernatural threats, or any changes to the balance of power that resulted from their defeat of Bo at the end of the book.
I have one DNW for fic of this canon, and that is the Sunshine/Mel relationship. I certainly don't want to read fic that bashes Mel or has Sunshine cheating on him with Con, but I'm not interested in Mel as a character and don't want to read about his and Sunshine's relationship.
Don't feel you have to stick rigidly within the bounds of my prompts. As long as your fic is focused on the characters I requested, I will be thrilled to receive anything you write for me.
I'm pretty easygoing about what type of fic you want to write for me. I read fic of any rating, and would be equally happy with plotty genfic or something very shippy. I read gen, femslash, het and slash, although I have a slight preference towards femslash, het, and gen that focuses on female characters. I mainly read fic to find out what happens to characters after the final page has turned or the credits have rolled, so I would particularly love to have futurefic of some kind. Don't feel you have to limit yourself to the characters I specifically mention — I'm happy with others being included if they fit with the story you want to tell.
General likes include feminism (and women's stories more broadly), found families, people with very different perspectives and/or life experiences coming together (either romantically, as friends, or as reluctant allies), human/non-human pairings, relationships with power imbalances, and characters reflecting on power and/or the reasons for their own powerlessness. My other favourite themes are dispossession and exile, and place and the way it shapes people — what do particular characters understand by 'home'? Can they return to it? Is home a place for them, or is it an age, or is it particular other people? Feel free to have a look around at my Ao3 profile as it should give you a good idea of the types of things I like to read.
Major dislikes and squicks: AUs (except in certain circumstances, which I will outline below), fusions and crossovers, excessive descriptions of bodily fluids, Mpreg, incest. I am only interested in shipfic if it focuses on the pairings I specifically mention in my prompts.
Fandom specific prompts:
Galax Arena series
As Terra Farma was published so much later than Galax Arena, it's not very well known, and I'm happy for it not to be treated as canon if ignoring it makes the story you want to tell about these characters easier.
My favourite things about this series are the ways in which the peb of Galax Arena find ways to build community and assert their humanity in the face of dispossession and exploitation. I love the ways they carve out spaces for themselves, the joy they feel in performing circus acts in spite of the cruel system that forces them to do so, and the choices they make in order to survive. I've always found Presh and Allyman to be the most interesting characters, and their relationship to be the most intriguing in the series, particularly as all are seen through Joella's rather biased, uncomprehending eyes. Presh's refusal to make her birth name known, and her emotionless, resigned persona have always struck me as deliberate choices she made in order to survive in terrible circumstances, while Allyman's complicity in the system that exploited him has always struck me as a subject ripe for exploration.
I'd be really interested to read any fic that delved further into Presh and Allyman's relationship, particularly how it evolves and is affected by their respective relationships with the Arena. That Allyman gave Presh the name by which she is known in the series seems incredibly significant, and I'd love to read a fic that dealt with that particular act of naming. These two characters don't get much happiness in the series, and I'd be thrilled to receive any fic that captured small, missing moments of happiness for this pairing amidst the greater chaos and tragedy of the series. This is also another canon in which I'd be happy to read a canon-divergent AU in which Allyman survived the events of Terra Farma.
I also find Presh's interactions with Liane and Fenja to be a really interesting aspect of Galax Arena: they idolise and admire her so much, and look up to her, and I imagine this is very uncomfortable and painful to Presh. How does their adoration make her feel? I'd love to read fic that explored this.
Legendsong series
I would be really keen to read futurefic for this series. I want to know what happens when Ember and Glynn (and the respective people they've gathered around them) meet on Keltor. How does Glynn react to the fact that Ember - who she's always felt she had to protect - has been getting along just fine on her own? How do the political factions with which the two have aligned themselves affect how they react to the various problems and conflicts plaguing that world?
I would also be very interested in reading about how the various romantic relationships in the series - Solen and Glynn, Ember and Bleyd, and Tareed and Feyt - resolve themselves. I'm not necessarily looking for a happy ending for everyone, but I would be interested in seeing what happened if, for example, Ember was finally able to acknowledge Bleyd's feelings for her.
I would prefer that any fic you write avoided pitting Ember and Glynn against each other. I don't mind if they have opposing aims, but I do not want to read about an antagonistic relationship between them, and would like if any conflicts or differences of opinion between them were resolved by the end of the fic.
Sally Lockhart series
My favourite things about this series are the brilliant characters, and the deep trust they all have for each other. I adore that this trust has been forged in dangerous and frightening circumstances, and that conflicts are resolved by a combination of various characters' fierce intelligence and abilities. Each character has different strengths, and they all have a good sense of where those strengths are best used to everyone's advantage.
I also really love the strong focus on issues of social justice and the characters' deep ethical sense of right and wrong and desire to fight injustice. I would be very keen to read any fic in which the characters had to solve a case that had broader implications in terms of some historical injustice.
I'm happy with any combination of the characters in the tagset, although I'd particularly enjoy reading fic that included Daniel Goldberg, as we haven't really seen him working with any of the other characters (besides Sally) and I'm keen to see how he interacts with others such as Jim, Adelaide and Becky. How easy was it, for example, for him to fit in with the established dynamic of Sally, Jim and Webster? How did the arrival of characters like Adelaide and Becky work with this? There's a throwaway reference in The Tin Princess to Daniel potentially running for Parliament. What would his campaign look like? Would it even be possible for him to run, and what sort of mud would the establishment throw at him?
As you can probably tell from the prompt, I'm a big fan of the Sally/Daniel pairing, and I'd love shipfic focusing on them. However, I do also love Fred Garland, and I don't want to read anything that bashes him, or ignores the place he had in Sally's (and other characters') life.
Space Demons trilogy
My favourite thing about this series was its emphasis on people from vastly different backgrounds working together to solve individual and collective problems, and the intense bonds this forged between the characters as a result. I love how much empathy and love the characters have for one another by the end of Shinkei. I also appreciate how technology is woven into their lives, almost like another character. I also really like the strong sense of place in the series, particularly the Australian locations, which are vividly realised.
I would be very interested in reading any fic that shows us the characters' lives several years after the events of Shinkei. How are Andrew and Midori dealing with their international relationship? Is Ben more confident after the events of the series? How does Elaine's relationship with her mother unfold? What does an adult Mario look like? Do the characters stay in touch, and if so, how? It would be great to read about them coming together to deal with a new technological threat. How does the ubiquity and speed of the internet (as compared with what we saw in Shinkei) affect their ability to combat new sentient technology?
One other aspect of the series that I don't think was explored as fully as it could have been was the near-telepathic connection between the characters. I'd be thrilled to read about them in a Sense8-like scenario, sharing memories and experiences, jumping in and out of each others' heads. This could be something that they can control, or not, as the fancy takes you.
In terms of shipfic, I only really ship canon pairings, or pairings that are hinted at as potential in the canon: so Andrew/Midori, and Mario/Elaine. I can also see Mario, Elaine and Ben ending up in some kind of complicated polyamorous scenario (either Mario/Ben/Elaine, or Mario in relationships with both Ben and Elaine with the consent and knowledge of all involved). I'd be happy to read any fic that focused on the pairings I've outlined in this paragraph. Alternatively, if you wanted to take the Sense8 prompt and run with it, I'd be happy to read fic that paired Andrew/Midori/Mario/Elaine/Ben, with however much angst and awkwardness you feel is appropriate!
Sunshine
Relationship: Sunshine/Constantine
This is one canon where I really want to read futurefic! Robin McKinley left everything on such a cliffhanger, with so many unresolved threads, and I'd really love to know, for example, whether the world the characters inhabit really is on the brink of collapse, and what such a collapse would look like, and whether anything Sunshine and co could do would stop or slow this collapse.
I'm particularly keen to read fic that explores Sunshine and Constantine's relationship further. What happened after the last page turned and Sunshine 'went with [Constantine] into the night'? I love that in becoming allies and facing danger together, Sunshine became a little bit more like Constantine, and vice versa. I love the way they were able to bring each other into their worlds - Sunshine leading Con around in the daylight that would kill him if not for her presence is a particularly resonant scene, and one of my favourites in the book. Likewise, I enjoy the way Con's presence opens up the darkness to Sunshine. I would love reading any fic that explores this aspect of their relationship.
It would also be great to read about the pair of them teaming up to deal with new supernatural threats, or any changes to the balance of power that resulted from their defeat of Bo at the end of the book.
I have one DNW for fic of this canon, and that is the Sunshine/Mel relationship. I certainly don't want to read fic that bashes Mel or has Sunshine cheating on him with Con, but I'm not interested in Mel as a character and don't want to read about his and Sunshine's relationship.
Don't feel you have to stick rigidly within the bounds of my prompts. As long as your fic is focused on the characters I requested, I will be thrilled to receive anything you write for me.