11 June 2018 @ 05:49 pm
Everywoman Exchange 2018 - Dear Author....  
First, let me thank you for writing me a story in one of the fandoms we share. I'm excited about all of them. (They're listed in alphabetical order, so as not to play favourites.)


GENERAL POINTS:

  • I love worldbuilding and character pieces—stories that explore more deeply—through backstory, or by elaborating the setting/history/culture or exploring people's motivations and personal interactions.

  • I prefer gen; but I'm not asking you to ignore canon relationships. However, I don't care for anything more than PG-13: explicit sexual detail is definitely a DNW for me. (When I encounter it in stories, I skim over it.) When pairings are essential to the story, I feel that curtainfic > romance > smut. BUT character and plot are the best!

  • I love casefic; and, more generally, I like stories that are canon-compliant. The general exception to this is ignoring canonical character death if you want. (There may be other specific exceptions.)

  • I'm okay with violence if necessary to the story; but not gore for the sake of gore. On the whole, I prefer not to have characters die in the story; but references to canonical deaths are okay. (I'm fine with having original characters murdered in casefic, and that sort of thing.)

  • I enjoy comedy—being able to recognize the ridiculous when it pops up; also wit and wordplay. Having said that, I totally leave it up to you whether you write a serious or comic story—or a serious story with comic interludes.

  • No second person fic, please. First person is okay, especially for book canons that were written that way by the author.



REQUESTS:

The Charioteer - Mary Renault (Lucy Odell Straike, Mrs Timmings, Aunt Olive, Matron) Fan Fiction
Quite a lot of fan fiction focuses on the canonical romances; but here you'd be focusing on one or more of the supporting cast. Perhaps some slice-of-life at the E.M.S. hospital; something about Mrs Timming's perspective on the family she works for; or Laurie's mother's p.o.v. on her son's absence, her life in the village, and/or her remarriage. However, do please feel free to include other characters if you want.

Canon-compliant gen, please. DNW anything more than PG13. DNW any non-canon pairing involving these characters.
If you've matched with me on The Charioteer, then you're probably aware that a high percentage of fan fiction focuses on the male characters. After all, the women are all supporting characters—but that just means there's plenty of scope for worldbuilding.

Laurie's mother was a bride during the Great War and a single mother during the Depression. Her life presumably centres on the village where she lives, punctuated by courtship by a retired Indian Army colonel, her son's departures (for school, college, and war), and eventually World War II and remarriage. We see her only from her son's point of view at a time when he and the country were both in crisis. What is her perspective?

Mrs Timmings belongs to Laurie's life before the war. In the book, she barely appears in passing; but she has to have had her own view of the Odells over a period lasting from Laurie's childhood to the later war years. What did she think of Mrs Odell as a mother? Of the prospects of Lucy's remarriage (which might have led to some worry on her own behalf)? How did Mrs Timmings react to Laurie being injured? What happened to her later on? (Lots of scope for speculation, little canon to base it on, but...!)

Laurie's Aunt Olive appears briefly when he returns home for his mother's wedding. She is described as the family drudge, and is described as a well-meaning, dithery sort. We know nothing of her home life, and little of her relationship with Laurie's mother except that she is actually some sort of cousin. Pre-war backstory, a visit to the vicarage, war-time activities? Fanon does much with Aunt Olive; but there's always room for another interpretation.

Renault describes Matron in rather precise little pictures, yet only in passing. So little is known of her that you pretty well have a clean slate here. I specifically suggested some slice-of-life at the E.M.S. hospital. Besides the patients, there's the staff she has to deal with, from doctors and nurses to conchie orderlies.

Whoever you choose to write about, I'd prefer something canon-compliant. Futurefic is okay; but I'd rather not have an AU.


The Flash (TV 2104) (Lisa Snart, LaShawn "Shawna" Baez, Caitlin Snow) Fan Fiction
A story with all three characters would be lovely. However, you may prefer to focus on just one or two. For Caitlin, I'd prefer a story about her role as the Flash's doctor. Could be as a member of Team Flash in the field, during an emergency, or doing research. For Lisa, most backstory about the Snarts focuses on her brother Len: what's her perspective on their childhood, or her relationship with him in later years? Alternatively, I'd like a Rogues story focusing on the women in the group, especially Lisa and Shawna—pulling a heist on their own or as part of the main group, or doing something in their off time.

DNW a rating higher than PG13, please. DNW AUs (apart from the Rogues not being TV canon!), but feel free to retcon the death of Lisa's brother, if relevant to the story.
My newest (and largest) fandom. On the other hand, I've read The Flash since Carmine Infantino days, which was a decade or two ago, to say the least. So, yes, there are differences between the comics then and now, and the TV series is obviously its own thing. Still, each iteration can be enjoyed for itself.

Caitlin is one of the core members of Flash's back-up team. I'm particularly interested in her role as his doctor, at any point from being conscripted by "Harrison Wells" to care for Barry when he was in a coma, through to the present day. Emergency Medicine was not the focus of her training; but she's done a lot of research since then into the nature of metas, and speedster physiology in particular. Or, if none of this hits the spot, perhaps some off-duty friendship chat among Team Flash; or maybe backstory before the Particle Accelerator explosion when Star Labs was a busy research site.

Between The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, we get a fair number of hints about the Snart family, but mostly from Len's perspective. I'm curious about Lisa's experience—with her father obviously, but also with Len himself (around or not), and his friend Mick. What was it like for her at school, coming from a family with criminal records? Alternatively, what was Lisa's route into crime? Clearly, she hasn't always worked with her brother, even before he left on the Waverider. What has she done recently?

In the comic, the Rogues are basically a group of career criminals who want to pull off successful robberies and get away with the loot. They were never formally pulled together in the same way in the TV series. Nevertheless, there's a lot of fan fiction about them—and featuring more female characters than in the comics. Besides Lisa, I particularly like Shawna. How was she recruited for the Rogues? Are the two of them friends? Do they hang out together at other times than heists? Or maybe they pull a robbery on their own.

Feel free to use other characters from The Flash (or, for that matter, from the other Arrowverse shows). And, if you want to include all three requested characters in the same story ... I wouldn't complain!


Forever Knight (Tracy Vetter, Natalie Lambert, Janette DuCharme, Amanda Cohen, Urs, Group:Natalie Lambert & Grace Balthazar) Fan Fiction
Casefic is always a treat; and I enjoy ensemble stories, both in terms of the detective story plots and the interplay at the station/morgue. An alternative ensemble might involve vampire characters, set at the Raven.

I love worldbuilding and character pieces. If you prefer to focus on an individual, perhaps family/personal life/backstory (for human characters), or history/backstory (for the vampires). By all means include someone who wasn't nominated if you want. I like all three seasons equally.

Basically, I'm pretty easy on what you write, though my preference is for gen. DNW a rating higher than PG13, please.

I'm not interested in AUs. However, feel free to ignore "Last Knight" if you want.
Although the hero of Forever Knight, is a male vampire trying to expiate his guilty past as a homicide detective, several of the regular characters in the show are women.

For Natalie, I'd prefer casefic, especially if it involves her role as a pathologist. Her contribution in that area is usually limited to only the occasional scene in the morgue; and I'd like to see more of her on the job. If so, such a story could well include Grace; or you might consider whether they have a close (gen) relationship outside work as well.

For Tracy, I'd either like casefic where she solves the crime, or something around the precinct showing the daily grind. Or perhaps, if you like, you might write about her relationship with her family. This could mean her father and/or mother; but we are told that she comes from a fairly large family, others of whom are also police officers.

Capt. Cohen is definitely the least popular of the three captains. The actress played her as an chilly, uptight workaholic. However, we have only sketchy information about Cohen's professional background. Why does she have this particular management style? Her relationship with her family is another possible topic.

Janette, of course, is a vampire with much that yet remains unrevealed about her thousand-year history—and I enjoy historical fiction. However, she is also the owner of a Goth nightclub in 1990s Toronto. How does she relate to her staff, and the mixed human and vampire patrons (both regulars and transients)? Conversely, how do human regulations affect her as proprietor of the Raven?

Urs appeared in only a handful of episodes; but she did star in one significant flashback that told us how she came to be brought across. What happened after that? I'd really like more of her backstory, especially through the twentieth century, when she had adjusted to her new role as vampire. This could involve Vachon and/or others in his crew ... or not.

Please don't feel limited to using only the characters listed: anyone else you feel fits in the story is fine by me.


Hellspark - Janet Kagan (Tocohl Susumo, Maggy | Margaret Lord Lynn, Bayd Shandon, Edge-of-Dark, Buntecreih) Fan Fiction
I love this book for Lassti, linguistics, the cast (especially Maggy!), and the detective plot. So as much of that as you can get into the story the better. A missing scene? Something aboard ship? A new case for the new judge? Exploring Maggy's new status as a sentient computer?

Or something on Lassti, set after Tocohl leaves the planet. Bayd is now their linguist; the others finally can communicate with the sprookjes; and by-play between Buntec and Edge-of-Dark would be fun. I love all the characters (including those who weren't nominated); so please feel free to include any of them.

Canon-compliant gen, please. DNW anything more than PG13. DNW any pairing involving these characters.
If you've offered Hellspark, you probably know it well. I love it for the detective plot, the delightful flora of Lassti, and the incorporation of linguistics as the S in SF. And Maggy. The others, too, of course, but especially Maggy. But do, please, feel free to mix'n'match characters as you like, for any Hellspark story would be a treat.

Suggestions, suggestions....

Well, I don't think it's reasonable to ask you to write a sequel. I'd love a sequel, of course; and it's not as though people have never written novels for gift exchanges. (I did myself once. Nearly killed me.) However, it's not really a practical request. *g*

I love casefic. So, if you have skill with plotting, then some other mystery for now-Byworld Judge Tocohl Susumo to tackle would be a joy. We saw one other world in some detail, at the beginning of the novel, so—if perchance some other year she were back there and some crime were committed—perhaps she might be enlisted to solve it. If you want something less plotty, I'd love a missing scene, either on board ship or on Lassti.

The survey team still have much to do after the end of the story. Bayd is now acting as their translator. How does she find working with the other team members? Does she run into any further problems dealing with the sprookjes' language?

Buntec and Edge-of-Dark are always fun. I particularly enjoyed the flowers & food theme they have going, and the way their original antagonism shifts toward friendship. However, do feel free to use any or all of the other characters if you want: the other survey members, sprookjes.... Any of the characters, in fact. They all have their charms.

Really, anything would be wonderful.