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beatrice_otter on AO3. Treats are awesome.
I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am not inspired that way." This letter is long with lots of suggestions and preferences if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for a long time and am usually very happy with my gifts.
The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.
I have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.
General Likes and Dislikes
Other things to keep in mind:
Please no incest or darkfic. I define "darkfic" as stuff where there's a lot of suffering and no hope even at the end and all the characters are terrible. Angst with a happy ending is fine, I enjoy it, but there's gotta be a payoff. Even an ambiguous ending is fine! But there has to be some note of grace or redemption or hope somewhere, it can't just be "people are awful and the world sucks, the end." I define incest as siblings and/or parents, cousins don't count.
I love outsider perspectives and academic takes on things. In-universe meta (newspaper articles, academic monographs--especially with the sort of snarky feuding common in actual real-world academia, social media feeds in current day or future worlds) is awesome.
Also, I'm picky about European historical clothing details. You don't have to talk about it at all! In fact, if you don't know much about historical clothing, I would prefer if you didn't mention it at all. My pet peeve is corsets: no, they weren't a restrictive tool of the patriarchy, no, they didn't interfere with most women's daily lives, no, most women weren't wearing them so tight they couldn't breathe.
I like religion but I'm picky about it. Basically, Christianity is deeply weird compared to most other religions, and a lot of people whose only experience with religion is living in a culturally-Christian nation assume that what they know about Christianity is some sort of universal principle of What Religion Is Like, and that's just not the case. For example, in Christianity what you believe is more important than what you do. This is not to say we Christians don't teach and practice Christian ethics or have rituals we are very attached to, but rather that if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter what rituals you participate in or what ethical things you do, you are not a Christian (although you may be a "cultural Christian"). Every Christian group has at least a minimal core theology that members must affirm, but participation in ritual is far less rigidly a requirement. Most other religions rank what you do (both ethically and ritually) as more important than what you believe, and it is often quite possible to be a member in good standing if you participate in the practices and rituals even if you believe none of the teachings. Anyway, point is, if you are doing worldbuilding for a fantasy or SF or otherwise non-Christian religion ... unless it is explicitly a Christian-analogue, it should be different from Christianity. Question your assumptions and see where that leads you, and I will be fascinated and thrilled.
The Swan
The fascinating thing about this story is that it's set in 1910. There's all this scheming to get a crown back in the family, and we-the-audience know that in less than a decade most of the monarchies of Europe are going to crumble. Maybe Prince Albert's nation will be one of the few exceptions! ... but probably not. And if she's married him because of his crown, what's that going to do to their marriage when he hasn't got one? These are not people for whom love/romance is a necessary or expected part of marriage; a solid partnership with mutual goals where you don't dislike your spouse is the ideal for them. But still, knocking out the foundation "we'd be good ruling a country together" would be a big change for anybody.
A few notes on characterization: Albert can be as quirky as you like (maybe he's autistic?) but for me that moment of insight and compassion at the end says everything. He's not as oblivious as he seems, and he does care. Also, the fact that he nudged her to test her reaction before picking up her arm to escort her in and didn't just assume he was entitled says good things about him. As for Alexandra, you can just see her taking that swan metaphor to heart, and while it helped her get through in that moment I wonder about the long-term repercussions of having that as your self-image would be. (Wonder if it's part of Albert's self-image, and that's why he thought of it?) Alexandra's mother is awful, but her brothers are fun and I like her relationship with them. Also, I don't think the movie is intending us to read Albert as gay/bi, but he comes across as maybe so--his closeness to his aide is remarked upon, and he does seem to prefer spending time with Professor Agi than with his prospective bride. There's a lot to play around with.
Prompts:
AU where she does run away with Agi: Talk about a huge life change! What would it be like? How does she adapt? Are they happy together? What does his family think of it? Does her family completely disown her? Or futurefic! Everybody thought it was a stupid thing to do, then WWI happened, and now she's the one with the solid life teaching her family how to live when they've lost even more power and wealth and there aren't any royal relatives around willing to prop them up and possibly marry them. Or where she and Agi have to help Albert figure out what to do now he's no longer Crown Prince/King (threesome, maybe?). Or just Alexandra getting used to living a middle-class life.
Canon Post-WWI: she and Prince Albert have to figure out what to do as former-royals. Or, maybe their royal family keeps the crown by the skin of their teeth, and she's still the swan looking good out on the lake while on solid ground the changes of the 20th Century happen around her. Maybe in the 1930s Dr. Agi has a kid who comes to the palace for something (politician? tutor for the next generation of royals? expert in something or other?) and thinks it's funny how Queen Alexandra shows up so often when he's around and asks questions about his childhood and how his father is--awful lot of attention for someone who was only a tutor for a few years two decades ago.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Random Harvest
For me, this story cries out either for AUs or for post-canon stories. I have received excellent ones in the past, but I am of the "two cakes!" theory and would love more. What if he hadn't recovered his original memories? What if he'd remembered, but hadn't forgotten Paula? What if the baby lived? What if she'd told him the truth, either right away in the interview for secretary or when he started seeing Kitty or when he asked her to marry him? What if they'd gotten caught leaving town and he'd had to go back to the hospital? And if canon stays the same, what happens now that he knows the truth? Is he upset that she knew and didn't tell him? Is Charles the same personality as Smitty? They've both changed and grown a lot over the course of the movie--how does that affect their relationship? Was she expecting that magically everything would go back to the way it was when they were young and in love? Was he expecting that knowing the truth would magically make him feel more whole?
I love this movie for its melodrama, for the luminous Greer Garson, for the way I spend the last half of the movie crying into my hanky and pleading with Paula to just TELL HIM already. I love how deliciously angsty it is, with such a wonderfully happy ending. (This movie is one of the rare exceptions to my avoidance of plots that hinge on people in love being idiots and not talking about things.) But I would also love a good dose of common sense put in somehow.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Hobson's Choice
I would like pretty much anything with Maggie being smart and determined and Will being caring and growing. What was it that caught Maggie's eye about Will? What was it Will saw in Maggie that he came to care for her? Because in the first half he's just kind of shell-shocked and along for the ride, but by the second half there's a lot of mutual love and respect there, and I'd love to see it grow. Or give me a day-in-the-life about their little shop in the basement, or what they're doing twenty years after the movie ends.
I love this movie, and I love everyone in it except Mr. Hobson and his cronies. Charles Laughton may have been the "star" of the show but it's not about him, not at all. It's about Maggie and her choices, and her figuring out what she wants in life and how to get it. Her father may be the ostensible star, but he's the obstacle to the plot, not the one moving it along. Also, if possible, period accuracy is much appreciated. Like, notice how Maggie works within the social structures, instead of trying to tear them down while shouting "death to patriarchy!" I mean, I could see her as a suffragette ... but a 19th century suffragette is a very different beast from a second or third wave feminist, you know?
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
This film is incredible, and it always leaves me wondering what happens next? Because they have, under pressure, managed to get both sets of parents to give their blessing. But none of them really know each other--not even John and Joey!--and they're (presumably) going to have to live with each other for the rest of their lives. The Draytons are progressive white people who believe in racial equality in theory, but who only really have experience with Black people as "the help". They're going to make mistakes. There are going to be things that they just don't understand. How are John and his parents going to handle this? How are the pressures of family who don't understand going to add to and complicate the pressures of being Black in America? How is it different when he's off doing Important Stuff, and then coming home to California? What's it going to be like for John having biracial children, for his parents having biracial grandchildren, in the 60s and 70s? What are the holidays going to be like? I would love to see something following the themes of the movie, which absolutely acknowledges the problems and just how hard everything is, but also acknowledges that love, a willingness to do the hard work, and a willingness to grow and change, can win the day.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Voyager
I love alien culture worldbuilding. I love boldly going and exploring and wacky science hijinks and time travel and alternate universe shenanigans. I love the hopeful attitude that we can become better than we are.
I love cross-cultural romance (especially when it deals realistically with having to figure out what compromises each is going to make on what they expect out of a relationship--love is not all you need, you also need a lot of hard work and communication).
My headcanon on Vulcans was shaped by 80s Trek novels but I also enjoy trying to fit the Star Trek: Enterprise Vulcans with ... everything else we know about Vulcans. One thing I will point out, though, is that while there are a lot of things about Vulcan culture that seem/are sexist, the most powerful Vulcans we see throughout the series are elderly women. I love Pon Farr, but mostly dealing with the implications of it (both before and after) and not the sex part.
I think Kate Mulgrew did an excellent job of playing Janeway despite the inconsistent writing she was given, and I love the way Tuvok was definitely a Vulcan but also a very different Vulcan than Spock. And I think their friendship was a foundation for both of them, having someone they'd known and trusted for years while so far from home. She's very casual about touching his hands, and he's fine with it. Whether it's just for Pon Farr or something deeper and longer lasting, I'm here for it.
We know pretty much nothing about T'Pel, but I am here for the femslash. I headcanon that Vulcans actually are a lot more open to and pragmatic about polyamory in various forms as long as everything is open and above-board and done properly. (I think that many Vulcans would think that taking care of bodily needs like libido before they get distracting would be quite logical, as long as you're not sneaking around about it.) Is this something that started before Voyager got lost? (Maybe Tuvok thought his wife would be interested in a fling with a Human and introduced Janeway and T'Pel, and introduced them. Maybe T'Pel and Tuvok have an agreement that both of them can have lovers while he's not on planet.) Is this something that started during their time in the Delta Quadrant? Or something that happened after they were back home? What do T/T's kids think about Janeway?
Prompts: Day in the life stuff about dealing with the challenges of being so far from home and the top-ranking loyal Starfleet officers. Maybe something set early on dealing with Tuvok's suspicion of the Maquis (and their suspicion of him) and Janeway trying to bring the crew together would be interesting. Pre-series stuff about how they came to be close. Post-series stuff--I mean, it's great, they're both glad to be home, but they've changed and the Federation has changed. (Has Tuvok's wife moved on/remarried?) If you wanted to handle Pon Farr and/or them becoming a couple, I would enjoy that too. Or something dealing with the aftermath of the episode Blood Fever, which I would imagine made Pon Farr and/or Vulcans a really public topic of discussion on the ship. (It's not something that could have been easily hushed up!) Another idea: some Vulcan festival is coming up, and the Vulcans are going to have a hard time celebrating it so far from home, so Tuvok and Janeway have to get creative to figure out how to handle it.
If none of that appeals ... it's Star Trek. If you want to play it serious, go for it. If you want to lean into the wacky tropes Star Trek was known for, that's great too. As long as everyone is in character, feel free to go as cracktastic as you want with the time travel and travel to alternate universes and weird missions.
The amphibian offspring! I love the idea of them actually having a future and being raised by their parents. Are they sapient? What happens with them aboard? What kind of parents to Janeway and/or Paris make? What's it like being so radically different from everything and everyone aboard the ship--and once they make it back to Federation space, are there other species that are at least a little bit like them, or do they have to live their whole lives among hominids?
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Crossover Fandom
Star Trek crossovers: I love canon-typical adventures and cases and puzzles. There's so much breadth of possible stories, from real stuff to stuff on the Holodeck, from small-scale problems to things that affect the whole galaxy.
Jadzia & Nyota: possibly there's a time travel thing and they have to solve the mystery to get whichever one is displaced in time back to her own ship. Lots of room for shenanigans and problem solving, whether or not Nyota learns that time travel is involved. (Maybe she and Jadzia have some sort of side quest going on during Trials and Tribble-ations.)
Data (TNG) & Murderbot. MB would find Data hard to be around, for much the same reasons that it found Miki hard. If this took place after that MB would have a lot of emotions about Miki come up when dealing with Data. I think if Data found himself in/near the CR, he would be happy to help MB escape and/or help ART with its anti-corporate missions and/or PresAux's science missions. If MB found itself in the Federation, it would have much the same reaction it did to PresAux, and also, the Federation might want it to get therapy to deal with its deep trauma. Feel free to bring in any wacky, tropetastic Star Trek plot you want. Please respect MB's pronouns; it's an it.
Murderbot & Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (BSG). Both MB and Boomer were programmed to kill/betray humans against their will; both were deeply traumatized by it. Boomer, in the end, betrayed humans voluntarily and joined the "kill them all" faction, I think largely out of despair that anything could change. I think MB and Boomer would have a hard time getting along because their mutual traumas would get in the way. I'd be interested in either MB landing in the Fleet or among Cylons somehow, or the Colonial Fleet ending up in the Preservation Alliance and not knowing how to deal with such a different society. Please respect MB's pronouns; it's an it.
Benjamin Sisko & Ro Laren. There are two possible futures for Ro Laren. In the novels and STO, she joins the Bajoran Militia after leaving the Maquis and gets assigned to DS9 after the Dominion War; in Picard she was instead recruited by Starfleet Intelligence. I'm fine with either. Or AUs where she doesn't leave Starfleet at all. Or AUs where she's the one who is first officer on DS9 instead of Kira, as was the original plan for the show. Or other AUs for how her life went! Maybe she was Sisko's Maquis nemesis, instead of Eddington?
Peggy Carter/Diana (Wonder Woman). Did they have adventures together during WWII? Did Diana teach Peggy how to fight? Was Diana a British agent in occupied France? Did Diana interfere in a SHIELD mission after the war? Did an ancient alien artifact in a museum Diana was working in cause problems that attracted SHIELD attention?
Diana/James T. Kirk (AOS). I think Kirk would love the challenge, and I would hope he would have learned enough from his service in Starfleet to be less obnoxious than he was with Nyota. And of course he looks just like Steve. I'd love to see either him time traveling to the 20th Century and meeting her, or her living to his time. I'm sure there are still things for superheroes to do even in the Federation.
Phryne Fisher & Peter Wimsey. I'd be up for romance between them as long as it's before Peter meets Harriet. There are so many options. Peter and Phryne meet during WWI! Peter and Phryne meet when they're both investigating the same case from different starting points! Peter (and maybe Harriet?) go on a world tour that includes Australia and get caught up in one of Phryne's cases down there! Also, I specified Phryne and Peter, but I'd totally be up for something that focuses on Phryne and Harriet instead.
Tamara & Bill Adama. What happened to Tamara after the end of Caprica? Was she still around during the Cylon War, and if so what was her role? Was she still there, a ghost in the machine, when the Final Five showed up? What was her role in the Cylon culture? Not to mention, what does she think of her Dad and his new family? Is she still around in some Cylon computer system somewhere during the Cylon war? What does she think of the Final Five? Does she ever get a chance to meet Bill Adama?
Worf & Tealc: both of them are "stoic warrior aliens" but Klingons and Jaffa are really different culturally. I'd love to see that explored.
Treats Welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers/mundane AUs, darkfic
DS9
I love alien culture worldbuilding, boldly going, exploring, wacky science hijinks, time travel, AU shenanigans. I love the hope that we can become better than we are.
As for plot ... it's Star Trek. If you want to play it serious, go for it. If you want to lean into wacky tropes, that's great too. As long as everyone is in character, feel free to go as cracktastic as you want. One of my favorite things about DS9, it dealt with consequences. If you want to take a canon event that you think didn't get enough exploration and run with it, that would be awesome.
I'd love something that dove into Bajoran religion, and the more ALIEN it is the better. We've MET the prophets and they have such a fundamentally different perspective on EVERYTHING than us linear creatures. You could lean into the Prophets' timey-wimey non-linearity and what that means for a religion that worships them. Most Earth religions are heavily time-based, with regular repeating festivals that serve a lot of purposes both social and religious--how would that work (or not work) when worshiping beings who see everything happening at once? Or explore the Orbs! What other orbs are there besides Time and Prophecy, and what do they DO? You don't have to have any ritual or belief or ANYTHING to use them, if they have line-of-sight to you they can DO THINGS. Give you visions! Send you time traveling! Whatever it is the others do! No Earth religion has any artifact that is anything like that, and besides wondering what the other orbs even are/do, I'm curious as to how they shaped Bajoran religion, and how it was that the Bajorans ended up worshiping the ones who SENT the orbs instead of the orbs themselves. Especially given that the Prophets mostly ... don't seem to want to be gods or care about being worshiped or what's going on on Bajor or anything. So it's not like they were sending messages with the Orbs about who sent them and why, which leaves a lot of scope for interpretation on the part of the Bajorans who found them.
I'd love to have an investigation into something the Cardassians did while they controlled Bajor, or a scavenger hunt given by the Prophets, or an alien-of-the-week coming through the wormhole, or any canon-typical adventure.
Sisko's position as Emmisary is fascinating, and how it shaped his relationship with Kira, and how he came to be more comfortable with it as the show went on. What was that like for Bajorans? He's an outsider! He doesn't believe in the Prophets! Especially after years of occupation and the Cardassians stealing the Orbs to experiment on, there's got to be more complexity to it than we saw on the show. What was it like for the Bajorans who served on DS9, for whom he was both commanding officer and religious figure. The Federation/Starfleet perspective on that had to be interesting.
I haven't read the novels, but I'm interested in the idea that after the show ended Kira eventually became a Vedek and later Kai.
I love Dax's relationship with Sisko, that lasted three hosts. What about when Sisko and Jadzia were still getting to know each other? They went from one power dynamic (Ambassador with lots of political power mentors callow youth) to a very different one (Sisko is all grown up, and Dax's superior officer, and with more life experience than Dax's current host). Negotiating that change must have been interesting, particularly if you throw in marriage to one of the hosts.
I love that Worf got to be more 3-dimensional on DS9 than on TNG and stuff exploring his relationships, romantic and familial, would be great. Klingon worldbuilding always appreciated. Especially something that takes on the issues of cross-cultural issues, feeling like you're caught between cultures, how hard Worf has always worked to be 'more Klingon than Klingons', and how he was not always a very good dad to Alexander. And Worf has a lot of family baggage, about his house and what happened to it, and now he's in a different house, I would think that would be difficult and bring up some issues. And then there's Martok, who is a lot more relaxed about being Klingon, and is quite possibly the closest Worf has ever been to an actual adult Klingon in his life.
I love to hate Dukat. You can use him as a villain, but don't ever forget that he's a manipulative weasel who most often actively chooses to do the worst thing possible. Even if he's doing something good in the moment, the moment is temporary.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic, Dukat as a good guy
Star Wars OT
My favorite parts of Star Wars includes the PT, the OT, the Zahn trilogy (especially Mara Jade) and the X-Wing books, bits and pieces from the TV shows, Rey, Finn, & Poe as the only contributions from the ST, and an ending where something new and better results after all the pain and trauma. (Or at least something different.) It's not that everything has to be perfect, but I want there to be at least some growth and change. If you are inspired by other corners of the Star Wars universe, feel free to bring them in, but those are my happy places, and I am perfectly fine with completely ignoring the ST or rewriting it.
I love Lando, and I think he was absolutely right to put the safety of his entire city and everyone living in it ahead of the well-being of a couple of old friends. He is smart, pragmatic, and responsible in the best possible way. Do Leia and Lando work together on political negotiations/shenanigans while Han plays house-husband and swoops in with the Falcon when they need backup? Do Han and Lando go off and make shady business deals and come home to Leia with intelligence she can use politically? Do Lando and Luke go around looking for old Jedi stuff and working together to rebuild the Jedi? Does Lando start up a new operation--maybe mining, maybe something else--or take over an existing one after the war is over, and become a respectable businessman? I was one of the contributors to the "What if Han became Emperor by accident" thread on tumblr a while back, and my contribution was "ooh, Lando would be his Grand Vizier!" and if you want to go that direction that would also be awesome. Also, Weird Jedi Shit is always fun.
Standard Star Wars shenanigans where the fate of the galaxy is at stake and Our Heroes save the day are always welcome. Is there critical knowledge in a hidden holocron they have to find? Is one of the other Hands (or an Inquisitor, or some other evil Force user) making trouble for the New Jedi Order and/or the New Republic? Is the Empire threatening Lando's newest business venture (again)? Is there some situation where Lando's skills as a Respectable Businessman And Administrator are crucial to saving the day?
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic, Kylo Ren
Fandom for Robots
I have so many thoughts and feelings about Computron, ok? We all know that he DOES have feelings, even without them being programmed into him, because of the ways he reacts. I would love to see something with him learning to acknowledge that about himself. I would love to see him learning more about what the world is like and more about people, through fandom and through ways fandom encourages him to do things that are new.
I love his friendship with bjornruffian and their collaboration, I would love a fic about them and fandom and their friendship.
As for Computron and Hexode ... what would it have changed things if Hexode had proved viable (would it have changed much? would there be armies of traumatized robots? would Computron and Hexode have been the only viable ones, together, keeping each other company and consoling one another?)? Or could Computron, knowing what he knows now, fix Hexode so that he does work. Would the museum own Hexode?
I would love a fic that delved into the thorny issues of personhood and autonomy and ownership and legalities--is Computron legally a person, or a possession? Does the museum own him? If they own him, are they aware of how messed up that is? If he's legally a possession, what would it take to change that? A court case? A law? Would the big software companies lobby against him getting legal personhood, because it would mean they have couldn't use the term "AI" any more without losing ownership of their programs? (I do want there to be some hopeful resolution at the end.)
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Babylon 5
Ah, B5, the fandom of my youth! This was my first fandom that was mine, and not just something the family watched together. I love the layering of the themes, and how you can watch it on multiple levels (action/adventure, character arcs, political allegory, deeper themes about truth and freedom and who are you and what do you want and why are you here). The characters and their story arcs were all so compelling. One of the things I love about Babylon 5 is that there were so many characters where the fact that they were antagonists didn't mean they were stupid or bad people, just people with a different perspective honestly trying to do what is right.
Is there a problem on Babylon 5 that needs to get solved? Is there some Minbari cultural rite or Earthforce political intrigue? Is the PsiCorps making trouble? I'd also love something post-series about peace-building.
I especially love Minbari culture. If you do worldbuilding for Minbari culture, past, present, or future, I will love you forever. I consider "To Dream in the City of Sorrows" canon and firmly believe that when Sinclair went into the past and became Valen, he found Catherine again after she was lost in time.
Delenn & Neroon
Neroon survives AU! Or maybe something exploring his earlier career, or his relationship with Branmer, or the complexities and frustrations of his encounters with Delenn, or his time on the Gray Council.
Delenn/John Sheridan
I love John and Delenn together, but she is way too smart for him and I like it best when he knows he's a bit out of his league and a bit uncomfortable at all the alien stuff (and yet maybe a bit excited by it under the surface). The political implications of their relationship, on both Earth and Minbar, fascinate me.
Marcus Cole/Neroon (Babylon 5)
They only really interact in that one episode, but it is FASCINATING. Marcus changes Neroon's whole perspective; I don't think he could have done what he did, later, without it. Either something where Neroon survives or something where he doesn't could be interesting. Or maybe Neroon figures out how to save Marcus. This could be tragic or happy ending or something set earlier before either of them dies.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
beatrice_otter on AO3. Treats are awesome.I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am not inspired that way." This letter is long with lots of suggestions and preferences if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for a long time and am usually very happy with my gifts.
The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.
I have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.
General Likes and Dislikes
Other things to keep in mind:
- I like stuff that takes side characters and puts them center-stage, especially when the characters and/or actors are marginalized. I enjoy seeing them come to life.
- I don't like it when marginalized characters get relegated to the sidekick/supporting/helper role so that it can be All About The White Dude.
- I like it when female characters are more than just the Strong Female Character(tm) or The Nurturer.
- I like fluff
- I like angst with a happy ending
- I like stories that make me think about things in a new way.
- I like to know that culture matters to people, and to see how different cultures interact and where the clashes are.
- I like unreliable narrators.
- I like acknowledgment that different people can have different points of view without either of them being wrong.
- I like stories that engage with problematic aspects of the source, and which deal with privilege in one way or another instead of sweeping it under the rug.
- Worldbuilding is my jam, I am pretty much always up for explorations of why the world is the way it is. I love hearing about the economics, the politics, the religion, the clothing, the history, the folklore, all of that kind of stuff. And I want to know why it matters--how is all this cultural background stuff affecting the characters, the plot, everything. You don't have to do deep worldbuilding, but I'll enjoy it if you do.
- I don't like it when plots hinge on characters being selectively stupid, or selectively unable to communicate. Like, if they are stupid or a himbo or whatever in general, or have problems communicating in general, that's fine! Or if they canonically have a blind spot in that area, again, it's fine. But if it's just "the only way I can think of for this plot to work is if the character spontaneously and temporarily loses half their intelligence and competence," then I'm going to spend the rest of the fic wondering why the character didn't just ____?
- I like AUs, but not complete setting AUs (i.e. no highschool or college or coffee shop AUs, and especially not mundane AUs--nothing where you keep characters but drop most of the worldbuilding). I like fork-in-the-road type AUs, where one thing is different and the changes all result from that one thing, and you explore what might have been if such-and-such happened.
- I like the concept of sedoretu marriages.
- I like historical AUs, but only when the author actually knows the history period in question and does thoughtful worldbuilding to meld actual culture of the time with the canon.
- Crackfic is really hit and miss for me, sometimes I love it and sometimes I can't stand it. Basically, if it's the characters we know and love in a ludicrous situation, that's great. If they're OOC or parodied in order to make something funny ... it's not funny to me.
Please no incest or darkfic. I define "darkfic" as stuff where there's a lot of suffering and no hope even at the end and all the characters are terrible. Angst with a happy ending is fine, I enjoy it, but there's gotta be a payoff. Even an ambiguous ending is fine! But there has to be some note of grace or redemption or hope somewhere, it can't just be "people are awful and the world sucks, the end." I define incest as siblings and/or parents, cousins don't count.
I love outsider perspectives and academic takes on things. In-universe meta (newspaper articles, academic monographs--especially with the sort of snarky feuding common in actual real-world academia, social media feeds in current day or future worlds) is awesome.
Also, I'm picky about European historical clothing details. You don't have to talk about it at all! In fact, if you don't know much about historical clothing, I would prefer if you didn't mention it at all. My pet peeve is corsets: no, they weren't a restrictive tool of the patriarchy, no, they didn't interfere with most women's daily lives, no, most women weren't wearing them so tight they couldn't breathe.
I like religion but I'm picky about it. Basically, Christianity is deeply weird compared to most other religions, and a lot of people whose only experience with religion is living in a culturally-Christian nation assume that what they know about Christianity is some sort of universal principle of What Religion Is Like, and that's just not the case. For example, in Christianity what you believe is more important than what you do. This is not to say we Christians don't teach and practice Christian ethics or have rituals we are very attached to, but rather that if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter what rituals you participate in or what ethical things you do, you are not a Christian (although you may be a "cultural Christian"). Every Christian group has at least a minimal core theology that members must affirm, but participation in ritual is far less rigidly a requirement. Most other religions rank what you do (both ethically and ritually) as more important than what you believe, and it is often quite possible to be a member in good standing if you participate in the practices and rituals even if you believe none of the teachings. Anyway, point is, if you are doing worldbuilding for a fantasy or SF or otherwise non-Christian religion ... unless it is explicitly a Christian-analogue, it should be different from Christianity. Question your assumptions and see where that leads you, and I will be fascinated and thrilled.
The Swan
The fascinating thing about this story is that it's set in 1910. There's all this scheming to get a crown back in the family, and we-the-audience know that in less than a decade most of the monarchies of Europe are going to crumble. Maybe Prince Albert's nation will be one of the few exceptions! ... but probably not. And if she's married him because of his crown, what's that going to do to their marriage when he hasn't got one? These are not people for whom love/romance is a necessary or expected part of marriage; a solid partnership with mutual goals where you don't dislike your spouse is the ideal for them. But still, knocking out the foundation "we'd be good ruling a country together" would be a big change for anybody.
A few notes on characterization: Albert can be as quirky as you like (maybe he's autistic?) but for me that moment of insight and compassion at the end says everything. He's not as oblivious as he seems, and he does care. Also, the fact that he nudged her to test her reaction before picking up her arm to escort her in and didn't just assume he was entitled says good things about him. As for Alexandra, you can just see her taking that swan metaphor to heart, and while it helped her get through in that moment I wonder about the long-term repercussions of having that as your self-image would be. (Wonder if it's part of Albert's self-image, and that's why he thought of it?) Alexandra's mother is awful, but her brothers are fun and I like her relationship with them. Also, I don't think the movie is intending us to read Albert as gay/bi, but he comes across as maybe so--his closeness to his aide is remarked upon, and he does seem to prefer spending time with Professor Agi than with his prospective bride. There's a lot to play around with.
Prompts:
AU where she does run away with Agi: Talk about a huge life change! What would it be like? How does she adapt? Are they happy together? What does his family think of it? Does her family completely disown her? Or futurefic! Everybody thought it was a stupid thing to do, then WWI happened, and now she's the one with the solid life teaching her family how to live when they've lost even more power and wealth and there aren't any royal relatives around willing to prop them up and possibly marry them. Or where she and Agi have to help Albert figure out what to do now he's no longer Crown Prince/King (threesome, maybe?). Or just Alexandra getting used to living a middle-class life.
Canon Post-WWI: she and Prince Albert have to figure out what to do as former-royals. Or, maybe their royal family keeps the crown by the skin of their teeth, and she's still the swan looking good out on the lake while on solid ground the changes of the 20th Century happen around her. Maybe in the 1930s Dr. Agi has a kid who comes to the palace for something (politician? tutor for the next generation of royals? expert in something or other?) and thinks it's funny how Queen Alexandra shows up so often when he's around and asks questions about his childhood and how his father is--awful lot of attention for someone who was only a tutor for a few years two decades ago.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Random Harvest
For me, this story cries out either for AUs or for post-canon stories. I have received excellent ones in the past, but I am of the "two cakes!" theory and would love more. What if he hadn't recovered his original memories? What if he'd remembered, but hadn't forgotten Paula? What if the baby lived? What if she'd told him the truth, either right away in the interview for secretary or when he started seeing Kitty or when he asked her to marry him? What if they'd gotten caught leaving town and he'd had to go back to the hospital? And if canon stays the same, what happens now that he knows the truth? Is he upset that she knew and didn't tell him? Is Charles the same personality as Smitty? They've both changed and grown a lot over the course of the movie--how does that affect their relationship? Was she expecting that magically everything would go back to the way it was when they were young and in love? Was he expecting that knowing the truth would magically make him feel more whole?
I love this movie for its melodrama, for the luminous Greer Garson, for the way I spend the last half of the movie crying into my hanky and pleading with Paula to just TELL HIM already. I love how deliciously angsty it is, with such a wonderfully happy ending. (This movie is one of the rare exceptions to my avoidance of plots that hinge on people in love being idiots and not talking about things.) But I would also love a good dose of common sense put in somehow.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Hobson's Choice
I would like pretty much anything with Maggie being smart and determined and Will being caring and growing. What was it that caught Maggie's eye about Will? What was it Will saw in Maggie that he came to care for her? Because in the first half he's just kind of shell-shocked and along for the ride, but by the second half there's a lot of mutual love and respect there, and I'd love to see it grow. Or give me a day-in-the-life about their little shop in the basement, or what they're doing twenty years after the movie ends.
I love this movie, and I love everyone in it except Mr. Hobson and his cronies. Charles Laughton may have been the "star" of the show but it's not about him, not at all. It's about Maggie and her choices, and her figuring out what she wants in life and how to get it. Her father may be the ostensible star, but he's the obstacle to the plot, not the one moving it along. Also, if possible, period accuracy is much appreciated. Like, notice how Maggie works within the social structures, instead of trying to tear them down while shouting "death to patriarchy!" I mean, I could see her as a suffragette ... but a 19th century suffragette is a very different beast from a second or third wave feminist, you know?
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
This film is incredible, and it always leaves me wondering what happens next? Because they have, under pressure, managed to get both sets of parents to give their blessing. But none of them really know each other--not even John and Joey!--and they're (presumably) going to have to live with each other for the rest of their lives. The Draytons are progressive white people who believe in racial equality in theory, but who only really have experience with Black people as "the help". They're going to make mistakes. There are going to be things that they just don't understand. How are John and his parents going to handle this? How are the pressures of family who don't understand going to add to and complicate the pressures of being Black in America? How is it different when he's off doing Important Stuff, and then coming home to California? What's it going to be like for John having biracial children, for his parents having biracial grandchildren, in the 60s and 70s? What are the holidays going to be like? I would love to see something following the themes of the movie, which absolutely acknowledges the problems and just how hard everything is, but also acknowledges that love, a willingness to do the hard work, and a willingness to grow and change, can win the day.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Voyager
I love alien culture worldbuilding. I love boldly going and exploring and wacky science hijinks and time travel and alternate universe shenanigans. I love the hopeful attitude that we can become better than we are.
I love cross-cultural romance (especially when it deals realistically with having to figure out what compromises each is going to make on what they expect out of a relationship--love is not all you need, you also need a lot of hard work and communication).
My headcanon on Vulcans was shaped by 80s Trek novels but I also enjoy trying to fit the Star Trek: Enterprise Vulcans with ... everything else we know about Vulcans. One thing I will point out, though, is that while there are a lot of things about Vulcan culture that seem/are sexist, the most powerful Vulcans we see throughout the series are elderly women. I love Pon Farr, but mostly dealing with the implications of it (both before and after) and not the sex part.
I think Kate Mulgrew did an excellent job of playing Janeway despite the inconsistent writing she was given, and I love the way Tuvok was definitely a Vulcan but also a very different Vulcan than Spock. And I think their friendship was a foundation for both of them, having someone they'd known and trusted for years while so far from home. She's very casual about touching his hands, and he's fine with it. Whether it's just for Pon Farr or something deeper and longer lasting, I'm here for it.
We know pretty much nothing about T'Pel, but I am here for the femslash. I headcanon that Vulcans actually are a lot more open to and pragmatic about polyamory in various forms as long as everything is open and above-board and done properly. (I think that many Vulcans would think that taking care of bodily needs like libido before they get distracting would be quite logical, as long as you're not sneaking around about it.) Is this something that started before Voyager got lost? (Maybe Tuvok thought his wife would be interested in a fling with a Human and introduced Janeway and T'Pel, and introduced them. Maybe T'Pel and Tuvok have an agreement that both of them can have lovers while he's not on planet.) Is this something that started during their time in the Delta Quadrant? Or something that happened after they were back home? What do T/T's kids think about Janeway?
Prompts: Day in the life stuff about dealing with the challenges of being so far from home and the top-ranking loyal Starfleet officers. Maybe something set early on dealing with Tuvok's suspicion of the Maquis (and their suspicion of him) and Janeway trying to bring the crew together would be interesting. Pre-series stuff about how they came to be close. Post-series stuff--I mean, it's great, they're both glad to be home, but they've changed and the Federation has changed. (Has Tuvok's wife moved on/remarried?) If you wanted to handle Pon Farr and/or them becoming a couple, I would enjoy that too. Or something dealing with the aftermath of the episode Blood Fever, which I would imagine made Pon Farr and/or Vulcans a really public topic of discussion on the ship. (It's not something that could have been easily hushed up!) Another idea: some Vulcan festival is coming up, and the Vulcans are going to have a hard time celebrating it so far from home, so Tuvok and Janeway have to get creative to figure out how to handle it.
If none of that appeals ... it's Star Trek. If you want to play it serious, go for it. If you want to lean into the wacky tropes Star Trek was known for, that's great too. As long as everyone is in character, feel free to go as cracktastic as you want with the time travel and travel to alternate universes and weird missions.
The amphibian offspring! I love the idea of them actually having a future and being raised by their parents. Are they sapient? What happens with them aboard? What kind of parents to Janeway and/or Paris make? What's it like being so radically different from everything and everyone aboard the ship--and once they make it back to Federation space, are there other species that are at least a little bit like them, or do they have to live their whole lives among hominids?
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Crossover Fandom
Star Trek crossovers: I love canon-typical adventures and cases and puzzles. There's so much breadth of possible stories, from real stuff to stuff on the Holodeck, from small-scale problems to things that affect the whole galaxy.
Jadzia & Nyota: possibly there's a time travel thing and they have to solve the mystery to get whichever one is displaced in time back to her own ship. Lots of room for shenanigans and problem solving, whether or not Nyota learns that time travel is involved. (Maybe she and Jadzia have some sort of side quest going on during Trials and Tribble-ations.)
Data (TNG) & Murderbot. MB would find Data hard to be around, for much the same reasons that it found Miki hard. If this took place after that MB would have a lot of emotions about Miki come up when dealing with Data. I think if Data found himself in/near the CR, he would be happy to help MB escape and/or help ART with its anti-corporate missions and/or PresAux's science missions. If MB found itself in the Federation, it would have much the same reaction it did to PresAux, and also, the Federation might want it to get therapy to deal with its deep trauma. Feel free to bring in any wacky, tropetastic Star Trek plot you want. Please respect MB's pronouns; it's an it.
Murderbot & Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (BSG). Both MB and Boomer were programmed to kill/betray humans against their will; both were deeply traumatized by it. Boomer, in the end, betrayed humans voluntarily and joined the "kill them all" faction, I think largely out of despair that anything could change. I think MB and Boomer would have a hard time getting along because their mutual traumas would get in the way. I'd be interested in either MB landing in the Fleet or among Cylons somehow, or the Colonial Fleet ending up in the Preservation Alliance and not knowing how to deal with such a different society. Please respect MB's pronouns; it's an it.
Benjamin Sisko & Ro Laren. There are two possible futures for Ro Laren. In the novels and STO, she joins the Bajoran Militia after leaving the Maquis and gets assigned to DS9 after the Dominion War; in Picard she was instead recruited by Starfleet Intelligence. I'm fine with either. Or AUs where she doesn't leave Starfleet at all. Or AUs where she's the one who is first officer on DS9 instead of Kira, as was the original plan for the show. Or other AUs for how her life went! Maybe she was Sisko's Maquis nemesis, instead of Eddington?
Peggy Carter/Diana (Wonder Woman). Did they have adventures together during WWII? Did Diana teach Peggy how to fight? Was Diana a British agent in occupied France? Did Diana interfere in a SHIELD mission after the war? Did an ancient alien artifact in a museum Diana was working in cause problems that attracted SHIELD attention?
Diana/James T. Kirk (AOS). I think Kirk would love the challenge, and I would hope he would have learned enough from his service in Starfleet to be less obnoxious than he was with Nyota. And of course he looks just like Steve. I'd love to see either him time traveling to the 20th Century and meeting her, or her living to his time. I'm sure there are still things for superheroes to do even in the Federation.
Phryne Fisher & Peter Wimsey. I'd be up for romance between them as long as it's before Peter meets Harriet. There are so many options. Peter and Phryne meet during WWI! Peter and Phryne meet when they're both investigating the same case from different starting points! Peter (and maybe Harriet?) go on a world tour that includes Australia and get caught up in one of Phryne's cases down there! Also, I specified Phryne and Peter, but I'd totally be up for something that focuses on Phryne and Harriet instead.
Tamara & Bill Adama. What happened to Tamara after the end of Caprica? Was she still around during the Cylon War, and if so what was her role? Was she still there, a ghost in the machine, when the Final Five showed up? What was her role in the Cylon culture? Not to mention, what does she think of her Dad and his new family? Is she still around in some Cylon computer system somewhere during the Cylon war? What does she think of the Final Five? Does she ever get a chance to meet Bill Adama?
Worf & Tealc: both of them are "stoic warrior aliens" but Klingons and Jaffa are really different culturally. I'd love to see that explored.
Treats Welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, modern AUs, human/no powers/mundane AUs, darkfic
DS9
I love alien culture worldbuilding, boldly going, exploring, wacky science hijinks, time travel, AU shenanigans. I love the hope that we can become better than we are.
As for plot ... it's Star Trek. If you want to play it serious, go for it. If you want to lean into wacky tropes, that's great too. As long as everyone is in character, feel free to go as cracktastic as you want. One of my favorite things about DS9, it dealt with consequences. If you want to take a canon event that you think didn't get enough exploration and run with it, that would be awesome.
I'd love something that dove into Bajoran religion, and the more ALIEN it is the better. We've MET the prophets and they have such a fundamentally different perspective on EVERYTHING than us linear creatures. You could lean into the Prophets' timey-wimey non-linearity and what that means for a religion that worships them. Most Earth religions are heavily time-based, with regular repeating festivals that serve a lot of purposes both social and religious--how would that work (or not work) when worshiping beings who see everything happening at once? Or explore the Orbs! What other orbs are there besides Time and Prophecy, and what do they DO? You don't have to have any ritual or belief or ANYTHING to use them, if they have line-of-sight to you they can DO THINGS. Give you visions! Send you time traveling! Whatever it is the others do! No Earth religion has any artifact that is anything like that, and besides wondering what the other orbs even are/do, I'm curious as to how they shaped Bajoran religion, and how it was that the Bajorans ended up worshiping the ones who SENT the orbs instead of the orbs themselves. Especially given that the Prophets mostly ... don't seem to want to be gods or care about being worshiped or what's going on on Bajor or anything. So it's not like they were sending messages with the Orbs about who sent them and why, which leaves a lot of scope for interpretation on the part of the Bajorans who found them.
I'd love to have an investigation into something the Cardassians did while they controlled Bajor, or a scavenger hunt given by the Prophets, or an alien-of-the-week coming through the wormhole, or any canon-typical adventure.
Sisko's position as Emmisary is fascinating, and how it shaped his relationship with Kira, and how he came to be more comfortable with it as the show went on. What was that like for Bajorans? He's an outsider! He doesn't believe in the Prophets! Especially after years of occupation and the Cardassians stealing the Orbs to experiment on, there's got to be more complexity to it than we saw on the show. What was it like for the Bajorans who served on DS9, for whom he was both commanding officer and religious figure. The Federation/Starfleet perspective on that had to be interesting.
I haven't read the novels, but I'm interested in the idea that after the show ended Kira eventually became a Vedek and later Kai.
I love Dax's relationship with Sisko, that lasted three hosts. What about when Sisko and Jadzia were still getting to know each other? They went from one power dynamic (Ambassador with lots of political power mentors callow youth) to a very different one (Sisko is all grown up, and Dax's superior officer, and with more life experience than Dax's current host). Negotiating that change must have been interesting, particularly if you throw in marriage to one of the hosts.
I love that Worf got to be more 3-dimensional on DS9 than on TNG and stuff exploring his relationships, romantic and familial, would be great. Klingon worldbuilding always appreciated. Especially something that takes on the issues of cross-cultural issues, feeling like you're caught between cultures, how hard Worf has always worked to be 'more Klingon than Klingons', and how he was not always a very good dad to Alexander. And Worf has a lot of family baggage, about his house and what happened to it, and now he's in a different house, I would think that would be difficult and bring up some issues. And then there's Martok, who is a lot more relaxed about being Klingon, and is quite possibly the closest Worf has ever been to an actual adult Klingon in his life.
I love to hate Dukat. You can use him as a villain, but don't ever forget that he's a manipulative weasel who most often actively chooses to do the worst thing possible. Even if he's doing something good in the moment, the moment is temporary.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic, Dukat as a good guy
Star Wars OT
My favorite parts of Star Wars includes the PT, the OT, the Zahn trilogy (especially Mara Jade) and the X-Wing books, bits and pieces from the TV shows, Rey, Finn, & Poe as the only contributions from the ST, and an ending where something new and better results after all the pain and trauma. (Or at least something different.) It's not that everything has to be perfect, but I want there to be at least some growth and change. If you are inspired by other corners of the Star Wars universe, feel free to bring them in, but those are my happy places, and I am perfectly fine with completely ignoring the ST or rewriting it.
I love Lando, and I think he was absolutely right to put the safety of his entire city and everyone living in it ahead of the well-being of a couple of old friends. He is smart, pragmatic, and responsible in the best possible way. Do Leia and Lando work together on political negotiations/shenanigans while Han plays house-husband and swoops in with the Falcon when they need backup? Do Han and Lando go off and make shady business deals and come home to Leia with intelligence she can use politically? Do Lando and Luke go around looking for old Jedi stuff and working together to rebuild the Jedi? Does Lando start up a new operation--maybe mining, maybe something else--or take over an existing one after the war is over, and become a respectable businessman? I was one of the contributors to the "What if Han became Emperor by accident" thread on tumblr a while back, and my contribution was "ooh, Lando would be his Grand Vizier!" and if you want to go that direction that would also be awesome. Also, Weird Jedi Shit is always fun.
Standard Star Wars shenanigans where the fate of the galaxy is at stake and Our Heroes save the day are always welcome. Is there critical knowledge in a hidden holocron they have to find? Is one of the other Hands (or an Inquisitor, or some other evil Force user) making trouble for the New Jedi Order and/or the New Republic? Is the Empire threatening Lando's newest business venture (again)? Is there some situation where Lando's skills as a Respectable Businessman And Administrator are crucial to saving the day?
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic, Kylo Ren
Fandom for Robots
I have so many thoughts and feelings about Computron, ok? We all know that he DOES have feelings, even without them being programmed into him, because of the ways he reacts. I would love to see something with him learning to acknowledge that about himself. I would love to see him learning more about what the world is like and more about people, through fandom and through ways fandom encourages him to do things that are new.
I love his friendship with bjornruffian and their collaboration, I would love a fic about them and fandom and their friendship.
As for Computron and Hexode ... what would it have changed things if Hexode had proved viable (would it have changed much? would there be armies of traumatized robots? would Computron and Hexode have been the only viable ones, together, keeping each other company and consoling one another?)? Or could Computron, knowing what he knows now, fix Hexode so that he does work. Would the museum own Hexode?
I would love a fic that delved into the thorny issues of personhood and autonomy and ownership and legalities--is Computron legally a person, or a possession? Does the museum own him? If they own him, are they aware of how messed up that is? If he's legally a possession, what would it take to change that? A court case? A law? Would the big software companies lobby against him getting legal personhood, because it would mean they have couldn't use the term "AI" any more without losing ownership of their programs? (I do want there to be some hopeful resolution at the end.)
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
Babylon 5
Ah, B5, the fandom of my youth! This was my first fandom that was mine, and not just something the family watched together. I love the layering of the themes, and how you can watch it on multiple levels (action/adventure, character arcs, political allegory, deeper themes about truth and freedom and who are you and what do you want and why are you here). The characters and their story arcs were all so compelling. One of the things I love about Babylon 5 is that there were so many characters where the fact that they were antagonists didn't mean they were stupid or bad people, just people with a different perspective honestly trying to do what is right.
Is there a problem on Babylon 5 that needs to get solved? Is there some Minbari cultural rite or Earthforce political intrigue? Is the PsiCorps making trouble? I'd also love something post-series about peace-building.
I especially love Minbari culture. If you do worldbuilding for Minbari culture, past, present, or future, I will love you forever. I consider "To Dream in the City of Sorrows" canon and firmly believe that when Sinclair went into the past and became Valen, he found Catherine again after she was lost in time.
Delenn & Neroon
Neroon survives AU! Or maybe something exploring his earlier career, or his relationship with Branmer, or the complexities and frustrations of his encounters with Delenn, or his time on the Gray Council.
Delenn/John Sheridan
I love John and Delenn together, but she is way too smart for him and I like it best when he knows he's a bit out of his league and a bit uncomfortable at all the alien stuff (and yet maybe a bit excited by it under the surface). The political implications of their relationship, on both Earth and Minbar, fascinate me.
Marcus Cole/Neroon (Babylon 5)
They only really interact in that one episode, but it is FASCINATING. Marcus changes Neroon's whole perspective; I don't think he could have done what he did, later, without it. Either something where Neroon survives or something where he doesn't could be interesting. Or maybe Neroon figures out how to save Marcus. This could be tragic or happy ending or something set earlier before either of them dies.
Treats welcome
DNW: bashing, incest, explicit sex, rape/noncon, major embarrassment/humiliation, setting change AUs, human/no powers AUs, darkfic
