Otter's Rock

Lovely author, here is my theory about letters: how much detail people want in a letter is HIGHLY variable. Some people (such as myself) prefer if their recip gives LOTS of guidance on their wishes. Some prefer as little as possible so they can be free as a bird. Most are somewhere in between. So! Here's everything including the kitchen sink if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. 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 just not inspired that way."

I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for over a decade and am very rarely disappointed with my gifts. I write long and detailed Dear Author letters because I find such things helpful when I'm writing for other people; if you are like me, here you go! If your style is different and a detailed letter makes you feel hemmed-in, feel free to do what works for you.

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 just 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.

One thing: I do 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.

Please no incest.

( General Likes and Dislikes )

On to the prompts! Please feel free to use these as jumping off points, or ignore if you have an idea that inspires you more.

( Thrawn Trilogy )

( Pride & Prejudice )

( Star Wars Original Trilogy )

( MCU )

( Harry Potter )

( DCEU )

( Crossovers )

( TNG )

Thing I do not understand about what people take away from Wonder Woman: "Zeus and Ares considering Diana to be Zeus's daughter"="Diana was not sculpted from clay by Hippolyta."  It's like, they assume that the whole "sculpting from clay" thing was just a lie to get away with "where the heck did you get sperm on an island with no men."

I mean, the Greek gods were "born" and came to life in all kinds of weird and wacky ways.  Athena, for example!  Athena was Zeus' daughter with Metis (and very similar to Diana of Themyscira, in a lot of ways).  How was Athena born?  She sprang fully formed from Zeus's head!  He was still her father and Metis her mother.  A bunch of Zeus's other children were at least sometimes considered to have been born through means other than sexual reproduction.  (Ares' mom may have gotten pregnant with him by eating the wrong lettuce leaf at the wrong time.  Ares was still considered a child of Zeus.)  The Greek gods just kind of went with the flow.  The people involved in your creation (whether through sex or not) were your parents.

What I'm trying to say is, everything we are told in the movie could easily be true all at the same time: Hippolyta wants a daughter so she sculpted one out of clay and prayed to Zeus.  Zeus wants a god-killer to take out Ares, and so he obliged her by flinging a lightning bolt her way or whatever, and bringing the baby to life.  The Amazons know this, but what is most important to them?  This is their Queen's daughter, their princess, the only child on the island, their Diana who was sculpted out of clay by her mother.  What is most important to Ares?  That Diana was brought to life by Zeus and is thus his daughter, and therefore Ares' sister, whether or not her birth fits into the standard "mommy and daddy have sex and nine months later a child is born" model that is the only way humans reproduce.  Ares and Diana are not humans.  They are Greek god and demigod.  Ares, in particular, scorns humans, so why would he care about human definitions of parenthood and sibilinghood?  Especially when he's trying to get Diana onside.  "Come join the family" is a lot more compelling than "come join the dude you've been taught to hate all your life for all the horrible things he's done."

As for Diana?  How does she consider herself?  What is most important to her?  That she is Hippolyta's daughter, sculpted from clay.  Yes, she was brought to life by Zeus.  Yes, that means that in the way the Greek gods thought, Zeus was her father.  She acknowledges this tie.  That means Ares is her brother.  But I bet you that when you ask her how she was born, five minutes heart-to-heart with Ares on a battlefield doesn't overturn the fact that she is an Amazon and thinks like one.  And therefore, unless you are specifically considering her role as god-killer, the fact that Hippolyta sculpted her from clay is far more important than Zeus's contribution.

Look at the battle between her and Ares.  She doesn't really ... react much when Ares starts calling her his sister.  She doesn't look, talk, or act like a person having a major identity crisis.  She's just like, "okay, you want to call me sister, sure, fine, whatever, guess that fits too, let's get on with this."  She doesn't react like "OMG, my mom LIED to me, everything I know about myself is a lie!"  It's more in line with "oh, right, yeah, from your POV Zeus's contribution is the most important, whatever."

Title: Hello, Picadilly, Hello, Leicester Square
Fandom: Wonder Woman 2017
Characters: Diana Prince, Etta Candy,
Author: beatrice_otter
Rating: kid
Length:
Summary: Diana can't go back to Themiscyra. She can only go forward into a new world and a new life.

At AO3 and Tumblr



( Etta knew before they made it back, that Steve was dead. )

Chapter Two.

I'm feeling the need to write something different. You know what that means; fic prompt time. So. Anyone who wants me to write them a fic, comment here. Fics will be at least 500 words long. Each person should make at least two requests, of which I will write one. Each request should contain one or more characters from the list below and a short prompt (theme, quote, etc). ONE request may be for a sequel/timestamp/missing scene/etc. from a fic I have already written. (For instance, I would not be averse at all to writing something more in the universe where Maria von Trapp from the Sound of Music was a Potential.) Crossovers are acceptable, provided I am familiar with both fandoms. I do not write slash or explicit sex.

BSG:
The Cylons (including the Final Five)
Bill Adama
Laura Roslin

Once Upon A Time:
Emma
Snow
Charming
Henry

Stargate: SG-1
Teal'c
Sam
Daniel
General Hammond
Sha're
Jacob Carter

Superman:
Clark/Kal-El/Superman
Lois
Richard
Jimmy
Perry
Kon-El
Martha Kent
Jonathan Kent

Batman:
Bruce/Batman
Lucius Fox
Jim Gordon
Tim Drake
Babs Gordon
Terry McGinnis

Wonder Woman (as long as you don't mind a mish-mash of all DC canon regarding her)

Babylon 5:
Lennier
Marcus Cole
Delenn
Vir
G'Kar
Stephen Franklin
Susan Ivanova
Londo

Star Wars:
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Princess Leia
Mara Jade
Luke Skywalker
Han Solo
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Padme Amidala

Star Trek:
Spock
Amanda
Sarek
Scotty
Uhura
Sulu
Troi
Geordi
Dax
Sisko
Kira
Odo
Garak

Vorkosigan:
Any

Terminator: SCC
John
Sarah
Derek
Cameron
Ellison
Weaver
John Henry

Marvel Movieverse:
Steve Rogers
Peggy Carter
Dr. Erskine
Pepper Potts
Maria Hill
Natasha Romanov
Bucky Barnes
 

As a general rule, fics with bad grammar/spelling drive me nuts, and also ones with major plot holes (for instance, when characters are made stupider than they otherwise would be so they don't notice the obvious so dramatic tension can be increased). Basically, just make sure you have a good beta to help you and you should be fine. Passing the Bechdel Test (i.e. having at least two women in your story who talk to each other about something other than the men in their lives) will win you bonus points with me. Please, no slash or explicit sex.

Ballet Shoes: I loved this book when I was a child, and recently re-read it and realized I still do. I love that the girls love each other even when they don't understand each other. I love that the girls take care of each other and their family. I love that the girls go for their dreams. I love that being a mechanic/chauffeur/pilot is just as good a career choice for a girl as being a film star or a ballerina. I love that ambition is good, and rewarded, but that doesn't mean you should be a bitch about it.

Chalion series: what I love about this series is the way it brings theology to life without being preachy about it. The way theology is shown to have concrete impact on the way people act, and the way they respond to the world. It's not just gods and goddesses throwing lightning bolts around, but a truly deep spirituality that is fully integrated into the world and the characters. What I also love about the characters is that they are realistic and flawed and still manage great things despite (and sometimes because of) their flaws. What I love about Lois' works in general is the lyrical nature of her prose, the depth and breadth and weight of the way she uses words and themes and mood, though that's harder to pull off. If that's not your style of writing, I'd rather something plainly written than something overflowing with purple prose because you're not used to writing that way.

Heinlein--The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: I love the politics, and the relationship between Mike and Manny (I cry every time I read the end), and the economics of this book (TANSTAAFL!). But let's face it, Heinlein's attempts to write strong women sucked. He tried, which is more than most authors of his generation, but did not succeed. I would love to see a Wyoh who is recognizably herself, and yet made more realistic and given flesh through a deeper treatment. I would also love to see some deeper exploration of what it is to be a woman in Luna society, how that affects and is affected by economics, politics, interpersonal relations, etc.

Wonder Woman--She's Wonder Woman. What more needs to be said?
Okay, okay. I love the whole superhero shtick. Costume, secret identity, fighting evil, alter ego, the works. But I also love people who are realistic, who live in the real world. Sure, Diana can fly. What's life like for her on the ground? In the day-to-day stuff besides fighting evil, and what's it like to go from fighting evil to normal life and back again? How's it different living in Man's World than Themiscyra? Not just the big stuff or the obvious stuff, but the little things that trip you up the most. I want to see her friendships, how they affect her and how she affects her friends.