Dear Trick or Treat Writer 2016
Dear Trick or Treat Writer,
Thank you so much for writing for me (I'm also blueteak on A03)! I love both tricks and treats, and everything from gen to explicit slash, het, femslash, threesomes and moresomes. I also love character studies, case fic, pwps, angst with a silver lining, and humor mixed with horror (I actually read Stephen King in part for the humor!). I've left some reasons I love the canon as well as some completely optional prompts below--please use as much or as little as you like!
General Likes:
Characters being protective of one another in different ways, even when they've been arguing for a few minutes/a few weeks/ a few years
Undercover identities and the questions they create about who someone really is--and who they can be under the right circumstances
Characters who are multiple things to one another
Stories that explore how characters conceive of themselves vs. how others see them
Relationships that are forbidden (boss/employee/coworker to "we shouldn't do this because of x") and the push/pull they create in various ways.
Power plays (in the bedroom and/or otherwise) where there's mutual respect (at least eventually)
Hurt/comfort, especially the kind where the one who caused the hurt offers the comfort.
Love that's unconditional, but fraught
Please Do Not Include: AUs, crossovers, under-18 sex, character death
General Treat Prompts:
Characters being told stories, especially when those stories are invitations to greater intimacy
Comfort, whether it's offered in the form of food, an arms around the shoulder, sex, or a sweater
Moments when characters realize they have affection for one another--even if it's a horrified realization
General Trick Prompts:
Angst (but with a silver lining somewhere, preferably)
Unexplained (or explained) supernatural goings on
Undercover/hidden identities--maybe the characters didn't know who they really were due to a variety of possible reasons, or maybe they have secret identities they haven't told their friends/families/partners about. Or they're undercover.
Ballykissangel Frank MacAnally, Peter Clifford
I love how Peter got under Frank's skin this entire series, but I feel like Frank still had some level of admiration for Peter (even if he'd rather have admired him in a different parish). Anything about their relationship--either a moment of tension or understanding or lost-in-the-countryside would be fabulous. Maybe Frank tries to help teach Peter how to drive? What are some parts of being priests that they agree on? Does Peter ever find himself surprised by something Frank's told him (from his having a daughter to a belief?)
If we match on Frank, I'd love to see him reflecting on the community and/or his relationship with all the priests he's supervised over the years. Maybe also him confiding in someone about his daughter?
If we focus mostly on Peter, I'd love to know more about what he does when he leaves Ballykissangel, and/or any schemes he accidentally got involved in in the village that we didn't hear about!
Discussion of All Hallows Eve and their different approaches to it always welcome, too!
The Dark is Rising Sequence The Black Rider, Will Stanton
I've always loved the way magic creeps into the ordinary in this series, or has lurked in it all along, i.e. the Christmas ornaments. If we matched on Will and The Black Rider, I'd love a future fic where an adult Will encounters him again, either to become an unlikely ally or to battle him. Or they have a chance encounter in a pub. It would also be interesting to see The Black Rider instructing him further on finer points of etiquette in the battle of Dark vs. Light, or explaining other battles between the sides.
If you'd prefer to focus more on The Black Rider, more of a look at his history would be wonderful. Which historical figures did he engage with pre-series?
If we matched on Will, would love more about his relationship with his family. What would happen if he did let them know who he was? I'd also enjoy seeing more of Will's adventures with other Old Ones, or Will at Halloween. An Old One Halloween gathering at a different time would be amazing.
Deutschland 83 Walter Schweppenstette, Martin Rauch
The Darth Vader reveal is one of my favorite things and I'm so sad that we haven't quite seen it (yet! Fingers crossed for a new season!). If we match on both Walter and Martin, I'd love to see how that reveal happens for Martin (does Walter tell him? Does he hear it from someone else, and what's his immediate response?). Anything about the relationship between those two would be welcome.
If we match on Walter, I'm curious about backstory. Why did he become so dedicated/how did he rise to the rank he did? Has he loved anyone since Ingrid, and has he been keeping tabs on Martin throughout? What does he do after the fall of the Berlin Wall?
If we match on Martin, I'd love to see more of his Western adventures, either during the series or after. Does he ever see General Edel again? How would that encounter go?
Dublin Murder Squad Series Cassie Maddox, Frank Mackey, Stephen Moran
Frank Mackey is one of those characters I'd read all the gen and almost all the pairings about. I'd like to see more about his relationship with Cassie or Stephen, or a look at his own time as an undercover/in other squads.
We got a glimpse into what he thought about Stephen in Faithful Place, but the scenes from The Secret Place where Stephen tried to profile Frank--and Frank's responses--made me want more of that relationship in either a slash or gen way. Stephen's an interesting mix of wrong and right about what Frank thinks of him (or would do to or for him) and is surprised to find out that Frank trusts him. I also love Frank using "Young Stephen" as a name to goad while also genuinely wanting to instruct and look out for him even as he respects Stephen's intelligence. With Stephen, Frank's a mix of protective, ruthless, loyal, impressed and condescending and I'd love to see more of that. If you're interested in slightly more specific prompts, I'd love to see them working together in Undercover after The Secret Place, or a missing scene fromThe Secret Place or Faithful Place. Another possibility could be Frank going over some Undercover tapes and discovering that Stephen got paid for sex at one point or hung out in dangerous circles....
In terms of Frank's relationship with Cassie, I really enjoy their banter and how impressed by her he is. I'd be interested in seeing more of their relationship during her first time working undercover or Frank's perspective on Cassie during The Likeness. It's also implied that they're not on terrible terms after The Likeness, but I would like to see whether/how they could repair the relationship on future cases. There's also that awesome scene where Cassie meets Frank's sister Jackie--having Cassie meet the rest of the Mackeys, whether she's paired with Frank romantically or professionally or not, would be fantastic and great to read either pre-or post Faithful Place.
If you'd prefer to focus more on just Frank, a look at how Frank became the type of mentor he is would be fabulous. Does it somehow come from his family relationships despite his preferring to pretend that he doesn't have a family? Was it through observing what someone did very, very right or very, very wrong on the force? How would Frank cope with aLikeness situation where one of the victims looked like Holly, Olivia, or another family member and/or was connected to them in some way?
If you'd prefer to focus on Cassie, I'd very much like to see how young!Cassie operated in the world, how that "crack" Tana French describes in her made her see the world differently. I'd also enjoy seeing more scenes from Cassie undercover either time, or future Cassie undercover. A story exploring her later meeting with others from Whitethorn House would be fantastic, as would Cassie interacting with anyone else in the series you'd like to write about.
If you'd prefer to focus on Stephen, I'm dying to know what happened to him after Secret Place. I'm also very much interested in how he decided to become a cop. And, as with Cassie, I'm curious about how you envision Stephen getting along with other characters in the book. Or how he would have reacted had he been put in similar situations as the rest of them (what would Stephen have done in Rob's shoes, for example?)
Sapphire and Steel Sapphire, Steel, Robert Jardine
I would be happy with either gen or ship fic here (I ship Sapphire/Steel as well as an adult!Robert with either Steel or Sapphire. Or OT3).
It's so interesting to me that Sapphire and Steel started with this coldness-tempered-with-rescue (So many scenes of Steel trying to prevent Robert from making a mistake. So many.) but then moves into an episode where Steel sacrifices the human who's working with them. If we match on all three, I'd be curious to see what Robert accompanying them to some of these other missions would have looked like and/or what a future encounter with him would be like once he'd become an adult. Perhaps there's a problem with Time in his first apartment (or another problem arises at his childhood home).
With any/all of these characters, I'd love to see how they work around certain tropes, like cuddling for warmth or fake married, etc.
If we match more on Sapphire, I'm especially curious about her experiences of having been taken over by the Darkness in Assignment Two and would also welcome any canon divergences that explore what would have happened if part of it had remained with her. I'm also curious about what Solo!Sapphire on assignment would do.
If we match more on Steel, I loved his "My history?" response to Robert's "Don't you know your history?" in Assignment One. So what is Steel's history? What is his favorite period of human history to deal with? What other major disasters has he been at the site of? What regrets does he have that he would never admit?
If we match more on Robert, I'm curious to see what he'd do when he grew up. Would he try and locate Sapphire and Steel again? Become a history professor? Or a scientist?
Thank you so much for writing for me (I'm also blueteak on A03)! I love both tricks and treats, and everything from gen to explicit slash, het, femslash, threesomes and moresomes. I also love character studies, case fic, pwps, angst with a silver lining, and humor mixed with horror (I actually read Stephen King in part for the humor!). I've left some reasons I love the canon as well as some completely optional prompts below--please use as much or as little as you like!
General Likes:
Characters being protective of one another in different ways, even when they've been arguing for a few minutes/a few weeks/ a few years
Undercover identities and the questions they create about who someone really is--and who they can be under the right circumstances
Characters who are multiple things to one another
Stories that explore how characters conceive of themselves vs. how others see them
Relationships that are forbidden (boss/employee/coworker to "we shouldn't do this because of x") and the push/pull they create in various ways.
Power plays (in the bedroom and/or otherwise) where there's mutual respect (at least eventually)
Hurt/comfort, especially the kind where the one who caused the hurt offers the comfort.
Love that's unconditional, but fraught
Please Do Not Include: AUs, crossovers, under-18 sex, character death
General Treat Prompts:
Characters being told stories, especially when those stories are invitations to greater intimacy
Comfort, whether it's offered in the form of food, an arms around the shoulder, sex, or a sweater
Moments when characters realize they have affection for one another--even if it's a horrified realization
General Trick Prompts:
Angst (but with a silver lining somewhere, preferably)
Unexplained (or explained) supernatural goings on
Undercover/hidden identities--maybe the characters didn't know who they really were due to a variety of possible reasons, or maybe they have secret identities they haven't told their friends/families/partners about. Or they're undercover.
Ballykissangel Frank MacAnally, Peter Clifford
I love how Peter got under Frank's skin this entire series, but I feel like Frank still had some level of admiration for Peter (even if he'd rather have admired him in a different parish). Anything about their relationship--either a moment of tension or understanding or lost-in-the-countryside would be fabulous. Maybe Frank tries to help teach Peter how to drive? What are some parts of being priests that they agree on? Does Peter ever find himself surprised by something Frank's told him (from his having a daughter to a belief?)
If we match on Frank, I'd love to see him reflecting on the community and/or his relationship with all the priests he's supervised over the years. Maybe also him confiding in someone about his daughter?
If we focus mostly on Peter, I'd love to know more about what he does when he leaves Ballykissangel, and/or any schemes he accidentally got involved in in the village that we didn't hear about!
Discussion of All Hallows Eve and their different approaches to it always welcome, too!
The Dark is Rising Sequence The Black Rider, Will Stanton
I've always loved the way magic creeps into the ordinary in this series, or has lurked in it all along, i.e. the Christmas ornaments. If we matched on Will and The Black Rider, I'd love a future fic where an adult Will encounters him again, either to become an unlikely ally or to battle him. Or they have a chance encounter in a pub. It would also be interesting to see The Black Rider instructing him further on finer points of etiquette in the battle of Dark vs. Light, or explaining other battles between the sides.
If you'd prefer to focus more on The Black Rider, more of a look at his history would be wonderful. Which historical figures did he engage with pre-series?
If we matched on Will, would love more about his relationship with his family. What would happen if he did let them know who he was? I'd also enjoy seeing more of Will's adventures with other Old Ones, or Will at Halloween. An Old One Halloween gathering at a different time would be amazing.
Deutschland 83 Walter Schweppenstette, Martin Rauch
The Darth Vader reveal is one of my favorite things and I'm so sad that we haven't quite seen it (yet! Fingers crossed for a new season!). If we match on both Walter and Martin, I'd love to see how that reveal happens for Martin (does Walter tell him? Does he hear it from someone else, and what's his immediate response?). Anything about the relationship between those two would be welcome.
If we match on Walter, I'm curious about backstory. Why did he become so dedicated/how did he rise to the rank he did? Has he loved anyone since Ingrid, and has he been keeping tabs on Martin throughout? What does he do after the fall of the Berlin Wall?
If we match on Martin, I'd love to see more of his Western adventures, either during the series or after. Does he ever see General Edel again? How would that encounter go?
Dublin Murder Squad Series Cassie Maddox, Frank Mackey, Stephen Moran
Frank Mackey is one of those characters I'd read all the gen and almost all the pairings about. I'd like to see more about his relationship with Cassie or Stephen, or a look at his own time as an undercover/in other squads.
We got a glimpse into what he thought about Stephen in Faithful Place, but the scenes from The Secret Place where Stephen tried to profile Frank--and Frank's responses--made me want more of that relationship in either a slash or gen way. Stephen's an interesting mix of wrong and right about what Frank thinks of him (or would do to or for him) and is surprised to find out that Frank trusts him. I also love Frank using "Young Stephen" as a name to goad while also genuinely wanting to instruct and look out for him even as he respects Stephen's intelligence. With Stephen, Frank's a mix of protective, ruthless, loyal, impressed and condescending and I'd love to see more of that. If you're interested in slightly more specific prompts, I'd love to see them working together in Undercover after The Secret Place, or a missing scene fromThe Secret Place or Faithful Place. Another possibility could be Frank going over some Undercover tapes and discovering that Stephen got paid for sex at one point or hung out in dangerous circles....
In terms of Frank's relationship with Cassie, I really enjoy their banter and how impressed by her he is. I'd be interested in seeing more of their relationship during her first time working undercover or Frank's perspective on Cassie during The Likeness. It's also implied that they're not on terrible terms after The Likeness, but I would like to see whether/how they could repair the relationship on future cases. There's also that awesome scene where Cassie meets Frank's sister Jackie--having Cassie meet the rest of the Mackeys, whether she's paired with Frank romantically or professionally or not, would be fantastic and great to read either pre-or post Faithful Place.
If you'd prefer to focus more on just Frank, a look at how Frank became the type of mentor he is would be fabulous. Does it somehow come from his family relationships despite his preferring to pretend that he doesn't have a family? Was it through observing what someone did very, very right or very, very wrong on the force? How would Frank cope with aLikeness situation where one of the victims looked like Holly, Olivia, or another family member and/or was connected to them in some way?
If you'd prefer to focus on Cassie, I'd very much like to see how young!Cassie operated in the world, how that "crack" Tana French describes in her made her see the world differently. I'd also enjoy seeing more scenes from Cassie undercover either time, or future Cassie undercover. A story exploring her later meeting with others from Whitethorn House would be fantastic, as would Cassie interacting with anyone else in the series you'd like to write about.
If you'd prefer to focus on Stephen, I'm dying to know what happened to him after Secret Place. I'm also very much interested in how he decided to become a cop. And, as with Cassie, I'm curious about how you envision Stephen getting along with other characters in the book. Or how he would have reacted had he been put in similar situations as the rest of them (what would Stephen have done in Rob's shoes, for example?)
Sapphire and Steel Sapphire, Steel, Robert Jardine
I would be happy with either gen or ship fic here (I ship Sapphire/Steel as well as an adult!Robert with either Steel or Sapphire. Or OT3).
It's so interesting to me that Sapphire and Steel started with this coldness-tempered-with-rescue (So many scenes of Steel trying to prevent Robert from making a mistake. So many.) but then moves into an episode where Steel sacrifices the human who's working with them. If we match on all three, I'd be curious to see what Robert accompanying them to some of these other missions would have looked like and/or what a future encounter with him would be like once he'd become an adult. Perhaps there's a problem with Time in his first apartment (or another problem arises at his childhood home).
With any/all of these characters, I'd love to see how they work around certain tropes, like cuddling for warmth or fake married, etc.
If we match more on Sapphire, I'm especially curious about her experiences of having been taken over by the Darkness in Assignment Two and would also welcome any canon divergences that explore what would have happened if part of it had remained with her. I'm also curious about what Solo!Sapphire on assignment would do.
If we match more on Steel, I loved his "My history?" response to Robert's "Don't you know your history?" in Assignment One. So what is Steel's history? What is his favorite period of human history to deal with? What other major disasters has he been at the site of? What regrets does he have that he would never admit?
If we match more on Robert, I'm curious to see what he'd do when he grew up. Would he try and locate Sapphire and Steel again? Become a history professor? Or a scientist?