Yuletide letter
First off, thank you for writing for me! Secondly, I almost feel like I should apologize because I know a lot of authors despise gen, but I'd really appreciate it if, for these requests, you leaned in that direction (in the sense that romance is not the main subject of the story).
In general I like stories that focus on character development and interactions, hurt/comfort, missing scenes, and plotty adventures. Humor, snappy dialog or snark are all wonderful. Canon type violence is fine as is background romance.
Graphic violence and rape can be a trigger of mine, so I'd appreciate if you did not include either in a story written for me.
The Big Valley Heath Barkley, Victoria Barkley
Canon never told us exactly why or when Heath started calling Victoria "Mother." A story that focused on that would be wonderful, but any story about the relationship between these two would be absolutely fantastic.
Ah, my perennial request. I love Big Valley, especially the first season. For such an old show it has, in general, held up very well. I was always amazed how gracious Victoria was with Heath; she truly came to consider him one of her sons (as is completely obvious by the end of the first season and the episode "By Force or Violence"). I'd love to see any story about these two but in particular something that focused on their relationship as mother and son. What made her open her heart up to him in that way? Why did he go from calling her Ma'am (as we see in "Boots With My Father's Name" and others) to Mother (as we see later in the first season like in "The Guilt Of Matt Burnell" or "The Invaders")? Also, something I've always wondered about Heath in relation to taking the Barkley name and finding his place with them was how (or if) his new family and new mother affected his feelings towards his biological mother and the women who raised him.
Boiled down, I love this show and there is very little fic for it, anything you write for it, especially focused on Heath, would be appreciated although please do not have him romantically paired with Victoria.
Luckily S1 of Big Valley is also available at hulu because it doesn't air too often anymore. Even luckier, many, many episodes have been uploaded by this user on youtube.
Heartland (TV) Ty Borden, Jack Bartlett
I love how Ty has gone from a begrudgingly accepted responsibility to an almost son to Jack. I've really enjoyed seeing how their relationship has grown and flourished as the show has progressed and I'd love to see more of it.
I just discovered this show a few months ago and then voraciously tore through all the episodes Netflix had. Yes, it's got a bit of a cheesy, Hallmark issue-of-the-week feel to it sometimes, but there is such a sweet, underlying feel to the show it reeled me in. Mostly I found myself drawn to the gruff parental figure, Jack and the troubled teen, Ty, who'd been offered guardianship during his probation at Heartland by Jack's recently killed daughter, Marion. Jack had little interest in Ty when the show opened, but let him stay and through various trials and tribulations we see him slowly opening up to Ty, accepting him into the family and maybe even beginning to love him like a son. Even when Ty briefly leaves when his absentee father reappears, Jack stays in contact and comes to his rescue ("Ghost Horse") and brings him back home despite getting flack for it from Amy and Lou. He's so proud of Ty in "Step By Step" when he discovers Ty managed to get his GED but then worries the weather traps Amy and a very ill Ty at a remote cabin. Jack's feelings for Ty truly come out after Ty and Scott's plane goes down and the family goes searching the wilderness for them ("Eye of the Wolf") and later, after Jack insists on accompanying Ty on a mission spread his father's ashes, Jack faces almost losing him after a serious motorcycle crash in "Aftermath".
Basically, I think Heartland is a very underrated show that has no fandom and almost no fic and Ty and Jack's relationship deserves to be delved into and I'm sure I'll love anything that's written about it although I ask to not write their relationship as sexual in nature.
Seasons 1-4 are up on Netflix streaming and huluplus and I've managed to 'acquire' S5 so I am behind as I think a total of six seasons have aired but I don't mind spoilers.
The Witch's Son - auroaronkitten (Digital art)
This work can be found on either on deviantart or tumblr. Basically, I've just been fascinated by the drawing ever since I saw it, the detail is amazing and the fact it's a son not daughter is unusual. So please, tell me the story behind the Witch's son.
(I've reduced the size of this, click one of the above links to see it in all its glory.)
I've never asked for something from this kind of a fandom before, but the drawing is just so detailed and interesting it piqued my interest and I hope if we've matched on this fandom that it did yours as well.
Arrow (TV 2012) Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle
I love the interactions between Oliver, Felicity and Diggle in the later part of S1 when they are working together as "Team Arrow" as well as becoming friends. I'd love to see some team bonding where they're just hanging out and snarking at each other during that time or maybe helping Oliver learn about what passed in the five years he spent on the island.
One of my favorite fannish tropes is the man-out-of-time/fish-out-of-water character who is hurt and struggling and forced to make do in a place/time not his own and Oliver has such potential in that category but the show has barely dealt with it and done a poor job of it when they did remember about it. Add in another favorite kind of character, the wonderfully competent and no nonsense Dig and the absolute wonder that is Felicity (a breath of fresh air in her own right- smart, adorably awkward and amazingly tech savvy) and the trio is just a joy to watch interact. I love how Felicity has no qualms about watching Oliver workout. I love the way she always picks the worst way to word things when talking to him and I love the way she's as protective of him and Diggle as they are of her. I love how Diggle pushes Oliver to do the right thing, to see beyond his "save the city" mission and how snarky he is and unwilling to accept Oliver's BS.
One thing that bugged me about some of the other characters is how dismissive they were of the time Oliver spent on the island. Thea, Moira and Tommy all shove it aside or even almost make fun of the fact he missed things (like the interaction between Oliver and Tommy where Tommy mentions someone looking 'like that girl from Twilight' and Oliver responds "What's that" and Tommy just laughs and says he's "so better off not knowing") and I'd love a story that dealt with Diggle and Felicity bringing Oliver up to speed with the current and cultural events he missed, or maybe something that focused on the three of them supporting each other or actually anything that just delved into their friendship.
Basically, I just love these three and want all the fic about them.
Official sites only have the previous 5 episodes up for watching, but all of S1 was just released streaming on Netflix and can also be found here.
Nero Wolfe - Rex Stout Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe
While one of the things I absolutely love about these stories is seeing the mysteries unfold through Archie's eyes, it would be really interesting to see one through Nero Wolfe's point of view instead. What does Wolfe think about sending Archie and the others off into danger on a regular basis? Does he get frustrated when they fail to return with the information he needs? How would he react to Archie getting hurt or missing a check-in? Gen please.
I love the Nero Wolfe (both the books and the A&E series starring Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton) mysteries. I love how Archie's street smarts mix with Nero's brilliance and result in them solving even the most befuddling of cases. Rex Stout created such incredibly detailed characters as well as an amazingly detailed world for them to interact within.
It is through Archie's eyes that we see Nero Wolfe and how he lives and works and manages his orchids and cases and Rex Stout used that POV to his advantage. Reveals were more dramatic because Archie (and thus the readers) were missing vital details that Nero had ferreted out without Archie's assistance. And sometimes characters' motivations and actions surprised us because we had first viewed them through the lens of Archie's interpretation of what they were doing (a technique best used, perhaps, in "A Family Affair").
I would really love to read a story where that technique is turned on its head and we see things through Wolfe's point of view instead. What are Wolfe's reasons for keeping Archie (sometimes deliberately) out of the loop of some investigations? What does he do when Archie is off investigating? How does he feel when Archie is hurt? (Archie got shot in "The Twisted Scarf" aka "Disguise For Murder" after all, but canon just glosses over the injury.) I would absolutely love to see what Wolfe's brand of comfort in a h/c story was.
I'd appreciate if you kept this story gen in nature, while I think there is a deep abiding respect and care (if not love) for one another, I just don't see Archie and Wolfe's relationship to be romantic in nature.
Your local library might have the books (and many are available online here) and you can watch the A&E mysteries on youtube (in playlists here or here) or get the DVDs from Netflix or perhaps your library.
In general I like stories that focus on character development and interactions, hurt/comfort, missing scenes, and plotty adventures. Humor, snappy dialog or snark are all wonderful. Canon type violence is fine as is background romance.
Graphic violence and rape can be a trigger of mine, so I'd appreciate if you did not include either in a story written for me.
The Big Valley Heath Barkley, Victoria Barkley
Canon never told us exactly why or when Heath started calling Victoria "Mother." A story that focused on that would be wonderful, but any story about the relationship between these two would be absolutely fantastic.
Ah, my perennial request. I love Big Valley, especially the first season. For such an old show it has, in general, held up very well. I was always amazed how gracious Victoria was with Heath; she truly came to consider him one of her sons (as is completely obvious by the end of the first season and the episode "By Force or Violence"). I'd love to see any story about these two but in particular something that focused on their relationship as mother and son. What made her open her heart up to him in that way? Why did he go from calling her Ma'am (as we see in "Boots With My Father's Name" and others) to Mother (as we see later in the first season like in "The Guilt Of Matt Burnell" or "The Invaders")? Also, something I've always wondered about Heath in relation to taking the Barkley name and finding his place with them was how (or if) his new family and new mother affected his feelings towards his biological mother and the women who raised him.
Boiled down, I love this show and there is very little fic for it, anything you write for it, especially focused on Heath, would be appreciated although please do not have him romantically paired with Victoria.
Luckily S1 of Big Valley is also available at hulu because it doesn't air too often anymore. Even luckier, many, many episodes have been uploaded by this user on youtube.
Heartland (TV) Ty Borden, Jack Bartlett
I love how Ty has gone from a begrudgingly accepted responsibility to an almost son to Jack. I've really enjoyed seeing how their relationship has grown and flourished as the show has progressed and I'd love to see more of it.
I just discovered this show a few months ago and then voraciously tore through all the episodes Netflix had. Yes, it's got a bit of a cheesy, Hallmark issue-of-the-week feel to it sometimes, but there is such a sweet, underlying feel to the show it reeled me in. Mostly I found myself drawn to the gruff parental figure, Jack and the troubled teen, Ty, who'd been offered guardianship during his probation at Heartland by Jack's recently killed daughter, Marion. Jack had little interest in Ty when the show opened, but let him stay and through various trials and tribulations we see him slowly opening up to Ty, accepting him into the family and maybe even beginning to love him like a son. Even when Ty briefly leaves when his absentee father reappears, Jack stays in contact and comes to his rescue ("Ghost Horse") and brings him back home despite getting flack for it from Amy and Lou. He's so proud of Ty in "Step By Step" when he discovers Ty managed to get his GED but then worries the weather traps Amy and a very ill Ty at a remote cabin. Jack's feelings for Ty truly come out after Ty and Scott's plane goes down and the family goes searching the wilderness for them ("Eye of the Wolf") and later, after Jack insists on accompanying Ty on a mission spread his father's ashes, Jack faces almost losing him after a serious motorcycle crash in "Aftermath".
Basically, I think Heartland is a very underrated show that has no fandom and almost no fic and Ty and Jack's relationship deserves to be delved into and I'm sure I'll love anything that's written about it although I ask to not write their relationship as sexual in nature.
Seasons 1-4 are up on Netflix streaming and huluplus and I've managed to 'acquire' S5 so I am behind as I think a total of six seasons have aired but I don't mind spoilers.
The Witch's Son - auroaronkitten (Digital art)
This work can be found on either on deviantart or tumblr. Basically, I've just been fascinated by the drawing ever since I saw it, the detail is amazing and the fact it's a son not daughter is unusual. So please, tell me the story behind the Witch's son.
(I've reduced the size of this, click one of the above links to see it in all its glory.)
I've never asked for something from this kind of a fandom before, but the drawing is just so detailed and interesting it piqued my interest and I hope if we've matched on this fandom that it did yours as well.
Arrow (TV 2012) Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle
I love the interactions between Oliver, Felicity and Diggle in the later part of S1 when they are working together as "Team Arrow" as well as becoming friends. I'd love to see some team bonding where they're just hanging out and snarking at each other during that time or maybe helping Oliver learn about what passed in the five years he spent on the island.
One of my favorite fannish tropes is the man-out-of-time/fish-out-of-water character who is hurt and struggling and forced to make do in a place/time not his own and Oliver has such potential in that category but the show has barely dealt with it and done a poor job of it when they did remember about it. Add in another favorite kind of character, the wonderfully competent and no nonsense Dig and the absolute wonder that is Felicity (a breath of fresh air in her own right- smart, adorably awkward and amazingly tech savvy) and the trio is just a joy to watch interact. I love how Felicity has no qualms about watching Oliver workout. I love the way she always picks the worst way to word things when talking to him and I love the way she's as protective of him and Diggle as they are of her. I love how Diggle pushes Oliver to do the right thing, to see beyond his "save the city" mission and how snarky he is and unwilling to accept Oliver's BS.
One thing that bugged me about some of the other characters is how dismissive they were of the time Oliver spent on the island. Thea, Moira and Tommy all shove it aside or even almost make fun of the fact he missed things (like the interaction between Oliver and Tommy where Tommy mentions someone looking 'like that girl from Twilight' and Oliver responds "What's that" and Tommy just laughs and says he's "so better off not knowing") and I'd love a story that dealt with Diggle and Felicity bringing Oliver up to speed with the current and cultural events he missed, or maybe something that focused on the three of them supporting each other or actually anything that just delved into their friendship.
Basically, I just love these three and want all the fic about them.
Official sites only have the previous 5 episodes up for watching, but all of S1 was just released streaming on Netflix and can also be found here.
Nero Wolfe - Rex Stout Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe
While one of the things I absolutely love about these stories is seeing the mysteries unfold through Archie's eyes, it would be really interesting to see one through Nero Wolfe's point of view instead. What does Wolfe think about sending Archie and the others off into danger on a regular basis? Does he get frustrated when they fail to return with the information he needs? How would he react to Archie getting hurt or missing a check-in? Gen please.
I love the Nero Wolfe (both the books and the A&E series starring Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton) mysteries. I love how Archie's street smarts mix with Nero's brilliance and result in them solving even the most befuddling of cases. Rex Stout created such incredibly detailed characters as well as an amazingly detailed world for them to interact within.
It is through Archie's eyes that we see Nero Wolfe and how he lives and works and manages his orchids and cases and Rex Stout used that POV to his advantage. Reveals were more dramatic because Archie (and thus the readers) were missing vital details that Nero had ferreted out without Archie's assistance. And sometimes characters' motivations and actions surprised us because we had first viewed them through the lens of Archie's interpretation of what they were doing (a technique best used, perhaps, in "A Family Affair").
I would really love to read a story where that technique is turned on its head and we see things through Wolfe's point of view instead. What are Wolfe's reasons for keeping Archie (sometimes deliberately) out of the loop of some investigations? What does he do when Archie is off investigating? How does he feel when Archie is hurt? (Archie got shot in "The Twisted Scarf" aka "Disguise For Murder" after all, but canon just glosses over the injury.) I would absolutely love to see what Wolfe's brand of comfort in a h/c story was.
I'd appreciate if you kept this story gen in nature, while I think there is a deep abiding respect and care (if not love) for one another, I just don't see Archie and Wolfe's relationship to be romantic in nature.
Your local library might have the books (and many are available online here) and you can watch the A&E mysteries on youtube (in playlists here or here) or get the DVDs from Netflix or perhaps your library.