I
Dear purimgifts writer,
Thank you so much for writing me stories and finding me graphics. I am excited. :)
Things I love
Missing scenes. Backstory. Hurt/comfort, especially when the emphasis is on the comfort. Angst/bittersweet stories that aren't totally bleak (I need that ray of sunlight, however thin!) unrequited love (that may someday be required). Redemption stories. Journeys (physical, emotional, intellectual). Subverting and inverting tropes. Explorations of memory (i.e. the way we remember things, collective memory, things falling out of living memory, regaining the past). Learning to trust, especially tough, stoic characters. Families of choice. Historical accuracy (though I completely understand that there are limits to how much research someone can or should have to do for a small fic exchange!) Canon ships, except where noted.
Things I don't like (Not passing judgment - these just aren't my cup of tea)
Death. Really bleak stuff. Rape, dub-con or non-con. Gore. Incest of any kind. Big age differences between paired characters (exception: I could maaaaybe get behind Mako/Lin if it were done right, since he's at least in his 20s at the end of the series). Pregnancy, childbirth, and kidfic (though it's fine if a character happens to be pregnant, or has a child). Character bashing. BDSM, or really any "hard" kinks. Genderswap. Issue!fic. Crossovers. AU (though stories that explore how things would have been different if one thing in canon had been changed can be fun and interesting).
Fandom specifics
Flash: Iris, Caitlin. I love this show, but it fails hard when it comes to female interaction. I love stories that explore Iris's relationship with her dad, and I kind of ship Iris/Barry (in the sense that I realize it's probably endgame and I'm on board with it, but I'm also fine with it not getting resolved for a good long while) but I'd also really like to see Iris interacting with other women. I really like Caitlin, especially when she's being a worry-wart science geek. Since Iris has reached out to Caitlin for Barry's sake, why not reach out to her for her own? If Iris is still really interested in journalism, maybe she'd like to interview Caitlin because of her role in the particle accelerator fiasco? Or maybe just as a woman in STEM? I'd also be happy with a solo Caitlin story. What's her life like in the nine months between the explosion and Barry's awakening? I imagine she gets a lot of crap from the public, which can't help her introverted nature. If you're an "Arrow" fan (I've been watching it, but I'm about a season behind at this point) I'd love to see her team up with Felicity again.
The Legend of Korra: anyone (esp. Korra/Asami, and Jinora & Ikki). Seriously, I'd be thrilled with a story about pretty much anyone except the villains, Esca, or the Earth Queen. (I don't dislike them, but I'm not super-interested in any of them.) There are so many fantastic women in this series, so much to explore. I adore Korra. She messes up so many times, but she's such a fighter, that she ends up persevering. Asami too. I ship the hell out of Korra/Asami, so a story about their adventures in the Spirit World would be terrific. I also wouldn't mind seeing Jinora and Ikki interacting. Sisterly relationships can be so fraught, it must be hard for Ikki sometimes, falling between Jinora and Meelo. Ditto Su and Lin.
Justice League: Diana, Shayera, Mari, Black Canary, Huntress. Wonder Woman is my patron saint. I love her somewhat thorny relationship with Batman, as well as her (more platonic) friendship with Superman. I'd LOVE to see her teamed up with some female superheroes - your choice. The read a lot of mythology as a child, so I enjoy the whole Greek gods thing. I love Diana's compassion, her moral strength, as well as her (sorry) wonder at the world around her. When the series begins she's brand new to the Patriarch's World (I forget if that's what they call it on the show) and she's certainly studied a lot, but some things still take her by surprise, in a good way. She's also a feminist symbol, and any attempt to undermine or discredit her feminism (either hers personally or her status as a symbol) makes me grind my teeth. As for Shayera Hol, I also love her fighting spirit, her almost instinctive desire to smash things with her mace, the fact that she can look her gods in the eye and denounce them (I mean, face it, the Thanagarian gods were jerks), and her whole redemption arc. I like her rather fraught friendship with Mari too. Hell, I'd enjoy a solo Mari story. She kicks ass. Ditto Black Canary and Huntress. I would not mind seeing the two of them forced to team up!
Ivanhoe: Rebecca of York was so important to me growing up. She was a beautiful, romantic heroine with a great deal of compassion and integrity, who happened to be Jewish. I loved stories of knights and castles, but I never saw much of myself in any of the heroines (Guinevere, Marian, and the rest). So Rebecca was a revelation. Whatever you want to write about Rebecca will probably make me happy. Backstory? Future fic? Knock yourself out. I think she's the only canonically Jewish character on my list, so if you want to explore why her faith/cultural heritage is important to her, that's great too. Also, if you want to go for tongue-in-cheek satire, in the manner of Thackery or Edward Eager's "Knights Castle," that could be fun as well.
Star Trek (2009): I loved the 2009 movie, but couldn't stand "Into Darkness." Pretty much the only thing I liked about it (apart from Scotty being awesome) was the implied strong friendship between Carol and Christine. I actually ship Carol/Christine and I'd LOVE fic about them, whether it's at the Academy or on the Enterprise or whatever. Solo Carol stories are also good! I'd like to see how the rest of the crew welcomes her into their family. I don't really ship her with anyone else (though I would read Carol/Sulu) but I wouldn't mind seeing an exploration of her friendship with Uhura and/or McCoy. Speaking of Uhura, I love her. She's like my second favorite character after McCoy, and you pretty much can't go wrong with her. (I ship her with Spock, sometimes with McCoy.) I'm also really intrigued by Winona Kirk. In my head canon, she's Jewish, so if you want to run with that, go for it! I think she gets a raw deal sometimes, both from fandom and from canon, but she has so much potential! Wasn't she an officer? Isn't Jim relatively stable? She has her flaws - we all do - but I like to think she's pretty cool. (Just please, no background Kirk/Spock. Background Kirk/McCoy or Kirk/Sulu is okay, though obviously the emphasis should be on the female protagonist.)
The Dragonriders of Pern: Mirrim, Lessa, Moreta, Oklina, Brekke, Debera, Sorka. Oh, man. I was writing Pern fanfic before I even knew the word for what I was doing. Pern, for all its flaws (and there are many) is weirdly dear to my heart. I don't have any specific prompts in mind, but the characters above are some of my favorite women in the series. (Yes, Brekke. She's a mess, but IDK, I'm strangely fond of her. I like when she shows some backbone. Come to think of it, I would love to see her take F'nor down a peg. I ship them - I tend to gloss over the whole dub/non-con thing - but I think it would be awesome if she took charge, whether it's in bed or regarding weyr policy, or whatever. I think he'd kind of like that too. I think he sees her as someone to protect, and I'd like to see her protecting him.) I love Mirrim. She's a brat and a half, I know, but man. It can't be easy having Brekke for a foster mother, living in Southern Weyr with Kylara in charge, or being the first woman to Impress a green dragon in like two thousand years. She's scrappy and I adore her. I ship her with T'gellan (sometimes with Menolly) but I don't want to see her fighting spirit dampened. Moreta is the heroine of my favorite Pern book. I wouldn't mind seeing her backstory, or future-fic for Oklina. (Okay, I guess I was wrong about not having specific prompts.) As for Debera and Sorka, see above re. explorations of memory. I mean, Sorka actually remembers Earth!
Silmarillion: Luthien, Haleth. I'm not a Tolkien expert, but I read The Silmarillion for the first time this past December, and I fell in love with Luthien and Haleth. Anything you want to give me about either of those two would rock my socks. Here's an idea: maybe Theoden or Eomer (or any older person in her life) telling young Eowyn stories about Haleth.
The Hobbit: Confession: I didn't like The Hobbit movies. But I loved the IDEA of Tauriel. I thought she was kick-ass in "The Desolation of Smaug" and shockingly wasted in "The Battle of Five Armies." Please redeem her for me. What does she do after the battle? Does she return to Mirkwood with Thranduil? I think he warmed toward her a little, but who knows. Is she still banished? I'd love to see her sticking around Lake Town (after helping rebuild it, I guess) for a while, teaching Bard's daughters to be awesome warrior-healers. And then what? Does she go off on her own? Does she ever meet Arwen? Or Galadriel? Or any of the other Dwarfs? The only things I don't want to see is her pining away for Kili (though it's absolutely cool if she continues to mourn him for a good long while) or hooking up with Legolas (it's fine if they meet later on as friends).
Star Wars: I was born wanting to be Princess Leia. Whatever you want to tell me about her, I will surely love. Running missions prior to "A New Hope"? Hell, yeah. Vague memories of her mother? Gimme. Interaction with Queen Breha and/or Mon Mothma? Yes, please. Romancing Han? Han/Leia is my One Ship to Rule Them All. Getting to know her brother better and exploring her nascent Force powers? Coolness. (Though I can't help wondering how she really feels about his need to go and save Darth Vader. I know we're supposed to believe in his redemption, but I have a hard time with that and I imagine Leia would as well.)
Arabian Nights: It's been a long time since I read these stories, but I loved them when I was younger. I recently had this wacky idea: what if Scheherazade is the leader of this secret organization of superheroes, and the stories she tells the Sultan are actually the origin stories of the people in her team? If you want to go there, be my guest. If not ... who is Scheherazade? How did she become such an amazing storyteller? What prompts her to risk her life? What happens to her sister? Does Dinarzade have a story of her own? Or what about some of the women in her stories: I remember Morgiana (from Ali Baba's story) being pretty kick-ass, and Periezade from the story about the brothers and the bird. (I'll try to remember to look up the title.)
Thank you so much for writing me stories and finding me graphics. I am excited. :)
Things I love
Missing scenes. Backstory. Hurt/comfort, especially when the emphasis is on the comfort. Angst/bittersweet stories that aren't totally bleak (I need that ray of sunlight, however thin!) unrequited love (that may someday be required). Redemption stories. Journeys (physical, emotional, intellectual). Subverting and inverting tropes. Explorations of memory (i.e. the way we remember things, collective memory, things falling out of living memory, regaining the past). Learning to trust, especially tough, stoic characters. Families of choice. Historical accuracy (though I completely understand that there are limits to how much research someone can or should have to do for a small fic exchange!) Canon ships, except where noted.
Things I don't like (Not passing judgment - these just aren't my cup of tea)
Death. Really bleak stuff. Rape, dub-con or non-con. Gore. Incest of any kind. Big age differences between paired characters (exception: I could maaaaybe get behind Mako/Lin if it were done right, since he's at least in his 20s at the end of the series). Pregnancy, childbirth, and kidfic (though it's fine if a character happens to be pregnant, or has a child). Character bashing. BDSM, or really any "hard" kinks. Genderswap. Issue!fic. Crossovers. AU (though stories that explore how things would have been different if one thing in canon had been changed can be fun and interesting).
Fandom specifics
Flash: Iris, Caitlin. I love this show, but it fails hard when it comes to female interaction. I love stories that explore Iris's relationship with her dad, and I kind of ship Iris/Barry (in the sense that I realize it's probably endgame and I'm on board with it, but I'm also fine with it not getting resolved for a good long while) but I'd also really like to see Iris interacting with other women. I really like Caitlin, especially when she's being a worry-wart science geek. Since Iris has reached out to Caitlin for Barry's sake, why not reach out to her for her own? If Iris is still really interested in journalism, maybe she'd like to interview Caitlin because of her role in the particle accelerator fiasco? Or maybe just as a woman in STEM? I'd also be happy with a solo Caitlin story. What's her life like in the nine months between the explosion and Barry's awakening? I imagine she gets a lot of crap from the public, which can't help her introverted nature. If you're an "Arrow" fan (I've been watching it, but I'm about a season behind at this point) I'd love to see her team up with Felicity again.
The Legend of Korra: anyone (esp. Korra/Asami, and Jinora & Ikki). Seriously, I'd be thrilled with a story about pretty much anyone except the villains, Esca, or the Earth Queen. (I don't dislike them, but I'm not super-interested in any of them.) There are so many fantastic women in this series, so much to explore. I adore Korra. She messes up so many times, but she's such a fighter, that she ends up persevering. Asami too. I ship the hell out of Korra/Asami, so a story about their adventures in the Spirit World would be terrific. I also wouldn't mind seeing Jinora and Ikki interacting. Sisterly relationships can be so fraught, it must be hard for Ikki sometimes, falling between Jinora and Meelo. Ditto Su and Lin.
Justice League: Diana, Shayera, Mari, Black Canary, Huntress. Wonder Woman is my patron saint. I love her somewhat thorny relationship with Batman, as well as her (more platonic) friendship with Superman. I'd LOVE to see her teamed up with some female superheroes - your choice. The read a lot of mythology as a child, so I enjoy the whole Greek gods thing. I love Diana's compassion, her moral strength, as well as her (sorry) wonder at the world around her. When the series begins she's brand new to the Patriarch's World (I forget if that's what they call it on the show) and she's certainly studied a lot, but some things still take her by surprise, in a good way. She's also a feminist symbol, and any attempt to undermine or discredit her feminism (either hers personally or her status as a symbol) makes me grind my teeth. As for Shayera Hol, I also love her fighting spirit, her almost instinctive desire to smash things with her mace, the fact that she can look her gods in the eye and denounce them (I mean, face it, the Thanagarian gods were jerks), and her whole redemption arc. I like her rather fraught friendship with Mari too. Hell, I'd enjoy a solo Mari story. She kicks ass. Ditto Black Canary and Huntress. I would not mind seeing the two of them forced to team up!
Ivanhoe: Rebecca of York was so important to me growing up. She was a beautiful, romantic heroine with a great deal of compassion and integrity, who happened to be Jewish. I loved stories of knights and castles, but I never saw much of myself in any of the heroines (Guinevere, Marian, and the rest). So Rebecca was a revelation. Whatever you want to write about Rebecca will probably make me happy. Backstory? Future fic? Knock yourself out. I think she's the only canonically Jewish character on my list, so if you want to explore why her faith/cultural heritage is important to her, that's great too. Also, if you want to go for tongue-in-cheek satire, in the manner of Thackery or Edward Eager's "Knights Castle," that could be fun as well.
Star Trek (2009): I loved the 2009 movie, but couldn't stand "Into Darkness." Pretty much the only thing I liked about it (apart from Scotty being awesome) was the implied strong friendship between Carol and Christine. I actually ship Carol/Christine and I'd LOVE fic about them, whether it's at the Academy or on the Enterprise or whatever. Solo Carol stories are also good! I'd like to see how the rest of the crew welcomes her into their family. I don't really ship her with anyone else (though I would read Carol/Sulu) but I wouldn't mind seeing an exploration of her friendship with Uhura and/or McCoy. Speaking of Uhura, I love her. She's like my second favorite character after McCoy, and you pretty much can't go wrong with her. (I ship her with Spock, sometimes with McCoy.) I'm also really intrigued by Winona Kirk. In my head canon, she's Jewish, so if you want to run with that, go for it! I think she gets a raw deal sometimes, both from fandom and from canon, but she has so much potential! Wasn't she an officer? Isn't Jim relatively stable? She has her flaws - we all do - but I like to think she's pretty cool. (Just please, no background Kirk/Spock. Background Kirk/McCoy or Kirk/Sulu is okay, though obviously the emphasis should be on the female protagonist.)
The Dragonriders of Pern: Mirrim, Lessa, Moreta, Oklina, Brekke, Debera, Sorka. Oh, man. I was writing Pern fanfic before I even knew the word for what I was doing. Pern, for all its flaws (and there are many) is weirdly dear to my heart. I don't have any specific prompts in mind, but the characters above are some of my favorite women in the series. (Yes, Brekke. She's a mess, but IDK, I'm strangely fond of her. I like when she shows some backbone. Come to think of it, I would love to see her take F'nor down a peg. I ship them - I tend to gloss over the whole dub/non-con thing - but I think it would be awesome if she took charge, whether it's in bed or regarding weyr policy, or whatever. I think he'd kind of like that too. I think he sees her as someone to protect, and I'd like to see her protecting him.) I love Mirrim. She's a brat and a half, I know, but man. It can't be easy having Brekke for a foster mother, living in Southern Weyr with Kylara in charge, or being the first woman to Impress a green dragon in like two thousand years. She's scrappy and I adore her. I ship her with T'gellan (sometimes with Menolly) but I don't want to see her fighting spirit dampened. Moreta is the heroine of my favorite Pern book. I wouldn't mind seeing her backstory, or future-fic for Oklina. (Okay, I guess I was wrong about not having specific prompts.) As for Debera and Sorka, see above re. explorations of memory. I mean, Sorka actually remembers Earth!
Silmarillion: Luthien, Haleth. I'm not a Tolkien expert, but I read The Silmarillion for the first time this past December, and I fell in love with Luthien and Haleth. Anything you want to give me about either of those two would rock my socks. Here's an idea: maybe Theoden or Eomer (or any older person in her life) telling young Eowyn stories about Haleth.
The Hobbit: Confession: I didn't like The Hobbit movies. But I loved the IDEA of Tauriel. I thought she was kick-ass in "The Desolation of Smaug" and shockingly wasted in "The Battle of Five Armies." Please redeem her for me. What does she do after the battle? Does she return to Mirkwood with Thranduil? I think he warmed toward her a little, but who knows. Is she still banished? I'd love to see her sticking around Lake Town (after helping rebuild it, I guess) for a while, teaching Bard's daughters to be awesome warrior-healers. And then what? Does she go off on her own? Does she ever meet Arwen? Or Galadriel? Or any of the other Dwarfs? The only things I don't want to see is her pining away for Kili (though it's absolutely cool if she continues to mourn him for a good long while) or hooking up with Legolas (it's fine if they meet later on as friends).
Star Wars: I was born wanting to be Princess Leia. Whatever you want to tell me about her, I will surely love. Running missions prior to "A New Hope"? Hell, yeah. Vague memories of her mother? Gimme. Interaction with Queen Breha and/or Mon Mothma? Yes, please. Romancing Han? Han/Leia is my One Ship to Rule Them All. Getting to know her brother better and exploring her nascent Force powers? Coolness. (Though I can't help wondering how she really feels about his need to go and save Darth Vader. I know we're supposed to believe in his redemption, but I have a hard time with that and I imagine Leia would as well.)
Arabian Nights: It's been a long time since I read these stories, but I loved them when I was younger. I recently had this wacky idea: what if Scheherazade is the leader of this secret organization of superheroes, and the stories she tells the Sultan are actually the origin stories of the people in her team? If you want to go there, be my guest. If not ... who is Scheherazade? How did she become such an amazing storyteller? What prompts her to risk her life? What happens to her sister? Does Dinarzade have a story of her own? Or what about some of the women in her stories: I remember Morgiana (from Ali Baba's story) being pretty kick-ass, and Periezade from the story about the brothers and the bird. (I'll try to remember to look up the title.)