Dear Blasters & Wands writer
Dear Engineering Wizard,
thank you so much for writing a story for me! I'll be absolutely thrilled about any story you can write about the characters I requested, and everything important is in the requests themselves, but if you'd like some additional info/ideas/thoughts, here's more of my rambling.
You can find out a lot about my general preferences with regards to characters, themes etc. in this post I wrote last year for the Junetide exchange. It was written with original fic in mind, but most of it should easily transfer to fanfic. :) As for the fandoms and characters I requested, some of the following is reproduced from other challenges where I requested the same, so some parts might sound familiar. Here goes, in no particular order:
X-Men (comics): Magneto & Psylocke
As everyone knows, Magneto is my favourite Marvel character, hands down. And while there's little fic specifically about comics!Erik, I decided to request something even rarer. I've really enjoyed the interactions between Magneto and Psylocke in Gillen's current run on Uncanny X-Men, and I've been dying to see more of the two of them.
They first caught my eye during the Tabula Rasa arc, when they teamed up briefly and Magneto admitted he knew about Psylocke's continued involvement with X-Force. And then he covered for her when that was threatened with exposure. (Issues 005-008, especially the first and the last.) I immediately wanted more. And then during the AvX tie-in issues, the Storm/Magneto/Psylocke team was just fabulous. (Issues 013 & 015-017!) I wish we could keep them.
All I want is 616 Magneto and 616 Psylocke interacting, at any point in time - how friendly is up to you, just no complete enmity please. I like things nicely complicated, and they're both just the right people for that, all shades of grey and no clear-cut lines. Gen or het equally welcome, and I don't mind if you go AU so long as you start out from 616 continuity.
(Btw, I love comics Magneto a lot more than movie!Magneto - there's so much history there, a richness the films can never provide, and most importantly, his development isn't just constant escalation into more and more extremism. He's capable of learning from his past, and moving forward. I like him best the way he currently is, morally ambiguous but still a hero, an X-Man, and someone capable of being part of a team. Oh, and I also ship Magneto/Xavier, so please no bashing of that pairing.)
The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Sarah Connor & Catherine Weaver
Sarah Connor has been my hero since the second Terminator film, which I actually saw in the cinema before I'd seen the first (and which immediately made me rush out and find the first one). And ever since T2 I've been fascinated by the complexities of Sarah's and John's relationships with terminators - the ones that weren't just trying to kill them, that is. From "Uncle Bob" in T2 to Cameron in SCC, it's such a fraught and complicated thing, uneasy and compelling, and I could never get enough of it.
And then there was Catherine Weaver. One of the most interesting figures in SCC, with an undisclosed agenda - someone who might or might not be an enemy, a terminator whose own relationships with humans were every bit as fascinating as Sarah's with "her" terminators. And she was raising an AI and a human daughter. Catherine Weaver and her strange liminal position as terminator and mother to both John Henry and Savannah fascinates me, and I'm always on the lookout for more fic about her.
The potential for interactions, confrontations, or relationships between those two was on my mind from pretty early on. In some ways they parallel and mirror and contrast each other. And I always regretted that Sarah Connor never really got to interact with this particular terminator. So this is what I'm asking for: fic that focuses on Catherine and Sarah, interacting, no matter in what capacity. Weaver is such a complex character, and we know so little about her ultimate agenda - the possible variations and nuances are endless. Enemies, allies, something in between? They could be any of that at any time. I would love something that gave me one version, at any point during the show or in the future, gen or slash. (I do admit I ship Sarah/Catherine a little. *g*) Really, just something about the two of them. :)
Vorkosigan Saga: Duv Galeni
In a cast of many fabulous characers, Galeni is easily my favourite, both because of his personality (I love his closed-off personality and his deadpan sense of humour) and because of the themes he embodies - it's not an accident that my favourite character is Komarran. One thing I like a lot with regard to Komarr is the turn-around of the usual tropes - that the conquering Barrayaran empire is the protagonist in this case. I'm a bit tired of the usual variations on the "Evil Empire toppled by Our Plucky Heroes" theme, and I like it far better when the empire's sins are ordinary human ones. I especially like seeing a sympathetic take on what in the usual scenario would be the "evil collaborator". Galeni is right in the middle of the whole Komarran mess, having started out as his father's apprentice terrorist and then becoming an ImpSec officer. Anything around these Komarran themes would be fantastic, but if that's not quite up your alley, anything you can come up with for Galeni will be great. Gen, het, slash, it's all good.
Here are a few ideas, if you'd like some: I've always wondered about what happened between Galeni and Ivan on Earth, because when Miles arrives in Brothers in Arms, these two clearly have an understanding. Then there's what must be an incredibly fraught relationship between Galeni and Aral, which we never actually see in the books even though they must have met. How about Galeni dealing with other Komarrans or their view on him? Laisa's view of Galeni would also be interesting. Or Galeni during Laisa's and Gregor's wedding on Komarr? (Or an AU in which Laisa chooses to go for Galeni after all? Now that would be a fraught situation!) Or how about Duv and Delia during the early stages of their courtship? We never quite see how that comes about. Miles and Galeni during that mysterious ImpSec investigation on Komarr that was referred to in Memory? Or Galeni and Mark, bonding (or not) over both being "raised" by Ser Galen? Anything would be good so long as Galeni is front and centre. :)
Andromeda: Gaheris Rhade
Yes, the guy who dies in the pilot is my favourite Andromeda character. *g* Of course his descendant Telemachus eventually became a regular, but it was always Gaheris who held my fascination the most: destroying the Commonwealth by trying to save it, betraying a friend for what he believed to be the greater good. Giving Dylan every chance to figure out what was going on, hoping until the last that he wouldn't actually have to go through with it, but firm enough in his convictions to do it, no matter the cost. Absolutely riveting. No wonder Gaheris Rhade, and through him the Nietzscheans, grabbed me right from the pilot.
I always adored the concept of the Nietzscheans, and the complex multifaceted Nietzschean characters on the show: an entire culture built on Slytherin values - clearly it was made for me. (Alas, most of that was ruined by the end of the show, but it was glorious at first.)
I'm not much for pairings in this fandom. (The only thing I actually do ship is Rhade/Rommie in The Unconquerable Man - I love complex loyalties and precarious alliances. And I wouldn't mind finding out something about Gaheris's wives.) So what I'm looking for is a story that focuses on Gaheris himself: Anything centred around him, at any point in whichever version of history you go with, anything involving the themes I've outlined above. Something that lets him shine, and makes him second best to no one. Please?
(If you're looking for inspiration - the premise of The Unconquerable Man might have been my ideal version of the show: the man who destroyed the Commonwealth trying to rebuild it. Or the both of them surviving and forming an uneasy alliance. I wasn't too happy that the episode made Gaheris fail in order to build up Dylan. *sighs*)
Coldfire Trilogy: Gerald Tarrant
I'm a huge fan of Tarrant, especially in his Hunter incarnation - give me something centred around him and I'll be happy. He has a fascinating dynamic with so many people, so while I generally ship Gerald/Damien I'm equally as interested in seeing him interacting with Hesseth, Jenseny, Ciani, Narilka ...
It's no secret that I'm not 100% convinced about the ending of the trilogy, so if you wanted to write something that went AU at some point I'd be just as happy with that as with something completely canon-based. A Gerald/Narilka het AU? A story in which Hesseth survives? Or something about Gerald and Jenseny. I'm also fascinated with the worldbuilding and the fae in particular, so if you wanted to write Gerald all by his lonesome doing some experiments, that would be cool too! (I could keep this up for hours - better stop now before the plot bunnies turn into tribbles.)
In 2007 and 2008, we did a group reread of the trilogy over at hunters_forest - there were a lot of great chapter-by-chapter discussions. Alas, it sort of ran out of steam at the end, but we got very nearly to the end of the third book. Over there you can find my thoughts on practically everything to do with the trilogy, as well as more plot bunnies than you probably want. *g*
Administration series: Val Toreth
I admit it: Despite the fact that this series focuses heavily on Warrick/Toreth slash I'm more interested in Toreth himself than the pairing. In fact, some of my favourite stories are more gen than anything. First Against the Wall is my favourite hands down. That's not to say I have anything against the explicit parts of the series, I'm just not particularly looking for it here. *g*
I'm most fascinated by the concept of an increasingly socialised, functional sociopath and torturer as an unlikely kind of protagonist, as an increasingly sympathetic figure even while he never ceases to be a sociopath or a torturer, and by his relationships in general. I'd love a story focusing on Toreth in that context, his interactions with other people, his view of the world. Gen, het or slash; backstory, something set during one of the canonical stories, futurefic, or even a complete AU - it would all be good.
And that's quite enough rambling for now. Most of all, have fun writing! I can't wait to see what you come up with. :)
thank you so much for writing a story for me! I'll be absolutely thrilled about any story you can write about the characters I requested, and everything important is in the requests themselves, but if you'd like some additional info/ideas/thoughts, here's more of my rambling.
You can find out a lot about my general preferences with regards to characters, themes etc. in this post I wrote last year for the Junetide exchange. It was written with original fic in mind, but most of it should easily transfer to fanfic. :) As for the fandoms and characters I requested, some of the following is reproduced from other challenges where I requested the same, so some parts might sound familiar. Here goes, in no particular order:
X-Men (comics): Magneto & Psylocke
As everyone knows, Magneto is my favourite Marvel character, hands down. And while there's little fic specifically about comics!Erik, I decided to request something even rarer. I've really enjoyed the interactions between Magneto and Psylocke in Gillen's current run on Uncanny X-Men, and I've been dying to see more of the two of them.
They first caught my eye during the Tabula Rasa arc, when they teamed up briefly and Magneto admitted he knew about Psylocke's continued involvement with X-Force. And then he covered for her when that was threatened with exposure. (Issues 005-008, especially the first and the last.) I immediately wanted more. And then during the AvX tie-in issues, the Storm/Magneto/Psylocke team was just fabulous. (Issues 013 & 015-017!) I wish we could keep them.
All I want is 616 Magneto and 616 Psylocke interacting, at any point in time - how friendly is up to you, just no complete enmity please. I like things nicely complicated, and they're both just the right people for that, all shades of grey and no clear-cut lines. Gen or het equally welcome, and I don't mind if you go AU so long as you start out from 616 continuity.
(Btw, I love comics Magneto a lot more than movie!Magneto - there's so much history there, a richness the films can never provide, and most importantly, his development isn't just constant escalation into more and more extremism. He's capable of learning from his past, and moving forward. I like him best the way he currently is, morally ambiguous but still a hero, an X-Man, and someone capable of being part of a team. Oh, and I also ship Magneto/Xavier, so please no bashing of that pairing.)
The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Sarah Connor & Catherine Weaver
Sarah Connor has been my hero since the second Terminator film, which I actually saw in the cinema before I'd seen the first (and which immediately made me rush out and find the first one). And ever since T2 I've been fascinated by the complexities of Sarah's and John's relationships with terminators - the ones that weren't just trying to kill them, that is. From "Uncle Bob" in T2 to Cameron in SCC, it's such a fraught and complicated thing, uneasy and compelling, and I could never get enough of it.
And then there was Catherine Weaver. One of the most interesting figures in SCC, with an undisclosed agenda - someone who might or might not be an enemy, a terminator whose own relationships with humans were every bit as fascinating as Sarah's with "her" terminators. And she was raising an AI and a human daughter. Catherine Weaver and her strange liminal position as terminator and mother to both John Henry and Savannah fascinates me, and I'm always on the lookout for more fic about her.
The potential for interactions, confrontations, or relationships between those two was on my mind from pretty early on. In some ways they parallel and mirror and contrast each other. And I always regretted that Sarah Connor never really got to interact with this particular terminator. So this is what I'm asking for: fic that focuses on Catherine and Sarah, interacting, no matter in what capacity. Weaver is such a complex character, and we know so little about her ultimate agenda - the possible variations and nuances are endless. Enemies, allies, something in between? They could be any of that at any time. I would love something that gave me one version, at any point during the show or in the future, gen or slash. (I do admit I ship Sarah/Catherine a little. *g*) Really, just something about the two of them. :)
Vorkosigan Saga: Duv Galeni
In a cast of many fabulous characers, Galeni is easily my favourite, both because of his personality (I love his closed-off personality and his deadpan sense of humour) and because of the themes he embodies - it's not an accident that my favourite character is Komarran. One thing I like a lot with regard to Komarr is the turn-around of the usual tropes - that the conquering Barrayaran empire is the protagonist in this case. I'm a bit tired of the usual variations on the "Evil Empire toppled by Our Plucky Heroes" theme, and I like it far better when the empire's sins are ordinary human ones. I especially like seeing a sympathetic take on what in the usual scenario would be the "evil collaborator". Galeni is right in the middle of the whole Komarran mess, having started out as his father's apprentice terrorist and then becoming an ImpSec officer. Anything around these Komarran themes would be fantastic, but if that's not quite up your alley, anything you can come up with for Galeni will be great. Gen, het, slash, it's all good.
Here are a few ideas, if you'd like some: I've always wondered about what happened between Galeni and Ivan on Earth, because when Miles arrives in Brothers in Arms, these two clearly have an understanding. Then there's what must be an incredibly fraught relationship between Galeni and Aral, which we never actually see in the books even though they must have met. How about Galeni dealing with other Komarrans or their view on him? Laisa's view of Galeni would also be interesting. Or Galeni during Laisa's and Gregor's wedding on Komarr? (Or an AU in which Laisa chooses to go for Galeni after all? Now that would be a fraught situation!) Or how about Duv and Delia during the early stages of their courtship? We never quite see how that comes about. Miles and Galeni during that mysterious ImpSec investigation on Komarr that was referred to in Memory? Or Galeni and Mark, bonding (or not) over both being "raised" by Ser Galen? Anything would be good so long as Galeni is front and centre. :)
Andromeda: Gaheris Rhade
Yes, the guy who dies in the pilot is my favourite Andromeda character. *g* Of course his descendant Telemachus eventually became a regular, but it was always Gaheris who held my fascination the most: destroying the Commonwealth by trying to save it, betraying a friend for what he believed to be the greater good. Giving Dylan every chance to figure out what was going on, hoping until the last that he wouldn't actually have to go through with it, but firm enough in his convictions to do it, no matter the cost. Absolutely riveting. No wonder Gaheris Rhade, and through him the Nietzscheans, grabbed me right from the pilot.
I always adored the concept of the Nietzscheans, and the complex multifaceted Nietzschean characters on the show: an entire culture built on Slytherin values - clearly it was made for me. (Alas, most of that was ruined by the end of the show, but it was glorious at first.)
I'm not much for pairings in this fandom. (The only thing I actually do ship is Rhade/Rommie in The Unconquerable Man - I love complex loyalties and precarious alliances. And I wouldn't mind finding out something about Gaheris's wives.) So what I'm looking for is a story that focuses on Gaheris himself: Anything centred around him, at any point in whichever version of history you go with, anything involving the themes I've outlined above. Something that lets him shine, and makes him second best to no one. Please?
(If you're looking for inspiration - the premise of The Unconquerable Man might have been my ideal version of the show: the man who destroyed the Commonwealth trying to rebuild it. Or the both of them surviving and forming an uneasy alliance. I wasn't too happy that the episode made Gaheris fail in order to build up Dylan. *sighs*)
Coldfire Trilogy: Gerald Tarrant
I'm a huge fan of Tarrant, especially in his Hunter incarnation - give me something centred around him and I'll be happy. He has a fascinating dynamic with so many people, so while I generally ship Gerald/Damien I'm equally as interested in seeing him interacting with Hesseth, Jenseny, Ciani, Narilka ...
It's no secret that I'm not 100% convinced about the ending of the trilogy, so if you wanted to write something that went AU at some point I'd be just as happy with that as with something completely canon-based. A Gerald/Narilka het AU? A story in which Hesseth survives? Or something about Gerald and Jenseny. I'm also fascinated with the worldbuilding and the fae in particular, so if you wanted to write Gerald all by his lonesome doing some experiments, that would be cool too! (I could keep this up for hours - better stop now before the plot bunnies turn into tribbles.)
In 2007 and 2008, we did a group reread of the trilogy over at hunters_forest - there were a lot of great chapter-by-chapter discussions. Alas, it sort of ran out of steam at the end, but we got very nearly to the end of the third book. Over there you can find my thoughts on practically everything to do with the trilogy, as well as more plot bunnies than you probably want. *g*
Administration series: Val Toreth
I admit it: Despite the fact that this series focuses heavily on Warrick/Toreth slash I'm more interested in Toreth himself than the pairing. In fact, some of my favourite stories are more gen than anything. First Against the Wall is my favourite hands down. That's not to say I have anything against the explicit parts of the series, I'm just not particularly looking for it here. *g*
I'm most fascinated by the concept of an increasingly socialised, functional sociopath and torturer as an unlikely kind of protagonist, as an increasingly sympathetic figure even while he never ceases to be a sociopath or a torturer, and by his relationships in general. I'd love a story focusing on Toreth in that context, his interactions with other people, his view of the world. Gen, het or slash; backstory, something set during one of the canonical stories, futurefic, or even a complete AU - it would all be good.
And that's quite enough rambling for now. Most of all, have fun writing! I can't wait to see what you come up with. :)