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graycardinal[deep breath]
This should be interesting. I've been participating in Yuletide for some years now, but this will be one of my first voyages into the wider world of the challenge/exchange universe. I'm looking forward to it, but it's definitely going to be a new experience.
As with Yuletide, the first order of business is thanks; I am grateful sincerely and in advance for the story I'm about to receive. (Hmm, that sounds a bit like a Thanksgiving-dinner grace -- which is apt, I suppose, although with this sort of thing a case might be made that we're skipping straight to the dessert course.) Whoever you are, I appreciate your efforts on my behalf, and I look forward to reading the results.
As to my tastes in fic generally, they are wide and eclectic. I read and enjoy gen, het, and slash (both flavors) at all ratings and have very few outright squicks, but I am not typically attracted to stories for erotic content or angst quotient. Rather, I like good characterization, authentic-sounding dialogue, effectively sneaky plotting, and well-developed wit. I am equally intrigued by clever use of canon and thoughtfully developed AUs, and I am disturbingly fond of crossovers and well-woven meta threads. As a rule, I tend to prefer canon-consistent romantic pairings (exceptions will be noted further along), with the added note that in my book, well-sustained UST (heavy on the T) is often as good as or better than actual sex. It's definitely true that my own writing also reflects the kinds of things I like to read; my AO3 archive is here, and you're welcome to prowl.
Now to the requests:
Castle: [Martha Rodgers, Alexis Castle]
For Martha, a story focusing on her acting career would be fantastic; if it also happens to turn into a casefic in which Martha gets to sleuth, that's a bonus. For Alexis, I'm more interested in adventures than in romance; absolutely optional but totally amusing would be a crossover with a suitable SF/F universe (certain parts of the Who canon or the Buffyverse, SG-1, Marvel or DCU, Gargoyles, you get the idea). Whether fantastical or not, the story should let her stretch her many talents and perhaps point her toward a college or career path, the more unexpected the better. If you do give Alexis a love interest, please keep it age-appropriate. Including additional canon characters in the mix is absolutely encouraged (well, save maybe for Ashley :-) ).
This one's fairly straightforward, I think. With Martha, there's obviously a lot of room for speculation as to her back story; if you give her a romance, my only request is that she shouldn't lose the edge that spices her present-day relationship with grownup!Rick. With Alexis -- as noted, I'm not at all an Ashley fan (does he have any fans?), and I'll emphasize that despite my abiding love for crossovers, you are in no way obligated to go anywhere near that set of suggestions if your muse doesn't swing that way. There's plenty of room within canon for good Alexis-fic, and that will do quite as well. [One further observation, and one only, in the crossover zone: in the Buffyverse, I'd expect Alexis to be recruited as a Watcher rather than a Slayer. But that may be just me....]
Gargoyles: [Elisa Maza, Demona, Delilah]
Any combination of these three characters strikes me as guaranteed to produce entertaining fireworks. I've always thought Demona's particularly fascinating, in that she's as much a tragic figure as an arch-villain, and I especially like the parts of canon in which events force her to confront the possibility of redemption (even if she does run kicking and screaming away from it most of the time). Or to go another direction, Demona also has a lot of untold history, in that she's alive and scheming for all the centuries between the curse's advent and its end -- a story that shows us an episode out of that past would be fascinating. (One wonders what she and Macbeth might have been up to during the late Victorian age, for instance. Sherlock Holmes crossover, anyone?)
On one hand, this is also pretty straightforward; OTOH, I didn't give much in the way of specific prompts for Elisa or Delilah alone. For an Elisa-centric story, I'd be particularly interested in a story matching her against Xanatos (probably earlier in canon) or perhaps interacting with Fox (probably later in canon, including post-series). For a Delilah-centric story, I'd be equally interested in seeing her entirely on her own (possibly during the world tour) or bonding with any of Goliath, Elisa, and/or Demona. (Oh, the mother/stepmother issues....) Alternately -- and I don't recall that canon went anywhere near this -- it might be interesting to see Delilah reach out to Macbeth for insights into her mother's character. And that is likely more ideas than you really needed....
This should be interesting. I've been participating in Yuletide for some years now, but this will be one of my first voyages into the wider world of the challenge/exchange universe. I'm looking forward to it, but it's definitely going to be a new experience.
As with Yuletide, the first order of business is thanks; I am grateful sincerely and in advance for the story I'm about to receive. (Hmm, that sounds a bit like a Thanksgiving-dinner grace -- which is apt, I suppose, although with this sort of thing a case might be made that we're skipping straight to the dessert course.) Whoever you are, I appreciate your efforts on my behalf, and I look forward to reading the results.
As to my tastes in fic generally, they are wide and eclectic. I read and enjoy gen, het, and slash (both flavors) at all ratings and have very few outright squicks, but I am not typically attracted to stories for erotic content or angst quotient. Rather, I like good characterization, authentic-sounding dialogue, effectively sneaky plotting, and well-developed wit. I am equally intrigued by clever use of canon and thoughtfully developed AUs, and I am disturbingly fond of crossovers and well-woven meta threads. As a rule, I tend to prefer canon-consistent romantic pairings (exceptions will be noted further along), with the added note that in my book, well-sustained UST (heavy on the T) is often as good as or better than actual sex. It's definitely true that my own writing also reflects the kinds of things I like to read; my AO3 archive is here, and you're welcome to prowl.
Now to the requests:
Castle: [Martha Rodgers, Alexis Castle]
For Martha, a story focusing on her acting career would be fantastic; if it also happens to turn into a casefic in which Martha gets to sleuth, that's a bonus. For Alexis, I'm more interested in adventures than in romance; absolutely optional but totally amusing would be a crossover with a suitable SF/F universe (certain parts of the Who canon or the Buffyverse, SG-1, Marvel or DCU, Gargoyles, you get the idea). Whether fantastical or not, the story should let her stretch her many talents and perhaps point her toward a college or career path, the more unexpected the better. If you do give Alexis a love interest, please keep it age-appropriate. Including additional canon characters in the mix is absolutely encouraged (well, save maybe for Ashley :-) ).
This one's fairly straightforward, I think. With Martha, there's obviously a lot of room for speculation as to her back story; if you give her a romance, my only request is that she shouldn't lose the edge that spices her present-day relationship with grownup!Rick. With Alexis -- as noted, I'm not at all an Ashley fan (does he have any fans?), and I'll emphasize that despite my abiding love for crossovers, you are in no way obligated to go anywhere near that set of suggestions if your muse doesn't swing that way. There's plenty of room within canon for good Alexis-fic, and that will do quite as well. [One further observation, and one only, in the crossover zone: in the Buffyverse, I'd expect Alexis to be recruited as a Watcher rather than a Slayer. But that may be just me....]
Gargoyles: [Elisa Maza, Demona, Delilah]
Any combination of these three characters strikes me as guaranteed to produce entertaining fireworks. I've always thought Demona's particularly fascinating, in that she's as much a tragic figure as an arch-villain, and I especially like the parts of canon in which events force her to confront the possibility of redemption (even if she does run kicking and screaming away from it most of the time). Or to go another direction, Demona also has a lot of untold history, in that she's alive and scheming for all the centuries between the curse's advent and its end -- a story that shows us an episode out of that past would be fascinating. (One wonders what she and Macbeth might have been up to during the late Victorian age, for instance. Sherlock Holmes crossover, anyone?)
On one hand, this is also pretty straightforward; OTOH, I didn't give much in the way of specific prompts for Elisa or Delilah alone. For an Elisa-centric story, I'd be particularly interested in a story matching her against Xanatos (probably earlier in canon) or perhaps interacting with Fox (probably later in canon, including post-series). For a Delilah-centric story, I'd be equally interested in seeing her entirely on her own (possibly during the world tour) or bonding with any of Goliath, Elisa, and/or Demona. (Oh, the mother/stepmother issues....) Alternately -- and I don't recall that canon went anywhere near this -- it might be interesting to see Delilah reach out to Macbeth for insights into her mother's character. And that is likely more ideas than you really needed....
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