![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
graycardinalFirst, the general notes:
My tastes in fic are wide and eclectic -- I read and enjoy gen, het, and slash (both flavors) at all ratings and have very few outright squicks aside from noncon, incest, and adult-child kink, 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 (any 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, then, to the requests:
Austin & Murry-O'Keefe families - Madeleine L'Engle
Kali Cutter
I'd welcome either background/back-story (predating The Arm of the Starfish or a post-AotS story in which Kali comes to terms with the outcome of that book. In the case of a post-canon piece, I'd be especially glad to see her interact with other relevant canon characters -- any or all of Adam, Poly, Meg, even Vicky could be appropriate depending on the specific plot or scenario.
Thinking back, Arm of the Starfish was one of the first L'Engle books I read, and I found Kali one of its most intriguing characters. I was always frustrated that we never saw her again, especially since we did come back to Zachary Gray as often as we did. And now that I think of it, it might be fascinating to see how Kali and Zachary might bounce off of one another -- possibly in very different ways depending on the particular point in canon time when they happened to meet. But I'm very flexible here, so don't feel limited by any of my flailing about for prompts.
/////
Ancient History RPF
Ankhesenamun of Egypt
I was pleased and surprised to find Ankhesenamun (or however you and your preferred sources happen to spell her) in the tag set. The obvious avenue here is her famous letter, and you could certainly go that way -- but I'd also be pleased to see something from earlier in her (admittedly thinly documented) life. Speculation on her relationship with, say, Nefertiti might be entertaining. Historical AUs also welcomed.
I admit to coming to Egyptology largely -- though by no means entirely -- via Elizabeth Peters aka Barbara Mertz, and that somewhat colors my views on the host of controversies regarding 18th Dynasty relationships. [I own both editions of both the Mertz nonfiction titles....] That said, I will be eminently pleased with nearly any sort of historical -- or alt-historical -- speculation you care to come up with.
/////
Castle
Alexis Castle, Martha Rodgers, Victoria Gates
One of my favorite fandoms and some of my favorite characters (as you'll easily discern from my own fics).
For Alexis: let's see her flexing her academic (or literary, or deductive) muscles. As to any romantic relationships, see my letter; I'm not exactly picky, but there are places I'd rather not go.
The amplification: for Alexis, I'd strongly prefer an age-appropriate OC for any romantic relationship. The sprinkling of fic I've seen pairing her with various adult canon characters pings one of my few outright squicks, and the canon writers handled Alexis and Pi so very ineptly that I'd rather ignore him entirely. OTOH, I'd be totally happy with gen, casefic, or other non-romantic adventures for Alexis; canon's been awfully sparse about her studies and has entirely failed to follow up on most of the more intriguing Alexis moments we've seen onscreen.
For Martha: we haven't seen nearly enough of her thespian talent or its application in either canon or fic; let's definitely showcase that -- crossing that with casefic would be an awesome bonus (but totally optional).
I cannot believe that we've gone nearly six seasons without having someone murdered on the set or soundstage during one of Martha's professional outings; you'd think that would be both comedic and dramatic gold. OTOH, there's also lots of room pre-canon and offscreen for a lot of other Martha-fic, so don't feel obligated if casefic isn't in your wheelhouse. Just one note: his second canon appearance notwithstanding, I refuse to believe that "Jackson Hunt" is actually Castle's father -- so feel free to save me the trouble of working out what's wrong with that episode if you're so inclined.
For Captain Gates: I like the actress, but canon hasn't given us as much as I'd like about Gates' underlying character -- and too much of what we have seen has treated her a bit less than kindly. Show me Gates being both strong and sympathetic, either on or off the clock at the 12th. (Also, a totally off-the-wall thought: it seems to me we've seen almost no contact between Gates and Lanie onscreen, which I find...interesting. If you see an opportunity there, don't hesitate to go for it.)
Not much to add to this; for Gates, nearly any thoughtful and sympathetic treatment will find a receptive audience from this corner. As a second totally off-the-wall prompt: what connections might Gates and the late Capt. Montgomery have had with one another prior to Montgomery's passing?
/////
Smallville
Martha Kent
We saw almost nothing in canon about Martha's political career; I'd love to see that remedied. Alternatively, I wish the series had done better at exploring the Martha/Lionel relationship after Jonathan's death, especially in light of Lionel's reformation arc. Or, to go yet another direction, I'd love to see Martha mentoring one of the younger women, esp. Chloe or Lana, during the series' last couple of seasons. AUs welcome and encouraged in the pursuit of Martha being awesome.
If the foregoing doesn't make it clear, I am a good deal fonder of the first half of Smallville's run than the last few seasons; specifically, I was severely underwhelmed once the focus shifted to Metropolis, never really warmed to Erica Durance's Lois Lane, and had enormous issues with the way Lex was written dating from right around Lana's "pregnancy". That said, Michael Rosenbaum's performances were never less than compelling and John Glover was invariably superb as Lionel. I just wish they'd actually been able to use Annette O'Toole more effectively as part of the ensemble...and that's where most of my Martha Kent prompts arise.
