graycardinal | Not Prime Time 2014: Dear Author

To my prospective writer (and anyone else who's happened by via the usual letter-collecting channels), greetings and welcome! This is my first official NPT, but I have been actively playing the fic-exchange field for long enough that I have five stories in the queue for the upcoming Yuletide merge. I am infinitely pleased that you'll be writing a story for me, and when ~~Christmas morning~~ the reveal arrives, I shall rip off the wrapping paper with joyous abandon, open my gift fic, ~~hug it and squeeze it and name it George~~ and peruse it with delighted anticipation, because it WILL be wonderful purely by the fact of its existence.

No, I'm not really as peculiar as the foregoing may make me sound, but there are only so many ways to start these letters. So no, I will not actually name your fic George, but I will be delighted by the fact of its very existence. I promise. So, what you should know going in:

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.

The specific requests:

Agents of SHIELD • Phil Coulson, Melinda May
Chemistry is everything here. I'd be very pleased with a pre-series story about one or another of this duo's more impressively dangerous ops, whether a major success or a how-the-hell-did-we-survive-that affair. I'd be equally pleased with a mid/early-series story about how Phil and Melinda are working more or less behind the scenes to get their teammates to accept one another properly (I'd have said "bond", but the subtext of that word is way too easily corrupted...). If you can manage a story about how they rebuild their own bond in the wake of "Turn, Turn, Turn" and the succeeding episodes, that's good, too, though I grant the difficulty of pulling that off while the last part of the season is unfolding.

Out of all my requests, this is the one where romance seems most likely to arise. In that line, to amplify on the general notes: I'm totally okay with explicit sex if that's where the story needs to go, but I'm not looking for PWP. (And it seems clear to me that if the Coulson/May relationship does/did go there, the dynamic must have been very different from what we saw of the May/Ward pairing in early-season canon.) Between the prompts in the request-proper and those thoughts, I hope I've given you enough material to draw on. I will note that I have in fact seen Winter Soldier and have no objection whatsoever to incursions from elsewhere in the MCU if you're inclined in that direction.

Castle • Richard Castle, Alexis Castle, Martha Rodgers
The matching note first: you do *not* need to write all three characters (although you are welcome to do so). Prompt-wise, my thought here is pretty much "Pick Any Two" -- explore Castle and Alexis and their father/daughter dynamic, show me Alexis and Martha bending New York (and/or Castle) to their collective will, or perhaps look back at Martha and her choices as she’s raising Rick. Inclusion of additional canon characters is generally welcome EXCEPT that I’d really rather not see Pi.

As the request suggests, I'm open to a very wide range of plot or character choices here. That said, three observations. (1) I also requested Castle in general, and Martha and Alexis in particular, for the Rare Women exchange. There's no telling, of course, whether that's what I actually matched on there, but all things being equal (and just in case) you might consider telling a story here that wouldn't fit under the RW umbrella. (2) I am more than usually particular about Alexis when it comes to romantic relationships. I've seen a sprinkling of fic pairing her with various (older) adult canon characters, and just about all of it weirds me out in a not-good way. I am not at all opposed to giving Alexis a love life; I'd just like it to be age-appropriate. (3) His second canon appearance notwithstanding, I refuse to believe that "Jackson Hunt" is actually Castle's father. If you agree with me, feel free to write the story of how "Deep Cover" doesn't actually hold up either.

Kim Possible • Any
I’m leaving this wide open: I’m that rare KP fan who reads and enjoys well-done Kigo and K/R with equal glee, and am perfectly happy to see Yori thrown into the mix as well. A couple of ideas: there’s almost no canon interaction between Shego and Yori, which is kind of a shame – putting those two together strikes me as a recipe for comedy gold, high-powered kung fu, or possibly both at once. I also suspect that Yori could out-agent Will Du at least as well as Kim ever did. And I’ve always thought Dr. Director had hidden depths.

A lot here depends on how well you know the fandom (and the fic therein). I came into KP fandom by way of fanfiction.net, and got specifically hooked on a number of the epic-length romance/adventure series over there (by authors including but not limited to Allaine, King in Yellow, MrDrP, and Commander Argus). Given the constraints of the fic-exchange format, do not feel compelled to attempt to compete with the epics; I will be totally pleased with straight action/comedy that builds on canon, or a quiet little character piece, or something totally out of left field. OTOH, if you happen to have a killer romantic idea, I'll be happy to see that, too....

Young Wizards • Dairine Callahan
The one thing I really don’t want to see is Dairine wallowing in angst over whatever’s happened to Roshaun. Dealing with the situation, absolutely (and feel very free to include either or both fathers if you go in this direction), but not dissolving in gloom. Other possible tacks: Dairine getting one up on Nita (with or without Carmela’s help), or Dairine and the Alien Study Group having adventures (I’ve seen a fair bit of fic in this line set in the Crossings, not so much here on Earth). Crossovers extremely optional but more than welcome.

On character-matching: anytime I request a single character in an exchange (as here), my intent is not to exclude other canon characters; rather, it's to give you as writer the flexibility to introduce whatever other characters fit the story you have in mind. You're entirely welcome to write a Dairine-by-herself piece if that's where your muse points you (and I'm confident that it would/will be awesome), but you are absolutely not limited to that option.

Other notes: feel free to use whichever of the original or New Millennium texts fits your particular story. I have both versions, and I like a lot of the New Millennium tweaks, but there are definitely situations where working with the originals is simpler or more practical (especially if one is stage-managing a Totally Optional Crossover™). As to romance: I'm not opposed, so long as it's age-appropriate, and I'm open-minded as to possible pairings. OTOH, my interest in Dairine isn't especially romance-driven; I'm being totally honest when I say I love her for her (diabolically clever) mind.

And now I've gone on way long enough. (I think. If you are somehow still confuzzled, contact the mods per the usual protocol and I'll be happy to amplify or address any specific queries.)