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graycardinalFirst, and always most important: thank you. This exchange, more than most, is about fandoms long-loved and of long standing, and I really appreciate the chance to see a story in whichever of them the two of us happen to share. I know one of my favorite parts of this process is the chance to make someone's day with a new story in a really rare fandom, and I suspect I'm not alone in this. So thank you (as Linus Van Pelt said once) from the bottom of my socks, because the bottom of my heart isn't deep enough.
Now, then: first, you want to know what I like.
Pluses for me include strong characterization, well-written dialogue, wit/banter/snark, clever use of canon, well-developed AUs, UST (heavy on both the U and the T), and more. I'm neutral when it comes to matters of gen, slash, and the like -- if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind. I'm not into noncon, incest, or adult/child kinks, but have few other outright squicks as long as the relationship is age- and canon-appropriate; OTOH, I mostly don't read fanfic for sexual content -- and especially in the context of the present set of requests, romance is not necessarily a primary element in my love for the fandom. (Exceptions will be noted below.)
I will note in particular that I am a sucker for the clever and well-executed crossover -- not because I expect one (Optional Details Being Optional, and such things being well beyond the call of either duty or necessity), but because in one or two of these cases, the potential amusement and/or entertainment value would be particularly high if your writerly imagination should happen to wander in that direction.
Austin/Murry-O'Keefe Families - Madeleine L'Engle • Kali Cutter
This one is my narrow-beam character focus prompt. 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, Polly, Meg, even Vicky could be appropriate depending on the specific plot or scenario. Or what might happen if post-AotS Kali somehow connected with Zachary Gray? Now there's a complicated thought, with potentially interesting consequences.
Diana Winthrop series - Kate Chambers • (any character)
This is my nano-fandom; as far as I can tell, maybe eleven people besides me read these books back in the day. If you were one of these very few, I hope you remember these teen sleuth adventures as fondly as I do, for the genre-aware plots and the lively and interesting extended cast. What I'm hoping for here is simply "more" -- give me casefic or a character moment for Diana and Brad, give me back story for Lydian or build forward on what canon gives us of the relationship between Lydian, Diana's father, and Diana...any of these, with or without romantic elements, will find me a very happy camper.
Oz - L. Frank Baum • (any character)
I deliberately picked my favorite second-tier characters when I nominated the Oz books, and I would be delighted with a story about any or all of this group. There's a lot of room for storytelling with all of these -- back story, solo adventures, character vignettes -- and I don't want to unduly restrict you, save perhaps to note that I find Ruggedo markedly more interesting once he's been kicked out of the Nome Kingdom. One other note: as you may already be aware, I wrote a Trot-and-Glinda tale of my own for Yuletide some years back. If you're drawn to these characters, you should feel absolutely free either to build on that material or to ignore it entirely and go in your own direction.
I am mostly not looking for romance here, but wouldn't be opposed to a pairing for any of Polychrome, Glinda or Trot (not necessarily with each other -- maybe Wizard/Glinda or Button-Bright/Trot) -- but preferably not Glinda/Trot, as that pushes my age-appropriateness buttons.
Tom Swift Series IV - Victor Appleton • (any character)
I've been reading teen-sleuth books since I was six or so (and we won't mention how long ago that was), including a few of the classic Tom Swift (Jr.) adventures (Tom Swift and his Flying Lab, or ....Spectromarine Selector, or ....Paracyclic Phase Inverter -- okay, I made that last one up, but you know what I'm talking about). Fun, but they haven't aged very well. And I pretty much ignored the short-lived third series of Tom Swift stories, set mostly in outer space. But when the fourth series came along (starting with The Black Dragon), I noticed, because it so happened that at the time I was reading SF novels by the likes of Diane Duane and Debra Doyle/James Macdonald -- and Doyle & Macdonald, it turned out, had been recruited to write a couple of the new generation of Tom Swift novels. I was instantly hooked. The books had the spirit of the earlier series (and did a good job of nodding toward prior continuity), but the setting was very much up to date, the SF elements were handled well, and above all, the characters came across as smart without being square.
While I will squee at pretty much any new adventure focusing on any of Tom, Sandra, and/or Rick, I will be especially pleased if Sandra gets a chance to take the spotlight. Also -- though this is way out into Optional Details Are Optional territory -- I'd love to see Tom Swift crossed with nearly anything; I think this incarnation would blend nicely into a whole lot of the modern-era fandoms I follow.
Now, then: first, you want to know what I like.
Pluses for me include strong characterization, well-written dialogue, wit/banter/snark, clever use of canon, well-developed AUs, UST (heavy on both the U and the T), and more. I'm neutral when it comes to matters of gen, slash, and the like -- if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind. I'm not into noncon, incest, or adult/child kinks, but have few other outright squicks as long as the relationship is age- and canon-appropriate; OTOH, I mostly don't read fanfic for sexual content -- and especially in the context of the present set of requests, romance is not necessarily a primary element in my love for the fandom. (Exceptions will be noted below.)
I will note in particular that I am a sucker for the clever and well-executed crossover -- not because I expect one (Optional Details Being Optional, and such things being well beyond the call of either duty or necessity), but because in one or two of these cases, the potential amusement and/or entertainment value would be particularly high if your writerly imagination should happen to wander in that direction.
Austin/Murry-O'Keefe Families - Madeleine L'Engle • Kali Cutter
This one is my narrow-beam character focus prompt. 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, Polly, Meg, even Vicky could be appropriate depending on the specific plot or scenario. Or what might happen if post-AotS Kali somehow connected with Zachary Gray? Now there's a complicated thought, with potentially interesting consequences.
Diana Winthrop series - Kate Chambers • (any character)
This is my nano-fandom; as far as I can tell, maybe eleven people besides me read these books back in the day. If you were one of these very few, I hope you remember these teen sleuth adventures as fondly as I do, for the genre-aware plots and the lively and interesting extended cast. What I'm hoping for here is simply "more" -- give me casefic or a character moment for Diana and Brad, give me back story for Lydian or build forward on what canon gives us of the relationship between Lydian, Diana's father, and Diana...any of these, with or without romantic elements, will find me a very happy camper.
Oz - L. Frank Baum • (any character)
I deliberately picked my favorite second-tier characters when I nominated the Oz books, and I would be delighted with a story about any or all of this group. There's a lot of room for storytelling with all of these -- back story, solo adventures, character vignettes -- and I don't want to unduly restrict you, save perhaps to note that I find Ruggedo markedly more interesting once he's been kicked out of the Nome Kingdom. One other note: as you may already be aware, I wrote a Trot-and-Glinda tale of my own for Yuletide some years back. If you're drawn to these characters, you should feel absolutely free either to build on that material or to ignore it entirely and go in your own direction.
I am mostly not looking for romance here, but wouldn't be opposed to a pairing for any of Polychrome, Glinda or Trot (not necessarily with each other -- maybe Wizard/Glinda or Button-Bright/Trot) -- but preferably not Glinda/Trot, as that pushes my age-appropriateness buttons.
Tom Swift Series IV - Victor Appleton • (any character)
I've been reading teen-sleuth books since I was six or so (and we won't mention how long ago that was), including a few of the classic Tom Swift (Jr.) adventures (Tom Swift and his Flying Lab, or ....Spectromarine Selector, or ....Paracyclic Phase Inverter -- okay, I made that last one up, but you know what I'm talking about). Fun, but they haven't aged very well. And I pretty much ignored the short-lived third series of Tom Swift stories, set mostly in outer space. But when the fourth series came along (starting with The Black Dragon), I noticed, because it so happened that at the time I was reading SF novels by the likes of Diane Duane and Debra Doyle/James Macdonald -- and Doyle & Macdonald, it turned out, had been recruited to write a couple of the new generation of Tom Swift novels. I was instantly hooked. The books had the spirit of the earlier series (and did a good job of nodding toward prior continuity), but the setting was very much up to date, the SF elements were handled well, and above all, the characters came across as smart without being square.
While I will squee at pretty much any new adventure focusing on any of Tom, Sandra, and/or Rick, I will be especially pleased if Sandra gets a chance to take the spotlight. Also -- though this is way out into Optional Details Are Optional territory -- I'd love to see Tom Swift crossed with nearly anything; I think this incarnation would blend nicely into a whole lot of the modern-era fandoms I follow.
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