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graycardinalNote: A good deal of this text has been largely ported from prior letters, although I have done a bit of editing, polishing, and reorganizing, and there are new and expanded prompts throughout.
Greetings, O Scribbler, and welcome! And also, thank you! A number of the following requests run from the moderately to the extremely obscure, and I am more than grateful to anyone who's not only searched out the same odd things that I like but gone to the trouble to add new chapters to these characters' lives.
These letters aren't getting any shorter, so while I've got detailed material farther down, I think it's only fair to give you the list of fandom requests up front. So, those would be:
* Diana Winthrop series – “Kate Chambers”
* Enola Holmes series -- Nancy Springer (Cecily Alistair)
* The Ice Ghosts Mystery - Jane Louise Curry
* Planet Builders series -- Robyn Tallis
* Young Wizards - Diane Duane
General likes and dislikes
Feel free to wander backward through this journal and my fic on AO3 (linked to your left) to get an idea of my interests; what I write is very much also what I like to read – and has, over time, added up to rather a variety of fandoms. My past letters for a variety of exchanges are tagged "dear santa" herein; and I've tagged Fic Corner material specifically as well.
To summarize, though: text-driven pluses for me include effective use of wit (aka banter aka snark, etc.), as well as strong characterization & dialogue. I value both respect for and clever use of canon (including well-developed AUs -- the plot-driven kind, not the baristas/highschoolers/alt-species kind). I thrive on UST (heavy on both U and T), and am neutral where gen/het/slash is concerned; if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind.
I am also a sucker for the well-executed crossover, whether via oblique allusion or head-on fandom collision. Fic Corner being Fic Corner and Optional Details Being Optional, I have absolutely no expectations along this line...but I have included an EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS section in most of my requests, because I live in hope, and because I can’t resist this sort of opportunity. Take these in the spirit in which they’re given, or set them aside as you prefer.
None of my requests call specifically for mature/explicit content. This doesn't mean I don't appreciate sizzling erotica/smut/porn; it's just that my fanfic-reading interests and my e/s/p-reading interests mostly don't tend to intersect. That said, if your muse happens to take you into explicit territory in the context of one of these requests, I'm generally willing to follow along for the ride. I have few outright personal squicks save for noncon, incest, or adult/child kinks so long as a given relationship is age- and canon-appropriate.
Character matching and prompts
Where I request single characters, it's not because I'm opposed to relationship-fic or multi-character stories – far from it. My goal is to give you greater flexibility in introducing additional characters, whether from those nominated or from wider canon. Even where I supply relatively specific prompts in a request, I want you to be able to shape the story; my suggestions are meant as springboards, not outlines.
Diana WinthropBACKGROUND: The Winthrop books are a teen-sleuth series (six slim paperbacks from the mid-'80s) set mostly in New York and New England, with "Kate Chambers" being a pen name for versatile writer Norma Johnston -- a fact I didn't learn till much later. The individual mysteries are dedicated to (and often cleverly plotted in the style of) various classic and then-famous mystery authors, the characterizations are much more nuanced than is usual for this category, and there’s a strong ongoing ensemble cast (including a major and well-rendered secondary character who’s blind).
NOTES: We move this year from the well-nigh impossible match to the merely difficult (I have evidently sold at least one new reader on the series sometime in the last little while), so I probably ought to give an actual prompt or two this time out -- although I am going to be delighted with pretty much any story at all here, as this is one of those canons where "more" in and of itself is a thing greatly to be wished.
PROMPTS: This is one of my nano-fandoms and my Oliver Twist request -- which is to say, what I'm looking for is simply "more". That said, one of the really nifty things about Diana's adventures was the multi-generational family dynamic, and that's a big reason that I chose Gran Culhaine, Jacintha (who's clearly an adult here, though clearly pretty new-minted; I see her as mid-twenties at the outside), and Lydian Sinclair (who looks likely to become part of the Winthrop clan ere long) to represent the ensemble. I'd like to see more of the familial texture here, whether in the context of a case/adventure or in a more personal sort of tale. A writer should feel free to bring in others from the extended cast as appropriate, and to look for story ideas both from Diana's past (the Boston contingent as kids? Diana's original "acting" days?) and future (what do she and Brad end up doing career-wise?) as well as in the series' present.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: The crossover junkie in me points out that Diana's NYC/Boston home base and detective interests make for plausible run-ins with a great variety of other source canons, including at least one of my other current requests, and someone (other than me!) has already nudge-winked a connection between Diana's Ross cousins and a certain family of MCU military and espionage professionals. More generally, see (1) my works and gifts received on AO3, and (2) all entries tagged “Dear Santa” in my DW journal, and assume that any fandom represented therein is welcom
Enola Holmes • Cecily Alistair
BACKGROUND: The Winthrop books are a teen-sleuth series (six slim paperbacks from the mid-'80s) set mostly in New York and New England, with "Kate Chambers" being a pen name for versatile writer Norma Johnston -- a fact I didn't learn till much later. The individual mysteries are dedicated to (and often cleverly plotted in the style of) various classic and then-famous mystery authors, the characterizations are much more nuanced than is usual for this category, and there’s a strong ongoing ensemble cast (including a major and well-rendered secondary character who’s blind).
NOTES: We move this year from the well-nigh impossible match to the merely difficult (I have evidently sold at least one new reader on the series sometime in the last little while), so I probably ought to give an actual prompt or two this time out -- although I am going to be delighted with pretty much any story at all here, as this is one of those canons where "more" in and of itself is a thing greatly to be wished.
PROMPTS: This is one of my nano-fandoms and my Oliver Twist request -- which is to say, what I'm looking for is simply "more". That said, one of the really nifty things about Diana's adventures was the multi-generational family dynamic, and that's a big reason that I chose Gran Culhaine, Jacintha (who's clearly an adult here, though clearly pretty new-minted; I see her as mid-twenties at the outside), and Lydian Sinclair (who looks likely to become part of the Winthrop clan ere long) to represent the ensemble. I'd like to see more of the familial texture here, whether in the context of a case/adventure or in a more personal sort of tale. A writer should feel free to bring in others from the extended cast as appropriate, and to look for story ideas both from Diana's past (the Boston contingent as kids? Diana's original "acting" days?) and future (what do she and Brad end up doing career-wise?) as well as in the series' present.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: The crossover junkie in me points out that Diana's NYC/Boston home base and detective interests make for plausible run-ins with a great variety of other source canons, including at least one of my other current requests, and someone (other than me!) has already nudge-winked a connection between Diana's Ross cousins and a certain family of MCU military and espionage professionals. More generally, see (1) my works and gifts received on AO3, and (2) all entries tagged “Dear Santa” in my DW journal, and assume that any fandom represented therein is welcome.
Ice Ghosts Mystery
BACKGROUND: This was a one-off mystery thriller for young readers (this being before “middle grade” and “YA” were categories) published back in 1972, which might best be described as a sort of L’Engle/Trixie Belden fusion (L’Engle for the science-fictional elements, which are clearly in the same neighborhood as Arm of the Starfish and Young Unicorns; Belden for the cheerfully determined family-of-sleuths dynamic). Curry is better (but not nearly well enough) known for a wide range of children’s fantasy, and I kept hoping for a sequel to this that never arrived. Curry has been gradually bringing her backlist out in Kindle editions, and at one point this was available that way; I’m not clear on whether it still is. If not, it’s findable – and a quick read – via the usual used channels and possibly still in larger and/or kid-friendlier libraries.)
PROMPTS: This book is such an ensemble piece that I've not tried to pick among the available characters. Just give me a solid "further adventures" story -- whether of foiling another Evil Science Plot, coping with school/academic politics, or simply wreaking cheerful familial havoc on some unsuspecting foreign metropolis. Romance between Oriole and Gabriel is definitely on the table, too – or, perhaps, more ordinary correspondence in which Oriole snarks about the mischief her younger siblings are getting into.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: Yet again, my crossover bias rears its head. As I note above, I feel a resonance between Curry’s Bird family and L’Engle’s Austin and/or O’Keefe clans – and I have to wonder at what sort of scientific conference (or in the context of what mad-scientific scheme) the Birds and L’Engle’s characters might actually meet one another.
Planet Builders
BACKGROUND: The "Planet Builders" books were a 10-book paperback series (also from the '80s) involving a large teen cast on a colony world with ongoing mysteries involving psi powers, mysterious native aliens, and light interplanetary intrigue. "Robyn Tallis" was a combine with authors including Sherwood Smith, Bruce Coville, Mary Frances Zambreno, and collaborators Debra Doyle & James Macdonald. The overall tone was akin to classic space opera with modern sensibilities and a touch of Tom Swift (not unlike A. C. Crispin's Starbridge series), and character-driven humor was skillfully integrated to keep the tone fairly light. Also, while the teens are the stars, there are well-characterized grownups in the mix as well -- an unusual touch for this genre.
NOTES & PROMPTS: If you know the books at all, you likely glommed onto them for the same reasons I did, and have a good idea of what will make me go SQUEE with the greatest and most squeeful volume. Lost cities, clever plans gone amusingly and comic-disastrously (but not too painfully) wrong, gentle romance, swashbuckling action -- it's all there, and this is really truly a case where I'm like Oliver Twist, and "please sir, may I have some more" will do very nicely indeed. Feel free to set a story inside/between canon events or after (even long after) the series concludes, as the muse demands. Making use of Daphne's theatrical interests counts as a definite bonus but in no way a requirement.
Young Wizards
NOTES: I am fully conversant with both the “claic” and New Millennium timelines (and happy to receive fic set on either or both sides of that line), and have read all the canonical material *except* THE BIG MEOW and the second ON ORDEAL compilation (although I expect to have the latter finished by the time reveals roll around).
PROMPTS: This is a really oddball character list; what I find in the wake of <i>Games Wizards Play</I>, though, is that I'm more and more intrigued by the interaction between wizardly life and traditional family life, and the effects it has on wizards and non-wizards alike. Thus I am interested in how Irina's job as Planetary complicates and complements her life as a mother, how Harry copes with having not one but two wizards in his house, and how Mr. Millman as a non-wizard helps keep things glued together for everyone involved. I've seen a couple of very good Millman stories, but I don't think I've yet seen one that tosses Irina into his orbit; likewise, I am particularly curious about how Irina and Harry might interact given some time with one another -- although I emphasize that I do not want to unduly tamper with Irina's home life, to the degree that we know about it.
As to Dairine and Carmela: canon gives us very little that puts them together with one another -- which I find surprising, even granting the age difference. I would very much like to see how they interact given an excuse and/or opportunity. With WIZARDS IN PLAY out, we have many of the answers we've wanted relative to Dairine and Roshaun, so I'm no longer deeply worried about excessive angst arising from that quarter. It does occur to me that Dairine might find it easier to talk to Carmela about Roshaun than to have the same conversations with Nita, perhaps especially now that his situation's been resolved. (Or you could set such a tete-a-tete earlier in canon, while things are still unsettled....) Other possible tacks: Dairine getting one up on Nita with Carmela’s help, or the girls and the Alien Study Group having an adventure (I’ve seen a fair bit of fic in this line set in the Crossings, not so much here on Earth). I would also be very much on board for quality father-daughter bonding.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: If you’ve been reading all the requests in order, you know what’s coming here. (If not, feel free to skip upstream and come back....) Young Wizards is by nature a decidedly crossover-friendly fandom; I’ve done just a bit with that myself, and would totally be on board with a crossover here. And there are any number of other New York-centric fandoms to draw on – TV’s Castle is a particularly good prospect, I'd think, it might explain a lot in Spider-Man: Homecoming if Aunt May were a wizard, and those are just the tip of the iceberg.
