CharactOR Exchange letter
May. 14th, 2023 11:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustDear CORE Creator,
Thank you so much for offering to write a story for me! I love the fandoms I've nominated, and I'm keen to see what you come up with! I've provided some prompts in case you're looking for inspiration, but I'd also love to see whatever other ideas capture your imagination.
For me, it's about the characters and their interactions. I'm not a stickler about researching canon details, as long as the spirit of the characters and the flavour of their world is there. I want to see adventures that might have been, or missing moments from between scenes, or a slice of their daily lives, or where the future might take them.
I've requested fanfic for the below canons.
LIKES: Some of the things I enjoy in stories are: undying loyalty, personal bravery, risking self to protect others, displaying cool competence, big damn hero moments, special everyday moments, banter, hijinks, confessions exposing emotional vulnerability, conversations loaded with unspoken meaning, tough people showing a soft side, and soft people showing a tough side. Some of my favourite tropes and genres are: amnesia, angst with a happy ending, animal transformation, arranged marriage, bodyswap, cosmic horror, curtainfic, five things fic, getting together, hurt/comfort, mutual requited pining, mystery solving, road trips, sex pollen, slice of life, stranded together, and time travel.
DISLIKES: I generally prefer optimistic stories in exchanges, so I'm not keen on anything that is brutally violent or depressingly bleak. However, I don't mind darkness as long as there is a glimmer of light. Endings that are bittersweet or ambiguous are also fine.
DO NOT WANT: Noncon, underage, bleak endings, crossovers, setting change AUs like high school, coffee shop, or omegaverse (but canon divergence AUs are fine).
RATING: I am open to gen or ships for these characters. For the latter, I'd enjoy anything ranging from unresolved sexual tension, to getting together, to established relationship. I'm fine with explicit sex, but it's usually not the most important part of the story for me.
STYLE: I'm fine with first, second, or third person. I'm fine with past or present tense. I'm fine with stories of any length, including stories that start in media res or consist of a scene that implies a larger plot.
POV: I'm open to stories from the point of view of a different character from the ones nominated, especially if they provide an interesting perspective on the nominated characters.
INTERACTIVE FICTION: I like interactive fiction and would welcome it.
AO3: I have gifts enabled and am open to treats.
I've listed more details under each individual request.
I hope this helps. Have fun writing!
Yours sincerely,
meteordust
(AO3 name Serenade)
***
Request 1: Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny (Coral) - fanfic
- Coral is yet another of Oberon's long lost offspring, but she seems to fit in more easily with the next gen than the original royals. I'd love to see her meet the other princes and princesses of Amber, and have some deep and meaningful conversations with her siblings. What's it like to come into this family from the outside?
- Coral makes some bold choices: risking her life to test her bloodline on the Pattern, and asking it to send her where it chooses. What are some other mysteries she might investigate, or assumptions she might overturn?
- Coral has to help one of her many relatives out of trouble, using her wits, diplomacy, combat skills, or Jewel of Judgment powers.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Coral with Merlin, with Luke, or with both.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want graphic descriptions of eye injury or eye surgery. I am fine with mentioning those canon events (ie that Coral's eye was damaged and then replaced with the Jewel of Judgment), but would prefer no heavy focus on the topic.
***
Request 2: Discworld - Terry Pratchett (Sacharissa Cripslock) - fanfic
- Sacharissa goes through an amazing metamorphosis from when we first meet her in The Truth, a traditional engraver's granddaughter who's very concerned to be a proper young lady, to a canny newshound with sharp instincts for a good story. I would love to see more of her journey, as the Times expands its operations, and she and her colleagues invent journalism.
- I really love that by the time of Going Postal, Sacharissa is adept at verbal sparring with someone like Moist von Lipwig, and has the confidence and insight to cut through his fabrications. What's her relationship like with the other significant figures in the city? Has she ever interviewed Vetinari? Has she gone along on investigations with Vimes? I also love that Sacharissa has just happened to develop a vast network of people who confide the latest gossip to her.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Sacharissa with William de Worde.
***
Request 3: Seafort Saga - David Feintuch (Nicholas Seafort, Edgar Tolliver, Vax Holser, Alexi Tamarov) - fanfic
- I love all these characters for their loyalty, bravery, sacrifice, and intense UST. I wish we got to see more of their lives in between the crises they face. I'm happy to read about any, some, or all of them.
- Derelict ships and abandoned outposts! Of course someone has to investigate.
- Shore leave! Possibly together with someone else, who has very different ideas about what they should do on shore leave. Or what games might they play during downtime aboard ship? Something fiercely competitive? Strip poker? Truth or dare?
- Do they ever tell stories about ghost ships that wander through space, or lost colonies that vanished off the map, or sightings of alien artefacts? Has anyone ever encountered them?
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship any of these characters with any of the others.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want infidelity. For their canon relationships, I'd be happy with any of the following: after it ends, alternate universe where it never happened, or just not mentioned.
***
Request 4: Quiller Series - Adam Hall (Quiller, Ferris) - fanfic
Quiller
- The Quiller books are Cold War spy thrillers. They have been described as occupying a literary middle ground between James Bond and John le Carré.
- What I love is not the action nor the geopolitics, but the psychology of it, and the love-hate relationship that Quiller has with the nameless Bureau that holds his life and death in its hands.
- What's a day in the life in between missions, when Quiller is at the Bureau, and interacting with the other people there? How well does he know any of them? What are the undercurrents and politics?
- Quiller always chooses Ferris as his preferred director in the field. What was their first meeting like? What cemented Ferris as his favourite?
- Quiller mentions there are women in the training course he runs at Norfolk, but the Bureau otherwise seems to have few women and mostly in support roles. What happens as times change, and there are more women as shadow executives, directors in the field, and mission controls?
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Quiller with Ferris.
Ferris
- What's it like being the director in the field? You're basically the middle man, caught between the dictates of the Bureau and the demands of the shadow executive. What happens when you can't save both the mission and the agent? Has Ferris ever had to make impossible choices?
- Ferris is always Quiller's first choice, but does Ferris see Quiller the same way? What are his relationships like with the other shadow executives he runs, or with the other directors, controls, and staff of the Bureau?
- Ferris has an obsession with killing insects whenever he runs across them. I feel like this is either (1) hinting at something off with him that everyone somehow accepts, or (2) based on some horrific past trauma. Part of me is curious about how this illuminates his character, but part of me really doesn't want upsetting details. It's kind of unfair to ask anyone to thread that needle, but if you think you can do something with it, then go for it.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Ferris with Quiller.
Canon:
- There are 19 books in this series. However, I would be perfectly happy with a story based on just one of them. I originally read the books over twenty years ago, and I've only reread some of them recently. Some have dated better than others.
- Quiller is in all the books. I wouldn't necessarily recommend starting with the first book, since it's rather different from the rest. My favourites of the ones I've reread are Northlight, Quiller Solitaire, and The Tango Briefing.
- Ferris is in The Striker Portfolio, The Sinkiang Executive, The Pekin Target, Northlight, and Quiller Balalaika. (Unless I've overlooked one.) Ferris is only in the last quarter of Northlight, but it's my favourite of his.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want:
- I don't want specific mentions of real life tragedies or real life politicians, that occur later than the time period of the books (ie nothing from 1997 onwards). I am fine with generic references (eg the conflict in the Middle East, the British Prime Minister) and invented incidents (eg a fictional bombing, a fictional assassination).
- I don't want animal harm (though insects are fine if not graphic).
***
Thank you so much for offering to write a story for me! I love the fandoms I've nominated, and I'm keen to see what you come up with! I've provided some prompts in case you're looking for inspiration, but I'd also love to see whatever other ideas capture your imagination.
For me, it's about the characters and their interactions. I'm not a stickler about researching canon details, as long as the spirit of the characters and the flavour of their world is there. I want to see adventures that might have been, or missing moments from between scenes, or a slice of their daily lives, or where the future might take them.
I've requested fanfic for the below canons.
LIKES: Some of the things I enjoy in stories are: undying loyalty, personal bravery, risking self to protect others, displaying cool competence, big damn hero moments, special everyday moments, banter, hijinks, confessions exposing emotional vulnerability, conversations loaded with unspoken meaning, tough people showing a soft side, and soft people showing a tough side. Some of my favourite tropes and genres are: amnesia, angst with a happy ending, animal transformation, arranged marriage, bodyswap, cosmic horror, curtainfic, five things fic, getting together, hurt/comfort, mutual requited pining, mystery solving, road trips, sex pollen, slice of life, stranded together, and time travel.
DISLIKES: I generally prefer optimistic stories in exchanges, so I'm not keen on anything that is brutally violent or depressingly bleak. However, I don't mind darkness as long as there is a glimmer of light. Endings that are bittersweet or ambiguous are also fine.
DO NOT WANT: Noncon, underage, bleak endings, crossovers, setting change AUs like high school, coffee shop, or omegaverse (but canon divergence AUs are fine).
RATING: I am open to gen or ships for these characters. For the latter, I'd enjoy anything ranging from unresolved sexual tension, to getting together, to established relationship. I'm fine with explicit sex, but it's usually not the most important part of the story for me.
STYLE: I'm fine with first, second, or third person. I'm fine with past or present tense. I'm fine with stories of any length, including stories that start in media res or consist of a scene that implies a larger plot.
POV: I'm open to stories from the point of view of a different character from the ones nominated, especially if they provide an interesting perspective on the nominated characters.
INTERACTIVE FICTION: I like interactive fiction and would welcome it.
AO3: I have gifts enabled and am open to treats.
I've listed more details under each individual request.
I hope this helps. Have fun writing!
Yours sincerely,
meteordust(AO3 name Serenade)
***
Request 1: Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny (Coral) - fanfic
- Coral is yet another of Oberon's long lost offspring, but she seems to fit in more easily with the next gen than the original royals. I'd love to see her meet the other princes and princesses of Amber, and have some deep and meaningful conversations with her siblings. What's it like to come into this family from the outside?
- Coral makes some bold choices: risking her life to test her bloodline on the Pattern, and asking it to send her where it chooses. What are some other mysteries she might investigate, or assumptions she might overturn?
- Coral has to help one of her many relatives out of trouble, using her wits, diplomacy, combat skills, or Jewel of Judgment powers.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Coral with Merlin, with Luke, or with both.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want graphic descriptions of eye injury or eye surgery. I am fine with mentioning those canon events (ie that Coral's eye was damaged and then replaced with the Jewel of Judgment), but would prefer no heavy focus on the topic.
***
Request 2: Discworld - Terry Pratchett (Sacharissa Cripslock) - fanfic
- Sacharissa goes through an amazing metamorphosis from when we first meet her in The Truth, a traditional engraver's granddaughter who's very concerned to be a proper young lady, to a canny newshound with sharp instincts for a good story. I would love to see more of her journey, as the Times expands its operations, and she and her colleagues invent journalism.
- I really love that by the time of Going Postal, Sacharissa is adept at verbal sparring with someone like Moist von Lipwig, and has the confidence and insight to cut through his fabrications. What's her relationship like with the other significant figures in the city? Has she ever interviewed Vetinari? Has she gone along on investigations with Vimes? I also love that Sacharissa has just happened to develop a vast network of people who confide the latest gossip to her.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Sacharissa with William de Worde.
***
Request 3: Seafort Saga - David Feintuch (Nicholas Seafort, Edgar Tolliver, Vax Holser, Alexi Tamarov) - fanfic
- I love all these characters for their loyalty, bravery, sacrifice, and intense UST. I wish we got to see more of their lives in between the crises they face. I'm happy to read about any, some, or all of them.
- Derelict ships and abandoned outposts! Of course someone has to investigate.
- Shore leave! Possibly together with someone else, who has very different ideas about what they should do on shore leave. Or what games might they play during downtime aboard ship? Something fiercely competitive? Strip poker? Truth or dare?
- Do they ever tell stories about ghost ships that wander through space, or lost colonies that vanished off the map, or sightings of alien artefacts? Has anyone ever encountered them?
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship any of these characters with any of the others.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want infidelity. For their canon relationships, I'd be happy with any of the following: after it ends, alternate universe where it never happened, or just not mentioned.
***
Request 4: Quiller Series - Adam Hall (Quiller, Ferris) - fanfic
Quiller
- The Quiller books are Cold War spy thrillers. They have been described as occupying a literary middle ground between James Bond and John le Carré.
- What I love is not the action nor the geopolitics, but the psychology of it, and the love-hate relationship that Quiller has with the nameless Bureau that holds his life and death in its hands.
- What's a day in the life in between missions, when Quiller is at the Bureau, and interacting with the other people there? How well does he know any of them? What are the undercurrents and politics?
- Quiller always chooses Ferris as his preferred director in the field. What was their first meeting like? What cemented Ferris as his favourite?
- Quiller mentions there are women in the training course he runs at Norfolk, but the Bureau otherwise seems to have few women and mostly in support roles. What happens as times change, and there are more women as shadow executives, directors in the field, and mission controls?
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Quiller with Ferris.
Ferris
- What's it like being the director in the field? You're basically the middle man, caught between the dictates of the Bureau and the demands of the shadow executive. What happens when you can't save both the mission and the agent? Has Ferris ever had to make impossible choices?
- Ferris is always Quiller's first choice, but does Ferris see Quiller the same way? What are his relationships like with the other shadow executives he runs, or with the other directors, controls, and staff of the Bureau?
- Ferris has an obsession with killing insects whenever he runs across them. I feel like this is either (1) hinting at something off with him that everyone somehow accepts, or (2) based on some horrific past trauma. Part of me is curious about how this illuminates his character, but part of me really doesn't want upsetting details. It's kind of unfair to ask anyone to thread that needle, but if you think you can do something with it, then go for it.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Ferris with Quiller.
Canon:
- There are 19 books in this series. However, I would be perfectly happy with a story based on just one of them. I originally read the books over twenty years ago, and I've only reread some of them recently. Some have dated better than others.
- Quiller is in all the books. I wouldn't necessarily recommend starting with the first book, since it's rather different from the rest. My favourites of the ones I've reread are Northlight, Quiller Solitaire, and The Tango Briefing.
- Ferris is in The Striker Portfolio, The Sinkiang Executive, The Pekin Target, Northlight, and Quiller Balalaika. (Unless I've overlooked one.) Ferris is only in the last quarter of Northlight, but it's my favourite of his.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want:
- I don't want specific mentions of real life tragedies or real life politicians, that occur later than the time period of the books (ie nothing from 1997 onwards). I am fine with generic references (eg the conflict in the Middle East, the British Prime Minister) and invented incidents (eg a fictional bombing, a fictional assassination).
- I don't want animal harm (though insects are fine if not graphic).
***
