Highlander Shortcuts Letter
Oct. 15th, 2013 10:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
argentum_lsHi Exchange-fic Writer!
Thank you for signing up. I'm really excited about the story you're going to write and I hope to make it as easy on you as I can.
(This is mostly copied from last year's letter.)
So, here's where I'm coming from as a fan: I'm an original member of Clan Denial. As far as I'm concerned, Richie didn't die and, except for "Indiscretions," season six never happened. There weren't any movies based on the show, either. H:TR did happen, though it could have been better. I really liked the first movie, but I consider it a canon unto itself, and not really relevant to the HL:TS canon. (It's easier that way). There were no other movies. Not even as a joke.
As you may have guessed, I'm a Richie fan. What I love about his character is the friction of a person who was trying to succeed by any means necessary when he started with so much stacked against him. I don't condone his criminal behavior, but I like his inner strength and his will to make the best of bad situations. What I find interesting about his character arc was the friction of someone going through Immortality for the first time. The rules and attitudes that would seem so common sense to someone like Duncan and Methos were completely alien to Richie, and yet he didn't shy away from the responsibilities. If anything, he went too far in trying to accept them. Now that he's nearly forty, he's probably also suffering some significant cognitive dissonance about the role he is mature/experienced enough to have in life versus the role his eternal youth will let him have. I would love to see this dissonance explored.
If the above doesn't inspire you, then you should know that I also really love Methos, in whatever persona he's presenting for himself, and Amanda ... and pretty much any recurring Immortal character. Also Gregor and Ceirdwyn, who should have been recurring characters. For the mortal characters, Joe and Angie are at the top of my list. The only characters I'm not not a fan of are Duncan and Maurice. I'm open to OCs or crossover characters or Immortal!crossover characters or whatever you want to do to flesh out the world. Ensembles are great, too. I'd prefer if Duncan and/or the Horsemen were not POV or deeply significant characters, but they're certainly welcome to populate a story, if you so desire.
One idea that currently appeals to me is that of Methos running some kind of long con. Like, really long. I don't know what it would be or why he'd do it. Maybe the Game itself is the con, and that's why Methos doesn't really participate in it. He only plays enough to keep suspicion off himself. Maybe the Watchers are the con. Maybe something else is. I'd love to know more about what motivates Methos in the long term; what keeps him from giving up?
I also really love crossovers, especially the kind where people learn all about Immortals (as long as they don't learn too easily or accept things too quickly). I'm smitten with the idea of a police investigation story focused on one (or more) of the Immortals and/or the Game. (Swap characters around as necessary).
Richie ends up in the IIB's interrogation room and on the wrong end of Toby's telepathy (The Listener);
Methos is one of the criminals on the blacklist (The Blacklist), except he's not doing anything more than being himself--whoever that is this week.
A forty year old decapitation cold case is reopened and Ceirdwyn is the primary suspect--except she clearly couldn't have been the culprit since she's not old enough (pick a procedural, any procedural)
Non-police-y ones:
A K'Immie is on Oliver's list (Arrow), which Oliver discovers when his traditional method of problem solving doesn't work. What he finds out is that his new bartender/club manager/bodyguard is the right solution;
One of the Tomorrow People becomes Immortal. Methos remembers what happened the last time, and he's not about to let it happen again.
If you do decide to do a crossover, my current favorite fandoms are Teen Wolf (please note that I abhor Derek/Stiles and all of its fanon), The Listener, Psych, The Tomorrow People (any version), Arrow, and H2O: Just Add Water. If these don't work for you, then surprise me. Seriously. My general television interests are toward supernatural high school dramas, but I'm casually knowledgeable in a lot of shows, and I watch an ungodly amount of Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel. However, I don't like Supernatural and I'd prefer if you stuck with live-action style shows.
If crossovers are not your cup of tea, Highlander-only stories are great too. I like action, angst, humor, h/c, whump, friendship, and drama. Plot is wonderful. Character studies are good, too (though I'm not a huge fan of stories that are nothing more than naval gazing). Stories where the Immortal characters deal with the negative or painful consequences of Immortality are my candy. Stories where Immortal characters exploit the benefits of Immortality are a different flavor of candy.
Overall, I'm not a pairings person. My preference always is for characters in and of themselves. However, relationships are an important part of who people are, so if you want to include pairings, that's fine, as long as the story is about a character who happens to be in a relationship, and is not a means to serve the pairing (so I'd prefer no PWPs). Canon pairings are my default. It's been twenty years, though, so characters have probably moved on. I'm not a fan of Duncan/Richie or Methos/Joe, but otherwise do what you need to do for your story.
My favorite tropes are: Trapped!, Time is Running Out, Forced Confessions, and Unexpected Allies. Use these, or not.
I have no triggers, though I do find non/dub-con, bdsm, incest, tentacles, and body fluids really squicky. And I want nothing to do with a/b/o or coffee shop/bakery/all!human/mechanic style AUs.
Above all else, I hope you write a story that you enjoy writing, so don't feel like you're locked into the ideas I've included. Thanks for participating!
Thank you for signing up. I'm really excited about the story you're going to write and I hope to make it as easy on you as I can.
(This is mostly copied from last year's letter.)
So, here's where I'm coming from as a fan: I'm an original member of Clan Denial. As far as I'm concerned, Richie didn't die and, except for "Indiscretions," season six never happened. There weren't any movies based on the show, either. H:TR did happen, though it could have been better. I really liked the first movie, but I consider it a canon unto itself, and not really relevant to the HL:TS canon. (It's easier that way). There were no other movies. Not even as a joke.
As you may have guessed, I'm a Richie fan. What I love about his character is the friction of a person who was trying to succeed by any means necessary when he started with so much stacked against him. I don't condone his criminal behavior, but I like his inner strength and his will to make the best of bad situations. What I find interesting about his character arc was the friction of someone going through Immortality for the first time. The rules and attitudes that would seem so common sense to someone like Duncan and Methos were completely alien to Richie, and yet he didn't shy away from the responsibilities. If anything, he went too far in trying to accept them. Now that he's nearly forty, he's probably also suffering some significant cognitive dissonance about the role he is mature/experienced enough to have in life versus the role his eternal youth will let him have. I would love to see this dissonance explored.
If the above doesn't inspire you, then you should know that I also really love Methos, in whatever persona he's presenting for himself, and Amanda ... and pretty much any recurring Immortal character. Also Gregor and Ceirdwyn, who should have been recurring characters. For the mortal characters, Joe and Angie are at the top of my list. The only characters I'm not not a fan of are Duncan and Maurice. I'm open to OCs or crossover characters or Immortal!crossover characters or whatever you want to do to flesh out the world. Ensembles are great, too. I'd prefer if Duncan and/or the Horsemen were not POV or deeply significant characters, but they're certainly welcome to populate a story, if you so desire.
One idea that currently appeals to me is that of Methos running some kind of long con. Like, really long. I don't know what it would be or why he'd do it. Maybe the Game itself is the con, and that's why Methos doesn't really participate in it. He only plays enough to keep suspicion off himself. Maybe the Watchers are the con. Maybe something else is. I'd love to know more about what motivates Methos in the long term; what keeps him from giving up?
I also really love crossovers, especially the kind where people learn all about Immortals (as long as they don't learn too easily or accept things too quickly). I'm smitten with the idea of a police investigation story focused on one (or more) of the Immortals and/or the Game. (Swap characters around as necessary).
Non-police-y ones:
If you do decide to do a crossover, my current favorite fandoms are Teen Wolf (please note that I abhor Derek/Stiles and all of its fanon), The Listener, Psych, The Tomorrow People (any version), Arrow, and H2O: Just Add Water. If these don't work for you, then surprise me. Seriously. My general television interests are toward supernatural high school dramas, but I'm casually knowledgeable in a lot of shows, and I watch an ungodly amount of Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel. However, I don't like Supernatural and I'd prefer if you stuck with live-action style shows.
If crossovers are not your cup of tea, Highlander-only stories are great too. I like action, angst, humor, h/c, whump, friendship, and drama. Plot is wonderful. Character studies are good, too (though I'm not a huge fan of stories that are nothing more than naval gazing). Stories where the Immortal characters deal with the negative or painful consequences of Immortality are my candy. Stories where Immortal characters exploit the benefits of Immortality are a different flavor of candy.
Overall, I'm not a pairings person. My preference always is for characters in and of themselves. However, relationships are an important part of who people are, so if you want to include pairings, that's fine, as long as the story is about a character who happens to be in a relationship, and is not a means to serve the pairing (so I'd prefer no PWPs). Canon pairings are my default. It's been twenty years, though, so characters have probably moved on. I'm not a fan of Duncan/Richie or Methos/Joe, but otherwise do what you need to do for your story.
My favorite tropes are: Trapped!, Time is Running Out, Forced Confessions, and Unexpected Allies. Use these, or not.
I have no triggers, though I do find non/dub-con, bdsm, incest, tentacles, and body fluids really squicky. And I want nothing to do with a/b/o or coffee shop/bakery/all!human/mechanic style AUs.
Above all else, I hope you write a story that you enjoy writing, so don't feel like you're locked into the ideas I've included. Thanks for participating!
