Fest: Yuletide
Oct. 26th, 2015 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
argentum_ls11/5 - Updated for the entry on Psion. Supergirl update is coming.
12/1 - Updated for the entry on Supergirl
Dear Yuletide Writer:
First of all, thank you so much for signing up! We already have at least one fandom in common, which is the important part. It's like cake. Cake is my favorite part. I hope the rest of what follows is just frosting.
What follows is a a run-down of my likes/dislikes, favorite tropes, and some specific fandom discussion with sentence prompts. Use what you need to, but know that I know that ODAO. You're also welcome to stalk me online. I'm LadySilver on fanfiction.net and AO3, argentum_ls on DW and LJ, and argentum-ls on tumblr. I participate in a lot of exchanges and fests, which means I've thrown a lot of prompts out into the void. Should you see a prompt from a different exchange/fest that you'd like to use, go for it! (Even if it's already been filled).
Overall, what I like in a story is plot; that is, I want something to happen. Beyond that, the reins are pretty loose. I like h/c and whump, angst, drama, humor, casefic, action/adventure, and romance. I'm open to gen, het, slash, poly—though I do have some fandom-specific preferences, which are listed below. I love pairings and I also love strong friendship and (pseudo)parent-child relationships. Ratings from G to hard-R are great. Crossovers are fantastic, though not anything I ever expect. I prefer canon based stories or canon-divergent AUs, and I prefer third-person storytelling, though I don't care if it's in past or present tense.
TROPE WANTS:
One of my favorite tropes is Trapped!, perhaps because it offers so many potential interpretations that all boil down to the same thing. This can be the characters getting stuck in an avalanche, cave-in, snow storm, hurricane, or any other disaster inspired reason that they have limited resources to deal with and no ability to simply walk away from. Likewise, characters being captured or held hostage, regardless of whether it's physical or psychological bondage that's keeping them there, can be a great way to show how characters act under pressure and/or to bring out sides of their personalities that we don't normally see. Other interpretations are for the characters with an alternate shape to get stuck in their alternate form, or for characters who don't normally have an alternate shape to get stuck in another body (bodyswap, with or without the swap part), to get stuck in the wrong time, to get stuck out-of-sync with everyone else (such as in an alternate universe or on a ghostly plane), or to simply get stuck in circumstances they'd never, ever choose to be in (such as the awkward meet-the-other-family dinner, being a participant in the talent show, or in a vehicle with a person they don't like).
Combine Trapped! with Secret Identity and you're golden. Somehow, the bad situation can only be solved by application of their supernatural state—which would lead to revealing their state to someone who Should. Not. Know.—or the mere circumstances of the entrapment cause the supernatural state to, itself, become the problem, such that the characters have to go to lengths to prevent the supernatural state from manifesting (e.g. if a character teleporting is what will set off the bomb, or stress triggers the powers to act in unusual or extreme ways, such as the character not being able to stop using his super-strength ), or the character needs to hide the manifestation of their powers/state that is triggered by something else in the situation (e.g. fun with Kryptonite), which may require relying on someone who has not yet proven their reliability.
For extra fun, up the tension by throwing in Running Out of Time, Unexpected Allies, Lying by Telling the Truth*, or inversions of any of these or other tropes.
Other things I like:
Outsider POV
Characters talking about their superpowers/superstate in a way that provides insight into what it means for them.
Friends with Benefits
When two characters believe they're talking about the same thing, but aren't.
Real world situations (e.g. parental-dating, high school is hard, starting college/moving out) complicated by the supernatural
Clever or unusual uses of a character's powers.
*Such as when a character tells the truth about his/her secret in such a way that she/he knows won't be believed. TV Tropes supplies Sarcastic Confession for this, though I prefer when it's played straight.
If you're interested in doing a crossover, any live-action show I've written about is fair game. For sake of ease, Yuletide eligible fandoms I'd be open to include: American Gothic, Being Human (US), Big Wolf on Campus, The Dead Zone, Early Edition, Forever, Forever Knight, The Greatest American Hero, The Invisible Man, Jake 2.0, My Secret Identity, Powers, Quantum Leap, Stitchers, Supergirl, The Tomorrow People (1973), The Tomorrow People (2013), Tower Prep, and VR.5.
Non-Yuletide fandoms I'm open to include: Highlander: the Series, Psych, H2O: Just Add Water, Arrow, The Flash, Teen Wolf, and The Tomorrow People (1992)
While I'm not usually a fan of fusions, I'd also totally be open to a fusion of any of my requests with Shadowrun.
DO NOT WANTS:
Crack, non-canon AUs (including A/B/O, mpreg, and genderbends), non con, permanent main character maiming or death, PWPs, E or NC-17 rated sexual material, extreme jealousy (e.g. a character A mis-interprets something that characters B & C are doing and refuses to address it and/or allow it to be addressed), character assassination/bashing, torture!porn (e.g. the Saw movies), incest, identity headcanons (e.g. trans*, autistic, asexual).
FANDOMS:
Tomorrow People (1973), (2013)
The Tomorrow People is my first fandom. This is the fandom that I bonded with the hardest and that, arguably, set into place all of my favored tropes. The very idea of children and teenagers with something more to offer the world, yet who have to hide what they are from the world for their own safety, speaks powerfully to me. I love that the characters are thrust into situations that they don't have the experience to deal with, yet have the responsibility to take on because their powers make them the only ones who can solve the problems. I love how they are forced to rely on each other, and how although their powers separate them from their family and friends, the Tomorrow People still consider themselves part of the world at large. I also love how they continually have to grapple with the question of whether they are superior to or better than the people they're descended from, and how often the answer is “only in some ways.”
1973
Stephen, Andrew
One of the things I loved about the '73 series was the breadth of the plots. Our characters were grounded in their time and place of 70s UK, but their adventures ranged all over the galaxy, through time, and even into their own schools and homes. This year, I'm in the mood for time travel fic with this canon, which is why I'm requesting two characters who never appeared on screen together.
Throw the doors open on your interpretation of the request (or ignore it, if you have a better idea). Let's see Stephen being brought back to Earth to help Andrew prepare for his first mission back in time. Or Andrew goes back in time and there runs into Stephen who's in the same place for an entirely different reason. Give them a “Rift in Time” kind of adventure where they're screwing up the timeline and having to go back and forth trying to fix it, or start them in an already wrong timeline and see if they can figure out where it went wrong and why. Have Andrew sit in with the TP when they were first coming together as a group and Stephen was still a noob, or have Stephen from '73 get a glimpse of what's coming with the TP when he accidentally lands in the Forbes castle during one of Andrew's “hauntings.” You could also throw them into the future. How would Stephen and Andrew cope if they suddenly appeared in 2015? Conversely, how would the 2015 versions cope if they suddenly found themselves alongside their 70s counterparts?
All canon characters are welcome to help populate your story.
Ships: Not for this group, please.
Also, if you happen to know any of the other versions of the TP and would like to adapt or plunder storylines, have at it.
2013
Any
For all its flaws, the 2013 show brought us a new generation of characters with the problems of the modern world. Further, while the other versions of the show limited the TP experience to a small and fixed group of people--which is easy to teach and monitor--this one throws the doors open to myriad people, many of whom aren't good people. This would completely change the overall TP experience. 'm really interested in seeing the characters live and function in the 21st century where new breakouts are happening all the time, and CCTV, iPhones, satellites, and social media surround and affect us all whether we want it to or not.
In the tagset this year are four minor characters from the show: Sophie Coburn, Monty the Magnificent, Kurt Rundel, and Luca Jameson. I'm the one who put them there. I've requested ANY for this fandom and I mean it. Should you want to write exclusively about one of the above mentioned, I'm your gal. Should you prefer to write a story about any of our main characters, I'm great with that too. Mixing-and-matching is also welcome. I'm especially fond of familial relationships, strong friendships, or characters we rarely or never see together on screen needing to work together in the story.
In a generic sense, I'm interested in any of the classic TP tropes, including: time travel, mad scientists, aliens, evil pop culture, and government conspiracies. I'm also, and always, interested in situations that cause our characters' TP lives (or knowledge of the TP and their existence) to come in conflict with their regular lives, such as issues with school, work, or creating or maintaining friendships/relationships.
All canon characters are welcome to help populate your story.
Astrid – Dealing with a TP-related problem by herself. Figuring out how to pursue her own dreams when she's surrounded by people with superpowers. Adjusting to John's absence.
Cara – Her coming-to-New York story and early days as a TP. Problems with being the TP leader in the post-ULTRA world.
Charlotte – Starting a new life post-season 1. First human friend.
Irene – Trying to get powers back. Adventures in grad school knowing what she knows now.
John – Recovering his memory. Becoming the leader of the TP. Adventures as an ULTRA agent. Kid!John in his foster homes.
Kurt – His adjustment to having powers and then losing his powers. Getting revenge on the TP. Trying to make apologies to the TP. Trying to get powers back.
Luca - Coping with being the human in a family of TP. Breaking out. Any high school is hell issue.
Monty – Gets blackmailed over how he does his “magic.” Uses his street show to find new TP.
Sophie – Her life after Cara left. Why did she take up ballet and what does it mean to her? Why did she choose the suppressor band instead of the power-removal serum?
Stephen – College. Problems with being the TP leader in the post-ULTRA world.
Ships: All canon ships are also welcome, as are any other combinations of characters, provided you avoid incest and leave anyone older than John or younger than Luca out of the mix.
Also, if you happen to know any of the other versions of the TP, you're welcome to adapt or plunder storylines for this group (except “A Man for Emily”; please don't use that one). I have a headcanon that the Stephen Jameson of the 1973 series is Marla Jameson of the 2013's father. Use it, if you want. Or not.
My Secret Identity
Andrew, Kirk
One of the things I really liked about MSI was that the show was a real world/real high school setting. Andrew had powers, but there was no reason for the powers: no super villains, no prophecy, no great mission. Andrew so desperately wanted to be a superhero, and all he could really manage to be was an awkward teenager with teenage issues and the ability to float, run really fast, and be strong (which were just as often the problem as they were the solution). The police weren’t clamoring for his help, he didn’t masquerade as a vigilante (nor did it go very well when he tried), and the newspapers and public had no knowledge that a superhero lived among them. There’s a great metaphor in all this about the person we are inside and the person we’re allowed to show to others.
Another thing I really liked was how much Andrew fanboyed his own powers. While Ultraman was only mentioned in the first season, I loved that the character even existed. Andrew delighted in being able to do what he could do, and who could blame him? (Well, Dr. J could and did, but that’s beside the point.) Though Andrew did eventually mature a little and calm down (and what did happen to his comic book collection?), I don’t think he ever truly lost the wonder.
Andrew and Kirk are an interesting relationship because they're old friends who don't know much about each other. I think about who I was at 7 and who I was at 16 and how many friendships fell away for good reasons in the intervening years, and it really makes me wonder what makes this friendship tick and why both guys assumed their friendship should just pick up where it left off.
I do ask that the fic be set with Andrew in the 14-20ish age bracket. Him being a teenager/young adult and dealing with the powers is what interests me. If you want to update the year of the setting, that’s fine. I have no particular attachment to 1988-1992. However, I’m not ready for him to grow up and have a family, even if I did.
-A lab accident causes Andrew's powers to sometimes leap into Kirk. The boys discover this in the most inopportune way.
-Andrew and Kirk get tied together as part of a class project on trust.
-Kirk figures out that Andrew is hiding something from him, but arrives at a plausible yet wrong conclusion that he then proceeds to act on, much to Andrew's confusion.
-Kirk needs to help Andrew conceal his powers. Andrew doesn't know that Kirk knows about his powers.
Ships: Andrew/Kirk could be interesting. Andrew/OC and/or Kirk/OC is also welcome.
Psion – Joan D. Vinge
I've adored this series ever since the first book came out. It's 80s cyberpunk in every way without the technobabble that overwhelmed the characters in other cyberpunk books. Plus, there's superpowers. (The fact that the powers and consequences thereof in here happen to be a fine match with those of the Tomorrow People '73 probably only adds to my appreciation). Cat's ability to take the short-straw of life and be amazing hits all my underdog fantasies. I love how he does always land on his feet, but damn does he take a beating on the way down (and, yes, I love that, too). His ability to form friendships and make allies who will stand by him no matter what gets to my love of loyalty. Mikah is more surprising as a character because we don't know much about where he came from. That he took the money Cat left him and bought into a Family suggests a survival instinct on par with Cat's. Yet, he also stepped up and saved Cat during that first visit to the Deep End when he didn't have to, which speaks of a deep sense of obligation and a taste for risk. He could have easily taken the money and called their debt good, instead of taking Cat on as a blood brother, with all the baggage that he had to suspect Cat brings.
For this series, I'd love to see more of the two of them, preferably set after the events of Psion when they're both more-or-less healthy, though flashbacks or references to the Mines are fine. Do they see each other again after Catspaw? Do they stay in contact? Would there ever be a situation where Mikah calls on Cat for help? Would there be a situation in which they'd choose to work together simply because they have the right combination of skills?
-Mikah's perspective on Cat's adventures in Catspaw.
-Cat and Mikah deliberately taking on a job together, perhaps because the Governor needs something impossible done.
-Mikah visits Cat on the floating university.
-Cat and Mikah spend an evening together at Purgatory and have their newfound brother status tested.
Crossover prompts:
-The Hydrans were what was left of the Tomorrow People after the fall of the Galactic Federation
-Cat discovers that his newest employer is a dragon. (Shadowrun)
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder – Julie Halpern
Dottie Bell
I'm not going to pretend that this request is anything but wish-fulfillment. The character of Dottie is based on some of my exploits in high school, which was interesting to read because it's not a very flattering portrayal. Naturally I've love to know more about this character. I know how I turned out, and more or less why, but that means I can't read Dottie with clear eyes. I'd love to know more about who she is as her own character and not as someone written by a person who knew me when.
What was she up to while Jessie was having her crisis of friendship?
What's up with the constructed language? Why did she make one and why does she talk about it?
What are her friendships/hobbies/activities as separate from Jessie's involvement in shaping them?
What's her biggest high school adventure?
Future!fic – High school reunion.
Supergirl
Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers
This show is still so new that I don't know yet what to say for prompts. I asked for Kara and Alex as characters because I always love stories that examine sibling relationships.
12/1 -- Yup, that was a good call. I'm adoring the relationship between the Danvers sisters more with each passing episode. The flashback pieces where the girls play with Kara's powers fills me with joy, and the modern stuff where they're friends and confidants and co-workers who completely have each other's backs is everything I want. The fact that they also have squabbles and insecurities only makes their relationship more real.
I'd love to see more of any of it. Alex training Kara to fight. Kara and Alex bonding over their mutual difficulties creating work-life balance. Young!Danvers getting into trouble--or doing whatever they can to stay out of it--when they break rules in the way that kids do. I'm also curious about Kara's problems adjusting to a new family and new life on Earth. Likewise, Alex's perspective on the challenges of getting a superpowered sister that she's then put in charge of protecting would be great. Celebrations of a family event would be great: birthdays, holidays, special anniversaries (note: I do not follow any religion and so far canon hasn't assigned one to the Danvers. If you do follow a religion and would like to show the Danvers celebrating/observing within it, knock your socks off.)
If you're of the more trope-y sort, I'd be interested in a story where something happens and Alex gets Kara's powers (like the lightning strike in Lois & Clark that created Ultrawoman). Or any of the possible variations of Kara encountering kryponite, and Alex having to help her with that. Or Alex getting caught in a timeloop that she can only break when she figures out how to save Kara.
All canon characters are welcome to help populate your story. Jimmy Olson and Carter Grant are my non-Danvers favorites, but I'm seriously in the "use who works for the story" camp.
Pairings: Canon pairings are always fine. I wouldn't object to Kara/Jimmy in a future!fic scenario, but please don't bash Lucy to get there.
Thank you again for signing up. I am very much looking forward to seeing the story you choose to write.
12/1 - Updated for the entry on Supergirl
Dear Yuletide Writer:
First of all, thank you so much for signing up! We already have at least one fandom in common, which is the important part. It's like cake. Cake is my favorite part. I hope the rest of what follows is just frosting.
What follows is a a run-down of my likes/dislikes, favorite tropes, and some specific fandom discussion with sentence prompts. Use what you need to, but know that I know that ODAO. You're also welcome to stalk me online. I'm LadySilver on fanfiction.net and AO3, argentum_ls on DW and LJ, and argentum-ls on tumblr. I participate in a lot of exchanges and fests, which means I've thrown a lot of prompts out into the void. Should you see a prompt from a different exchange/fest that you'd like to use, go for it! (Even if it's already been filled).
Overall, what I like in a story is plot; that is, I want something to happen. Beyond that, the reins are pretty loose. I like h/c and whump, angst, drama, humor, casefic, action/adventure, and romance. I'm open to gen, het, slash, poly—though I do have some fandom-specific preferences, which are listed below. I love pairings and I also love strong friendship and (pseudo)parent-child relationships. Ratings from G to hard-R are great. Crossovers are fantastic, though not anything I ever expect. I prefer canon based stories or canon-divergent AUs, and I prefer third-person storytelling, though I don't care if it's in past or present tense.
TROPE WANTS:
One of my favorite tropes is Trapped!, perhaps because it offers so many potential interpretations that all boil down to the same thing. This can be the characters getting stuck in an avalanche, cave-in, snow storm, hurricane, or any other disaster inspired reason that they have limited resources to deal with and no ability to simply walk away from. Likewise, characters being captured or held hostage, regardless of whether it's physical or psychological bondage that's keeping them there, can be a great way to show how characters act under pressure and/or to bring out sides of their personalities that we don't normally see. Other interpretations are for the characters with an alternate shape to get stuck in their alternate form, or for characters who don't normally have an alternate shape to get stuck in another body (bodyswap, with or without the swap part), to get stuck in the wrong time, to get stuck out-of-sync with everyone else (such as in an alternate universe or on a ghostly plane), or to simply get stuck in circumstances they'd never, ever choose to be in (such as the awkward meet-the-other-family dinner, being a participant in the talent show, or in a vehicle with a person they don't like).
Combine Trapped! with Secret Identity and you're golden. Somehow, the bad situation can only be solved by application of their supernatural state—which would lead to revealing their state to someone who Should. Not. Know.—or the mere circumstances of the entrapment cause the supernatural state to, itself, become the problem, such that the characters have to go to lengths to prevent the supernatural state from manifesting (e.g. if a character teleporting is what will set off the bomb, or stress triggers the powers to act in unusual or extreme ways, such as the character not being able to stop using his super-strength ), or the character needs to hide the manifestation of their powers/state that is triggered by something else in the situation (e.g. fun with Kryptonite), which may require relying on someone who has not yet proven their reliability.
For extra fun, up the tension by throwing in Running Out of Time, Unexpected Allies, Lying by Telling the Truth*, or inversions of any of these or other tropes.
Other things I like:
*Such as when a character tells the truth about his/her secret in such a way that she/he knows won't be believed. TV Tropes supplies Sarcastic Confession for this, though I prefer when it's played straight.
If you're interested in doing a crossover, any live-action show I've written about is fair game. For sake of ease, Yuletide eligible fandoms I'd be open to include: American Gothic, Being Human (US), Big Wolf on Campus, The Dead Zone, Early Edition, Forever, Forever Knight, The Greatest American Hero, The Invisible Man, Jake 2.0, My Secret Identity, Powers, Quantum Leap, Stitchers, Supergirl, The Tomorrow People (1973), The Tomorrow People (2013), Tower Prep, and VR.5.
Non-Yuletide fandoms I'm open to include: Highlander: the Series, Psych, H2O: Just Add Water, Arrow, The Flash, Teen Wolf, and The Tomorrow People (1992)
While I'm not usually a fan of fusions, I'd also totally be open to a fusion of any of my requests with Shadowrun.
DO NOT WANTS:
Crack, non-canon AUs (including A/B/O, mpreg, and genderbends), non con, permanent main character maiming or death, PWPs, E or NC-17 rated sexual material, extreme jealousy (e.g. a character A mis-interprets something that characters B & C are doing and refuses to address it and/or allow it to be addressed), character assassination/bashing, torture!porn (e.g. the Saw movies), incest, identity headcanons (e.g. trans*, autistic, asexual).
FANDOMS:
Tomorrow People (1973), (2013)
The Tomorrow People is my first fandom. This is the fandom that I bonded with the hardest and that, arguably, set into place all of my favored tropes. The very idea of children and teenagers with something more to offer the world, yet who have to hide what they are from the world for their own safety, speaks powerfully to me. I love that the characters are thrust into situations that they don't have the experience to deal with, yet have the responsibility to take on because their powers make them the only ones who can solve the problems. I love how they are forced to rely on each other, and how although their powers separate them from their family and friends, the Tomorrow People still consider themselves part of the world at large. I also love how they continually have to grapple with the question of whether they are superior to or better than the people they're descended from, and how often the answer is “only in some ways.”
1973
Stephen, Andrew
One of the things I loved about the '73 series was the breadth of the plots. Our characters were grounded in their time and place of 70s UK, but their adventures ranged all over the galaxy, through time, and even into their own schools and homes. This year, I'm in the mood for time travel fic with this canon, which is why I'm requesting two characters who never appeared on screen together.
Throw the doors open on your interpretation of the request (or ignore it, if you have a better idea). Let's see Stephen being brought back to Earth to help Andrew prepare for his first mission back in time. Or Andrew goes back in time and there runs into Stephen who's in the same place for an entirely different reason. Give them a “Rift in Time” kind of adventure where they're screwing up the timeline and having to go back and forth trying to fix it, or start them in an already wrong timeline and see if they can figure out where it went wrong and why. Have Andrew sit in with the TP when they were first coming together as a group and Stephen was still a noob, or have Stephen from '73 get a glimpse of what's coming with the TP when he accidentally lands in the Forbes castle during one of Andrew's “hauntings.” You could also throw them into the future. How would Stephen and Andrew cope if they suddenly appeared in 2015? Conversely, how would the 2015 versions cope if they suddenly found themselves alongside their 70s counterparts?
All canon characters are welcome to help populate your story.
Ships: Not for this group, please.
Also, if you happen to know any of the other versions of the TP and would like to adapt or plunder storylines, have at it.
2013
Any
For all its flaws, the 2013 show brought us a new generation of characters with the problems of the modern world. Further, while the other versions of the show limited the TP experience to a small and fixed group of people--which is easy to teach and monitor--this one throws the doors open to myriad people, many of whom aren't good people. This would completely change the overall TP experience. 'm really interested in seeing the characters live and function in the 21st century where new breakouts are happening all the time, and CCTV, iPhones, satellites, and social media surround and affect us all whether we want it to or not.
In the tagset this year are four minor characters from the show: Sophie Coburn, Monty the Magnificent, Kurt Rundel, and Luca Jameson. I'm the one who put them there. I've requested ANY for this fandom and I mean it. Should you want to write exclusively about one of the above mentioned, I'm your gal. Should you prefer to write a story about any of our main characters, I'm great with that too. Mixing-and-matching is also welcome. I'm especially fond of familial relationships, strong friendships, or characters we rarely or never see together on screen needing to work together in the story.
In a generic sense, I'm interested in any of the classic TP tropes, including: time travel, mad scientists, aliens, evil pop culture, and government conspiracies. I'm also, and always, interested in situations that cause our characters' TP lives (or knowledge of the TP and their existence) to come in conflict with their regular lives, such as issues with school, work, or creating or maintaining friendships/relationships.
All canon characters are welcome to help populate your story.
Astrid – Dealing with a TP-related problem by herself. Figuring out how to pursue her own dreams when she's surrounded by people with superpowers. Adjusting to John's absence.
Cara – Her coming-to-New York story and early days as a TP. Problems with being the TP leader in the post-ULTRA world.
Charlotte – Starting a new life post-season 1. First human friend.
Irene – Trying to get powers back. Adventures in grad school knowing what she knows now.
John – Recovering his memory. Becoming the leader of the TP. Adventures as an ULTRA agent. Kid!John in his foster homes.
Kurt – His adjustment to having powers and then losing his powers. Getting revenge on the TP. Trying to make apologies to the TP. Trying to get powers back.
Luca - Coping with being the human in a family of TP. Breaking out. Any high school is hell issue.
Monty – Gets blackmailed over how he does his “magic.” Uses his street show to find new TP.
Sophie – Her life after Cara left. Why did she take up ballet and what does it mean to her? Why did she choose the suppressor band instead of the power-removal serum?
Stephen – College. Problems with being the TP leader in the post-ULTRA world.
Ships: All canon ships are also welcome, as are any other combinations of characters, provided you avoid incest and leave anyone older than John or younger than Luca out of the mix.
Also, if you happen to know any of the other versions of the TP, you're welcome to adapt or plunder storylines for this group (except “A Man for Emily”; please don't use that one). I have a headcanon that the Stephen Jameson of the 1973 series is Marla Jameson of the 2013's father. Use it, if you want. Or not.
My Secret Identity
Andrew, Kirk
One of the things I really liked about MSI was that the show was a real world/real high school setting. Andrew had powers, but there was no reason for the powers: no super villains, no prophecy, no great mission. Andrew so desperately wanted to be a superhero, and all he could really manage to be was an awkward teenager with teenage issues and the ability to float, run really fast, and be strong (which were just as often the problem as they were the solution). The police weren’t clamoring for his help, he didn’t masquerade as a vigilante (nor did it go very well when he tried), and the newspapers and public had no knowledge that a superhero lived among them. There’s a great metaphor in all this about the person we are inside and the person we’re allowed to show to others.
Another thing I really liked was how much Andrew fanboyed his own powers. While Ultraman was only mentioned in the first season, I loved that the character even existed. Andrew delighted in being able to do what he could do, and who could blame him? (Well, Dr. J could and did, but that’s beside the point.) Though Andrew did eventually mature a little and calm down (and what did happen to his comic book collection?), I don’t think he ever truly lost the wonder.
Andrew and Kirk are an interesting relationship because they're old friends who don't know much about each other. I think about who I was at 7 and who I was at 16 and how many friendships fell away for good reasons in the intervening years, and it really makes me wonder what makes this friendship tick and why both guys assumed their friendship should just pick up where it left off.
I do ask that the fic be set with Andrew in the 14-20ish age bracket. Him being a teenager/young adult and dealing with the powers is what interests me. If you want to update the year of the setting, that’s fine. I have no particular attachment to 1988-1992. However, I’m not ready for him to grow up and have a family, even if I did.
-A lab accident causes Andrew's powers to sometimes leap into Kirk. The boys discover this in the most inopportune way.
-Andrew and Kirk get tied together as part of a class project on trust.
-Kirk figures out that Andrew is hiding something from him, but arrives at a plausible yet wrong conclusion that he then proceeds to act on, much to Andrew's confusion.
-Kirk needs to help Andrew conceal his powers. Andrew doesn't know that Kirk knows about his powers.
Ships: Andrew/Kirk could be interesting. Andrew/OC and/or Kirk/OC is also welcome.
Psion – Joan D. Vinge
I've adored this series ever since the first book came out. It's 80s cyberpunk in every way without the technobabble that overwhelmed the characters in other cyberpunk books. Plus, there's superpowers. (The fact that the powers and consequences thereof in here happen to be a fine match with those of the Tomorrow People '73 probably only adds to my appreciation). Cat's ability to take the short-straw of life and be amazing hits all my underdog fantasies. I love how he does always land on his feet, but damn does he take a beating on the way down (and, yes, I love that, too). His ability to form friendships and make allies who will stand by him no matter what gets to my love of loyalty. Mikah is more surprising as a character because we don't know much about where he came from. That he took the money Cat left him and bought into a Family suggests a survival instinct on par with Cat's. Yet, he also stepped up and saved Cat during that first visit to the Deep End when he didn't have to, which speaks of a deep sense of obligation and a taste for risk. He could have easily taken the money and called their debt good, instead of taking Cat on as a blood brother, with all the baggage that he had to suspect Cat brings.
For this series, I'd love to see more of the two of them, preferably set after the events of Psion when they're both more-or-less healthy, though flashbacks or references to the Mines are fine. Do they see each other again after Catspaw? Do they stay in contact? Would there ever be a situation where Mikah calls on Cat for help? Would there be a situation in which they'd choose to work together simply because they have the right combination of skills?
-Mikah's perspective on Cat's adventures in Catspaw.
-Cat and Mikah deliberately taking on a job together, perhaps because the Governor needs something impossible done.
-Mikah visits Cat on the floating university.
-Cat and Mikah spend an evening together at Purgatory and have their newfound brother status tested.
Crossover prompts:
-The Hydrans were what was left of the Tomorrow People after the fall of the Galactic Federation
-Cat discovers that his newest employer is a dragon. (Shadowrun)
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder – Julie Halpern
Dottie Bell
I'm not going to pretend that this request is anything but wish-fulfillment. The character of Dottie is based on some of my exploits in high school, which was interesting to read because it's not a very flattering portrayal. Naturally I've love to know more about this character. I know how I turned out, and more or less why, but that means I can't read Dottie with clear eyes. I'd love to know more about who she is as her own character and not as someone written by a person who knew me when.
What was she up to while Jessie was having her crisis of friendship?
What's up with the constructed language? Why did she make one and why does she talk about it?
What are her friendships/hobbies/activities as separate from Jessie's involvement in shaping them?
What's her biggest high school adventure?
Future!fic – High school reunion.
Supergirl
Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers
This show is still so new that I don't know yet what to say for prompts. I asked for Kara and Alex as characters because I always love stories that examine sibling relationships.
12/1 -- Yup, that was a good call. I'm adoring the relationship between the Danvers sisters more with each passing episode. The flashback pieces where the girls play with Kara's powers fills me with joy, and the modern stuff where they're friends and confidants and co-workers who completely have each other's backs is everything I want. The fact that they also have squabbles and insecurities only makes their relationship more real.
I'd love to see more of any of it. Alex training Kara to fight. Kara and Alex bonding over their mutual difficulties creating work-life balance. Young!Danvers getting into trouble--or doing whatever they can to stay out of it--when they break rules in the way that kids do. I'm also curious about Kara's problems adjusting to a new family and new life on Earth. Likewise, Alex's perspective on the challenges of getting a superpowered sister that she's then put in charge of protecting would be great. Celebrations of a family event would be great: birthdays, holidays, special anniversaries (note: I do not follow any religion and so far canon hasn't assigned one to the Danvers. If you do follow a religion and would like to show the Danvers celebrating/observing within it, knock your socks off.)
If you're of the more trope-y sort, I'd be interested in a story where something happens and Alex gets Kara's powers (like the lightning strike in Lois & Clark that created Ultrawoman). Or any of the possible variations of Kara encountering kryponite, and Alex having to help her with that. Or Alex getting caught in a timeloop that she can only break when she figures out how to save Kara.
All canon characters are welcome to help populate your story. Jimmy Olson and Carter Grant are my non-Danvers favorites, but I'm seriously in the "use who works for the story" camp.
Pairings: Canon pairings are always fine. I wouldn't object to Kara/Jimmy in a future!fic scenario, but please don't bash Lucy to get there.
Thank you again for signing up. I am very much looking forward to seeing the story you choose to write.
