Dear Fandom Growth 2017 Writer
Aug. 15th, 2017 09:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
doranwenThis is my first time trying Fandom Growth! I'm looking forward to it. :D I did a lot of describing the awesomeness about each character or pairing, and gave a few prompts in case you find them useful. I hope you have a lot of fun writing for me. :)
I love characters who are strong, characters who have quiet depth, characters with an active inner life, characters who think… You'll probably see this in the characters I requested. :)
What I love about relationships is all the emotional depth: vulnerability, loyalty, knowing someone so well you know what they feel/think/need, even just having someone there as an emotional "rock". The whole "not being alone" feeling is such a powerful theme.
I once made up a 101 favorite tropes list (in no particular order), so feel free to make use of those if any of them get your muse going: http://doranwen.livejournal.com/246063.html
Besides those tropes, here are my general likes:
deep platonic friendship, romantic friendship, asexual romance, found families, apocalyptic fic, hurt/comfort, nonsexual physical touch (including cuddling), self-sacrifice, characters being vulnerable, character redemption, survival fic, positive treatment of religion, characters dealing with trauma, trust building, missing scenes, canon divergence AU (especially fix-it fic)
DNWs: sex or sexual feelings, supernatural/fantasy beings (elves, vampires, werewolves, gnomes, zombies, etc.), AUs other than canon divergence or alt beginnings, deathfic or horror, calling an adult "baby" or "darling", mpreg, crackfic, gore (mild violence is OK, just not as graphic as a surgery documentary), uncensored profanity, first/second person fic
Don't worry if someone's written a similar idea before. My first real fandom was one where people used to write a dozen versions of the same TV ep, and I loved reading them all. There are never too many versions of the same story, in my opinion.
And now to the requests (in the order of which I found them in the tagset):
Worldweavers - Alma Alexander
Basic premise: Galathea Winthrop (aka Thea) is a Double Seventh, a seventh child of seventh children. This should mean she's good at something really special, right? Except she can't do magic at all. And Ars Magica is part of the curriculum of every school in the entire nation—except for one: the Wandless Academy (which is sometimes called the Last Ditch School for the Incurably Incompetent). But between a summer school (with a class of one) like no other, and various unusual events, Thea begins to discover the gifts she has never known she had. Oh, and save the world in the process.
I didn't nominate/request any characters because I'd like to leave things open for worldbuilding. The sheer idea of a world where Ars Magica is part of the entire school curriculum—really, where magic is so woven into the way things happen that coffeeshops use spells to keep people's orders straight, you can buy a spell to keep gardens tidy, and a magic allergy is extremely life-threatening. Oh, and throw in the feral libraries, with elevators that act like four-year-olds! I fell in love with the world with that part. Just pure awesomeness! I also enjoy that part of it is set in my region of the US (the Pacific Northwest). I also love Thea's story, so if you're feeling more of a character-driven story, I'd love fic about her! For this fandom I'd love OCs, especially since I'm more interested in the way things work than in the specific characters' stories (other than Thea).
I like how Thea's friends grow over time, and you can totally throw them in, but I'd prefer that the fic not focus on them. I'm less interested in the Anasazi, Grandmother Spider/Tawaha/the Trickster, Tesla and all of that; feel free to leave them out. The Alphiri and Faele are not my thing, and we know little of the Dwarrowrim, so I'd prefer if the fic not focus on those polities, as they're called in the books.
Prompts:
I'd love something about the education system, from a child starting their first Ars Magica classes to the creation of the Wandless Academy. I'm a math teacher, and the mention of mathemagic, spell-solving of equations, and fractionators had me wishing I could see more of those. Or write something about magic run amok, like feral libraries, or magic as used in crimes and criminal justice, etc. Or explore some of the other types of magic (the ones mentioned in the list of all the things they tried in order to find Thea's magic). Or maybe something with society setup, like the Federal Bureau of Magic, or how it's integrated into the everyday lives of people (note the bit in the first book about people not using cars much due to portals, slipways, transfigurations . . .), even as regards to having magic allergies (the medical profession would be interesting!) Use whatever you know well. I'm not into sports (the only possible exception is Olympic gymnastics or ice skating which I watched back in the '90s, mainly) or fashion, but I'll find just about any other industry fascinating; I like complex systems and how they work (hence my fascination with air traffic control and airports in general). The world of Worldweavers feels familiar but there are so many interesting changes!
If you find yourself inspired by Thea, I'd love something set after Dawn of Magic, where she settles into her full power, finishes at Amford, etc. Does she create anything really special in her life? Like the Elemental houses, for instance. Something that no one else could do.
Born of Hope (2009)
Basic premise: This fan film outdoes many a mainstream film by taking a microbudget and using it to flesh out the story of Aragorn's parents (Arathorn and Gilraen) from Lord of the Rings. In this tale, one of Arathorn's Rangers is a young woman named Elgarain. Raised by her father when her mother died in childbirth, she demanded to be trained as a Ranger upon her father's death, and harbors a secret love for Arathorn. Her best friend Dírhaborn is secretly in love with her, but she's oblivious to his affections.
I really love how the cast and crew took a tiny budget and pulled off something this good. The film grabbed me from the get-go and I think they did a fantastic job at bringing the world to life. Elgarain was the standout to me (it wasn't until after I finished watching that I realized that the actress was the director as well!), and you'll see that both requests for this fandom include her in some way. :)
Prompts by tag:
Arathorn II/Elgarain (Born of Hope (2009)):
I'd love to see the canon moment when Elgarain realizes her feelings for Arathorn. Or go AU and have them requited in some way!
Dírhaborn/Elgarain (Born of Hope):
We get about two seconds of this ship requited on screen (and no time for any more), so either show me the one-sided version, or go AU with it and find a way to make these two live!
Gold Diggers (1995)
Basic premise: Also known as Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain (1995), the film tells the story of two girls who become close friends and essentially save each other's lives. There's also a plotline involving gold (naturally, given the name), but the story is essentially a story of friendship.
Oh, fandom of my childhood. I LOVED this movie to death. So much so that I spent hours imagining what I now know to be called fanfic, whereupon I changed Beth and Jody's name to Sara and Ricki, and made their family lives nasty enough so they would run away to live in Bear Mountain for the rest of their lives and adopt runaway orphan kids and … yeah. I kid you not. I thought the whole "best friends run away and live together forever happily ever after" was the perfect ending EVER when I was 13, lol.
The thing that captivated me about the movie was most particularly the friendship between the two of them. Beth is fascinated by Jody from the get-go (she goes from confused by just seeing her fight with a kid, to mad with running into her with the groceries—and yet she still heads off with her after the Winnie the Pooh discussion), her toughness that hides an underlying vulnerability and hurt. And Jody appreciates Beth as someone who actually listens to her, who is loyal and supportive. (I think I saw myself some in Beth, and longed for something like what they had.)
I also loved the survivalist theme of Jody wanting to live in Bear Mountain. A lot of my "mindfic" from my childhood days centered around some character surviving by a combination of scavenging (which included raiding "civilization" for anything useful, sometimes by less than legal means), farming/hunting, etc. I wasn't always very realistic about it (since I didn't know much about survival as a 12-year-old), but I loved the idea of it.
I nominated and requested the group of Beth and Jody together because to me, this is the core of the film. :) Really, they are the heart of it all. I'd love anything from their friendship during the rest of the summer after the events in the film, or at school the following year; they're local celebrities now, but they're not going to let that get to their heads. What's popularity compared to a friendship you can count on? I'm good with turning it into a romantic friendship, too. I just love the bond these two have! I can see them talking about their dads, about what they'll do when they're grown up, going on more adventures at Bear Mountain… Feel free to AU things too, if you like the idea of them running away for whatever reason, or if Jody had actually killed Ray, or if Ray did worse things besides beat up Lynette. (I'm quite OK with some dark themes here as long as the girls end up together and have each other.) Or what if Beth didn't crash the boat and Jody was living in Bear Mountain by herself? (whether Ray lived or not) So many ways to focus on these two girls, and I would have so much love for whatever you write. :D
X-Men (Original Timeline Movies)
Basic premise (in the rare possibility that whoever's reading this actually doesn't know anything about this canon and is curious): Humans have evolved to where some are born with an extra gene, called the X gene, which gives them mutant powers (mostly at adolescence, but some are visibly different at birth). Some use them for good and some for evil, and fear of the latter causes a lot of prejudice against them. One very talented telepath, Professor Xavier, gathers powerful mutants as students, who later become teachers at his own boarding school. Two of his teachers are Scott Summers aka Cyclops (played by James Marsden) and Ororo Munroe aka Storm (played by Halle Berry). During the course of the films, they rescue mutants and fight multiple villains.
Ahh, X-Men. :D I should note first off that my introduction to X-Men was through the films - the first three only - and I've not experienced any other canon besides them (unless you count poking on Wikipedia for comics info I could borrow for fic as I felt like). I wasn't too keen on what I'd heard about Wolverine when it was being made, so I never ended up watching it, or First Class, or any of the others, just X1, X2, and X3. X1 and X2 I love wholeheartedly, whether you AU them all over the place, or keep the plot as it is. The characters, the issues, there's a lot going on and it's just fantastic! X3, on the other hand… I like parts of it (Jimmy's power, the Cure plot, introducing Angel) but other parts of it I was very dismayed at (what they did to Scott and Professor X) or not fond of (the Phoenix plot, Rogue taking the Cure, even Ororo's haircut). So X3 is a mixed bag for me. I can enjoy a fic set in it, but given the ships I'm requesting (which both have Scott in it), I think you might find X3 a challenge to write! :)
I love the big issues the canon raises, such as the question of how much liberty we trade for security, and the ways people fear differences. The parallels to the Holocaust are particularly interesting to me, as the villain Magneto reacts to his experiences by promoting superiority of mutants over humans out of fear that it will happen again. Is his fear valid? Absolutely, which makes him a more sympathetic villain - yet that fear does not justify the means he uses, nor the results he would achieve (subjugating humans would only breed resentment toward mutants, which would make a genocide more likely should they ever be free of that yoke). Each character has to decide where they stand on the subject of mutant-human relations, and how they will demonstrate their views by their actions, and that makes them all the more fascinating.
I also love the personal issues raised by individual characters' stories. My favorite character (if you couldn't tell by the ships I requested) is Scott. Sadly, the films don't give us nearly enough detail on his life or what brought him to be who he is. You're welcome to use whatever backstory you like, as long as it doesn't involve the aliens as in comics canon. (I like my X-Men realistic other than for the powers, lol.) What we do see (from my perspective) is a guy who has to get things right, not in order to dominate, but in order to satisfy his own standards. He has high expectations for himself, whether because he feels a sense of gratitude/obligation to Professor X, or just because he isn't satisfied with less than excellence. There's possibly some insecurity there, too. From the age difference between his actor and Jean's, I tend to headcanon that Jean is older than Scott by several years. What we see of their relationship in the film could be solid, but I've often seen some potential for issues and a breakup, hence some of the ships I requested (none of which are Scott/Jean).
One of my other favorite characters (I like quite a few of them!) is, obviously, Ororo. She provides an excellent chance to give a different cultural perspective, and I like the comic-derived possibility of her being claustrophobic. While I did not request Professor X, I also really love his character too, as the wise leader who might or might not do a little too much manipulation of things. Since I've not seen any other films besides the first three, you've got a lot of leeway for what you write for the school's history as well as that of some of the characters.
As for other characters: I generally like all the students that are shown to be at the school (for instance, the physics class clearly has Dani and Jubilee in addition to Bobby, Kitty, and John), and I like the X-Men a lot. I'd prefer not to see the villains glamorized or justified; while I can understand their motivations, it doesn't make their actions any more valid (the ends do not justify the means). I headcanon Professor X as likely asexual (but you could sell me on a relationship in the past, perhaps with Moira - since I've not seen more than X1-X3, you're welcome to write her however you like if you include her). I never did see him and Erik as partners in a romantic/sexual sense. The only comics characters that I've run across in fics that I've read and know for sure I would rather not see in my gift are Gambit and any of the characters from the Hellfire Club.
Prompts:
Scott and Ororo (whether the / romantic or the & platonic) are the rarest of all my rarepairs, I think (there are so few fics that focus on these two!); Ororo/Scott was not a ship I would have thought of till I read a couple really good fics years ago that paired them, and then I wondered why I hadn't seen those possibilities earlier. If you want to write just friendship, I'd love to see more of them bonding as teachers of mutant teenagers, who are still adults with their own lives. Or perhaps them first meeting and becoming friends. Or perhaps Ororo trying to be Scott's friend after Jean's death in X2. If you want to write a relationship, I'd love to see them navigating past the ghost of Jean in the relationship; even if it's set in an AU where Jean lives through X2 or where they break up before X2 ever happens, I'd imagine that Scott would have to adjust to not being in a relationship with Jean anymore, and given the number of years they must have been together, that's not going to be an instantaneous process. If you want to write X3, maybe you can find a way to keep Prof X from dying and bring Scott back? Or write an X3 where Jean is never found, and the Cure plot plays out without Magneto having her as a weapon. You'd probably have to do some tweaking of canon for X3, seeing as how Scott doesn't live very long in X3 and I really hate the thought of his death so would rather not read foreshadowing. It's so tragic! *sobs* But anyway, you'd think that Scott and Ororo would have had a lot of bonding they could do with each other, especially depending on the backstories you give them.
Alphas (TV)
Basic premise: This show has been called "X-Men for thinking people", and is a deconstruction of humans with superpowers. (The tagline is "Their abilities make them super. Their actions make them human.") Dr. Lee Rosen (played by David Strathairn) is a therapist who manages a team of Alphas, people who have abilities anyone else might - except dialed up by a thousand into the superpower realm - and each with some kind of downside. They work for the government to identify other Alphas and stop rogue ones, including a terrorist group. The ensemble cast includes Nina Theroux (played by Laura Mennell), a woman with a troubled past and the ability to override willpower, and Rachel Pirzad (played by Azita Ghanizada), an Iranian immigrant with the ability to intensify any one sense at the cost of the others.
Oh man, Alphas. I got hooked on it and watched all 24 episodes in six days. I fell in love with Rachel from her very first scene, and by the third episode I loved Nina just as much or more. Dr. Rosen grew on me over the course of the show, and I really love his character too! But honestly, there's not a main character in Alphas that I don't like, and that's unusual for me! They're just really great. Plus the show doesn't hesitate to play hardball with government mistrust, character deaths, and intense scenes, and is possibly the best show I've seen in terms of how it balances characters and storylines. The only downside, imho, was the terrible cliffhanger Syfy ended it on! (What's with that, Syfy? It's a lousy way to treat fans! Give us a two-hour movie to wrap things up, at least!)
I liked Nina's relationship with Cam, but I also liked that it ended and moved on, and I'm ambivalent about whether they should get back together, as the S2 finale hinted at. I'm also ambivalent about Rachel's relationship with John. I like the tension the last two episodes brought, with the issue of loyalties. You could see the team slowly fracturing into two groups - Lee, Cam, and Nina on the side of "anything it takes", and Bill and Kat (and John, for that matter) on the side of "follow the rules", and Rachel torn in the middle. (Gary is really an independent in all of this.) If you write a fic set during or after those eps, I really don't want to see her split away from Lee and Nina, but there would need to be some development of her character in figuring out where she wants to be.
Prompts by tag:
Lee Rosen & Nina Theroux
I love the relationship these two have. Nina seems to be just about the only team member who calls him Lee, and she treats him as an equal in many ways. At the same time, she defers to him and follows him, especially after When Push Comes to Shove. (I've watched that final scene so many times, it's ridiculous.) Her feelings at being asked to use her pushing ability in Gaslight seem very conflicted, but she seems to recognize the need for it, and switches from "push mostly for my own gain" to "push only as Rosen needs me to". She's always the one concerned about his well-being, whether it's telling him he needs to get an injury seen to, or being worried about him (did you catch her tone of voice—and later, her face—in Need to Know when she asks Cam, "Why don't you have Lee?"). Before When Push Comes to Shove, Nina acted very suave, polished, and independent, relying on her connections to the other members of the team and her pushing ability to fill the void in her life; after the events of that episode, she cannot use her pushing to compensate as she realizes the damage it has done to everyone, so she clings all the more to the human connections she has. Those being shaky at first with all but Lee, she grows very emotionally dependent on him, I think, and is very attuned to him. He probably has her loyalty more than anyone; Cam follows him at the end of S2 because they have a shared goal, Rachel follows to a point because she's Rosen's protegé, but Nina follows him because of what he means to her, and would follow him anywhere, I think. You'll notice in Need to Know, when Nina's exhausted, he orders Rachel to get the aminorex, and there's really no time for him to have any discussion about it with Nina; he had to have simply said "I'm going to give you this" and she accepted his judgment. So much trust…
I'd love to see anything from their first meeting, to early therapy sessions (Nina does say she was a mess when she first met Rosen and that he helped her a lot), to interactions between them as the team is being formed. Maybe the scene just after the last bit of convo we hear in When Push Comes to Shove? Or moments during the latter arc - such as discussion about using her pushing during Gaslight or beyond, or plotting the events in Need to Know. I requested only the & tag, but if your fic veers into / territory, go ahead! I don't necessarily see their bond as romantic currently, but I could see her comforting Lee in a more physical way. They're both two souls without much of a family and I'd love to see them lean on each other more.
Lee Rosen & Rachel Pirzad
The relationship between these two is really complex. On one hand, Rachel seems to really look up to Dr. Rosen and rely on him to a degree (such as in Wake Up Call when he's probably the only one who could get her to leave her room), but in Never Let Me Go she said sometimes she thought all he cared about was her Alpha ability. I presume she's realized how much he cares for her since, especially when he told her that she was like a daughter to him and that he cared about her more than she would ever know. Though did you notice that he held back from reassuring her at the end of the episode, preferring instead to remind her of her own strength? I think he's got some issues with being vulnerable (doing it at that one point only so she would survive) - and she's naturally a very vulnerable person. It makes an interesting combination.
I'd love to see anything from their first meeting, to Dr. Rosen helping Rachel past her sensory overload, to an AU ending to Never Let Me Go where he does make himself vulnerable by declaring his affection for her. Or show me S2 Rachel - there's not nearly as many interactions between them but I'd love to see more. How did he convince her to be a part of the kidnap/interrogation plot in Need to Know? Or show a post-finale scene between them (they both have to have lived!) where they discuss her loyalty issues.
Rachel Pirzad & Nina Theroux
The relationship between these two changes so much over the course of the show. S1 Nina is very caring despite doing a good job of pretending to be all cool and not revealing much of her past, and I love the scene at the end of Anger Management where she reaches out to Rachel. She's always offering Rachel a ride, listening to her, encouraging her in her difficulties with her parents, etc. And then you have S2, where she pushes Rachel to stay calm in Wake Up Call - and then pushes for an entirely different reason in When Push Comes to Shove. It was painful to see their relationship in Gaslight, and lovely to see Rachel thawing towards Nina as she recognizes Nina's changed (and that Nina is taking responsibility for the results of her pushing). There are some very interesting undercurrents in Need to Know, though - from Nina's "You called them?" to the way Nina says "When Rachel…" to the looks Nina gives Rachel in the elevator and afterwards, and there wasn't time to really deal with that in the few hours that the last two episodes cover. Though I like that when Kat is trying to get a hold of Rachel, Bill says "Nina always knows where she is". I think Nina really cares for Rachel down deep. I'm not entirely sure what Nina's reasoning was for what she pushed Rachel to do in the club in When Push Comes to Shove (was she trying to find the quickest way to hurt Rachel, to force the rejection she was feeling coming anyway? or was there more to it?), but when she's in her right mind, she clearly has a lot of affection for Rachel.
I'd love to see anything from their first meeting to Rachel moving in with Nina, to bonding while roommates, to even Rachel moving back out to her parents' (when did that happen? right after Rosen's speech or further into the eight months?). Or show me some of the rebuilding of their friendship in S2, or even an AU where Rachel tracks Nina down at the end of The Quick and the Dead and gets through to her. Or show me some of the aftermath of the events of Need to Know or post-finale discussion of things. I just love these two and want to see more of them. Still so mad the show ended too soon!
C-16: FBI
Basic premise: Amanda Reardon (played by Angie Harmon) and another rookie join Criminal Division 16, the Major Case Squad, whose four experienced agents includes Annie Rooney (played by Christine Tucci). The squad tackles cases from kidnappings to mob hits to bank robberies, with arcs following each character through various situations in their life. Amanda, as a newbie, doesn't always do things right, and has a lot of friction with her assigned partner and training agent, a much older man named Jack DiRado (played by Zach Grenier). Annie is a competent agent who juggles her career with being a single mother to a little boy of about four years old; her messy divorce causes a lot of stress as her ex-husband seeks custody of their son.
I love the show in its entirety pretty much, except for the addition of the romance between Amanda and Scott. That's the only thing I can think of; Scott just isn't one of my favorite characters (though I love when he's being supportive of Annie in the pilot), and I can't buy him in a relationship with any of the others on their team. You could definitely sell me on either romantic or platonic Amanda/Jack. I also enjoy seeing Annie as a mentoring agent; I think she does a good job with Mal.
It's impossible to pick a single favorite episode, but I love the pilot (there's a lot of really good conversations in the second half, ep # 2, from Annie talking to Scott while sitting on the squad car, to John talking to his boss Dennis at the end). I also love the way ep # 3 ends (the one about the radio station). I love the scenes where Amanda's dealing with Jack hurt (particularly in the hospital!), and I love how Jack handles her in the episode where she witnesses the shooting.
Annie Rooney:
I love Annie's competence, and the fact that she is trying to be both awesome FBI agent AND mommy—and she struggles, like many women do in her situation. It's not clear-cut; she's good at both (as boss John tells her in one ep), but they both demand so much of her and it's a constant balancing act. I find the realism very fascinating; I haven't seen the like on many shows (when they show women being good at their jobs, they don't usually have a family, or if they do, they don't have a lot of issues trying to do both, and that's just not how it is for a lot of women).
I'd love to see a fic dealing with her being a mom, whether it's a glimpse of her caring for her son (the little she gets to do that) or the custody battle. I'd also love a fic of her being a kicka** agent (I loved it when she figured out who the target was in that one ep and tackled them to save them).
Amanda Reardon:
I love Amanda's earnestness, trying to get it right, be good at what she does, and trying to earn respect from Jack. She witnesses a lot during the show, and I really feel for her in that. I also love her snark; Angie Harmon seems to have been destined to play snarky characters (a decade later, her role of Lindsay in Women's Murder Club and recent role of Jane in Rizzoli & Isles both have lots of snark).
I'd love to see more of Amanda growing as an agent, bonding with Mal, learning from some of the more experienced agents, etc. I'd also love to see some of her backstory, what made her become an FBI agent, her experiences at Quantico, etc. Feel free to show me more of her with Jack if you like; I enjoyed seeing their relationship.
Sue Thomas F.B.Eye
Basic premise: A Deaf woman (Sue Thomas, played by Deanne Bray) who can read lips very well is hired by the FBI and joins a surveillance unit consisting of five FBI agents (Jack, Bobby, Myles, Tara, and Dominick aka "D") and a "rotor" (Lucy, who calls herself that because she keeps the office running for all the agents). There's a lot of drama, humor, and bunch of "will they or won't they?" between her and her good-looking training agent (Jack Hudson, played by Yannick Bisson). Agent Myles Leland III (played by Ted Atherton) is disdainful of Sue at first but grows to respect her. Agent Tara Williams (played by Tara Samuel) is the lone female agent on the team and the tech whiz.
Aww, Sue Thomas. I fell so madly in love with this one a few summers ago, and it still makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. The show is a delightful mix of drama (solving FBI cases! terrorists and corporate theft and kidnappings), humor (witty banter that makes you wish you worked with such a fun group of people), and heartwarming (people making connections with each other, understanding the world of the Deaf, etc.).
Myles and Tara are woefully underrepresented in fic. We know some about Myles' background, but very little about Tara's. And what we know of Myles' could prompt all sorts of interesting fic, but there is a paltry number that focus on him. And Tara! The only female full-fledged FBI agent on the team, and we don't have hardly anything on her. It makes me super curious!
As far as the two of them together goes, I found it very interesting that while we see both Jack and Bobby trying to "protect" the women, including Tara (who's a Special Agent! not just support staff like Sue and Lucy), Myles does not make this mistake, as far as I can remember. He seems to have a lot more respect for Tara's abilities, and seeing him in Bad Hair Day in the restaurant with her made me very curious about the conversation that led up to that. Somehow I suspect he may have gone to bat for her. At the very least, he treats her as an equal more than any of the others, and that speaks of something very interesting that I'd like to see more of.
If you do match with me on this one, or want to write it, please do what you can to learn about any relevant details if you include Sue in some way; it's important to me that her world be respected and accurately represented when possible. :) (Though the show was inaccurate at times for convenience's sake, like having Sue be able to read people's lips instantly all the time, pretty much. In real life it's a painstaking process and you only catch so much of what is said.)
Prompts by tag:
Myles Leland III/Tara Williams:
These two are the "odd ones out" in a sense. Jack has Bobby, and Sue has Lucy, and D has his family, but who do Myles and Tara have? Myles sometimes confides in D, as D is a lot more mature than Jack and Bobby are (and despite Myles' shortcomings at the beginning of the show, he's got a lot more maturity, he's just scared to ever be vulnerable), but D isn't the sort of close friend you can go to anytime, I don't think. And Tara is probably used to spending her nights alone in front of a computer. But if they got to really talking with each other, I think they could open up, and Myles would be the sort of gentleman that Tara longs for—romantic, genuine, and sincere (as long as he can relax his guard enough to trust her). Plus I think she has the potential to really respect him (and cut back on those cutting barbs they like to throw Myles' way) and build on something deep. I'd love anything from a follow-up convo after the pretend dinner in Bad Hair Day (with a dawning realization on the part of one or the other that their feelings run deeper than they thought for the other agent) to Tara talking with Myles about how it doesn't work for her to date Bobby (but he might do?). Or it could be Myles and her in a bad situation and realizing that they don't want to die before they confess they love each other (sure, it's tropey, but I love it, lol). Whatever comes to mind for you!
Myles Leland & Tara Williams:
Notes here are the same as the / one, but focusing on just their potential for friendship. I can see them just hanging out in the evenings, especially if the rest of the team has no idea (precisely because they don't want to be teased when it's just friends). Playing games together and arguing playfully, I can picture it now. Or just conversations in between cases, or Myles saving Tara's life, etc. :)
Women's Murder Club (TV)
Basic premise: A small group of friends (three to start, with a fourth working her way in during the first couple episodes) who all work in related fields share information to help each other solve cases. Lindsay Boxer (played by Angie Harmon) is a homicide inspector (aka detective) who works in San Francisco's police department. She's friends with Jill Bernhardt, a deputy district attorney and Claire Washburn (played by Paula Newsome), the medical examiner. As the show unfolds, she begins to respect (and maybe even like?) Cindy Thomas (played by Aubrey Dollar), a young reporter who gets assigned to the crime beat. The show is an excellent mix of drama, comedy, and romance, and has a lot of similarities to Rizzoli & Isles.
I got into Women's Murder Club because I loved watching Angie Harmon in Rizzoli & Isles, and this sounded like a similar role for her. After I saw the video titled "The Best of Women's Murder Club" and read this comment, I was positive I had to see the whole show: "Now it all makes sense. Jane Rizzoli is an extension of Lindsay Boxer. The only difference, they keep butching up Angie Harmon." It is so true. Lindsay is like a milder version of Jane in some ways. But in the ways she's different, I fell in love with her character all over again. Lindsay can actually cry, she hates being vulnerable but she can actually do it and be real with her friends. And that just won me over. (Seriously, make Angie Harmon be all vulnerable and cry in a scene and you have me. Completely.) I love her dedication to her work, the toughness she can bring to the job, but I also love that she can still be human, still be vulnerable, that she doesn't feel like she has to be tough to be respected (Jane Rizzoli, in many ways, hardens herself in order to be respected in her job). I love that she cares about her friends, and that she's torn about her ex but still knows what the right thing is and even respects his fiancée. While Lindsay doesn't always take the best care of herself (or act the most responsibly), it helps that Claire can act as "mom" and give her the lectures she needs but sometimes doesn't accept even from her other friends (something Maura isn't very good at giving Jane in R&I).
Cindy stole my heart because of several reasons. One, she's cute and adorable (I don't usually find redheads fascinating but there's something about Cindy…). Two, she has a delightful personality, bubbly, a little lacking in some common sense now and then, which the others are happy to lecture her about. And three, she has a bravery and courage that is pretty amazing. When she volunteers for the dangerous decoy task in "Father's Day"… that took guts. Real guts. I think Lindsay had to respect her for that. And then with what happens to her in "And The Truth Will (Sometimes) Set You Free", well… I want to hear more. (I also have to admit, I might not be a sports fan, but I loved Cindy in "Play Through the Pain", especially her interaction with Claire's son.)
I love Claire because she's such an awesome character - a great mother figure, a bit snarky, talented, dealing with real life issues (such as her husband's injury and depression) and still being faithful and dedicated. She's great for telling the others what they need to hear, and being there for them.
Prompts by tag:
Lindsay Boxer & Cindy Thomas (WMC TV):
I love the interactions between these two. I see a bit of hero worship on Cindy's side, and annoyance that turns to fondness and respect on Lindsay's. I'd love to see Cindy being ridiculous, or Lindsay saving her life. Or more of Lindsay and Cindy regarding the shooting in ep # 12. Maybe an alternate ending where Jill isn't the one that stays at the hospital? Or maybe a fic about Lindsay and Cindy's friendship starting to grow from the beginning. I see a bit of insecurity in Cindy with regards to her friendships with the others. Or a missing scene with the two women? One possibility is right after Cindy was a decoy (you could AU it so she gets injured doing that if you like), or later that day. I'm sure you can come up with more. Does Cindy ever find out about Lindsay and the baby? (Or crazy idea yet, what if the pregnancy test was positive after all? Cindy finding out would make an interesting story.) Or just a fic where Cindy's being her usual adorably ridiculous self and Lindsay is wondering if she needs to shoot her. Any interaction between these two would make me happy.
Cindy Thomas & Claire Washburn (WMC TV):
I'd love to see Claire mothering Cindy, or even Cindy helping Claire in some way. Cindy's sort of bonded with Claire's son already; I can see them inviting her over a lot, sort of a big sister/aunt figure.
Happy writing! :D
I love characters who are strong, characters who have quiet depth, characters with an active inner life, characters who think… You'll probably see this in the characters I requested. :)
What I love about relationships is all the emotional depth: vulnerability, loyalty, knowing someone so well you know what they feel/think/need, even just having someone there as an emotional "rock". The whole "not being alone" feeling is such a powerful theme.
I once made up a 101 favorite tropes list (in no particular order), so feel free to make use of those if any of them get your muse going: http://doranwen.livejournal.com/246063.html
Besides those tropes, here are my general likes:
deep platonic friendship, romantic friendship, asexual romance, found families, apocalyptic fic, hurt/comfort, nonsexual physical touch (including cuddling), self-sacrifice, characters being vulnerable, character redemption, survival fic, positive treatment of religion, characters dealing with trauma, trust building, missing scenes, canon divergence AU (especially fix-it fic)
DNWs: sex or sexual feelings, supernatural/fantasy beings (elves, vampires, werewolves, gnomes, zombies, etc.), AUs other than canon divergence or alt beginnings, deathfic or horror, calling an adult "baby" or "darling", mpreg, crackfic, gore (mild violence is OK, just not as graphic as a surgery documentary), uncensored profanity, first/second person fic
Don't worry if someone's written a similar idea before. My first real fandom was one where people used to write a dozen versions of the same TV ep, and I loved reading them all. There are never too many versions of the same story, in my opinion.
And now to the requests (in the order of which I found them in the tagset):
Worldweavers - Alma Alexander
Basic premise: Galathea Winthrop (aka Thea) is a Double Seventh, a seventh child of seventh children. This should mean she's good at something really special, right? Except she can't do magic at all. And Ars Magica is part of the curriculum of every school in the entire nation—except for one: the Wandless Academy (which is sometimes called the Last Ditch School for the Incurably Incompetent). But between a summer school (with a class of one) like no other, and various unusual events, Thea begins to discover the gifts she has never known she had. Oh, and save the world in the process.
I didn't nominate/request any characters because I'd like to leave things open for worldbuilding. The sheer idea of a world where Ars Magica is part of the entire school curriculum—really, where magic is so woven into the way things happen that coffeeshops use spells to keep people's orders straight, you can buy a spell to keep gardens tidy, and a magic allergy is extremely life-threatening. Oh, and throw in the feral libraries, with elevators that act like four-year-olds! I fell in love with the world with that part. Just pure awesomeness! I also enjoy that part of it is set in my region of the US (the Pacific Northwest). I also love Thea's story, so if you're feeling more of a character-driven story, I'd love fic about her! For this fandom I'd love OCs, especially since I'm more interested in the way things work than in the specific characters' stories (other than Thea).
I like how Thea's friends grow over time, and you can totally throw them in, but I'd prefer that the fic not focus on them. I'm less interested in the Anasazi, Grandmother Spider/Tawaha/the Trickster, Tesla and all of that; feel free to leave them out. The Alphiri and Faele are not my thing, and we know little of the Dwarrowrim, so I'd prefer if the fic not focus on those polities, as they're called in the books.
Prompts:
I'd love something about the education system, from a child starting their first Ars Magica classes to the creation of the Wandless Academy. I'm a math teacher, and the mention of mathemagic, spell-solving of equations, and fractionators had me wishing I could see more of those. Or write something about magic run amok, like feral libraries, or magic as used in crimes and criminal justice, etc. Or explore some of the other types of magic (the ones mentioned in the list of all the things they tried in order to find Thea's magic). Or maybe something with society setup, like the Federal Bureau of Magic, or how it's integrated into the everyday lives of people (note the bit in the first book about people not using cars much due to portals, slipways, transfigurations . . .), even as regards to having magic allergies (the medical profession would be interesting!) Use whatever you know well. I'm not into sports (the only possible exception is Olympic gymnastics or ice skating which I watched back in the '90s, mainly) or fashion, but I'll find just about any other industry fascinating; I like complex systems and how they work (hence my fascination with air traffic control and airports in general). The world of Worldweavers feels familiar but there are so many interesting changes!
If you find yourself inspired by Thea, I'd love something set after Dawn of Magic, where she settles into her full power, finishes at Amford, etc. Does she create anything really special in her life? Like the Elemental houses, for instance. Something that no one else could do.
Born of Hope (2009)
Basic premise: This fan film outdoes many a mainstream film by taking a microbudget and using it to flesh out the story of Aragorn's parents (Arathorn and Gilraen) from Lord of the Rings. In this tale, one of Arathorn's Rangers is a young woman named Elgarain. Raised by her father when her mother died in childbirth, she demanded to be trained as a Ranger upon her father's death, and harbors a secret love for Arathorn. Her best friend Dírhaborn is secretly in love with her, but she's oblivious to his affections.
I really love how the cast and crew took a tiny budget and pulled off something this good. The film grabbed me from the get-go and I think they did a fantastic job at bringing the world to life. Elgarain was the standout to me (it wasn't until after I finished watching that I realized that the actress was the director as well!), and you'll see that both requests for this fandom include her in some way. :)
Prompts by tag:
Arathorn II/Elgarain (Born of Hope (2009)):
I'd love to see the canon moment when Elgarain realizes her feelings for Arathorn. Or go AU and have them requited in some way!
Dírhaborn/Elgarain (Born of Hope):
We get about two seconds of this ship requited on screen (and no time for any more), so either show me the one-sided version, or go AU with it and find a way to make these two live!
Gold Diggers (1995)
Basic premise: Also known as Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain (1995), the film tells the story of two girls who become close friends and essentially save each other's lives. There's also a plotline involving gold (naturally, given the name), but the story is essentially a story of friendship.
Oh, fandom of my childhood. I LOVED this movie to death. So much so that I spent hours imagining what I now know to be called fanfic, whereupon I changed Beth and Jody's name to Sara and Ricki, and made their family lives nasty enough so they would run away to live in Bear Mountain for the rest of their lives and adopt runaway orphan kids and … yeah. I kid you not. I thought the whole "best friends run away and live together forever happily ever after" was the perfect ending EVER when I was 13, lol.
The thing that captivated me about the movie was most particularly the friendship between the two of them. Beth is fascinated by Jody from the get-go (she goes from confused by just seeing her fight with a kid, to mad with running into her with the groceries—and yet she still heads off with her after the Winnie the Pooh discussion), her toughness that hides an underlying vulnerability and hurt. And Jody appreciates Beth as someone who actually listens to her, who is loyal and supportive. (I think I saw myself some in Beth, and longed for something like what they had.)
I also loved the survivalist theme of Jody wanting to live in Bear Mountain. A lot of my "mindfic" from my childhood days centered around some character surviving by a combination of scavenging (which included raiding "civilization" for anything useful, sometimes by less than legal means), farming/hunting, etc. I wasn't always very realistic about it (since I didn't know much about survival as a 12-year-old), but I loved the idea of it.
I nominated and requested the group of Beth and Jody together because to me, this is the core of the film. :) Really, they are the heart of it all. I'd love anything from their friendship during the rest of the summer after the events in the film, or at school the following year; they're local celebrities now, but they're not going to let that get to their heads. What's popularity compared to a friendship you can count on? I'm good with turning it into a romantic friendship, too. I just love the bond these two have! I can see them talking about their dads, about what they'll do when they're grown up, going on more adventures at Bear Mountain… Feel free to AU things too, if you like the idea of them running away for whatever reason, or if Jody had actually killed Ray, or if Ray did worse things besides beat up Lynette. (I'm quite OK with some dark themes here as long as the girls end up together and have each other.) Or what if Beth didn't crash the boat and Jody was living in Bear Mountain by herself? (whether Ray lived or not) So many ways to focus on these two girls, and I would have so much love for whatever you write. :D
X-Men (Original Timeline Movies)
Basic premise (in the rare possibility that whoever's reading this actually doesn't know anything about this canon and is curious): Humans have evolved to where some are born with an extra gene, called the X gene, which gives them mutant powers (mostly at adolescence, but some are visibly different at birth). Some use them for good and some for evil, and fear of the latter causes a lot of prejudice against them. One very talented telepath, Professor Xavier, gathers powerful mutants as students, who later become teachers at his own boarding school. Two of his teachers are Scott Summers aka Cyclops (played by James Marsden) and Ororo Munroe aka Storm (played by Halle Berry). During the course of the films, they rescue mutants and fight multiple villains.
Ahh, X-Men. :D I should note first off that my introduction to X-Men was through the films - the first three only - and I've not experienced any other canon besides them (unless you count poking on Wikipedia for comics info I could borrow for fic as I felt like). I wasn't too keen on what I'd heard about Wolverine when it was being made, so I never ended up watching it, or First Class, or any of the others, just X1, X2, and X3. X1 and X2 I love wholeheartedly, whether you AU them all over the place, or keep the plot as it is. The characters, the issues, there's a lot going on and it's just fantastic! X3, on the other hand… I like parts of it (Jimmy's power, the Cure plot, introducing Angel) but other parts of it I was very dismayed at (what they did to Scott and Professor X) or not fond of (the Phoenix plot, Rogue taking the Cure, even Ororo's haircut). So X3 is a mixed bag for me. I can enjoy a fic set in it, but given the ships I'm requesting (which both have Scott in it), I think you might find X3 a challenge to write! :)
I love the big issues the canon raises, such as the question of how much liberty we trade for security, and the ways people fear differences. The parallels to the Holocaust are particularly interesting to me, as the villain Magneto reacts to his experiences by promoting superiority of mutants over humans out of fear that it will happen again. Is his fear valid? Absolutely, which makes him a more sympathetic villain - yet that fear does not justify the means he uses, nor the results he would achieve (subjugating humans would only breed resentment toward mutants, which would make a genocide more likely should they ever be free of that yoke). Each character has to decide where they stand on the subject of mutant-human relations, and how they will demonstrate their views by their actions, and that makes them all the more fascinating.
I also love the personal issues raised by individual characters' stories. My favorite character (if you couldn't tell by the ships I requested) is Scott. Sadly, the films don't give us nearly enough detail on his life or what brought him to be who he is. You're welcome to use whatever backstory you like, as long as it doesn't involve the aliens as in comics canon. (I like my X-Men realistic other than for the powers, lol.) What we do see (from my perspective) is a guy who has to get things right, not in order to dominate, but in order to satisfy his own standards. He has high expectations for himself, whether because he feels a sense of gratitude/obligation to Professor X, or just because he isn't satisfied with less than excellence. There's possibly some insecurity there, too. From the age difference between his actor and Jean's, I tend to headcanon that Jean is older than Scott by several years. What we see of their relationship in the film could be solid, but I've often seen some potential for issues and a breakup, hence some of the ships I requested (none of which are Scott/Jean).
One of my other favorite characters (I like quite a few of them!) is, obviously, Ororo. She provides an excellent chance to give a different cultural perspective, and I like the comic-derived possibility of her being claustrophobic. While I did not request Professor X, I also really love his character too, as the wise leader who might or might not do a little too much manipulation of things. Since I've not seen any other films besides the first three, you've got a lot of leeway for what you write for the school's history as well as that of some of the characters.
As for other characters: I generally like all the students that are shown to be at the school (for instance, the physics class clearly has Dani and Jubilee in addition to Bobby, Kitty, and John), and I like the X-Men a lot. I'd prefer not to see the villains glamorized or justified; while I can understand their motivations, it doesn't make their actions any more valid (the ends do not justify the means). I headcanon Professor X as likely asexual (but you could sell me on a relationship in the past, perhaps with Moira - since I've not seen more than X1-X3, you're welcome to write her however you like if you include her). I never did see him and Erik as partners in a romantic/sexual sense. The only comics characters that I've run across in fics that I've read and know for sure I would rather not see in my gift are Gambit and any of the characters from the Hellfire Club.
Prompts:
Scott and Ororo (whether the / romantic or the & platonic) are the rarest of all my rarepairs, I think (there are so few fics that focus on these two!); Ororo/Scott was not a ship I would have thought of till I read a couple really good fics years ago that paired them, and then I wondered why I hadn't seen those possibilities earlier. If you want to write just friendship, I'd love to see more of them bonding as teachers of mutant teenagers, who are still adults with their own lives. Or perhaps them first meeting and becoming friends. Or perhaps Ororo trying to be Scott's friend after Jean's death in X2. If you want to write a relationship, I'd love to see them navigating past the ghost of Jean in the relationship; even if it's set in an AU where Jean lives through X2 or where they break up before X2 ever happens, I'd imagine that Scott would have to adjust to not being in a relationship with Jean anymore, and given the number of years they must have been together, that's not going to be an instantaneous process. If you want to write X3, maybe you can find a way to keep Prof X from dying and bring Scott back? Or write an X3 where Jean is never found, and the Cure plot plays out without Magneto having her as a weapon. You'd probably have to do some tweaking of canon for X3, seeing as how Scott doesn't live very long in X3 and I really hate the thought of his death so would rather not read foreshadowing. It's so tragic! *sobs* But anyway, you'd think that Scott and Ororo would have had a lot of bonding they could do with each other, especially depending on the backstories you give them.
Alphas (TV)
Basic premise: This show has been called "X-Men for thinking people", and is a deconstruction of humans with superpowers. (The tagline is "Their abilities make them super. Their actions make them human.") Dr. Lee Rosen (played by David Strathairn) is a therapist who manages a team of Alphas, people who have abilities anyone else might - except dialed up by a thousand into the superpower realm - and each with some kind of downside. They work for the government to identify other Alphas and stop rogue ones, including a terrorist group. The ensemble cast includes Nina Theroux (played by Laura Mennell), a woman with a troubled past and the ability to override willpower, and Rachel Pirzad (played by Azita Ghanizada), an Iranian immigrant with the ability to intensify any one sense at the cost of the others.
Oh man, Alphas. I got hooked on it and watched all 24 episodes in six days. I fell in love with Rachel from her very first scene, and by the third episode I loved Nina just as much or more. Dr. Rosen grew on me over the course of the show, and I really love his character too! But honestly, there's not a main character in Alphas that I don't like, and that's unusual for me! They're just really great. Plus the show doesn't hesitate to play hardball with government mistrust, character deaths, and intense scenes, and is possibly the best show I've seen in terms of how it balances characters and storylines. The only downside, imho, was the terrible cliffhanger Syfy ended it on! (What's with that, Syfy? It's a lousy way to treat fans! Give us a two-hour movie to wrap things up, at least!)
I liked Nina's relationship with Cam, but I also liked that it ended and moved on, and I'm ambivalent about whether they should get back together, as the S2 finale hinted at. I'm also ambivalent about Rachel's relationship with John. I like the tension the last two episodes brought, with the issue of loyalties. You could see the team slowly fracturing into two groups - Lee, Cam, and Nina on the side of "anything it takes", and Bill and Kat (and John, for that matter) on the side of "follow the rules", and Rachel torn in the middle. (Gary is really an independent in all of this.) If you write a fic set during or after those eps, I really don't want to see her split away from Lee and Nina, but there would need to be some development of her character in figuring out where she wants to be.
Prompts by tag:
Lee Rosen & Nina Theroux
I love the relationship these two have. Nina seems to be just about the only team member who calls him Lee, and she treats him as an equal in many ways. At the same time, she defers to him and follows him, especially after When Push Comes to Shove. (I've watched that final scene so many times, it's ridiculous.) Her feelings at being asked to use her pushing ability in Gaslight seem very conflicted, but she seems to recognize the need for it, and switches from "push mostly for my own gain" to "push only as Rosen needs me to". She's always the one concerned about his well-being, whether it's telling him he needs to get an injury seen to, or being worried about him (did you catch her tone of voice—and later, her face—in Need to Know when she asks Cam, "Why don't you have Lee?"). Before When Push Comes to Shove, Nina acted very suave, polished, and independent, relying on her connections to the other members of the team and her pushing ability to fill the void in her life; after the events of that episode, she cannot use her pushing to compensate as she realizes the damage it has done to everyone, so she clings all the more to the human connections she has. Those being shaky at first with all but Lee, she grows very emotionally dependent on him, I think, and is very attuned to him. He probably has her loyalty more than anyone; Cam follows him at the end of S2 because they have a shared goal, Rachel follows to a point because she's Rosen's protegé, but Nina follows him because of what he means to her, and would follow him anywhere, I think. You'll notice in Need to Know, when Nina's exhausted, he orders Rachel to get the aminorex, and there's really no time for him to have any discussion about it with Nina; he had to have simply said "I'm going to give you this" and she accepted his judgment. So much trust…
I'd love to see anything from their first meeting, to early therapy sessions (Nina does say she was a mess when she first met Rosen and that he helped her a lot), to interactions between them as the team is being formed. Maybe the scene just after the last bit of convo we hear in When Push Comes to Shove? Or moments during the latter arc - such as discussion about using her pushing during Gaslight or beyond, or plotting the events in Need to Know. I requested only the & tag, but if your fic veers into / territory, go ahead! I don't necessarily see their bond as romantic currently, but I could see her comforting Lee in a more physical way. They're both two souls without much of a family and I'd love to see them lean on each other more.
Lee Rosen & Rachel Pirzad
The relationship between these two is really complex. On one hand, Rachel seems to really look up to Dr. Rosen and rely on him to a degree (such as in Wake Up Call when he's probably the only one who could get her to leave her room), but in Never Let Me Go she said sometimes she thought all he cared about was her Alpha ability. I presume she's realized how much he cares for her since, especially when he told her that she was like a daughter to him and that he cared about her more than she would ever know. Though did you notice that he held back from reassuring her at the end of the episode, preferring instead to remind her of her own strength? I think he's got some issues with being vulnerable (doing it at that one point only so she would survive) - and she's naturally a very vulnerable person. It makes an interesting combination.
I'd love to see anything from their first meeting, to Dr. Rosen helping Rachel past her sensory overload, to an AU ending to Never Let Me Go where he does make himself vulnerable by declaring his affection for her. Or show me S2 Rachel - there's not nearly as many interactions between them but I'd love to see more. How did he convince her to be a part of the kidnap/interrogation plot in Need to Know? Or show a post-finale scene between them (they both have to have lived!) where they discuss her loyalty issues.
Rachel Pirzad & Nina Theroux
The relationship between these two changes so much over the course of the show. S1 Nina is very caring despite doing a good job of pretending to be all cool and not revealing much of her past, and I love the scene at the end of Anger Management where she reaches out to Rachel. She's always offering Rachel a ride, listening to her, encouraging her in her difficulties with her parents, etc. And then you have S2, where she pushes Rachel to stay calm in Wake Up Call - and then pushes for an entirely different reason in When Push Comes to Shove. It was painful to see their relationship in Gaslight, and lovely to see Rachel thawing towards Nina as she recognizes Nina's changed (and that Nina is taking responsibility for the results of her pushing). There are some very interesting undercurrents in Need to Know, though - from Nina's "You called them?" to the way Nina says "When Rachel…" to the looks Nina gives Rachel in the elevator and afterwards, and there wasn't time to really deal with that in the few hours that the last two episodes cover. Though I like that when Kat is trying to get a hold of Rachel, Bill says "Nina always knows where she is". I think Nina really cares for Rachel down deep. I'm not entirely sure what Nina's reasoning was for what she pushed Rachel to do in the club in When Push Comes to Shove (was she trying to find the quickest way to hurt Rachel, to force the rejection she was feeling coming anyway? or was there more to it?), but when she's in her right mind, she clearly has a lot of affection for Rachel.
I'd love to see anything from their first meeting to Rachel moving in with Nina, to bonding while roommates, to even Rachel moving back out to her parents' (when did that happen? right after Rosen's speech or further into the eight months?). Or show me some of the rebuilding of their friendship in S2, or even an AU where Rachel tracks Nina down at the end of The Quick and the Dead and gets through to her. Or show me some of the aftermath of the events of Need to Know or post-finale discussion of things. I just love these two and want to see more of them. Still so mad the show ended too soon!
C-16: FBI
Basic premise: Amanda Reardon (played by Angie Harmon) and another rookie join Criminal Division 16, the Major Case Squad, whose four experienced agents includes Annie Rooney (played by Christine Tucci). The squad tackles cases from kidnappings to mob hits to bank robberies, with arcs following each character through various situations in their life. Amanda, as a newbie, doesn't always do things right, and has a lot of friction with her assigned partner and training agent, a much older man named Jack DiRado (played by Zach Grenier). Annie is a competent agent who juggles her career with being a single mother to a little boy of about four years old; her messy divorce causes a lot of stress as her ex-husband seeks custody of their son.
I love the show in its entirety pretty much, except for the addition of the romance between Amanda and Scott. That's the only thing I can think of; Scott just isn't one of my favorite characters (though I love when he's being supportive of Annie in the pilot), and I can't buy him in a relationship with any of the others on their team. You could definitely sell me on either romantic or platonic Amanda/Jack. I also enjoy seeing Annie as a mentoring agent; I think she does a good job with Mal.
It's impossible to pick a single favorite episode, but I love the pilot (there's a lot of really good conversations in the second half, ep # 2, from Annie talking to Scott while sitting on the squad car, to John talking to his boss Dennis at the end). I also love the way ep # 3 ends (the one about the radio station). I love the scenes where Amanda's dealing with Jack hurt (particularly in the hospital!), and I love how Jack handles her in the episode where she witnesses the shooting.
Annie Rooney:
I love Annie's competence, and the fact that she is trying to be both awesome FBI agent AND mommy—and she struggles, like many women do in her situation. It's not clear-cut; she's good at both (as boss John tells her in one ep), but they both demand so much of her and it's a constant balancing act. I find the realism very fascinating; I haven't seen the like on many shows (when they show women being good at their jobs, they don't usually have a family, or if they do, they don't have a lot of issues trying to do both, and that's just not how it is for a lot of women).
I'd love to see a fic dealing with her being a mom, whether it's a glimpse of her caring for her son (the little she gets to do that) or the custody battle. I'd also love a fic of her being a kicka** agent (I loved it when she figured out who the target was in that one ep and tackled them to save them).
Amanda Reardon:
I love Amanda's earnestness, trying to get it right, be good at what she does, and trying to earn respect from Jack. She witnesses a lot during the show, and I really feel for her in that. I also love her snark; Angie Harmon seems to have been destined to play snarky characters (a decade later, her role of Lindsay in Women's Murder Club and recent role of Jane in Rizzoli & Isles both have lots of snark).
I'd love to see more of Amanda growing as an agent, bonding with Mal, learning from some of the more experienced agents, etc. I'd also love to see some of her backstory, what made her become an FBI agent, her experiences at Quantico, etc. Feel free to show me more of her with Jack if you like; I enjoyed seeing their relationship.
Sue Thomas F.B.Eye
Basic premise: A Deaf woman (Sue Thomas, played by Deanne Bray) who can read lips very well is hired by the FBI and joins a surveillance unit consisting of five FBI agents (Jack, Bobby, Myles, Tara, and Dominick aka "D") and a "rotor" (Lucy, who calls herself that because she keeps the office running for all the agents). There's a lot of drama, humor, and bunch of "will they or won't they?" between her and her good-looking training agent (Jack Hudson, played by Yannick Bisson). Agent Myles Leland III (played by Ted Atherton) is disdainful of Sue at first but grows to respect her. Agent Tara Williams (played by Tara Samuel) is the lone female agent on the team and the tech whiz.
Aww, Sue Thomas. I fell so madly in love with this one a few summers ago, and it still makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. The show is a delightful mix of drama (solving FBI cases! terrorists and corporate theft and kidnappings), humor (witty banter that makes you wish you worked with such a fun group of people), and heartwarming (people making connections with each other, understanding the world of the Deaf, etc.).
Myles and Tara are woefully underrepresented in fic. We know some about Myles' background, but very little about Tara's. And what we know of Myles' could prompt all sorts of interesting fic, but there is a paltry number that focus on him. And Tara! The only female full-fledged FBI agent on the team, and we don't have hardly anything on her. It makes me super curious!
As far as the two of them together goes, I found it very interesting that while we see both Jack and Bobby trying to "protect" the women, including Tara (who's a Special Agent! not just support staff like Sue and Lucy), Myles does not make this mistake, as far as I can remember. He seems to have a lot more respect for Tara's abilities, and seeing him in Bad Hair Day in the restaurant with her made me very curious about the conversation that led up to that. Somehow I suspect he may have gone to bat for her. At the very least, he treats her as an equal more than any of the others, and that speaks of something very interesting that I'd like to see more of.
If you do match with me on this one, or want to write it, please do what you can to learn about any relevant details if you include Sue in some way; it's important to me that her world be respected and accurately represented when possible. :) (Though the show was inaccurate at times for convenience's sake, like having Sue be able to read people's lips instantly all the time, pretty much. In real life it's a painstaking process and you only catch so much of what is said.)
Prompts by tag:
Myles Leland III/Tara Williams:
These two are the "odd ones out" in a sense. Jack has Bobby, and Sue has Lucy, and D has his family, but who do Myles and Tara have? Myles sometimes confides in D, as D is a lot more mature than Jack and Bobby are (and despite Myles' shortcomings at the beginning of the show, he's got a lot more maturity, he's just scared to ever be vulnerable), but D isn't the sort of close friend you can go to anytime, I don't think. And Tara is probably used to spending her nights alone in front of a computer. But if they got to really talking with each other, I think they could open up, and Myles would be the sort of gentleman that Tara longs for—romantic, genuine, and sincere (as long as he can relax his guard enough to trust her). Plus I think she has the potential to really respect him (and cut back on those cutting barbs they like to throw Myles' way) and build on something deep. I'd love anything from a follow-up convo after the pretend dinner in Bad Hair Day (with a dawning realization on the part of one or the other that their feelings run deeper than they thought for the other agent) to Tara talking with Myles about how it doesn't work for her to date Bobby (but he might do?). Or it could be Myles and her in a bad situation and realizing that they don't want to die before they confess they love each other (sure, it's tropey, but I love it, lol). Whatever comes to mind for you!
Myles Leland & Tara Williams:
Notes here are the same as the / one, but focusing on just their potential for friendship. I can see them just hanging out in the evenings, especially if the rest of the team has no idea (precisely because they don't want to be teased when it's just friends). Playing games together and arguing playfully, I can picture it now. Or just conversations in between cases, or Myles saving Tara's life, etc. :)
Women's Murder Club (TV)
Basic premise: A small group of friends (three to start, with a fourth working her way in during the first couple episodes) who all work in related fields share information to help each other solve cases. Lindsay Boxer (played by Angie Harmon) is a homicide inspector (aka detective) who works in San Francisco's police department. She's friends with Jill Bernhardt, a deputy district attorney and Claire Washburn (played by Paula Newsome), the medical examiner. As the show unfolds, she begins to respect (and maybe even like?) Cindy Thomas (played by Aubrey Dollar), a young reporter who gets assigned to the crime beat. The show is an excellent mix of drama, comedy, and romance, and has a lot of similarities to Rizzoli & Isles.
I got into Women's Murder Club because I loved watching Angie Harmon in Rizzoli & Isles, and this sounded like a similar role for her. After I saw the video titled "The Best of Women's Murder Club" and read this comment, I was positive I had to see the whole show: "Now it all makes sense. Jane Rizzoli is an extension of Lindsay Boxer. The only difference, they keep butching up Angie Harmon." It is so true. Lindsay is like a milder version of Jane in some ways. But in the ways she's different, I fell in love with her character all over again. Lindsay can actually cry, she hates being vulnerable but she can actually do it and be real with her friends. And that just won me over. (Seriously, make Angie Harmon be all vulnerable and cry in a scene and you have me. Completely.) I love her dedication to her work, the toughness she can bring to the job, but I also love that she can still be human, still be vulnerable, that she doesn't feel like she has to be tough to be respected (Jane Rizzoli, in many ways, hardens herself in order to be respected in her job). I love that she cares about her friends, and that she's torn about her ex but still knows what the right thing is and even respects his fiancée. While Lindsay doesn't always take the best care of herself (or act the most responsibly), it helps that Claire can act as "mom" and give her the lectures she needs but sometimes doesn't accept even from her other friends (something Maura isn't very good at giving Jane in R&I).
Cindy stole my heart because of several reasons. One, she's cute and adorable (I don't usually find redheads fascinating but there's something about Cindy…). Two, she has a delightful personality, bubbly, a little lacking in some common sense now and then, which the others are happy to lecture her about. And three, she has a bravery and courage that is pretty amazing. When she volunteers for the dangerous decoy task in "Father's Day"… that took guts. Real guts. I think Lindsay had to respect her for that. And then with what happens to her in "And The Truth Will (Sometimes) Set You Free", well… I want to hear more. (I also have to admit, I might not be a sports fan, but I loved Cindy in "Play Through the Pain", especially her interaction with Claire's son.)
I love Claire because she's such an awesome character - a great mother figure, a bit snarky, talented, dealing with real life issues (such as her husband's injury and depression) and still being faithful and dedicated. She's great for telling the others what they need to hear, and being there for them.
Prompts by tag:
Lindsay Boxer & Cindy Thomas (WMC TV):
I love the interactions between these two. I see a bit of hero worship on Cindy's side, and annoyance that turns to fondness and respect on Lindsay's. I'd love to see Cindy being ridiculous, or Lindsay saving her life. Or more of Lindsay and Cindy regarding the shooting in ep # 12. Maybe an alternate ending where Jill isn't the one that stays at the hospital? Or maybe a fic about Lindsay and Cindy's friendship starting to grow from the beginning. I see a bit of insecurity in Cindy with regards to her friendships with the others. Or a missing scene with the two women? One possibility is right after Cindy was a decoy (you could AU it so she gets injured doing that if you like), or later that day. I'm sure you can come up with more. Does Cindy ever find out about Lindsay and the baby? (Or crazy idea yet, what if the pregnancy test was positive after all? Cindy finding out would make an interesting story.) Or just a fic where Cindy's being her usual adorably ridiculous self and Lindsay is wondering if she needs to shoot her. Any interaction between these two would make me happy.
Cindy Thomas & Claire Washburn (WMC TV):
I'd love to see Claire mothering Cindy, or even Cindy helping Claire in some way. Cindy's sort of bonded with Claire's son already; I can see them inviting her over a lot, sort of a big sister/aunt figure.
Happy writing! :D
