Dear AUex Writer Letter 2020
Jul. 5th, 2020 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
doranwenAUex is here!!!!!! I wanted AUex before it ever existed, and am so delighted that it has returned once again. I adore canon divergence so much, and there are so many other interesting AUs that have intrigued me, as you will see. I did a lot of describing the awesomeness about each character and AU idea, and hope you're truly inspired by them. I hope you have a lot of fun writing for me. :)
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 and work with a requested AU: https://doranwen.dreamwidth.org/240453.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: supernatural/fantasy beings (elves, vampires, werewolves, gnomes, zombies, etc.), aliens other than Superman, unrequested deathfic, 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
DNW/Caution note: I'm not averse to mentions of sex, but I'd prefer the fic not focus on it or indulge in the physical feelings. Emotional feelings/bonds are what I focus on in any ship. If a prompt requires a mention or implies sex in some way, feel free to include it as necessary as long as the focus of the fic is elsewhere.
Don't worry if someone's written that particular 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. Too few of these AUs have been written, and I want to see more of even the ones that have!
I don't go into a lot of my thoughts on most of these fandoms and characters (and please do not read anything into which sections are longer or not, I honestly love ALL of these), but I've requested all of them in other exchanges unless I stated otherwise below, so if you want more info on the way I look at them, just filter my posts by the "fanfic exchange letter" tag to see other letters that have the same fandoms.
I've requested Crossover AU for a few fandoms (as well as the tag Worldweavers fusion). For any crossover AU, you are totally welcome to cross any of my requested fandoms with any of the others, or with the following:
1-800-Missing (S1 only, not the S2-S3 of Missing)
C-16: FBI
Cybergeddon (web series)
FBI (CBS)
Push (2009)
Rizzoli & Isles
Sue Thomas F.B.Eye
Worldweavers - Alma Alexander
And now to the requests (in the order of which I found them in the tagset):
X-Men (Movieverse)
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Rogue (OT)/Scott Summers (OT)
Group: Rogue (OT) & Scott Summers (OT)
Group: Ororo Munroe (OT)/Scott Summers (OT)
Group: Ororo Munroe (OT) & Scott Summers (OT)
Scott Summers (OT)
I absolutely love Scott, and this request shows it. I think he works well with either Rogue or Ororo, though I enjoy him alone also! He and Rogue have in common that they both have visible aspects to their mutations that they can never shake - and cannot control. He and Ororo have a bond borne out of knowing each other for years - and even possibly having similar backgrounds. Since I've never seen any films other than X1, X2, and X3, you can make up their backstories all you like. (Just keep the alien Shi'ar stuff out of it - I like my X-Men as realistic as possible beyond the powers bit.)
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Apocalypse AU
I love apocalyptic/survival AUs so much - and the idea of Scott with Ororo or Rogue or just being Xavier's right-hand man in helping protect the children in a world that's fallen apart, it just melts my heart. :)
X-Men: Jean stays dead after X2 and the Phoenix never appears (OT)
What would X3 have looked like without the Phoenix interfering? Scott and Professor X would be alive, for one…
X-Men (OT): Professor X and Scott survive X3
These two dying are the biggest reason I don't care for X3. Find a way for them not to die, and I'll enjoy the story a ton!
X-Men (OT): Scott was never involved with Jean romantically
Set this anywhere in the first three films (as long as Scott doesn't die in X3), and I'd love to see what would have happened. Is Logan in a relationship with Jean, then? Is Scott in love with Ororo? Or do you fast forward a few years and show a relationship developing between him and Rogue? However you do it, changing this one thing would change dynamics a whole lot!
X-Men (OT): X3 Never Happened
Oh, I would love to see the aftermath of X2 with Scott - all the angst. Does Ororo's friendship with him help him find solace after Jean's death, or is it in a friendship with a fellow "outcast" named Rogue, who perhaps even feels guilty for Jean's death because she tried to fly the plane and crashed it? So many possibilities here…
Crossover Fandom
Crossovers are so much fun to read - and I think these characters would be a blast together! The one generality I can say is that I like crossovers to be taken somewhat seriously; I'd prefer not to receive crackfic. But I'm perfectly OK with "I don't know how I got here" sorts of situations, where one person is suddenly dropped into another world (whether they woke up there, or walked through a weird spot in the air, etc.). Fortunately most of these could exist in the same world easily enough.
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Parker (Leverage) & Miss Parker (The Pretender)
Group: Leverage Crew (Leverage) & Jarod (The Pretender)
Group: Leverage Crew (Leverage) & Nick Gant & Cassie Holmes (Push)
Group: Leverage Crew (Leverage) & FBI CBS Team (FBI CBS TV)
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Apocalypse AU
Having any of these group combos dealing with the apocalypse would be a blast.
ALL: Crossover AU
Obviously, any situation that crosses these groups over works for me! I can see Jarod and the Leverage crew teaming up to take down the Centre (oh, wouldn't that be a BLAST - and I'd love to see how Hardison and Broots face off as far as hacking goes). Parker and Miss Parker would be hilariously interesting in the same room, too (does Parker attempt to steal something from inside the Centre?). Or have them in the same universe as Nick and Cassie from Push, and work to take down Division (do they have powers at all?). And for more complicated setup, I'd love to see Maggie and OA deal with this group of criminals - maybe they're both trying to take down the same bad guys and end up reluctantly working together? I'd love to see their thoughts on each other.
All: Post-Apocalypse
Do the groups encounter each other well after the apocalypse or is the fic set afterwards but they worked together to survive during it? Either would be interesting, but I think meeting up afterwards might be the most fun. Especially consider the idea of Jarod searching for his family and running across the Leverage team, or Miss Parker trying to survive with what remnants there are of the Centre (and Parker encountering her somehow. Or Nick and Cassie using their powers to hide from what's left of Division. Or Maggie and OA meeting the Leverage team when now they're all sort of on the same side (trying to survive).
Crossover: Shared Universe AU
I can buy this with any of these, though I think it might be a little trickier with the Push characters (do the Leverage team have any powers? I could see Parker as a Mover, lol, a good thief skill to have). We haven't seen the Leverage team do much in New York, and the Centre is totally the type of corporation the Leverage team like to take down…
Alphas (TV)
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Rachel Pirzad & Nina Theroux
Group: Rachel Pirzad & Lee Rosen & Nina Theroux
Nina Theroux
Rachel Pirzad
This show was so awesome (and so short!) and has so much potential for taking the storyline different directions, so it's perfect for this exchange! I fell in love with Rachel as soon as I saw her reaction to her dad's comments in the pilot, and I fell in love with Nina at the end of Anger Management. Lee grew on me over the course of the show, and I just love seeing the whole team interact, how supportive they are of each other, and their different talents and contributions to everything. I didn't nominate or request the whole team as a tag, but if you find yourself wanting to work everyone in, I'd love that too. I nominated and requested Nina, Rachel, and Lee because they're the characters that call most to me, but I really do love everyone in this show, which is unusual for me.
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Apocalypse AU
Parish's plan isn't the only way the world could end for them all. I love apocalyptic AUs, so have fun with it!
ALL: Canon Divergence AU
Canon divergence is my thing - and while I gave some specific canon divergence AU ideas above, I'd happily read anything for this fandom that alters the way things went. Want to rewrite the club scene a little differently? (Feel free to bend my DNW about sex a bit - it would be hard to do much with that scene otherwise.) Want to send Dani to Building Seven instead of undercover? Or something else I haven't thought of? Go for it! Or write a "for want of a nail" AU - another kind of canon divergence. You could use this with Parish's plan - either another way it unravels, or how it succeeds - or maybe you can think of something else! This show has long arcs and complicated things happening, and a simple change here and there would make big differences down the road.
ALL: Crossover AU
Read the crossover section just before my requests for possibilities there. Whether they're dropped into the other canon's world or both worlds exist simultaneously, it would be neat to read!
ALL: On the run from the law
This would be fascinating with the team - or just a few of them (not as much with a single person). I always loved them fleeing from Binghamton in S1.
All: Post-Apocalypse
I love post-apocalyptic fic with my favorite characters. :D
Alphas: Alphaville never happened
Alphaville really set the stage for a lot of things. For one, Stanton Parish might not've found Skylar otherwise. Also, it really changed Rachel's powers for the better. So, what if Rachel's still stuck with being overwhelmed by her senses (particularly with regards to physical affection), and Parish doesn't have Skylar to make mini-photostims for him? What might the rest of the show have looked like? Keep in mind that that was where Rosen had the first inkling that someone close to them was feeding Parish info - would it have taken them longer to put the pieces together regarding Dani? Would Parish have succeeded with the voltaic bomb plan?
Alphas: Dani survives the bomb
Injuries I'm fine with - I'd just like to see what it would look like to have her alive, either in terms of how they go after Parish, and/or in terms of the internal bonds of the team.
Alphas: Rachel doesn't call Bill during Scipio's torture
Go with either a plotty "this is what happens differently" or deal with the emotional fallout of a Rachel who's thrown herself completely behind Rosen (or both!). I'm guessing it might be harder to make up with John…
Alphas: Rachel never dates John
For some reason, Rachel's relationship with John has always grated on me just a little. Maybe it's that it feels a little artificial, too contrived? Or maybe it's that I liked the S1 backstory better where Rachel's never had a real boyfriend or even really dated. (As one writer put it for another show, they gave us "multiple choice options" for her backstory.) In some ways it feels like they took S1 Rachel and made her a bit OOC for S2. The jump is just too extreme, too much too soon to feel right, and her relationship with John is a major part of that. Given that the show does a good deal with her and him in various episodes, I'd love to see those scenes the way they would've been without him as her SO. Who's there instead? Do we get to see more team bonding with her and other team members? (And John is not one of the team members, I feel like. He's a liaison of sorts, but he's not one of the Alphas.)
Alphas: Stanton Parish's photostim plan succeeds
OK, so I've been writing a series of this very AU, pretty much. But I would very much love to read someone else's take on this! The "end of the world" is really what it would be, but I want to see it with my beloved Alphas. Apocalyptic fic with Alphas, what can be better?
Leverage
I don't know who suggested that I watch this show, but I want to thank them, because I adore it. I only recently finished seeing the whole thing, and I have so many thoughts on it (see my recent essays on DW, lol - I have one on Parker being ace that's f-locked for various reasons also, but I can send via the mod if you want it).
I loved Parker instantly as soon as I saw her in the pilot. "Twenty pounds of crazy in a five-pound bag" and I was hooked. She was talented and quirky, and the glimpses we get of her backstory only made me love her more. When she went into the reasons that Luca was definitely an orphan, I wanted to just hug her. She's simultaneously childlike and grown woman, innocent and world-hardened, and I love her for it. The best characterization I ever saw of her was from this fic where it says, "Parker is healed over scars, awkward and brilliant as she watches the world with bright eyes, no longer hurting but also not quite sane."
Sophie took a few episodes more to grow on me, because she was so flirty with Nate in the pilot that I had a hard time seeing her. But The Wedding Job did the trick, with her line about "do you know how hard it is to wait for someone", and suddenly I knew I loved her, even if it was just seeing her pain of loving Nate but not able to actually be with him. She really is the Team Mom and I love her mothering, the way she tries to mentor Parker, give Hardison advice… and has interestingly mature conversations with Eliot.
I also really like Eliot a lot - his quiet strength, the dark past that haunts him, his protectiveness and thoughtfulness. He's mature and really the rock the team depends on. That scene in The Big Bang Job where he tells Parker not to ask him? Loved it, so so much. (As also the conversation with Nate about killing in The Last Dam Job.) And the decision in the warehouse… Oh man. Excellent. I love his teaming up with Parker on jobs and the fact that he's smart, emotionally grounded, he knows a LOT, and he grows his own food and cooks really well. :D (The singing is a bonus.)
Nate is complex and interesting - he's an awful person sometimes to the others (mostly in the earlier seasons) but I can't hate him for it, probably because I can see how much of who he is was shaped by the loss of his son, as that same fic above describes him: "all broken and sharp, jagged edges the way he is, his wounds still raw and aching with every breath, knocking the wind out of him when he catches the sound of a boy's laugh in the distance".
Hardison is a trickier situation; I ended up just writing a whole essay on him somewhere around the end of S4, and apologize in advance for its length. I've had lots of rants and rambles to friends about him, and I think I finally clarified my thoughts there. I don't think I actually dislike him, but I wouldn't mind seeing him grow up more in fic. We got some of that in S5 but not nearly enough for my liking.
Tara annoyed me at first but grew on me over time, and Sterling makes a worthy antagonist, which I almost began to like (annoyingly so!) after The Queen's Gambit Job.
(Apologies for the long long ramble below, but I honestly couldn't figure out where to cut it short.)
As far as ships go, I started not really shipping anyone in particular, but as I read fics (concurrently with the episode air dates, so I didn't spoil myself) I found some ships emerging as winners to me. I definitely ship Nate/Sophie (I love the angsty conflicted fics, lol), though I've read some very interesting and good Eliot/Sophie fics, mostly angsty/interlude types (such as between S2 and S3). I don't go for Nate/Parker or Sophie/Parker (I've seen a few decent fics for each but I can't buy those ships due to the power differential between Parker and either Nate or Sophie), or Nate/Eliot or Hardison/Eliot at all. I'm OK with Sophie either with Nate or being tempted (or comforted) by Eliot, especially at certain points in the show. I can buy past!Sophie/Tara but would rather not get that in my gift. Obviously, as I requested a completely & ship, I am totally OK with (and would love to receive) general team fic. The found family aspect of this show is major love for me. I loved the dynamic in S1 through S3 pre-pretzels; I love them learning to work with each other and trust each other (even though they botch it some, like Sophie with The First David Job).
And much to my dismay, while I could see the show steering towards Hardison/Parker from fairly early on, I really couldn't get into it at all (only a small part of that being my issues with Hardison), despite reading a lot of Hardison/Parker fics and even enjoying some. I don't think they really fit together well in the long run. Eliot and Parker, on the other hand, seem perfect for each other, to my mind. :) So whether you write Parker with Eliot or not, please don't write Parker with anyone else (Hardison/Parker in the past is fine, I can see that starting, just not lasting, and I'm good with fics set pre-pretzels). (I can't get into the OT3 because Hardison/Eliot doesn't work for me as anything more than the deepest of bros, but I'd be OK seeing Parker as a pivot in a vee between them, as long as you focus on the Eliot/Parker side. I see the bond between all of them as deeper than sex anyway.)
Reflecting on the S5 finale, I see where the whole OT3 thing comes in for people (Eliot's speech about not needing to search anymore - the dying thing doesn't mean anything, since soldier buddies have done more than hold hands when another is dying without a single romantic or sexual thought towards the other), though I interpret the not needing to search as him finding a purpose for his life, not the loves of his life. It's quite vague and that one line is definitely not enough evidence to convince me of a whole ship, particularly since I still don't buy romantic/sexual attraction between Eliot and Hardison. To me the deepest bond possible between people isn't romantic or sexual at all, and that's what I see between them - between all three of them - they totally have each other's backs, through thick and thin. (Hardison's finally grown up more, yay. As long as he doesn't get cocky. I'm glad Nate actually said that because that really really bugs me when he does.) But sex? A part of me still doesn't see Parker as really being that into sex (I mostly headcanon her as ace at this point) - she talks about it frankly, she's not afraid to make out for a cover, she'll strip in front of the others to change clothes. (I think any nudity taboo she had was long since burned out by her experiences and that she simply isn't that sexually aroused by the human body - the way she echoed the others about Tara being hot felt very analytical, like she really wasn't emotionally engaged, was just looking at it objectively. It's weird to feel like I have so much in common with a character on screen! That so rarely happens for me.) But the most we ever see of her authentically, with emotions involved, is a kiss when she's trying not to die. (And yes, she does appear to be in sleepwear at one point during S5, but there are all kinds of ways to explain that one.) With the things she's been through, I've always headcanoned that sex is problematic for her, and she's not really comfortable going there (plus not really being interested in it in general). So I honestly do wonder if she's even gone that step with Hardison - given how patient he was with her emotions for several years, I can see him still being patient to try to get her to where she's comfortable taking their relationship more physical. Anyway, sex is not as critical and important as people think, and I don't see anything wrong with one or the other of the guys not having it on a regular basis for whatever reason, so I don't see any reason they have to all be paired off at any one point in time. (Though it would be nice to find Hardison someone who actually really got his fandom stuff. I would be extremely sad if the people I cared about the most didn't really get that and I couldn't find anyone I could share that with. Oh hey, actually, that basically IS my life. But I digress.) So platonic OT3 is OK for me, but not romantic/sexual.
I also think that they "tamed" the Parker on screen to make her more likable - the way she was set up in the pilot hinted at a little more crazy, and it could've been a bit darker. (Don't get me started on how the writers totally botched showing Parker as Asperger's - feels like they used it to make her quirky and then made her become neurotypical as she "matured". Learning the patterns of how to interact with people is one thing, being able to grift on the fly and be completely normal as far as handling all situations goes… makes me angry because it doesn't work that way for me and it denies the reality of how being on the spectrum actually works. So feel free to show Parker's autistic side more, whether it be the result of having to mask so much, or her struggling with more complicated grifting, etc..)
Also, I loved the finale ending in some ways - but I really hated that Nate and Sophie are now going to be all gone. Like, no, I love them and I want them all being a family together. So even if you don't use the AUs where S5 or the S5 finale don't happen, please do not write them living somewhere else and not part of the team. Set it before then, or have Nate back and sharing Mastermind role with Parker (because I'd love to see more of them trading off and working with each other as more equals), or what, I just can't see him abandoning it forever. Parker being OK with Sophie leaving this time - I see where they did the callback to mid-S2, but still - one can be OK with someone being gone, but it's better when they're there. Their family is so small as it is, to split it up further just makes me want to cry.
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Sophie Devereaux & Nathan Ford & Alec Hardison & Parker & Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Alternate Ending AU
Take a look at my rambles about the finale and change things to fix them! Or have Sterling decide to lock Nate up again - and the team has to break him out another time. Just find a way to deal with the Hardison/Parker for me. :)
ALL: Apocalypse AU
The whole team surviving the apocalypse together would be fantastic, whether it's natural disaster, societal collapse, or a pandemic worse than COVID-19.
ALL: Character who doesn't have a Superpower in Canon has one or gains one
This would be really interesting - which character and how does the superpower affect things?
ALL: Dystopian Society AU
Have the Leverage team working in this situation - do they try to fix society as a whole, or just take advantage of it to fix the little wrongs they can?
All: Everyone Suddenly Gains Superpowers
I've read one fic where everyone got superpowers, but I'd like to see a different attempt on it. What would each person get, and how might that affect their ability to do their job for the team?
ALL: Heist To Take From Museums & Give Back To Owners (Robin Hood Style)
This might seem like not an AU, given Leverage's usual MO - but think about the things that are in museums that various native peoples are demanding to be returned (and haven't been). Do any native groups contact Leverage to have them return stolen/appropriated tribal things? That would be really interesting.
All: Post-Apocalypse
This is one of my favorite tropes ever, and it would be so interesting to see how each character handles this. Nate can still plan for their future, and Eliot's still needed to protect them, but how much can Sophie grift anymore - and with money worthless and the Internet breaking down, how will Parker and Hardison cope?
ALL: Some people are telepathic
This would be so intriguing - especially with the various possibilities of WHO is telepathic.
ALL: Worldweavers fusion
I'd love to see how magic as it's part of the Worldweavers world would affect the Leverage team. Note how Thea was able to pull off a perfect theft of the cube due to her elemental gift; would Parker be an Air Elemental as well? (That would certainly help her be the best thief in the world, lol.)
Leverage: Nate doesn't go to jail at the end of S2
What if they were able to escape? Either before the FBI shows up, or Eliot can, indeed, "take these guys" (though would he escape being shot?). How would the reunion with Sophie have gone then? And given that Nate was shot, where do they take him so he recovers?
Leverage: Nate only temporarily gives up Mastermind role
As great as Parker will be, I can't see Nate being done with this. Maybe he shares it with her some, or just openly mentors her? But either way, he and Sophie have to come back.
Leverage: S5 finale never happened
What if there were no black book, and none of the canon events happen in that episode? Does Nate still propose to Sophie at some point? (I definitely don't want them leaving permanently.) Do they end up burning Portland somehow and have to move again?
Leverage: S5 never happened
Rewind a bit more. What if they never move to Portland? Where do they go instead, with all their identities burned? No brewpub this time, so what cover do they have? And Hardison and Parker don't actually end up dating (or they try it out and decide they're better as friends?). Set a story in this version of the Leverage world and I'll love it.
Leverage
I did most of my rambling (lots of it) about the show itself in the previous request - though I have some more on Eliot/Parker below, lol - but this request is for fics specifically focusing on those two. Whether you write Parker with Eliot or not (as I've requested both platonic and romantic ship tags), please don't write either of them with anyone else (Hardison/Parker in the past is fine, I can see that starting, just not lasting), and no OT3. I adore those two and their interactions and want to see more of it.
This fic, though it feels somewhat OOC for the characters in the conversation, put into words much of how I see those ships (at least before the end of S5) - and why I think Hardison/Parker seems to work to start with, but would eventually quit working. Hardison's the sweet initial relationship for Parker ("training wheels romance", as one review of that fic put it) to feel comfortable with, but I don't think she deeply loves him the way he's loved her - he's her best friend, and given her lack of experience, I can see her totally mixing up her emotions towards him and thinking she was feeling romantic attraction when she's feeling deep friendship and maybe a bit flattered that he'd be so patient with her. She is so out of touch with her own emotions that that is completely plausible and is my headcanon here. I don't have to see Parker with Eliot romantically at all, though, I just want to see their interactions without Hardison/Parker overshadowing all of it.
Same as the above request, I don't want Nate and Sophie absent from the picture, unless you're writing an AU that doesn't go with any events in canon at all.
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Parker & Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
Group: Parker/Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
ALL: Alternate First Meetings
I'd love to see Eliot and Parker meeting at some earlier point in time - and forming some sort of bond. Whether it's Eliot in high school running into an pint-sized Parker who's in another terrible foster home or what, I think it would be interesting!
ALL: Apocalypse AU
I'd love to see these two dealing with the end of the world as everyone knows it - EMP strike? Pandemic worse than COVID-19? Society collapses? Take your pick.
ALL: Canon couple are just friends
Because I think that's where Hardison and Parker should be (best friends, even, but not romantic partners). Change that, and show me Eliot and Parker's relationship, whether platonic or romantic!
ALL: Character finds out they have a child they didn't know about
I could see this with Eliot - and would love to see how Parker helps/supports.
ALL: Character's sexual abusive childhood is revealed
There's hints that Parker's childhood was terrible but they never come out and say outright which forms of abuse she suffered, other than hinting at the physical (her pointing out Luca's flinching in The Stork Job). I've always headcanoned she experienced all four main types, including sexual, so I'd like to see that addressed somehow.
ALL: Characters are Foster Kids
This would be awesome with these two. :D I mean, Parker's already a foster kid in her backstory, but I'd love to see Eliot being one for some reason, and ending up in the same (terrible) home, and protecting her. Or maybe they're in different ones and Eliot helps Parker somehow? I figure he's about five or six years older than she is, which easily gives a strong protective!Eliot vibe to things (and oh, do I love that). This would need to go with the & ship, I'm pretty sure, though if the age gap's a wee bit less I can see Eliot falling in love and refusing to act on it because she's too young.
ALL: Characters choose to get soulbonded for reasons
It would interesting if there was a legit reason for this that had nothing to do with them being romantically interested (it helps them with the cons/heists?) - and they end up falling in love after that. But maybe you've got a different idea I can't think of - would love to read whatever you come up with.
ALL: Runaways
Similar to the foster kids AU above, I can see a teenage Eliot running into a young Parker as both are running away (her from a bad foster home, him from probably his own home) and them joining up together. Definitely only & on this one as / with those ages would be majorly squicky.
ALL: Soulbonds - Feeling Each Other's Emotions
This with these two sounds very interesting, given the typical emotions for each.
ALL: Soulmate AU
I would love to see this with these two, especially if it takes them a bit to figure it out. I honestly don't care about there being a mark, but I'm not ruling it out hence not specifying the one with no mark. (But I'd rather it be something besides first words.) I'm also totally OK if they share a telepathic bond somehow, but not pain - Parker would be in agony far too often if that were the case, given Eliot's role!
Leverage: Parker is injured during one of the episode jobs
Now, this SHOULD actually be canon for The Mile High Job (because no way did she go through an emergency landing unsecured in a cargo hold without some injury!) but canon didn't show it. And another job could easily have had something go wrong, so… I'd love to see Eliot caring for her.
Rookie Blue
Requested chars/ships:
Andy McNally
Group: Andy McNally/Sam Swarek
This show is really awesome—particularly during the first few seasons. They made quite a few errors but the characters are so good that I love it anyway.
Sam and Andy are my OTP here, but if I have to focus on just one, I'd go with Andy. Missy Peregrym just made me fall in love with her character.
I had to split my AUs for this char/ship across two separate requests because there are just too many that work for these two (all the tropey AUs, lol). :D Below is the set of prompts for both requests, combined because the only difference between the two is which AUs were requested. (The Dov/Gail AUs are in a separate section of my letter.)
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Alternate First Meetings
I'd love to see Sam and Andy meet another way - and how that would have changed things.
ALL: Alternate First Meeting--Woke Up Married
This whole idea just makes me grin. Would be soooooo interesting to read. Would prefer they not immediately go to "how quickly can I divorce the other person".
ALL: Amnesia in Main Character Changes Canon
Oh, how easy that would be to do with either Andy OR Sam in a few places, but particularly Andy. I think if she didn't have her memory to make her stick with Luke, she might start questioning her relationship with him sooner…
ALL: Apocalypse AU
I'd love to see Sam and Andy dealing with the apocalypse, because apocalyptic AUs are so fun.
All: canon character death didn't happen AU
You know you wanted Jerry to live, right? :)
ALL: Canon Divergence AU
This show desperately needs some more canon divergence AUs (fanfic writers wrote some, but one can never have enough), given the bad choices the writers made at some points. While I have quite a few specific ones listed above, there are lots more places that things could change. If you're curious, I have a whole essay about the plot over the course of the show, with lots of discussion as to what I thought were bad plot points. Feel free to fix any of them that appeal to you.
All: Character deals with a canonical difficult situation better than in canon
Take your pick which character and which situation. Both of them botched the post-blackout thing in their own way. Sam in particular botched the conversation when Andy returned to work, the whole "Andy's mom shows up", and dealing with Jerry's death. I'm sure there's more you can think of…
All: Everyone Suddenly Gains Superpowers
This would be great fun with these characters!
ALL: On the run from the law
This would be a really interesting one - what would make them end up having to run from their fellow cops?
All: Post-Apocalypse
I love post-apocalyptic fic with my favorite characters. :D
ALL: Secret Marriage
I think them getting married secretly would be way too much fun!
ALL: Soulbond Requires Physical Proximity
However they end up soulbonded (is it a variation of a soulmates AU where everyone is, or is it just an accident, or did someone see their chemistry and trigger it somehow?), I think Sam and Andy discovering their connection that way would be hilarious - particularly if Andy happened to be dating Luke at the time.
ALL: Soulmate AU
Because I think these two would be soulmates and I'd love to see that. :D You're welcome to include the telepathic or pain bond variation if you want or not. I honestly don't care about there being a mark, but I'm not ruling it out hence not specifying the one with no mark. (But I'd rather it be something besides first words.)
Rookie Blue: Andy finds out she's pregnant after relationship is over
This could go three ways: a) she finds out she's pregnant with Luke's baby in the middle of S2, b) she finds out she's pregnant with Sam's baby at the end of S3 (or even during the undercover! it's possible for women to not have a lot of the typical pregnancy symptoms and Andy might not have known she was pregnant when accepting if so), or c) she finds out she's pregnant with Nick's baby at the beginning of S5. I've seen at least a couple versions of these, but I will always be excited to see another, and at least one of these possibilities has never ever been written, if you want to be the first.
Rookie Blue: Andy swaps places with Traci in 1x04
So what if Andy worked the homicide with Luke, and Traci did the hooker detail? There's not a ton of story to this, but it could make for some interesting conversations, especially between Sam and Andy.
Rookie Blue: Brennan never makes Sam
Let's pretend Boyd never gave him bad intel - and you can play with whether the car accident was truly an accident or not - would they keep sneaking around during his undercover time? Would Brennan mention Candace on the surveillance video and have Boyd's people be all wondering who Candace is? You can have Andy end up pregnant by accident if you want to complicate matters even more.
Rookie Blue: Luke dies in 2x03
If you look at the light in the sky, and the blood spilling from his mouth when they find him, no way does he survive that! (At least, that's my idea on it.) Sadly, no one has yet written a fic where he actually dies and Andy has to deal with that - with Sam by her side. Maybe you'll be the first? :)
Rookie Blue: Nick doesn't exist
Take some part of the show - Andy post-breakup with Sam, or UC with someone else (who?) - and rewrite it without Nick existing. I'd love to see how that would change.
Rookie Blue: Sam doesn't abandon Andy in 2x07
Let's pretend that Sam has actually learned from his mistake of reacting emotionally in 1x08 and gave Andy the benefit of the doubt - I'd love to see how that would go.
Rookie Blue: Sam doesn't leave Andy alone the night of the blackout
You know he could see that she isn't dealing, and I don't think it would take much for him to figure out that Luke's not going to stay with her because he's married to his work. Someone has to be there for Andy and it might as well be Sam…
Rookie Blue: Sam finds Andy in 2x06 before she leaves the division
You know he'd figure out right away that something's wrong, and work to get it out of her. I'd love to see that - or what would happen next! :D
Rookie Blue: Sam/Andy don't 'disregard' in 1x02
How would this change S1? How much sneaking around would they have to do? Would Sam end up opening up more at all, like about his sister?
Rookie Blue: The matchbox never falls out of Jo's purse
Without this clue, how does Andy figure out that Luke cheated on her? Or does she? Would she end up married and then find out - and get a divorce? So many ways for this to go…
Rookie Blue: Traci does Project Dakota not Andy
Let's pretend that they actually let Traci say goodbye (because that was so contrived), and that they actually required Andy to have therapy before going back to work (because please, holding a bomb is totally as bad as having a gun pointed at one's head!). Now Andy doesn't have Traci to lean on (and if you add in the "Nick doesn't exist" AU, nor Nick), and Sam's trying to mend things…
Rookie Blue
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Gail Peck/Dov Epstein
Love love this show - and Gail is so snarky but awesome, truly. (I can see why Dov had to say that.) I like her with Dov or Luke - but there's less written about her with Dov hence requesting that.
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Apocalypse AU
Dov and Gail (or just Gail) dealing with the apocalypse? Way too much fun - just imagine the level of snark. :D
All: Everyone Suddenly Gains Superpowers
This would be great fun with these characters!
All: Post-Apocalypse
I love post-apocalyptic fic with my favorite characters. :D
Rookie Blue: Chris doesn't get angry at Dov about Gail
I've read all of one fic where Chris figures out that Dov's in love with Gail and he just sort of shrugs with "It's Gail". While I think that's probably about as unlikely as his seriously angry "how could you!" reaction, I'd like to see more where he truly understands. I can't buy the two boys in love with each other, but if you want to write this as a poly vee ship with Gail as the pivot, I would definitely read it and enjoy. :)
Rookie Blue: Dov chooses Gail over Chris
In the show, Dov's all "sticking with my bro" and gives Gail the cold shoulder, which, ouch! Considering it was his fault in the first place with the meds and grabbing her hand to kiss, he should man up a bit and tell Chris to back off - and let Gail know that even if Chris won't take her back, he still loves her! I know one writer has done a great job in writing that, but I want more! Dov and Gail are just awesome together. Feel free to add in the "Rookie Blue: Nick doesn't exist" AU if you like.
Rookie Blue: Perik rapes Gail
I wrote a double drabble with this premise but I've never seen anything else. I know that wasn't really his MO on the show, but it wouldn't be hard to tweak that - and Gail seems like the sort that would try to hide it from everyone. Would she be successful? Who would figure it out? (My money's on Dov.) Also feel free to combine this with Nick not existing if you want.
Smallville
Requested chars/ships:
Relationship: Clark Kent & Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)
Relationship: Clark Kent/Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)
These are an OTP for me, I think. I've only seen up to partway into the 4th season and was so disgusted with the way the show was going (and I could not stand Erica Durance's character for anything!) that I quit watching and had to quit really being involved in the fandom. This is the only exchange I dare ask for just plain Smallville, because I honestly don't want to see anything from past S3. (I have read very little about the rest of the show that I actually liked.) I chose the AUs I did for that purpose. :)
As far as other characters go, as long as they appeared in the first three seasons, great! I prefer Clark to be the only alien around (no holdovers from his planet or weird stuff like that), and the magic stuff that appeared in S4 was not my cup of tea. Feel free to "fix" the cave Jor-El to explain/make him more reasonable, since clearly the programming has gotten a little confused…
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Crossover AU
Feel free to drop Clark and Chloe into either any of the requested fandoms or use any of the crossover possibilities listed in the section at the top (just before each fandom).
ALL: Main character goes back in time to the body of their younger self and changes what happened
I think this might be more interesting with Clark than with Chloe - mostly because of how slow Clark is to mature - and of course you'd have to find a way out of using the canonical events in S4 onwards, but just make up something! Or throw both Clark and Chloe back in their old bodies. They'd fix a lot of the major mistakes that happened in the first three seasons, and oh boy, were there a few mistakes…
ALL: On the run from the law
This would be interesting with both Clark and Chloe, specifically - Clark would probably have to reveal his powers to her, and to see them figuring out how to survive… :D
SV: Body swap without black kryptonite
This is just sheer fun. I've read all of one story where Clark and Chloe end up swapping bodies (and Chloe discovers Clark's secret in the process because when you can get from point A to point B in milliseconds and crumble a sink by just holding onto it, you know something's up). It was hilarious and I wish there were more takes on a situation like that. So I'd love to see what you come up with! Would prefer Clark not end up switching bodies with someone else, especially someone like Lionel.
SV: Chloe and Pete remember what happened during Rush
That memory blank was the biggest copout ever. Chloe learned Clark's secret (and thought it was "so cool") and he clearly wanted to make out with Chloe when under the influence of Red K, so that's going to raise a bunch of things that need to be dealt with. Tons of potential for Chlarkiness (and some interesting convos along the way). I'd love it if she didn't lie to Clark and tell him she didn't remember anything, too.
SV: Chloe becomes Lois and Lois never comes to Smallville
This is the Chlois theory, as it used to be called. Basically, find a way for Chloe to become the Lois that she always was meant to be - really, all she needs to do is change her hair color and name. Why does she have to do this? Does she tell Clark about it, or does he figure out? Future fic is great here as long as you ignore the canonical events of later seasons.
SV: Chloe brings Clark home at the beginning of S3
What would Chloe say or do that would get Clark to come home with her? Get the ring off him in a moment of weakness? Does she discover his secret? I am uncommonly fond of Exile AUs.
SV: Clark & Chloe don't quit dating after S1
Did anyone else want to scream ARGH! when she played the friends card? Here's your chance to remedy that. Let's see what 2x01 would've looked like with a Clark who was still dating Chloe. Would he eventually learn to trust her enough to tell her his secret?
SV: Clark does not mumble Lana's name during Fever
What he actually does is up to you, though I'd love it if he actually remembered something of what Chloe was saying. Or maybe he stumbles across the paper she read it from later?
SV: Clark is too late to save Lana from the tornado
Here's my angsty AU. Whether he recovers her body or not, I'd love to see a fic where Lana doesn't make it, and Clark's despondency about that. Chloe, of course, will be at his side trying to comfort him (and bonus points if you throw in the "Clark & Chloe don't quit dating after S1" AU as well). Maybe his secret comes out in Clark's frustration of why he feels he should've been able to, or maybe he just wakes up to the fact that he's got Chloe there for him.
SV: Clark tells Chloe his secret before S4
I've already thrown this one as an optional prompt for a few of the other AUs, but I'd love to see how it might work! If Chloe could show Clark that he wouldn't end up on the Wall of Weird, you'd think that Clark would eventually realize that Chloe would react totally different to how Pete did, and be ready and willing to protect his secret.
SV: Clark's mom doesn't lose the baby in S2
I'd love to see Clark with a baby sister. I thought that explosion-killed-the-baby thing was the worst thing, because that would've added such interesting dynamics to things. What do you wanna bet that Chloe actually melts a bit getting to interact with a baby - and it totally surprises Clark?
SV: Gabe doesn't survive the explosion at the end of S3
Another angsty one! If Gabe doesn't survive the explosion, what happens to Chloe? I'd love to see her end up with the Kents somehow.
SV: Lana moves with her aunt to Metropolis
Hee, this would be such the best thing - get Lana out of there and let it just be Clark and Chloe from there on out. No more Lana distraction!
SV: Lionel dies sometime during the first three seasons
How does it happen? Does Clark somehow break and realize he's got to get rid of Lionel or everyone will not be safe? Does Lionel die at the end of S1? Either way, I'd love to see how that makes things safer for the people Clark loves.
SV: Ryan doesn't have a brain tumor so he lives
I hated that tumor plotline. They create this awesome little brother-type character—and then they get rid of him because he figures out Clark's secret. I'd love to see him be perfectly healthy and come to live with the Kents. Having someone around who knows Clark's secret - and can read minds - can only be a good thing. Does he figure out what Lionel or Lex are up to? Or does he figure out that Chloe's in love with Clark and be the catalyst to get the two of them together? (Or if you're combining with the "they never quit dating" one, does he help Clark realize that she's safe to tell his secret to?)
SV: S4 onward never happened
This is sort of my perennial AU of all AUs. Throw out the whole show after the end of S3 and rewrite it your way! Whether you stick with a short "this is the way things are" or get more involved, I'd love to see a Smallville without Lois, magic, aliens that aren't Clark, relationship between Clark and Lana, etc. Give me a deepening relationship between Clark and Chloe and you've made my day, whether they are just stronger friends or more.
Women's Murder Club (TV)
Requested chars/ships:
Lindsay Boxer (WMC TV)
Group: Lindsay Boxer & Cindy Thomas (WMC TV)
I love tough characters with soft centers, and Lindsay is a classic example. I also love the interactions between these two. I see a bit of hero worship—and maybe a crush of sorts—on Cindy's side, and annoyance that turns to fondness and respect on Lindsay's. What you do with that is up to you. I requested the friendship tag but I'm OK with making it deeper. It's hard to know where that line is sometimes, especially when you're just focusing on the connection between them.
I love Claire's motherliness, particularly with Lindsay, and I can see her totally mothering Cindy. Jill is less of an interest for me so you need not include her, or can just keep her focused on case stuff or being general friends. As for the guys in the women's lives, unless necessary for the specific AU you're writing, I'd prefer they have minor or no roles in the fic, with the exception of Ed.
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Canon Divergence AU
Diverge the show in some direction I haven't thought of! :D
All: Post-Apocalypse
I love post-apocalyptic fic with my favorite characters. :D
WMC TV: Cindy is injured while being a decoy
I loved Cindy's role in the decoy bit, and would love to see Lindsay's reaction to her being injured as one (not killed, please!).
WMC TV: Lindsay stays with Cindy in the hospital instead of Jill
This is a great opportunity to deepen the friendship between the two of them…
WMC TV: Lindsay's pregnancy test is positive
I'd love to see what happens here. Does she tell Tom or does he find out on his own? What does Cindy do?
Happy writing! :D
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 and work with a requested AU: https://doranwen.dreamwidth.org/240453.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: supernatural/fantasy beings (elves, vampires, werewolves, gnomes, zombies, etc.), aliens other than Superman, unrequested deathfic, 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
DNW/Caution note: I'm not averse to mentions of sex, but I'd prefer the fic not focus on it or indulge in the physical feelings. Emotional feelings/bonds are what I focus on in any ship. If a prompt requires a mention or implies sex in some way, feel free to include it as necessary as long as the focus of the fic is elsewhere.
Don't worry if someone's written that particular 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. Too few of these AUs have been written, and I want to see more of even the ones that have!
I don't go into a lot of my thoughts on most of these fandoms and characters (and please do not read anything into which sections are longer or not, I honestly love ALL of these), but I've requested all of them in other exchanges unless I stated otherwise below, so if you want more info on the way I look at them, just filter my posts by the "fanfic exchange letter" tag to see other letters that have the same fandoms.
I've requested Crossover AU for a few fandoms (as well as the tag Worldweavers fusion). For any crossover AU, you are totally welcome to cross any of my requested fandoms with any of the others, or with the following:
1-800-Missing (S1 only, not the S2-S3 of Missing)
C-16: FBI
Cybergeddon (web series)
FBI (CBS)
Push (2009)
Rizzoli & Isles
Sue Thomas F.B.Eye
Worldweavers - Alma Alexander
And now to the requests (in the order of which I found them in the tagset):
X-Men (Movieverse)
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Rogue (OT)/Scott Summers (OT)
Group: Rogue (OT) & Scott Summers (OT)
Group: Ororo Munroe (OT)/Scott Summers (OT)
Group: Ororo Munroe (OT) & Scott Summers (OT)
Scott Summers (OT)
I absolutely love Scott, and this request shows it. I think he works well with either Rogue or Ororo, though I enjoy him alone also! He and Rogue have in common that they both have visible aspects to their mutations that they can never shake - and cannot control. He and Ororo have a bond borne out of knowing each other for years - and even possibly having similar backgrounds. Since I've never seen any films other than X1, X2, and X3, you can make up their backstories all you like. (Just keep the alien Shi'ar stuff out of it - I like my X-Men as realistic as possible beyond the powers bit.)
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Apocalypse AU
I love apocalyptic/survival AUs so much - and the idea of Scott with Ororo or Rogue or just being Xavier's right-hand man in helping protect the children in a world that's fallen apart, it just melts my heart. :)
X-Men: Jean stays dead after X2 and the Phoenix never appears (OT)
What would X3 have looked like without the Phoenix interfering? Scott and Professor X would be alive, for one…
X-Men (OT): Professor X and Scott survive X3
These two dying are the biggest reason I don't care for X3. Find a way for them not to die, and I'll enjoy the story a ton!
X-Men (OT): Scott was never involved with Jean romantically
Set this anywhere in the first three films (as long as Scott doesn't die in X3), and I'd love to see what would have happened. Is Logan in a relationship with Jean, then? Is Scott in love with Ororo? Or do you fast forward a few years and show a relationship developing between him and Rogue? However you do it, changing this one thing would change dynamics a whole lot!
X-Men (OT): X3 Never Happened
Oh, I would love to see the aftermath of X2 with Scott - all the angst. Does Ororo's friendship with him help him find solace after Jean's death, or is it in a friendship with a fellow "outcast" named Rogue, who perhaps even feels guilty for Jean's death because she tried to fly the plane and crashed it? So many possibilities here…
Crossover Fandom
Crossovers are so much fun to read - and I think these characters would be a blast together! The one generality I can say is that I like crossovers to be taken somewhat seriously; I'd prefer not to receive crackfic. But I'm perfectly OK with "I don't know how I got here" sorts of situations, where one person is suddenly dropped into another world (whether they woke up there, or walked through a weird spot in the air, etc.). Fortunately most of these could exist in the same world easily enough.
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Parker (Leverage) & Miss Parker (The Pretender)
Group: Leverage Crew (Leverage) & Jarod (The Pretender)
Group: Leverage Crew (Leverage) & Nick Gant & Cassie Holmes (Push)
Group: Leverage Crew (Leverage) & FBI CBS Team (FBI CBS TV)
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Apocalypse AU
Having any of these group combos dealing with the apocalypse would be a blast.
ALL: Crossover AU
Obviously, any situation that crosses these groups over works for me! I can see Jarod and the Leverage crew teaming up to take down the Centre (oh, wouldn't that be a BLAST - and I'd love to see how Hardison and Broots face off as far as hacking goes). Parker and Miss Parker would be hilariously interesting in the same room, too (does Parker attempt to steal something from inside the Centre?). Or have them in the same universe as Nick and Cassie from Push, and work to take down Division (do they have powers at all?). And for more complicated setup, I'd love to see Maggie and OA deal with this group of criminals - maybe they're both trying to take down the same bad guys and end up reluctantly working together? I'd love to see their thoughts on each other.
All: Post-Apocalypse
Do the groups encounter each other well after the apocalypse or is the fic set afterwards but they worked together to survive during it? Either would be interesting, but I think meeting up afterwards might be the most fun. Especially consider the idea of Jarod searching for his family and running across the Leverage team, or Miss Parker trying to survive with what remnants there are of the Centre (and Parker encountering her somehow. Or Nick and Cassie using their powers to hide from what's left of Division. Or Maggie and OA meeting the Leverage team when now they're all sort of on the same side (trying to survive).
Crossover: Shared Universe AU
I can buy this with any of these, though I think it might be a little trickier with the Push characters (do the Leverage team have any powers? I could see Parker as a Mover, lol, a good thief skill to have). We haven't seen the Leverage team do much in New York, and the Centre is totally the type of corporation the Leverage team like to take down…
Alphas (TV)
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Rachel Pirzad & Nina Theroux
Group: Rachel Pirzad & Lee Rosen & Nina Theroux
Nina Theroux
Rachel Pirzad
This show was so awesome (and so short!) and has so much potential for taking the storyline different directions, so it's perfect for this exchange! I fell in love with Rachel as soon as I saw her reaction to her dad's comments in the pilot, and I fell in love with Nina at the end of Anger Management. Lee grew on me over the course of the show, and I just love seeing the whole team interact, how supportive they are of each other, and their different talents and contributions to everything. I didn't nominate or request the whole team as a tag, but if you find yourself wanting to work everyone in, I'd love that too. I nominated and requested Nina, Rachel, and Lee because they're the characters that call most to me, but I really do love everyone in this show, which is unusual for me.
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Apocalypse AU
Parish's plan isn't the only way the world could end for them all. I love apocalyptic AUs, so have fun with it!
ALL: Canon Divergence AU
Canon divergence is my thing - and while I gave some specific canon divergence AU ideas above, I'd happily read anything for this fandom that alters the way things went. Want to rewrite the club scene a little differently? (Feel free to bend my DNW about sex a bit - it would be hard to do much with that scene otherwise.) Want to send Dani to Building Seven instead of undercover? Or something else I haven't thought of? Go for it! Or write a "for want of a nail" AU - another kind of canon divergence. You could use this with Parish's plan - either another way it unravels, or how it succeeds - or maybe you can think of something else! This show has long arcs and complicated things happening, and a simple change here and there would make big differences down the road.
ALL: Crossover AU
Read the crossover section just before my requests for possibilities there. Whether they're dropped into the other canon's world or both worlds exist simultaneously, it would be neat to read!
ALL: On the run from the law
This would be fascinating with the team - or just a few of them (not as much with a single person). I always loved them fleeing from Binghamton in S1.
All: Post-Apocalypse
I love post-apocalyptic fic with my favorite characters. :D
Alphas: Alphaville never happened
Alphaville really set the stage for a lot of things. For one, Stanton Parish might not've found Skylar otherwise. Also, it really changed Rachel's powers for the better. So, what if Rachel's still stuck with being overwhelmed by her senses (particularly with regards to physical affection), and Parish doesn't have Skylar to make mini-photostims for him? What might the rest of the show have looked like? Keep in mind that that was where Rosen had the first inkling that someone close to them was feeding Parish info - would it have taken them longer to put the pieces together regarding Dani? Would Parish have succeeded with the voltaic bomb plan?
Alphas: Dani survives the bomb
Injuries I'm fine with - I'd just like to see what it would look like to have her alive, either in terms of how they go after Parish, and/or in terms of the internal bonds of the team.
Alphas: Rachel doesn't call Bill during Scipio's torture
Go with either a plotty "this is what happens differently" or deal with the emotional fallout of a Rachel who's thrown herself completely behind Rosen (or both!). I'm guessing it might be harder to make up with John…
Alphas: Rachel never dates John
For some reason, Rachel's relationship with John has always grated on me just a little. Maybe it's that it feels a little artificial, too contrived? Or maybe it's that I liked the S1 backstory better where Rachel's never had a real boyfriend or even really dated. (As one writer put it for another show, they gave us "multiple choice options" for her backstory.) In some ways it feels like they took S1 Rachel and made her a bit OOC for S2. The jump is just too extreme, too much too soon to feel right, and her relationship with John is a major part of that. Given that the show does a good deal with her and him in various episodes, I'd love to see those scenes the way they would've been without him as her SO. Who's there instead? Do we get to see more team bonding with her and other team members? (And John is not one of the team members, I feel like. He's a liaison of sorts, but he's not one of the Alphas.)
Alphas: Stanton Parish's photostim plan succeeds
OK, so I've been writing a series of this very AU, pretty much. But I would very much love to read someone else's take on this! The "end of the world" is really what it would be, but I want to see it with my beloved Alphas. Apocalyptic fic with Alphas, what can be better?
Leverage
I don't know who suggested that I watch this show, but I want to thank them, because I adore it. I only recently finished seeing the whole thing, and I have so many thoughts on it (see my recent essays on DW, lol - I have one on Parker being ace that's f-locked for various reasons also, but I can send via the mod if you want it).
I loved Parker instantly as soon as I saw her in the pilot. "Twenty pounds of crazy in a five-pound bag" and I was hooked. She was talented and quirky, and the glimpses we get of her backstory only made me love her more. When she went into the reasons that Luca was definitely an orphan, I wanted to just hug her. She's simultaneously childlike and grown woman, innocent and world-hardened, and I love her for it. The best characterization I ever saw of her was from this fic where it says, "Parker is healed over scars, awkward and brilliant as she watches the world with bright eyes, no longer hurting but also not quite sane."
Sophie took a few episodes more to grow on me, because she was so flirty with Nate in the pilot that I had a hard time seeing her. But The Wedding Job did the trick, with her line about "do you know how hard it is to wait for someone", and suddenly I knew I loved her, even if it was just seeing her pain of loving Nate but not able to actually be with him. She really is the Team Mom and I love her mothering, the way she tries to mentor Parker, give Hardison advice… and has interestingly mature conversations with Eliot.
I also really like Eliot a lot - his quiet strength, the dark past that haunts him, his protectiveness and thoughtfulness. He's mature and really the rock the team depends on. That scene in The Big Bang Job where he tells Parker not to ask him? Loved it, so so much. (As also the conversation with Nate about killing in The Last Dam Job.) And the decision in the warehouse… Oh man. Excellent. I love his teaming up with Parker on jobs and the fact that he's smart, emotionally grounded, he knows a LOT, and he grows his own food and cooks really well. :D (The singing is a bonus.)
Nate is complex and interesting - he's an awful person sometimes to the others (mostly in the earlier seasons) but I can't hate him for it, probably because I can see how much of who he is was shaped by the loss of his son, as that same fic above describes him: "all broken and sharp, jagged edges the way he is, his wounds still raw and aching with every breath, knocking the wind out of him when he catches the sound of a boy's laugh in the distance".
Hardison is a trickier situation; I ended up just writing a whole essay on him somewhere around the end of S4, and apologize in advance for its length. I've had lots of rants and rambles to friends about him, and I think I finally clarified my thoughts there. I don't think I actually dislike him, but I wouldn't mind seeing him grow up more in fic. We got some of that in S5 but not nearly enough for my liking.
Tara annoyed me at first but grew on me over time, and Sterling makes a worthy antagonist, which I almost began to like (annoyingly so!) after The Queen's Gambit Job.
(Apologies for the long long ramble below, but I honestly couldn't figure out where to cut it short.)
As far as ships go, I started not really shipping anyone in particular, but as I read fics (concurrently with the episode air dates, so I didn't spoil myself) I found some ships emerging as winners to me. I definitely ship Nate/Sophie (I love the angsty conflicted fics, lol), though I've read some very interesting and good Eliot/Sophie fics, mostly angsty/interlude types (such as between S2 and S3). I don't go for Nate/Parker or Sophie/Parker (I've seen a few decent fics for each but I can't buy those ships due to the power differential between Parker and either Nate or Sophie), or Nate/Eliot or Hardison/Eliot at all. I'm OK with Sophie either with Nate or being tempted (or comforted) by Eliot, especially at certain points in the show. I can buy past!Sophie/Tara but would rather not get that in my gift. Obviously, as I requested a completely & ship, I am totally OK with (and would love to receive) general team fic. The found family aspect of this show is major love for me. I loved the dynamic in S1 through S3 pre-pretzels; I love them learning to work with each other and trust each other (even though they botch it some, like Sophie with The First David Job).
And much to my dismay, while I could see the show steering towards Hardison/Parker from fairly early on, I really couldn't get into it at all (only a small part of that being my issues with Hardison), despite reading a lot of Hardison/Parker fics and even enjoying some. I don't think they really fit together well in the long run. Eliot and Parker, on the other hand, seem perfect for each other, to my mind. :) So whether you write Parker with Eliot or not, please don't write Parker with anyone else (Hardison/Parker in the past is fine, I can see that starting, just not lasting, and I'm good with fics set pre-pretzels). (I can't get into the OT3 because Hardison/Eliot doesn't work for me as anything more than the deepest of bros, but I'd be OK seeing Parker as a pivot in a vee between them, as long as you focus on the Eliot/Parker side. I see the bond between all of them as deeper than sex anyway.)
Reflecting on the S5 finale, I see where the whole OT3 thing comes in for people (Eliot's speech about not needing to search anymore - the dying thing doesn't mean anything, since soldier buddies have done more than hold hands when another is dying without a single romantic or sexual thought towards the other), though I interpret the not needing to search as him finding a purpose for his life, not the loves of his life. It's quite vague and that one line is definitely not enough evidence to convince me of a whole ship, particularly since I still don't buy romantic/sexual attraction between Eliot and Hardison. To me the deepest bond possible between people isn't romantic or sexual at all, and that's what I see between them - between all three of them - they totally have each other's backs, through thick and thin. (Hardison's finally grown up more, yay. As long as he doesn't get cocky. I'm glad Nate actually said that because that really really bugs me when he does.) But sex? A part of me still doesn't see Parker as really being that into sex (I mostly headcanon her as ace at this point) - she talks about it frankly, she's not afraid to make out for a cover, she'll strip in front of the others to change clothes. (I think any nudity taboo she had was long since burned out by her experiences and that she simply isn't that sexually aroused by the human body - the way she echoed the others about Tara being hot felt very analytical, like she really wasn't emotionally engaged, was just looking at it objectively. It's weird to feel like I have so much in common with a character on screen! That so rarely happens for me.) But the most we ever see of her authentically, with emotions involved, is a kiss when she's trying not to die. (And yes, she does appear to be in sleepwear at one point during S5, but there are all kinds of ways to explain that one.) With the things she's been through, I've always headcanoned that sex is problematic for her, and she's not really comfortable going there (plus not really being interested in it in general). So I honestly do wonder if she's even gone that step with Hardison - given how patient he was with her emotions for several years, I can see him still being patient to try to get her to where she's comfortable taking their relationship more physical. Anyway, sex is not as critical and important as people think, and I don't see anything wrong with one or the other of the guys not having it on a regular basis for whatever reason, so I don't see any reason they have to all be paired off at any one point in time. (Though it would be nice to find Hardison someone who actually really got his fandom stuff. I would be extremely sad if the people I cared about the most didn't really get that and I couldn't find anyone I could share that with. Oh hey, actually, that basically IS my life. But I digress.) So platonic OT3 is OK for me, but not romantic/sexual.
I also think that they "tamed" the Parker on screen to make her more likable - the way she was set up in the pilot hinted at a little more crazy, and it could've been a bit darker. (Don't get me started on how the writers totally botched showing Parker as Asperger's - feels like they used it to make her quirky and then made her become neurotypical as she "matured". Learning the patterns of how to interact with people is one thing, being able to grift on the fly and be completely normal as far as handling all situations goes… makes me angry because it doesn't work that way for me and it denies the reality of how being on the spectrum actually works. So feel free to show Parker's autistic side more, whether it be the result of having to mask so much, or her struggling with more complicated grifting, etc..)
Also, I loved the finale ending in some ways - but I really hated that Nate and Sophie are now going to be all gone. Like, no, I love them and I want them all being a family together. So even if you don't use the AUs where S5 or the S5 finale don't happen, please do not write them living somewhere else and not part of the team. Set it before then, or have Nate back and sharing Mastermind role with Parker (because I'd love to see more of them trading off and working with each other as more equals), or what, I just can't see him abandoning it forever. Parker being OK with Sophie leaving this time - I see where they did the callback to mid-S2, but still - one can be OK with someone being gone, but it's better when they're there. Their family is so small as it is, to split it up further just makes me want to cry.
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Sophie Devereaux & Nathan Ford & Alec Hardison & Parker & Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Alternate Ending AU
Take a look at my rambles about the finale and change things to fix them! Or have Sterling decide to lock Nate up again - and the team has to break him out another time. Just find a way to deal with the Hardison/Parker for me. :)
ALL: Apocalypse AU
The whole team surviving the apocalypse together would be fantastic, whether it's natural disaster, societal collapse, or a pandemic worse than COVID-19.
ALL: Character who doesn't have a Superpower in Canon has one or gains one
This would be really interesting - which character and how does the superpower affect things?
ALL: Dystopian Society AU
Have the Leverage team working in this situation - do they try to fix society as a whole, or just take advantage of it to fix the little wrongs they can?
All: Everyone Suddenly Gains Superpowers
I've read one fic where everyone got superpowers, but I'd like to see a different attempt on it. What would each person get, and how might that affect their ability to do their job for the team?
ALL: Heist To Take From Museums & Give Back To Owners (Robin Hood Style)
This might seem like not an AU, given Leverage's usual MO - but think about the things that are in museums that various native peoples are demanding to be returned (and haven't been). Do any native groups contact Leverage to have them return stolen/appropriated tribal things? That would be really interesting.
All: Post-Apocalypse
This is one of my favorite tropes ever, and it would be so interesting to see how each character handles this. Nate can still plan for their future, and Eliot's still needed to protect them, but how much can Sophie grift anymore - and with money worthless and the Internet breaking down, how will Parker and Hardison cope?
ALL: Some people are telepathic
This would be so intriguing - especially with the various possibilities of WHO is telepathic.
ALL: Worldweavers fusion
I'd love to see how magic as it's part of the Worldweavers world would affect the Leverage team. Note how Thea was able to pull off a perfect theft of the cube due to her elemental gift; would Parker be an Air Elemental as well? (That would certainly help her be the best thief in the world, lol.)
Leverage: Nate doesn't go to jail at the end of S2
What if they were able to escape? Either before the FBI shows up, or Eliot can, indeed, "take these guys" (though would he escape being shot?). How would the reunion with Sophie have gone then? And given that Nate was shot, where do they take him so he recovers?
Leverage: Nate only temporarily gives up Mastermind role
As great as Parker will be, I can't see Nate being done with this. Maybe he shares it with her some, or just openly mentors her? But either way, he and Sophie have to come back.
Leverage: S5 finale never happened
What if there were no black book, and none of the canon events happen in that episode? Does Nate still propose to Sophie at some point? (I definitely don't want them leaving permanently.) Do they end up burning Portland somehow and have to move again?
Leverage: S5 never happened
Rewind a bit more. What if they never move to Portland? Where do they go instead, with all their identities burned? No brewpub this time, so what cover do they have? And Hardison and Parker don't actually end up dating (or they try it out and decide they're better as friends?). Set a story in this version of the Leverage world and I'll love it.
Leverage
I did most of my rambling (lots of it) about the show itself in the previous request - though I have some more on Eliot/Parker below, lol - but this request is for fics specifically focusing on those two. Whether you write Parker with Eliot or not (as I've requested both platonic and romantic ship tags), please don't write either of them with anyone else (Hardison/Parker in the past is fine, I can see that starting, just not lasting), and no OT3. I adore those two and their interactions and want to see more of it.
This fic, though it feels somewhat OOC for the characters in the conversation, put into words much of how I see those ships (at least before the end of S5) - and why I think Hardison/Parker seems to work to start with, but would eventually quit working. Hardison's the sweet initial relationship for Parker ("training wheels romance", as one review of that fic put it) to feel comfortable with, but I don't think she deeply loves him the way he's loved her - he's her best friend, and given her lack of experience, I can see her totally mixing up her emotions towards him and thinking she was feeling romantic attraction when she's feeling deep friendship and maybe a bit flattered that he'd be so patient with her. She is so out of touch with her own emotions that that is completely plausible and is my headcanon here. I don't have to see Parker with Eliot romantically at all, though, I just want to see their interactions without Hardison/Parker overshadowing all of it.
Same as the above request, I don't want Nate and Sophie absent from the picture, unless you're writing an AU that doesn't go with any events in canon at all.
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Parker & Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
Group: Parker/Eliot Spencer (Leverage)
ALL: Alternate First Meetings
I'd love to see Eliot and Parker meeting at some earlier point in time - and forming some sort of bond. Whether it's Eliot in high school running into an pint-sized Parker who's in another terrible foster home or what, I think it would be interesting!
ALL: Apocalypse AU
I'd love to see these two dealing with the end of the world as everyone knows it - EMP strike? Pandemic worse than COVID-19? Society collapses? Take your pick.
ALL: Canon couple are just friends
Because I think that's where Hardison and Parker should be (best friends, even, but not romantic partners). Change that, and show me Eliot and Parker's relationship, whether platonic or romantic!
ALL: Character finds out they have a child they didn't know about
I could see this with Eliot - and would love to see how Parker helps/supports.
ALL: Character's sexual abusive childhood is revealed
There's hints that Parker's childhood was terrible but they never come out and say outright which forms of abuse she suffered, other than hinting at the physical (her pointing out Luca's flinching in The Stork Job). I've always headcanoned she experienced all four main types, including sexual, so I'd like to see that addressed somehow.
ALL: Characters are Foster Kids
This would be awesome with these two. :D I mean, Parker's already a foster kid in her backstory, but I'd love to see Eliot being one for some reason, and ending up in the same (terrible) home, and protecting her. Or maybe they're in different ones and Eliot helps Parker somehow? I figure he's about five or six years older than she is, which easily gives a strong protective!Eliot vibe to things (and oh, do I love that). This would need to go with the & ship, I'm pretty sure, though if the age gap's a wee bit less I can see Eliot falling in love and refusing to act on it because she's too young.
ALL: Characters choose to get soulbonded for reasons
It would interesting if there was a legit reason for this that had nothing to do with them being romantically interested (it helps them with the cons/heists?) - and they end up falling in love after that. But maybe you've got a different idea I can't think of - would love to read whatever you come up with.
ALL: Runaways
Similar to the foster kids AU above, I can see a teenage Eliot running into a young Parker as both are running away (her from a bad foster home, him from probably his own home) and them joining up together. Definitely only & on this one as / with those ages would be majorly squicky.
ALL: Soulbonds - Feeling Each Other's Emotions
This with these two sounds very interesting, given the typical emotions for each.
ALL: Soulmate AU
I would love to see this with these two, especially if it takes them a bit to figure it out. I honestly don't care about there being a mark, but I'm not ruling it out hence not specifying the one with no mark. (But I'd rather it be something besides first words.) I'm also totally OK if they share a telepathic bond somehow, but not pain - Parker would be in agony far too often if that were the case, given Eliot's role!
Leverage: Parker is injured during one of the episode jobs
Now, this SHOULD actually be canon for The Mile High Job (because no way did she go through an emergency landing unsecured in a cargo hold without some injury!) but canon didn't show it. And another job could easily have had something go wrong, so… I'd love to see Eliot caring for her.
Rookie Blue
Requested chars/ships:
Andy McNally
Group: Andy McNally/Sam Swarek
This show is really awesome—particularly during the first few seasons. They made quite a few errors but the characters are so good that I love it anyway.
Sam and Andy are my OTP here, but if I have to focus on just one, I'd go with Andy. Missy Peregrym just made me fall in love with her character.
I had to split my AUs for this char/ship across two separate requests because there are just too many that work for these two (all the tropey AUs, lol). :D Below is the set of prompts for both requests, combined because the only difference between the two is which AUs were requested. (The Dov/Gail AUs are in a separate section of my letter.)
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Alternate First Meetings
I'd love to see Sam and Andy meet another way - and how that would have changed things.
ALL: Alternate First Meeting--Woke Up Married
This whole idea just makes me grin. Would be soooooo interesting to read. Would prefer they not immediately go to "how quickly can I divorce the other person".
ALL: Amnesia in Main Character Changes Canon
Oh, how easy that would be to do with either Andy OR Sam in a few places, but particularly Andy. I think if she didn't have her memory to make her stick with Luke, she might start questioning her relationship with him sooner…
ALL: Apocalypse AU
I'd love to see Sam and Andy dealing with the apocalypse, because apocalyptic AUs are so fun.
All: canon character death didn't happen AU
You know you wanted Jerry to live, right? :)
ALL: Canon Divergence AU
This show desperately needs some more canon divergence AUs (fanfic writers wrote some, but one can never have enough), given the bad choices the writers made at some points. While I have quite a few specific ones listed above, there are lots more places that things could change. If you're curious, I have a whole essay about the plot over the course of the show, with lots of discussion as to what I thought were bad plot points. Feel free to fix any of them that appeal to you.
All: Character deals with a canonical difficult situation better than in canon
Take your pick which character and which situation. Both of them botched the post-blackout thing in their own way. Sam in particular botched the conversation when Andy returned to work, the whole "Andy's mom shows up", and dealing with Jerry's death. I'm sure there's more you can think of…
All: Everyone Suddenly Gains Superpowers
This would be great fun with these characters!
ALL: On the run from the law
This would be a really interesting one - what would make them end up having to run from their fellow cops?
All: Post-Apocalypse
I love post-apocalyptic fic with my favorite characters. :D
ALL: Secret Marriage
I think them getting married secretly would be way too much fun!
ALL: Soulbond Requires Physical Proximity
However they end up soulbonded (is it a variation of a soulmates AU where everyone is, or is it just an accident, or did someone see their chemistry and trigger it somehow?), I think Sam and Andy discovering their connection that way would be hilarious - particularly if Andy happened to be dating Luke at the time.
ALL: Soulmate AU
Because I think these two would be soulmates and I'd love to see that. :D You're welcome to include the telepathic or pain bond variation if you want or not. I honestly don't care about there being a mark, but I'm not ruling it out hence not specifying the one with no mark. (But I'd rather it be something besides first words.)
Rookie Blue: Andy finds out she's pregnant after relationship is over
This could go three ways: a) she finds out she's pregnant with Luke's baby in the middle of S2, b) she finds out she's pregnant with Sam's baby at the end of S3 (or even during the undercover! it's possible for women to not have a lot of the typical pregnancy symptoms and Andy might not have known she was pregnant when accepting if so), or c) she finds out she's pregnant with Nick's baby at the beginning of S5. I've seen at least a couple versions of these, but I will always be excited to see another, and at least one of these possibilities has never ever been written, if you want to be the first.
Rookie Blue: Andy swaps places with Traci in 1x04
So what if Andy worked the homicide with Luke, and Traci did the hooker detail? There's not a ton of story to this, but it could make for some interesting conversations, especially between Sam and Andy.
Rookie Blue: Brennan never makes Sam
Let's pretend Boyd never gave him bad intel - and you can play with whether the car accident was truly an accident or not - would they keep sneaking around during his undercover time? Would Brennan mention Candace on the surveillance video and have Boyd's people be all wondering who Candace is? You can have Andy end up pregnant by accident if you want to complicate matters even more.
Rookie Blue: Luke dies in 2x03
If you look at the light in the sky, and the blood spilling from his mouth when they find him, no way does he survive that! (At least, that's my idea on it.) Sadly, no one has yet written a fic where he actually dies and Andy has to deal with that - with Sam by her side. Maybe you'll be the first? :)
Rookie Blue: Nick doesn't exist
Take some part of the show - Andy post-breakup with Sam, or UC with someone else (who?) - and rewrite it without Nick existing. I'd love to see how that would change.
Rookie Blue: Sam doesn't abandon Andy in 2x07
Let's pretend that Sam has actually learned from his mistake of reacting emotionally in 1x08 and gave Andy the benefit of the doubt - I'd love to see how that would go.
Rookie Blue: Sam doesn't leave Andy alone the night of the blackout
You know he could see that she isn't dealing, and I don't think it would take much for him to figure out that Luke's not going to stay with her because he's married to his work. Someone has to be there for Andy and it might as well be Sam…
Rookie Blue: Sam finds Andy in 2x06 before she leaves the division
You know he'd figure out right away that something's wrong, and work to get it out of her. I'd love to see that - or what would happen next! :D
Rookie Blue: Sam/Andy don't 'disregard' in 1x02
How would this change S1? How much sneaking around would they have to do? Would Sam end up opening up more at all, like about his sister?
Rookie Blue: The matchbox never falls out of Jo's purse
Without this clue, how does Andy figure out that Luke cheated on her? Or does she? Would she end up married and then find out - and get a divorce? So many ways for this to go…
Rookie Blue: Traci does Project Dakota not Andy
Let's pretend that they actually let Traci say goodbye (because that was so contrived), and that they actually required Andy to have therapy before going back to work (because please, holding a bomb is totally as bad as having a gun pointed at one's head!). Now Andy doesn't have Traci to lean on (and if you add in the "Nick doesn't exist" AU, nor Nick), and Sam's trying to mend things…
Rookie Blue
Requested chars/ships:
Group: Gail Peck/Dov Epstein
Love love this show - and Gail is so snarky but awesome, truly. (I can see why Dov had to say that.) I like her with Dov or Luke - but there's less written about her with Dov hence requesting that.
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Apocalypse AU
Dov and Gail (or just Gail) dealing with the apocalypse? Way too much fun - just imagine the level of snark. :D
All: Everyone Suddenly Gains Superpowers
This would be great fun with these characters!
All: Post-Apocalypse
I love post-apocalyptic fic with my favorite characters. :D
Rookie Blue: Chris doesn't get angry at Dov about Gail
I've read all of one fic where Chris figures out that Dov's in love with Gail and he just sort of shrugs with "It's Gail". While I think that's probably about as unlikely as his seriously angry "how could you!" reaction, I'd like to see more where he truly understands. I can't buy the two boys in love with each other, but if you want to write this as a poly vee ship with Gail as the pivot, I would definitely read it and enjoy. :)
Rookie Blue: Dov chooses Gail over Chris
In the show, Dov's all "sticking with my bro" and gives Gail the cold shoulder, which, ouch! Considering it was his fault in the first place with the meds and grabbing her hand to kiss, he should man up a bit and tell Chris to back off - and let Gail know that even if Chris won't take her back, he still loves her! I know one writer has done a great job in writing that, but I want more! Dov and Gail are just awesome together. Feel free to add in the "Rookie Blue: Nick doesn't exist" AU if you like.
Rookie Blue: Perik rapes Gail
I wrote a double drabble with this premise but I've never seen anything else. I know that wasn't really his MO on the show, but it wouldn't be hard to tweak that - and Gail seems like the sort that would try to hide it from everyone. Would she be successful? Who would figure it out? (My money's on Dov.) Also feel free to combine this with Nick not existing if you want.
Smallville
Requested chars/ships:
Relationship: Clark Kent & Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)
Relationship: Clark Kent/Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)
These are an OTP for me, I think. I've only seen up to partway into the 4th season and was so disgusted with the way the show was going (and I could not stand Erica Durance's character for anything!) that I quit watching and had to quit really being involved in the fandom. This is the only exchange I dare ask for just plain Smallville, because I honestly don't want to see anything from past S3. (I have read very little about the rest of the show that I actually liked.) I chose the AUs I did for that purpose. :)
As far as other characters go, as long as they appeared in the first three seasons, great! I prefer Clark to be the only alien around (no holdovers from his planet or weird stuff like that), and the magic stuff that appeared in S4 was not my cup of tea. Feel free to "fix" the cave Jor-El to explain/make him more reasonable, since clearly the programming has gotten a little confused…
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Crossover AU
Feel free to drop Clark and Chloe into either any of the requested fandoms or use any of the crossover possibilities listed in the section at the top (just before each fandom).
ALL: Main character goes back in time to the body of their younger self and changes what happened
I think this might be more interesting with Clark than with Chloe - mostly because of how slow Clark is to mature - and of course you'd have to find a way out of using the canonical events in S4 onwards, but just make up something! Or throw both Clark and Chloe back in their old bodies. They'd fix a lot of the major mistakes that happened in the first three seasons, and oh boy, were there a few mistakes…
ALL: On the run from the law
This would be interesting with both Clark and Chloe, specifically - Clark would probably have to reveal his powers to her, and to see them figuring out how to survive… :D
SV: Body swap without black kryptonite
This is just sheer fun. I've read all of one story where Clark and Chloe end up swapping bodies (and Chloe discovers Clark's secret in the process because when you can get from point A to point B in milliseconds and crumble a sink by just holding onto it, you know something's up). It was hilarious and I wish there were more takes on a situation like that. So I'd love to see what you come up with! Would prefer Clark not end up switching bodies with someone else, especially someone like Lionel.
SV: Chloe and Pete remember what happened during Rush
That memory blank was the biggest copout ever. Chloe learned Clark's secret (and thought it was "so cool") and he clearly wanted to make out with Chloe when under the influence of Red K, so that's going to raise a bunch of things that need to be dealt with. Tons of potential for Chlarkiness (and some interesting convos along the way). I'd love it if she didn't lie to Clark and tell him she didn't remember anything, too.
SV: Chloe becomes Lois and Lois never comes to Smallville
This is the Chlois theory, as it used to be called. Basically, find a way for Chloe to become the Lois that she always was meant to be - really, all she needs to do is change her hair color and name. Why does she have to do this? Does she tell Clark about it, or does he figure out? Future fic is great here as long as you ignore the canonical events of later seasons.
SV: Chloe brings Clark home at the beginning of S3
What would Chloe say or do that would get Clark to come home with her? Get the ring off him in a moment of weakness? Does she discover his secret? I am uncommonly fond of Exile AUs.
SV: Clark & Chloe don't quit dating after S1
Did anyone else want to scream ARGH! when she played the friends card? Here's your chance to remedy that. Let's see what 2x01 would've looked like with a Clark who was still dating Chloe. Would he eventually learn to trust her enough to tell her his secret?
SV: Clark does not mumble Lana's name during Fever
What he actually does is up to you, though I'd love it if he actually remembered something of what Chloe was saying. Or maybe he stumbles across the paper she read it from later?
SV: Clark is too late to save Lana from the tornado
Here's my angsty AU. Whether he recovers her body or not, I'd love to see a fic where Lana doesn't make it, and Clark's despondency about that. Chloe, of course, will be at his side trying to comfort him (and bonus points if you throw in the "Clark & Chloe don't quit dating after S1" AU as well). Maybe his secret comes out in Clark's frustration of why he feels he should've been able to, or maybe he just wakes up to the fact that he's got Chloe there for him.
SV: Clark tells Chloe his secret before S4
I've already thrown this one as an optional prompt for a few of the other AUs, but I'd love to see how it might work! If Chloe could show Clark that he wouldn't end up on the Wall of Weird, you'd think that Clark would eventually realize that Chloe would react totally different to how Pete did, and be ready and willing to protect his secret.
SV: Clark's mom doesn't lose the baby in S2
I'd love to see Clark with a baby sister. I thought that explosion-killed-the-baby thing was the worst thing, because that would've added such interesting dynamics to things. What do you wanna bet that Chloe actually melts a bit getting to interact with a baby - and it totally surprises Clark?
SV: Gabe doesn't survive the explosion at the end of S3
Another angsty one! If Gabe doesn't survive the explosion, what happens to Chloe? I'd love to see her end up with the Kents somehow.
SV: Lana moves with her aunt to Metropolis
Hee, this would be such the best thing - get Lana out of there and let it just be Clark and Chloe from there on out. No more Lana distraction!
SV: Lionel dies sometime during the first three seasons
How does it happen? Does Clark somehow break and realize he's got to get rid of Lionel or everyone will not be safe? Does Lionel die at the end of S1? Either way, I'd love to see how that makes things safer for the people Clark loves.
SV: Ryan doesn't have a brain tumor so he lives
I hated that tumor plotline. They create this awesome little brother-type character—and then they get rid of him because he figures out Clark's secret. I'd love to see him be perfectly healthy and come to live with the Kents. Having someone around who knows Clark's secret - and can read minds - can only be a good thing. Does he figure out what Lionel or Lex are up to? Or does he figure out that Chloe's in love with Clark and be the catalyst to get the two of them together? (Or if you're combining with the "they never quit dating" one, does he help Clark realize that she's safe to tell his secret to?)
SV: S4 onward never happened
This is sort of my perennial AU of all AUs. Throw out the whole show after the end of S3 and rewrite it your way! Whether you stick with a short "this is the way things are" or get more involved, I'd love to see a Smallville without Lois, magic, aliens that aren't Clark, relationship between Clark and Lana, etc. Give me a deepening relationship between Clark and Chloe and you've made my day, whether they are just stronger friends or more.
Women's Murder Club (TV)
Requested chars/ships:
Lindsay Boxer (WMC TV)
Group: Lindsay Boxer & Cindy Thomas (WMC TV)
I love tough characters with soft centers, and Lindsay is a classic example. I also love the interactions between these two. I see a bit of hero worship—and maybe a crush of sorts—on Cindy's side, and annoyance that turns to fondness and respect on Lindsay's. What you do with that is up to you. I requested the friendship tag but I'm OK with making it deeper. It's hard to know where that line is sometimes, especially when you're just focusing on the connection between them.
I love Claire's motherliness, particularly with Lindsay, and I can see her totally mothering Cindy. Jill is less of an interest for me so you need not include her, or can just keep her focused on case stuff or being general friends. As for the guys in the women's lives, unless necessary for the specific AU you're writing, I'd prefer they have minor or no roles in the fic, with the exception of Ed.
Prompts by tag:
ALL: Canon Divergence AU
Diverge the show in some direction I haven't thought of! :D
All: Post-Apocalypse
I love post-apocalyptic fic with my favorite characters. :D
WMC TV: Cindy is injured while being a decoy
I loved Cindy's role in the decoy bit, and would love to see Lindsay's reaction to her being injured as one (not killed, please!).
WMC TV: Lindsay stays with Cindy in the hospital instead of Jill
This is a great opportunity to deepen the friendship between the two of them…
WMC TV: Lindsay's pregnancy test is positive
I'd love to see what happens here. Does she tell Tom or does he find out on his own? What does Cindy do?
Happy writing! :D
