Rarewomen Author Letter

[brightknightie]

Dear rarewomen Ficathon Exchange Author,

Thank you so much for accepting my prompts in this game!  That you received them means that you're a fan of FK, HL or YB, so I'm sure that I'll be delighted to meet you (if we don't already know each other) once the stories are revealed.

I have a standing, long-form, "Fanfic Likes and Dislikes" post (LJ & DW).  It tells you everything you want to know (and more) about what floats or sinks my boat as a fanfiction reader.  (Feel free to skip it.)  In short, I love canonicity, history, and struggles for the good and right; I hate kinks, mechanical mistakes, and depicting evil as excusable or admirable.  That said, I'm sure I will both enjoy and appreciate anything you're moved to write!

Please mix, match or isolate the listed characters as suits your imagination.  While some can overlap, others obviously don't belong in the same stories!  (Please don't, for example, strain to put FK's Mai Chung and Grace Balthazar into the same tale.)

More specifically about the women characters I requested:


Forever Knight: Janette Ducharme, Urs, Grace Balthazar, Mai Chung, Emily Weiss.
Prompt: "Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house." —or— "Not many sounds in life... exceed in interest a knock at the door."
Parameters: Gen, please, or Nick/Janette or Nick/Urs. No kinks, NC-17 or wild AUs, thanks. And please, no "dark" — that is, no promoting vampirism as admirable/desirable.

If we were a large fandom, Natalie would not qualify for this game, but Janette would. Janette (recurring in first and second seasons, plus "The Human Factor" and referenced in "Black Buddha, Part 1" and "Last Knight") seems to me strangely rare in fanfiction for a character so prominent, and I believe that her third-season absence alone does not explain her neglect. Of her many contributions to FK, my favorite ways to view her are as the personification of Nick's deep, complicated roots in the vampirism he rightly resists, and as Nick's fellow, equal, but differently-coping, victim of Lacroix's abuse. Her accomplishments and entanglements as a businesswoman are also important.

Urs ("Black Buddha, Part 2," "Hearts of Darkness," "Trophy Girl," "Ashes to Ashes") had more potential than canon ever got around to exploring. She has a conscience and self-awareness, yet she is dependent by habit and choice. She is neither precisely Vachon's kind of vampire nor Nick's. Music's place in her life may be important.

Grace (recurring through first and second seasons), Mai ("Cherry Blossoms") and Emily ("Stranger Than Fiction") all intrigue me and all merit more stories filling in their lives and spinning out their roles in FK's themes.

I should perhaps explain that while Fleur ("Be My Valentine," referenced in "Fallen Idol" and "Last Knight") is one of my favorite FK characters, I didn't request her because I prefer to write her perspective myself. By all means, please feel free to mention her, or bring her on stage as needed!


Highlander: Tessa Noel, Randi McFarland, Angie Burke, Michelle Webster.
Prompt: Perhaps a story from when Tessa and Duncan were friends of Michelle's parents, and Michelle was a child? Or Angie or Michelle reacting to Tessa's or Richie's death? Or a mortal villain to be overcome (like "Bad Day in Building A" or "Deadly Medicine") with Tessa bravely involved (like "See No Evil" and "Eyewitness")? Or Michelle in the present day, getting news that one of her parents is dying?
Parameters: Gen, please, or Duncan/Tessa (but Richie/Angie okay if needed). No kinks, NC-17 or wild AUs, thanks. And please, no Zeist, The Source, or Horsemen (but Methos okay if needed).

I believe that HL's Tessa Noel epitomizes the rare woman character, neglected and underrated by her own fandom. Granted, Tessa is difficult to write; because of the language issue, she doesn't achieve as strongly characteristic a voice on screen as some others do, and because of her modern French background, her past can seem paradoxically less accessible to US, UK and Canadian fanwriters than some others. But I love her strength, capability, determination and commitment. I also think she and Duncan are the best genre couple ever; I love how evenly matched they are in their relationship, despite Duncan's "head start" on life; I love their mutuality.

Randi (recurring through first season through "Band of Brothers"), Angie ("The Road Not Taken," "Revenge is Sweet" and a phone call in "See No Evil") and Michelle ("Rite of Passage") are all also favorite characters of mine -- not just among HL's women, but among all HL's characters. I rooted for them each to return someday in canon, but obviously never got that satisfaction.


Young Blades: Jacqueline Roget, Queen Anne, Liana the Sorceress.
Prompt: Perhaps a story where Liana returns to scheme with Mazarin, and is defeated by Jacqueline and/or Queen Anne? Or Queen Anne discovers Jacqueline's secret? Or Jacqueline comes to accept that "Jacques" cannot permanently encompass all of her self, and not just because of romance?
Parameters: Gen, please (but flirtation okay if needed). No kinks, NC-17 or wild AUs, thanks. And please, no blaming Mazarin's evil on the whole Church.

There is presently only one YB story on the AO3, and I wrote it. I'm not choosy about recruiting a second! ~grin~ I thought that it might be neat to bring Liana ("Enchanted") back for another scheme, and to have her defeated not by Jacqueline's chromosomal immunity to her magic, but by teamwork among the Musketeers, or the hidden cleverness of the Queen on behalf of her son.

But, really, any YB character who catches your fancy will tickle me: Charlotte? Emanuelle? Elise? Mimou? Go for it! Any canon-friendly gen scenario? I'm there!


Again, thank you for playing this game in one of my best-beloved fandoms.  I hope that you have a marvelous time writing, and I look forward to reading your story.

Best wishes,
Amy
[Brightknightie]