Amy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brightknightie) wrote2021-07-29 12:38 pm
brightknightie) wrote2021-07-29 12:38 pm
Entry tags:
Retrotvexchange '21 "Dear Author" letter
Dear RetroTVExchange Author:
Hi! Thank you for sharing these marvelous retro fandoms! I’m sure that whatever you most want to celebrate in these characters and their worlds will make a lovely story! If you’d like more story thoughts from me, read on.
Some feelings across fandoms
I often love best stories with the feel of canon, whether as a scene, episode, or prequel/sequel that could have been added seamlessly, or as a different choice or chance that would have branched and led on from canon to something new.
With a few dear exceptions, I usually prefer gen to romance. Mystery, drama, history, reflection, confrontation, growth, discovery, tragedy! (I opt in for tragedy including requested character death, as long as the loss is shown to be meaningful to the survivors; I often like stories of continuing on from grief.) And, of course, the quiet times between adventures! For romance, I have fairly vanilla tastes. Whether m/f or f/f or m/m as best suits the characters, I especially value fidelity, mutuality, and complementarity, where the parties each bring strengths and weaknesses to the relationship such as to grow stronger together than apart. (I prefer no polyamory for these characters, please.)
Where applicable — not every character fits! — I especially love protagonists who incidentally, without thinking they’re doing something special, show that they value others highly — that is, not only their own loved ones, but the dignity and abundant life of all people, especially those on the margins.
Please do feel free to mix and match the requested characters with other appropriate characters to build your story as you need. Where I’ve requested “[Character] & none,” you need not literally limit the story to only the one requested character inside her or his own head; just please give the requested character the lead and focus.
On dislikes: Villains can be redeemed — and, in tragedies, can win — but I don’t enjoy stories that defend or celebrate evil. (FK note: I understand vampirism as an evil.) I’m happy to follow two competing ideals pitted against each other, and to cry over a good that is lost, but please don't ask me to root for cruelty, selfishness, domination, or other evils.
Some fandom & character-specific feelings
D&DC: Dungeons & Dragons (the ‘80s cartoon)
I’m intrigued by the possibilities of stories of our gang grown up, whether in the Realm or back here! I also love stories of them in the midst of growing up as they are in canon, and every kind of quest for or journey home from the Realm or back to the Realm. (Any romance should please be age- and era-appropriate, from ‘80s teenager to ‘20s adult.)
I love all of the party in their own ways. Yet I do love Diana, Presto, Eric, and Sheila a bit more than Hank, and Hank more than Bobby (sorry, Bobby). There’s not nearly enough fanfic celebrating Diana, in my opinion, and also not enough with Presto or Sheila as the protagonist. (Eric — whom we all sympathize with for the very depictions that were supposed to teach us to not be like him — does get plenty of stories.) Hank’s motivations and background seem underexplored, too; is he so great (and he is pretty great) because of, or in spite of, his background?
I have headcanon that Diana’s deepest fear is not literally old age, but rather loss of control over her physical body and what its strength and agility give her; perhaps there’s a story in that? Or, if it’s something you feel like tackling, how does she process being nearly the only Black person in the entire Realm? For Sheila, what’s the thematic connection — or disconnect — between her thief/rogue invisibility and her fear of being alone? Presto and Eric bounce off each other wonderfully, but it might also be fun to see Presto with one of the others with whom he spends less time on screen.
If you’re inclined to romance, I’d nominate Eric/Diana as a pairing for when they’re older and know themselves better, and Hank/Sheila for while they’re still kids learning so much. If Hank/Eric is your favorite at any age, I’d be interested in seeing that from Hank’s perspective (it’s almost always Eric’s perspective), and with sensitivity to Sheila’s valid experience of it, and to the era.
(On the unlikely chance that this happens to resonate very strongly with you for a story: The demographics of ‘80s after-school-specials taught me to expect that Sheila and Bobby are Catholic, Presto is Jewish, and the others are various mainstream Protestant denominations. The Realm as drawn on screen has a surprising number of towns with what look like Christian crosses on what look like places of worship, for a place that is largely AD&D… albeit with previous immigrant pupils of Dungeonmaster from our world and maybe other worlds. I’ve wondered if maybe Terri should have been a Seer with her pendant, and someone else would have been a Cleric with the net from the Dragon’s Graveyard.)
♥ It’s all good. Dungeon Master, Venger, Karena, Tiamat, Martha, Zandora, Varla, Kosar, Uni… maybe not so much the Cloud Bears. ;-)
HL: Highlander: The Series
I love the underlying fairy tale of the character who lives on and on, doomed to lose everyone and be alone, but astonishingly brave enough to go on and care again. I most enjoy the first two seasons, when there are more mortal than immortal characters and that theme is most present. (Interactions between immortal characters generally interest me less than mortal interactions by individual immortal characters.) I also love the historical content and parallels between past and present; humans are humans in every age. I also rather like swords and swordplay (I fence foil); this is not to say I like violence — I don’t — but I respect the martial arts.
Duncan: I particularly enjoy when he’s on the edge of some social/historical upheaval or insight. While he has, in those eras, views and behaviors that fit those eras, nevertheless the fundamental, timeless, good of the man [usually] shines through and puts him on the side of those who are hurt. (Or perhaps he’s motivated by his knowledge of his own sins post-Culloden, or the Dark Quickening, or mistakes...)
Tessa: Perhaps she gets to rescue Duncan for a change? Or she counsels Richie through a disappointment or new experience? Or what about when Michelle Webster (“Rite of Passage”) was a kid and Tessa was one of her parents’ friends along with Duncan? Romance-wise, Duncan/Tessa is one of the exceptions where I eagerly seek romance stories. No relationship is perfect, of course — Tessa’s jealousy is a thorn, and she must know it, but it creeps up on her, anyway; and Duncan’s occasional archaic “she was your woman”-style nonsense reveals more than he knows — but they are so well matched and well balanced, valuing each other and themselves for each other.
Richie: If set later, then either full-on Clan Denial or deeply confronting his loss, please. We’ve — viewers and characters alike — lost Richie, Tessa, Darius, Charlie, and more, and we carry on, but we don’t forget. Love persists (thank you, writers of WandaVision). I generally prefer earnest Richie to played-for-laughs Richie, but certainly comedy Richie does have a place.
Greta is the psychic from “The Darkness.” Duncan promised to tell her what happened. How does he feel about not fulfilling that promise? Or did he fulfill it, and we just didn’t see it?
Grace Chandel (“Saving Grace”) fascinates me with her principled commitments about life and violence. She survives by the strength of her brain and heart, not her sword arm — yet she survives! (I want to see her and Duncan cross paths with Kenshin of Rurouni Kenshin someday.)
Ceirdwyn’s character in many ways recapitulates Duncan’s; her arc in “Take Back the Night” consciously echoes his, or, perhaps better, waltzes with his, and the lead swaps between them through the centuries. They are very alike. I find that increases the interest in their differences — she’s obviously older, pre-Christian, a woman... — as well as their similarities. In my head-canon, Amanda could not be what Michelle (“Rite of Passage”) needed in the way of a teacher, and somehow Ceirdwyn got pulled in and saved Michelle from a dark path.
I also love Darius, Angie, Charlie, Joe, Methos, and more. You’re welcome to bring them into your story as needed. (The only characters I’ll ask you to please omit, if feasible, are Cassandra, Kenny, and the Horsemen (other than Methos).)
BSG78: Battlestar Galactica (the original)
In my imagination, since childhood, this canon always feels like it must actually be several seasons long, and I’ve just somehow missed many episodes.
Apollo was probably the first for me of the hero archetype I’ve loved for what seems like all my life: earnest, responsible, loyal, faithful, honorable, angsty, self-sacrificing… also, nice hair.
As an adult, I’ve found Cassiopeia has become my favorite BSG78 character. Her professional transition from socialator to medtech matters in complex ways for herself and her refugee society. Her layered understanding of Starbuck matters. (If you like romance, thoughtful Starbuck/Cassiopeia is dear to my heart.)
As a child, my favorite BSG78 character was Serina. Her professional transition from reporter to shuttle pilot to Viper pilot seemed exciting then, but, as an adult, I deeply question the progress of civilian life and civil society in the fleet. Did they not still need reporters? Indeed, do they perhaps not need them more than ever? (Also, Serina/Apollo absolutely works for me. Always has.)
Boomer doesn’t get enough story attention, in my opinion, and canon itself unfortunately largely displaced him with Sheba, instead of making room for them both. (It’s not Sheba’s fault that she was written as if to replace both Serina and Boomer, but it was long difficult not to resent her for it.) What if Boomer had been promoted to lead his own squad? What if, some episode, Apollo had not been available, and events had played out with Boomer on that mission instead?
(If Apollo/Starbuck is your favorite, please feel free to include it. May I ask that you please set it such that it doesn’t coincide with either Apollo’s marriage with Serina or Starbuck reporting to Apollo in the chain of command? So pre or post canon, or AU, or unrequited if during canon?)
FK: Forever Knight
I love the way history, mystery, metaphysics, and morals come together in FK. First season, where Nick is free of Lacroix and striving toward a bright — if distant and always imperiled — future is my favorite.
I love the metaphor of Nick as everyman struggling his way toward salvation, with vampirism a metaphor for whatever evil served the tale of the week: often addiction, sometimes marginalization or discrimination, but other times also selfishness, greed, brutality, domination, and more. I also love the underlying fairy tale of the character who lives on and on, doomed to lose everyone and be alone, but astonishingly brave enough to go on and care again. And I love that Nick is the kind of protagonist who, while capable of great evil, chooses good, and must choose it over and over and over. We see that every time he chooses against the vampire, as well as every act from bringing fast food to Topper and Jeanie to saving the world from the asteroid hoax. (Someday, someone should cross over Nick with Illyana Rasputin of the New Mutants comics. They would understand each other's dilemmas.)
Urs is, imo, the best thing to come out of the dire third season. I enjoy her possibilities for growth, her own moral positions, her largely unexplored history, and her superficial differences from FK’s other strong women characters (which I think recede when you look under her surface). What did Vachon mean when he said she didn’t know her own strength? Where did she go from the realization that recognizing and admitting her challenges may not alone be enough to overcome them?
In this case, romance, yes, please! I ship Nick/Urs! I believe that they could be stronger together, for each other, and divert third season from its doomed path by the strength of joint faith in each other’s better angels and understanding of each other’s demons. I like to imagine Urs standing up to Lacroix for Nick, reminding Nick that he can and should defy Lacroix and see through Lacroix’s third-season ploy, because she believes in him. And I like to imagine Nick helping Urs to bigger dreams than she’s dared for herself, not because he doesn’t see the very real hurdles, but because he believes in her, understands, and will fight alongside her. (Or what if they’d met at another time in Nick’s history? Vachon brought Urs across in 1890, the same year that Nick murdered Sylvaine, stopped killing altogether, and adopted the creed that "we [vampires] are the guilty; they [humans] are the innocent.")
For Nick & Feliks Twist (“Blood Money”), my headcanon is that Feliks was a Victorian/Edwardian gentleman, and that he (figuratively or literally) pulled Nick out of the sewer after Sylvaine’s murder (“Love You To Death”) initially wrecked Nick by guilt and grief. I’ve always been intrigued by Feliks’s declaration that “Plants! Plants are the answer!” because it shows that Feliks agrees with Nick that there is a question (vampirism) in need of an answer. That seems grounds to make Nick’s friendship with Feliks unusual among his friendships with other vampires in the era of his not drinking human blood (although, in first season, Erica, Sofia Jurgen, and Alexandra also all agree with Nick that vampirism has problems, though they don’t adopt his solution).
Do Not Want (DNW)
Thank you for taking these into consideration; I appreciate it! Please:
If that isn’t far more than enough ;-) I have a standing likes and dislikes post. Check it out.
Thank you very much!
Hi! Thank you for sharing these marvelous retro fandoms! I’m sure that whatever you most want to celebrate in these characters and their worlds will make a lovely story! If you’d like more story thoughts from me, read on.
Some feelings across fandoms
I often love best stories with the feel of canon, whether as a scene, episode, or prequel/sequel that could have been added seamlessly, or as a different choice or chance that would have branched and led on from canon to something new.
With a few dear exceptions, I usually prefer gen to romance. Mystery, drama, history, reflection, confrontation, growth, discovery, tragedy! (I opt in for tragedy including requested character death, as long as the loss is shown to be meaningful to the survivors; I often like stories of continuing on from grief.) And, of course, the quiet times between adventures! For romance, I have fairly vanilla tastes. Whether m/f or f/f or m/m as best suits the characters, I especially value fidelity, mutuality, and complementarity, where the parties each bring strengths and weaknesses to the relationship such as to grow stronger together than apart. (I prefer no polyamory for these characters, please.)
Where applicable — not every character fits! — I especially love protagonists who incidentally, without thinking they’re doing something special, show that they value others highly — that is, not only their own loved ones, but the dignity and abundant life of all people, especially those on the margins.
Please do feel free to mix and match the requested characters with other appropriate characters to build your story as you need. Where I’ve requested “[Character] & none,” you need not literally limit the story to only the one requested character inside her or his own head; just please give the requested character the lead and focus.
On dislikes: Villains can be redeemed — and, in tragedies, can win — but I don’t enjoy stories that defend or celebrate evil. (FK note: I understand vampirism as an evil.) I’m happy to follow two competing ideals pitted against each other, and to cry over a good that is lost, but please don't ask me to root for cruelty, selfishness, domination, or other evils.
Some fandom & character-specific feelings
D&DC: Dungeons & Dragons (the ‘80s cartoon)
I’m intrigued by the possibilities of stories of our gang grown up, whether in the Realm or back here! I also love stories of them in the midst of growing up as they are in canon, and every kind of quest for or journey home from the Realm or back to the Realm. (Any romance should please be age- and era-appropriate, from ‘80s teenager to ‘20s adult.)
I love all of the party in their own ways. Yet I do love Diana, Presto, Eric, and Sheila a bit more than Hank, and Hank more than Bobby (sorry, Bobby). There’s not nearly enough fanfic celebrating Diana, in my opinion, and also not enough with Presto or Sheila as the protagonist. (Eric — whom we all sympathize with for the very depictions that were supposed to teach us to not be like him — does get plenty of stories.) Hank’s motivations and background seem underexplored, too; is he so great (and he is pretty great) because of, or in spite of, his background?
I have headcanon that Diana’s deepest fear is not literally old age, but rather loss of control over her physical body and what its strength and agility give her; perhaps there’s a story in that? Or, if it’s something you feel like tackling, how does she process being nearly the only Black person in the entire Realm? For Sheila, what’s the thematic connection — or disconnect — between her thief/rogue invisibility and her fear of being alone? Presto and Eric bounce off each other wonderfully, but it might also be fun to see Presto with one of the others with whom he spends less time on screen.
If you’re inclined to romance, I’d nominate Eric/Diana as a pairing for when they’re older and know themselves better, and Hank/Sheila for while they’re still kids learning so much. If Hank/Eric is your favorite at any age, I’d be interested in seeing that from Hank’s perspective (it’s almost always Eric’s perspective), and with sensitivity to Sheila’s valid experience of it, and to the era.
(On the unlikely chance that this happens to resonate very strongly with you for a story: The demographics of ‘80s after-school-specials taught me to expect that Sheila and Bobby are Catholic, Presto is Jewish, and the others are various mainstream Protestant denominations. The Realm as drawn on screen has a surprising number of towns with what look like Christian crosses on what look like places of worship, for a place that is largely AD&D… albeit with previous immigrant pupils of Dungeonmaster from our world and maybe other worlds. I’ve wondered if maybe Terri should have been a Seer with her pendant, and someone else would have been a Cleric with the net from the Dragon’s Graveyard.)
♥ It’s all good. Dungeon Master, Venger, Karena, Tiamat, Martha, Zandora, Varla, Kosar, Uni… maybe not so much the Cloud Bears. ;-)
HL: Highlander: The Series
I love the underlying fairy tale of the character who lives on and on, doomed to lose everyone and be alone, but astonishingly brave enough to go on and care again. I most enjoy the first two seasons, when there are more mortal than immortal characters and that theme is most present. (Interactions between immortal characters generally interest me less than mortal interactions by individual immortal characters.) I also love the historical content and parallels between past and present; humans are humans in every age. I also rather like swords and swordplay (I fence foil); this is not to say I like violence — I don’t — but I respect the martial arts.
Duncan: I particularly enjoy when he’s on the edge of some social/historical upheaval or insight. While he has, in those eras, views and behaviors that fit those eras, nevertheless the fundamental, timeless, good of the man [usually] shines through and puts him on the side of those who are hurt. (Or perhaps he’s motivated by his knowledge of his own sins post-Culloden, or the Dark Quickening, or mistakes...)
Tessa: Perhaps she gets to rescue Duncan for a change? Or she counsels Richie through a disappointment or new experience? Or what about when Michelle Webster (“Rite of Passage”) was a kid and Tessa was one of her parents’ friends along with Duncan? Romance-wise, Duncan/Tessa is one of the exceptions where I eagerly seek romance stories. No relationship is perfect, of course — Tessa’s jealousy is a thorn, and she must know it, but it creeps up on her, anyway; and Duncan’s occasional archaic “she was your woman”-style nonsense reveals more than he knows — but they are so well matched and well balanced, valuing each other and themselves for each other.
Richie: If set later, then either full-on Clan Denial or deeply confronting his loss, please. We’ve — viewers and characters alike — lost Richie, Tessa, Darius, Charlie, and more, and we carry on, but we don’t forget. Love persists (thank you, writers of WandaVision). I generally prefer earnest Richie to played-for-laughs Richie, but certainly comedy Richie does have a place.
Greta is the psychic from “The Darkness.” Duncan promised to tell her what happened. How does he feel about not fulfilling that promise? Or did he fulfill it, and we just didn’t see it?
Grace Chandel (“Saving Grace”) fascinates me with her principled commitments about life and violence. She survives by the strength of her brain and heart, not her sword arm — yet she survives! (I want to see her and Duncan cross paths with Kenshin of Rurouni Kenshin someday.)
Ceirdwyn’s character in many ways recapitulates Duncan’s; her arc in “Take Back the Night” consciously echoes his, or, perhaps better, waltzes with his, and the lead swaps between them through the centuries. They are very alike. I find that increases the interest in their differences — she’s obviously older, pre-Christian, a woman... — as well as their similarities. In my head-canon, Amanda could not be what Michelle (“Rite of Passage”) needed in the way of a teacher, and somehow Ceirdwyn got pulled in and saved Michelle from a dark path.
I also love Darius, Angie, Charlie, Joe, Methos, and more. You’re welcome to bring them into your story as needed. (The only characters I’ll ask you to please omit, if feasible, are Cassandra, Kenny, and the Horsemen (other than Methos).)
BSG78: Battlestar Galactica (the original)
In my imagination, since childhood, this canon always feels like it must actually be several seasons long, and I’ve just somehow missed many episodes.
Apollo was probably the first for me of the hero archetype I’ve loved for what seems like all my life: earnest, responsible, loyal, faithful, honorable, angsty, self-sacrificing… also, nice hair.
As an adult, I’ve found Cassiopeia has become my favorite BSG78 character. Her professional transition from socialator to medtech matters in complex ways for herself and her refugee society. Her layered understanding of Starbuck matters. (If you like romance, thoughtful Starbuck/Cassiopeia is dear to my heart.)
As a child, my favorite BSG78 character was Serina. Her professional transition from reporter to shuttle pilot to Viper pilot seemed exciting then, but, as an adult, I deeply question the progress of civilian life and civil society in the fleet. Did they not still need reporters? Indeed, do they perhaps not need them more than ever? (Also, Serina/Apollo absolutely works for me. Always has.)
Boomer doesn’t get enough story attention, in my opinion, and canon itself unfortunately largely displaced him with Sheba, instead of making room for them both. (It’s not Sheba’s fault that she was written as if to replace both Serina and Boomer, but it was long difficult not to resent her for it.) What if Boomer had been promoted to lead his own squad? What if, some episode, Apollo had not been available, and events had played out with Boomer on that mission instead?
(If Apollo/Starbuck is your favorite, please feel free to include it. May I ask that you please set it such that it doesn’t coincide with either Apollo’s marriage with Serina or Starbuck reporting to Apollo in the chain of command? So pre or post canon, or AU, or unrequited if during canon?)
FK: Forever Knight
I love the way history, mystery, metaphysics, and morals come together in FK. First season, where Nick is free of Lacroix and striving toward a bright — if distant and always imperiled — future is my favorite.
I love the metaphor of Nick as everyman struggling his way toward salvation, with vampirism a metaphor for whatever evil served the tale of the week: often addiction, sometimes marginalization or discrimination, but other times also selfishness, greed, brutality, domination, and more. I also love the underlying fairy tale of the character who lives on and on, doomed to lose everyone and be alone, but astonishingly brave enough to go on and care again. And I love that Nick is the kind of protagonist who, while capable of great evil, chooses good, and must choose it over and over and over. We see that every time he chooses against the vampire, as well as every act from bringing fast food to Topper and Jeanie to saving the world from the asteroid hoax. (Someday, someone should cross over Nick with Illyana Rasputin of the New Mutants comics. They would understand each other's dilemmas.)
Urs is, imo, the best thing to come out of the dire third season. I enjoy her possibilities for growth, her own moral positions, her largely unexplored history, and her superficial differences from FK’s other strong women characters (which I think recede when you look under her surface). What did Vachon mean when he said she didn’t know her own strength? Where did she go from the realization that recognizing and admitting her challenges may not alone be enough to overcome them?
In this case, romance, yes, please! I ship Nick/Urs! I believe that they could be stronger together, for each other, and divert third season from its doomed path by the strength of joint faith in each other’s better angels and understanding of each other’s demons. I like to imagine Urs standing up to Lacroix for Nick, reminding Nick that he can and should defy Lacroix and see through Lacroix’s third-season ploy, because she believes in him. And I like to imagine Nick helping Urs to bigger dreams than she’s dared for herself, not because he doesn’t see the very real hurdles, but because he believes in her, understands, and will fight alongside her. (Or what if they’d met at another time in Nick’s history? Vachon brought Urs across in 1890, the same year that Nick murdered Sylvaine, stopped killing altogether, and adopted the creed that "we [vampires] are the guilty; they [humans] are the innocent.")
For Nick & Feliks Twist (“Blood Money”), my headcanon is that Feliks was a Victorian/Edwardian gentleman, and that he (figuratively or literally) pulled Nick out of the sewer after Sylvaine’s murder (“Love You To Death”) initially wrecked Nick by guilt and grief. I’ve always been intrigued by Feliks’s declaration that “Plants! Plants are the answer!” because it shows that Feliks agrees with Nick that there is a question (vampirism) in need of an answer. That seems grounds to make Nick’s friendship with Feliks unusual among his friendships with other vampires in the era of his not drinking human blood (although, in first season, Erica, Sofia Jurgen, and Alexandra also all agree with Nick that vampirism has problems, though they don’t adopt his solution).
Do Not Want (DNW)
Thank you for taking these into consideration; I appreciate it! Please:
- No pro-evil, including pro-bigotry (and pro-vampirism, where relevant)
- No non-con or dub-con
- No incest, underage, adult/child, mentor/student, boss/employee, monarch/subject, vampire/human, vampire maker/convert, or similar power discrepancies
- No BDSM or other activities commonly referred to as kinks
- No mpreg, ABO, or similar mechanisms
- No “plotless” violence or sex, and no violent sex (vampire biology excepted, where relevant)
- No anti-religion
If that isn’t far more than enough ;-) I have a standing likes and dislikes post. Check it out.
Thank you very much!