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brightknightie) wrote2024-10-13 12:20 pm
brightknightie) wrote2024-10-13 12:20 pm
I'm signed up for HLH_Shortcuts '24 and I have prompts...
I've signed up for this year's ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hlh_shortcuts exchange (see my sign-up) and filled-in my "Dear Author" letter placeholder post (see my letter). Sign-ups close on October 19. Stories come due December 15. Minimum 500 words. I count 14 sign-ups right now.
(BTW, the AO3 system hiccupped -- as it sometimes does -- and dropped Randi from the tag set after she was properly loaded there. If you'd like to read or write Randi this year, please just include her in your request and tags.)
In my letter, I ran fill-tilt jousting at -- totally optional! -- crossover/fusion concepts and regular story scenarios/prompts for possible inspiration. I thought that a few of you might find some of them amusing enough to be worth sharing separately from the context of the letter? Here are excerpts:
If writing crossovers or fusions -- within the fest's stipulation that all stories must be in the larger HL universe -- brings you joy, how about:
Please don't feel constrained to these!
Duncan: Duncan on the periphery (not a primary mover) of some historical social transition, insight, or disaster is often my sweet spot! Take your pick from across history and around the globe? Or perhaps a story with 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 whatever happened with Duncan's promise to Greta, the psychic from “The Darkness?” Duncan promised to tell her what happened; did he ever? Or what about Duncan's friendship with Michelle's parents and knowledge of Michelle's incipient immortality ("Rite of Passage"); could Duncan, Tessa, and Richie possibly have spent a holiday, maybe Thanksgiving, at the Websters'?
Tessa: Maybe a story with a villain to be overcome with Tessa able to be instrumental in the defeat in the ordinary world, not needing swords? Or how Tessa regarded Michelle when Tessa and Duncan were friends with Michelle's parents? Or where Tessa internally deals with her jealousy and Duncan internally deals with his “she was your woman”-style nonsense and they both laugh at themselves and grow closer? Or perhaps Tessa gets to rescue Duncan for a change? Or she counsels Richie through a disappointment or new experience and learns something herself?
Richie: Richie is so deeply earnest, which he tries to hide under nonchalance and worldliness that just don't stick; perhaps a story about where that comes from, and how it cemented his friendships with Angie and Gary? Or perhaps a story about him maturing to a point where he stops the acts and embraces that earnestness? Or perhaps a story where Richie is living his immortal life the way Duncan taught him to, having let Angie and everyone believe he died in the motorcycle accident, but then something happens in Seacouver (or elsewhere!), some disaster or attack or something, that Richie believes has hurt Angie, and something snaps and he goes to her. Or maybe more about Richie's embrace of the values of the false Methos ("The Messenger") and grappling with their validity and reach, and how it's not as black-and-white as either the false Methos or Duncan seem to be telling him at that specific time; maybe he could meet Grace? Too bad he can't speak with Darius about it; maybe a student of Darius's, or something Darius wrote?
Randi: We've had some spectacular Randi stories in recent years! Oh, my, yes! More please? How about a frosty or fiery encounter with Tessa? Or what about Randi reacting in the moment, maybe in the newsroom, to learning of Tessa's death -- surely that was news in Seacouver -- or Richie's supposed death on the racetrack? What about a surprise encounter with Duncan in later years, after many years not in contact, and she's still convinced he's CIA or whatever, and her mind is ticking over the evidence, but the immediate situation is too pressing and they just have to work together, and then he's gone again?
Rebecca: Perhaps an abused or otherwise lost or traumatized woman immortal, a la Sharon from the "Rite of Passage" flashbacks (but not necessarily specifically another of Axel's victims), shows up on Rebecca's doorstep with a letter from Duncan to the best teacher he knows?
Anne: When and what (if anything) does Anne learn about Richie's canonical death and Duncan's consequent breakdown? [No need for Clan Denial if you're tackling the bereavement/grief/loss directly!] Or a between-adventures interlude of Anne in Duncan's life while her daughter is growing up, with them both still caring very much, though their romantic love is long laid to rest? She made her choice about how to live her values; she didn’t stop caring, and neither did he.
Grace: I'm always fascinated by Grace going through her immortal life swordless, presumably mostly if not wholly for ethical reasons, as it conflicts with her calling as a doctor and healer. It's easy to look down on her as relying on "protectors" at times of her life we've seen, but I think of the courage it takes her to stand and confront a strange immortal, or even to flee, with nothing but her wits and her convictions. That was not a common way of looking at life when she must have made that decision, if it has ever or anywhere been common. Story, please? (I'd like to see her and Duncan cross paths with Kenshin of Rurouni Kenshin and grapple with the gradient of their choices.)
Open for chatting about any of these open-ended possible ideas as ideas (separate from whatever my match may choose to do or not do). :-)
hlh_shortcuts exchange (see my sign-up) and filled-in my "Dear Author" letter placeholder post (see my letter). Sign-ups close on October 19. Stories come due December 15. Minimum 500 words. I count 14 sign-ups right now.(BTW, the AO3 system hiccupped -- as it sometimes does -- and dropped Randi from the tag set after she was properly loaded there. If you'd like to read or write Randi this year, please just include her in your request and tags.)
In my letter, I ran fill-tilt jousting at -- totally optional! -- crossover/fusion concepts and regular story scenarios/prompts for possible inspiration. I thought that a few of you might find some of them amusing enough to be worth sharing separately from the context of the letter? Here are excerpts:
Crossovers
If writing crossovers or fusions -- within the fest's stipulation that all stories must be in the larger HL universe -- brings you joy, how about:
- The Journey to the West (the original hundred-chapter novel, or an abridgement thereof)
For a literal crossover or fusion, Wukong (Monkey) is, after all, very immortal, and can change his shape to look human (except his giveaway tail). So can Bajie (Pigsy), for that matter. And Wukong really struggled to learn the "kill only demons, not people" lesson that has resonance in HL. Or Tripitaka and Darius? For a more figurative/essentialist use in a story, Duncan probably encountered the full book -- never mind just the folktales around fires and in performances! -- centuries before the rest of the English-speaking world, because it wasn't translated into English at all until the early twentieth-century, and not in its entirety until the 1980s! What if May-Ling Shen or Kiem Sun introduced Duncan to the book and/or the characters? - The Legend of Zelda (any main series game, any timeline, including EoW)
To be clear, the various Zeldas and Links (and Impas, etc.) aren't necessarily reincarnations of their predecessors (though they may sometimes be), but rather are Hylia's chosen priestess and hero in each generation that needs the Triforce borne against Demise, Ganondorf, Ganon, or [EoW spoiler], regardless of timeline/reality. All Zeldas are necessarily descendents of Skyward Sword Zelda, but only Twilight Princess Link is known to be a descendent of a previous Link. That said... If divinity wants the Triforce borne in -- or from -- the Highlander universe for any reason, maybe an [EOW spoiler] reason, then a Link and a Zelda will appear. Alternatively, what if the legends of Hyrule that we know are just that, legends, stories, distorted through time, and the truth is that their fight has been here in the HL world all along...? - Dungeons & Dragons (cartoon, 1983)
Matching up the timelines, Richie is roughly Bobby's age, right? So the rest of our gang are maybe 5-8 years older than Richie. I imagine a world in which they got back from the Realm and grew up, and learned not to speak of it, but never forgot anything, and even some of their hard-earned skills lingered, though of course their totemic weapons did not. They would all understand and be unsurprised by the world of immortals in ways others could never be, if they bumped into it. I can see Hank or Sheila or Diana defending someone, assisting someone, against an immortal... Or if you want to make someone immortal, consider that Hank and Presto would be the easiest to suppose were adopted, but Eric might give you the best ride in characterization. As you know, of course, our gang never used swords or offensive violent weapons in the show, per the Parents Television Council (who were horrified enough as it was), and that actually turned out to be awesome for the storytelling, getting us clever or diplomatic solutions, and shaking us to our cores in the one episode where Hank proposes actually killing Venger straight out. So -- swords are not a skill any of them has, and killing is not a thing any of them embrace as the kids we know... growing up may complicate...? - PBS historical fiction: Vienna Blood, Mercy Street, Call the Midwife, Grantchester, All Creatures Great and Small, Poldark...
I highly enjoy episodic historical fiction. Take your pick! - Rurouni Kenshin
I've long throught that Duncan and/or Grace should encounter Kenshin in a story that grapples with their moral approaches to fighting and living with and without killing. Skieswideopen introduced me to two crossovers on FF-net, and they're awesome, but there could be more! And the more could deal more with the moral approaches, risks, choices! - Most long-19th-century British (and some American and Canadian) literature, especially anything by George Eliot, Jane Austen, or Wilkie Collins; the Brontës and Dickens and the extended Wollstonecraft/Godwin/Shelley clan; if you're feeling the spooky season when assignments come out, Dracula with its good guy squad (not with the Count, please) could be delightful
Seriously, if you want to cross with something obscure, just cite it, and I'll fetch and read it (if I haven't) to properly appreciate your work.
Some optional possible scenarios/prompts
Please don't feel constrained to these!
Duncan: Duncan on the periphery (not a primary mover) of some historical social transition, insight, or disaster is often my sweet spot! Take your pick from across history and around the globe? Or perhaps a story with 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 whatever happened with Duncan's promise to Greta, the psychic from “The Darkness?” Duncan promised to tell her what happened; did he ever? Or what about Duncan's friendship with Michelle's parents and knowledge of Michelle's incipient immortality ("Rite of Passage"); could Duncan, Tessa, and Richie possibly have spent a holiday, maybe Thanksgiving, at the Websters'?
Tessa: Maybe a story with a villain to be overcome with Tessa able to be instrumental in the defeat in the ordinary world, not needing swords? Or how Tessa regarded Michelle when Tessa and Duncan were friends with Michelle's parents? Or where Tessa internally deals with her jealousy and Duncan internally deals with his “she was your woman”-style nonsense and they both laugh at themselves and grow closer? Or perhaps Tessa gets to rescue Duncan for a change? Or she counsels Richie through a disappointment or new experience and learns something herself?
Richie: Richie is so deeply earnest, which he tries to hide under nonchalance and worldliness that just don't stick; perhaps a story about where that comes from, and how it cemented his friendships with Angie and Gary? Or perhaps a story about him maturing to a point where he stops the acts and embraces that earnestness? Or perhaps a story where Richie is living his immortal life the way Duncan taught him to, having let Angie and everyone believe he died in the motorcycle accident, but then something happens in Seacouver (or elsewhere!), some disaster or attack or something, that Richie believes has hurt Angie, and something snaps and he goes to her. Or maybe more about Richie's embrace of the values of the false Methos ("The Messenger") and grappling with their validity and reach, and how it's not as black-and-white as either the false Methos or Duncan seem to be telling him at that specific time; maybe he could meet Grace? Too bad he can't speak with Darius about it; maybe a student of Darius's, or something Darius wrote?
Randi: We've had some spectacular Randi stories in recent years! Oh, my, yes! More please? How about a frosty or fiery encounter with Tessa? Or what about Randi reacting in the moment, maybe in the newsroom, to learning of Tessa's death -- surely that was news in Seacouver -- or Richie's supposed death on the racetrack? What about a surprise encounter with Duncan in later years, after many years not in contact, and she's still convinced he's CIA or whatever, and her mind is ticking over the evidence, but the immediate situation is too pressing and they just have to work together, and then he's gone again?
Rebecca: Perhaps an abused or otherwise lost or traumatized woman immortal, a la Sharon from the "Rite of Passage" flashbacks (but not necessarily specifically another of Axel's victims), shows up on Rebecca's doorstep with a letter from Duncan to the best teacher he knows?
Anne: When and what (if anything) does Anne learn about Richie's canonical death and Duncan's consequent breakdown? [No need for Clan Denial if you're tackling the bereavement/grief/loss directly!] Or a between-adventures interlude of Anne in Duncan's life while her daughter is growing up, with them both still caring very much, though their romantic love is long laid to rest? She made her choice about how to live her values; she didn’t stop caring, and neither did he.
Grace: I'm always fascinated by Grace going through her immortal life swordless, presumably mostly if not wholly for ethical reasons, as it conflicts with her calling as a doctor and healer. It's easy to look down on her as relying on "protectors" at times of her life we've seen, but I think of the courage it takes her to stand and confront a strange immortal, or even to flee, with nothing but her wits and her convictions. That was not a common way of looking at life when she must have made that decision, if it has ever or anywhere been common. Story, please? (I'd like to see her and Duncan cross paths with Kenshin of Rurouni Kenshin and grapple with the gradient of their choices.)
Open for chatting about any of these open-ended possible ideas as ideas (separate from whatever my match may choose to do or not do). :-)
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