![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
allele_apocalypseDo not want: Graphic violence, bodily fluids, underage sex below 14, explicitly detailed rape (references to it and recovery are both fine), PWP, porn in a visual medium
General likes:
* Plot-driven fic, including canon divergence AUs and fixits
* Character who died in canon lives, and all the downstream consequences of that (in this exchange, this particularly applies to Obi-Wan, Padme Amidala, Anakin/Darth Vader, Catherine Parker, and Hugh Third of Five)
* Filling in scenes that canon skips over
* Case or mission fic, canon-style adventures
* Mentor-student and parent-child relationships. Also kid fic with kids old enough to have their own personalities. Includes healthy relationships or the fucked-up sort.
* Worldbuilding. Just shamelessly throw all your ideas in there
* Cultural details for fictional groups, including religion, marriage & mating customs, holidays etc.
* Competence… in fact just keep going into hypercompetence
* Forced proximity (Canadian shack, crash landing on planet, kidnapped together...whatever)
* Hurt/comfort
* Mutual pining with eventual get-together; slow burn
* Redemption (especially if the redeemed character has to work for it or face consequences for past actions)
* Psychological manipulation and slow corruption
* Telepathy and other mental superpowers
* People with superpowers discovering/exploring/learning to use their superpowers
* Body horror, or just body weirdness (includes dysphoria)
* Victim resistance
* Trauma aftermath and recovery
* Robots and their alien mental processes and bodies
* Aliens and their alien mental processes, bodies and technology; xeno
* Alien-human or robot-human confused relationships and everybody working it out in good faith
* Genderbending/Rule 63 (particularly canon male to anything else)
* Fictional gender/sex dynamics
* Any trope mentioned in the Id Pro Quo letter (https://allele-apocalypse.dreamwidth.org/2908.html)
Almost Human – graphic novel or fic
Dorian, Dorian & Other DRNs
This show has all the elements I tend to fall for in fic – live action SF crammed with interesting ideas and pretty actors, but also flawed enough to want better, or at least more, stories to be told. Almost Human only lasted half a season, so it left a lot of mysteries unresolved. The basic premise of the show was that in the not too distant (and slightly apocalyptic) future, androids will have been invented with enough sentience to be deployed in the more menial jobs, a category that apparently includes disposable cop partner. One line of androids, the DRNs, have unusual emotional capacity, but this proves to be their downfall as they experience psychological breakdowns on the job, and are subsequently retired from the police force and sold off. The show features one of the last of these “broken” androids (Dorian) paired up with an equally “broken” human (Kennex), who refuses to work alongside the more coldly logical new line of androids, the MX-43s.
Any of the central mysteries of the show would be great to explore in fic. What really happened to the DRNs, and what is their fate during the era of the show’s run? Why were they chosen to be cops in the first place, if they were as unsuited? What makes Dorian so special to keep him around? Why, in a city that’s overpopulated with the underemployed, do they need androids in the first place? Is anyone in this universe ever going to discuss how ethically dubious it is to create a group of fully sentient beings who are legally disposable property? What prevents any of these apparently intelligent robots from self-organizing for their own ends, and what will happen when they do?
I’m down with canon-like case fic of technology gone wrong (going over the Wall is classic, but also what’s outside the city?), or just an exploration of relationships, of what makes certain human beings become so attached to their android counterparts. Dorian is a bit of a fandom bicycle for me, so you can pair him up with anyone you like. I also don’t mind background ships such as Richard/MX-43, so long as the focus is on the DRNs.
Babylon 5 – graphic novel or fic
Lyta Alexander & Kosh, Kosh
Jeffrey Sinclair, Delenn/Jeffrey Sinclair
Babylon 5 was one of baby’s first fandoms back in the 90s, and by the end was in it primarily for three things: the Vorlons, the Minbari, and the telepaths. The Vorlons are a fantastic alien-alien, and I would be happy with ten thousand words (or lovely art) of navelgazing at the Vorlon homeworld, or an exploration of Kosh’s impenetrable thought processes. Lyta makes a good human observer of the weirdness; it would be fascinating to see what jobs the Vorlons have tasked her with while she was off-station. Or, perhaps she calls upon the Vorlons for help later in the war, or they call upon her for some inscrutable purpose against the Shadows.
Jeffrey Sinclair is one my favorite B5 characters, and I honestly still mourn what could have been if the actor hadn’t been forced to leave the show. Sinclair/Delenn is a bit of a reflection of this, as it’s hard not to believe that Sheridan’s plotlines were originally intended for Sinclair. It would make an interesting AU to explore them having a relationship after Delenn’s transformation, but before his. Even sticking closer to the original story, they could have had a relationship anytime in the first couple of years on the station – when Delenn was still in her spying-and-fascination stage – or after Sinclair is sent to Minbar (someone should show him the ropes, instead of being isolated on an alien world, as in the book). Or, even more of an AU, a story where the Minbari simply kept him prisoner during the war instead of returning him to his ship – what then? I’m also a huge sucker for any story placed after Sinclair travels back in time and transforms into Valen.
The Pretender - fic
Catherine Parker
The background of the Centre and Jarod’s childhood has always been an intriguing aspect of the Pretender, and Catherine Parker was the central figure in the axis between Raines, Mr. Parker, Sydney and Jacob. What exactly was her plan in rescuing the children? Why did the powers that be allow her to rescue several low-level kids, but murder her before reaching Jarod, Angelo and her own daughter? Was she conspiring with Jacob, or trying to convince Sydney that his research was unethical in their “therapy” sessions? Or, for a full AU, what would have happened if she had succeeded in her plans?
Star Trek: Picard – graphic novel or fic
Hugh, Hugh & Seven
Picard & Soji, Picard & Soji & Data
(Note: I’m not holding back the spoilers, in case anyone wanders into this prompt).
This show’s first season suffered from a surfeit of fascinating ideas, so many crammed into a scant ten episodes that none of them are developed properly. We’ve got Romulan refugees and secret android societies and robot terrorist attacks and the Federation settling into moral decay and secret Romulan cults and undercover incesty spies who may be falling for their marks and recovered Borg victims being discriminated against/preyed upon and one of Star Trek’s most iconic character’s consciousness uploaded into a robot body and and… Anyway, it’s a lot of goodness trapped in a breathless unsatisfactory package. Help me, longfic, you’re my only hope!
I’ve focused my nominations on the cyborgs and androids because I find them the most interesting, and also we need to narrow things down here, but if you want to include other ST:PIC characters or romantic entanglement, that’s fine. What I’m going for here is a more in-depth exploration of either the XBs or Soji’s android group, however it may intersect with other characters. What happened to Hugh in between TNG and Picard? How did we get here with the ex-Borg? Under what circumstances do Seven and Hugh meet, and do they get up to adventures? What was Soji’s motivation or purpose in sending herself “undercover” without knowledge of her true nature onto the Borg cube? What can Soji (or her people) teach Picard, or vice versa? How is Data’s consciousness involved in the formation of the android colony, or what how can he help Picard with his transformation? (Some version of “Data Lives” is welcome here).
Star Wars: Prequels – graphic novel or fic
Obi-Wan Kenobi
I’ll take any Obi-Wan centered fic, from any canon era – the prequels seemed the most relevant for nomination purposes, but pre-canon in the Temple or with Qui-Gon (all the Jedi training customs, please...or with Anakin), Clone Wars, the Tatooine period or even original trilogy (see prompts below) would be welcome as well. I’m also fine with a wide variety of shipping angles here, so if you have an Obi-Wan/Obscure Character OTP you’ve been dying to get out there, now’s your chance. (Although if it’s really obscure, give me a heads up with contextual clues and tagging, as I can’t say I have all of the Star Wars universe memorized). Here’s some things I like about Obi-Wan: Loyalty. Pig-headed obsequiousness to The Cause. Superpowers but modest about it. Iron woobie who gets beat up and tortured a lot. (See: the Wild Space novel and every other episode of Clone Wars). Not a terrible teacher but emotional constipation proves to be his downfall (and the Jedi as well?). Deserves a better end.
Anakin Skywalker & Sheev Palpatine
I’ve always felt that one of the most disappointing things about the prequels was that the manipulation and fall of Anakin was crammed into about 1 ¼ movies, instead of the slow psychological burn it should have been. The Clone Wars rectifies this to some degree, but still I want more. All the manipulation, both before and after Mustafar. Sometimes it is frankly difficult to reconcile prequels Anakin, Clone Wars Anakin, and original trilogy Vader as the same person, so I’d adore any attempts to explore that transition. (The Vader comics, which start right after Mustafar, actually have done the best job I’ve seen at pulling all the backstory together into a singular character). One AU that would be interesting is one in which Anakin turns to the Dark Side but isn’t disfigured – would he maintain the Vader persona without the motivating pain, the dehumanization, the physical intimidation of the suit, and with a whole lot more people knowing he’s former Jedi General Anakin Skywalker? Also, Palpatine’s perspective at any point would be fascinating. He’s the archetype of the evil genius pulling the levers behind the scenes. What happens when you succeed at all that, and have all the power you could ever want, ever over your own apprentice? I swear half the reason Palpatine lets the rebels through to Endor in RotJ is to have a little fun for old time’s sake.
Star Wars: Original Trilogy – graphic novel or fic
Obi-Wan & Luke, Obi-Wan & Leia, Vader & Leia
Whether due to an AU where Obi-Wan Lives, time travel or Force Ghost, I would love a story in which Obi-Wan manages to train to Luke and/or Leia, or at least let them know the truth about their history. Obi-Wan’s death in ANH always seems rather plot-driven for Luke’s storyline, rather than organically necessary. So what happens if he escapes, or even kills Vader? How does that change the rebellion? Likewise Vader’s inability to recognize Leia as his daughter even though she’s captured by him twice is unsatisfying, even though it’s understandable in the evolution of the movies (since Lucas hadn’t made that bit up yet). The original trilogy focuses on Vader and Luke’s relationship, but there’s no reason some of that attention couldn’t have been focused on Leia – and as Bail Organa’s daughter, she’s more recognizably linked to Padme than Luke, minus the Skywalker name. Alternatively, what if Leia knows to begin with, how does that change the story?
no subject
Date: 2021-08-16 03:59 am (UTC)Thanks so much for signing up to this round of FFFX! This exchange requires something that is not DNWs to be entered in the sign-up form - could you please let me know if you'd prefer me to copy in your prompts, or your general likes?
no subject
Date: 2021-08-17 01:08 pm (UTC)