The Exchange at Fic Corner

Greetings!

I'm trying something new this year: my general likes and DNWs for challenges and exchanges are in a master letter post here. What follows are prompts and notes on my specific requests for this exchange.

Crossover Fandom
Alexis Castle & Cassie Fraiser; Alexis Castle & Cassie Lang; Alexis Castle & Dairine Callahan; Cassie Fraiser & Cassie Lang, Kim Possible & Kamala Khan (Castle, Kim Possible, MCU, SG-1, Young Wizards)

All these fall under the general umbrella of "girls' night out" prompts - plain and simply, I'm intrigued by the potential mischief, adventures, or straight-up bonding that might happen if any of these duos were thrown together. Feel free to massage timelines to allow for these characters to be of similar age as they correspond or collaborate.

In particular, where Alexis is concerned, feel free to overlook the late-series efforts to turn her into a career PI; that seems to me inconsistent with the Alexis we've seen in high school and college, who's evidenced notable musical gifts and inherited her dad's literary skills, and I like the earlier Alexis much better. (That said, I'd also be fascinated to see Alexis as either a wizard-in-training or a player in the MCU....)

Kate Beckett & Elisa Maza (Castle, Gargoyles)

This one strikes me as an utterly natural match - two seasoned NYC police detectives, each with a highly unconventional sidekick. (While the primary documents should feature these two, I will totally not turn down input from Castle, Xanatos, Owen, or any other of the appropriate players - or their keepers' commentary on what happens when they get into each other's hair.)

Richard Castle & Jessica Fletcher (Castle, Murder She Wrote)

Fanon has long suggested that Jessica is Castle's aunt (even if the blood tie, as I once had Jessica remark, is a trifle complicated). That just about has to set up a long and entertaining correspondence...or perhaps we can get a look at what they have to say about each others' novels in the privacy of their own personal journals. [insert mischievous chuckle here]

Castle
Martha & Alexis; Beckett & Alexis; Beckett & Gates

One may correctly deduce from these and the crossover prompts above that I'm a particular fan of the Alexis Castle character - it's rare in my experience of prime time TV to find a teen character who's as intelligent, sensible, and relatively well-adjusted as she was. I also quite liked Martha, who also avoided falling into caricature; she came across as both realistically theatrical and theatrically realistic. And while I strongly disliked the plot twists that led to the 12th Precinct's change of leadership, Kate Beckett and Captain Gates were also generally well-written and ably portrayed.

For all three of these prompts, I'm hoping for more about the characters' offscreen lives - Martha's acting career, Alexis' academic and social interests, Beckett and Gates learning from one another off the clock. The less said about Pi, Hayley, and any or all of the absurd season-arc plots, the better; what made Castle a brilliant series was the character chemistry. Feel free to speculate on Alexis' eventual for-real career choice (I refuse to believe that the whole Castle-as-private-eye thing was more than a temporary aberration), to give Martha a late-stage career boost with a really good gig, or to lay some groundwork for the evolution to "Senator Beckett" down the line.

DCU
Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne

A note here: I am a modern Bat-fan chiefly by way of the Timmverse animated canon and a Superman fan chiefly via film/TV (notably Smallville, Lois & Clark, the Reeve movies, and the new Corenswet film), and am only just now wading back into the shallow end of DC's print universe(s) after a decades-long hiatus. Thus, my Batman is very much NOT the grimdark and not-always-quite-sane version we got from Frank Miller and his four-color successors (indeed, I grew up on Adam West reruns).

So my preference here, not least because the tag set specifically pegs them as Clark and Bruce, is for just that - a dialogue in which these two are both professionals with double lives, committed to being the best they can be at their jobs both in and out of Spandex, yet occasionally challenged by problems only another superhero can appreciate - most likely on both sides of the cape at once. (Alternately, a peek into both their private journals might be similarly entertaining in terms of things they don't say out loud to one another.)

Kim Possible
Kim & Dr. Betty Director; Kim & Yori; Ron & Yori; Ron/Yori; Shego & Ann Possible

Kim Possible was the show that propelled me into fanfic in a serious way, both as reader and writer, and I remain a fan of the series to this day. As to these particular prompts: I'm interested in how the working relationship developed between Kim & the other "Dr. D", and I've always thought Yori could have become a much more interesting character if she'd been further developed. As to Shego and MrsDrP...that's another duo I wish the show had developed further. (I wrote a couple of stories, very early on, which maneuvered them into being betas for each other's M-to-E-rated slashfic. I would not object at all to seeing that premise taken further than I got with it - but that's totally optional; I mention it purely to illustrate the potential for both comedy and a deeply weird but fascinating relationship dynamic.)

MCU
Clint Barton & Kate Bishop Kamala Khan & Cassie Lang; Kamala Khan & Kate Bishop
Maria Hill & Kamala Khan; Maria Hill & Kate Bishop; Pepper Potts & Kamala Khan

Pretty much all of these prompts involve various of the prospective "Young Avengers" lineup; what I'm chiefly hoping for here is the process by which all these folks get to know one another - whereas the first few MCU movies put the original team together in response to a specific crisis, Kate's and Kamala's generation is building itself in a space between crises so as to be ready for the next one, and that's going to make team-building look seriously and/or humorously) different. Also, this set of characters is - let's say "geographically diverse" (a good reason to conduct major parts of conversations via "mail" for narrative purposes). And although Pepper is the odd woman out in this cluster, she's also - in the wake of having lost Tony by this time - both someone whom Kamala might look as a means of connecting with the "old guard" and who is now in a real way a bridging figure between the old team and the new.

Continuity note: I am up to date with respect to the MCU feature films, but way behind on the various Disney+ series; in particular, I have so far skipped Secret Invasion but am aware of what happened it. For our purposes, let's rule that the Maria Hill in SI was a Life Model Decoy or similar, and that the real Maria is in fact still alive and active in the relatively current MCU.

Nancy Drew (Keene)
Carson & Eloise; Carson & Nancy; Eloise & Nancy

This set of requests arises out of pure curiosity. The thing is, while Aunt Eloise becomes a fairly regular guest character over the course of the yellow-spine books, I don't recall ever being given even the most minimal description of the elder Drews' family life or background beyond their status as siblings. (I am not sure at this late date if Carson and Eloise ever even turned up in person at the same place at the same time.) And though Nancy and her father are portrayed as having a close relationship, they seem to spend very little time together, at least onstage - he's almost never along, for instance, whenever Nancy is traveling.

So: let's fix this - maybe by way of correspondence between Nancy and her aunt about family history, maybe through diaries wherein unspoken feelings are expressed, maybe by father and aunt reminiscing via post (or sharing reactions to various of Nancy's adventures). I did a bit of speculating about some of this in one of my own fics; feel free to riff on that material - or not - as you find useful.

Stargate SG-1
Cassie Fraiser & Samantha Carter; Cassie Fraiser & Vala; Samantha Carter & Vala

I was charmed in the best sense by Cassie in the character's first appearance, and I'd very much like to see how one or both of Sam and Vala would have connected with her (mentor & student, mischievous co-conspirators, girl geniuses doing !Science!, ???). And we didn't get nearly enough onscreen development of Sam's and Vala's working relationship. (Cassie is featured in two prior stories of mine, for Unsent Letters and Crossworks respectively; feel free either to incorporate elements of that material or to go somewhere else entirely.)

Tomorrowland (2015)
Athena & Casey; Athena & Frank; Casey & Frank

I'm particularly fond of this movie - to my mind, it has the best qualities of the old-school Disney live-action features from the '70s and '80s, is remarkably inventive on its own nickel, and features first-rate performances from all three of its leads. It's those performances and those characters that I'd like to see explored in this request, along with your ideas about what happened next (a subject on which the film leaves a lot of room for speculation). Note that while all these prompts are two-sided, I'm not at all opposed to seeing material from all three characters in your story - and that this set of prompts is "&" rather than "/". (I have seen some excellent romantic fics in this fandom, but for present purposes I'd prefer to keep things more focused on other aspects of these characters' relationships.)

In an effort to save some time in drafting individual signups, I'm trying something new this year; starting with this year's unsent_letters exchange, assigned writers (and interested treat-writers) will get two posts as opposed to one. This master post will cover my general interests & likes, and there will be an individual signup post with specifics regarding prompts and DNWs for each particular exchange. The AO3 signup will link to the exchange-specific post, and each exchange-specific post will include a link to this one.

Treats are always welcome and encouraged.

Why I'm Here

In three words: flexibility, challenge, and surprise.

As a writer, I come for the challenge. While I’m careful to offer for fandoms I know I can write, I also tend to offer fandoms that will stretch my internal idea generator and my storytelling muscles. Much of the fun for me is in the range of what I might be asked to do. I enjoy both plot-driven and character-driven requests, and the unique challenges facing me in any given year.

As a requester, I come bearing flexibility - notwithstanding the specific match AO3’s Sorting Hat may generate, I want you to have choices too. With rare exceptions, I am looking not for the story I’d write, or even the story I’d most like to read – rather, I’m looking for the story a given pair of crossed fandoms makes you write, because that’s most likely to be one I would never have thought of.

Thus, as both a writer and reader, I come to exchanges for the surprise. I enjoy being surprised by the stories my muse draws from the match(es) I’m handed, and I very much enjoy being surprised by the stories your muse draws from the one(s) I’ve supplied for you. Having said that: if you'd like more specific prompts than what I’ve supplied, please contact the mods, and I will cheerfully amplify on any of my individual requests.

What I Like
In general, the story I want most out of a given exchange is usually the one you want to tell me rather than the one that’s living in my own head (that one, if I want it badly enough, I can always write myself).

Text-driven pluses for me include effective use of wit (aka banter aka snark, etc.), as well as strong characterization & dialogue. I value both respect for and clever use of canon, including well-developed canon-divergence AUs. I thrive on UST (heavy on both U and T), and am neutral where gen/het/slash is concerned; if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind. I'm equally at home with casefic and character pieces, and equally fond of old-school cozy fare and darker themes. A specific note on horror: I prefer supernatural threats to serial killers, creeping dread to extravagant splatter, and endings that involve surviving tragedy rather than leaving evil in charge.

A Word About Crossovers

As my output and my AO3 gift list will confirm, I am also an unrepentant crossover junkie. I am equally fond of pure old-school crossovers and nuanced fusions, and equally delighted by cracktastic treatments and stories played completely straight. Likewise, I revel in "Easter eggs" - details dropped into the corners of stories that draw connections between the primary narrative and an entirely different canon. Thus, one explicit note here:

*Whether a challenge/exchange request says so or not, I'm open to receiving crossover/fusion works incorporating any fandom where I've either (1) posted at least one work featuring that fandom, (2) received at least one gift work (whether as a gift or treat) featuring that fandom, and/or (3) requested that fandom at least once as part of a challenge or exchange. (Your story should also fulfill all requirements for the challenge or exchange for which it's been assigned.)*

Do feel free to wander backward through this journal and my fic on AO3 (linked to your left) to get an idea of my interests; what I write is very much also what I like to read – and has, over time, added up to a considerable variety of fandoms. My past letters for various exchanges are tagged "dear santa" herein.

DNWs

Alt-setting AUs.
I fall for worlds; transplanting characters out of those worlds just isn't my jam. So please avoid alt-setting AUs (i.e. coffeeshop, high school, department store, etc.) unless an exchange request indicates otherwise.

This does NOT mean you can’t extend on canon, fill in blanks, et cetera. Likewise, this is very much NOT meant to exclude crossovers/fusions, even when not formally built into a request.

Smut/PWP for its own sake, unless specifically requested.
As with alt-setting AUs, this simply isn't my jam. This is emphatically not meant to forbid frank treatment of sexual matters that's integral to the story you're telling, especially in those cases where I may have brought up romantic or sex-related prompts on my own nickel. In general, if your muse takes you into explicit territory in the context of a prompt I've given, or if there's context for it in source canon, I am willing to come along for the ride.

Specific sex-related squicks..
Non-con, incest, or adult/child kinks; A/B/O settings; power-imbalanced sex/romantic partnerships (teacher/student, boss/underling, etc.).

Romantic partnerships explicitly inconsistent with canon.
Please don't break up an established canon pairing, or invalidate a character's established preferences/identity, unless I've specifically requested a non-canon relationship. To amplify: where a character explicitly states a sexual preference/identity in canon, honor the statement. OTOH, if no preference/identity is specified onstage, please do feel free to establish - or widen - one for a given character. Also feel free to create or expand relationships for unpaired characters, including cross-canonical pairings where the potential arises.