Dear Fandom Growth Exchange Writer

[lah_mrh]

Hi, thanks for writing for me! I hope this letter is helpful.

Likes: Humour, hurt/comfort, fluff, friendship, family relationships, gen, shipfic, first time, established relationship, friends-to-lovers, gay/bi characters, friendships between gay/bi men and gay/bi women, reunions, mission/case fic, episode tags/missing scenes, character studies, worldbuilding, happy endings, angst with a happy ending, huddling for warmth, bed sharing, recovery from injury, cuddling, kissing, forehead kisses, handholding, stargazing, shore leave, holiday fic, post-canon fic, canon-divergent AUs and fix-it fic, telepathy/empathy, cultural differences, finding common ground between disparate characters/cultures, time travel and alternate universes, travelling through alternate universes

Dislikes/DNWs: Noncon, character bashing, permanent major character death, focus on grief, poly/open relationships/infidelity, unrequested non-canon pairings (OC/OC relationships okay), break up of requested pairings, asexual/aromantic/nonbinary headcanons, graphic violence and gore, bleak/hopeless endings, homophobic violence and slurs, real-world politics/current events, crossovers, non canon divergent AUs, unusual/non prose formats, first and second POV, explicit sex


Fandoms

Chip's Challenge (Chip&None, Chip&Melinda)

I've loved this game for pretty much as long as I can remember. The in-game story is pretty slim - Chip wants to join Melinda's club, the Bit Busters, but has to prove his worth by making his way through the levels of her laboratory, avoiding monsters, killer floors, and the threat of being crushed by giant blocks. You can download the game here, or buy it on Steam (albeit as a slightly different version) if you're interested in giving it a try.

Prompts:

• Chip's thoughts/experiences as he goes through the game - what's his reaction to the monsters and other things he encounters? How does he experience the game mechanics - what happens when he "dies", for example? Does it bother him having to carry around keys and computer chips that are as big as he is?


• Melinda's thoughts as she monitors Chip's progress - does she make everyone who joins her club go through this madness? And why? Is it some kind of experiment?


• Chip finds out he's not the first person to go through the maze and compares notes/commiserates with previous victims.

Fandom specific DNW: Chip/Melinda.


*


Friends (Ross/Emily, Emily&None)

I've loved Friends since I was a kid, but the way Emily was treated by the narrative has always left a bad taste in my mouth. They built up this sweet, genuine relationship between her and Ross leading up to the big London wedding episode, and then completely demonised and derailed her character so that they could write her out for more Ross/Rachel will-they-won't-they. (Seriously, Ross screws up the wedding and embarrasses her in front of everyone and she's the bad guy?) So I'd love a fic from her perspective that treats her more sympathetically.

Prompts:

• The wedding goes as planned and she and Ross actually end up happy together.


• Emily tries to pull her life back together after everything that happens with the help of her friends/family.


• Emily's friends/family convince her she's better off without Ross.


• Something dealing with the fact that Emily's uncle is Rachel's boss. The show never mentions it, but surely that had to cause some awkwardness?


• Emily finds out she's pregnant and has to figure out what to do.


• Or, if you want to go totally AU, femslash where it's Rachel who accompanies her to the opera like she was meant to (and still ends up in a bed and breakfast in Vermont?).

*


Savin' Me (None)

Video here.

I find the concept of this video fascinating and just really want to see more of this world.

Prompts:

• What would it be like to be able to see how long people have left to live?


• Can only one person have this ability at a time, or are there more of them?


• Do people who have/had the ability ever find each other to talk about it, either online or in person?


• Where does it come from? Is it a magical curse, or some kind of matrix-like fake reality that people can only see through for a short time? It seems to be passed on by saving a life, but are there other ways?


• Can a particular person's time left be changed - made bigger or smaller?

*


Star Trek Discovery (Pike&Ash)

I really like these characters, and always want more fic about them. I love how Pike is such a genuinely good person, and how Ash is clearly damaged but still trying to do the right thing, even if he isn't always sure what that is. I also really love how the catalyst for them going from disliking and distrusting each other to basically friends is fighting a robotic squid from the future, and the potential bond formed by them being two of the only people left behind at the end. I really like the idea of them working together, becoming closer and getting better at seeing each other's point of view.

Full disclosure, I do ship them, but I also really love their interactions in canon and just want more of that, especially if it involves them becoming (or being) friends.

Prompts:

• A bonding moment after the battle and/or debriefing is over.


• Meeting up for a drink on the anniversary of Discovery's "destruction".


• Undercover on a mission together, or any other kind of mission-based fic.


• Stranded on a planet together and trying to survive. (Especially if Pike gets hurt/ill and Ash has to take care of him.)


• Ash has a nightmare/flashback, Pike offers comfort.


• Shore leave together - maybe Pike takes Ash horse riding, or Ash takes Pike sailing?


• AU - Ash brings Voq and L'Rell's son with him to Discovery instead of leaving him on Boreth. Turns out Pike is good with kids, even Klingon ones.


• AU - Pike realises Ash isn't the spy and they team up to find out who is. (And maybe Airiam gets saved?)


• Ash uses his Section 31 powers to heal Pike or otherwise save him from his fate.


• Ash teams up with Number One, Boyce, etc to rescue Pike from Talos post-The Menagerie.


• Any other kind of Pike-based fix-it, seriously I'm desperate.

Fandom specific note: While I've DNW'd noncon, mentions of Ash's canon trauma are fine.

Fandom specific DNWs: References to Pike's fate in TOS or his knowledge of same (unless you're writing a fix-it), the Star Trek future being sexist/homophobic/racist/ableist, Pike/Vina as anything more than a brief mention.


*


The Simpsons (Lisa/Juliet)

Juliet only appears in one episode (Lisa the Drama Queen), but I loved the relationship between her and Lisa. They seemed to connect so well, in a way that's pretty rare for Lisa, and I like how smart and imaginative they both are. I'd love to see more of that relationship, especially if it involves them meeting again in the future.

Prompts:

• Lisa ends up going to the same high school/college as Juliet and they reconnect.


• The last person Lisa expected to see at summer camp was Juliet.


• A moment between them before everything went wrong.


• AU - What if their attempt at running away together had been (more) successful? Where do they go? What do they do?


• AU - Getting their book published leads to reconciliation.

Fandom specific DNWs: Romance above a G-rating (handholding, cheek kisses, etc) while they're at their canon ages (but aged up to teenagers is fine!), Lisa and/or Juliet being judged for being "weird" or imaginative (unless those judging them are meant to be wrong/unsympathetic).



*


The Strangers (None)

You can read the story here.

Long story short, the protagonist follows a weird guy he meets on a train to the end of the line, finds himself in a kind of multiverse changing station, and travels through universe after universe trying to get back home. (The whole thing reminds me a little of The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones, so if you know that canon and want to take any inspiration from there, feel free.)

Prompts:

• Worldbuilding! Tell me about all the different worlds! How do they differ from our own? How are they the same? What's better and what's worse? How do the people differ? (Feel free to go as weird as you like!)


• What is the "central hub", and who, if anyone made it? (And what happens after the protagonist decides to try and take it down?)


• What are "Strangers" from different worlds like? Do they interact with each other, an if so, how? (The original Stranger says they're not supposed to, but he could be wrong/lying.)


• Are all "Strangers" like the protagonist, tricked into it and trying to get home, or are some of them doing it deliberately? Do any of them decide to just settle down in a random world and try to make a life there?


• I feel like it's hinted that the protagonist isn't actually from our world, just a similar one (since his letter is here but he's apparently moved on) so something about that would be cool too.

Fandom specific note: OC-focused and outsider POV fic is more than welcome for this fandom.


*


Welcome to the Ark (None)

I first read this book when I was thirteen, and ever since I've wanted to know what happens next. I love the story of these four misfit kids who meet and form a connection and a family, (not to mention some pretty cool abilities) only for it all to be torn apart.

Prompts:

• The book ends with Miranda, Doug, and Taryn reuniting, but I've always wondered what happened to Elijah. Do they ever find him?


• What happens to Noah and Abigail? They were important too, but they're barely mentioned in the ending. Do they get to see what their charges have become? I like to think they'd be proud.


• What plans do the now grown up kids have for saving the world? Do they try to set up a new Ark for kids like them?


• Worldbuilding - how many people like them are there out there? How/when did it start happening? Are all people with abilities driven to try and decrease the violence in the world, or are some of them out there trying to make it worse instead of better?

Fandom specific notes: I'd prefer gen for this fandom, but I'm okay with background Doug/Miranda or anyone/OC. Also, while worldbuilding/backstory would be cool for OCs, I'm not all that interested in backstory or canon-era fic for the main characters - what I'm really interested in is what happens to them once canon is over.


*


What's It Gonna Be (Shura/Sarah, Nick/Brad)

Video here

I really like this video, and if it was a full-length film I would see it in a heartbeat. I love how it starts out with the brother and sister pining after their het crushes and ends with them realising they'd rather have each other's crushes instead. If you want to try and write the full-length version of this I would be thrilled, but even a snippet would be great.

Prompts:

• Shura and Nick plan out their campaign.


• Shura realises she's actually into Sarah and not Brad and/or Nick realises he's actually into Brad and not Sarah.


• Shura and Nick confess their new crushes to each other and come up with a new plan.


• How does the rest of the school react to a nerdy girl dating a cheerleader, or a nerdy boy dating a jock?


• Double dates, or the four of them hanging out together.


• What do Brad and/or Sarah think of it all?

*


Wonder (Auggie&None, Auggie&Via, Auggie&Jack Will, Auggie&Summer)

I really loved this film. Auggie is sweet and funny, and I like how his condition doesn't define him - that it makes his life harder but he still gets to be a normal kid who has friends and loves science and is just like everyone else. I'd love anything exploring his life after the end of the film, especially his friendships with Jack Will, or Summer, or his relationship with his sister.

Prompts:

• How does sixth grade work out for Auggie?


• Does his family ever get another dog? Or a different pet?


• Do he and Jack create another kick-ass science fair project? And if so, what?


• What does he dress up as for next Halloween?


• Does he ever meet Julian again? Does Julian apologise?

Fandom specific note: I love gen, but I'm okay with Auggie/Jack or Auggie/OMC as long as it's kept very g-rated - he is only eleven, after all.


Thanks again!