Dear Spacer letter 2022
Feb. 19th, 2022 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
weakinteractionHello, I'm weakinteraction and I love space*. For various reasons, I have decided to focus my requests pretty narrowly this round on some of my all-time-favourite aspects of some of my all-time-favourite canons, the bits that I love almost as much as I just love space itself.
*albeit in a very "never, ever actually want to go there" way
I'm requesting art, fic, vid, and IF for all of these fandoms.
General likes
I am up for a wide range of types of fanworks, and equally happy with ratings anywhere on the scale.
I genuinely do equally like all of gen, slash, het and femslash. On the shipping side of things, I don't really have NOTPs in any of these fandoms, so any combination of characters that you're interested in is absolutely fine with me, and I don't have any objection to requested and/or unrequested characters in background pairings. (As a general note, if you are going in a shippy direction I am more than happy to handwave that Everyone Is Bi And Poly for the purposes of fanworks.)
In terms of tropes and dynamics and so on, I am keen on:
Fic likes: Overall, I am honestly very easy to please; I genuinely like pretty much all types of fic, from humorous vignettes, to angsty introspection, to twisty plotty adventure stories, casefic, slice of life, or digging into the canon's worldbuilding, and all points in between. I do want to make a positive point of the fact that fic-wise I'm always up for non-standard formats, anything from epistolary or verse through to stories presented through documentary evidence, 1st/2nd person, present/future tense, IF, etc. etc. Again, if it works for what you want to do, I'll lap it up. (This is not to say that I don't enjoy reading third person, past tense, because I definitely do! I just don't want you to be put off doing other things if your inspiration takes you in that direction.)
IF likes: I am equally happy with both parser-based and CYOA IF. I'm happy for it to land anywhere on the various axes of "game" vs "simulation" vs "story"; I do enjoy puzzles, as long as they aren't insanely difficult to work out. On the more story-ish end, I do enjoy it when there isn't an obvious "good ending", or at least where it's left open to interpretation whether any particular ending is good or not. On the fanworks end, I do enjoy little details in how things are presented that call back to canon, if that makes sense (e.g. making the interface look like something in-universe), though I realise that's very tricky so it's very much an optional extra!
Art likes: I do like use of light and shade in a picture, and interesting Easter-egg-y type stuff going on in the background (if there is one). An action scene that's a snapshot from an adventure, the characters in the middle of kicking ass. Goofy hijinks when the characters are off-duty. Portrayals of canon-divergent AU versions of the characters very, very welcome if the inspiration strikes you. For shippier stuff, little moments of intimacy: stolen kisses, hurt/comfort type stuff (but please not too much on the hurt front), that sort of thing. (I have no problem receiving NSFW art, fwiw.) I am also definitely up for things like diagrams, maps, etc. In the same Easter-egg-y vein mentioned earlier, things like that presented with in-universe trappings would be lovely. I've provided some specific art prompts where I can think of them, but in cases where I haven't I hope at least some of my more general prompts lend themselves to being illustrated. Also, I am very happy to receive things like complex diagrams of overlapping timelines and schematics of time machines or whatever along those lines, as well as more "traditional" illustrations.
Vid likes: When it comes to vids I like interesting/surprising/amusing juxtapositions (either between one scene and the next or between what's happening and the music), and having fun with pacing (e.g. the cuts getting faster and faster towards the end before slowing down again). I am very broad-minded in my musical taste; I would much rather go with the music you think fits than have a vid shoehorned in to my favourite song if you're not feeling it. And to be honest, my "favourite song" is something which changes on about an hourly basis. That said, if you do want to know, the two places my music collection/Youtube playlist gravitates towards most strongly are British indie circa 1995-1997 (I hesitate to use the term "Britpop" but, yeah, basically Britpop) and female singer-songwriters from the last decade or so. Some general vid prompts: Action (a pairing against the universe? lovers-to-enemies types doing battle?). Longing looks. Sweeping landscapes. (For Star Wars) Canon-style wipe transitions.
IF likes: I am equally happy with both parser-based and CYOA IF. I'm happy for it to land anywhere on the various axes of "game" vs "simulation" vs "story"; I do enjoy puzzles, as long as they aren't insanely difficult to work out. On the more story-ish end, I do enjoy it when there isn't an obvious "good ending", or at least where it's left open to interpretation whether any particular ending is good or not. On the IF-as-fanwork end of things, I do enjoy little details in how things are presented that call back to canon, if that makes sense (e.g. making the interface look like something in-universe), though I realise that's very tricky so it's very much an optional extra.
DNWs: Please avoid the following:
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Requested tags: Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Jack Crusher, Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Deanna Troi, Character: Beverly Crusher, Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard
Character: Beverly Crusher - Bev is my fave, my fave is Bev. Anything about her by herself (Remember Me is probably my favourite Bev episode so I'm definitely into "by herself"), or interacting with anybody (from TNG, from elsewhere in Trek, an OC from the furthest reaches of your imagination, etc.) would be lovely. Directing plays, going all Quincy on a medical mystery, dealing with an emergency, taking charge on the Bridge, playing poker -- genuinely, anything and everything would be great. (A note on my kidfic DNW here: I have no objection to Wesley appearing, and a fic about the complexities of having a Traveller-like entity as your adult child could actually be really interesting, but I would prefer not to receive a fic that focused solely on Beverly as mother to a child/teenager to the exclusion of all else.)
Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Jack Crusher - I'd be equally happy with either exploration of their time together before canon, or a Jack lives AU. What happened in the "months [it took] to figure it out with Jack"? How often were they able to be together when Jack had shore leave?
Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard - this ship was absolutely formative for me and my love of repression and pining. The fact that they both want it but won't act on it because they see it as a betrayal of Jack, and that they both know that, is absolute catnip to me. Sticking entirely to rolling around in all the canon-level pining angst would be fine, but if you want to actually get them together that's fine too. Maybe some exploration of the All Good Things future? Or did they get together for a bit in the Picard timeline too? (I've got to be honest, "bad breakup" is about the only explanation I can come up with for Bev not having been mentioned even once in Picard S1.)
A quick note on the above two ships: I should have thought of it and nominated it, but I do ship Beverly/Jack/Jean-Luc as well.
Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Deanna Troi - I can see this working in various different ways, from FWB to something much more serious. I like the way that they're both generally super-serious at work but bring out one another's fun sides when off-duty, and in general I always love empathy/telepathy stuff when it comes to Deanna and shipping, so feel free to play around with that as much as you like.
The Culture - Iain M. Banks
Requested tags: Worldbuilding: eventual fate of the Culture, Worldbuilding: understanding of the Culture that develops on worlds they intervene on
Eventual fate of the Culture - What happens in "the end"? There are hints in some of the last few books that the Culture is potentially hanging around too long as a High Level Involved civ for its own and the wider galaxy's good. Does the entire Culture eventually Sublime, or does it invent a new role for itself that no one's ever really gone for before? Do increasingly large subsets of Cultureniks form new factions a la the Zetetic Elench that do Sublime, eventually leaving behind effectively a continuity Culture made up only of those who refused to do so? Or does something even weirder than that happen?
Understanding of the Culture that develops on worlds they intervene on - Obviously, on one level, Inversions is this all the way through, for a medieval/early-modern-ish culture, and we also get a bit of a hint towards how they explain themselves to more advanced places with the way the appendices in Consider Phlebas are translated for 22nd century humans. But I'm definitely interested in further exploration of this sort of thing, for all sorts of different types of planets. Do the Culture deliberately portray themselves in different ways for different audiences, emphasising certain parts of the Culture's, er, culture for the effect that will have on the population? What hilarious misunderstandings arise? Do they ever let on to the people of Earth about them having been a control group? etc.
A final note: Please don't take my not requesting the characters in the tag set as meaning I don't like them, because I do*. It's just that the worldbuilding is my very favourite thing in the Culture books; I remember on first reading when I got to the point I really needed to stop I would always skip ahead to the next bit of exposition to see what it was about. But you should definitely feel very welcome to include any canon or original characters as works best for what you're creating, whether they're in the tag set or not.
*albeit in a very "never, ever actually want to meet it" way, when it comes to the Falling Outside ...
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (Comics)
Requested tags: Relationship: Chelli Lona Aphra/Domina Tagge
I like seeing Aphra getting in over her head (in terms of jobs and/or relationships) and then muddling through with both more brains and more heart than she herself would admit, but usually only just about scraping a temporary victory by the skin of her teeth.
Aphra/Tagge - Aphra is clearly attracted to Tagge, and Tagge seems very much the sort of person who would take advantage of that if it amused her and/or suited her purposes. (I'm a few issues behind right now, so if they've actually got together in canon now, I will be thrilled when I read it, but most importantly for exchange letter purposes that will be before reveals.) Their overall dynamic is quite similar to the one between Aphra and Vader back when she was introduced, in my opinion, just with the delicious potential of shippiness on top. This could go in all sorts of different directions: Canon-typical heist shenanigans. Fancy parties (combining this and the previous one -- maybe something similar to the current War of the Bounty Hunters plotline happens but this time Tagge needs to come along in person for one reason or another). Something goes wrong on board the Acquisitor and Aphra is stuck there with a Tagge who's increasingly frustrated at the slow progress of the repairs. Aphra and Tagge both have reasons to avoid the Empire paying them too close attention; what if avoiding scrutiny requires some sort of fake dating type scenario?
Canon-specific DNW exception for this ship: I don't mind breathplay if it's related to Tagge's forcefield thingies, but no actual physical choking please. (Reference to past Force choking is OK but please don't make it sexy.)
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Requested tags: Worldbuilding: Social Engineering (SMAC), Relationship: Planet & Deirdre Skye (SMAC), Relationship: Corazon Santiago/Deirdre Skye (SMAC)
As with everything else I've signed up for, this is one of my forever fandoms, but I have also started playing it again recently thanks to finally giving in and paying for it on GOG. (I successfully nursed my original CD all the way through to the point where I no longer had a machine with a CD drive ...)
Social Engineering - the social engineering screen is seriously my favourite game mechanic ever; none of the later Civ takes on the same idea have quite given me the same feeling of pressing a lever here and getting an outcome over there but also an unintended consequence to deal with in the corner. How do the faction leaders weigh up these choices? (Given that these often determine diplomacy as well -- what do they do if their neighbour is pushing for something that isn't necessarily what they would go for?) Or taking a more ordinary citizen's level view of things, what's it like to go through an upheaval? (The fact that you just have to pay a bunch of money for it with none of the disorder in Civ II suggests that the Psych Chaplains and similar are doing a lot of stuff to people to get them to accept new models, for example.) Art-wise, some sort of chart or diagram representing connections between different areas? Or a map produced by a probe team of the likely willingness of an enemy population to adopt certain models? Or a propaganda poster?
Planet & Deirdre Skye - *pop* I still get shivers every time the first fungus appears and that interlude from the Book of Planet comes up when I start a playthrough. The developing understanding between Planet and the player character (and, presumably, the other faction leaders if they aren't aggressively rejecting it for economic/religious/etc. reasons) is one of my favourite parts of the game, and in the "canon" story that comes out in the Datalinks quotes and wonders videos it's obviously Deirdre who has the closest connection throughout most of "the human era" (although I think there's an argument from the VoAC video that it's Zakharov who gets there in the end; feel free to play with that sort of thing if you want). More generally, I love the idea of how alien Planet's thought processes, distributed across an entire planet and stretching back into deep time, are, so anything exploring that would be great.
Corazon/Deirdre - The implied story seems to be of a war where the Gaians eventually completely overrun the Spartans with mind worms (and I would definitely be up for something along those lines; the whole BDSM-y pain sphere thing going on when you defeat a faction certainly suggests something in that direction IMO). But each time you play a game you get a brand new history of planet, and I don't consider the "canon" version any more or less valid than any other possibility. So I'd also be up for something similar with the tables turned and Santiago winning, or a grand alliance between the Gaians and the Spartans, cemented by the union of the two leaders, or arguments in the planetary council leading to hatesex, or anything else that occurs to you. (And, er, if it occurs to you to involve Planet and/or mind worms, that is absolutely fine.)
Doctor Who (1963)
Requested tag: Relationship: Tegan Jovanka/Nyssa of Traken
Not going to lie, I literally love all of Doctor Who, even/especially the ropey bits, but these two are my OTP of OTPs.
Nyssa/Tegan - The relationship between these two is horribly underexplored in canon, even by the standards of the time -- their first meeting takes place in the middle of a crowded scene and we don't hear anything they say ... but they're getting along like a house on fire straight afterwards; they both have very personal reasons to despise the Master (especially Nyssa, since he's stolen her father's body and destroyed her entire planet, but murdering Auntie Vanessa must be significant for Tegan too), but every time he turns up during their run they just treat him as a generic recurring villain; almost immediately after they've met him the Doctor regnerates; and so on and so on. As such they definitely have the potential for wallowing in angst (as well as the aforementioned, there's Tegan's experiences with the Mara, and so on and so forth) but their interactions in canon (which generally ignores all those things) definitely lend themselves more towards fun fluffy romance, so feel free to go in whatever direction suits you. But some ideas include: Shenanigans in the TARDIS (possibly with the TARDIS itself involved in its own way?). Learning more about one another's cultures. Mutual support during tough times. Mutual pining during the gap between seasons 19 and 20, or after Nyssa's departure. They somehow end up meeting again post-Terminus (from Nyssa's POV)/Resurrection (from Tegan's).
*albeit in a very "never, ever actually want to go there" way
I'm requesting art, fic, vid, and IF for all of these fandoms.
General likes
I am up for a wide range of types of fanworks, and equally happy with ratings anywhere on the scale.
I genuinely do equally like all of gen, slash, het and femslash. On the shipping side of things, I don't really have NOTPs in any of these fandoms, so any combination of characters that you're interested in is absolutely fine with me, and I don't have any objection to requested and/or unrequested characters in background pairings. (As a general note, if you are going in a shippy direction I am more than happy to handwave that Everyone Is Bi And Poly for the purposes of fanworks.)
In terms of tropes and dynamics and so on, I am keen on:
- time travel, in all sorts of different variations
- canon-divergent AUs, whether caused by time travel or otherwise
- people with issues relating to identity (in the sense of things like secret identities and amnesia)
- telepathy
- A whole raft of different relationship dynamics, eg friends-to-lovers, friends-with-benefits, enemies-to-lovers, lovers-to-enemies(-who-are-maybe-occasionally-still-lovers-against-their-better-judgement), loyalty kink, and you-and-me-against-the-universe sorts of situations
- Many (but not quite all) of my favourite characters share traits of being competent and getting on with their jobs/vocations/whatever, particularly in the sense of Doing The Right Thing over their strong personal preferences to do the opposite and/or against a general angsty background.
Fic likes: Overall, I am honestly very easy to please; I genuinely like pretty much all types of fic, from humorous vignettes, to angsty introspection, to twisty plotty adventure stories, casefic, slice of life, or digging into the canon's worldbuilding, and all points in between. I do want to make a positive point of the fact that fic-wise I'm always up for non-standard formats, anything from epistolary or verse through to stories presented through documentary evidence, 1st/2nd person, present/future tense, IF, etc. etc. Again, if it works for what you want to do, I'll lap it up. (This is not to say that I don't enjoy reading third person, past tense, because I definitely do! I just don't want you to be put off doing other things if your inspiration takes you in that direction.)
IF likes: I am equally happy with both parser-based and CYOA IF. I'm happy for it to land anywhere on the various axes of "game" vs "simulation" vs "story"; I do enjoy puzzles, as long as they aren't insanely difficult to work out. On the more story-ish end, I do enjoy it when there isn't an obvious "good ending", or at least where it's left open to interpretation whether any particular ending is good or not. On the fanworks end, I do enjoy little details in how things are presented that call back to canon, if that makes sense (e.g. making the interface look like something in-universe), though I realise that's very tricky so it's very much an optional extra!
Art likes: I do like use of light and shade in a picture, and interesting Easter-egg-y type stuff going on in the background (if there is one). An action scene that's a snapshot from an adventure, the characters in the middle of kicking ass. Goofy hijinks when the characters are off-duty. Portrayals of canon-divergent AU versions of the characters very, very welcome if the inspiration strikes you. For shippier stuff, little moments of intimacy: stolen kisses, hurt/comfort type stuff (but please not too much on the hurt front), that sort of thing. (I have no problem receiving NSFW art, fwiw.) I am also definitely up for things like diagrams, maps, etc. In the same Easter-egg-y vein mentioned earlier, things like that presented with in-universe trappings would be lovely. I've provided some specific art prompts where I can think of them, but in cases where I haven't I hope at least some of my more general prompts lend themselves to being illustrated. Also, I am very happy to receive things like complex diagrams of overlapping timelines and schematics of time machines or whatever along those lines, as well as more "traditional" illustrations.
Vid likes: When it comes to vids I like interesting/surprising/amusing juxtapositions (either between one scene and the next or between what's happening and the music), and having fun with pacing (e.g. the cuts getting faster and faster towards the end before slowing down again). I am very broad-minded in my musical taste; I would much rather go with the music you think fits than have a vid shoehorned in to my favourite song if you're not feeling it. And to be honest, my "favourite song" is something which changes on about an hourly basis. That said, if you do want to know, the two places my music collection/Youtube playlist gravitates towards most strongly are British indie circa 1995-1997 (I hesitate to use the term "Britpop" but, yeah, basically Britpop) and female singer-songwriters from the last decade or so. Some general vid prompts: Action (a pairing against the universe? lovers-to-enemies types doing battle?). Longing looks. Sweeping landscapes. (For Star Wars) Canon-style wipe transitions.
IF likes: I am equally happy with both parser-based and CYOA IF. I'm happy for it to land anywhere on the various axes of "game" vs "simulation" vs "story"; I do enjoy puzzles, as long as they aren't insanely difficult to work out. On the more story-ish end, I do enjoy it when there isn't an obvious "good ending", or at least where it's left open to interpretation whether any particular ending is good or not. On the IF-as-fanwork end of things, I do enjoy little details in how things are presented that call back to canon, if that makes sense (e.g. making the interface look like something in-universe), though I realise that's very tricky so it's very much an optional extra.
DNWs: Please avoid the following:
- character/ship bashing (where ships are incompatible with canon, I strongly prefer any of an amicable breakup, poly, or an AU where that ship never happened over long explorations of how the other party was The Worst)
- setting-change AUs, including changes to how biology works (canon-divergent AUs are fine)
- pregnancy/kidfic (as in, the focus being on canon characters as caregivers - brief appearances from canon children are OK)
- the following kinks: watersports, scat, emetophilia, bloodplay, breathplay, vore, violent non-con (coercion, mind control, etc. are OK)
- incest
- under-16s depicted in sexual relationships
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Requested tags: Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Jack Crusher, Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Deanna Troi, Character: Beverly Crusher, Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard
Character: Beverly Crusher - Bev is my fave, my fave is Bev. Anything about her by herself (Remember Me is probably my favourite Bev episode so I'm definitely into "by herself"), or interacting with anybody (from TNG, from elsewhere in Trek, an OC from the furthest reaches of your imagination, etc.) would be lovely. Directing plays, going all Quincy on a medical mystery, dealing with an emergency, taking charge on the Bridge, playing poker -- genuinely, anything and everything would be great. (A note on my kidfic DNW here: I have no objection to Wesley appearing, and a fic about the complexities of having a Traveller-like entity as your adult child could actually be really interesting, but I would prefer not to receive a fic that focused solely on Beverly as mother to a child/teenager to the exclusion of all else.)
Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Jack Crusher - I'd be equally happy with either exploration of their time together before canon, or a Jack lives AU. What happened in the "months [it took] to figure it out with Jack"? How often were they able to be together when Jack had shore leave?
Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard - this ship was absolutely formative for me and my love of repression and pining. The fact that they both want it but won't act on it because they see it as a betrayal of Jack, and that they both know that, is absolute catnip to me. Sticking entirely to rolling around in all the canon-level pining angst would be fine, but if you want to actually get them together that's fine too. Maybe some exploration of the All Good Things future? Or did they get together for a bit in the Picard timeline too? (I've got to be honest, "bad breakup" is about the only explanation I can come up with for Bev not having been mentioned even once in Picard S1.)
A quick note on the above two ships: I should have thought of it and nominated it, but I do ship Beverly/Jack/Jean-Luc as well.
Relationship: Beverly Crusher/Deanna Troi - I can see this working in various different ways, from FWB to something much more serious. I like the way that they're both generally super-serious at work but bring out one another's fun sides when off-duty, and in general I always love empathy/telepathy stuff when it comes to Deanna and shipping, so feel free to play around with that as much as you like.
The Culture - Iain M. Banks
Requested tags: Worldbuilding: eventual fate of the Culture, Worldbuilding: understanding of the Culture that develops on worlds they intervene on
Eventual fate of the Culture - What happens in "the end"? There are hints in some of the last few books that the Culture is potentially hanging around too long as a High Level Involved civ for its own and the wider galaxy's good. Does the entire Culture eventually Sublime, or does it invent a new role for itself that no one's ever really gone for before? Do increasingly large subsets of Cultureniks form new factions a la the Zetetic Elench that do Sublime, eventually leaving behind effectively a continuity Culture made up only of those who refused to do so? Or does something even weirder than that happen?
Understanding of the Culture that develops on worlds they intervene on - Obviously, on one level, Inversions is this all the way through, for a medieval/early-modern-ish culture, and we also get a bit of a hint towards how they explain themselves to more advanced places with the way the appendices in Consider Phlebas are translated for 22nd century humans. But I'm definitely interested in further exploration of this sort of thing, for all sorts of different types of planets. Do the Culture deliberately portray themselves in different ways for different audiences, emphasising certain parts of the Culture's, er, culture for the effect that will have on the population? What hilarious misunderstandings arise? Do they ever let on to the people of Earth about them having been a control group? etc.
A final note: Please don't take my not requesting the characters in the tag set as meaning I don't like them, because I do*. It's just that the worldbuilding is my very favourite thing in the Culture books; I remember on first reading when I got to the point I really needed to stop I would always skip ahead to the next bit of exposition to see what it was about. But you should definitely feel very welcome to include any canon or original characters as works best for what you're creating, whether they're in the tag set or not.
*albeit in a very "never, ever actually want to meet it" way, when it comes to the Falling Outside ...
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (Comics)
Requested tags: Relationship: Chelli Lona Aphra/Domina Tagge
I like seeing Aphra getting in over her head (in terms of jobs and/or relationships) and then muddling through with both more brains and more heart than she herself would admit, but usually only just about scraping a temporary victory by the skin of her teeth.
Aphra/Tagge - Aphra is clearly attracted to Tagge, and Tagge seems very much the sort of person who would take advantage of that if it amused her and/or suited her purposes. (I'm a few issues behind right now, so if they've actually got together in canon now, I will be thrilled when I read it, but most importantly for exchange letter purposes that will be before reveals.) Their overall dynamic is quite similar to the one between Aphra and Vader back when she was introduced, in my opinion, just with the delicious potential of shippiness on top. This could go in all sorts of different directions: Canon-typical heist shenanigans. Fancy parties (combining this and the previous one -- maybe something similar to the current War of the Bounty Hunters plotline happens but this time Tagge needs to come along in person for one reason or another). Something goes wrong on board the Acquisitor and Aphra is stuck there with a Tagge who's increasingly frustrated at the slow progress of the repairs. Aphra and Tagge both have reasons to avoid the Empire paying them too close attention; what if avoiding scrutiny requires some sort of fake dating type scenario?
Canon-specific DNW exception for this ship: I don't mind breathplay if it's related to Tagge's forcefield thingies, but no actual physical choking please. (Reference to past Force choking is OK but please don't make it sexy.)
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Requested tags: Worldbuilding: Social Engineering (SMAC), Relationship: Planet & Deirdre Skye (SMAC), Relationship: Corazon Santiago/Deirdre Skye (SMAC)
As with everything else I've signed up for, this is one of my forever fandoms, but I have also started playing it again recently thanks to finally giving in and paying for it on GOG. (I successfully nursed my original CD all the way through to the point where I no longer had a machine with a CD drive ...)
Social Engineering - the social engineering screen is seriously my favourite game mechanic ever; none of the later Civ takes on the same idea have quite given me the same feeling of pressing a lever here and getting an outcome over there but also an unintended consequence to deal with in the corner. How do the faction leaders weigh up these choices? (Given that these often determine diplomacy as well -- what do they do if their neighbour is pushing for something that isn't necessarily what they would go for?) Or taking a more ordinary citizen's level view of things, what's it like to go through an upheaval? (The fact that you just have to pay a bunch of money for it with none of the disorder in Civ II suggests that the Psych Chaplains and similar are doing a lot of stuff to people to get them to accept new models, for example.) Art-wise, some sort of chart or diagram representing connections between different areas? Or a map produced by a probe team of the likely willingness of an enemy population to adopt certain models? Or a propaganda poster?
Planet & Deirdre Skye - *pop* I still get shivers every time the first fungus appears and that interlude from the Book of Planet comes up when I start a playthrough. The developing understanding between Planet and the player character (and, presumably, the other faction leaders if they aren't aggressively rejecting it for economic/religious/etc. reasons) is one of my favourite parts of the game, and in the "canon" story that comes out in the Datalinks quotes and wonders videos it's obviously Deirdre who has the closest connection throughout most of "the human era" (although I think there's an argument from the VoAC video that it's Zakharov who gets there in the end; feel free to play with that sort of thing if you want). More generally, I love the idea of how alien Planet's thought processes, distributed across an entire planet and stretching back into deep time, are, so anything exploring that would be great.
Corazon/Deirdre - The implied story seems to be of a war where the Gaians eventually completely overrun the Spartans with mind worms (and I would definitely be up for something along those lines; the whole BDSM-y pain sphere thing going on when you defeat a faction certainly suggests something in that direction IMO). But each time you play a game you get a brand new history of planet, and I don't consider the "canon" version any more or less valid than any other possibility. So I'd also be up for something similar with the tables turned and Santiago winning, or a grand alliance between the Gaians and the Spartans, cemented by the union of the two leaders, or arguments in the planetary council leading to hatesex, or anything else that occurs to you. (And, er, if it occurs to you to involve Planet and/or mind worms, that is absolutely fine.)
Doctor Who (1963)
Requested tag: Relationship: Tegan Jovanka/Nyssa of Traken
Not going to lie, I literally love all of Doctor Who, even/especially the ropey bits, but these two are my OTP of OTPs.
Nyssa/Tegan - The relationship between these two is horribly underexplored in canon, even by the standards of the time -- their first meeting takes place in the middle of a crowded scene and we don't hear anything they say ... but they're getting along like a house on fire straight afterwards; they both have very personal reasons to despise the Master (especially Nyssa, since he's stolen her father's body and destroyed her entire planet, but murdering Auntie Vanessa must be significant for Tegan too), but every time he turns up during their run they just treat him as a generic recurring villain; almost immediately after they've met him the Doctor regnerates; and so on and so on. As such they definitely have the potential for wallowing in angst (as well as the aforementioned, there's Tegan's experiences with the Mara, and so on and so forth) but their interactions in canon (which generally ignores all those things) definitely lend themselves more towards fun fluffy romance, so feel free to go in whatever direction suits you. But some ideas include: Shenanigans in the TARDIS (possibly with the TARDIS itself involved in its own way?). Learning more about one another's cultures. Mutual support during tough times. Mutual pining during the gap between seasons 19 and 20, or after Nyssa's departure. They somehow end up meeting again post-Terminus (from Nyssa's POV)/Resurrection (from Tegan's).
