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Star Trek Holidays Letter
Sep. 15th, 2019 07:14 pmDer fellow Trekker,
I really appreciate you writing a story for me. Star Trek - in all its incarnations - is dear to my heart, one of my oldest fandoms, and I am always happy to dive back into old canons. Having a new canon now to add is thrilling. Now matter which characters and relationships you'll choose to write about, your story will be treasured.
Generally speaking: I don't like character bashing, by which I don't mean one character critisizing another - especially if canon provides ample fodder for it - but the kind of "X is the WORST AND EVERY OTHER CHARACTER EVER WILL SAY SO" bashfest that usually tells more about the writer than the characters. Generally speaking, I'm more fond of stories fitting into canon than of AUs, but I've known some amazing exceptions, and as long as the AU is well plotted and/or serves as character exploration, such as the "Five things" format, for example, by all means, go for it. (One of my prompts is indeed an AU scenario.)
Most of the relationships I've requested I see as non-sexual, but I'm not dogmatic about it. If you want to, say, pair up T'Pol and T'Pau romantically, go ahead.
Specific ideas and prompts:
TNG/DS9:
I would love an encounter between Picard and Sisko post DS9 pilot. Can be a "What if" AU, as in: what if it had been Sisko, not Worf, on board the Defiant in First Contact. Do his Borg issues and Picard's Borg issues clash or allign? Given Sisko has Jake to go home to, I don't think he'd go along with Picard's brief flirtation with a suicide stand. Conversely, Sisko as a survivor of Locutus and someone who lost his wife in that attack would be someone whom Picard couldn't help but listen to. Then again: Maybe Sisko's own issues overwhelm him.
Or can be be set at any point in later DS9 canon (maybe the Enterprise pays a visit during the Dominion War, or Sisko and Picard are both at the same conference during those six episodes where DS9 is again under Cardassian and Dominion command, or the Enterprise pays a visit to their friend Worf when he's a widower and that's where Picard also runs into Sisko - any scenario would do). I can see room for sympathy with Sisko's late season situation - yes, Picard never married, nor did he become a father, but he has the memories of several men in his head who did (Sarek and Kamin) - and more disagreement, as I suspect Jean-Luc would be far more sceptical about the Prophets. As long as both characters and their histories are treated with respect and sympathy, I'm good with anything that unfolds then.
Picard & O'Brien - could be within the same story (given O'Brien served on both the Enterprise and DS9, and respects both men a lot, he'd be an ideal mediator), but doesn't have to be; it can just as as well be about being tortured by Cardassians, or having memories implanted in your head, as the two meet again and share a bottle post TNG canon.
DS9 only:
Quark & Jake Sisko: here I have a story set during the Second Occupation in mind. Is Quark keeping an eye on Jake, though he'd deny that, because Jake is his nephew's friend? Or maybe Jake starts with thinking Quark would be an excellent source for those reports he wants to write but mostly thinks of him as Nog's grumpy and embarassing uncle and by the end of the occupation has come to see Quark in a different light, both in terms of survivor skills and emotion? Your choice.
ENTERPRISE/DISCOVERY:
T'Pol & Sarek, Michael, Amanda and Spock: I'm firmly subscribing to the fanon that Sarek and his family knew T'Pol, with any or all of them mentored by her at different points in their lives. Even if you disagree, perhaps not seeing T'Pol as interested in mentoring, I'd love a story about her encounters with them. Both similarities and differences to her own life and relationships could be fascinating to explore
If you haven't watched any ENT (or just don't want to use T'Pol): I'd also be delighted with a Discovery-only story about Michael and her adopted Vulcan/Human family. These are all complicated and intense relationships, and I'd love some exploration of the family dynamics at any point of Michael's life. If you want to choose just one other character to focus on - i.e. either Spock, Amanda or Sarek - that would also be fine with me, as long as Michael's relationship with them gets explored.
ENT/TOS:
T'Pol & T'Pau: here I'd love a story set later in their lives. By Amok Time, T'Pau is a venerated VIP in the Federation (even if she declined a seat in the council); maybe T'Pol, who encountered her when she was a supposed terrorist, is one of the few people who still interact with her without that veneration and more on a basis of equals? Or maybe they're frenemies with very different view points on Vulcan society and Federation policy? Just a few ideas, I'd be happy with whichever direction you take.
I really appreciate you writing a story for me. Star Trek - in all its incarnations - is dear to my heart, one of my oldest fandoms, and I am always happy to dive back into old canons. Having a new canon now to add is thrilling. Now matter which characters and relationships you'll choose to write about, your story will be treasured.
Generally speaking: I don't like character bashing, by which I don't mean one character critisizing another - especially if canon provides ample fodder for it - but the kind of "X is the WORST AND EVERY OTHER CHARACTER EVER WILL SAY SO" bashfest that usually tells more about the writer than the characters. Generally speaking, I'm more fond of stories fitting into canon than of AUs, but I've known some amazing exceptions, and as long as the AU is well plotted and/or serves as character exploration, such as the "Five things" format, for example, by all means, go for it. (One of my prompts is indeed an AU scenario.)
Most of the relationships I've requested I see as non-sexual, but I'm not dogmatic about it. If you want to, say, pair up T'Pol and T'Pau romantically, go ahead.
Specific ideas and prompts:
TNG/DS9:
I would love an encounter between Picard and Sisko post DS9 pilot. Can be a "What if" AU, as in: what if it had been Sisko, not Worf, on board the Defiant in First Contact. Do his Borg issues and Picard's Borg issues clash or allign? Given Sisko has Jake to go home to, I don't think he'd go along with Picard's brief flirtation with a suicide stand. Conversely, Sisko as a survivor of Locutus and someone who lost his wife in that attack would be someone whom Picard couldn't help but listen to. Then again: Maybe Sisko's own issues overwhelm him.
Or can be be set at any point in later DS9 canon (maybe the Enterprise pays a visit during the Dominion War, or Sisko and Picard are both at the same conference during those six episodes where DS9 is again under Cardassian and Dominion command, or the Enterprise pays a visit to their friend Worf when he's a widower and that's where Picard also runs into Sisko - any scenario would do). I can see room for sympathy with Sisko's late season situation - yes, Picard never married, nor did he become a father, but he has the memories of several men in his head who did (Sarek and Kamin) - and more disagreement, as I suspect Jean-Luc would be far more sceptical about the Prophets. As long as both characters and their histories are treated with respect and sympathy, I'm good with anything that unfolds then.
Picard & O'Brien - could be within the same story (given O'Brien served on both the Enterprise and DS9, and respects both men a lot, he'd be an ideal mediator), but doesn't have to be; it can just as as well be about being tortured by Cardassians, or having memories implanted in your head, as the two meet again and share a bottle post TNG canon.
DS9 only:
Quark & Jake Sisko: here I have a story set during the Second Occupation in mind. Is Quark keeping an eye on Jake, though he'd deny that, because Jake is his nephew's friend? Or maybe Jake starts with thinking Quark would be an excellent source for those reports he wants to write but mostly thinks of him as Nog's grumpy and embarassing uncle and by the end of the occupation has come to see Quark in a different light, both in terms of survivor skills and emotion? Your choice.
ENTERPRISE/DISCOVERY:
T'Pol & Sarek, Michael, Amanda and Spock: I'm firmly subscribing to the fanon that Sarek and his family knew T'Pol, with any or all of them mentored by her at different points in their lives. Even if you disagree, perhaps not seeing T'Pol as interested in mentoring, I'd love a story about her encounters with them. Both similarities and differences to her own life and relationships could be fascinating to explore
If you haven't watched any ENT (or just don't want to use T'Pol): I'd also be delighted with a Discovery-only story about Michael and her adopted Vulcan/Human family. These are all complicated and intense relationships, and I'd love some exploration of the family dynamics at any point of Michael's life. If you want to choose just one other character to focus on - i.e. either Spock, Amanda or Sarek - that would also be fine with me, as long as Michael's relationship with them gets explored.
ENT/TOS:
T'Pol & T'Pau: here I'd love a story set later in their lives. By Amok Time, T'Pau is a venerated VIP in the Federation (even if she declined a seat in the council); maybe T'Pol, who encountered her when she was a supposed terrorist, is one of the few people who still interact with her without that veneration and more on a basis of equals? Or maybe they're frenemies with very different view points on Vulcan society and Federation policy? Just a few ideas, I'd be happy with whichever direction you take.
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