ghostwings

Greetings, mystery writer! I hope you're having a pleasant Yuletide experience so far!

My AO3 username is Eida, and the fandoms I've requested are:

Digger (Comic) (Any)
Dr. Franklin’s Island - Ann Halam (Any)
Hide - Little May (Music Video) (Any)
Kittens Game (Video Game) (Any)
Magical Makeover (Twine game) (Any)
Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters (Any)

I'll start out with the obligatory: Optional details are optional; I won't be put out if you don't use any of these prompts. I'll most likely enjoy whatever you write, and will be happy to see one more fic in any of my fandoms.

So far as tone goes, I'm good with a broad range--from the happy fluffy end of the scale to the darker, gloomier side; all I ask is that things don't have an entirely unhappy ending. Happy endings are great, but bittersweet endings can also work very well; I'd just like there to be at least a little sweet to go with the bitter.

Pairing-wise, f/f, f/m, and m/m are all fine and dandy by me, though femslash is probably my favorite. (I do generally prefer not to break up canon pairings.) I also adore a good gen fic!

I'd prefer not to get anything sexually explicit.

Here are a few of my general fic likes:

-Character and relationship development.

-Missing scenes, and perspectives from characters we didn't get to see much of in canon.

-Fics set pre- and post- canon.

-Worldbuilding--I love seeing aspects of canon examined more deeply or expanded on in interesting ways.

-Exploring the viewpoint of non-human characters who might think and behave differently than humans would

-Fics that include/consist of in-universe documents (i.e. letters, news articles, excerpts from history books, chatlogs, etc.)

Also--if you've matched with me on one fandom, but are having trouble finding inspiration for it, a few of the fandoms I'm requesting can be found online, and would be fairly easy to get familiar with pretty quickly. Hide - Little May is a music video, and is only a few minutes long; Magical Makeover is an interactive fiction game with multiple endings, and I don't think it would take more than an hour or so to see pretty much all of the game; the Kittens Game has a fairly simple premise (kittens building a civilization) and no real plot, and you could probably get enough knowledge of the game to write an enjoyable fic by skimming the wiki.



Digger (Comic) (Any)

You can find the comic here.

I'd love to see something post-canon--what is Digger's journey home like? We get some interesting tidbits of the sort of places Trader Manuel goes--the roads he travels are dark, dangerous, and has dangers that can potentially cause madness or cause one's internal skeleton to cease to be internal. And what is it like once Digger gets back to her home warren?

Or perhaps something with the Shadowchild--is the Shadowchild (now more of a Shadowadult) able to successfully find and raise other demon children? (In which chase, poor Shadowchild will be stuck in Digger's position, having to answer questions about everything.) Is Shadowchild able to effect any real change in demon society by teaching young demons "to be good," and is there any sort of pushback from other demons who were quite happy with the old devour-or-maaaybe-teach-the-young way of things?

And how are things in the hyena tribe after the story ends, and things go back to relative normalcy? Boneclaw Mother is going to honor Ed's sacrifice in the only way she can, given the circumstances--which is to say, by telling a story with a few bent details. How does Grim Eyes react? She probably has some conflicted feelings about her father, given the circumstances of her mother's death and her father's name being eaten. Does she ever come to better terms with what happened?

Or possibly something pre-canon, involving the hyena tribe--what was Boneclaw Mother like when she was younger? And what was it like for Grim Eyes, growing up? It would have been difficult, given that Grim Eyes, after being abused by her mother, lost both parents in all-around terrible circumstances, but I imagine Boneclaw Mother had a big role in making sure Grim Eyes was raised as well as possible.



Dr. Franklin’s Island - Ann Halam (Any)

The ending of the book was intriguing. Not only are the three castaways having to adjust to a normal life after their ordeal on the island, Semirah states that she thinks that, Miranda, and Arnie have the capability to change back into their animal forms. In the coda, Semi describes the possibility in positive terms:

I know that we can transform again. I believe it will happen, some way, somehow. I think about breathing water and swimming through the music of the ocean… I know that Miranda will never forget being able to fly. I dream of another planet, with an ocean of heavy air, where I can swim and she can fly, where we can be the marvelous creatures that we became; and be free, together, with no bars between us…

But it’s possible that Miranda’s feelings about the possibility of turning back into a bird (even if she can change back at will) might be more conflicted—she came much closer to losing her human sense of self than Semi did. Even though, at first, Miranda was the emotionally strong one, helping Semi cope with the prospect of becoming an experimental subject, after the three escape, she admits to Semi “I was losing myself. Especially after you had the antidote, and I didn’t. There was a while when I didn’t know who I was or where I was.” Even though she had the freedom of flight as a bird, it must have been terrifying to know it was possible for her mind to fail her in that way.

And Arnie isn’t mentioned in the coda at all—he’s something of the odd one out of the three, given that he was the first to be captured, spent less time with either of the girls than they did with each other, and that for a large portion of the book, they believed that he hadn’t been transformed. His experience was radically different from Semi’s or Miranda’s—instead of being put in a tank to swim, or being set (somewhat) free to fly, he was wired up to machines and used as a tool by Dr. Franklin to monitor the others.

I’d love to see something post-canon, with one or more of the three re-adjusting to normal life and coming to terms with their experiences, and maintaining their relationships with the only other two people who could understand those experiences. Is it possible, as Semi suggests, that the three of them could shift back and forth at will if they could figure out the right trigger for their transformation? Would they all even want to? Will they be able to keep their transgenic nature a secret forever, or will the truth come out? Is there someplace, as Semi dreams, that they can safely “be the marvelous creatures that we became”?

Or, alternatively--the book is written from Semirah's POV. It would be interesting to get more insight into Miranda's or Arnie's thoughts and experiences during their time on the island.



Hide - Little May (Music Video) (Any)

You can watch the music video here.

The woman in the tiger shirt is clearly experiencing some dissatisfaction with her life, the woman in the car appears to be dealing with some sort of relationship issues (she's getting a call from a blocked number, with a picture of her with a man--perhaps an ex-boyfriend), and it seems likely that the rest of the dancing women also have some issue in their lives that they're dealing with (though I suppose there's nobody in the world who doesn't have some sort of issue they're working through). I'd like to hear more about any of their stories.

They've all gathered in the woods to dance around a campfire in what looks like some sort of ritual. How did this situation come about? How did the group members originally meet each other? What led these women to decide to do something like this? What is the purpose of the ritual? Does it work?



Kittens Game (Video Game) (Any)

You can find the game here.

The game's wiki can be found here.

I have spent entirely too long playing this silly game. I have it open in another window right now as I type this letter.

I'd really like to read anything you can come up with about adorable kittens building a civilization, as they progress from huts and agriculture to interplanetary exploration.

What issues does kitten society face on the long march to the stars? How do they deal with the various other civilizations they run across? How do kittens practice diplomacy? What's the political structure like? How does kitten religion work--is there any conflict between the temple-building, sun-praising faction and the ziggurat-building, unicorn-sacrificing faction, or are both parts of a coherent whole? What are the defining moments of kitten history? Who are the most important historical figures? What do kittens find as they explore the galaxy?

And just what is up with those unicorns?



Magical Makeover (Twine game) (Any)

The game can be found here.

I'm a fan of interactive fiction in general, and I loved the setting the game's author created. The first time I played, the strongest cosmetic I used was the scrubby lump, and I was definitely not expecting what resulted.

The world the game takes place in is full of fascinating elements--magical artifacts, elven musicians, medical moth-aliens, the ability to visit other worlds (and be visited by those worlds' residents) via astral projection... I'd be thrilled to see any story in this setting. You could build off any of the endings, and worldbuilding would also be lovely.

When examining the witch dress, it's revealed that when Millicent and the player both dressed up as "exaggerated versions of one another's professions," Millicent chose to dress up as "a treasure-hunter/cryptozoology-enthusiast." Clearly, that's the player character's day job--what's a normal, non-ball-going day like for the player character?

On the same tack, what's a normal day like for Millicent? In a world where potentially-dangerous magical items are commonplace enough that the player character has multiple such items in her bathroom, I imagine Millicent has no shortage of work, examining objects to determine their magical nature, un-cursing people who got careless with magic or who annoyed Noble Fairies, analyzing dreams, weaving enchantments, or whatever other services witches perform in this setting. Or what was magic school like for her?

I'd like seeing more of the player character and Millicent's friendship as well. Do they ever help with each other with their jobs, with the player character asking Millicent to help analyze/neutralize potentially-dangerous magical artifacts found while treasure-hunting, and Millicent consulting the player character about cryptozoology, or something like that?

Princess Philantha, as seen in the Ritual ending, engages in magical ritual in order to maintain proper order in the kingdom. The ritual re-enacting the turn of seasons from winter to spring may not be the only such ritual--as she says, "From a young age, I have been trained in the sorcerous arts. It is my duty to control the turbulent magic of the land; to ease the transitions between seasons; to ensure safe weather and fruitful harvests for my people." What other ritual duties might the princess of Photogenica perform? (And are there any lasting repercussions for those who take part in such rituals--will there be any lasting effects for the player character after being cast in the role of Winter?) And what other issues does Princess Philantha face, ruling a magical kingdom?

The glimpses of Amherst's world shown in the game were fascinating--it's a world where technology seems to be plant-based, and insects are used as cosmetic tools, and people exchange endosymbionts as a normal part of greeting new people. What is her world like? She's thrilled to become the focal point of a destiny to save the dragon queen in the player character's world. But eventually, her time astral projecting ends, and she returns to her own world--is she changed by the experience? Does she ever return to visit the player character, or to visit Queen Zull? It seems possible that she might end up neglecting her own world, to spend time in this one; can she find balance? Might she bring something back from the player character's world that affects her like the scrubby lump affected the player character?

And the fairy the player character has trapped in a salt shaker is a delightfully snarky character--she and the player character play off each other rather well. For all that the player character has trapped the fairy in a salt shaker, the fairy seems to have some level of sympathy for the player, helping the player character out if there's need. Does the relationship between the player character and the fairy change after the game's events? And how does fairy society--or society in general--work in this world? There seem to be two sorts of fairies--human-sized Noble Fairies, and tiny flower fairies like the one the player character interacts with. How does fairy society work, in this setting?

And as for the golden cassowary--how was she captured in the first place? What's her life like with her new family? Does the player character ever warm up to her? Apparently, the cassowary/player character's parents mention having the cassowary join a girl scout group--what sort of things do girl scouts do in this world? I imagine the badges are a bit different, for one thing. Does the cassowary ever meet any other members of her own kind? Once the cassowary gets a bit older, does she end up taking magic classes after all? (Perhaps Millicent might be teaching, or might otherwise help with the cassowary's studies.)



Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters (Any)

The wiki for this game is here.

I really enjoyed playing this game, and interacting with all the alien species. The tone of the storyline varied from humorous and quirky to tragic, and there's a whole host of interesting characters.

You could write a fic about some part of the Captain's travels through the galaxy, meeting new alien species and building up an armada to fight off the Ur-Quan. Given the various dialogue choices the game offers, the Captain might be either a serious or somewhat silly character--I'm okay with whatever interpretation you want to go with. (Shoot, if you want to go for a female Captain, that works, too--the only place the Captain's gender is really shown is in the ending sequences; for most of the game, it's not all that relevant.)

Or you could explore what things were like back Earthside, with Commander Hayes organizing things on that end. He might not have had the giant Precursor starship to fly around, but he still played an important role in making sure the Captain had the necessary support to get things done. What goes into keeping the station up and running? Are there any conflicts that arise, not from the Ur-Quan or Hierarchy forces, but from internal arguments--especially once some of the other New Alliance forces, including former enemies, start showing up?

The Talking Pet is sort of an interesting case. He's a villain, engineered into nonsapience, returned to sapience by the Umgah, with psychic powers and the willingness to use mind control... and forced into saving the galaxy quite against his will. He's among the last remnants of the species that once ruled the galaxy (and were, thankfully, overthrown)--it might be interesting to see fic that featured him, or his viewpoint. What were his ambitions? Did he have any desire to resurrect the Dynarri? Or did he want to try and conquer the galaxy (or a small corner of it) alone?

Or there's Talana--I'd love to hear your interpretation of Syreen society, beyond their being mostly-female psychic blue metal-bikinied space pinups :P. She clearly winds up with the Captain after the game's end (and has children with him--either humans are reproductively compatible with the Syreen, or they adopted) but I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to her story before, during, and after the game. How did she become the commander of the Syreen orbital platform? What does she do once the Ur-Quan are defeated? How does her relationship with the Captain progress, and what possible inter-species/inter-cultural misunderstandings might they have to work through?

And there's Fwiffo. Poor, adorable, cowardly Fwiffo. He thought he was signing up to be protected by a massive precursor ship, only to get thrown into an intergalactic conflict he wanted nothing more than to avoid. (I actually used Fwiffo's ship for most of the combat, early on--Spathi ships were pretty good at dealing with the wandering Slylandro probes. Poor Fwiffo.) I'd be interested to see a story from his viewpoint--he has that Spathi attitude of "The world is full of horrible dangers, and awful things are going to happen to me, and I am terrified and/or resigned to it," in full force. How does he react to being forced into far more combat than he probably ever hoped to see? Does he ever get to return to the Spathi homeworld, and if so, what's the reception like? Is he a hero (insofar as Spathi even recognize heroism), or an embarrassment? Does he ever get a happy ending?

Feel free to ignore Star Control 3, if you want; I've never played it. (But if you want to include anything from it, that's fine, too--I've read enough about it that I have a fair grasp of the plot.)