#81 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Hench -Walschots, Sector General Series -White, XCOM Series 2012+
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Dec 5, 2023, 3:33:18 AM12/5/23
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Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Hench - Natalie Zina Walschots, Sector General Series - James White, XCOM Series (2012 reboot)
Request 1 by White Aster (white_aster)
Fandom: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Characters: Hero of Kvatch | Champion of Cyrodiil, Sinderion (Elder Scrolls), Martin Septim
Character Requirement: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)
Prompt:
I'd enjoy a story about any of these characters! Some random ideas:
For a story involving the Hero: I love stories about the Hero of Kvatch that acknowledge how bonkers the Hero's life became when the Emperor walked into their prison cell. In about an hour, they went from being the lowest of the low to being trusted with the most important object in the empire and given a quest of world-shaking importance. I'm always interested in hearing someone's particular take on the Hero's background and personality - where did they come from? What did they do to get imprisoned? What went through their mind when they finally got out of that sewer and breathed fresh air for the first time in however long? Why didn't they just take the Amulet (or the Blades' gear, or any of the other valuable things that they're asked to find/transport) and run? Why did they continue to help Martin? What side trips/side quests did they take (and which was their most/least favorite?)
For a story involving Martin: I'm really curious about younger Martin, especially since he'll admit if you give him the Sanguine Rose that he dabbled in daedric powers in his youth. I'd love to see some younger!Martin adventures. Or, for canon-time Martin, something along the same lines as for the Hero: how does he feel about how the Hero's arrival turns his life upside down? He's spent his life as a commoner - how does he feel about being Emperor?
For a story involving Sinderion: Sinderion doesn't get a whole lot of non-nirnroot-related background, but I have a weakness for ferociously tenacious scientists. I'd love to read a tale of Sinderion in or out of the lab - field work mishaps, academic rivalries, or personal musings on his life outside of his nirnroot work would all be welcome. Sinderion doesn't seem to do much of his own field work by the time of Oblivion, but did he have any adventures in his younger days? Has nirnroot always been his main focus, or did something else happen in his life and now he buries himself in his work?
DNWs: none, though I'm not a fan of the bumbling/clueless scientist stereotypes played for laughs. Canon-typical violence is ok, but no detailed torture (mention/fade aways are ok, but I'd prefer no paragraphs detailing exact methods.)
I am OK with receiving treats!
Letter: No letter
Request 2 by White Aster (white_aster)
Fandom: Hench - Natalie Zina Walschots
Characters: Leviathan (Hench)
Character Requirement: My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)
Prompt:
I'd love anything about Leviathan. Some random ideas:
He's such an enigma in the book, mostly cool and contained and fiendishly intelligent, yet at least once really surprising Anna with some of his emotional reactions. The book also only vaguely sketches out some of his background, so anything filling in there would be fun: on a personal level, what was the transformation into his current form like? How did it change his psychology/biology/interactions with the world? What did Entropy teach him? What was his turning into a supervillain like? How did he break away from the Draft and build the empire he has in the book? At the end of Hench, what did he need to work through psychologically when he was not talking to Anna and recovering from his captivity?
If you want to go there, the book made it pretty clear that Anna was interested in him, and also that Leviathan probably knew about it. What does he think about her? Is he interested in her as well? There are obviously pros and cons to actually trying a relationship of any type. How do they negotiate that? Do they talk about it? Do they find a way to make it work? Do they come to a mutual agreement that keeping the relationship platonic is enough?
Any rating is ok, up to and including explicit weird monstersmexing, but I'm just as interested in watching how these two smart people might carefully negotiate their feelings and their wants, here.
DNW's - Conflict based on persistent miscommunication. If you go with Leviathan and Anna, I'd like to see them communicate as well as they can with each other, rather than see them butt heads because someone's not saying what they truly mean or giving someone else the silent treatment. Canon-typical violence is ok, but no detailed torture (mention/fade aways are ok, but I'd prefer no paragraphs detailing exact methods.)
I am OK with receiving treats!
Letter: No letter
Request 3 by White Aster (white_aster)
Fandom: Sector General Series - James White
Characters: Worldbuilding (Sector General), Prilicla (Sector General), Naydrad (Sector General), Thornnastor (Sector General)
Character Requirement: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)
Prompt:
I love how the Sector General books portrayed a much more imaginative and diverse (in some ways, ahem) vision of the galactic population. The anatomical, psychological, and cultural differences of the various species encountered are always a joy to read about. As such, I'd appreciate an story focusing on any of the non-human characters indicated or (if you go the worldbuilding route) any new ones you'd like to come up with for worldbuilding purposes. A focus on distinctly non-human-centric points of view would be fantastic - what are these characters' internal monologues like? What do they think of their human compatriots? What unexpected strengths do they bring to what seems to be a fairly human-run system? And for that matter, how does Sector General and the Monitor Corps fit into the larger Galactic Federation?
DNWs: Medical gore is A-OK! DNW focus on sexist systems, though - I haven't read all the SG books yet and so I'm not sure if this gets retconned/addressed, but I hate the "women can't be doctors because their poor female brains can't handle it" aspect of the early setting, as well as the fairly product-of-its-time tendency for there to be no women anywhere except as nurses. Can we just ignore that completely? Assume that there are women doctors and women in the Monitor Corps and go with that? This doesn't have to be a main point, I just mention it here so the story can avoid poking that sore spot.
I am OK with receiving treats!
Letter: No letter
Request 4 by White Aster (white_aster)
Fandom: XCOM Series (2012 reboot)
Characters: Betos (XCOM 2012 Reboot), Verge (XCOM 2012 Reboot)
Character Requirement: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)
Prompt:
I'd love anything about Betos OR anything about Verge. Specifically, I am a sucker for people who are born into a terrible system and somehow, despite brainwashing and structural controls, STILL manage to go "no, this is wrong and I am going to help burn it down". I also love stories about people taking on difficult things and getting it done through smarts and competence - both Verge and Betos had to be very smart to do what they did, so I'd love to watch them Get Things Done in either the XCOM2 or Chimera Squad timeframes.
I also really like details about them being nonhuman - how is sectoid or hybrid psychology or biology just different from humans? What about human culture strikes them as deeply weird, and how does that filter into how they and the rest of their race integrate into either the Resistance (during XCOM2) or the post-ADVENT world (during Chimera Squad)?
Some random ideas:
I'd love background or slice of life from when either of them were in ADVENT. What was it like being a part of ADVENT's army? What happened to make them turn on ADVENT? How did they orchestrate their escape, or in Verge's case, how did he work out how to safely slip info to the Resistance?
For the XCOM2-era timeline, I'd love to read about Betos pulling together/recruiting/directing the Skirmishers. Did she have any leadership training in ADVENT at all, or did she manage to build an entire recruitment and training pipeline for a guerilla army with no help just because she was that good? What were her thoughts on working with the other Resistance factions? Though none of them liked the Skirmishers, she passed on crucial info about the Commander's location at the beginning of XCOM2 - what were her thoughts surrounding that decision? Once the Commander was free, what did she think of them, and why did she seem to trust them fairly quickly?
If you've played both games, I'd also love a story that fills in the blanks between the games for either character: what did they do between XCOM2 and Chimera Squad? How did Verge end up in Chimera Squad? What was the Squad's group training/teambuilding like, and how did the other team-members come to trust Verge despite his creepy mind control powers? What is Betos doing during Chimera Squad? What's the role of the Skirmishers in the post-ADVENT world, and how is she personally dealing with freedom now that ADVENT is gone and she and her people have options other than "hide and fight"?
And uh...if you want to have them actually talk to each other, in the Chimera Squad end of the timeline, that would be pretty cool. I think they'd have interesting things to talk about, since they both broke free of ADVENT.
Other DNW's - for this request, no explicit romance or sex, please. Mention of them being with someone is ok, but I'd prefer it not be a focus. Canon-typical violence is ok, but no detailed torture (mentions/fade aways are ok, but I'd prefer no paragraphs detailing exact methods.)
I am OK with receiving treats!
Letter: No letter
Request 1 by White Aster (white_aster)
Fandom: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Characters: Hero of Kvatch | Champion of Cyrodiil, Sinderion (Elder Scrolls), Martin Septim
Character Requirement: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)
Prompt:
I'd enjoy a story about any of these characters! Some random ideas:
For a story involving the Hero: I love stories about the Hero of Kvatch that acknowledge how bonkers the Hero's life became when the Emperor walked into their prison cell. In about an hour, they went from being the lowest of the low to being trusted with the most important object in the empire and given a quest of world-shaking importance. I'm always interested in hearing someone's particular take on the Hero's background and personality - where did they come from? What did they do to get imprisoned? What went through their mind when they finally got out of that sewer and breathed fresh air for the first time in however long? Why didn't they just take the Amulet (or the Blades' gear, or any of the other valuable things that they're asked to find/transport) and run? Why did they continue to help Martin? What side trips/side quests did they take (and which was their most/least favorite?)
For a story involving Martin: I'm really curious about younger Martin, especially since he'll admit if you give him the Sanguine Rose that he dabbled in daedric powers in his youth. I'd love to see some younger!Martin adventures. Or, for canon-time Martin, something along the same lines as for the Hero: how does he feel about how the Hero's arrival turns his life upside down? He's spent his life as a commoner - how does he feel about being Emperor?
For a story involving Sinderion: Sinderion doesn't get a whole lot of non-nirnroot-related background, but I have a weakness for ferociously tenacious scientists. I'd love to read a tale of Sinderion in or out of the lab - field work mishaps, academic rivalries, or personal musings on his life outside of his nirnroot work would all be welcome. Sinderion doesn't seem to do much of his own field work by the time of Oblivion, but did he have any adventures in his younger days? Has nirnroot always been his main focus, or did something else happen in his life and now he buries himself in his work?
DNWs: none, though I'm not a fan of the bumbling/clueless scientist stereotypes played for laughs. Canon-typical violence is ok, but no detailed torture (mention/fade aways are ok, but I'd prefer no paragraphs detailing exact methods.)
I am OK with receiving treats!
Letter: No letter
Request 2 by White Aster (white_aster)
Fandom: Hench - Natalie Zina Walschots
Characters: Leviathan (Hench)
Character Requirement: My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)
Prompt:
I'd love anything about Leviathan. Some random ideas:
He's such an enigma in the book, mostly cool and contained and fiendishly intelligent, yet at least once really surprising Anna with some of his emotional reactions. The book also only vaguely sketches out some of his background, so anything filling in there would be fun: on a personal level, what was the transformation into his current form like? How did it change his psychology/biology/interactions with the world? What did Entropy teach him? What was his turning into a supervillain like? How did he break away from the Draft and build the empire he has in the book? At the end of Hench, what did he need to work through psychologically when he was not talking to Anna and recovering from his captivity?
If you want to go there, the book made it pretty clear that Anna was interested in him, and also that Leviathan probably knew about it. What does he think about her? Is he interested in her as well? There are obviously pros and cons to actually trying a relationship of any type. How do they negotiate that? Do they talk about it? Do they find a way to make it work? Do they come to a mutual agreement that keeping the relationship platonic is enough?
Any rating is ok, up to and including explicit weird monstersmexing, but I'm just as interested in watching how these two smart people might carefully negotiate their feelings and their wants, here.
DNW's - Conflict based on persistent miscommunication. If you go with Leviathan and Anna, I'd like to see them communicate as well as they can with each other, rather than see them butt heads because someone's not saying what they truly mean or giving someone else the silent treatment. Canon-typical violence is ok, but no detailed torture (mention/fade aways are ok, but I'd prefer no paragraphs detailing exact methods.)
I am OK with receiving treats!
Letter: No letter
Request 3 by White Aster (white_aster)
Fandom: Sector General Series - James White
Characters: Worldbuilding (Sector General), Prilicla (Sector General), Naydrad (Sector General), Thornnastor (Sector General)
Character Requirement: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)
Prompt:
I love how the Sector General books portrayed a much more imaginative and diverse (in some ways, ahem) vision of the galactic population. The anatomical, psychological, and cultural differences of the various species encountered are always a joy to read about. As such, I'd appreciate an story focusing on any of the non-human characters indicated or (if you go the worldbuilding route) any new ones you'd like to come up with for worldbuilding purposes. A focus on distinctly non-human-centric points of view would be fantastic - what are these characters' internal monologues like? What do they think of their human compatriots? What unexpected strengths do they bring to what seems to be a fairly human-run system? And for that matter, how does Sector General and the Monitor Corps fit into the larger Galactic Federation?
DNWs: Medical gore is A-OK! DNW focus on sexist systems, though - I haven't read all the SG books yet and so I'm not sure if this gets retconned/addressed, but I hate the "women can't be doctors because their poor female brains can't handle it" aspect of the early setting, as well as the fairly product-of-its-time tendency for there to be no women anywhere except as nurses. Can we just ignore that completely? Assume that there are women doctors and women in the Monitor Corps and go with that? This doesn't have to be a main point, I just mention it here so the story can avoid poking that sore spot.
I am OK with receiving treats!
Letter: No letter
Request 4 by White Aster (white_aster)
Fandom: XCOM Series (2012 reboot)
Characters: Betos (XCOM 2012 Reboot), Verge (XCOM 2012 Reboot)
Character Requirement: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)
Prompt:
I'd love anything about Betos OR anything about Verge. Specifically, I am a sucker for people who are born into a terrible system and somehow, despite brainwashing and structural controls, STILL manage to go "no, this is wrong and I am going to help burn it down". I also love stories about people taking on difficult things and getting it done through smarts and competence - both Verge and Betos had to be very smart to do what they did, so I'd love to watch them Get Things Done in either the XCOM2 or Chimera Squad timeframes.
I also really like details about them being nonhuman - how is sectoid or hybrid psychology or biology just different from humans? What about human culture strikes them as deeply weird, and how does that filter into how they and the rest of their race integrate into either the Resistance (during XCOM2) or the post-ADVENT world (during Chimera Squad)?
Some random ideas:
I'd love background or slice of life from when either of them were in ADVENT. What was it like being a part of ADVENT's army? What happened to make them turn on ADVENT? How did they orchestrate their escape, or in Verge's case, how did he work out how to safely slip info to the Resistance?
For the XCOM2-era timeline, I'd love to read about Betos pulling together/recruiting/directing the Skirmishers. Did she have any leadership training in ADVENT at all, or did she manage to build an entire recruitment and training pipeline for a guerilla army with no help just because she was that good? What were her thoughts on working with the other Resistance factions? Though none of them liked the Skirmishers, she passed on crucial info about the Commander's location at the beginning of XCOM2 - what were her thoughts surrounding that decision? Once the Commander was free, what did she think of them, and why did she seem to trust them fairly quickly?
If you've played both games, I'd also love a story that fills in the blanks between the games for either character: what did they do between XCOM2 and Chimera Squad? How did Verge end up in Chimera Squad? What was the Squad's group training/teambuilding like, and how did the other team-members come to trust Verge despite his creepy mind control powers? What is Betos doing during Chimera Squad? What's the role of the Skirmishers in the post-ADVENT world, and how is she personally dealing with freedom now that ADVENT is gone and she and her people have options other than "hide and fight"?
And uh...if you want to have them actually talk to each other, in the Chimera Squad end of the timeline, that would be pretty cool. I think they'd have interesting things to talk about, since they both broke free of ADVENT.
Other DNW's - for this request, no explicit romance or sex, please. Mention of them being with someone is ok, but I'd prefer it not be a focus. Canon-typical violence is ok, but no detailed torture (mentions/fade aways are ok, but I'd prefer no paragraphs detailing exact methods.)
I am OK with receiving treats!
Letter: No letter
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