meridian_rose

I'm so sorry it's taken a while to write this letter. In recompense I'm (as usual) giving more detail here than you actually need. I know I always find it helpful to have some guidance about your giftee likes/dislikes, I just hope I'm not going overboard ;)

Likes: Genres include drama, gen, crack, humour, hurt/comfort, character study, action/adventure, canon au's. Being shown another side to a character. Rare ships, OT3s. Some realism in sex scenes – eg condoms being mentioned. Fairy tales and mythological narratives and motifs.
Please don't consider this a laundry list of must-do's or the only things I like, I'm just trying to think of particular themes I enjoy.
Kinks: kinks include hair kink, tattoos/scars, bathing/showering, desk sex, non-sexual bed sharing. I include these only for reference and do not expect any reference to be made to them :D

What I'd rather you didn't include: babyfic/preg/mpreg/fpreg; animal abuse; schmoop (I know, it's a fine line between fluff and schmoop but I think there is one); rape; overt misogyny not being called out.

Other stuff: I'm on the asexual spectrum, and while I absolutely appreciate well-written porn/erotica, I dislike portrayals of penetrative sex as the be-all and and-all of a relationship. Non-sexual intimacy is more romantic to me – things like heartfelt discussions, kissing, cuddling, displays of trust, emotional closeness.

Also, I have a lot of fandoms. If you want to write a crossover with one of those, that would be fine - an ongoing list is here

As in previous years, I'll mention each fandom now with my canon knowledge (though for once I'm up to date with everything I've requested!) and background along with some rambling and some potential ideas that I'd like to see explored.

Fandoms requested:
The Borgias

Where I'm at: I've seen all three seasons but I like to pretend the "Borgia Apocalypse" was a (not funny) joke and I don't include it as canon. My AO3 fics and bookmarks are obviously available if you want to see them, I've got a tag for the fandom at LJ/DW, and I maintain a Borgias specific Tumblr sideblog

I requested Cesare because while there are so many great characters in the show, he's the one who I'm most invested in. Shipwise, I'm happy with Cesare/Lucrezia romance or close friendship and I'm okay with Cesare/Micheletto bromance or slash in fic (also as L/C/M OT3 if you think you can make it work).

Things I'd rather like to read;
Post s3: If you're up for writing Cesare/Lucrezia, having Lucrezia claiming Cesare as "hers" in a role reversal from the canon and his reaction to that. Or anything else where they're happy together.

Alternate history post season three; what happens if Cesare doesn't die in battle? Or even earlier, what if he wasn't incapacitated when Rodrigo was, and seized power for himself instead of being forced to side with Della Rovere? (I've done a bit of reading about the real history but I don't care about accuracy so much as I care about story and character, so don't worry about the facts too much!)

Pre-series, eg Cesare's journey to adulthood and his relationships with his family.

Missing scenes: There's plenty of gaps in the canon that could explore Cesare's character, plans, and relationships.

Crossovers (historical shows work best, but time travel/fantasy settings work too).

Genre AUs (fantasy, horror, etc). On the fairy tale theme, Red Riding Hood, but Cesare's the one in red…

Anything else you can think of. Basically I'm sad the fandom isn't so active these days and I'll be thrilled by having some Cesare-centric Borgias fic, so go for it!

Almost Human

Where I'm at: I've seen all the episodes, I'm still working my way through the fic archive at AO3, I haven't currently written fanfic for the show myself ~~yet~~.

I didn't expect to love this show as much as I did and was disappointed when it was cancelled when it was just coming into its own. I chose Dorian but I like pretty much all the characters. Feel free to explore Dorian/Kennex friendship/bromance/romance, Dorian/Rudy friendship, Dorian/everyone camaraderie.

There was a lot of potential plot arcs and loose ends in the canon, so if you have an idea to follow up on things like the human memory implanted in Dorian's brain, that would be an interesting read.

One of the things I wanted to see was the development of the Dorian/Kennex friendship, with something like Dorian getting permission to move into Kennex's apartment and Kennex being reluctant but finally pleased about it.
This ties in with something I had a discussion with someone about, with the slavery analogy of Dorian being owned. The DRNs clearly possess human feelings and are different from the MXs. I'd love to have see canon working towards Dorian being granted some sort of personhood/citizenship (I recall the close of "Short Circuit 2" gave the robot star US citizenship, recognising him as fully sentient). Moving in with Kennex/getting his own apartment, preparing statements for a court hearing, anything that deals with Dorian and his allies trying to prove he is more than a robot or a possession would be great.
Somewhat related; Maybe Maldonado pulls strings to get Dorian a day off per week; how does he spend it? Does he go fishing or bowling? Does he tag along with team member in turn, seeing how Kennex, Rudy, Valerie, Maldonado, and Paul spend their time away from work (and what that teaches him about them)? Does he find a new hobby or go volunteering?

Pre-series – what happened to Dorian before his deactivation? How do his experiences then compare to now?

Case fic – just have Dorian and Kennex doing their thing, with help from the rest of the team. Basically, just give me more canon and I'll be happy!

Da Vinci's Demons

Where I'm at: I've seen all of season 1 and 2. My AO3 fics and bookmarks are obviously available if you want to see them, I've got a tag for the fandom at LJ/DW, and I maintain a show specific Tumblr sideblog

I really enjoyed the first season of Da Vinci's Demons, another Renaissance-set show in my list of favourite new shows. I was more invested in the supporting characters first time around, things like Leonardo's relationships with Vanessa, Nico, and Zo (so feel free to include them too!)
Second season however made me really fall in love with Riario ("Ends of The Earth" was a turning point, seeing his failed attempt to save Amelia) and Leonardo, somewhat humbled by his experiences now, and their bromance, and the notion of how completely they are two sides of the same coin. Re-watching scenes from season one makes me appreciate them, and their dynamic, on a whole new level.

Basically, give me Leonardo and Riario; as enemies, frenemies, foe yay, bromance, or romance. How are they the same, how are they different, can they overcome their differences to work together?

Random thought; au where Leonardo is the Pope's bastard, Count Leonardo, and Riario is the heretical scholar (I think scholar works better than artist, he would still be investigating anatomy and other forbidden things) and how that changes their relationship.

Pre-series – character studies; or from an AU POV, what if Leonardo and Riario met earlier than in canon, maybe even were friends, somehow.

Missing Scenes – I'm curious about Riaro and Nico's survival and shipwreck before Leonardo shows up, and there's missing scene potential for Leo onboard his own ship during the same time period; they can compare notes when they meet up.

Canon AUs – what if Riario had stayed with Leonardo when they returned to Italy late in season 2, rather than going back to Rome?

Other genre AUs; modern day, fantasy, fairy tales. Go wild :)

Crossovers welcome, especially if Leonardo accidentally discovers/invents time travel or how to step into works of art. I've long thought "The Borgias" would make a good crossover given Leonardo's s1 time travelling visions, and there's Tom Riley's "Dr Who" appearance, but most other historical and/or sci-fi or fantasy shows would work too!

In short, however, I'm just disappointed that there isn't more fic in this fandom or, indeed, more fandom for this show, so whatever you come up with will be a fabulous addition to the small but wonderful store of fanfic.