AFOOT

[starfishstar]

Yesssss I'm over here in the UK time zone and have been eagerly awaiting this moment all day. Let's go!

Name: starfishstar
Contact email: [I will put it in the form]

I will create:
A fanwork of the following type(s): fic
In one or more of the following parts of fandom:

I have been doing my More Holmes background reading! Bring it on!

Books:
—A Study in Charlotte series – Cavallaro (loved the 1st book, hated the 2nd, have already forgotten the 3rd…I’m still fond of the characters, though, as long as I’m not required to retain the convoluted plot elements of the later books!)
—Sherlock Ferret – Ashton (awww)
—The Great Shelby Holmes series – Eulberg (haven’t read the 3rd book that apparently just came out, but could probably find it in a hurry if needed)
—Mary Russell series – King (haven’t read these in ages, but I think I’m will to try my hand at writing them if someone wants…)
—A Study in Scarlet Women series – Thomas (I’m on the fence about this series, from the 2 books I’ve read, but willing to try writing it)
—Enola Holmes series – Springer (haven’t actually read this yet, but I could track down at least the first book in a hurry if needed – i.e., the recipient would have to be okay with me not yet knowing the whole series, which it sounds like may be a problem?)
—The Seven-Per-Cent Solution – Meyer (criminally, I still haven’t read this either, but I’ve got a hold on it at the library and I hope it comes in in time… [Unfortunately I'm going to have to rescind this one for now; I've had a library hold on it for months, but it still hasn't come in, boo. Not sure I'll be able to track it down in time.]
—A Study in Emerald – Gaiman (I think maybe I could attempt to write this?)

TV/Film:
—My Dearly Beloved Detective
—BBC Sherlock (Knowing you, mods, I can’t imagine you’ll fail to match me on the rare stuff; but just in case, I’m happy to do BBC, too.)

Comics/radio/other:
—Bert Coules (I think I could try to offer this? I'm not conversant with the whole series, but if someone wanted to point me to just one or two specific episodes I could try to work with that.) [Okay, no, I think it was a little overeager to offer this, given that so far I've only ever heard one episode...will try to circle back to it another time!]

For one or more of the following relationships: Pretty much any; equally happy to write pairings or genfic. (In fact, I love genfic!) I’m not generally a fan of writing villains or anything very dark, and I’m definitely not a fan of Eurus plotlines in BBC-verse, but can be flexible as needed.
I like working with one or more of the following categories: Fluff; (mild) Angst; Romance; Established Relationship; Friendship; Humor; Case Fic; Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; Alternate Universe – Fairy Tales/Mythology/etc.; Childhood/Backstory (I’ve written a number of fics about young!Sherlock & Mycroft from BBC-verse); UST (that resolves into no-longer-UST!)
My wheelhouse is character-focused stories (be it friends, family or romantic partners) that center on emotions and interactions, but I can try to push a little more in the direction of plot/casefic if necessary. I can do romantic and a bit of sexy, but full-on explicit is beyond my writerly capabilities.
With any of the following ratings: 1) suitable for general audiences; 2) non-explicit sexual content; 4) mild to moderate violence or depictions of non-sexual mature themes
I am willing to create for the following squicks and/or kinks: Generally none, but can try to be flexible as dictated by recipient’s requests!


I want to receive:
A fanwork of the following type(s): fic, vid
In one or more of the following parts of fandom:

—221B Baker Towers ‘verse!!! (Description here: http://221b-baker-towers.tumblr.com/about …and yes, I will keep requesting this until it happens…) I love that this exists, and I wish more of it existed. Anything in this ‘verse. Who is this Holmes? What makes him tick? What does it look like when he’s on a case? Who is his Watson and what’s their friendship like? I'd also be very happy for a 221B Baker Towers vid, especially since vids form a significant part of the few fanworks that exist already for this 'verse. Who are your headcanons for these roles? What are they like?
—A Study in Charlotte – Cavallaro – I loved the characters in the first book, have hated pretty much everything Cavallaro’s done with them since. (Their toxic “relationship”, the plots convoluted to the point of incomprehensibility…) Someone rescue them please? Charlotte & Jamie for whom books 2 and 3 never existed, or who’ve come out the other side of book 3 and actually worked out their shit, either way. Friendship and/or romance, case-solving, banter, this Holmes and Watson figuring out who they are to each other. (And I still like the idea of an AU where they’re both girls – that’s how I accidentally mis-read the book when I first started it, and I like it. Basically books 2 and 3 never existed, and it’s book 1 but as the amazing rugby-playing/mystery-solving YA lesbian Holmes/Watson the world needs, is that too much to ask?)
—My Dearly Beloved Detective – Fell in love with these characters after I was nudged into writing them in a previous Holmestice! I ship them, and for me their parting at the end either never happened, or was quickly rectified afterwards offscreen...but I'm open to whatever you want to write of them. (Though I think I'd prefer the happier side of things, since there's been a lot of angst in this fandom!) I'd also be especially open to a vid in this fandom: what Shirley and Jane mean together, the fun they have together, anything you want to explore of them.
—Sherlock Ferret – Ashton – Don’t let Sanguinity be the only person to have written fic for this ‘verse ever. :-)
—Any of the ACD-canon-ish ‘verses (ACD itself, or Granada, Whitehead, New Russian Holmes, etc.) – even if I haven’t seen the source material, I find I can follow a fic as long as it’s set in one of the versions that’s essentially a take on the canonical Holmes (as opposed to a very different retelling like BBC Sherlock or Elementary).
—crossovers: I’ve really enjoyed fics in previous Holmestices that had different ‘verses interacting with each other: like Mary Russell meeting Enola Holmes, or Charlotte Holmes arriving in the world of Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century! Or I’d enjoy seeing Holmes and Watson interact with the characters of any fairly-era-compliant ‘verse, like Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, or Peter Wimsey & Harriet Vane. Or if you’re going modern, crossovers with Cabin Pressure, New Who or Torchwood will always float my boat.
—Or I’m happy to receive a BBC Sherlock fic. In BBC ‘verse I love anything that puts the focus on one or more of the female characters; anything where Lestrade gets to be the hero of the story; I have a weakness for Mycroft/Lestrade; I have a weakness for anything “Anthea”-centric; and I’m happy to read Sherlock/John as anything from platonically devoted to desperately in love. Or Sherlock/Victor Trevor (fanon Victor, not S4 Victor).
For one or more of the following relationships: Pretty much any, with the exception of “dark” characters (e.g., no Moriarty/Moran) or incest (no Holmes/Mycroft)
I like stuff in the following categories: Romance; Established Relationship; Friendship; Humor; Case Fic; UST (that resolves into no-longer-UST!); friends as chosen family to each other; crackfic treated with emotional depth (see below); AUs
With any of the following ratings: 1) suitable for general audiences; 2) non-explicit sexual content; 4) mild to moderate violence or depictions of non-sexual mature themes
I wouldn’t mind any of the following squicks and/or kinks: none, pretty much, though *references* to things like abuse or death or suicide are fine if it’s in the service of the story and not the only focus of the fic. Please no: extreme violence/gore/torture/rape, Holmescest, Omegaverse, major character death; and in BBC Sherlock I’m not a fan of S4. (Or if it has to be S4, then definitely an S4 fix-it that gets Sherlock and John happily, firmly, permanently together, be that romantically or platonically.)
Please include further details about what you’d like to receive: One of my very favorite things is stories of the type that SOUNDS like it should be crackfic (examples from some favorite existing fics: Sherlock is an intelligent parrot; why is there a seal in the living room?; John and Mycroft meet every week for fish and chips…) yet achieves emotional depth and realism despite the absurd-seeming premise.
I don’t need all to be fluff and light (I actually prefer realism and complexity – like real life is!) but prefer happy or at least ambiguous-but-can-be-read-as-hopeful endings.
Basically, anything that focuses on the characters and who they are and what they mean to each other makes me happy. :-) Can be the purest platonic friendship or the wildest mad-for-you love story, silly-funny or deeply earnest, I’m good with it all! Write something you enjoy writing, and I will be delighted to read it.

Special requests: Put my More Holmes muscles to work, mods. I know you will. <3

Comments

[sanguinity]

Goodness, look at you! Your sign-up has expanded SO MUCH in the last couple of years.

You haven't read Enola yet? You need to read Enola. Also, all six (six?) books are tightly tied together with an arc about the changing relationship between the three Holmes siblings: once you begin, you'll want to read them all as a set, boom-boom-boom.

And I hear you about Baker Towers! Maybe this is the round that someone will show up willing to write it!

[starfishstar]

I know! I'm so excited about it!! And not exaggerating, I seriously credit it all to *you*, Sanguinity – for subtly and unsubtly nudging me to check out more Holmes 'verses, for help making them easy to find (I may need to ask you for more Bert Coules links, if that becomes a thing...) and just generally making it look Really Cool to be conversant with smaller Holmes fandoms.

Enola Holmes: erm, then maybe I shouldn't offer that, because I'm traveling right now and won't be able to get my hands on the whole series just yet. As a token of my good intentions, though, I just checked and my library does have the ebook of the 1st in the series (though only the 1st) so I checked that out – that, I can read while traveling!

Baker Towers: yes!! I nominated it for Yuletide too. I'm on a mission this year. (I want to offer to write it, but I just definitely, definitely don't have the background/expertise to write it, and that matters. That's probably what holds a lot of other people back, too?)

[sanguinity]

Aw! I'm pleased to have helped. And I do hope you've enjoyed your explorations. :-)

Enola: I hope you enjoy the first book! FYI, there was one aspect of it that would have frustrated me if it was the only book in the series, but happily, that's only the beginning of the character's arc. By the time we got to the, oh, two-thirds point, I was well-satisfied with what the author had done, and how the author had chosen to do it. (Spoilers available upon request.)

I want to offer to write it, but I just definitely, definitely don't have the background/expertise to write it, and that matters. That's probably what holds a lot of other people back, too?

Hard same. I request it, but I don't have the background or resources to write it. I suspect it's the same for others who have expressed interest in it. It really should be done by someone who knows what they're doing, or at least has the resources to check their work, and I've neither.

[starfishstar]

Oh yes, I've so much enjoyed the explorations!

Enola: No spoilers needed; knowing that there's something I might be frustrated by, but that it's worth pushing through and all will be resolved, is good enough. :)

221B Baker Towers: The more I think about it, the more I feel like I ought to add some kind of caveat to my request, like, I don't offer this fandom because I know I don't have the expertise to write it, and when I request it I also mean the same thing in opposite form, that I hope it would be taken up by someone who knows they can do it justice. But...that seems gross, like trying to dictate what fandoms other people are allowed to write! What is your modly insight, if any?

BUT ALSO, did you see that someone signed up offering Baker Towers??? And at least one other person has requested it? And I nominated it for Yuletide and someone else commented how excited they were to see it? Maybe this is the year!

[sanguinity]

What is your modly insight, if any?

To only request things where it's easy to make you happy. Or, put another way, you should not request things that you're picky about. If a gift has to be Just So before you can be happy about it, then you're best off not asking for it in this kind of forum.

It's up to you to decide where that line is -- it's perfectly reasonable to ask people to avoid a particular squick or to give you a happy ending, for example. But if you need to see a certain level of skill or background from your author, or you need a tricky issue to be navigated in Just The Right Way and the whole gift is poisoned for you if it isn't... Well, those are unfair expectations to try to hang on the anonymous person who is making something for you.


BUT ALSO, did you see that someone signed up offering Baker Towers??? I did see, yes! There are already so many intriguing things among people's offers this round!

And ooh, that's exciting news about Yuletide! Maybe we're getting to the point where there will be some movement in the 221BBT tag again. :-)

[starfishstar]

Yes, that makes sense! I guess the thing is that I'm trying to do right and be sensitive in a place where cultural sensitivity (and not being culturally appropriative) matters, and I would hope other people feels the same, but also I certainly don't think it's *my* place to TELL other people how to feel! And yes, also, I do realize I'm overthinking it. :-) So I will leave my request as it is, and let the chips fall where they may, and surely they will be wonderful chips! (to torture a metaphor)

Yes, so many new people signing up and so many great fandoms being offered! I am already ridiculously excited about this round.

Also, can you believe I forgot to include MDBD in my requests? Have fixed that now. :D

[nottoolateforthegame]

This is encouraging for people like me who are just starting to try other verses outside of BBC!

[starfishstar]

Aw, yes, that makes me so happy to hear! :D I was in the same place *very* recently – when I first joined Holmestice a few years ago, I only felt confident offering BBC Sherlock, nothing else. But the folks here who know so many of the smaller 'verses (and make it look so cool to have that breadth of knowledge!) inspired me, and I've been gradually trying to increase what I offer. So, yay for you, and fistbump from someone who's working on the same. :-)