Fandom Growth Exchange Letter 2022

[ceruleantactician]

Dear Creator,

Thank you so much for creating for me. I look forward to whatever you come up with! I am CeruleanTactician on AO3 as well. All my prompts are just suggestions. If you have an idea that you think will be great, as long as it respects my DNWs, go for it. If you need any clarifications, please don’t hesitate to send a question through the exchange mods.

I have gifts enabled and would be happy to receive both fic and art treats.

Table of Contents

DNWs

General Likes

Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio) - Seventh Doctor & Ace McShane & Thomas "Hex" Schofield, Seventh Doctor & Sally Morgan, Lysandra Aristedes & Seventh Doctor & Sally Morgan, Charley Pollard/Rassilon, Zagreus Eighth Doctor/Charley Pollard

Doctor Who (1963) - Third Doctor & Jo Grant & Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, Melanie Bush & The Valeyard, Melanie Bush & Seventh Doctor

The Godfather - Sonny Corleone & Tom Hagen

DNWs

• Age-play/de-aging
• Animal abuse/death
• Bodily waste/bodily fluid mentions (Exception: blood, tears)
• Explicit sex (implied/referenced is fine)
• First person POV except for epistolary
• Rape/non-con
• Unrequested sexual/romantic relationships involving canon characters (Exception: any canon relationships)

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General Likes

• 5+1 Things
• Amnesia
• Angst
• Backstory
• Canon divergence AUs
• Casefic/mission fic
• Character/relationship studies
• Complicated but ultimately loving relationships
• Crack taken seriously
• Dramatic irony
• Epistolary
• Family
• Fix-its
• Fluff
• Friendship
• Happy, hopeful or bittersweet endings
• Humor
• Hurt/comfort
• Loyalty and trust
• Mistaken identity
• Outsider POV
• Redemption
• Telepathy
• Tenderness
• Third and second person POVs
• Time travel and time loops
• Undercover
• Whump
• Worldbuilding

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Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio)

Seventh Doctor & Ace McShane & Thomas "Hex" Schofield

This trio has such a great dynamic in the audios, and they explore a lot of interesting concepts together. I love the relationship between them and how the addition of Hex changes the Ace-Doctor dynamic. Hex starts out as a relatively normal person on the outside of Ace and the Doctor’s weirdness but is also being inexorably drawn into it. I love how Ace and Hex tease each other but also obviously care for each other a lot. And I love how much the Doctor cares for Ace and Hex, even if he isn’t always honest with them. They also have one of the best Doctor Who villains, our old pal Nobody No-One.

• I am totally here for bad things happening to Ace, Hex and the Doctor. Maybe a mission gone wrong? Maybe the TARDIS team finds an ancient evil/eldritch being like Fenric or the Gods of Ragnarok, but the evil ends too great for them? I would also be very happy to see another encounter with our old friend Nobody No-One. Or maybe Seven’s manipulations backfire/lead them into a situation that’s too much for them to handle?
• For any Hex-focused fic, I would love to see an exploration of that dynamic. Perhaps Hex feels on the outside of Ace and the Doctor’s already established relationship? But then he gets in trouble and Ace and the Doctor prove how much they care about him.
• I love love love hurt/comfort stories. I would love to see Ace and Hex working together to help a hurt Doctor. Perhaps the Doctor gets hurt trying to protect Ace and Hex and tries to act confident and pretend to be invulnerable until he can’t anymore? One of the things about the Doctor is that he always seems invulnerable and one step ahead of everyone else… until he’s not. For Seven, he’s such a chessmaster that it would really be interesting to see him genuinely caught off guard and really hurt in a way he wasn’t expecting. I would love to see his companion(s) being concerned not only for the Doctor’s wellbeing but also because they’ve rarely/never seen him that hurt and vulnerable. For hurt Ace and/or Hex, I would also love a guilty Doctor trying to protect his companions from further harm. Basically, I would love to see these three in a bad situation but using their skills and their care for each other to make the best of it.
• So, “Protect and Survive” was an incredible story… but I would have loved to see a more direct look at the aftermath of it! I know for story reasons that was impossible, but I would love to see an AU where there could be more of a reckoning for it. Accidentally abandoning your friends to suffer and repeatedly die in your Nuclear Armageddon Time Loop Hell Prison is not cool, Doctor!

Seventh Doctor & Sally Morgan

Lysandra Aristedes & Seventh Doctor & Sally Morgan

The black TARDIS team! They have a very different dynamic with Seven than Ace & Hex do, and I think it would be interesting to explore that. Seven definitely expects them to handle more dangerous missions than he would expect for any other companions, including Hex and Ace, but I do think he does care for Sally and Lysandra in his own way. And Sally and Lysandra are definitely more prepared for battling Elder Gods than your average Doctor Who companion. I would love for a fic that explores the weird space that Sally and/or Lysandra occupied in the history of the Doctor’s companions.

I loved Sally from the moment I first heard her. I love that despite the fact that she’s a highly trained soldier, she’s also very kind and vulnerable. And I enjoyed that at least Sally always had faith in the Doctor, even when the rest of the team was being (deservedly) harsh on him in “Black and White” and “Gods and Monsters”. I just really love Sally and the kindness and care she shows to the people around her. I love her friendship with Lysandra and I especially love her bond with the Doctor. Their scenes together in “Afterlife” especially stand out to me. I love that she can show the Doctor compassion and go out of her way to help him even after losing someone she really cared about.

Lysandra is great. She’s not nice and has a lot of issues with the Doctor that much, though she has come to (mostly) trust his judgment. There’s an underlying sadness to Lysandra especially, that gets explored in a lovely way in “Project: Nirvana.”

• Hurt/comfort. I am always here for a hurt!Doctor story. One of the things about the Doctor is that he always seems invulnerable and one step ahead of everyone else… until he’s not. For Seven, he’s such a chessmaster that it would really be interesting to see him genuinely caught off guard and really hurt in a way he wasn’t expecting. I would love to see his companion(s) being concerned not only for the Doctor’s wellbeing but also because they’ve rarely/never seen him that hurt and vulnerable.
• I would love to see the team having some downtime. Maybe Seven arranges for them to take a break from hunting the Elder Gods and go somewhere fun? Or maybe while looking for Elder Gods, they accidentally find that they're actually on a much more low-stakes mission.

Charley Pollard/Rassilon

I fully realize that this is a ridiculous idea, but I’ve had it in the back of my mind ever since that line where C’rizz teases Charley about having a thing for Time Lords in “The Next Life.” Also, I think that the Doctor’s reaction to all of this would be very funny. Feel free to go in a more cracky/humorous direction with this. (But I would also love to see it played straight as well!)

And I can’t be the only one who thinks that Rassilon’s voice actor, Don Warrington, has a very attractive voice…

• What if Charley tried to redeem Rassilon… with the power of love? Operation Seduce Rassilon??? After all, she pretty much got shot down by the Doctor in “Scherzo”...
• Charley and Rassilon somehow get stuck spending time together in the Divergent Universe. He’s the megalomaniacal semi-immortal former God-King-Founder of Time Lord society. She’s a strong-willed twenty year old from Earth. I can see Charley (eventually) growing on him, especially if he decided to try to play the nice, reasonable Rassilon like he sometimes does in the audios.

Zagreus Eighth Doctor/Charley Pollard

Zagreus my beloved! Sometimes we all get hit with Anti-Time and decide to become a villain from a childhood nursery rhyme villain. He is evil and very cool and I like him a lot and I would love to read your take on him and his relationship with Charley. One thing I like about Zagreus is that the line between him and Eight is really not clear at all. He does things that the Doctor would never do, like hitting Charley, but later audios show that Eight is very capable of coldness and cruelty in the right circumstances, even towards Charley. Where does Eight end and Zagreus begin? Is it even possible to separate the two of them?

I’m fine with a dark and twisted relationship between these two, but I would strongly prefer a Zagreus that genuinely cared for Charley in some way, even if he still is pretty evil.

On Charley’s side: I would like to see a Charley who knows that this is a bad idea, but does it anyways, even if it is out of desperation and/or because it’s the only way she can still be with Eight. A Charley who refuses to acknowledge how bad things have gotten or how Zagreus isn’t the Doctor she knows would be great.

• I don’t have many specific prompts, but I would love to see an AU where the events of “Zagreus” went down a little differently. Or an AU where Zagreus never fully left the Doctor and he crops up again in the Divergent Universe, or maybe an AU where the Doctor is possessed by Zagreus again instead of Perfection in “The Next Life.”
• I know what I’ve written about this is pretty dark, but like with my Charley/Rassilon request, feel free to go in a more cracky/humorous direction with this. (But I would also love to see it played straight as well!)

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Doctor Who (1963)

Third Doctor & Jo Grant & Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart

I really like the Third Doctor era. It has this sense of coziness and early sci-fi charm that makes it enjoyable to watch. I also think the limitations of the Doctor’s exile is still an interesting novelty, since the Doctor could no longer just fly away at the end of each adventure and had to manage an ongoing relationship with his coworkers at UNIT. I love Three himself as well- he can be an arrogant bastard but he can also be so genuine and charming that you can’t help but love him. Jo and the Brig are my two favorite companions from this era, so I would love to see a Three & Jo & Alistiar adventure.

On Jo and Three - I love Jo’s bravery, kindness and resourcefulness. I also love when it comes up that she’s a trained operative and gets to use her skills to make escapes/kick the bad guy’s ass. Her relationship with Three is so cute and I love it so much. He is so obviously fond of her and soft with her, and that can smooth over some of his more abrasive tendencies. I also always love the way they hold hands all the time. <3

On Three and the Brigadier - I love how despite how much Three complains about the Brigadier he obviously has a lot of respect and fondness for him. And matter how exasperated the Brig can get, he has a lot of respect for the Doctor and would never hesitate to back him up if he needed the help. I love the mutual trust and friendship that forms between them that lasts far beyond Three. I also love that the Brigadier, who is literally Just A Military Guy Who Works For the UN, accomplishes something the Time Lords and alien despots across the universe have never been able to- reigning in the Doctor.

On the Brig and Jo - They obviously have a lot of respect for each other, plus a mutual understanding for Dealing With The Doctor’s Nonsense. I have to believe that the Brig appreciates Jo for her ability to reign the Doctor in, though she does participate in his nonsense fairly often as well. I also believe that he feels a sense of responsibility for her as well as he is still her superior, even if she isn't a part of the military hierarchy.

• Jo tries to cheer up the Doctor when he's moping about his exile and somehow manages to rope the Brigadier into it too. Alternatively: the Doctor notices Jo or the Brig is upset about something and tries to cheer them up.
• Hurt/comfort! One or more of them gets really hurt and the other is forced to deal with the feelings that brings up. I am always here for a hurt!Doctor story. One of the things about the Doctor is that he always seems invulnerable and one step ahead of everyone else… until he’s not. Perhaps something set while he’s stuck on Earth? A bad situation that he can’t just get in the TARDIS and fly away from would be really interesting. Perhaps the Doctor gets in trouble with some powerful and morally dubious people on Earth and ends up in a bad situation. Three is normally so self-assured, so seeing his status as an alien/the stability of his situation with UNIT being called into question would be really interesting. Of course Jo and the Brigadier would do everything they could to help him. With hurt!Jo, I feel like the Doctor and the Brig would be very protective and guilty at her getting hurt. Hurt/comfort with hurt!Alistair is also more than welcome.
• The Brigadier finds himself accidentally brought along on another trip in the TARDIS some time after The Three Doctors. He’s not pleased. I imagine that Jo would try to cheer him up and get him to enjoy the trip, but Alistair isn’t that good at being the typical companion…
• Accidental child acquisition. I feel like these three having to temporarily take care of a human or alien child would be amusing. Bonus points for including a very exasperated Brigadier.

Melanie Bush & The Valeyard

Mel and the Valeyard don’t actually get to interact that much in “Trial of a Time Lord,” but I think their dynamic would be very interesting. (I know they have an audio together in the Unbound range, but I haven’t listened to that yet. But spoilers don’t bother me so feel free to reference it in your work!) If you do go with the Valeyard is some evil future version of/dark splinter of the Doctor… then he must have the Doctor’s memories, right? What does he think of his former friends, like Mel? Feel free to include your own headcanons on what is actually going on with the Valeyard and what his connection with the Doctor actually is, or pick an explanation from expanded universe media.

• What does Mel think of the Valeyard, knowing his alleged connection to the Doctor? Does she realize that if the Valeyard and the Doctor truly are one and the same, then this brings the concept of self-hatred to a whole new level? Does she perhaps sympathize with the Valeyard after she hears about where he came from?
• The Valeyard kidnaps Mel as part of some evil scheme. Mel does not play the part of damsel in distress very well and is definitely good at purposefully irritating him, though maybe she is eventually able to find common ground with the Valeyard. Maybe by the time Doctor comes in to rescue her, she and the Valeyard have made friends, all while the Doctor goes ???
• Mel gives the Valeyard some constructive criticism on his plan in The Ultimate Foe. maybe even getting to use her computer science background. (“Really, Valeyard? A megabyte modem? You’d at least think you could spring for the gigabyte modem…”)
• Mel gets hurt as part of one of the Valeyard’s schemes. He definitely doesn’t feel guilty or anything like that… but maybe he should help her…
• The Valeyard gets hurt. It’s probably his own fault, but Mel can’t just leave him to die, can she? And he sort of is the Doctor, which sort of makes him her friend, even if he is evil…

Melanie Bush & Seventh Doctor

I love both of Seven’s TV companions, but I would love to see Mel get some more appreciation! Mel is so fun and smart and enthusiastic but also aware of the dangers she’s facing while traveling with the Doctor. Her and Seven’s TV stories were fairly light (at least in comparison to Seven and Ace's), so I would love to see something darker for them, maybe a chance for Seven to be more calculating than he usually was in Season 24. (Canon-typical Season 24 light-hearted shenanigans are also good, I am also a card-carrying Season 24 apologist! Yes, especially Time and the Rani!)

• I am totally here for bad things happening to the Doctor and Mel. Write me a whump or hurt/comfort scenario and I will be very happy. Maybe a mission gone wrong? Maybe Seven’s manipulations backfire/lead them into a situation that’s too much for them to handle?
• I would absolutely love a Mel and the Doctor accidental/undercover as married/fake marriage comedy of errors story. Though I want their relationship to stay platonic, I would love a story where the trust and care Mel and the Doctor have for each other and the importance of their friendship is highlighted via the fake marriage trope.
• I am also always here for a hurt!Doctor story. One of the things about the Doctor is that he always seems invulnerable and one step ahead of everyone else… until he’s not. For Seven, he’s such a chessmaster that it would really be interesting to see him genuinely caught off guard and really hurt in a way he wasn’t expecting. I would love to see his companion(s) being concerned not only for the Doctor’s wellbeing but also because they’ve rarely/never seen him that hurt and vulnerable.

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The Godfather

Sonny Corleone & Tom Hagen

“When Hagen had entered the room Sonny had come rushing to embrace him. Michael realized with a faint twinge of jealousy that in many ways Sonny and Tom Hagen were closer than he himself could ever be to his own brother.” - The Godfather novel.

• I love that Sonny just found an orphan boy living on the streets and decided to take him home and ask his dad if he could keep him. And Tom responded, okay, I am going to be loyal to you for the rest of my life. They have one of, if not the closest bond in the Corleone family and I just love their relationship and have so many feelings about it.
• Any look at their childhood. How did the household react when the family first took Tom in? How did Tom get used to being a part of the family? How did Vito’s business affect their childhood? Did Sonny and Tom know at a young age that they wanted to be a part of it? Do they ever learn about why Vito came to America, his history with the murder of his family by the Mafia in Sicily?
• A look at Sonny and Tom’s early careers in the Family and how that shaped their relationship. For Sonny - How did he begin working for his father? What did Tom think of it (presumably he was still at university at the time)? How did Sonny gain his reputation for having a short fuse and for violence? For Tom- how and why did he approach Vito to start working for the Family? How was he treated by other members of the Family - were some reluctant to trust him because of Tom’s heritage? Did Sonny ever have to defend him? What legal work, shady or otherwise, did Tom do for the Family? How did he start to be considered for the consigliere position?
• As teens or young adults, Tom and Sonny go on a trip together. Can be a “business”-related or not. (Perhaps to Sicily) How do the two interact when away from their family? What kind of trouble would they run into?
• Outsider POV on Sonny and Tom. Maybe from one of the Corleone button men, maybe from a civilian outsider. Maybe from a member of another Family, wondering about the history between the Don Corleone’s firstborn son and heir apparent and an Irish kid?
• Sonny comforting Tom after his kidnapping in Part I—maybe an AU where it got physical and Tom was tortured? Other hurt/comfort scenarios are welcome as well. I am always here whump and/or H/C.
• An AU where Sonny and Tom help Connie “deal with” her abusive husband. Interpret “deal with” as you like.
• An AU where Sonny avoids his death on the tollway. How do Sonny and Tom’s lives change?
• Tom mourning Sonny after his death. They were so close so I always imagine that Sonny’s death strongly affected him, even years later. I do like ghosts/stories with supernatural elements, so feel free to go in that direction if you’d like.

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