lawsonblakestan

Dear Yuletide Author,

Thank you in advance! I am generally quite easy to please. I can get on board most ships and enjoy a truly unique idea as much as I enjoy a worn-in trope. I do lean more toward relationships than general fics, though. I'll throw some ideas out but if you've got your own idea for these characters I'm happy to read it.

Treats are welcome!

My general likes: friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, pre-canon, post-canon, missing scenes, angst (so much angst), hopeful endings. I also enjoy crossovers (my ao3 profile has a mostly updated list of the shows I know well).

My general dislikes: smut that doesn't drive character development or plot, happy characters being angsty or angsty characters being happy for no obvious reason, second person pov, sailors who don't swear. (Yes, I did have a hard time coming up with a list of general dislikes.) AI makes me sad so please don't use it to write a story for me.

Here are some ideas for my fandom requests:

Request 1: Black Snow

(James Cormack, Hazel Baker, Nina Hirsh)

I'd like to see something about James and you can add in either Hazel and/or Nina (or neither, I guess).

I'm fascinated by James. He's so tortured but he also seems capable of much whimsy. I enjoy his friendship with Hazel and how it starts as a professional relationship but turns into them supporting each other. I am really intrigued by his feelings for his therapist--huge red flag but I am so here for it. Would love to see a fic that delves into his past relationships--both friendship and romance--and has him reflecting on his current state.

What must it be like for him to have been fueled for years to solve cold cases because of his brother's situation only for him to turn up alive? And how is he coming to terms with the fact that his memory of their childhood did not match his brother's memory of it? Maybe there is a canon divergent path forward for the brothers and their father. Does he have friends other than his boss and Hazel? Is he being delusional thinking that he and Nina can make something work or has he struck on something real here?

I'd be happy with a fic exploring his relationship with Nina or his friendship with Hazel (or flip it and make it a relationship with Hazel and a friendship with Nina, if that seems like it could work) or with something about his fucked up family.

The vibes are dark but James is doing his best (sometimes not doing it well) to keep that darkness at bay.

DNW: Second person pov, graphic violence

Request 2: Scrublands

(Byron Swift, Mandy Bond, Martin Scarsden)

I've read the books and watched Scrublands and the second season, Scrublands: Silver, so no worries about spoilers. Would love it if it featured all three of these characters but if you only want to focus on one, make it Byron.

I love Byron as a troubled character who doesn't seem to believe that he's troubled. He seems to accept that his past is in the past and has convinced himself he's a good man, now. I think he has the potential to be an unreliable narrator. I love his confidence in dealing with the men of the town and I love how he falls in love with Mandy and has this fantasy plan (or is it plausible?) of setting up a life with her. If he didn't die, how would their relationship have played out? Could he stick around to be a father to the baby or would they be on the run together?

Martin is fascinating. He's got his own demons to overcome. I like how his sense of identity is so tied up with being a journalist. I like the unlikely romance between him and Mandy and his desire to help the people of the town and solve the mystery of Byron Swift on their behalf.

While I love Byron/Mandy and Martin/Mandy, I could also see this being a fic that is pre-canon Julian Flynt (interesting that AO3 has him listed as Byron Swift and not Byron Swift|Julian Flynt) or a post-canon Martin (ignore season 2 or build off it). The sense of place for this show was huge for me. The drought and the dying small town felt like its own character. Same for season 2 with the small fishing town and the scenic beaches.

DNW: Second person pov

Request 3: Life

(Charlie Crews, Dani Reese)

Ted is fine to have as a background character, I'm just not sure I want him as a featured character.

I miss this show. It was light and funny while somehow also being dark and bleak. I'd love a look at where they might end up post-canon. Could they have had a relationship? Did they love each other? Will they end up loving each other? Do they both remain with the police? Possible interesting tropes for them: undercover, fake relationship, faked death, witness protection.

DNW: pwp

Request 4: Sea Patrol

(Kate, Dutchy, 2 Dads, Buffer)

I love all of these characters plus more that weren't nominated. I ship Kate with any of these three but I'm not opposed to shipping the guys with each other, if that's a direction you want to explore. Generally, I love the banter, the joking and teasing, the way they all have each other's backs even when they're being annoying. I also love how much angst there is--the physical danger, the mental stress of the job, being away at sea for so much time.

I'm in the midst of a multi-year obsession with 2 Dads and spend too much time trying to make him redeemable and then redeem him. Because the epilogue was so wrong for so many of them, but especially for him.

I think it's fun to try and make Dutchy and Buffer know each other because they never met in canon but they've got all these crewmates/friends in common so it seems like they would have crossed paths at some point.

DNW: major character death, gen fic, any of them being obvious about breaking the regs, Kate/Mike as endgame

Request 5: Rescue: HI-Surf

(Laka Hanohano, Will Ready, Emily Wright)

Cancelled too early. I think Laka is delightfully fun but has a nice balance of trying to be more mature and take responsibility. Will is obnoxious and I need him to just make up his mind. Em is wonderfully angsty and I think she's throwing a good thing with Sean if she keeps going after Will. However, if she and Will could figure out a way to make it work that would be great. Or it would be great if they can't figure it out and we get a lot of angst from them both.

Laka is my favorite. I love him trying to support Will but also being fed up with him. I love his whole responsibility arc. I would ship him with either Will or Em or in a poly situation with them.

DNW: major character death

Request 6: SouthLAnd
(Sammy Bryant, Tammi Bryant, Nate Moretta, Mariella Moretta)

I love the bond between Sammy and Nate. If Tammi were more of a traditional cops wife, the four of them would be having family picnics together and living somewhere with adjoining backyards. But she isn't and he picked her as a partner anyway, which is interesting. I love Sammy and Mari together after Nate's death. I love Sammy and baby Nate as a new type of family after Mari has moved and Tammi has lost herself. Does he stay with the force after Ben's betrayal? What does his life look like post-canon?

DNW: fluff, baby or pregnancy focus (I love that being a family man/father is such a part of Nate's identity and how excited Sammy is to have a baby, and pregnancy can be a fun background plot, but I'm not super thrilled with it as a main focus)

Thank you for your creative endeavours!