Tag Archives: writing prompts

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When I can’t sleep and I am trying to tell myself a story to distract the brain demons my brain sometimes does weird things.

I mean at 2am I think you get a pass for random story crap right?

So last night I was musing about the synths and that wormhole to sentient killer robot land (which has to be out there somewhere in the galaxy) and my brain has sort of semi-permanently connected that to Stargate replicators. So I was like “ok replicators were contained in Ida. A big don’t ever fucking go there message was left with that 9 moon planet (or whatever it was) so the containment net stayed intact. Wormhole punching through that meant some escaped, jumping maybe to Othala or straight to the edge of the Milky Way? Idk. Replicators do what replicators do and there is a LOT of them bearing down on the Federation.”

That was the scenario. At 2am I was imagining the battle. Captain Seven was very heroic. In hindsight this was perhaps not the best story to imagine as I got quite into the dressing down speech she gave the Admiralty, who were repeating the mistakes of Romulus. Wringing their hands, bleating how someone should do something, just so long as someone wasn’t them. How she resigned and then in true Ranger style took what she needed to help (a ship) and she tried to get the crew to leave but they wouldn’t, as they would have followed her into hell (as indeed they did) and they became legends.

But anyway then I was like “remix time!” and wondered what if they lost the battle? What if a time traveler came back as part of a Hail Mary “today we are cancelling the apocalypse”. From how far into the future? Who managed to send them back? When did they arrive? Who is it?

At 2am I found it utterly hilarious to imagine it was Raffi’s great grandkid (mothers side), and B’elanna’s grandkid (fathers side). Very close to their Nana and Oma, the two ladies combined their genius to build the ship out of duct tape and prayers, and send it through the black hole Kelvin style to save the day. Idk whatever, they were smart. Said grandkid obviously is like “stop being idiots! Life is too short to be lonely” and so the ridiculous on and off again mess of Seven and Raffi settles down.

Then I made myself laugh so damn hard because I was just messing about (it was 2am, I wanted to sleep!) but I had the sudden thought that maybe this was how Matalas came up with the whole Jack Crusher Borg baby thing?

There is nothing wrong with crazy amusing shit at 2am. Whatever gets me through the insomnia you know? But hey at least I know it’s the kind of crap that only belongs at 2am. Cold light of day? Kill it with fire. Don’t make it into a multi-million dollar season for the whole world to… /cough ‘enjoy’? Well not so much 🤣

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I just posted this in my favourite Trek discord but I am going to post my ramble here as well for posterity 🙂

I still haven’t seen this weeks episode of Picard. Give me a couple of hours.

BUT I have seen some gifsets and it appears the era appropriate Enterprise returns. Between that and the ready room scene I am half convinced that getting those fanservice shots of “look they are back together just how they were!!!” is the only point of the season and whatever crap they had to fling at the wall to get those shots didn’t matter to them.

Anyway I would like to propose an alternate season 3 pitch that would achieve those exact same shots.

It’s Frontier Day. Between the synth ban reversal (and now being a synth! The first human to synth?), and of course the new Borg showing up/narrow averting the Galaxy catastrophe of the season 2 finale Picard’s star is on the rise again. He is enjoying a resurgence in reputation. Therefore it’s only natural, especially with Geordi in charge of the museum that as a special show (for the kids maybe as some kind of living history?) they put the Enterprise-D crew back together. It is supposed to be a performance. Perhaps for StarFleet recruitment even. A little reenactment of one of their famous missions.

But then. Something plotty happens like maybe the Borg watching over the new wormhole thing sound the alarm as “something is coming through” duh duh duh. All hands on deck. No time to change ships. Picard isn’t about to sit this out so they warp into action. More plotty stuff like maybe to beat whatever comes through they need to understand it, so to explore/negotiate etc. they go through to learn things.

Anyway the Enterprise-D and crew are on mission. Alone in a strange new part of the Galaxy dealing with this new threat.

So stakes are high check. Have to work as a team check. Everyone is back and on the Enterprise check.

A plot like this would have

a) allowed the characters to express discomfort at having to adopt roles that haven’t been theirs for 30 years. Show how they have grown, but also allow for nostalgia and what remains the same.

b) drawn on previous seasons of Picard, for better continuity

c) who has experience in a Federation unknown part of the Galaxy? Seven from her time on Voyager allowing her to both have her own nostalgia trip, and also have something really concrete to contribute.

d) allowed for some interesting conflicts because if Seven and Raffi had been deployed as the “starfleet officers kinda ‘in charge’ as they are active StarFleet and none of the Enterprise crew really is (they got the gig due to working with Picard so closely before) then with this unexpected adventure what’s the chain of command? What’s the protocols? Especially if said regulations had changed over the years.

e) finally it would break some new ground and give future Trek new plots to explore. Maybe introduce a whole new alien type. It could also do some heartwarming Federation stuff about ruefully acknowledging past mistakes, at the same time as trying to do better and show these new people the best of who the Federation can be

Worf and Raffi could have still teamed up for ‘away missions’ as two of the fittest/most able crew members. I still remember what Riker said about his knees 😂

Riker and Picard still could have butted heads over how to handle stuff. Like I said with the discomfort of having grown away from the roles they are now being forced back into.

Deanna’s abilities could have been vital. I’m sure all of them could have had a chance to shine.

The only kinda question mark as to whether this could have fitted in somehow is Data’s resurrection. I guess perhaps they could have rebuilt him and then ‘unveiled him’ as part of a “look a Federation hero has returned” as a Frontier Day celebration cue Picard’s horror that they are treating Data like a prop not a person, that they had revived him potentially against his wishes, and maybe even allow Data to consider his future and what he wants from his newfound life. Does he still want to be StarFleet/their poster boy synth? Does he want to explore other aspects of life? Will they let him go if that’s what he wants?

I just had another thought. In the above scenario a member of the crew, I am not sure who would be best for it, maybe Beverley? Could be irritated at being dragged back for Picard’s ego boosting grand standing. But then as part of the journey they perhaps say that they wish to be known as more than just “Picard’s CMO/whatever” as they have a life and accomplishments of their own outside the Enterprise. But that really this was harmless PR and that it gave them time with friends, and getting everyone together with all the different schedules is impossible normally, and hey “one last time to save the Galaxy” who can pass that up? 🙂 so there is like conflict but also the syrupy nostalgic love in the end

@Purlturtle

I think Deanna might have fitted into that role – like, maybe Riker was all stoked to go dashing across the stars once more, but hey, my man, you got a home here and a daughter and a wife, whatcha off gallivanting for? Beverly was the head of Starfleet medical for a while – Deanna got that kind of career only in beta canon (novels) IIRC. She could conceivably complain about her achievements being overshadowed by being seen as Picard’s counselor. (Just like on Betazed she’s always only ever seen as her mother’s (halfblood) daughter)

Anyway I think something like this could have ticked the boxes and egotistically I think it’s a better premise than the season 3 we had. So thought experiment time!

If you were a Trek writer how would you have written season three? What direction would you have gone given the parameters of the nostalgia TNG focus?

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galactic-pirates:

I saw the poster for the movie “The Spy Who Dumped Me” and I clicked on it because it had two women on the cover and I thought it was going to be an epic lesbian rom-com.

Naturally I was disappointed. The spy was a guy, and the two women were just room-mates BUT it made me wonder, could it work for either of my ships? The answer is I think it could work for both of them! but in different ways.

1) Original thought – After locksat was dealt with Haley eventually got bored and started travelling for work again. The distance, plus the age gap, led Haley to break up with Alexis. When some bad guys from her latest job start hunting Alexis, Haley thinks their break-up was an even better idea because look at the danger she put her in.

Alexis disagrees, she’d been kidnapped and shot at long before she met Haley and what she hates the most is the people she loves being in danger, and not being there to help them. Alexis asks Haley whether she expects her to turn her back on her dad and never see him again. Shocked Haley says no, so Alexis says then why would she turn her back on her? To cut a long idea short basically they prove they are stronger together, plus being forced together like that reminds both of them why they fell in love with each other in the first place.

2) Second thought – Ruby had dated Whale, Victor Whale, for a short time. Unfortunately it was during this short time that Victor was tailed and so Ruby was flagged as being his weak spot. Now Victor is a lothario but not a jerk, if he could then he would have gone to protect Ruby, but he was deep undercover on another assignment. So instead the agency dispatches Mulan.

Things get a little more complicated when Merida from down the hall gets caught up in the initial shootout/chase at Ruby’s apartment. Now the three women are on the run and to be cheesy – sparks are going to fly.

Yeah I want to fic it.

A spambot (I think) just liked this old post of mine and I love my brain sometimes.

In honour of NaNo I am bringing this back.

I don’t talk about my original writing much. I think that is mostly fear because I feel I should compartmentalise. Fandom and my (hopeful) ‘professional career’ shouldn’t mix, and this is my fandom space.

But I would be a total liar if I said that I hadn’t been inspired by fanfic. I read a blog post about it a long time ago, by a professional author called Holly Lisle, which she entitled something like “How to steal ideas without stealing them”. It’s basically about taking one very small concept, something very vague like a trope, and then change utterly everything else.

As indeed is the case with the first scenario on this list. I turned a vague variation of that general concept into a sci-fi thriller. You’ve heard of world building for novel planning? I had to do a small amount of universe building as there were four planets in this thing.

Anyway it is possibly the worst first draft in the world. In fact it probably doesn’t deserve being called a first draft. It is a zero draft. It requires a complete rewrite. But it exists. I have something to work with and that I can develop further.

I had totally forgotten the second concept and now I need to think of a good background and make that a thing too. I don’t know when. I have a dozen series ideas (series, not books, series of books). I could probably write solidly for the next decade before I would need to think of anything new.

But yeah I want to write it.

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Just watched Burn Notice and I like the show well enough but it’s not something I’m “into” if that makes sense. No fan feels really. But oh man the end of this season 4 finale had a real “your OTP could never” moment.

Picture the scene. Michael has gone to draw the enemy fire and is going to wait until they get close and then detonate what amounts to a suicide bomb. He thinks it’s the only chance Fiona and Jesse have to get out (and also save his mom). He’s sacrificing himself for them and then this conversation happens.

Jesse: “Listen to me. If you go back out there, you know what’s gonna happen.”

Fiona: “Yeah. I’m going.”

Jesse: “What happened to all that wisdom about you and Mike having different priorities?”

Fiona: “Well, screw wisdom! I belong out there with him… For better or worse.”

Jesse: “It’s probably gonna be for worse.”

Fiona: “Well, I knew that the moment I met him.”

Aaaaand I have hearts in my eyes.

Not going to lie my immediate first thought was that I need to write this scene for one of my OTPs because damn. Seriously damn.

Obviously they lived but that’s like a marriage even though they aren’t married. That’s literal vows kinda. Your OTP could never indeed.

#20 BraveWarrior! <3

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rowofstars:

galactic-pirates:

Eeeeeek BraveWarrior 🙂 I love you!

20. “It’s 8:30, I have a hangover and you’re
annoying me.”

Mulan ghosted
around the dorm room, a flicker of irritation crossed her face as a floorboard
creaked loudly. She saw Ruby, her roommate, clench her eyes tightly together
and then heard her groan. For the most part they got on well as roommates, Ruby
was out a lot of the time and generally so easy-going it was impossible to
dislike her. Mulan knew that she was quiet and reserved, focusing on her
studies and her fitness clubs. That was the one real incompatibility between
the two of them; Mulan was very much a morning person and Ruby was very much a
night owl.

Ruby cracked
one eye open and grimaced. “It’s 8.30, I have a hangover and you’re annoying
me,” she groaned. “Sorry I know that’s kinda unfair.”

“It’s fine,”
Mulan said, a tiny smile playing on her lips. “I’m just going out anyway.”

She slipped her
jacket on, grabbed her bag and zipped her key inside. She didn’t need to take
much with her, just a water bottle, a breakfast bar and her cellphone. Mulan
headed for the door, the corridor was silent and empty, it was Sunday morning
and most self-respecting students were still asleep. She sighed in satisfaction
the moment she stepped outside, and the crisp morning air hit her lungs.

There was a
small park just down the street from the dorm. A small stream ran through it
and there was a circular winding pathway, which made for a pleasant jog. There
were a few open sun-dappled green spaces, in between the trees, which were good
for stretching and running through her katas. Mulan trotted down the sidewalk,
the train station wasn’t far and on any other morning the street would have
been bustling. She relished the peace, quite often she was the only one in the
park, especially on a Sunday. It was her quiet time.

Mulan slipped
through the park gate and headed for her favorite spot, to warm up and stretch,
the first part of her morning routine. Her pace slowed, and her brow creased
minutely, somebody was in her spot. That had never happened before. It was another
woman, about her age. She was dressed in loose blue exercise clothing, her wild
red curls tied in a sloppy ponytail.

“Ah and here I
was thinking I was the only crazy person up this morning,” the woman opened,
nodding in greeting. “I’m Merida.”

“Mulan,” Mulan
said neutrally, taking up position a few feet away. “You’ve not been here
before.”

“First morning,
just transferred in,” Merida
confirmed. Her eyes lit up with interest as Mulan fluidly slid into her katas.
“So you’ll be the one to ask about a good martial arts class?”

“There’s one at
the social center two blocks over,” Mulan told her, hesitating briefly.
“There’s also a fencing class at the old dance studio on the other side of
town.”

Merida grinned. “That’s cool. You know, if you
can keep up I could do with a jogging partner.”

“If I can keep
up?” Mulan repeated, regarding Merida
with more interest. Merida
gave her a challenging look and Mulan felt her lips twitch, a genuine smile
forming. “Give me a couple of minutes to stretch and you’re on.”

“Oh so it’s
going to be like that,” Merida
teased.

Mulan said
nothing, and just continued with her routine. This had been her quiet time but
she didn’t think she’d mind if that changed. Time would tell.

They are so CUTE. This is so like Sam and Steve too that I’m dying. If Mulan yells on your left I might lose it completely. And now I want a Brave Warrior super hero AU and I don’t even LIKE super hero AUs. WTF, SAM????

Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 Urk that hadn’t even occurred to me but, but, but just picture it – Mulan, legendary samurai, a warrior out of time. Keeps to herself, she works out, she cleans and sharpens her blade, and she goes on missions. Then one morning she meets Merida, who is totally different from her, so vibrant and outspoken and yet has the same core of steel and sense of duty.

Merida makes Mulan laugh for the first time since she came out of the ice, and they form a friendship that builds a life for both of them outside of their respective largely self-imposed duties. Then a little bit of mutually pining dorks as they both start to fall for their best friend, but naturally *roll eyes* think that the other couldn’t possibly feel the same. Then I can’t decide whether something should happen and it’s a dramatic declaration, or if maybe one day they are just working out and one of them says screw it and goes for a kiss. I do like understated.

My plot bunnies are multiplying…

Send me two characters or more and a prompt and I’ll write you a short fic

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maelerie:

1. “Are you drunk?”

2. “You’re too young to hate the world.”

3. “I don’t want your pity, I want your
absence.”

4. “We’re designed to be disposable.”

5. “There’s blood on my/your hands.”

6. “Could you be any louder?”

7. “I’ve never killed anyone before.”

8. “Your smile is not as bright as it used to
be.”

9. “Don’t call me that!”

10. “Please don’t make me socialize.”

11. “Same time tomorrow?”

12. “I’ve been buying the wrong underwear.”

13. “How can anyone not be afraid of love?”

14. “You’re supposed to talk me out of
this.”

15. “That was a perfect example of how not to do things.”

16. “If you want, we could go together?”

17. “I have contemplated becoming a hermit.”

18. “I’m alive… I can tell because of the
pain.”

19. “Maybe you’re not thinking hard enough.”

20. “It’s 8:30, I have a hangover and you’re
annoying me.”

21. “No one has a heart of stone.”

22. “Can I open my eyes yet?”

23. “So much for not getting involved.”

24. “I will if you will.”

25. “My nightmares are usually about losing
you.”

26. “I didn’t intend to kiss you.”

27. “Can we go someplace high so I can jump off
it?”

28. “I didn’t lose it, I just misplaced it.”

29. “Prepare to be amazed.”

30. “I’m fine.”

31. “Where’s your God now?”

32. “I’d ask you to stay but I don’t like you.”

33. “Something about you makes me want to commit extreme
violence.”

34. “It’s not like I missed you or
anything.”

35. “You look like a monkey who’s been
strategically shaved.”

36. “Everything was fine, until you showed
up.”

37. “Can you just shut up for five minutes?”

38. “Never mind, the moment’s gone.”

39. “You’re an idiot. I’ve met smarter
sandwiches.”

40. “I believe you dropped this.”

41. “What are you doing in my house?”

42. “I don’t know if I should kiss you or slap
you.”

43. “Why are you/we whispering?”

44. “If you really loved me there wouldn’t be a
choice.“

45. “I think I made a mistake.”

46. “Shut up, I am a delight!”

47. “I can think of a million places I’d rather
be right now.”

48. “Now, just hold on a diddly darn minute.”

49. “It sounds like you’re trying to convince
yourself.“

50. “Why does anyone have to be naked?”

I haven’t written so much as a single word in nearly three weeks. I need something to kickstart me and maybe little ficlets can be that. Please prompt me *begs politely* thank you! 🙂

#I’d really appreciate it#I’m miserable and have writers block

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I’ve rewatched a fair bit of Stargate the last few days and the Genesis List came up. Now I’m not going to go into that because it makes me really sad, but it did spark a memory. A while back on netflix I watched this mini-series called Ascension. It wasn’t very good because it couldn’t decide what it was going to be; it tried to be everything and then failed at everything.

Basically the people on board thought there were on a 100 year mission to cross space and form a colony. I know that concepts in lots of things but it’s interesting. Space/resources are limited, concepts like an economy would be thrown out of the window, the power dynamics alone are fascinating. Plus the psychological points of people being born, growing old and dying within the same small structure. Knowing when growing up that they’d already seen everything they were going to see, and knew everyone there was to know.

Matches were made by the ships computer to maximize bloodlines and once a year a handful of couples were authorized to have children. Unfortunately because someone else on the ship had died so there was a ‘space’.

Anyway I was just thinking about the fic potential.
– Belle and Gold are matched together. Belle hates the very idea, everything about their lives is controlled and Belle loves her freedom. Obviously eventually when she stops hating it on principle she realizes she loves Gold.
– Belle and Gold aren’t matched together, but they are in love and they despair of the day when they will be matched as the chances are it’s not with each other (not everyone is because of the disparity in male and female numbers).
– Either Belle or Gold is matched to someone else, but they love one another and it’s miserable snatching time together, having to hide because it’s against the rules.

Then there’s the fluffy potential, like Gold wanting to get Belle a gift but in a contained world, how can he get her something new? I don’t know, this was just what my brain was mulling over today. Actually having written all this out, have I rambled about this before? Hmm I can’t find it in my tags.

I don’t want to write this myself, so if anyone likes any of this have at it 🙂

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Just rewatched The Bear King. Couldn’t resist, all the talk of BraveWarrior and RedWarrior made me want to and man it was just as brilliant as the first time.

Only problem is I now have 10x the urge to fic it!

Like what if there was no stupid third dark curse, and Ruby and Mulan went with Merida on her quest for justice against Arthur?

How about a modern day AU with Mulan and Ruby as bodyguards for the CEO of Dunbroch International? Or how about Mulan teaches a self-defense class and Merida takes it, then maybe there’s a tournament where they are going to fight as a duo, that takes coordination so they take Ruby’s dance class. I don’t know, my brain is just like fic these three! Doesn’t have to be OT3.

Could go back to when Mulan was teaching Merida to fight. A oneshot from those days, perhaps of that cliche ‘I knocked you over and now you’re on top of me and oh man your lips are so close and I accidentally kissed you’. Or AU with Mulan and Ruby, perhaps backpacking and they go travelling together, and then perhaps there’s a hotel with only one room – brain stop it!

RedWarrior, BraveWarrior … BraveRedWarrior.

Now I want to watch the episode again heh. They needed to be in more episodes! I need more source material! Can we have like a BraveRedWarrior spin-off or something? That would be cool!

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You know that gifset of drunk!Gold being arrested by his daughter-in-law Sheriff Emma, and then bonus end of his tether Neal that @zoe19blink made? Well I didn’t want to hijack their gifset by posting this prompt on it but I’ve been thinking about that AU they invented. All credit to them for the premise.

It was quite the puzzle how to make this work with Gold’s character, because Gold isn’t Lachlan, so how would Gold have got to this point? I thought of something and I’ve basically gone and made it mega angsty.

Gold started drinking and partying to hang onto Milah. He wanted her to love him, so he was willing to try to be the man she wanted. She left him anyway but by then he didn’t know how to stop. It had become his life, everyone he associated with was part of that scene and the alcohol helped with the grim reality that nobody, could ever love him.

Neal left home the minute he could and their relationship grew strained, so rather than change Gold clung to the only thing he had left – the partying devil may care life he’d made. When Neal moved back to town with his girlfriend Gold kept intending to change but unfortunately he met brilliant blue eyes and an accent he just couldn’t forget. Night after night he went back because Lacey absolutely captivated him. She was like Cinderella though because she always disappeared and he didn’t know anything about her day life.

He started taking more and more risks to impress her and get close to her. He keeps getting arrested and Neal gets more and more fed up. Then one day he and Lacey are both arrested, and Gold learns that her name is Belle and by day she’s considered sweet and sedate and a complete pushover, the opposite to her behavior as Lacey. He starts to wonder what her story is and I’m thinking it’s not pleasant. So it’s basically about them healing and growing together, and backsliding because change is hard. That kind of thing maybe.