Dear Yuletide Writer...
3 Nov 2019 03:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kangeikoThank you so much for writing for me! Yuletide is the fic exchange I try to do every year, and it's such a great experience that I guarantee whatever you come up with will make my day. I've included some broad likes/dislikes below to help out. You can also see what I've written in my letters in previous years as I've been pretty consistent year on year.
Likes
1. Gen, slash, het, whatever. I’ve requested pairings in my prompts below, but if any of the pairings don't work for you, rest assured that I love drama and significant looks just as much.
2. Plot! I do love me some plot. Failing that, angst! Also - humour! Fun! (That doesn't narrow it down, does it?)
3. First-times in shippy fic. I tend to be less interested in a couple after they have been happily settled or wrapped up in each other, and a lot more interested in how couples get together. If it's an established relationship, I like the conflict in the relationship - maybe something unresolved between the couple, or some bone of contentious that could drive them apart.
4. Conflict. I like change in fic - change in relationships, change in preconceptions, change in situation, good old-fashion action-adventure - and having characters disagree or take opposing sides.
5. Protectiveness / family / team / squad feelings, found!family and loyalty. People having each others' backs.
Do Not Wants:
1. Underage, non-con/rape, character death.
2. The common sex-based squicks (scat, watersports, snuff, etc). I'm also not a fan of alpha/beta/omega fic, knotting, mpreg, heavy BDSM, etc.
3. Character-bashing. If I've nominated a fandom I tend to love all the characters.
4. Universe-altering AUs (e.g. everyone is a merman, or Hogwarts students, etc). Canon-divergence AUs (e.g. character X makes choice B instead of A, "everybody lives" AUs, etc) are loved, though, so if that's your cup of tea, go wild!
5. Yuletide-specific "do not like" (i.e. I like them fine outside of Yuletide, but not in Yuletide): crossovers, metafic, author inserts, breaking the fourth wall.
And now, the requests - and, as always, optional details are optional!
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Richard Vernon, John Bender
I'd love something set during Bender's school years but after the film, with Bender and Vernon interacting in a non-hostile way. Maybe Vernon sees Bender's scars and actually bothers to put two and two together? He's incredibly unprofessional and belligerent, but would he be able to overcome his hostility to Bender to step in and try to help? (Or, hell, just listen?) Take it as far as you like, from Vernon and Bender sharing a strange moment of bonding, all the way through to Vernon actually taking some pro-active action to help Bender somehow. Honestly I get so angry watching him completely fail to help in any way whatsoever, so I'd really like to see him in a position where he has no choice and can't turn a blind eye, and... Bender is completely 100% against having Vernon help him in any way, dear god that would just make everything WORSE.
Alternatively, if you'd like to go the slash route, please do set it after Bender graduates (no underage please!) and he comes back into contact with Vernon somehow. Does Vernon carry out his veiled threat? Or has enough water passed under the bridge to allow them to interact more neutrally? For some strange reason I always headcanonned Bender as entering the military in an effort to get away. How would an older, calmer Bender interact with a Vernon still thinking of him as a bratty kid? Having them interact on a more even footing would be really interesting.
The Laundry Files - Charles Stross
Bob Howard, James Angleton
Angleton is my favourite character in the Laundry Files series (yes, I have spent the last few yelling into the ether, of course I have). I entered the series via The Apocalypse Codex and then read the books before that, so my impression of the Bob and Angleton relationship was one of a close mentorship, and I was surprised going back to the first book to see just how distant that relationship starts off, and how it quickly gets closer.
I would love to see something set in or around the earlier books, gen or shippy, I just miss Angleton. Maybe a case fic? Or a training exercise for Bob? Or Bob spending time with Angleton in a - gulp! - social setting? Or one of Bob's debriefs when he's still relatively new to it all?
I also like Mo so please don't have anything bad happen to her, I'm totally OK with them having an open relationship if you want to go down the shippy route, or just handwaving it.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Jack Rudolph
I agonized over which characters / pairings to put here, because I like Jack with pretty much everyone, and then it hit me - Jack is totally my favourite character on Studio 60, so pretty much anything with him will make me happy!
I have a real weakness for hurt!Jack (obviously, as he's my favourite, he needs to suffer) so... yes, please hurt him.
I love found!family fics and would love to see the S60 people rallying around him. Maybe it's his turn to face the press vultures - about his divorce, his private life in some way, maybe something terrible happened & suddenly everyone wants his testimony/interview - and the S60 people end up defending him. Or maybe things go wrong in the legal fight over the censorship and Jack is taking steps to fall on his sword to protect the network.
I also love the "found!family stages an intervention" storylines and would love someone actually noticing that Jack really does drink a LOT and doing something about it. Simon, maybe? I loved their interaction. Or Matt, or Danny, realising the mirror to their own addictions.
If you want to go down the shippy route, I love Jack/Jordan, Jack/Jordan/Danny, Jack/Tom, and Jack/Simon. Yes, I realise this is practically everyone he has shared a screen with, work with me here... basically anything that hurts Jack and then someone comforts him or stands up for him somehow would be amazing.
Seafort Saga - David Feintuch
Nicholas Seafort, Edgar Tolliver, Vax Holser
I'm still in shock that I wasn't the one who nominated the Seafort fandom this time around (it's always me, I'm not ashamed) and yet somehow it's still available????? I am EMOTIONAL, not gonna lie. (I wrote Nick & Edgar a love letter about ten years ago and I stand by it.)
I'm totally not expecting all 3 characters by the way, I appreciate they almost don't overlap at all (unless you fudge the canon which I'm 100000% OK with, holy hell this canon needs all the fudge available). But if you can make it work, even better! I'm totally up for Nick/Edgar, or some angsty Nick/Vax, or... no, Edgar/Vax would make Nick expire from jealousy, don't do that.
Maybe - in the Everybody Lives! - universe, an older & wiser Nicky runs into Holser who more or less shoves him at Edgar? Or Tolliver is In Peril (tm), and Nicky enlists Vax for the rescue, cue friendly ribbing? Or even - Vax is the one in peril, and Tolliver figures out that this isn't just some ordinary rescue, that there is History, cue angst, drama, etc. Or if you're not comfortable writing Holser, maybe it's his brother or sister or significant other, and therefore the rescue is some sort of penance for Nick. (Everything is some sort of penance for Nick, let's be honest here.) If you want to go down the OT3 route - and why not? - Vax and Edgar figuring things out while Nick is going out of his mind with anxiety would be strangely therapeutic...
Basically anything with rescues, derring-do, angst and snark would be amazing!
Likes
1. Gen, slash, het, whatever. I’ve requested pairings in my prompts below, but if any of the pairings don't work for you, rest assured that I love drama and significant looks just as much.
2. Plot! I do love me some plot. Failing that, angst! Also - humour! Fun! (That doesn't narrow it down, does it?)
3. First-times in shippy fic. I tend to be less interested in a couple after they have been happily settled or wrapped up in each other, and a lot more interested in how couples get together. If it's an established relationship, I like the conflict in the relationship - maybe something unresolved between the couple, or some bone of contentious that could drive them apart.
4. Conflict. I like change in fic - change in relationships, change in preconceptions, change in situation, good old-fashion action-adventure - and having characters disagree or take opposing sides.
5. Protectiveness / family / team / squad feelings, found!family and loyalty. People having each others' backs.
Do Not Wants:
1. Underage, non-con/rape, character death.
2. The common sex-based squicks (scat, watersports, snuff, etc). I'm also not a fan of alpha/beta/omega fic, knotting, mpreg, heavy BDSM, etc.
3. Character-bashing. If I've nominated a fandom I tend to love all the characters.
4. Universe-altering AUs (e.g. everyone is a merman, or Hogwarts students, etc). Canon-divergence AUs (e.g. character X makes choice B instead of A, "everybody lives" AUs, etc) are loved, though, so if that's your cup of tea, go wild!
5. Yuletide-specific "do not like" (i.e. I like them fine outside of Yuletide, but not in Yuletide): crossovers, metafic, author inserts, breaking the fourth wall.
And now, the requests - and, as always, optional details are optional!
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Richard Vernon, John Bender
I'd love something set during Bender's school years but after the film, with Bender and Vernon interacting in a non-hostile way. Maybe Vernon sees Bender's scars and actually bothers to put two and two together? He's incredibly unprofessional and belligerent, but would he be able to overcome his hostility to Bender to step in and try to help? (Or, hell, just listen?) Take it as far as you like, from Vernon and Bender sharing a strange moment of bonding, all the way through to Vernon actually taking some pro-active action to help Bender somehow. Honestly I get so angry watching him completely fail to help in any way whatsoever, so I'd really like to see him in a position where he has no choice and can't turn a blind eye, and... Bender is completely 100% against having Vernon help him in any way, dear god that would just make everything WORSE.
Alternatively, if you'd like to go the slash route, please do set it after Bender graduates (no underage please!) and he comes back into contact with Vernon somehow. Does Vernon carry out his veiled threat? Or has enough water passed under the bridge to allow them to interact more neutrally? For some strange reason I always headcanonned Bender as entering the military in an effort to get away. How would an older, calmer Bender interact with a Vernon still thinking of him as a bratty kid? Having them interact on a more even footing would be really interesting.
The Laundry Files - Charles Stross
Bob Howard, James Angleton
Angleton is my favourite character in the Laundry Files series (yes, I have spent the last few yelling into the ether, of course I have). I entered the series via The Apocalypse Codex and then read the books before that, so my impression of the Bob and Angleton relationship was one of a close mentorship, and I was surprised going back to the first book to see just how distant that relationship starts off, and how it quickly gets closer.
I would love to see something set in or around the earlier books, gen or shippy, I just miss Angleton. Maybe a case fic? Or a training exercise for Bob? Or Bob spending time with Angleton in a - gulp! - social setting? Or one of Bob's debriefs when he's still relatively new to it all?
I also like Mo so please don't have anything bad happen to her, I'm totally OK with them having an open relationship if you want to go down the shippy route, or just handwaving it.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Jack Rudolph
I agonized over which characters / pairings to put here, because I like Jack with pretty much everyone, and then it hit me - Jack is totally my favourite character on Studio 60, so pretty much anything with him will make me happy!
I have a real weakness for hurt!Jack (obviously, as he's my favourite, he needs to suffer) so... yes, please hurt him.
I love found!family fics and would love to see the S60 people rallying around him. Maybe it's his turn to face the press vultures - about his divorce, his private life in some way, maybe something terrible happened & suddenly everyone wants his testimony/interview - and the S60 people end up defending him. Or maybe things go wrong in the legal fight over the censorship and Jack is taking steps to fall on his sword to protect the network.
I also love the "found!family stages an intervention" storylines and would love someone actually noticing that Jack really does drink a LOT and doing something about it. Simon, maybe? I loved their interaction. Or Matt, or Danny, realising the mirror to their own addictions.
If you want to go down the shippy route, I love Jack/Jordan, Jack/Jordan/Danny, Jack/Tom, and Jack/Simon. Yes, I realise this is practically everyone he has shared a screen with, work with me here... basically anything that hurts Jack and then someone comforts him or stands up for him somehow would be amazing.
Seafort Saga - David Feintuch
Nicholas Seafort, Edgar Tolliver, Vax Holser
I'm still in shock that I wasn't the one who nominated the Seafort fandom this time around (it's always me, I'm not ashamed) and yet somehow it's still available????? I am EMOTIONAL, not gonna lie. (I wrote Nick & Edgar a love letter about ten years ago and I stand by it.)
I'm totally not expecting all 3 characters by the way, I appreciate they almost don't overlap at all (unless you fudge the canon which I'm 100000% OK with, holy hell this canon needs all the fudge available). But if you can make it work, even better! I'm totally up for Nick/Edgar, or some angsty Nick/Vax, or... no, Edgar/Vax would make Nick expire from jealousy, don't do that.
Maybe - in the Everybody Lives! - universe, an older & wiser Nicky runs into Holser who more or less shoves him at Edgar? Or Tolliver is In Peril (tm), and Nicky enlists Vax for the rescue, cue friendly ribbing? Or even - Vax is the one in peril, and Tolliver figures out that this isn't just some ordinary rescue, that there is History, cue angst, drama, etc. Or if you're not comfortable writing Holser, maybe it's his brother or sister or significant other, and therefore the rescue is some sort of penance for Nick. (Everything is some sort of penance for Nick, let's be honest here.) If you want to go down the OT3 route - and why not? - Vax and Edgar figuring things out while Nick is going out of his mind with anxiety would be strangely therapeutic...
Basically anything with rescues, derring-do, angst and snark would be amazing!