Yuleletter 2011

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Hello there gorgeous,

(For being my Yuletide author you are surely kind and wonderful and talented and, yes, gorgeous.)

First off, thank you so much for writing for me. I am sure I will love whatever you create, whether you read this letter or not. Optional details are optional, so feel free to ignore all of this blather if you prefer writing with fewer details. However, if you like long-winded prompts, details about my request and the availability of the fandoms, this is the letter for you.

But first, here is some non-fandom specific stuff that might help you. (Also, yes, bits of this were c/p'ed from last year's letter, of which some was copied from the year before that.)

• If you include porn in your fic, I will scroll past it.
• I am OK with character death and I love apocafic. If you run out of other ideas, kill (almost) everybody in the world off and I will love it.
• Racial diversity = awesome. Isms, not so much. However, I do prefer realism over sugar-coated, so if you want your fic to deal realistically with -isms I would not object.
• I like: plot, ensembles, banter, found families, apocafic, fully realized characters and settings, adventures, interesting narrative voices and people who bring the funny.
• I dislike: character bashing, romance-centric fic, infidelity, high school AUs, kidfic, ignoring the women and characters of color, introspective character pieces, incest, schmoop and pwp.
• How to stalk me: It is a Yuletide tradition to stalk your recipient. To that end: my delicious & my fic. I can also often be found in the #yuletide chatroom. I use the nickname kristin, so you can avoid or stalk as you please.

And now for the fandom specific stuff:



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Attack the Block
(Moses, Sam, Biggz)

• Request - I want future-fic like whoa for this fandom. It could be Sam and Moses forming a found family (no romance between the two, please), or the survivors testifying to either to a court/other authority/Parliament/media, or Biggz visiting Moses and Pest in jail (if they really ended up there). Or maybe Moses trying to deal with becoming a cult/public fugure? Really, I would just love something that explores the consequences of the events of the movie on the characters. Alternatively, if you want to do something pre/during the movie, maybe something about Biggz making all those phone calls in the bin, or possibly something about Moses and superheros and Dennis' sword. If you really want something out there, how about an AU where there are superheros, and Moses is assigned to become one. Would prefer gen.


• About the Fandom - From the moment I heard about this movie I knew I was going to love it. (The first three reviews I read all referenced the influence of the Wire, which really piqued my interest.) Luckily, I was not proven wrong. Attack the Block is a British alien invasion movie from 2011 about teens from a London housing project going up against alien invaders. And it is even more amazing then that summary seems.
  
  The character, even though some we only see for a small time, are fully realized characters. And yes, because of the nature of these types of movies, there is massive amounts of character death. More than anything, though, it is a smart movie. It plays with your expectations and does so well.
  
  Of interest to a few in the Yuletide crowd, I am sure, is the presence of Nick Frost as a weed dwelling denizen of the block.


• About the Request - One of the things I liked most about this fic was the atmosphere, so for the most part I would prefer canon-based to an AU, with the caveat of the one I mentioned in my request. I am a big fan of how real the movie felt. Well, real for a movie where alien creatures invade, so please don't forget that these are teenage boys who play video games, and oh, yeah, mug people. I don't want saccharine sweet or Sam as Moses' white savior. (Sam is awesome, but DNW the British Blind Side.)
  
  I am American, so I don't know much Britain's court system or media, so if you look at my list of requests and go, well, that would never happen here, feel free to write what would.
  
  In addition to the characters I requested, I love, well, all of them. Tia and Dimples (she killed that thing with her skate!) and Pest were all most great. As for ships, I vaguely ship Moses/Tia in that I think that is what canon was aiming at and appreciate the realism of it, but really I want something plot/character driven, not romance.


• Availability - Honestly, I have no clue. (I have been internet deprived for over a month and haven't had time to research this. I'll add an ETA with this info when I know, especially because this will be the easiest canon to catch up on if the fandom you were assigned to write for doesn't seem to be working.

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Hip Hop RPF
(Kanye West)

• Request - I would love to see Kanye West in an AU, fusion or crossover. (Kanye in Spaaaace! The good sir Kanye and his quest! Kanye hires Shawn and Gus to be his psychic bodyguards!) His personality is big enough to hold up no matter what the scenario. Alternatively, I always love a good apocafic, or if canon-based is more your thing, what about his transition from producing to rapping? Kanye's adventures in babysitting would also be most awesome. I would prefer gen.


• About the Fandom - Kanye West. Need I say more? (OK, if you don't know, Kanye West is a hip hop artist and producer who is known as much for his personality as his music.)
  


• About the Request - There are very few things I am completely irrational about. Kanye West is one of them. I think he is awesome and judge people who think otherwise. I love that he is committed not only to his own awesome, but to the awesome of his friends and fans.
  
  That doesn't mean he isn't completely ridiculous sometimes. In fact, if he wasn't, I might not love him so.
  
  I don't really want angst and I would love it if you could bring the funny. I prefer gen or background pairings (I OTP Jay-Z and Beyonce.) Also, it should be obvious, but I adore Kanye. Please don't bash him.
  
  Possible ideas for AUs: Pirate!Kanye on the good ship Def Jam, Knight!Kanye, Kanye in Spaaaace!Kanye, Mad Scientist!Kanye!
  
  If you want to write a crossover I suggest: Kanye meets the Old Spice Man, Kanye hires Gus and Shawn as his psychic bodyguards, or Kanye visits the Pie Hole.
  


• Availability - Unfortunately there is no definitive source for RPF.

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NewsRadio
(Catherine Duke, Dave Nelson)

• Request - I love the ridiculousness of NewsRadio, so something off the wall would be great. How about Dave and Catherine, dueling spies (The real reason she left was top secret!) The NewsRadio gang vs. the apocalypse! Wacky AUs are canon, so feel free to bring the good crack. If you prefer canon-based, future fic on the farm would be most amazing. Prefer gen or mild Dave/Lisa.


• About the Fandom - NewsRadio is a 90s workplace sitcom that ran for 5 seasons. It features the ridiculous adventures of Dave Nelson as the manager of a news radio station in New York, but it was really all about the ensemble, at least for me. It was also characterized by its visual style (single camera, but with great use of the frame and people falling into and out of) and its lack of a straight man. And by that, I do not mean it was an 'everybody's gay' AU but that everybody's funny.
  
  The show was also a fan of AUs. (I would have requested an in Spaaaace!au, but the show already provided. \o/) Think hijinks and weddings to hobos and an insane millionaire boss (the perfectly ridiculous Jimmy James) who provided the impetus for many a crazy plot. Though really, all the characters are lovable and insane and fully capable of creating situations for comedy.
  
  The show, however, did suffer a very real life tragedy between the 4th and 5th seasons when one of its stars (the hugely talented and funny Phil Hartman) was killed by his wife. And while the 5th season wasn't quite as bad as I remembered, it is much more uneven.
  


• About the Request - I love the banter and laughs and pratfalls and the way the characters all genuinely love each other. (If you can watch the first episode or season 5 and not cry, well, you are made of stone. Stone, I tell you.) But don't feel that you have to go straight up antics for a fic in this fandom. The best episodes all have a bit of darkness to them. Like, what about an apocalypse (shut up, my tastes in fic are valid) where Matthew, Catherine and Dave all have to try and get to safety and New Hampshire?
  
  Or, there was this episode where the group finds out that Dave was really from Canada. He says he always hides it because obviously if kids had known when he was little they would have thought he was a spy for Canada. Dear Yuletide writer, I want Dave to actually be a spy from Canada. He has a talent for throwing knives! He can throw his voice! He can tap-dance at a semi-professional level! OK, so the last one doesn't quite work, but you get the drift. And I think Catherine has the sexy, smart skills to be his foil.
  
  If you think those ideas are certifiably insane, I would take any AU. (The knights of the WNYX fighting for the honor of their king Jimmy James?) Or if you do want to write in canon, future-fic set in New Hampshire could be adorable. Or what about meeting Bill's family? (Good times, good times.)
  
  My favorite characters are Dave, Bill, Catherine and Lisa. Though I also adore Beth and Jimmy and Joe. Basically, everyone is my favorite except Matthew and Max. As for relationships, I do like Dave and Lisa's canon relationship (and don't mind the way canon ended it) but other than references to that I would prefer gen. Because while the romances were fun, it was the friendships that really defined the show.


• Availability - NewsRadio ran for 5 seasons in varying timeslots but is now readily available on Hulu (And was uploaded to YouTube, for people who can't access Hulu.)

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The Wire
(Bubbles)

• Request - I would love any fic in this fandom. Feel free to ignore all my prompts and write whatever you want. If you want some ideas, though, I have plenty. How about a fic about Bubbles and his addiction (or his son!)? Or what about when he met Kima? Or how about something about Carver and Bodie and their growth over the seasons? Or how about Shardene visiting D'Angelo in prison? I prefer gen unless you want to write the epic (love) story of Avon and Stringer. And on the oft-chance you're inspired to write an Attack the Block au I would not object (unless it was the same dialogue transposed into Wire character's mouths.)


• About the Fandom - The Wire is an HBO drama about Baltimore that ran for five seasons. It is deeply realistic, with a wide range of characters. While it is often billed as a procedural, it is so much more. Each season is focused on a different aspect of Baltimore: the cops and dealers, the docks, politics, schools and newspapers. And each season is utterly brilliant.
  
  It is like a great novel put on screen, with layers and histories building up. Each season adds more depth to the city, as well as the characters. It is well acted, directed and written. All the pieces work together to create something wonderful. (Also, the cast is fucking hotter than the sun. Idris Elba, seriously.)
  
  Every bit of its universe is fully realized. Everything has consequences. The impact of each character's decisions ripple out throughout the city and community. They do not exist in isolation, and there are no toss-away plot lines for sweeps. Everything matters, because everything works together. As a result, things change and grow.
  
  There are many fully realized queer characters for whom their sexual orientation is just one aspect of them, not their defining characterization. Characters of color, same thing. In fact, there are many fully realized characters of color.
• About the Request - First off, my request prompt is a bit shorter this year because last year I got an awesome Wire fic. But I love this show and just want more fic for it. I love these characters. I love the bleakness. I love that the good guys don't always win, ad when they do, it doesn't mean things improve. I love that everything has consequences. Basically, I ♥ my show.
  
  I would rather have a fic stay grounded in the show's reality and break my heart than go for a false happily ever after ending. Also, a lot of these characters use language that most people avoid in fic. However, I am perfectly OK with such language as long as it isn't more extreme than what is said on screen and stays true to the character's voices. However, if you aren't comfortable writing it, please don't feel you have to include it!
  
  My favorite characters are Bodie, Carver, Bubbles, Shardene, Bunny and Stringer, while I am least interested in the season five characters, McNulty or Carcetti. I would prefer you stuck with the canon sexualities, with the possible exception of Avon and Stringer. (I normally wouldn't request this, but in this fandom that doesn't mean erasure.) Also, I know I requested Bubbles, but if you can't work him into your fic, no worries.


• Availability - The Wire ran on HBO for five seasons of 13 or less episodes. It is available on DVD, Netflix streaming or can be found through less legal methods such as torrenting.
  

Congrats for getting through that beast of a letter, and may your yuletide be filled with awesome things that do not include stressing about pleasing me. (For I am easy, fic-wise.)

This entry was originally posted at http://kristin.dreamwidth.org/47409.html. Feel free to comment where you feel more comfortable.