Dear Yuletide Writer...
UPDATED OCT. 24.
Dear Yuletide Writer:
Hello! This is my first year doing Yuletide, so I hope this letter is everything you need and want it to be.
Likes: I like stories that deal with family (found, dysfunctional or otherwise) and friends. It may look like my tendencies lean toward drama with a dash of angst, but it's because I think comedy can be one of the hardest things to do well. When it comes to ships: I like stories that are more about the people than the passion, and as my prompts indicate, I'm down with pining, too. And one of my favorite tropes is "friend in peril." Generally from the perspective of the person not in peril.
If you need more information, I gave details and prompts for each of my fandoms, and giving them a perusal is probably the easiest way to get a feel for what I like. I also write what I want to read, so here's my Ao3 profile and bookmarks.
Dislikes: As far as structure goes, I don't typically enjoy stories that are entirely in the first-person. And I don't like "reader as character" fics at all. As for plot elements: I don't care for established non-canon relationships. Non-canon relationships are fine, but I need some degree of how they came to be. PWP is boring to me. Please no major AUs or OOC-ness that isn't attributed to something (ie: experiences that change people and introspective pieces that reveal thoughts/feelings unseen in the source material are good examples of taking a character "out of character," but a character that for no reason is never anything like its original self is not.)
Squicks: Age-difference romance, especially between characters presented with more of a parent-child or mentor-student vibe. (More popular examples might be no Buffy/Giles or Harrison Wells/Barry Allen). Sexual torture, humiliation.
Crueltide: Just learned about this, and I'm not opposed to stories with darker themes or elements.
I hope those help! Here are my fandoms and some ideas I had. Some of the prompts are pretty detailed, but obviously you don't need to feel beholden to any of them if you want to make changes or have other ideas that are nothing like these. I like stories, and I like these characters from mostly dead fandoms, so really getting more of them at all is enough to make me happy. The following is just alphabetical and not an indication of fandom preference.
ALIEN NATION
Buck Francisco. Matthew Sikes.
It's been a long time since I watched this series in earnest, but but it was just earlier this year that I caught a few early season one episodes. I'd prefer to stay in that general time period, as its the one I'm most familiar with at the moment, and my big want is some interaction for Buck and Matt. I had two ideas in mind that you can do with or reject as you please.
Michael Bluth
Between his family and the business, Michael has a lot deal with, and I'd like a story where he reluctantly confides in Tobias, who puts his therapist hat on one more time to help his brother-in-law. I'd prefer something that sticks to the original run of the series (not Netflix's), and I REALLY don't want Michael to be a simpering, sobbing mess. Just two guys talking.
EVERWOOD
Bright Abbott
One of the most underused episodes when it comes to fic is the one where Bright fails a summer school class and refuses to blame it on Colin's condition, which gets him suspended from football. While fighting with Harold, who says they always packaged him as a student athlete, he asks why he can't go to college on his academics, and an exasperated Harold yells "Because you're not smart enough!" Two ideas that could easily be one spawned from this episode.
FREQUENCY
Frank Sullivan, John Sullivan
When people ask what my favorite movie is, I always say this 2000 father-son scifi time-changing film (Or T2, because I can never quite decide). Here's a trailer if you haven't seen it:
I've got two things I'd really like to see from this:
Al Calavicci, Sam Beckett
I love Al and Sam, and I love their dramatic stuff and their comedic stuff equally. One of my favorite episodes is the one where Sam leaps into the mental institution and his brain is all scrambled so he's cycling through the personas leaped into and all Al can do is watch. Like, I have vivid memories of Sam suddenly thinking he's in a war zone and after trying to calm him down as orderlies try to restrain him, Al's dejectedly all "Just give 'em name, rank and serial number." Not to mention the desperation near the end when they're losing contact and Al's begging Sam-as-Jimmy to make people understand what needs to happen.
But then, I also have a mega soft-spot for the one where Sam maybe sorta leaps into vampire and is all "Repeat after me, Al: There's no such thing as vampires!"
I'd prefer either something that takes place during the series (so, Sam is leaping and Al's tracking him) or, if it's pre-series, something that deals with the creation of Project Quantum Leap. I do have a prompt, but as always, you can ignore it:
SEAQUEST
Lucas Wolenczak, Ben Krieg
It's been a long time since I've seen this, so my first inclination is what I'm going to prompt with. If you have a better idea you think I'd like, run with it.
Dear Yuletide Writer:
Hello! This is my first year doing Yuletide, so I hope this letter is everything you need and want it to be.
Likes: I like stories that deal with family (found, dysfunctional or otherwise) and friends. It may look like my tendencies lean toward drama with a dash of angst, but it's because I think comedy can be one of the hardest things to do well. When it comes to ships: I like stories that are more about the people than the passion, and as my prompts indicate, I'm down with pining, too. And one of my favorite tropes is "friend in peril." Generally from the perspective of the person not in peril.
If you need more information, I gave details and prompts for each of my fandoms, and giving them a perusal is probably the easiest way to get a feel for what I like. I also write what I want to read, so here's my Ao3 profile and bookmarks.
Dislikes: As far as structure goes, I don't typically enjoy stories that are entirely in the first-person. And I don't like "reader as character" fics at all. As for plot elements: I don't care for established non-canon relationships. Non-canon relationships are fine, but I need some degree of how they came to be. PWP is boring to me. Please no major AUs or OOC-ness that isn't attributed to something (ie: experiences that change people and introspective pieces that reveal thoughts/feelings unseen in the source material are good examples of taking a character "out of character," but a character that for no reason is never anything like its original self is not.)
Squicks: Age-difference romance, especially between characters presented with more of a parent-child or mentor-student vibe. (More popular examples might be no Buffy/Giles or Harrison Wells/Barry Allen). Sexual torture, humiliation.
Crueltide: Just learned about this, and I'm not opposed to stories with darker themes or elements.
I hope those help! Here are my fandoms and some ideas I had. Some of the prompts are pretty detailed, but obviously you don't need to feel beholden to any of them if you want to make changes or have other ideas that are nothing like these. I like stories, and I like these characters from mostly dead fandoms, so really getting more of them at all is enough to make me happy. The following is just alphabetical and not an indication of fandom preference.
ALIEN NATION
Buck Francisco. Matthew Sikes.
It's been a long time since I watched this series in earnest, but but it was just earlier this year that I caught a few early season one episodes. I'd prefer to stay in that general time period, as its the one I'm most familiar with at the moment, and my big want is some interaction for Buck and Matt. I had two ideas in mind that you can do with or reject as you please.
- Buck got caught doing something he shouldn't and Matt cuts him a break after a heart to heart.
- Despite how into his own culture he is, there are things about Earth culture that Buck really likes. He doesn't want to admit it to his friends, and being a sullen teen he can't talk to George about it. So he seeks out the next best person he can find: Matt.
Michael Bluth
Between his family and the business, Michael has a lot deal with, and I'd like a story where he reluctantly confides in Tobias, who puts his therapist hat on one more time to help his brother-in-law. I'd prefer something that sticks to the original run of the series (not Netflix's), and I REALLY don't want Michael to be a simpering, sobbing mess. Just two guys talking.
EVERWOOD
Bright Abbott
One of the most underused episodes when it comes to fic is the one where Bright fails a summer school class and refuses to blame it on Colin's condition, which gets him suspended from football. While fighting with Harold, who says they always packaged him as a student athlete, he asks why he can't go to college on his academics, and an exasperated Harold yells "Because you're not smart enough!" Two ideas that could easily be one spawned from this episode.
- An angry, hurt Bright leaves Everwood, and is estranged from his family/friends. For a while, he's aimless, but a chance meeting with his parents two or more years later reveal the new life he's built with friends (maybe family? -- future fics this can be an exception to my established relationship dislike, as I assume some "catching up" will be involved) and a career in emergency services (I'd prefer EMT/Paramedic to show he and Harold are maybe more alike than they thought, but firefighting works too). I don't really want a hardline "I was right, you were wrong!" kind of story, but rather one where everybody acknowledges they could have handled things way better and they reconnect on a more equal playing field.
- Bright's always been in love with Colin, who'd never love him back, and he can't bring himself to use him to get out of having been lazy.
FREQUENCY
Frank Sullivan, John Sullivan
When people ask what my favorite movie is, I always say this 2000 father-son scifi time-changing film (Or T2, because I can never quite decide). Here's a trailer if you haven't seen it:
Click to viewI've got two things I'd really like to see from this:
- In a quiet moment after they change the past so Frank doesn't die but Julia inadvertantly will be murered, Frank contemplates a life without her and the idea of having to raise John on his own.
- "She just died? Your mother just died?" In the movie, they changed the past, Julia died in 1969, John just found out/remembered, and Frank is very confused. But what if that didn't happen, she really had just died, and now Frank has to talk little Johnny through one of the hardest moments of his life from 30 years away.
Al Calavicci, Sam Beckett
I love Al and Sam, and I love their dramatic stuff and their comedic stuff equally. One of my favorite episodes is the one where Sam leaps into the mental institution and his brain is all scrambled so he's cycling through the personas leaped into and all Al can do is watch. Like, I have vivid memories of Sam suddenly thinking he's in a war zone and after trying to calm him down as orderlies try to restrain him, Al's dejectedly all "Just give 'em name, rank and serial number." Not to mention the desperation near the end when they're losing contact and Al's begging Sam-as-Jimmy to make people understand what needs to happen.
But then, I also have a mega soft-spot for the one where Sam maybe sorta leaps into vampire and is all "Repeat after me, Al: There's no such thing as vampires!"
I'd prefer either something that takes place during the series (so, Sam is leaping and Al's tracking him) or, if it's pre-series, something that deals with the creation of Project Quantum Leap. I do have a prompt, but as always, you can ignore it:
- Al's always carried a torch for Sam, but he never told him, and now that Sam's being bounced around in time with a swiss-cheese brain and Al's "just a hologram", it's so much easier to talk about Tina's bazoombas and a sea of women than it is to deal with the truth.
SEAQUEST
Lucas Wolenczak, Ben Krieg
It's been a long time since I've seen this, so my first inclination is what I'm going to prompt with. If you have a better idea you think I'd like, run with it.
- Lucas's best friend is talking dolphin, which is fine because Darwin is probably the only one on the sub smarter than he is. But sometimes it gets awfully lonely. Enter Ben Krieg, because if anyone knows how to lift the spirits of a teenage boy, it's the morale officer who never really grew up. (Not slash, ohpleasegod not slash.)