Dear Yuletide Writer
Hello! Welcome! And thanks for being my writer!
What I want most is for you to have a good time writing the story, so if you have an idea of your own, please do go for it. Optional Details Are Optional, and letter details are the most optionalest of them all.
But if it would be useful, here are some of my general preferences:
I prefer slash if I can get it, but for me slash doesn't automatically equal porn. For me it's about the depth of the bond between the characters, the discovery of a startling and unexpected intimacy. I like a subtle, nuanced, gradual approach, the characters getting closer maybe even despite themselves, and figuring things out as they go.
Some of the tropes and approaches I enjoy: happy or at least hopeful endings, words that camouflage deeper/unspoken meanings, showing over telling, extreme competence (but with honest weakness), characters with a protective shell that the other character finds their way into even just a bit, hurt/comfort, chosen families, partners against the world.
And here are further thoughts on the fandoms I requested, in alphabetical order...
1. I SPY
Characters: Kelly Robinson, Alexander Scott
They fight shoulder-to-shoulder, they have adventures and face disasters, they get shot and stabbed, they're lied to by their own bosses and hung out to dry. But they help each other through, in eternal jazz-improvisations of talk and banter, with trust and affection and a hard-won knowledge of each other's strengths and weaknesses. They argue and rescue and nurture and joke and wear each other's shirts. I'd love to see them anywhere--in the US or abroad, on a case or someplace small and domestic. Other canon characters are welcome, if you wanted to bounce off an episode (Scotty's Mom? Kelly's aunt & uncle? Russ, my favorite boss? Lindy McGowan Lindy McGowan, still flying her airplane upside-dowan? :D ), but there's no need to, if you want them off in the middle of nowhere or otherwise stuck with no other support system than themselves.
2. PEACEMAKERS
Characters: Larimer Finch, Jared Stone
When Finch first arrived, I think they more than half-expected to hate each other. But that didn't last, and I love the way they're both savvy and flexible enough to notice, to start perking up and seeing things about each other almost from the first (and to their mutual surprise). They're not the City Mouse & Country Mouse duo they might at first have appeared, and they just keep finding new depths in each other, and changing as they grow closer, including a sometimes-awkward but slowly-appearing willingness to confide. Other canon characters are welcome, and there are all kinds of nice canon loose ends to use if you wanted (e.g., After Stone's loss of Cole? After the events of The Perfect Crime? After the last episode?), but you don't need to, if you want them off by themselves (stuck, or traveling, or otherwise relying solely on each other).
3. SINBAD (TV)
Characters: Gunnar, Sinbad
This is a new show for me, and it's been great fun. I love Gunnar, and I love Gunnar and Sinbad in particular. They're different in very interesting ways: Sinbad starts out all about careless impulse, while Gunnar starts out (and often seems to remain, whenever he can) all about careful self-control. Gunnar clearly knows too much about regret and remorse, and we see Sinbad starting to learn.
I love Gunnar's high levels of competence, and the way he represses like a sunburnt Viking clam. I love the times he refuses to draw his sword, or even refuses to fight altogether, unless it's to protect someone else (of course usually Sinbad). Gunnar is obviously protective of Sinbad, but he often just has to let him make his own mistakes. Even when Sinbad has those rough times, though, he always seems to keep a sunny, hopeful outlook on life, and Gunnar could use a little of that.
Other canon characters are welcome--I love the found-family aspect of the show!--or it could be Gunnar and Sinbad off on a mission of their own.
4. THE STING (1973)
Characters: Henry Gondorff, Johnny Hooker
Henry and Johnny are mentor and mentored, but also equal partners by the end of the movie, each one bringing something valuable to the game. I love either or both of those dynamics, so feel free to suit yourself--I enjoy Henry teaching and Johnny learning, but also Johnny opening Henry's eyes or otherwise keeping him on his toes.
Another con, big or small, could be lots of fun (or them playing parts to help out someone else's con), but don't feel like you have to. I'm sure a lot of their life together happens between cons (and heck, you can't work all the time), whether it's prepping for something, ducking away from danger (from the law or the underworld), Johnny learning a new skill, or Henry learning a little something himself.
Other canon characters are welcome--I love the world of other con men and women that they live in, that feeling of a grifter society--or it could just be Henry and Johnny, shoulder to shoulder and on their own.
What I want most is for you to have a good time writing the story, so if you have an idea of your own, please do go for it. Optional Details Are Optional, and letter details are the most optionalest of them all.
But if it would be useful, here are some of my general preferences:
I prefer slash if I can get it, but for me slash doesn't automatically equal porn. For me it's about the depth of the bond between the characters, the discovery of a startling and unexpected intimacy. I like a subtle, nuanced, gradual approach, the characters getting closer maybe even despite themselves, and figuring things out as they go.
Some of the tropes and approaches I enjoy: happy or at least hopeful endings, words that camouflage deeper/unspoken meanings, showing over telling, extreme competence (but with honest weakness), characters with a protective shell that the other character finds their way into even just a bit, hurt/comfort, chosen families, partners against the world.
And here are further thoughts on the fandoms I requested, in alphabetical order...
1. I SPY
Characters: Kelly Robinson, Alexander Scott
They fight shoulder-to-shoulder, they have adventures and face disasters, they get shot and stabbed, they're lied to by their own bosses and hung out to dry. But they help each other through, in eternal jazz-improvisations of talk and banter, with trust and affection and a hard-won knowledge of each other's strengths and weaknesses. They argue and rescue and nurture and joke and wear each other's shirts. I'd love to see them anywhere--in the US or abroad, on a case or someplace small and domestic. Other canon characters are welcome, if you wanted to bounce off an episode (Scotty's Mom? Kelly's aunt & uncle? Russ, my favorite boss? Lindy McGowan Lindy McGowan, still flying her airplane upside-dowan? :D ), but there's no need to, if you want them off in the middle of nowhere or otherwise stuck with no other support system than themselves.
2. PEACEMAKERS
Characters: Larimer Finch, Jared Stone
When Finch first arrived, I think they more than half-expected to hate each other. But that didn't last, and I love the way they're both savvy and flexible enough to notice, to start perking up and seeing things about each other almost from the first (and to their mutual surprise). They're not the City Mouse & Country Mouse duo they might at first have appeared, and they just keep finding new depths in each other, and changing as they grow closer, including a sometimes-awkward but slowly-appearing willingness to confide. Other canon characters are welcome, and there are all kinds of nice canon loose ends to use if you wanted (e.g., After Stone's loss of Cole? After the events of The Perfect Crime? After the last episode?), but you don't need to, if you want them off by themselves (stuck, or traveling, or otherwise relying solely on each other).
3. SINBAD (TV)
Characters: Gunnar, Sinbad
This is a new show for me, and it's been great fun. I love Gunnar, and I love Gunnar and Sinbad in particular. They're different in very interesting ways: Sinbad starts out all about careless impulse, while Gunnar starts out (and often seems to remain, whenever he can) all about careful self-control. Gunnar clearly knows too much about regret and remorse, and we see Sinbad starting to learn.
I love Gunnar's high levels of competence, and the way he represses like a sunburnt Viking clam. I love the times he refuses to draw his sword, or even refuses to fight altogether, unless it's to protect someone else (of course usually Sinbad). Gunnar is obviously protective of Sinbad, but he often just has to let him make his own mistakes. Even when Sinbad has those rough times, though, he always seems to keep a sunny, hopeful outlook on life, and Gunnar could use a little of that.
Other canon characters are welcome--I love the found-family aspect of the show!--or it could be Gunnar and Sinbad off on a mission of their own.
4. THE STING (1973)
Characters: Henry Gondorff, Johnny Hooker
Henry and Johnny are mentor and mentored, but also equal partners by the end of the movie, each one bringing something valuable to the game. I love either or both of those dynamics, so feel free to suit yourself--I enjoy Henry teaching and Johnny learning, but also Johnny opening Henry's eyes or otherwise keeping him on his toes.
Another con, big or small, could be lots of fun (or them playing parts to help out someone else's con), but don't feel like you have to. I'm sure a lot of their life together happens between cons (and heck, you can't work all the time), whether it's prepping for something, ducking away from danger (from the law or the underworld), Johnny learning a new skill, or Henry learning a little something himself.
Other canon characters are welcome--I love the world of other con men and women that they live in, that feeling of a grifter society--or it could just be Henry and Johnny, shoulder to shoulder and on their own.