dear yuletide santa
Hey there, Yuletide Santa! I'm going to give you a long essay to help you out as much as I can. I know it seems like a lot- and you don't have to read it all!- but I thought it might be best to inundate you with information as opposed to leaving you with too little. :)
Who am I?
I'm a university student who grew up outside Chicago and now lives in New York City. My prospective majors are anthropology and/or ancient history (in the greek, mesopotamian, egyptian areas). At home, my life usually revolves around my friends and pets. We have four guinea pigs, all rescued last fall and who are the treasures of my soul, and two kitties. I love reading and writing, and my interests range from shopping to mystery novels to science fiction and reality shows. You're wonderful for taking on my rambling requests this Yuletide season! I wrote them in the last hour before signup closing because of a paper keeping me captive until then. :)
1 - Anne Perry - Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series.
Emily is probably my favorite character in the Anne Perry books so far because of how real she feels. I've only read select volumes, but don't worry about spoiling me for the rest, because I'll have the series finished by Christmas. My top request would probably be a character piece detailing an instance in Emily's childhood or adulthood that makes her how she is. If you're not a fan of character pieces, that's completely all right! Almost anything with Emily involved (as a protagonist, minor character, or even antagonist) would make me very happy. If you prefer action instead, a piece of a mystery (or a short humorous mystery) that somehow involves Emily would be neat as well.
I chose Emily to request because I admire the type of person who knows what she wants. While Charlotte has her intelligence and wit to guide her, Emily has her brains and ambition. Although they live in a society where women are undervalued, Emily uses its double standards and social games to further her status. She doesn't do this maliciously, though. She stands up for herself and has a strength of character that I love. If you want suggestions, I'd love to see a character piece on how she grew up with her sisters, or how she dealt with her sister's death, or just a slice of her life. Otherwise, as long as it includes Emily as a central character, I'll be happy with anything you decide to write. My favorite part of the series are the period details, but I know that you probably don't have time to research everything that Anne Perry does! If for some reason you feel the need to write with the kind of overlaying details that she does, I won't mind at all if these details are rough or come straight from your head- I mention this because I've seen some people go crazy through to research things for yuletide stories. As long as you have fun writing it, I'll enjoy reading it a lot.
Specifics: Twincest - It really makes me feel uncomfortable, because it makes me think of how weird that would be considering my own family. I know a lot of people who think it's hot (Supernatural fans on my flist, especially!) but personally, it weirds me out - so that's why I put it in the request.
2 - Glee.
I adore Noah and Quinn together for many reasons. They're both self-absorbed at the beginning of the series, and each have large character flaws that cause many viewers to dislike them. Despite this, they're so multi-dimensional that their flaws make them seem more human. My top request would probably be a piece with them, either in the future or the present, and how they try (or don't try) to make this pregnancy scenario work. Would they even fit together as a steady couple, or would things fall apart? As some people think the pregnancy plot can get irritating, any piece involving them and life at William McKinley High School would be wonderful.
I probably like Quinn so much because I identify with her. No, I wasn't a cheerleader or pregnant in high school. I did grow up in a small town in the Midwest, however, where people tended to stay there and never leave. When I was a child, my friends and I used to talk about how we'd move somewhere after we graduated - see the world and chase our dreams. My high school teachers told us how silly we were, how we should focus on reality, get a job at a grocery store or gas station because we didn't have a chance. The feeling of being trapped somewhere, with no way out, so much that you'd be willing to do almost anything to escape it - that's what I identify with about Quinn's character. The episode "Preggers" showed this side of her when she said that she wanted to stay with Finn because he'd help her get out of there.
Similarly, many of my friends knew people like Puck in our high school: people with deadbeat parents who everyone expected to be deadbeats because of it. Of course, I like Quinn and Puck for many other reasons - how hot they are together, for instance - but that's what really drew me into the pairing. If you'd rather not write about them as a couple, a character-centric piece (on either of them) would absolutely make my day. My favorite part of Glee is how the cast is so diverse and unique, so you could vary it up with a character-centric piece on one of them + a brief cameo/mention of the other + other characters and that would make me really happy as well! Of course no matter what you write, I'll adore it anyway, so there's no pressure to stay to my details. If you have really big inspiration on a topic, please, please write about it! That would make me super happy.
Kurt and Mercedes have been good friends ever since the first episodes. They share nuanced whispers or smiles during most of the musical numbers. It reminds me of how, when you have a best friend in high school, you feel like you'll be friends forever. I'd love to see something with them in it, maybe focusing on their friendship, a personal issue, or a music number. Actually, anything with them in it would make me extremely happy. I would like Finn to be included as well, even if it's just a mention of him. He's the first odd-man-out of the glee club, a football player who doesn't truly seem to belong originally. Although he can be dense at times, he also has a good side- like when he helped train Kurt for the football team.
If you watch the series closely, you'll see that the producers love throwing in little details about their friendship. When Kurt was making everyone say "I solemnly swear to vote for whoever sings the best", when everyone reached the "vote for" part, you can dimly hear Mercedes say "you!" as she leans forward and laughs (in "Wheels"). That sort of cute friendship makes me smile, because it's nice to have someone like that when you're a kid going through the roughness of high school. It's especially cute because of how they had a rocky start thanks to the Cheerios in the third episode. The writers craft each character with such care, giving them so many different layers, that I love seeing character pieces or just seeing them in general. While I often think that Finn can be dopey, it's not usually a malicious kind of dopey. Whenever I think of him, the scene "Preggers" when he enthusiastically tells his teacher that he can just borrow books from the library. He's so eager and good-spirited, even when he's acting ridiculously silly. Another sweet part of his character is how he tries to be nice to everyone - for example, in the fourth episode when he tells Kurt that the helmet brings out his eyes. Sure, he does it to make Kurt wear the helmet, but in an episode filled with the other football players insulting Kurt and mocking him, Finn's sweet attempts at being nice to people really stand out from the crowd. I do find myself annoyed at him sometimes, but that's part of Glee's charm. The writers give every character a mix of likable and unlikable moments to make them seem more real than the characters in some other shows.
Specifics: Teacher/Student relationships - I think that having a crush on a teacher/professor/t.a. is normal and ordinary for students. Because of personal reasons, though, I have to request that there are no romantic overtures from the teachers toward students. It's a personal thing caused by my own high school experience. However, if you want to mention something within the story canon, like Rachel's future crush in "Ballads", then I'm all right with it. I guess what I mean is that student crushes on teachers are fine, as long as the teachers don't overstep their boundaries.
3 - Chuck.
Peanut butter and jelly; sliced bread and... I actually forget the next part; Chuck Bartowski and Morgan Grimes. Ever since the beginning of the season, they are always there for each other. Morgan seems to realize that Chuck could be doing bigger and better things, but he never holds Chuck's intelligence against him. Chuck never throws Morgan out even though he was creepily obsessed with his sister and had to be rescued from mean middle school female bullies. They played video games for hours together for fun; they stood by each other's side when the going got rough. Morgan blamed Bryce for ruining Chuck's life while Chuck stood up for Morgan when they were kids. Somehow they remained friends through it all, even through Chuck's brief term at Stanford. A friendship piece with these two would be amazing, something showing them together and how they interact, whether in the past or present.
If you prefer something more action-related, there's always a spy mission that somehow involves Morgan, or a (much less serious) situation at the Buy More. If you prefer something more character-driven, how about something involving how Morgan met Chuck around when Chuck's father left their family? These are just situations that come to mind- honestly, anything involving them as friends would be amazingly perfect.
As you can probably tell, I wrote this one request rather quickly, so that explains the relative length. If you choose this prompt, please note that I don't expect you to follow it entirely! Just take the second paragraph and pretend that I wrote it in my dear yuletide santa letter, because those are just random ideas that came to my head. Honestly, I'd love anything as long as it involved these two goofballs. Like I mentioned in the previous request, I love friendship pieces, and I especially love how Morgan and Chuck have remained friends for so long, despite everything. The Buy More crew is always hilarious and extremely entertaining, and I adore the tongue-and-cheek feel of the show regarding its spy parts. Poor Chuck is always being pulled between two worlds and he doesn't know what to do about it.
Specifics: My only request is that there's no Chuck/Morgan romance (at least not two-sided!) and no Chuck/Casey, because I don't understand them together because of their personalities. For this fandom, really, anything else goes- het/slash/gen as well as humor/romance/crack!fic/drama/sad!fic/angst/adventure/everything in between. While I like deeply driven character pieces, I also like a random slice of crazy Buy More life with all those hilarious characters acting silly.
Other Information.
Does she really mean it when she says details are optional?
Yes! As long as I receive a piece come the closing of yuletide, I will be your biggest fan and love you forever.
I don't like that couple... do you like other pairings as well?
While I'd like to see the pairings that I mention (I think Puck/Quinn is the only one) I also adore gen fics/ character pieces. I basically ship a whole group of canon pairings for Glee, so I won't be offended if you decide to include both characters and have them involved with someone else. My other main Glee ships are: Puck/Rachel, Quinn/Finn, Rachel/Finn (although not my favorite), one-sided Kurt/Finn, Mike Chang/everyone, Artie/Tina, and Santana/everyone. They're in high school, with its whirlwinds of relationship drama, so I usually take most pairings in stride.
What are your other favorite pairings for these series?
I don't really have favorite pairings for Anne Perry's novels. I read them for the characters and the plot, as well as the gorgeous period detail she slips into nearly every sentence. For Chuck, I usually prefer the traditional Chuck and Sarah pairing. When I venture into the world of Chuck slash, it's usually for a piece involving Bryce Larkin, the hottest super spy ever, and Chuck while they were at college. Honestly, I simply don't think that Chuck and Casey would work together, though it's certainly a funny prospect!
Why did you write a huge paragraph on ____ series but only several lines for ___ series?
I don't prefer the longer one over the short one! I just have more to say about specifics for that one. If you want more information, then please email the yuletide staff to pass a question on to me. I'll get back to you asap. :)
Conclusion.
Basically, anything you give me will make me super happy. I've given you a ton of details because they're what makes me happy when I'm writing, but I know that some writers prefer differently. Feel free to do whatever you want with my prompts, because honestly, I'm just overjoyed to have you writing me something for Yuletide! Once again, I'd love to hear from you if you have any questions, so just send an email to the yuletide staff if you want any more information.
♥ ♥ ♥
Sincerely,
krysti_ryou/
Cristina
Who am I?
I'm a university student who grew up outside Chicago and now lives in New York City. My prospective majors are anthropology and/or ancient history (in the greek, mesopotamian, egyptian areas). At home, my life usually revolves around my friends and pets. We have four guinea pigs, all rescued last fall and who are the treasures of my soul, and two kitties. I love reading and writing, and my interests range from shopping to mystery novels to science fiction and reality shows. You're wonderful for taking on my rambling requests this Yuletide season! I wrote them in the last hour before signup closing because of a paper keeping me captive until then. :)
1 - Anne Perry - Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series.
Emily is probably my favorite character in the Anne Perry books so far because of how real she feels. I've only read select volumes, but don't worry about spoiling me for the rest, because I'll have the series finished by Christmas. My top request would probably be a character piece detailing an instance in Emily's childhood or adulthood that makes her how she is. If you're not a fan of character pieces, that's completely all right! Almost anything with Emily involved (as a protagonist, minor character, or even antagonist) would make me very happy. If you prefer action instead, a piece of a mystery (or a short humorous mystery) that somehow involves Emily would be neat as well.
I chose Emily to request because I admire the type of person who knows what she wants. While Charlotte has her intelligence and wit to guide her, Emily has her brains and ambition. Although they live in a society where women are undervalued, Emily uses its double standards and social games to further her status. She doesn't do this maliciously, though. She stands up for herself and has a strength of character that I love. If you want suggestions, I'd love to see a character piece on how she grew up with her sisters, or how she dealt with her sister's death, or just a slice of her life. Otherwise, as long as it includes Emily as a central character, I'll be happy with anything you decide to write. My favorite part of the series are the period details, but I know that you probably don't have time to research everything that Anne Perry does! If for some reason you feel the need to write with the kind of overlaying details that she does, I won't mind at all if these details are rough or come straight from your head- I mention this because I've seen some people go crazy through to research things for yuletide stories. As long as you have fun writing it, I'll enjoy reading it a lot.
Specifics: Twincest - It really makes me feel uncomfortable, because it makes me think of how weird that would be considering my own family. I know a lot of people who think it's hot (Supernatural fans on my flist, especially!) but personally, it weirds me out - so that's why I put it in the request.
2 - Glee.
I adore Noah and Quinn together for many reasons. They're both self-absorbed at the beginning of the series, and each have large character flaws that cause many viewers to dislike them. Despite this, they're so multi-dimensional that their flaws make them seem more human. My top request would probably be a piece with them, either in the future or the present, and how they try (or don't try) to make this pregnancy scenario work. Would they even fit together as a steady couple, or would things fall apart? As some people think the pregnancy plot can get irritating, any piece involving them and life at William McKinley High School would be wonderful.
I probably like Quinn so much because I identify with her. No, I wasn't a cheerleader or pregnant in high school. I did grow up in a small town in the Midwest, however, where people tended to stay there and never leave. When I was a child, my friends and I used to talk about how we'd move somewhere after we graduated - see the world and chase our dreams. My high school teachers told us how silly we were, how we should focus on reality, get a job at a grocery store or gas station because we didn't have a chance. The feeling of being trapped somewhere, with no way out, so much that you'd be willing to do almost anything to escape it - that's what I identify with about Quinn's character. The episode "Preggers" showed this side of her when she said that she wanted to stay with Finn because he'd help her get out of there.
Similarly, many of my friends knew people like Puck in our high school: people with deadbeat parents who everyone expected to be deadbeats because of it. Of course, I like Quinn and Puck for many other reasons - how hot they are together, for instance - but that's what really drew me into the pairing. If you'd rather not write about them as a couple, a character-centric piece (on either of them) would absolutely make my day. My favorite part of Glee is how the cast is so diverse and unique, so you could vary it up with a character-centric piece on one of them + a brief cameo/mention of the other + other characters and that would make me really happy as well! Of course no matter what you write, I'll adore it anyway, so there's no pressure to stay to my details. If you have really big inspiration on a topic, please, please write about it! That would make me super happy.
Kurt and Mercedes have been good friends ever since the first episodes. They share nuanced whispers or smiles during most of the musical numbers. It reminds me of how, when you have a best friend in high school, you feel like you'll be friends forever. I'd love to see something with them in it, maybe focusing on their friendship, a personal issue, or a music number. Actually, anything with them in it would make me extremely happy. I would like Finn to be included as well, even if it's just a mention of him. He's the first odd-man-out of the glee club, a football player who doesn't truly seem to belong originally. Although he can be dense at times, he also has a good side- like when he helped train Kurt for the football team.
If you watch the series closely, you'll see that the producers love throwing in little details about their friendship. When Kurt was making everyone say "I solemnly swear to vote for whoever sings the best", when everyone reached the "vote for" part, you can dimly hear Mercedes say "you!" as she leans forward and laughs (in "Wheels"). That sort of cute friendship makes me smile, because it's nice to have someone like that when you're a kid going through the roughness of high school. It's especially cute because of how they had a rocky start thanks to the Cheerios in the third episode. The writers craft each character with such care, giving them so many different layers, that I love seeing character pieces or just seeing them in general. While I often think that Finn can be dopey, it's not usually a malicious kind of dopey. Whenever I think of him, the scene "Preggers" when he enthusiastically tells his teacher that he can just borrow books from the library. He's so eager and good-spirited, even when he's acting ridiculously silly. Another sweet part of his character is how he tries to be nice to everyone - for example, in the fourth episode when he tells Kurt that the helmet brings out his eyes. Sure, he does it to make Kurt wear the helmet, but in an episode filled with the other football players insulting Kurt and mocking him, Finn's sweet attempts at being nice to people really stand out from the crowd. I do find myself annoyed at him sometimes, but that's part of Glee's charm. The writers give every character a mix of likable and unlikable moments to make them seem more real than the characters in some other shows.
Specifics: Teacher/Student relationships - I think that having a crush on a teacher/professor/t.a. is normal and ordinary for students. Because of personal reasons, though, I have to request that there are no romantic overtures from the teachers toward students. It's a personal thing caused by my own high school experience. However, if you want to mention something within the story canon, like Rachel's future crush in "Ballads", then I'm all right with it. I guess what I mean is that student crushes on teachers are fine, as long as the teachers don't overstep their boundaries.
3 - Chuck.
Peanut butter and jelly; sliced bread and... I actually forget the next part; Chuck Bartowski and Morgan Grimes. Ever since the beginning of the season, they are always there for each other. Morgan seems to realize that Chuck could be doing bigger and better things, but he never holds Chuck's intelligence against him. Chuck never throws Morgan out even though he was creepily obsessed with his sister and had to be rescued from mean middle school female bullies. They played video games for hours together for fun; they stood by each other's side when the going got rough. Morgan blamed Bryce for ruining Chuck's life while Chuck stood up for Morgan when they were kids. Somehow they remained friends through it all, even through Chuck's brief term at Stanford. A friendship piece with these two would be amazing, something showing them together and how they interact, whether in the past or present.
If you prefer something more action-related, there's always a spy mission that somehow involves Morgan, or a (much less serious) situation at the Buy More. If you prefer something more character-driven, how about something involving how Morgan met Chuck around when Chuck's father left their family? These are just situations that come to mind- honestly, anything involving them as friends would be amazingly perfect.
As you can probably tell, I wrote this one request rather quickly, so that explains the relative length. If you choose this prompt, please note that I don't expect you to follow it entirely! Just take the second paragraph and pretend that I wrote it in my dear yuletide santa letter, because those are just random ideas that came to my head. Honestly, I'd love anything as long as it involved these two goofballs. Like I mentioned in the previous request, I love friendship pieces, and I especially love how Morgan and Chuck have remained friends for so long, despite everything. The Buy More crew is always hilarious and extremely entertaining, and I adore the tongue-and-cheek feel of the show regarding its spy parts. Poor Chuck is always being pulled between two worlds and he doesn't know what to do about it.
Specifics: My only request is that there's no Chuck/Morgan romance (at least not two-sided!) and no Chuck/Casey, because I don't understand them together because of their personalities. For this fandom, really, anything else goes- het/slash/gen as well as humor/romance/crack!fic/drama/sad!fic/angst/adventure/everything in between. While I like deeply driven character pieces, I also like a random slice of crazy Buy More life with all those hilarious characters acting silly.
Other Information.
Does she really mean it when she says details are optional?
Yes! As long as I receive a piece come the closing of yuletide, I will be your biggest fan and love you forever.
I don't like that couple... do you like other pairings as well?
While I'd like to see the pairings that I mention (I think Puck/Quinn is the only one) I also adore gen fics/ character pieces. I basically ship a whole group of canon pairings for Glee, so I won't be offended if you decide to include both characters and have them involved with someone else. My other main Glee ships are: Puck/Rachel, Quinn/Finn, Rachel/Finn (although not my favorite), one-sided Kurt/Finn, Mike Chang/everyone, Artie/Tina, and Santana/everyone. They're in high school, with its whirlwinds of relationship drama, so I usually take most pairings in stride.
What are your other favorite pairings for these series?
I don't really have favorite pairings for Anne Perry's novels. I read them for the characters and the plot, as well as the gorgeous period detail she slips into nearly every sentence. For Chuck, I usually prefer the traditional Chuck and Sarah pairing. When I venture into the world of Chuck slash, it's usually for a piece involving Bryce Larkin, the hottest super spy ever, and Chuck while they were at college. Honestly, I simply don't think that Chuck and Casey would work together, though it's certainly a funny prospect!
Why did you write a huge paragraph on ____ series but only several lines for ___ series?
I don't prefer the longer one over the short one! I just have more to say about specifics for that one. If you want more information, then please email the yuletide staff to pass a question on to me. I'll get back to you asap. :)
Conclusion.
Basically, anything you give me will make me super happy. I've given you a ton of details because they're what makes me happy when I'm writing, but I know that some writers prefer differently. Feel free to do whatever you want with my prompts, because honestly, I'm just overjoyed to have you writing me something for Yuletide! Once again, I'd love to hear from you if you have any questions, so just send an email to the yuletide staff if you want any more information.
♥ ♥ ♥
Sincerely,
krysti_ryou/
Cristina