Dear Yuletide
I love this time of year...
Dear Yuletide,
First off, I'm hoping that something below is useful for you. If not, then just ignore it. I hope you have fun writing for Yuletide, because that is the main thing about it. The stuff below is because I've found it helpful in the past to have a DY to work from.
What I like:
Firstly, in everything I request, I am happy with gen, het, slash/femslash. I have my preferences, but mostly I like specific characters (and the pairings that involve them) rather than specific pairings as such. Also, threesome or moresome is fine with me.
I like characters that put the work into doing good, because they know it has to be done.
I love found-family, family of choice stuf.
I like trope-fic and I love fic that takes a fresh look at tropes-- that rethinks it or treats it in a new way. I'm not a fan of biology-is-destiny, so soulmates and ABO stuff doesn't usually work for me.
I like AUs as well. My only thing with AUs is that I like them to be at least as interesting as the world the characters originally came from. Psychic wolf AUs? Great! Space operas? Detective noir, urban fantasy, wonderful! Part of the appeal of that is seeing how the characters are still themselves in those settings, you know?
Other things that I like include (but are not limited to) pining, resolution, mythology (mmm, mythology), food, music, dragons, people being *good*, tension, tea, family, hope, gen, het, slash, femslash, gen-that-feels-like-slash, slash-that-feels-like-gen, bystander POV, people not-saying the thing they're saying and other people knowing what they mean, gender/sexswitch (temporary and always-been-a), ghosts (real and metaphorical), secrets, what happens next. Obviously, the fandoms I pick, I love those worlds, but
I also love slice-of-life fic, bystander fic, like-a-canon-epsiode fic, it's all good. Fic that picks up a tiny detail, a single mention in canon and then really explores it? A thing of beauty and a joy forever.
I really don't expect you to include all those, or even know how you would, it's really just a random list of things I enjoy.
What I don't like:
I don't necessarily go for pure fluff (I like the endings to feel deserved), but I don't like it when things are devoid of hope. In general, I would say that I prefer a happy ending-- or at least, an ending that's no darker than one these canons would have anyway. PWP doesn't really interest me unless it comes paired with interesting character dynamics.
I hate bastardization of characters. I'm not massively attached to OTPs, either-- I have my preferences, but they're not set in stone.
On to fandom specifics!
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
So this film combines my competency kink and my kink for people doing the right thing under difficult circumstances. I pretty much adore George Smiley and I am really not alone in this, as clearly, so do Peter Guilliame, and so (explicitly in the books), does Connie, and even the people that don't like him or are actively betraying him, still have this appreciation for him. It also shocks me how little fic there is about him (and so little George/Peter!) because seriously, I could read all the fic. I have a huge competency kink and I love people who are good at what they do.
I also am fond of Connie, especially what happens after Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Again, one of the things that interests me the most is their relationship and interaction with George Smiley, but backstory would be great as well.
Rivers of London
As above, gen, het, slash, femslash, I'd love it all. Anything that has the same, precise sense of geography as the books would be great, especially stuff that uses areas of the city we've not seen in the books yet. I love Peter, but the first person perspective does limit us to his POV, so it would be great if it was from one of the others (or another third party).
I don't know where you are on the series, so I'll try to be vague: I wished the ending of the last book had taken place somewhere in the middle, so that everyone involved (including the readers) would have had time to process and deal, instead of *that* being the place that you're stuck in until the next book comes out, so you're (and by you're, I mean I'm) stuck with that particular set of emotions about *things* and *people*, instead of, you know, happier ones.
The Hollow Crown (2012)
I've said it before, but the problem with history is that pretty much everyone in it died. And they weren't always happy before they did, which is a problem for me, because I, on the whole, don't go for doomed romances and inevitable tragedy. Damn history, with it's awkward lack of happy endings.
If you did end up going with Richard II and Bolingbroke... well, that's even more of a problem, because they start the play so in to each other, but Richard is not a good king, or the right king, and I don't know how anything approaching even the possibility of a happy ending would have worked without actual divine intervention or at least somebody hitting them both in the head with the "Fail less!" stick. But I loved this interpretation and I loved them and... yeah, breaks your heart until you want to kick them in the head.
On a lighter note, Hal and Ned! I loved this interpretation of them because they did seem like actual friends and companions, and I think Hal needs actual friends. I would love something where Ned becomes Hal's unofficial Dirty Deeds Done Cheap man, or his "hey, I need this message taken to this person, but I can't actually be seen or even rumoured to have sent this message, so..."
Yes, basically I want companionship, but given how they were with each other? Companionship and sex would not go amiss
If you got this as your match, then you understand my pain, because seriously, there should have been more of this. Would love some post-finale fic, because I'm still sad we didn't get any more episodes. Gen, het, femslash, slash-- I love the characters, and I'd have loved to see more of how they developed, the effects of the finale, of what Rachel was doing when she was away, Dani coming back, Charlie reconnecting with her, Jane's plans... Not helpful, but I'd just love more.
Found family, family of choice, even if the choice is under extreme circumstances and some of the family are, you know, genetically identical. I love to see these characters interacting, especially if it's in contexts we haven't seen yet. I don't have much to say about this, because I'm still at the greedy stage where I just want it all.
This entry was also posted at http://jamjar.dreamwidth.org/111236.html.
Dear Yuletide,
First off, I'm hoping that something below is useful for you. If not, then just ignore it. I hope you have fun writing for Yuletide, because that is the main thing about it. The stuff below is because I've found it helpful in the past to have a DY to work from.
What I like:
Firstly, in everything I request, I am happy with gen, het, slash/femslash. I have my preferences, but mostly I like specific characters (and the pairings that involve them) rather than specific pairings as such. Also, threesome or moresome is fine with me.
I like characters that put the work into doing good, because they know it has to be done.
I love found-family, family of choice stuf.
I like trope-fic and I love fic that takes a fresh look at tropes-- that rethinks it or treats it in a new way. I'm not a fan of biology-is-destiny, so soulmates and ABO stuff doesn't usually work for me.
I like AUs as well. My only thing with AUs is that I like them to be at least as interesting as the world the characters originally came from. Psychic wolf AUs? Great! Space operas? Detective noir, urban fantasy, wonderful! Part of the appeal of that is seeing how the characters are still themselves in those settings, you know?
Other things that I like include (but are not limited to) pining, resolution, mythology (mmm, mythology), food, music, dragons, people being *good*, tension, tea, family, hope, gen, het, slash, femslash, gen-that-feels-like-slash, slash-that-feels-like-gen, bystander POV, people not-saying the thing they're saying and other people knowing what they mean, gender/sexswitch (temporary and always-been-a), ghosts (real and metaphorical), secrets, what happens next. Obviously, the fandoms I pick, I love those worlds, but
I also love slice-of-life fic, bystander fic, like-a-canon-epsiode fic, it's all good. Fic that picks up a tiny detail, a single mention in canon and then really explores it? A thing of beauty and a joy forever.
I really don't expect you to include all those, or even know how you would, it's really just a random list of things I enjoy.
What I don't like:
I don't necessarily go for pure fluff (I like the endings to feel deserved), but I don't like it when things are devoid of hope. In general, I would say that I prefer a happy ending-- or at least, an ending that's no darker than one these canons would have anyway. PWP doesn't really interest me unless it comes paired with interesting character dynamics.
I hate bastardization of characters. I'm not massively attached to OTPs, either-- I have my preferences, but they're not set in stone.
On to fandom specifics!
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
So this film combines my competency kink and my kink for people doing the right thing under difficult circumstances. I pretty much adore George Smiley and I am really not alone in this, as clearly, so do Peter Guilliame, and so (explicitly in the books), does Connie, and even the people that don't like him or are actively betraying him, still have this appreciation for him. It also shocks me how little fic there is about him (and so little George/Peter!) because seriously, I could read all the fic. I have a huge competency kink and I love people who are good at what they do.
I also am fond of Connie, especially what happens after Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Again, one of the things that interests me the most is their relationship and interaction with George Smiley, but backstory would be great as well.
Rivers of London
As above, gen, het, slash, femslash, I'd love it all. Anything that has the same, precise sense of geography as the books would be great, especially stuff that uses areas of the city we've not seen in the books yet. I love Peter, but the first person perspective does limit us to his POV, so it would be great if it was from one of the others (or another third party).
I don't know where you are on the series, so I'll try to be vague: I wished the ending of the last book had taken place somewhere in the middle, so that everyone involved (including the readers) would have had time to process and deal, instead of *that* being the place that you're stuck in until the next book comes out, so you're (and by you're, I mean I'm) stuck with that particular set of emotions about *things* and *people*, instead of, you know, happier ones.
The Hollow Crown (2012)
I've said it before, but the problem with history is that pretty much everyone in it died. And they weren't always happy before they did, which is a problem for me, because I, on the whole, don't go for doomed romances and inevitable tragedy. Damn history, with it's awkward lack of happy endings.
If you did end up going with Richard II and Bolingbroke... well, that's even more of a problem, because they start the play so in to each other, but Richard is not a good king, or the right king, and I don't know how anything approaching even the possibility of a happy ending would have worked without actual divine intervention or at least somebody hitting them both in the head with the "Fail less!" stick. But I loved this interpretation and I loved them and... yeah, breaks your heart until you want to kick them in the head.
On a lighter note, Hal and Ned! I loved this interpretation of them because they did seem like actual friends and companions, and I think Hal needs actual friends. I would love something where Ned becomes Hal's unofficial Dirty Deeds Done Cheap man, or his "hey, I need this message taken to this person, but I can't actually be seen or even rumoured to have sent this message, so..."
Yes, basically I want companionship, but given how they were with each other? Companionship and sex would not go amiss
If you got this as your match, then you understand my pain, because seriously, there should have been more of this. Would love some post-finale fic, because I'm still sad we didn't get any more episodes. Gen, het, femslash, slash-- I love the characters, and I'd have loved to see more of how they developed, the effects of the finale, of what Rachel was doing when she was away, Dani coming back, Charlie reconnecting with her, Jane's plans... Not helpful, but I'd just love more.
Found family, family of choice, even if the choice is under extreme circumstances and some of the family are, you know, genetically identical. I love to see these characters interacting, especially if it's in contexts we haven't seen yet. I don't have much to say about this, because I'm still at the greedy stage where I just want it all.
This entry was also posted at http://jamjar.dreamwidth.org/111236.html.