Dear Yuletide Letter 2016
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Thank you for taking the time to write a story for me. I prefer to allow an author to take a request of mine and go in fun and exciting directions so I don't like giving too much restrictions. There isn't much that I would be against but it does exist.
GENERAL
Things I Like:
The more people involved in a story, the better. I like subplots and side pairings but I get if that’s not possible in a thousand words. “A Day in the Life” kind of story. Friends to lovers. Complications.
Things I Don’t Like:
If you're filling a Sports RPF request (I have two fandoms like that), please be mindful of the fact these are real people who could have real life issues. For instance, having a current athlete engaging in recreational drugs (non-AU) without any consequences is going to throw me out of an otherwise wonderful tale so fast. As I have requested a “character” who was personally affected by a school shooting, absolutely do not even mention that in passing.
While I don’t mind violence, spare me the gory details of blood and mutilation.
A/B/O, Mpreg - Just no. Too complicated to explain.
Onto the requests…
Tennis RPF - Andy Murray, Stanislas Wawrinka
When I was trying to figure out which players to request this year, it got in my head how these two seem to cross for various reasons (both won their third major title this year, the "who is really the fourth in the Big 4", #2 and #3 in the world) but I don't think I've actually read an Andy/Stan fic. I don't know how it would work. If you see a way, I would be more than happy to read it. They have had some close matches, even before Stan’s rise to the top of the game, so Stan has always been on Andy’s radar. I have tried to write slash so I know firsthand the difficulty.
So, what I actually had in mind was more along the lines of a triangle. There are obvious ways to connect them through a third player.
* Novak Djokovic - the most common pairing involving Andy is Nole/Andy. Andy is one week older than Novak and they became friends in the juniors despite the language barrier (though, as Nole tells it, the Scottish brogue was the issue). Stan is probably the player who is currently most in Nole's head, thanks to beating him en route to all three majors Stan has won (including twice in the final). Stan's first ATP title came thanks to Novak retiring in the final.
* Roger Federer - the most common pairing involving Stan is Roger/Stan. For many years, Stan was seen more as Roger's little brother - and treated as such. Roger's dorkiness involving Stan's rise - including Roger coining the nickname "Stanimal" for him - is a fun angle that hasn't been written enough. The Roger/Andy dynamic can be a fun one - they do have the coolest mashup name (Murrderer).
* Gael Monfils - Andy has said Gael is the most fun to watch (play). Stan has cited Gael as one of his closest friends on tour. There was a story about a dustup involving Stan and French players after the Davis Cup 2014 final in which Gael played mediator.
* Nick Kyrgios - okay, this is a bit more dicey but it could be fun. Nick has admitted to having a mancrush on Andy while it's also obvious Nick despises Stan (made international news when he brought trash talk to the tennis court). While I am not keen on mention of Stan's girlfriend - professional player Donna Vekic - I do realize she could come up if you're doing this angle (or just use Thanasi Kokkinakis, as he was the one actually mentioned by name).
* Rafael Nadal - I don't know how Rafa/Stan would work (maybe it'd involve Roger?) but my personal favorite pairing is Rafa/Andy so figured it would at least be worth mentioning. Stan did get his first victory over Rafa in the final of the Australian Open 2015 and beat him two more times that year. Stan is year older than Rafa so there's a good chance their paths crossed very early on.
* Juan Martin del Potro - I would take a guess that the Rise of Delpo in 2016 could fill this year's yuletide. I nearly did request him. Andy/Delpo (Olympic gold, Davis Cup SF) and Stan/Delpo (Wimbledon, US Open) have enough angsty match material just from 2016.
You can even go beyond the tag set, as long as you somehow work in both characters requested.
AUs are fine - as you see below, I am a hockey fan. We might have even matched on that fandom instead of this one. Stan is a hockey fan so an AU making him a player/fan could fun.
DNW: I can deal with mention of Andy's wife, Stan's ex-wife or Stan's girlfriend (though also fine to handwave them away) but leave Andy's daughter and Stan's daughter out.
Pittsburgh Penguins RPF - Marc-Andre Fleury
It wasn’t until the nomination phase that I remembered wanting to request players from a hockey fandom this year.
Marc is my player pick because to be in the position of a goalie on the team who won the Stanley Cup, doing the job during the regular season but watching your rookie backup Matt Murray get the glory of the postseason is a… very odd position.
The first sentence comes into play when it comes to the want, however, as I don’t really know how it would work with any of those players slashed with him. (I do like Phil Kessel, if you want to stay within the tag set) Kris Letang and/or Matt Murray would be my picks, as I like the idea of Marc attempting to mentor Matt while having Tanger mess it up for him. I also like how Sidney Crosby constantly acknowledges Marc’s work while they were celebrating this Cup (not to mention the total dorkiness caused by Sid calling Marc “Flower”).
Real Genius - Chris Knight
I simply love this character. I love how he was once a geek like Mitch and turned into the wild man.
Give me anything. Give me him in college before he saw the light. Give me him exploring Lazlo's underground. Give me his failures at getting women (or men) before he remedied that. Give me him giving advice to Mitch and Jordan... or even attempting to flirt with one of them. Give me more pranks he pulled on Kent or others in the department. Maybe he grew up and has a boring job and looks back at those fun college years.
Bates Motel - Dylan Massett, Norman Bates
Since the series began, it’s been in my head how Dylan ends up out of Norman’s life (to fit with the timeline of the Psycho movies). I’m interested in their dynamic - whether from their childhood or how they are now that Norma is dead.
As this show is filled with incest, I have no objection if you want to slash them but you would have to mention Norman’s love for Norma somehow.
I am an Emma lover but I totally understand if you as the writer have to kill her off due to her illness or other means. You could also have Dylan confiding in Emma about Norman if you want to keep it on the happier side (happy of course being a relative term with this show).
(repost from Dear Yuletide 2015)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Charlie Kelly, Mac
This show works well in being misinformed about hot-button issues. Whether they want to deal with the Oil Crisis or Gun Control, it works within their context. I do not mind if you go beyond any and all lines (including ignoring anything I wrote in the Dislikes section).
As for fic, I like when Mac and Charlie bounce off each other. Slash between them is fine, though Mac’s homophobia would have to be acknowledged. They could be giving the other love advice, whether about Waitress, Dee, or someone else - any pairing (including incestual) is fine. Maybe Mac gets Charlie outside of Philadelphia. Maybe they join forces to screw Dennis over. Maybe someone actually holds onto money for more than a few minutes. I would prefer fic in the style of the series but they do fantasize a lot so an AU could be worked within that context.
Thank you for taking the time to write a story for me. I prefer to allow an author to take a request of mine and go in fun and exciting directions so I don't like giving too much restrictions. There isn't much that I would be against but it does exist.
GENERAL
Things I Like:
The more people involved in a story, the better. I like subplots and side pairings but I get if that’s not possible in a thousand words. “A Day in the Life” kind of story. Friends to lovers. Complications.
Things I Don’t Like:
If you're filling a Sports RPF request (I have two fandoms like that), please be mindful of the fact these are real people who could have real life issues. For instance, having a current athlete engaging in recreational drugs (non-AU) without any consequences is going to throw me out of an otherwise wonderful tale so fast. As I have requested a “character” who was personally affected by a school shooting, absolutely do not even mention that in passing.
While I don’t mind violence, spare me the gory details of blood and mutilation.
A/B/O, Mpreg - Just no. Too complicated to explain.
Onto the requests…
Tennis RPF - Andy Murray, Stanislas Wawrinka
When I was trying to figure out which players to request this year, it got in my head how these two seem to cross for various reasons (both won their third major title this year, the "who is really the fourth in the Big 4", #2 and #3 in the world) but I don't think I've actually read an Andy/Stan fic. I don't know how it would work. If you see a way, I would be more than happy to read it. They have had some close matches, even before Stan’s rise to the top of the game, so Stan has always been on Andy’s radar. I have tried to write slash so I know firsthand the difficulty.
So, what I actually had in mind was more along the lines of a triangle. There are obvious ways to connect them through a third player.
* Novak Djokovic - the most common pairing involving Andy is Nole/Andy. Andy is one week older than Novak and they became friends in the juniors despite the language barrier (though, as Nole tells it, the Scottish brogue was the issue). Stan is probably the player who is currently most in Nole's head, thanks to beating him en route to all three majors Stan has won (including twice in the final). Stan's first ATP title came thanks to Novak retiring in the final.
* Roger Federer - the most common pairing involving Stan is Roger/Stan. For many years, Stan was seen more as Roger's little brother - and treated as such. Roger's dorkiness involving Stan's rise - including Roger coining the nickname "Stanimal" for him - is a fun angle that hasn't been written enough. The Roger/Andy dynamic can be a fun one - they do have the coolest mashup name (Murrderer).
* Gael Monfils - Andy has said Gael is the most fun to watch (play). Stan has cited Gael as one of his closest friends on tour. There was a story about a dustup involving Stan and French players after the Davis Cup 2014 final in which Gael played mediator.
* Nick Kyrgios - okay, this is a bit more dicey but it could be fun. Nick has admitted to having a mancrush on Andy while it's also obvious Nick despises Stan (made international news when he brought trash talk to the tennis court). While I am not keen on mention of Stan's girlfriend - professional player Donna Vekic - I do realize she could come up if you're doing this angle (or just use Thanasi Kokkinakis, as he was the one actually mentioned by name).
* Rafael Nadal - I don't know how Rafa/Stan would work (maybe it'd involve Roger?) but my personal favorite pairing is Rafa/Andy so figured it would at least be worth mentioning. Stan did get his first victory over Rafa in the final of the Australian Open 2015 and beat him two more times that year. Stan is year older than Rafa so there's a good chance their paths crossed very early on.
* Juan Martin del Potro - I would take a guess that the Rise of Delpo in 2016 could fill this year's yuletide. I nearly did request him. Andy/Delpo (Olympic gold, Davis Cup SF) and Stan/Delpo (Wimbledon, US Open) have enough angsty match material just from 2016.
You can even go beyond the tag set, as long as you somehow work in both characters requested.
AUs are fine - as you see below, I am a hockey fan. We might have even matched on that fandom instead of this one. Stan is a hockey fan so an AU making him a player/fan could fun.
DNW: I can deal with mention of Andy's wife, Stan's ex-wife or Stan's girlfriend (though also fine to handwave them away) but leave Andy's daughter and Stan's daughter out.
Pittsburgh Penguins RPF - Marc-Andre Fleury
It wasn’t until the nomination phase that I remembered wanting to request players from a hockey fandom this year.
Marc is my player pick because to be in the position of a goalie on the team who won the Stanley Cup, doing the job during the regular season but watching your rookie backup Matt Murray get the glory of the postseason is a… very odd position.
The first sentence comes into play when it comes to the want, however, as I don’t really know how it would work with any of those players slashed with him. (I do like Phil Kessel, if you want to stay within the tag set) Kris Letang and/or Matt Murray would be my picks, as I like the idea of Marc attempting to mentor Matt while having Tanger mess it up for him. I also like how Sidney Crosby constantly acknowledges Marc’s work while they were celebrating this Cup (not to mention the total dorkiness caused by Sid calling Marc “Flower”).
Real Genius - Chris Knight
I simply love this character. I love how he was once a geek like Mitch and turned into the wild man.
Give me anything. Give me him in college before he saw the light. Give me him exploring Lazlo's underground. Give me his failures at getting women (or men) before he remedied that. Give me him giving advice to Mitch and Jordan... or even attempting to flirt with one of them. Give me more pranks he pulled on Kent or others in the department. Maybe he grew up and has a boring job and looks back at those fun college years.
Bates Motel - Dylan Massett, Norman Bates
Since the series began, it’s been in my head how Dylan ends up out of Norman’s life (to fit with the timeline of the Psycho movies). I’m interested in their dynamic - whether from their childhood or how they are now that Norma is dead.
As this show is filled with incest, I have no objection if you want to slash them but you would have to mention Norman’s love for Norma somehow.
I am an Emma lover but I totally understand if you as the writer have to kill her off due to her illness or other means. You could also have Dylan confiding in Emma about Norman if you want to keep it on the happier side (happy of course being a relative term with this show).
(repost from Dear Yuletide 2015)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Charlie Kelly, Mac
This show works well in being misinformed about hot-button issues. Whether they want to deal with the Oil Crisis or Gun Control, it works within their context. I do not mind if you go beyond any and all lines (including ignoring anything I wrote in the Dislikes section).
As for fic, I like when Mac and Charlie bounce off each other. Slash between them is fine, though Mac’s homophobia would have to be acknowledged. They could be giving the other love advice, whether about Waitress, Dee, or someone else - any pairing (including incestual) is fine. Maybe Mac gets Charlie outside of Philadelphia. Maybe they join forces to screw Dennis over. Maybe someone actually holds onto money for more than a few minutes. I would prefer fic in the style of the series but they do fantasize a lot so an AU could be worked within that context.