(no subject)
Dear Yuletide Author,
Actually, no, it's cool, I'm good on ponies right now. But thank you very much in advance for what I'm sure will be an amazing fic, and thank you for picking these weirdo fandoms, you're the best! Before I get onto the specifics, here are some across the board things I think are great: UST, roadtrips, AUs, robots, unreliable cats who only show up now and then, cold weather imagery (Australian Christmases could always do with a little cold imagery), pining, siblings, and letters. I also love to pieces stories that have none of these things! In terms of rating, for my first two fandoms especially I would not be opposed to things of a pornish nature -- I like characters having rough sex (particularly by characters who are totally in love! ... but also hatesex), D/s (though more often I am interested in the dynamics as a result of that kind of relationship rather than in the actual slot-a into slot-b sort of thing -- sex is totally great, but if you wanted to write Ctesias giving Ariston a lazy order and Ariston being sullen and cross and not sure why he's obeying but obeying anyway, I would be all over that), sleepy sex, resentment, eagerness, desperation, marks left after, etc. etc. etc. Having said that, I would also welcome with open arms G-rated fic or; I'm excited enough to get fic about any of these characters that I want to see what kind of stories you'd want to tell about them, too.
Quick dislikes: I'd prefer a story that wasn't PWP, I'm not a big fan of first or second person, I don't like non-con and I'm wary about dub-con (consensual non- or dub-con, though, you can totally sell me on). I don't like character bashing, especially when it comes to women, i.e. hating on Estella in a Pip/Herbert fic. In the context of these fandoms, I'd rather no incest.
Enough ramble -- specific fandoms!
Classical Greece and Rome History & Literature RPF
First off, on the chance that you picked this under "any" and are suddenly going, "uh, who is this Ctesias dude", I'm talking about the guys represented in Demosthenes's legal speech "Against Conon". (You can, incidentally, read that here, should you decide to give it a chance despite not being familiar with the source. It's a pretty small source.) I spent a good part of my semester studying this text and I just -- I love the characters in it so much, I love prickly pompous little Ariston, the way he announces at the beginning that just because he's clearly a baby doesn't mean you shouldn't totally take his advice and fucking sentence this bro to death (or fine him a lot, w/e), his incredible self-righteousness and the way he picks and picks at what a shitty person Ctesias is, even as he's suing Ctesias's dad. Basically I totally fell in love with him while reading, and I would take a million stories about him and Ctesias and the kind of antagonistic, grumpy, similar little guys they could be -- because the only information we have about Ctesias's character is from the speech and most of that is slander, you can go totally wild in making him be whatever you want, though I would love it if you based him on details you found in the text. Some stories I would be particularly interested in: the days they first meet at the army camp on garrison duty, where Ctesias and his friends are drunk every day and Ariston is a little :| :| :|-faced dude, follow flirtiness/hijinks/confrontation/sex there! Or the one after Ariston has announced he's taking Conon to court and Ctesias tracks him down! Or the one on the morning of the court case, or right after, or where they run into each other months after! The one where they fight about who tops! The one where Ctesias swaggers around being a provocative douche and Ariston gets progressively more scowly about it! All the stories in the world about them are ones that I would welcome, essentially. Somehow my OTP of the year became two people that no one has ever written any fic about whatsoever, so if you wrote this pairing, I would probably be overcome with joy.
I also listed Theodotus from "Against Simon" (a shorter speech, by Lysias), because I thought that struggle over this one boy between Simon and the unnamed Narrator was fascinating -- I would be really interested in a story about how it feels to be caught in the middle of that; or, on a more humourous note, Theodotus getting pissed at Lysias's unnamed narrator for running away and figuring Theodotus will be okay as long as he headed for a crowd, see you later, bb! And the other character I listed was Andocides from the Lysias fragment "Against Teisis" -- I would be totally into stories about him and his particular brand of nastiness, or even Andocides/Narrator hatesex or something of the like.
Great Expectations
I read this novel and promptly went and told a bunch of my friends that it was my favourite schoolboy romance ever. While I love Pip and Estella as separate characters very much, I didn't really get behind their romance (especially with poor Estella's ending) -- whereas Pip/Herbert felt hilariously appropriate and darling to me. They meet in a fight! Herbert teaches Pip how to be a gentleman! And saves Pip's life! And worries about his burns, and tends them! Pip doesn't try to save his own fall from fortune, just Herbert's! And then they live and work together happily ever after. I would read stories full of UST and slow burning love and longing glances and young men fooling around and being far away from their affianced and sitting on windowsills and examining each other's rings and being desperately and foolishly and blindly in love. And then fumbling with cravats and buttons and pressing feverish faces to each other's throats, and mouths hot and clumsy and seeking each other, and their own tiny little world, and their own jokes and their own laughter, and their own secrets, accessible to no one but them. I would also read AUs, whether that be a modern setting or fantasy or sci-fi or whatever you liked, where they find each other again or fall in love in new and different ways. And I would also totally read & love friendship fic involving the two of them looking after each other and knowing each other really, really well.
The other character I listed was Molly, because I found her a creepy and brilliant character. Dickens's heroines are always pretty boring, but I love his odd women so much, and Molly is such a brilliant example of that quiet menace that is never quite given a chance to properly bubble to the surface. If you wanted to write a story about what happens when that danger is unleashed, I would be all over that. And there's so many weird, wonderful women in Great Expectations -- I didn't nominate them because I figured someone else would, oops, but if you wanted to include Miss Havisham and Estella, that would also be wonderful. I would read stories about them falling into unlikely alliances and not really trusting each other, or being the only ones they could trust; I would also read AUs about them, too, where they were like, a superheroine/supervillain league of justice or something (and Biddy could be their moral voice!). Any kind of insight into anything going on in their heads, anything that's made them the way they are, anything that changes them -- I would love it all.
Literary RPF -- Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, Anne Bronte
I requested these guys last year, too, and in the year since my fascination with them has only grown. However, I'm not at all worried about historical accuracy, and really, with these guys, you should feel free to do whatever you like. A modern AU, where they're creepy siblings living far away from civilisation! A steampunk AU, where they're all wacky scientists! Magic AU: they are actually witches in training and have to hide it from Branwell! Canon: what did they do to keep themselves entertained? How did they treat visitors? How long did they speak those secret languages, anyway, and did they ever stop? How did Anne and Emily treat Elizabeth Gaskell when she showed up to call on Charlotte? I would like them to be mad and odd and possibly a little creepy, in an adorable kind of way. I'd also prefer it to centre around the three sisters, although involving Branwell is cool, too. And I'd like it set while the three sisters were all alive, too (although if you wanted one of them coughing hollowly and glaring on the couch, all wrapped up in blankets, that would be fine and somewhat darling; I'd just like to pretend that tragedy doesn't exist for this particular story).
I have rambled on and on and on, dear writer, I'm very sorry. Feel free to use none of this whatsoever; honestly, any story in any of these fandoms will be sure to fill my heart with glee. Happy holidays & happy writing. ♥
Actually, no, it's cool, I'm good on ponies right now. But thank you very much in advance for what I'm sure will be an amazing fic, and thank you for picking these weirdo fandoms, you're the best! Before I get onto the specifics, here are some across the board things I think are great: UST, roadtrips, AUs, robots, unreliable cats who only show up now and then, cold weather imagery (Australian Christmases could always do with a little cold imagery), pining, siblings, and letters. I also love to pieces stories that have none of these things! In terms of rating, for my first two fandoms especially I would not be opposed to things of a pornish nature -- I like characters having rough sex (particularly by characters who are totally in love! ... but also hatesex), D/s (though more often I am interested in the dynamics as a result of that kind of relationship rather than in the actual slot-a into slot-b sort of thing -- sex is totally great, but if you wanted to write Ctesias giving Ariston a lazy order and Ariston being sullen and cross and not sure why he's obeying but obeying anyway, I would be all over that), sleepy sex, resentment, eagerness, desperation, marks left after, etc. etc. etc. Having said that, I would also welcome with open arms G-rated fic or; I'm excited enough to get fic about any of these characters that I want to see what kind of stories you'd want to tell about them, too.
Quick dislikes: I'd prefer a story that wasn't PWP, I'm not a big fan of first or second person, I don't like non-con and I'm wary about dub-con (consensual non- or dub-con, though, you can totally sell me on). I don't like character bashing, especially when it comes to women, i.e. hating on Estella in a Pip/Herbert fic. In the context of these fandoms, I'd rather no incest.
Enough ramble -- specific fandoms!
Classical Greece and Rome History & Literature RPF
First off, on the chance that you picked this under "any" and are suddenly going, "uh, who is this Ctesias dude", I'm talking about the guys represented in Demosthenes's legal speech "Against Conon". (You can, incidentally, read that here, should you decide to give it a chance despite not being familiar with the source. It's a pretty small source.) I spent a good part of my semester studying this text and I just -- I love the characters in it so much, I love prickly pompous little Ariston, the way he announces at the beginning that just because he's clearly a baby doesn't mean you shouldn't totally take his advice and fucking sentence this bro to death (or fine him a lot, w/e), his incredible self-righteousness and the way he picks and picks at what a shitty person Ctesias is, even as he's suing Ctesias's dad. Basically I totally fell in love with him while reading, and I would take a million stories about him and Ctesias and the kind of antagonistic, grumpy, similar little guys they could be -- because the only information we have about Ctesias's character is from the speech and most of that is slander, you can go totally wild in making him be whatever you want, though I would love it if you based him on details you found in the text. Some stories I would be particularly interested in: the days they first meet at the army camp on garrison duty, where Ctesias and his friends are drunk every day and Ariston is a little :| :| :|-faced dude, follow flirtiness/hijinks/confrontation/sex there! Or the one after Ariston has announced he's taking Conon to court and Ctesias tracks him down! Or the one on the morning of the court case, or right after, or where they run into each other months after! The one where they fight about who tops! The one where Ctesias swaggers around being a provocative douche and Ariston gets progressively more scowly about it! All the stories in the world about them are ones that I would welcome, essentially. Somehow my OTP of the year became two people that no one has ever written any fic about whatsoever, so if you wrote this pairing, I would probably be overcome with joy.
I also listed Theodotus from "Against Simon" (a shorter speech, by Lysias), because I thought that struggle over this one boy between Simon and the unnamed Narrator was fascinating -- I would be really interested in a story about how it feels to be caught in the middle of that; or, on a more humourous note, Theodotus getting pissed at Lysias's unnamed narrator for running away and figuring Theodotus will be okay as long as he headed for a crowd, see you later, bb! And the other character I listed was Andocides from the Lysias fragment "Against Teisis" -- I would be totally into stories about him and his particular brand of nastiness, or even Andocides/Narrator hatesex or something of the like.
Great Expectations
I read this novel and promptly went and told a bunch of my friends that it was my favourite schoolboy romance ever. While I love Pip and Estella as separate characters very much, I didn't really get behind their romance (especially with poor Estella's ending) -- whereas Pip/Herbert felt hilariously appropriate and darling to me. They meet in a fight! Herbert teaches Pip how to be a gentleman! And saves Pip's life! And worries about his burns, and tends them! Pip doesn't try to save his own fall from fortune, just Herbert's! And then they live and work together happily ever after. I would read stories full of UST and slow burning love and longing glances and young men fooling around and being far away from their affianced and sitting on windowsills and examining each other's rings and being desperately and foolishly and blindly in love. And then fumbling with cravats and buttons and pressing feverish faces to each other's throats, and mouths hot and clumsy and seeking each other, and their own tiny little world, and their own jokes and their own laughter, and their own secrets, accessible to no one but them. I would also read AUs, whether that be a modern setting or fantasy or sci-fi or whatever you liked, where they find each other again or fall in love in new and different ways. And I would also totally read & love friendship fic involving the two of them looking after each other and knowing each other really, really well.
The other character I listed was Molly, because I found her a creepy and brilliant character. Dickens's heroines are always pretty boring, but I love his odd women so much, and Molly is such a brilliant example of that quiet menace that is never quite given a chance to properly bubble to the surface. If you wanted to write a story about what happens when that danger is unleashed, I would be all over that. And there's so many weird, wonderful women in Great Expectations -- I didn't nominate them because I figured someone else would, oops, but if you wanted to include Miss Havisham and Estella, that would also be wonderful. I would read stories about them falling into unlikely alliances and not really trusting each other, or being the only ones they could trust; I would also read AUs about them, too, where they were like, a superheroine/supervillain league of justice or something (and Biddy could be their moral voice!). Any kind of insight into anything going on in their heads, anything that's made them the way they are, anything that changes them -- I would love it all.
Literary RPF -- Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, Anne Bronte
I requested these guys last year, too, and in the year since my fascination with them has only grown. However, I'm not at all worried about historical accuracy, and really, with these guys, you should feel free to do whatever you like. A modern AU, where they're creepy siblings living far away from civilisation! A steampunk AU, where they're all wacky scientists! Magic AU: they are actually witches in training and have to hide it from Branwell! Canon: what did they do to keep themselves entertained? How did they treat visitors? How long did they speak those secret languages, anyway, and did they ever stop? How did Anne and Emily treat Elizabeth Gaskell when she showed up to call on Charlotte? I would like them to be mad and odd and possibly a little creepy, in an adorable kind of way. I'd also prefer it to centre around the three sisters, although involving Branwell is cool, too. And I'd like it set while the three sisters were all alive, too (although if you wanted one of them coughing hollowly and glaring on the couch, all wrapped up in blankets, that would be fine and somewhat darling; I'd just like to pretend that tragedy doesn't exist for this particular story).
I have rambled on and on and on, dear writer, I'm very sorry. Feel free to use none of this whatsoever; honestly, any story in any of these fandoms will be sure to fill my heart with glee. Happy holidays & happy writing. ♥