Yulegoat Letter 2012
Dear Yuletide Santa,
Apologies for the lateness! Hello and thank you for signing up for Yuletide this year! As I like to tell my Yulegoat every year, I want you to have as much fun writing as possible, so feel free to use your personal writing strengths and preferences while working on the fic. All the details in this letter are optional - but since you're reading, I assume it's because you would like some more direction. I hope this is helpful!
Here are some of things I do like/dislike in general:
Things I appreciate:
Ambiguous, complicated relationships
Bittersweet and sad-happy
In-character characters showing their distinct personalities
Speculation on back story/future/possible ending
Romance that takes a while to sort out
Difficult situations (nothing too easy)
Also, I am admittedly a sucker for nice language (ie, attention to how sentences flow, and how things sound - you can be as poetic/descriptive as you like)
Things I would definitely rather not see:
Mpreg
Genderswitch
PWP, or no plot, actually
Non-con
Situations/personality switches that make absolutely no sense in canon - I'm not saying the canon storyline has to be followed (meaning AUs are fine), but I would like something that would still work or be easy enough to imagine in canon context.
I'm fine with darker themes, (violence, abuse, etc), but I would prefer no graphic smut unless it makes sense in the context of the story.
About the requests:
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) | Haku
Feel free to do what you like with this, as long as it captures the essence of the movie. One thing I really appreciate about the film is how it ties to Japanese culture and mythology; I adore the sentou setting and how well Miyazaki crafted it. Another tangent you could explore is Chihiro and Haku's relationship. I haven't completely rewatched the film yet, but I like the complexity that their relationship has, because of so many things - Haku's not being human, the fact that they're both so young, Chihiro's still needing to grow up so much. Although I received a lovely post-movie fic for one of my past Yuletides, you are more than welcome to have another stab at it - or, if you'd prefer, you can also try going to some point in Chihiro's past, and how it coincided with Haku.
The Tempest - Shakespeare | Ariel
Every year I have my completely random request, and this year Shakespeare somehow fit the bill - I just really like the character of Ariel - how it? he? is so mysterious and capable and powerful and yet also subservient, following Prospero's words and seeking his approval. There's something weirdly dangerous about their relationship, and I'm curious about that balance of power - since after all, Prospero has to rely on Ariel, too. But again, I don't actually want pairingfic (it's just weird? But if that's what you'd prefer to write, feel free). For this request in particular I'm really open to an AU. Just have fun with it.
Chronicles of Crestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones | Christopher Chant
The Lives of Christopher Chant is one of my favorite DWJ books, and I also really liked young!Christopher's appearance in Conrad's Fate. I feel like there's a gap in the series between the still-learning-the-ropes-Christopher and the already-impenetrably-awesome-Chrestomanci, so if you could write a story that fills the gap (or several points along the gap), I would be really pleased. I like magic, and DWJ's casual way of having magic blend with all the real-world feelings and issues that the characters are dealing with. And as I mentioned in my optional details, I'd be open to pairing fic for this, whether it's Christopher/Millie or Christopher/Conrad or some agglomeration of the two.
Crush - Richard Siken
I'm surprised this is on Yuletide, and whoever requested it or offered it as already awesome in my book just for liking Richard Siken. Do anything that captures the heartbreak of his poems - make your own story, make it slash or het, use something recognizable from fairytales or mythology, whatever. Have a blast. :)
That's all! Again, do what you like with the story - I'll appreciate it, no matter what. Thanks for reading, and have a happy yuletide! \o/
♥
mellish
Apologies for the lateness! Hello and thank you for signing up for Yuletide this year! As I like to tell my Yulegoat every year, I want you to have as much fun writing as possible, so feel free to use your personal writing strengths and preferences while working on the fic. All the details in this letter are optional - but since you're reading, I assume it's because you would like some more direction. I hope this is helpful!
Here are some of things I do like/dislike in general:
Things I appreciate:
Ambiguous, complicated relationships
Bittersweet and sad-happy
In-character characters showing their distinct personalities
Speculation on back story/future/possible ending
Romance that takes a while to sort out
Difficult situations (nothing too easy)
Also, I am admittedly a sucker for nice language (ie, attention to how sentences flow, and how things sound - you can be as poetic/descriptive as you like)
Things I would definitely rather not see:
Mpreg
Genderswitch
PWP, or no plot, actually
Non-con
Situations/personality switches that make absolutely no sense in canon - I'm not saying the canon storyline has to be followed (meaning AUs are fine), but I would like something that would still work or be easy enough to imagine in canon context.
I'm fine with darker themes, (violence, abuse, etc), but I would prefer no graphic smut unless it makes sense in the context of the story.
About the requests:
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) | Haku
Feel free to do what you like with this, as long as it captures the essence of the movie. One thing I really appreciate about the film is how it ties to Japanese culture and mythology; I adore the sentou setting and how well Miyazaki crafted it. Another tangent you could explore is Chihiro and Haku's relationship. I haven't completely rewatched the film yet, but I like the complexity that their relationship has, because of so many things - Haku's not being human, the fact that they're both so young, Chihiro's still needing to grow up so much. Although I received a lovely post-movie fic for one of my past Yuletides, you are more than welcome to have another stab at it - or, if you'd prefer, you can also try going to some point in Chihiro's past, and how it coincided with Haku.
The Tempest - Shakespeare | Ariel
Every year I have my completely random request, and this year Shakespeare somehow fit the bill - I just really like the character of Ariel - how it? he? is so mysterious and capable and powerful and yet also subservient, following Prospero's words and seeking his approval. There's something weirdly dangerous about their relationship, and I'm curious about that balance of power - since after all, Prospero has to rely on Ariel, too. But again, I don't actually want pairingfic (it's just weird? But if that's what you'd prefer to write, feel free). For this request in particular I'm really open to an AU. Just have fun with it.
Chronicles of Crestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones | Christopher Chant
The Lives of Christopher Chant is one of my favorite DWJ books, and I also really liked young!Christopher's appearance in Conrad's Fate. I feel like there's a gap in the series between the still-learning-the-ropes-Christopher and the already-impenetrably-awesome-Chrestomanci, so if you could write a story that fills the gap (or several points along the gap), I would be really pleased. I like magic, and DWJ's casual way of having magic blend with all the real-world feelings and issues that the characters are dealing with. And as I mentioned in my optional details, I'd be open to pairing fic for this, whether it's Christopher/Millie or Christopher/Conrad or some agglomeration of the two.
Crush - Richard Siken
I'm surprised this is on Yuletide, and whoever requested it or offered it as already awesome in my book just for liking Richard Siken. Do anything that captures the heartbreak of his poems - make your own story, make it slash or het, use something recognizable from fairytales or mythology, whatever. Have a blast. :)
That's all! Again, do what you like with the story - I'll appreciate it, no matter what. Thanks for reading, and have a happy yuletide! \o/
♥
mellish