Dear Yuletide Fairy
Dear Yuletide Fairy,
First, I am so sorry this is so late! I hope it hasn't held you up and if you've started writing without me, well, fair enough really, and I am sure I will love it.
And that kinda leads me on to my next point, which is I would much rather read the story you're dying to tell than something that's tailor-made to my specs. The below is very much intended as guidance, I write the kind of letter I hope to receive, so if it's not helpful to you, don't worry, and I'm so excited to read what you're writing. <3
The only thing is I would ask you try to abide by the squicks.
(I confess this is straight-up lifted from previous letters as my tastes don't seem to change v much these days.)
Squicks: I’m not the biggest fan of dark fic and angst, by which I mean a lot of angst and misery with no point to it, just as an end in and of itself. I think characters having difficulties and there being some sort of resolution or at least a bittersweet/hopeful outcome is fine, but unrelenting woe, less so. Incest is also a no for me, likewise rape and non-con/dubcon, and uneven power dynamics and emotional manipulation, abuse and violence. (When I say uneven power dynamics, I don't mean in a kinky way, that's fine, like if it's negotiated and something they're both into that's awesome, but like emotionally unhealthy/abusive dynamics, less so.) I’m not a huge fan of major character death either, at least for the stuff I've requested. I'm also not a fan of paedophilia, bestiality, and necrophilia.
Yays: I love fluff, found families, particularly if it features unconventional family units and polyamoury. Always OT3s, never love triangles, etc. (On that note, I really hate cheating/being unfaithful if going the shippy fic route. I'll expand on this where it applies.) Basically, openness and communication are always better than miscommunications and shenanigans.
I also *love* hurt/comfort so much I can't even. Light on hurt, high on comfort. I am totally ridiculous with this trope.
And crossovers! Crossovers are great, as is humour/banter/silliness. I’m pretty happy with any rating. If you have the urge to write 1k of PWP, feel free. If that’s your thing, I guess go with whatever you see the characters as being into, though personally I end up reading stories featuring d/s and bondage. I tend to read more fic where people talk about their feeeelings but porn/NC17/PWP is also awesome.
I love backstory fic, character studies, gen fic, seeing how characters interact and what makes them friends/lovers/whatever they are to each other. Stuff that shows why they're close, being perceptive of each others' needs, small kindnesses, low-key hanging out. Obvs ths is a shipping challenge, and that's awesome but like focusing on small parts of why a pairing works can be a lovely thing.
I love all sorts of tropes like stuck in an elevator, now we have to talk about our feeeeelings. Or shag. Or like going on missions/adventures together.
Also a quick note on -isms, pinched with permission from a friend's letter: I don't mind if sexism, racism, ableism are portrayed in fic as long as they're dealt with. For example, it's OK if someone thinks Character A can't do something because she's a girl, as long as the story as a whole clearly doesn't agree!
Steerswoman - Bel, Rowan
Gah, I ship them SO MUCH OMG. I can't get over how queer their friendship already is in the books, particularly book 4. I would LOVE fic exploring how they take that step from friendship to romance (friends to lovers is a trope I adore). This is actually also a pairing where PWP would be great though. Or future fic of them as a couple, or like, slice of life of them on the road together.
I adore the way they work together and complement each other, and how quickly they bonded, so stuff about that would also be wonderful.
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson - Florence Vassy, Svetlana Sergievsky
OK, seriously, if we matched on this, LET'S BE FRIENDS. I was so excited someone OTHER THAN ME nominated the women of Chess, and I want that person in my life. :D I LOVE this musical, it is BANANAS but in THE BEST WAY.
I particularly love the character stuff, I feel like amidst the ridiculousness of the plot that's kind of what elevates the music?
The fic of my heart is these two getting together after the show, either as friends or lovers, I am so not bothered. I want them bemoaning how awful Anatoly and Freddy are.
I LOVE the idea that Florence is a good enough chess player to be Freddy and then Anatoly's second, is Svetlana also good at chess? Are they both ABSOLUTELY done with it?
So yeah, I guess the idea of them as allies, either at some point during the musical or preferably after. But really, seriously, if this is what you matched on I'm so curious to see what you think too!
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice - Diana
Right, OK, it's not at all apparent from my dreamwidth, but I adore Wonder Woman so much, I can't even. I LOVE how Gal Gadot plays her, and I love the opportunity a movie universe canon affords for fic writers to play.
...You could literally write me anything and I'd be thrilled.
I ship her, Bruce and Clark HUGELY so if you wanted to write fic about the three of them, or include the boys, so long as the focus was on her, I would be OK with that.
What was she up to for that like, 100 years between her own movie and her appearance in BvS? How do she and Bruce get on post BvS? Missing scene from the film? Life on Themyscira before she leaves for our world? Something else I haven't listed? You can stick with straight movie canon as we know it or bring in stuff from other canons, that's kind of the fun of writing a character like her.
OK, I think that's about everything, sorry again for not being more timely with this, and again, this is meant to help, not hinder, please write the story you want to write, and I'm sure I will love it, and I hope you enjoy your Yuletide!
First, I am so sorry this is so late! I hope it hasn't held you up and if you've started writing without me, well, fair enough really, and I am sure I will love it.
And that kinda leads me on to my next point, which is I would much rather read the story you're dying to tell than something that's tailor-made to my specs. The below is very much intended as guidance, I write the kind of letter I hope to receive, so if it's not helpful to you, don't worry, and I'm so excited to read what you're writing. <3
The only thing is I would ask you try to abide by the squicks.
(I confess this is straight-up lifted from previous letters as my tastes don't seem to change v much these days.)
Squicks: I’m not the biggest fan of dark fic and angst, by which I mean a lot of angst and misery with no point to it, just as an end in and of itself. I think characters having difficulties and there being some sort of resolution or at least a bittersweet/hopeful outcome is fine, but unrelenting woe, less so. Incest is also a no for me, likewise rape and non-con/dubcon, and uneven power dynamics and emotional manipulation, abuse and violence. (When I say uneven power dynamics, I don't mean in a kinky way, that's fine, like if it's negotiated and something they're both into that's awesome, but like emotionally unhealthy/abusive dynamics, less so.) I’m not a huge fan of major character death either, at least for the stuff I've requested. I'm also not a fan of paedophilia, bestiality, and necrophilia.
Yays: I love fluff, found families, particularly if it features unconventional family units and polyamoury. Always OT3s, never love triangles, etc. (On that note, I really hate cheating/being unfaithful if going the shippy fic route. I'll expand on this where it applies.) Basically, openness and communication are always better than miscommunications and shenanigans.
I also *love* hurt/comfort so much I can't even. Light on hurt, high on comfort. I am totally ridiculous with this trope.
And crossovers! Crossovers are great, as is humour/banter/silliness. I’m pretty happy with any rating. If you have the urge to write 1k of PWP, feel free. If that’s your thing, I guess go with whatever you see the characters as being into, though personally I end up reading stories featuring d/s and bondage. I tend to read more fic where people talk about their feeeelings but porn/NC17/PWP is also awesome.
I love backstory fic, character studies, gen fic, seeing how characters interact and what makes them friends/lovers/whatever they are to each other. Stuff that shows why they're close, being perceptive of each others' needs, small kindnesses, low-key hanging out. Obvs ths is a shipping challenge, and that's awesome but like focusing on small parts of why a pairing works can be a lovely thing.
I love all sorts of tropes like stuck in an elevator, now we have to talk about our feeeeelings. Or shag. Or like going on missions/adventures together.
Also a quick note on -isms, pinched with permission from a friend's letter: I don't mind if sexism, racism, ableism are portrayed in fic as long as they're dealt with. For example, it's OK if someone thinks Character A can't do something because she's a girl, as long as the story as a whole clearly doesn't agree!
Steerswoman - Bel, Rowan
Gah, I ship them SO MUCH OMG. I can't get over how queer their friendship already is in the books, particularly book 4. I would LOVE fic exploring how they take that step from friendship to romance (friends to lovers is a trope I adore). This is actually also a pairing where PWP would be great though. Or future fic of them as a couple, or like, slice of life of them on the road together.
I adore the way they work together and complement each other, and how quickly they bonded, so stuff about that would also be wonderful.
Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson - Florence Vassy, Svetlana Sergievsky
OK, seriously, if we matched on this, LET'S BE FRIENDS. I was so excited someone OTHER THAN ME nominated the women of Chess, and I want that person in my life. :D I LOVE this musical, it is BANANAS but in THE BEST WAY.
I particularly love the character stuff, I feel like amidst the ridiculousness of the plot that's kind of what elevates the music?
The fic of my heart is these two getting together after the show, either as friends or lovers, I am so not bothered. I want them bemoaning how awful Anatoly and Freddy are.
I LOVE the idea that Florence is a good enough chess player to be Freddy and then Anatoly's second, is Svetlana also good at chess? Are they both ABSOLUTELY done with it?
So yeah, I guess the idea of them as allies, either at some point during the musical or preferably after. But really, seriously, if this is what you matched on I'm so curious to see what you think too!
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice - Diana
Right, OK, it's not at all apparent from my dreamwidth, but I adore Wonder Woman so much, I can't even. I LOVE how Gal Gadot plays her, and I love the opportunity a movie universe canon affords for fic writers to play.
...You could literally write me anything and I'd be thrilled.
I ship her, Bruce and Clark HUGELY so if you wanted to write fic about the three of them, or include the boys, so long as the focus was on her, I would be OK with that.
What was she up to for that like, 100 years between her own movie and her appearance in BvS? How do she and Bruce get on post BvS? Missing scene from the film? Life on Themyscira before she leaves for our world? Something else I haven't listed? You can stick with straight movie canon as we know it or bring in stuff from other canons, that's kind of the fun of writing a character like her.
OK, I think that's about everything, sorry again for not being more timely with this, and again, this is meant to help, not hinder, please write the story you want to write, and I'm sure I will love it, and I hope you enjoy your Yuletide!