yuletide 2010 Letter
Hi, author! Thanks for writing for me!
I have limited internet access during the holiday season, so it's very likely I will read and comment late. Sorry about that! My radio silence is not a sign of hidden, passive-aggressive loathing. As a writer, I prefer author letters that err on the side of too much detail rather than too little and I tend to get carried away when talking about things I love, so this letter ended up long.
Everything in this post should be read as a suggestion rather than edict. If you come up with a totally different fic idea that inspires you, please go for it and I'm sure I'll love it!
Things that squick me:
I like angst and I like fluff equally, which is probably obvious given that two of my fandoms this year are about serial killers and a ruined dystopic city, while the other two are about bitchy prep school students and lawyers who can't stop shouting OBJECTION! I have a strong stomach for gore and I like darker spins on a story, so I'd be happy with darkfic, but there's also really no way to go wrong with something in the spirit of the original canon.
Dexter (Brian Moser)
Brian was my favorite villain on the show, so I'd love to see either an AU for the ending/all of season one or a pre-canon fic set between Laura Moser’s death and the events of season one. Maybe Harry takes both boys in, or Brian rather than Dexter? Maybe something happens to Rita and Dexter, and Brian adopts Astor and Cody? (I would LOVE to see this one if you’re familiar with the books’ darker canon.) If you want to use elements of the books’ canon, then please feel free to since I love them, particularly the dry humor and the darker way Cody and Astor are depicted!
I listed this prompt under the TV canon category, but I also love the books, so I have no preference which canon you use or if you want to mix and match elements of both. I've read all five books, but the first two are my favorite; I've seen every season of the show.
I would love anything about Brian that is either precanon or AU for the television series. Maybe Harry adopts both boys or Brian alone rather than Dexter? Maybe Dexter leaves with Brian at the end of the first book/season one? Something happens to both Rita and Dexter and Brian adopts Astor and Cody? (If you are familiar with the books' darker canon, I would really, really, really love to see this one.)
A lot of what I like about Dexter is the subtle, dark humor in the series. I love how much of the books are really about family and how we define it and what that does and doesn't mean. I think the television series does a better job of plotting and talking about humanity than the books do, but I think the books are better when it comes to humor and style and Deb and basically everything about Astor and Cody.
I wasn't a fan of Dexter in the Dark, so if you do use book canon, I would be very happy if you ignored/glossed over the Moloch storyline. I love the books’ darker portrayal of Astor and Cody, but I am less fond of how Astor is consistently marginalized. I don't mind Brian/Deb, but fluff starring the two of them weirds me out and so does fic where Deb or Rita are demonized. I would also prefer not to receive a story where Brian is an adult killing children, fluffy Dexter/Brian, or anything involving a dead Astor or Cody.
Kate Brian - Private (Taylor Bell, Kiran Hayes, Noelle Lange)
We’ve seen a lot of canon about Reed and Ariana’s points of view, but I’d love something from the other Billings girls’ perspectives. I’m particularly interested in Taylor and Kiran, but I would also enjoy something Noelle oriented. I’d like to see something preseries about their friendship: How did Taylor and Kiran become Billings girls? How did they become friends? How do they interact with Noelle and Ariana and the other students at Easton Academy? I’d be equally happy with femmeslash and gen friendship, but threesomes/group sex/orgies are a major squick for me.
These books are not the epitome of high literature but I love them anyway. If you got matched with me on one of my other prompts and are starting to feel panicky, this is probably the easiest of the four to pick up de novo since everything you need to know in the way of characterization is in the first four books and these books are a quick read.
I love the boarding school trope. I love the bitchiness and I love the girls and their friendships and I love that they're flawed and awful and yet loyal to each other. I love that the smart girls can be attractive without a ghastly She's-All-That transformation. I love Noelle's drive and I love Kiran’s secret love affair with a Dreck boy and I love pretty much everything about Taylor. One of my favorite Amazon reviews complains that these books have no moral compass which is actually my favorite thing about them. I love that no one is ever redeemed and we never have to see these girls get their 'comeuppance' for knowing what they want and going after it, even if it's not necessarily 'nice'.
Taylor and Kiran are a year below Noelle and Ariana and so I’d like to see something preseries about them, like how they first became Billings girls or simply just how they relate to each other (and Noelle and Ariana) as friends. Alternately, I would also be happy with something set during the series which focuses on how they’ve remained friends, or maybe even an AU where Reed never joined Easton Academy. If you are uninspired by the books' canon, I would also laugh a lot if you wanted to do a fusion AU with X-Men, Harry Potter, or Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.
I am not that interested in the boys or romance thereof in this series. I am also not that interested in Ariana or Reed: I don't dislike either, but I'd rather see a Yuletide story about something that canon hasn't already explored. I would be happy with femmeslash, gen, and het so long as there are no threesomes/orgies/polyamory. If you have read ‘Sweet Deceit’, I would prefer that you either ignore its events or write around them.
Phoenix Wright (Ema Skye)
I’d love to see something focusing on Ema Skye, the forensics fan. I loved her as a precocious teenager in the first Phoenix Wright game, but I love her even more as a Snackoo-chewing homicide detective annoyed by everything and everyone around her (except, of course, for SCIENCE). All I want from this story is something featuring Ema as her cranky, moody self, her love for science, and possibly even a case.
Ema has been my favorite video game character since I picked up the first Phoenix Wright game, and she's stayed that way through multiple game series replays. I loved her as a little girl playing with fingerprint powder and plaster footprint molds; I actually shrieked aloud with laughter when I hit the Apollo Justice game and met Ema again in her adult incarnation. Of course Ema thinks being a detective is lame, compared to being a real forensic investigator. Of course she does.
In terms of the science, don't worry about trying to make the forensics realistic. I actually love tongue-in-cheek video game/TV science, plus I study science when I'm offline and video games are my escape. I would prefer that you have fun handwaving/making up something crazy rather than going through the hassle of researching a topic. Other things I enjoy about the Ace Attorney/Perfect Prosecutor games include the Steel Samurai, all the puns, Miles Edgeworth, and everything about the Blue Badger but honestly all I want is Ema + SCIENCE.
As far as pairings go, I would prefer a character focused gen piece to anything else. I do enjoy Klavier/Ema when they're both professionals and there's a good-natured-sibling-bickering dynamic (... rather than Klavier sexually harassing Ema until she gives in, um.), so it would be fun if you wanted to write partner-develops-into-something-more fic for the two of them. That said, I'm much more interested in Ema as a character than I am in her romantic entanglements and I would prefer not to receive fic where Ema is shipped with Phoenix, Edgeworth, Gumshoe, Apollo, or Gant because I find the age difference squicky.
Echo Bazaar (Jack-of-Smiles, The Cheesemonger, The Starveling Cat)
I picked Jack-of-Smiles and the Cheesemonger as possible characters because they star in two of my favorite storylets, and I picked the Starveling Cat because . . . I mean, it’s the Starveling Cat. The Starveling Cat requires no explanation. I’d enjoy backstory for Jack-of-Smiles (bonus points if you make Jack-of-Smiles female), or anything about the Cheesemonger or Starveling Cat. I’m also super-fond of the organized street urchins gangs in the Flit, particularly the Fisher Kings, so I’d love it if you could somehow weave them into your narrative.
What? I really like Echo Bazaar. Some people might say I'm addicted. The world building is fantastic. I'm not sure it's possible to describe how much I love this game. Steampunk has never been my thing--my reading interests trend more toward psychological/emotional horror and dystopic cyberpunk--but I love how simultaneously clever and morbid the writing in Echo Bazaar is, how realistic and undidactic the stories are, and how good the designers are at letting the reader fill the pieces in for themselves.
I love the street urchin trope, so I'd be very happy if you somehow worked that into your narrative. I like stories about belief and revolution and futile, awful choices for a so-called greater good, hence the Cheesemonger; I also like stories about serial killers, hence Jack-of-Smiles. (Making Jack-of-Smiles female definitely isn't a requirement, it's just something I think might be fun to read.) What does it mean to kill people when death isn't permanent? What makes Jack-of-Smiles tick?
The Starveling Cat is the Starveling Cat. The Starveling Cat doesn't need me to write prompts for it, because the Starveling Cat is watching you.
I hope you have a lot of fun with your assignment! Thanks for offering to write me a story (and for wading through this letter), author! ♥ I can't wait to see what you come up with.
-- unrequitedangst
I have limited internet access during the holiday season, so it's very likely I will read and comment late. Sorry about that! My radio silence is not a sign of hidden, passive-aggressive loathing. As a writer, I prefer author letters that err on the side of too much detail rather than too little and I tend to get carried away when talking about things I love, so this letter ended up long.
Everything in this post should be read as a suggestion rather than edict. If you come up with a totally different fic idea that inspires you, please go for it and I'm sure I'll love it!
Things that squick me:
- chan / sexual relationships between children under the age of sixteen
- positively portrayed relationships with incest or major age/maturity differences (teacher/student, mentor/student)
- positively portrayed non-con/dub-con/rape
- threesomes/#somes/orgyfic (love triangles are awesome though!)
- first person point-of-view narratives
- retellings of scenes we have already seen in canon, only this time from ANOTHER PERSON'S point of view
- bloodplay/waterplay/scatplay/bestiality/necrophilia/mpreg
- slapstick/crackfic humor, character embarrassment/humiliation, or easily resolved misunderstandings as a plot point
- crossover fic
- character development
- clever worldbuilding
- ambivalent morality
- people who are very competent with a given skill and enjoy it
- strong female characters
- characters who come from challenging or traumatic backgrounds and how they deal with this, particularly in how they define 'normal'
- relationships where things aren't ideal or perfect from the beginning, but involve people trying to work them out anyway
I like angst and I like fluff equally, which is probably obvious given that two of my fandoms this year are about serial killers and a ruined dystopic city, while the other two are about bitchy prep school students and lawyers who can't stop shouting OBJECTION! I have a strong stomach for gore and I like darker spins on a story, so I'd be happy with darkfic, but there's also really no way to go wrong with something in the spirit of the original canon.
Dexter (Brian Moser)
Brian was my favorite villain on the show, so I'd love to see either an AU for the ending/all of season one or a pre-canon fic set between Laura Moser’s death and the events of season one. Maybe Harry takes both boys in, or Brian rather than Dexter? Maybe something happens to Rita and Dexter, and Brian adopts Astor and Cody? (I would LOVE to see this one if you’re familiar with the books’ darker canon.) If you want to use elements of the books’ canon, then please feel free to since I love them, particularly the dry humor and the darker way Cody and Astor are depicted!
I listed this prompt under the TV canon category, but I also love the books, so I have no preference which canon you use or if you want to mix and match elements of both. I've read all five books, but the first two are my favorite; I've seen every season of the show.
I would love anything about Brian that is either precanon or AU for the television series. Maybe Harry adopts both boys or Brian alone rather than Dexter? Maybe Dexter leaves with Brian at the end of the first book/season one? Something happens to both Rita and Dexter and Brian adopts Astor and Cody? (If you are familiar with the books' darker canon, I would really, really, really love to see this one.)
A lot of what I like about Dexter is the subtle, dark humor in the series. I love how much of the books are really about family and how we define it and what that does and doesn't mean. I think the television series does a better job of plotting and talking about humanity than the books do, but I think the books are better when it comes to humor and style and Deb and basically everything about Astor and Cody.
I wasn't a fan of Dexter in the Dark, so if you do use book canon, I would be very happy if you ignored/glossed over the Moloch storyline. I love the books’ darker portrayal of Astor and Cody, but I am less fond of how Astor is consistently marginalized. I don't mind Brian/Deb, but fluff starring the two of them weirds me out and so does fic where Deb or Rita are demonized. I would also prefer not to receive a story where Brian is an adult killing children, fluffy Dexter/Brian, or anything involving a dead Astor or Cody.
Kate Brian - Private (Taylor Bell, Kiran Hayes, Noelle Lange)
We’ve seen a lot of canon about Reed and Ariana’s points of view, but I’d love something from the other Billings girls’ perspectives. I’m particularly interested in Taylor and Kiran, but I would also enjoy something Noelle oriented. I’d like to see something preseries about their friendship: How did Taylor and Kiran become Billings girls? How did they become friends? How do they interact with Noelle and Ariana and the other students at Easton Academy? I’d be equally happy with femmeslash and gen friendship, but threesomes/group sex/orgies are a major squick for me.
These books are not the epitome of high literature but I love them anyway. If you got matched with me on one of my other prompts and are starting to feel panicky, this is probably the easiest of the four to pick up de novo since everything you need to know in the way of characterization is in the first four books and these books are a quick read.
I love the boarding school trope. I love the bitchiness and I love the girls and their friendships and I love that they're flawed and awful and yet loyal to each other. I love that the smart girls can be attractive without a ghastly She's-All-That transformation. I love Noelle's drive and I love Kiran’s secret love affair with a Dreck boy and I love pretty much everything about Taylor. One of my favorite Amazon reviews complains that these books have no moral compass which is actually my favorite thing about them. I love that no one is ever redeemed and we never have to see these girls get their 'comeuppance' for knowing what they want and going after it, even if it's not necessarily 'nice'.
Taylor and Kiran are a year below Noelle and Ariana and so I’d like to see something preseries about them, like how they first became Billings girls or simply just how they relate to each other (and Noelle and Ariana) as friends. Alternately, I would also be happy with something set during the series which focuses on how they’ve remained friends, or maybe even an AU where Reed never joined Easton Academy. If you are uninspired by the books' canon, I would also laugh a lot if you wanted to do a fusion AU with X-Men, Harry Potter, or Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.
I am not that interested in the boys or romance thereof in this series. I am also not that interested in Ariana or Reed: I don't dislike either, but I'd rather see a Yuletide story about something that canon hasn't already explored. I would be happy with femmeslash, gen, and het so long as there are no threesomes/orgies/polyamory. If you have read ‘Sweet Deceit’, I would prefer that you either ignore its events or write around them.
Phoenix Wright (Ema Skye)
I’d love to see something focusing on Ema Skye, the forensics fan. I loved her as a precocious teenager in the first Phoenix Wright game, but I love her even more as a Snackoo-chewing homicide detective annoyed by everything and everyone around her (except, of course, for SCIENCE). All I want from this story is something featuring Ema as her cranky, moody self, her love for science, and possibly even a case.
Ema has been my favorite video game character since I picked up the first Phoenix Wright game, and she's stayed that way through multiple game series replays. I loved her as a little girl playing with fingerprint powder and plaster footprint molds; I actually shrieked aloud with laughter when I hit the Apollo Justice game and met Ema again in her adult incarnation. Of course Ema thinks being a detective is lame, compared to being a real forensic investigator. Of course she does.
In terms of the science, don't worry about trying to make the forensics realistic. I actually love tongue-in-cheek video game/TV science, plus I study science when I'm offline and video games are my escape. I would prefer that you have fun handwaving/making up something crazy rather than going through the hassle of researching a topic. Other things I enjoy about the Ace Attorney/Perfect Prosecutor games include the Steel Samurai, all the puns, Miles Edgeworth, and everything about the Blue Badger but honestly all I want is Ema + SCIENCE.
As far as pairings go, I would prefer a character focused gen piece to anything else. I do enjoy Klavier/Ema when they're both professionals and there's a good-natured-sibling-bickering dynamic (... rather than Klavier sexually harassing Ema until she gives in, um.), so it would be fun if you wanted to write partner-develops-into-something-more fic for the two of them. That said, I'm much more interested in Ema as a character than I am in her romantic entanglements and I would prefer not to receive fic where Ema is shipped with Phoenix, Edgeworth, Gumshoe, Apollo, or Gant because I find the age difference squicky.
Echo Bazaar (Jack-of-Smiles, The Cheesemonger, The Starveling Cat)
I picked Jack-of-Smiles and the Cheesemonger as possible characters because they star in two of my favorite storylets, and I picked the Starveling Cat because . . . I mean, it’s the Starveling Cat. The Starveling Cat requires no explanation. I’d enjoy backstory for Jack-of-Smiles (bonus points if you make Jack-of-Smiles female), or anything about the Cheesemonger or Starveling Cat. I’m also super-fond of the organized street urchins gangs in the Flit, particularly the Fisher Kings, so I’d love it if you could somehow weave them into your narrative.
What? I really like Echo Bazaar. Some people might say I'm addicted. The world building is fantastic. I'm not sure it's possible to describe how much I love this game. Steampunk has never been my thing--my reading interests trend more toward psychological/emotional horror and dystopic cyberpunk--but I love how simultaneously clever and morbid the writing in Echo Bazaar is, how realistic and undidactic the stories are, and how good the designers are at letting the reader fill the pieces in for themselves.
I love the street urchin trope, so I'd be very happy if you somehow worked that into your narrative. I like stories about belief and revolution and futile, awful choices for a so-called greater good, hence the Cheesemonger; I also like stories about serial killers, hence Jack-of-Smiles. (Making Jack-of-Smiles female definitely isn't a requirement, it's just something I think might be fun to read.) What does it mean to kill people when death isn't permanent? What makes Jack-of-Smiles tick?
The Starveling Cat is the Starveling Cat. The Starveling Cat doesn't need me to write prompts for it, because the Starveling Cat is watching you.
I hope you have a lot of fun with your assignment! Thanks for offering to write me a story (and for wading through this letter), author! ♥ I can't wait to see what you come up with.
-- unrequitedangst