Dear Yuletide Author 2018
Oct. 27th, 2018 12:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynI am terribly sorry it's taken me so long to write this--I hope it hasn't messed with your plans too much. If this letter isn't a big help, you can see all my past letters by using my yuletide tag here.
General stuff about me
I'm open to angst with a happy ending, romance, humor, ships (slash or het), gen, character studies, long plotty stuff (I love plotty stuff and fic with world-building or that goes in depth), fluff, or drama. I love first times and falling in love, friendships, relationships between people who are equals. Friends to lovers might be my ultimate trope, and found families is right up there too.
What I don't like: BDSM/anything particularly sex kink-oriented, non-con of any type, emotional abuse, animal harm, ABO and that sort of thing (that's what I meant about if there are initials for it, I'm probably not into it). I've battled grief and depression for a while and dealt with cancer last year, so something that might make me more depressed or fic about illnesses or death would not be enjoyable, but if that's the direction your story goes, I'm also not the kind of person who'd freak out about it, even though I might not be super enthused about it. Two of my requests involve twins, and as a twin, I'm really annoyed by the weird cliches about us, so I'd appreciate some sensitivity in that, and please, no twincest.
What I love about my fandoms is the canon universe they inhabit so I'm not really into mundane AUs, however what-if AUs (canon-divergence) can be really cool--I love it when someone comes up with a story off of one element being changed!
Some of the tropes and approaches I enjoy (some of which I've stolen from Dorinda): right now, I really love hopeful endings even if it's not necessarily a happy-ever-after, words that camouflage deeper/unspoken meanings and hidden feelings, protectiveness, extreme competence (with honest weakness), hurt/comfort, found or chosen families, partners against the world, nurturing via food/drink/warmth. Some of the classics I can go for: having to share a bed, huddling for warmth and/or stranded somewhere, pretend couple, situations where one suffers or sacrifices for the other, rescues, etc. Genre can be fun: someone finds they have superpowers, or is trapped in a time loop, things like that. If you can write time travel of some sort, I'll probably fall in love.
Political Animals: I always feel so greedy for asking for TJ Hammond stories because I have received two already, but there should be more stories about him, if you ask me. I love to see TJ getting his life in order, on his own or with someone else--being the hero of his own story for a change. I think that his family is kind of bad for him (with the exception of his grandmother), although if they're a part of your story, that's cool. I'm always interested, too, in his relationship to Dougie, but I'm a twin and I'm sensitive to the media stereotypes of psychic twins and stuff like that, so a little research about the reality of twins would go a long way for me. I'm totally open to crossovers with other characters from Sebastian Stan's movies (Mark Watney, or Jake Jensen, Frank Adler, etc.), as long as the focus is on TJ. I love Agent Clark from the series and nominated him, because I can totally see him in a (non-kink) relationship with TJ after the series. I often think TJ's life could be perfect for concepts like Groundhog Day/time loops, that sort of thing, so if you want to play with tropes, feel free!
Hitman's Bodyguard: I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie--Michael's droll, dry sarcasm and fussy perfectionism strike a big chord in me, and I loved how much Darius just loves love and isn't ashamed of his romanticism at all. More of their dynamic from the movie would be wonderful, maybe they're forced by circumstances to do another road trip all over again, or maybe they get stuck in some terrible circumstances (choose from the menu above!) and Sonia and/or Amelia have to rescue them. Slash is great (I loved how they weren't exactly friends at the end, but respected each other, and how dedicated they became), but if that's not in your wheelhouse, gen is fine as I loved their ridiculous banter. Or maybe you could look at their previous encounter: what else might have happened in Prague? I couldn't nominate the character, but the client Michael saves in the early part of the film played by Richard E. Grant made me laugh out loud--he's basically Withnail from Withnail & I, 40 years later, and I am so here for him making an appearance in fic if that floats your boat.
Kings: I waffled a lot about including this, because I received a perfect gift of this a few years back, but ultimately, Yuletide is one of the few times during the year people seem to write this fandom, and I always think there should be more Jack Benjamin. I hated that ending for him. I'd prefer not to have too much of his parents, especially Silas, because what a freaking bastard. I'd love to see Jack figuring out who he is, and learning to live with that, either on his own or with help from someone else. I'm not the biggest David fan, but I am not averse to an alliance between them after the show ended, I could see them loving each other either as friends or romantically, the way they did in the Bible. Or I could see him growing closer to Michelle, or just going off on his own, back to being a soldier prince. I loved him as a soldier, absolutely loved that, and a story focused on that could be fantastic, and I think you could really play with some of the tropes mentioned above if you choose that route. I'm a twin and pretty sensitive to the media cliches of what twins are, so a little research into twinship would go a long way, if you choose to write about Jack and Michelle. (If you'd like a better sense of how I see Jack, you can read my fic about him, or the one Destina wrote for Yuletide 2014.) Just more Jack, please, especially competent Jack.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle: This movie was such a surprise. I really didn't want to watch it (it had all the things I hate, like one female character in a group of guys, and they hung a lantern on their sexist clothing just so they could still do it), but was convinced by a friend, and I fell in love with it. It's just such a sweet movie, and it never resorts to the things I was so sure they were doing. I especially liked the moments where Martha is fighting the guys and Spencer rushes out to save her, sees she's kicking their asses, and then gives a little head-nod and goes back inside; and the moment where Bethany flirts with Alex after he saves them and he just totally rolls with it, not playing any of it with "no homo" or cruel jokes crap. I'm so here for the friendships that develop, especially the one for Martha and Bethany or that's repaired for Fridge and Spencer, but if you want to write ships, that's okay, though I'd definitely not want to see Bethany with Alex after the game when he's an adult. I made a few prompts in my sign-up, but I feel like you could go wild if the kids ended up being some kind of Scooby Gang after the game, or even just have fun exploring what happens to them at school now that they're back. Does Fridge start to take school more seriously, recognizing that it's more fun than he expected now that he's experienced being a zoology expert? How does Spencer navigate the real world again after having been fearless and seeing how much his fears held him back? Martha can see the value of being social and having a team, and that she's a babe and owns it--what would that mean for her? And Bethany has learned there's a whole world beyond her phone and being popular, so what happens when she develops social ties to a whole new type of people? Or maybe you want to use an outsider POV about the kids, using one of the teachers in the movie or the principal: do they see the changes in the kids, and what do they think about them?
General stuff about me
I'm open to angst with a happy ending, romance, humor, ships (slash or het), gen, character studies, long plotty stuff (I love plotty stuff and fic with world-building or that goes in depth), fluff, or drama. I love first times and falling in love, friendships, relationships between people who are equals. Friends to lovers might be my ultimate trope, and found families is right up there too.
What I don't like: BDSM/anything particularly sex kink-oriented, non-con of any type, emotional abuse, animal harm, ABO and that sort of thing (that's what I meant about if there are initials for it, I'm probably not into it). I've battled grief and depression for a while and dealt with cancer last year, so something that might make me more depressed or fic about illnesses or death would not be enjoyable, but if that's the direction your story goes, I'm also not the kind of person who'd freak out about it, even though I might not be super enthused about it. Two of my requests involve twins, and as a twin, I'm really annoyed by the weird cliches about us, so I'd appreciate some sensitivity in that, and please, no twincest.
What I love about my fandoms is the canon universe they inhabit so I'm not really into mundane AUs, however what-if AUs (canon-divergence) can be really cool--I love it when someone comes up with a story off of one element being changed!
Some of the tropes and approaches I enjoy (some of which I've stolen from Dorinda): right now, I really love hopeful endings even if it's not necessarily a happy-ever-after, words that camouflage deeper/unspoken meanings and hidden feelings, protectiveness, extreme competence (with honest weakness), hurt/comfort, found or chosen families, partners against the world, nurturing via food/drink/warmth. Some of the classics I can go for: having to share a bed, huddling for warmth and/or stranded somewhere, pretend couple, situations where one suffers or sacrifices for the other, rescues, etc. Genre can be fun: someone finds they have superpowers, or is trapped in a time loop, things like that. If you can write time travel of some sort, I'll probably fall in love.
Political Animals: I always feel so greedy for asking for TJ Hammond stories because I have received two already, but there should be more stories about him, if you ask me. I love to see TJ getting his life in order, on his own or with someone else--being the hero of his own story for a change. I think that his family is kind of bad for him (with the exception of his grandmother), although if they're a part of your story, that's cool. I'm always interested, too, in his relationship to Dougie, but I'm a twin and I'm sensitive to the media stereotypes of psychic twins and stuff like that, so a little research about the reality of twins would go a long way for me. I'm totally open to crossovers with other characters from Sebastian Stan's movies (Mark Watney, or Jake Jensen, Frank Adler, etc.), as long as the focus is on TJ. I love Agent Clark from the series and nominated him, because I can totally see him in a (non-kink) relationship with TJ after the series. I often think TJ's life could be perfect for concepts like Groundhog Day/time loops, that sort of thing, so if you want to play with tropes, feel free!
Hitman's Bodyguard: I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie--Michael's droll, dry sarcasm and fussy perfectionism strike a big chord in me, and I loved how much Darius just loves love and isn't ashamed of his romanticism at all. More of their dynamic from the movie would be wonderful, maybe they're forced by circumstances to do another road trip all over again, or maybe they get stuck in some terrible circumstances (choose from the menu above!) and Sonia and/or Amelia have to rescue them. Slash is great (I loved how they weren't exactly friends at the end, but respected each other, and how dedicated they became), but if that's not in your wheelhouse, gen is fine as I loved their ridiculous banter. Or maybe you could look at their previous encounter: what else might have happened in Prague? I couldn't nominate the character, but the client Michael saves in the early part of the film played by Richard E. Grant made me laugh out loud--he's basically Withnail from Withnail & I, 40 years later, and I am so here for him making an appearance in fic if that floats your boat.
Kings: I waffled a lot about including this, because I received a perfect gift of this a few years back, but ultimately, Yuletide is one of the few times during the year people seem to write this fandom, and I always think there should be more Jack Benjamin. I hated that ending for him. I'd prefer not to have too much of his parents, especially Silas, because what a freaking bastard. I'd love to see Jack figuring out who he is, and learning to live with that, either on his own or with help from someone else. I'm not the biggest David fan, but I am not averse to an alliance between them after the show ended, I could see them loving each other either as friends or romantically, the way they did in the Bible. Or I could see him growing closer to Michelle, or just going off on his own, back to being a soldier prince. I loved him as a soldier, absolutely loved that, and a story focused on that could be fantastic, and I think you could really play with some of the tropes mentioned above if you choose that route. I'm a twin and pretty sensitive to the media cliches of what twins are, so a little research into twinship would go a long way, if you choose to write about Jack and Michelle. (If you'd like a better sense of how I see Jack, you can read my fic about him, or the one Destina wrote for Yuletide 2014.) Just more Jack, please, especially competent Jack.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle: This movie was such a surprise. I really didn't want to watch it (it had all the things I hate, like one female character in a group of guys, and they hung a lantern on their sexist clothing just so they could still do it), but was convinced by a friend, and I fell in love with it. It's just such a sweet movie, and it never resorts to the things I was so sure they were doing. I especially liked the moments where Martha is fighting the guys and Spencer rushes out to save her, sees she's kicking their asses, and then gives a little head-nod and goes back inside; and the moment where Bethany flirts with Alex after he saves them and he just totally rolls with it, not playing any of it with "no homo" or cruel jokes crap. I'm so here for the friendships that develop, especially the one for Martha and Bethany or that's repaired for Fridge and Spencer, but if you want to write ships, that's okay, though I'd definitely not want to see Bethany with Alex after the game when he's an adult. I made a few prompts in my sign-up, but I feel like you could go wild if the kids ended up being some kind of Scooby Gang after the game, or even just have fun exploring what happens to them at school now that they're back. Does Fridge start to take school more seriously, recognizing that it's more fun than he expected now that he's experienced being a zoology expert? How does Spencer navigate the real world again after having been fearless and seeing how much his fears held him back? Martha can see the value of being social and having a team, and that she's a babe and owns it--what would that mean for her? And Bethany has learned there's a whole world beyond her phone and being popular, so what happens when she develops social ties to a whole new type of people? Or maybe you want to use an outsider POV about the kids, using one of the teachers in the movie or the principal: do they see the changes in the kids, and what do they think about them?
