Dear Yuletide Author (2013)
Oct. 11th, 2013 03:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Dear Yuletide author/random passerby/what have you,
There once was a wintertime fest
For small fandoms we love the best!
So I'll love any plot
You write, whether or not
It's anything I could have guessed!
(AKA, optional details are optional! Write whatever you'd like, I'll definitely enjoy it. These are just some ideas to get you started.)
My name is also primeideal on Ao3! If you've been around, you might know me as Ember Nickel.
My name is also primeideal on Ao3! If you've been around, you might know me as Ember Nickel.
Dear Writer tag, for previous letters (to see where I've stolen much of this from!) I was fortunate to receive Will Grayson, Will Grayson fic for the recent Fic Corner exchange, but it's such a tiny fandom there can and should always be more; and I requested Animorphs last year, but the others are new.
I love happy endings, sad endings (when providing some measure of closure or melodrama), snark, wordplay, gen of any stripe, friendships and familial bonds, most canon ships for these fandoms, and general nerdery.
I do not like ambiguous endings, issue-fic, character or fandom-bashing, religion-bashing, explicit sex, rape/non-con, most non-canon ships for these fandoms, or overly pretentious, "post-earnestness" style. I'm here for joy. (Or groaning at bad puns, or melodrama...but something sincere.)
You can read my fics on ao3 (where I'm also primeideal) to get a sense of my taste. I'm infrequently on #yuletide chat, as primeideal, but don't expect to find me there on a regular basis. I'm on Tumblr too, which is mostly me rambling about my own fic, but I mention a couple of these fandoms every once in a while (of course I would love fic for the other fandoms, too--those are just the ones where I sometimes have an audience!)
ANIMORPHS
Request: "Anything in this fandom. I adore Andalites and would love to read some Elfangor/Loren from the Earth years, or Tobias and Ax being shorms, but I'd also be up to see gen with the main six, Rachel/Tobias shipfic, maybe some Rachel/Marco banter, Tom shipping Jake/Cassie, or OC worldbuilding fic exploring some of the other fronts in the galactic war (the Iskoort and the free Hork-Bajir were sort of abandoned plot threads)."
In terms of the tones I enjoy, "The Andalite Chronicles" and its emphasis on hope (despite some tragedy) was one of my favorites of the series. I like that mix more than the giddy, off-the-wall "btw we're in Atlantis now?" of the middle of the series, and also more than the bleak ambiguity of the end. Another thing I don't care for is inaccurate teleology, in this case waxing poetic about how such-and-so-morph was "designed" or "perfect" for speed/strength/stealth/surprise/something. But like I said, anything goes.
BATTLE ROYALE (2000)
Request: "Shogo Kawada: Something with pre-movie Shogo would be great, maybe exploring his relationship with Keiko and how that progressed before or during the first program, showing his dark side during that Program, or how he hacked into the collar system before the second program. Anything about his friendship with Shuya and Noriko, during the movie itself, would be great too. If you'd prefer to bring in some novel or movie characterization, I wouldn't mind, but there's no need."
While I love all continuities of the story, I first encountered it through the movie, and that version of Keiko's calculated sacrifice is fascinating to me, so I'd especially like to see something drawing on that canon. (I'm not familiar with the sequel movie, so please nothing drawing on that--although that shouldn't be too hard if you're writing anything Shogo-centric.) Although just a few characters were nominated, if you'd like to do something using more non-nominated characters, feel free to bring in anyone you'd like (Shinji? Yuko? Mizuho? Anyone!) I'd prefer no Kazuo- or Mizuho-centric fic, though.
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Request: "As Inigo Montoya was the only character nominated, I'll focus on him, but including other characters would be fine by me. With Inigo, his post-movie adventures in piracy would be hilarious, whether that includes rhymes with Fezzik or more swashbuckling encounters with OCs. Does he deal more mercifully to victims than the previous Dread Pirates Roberts, and if so, how does his legend get around? Does he reunite with Westley and Buttercup later? Something introspective about his having to get over the need for revenge could also be insightful."
I'm not familiar with the book, so I'd prefer no drawing on that canon, thanks! If Inigo's giving you trouble to write, I'd also be interested in seeing anything about the boy from the frame story and/or his grandfather. Grandpa hearing the story from his family? And the grandson seems to have very clear ideas about how stories should be told...I can see him becoming a fix-it fanfiction writer years down the line, if you're in the mood for something meta like that.
THE SANDLOT
Request: "Scotty and/or Benny in the intervening years from the main story to the epilogue scene? As I love baseball, any funny anecdotes from their parallel journeys with the game would be very welcome, but if you'd prefer just to write about their friendship over the years, that's fine too. If you're interested in them as kids, I'm guessing Benny in particular would, I assume, have to make his way into a more organized baseball team, leaving behind the chaos of the sandlot; how does he bring himself to make that changes, and/or how do Scotty (or the others?) support him? Or maybe, how does Scotty's relationship with his mom and stepfather evolve after the main plotline?"
I'm not familiar with the sequel movie, so please nothing based on that. I'd also prefer to keep the emphasis on Scotty and/or Benny rather than any of their teammates, though some degree of ensemble fandom is fine with me. Completely gratuitous, but I've just moved to LA in time to bandwagon my way into the Dodgers' playoff chase--while they're not really the team of my heart, and I don't know enough about the city to necessarily appreciate anything Dodger-specific, trying to find a timeline for the movie versus the Dodgers' real history would certainly entertain me. How about Scotty hero-worshiping Vin Scully...?!
WHEEL OF TIME
Request: "I've requested Tam, Thom, Moiraine, and Loial, so thanks for volunteering to write all of them, but for this fandom I'd happy to see just one, two, or three rather than all four of the requested characters--please don't feel like you have to force them in. For all four of them, I'd be interested in something post-series; where do they go from the events of the last battle onward? Thom and Loial have their different stories to write, anything about those (similarities? differences? meta-level commentary) would be fascinating, as would Thom/Moiraine or Loial/Erith. With Tam or Moiraine, I'd love to see Rand eventually revealing himself to them, maybe a while down the line once the tension of the Dragon's Peace has calmed down."
One of the reasons I'd love to see Rand+Tam or Moiraine gen is because I felt the ending was sort of anticlimactic, in terms of letting Rand walk away with all his romantic relationships intact but burning the bridges on all the other people who care about him (as a person and not necessarily a political tool). So if you'd like to write something similar with Rand+Mat or Perrin, even though I didn't request them, that would be great too. With Loial, I think there's lots of room for worldbuilding Ogier culture (post-Battle), if you'd like to work that in; maybe he runs into Perrin and they learn things about the Tinkers' Song? Feel free to bring in OCs, if it helps.
WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON
Request: "Anything goes, maybe post-book but don't hold yourself to that. Given the themes of the book, the importance of friendships and non-romantic relationships was something I'd really enjoyed, so I'd be interested in seeing more friendship stuff with Uppercase Will and Tiny (before or after the book). Or, at some other point, Tiny and Jane (setting up the Gay-Straight Alliance?) Uppercase and lowercase Will going on to be closer friends? Making fun of musical theater plots? Not that I'd mind Uppercase Will/Jane, either!"
Maura was not nominated, but if you'd like to write about her and lowercase Will, I'd be happy with that--I thought the story was a surprisingly realistic take on the importance online relationships can have to us. Another random plot bunny would be lowercase Will (perhaps influenced by any of his friends you choose) making amends to the math team (anything involving math competitions will definitely make me squee). Actually, anything specifically referencing the Chicagoland settings will make me squee too. I'd also be happy to read Will Three/Tiny, if that's your ship.
I'll repeat, optional details are optional! So be it something dental to please my sweet tooth, or a diamond in the rough mines of fandoms I've never heard of, write whatever you'd like, have fun, and I'm looking forward to your story! :)