Dear Yuletide Author, 2016 Edition

[aegistheia]

Dear Yuletide Author,

Thank you for writing! Apparently this is now my standard format for my Dear Yuletide Author missives, so you’ll definitely see something similar if/when you rifle through my journal.

Without further ado, please behold this four-part letter for your reading pleasure! It’s archived on both Livejournal and Dreamwidth.

1. ABOUT ME
2. PREFERENCES
3. FANDOM-SPECIFIC TALK
  i. 7 Seeds
  ii. Mushishi
  iii. Gentleman Bastard Sequence - Scott Lynch
  iv. Ghostbusters (2016)
4. HELPFUL STUFF MAYBE

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1. ABOUT ME

Here are some general items of note about my fandom and fic reading approach, in no particular order:

• I LOVE READING FIC. I repeat this every year word for word, because it's true, and it's also my most concise expression of that truth: I am so excited! You are going to do so well. I love you already. I love what you are going to write already. You are going to be okay. THANK YOU. ♥


• I’m largely in fandom for relationships. That said, I’m primarily not a shipper. I love relationships in its basest definition: "the way in which two or more people, groups, countries, etc., talk to, behave toward, and deal with each other; ...the way in which two or more people or things are connected." (From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2014/09.) I am interested in relationships of all sorts, be it familial, platonic, superior-subordinate, physical, romantic, polyamorous, complicated, destined soul bond ~*beyond all time*~, etc. THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIPS. Essentially my primary fare in most fandoms is everything that twigs my interest regardless of how the pairings/moresomes/lack thereof/gen cast pan out; as long as the relationships make sense in context of the story, I’m on board. When I do select shipfic to read I tend to prefer open relationships and/or polyamory. When I mention “relationship” in this letter, assume the broadest interpretation (i.e. characters interacting) unless I specify.


• Treasured fics that I reread all the time tend to be predominantly gen and/or plot/theme-focused.


• As long as a story portrays its characters and/or plot with coherent development throughout its run with intact internal logic, I can almost always be convinced to read it, even if it contains viewpoints and interpretations at vast odds with canon or general fanon or my own headcanon. So while I’ve given some guidelines/suggestions/prompts, please feel free to deviate without compunction. You’re going to have a hard time writing something I won’t enjoy! That said, I do have some things I prefer not to read right now. You will find them listed in PREFERENCES below, and some fandom-specific details in their relevant sections.


• I love seeing implications that characters have lives and relationships beyond the ones in focus in the story.


• I am down for crossovers and AUs like the ocean floor. Stories that reflect and contrast the original source’s main themes and/or plot in their alternate settings will render me into a puddle on the floor.


• I love stories that show respect for their characters. I also like reading stories where characters respect, or grow to respect, each other. Relationship development over time yes!

2. PREFERENCES

My cup of tea: Character interaction of any sort! Give me conflict, developed or developing! Slice of life with no conflict! Crack! Odd happenings! I like seeing characters bounce off each other with snappy dialogue and/or sarcastic narrative. I also like meditative moments filled with lyrical introspection. Family (especially found families) and platonic relationships make me squirm with delight. So do developing romance and sexual tension. Blatant respect makes me so happy. I’d love it if you shove them out the door on an adventure or lock them in their towns to putter about for the day! Hurt/comfort makes up a significant part of my id vortex’s event horizon.

NSFW: Actually you may have noticed that this year I’ve tagged all my prompts with gen/mostly gen requests, so I’d prefer the focus to be not on romantic/sexual relationships this time around. But if you would like to include a sex scene for whatever/any reason, please go ahead! I like the following: Consent. Sensory descriptions, sensual, loving, gentle, rough, descriptive, fade to black. Again, please don’t feel the need to write sex scenes; I enjoy them, but I generally read them more as part of the story as a whole and less for their own sake.

Not my cup of tea for this challenge: Infidelity or betrayals, unless directly relevant to story theme/development. Lack of communication in supposedly healthy relationships. Extreme embarrassment (I have a pretty sensitive embarrassment squick).

NSFW: Lack of consent. Dubcon is okay only if the negotiations beforehand are also included and consent is at least clearly implied. The word “cum”.


3. FANDOM-SPECIFIC TALK

1. 7 Seeds
   
   Requested characters: Ayu, Nijiko
   Keywords: Gen (or mostly gen), Respect, Character Exploration/Development, World Building, Coming of Age, Ensemble Fic extremely welcome!
   
   I adore 7 Seeds for its varied cast, well-researched environments, and ridiculously detailed world building! I especially love the equal balance of trait spectra developing across the characters, how unrepentantly competent they are or are becoming, and the inevitable conflicts that arise when strong-willed people with common goals and varied priorities walk together.
   
   As this series does focus on teamwork, I’d love to read about more or less anybody (ensemble fic most welcome!) and the various (mis)adventures they might get into on such a potentially hostile world. It would be nice to have more attention focused on Nijiko and Ayu, whether as an interacting pair or as individuals; I’m as interested in their developing relationships with their teams as with each other. I don’t ship these two ladies together, but I don’t mind being convinced if that’s the ship you’re aboard!
   
   I’ve finished volume 27, but I plan to catch up to volume 29 (or further, if more chapters beyond 150 become available to read), so feel free to explore through the entire course of the published series, or to extrapolate beyond.
   
   Random fact: I still don’t have a Favourite favourite character, but I still adore Natsu for her blooming courage. That has not changed at all.


2. Mushishi
   
   Requested characters: Ginko
   Keywords: Gen (or mostly gen), World Building, Character Exploration/Development, Atmospheric Wistfulness (TM)
   
   As a collection of loosely related supernatural stories tied together by a central character and a rotating supporting cast, Mushishi has done much to bury itself into my heart. It’s partly the almost epistolary nature of the narration, partly the graceful attempts of understanding and acceptance, and partly the thematic sense of inevitability that is wound through the entire series. It’s understated, and very... wistful, for the lack of a suitable adjective.
   
   I’d love more of that. A snapshot into the life of a mushi-shi, or the humans who encounter mushi, and how both the humans and the non-humans try to live. I’ve chosen Ginko mostly because he is the most parsimonious choice for all these intersections, but if you can manage other characters, it doesn’t necessarily have to be Ginko in the story. Original characters are absolutely fine if they are important to the story.
   
   Random fact: For better or worse, out of all the anime I’ve watched, this series evokes the strongest association to the Japanese phrase “it cannot be helped” (仕方が無い), and all that it connotates.


3. Gentleman Bastard Sequence - Scott Lynch
   
   Requested characters: Zamira Drakasha, Ezri Delmastro
   Keywords: Gen (or mostly gen), Character Exploration/Development, Hijinks, Heist?, Humour, Angst, Slice of Life, World Building, Scott Lynch’s irreverent writing style (i.e. lots of humour and swearing and layers within layers)
   
   This prompt remains mostly intact from last year, so here goes: I’M STILL NOT OVER MY LADIES. I’d love to read more about Zamira Drakasha and Ezri Delmastro at high sea, whether before they came across Red Messenger, during the events of Red Seas under Red Skies, or after, when they are picking up the pieces left behind. Please feel free to involve anybody else in this.
   
   I’ve finished The Republic of Thieves, so please explore the universe beyond that point if you wish.
   
   Random Fact: I’ve always imagined that the Captain and Lieutenant earned their Elderglass together... and that they had mutually and silently left the offensive weaponry to Lieutenant Del, and the defensive armour to the Captain. For reasons they’ve never spoken about with anyone else. Yes/no?


4. Ghostbusters (2016)
   
   Requested characters: Jillian Holtzmann, Erin Gilbert, Abby Yates, Patty Tolan
   Keywords: Gen, Hijinks, Hilarity, World Building, Character Exploration/Development, Team Fic please! Kevin and others are most welcome additions.
   
   Ohhhh my god, a central cast of women who weren’t sexualized for the male gaze? Pursuing their own interests? Defining their own styles and senses of beauty without, again, the male gaze? In STEM? And the humanities? Breaking the fourth wall and shading tropes and crushing gender stereotypes as they make mistakes and kick ass and evoke humour without being sexist or racist or classist? Excuse me while I hyperventilate with glee.
   
   I would love to read more team-based fic revolving these four women. Quiet (or not-so-quiet as per explosions) day in the lab? Yes, please! En route to buying groceries and lab equipment and uniform fabric and nuclear fuel? Tell me more! In the middle of a challenging ghost chase? Give me every detail! The four of them making a quasi-scientific/engineering breakthrough? Can’t get me more excited! Teaching Kevin about the marvels of the fax machine? I’d pay to be the fly on the wall! Another character from another fandom dropping by? Are you kidding me give it to me now. Anything! Everything! You can’t go wrong here.
   
   Random Fact: The ladies are ALL my favourites. But I would not be remiss if I did not do a dance of delight the first time I watched Holtzmann explode her way across the scene like any stereotypical male action hero.

4. HELPFUL STUFF MAYBE

I keep accounts open on Tumblr (current primary), Livejournal, Dreamwidth, and AO3. I explore different fandoms on each account (except for DW, which is a backup of LJ); you are welcome to explore with impunity.

As per what seems to be becoming tradition, here are some interesting things to help your creativity get started:

“Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.” - Serbian Proverb

Eat Shit And Die Comic #233 by B Patrick

This is the one song everyone
would like to learn: the song
that is irresistible:

the song that forces men
to leap overboard in squadrons
even though they see the beached skulls

the song nobody knows
because anyone who has heard it
is dead, and the others can't remember.

Shall I tell you the secret
and if I do, will you get me
out of this bird suit?

I don't enjoy it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and mythical

with these two feathery maniacs,
I don't enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and valuable.

I will tell the secret to you,
to you, only to you.
Come closer. This song

is a cry for help: Help me!
Only you, only you can,
you are unique

at last. Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every time.
- Siren Song, Margaret Atwood, from Selected Poems 1965-1975

Bloodstone feat. Kronos Quartet by Amon Tobin. In fact his entire Foley Room album is worth a listen, if not his entire discography.

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I hope this was a helpful read! Thanks again for writing for me, I can’t wait! See you in December!

Aegis