Dear Yuletide Author
Dear Yuletide Author,
Thank you so much for taking on one of my requests. First of all, the characters I picked are characters I will generally read anything with. I mean that. That's part of why I picked them. I've read literally every single story out there with them (that I could find, and I've been looking a LOT), and some of them were way off of my usual tastes but I still loved them because, you know, THOSE characters. So don't worry about going wrong there. I am sure that whatever you come up with will be just fine.
That said, if you wish to mold the story more to my personal tastes, here's some information.
General Notes
At the bottom of my heart, I'm rather cruel when it comes to my favorite characters, to the point where I sort my books by how badly mangled the characters in them get. If you happen to feel violent, please, by all means, go ahead and break them. Reversible damage, irreversible damage, graphic, un-graphic, detailed, vague, it's all fine with me. My specific fascination is less with damaging characters as such, but with the manner in which they deal with it afterwards. I'm never happier than when a character formerly in prime condition suddenly has to come to term with new limitations or fight to make his recovery.
Now, obviously, if that's just not down your line of writing, I'll be more than happy with a lot of other things, too. I love it when characters are redeemed/given a chance to redeem themselves; I like character studies; background stories; stories set in the characters' past; just a normal day of their lives; plot or no plot; what if..?; original characters, alternate universe, action, no action, suspense, hurt/comfort, angst, etc.
I'm more than fine with gen. I like gen. Much of the time, I prefer gen. I'm not opposed to anything other per se. It's just that I'm not into romance or reading about sex a lot. I prefer friendship to sex in a story, but I've read very sex-centric ones, including outright porn, that I've loved. If you need to "go down that road" to write, please stick with the characters' canon orientations, where they have any. I don't like changing inherent facts about a character to suit the author or reader. People wouldn't change a character's natural hair color either just because they happen to like red-heads, right? It's part of keeping them in-character for me.
Feel free to come up with a way out, though, if the only one on my requested characters that you feel okay writing is canon-heterosexual and you want to write something slash-related. One suggestion would be picking a minor character who's either gay or not defined in canon, have him fall for "my" character and go with UST there. Having a very clearly alternate universe might work, too. If slash is what you need to write to be happy/creative, I'm sure there are other ways, too. If it isn't, I'd very happily read gen (het, too, but same thing goes, I'm not really into romance or sex descriptions). One other thing, pretty please, don't give me positions that quite simply will not anatomically work or would require a contortionist. Sure way to throw me out of a story.
Likes: dark fiction (there's no such thing as too dark), characters being redeemed/redeeming themselves, background stories, character history, morally/ethically "grey" characters, characters who play by their own set of rules, "evil"; characters that are undisputably human, see paragraph one of "general notes", weather, witty conversation, detailed description, bladed weapons,
Dislikes: diary style, cats, death of my requested character, anatomically impossible positions in sex scenes, mpreg, gender swap, repetitive description
Ben Hur
My requested character: Messala.
First off, I'm totally fine with either Messala and Judah having been 'just friends' in their youth or with them having been more. I can see either working our well.
Now, if I could have a story set after the chariot race, where, like in the book, Messala survives (injured either the book- or the movie-way would be equally wonderful), that'd be pure bliss. If they could somehow reconcile, I'd be in seventh heaven.
First Law
Requested Character: Sand dan Glokta
What can I say - I hate the prose but I love this character. It's like Glokta was written for me. he's everything I look for in a character and more.
So, anything you want to tell me about him, I'll be happy. His capture? Something set during his time being tortured in the Gurkish prisons? His return and subsequent slow recovery? Any of those would be total, perfect bliss. On the other hand, I'd be equally happy to read about how he won the Contest, about his exploits as Colonel Glokta in the army, or something later, him and his wife, him in his job, raising her child, whatever. If it's Glokta-centric, I will love it.
MacGyver
Requested Character: Murdoc
I know I requested and got this the last three years, but this is one I can never get enough of.
My favorite assassin. I love this borderline mad guy and his over-the-top attempts at catching MacGyver. I love his "relationship" to his sister, his moments of showing he's more than just that crazy assassin in Cleo Rocks, his fear of snakes, everything that makes him "human" in addition to being a cold-blooded killer. Tell me about Murdoc. His thoughts during a hit; a scene from his past; a scene from his future; him watching his sister when she was still alive; learning about her death; oh, what if she actually WAS still alive?; how did he get to be an assassin in the first place?; anything you can think of. And, of course, if you want to/would break him for me, you'd not even have to make up a situation. Shortly after pretty much any episode would work wonderfully ;) (Widowmaker aftermath, hinthint). Or anything you can come up with. Pick your supporting characters to your liking, there's no character I really despise in this show. Bottom line, though? Based on my reaction to what's out there, If it's got Murdoc in it, I'm going to love it.
Moby Dick: Captain Ahab
My requested character: Captain Ahab.
Captain Ahab is a character who I have basically been in love with ever since I first got my hands on a copy of Moby Dick at the age of eight. I made up one of my first fanfictions ever about that man, except that I didn't call them that at the time, of course.
Gregory Peck played the perfect Captain Ahab, as far as I'm concerned.
So much potential there… I'd love to read about him after returning from his first encounter with Moby Dick, his recovery and return to sea. I'd be just as delighted about any glimpse of his onshore life, pre or post his first meeting with Moby Dick.
If you manage to make me up an alternate universe in which he somehow survives the book - now that'd be something that would have me squee in joy for a long time. If you somehow manage to redeem this character, you might hear my squee all the way to wherever you are. (I'm able to suspend a LOT of disbelief where that is concerned. I have close a quarter century of practice!)
Perry Rhodan
Requested Character: Atlan da Gonozal
One of my first literary loves, one I inherited from my mother's generation and hope to pass on to the next. I love his wit, I love his sarcasm, I even love the superciliousness that he shows at times. Well over 10000 years of life - I'm sure you can find something to tell me. Some adventure with Fartuloon. Something during his long involuntary stay on Earth. Something after that. Anything. I'll be as happy reading 1000 words of dialogue between Atlan and his Extrasense as I would be reading several times that covering some of his adventures. You can't go wrong with Atlan for me.
If you want to put some extra chocolate on that cake for me, though… remember that time he nearly died and then spent forever and a day recovering while all the time adventure books were written? If yu want to try and give me something from that time, you may hear me squee all the way without even opening your window.
By the way: I read German in case you prefer to write in that language.
Tamora Pierce: The Immortals
Requested Character: Rikash Moonsword
Here's another one I was in love with from line one.
Really, tell me anything about Rikash. Set during one of the books, a missing scene, something from his past… What was it like for him to be banished into the Realms of the Gods back then? Or when he realised they were able to come back? What about the happenings in the Stormwing flock?
Maybe, very maybe, you could find a way to let him live? Somehow? That would be great.
Thank you so much for taking on one of my requests. First of all, the characters I picked are characters I will generally read anything with. I mean that. That's part of why I picked them. I've read literally every single story out there with them (that I could find, and I've been looking a LOT), and some of them were way off of my usual tastes but I still loved them because, you know, THOSE characters. So don't worry about going wrong there. I am sure that whatever you come up with will be just fine.
That said, if you wish to mold the story more to my personal tastes, here's some information.
General Notes
At the bottom of my heart, I'm rather cruel when it comes to my favorite characters, to the point where I sort my books by how badly mangled the characters in them get. If you happen to feel violent, please, by all means, go ahead and break them. Reversible damage, irreversible damage, graphic, un-graphic, detailed, vague, it's all fine with me. My specific fascination is less with damaging characters as such, but with the manner in which they deal with it afterwards. I'm never happier than when a character formerly in prime condition suddenly has to come to term with new limitations or fight to make his recovery.
Now, obviously, if that's just not down your line of writing, I'll be more than happy with a lot of other things, too. I love it when characters are redeemed/given a chance to redeem themselves; I like character studies; background stories; stories set in the characters' past; just a normal day of their lives; plot or no plot; what if..?; original characters, alternate universe, action, no action, suspense, hurt/comfort, angst, etc.
I'm more than fine with gen. I like gen. Much of the time, I prefer gen. I'm not opposed to anything other per se. It's just that I'm not into romance or reading about sex a lot. I prefer friendship to sex in a story, but I've read very sex-centric ones, including outright porn, that I've loved. If you need to "go down that road" to write, please stick with the characters' canon orientations, where they have any. I don't like changing inherent facts about a character to suit the author or reader. People wouldn't change a character's natural hair color either just because they happen to like red-heads, right? It's part of keeping them in-character for me.
Feel free to come up with a way out, though, if the only one on my requested characters that you feel okay writing is canon-heterosexual and you want to write something slash-related. One suggestion would be picking a minor character who's either gay or not defined in canon, have him fall for "my" character and go with UST there. Having a very clearly alternate universe might work, too. If slash is what you need to write to be happy/creative, I'm sure there are other ways, too. If it isn't, I'd very happily read gen (het, too, but same thing goes, I'm not really into romance or sex descriptions). One other thing, pretty please, don't give me positions that quite simply will not anatomically work or would require a contortionist. Sure way to throw me out of a story.
Likes: dark fiction (there's no such thing as too dark), characters being redeemed/redeeming themselves, background stories, character history, morally/ethically "grey" characters, characters who play by their own set of rules, "evil"; characters that are undisputably human, see paragraph one of "general notes", weather, witty conversation, detailed description, bladed weapons,
Dislikes: diary style, cats, death of my requested character, anatomically impossible positions in sex scenes, mpreg, gender swap, repetitive description
Ben Hur
My requested character: Messala.
First off, I'm totally fine with either Messala and Judah having been 'just friends' in their youth or with them having been more. I can see either working our well.
Now, if I could have a story set after the chariot race, where, like in the book, Messala survives (injured either the book- or the movie-way would be equally wonderful), that'd be pure bliss. If they could somehow reconcile, I'd be in seventh heaven.
First Law
Requested Character: Sand dan Glokta
What can I say - I hate the prose but I love this character. It's like Glokta was written for me. he's everything I look for in a character and more.
So, anything you want to tell me about him, I'll be happy. His capture? Something set during his time being tortured in the Gurkish prisons? His return and subsequent slow recovery? Any of those would be total, perfect bliss. On the other hand, I'd be equally happy to read about how he won the Contest, about his exploits as Colonel Glokta in the army, or something later, him and his wife, him in his job, raising her child, whatever. If it's Glokta-centric, I will love it.
MacGyver
Requested Character: Murdoc
I know I requested and got this the last three years, but this is one I can never get enough of.
My favorite assassin. I love this borderline mad guy and his over-the-top attempts at catching MacGyver. I love his "relationship" to his sister, his moments of showing he's more than just that crazy assassin in Cleo Rocks, his fear of snakes, everything that makes him "human" in addition to being a cold-blooded killer. Tell me about Murdoc. His thoughts during a hit; a scene from his past; a scene from his future; him watching his sister when she was still alive; learning about her death; oh, what if she actually WAS still alive?; how did he get to be an assassin in the first place?; anything you can think of. And, of course, if you want to/would break him for me, you'd not even have to make up a situation. Shortly after pretty much any episode would work wonderfully ;) (Widowmaker aftermath, hinthint). Or anything you can come up with. Pick your supporting characters to your liking, there's no character I really despise in this show. Bottom line, though? Based on my reaction to what's out there, If it's got Murdoc in it, I'm going to love it.
Moby Dick: Captain Ahab
My requested character: Captain Ahab.
Captain Ahab is a character who I have basically been in love with ever since I first got my hands on a copy of Moby Dick at the age of eight. I made up one of my first fanfictions ever about that man, except that I didn't call them that at the time, of course.
Gregory Peck played the perfect Captain Ahab, as far as I'm concerned.
So much potential there… I'd love to read about him after returning from his first encounter with Moby Dick, his recovery and return to sea. I'd be just as delighted about any glimpse of his onshore life, pre or post his first meeting with Moby Dick.
If you manage to make me up an alternate universe in which he somehow survives the book - now that'd be something that would have me squee in joy for a long time. If you somehow manage to redeem this character, you might hear my squee all the way to wherever you are. (I'm able to suspend a LOT of disbelief where that is concerned. I have close a quarter century of practice!)
Perry Rhodan
Requested Character: Atlan da Gonozal
One of my first literary loves, one I inherited from my mother's generation and hope to pass on to the next. I love his wit, I love his sarcasm, I even love the superciliousness that he shows at times. Well over 10000 years of life - I'm sure you can find something to tell me. Some adventure with Fartuloon. Something during his long involuntary stay on Earth. Something after that. Anything. I'll be as happy reading 1000 words of dialogue between Atlan and his Extrasense as I would be reading several times that covering some of his adventures. You can't go wrong with Atlan for me.
If you want to put some extra chocolate on that cake for me, though… remember that time he nearly died and then spent forever and a day recovering while all the time adventure books were written? If yu want to try and give me something from that time, you may hear me squee all the way without even opening your window.
By the way: I read German in case you prefer to write in that language.
Tamora Pierce: The Immortals
Requested Character: Rikash Moonsword
Here's another one I was in love with from line one.
Really, tell me anything about Rikash. Set during one of the books, a missing scene, something from his past… What was it like for him to be banished into the Realms of the Gods back then? Or when he realised they were able to come back? What about the happenings in the Stormwing flock?
Maybe, very maybe, you could find a way to let him live? Somehow? That would be great.