Purim Gifts
(Why, yes, flist, I'm signing up for something else. Because I am, apparently, a glutton for punishment. But this is a great small-gifts exchange, and anyway, I'm a joiner.)
Dear Purim Treat-a-thon Writer,
Hooray! I have never done this exchange before, but, um, I like gifts? And writing things for people? And stories about resistance and radical transformation and women being awesome, and drunken revelry while wearing costumes, which is pretty much what Purim is about, to my knowledge? So I think I have found the right fic/art exchange.
OK, first some general notes about what I like in fic, which I kidnapped (and edited) from my Yuletide letter. I don't really have any graphic preferences, except that Pretty Things Are Pretty. Er, I like funny icons.
1) What I like about all of the media I like, including all four of these, is that they're stories of resistance. There are Bad Things out there, forces of power that are working against Our Heroes, and Our Heroes are going to get themselves out, and maybe save each other at their best. I like stories about people breaking free, at high cost, not without losses, not without pain, but being free in the end. Probably the clearest place I've ever talked about this is in the meta I wrote for my long fic Machines of Freedom, which is here. So the stories I would want to hear would carry over those elements of canon, sitting in the background if they aren't the foreground action.
2) I really like fic that sticks really, really close to canon in order to fuck with it, subvert it, change its rules, particularly when that becomes a way to undo things that canon got grossly wrong. If you've got a way in on that, go for it. But these are such short little pieces that I'm also cool with all sorts of other things, like character studies, little interstitial things that fill in holes in canon, or what-have-you. Pretty much, if it is a good story about people I love, I want to read it.
3) I definitely don't mind porny stuff. (This is an understatement of epically epic proportions. My wife makes fun of how much porn I read.) So, porny stuff, or non-explicit romance, is totally fine. But it's not necessary at all, and generally I want that sort of thing to derive organically from a greater story, whether it's canon or the story the fic is telling. I don't really like PWPs, except under some very limited circumstances. I am fine with kink--I like it, actually--but, again, I really need to understand why the kink's there, what work it does for these people in this place. (My personal kinkometer hovers at the light end of the spectrum--a little tying up, a little slapping around, a little remember-who-you-belong-to, that sort of thing.)
4) Given the tone of the ficathon, I am totally cool with crack and cheerful fic. I also have a love of absurd tropes in fic being done with panache--the one-room-left-in-the-motel, the AMTDI, the undercover-married, whatever, I love it. If you want to write something more serious, that's fine; I will say that I don't want major character death or the onscreen death of children.
The X-Files. This is my major fandom. I'm a Mulder/Scully shipper in a pretty serious way, and would rather not see them paired with anyone else, but I'm fine with gen fic. For my money, Mulder's Jewish, and so is his mother (I'm ambivalent about his father, but if you really want to write Bill Mulder fic, go for it). (For that matter, I could, if pressed, make a convincing case for The Cigarette Smoking Man as an Evil Vizier, and therefore everybody's covered.) I'm not really interested in any of the other major characters on the show, except in a passing way. I also have a, um, fairly extensive post-2012 universe I've done a lot of writing in (which follows from this fic), and I would be cool with other people writing in it if they wanted.
Fringe. My favorite currently running show, hands down. My favorite character is Astrid, and I also really love Olivia. I ship them, but I don't mind if elements of canon Peter/Olivia work into your story, because, well, canon. In particular, I am very into Brown-Betty-verse Esther/Olivia. I am fascinated by the Over There versions of our heroes as much as the Over Here versions, so write either one. Oh, and I really love Walter, so if he crops up as a marginal character, I will be happy. (Longer thoughts on Walter in my Yuletide letter.)
Doctor Who. I'm a New Who only fan, and don't know old canon. I am not the hugest Rose fan, but I think a really lovely fic about her could convince me. I've loved each post-Rose companion dearly, though I think Donna remains my favorite after sober reflection (big section about her in this meta). But The Master is probably an Evil Vizier, which makes Martha the most appropriate character. I'm also still crushing on Amy after series 5, and River Song is always made of win. Er, I've just named every female character who is in more than one episode from series 3 through 5, sorry. I'm basically a gen person in this fandom.
The West Wing. I've never really read TWW fic outside of when people I know write it or there's a porn battle or something, but I adore the show and the characters and would love little incisive pieces of them as gifts. Roughly, I prefer the earlier season to the later, ship every single canon pairing on the show (even both Josh/Donna and Josh/Amy, which I don't quite get but, hey, it's how my brain works), and my favorite characters are CJ (who is in the meta linked above), Toby, and Josh. At this very second, fic about Toby would break my heart into little pieces, but that might just be the mood I'm in.
Battlestar Galactica. Kara Thrace is my TV girlfriend, especially in the early seasons; I love Laura Roslin (she's in the meta linked above); I ship Kara/Sam and Adama/Roslin, but am not dogmatic; fic about any female character is awesomesauce.
The ArchAndroid. I'll just quote my Yuletide letter: "THIS IS MY FAVORITE ALBUM OF 2010. I love it. I have about half the songs memorized. My favorite songs on the album are Cold War, Wondaland, and Tightrope (obvs!). I don't know what extended canon there is besides the videos and the liner notes, so use what's out there or write your own. I'd love anything about Cindy Mayweather, whether about her doomed love affair or her leadership of the android uprising, or just about the dissatisfaction that lead her to become the robot messiah. I'd love something that used the Wondaland club as a setting, or...I don't know! I don't care! Anything would be totally awesome!"
In conclusion, I hope I have not been too much of a bossy asshole! And I am really looking forward to whatever you want to make me! You can ask me questions if you want! Thank you in advance!
-Amal
This entry was originally posted at http://amalnahurriyeh.dreamwidth.org/21020.html. You can comment in either location. There are currently
comments at Dreamwidth.
Dear Purim Treat-a-thon Writer,
Hooray! I have never done this exchange before, but, um, I like gifts? And writing things for people? And stories about resistance and radical transformation and women being awesome, and drunken revelry while wearing costumes, which is pretty much what Purim is about, to my knowledge? So I think I have found the right fic/art exchange.
OK, first some general notes about what I like in fic, which I kidnapped (and edited) from my Yuletide letter. I don't really have any graphic preferences, except that Pretty Things Are Pretty. Er, I like funny icons.
1) What I like about all of the media I like, including all four of these, is that they're stories of resistance. There are Bad Things out there, forces of power that are working against Our Heroes, and Our Heroes are going to get themselves out, and maybe save each other at their best. I like stories about people breaking free, at high cost, not without losses, not without pain, but being free in the end. Probably the clearest place I've ever talked about this is in the meta I wrote for my long fic Machines of Freedom, which is here. So the stories I would want to hear would carry over those elements of canon, sitting in the background if they aren't the foreground action.
2) I really like fic that sticks really, really close to canon in order to fuck with it, subvert it, change its rules, particularly when that becomes a way to undo things that canon got grossly wrong. If you've got a way in on that, go for it. But these are such short little pieces that I'm also cool with all sorts of other things, like character studies, little interstitial things that fill in holes in canon, or what-have-you. Pretty much, if it is a good story about people I love, I want to read it.
3) I definitely don't mind porny stuff. (This is an understatement of epically epic proportions. My wife makes fun of how much porn I read.) So, porny stuff, or non-explicit romance, is totally fine. But it's not necessary at all, and generally I want that sort of thing to derive organically from a greater story, whether it's canon or the story the fic is telling. I don't really like PWPs, except under some very limited circumstances. I am fine with kink--I like it, actually--but, again, I really need to understand why the kink's there, what work it does for these people in this place. (My personal kinkometer hovers at the light end of the spectrum--a little tying up, a little slapping around, a little remember-who-you-belong-to, that sort of thing.)
4) Given the tone of the ficathon, I am totally cool with crack and cheerful fic. I also have a love of absurd tropes in fic being done with panache--the one-room-left-in-the-motel, the AMTDI, the undercover-married, whatever, I love it. If you want to write something more serious, that's fine; I will say that I don't want major character death or the onscreen death of children.
The X-Files. This is my major fandom. I'm a Mulder/Scully shipper in a pretty serious way, and would rather not see them paired with anyone else, but I'm fine with gen fic. For my money, Mulder's Jewish, and so is his mother (I'm ambivalent about his father, but if you really want to write Bill Mulder fic, go for it). (For that matter, I could, if pressed, make a convincing case for The Cigarette Smoking Man as an Evil Vizier, and therefore everybody's covered.) I'm not really interested in any of the other major characters on the show, except in a passing way. I also have a, um, fairly extensive post-2012 universe I've done a lot of writing in (which follows from this fic), and I would be cool with other people writing in it if they wanted.
Fringe. My favorite currently running show, hands down. My favorite character is Astrid, and I also really love Olivia. I ship them, but I don't mind if elements of canon Peter/Olivia work into your story, because, well, canon. In particular, I am very into Brown-Betty-verse Esther/Olivia. I am fascinated by the Over There versions of our heroes as much as the Over Here versions, so write either one. Oh, and I really love Walter, so if he crops up as a marginal character, I will be happy. (Longer thoughts on Walter in my Yuletide letter.)
Doctor Who. I'm a New Who only fan, and don't know old canon. I am not the hugest Rose fan, but I think a really lovely fic about her could convince me. I've loved each post-Rose companion dearly, though I think Donna remains my favorite after sober reflection (big section about her in this meta). But The Master is probably an Evil Vizier, which makes Martha the most appropriate character. I'm also still crushing on Amy after series 5, and River Song is always made of win. Er, I've just named every female character who is in more than one episode from series 3 through 5, sorry. I'm basically a gen person in this fandom.
The West Wing. I've never really read TWW fic outside of when people I know write it or there's a porn battle or something, but I adore the show and the characters and would love little incisive pieces of them as gifts. Roughly, I prefer the earlier season to the later, ship every single canon pairing on the show (even both Josh/Donna and Josh/Amy, which I don't quite get but, hey, it's how my brain works), and my favorite characters are CJ (who is in the meta linked above), Toby, and Josh. At this very second, fic about Toby would break my heart into little pieces, but that might just be the mood I'm in.
Battlestar Galactica. Kara Thrace is my TV girlfriend, especially in the early seasons; I love Laura Roslin (she's in the meta linked above); I ship Kara/Sam and Adama/Roslin, but am not dogmatic; fic about any female character is awesomesauce.
The ArchAndroid. I'll just quote my Yuletide letter: "THIS IS MY FAVORITE ALBUM OF 2010. I love it. I have about half the songs memorized. My favorite songs on the album are Cold War, Wondaland, and Tightrope (obvs!). I don't know what extended canon there is besides the videos and the liner notes, so use what's out there or write your own. I'd love anything about Cindy Mayweather, whether about her doomed love affair or her leadership of the android uprising, or just about the dissatisfaction that lead her to become the robot messiah. I'd love something that used the Wondaland club as a setting, or...I don't know! I don't care! Anything would be totally awesome!"
In conclusion, I hope I have not been too much of a bossy asshole! And I am really looking forward to whatever you want to make me! You can ask me questions if you want! Thank you in advance!
-Amal
This entry was originally posted at http://amalnahurriyeh.dreamwidth.org/21020.html. You can comment in either location. There are currently
comments at Dreamwidth.