Dear Yuletide Writer
First of all, thanks a million - no, strike that: thanks a billion for signing up, and having offered to write in one of those fandoms I so adore! This is my first Yuletide, which means I’m practically dying with squee at the thought of a story being written specially for me. *beams* It also means that whatever you come up with, I will love it with all the wild love of the fic-starved fangirl I am!
That said, there are a few things that I like in particular, a pretty random collection of which I scribbled down in this Cool Bits post I made a little while ago. Feel free to check it out if you think it could be a help to you - but again, you should not feel restricted by it in any way! The full list of things I like is pretty endless, so any story you write involving my requested characters in any of these fandoms, I’m guaranteed to love! The most important is that you enjoy writing this story as much as I look forward to reading it, because gifts made with pleasure are most often the best gifts to receive, no? (phew, that was deep. *g*) So - go you, surprise me!!! *cheers*
As for squicks and things I’m less fond of: please no rape or non-con, character bashing, humiliation, mpreg, or all-too-graphic sex (euphemistic descriptions of sex and/or foreplay are great, though, if you feel like writing them! *g*). I’m also pretty much a canon girl - not the obsessive kind, but I do prefer stories that are consistent with canon or fit into canon in some way; AUs are not really my piece of cake. And finally, while the story can certainly contain humour and/or fluff, I’d prefer it not to be pure comedy or romance. Beyond that any genre would be lovely: angst, or drama, or adventure, whether or not with humor, fluff or romance mixed in... Again: go you! Endings can be happy or sad, whatever you feel like writing at the moment; I love both.
Well, that’s it for generalisms, I guess. Now, on to those requests! Once again (yep, I’m repeating myself here like a broken record, but I really really want you to know I mean this :)), any additional details I’m providing are purely optional. Naturally I'd be happy if any of my prompts made you happy enough to use them, but if for whatever reason that’s not the case, or if it is the case but you have this great big flash of inspiration that doesn’t match my prompts and you think I’ll like it anyway, then please, just go for whatever feels right for you!
Babylon 5: Londo and G'Kar
A post-series meeting, sweet and sad and melancholy, sometime after Londo’s coronation but before their death at each other’s hands - you’re very welcome to make it slash, though it’s in no way obligatory. :) Or a hurt/comfort fic, because hardly any exist for either of these characters. Or a real-life conversation in the aftermath of Londo's heart attack. Or something about how they slipped from mere tolerance into actual friendship - as canon is pretty vague about it. Bonus points for snark and foreshadowy angst!
Londo and G'Kar are hands down my favourite characters in Babylon 5, and their long history together - how they grow from bitter enemies into uneasy allies to finally end up as the unlikeliest of friends (or more than friends, depending on how far you’re willing to take it ;) ) - is still the highlight of the show to me. Sadly, the amount of fic being written about them has dwindled to the point of non-existence, so a story about these two would make me insanely happy!
If you're looking for a time period, anything set after the Cartagia arc (where the seed of their eventual friendship got planted) would be absolutely wonderful. If none of the above prompts tickle your fancy, just go on and surprise me! If you want to bring in the tentacle pr0n, by all means do so (yay for middle-aged alien snarky grudgingly loving sex!) but if that's not your thing, I'd be just as pleased to see a gen story about them! My usual inclination is towards angst, but any hint of humor or happiness you can throw in would be lovely too, because these guys so deserve it. Here, too, if you’d like to involve other characters - Vir, to name but one :) - go right ahead! Oh, and in case you're wondering, I've read the Legions of Fire trilogy, but don't consider the novels in any way canon, so feel free to ignore them if you want!
Twin Peaks: Dale Cooper and Albert Rosenfield
Not looking towards any particular time period here. Pre-canon backstory (say about their first meeting or a previous assignment), something set during the show, or even a dark post-show piece if you feel up to it: any of these would make my Yuletide! If you do want something concrete to work with: a good angsty hurt/comfort story always works for me, either with Albert or Coop in the comforter's role. I’d prefer no all-out slash here, but either gen or something with slashy undertones would be lovely! Bonus points for involving Cooper’s coffee-and-pie fetish and Albert acting suitably sarcastic! :)
I'll admit, I have something for gruff guys impassioned by duty (well, less so in real life, but in fandom: YUM!) and Albert Rosenfield from Twin Peaks fits that bill perfectly. Combine him with giddy, life-loving, enthusiastic Dale Cooper, and you get what's more or less my perfect idea of a m/m friendship with potential - however you wish to interpret that. *g*
I'd prefer no all-out slash here, but I can certainly see the chemistry, so feel free to either write gen or insert some slashy below-the-surface tension, whichever appeals most to you! I should probably mention I haven't seen the prequel movie "Fire Walk With Me", so anything related to that I might not understand too well. :) And of course, if you want to involve other townsfolk in the story, just go for it!
Love actually: Karen and Harry
A story dealing with the aftermath of what happened that Christmas: how did they (and particularly Karen) live through those first weeks, and what made them decide to stay together? Or, if you prefer something set during the movie itself: a missing scene from Karen’s perspective, set just before or just after she confronts Harry with having found that necklace, would also make me tremendously happy.
Because Yuletide equals Christmas, and this is my favourite Christmassy movie ever, and the story of gruff foolish Harry and beautiful strong Karen and the consequences of one silly crush just blew me away. And because any character portrayed by Alan Rickman gets extra bonus points. *g* And because I love strong female characters, and seeing Karen react to finding out she’d just been cheated on by her husband struck me deep, and hard, and left me wishing that, if such a thing would ever happen to me (which I pray it won’t), I could bear it with the same amount of dignity and strength.
From the movie's epilogue I'm assuming she and Harry worked things out eventually and stayed together, but clearly this wasn’t just a matter of forgiving and moving on… So I’d very much like to know your take on what happened afterwards. On the other hand, if instead of that you’d prefer to write something set during the movie itself, please go right ahead, I’m sure I’ll love what you come up with! And since Love Actually is very much an ensemble movie, don't hesitate to bring in other characters, too, if that’s what you feel like.
That said, there are a few things that I like in particular, a pretty random collection of which I scribbled down in this Cool Bits post I made a little while ago. Feel free to check it out if you think it could be a help to you - but again, you should not feel restricted by it in any way! The full list of things I like is pretty endless, so any story you write involving my requested characters in any of these fandoms, I’m guaranteed to love! The most important is that you enjoy writing this story as much as I look forward to reading it, because gifts made with pleasure are most often the best gifts to receive, no? (phew, that was deep. *g*) So - go you, surprise me!!! *cheers*
As for squicks and things I’m less fond of: please no rape or non-con, character bashing, humiliation, mpreg, or all-too-graphic sex (euphemistic descriptions of sex and/or foreplay are great, though, if you feel like writing them! *g*). I’m also pretty much a canon girl - not the obsessive kind, but I do prefer stories that are consistent with canon or fit into canon in some way; AUs are not really my piece of cake. And finally, while the story can certainly contain humour and/or fluff, I’d prefer it not to be pure comedy or romance. Beyond that any genre would be lovely: angst, or drama, or adventure, whether or not with humor, fluff or romance mixed in... Again: go you! Endings can be happy or sad, whatever you feel like writing at the moment; I love both.
Well, that’s it for generalisms, I guess. Now, on to those requests! Once again (yep, I’m repeating myself here like a broken record, but I really really want you to know I mean this :)), any additional details I’m providing are purely optional. Naturally I'd be happy if any of my prompts made you happy enough to use them, but if for whatever reason that’s not the case, or if it is the case but you have this great big flash of inspiration that doesn’t match my prompts and you think I’ll like it anyway, then please, just go for whatever feels right for you!
Babylon 5: Londo and G'Kar
A post-series meeting, sweet and sad and melancholy, sometime after Londo’s coronation but before their death at each other’s hands - you’re very welcome to make it slash, though it’s in no way obligatory. :) Or a hurt/comfort fic, because hardly any exist for either of these characters. Or a real-life conversation in the aftermath of Londo's heart attack. Or something about how they slipped from mere tolerance into actual friendship - as canon is pretty vague about it. Bonus points for snark and foreshadowy angst!
Londo and G'Kar are hands down my favourite characters in Babylon 5, and their long history together - how they grow from bitter enemies into uneasy allies to finally end up as the unlikeliest of friends (or more than friends, depending on how far you’re willing to take it ;) ) - is still the highlight of the show to me. Sadly, the amount of fic being written about them has dwindled to the point of non-existence, so a story about these two would make me insanely happy!
If you're looking for a time period, anything set after the Cartagia arc (where the seed of their eventual friendship got planted) would be absolutely wonderful. If none of the above prompts tickle your fancy, just go on and surprise me! If you want to bring in the tentacle pr0n, by all means do so (yay for middle-aged alien snarky grudgingly loving sex!) but if that's not your thing, I'd be just as pleased to see a gen story about them! My usual inclination is towards angst, but any hint of humor or happiness you can throw in would be lovely too, because these guys so deserve it. Here, too, if you’d like to involve other characters - Vir, to name but one :) - go right ahead! Oh, and in case you're wondering, I've read the Legions of Fire trilogy, but don't consider the novels in any way canon, so feel free to ignore them if you want!
Twin Peaks: Dale Cooper and Albert Rosenfield
Not looking towards any particular time period here. Pre-canon backstory (say about their first meeting or a previous assignment), something set during the show, or even a dark post-show piece if you feel up to it: any of these would make my Yuletide! If you do want something concrete to work with: a good angsty hurt/comfort story always works for me, either with Albert or Coop in the comforter's role. I’d prefer no all-out slash here, but either gen or something with slashy undertones would be lovely! Bonus points for involving Cooper’s coffee-and-pie fetish and Albert acting suitably sarcastic! :)
I'll admit, I have something for gruff guys impassioned by duty (well, less so in real life, but in fandom: YUM!) and Albert Rosenfield from Twin Peaks fits that bill perfectly. Combine him with giddy, life-loving, enthusiastic Dale Cooper, and you get what's more or less my perfect idea of a m/m friendship with potential - however you wish to interpret that. *g*
I'd prefer no all-out slash here, but I can certainly see the chemistry, so feel free to either write gen or insert some slashy below-the-surface tension, whichever appeals most to you! I should probably mention I haven't seen the prequel movie "Fire Walk With Me", so anything related to that I might not understand too well. :) And of course, if you want to involve other townsfolk in the story, just go for it!
Love actually: Karen and Harry
A story dealing with the aftermath of what happened that Christmas: how did they (and particularly Karen) live through those first weeks, and what made them decide to stay together? Or, if you prefer something set during the movie itself: a missing scene from Karen’s perspective, set just before or just after she confronts Harry with having found that necklace, would also make me tremendously happy.
Because Yuletide equals Christmas, and this is my favourite Christmassy movie ever, and the story of gruff foolish Harry and beautiful strong Karen and the consequences of one silly crush just blew me away. And because any character portrayed by Alan Rickman gets extra bonus points. *g* And because I love strong female characters, and seeing Karen react to finding out she’d just been cheated on by her husband struck me deep, and hard, and left me wishing that, if such a thing would ever happen to me (which I pray it won’t), I could bear it with the same amount of dignity and strength.
From the movie's epilogue I'm assuming she and Harry worked things out eventually and stayed together, but clearly this wasn’t just a matter of forgiving and moving on… So I’d very much like to know your take on what happened afterwards. On the other hand, if instead of that you’d prefer to write something set during the movie itself, please go right ahead, I’m sure I’ll love what you come up with! And since Love Actually is very much an ensemble movie, don't hesitate to bring in other characters, too, if that’s what you feel like.