Dear Yuletide Writer: I already adore you!
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Thank you so, so much for offering one of these tiny-but-amazing fandoms! I'll tell you right off the bat that if you already have an idea, then don't worry about reading this -- just run with it! As long as you're having fun writing, I know I'm going to adore reading whatever you come up with.
But if you would like some more data about my preferences, well, here are my recs, though they're just a small subset of the stories I've read and enjoyed. As for more general thoughts, here are a few paragraphs cannibalized from my Yuletide letters from previous years (though really, most of this letter is cannibalized from previous years!):
The very most important thing to me in fic is character interaction. I often like world building and plot and atmosphere, but in the end, the key is almost always how the characters relate to each other. And what I really like to see is how relationships (of all types -- romantic, platonic, antagonistic, something else entirely, it's all good) develop. Established relationship fics can be wonderful, but in general the thing that really moves me is the getting there. I like it when things change, and the characters have to deal with that change, to interact with it, to drive it, to adjust to it.
Beyond that, I like a wide range of story types, characters, character interactions, plot points, narrative moods, settings, and kinks. I have a special fondness for UST, steadfast attachment, desperate sex, sincere sweetness and charm, affectionate snark with an edge, absurd and/or clever humor, comfortable banter, dysfunctional-but-hot co-dependency, complex motives, possibly reformed bad boys, power games and bdsm, fighting as foreplay, morally grey characters, and unexpected discovery (among others -- these are just the ones springing to mind at the moment). Obviously these don't usually all fit in the same fic, though I have to admit that I'm a sucker for any fic that somehow manages a good combination of hot and adorable. I do like angst and conflict, but usually I'm happiest when it eventually resolves in some satisfying way. I am generally more of a hopeful ending sort of person -- not the kind wrapped all tight with a bow, necessarily, but also not completely bleak. On the other hand, I have been known to appreciate wistfulness and sadness, there are some stories that really just need tragic endings, or at least less-than-optimistic ones. I can be a big fan of ambiguity if it's done well, and often like matter-of-fact realism... though I also like dreamy surrealism and sharp stylization and really a lot of different moods and styles. A wonderfully foreshadowed first kiss can make me just as happy as scorching hot explicit porn, as can any sort of well-drawn and vivid character interaction. I think interesting and believable character interaction is for me the most important aspect of fic.
I am relatively hard to squick, I believe, but I admit to not being particularly fond of mpreg or some of the more extreme kinks. One thing I will say is that though I'm usually a fan of AUs, part of what I love about all of these requests is the setting, so I'd rather have something more related to canon than not, though it also doesn't have to be super closely tied -- AUs that are more of the "what if this one thing were different" type would probably be fine, and creative, speculative future fic is totally encouraged, as is probably obvious from the prompts. And, as always, these are all vague guidelines rather than rules -- if a dramatic AU strikes you and it works with the character interactions, feel free to go with it! I just might love it.
Okay! Onto the specific requests:
Obnoxious Jerks - Stephen Manes
Frank Wess aka Back/Joe Ippolito/Leslie Freeze
My absolute ideal here would be a post-book triad or threesome, but I would also be thrilled with gen friendship fic or a burgeoning het or slash relationship between any pair within these three characters, as long as the interactions between them all are central to the story and developed fairly clearly from the directions they were going in the book (not necessarily linear in the obvious way, but somehow convincingly related). Near-future, farther-future, whatever strikes your fancy. Relationship development is the key, and while some angst is welcome, a happy-ish ending is preferred.
One of my favorite books from when I was a teen. Full of smart, geeky guys revelling in their hilarious, geeky, anti-establishment brilliance, includes an equally smart and awesome female character, and is just fun. The characters are charming and endearing even when they're showing us their slightly jagged edges -- after all, it's high school. Jagged edges are pretty much a requirement. The essence of this book is humor, absolutely, but it's also about learning how to navigate relationships. And I love how these three characters interact. I love Frank and Joe's best friendness, I love Frank and Leslie's gradually building, possibly romantic relationship, I love Leslie and Joe's longstanding antagonism that just might be mellowing. I love the rest of the Obnoxious Jerks, too, so if you feel inspired to include them, please feel free! I just adore this book. (P.S. Here's the Amazon page. There are a ton of 1 cent used copies listed! Not a hard book to find.)
Athena (A.M.Works)
Any
This is the only fandom for which I've ever chosen "Any" characters in a request, so you can be sure that I really mean it. I love the gritty yet futuristic worldbuilding of Pan Athens, and I would adore seeing any of the characters dealing with changes, before, during, or after the comics are set. (Note that this is only 13 comic book issues, also available as two graphic novels, easily acquired from Dean Hsieh's website.) Every single one of these characters is fascinating and deeper than they first appear, and I love them all. You can focus on one, you can pair them up (I am especially partial to the canon couple of Athena/Kallie, but I would be happy to read pretty much any pairing, girlslash or slash or het, or gen, too, for that matter, there are some wonderful friendships in this series), you can put them in multiples (monogamy and polyamory both make sense to me, and group friendship fic is always welcome), whatever you like. I just want more of this world and these characters to exist.
What can I say, I love everything about this series. I love the wacky-fun hijinks of the first volume, with Athena's punk band and Dionysus's strip club and all their friends. I love the epically epic god-and-goddess level battle and the threat of world destruction in the second volume, not to mention all the relatives who put their hands in. I love every single character in this -- they're all so human! Especially for former Greek gods (or, you know, wacky modern gods based on technology and bureaucracy). (P.S. Here's the creator's webpage for the series, and here's where you can buy the comic book at discounted prices from him directly, including a complete set for $20, which is less than what Amazon has been showing me lately. This series is so good, I'm actually tempted to buy yet another copy.)
American Idiot - Green Day/Armstrong
The Extraordinary Girl/Tunny/Will
I am having a no-longer-secret hankering for triad kidfic. It's definitely not the only thing I'd be happy with -- really, just about any story that's focused on these three characters and their interactions would delight me, gen or het or slash or anything, as long as none of them are demonized or written out or stripped of agency -- but it's the general direction I think I'm most automatically inclined towards seeing them go in, something stable and relatively positive (though some angst on the way is both welcome and very likely), but still with a certain amount of depth and complexity, if that makes sense. But really, I'm open to most things! :)
I almost asked for Heather/Whatsername instead (and would be happy to see any of the other characters show up in the fic, incidentally), because women rule! But I realized that if ever there were a time to ask for that one weird thing, it's Yuletide. So triad kidfic it is! Or something featuring those three characters, anyway -- I really meant it when I said that anything about them would be adored. The Extraordinary Girl is a bit of a cipher in the musical; I would love to see her fleshed out into a real person. Tunny and Will, we find out more about in canon, but there's still so much we don't know. At the end of the show, all three of them are at turning points in their lives, the start of new chapters -- I love that, because the possibilities are truly endless.
One note about the source -- I realize not everyone is going to be able to get to NYC to see the musical in person. However, the Original Broadway Cast Recording is easy to acquire and does a fantastic job of capturing the energy and feel of the show, and because the musical is almost entirely through-sung (all that's missing is a little exchange between Johnny, Will, and Tunny at the beginning (a little snippet: Johnny, scowling: "Brad." Tunny: "That motherfucker." Will: "Literally!") and Johnny's letters and journal entries), very nearly all of the canon about the characters is in the songs themselves. So the album is definitely sufficient canon to write from.
Kitchen Confidential
Teddy Wong
Teddy is my absolute favorite character on the show (though I love them all!), and I would dearly love fic about him that is similar to the show in tone and content, but explores Teddy's life more. If you want to pair him up with someone (for the wider meaning of pair -- threesomes, triads, and other types of non-monogamy are always welcome, as are monogamous couples), please feel free! But it is totally not necessary, gen or slash or het or whatnot are all equally fine, I just want something Teddy-centric. Because I adore him. :)
Seriously, I love Teddy so much. He is hilarious and awesome and smart and snarky and just all-around wonderful. If you wanted to let him get some action, Seth or Jack or Steven would perhaps be the natural (and hilarious!) choices, and Becky or Donna or Reese Ryder could also be intriguing and awesome. But gen is also a wonderful thing! I love the whole crew and their wacky hijinks, and that is all I really need out of Kitchen Confidental fic to make me happy. (And if you happen to be reading this and haven't yet seen the series, it's all on hulu! And it's short, just 13 ~22 minute episodes! And it's not perfect, but it's nonetheless delightful! And the box set is pretty darn cheap, too -- $20 retail, but can often be found for less.)
The bottom line is: I like a huge variety of stuff (and am all in favor of experiments, creativity, and unusual things), I'm harder than usual to squick, and I'm willing to try almost anything. Please just enjoy the writing, and I know I'll have fun reading it. :)
much love,
athenejen
Thank you so, so much for offering one of these tiny-but-amazing fandoms! I'll tell you right off the bat that if you already have an idea, then don't worry about reading this -- just run with it! As long as you're having fun writing, I know I'm going to adore reading whatever you come up with.
But if you would like some more data about my preferences, well, here are my recs, though they're just a small subset of the stories I've read and enjoyed. As for more general thoughts, here are a few paragraphs cannibalized from my Yuletide letters from previous years (though really, most of this letter is cannibalized from previous years!):
The very most important thing to me in fic is character interaction. I often like world building and plot and atmosphere, but in the end, the key is almost always how the characters relate to each other. And what I really like to see is how relationships (of all types -- romantic, platonic, antagonistic, something else entirely, it's all good) develop. Established relationship fics can be wonderful, but in general the thing that really moves me is the getting there. I like it when things change, and the characters have to deal with that change, to interact with it, to drive it, to adjust to it.
Beyond that, I like a wide range of story types, characters, character interactions, plot points, narrative moods, settings, and kinks. I have a special fondness for UST, steadfast attachment, desperate sex, sincere sweetness and charm, affectionate snark with an edge, absurd and/or clever humor, comfortable banter, dysfunctional-but-hot co-dependency, complex motives, possibly reformed bad boys, power games and bdsm, fighting as foreplay, morally grey characters, and unexpected discovery (among others -- these are just the ones springing to mind at the moment). Obviously these don't usually all fit in the same fic, though I have to admit that I'm a sucker for any fic that somehow manages a good combination of hot and adorable. I do like angst and conflict, but usually I'm happiest when it eventually resolves in some satisfying way. I am generally more of a hopeful ending sort of person -- not the kind wrapped all tight with a bow, necessarily, but also not completely bleak. On the other hand, I have been known to appreciate wistfulness and sadness, there are some stories that really just need tragic endings, or at least less-than-optimistic ones. I can be a big fan of ambiguity if it's done well, and often like matter-of-fact realism... though I also like dreamy surrealism and sharp stylization and really a lot of different moods and styles. A wonderfully foreshadowed first kiss can make me just as happy as scorching hot explicit porn, as can any sort of well-drawn and vivid character interaction. I think interesting and believable character interaction is for me the most important aspect of fic.
I am relatively hard to squick, I believe, but I admit to not being particularly fond of mpreg or some of the more extreme kinks. One thing I will say is that though I'm usually a fan of AUs, part of what I love about all of these requests is the setting, so I'd rather have something more related to canon than not, though it also doesn't have to be super closely tied -- AUs that are more of the "what if this one thing were different" type would probably be fine, and creative, speculative future fic is totally encouraged, as is probably obvious from the prompts. And, as always, these are all vague guidelines rather than rules -- if a dramatic AU strikes you and it works with the character interactions, feel free to go with it! I just might love it.
Okay! Onto the specific requests:
Obnoxious Jerks - Stephen Manes
Frank Wess aka Back/Joe Ippolito/Leslie Freeze
My absolute ideal here would be a post-book triad or threesome, but I would also be thrilled with gen friendship fic or a burgeoning het or slash relationship between any pair within these three characters, as long as the interactions between them all are central to the story and developed fairly clearly from the directions they were going in the book (not necessarily linear in the obvious way, but somehow convincingly related). Near-future, farther-future, whatever strikes your fancy. Relationship development is the key, and while some angst is welcome, a happy-ish ending is preferred.
One of my favorite books from when I was a teen. Full of smart, geeky guys revelling in their hilarious, geeky, anti-establishment brilliance, includes an equally smart and awesome female character, and is just fun. The characters are charming and endearing even when they're showing us their slightly jagged edges -- after all, it's high school. Jagged edges are pretty much a requirement. The essence of this book is humor, absolutely, but it's also about learning how to navigate relationships. And I love how these three characters interact. I love Frank and Joe's best friendness, I love Frank and Leslie's gradually building, possibly romantic relationship, I love Leslie and Joe's longstanding antagonism that just might be mellowing. I love the rest of the Obnoxious Jerks, too, so if you feel inspired to include them, please feel free! I just adore this book. (P.S. Here's the Amazon page. There are a ton of 1 cent used copies listed! Not a hard book to find.)
Athena (A.M.Works)
Any
This is the only fandom for which I've ever chosen "Any" characters in a request, so you can be sure that I really mean it. I love the gritty yet futuristic worldbuilding of Pan Athens, and I would adore seeing any of the characters dealing with changes, before, during, or after the comics are set. (Note that this is only 13 comic book issues, also available as two graphic novels, easily acquired from Dean Hsieh's website.) Every single one of these characters is fascinating and deeper than they first appear, and I love them all. You can focus on one, you can pair them up (I am especially partial to the canon couple of Athena/Kallie, but I would be happy to read pretty much any pairing, girlslash or slash or het, or gen, too, for that matter, there are some wonderful friendships in this series), you can put them in multiples (monogamy and polyamory both make sense to me, and group friendship fic is always welcome), whatever you like. I just want more of this world and these characters to exist.
What can I say, I love everything about this series. I love the wacky-fun hijinks of the first volume, with Athena's punk band and Dionysus's strip club and all their friends. I love the epically epic god-and-goddess level battle and the threat of world destruction in the second volume, not to mention all the relatives who put their hands in. I love every single character in this -- they're all so human! Especially for former Greek gods (or, you know, wacky modern gods based on technology and bureaucracy). (P.S. Here's the creator's webpage for the series, and here's where you can buy the comic book at discounted prices from him directly, including a complete set for $20, which is less than what Amazon has been showing me lately. This series is so good, I'm actually tempted to buy yet another copy.)
American Idiot - Green Day/Armstrong
The Extraordinary Girl/Tunny/Will
I am having a no-longer-secret hankering for triad kidfic. It's definitely not the only thing I'd be happy with -- really, just about any story that's focused on these three characters and their interactions would delight me, gen or het or slash or anything, as long as none of them are demonized or written out or stripped of agency -- but it's the general direction I think I'm most automatically inclined towards seeing them go in, something stable and relatively positive (though some angst on the way is both welcome and very likely), but still with a certain amount of depth and complexity, if that makes sense. But really, I'm open to most things! :)
I almost asked for Heather/Whatsername instead (and would be happy to see any of the other characters show up in the fic, incidentally), because women rule! But I realized that if ever there were a time to ask for that one weird thing, it's Yuletide. So triad kidfic it is! Or something featuring those three characters, anyway -- I really meant it when I said that anything about them would be adored. The Extraordinary Girl is a bit of a cipher in the musical; I would love to see her fleshed out into a real person. Tunny and Will, we find out more about in canon, but there's still so much we don't know. At the end of the show, all three of them are at turning points in their lives, the start of new chapters -- I love that, because the possibilities are truly endless.
One note about the source -- I realize not everyone is going to be able to get to NYC to see the musical in person. However, the Original Broadway Cast Recording is easy to acquire and does a fantastic job of capturing the energy and feel of the show, and because the musical is almost entirely through-sung (all that's missing is a little exchange between Johnny, Will, and Tunny at the beginning (a little snippet: Johnny, scowling: "Brad." Tunny: "That motherfucker." Will: "Literally!") and Johnny's letters and journal entries), very nearly all of the canon about the characters is in the songs themselves. So the album is definitely sufficient canon to write from.
Kitchen Confidential
Teddy Wong
Teddy is my absolute favorite character on the show (though I love them all!), and I would dearly love fic about him that is similar to the show in tone and content, but explores Teddy's life more. If you want to pair him up with someone (for the wider meaning of pair -- threesomes, triads, and other types of non-monogamy are always welcome, as are monogamous couples), please feel free! But it is totally not necessary, gen or slash or het or whatnot are all equally fine, I just want something Teddy-centric. Because I adore him. :)
Seriously, I love Teddy so much. He is hilarious and awesome and smart and snarky and just all-around wonderful. If you wanted to let him get some action, Seth or Jack or Steven would perhaps be the natural (and hilarious!) choices, and Becky or Donna or Reese Ryder could also be intriguing and awesome. But gen is also a wonderful thing! I love the whole crew and their wacky hijinks, and that is all I really need out of Kitchen Confidental fic to make me happy. (And if you happen to be reading this and haven't yet seen the series, it's all on hulu! And it's short, just 13 ~22 minute episodes! And it's not perfect, but it's nonetheless delightful! And the box set is pretty darn cheap, too -- $20 retail, but can often be found for less.)
The bottom line is: I like a huge variety of stuff (and am all in favor of experiments, creativity, and unusual things), I'm harder than usual to squick, and I'm willing to try almost anything. Please just enjoy the writing, and I know I'll have fun reading it. :)
much love,
athenejen