Yuletide
Dear Yuletide Writer,
I'm new at this (hell, the last fanfic I wrote was a drabble about 5 years ago, let alone read!) so I apologise if these prompts aren't in any way helpful. I've tried!
First off, thank you very much! The whole idea of there being fics in some of these fandoms had never even occurred to me (hell, when I last checked the requested nominations I was the only person to request two of them!) and I'm so looking forward to whatever you end up writing! In the course of writing this I've realised that I'm probably not the easiest person to write for, but I hope that you'll find something that gives you a spark of an idea along the way.
Generally speaking, I like canon, as I think you can probably work out from my requests! My requests are all because I love the universe and/or characters of the fandom as it is - if you want to write fic that's pre- or post- canon events for something more story-driven then that's fine by me (indeed in one of my fandoms I've pretty much requested it!), but I'm not really into slash. Something that really captures the atmosphere of one of these fandoms would be fantastic, really.
(Either that, or ridiculous crackfic that will make me laugh. I wrote Wing Zero/Jim Ellison slash once, I have no shame.)
I'd really prefer gen fic, but something that "fades to black" at the appropriate moment is fine by me - but please nothing fading to black on BDSM/rape/watersports/anything particularly kinky, thanks!.
(yes, I'm a bit of a prude)
I am, however, perfectly happy with blatant innuendo. I am British, after all.
I'm fine with happiness or angst (particularly something melancholy) but nothing too heavy (no deathfic please!), and unrelenting shmoop is not my scene.
So, fandoms themselves! I've already been particularly unhelpful on the details of my requests, so hopefully I'll elucidate myself a bit more clearly this time...
Jonathan Creek - Jonathan Creek/Maddy Magellan
Original details - Something snarky please! Although the weird cases are always great and I don't object to Carla (or Adam!) the best thing about the show was always the snippy relationship between Jonathan and Maddy, and that's the kind of thing I really like to read. Bonus points if you can fit Carla and Adam in organically (because lord knows I've always wanted to see Carla and Maddy in the same storyline other than on a postcard), but if not then that's cool.
Other details - no Brendan, please. He's not in the character requests for a reason...
Perhaps something where Jonathan and Maddy meet up after she returns from the States? Something that explains why neither Maddy or Carla are involved with Jonathan in The Grinning Man? As I said, definitely something snarky, and Carla's involvement isn't a deal breaker.
Oh, and this is the only fandom where I can tolerate fading to black on BDSM. Adam is... interesting...
Darker Than Black - Misaki Kirihara/November 11
Original details - The tenuous "working relationship" between Misaki and November is really interesting in the anime and anything where their different methods of policing Contractors come into conflict would be fascinating. If you want to write squee-worthy Fei/Misaki fic that's fine too, but November 11 has to appear in it somewhere :p
Other details - I'm all about the Misaki on this one, really. She's that elusive thing in anime - a woman who is neither onii-chan feeble nor a leather-clad dominatrix, and is allowed to be competent at her job and be a genuinely fascinating character. Unfortunately, she doesn't get anywhere near enough screentime in the show! So something where Misaki is front and centre is really what I'm after.
If you're teaming up Misaki and November 11, I'd love to see them undercover at a society function of some kind (like the birthday party in episodes 9 and 10) with November schmoozing around (and obviously freezing stuff!). Or what if the PSIA has a different policy on Contractors from MI6?
Please don't include Guy/Gai or Kiko, as they really annoy me! Also, if you want to go the extra mile make November 11 truly English (you KNOW he's an Oxbridge graduate) I will be super happy.
ICO - Any
Original details - I'm really requesting this because the idea of ICO fic utterly intrigues me. Whether or not any of the main characters of the game appear doesn't really bother me - I'm more interested in the world, the background etc. so something evocative of the mood, exploring the history of the castle or the Shadow Queen etc. etc. would be really interesting.
Other details - first up, please feel free to consider Shadow of the Colossus as canon or not, it doesn't bother me either way.
You could write the story of another horned child who wasn't quite so lucky/resourceful. Or how the Shadow Queen came to be - what was her past like? How did the castle come about? If you've got a really plausible idea for what Ico and Yorda do after they finish eating those watermelons then I'm game for that too!
The Vision of Escaflowne - Hitomi Kanzaki
Original details - I will read anything with Hitomi Kanzaki acting in character (so no reciprocated femmeslash please) but I'd love to see anything that involves her interacting more with some of the supporting characters - particularly Dryden, Eries and/or Millerna - and preferably something in the latter parts of the show after the events of False Vows, when their storylines start to become less important.
Other details - I forgot something I would LOVE to see, and that's Sora from the movie somehow involved with the TV characters. Ah, the memories of the epic Gary Stu I started when I was 17...
Escaflowne was my gateway anime, and Hitomi is still my favourite anime character of all time. Because I'm obsessive, I'm particularly protective of canon in Esca, so please don't split anyone up (although obviously Dryden comes on to almost anything that moves).
I'd rather not see anything where Van or Allen play major parts to the exclusion of all else (although obviously they can be topics of conversation). If you don't want to write Hitomi interacting directly with any of the supporting characters, I'd be intrigued to see her having a "vision" post-series and looking at what the more minor characters are up to, or even all of them thinking separately about how her departure from Gaia has affected them.
I hope these are a bit helpful, I'm not really sure myself, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
PS - Christmas in my family is about sitting and making small talk with relatives for longer than you'd think humanly possible, so I doubt I'll be able to get online until fairly late in the day UK time. Don't panic if I haven't immediately commented on your fic!
And again, thank you so much in advance! I'm very excited about the whole experience. Now I'm off to brainstorm...
I'm new at this (hell, the last fanfic I wrote was a drabble about 5 years ago, let alone read!) so I apologise if these prompts aren't in any way helpful. I've tried!
First off, thank you very much! The whole idea of there being fics in some of these fandoms had never even occurred to me (hell, when I last checked the requested nominations I was the only person to request two of them!) and I'm so looking forward to whatever you end up writing! In the course of writing this I've realised that I'm probably not the easiest person to write for, but I hope that you'll find something that gives you a spark of an idea along the way.
Generally speaking, I like canon, as I think you can probably work out from my requests! My requests are all because I love the universe and/or characters of the fandom as it is - if you want to write fic that's pre- or post- canon events for something more story-driven then that's fine by me (indeed in one of my fandoms I've pretty much requested it!), but I'm not really into slash. Something that really captures the atmosphere of one of these fandoms would be fantastic, really.
(Either that, or ridiculous crackfic that will make me laugh. I wrote Wing Zero/Jim Ellison slash once, I have no shame.)
I'd really prefer gen fic, but something that "fades to black" at the appropriate moment is fine by me - but please nothing fading to black on BDSM/rape/watersports/anything particularly kinky, thanks!.
(yes, I'm a bit of a prude)
I am, however, perfectly happy with blatant innuendo. I am British, after all.
I'm fine with happiness or angst (particularly something melancholy) but nothing too heavy (no deathfic please!), and unrelenting shmoop is not my scene.
So, fandoms themselves! I've already been particularly unhelpful on the details of my requests, so hopefully I'll elucidate myself a bit more clearly this time...
Jonathan Creek - Jonathan Creek/Maddy Magellan
Original details - Something snarky please! Although the weird cases are always great and I don't object to Carla (or Adam!) the best thing about the show was always the snippy relationship between Jonathan and Maddy, and that's the kind of thing I really like to read. Bonus points if you can fit Carla and Adam in organically (because lord knows I've always wanted to see Carla and Maddy in the same storyline other than on a postcard), but if not then that's cool.
Other details - no Brendan, please. He's not in the character requests for a reason...
Perhaps something where Jonathan and Maddy meet up after she returns from the States? Something that explains why neither Maddy or Carla are involved with Jonathan in The Grinning Man? As I said, definitely something snarky, and Carla's involvement isn't a deal breaker.
Oh, and this is the only fandom where I can tolerate fading to black on BDSM. Adam is... interesting...
Darker Than Black - Misaki Kirihara/November 11
Original details - The tenuous "working relationship" between Misaki and November is really interesting in the anime and anything where their different methods of policing Contractors come into conflict would be fascinating. If you want to write squee-worthy Fei/Misaki fic that's fine too, but November 11 has to appear in it somewhere :p
Other details - I'm all about the Misaki on this one, really. She's that elusive thing in anime - a woman who is neither onii-chan feeble nor a leather-clad dominatrix, and is allowed to be competent at her job and be a genuinely fascinating character. Unfortunately, she doesn't get anywhere near enough screentime in the show! So something where Misaki is front and centre is really what I'm after.
If you're teaming up Misaki and November 11, I'd love to see them undercover at a society function of some kind (like the birthday party in episodes 9 and 10) with November schmoozing around (and obviously freezing stuff!). Or what if the PSIA has a different policy on Contractors from MI6?
Please don't include Guy/Gai or Kiko, as they really annoy me! Also, if you want to go the extra mile make November 11 truly English (you KNOW he's an Oxbridge graduate) I will be super happy.
ICO - Any
Original details - I'm really requesting this because the idea of ICO fic utterly intrigues me. Whether or not any of the main characters of the game appear doesn't really bother me - I'm more interested in the world, the background etc. so something evocative of the mood, exploring the history of the castle or the Shadow Queen etc. etc. would be really interesting.
Other details - first up, please feel free to consider Shadow of the Colossus as canon or not, it doesn't bother me either way.
You could write the story of another horned child who wasn't quite so lucky/resourceful. Or how the Shadow Queen came to be - what was her past like? How did the castle come about? If you've got a really plausible idea for what Ico and Yorda do after they finish eating those watermelons then I'm game for that too!
The Vision of Escaflowne - Hitomi Kanzaki
Original details - I will read anything with Hitomi Kanzaki acting in character (so no reciprocated femmeslash please) but I'd love to see anything that involves her interacting more with some of the supporting characters - particularly Dryden, Eries and/or Millerna - and preferably something in the latter parts of the show after the events of False Vows, when their storylines start to become less important.
Other details - I forgot something I would LOVE to see, and that's Sora from the movie somehow involved with the TV characters. Ah, the memories of the epic Gary Stu I started when I was 17...
Escaflowne was my gateway anime, and Hitomi is still my favourite anime character of all time. Because I'm obsessive, I'm particularly protective of canon in Esca, so please don't split anyone up (although obviously Dryden comes on to almost anything that moves).
I'd rather not see anything where Van or Allen play major parts to the exclusion of all else (although obviously they can be topics of conversation). If you don't want to write Hitomi interacting directly with any of the supporting characters, I'd be intrigued to see her having a "vision" post-series and looking at what the more minor characters are up to, or even all of them thinking separately about how her departure from Gaia has affected them.
I hope these are a bit helpful, I'm not really sure myself, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
PS - Christmas in my family is about sitting and making small talk with relatives for longer than you'd think humanly possible, so I doubt I'll be able to get online until fairly late in the day UK time. Don't panic if I haven't immediately commented on your fic!
And again, thank you so much in advance! I'm very excited about the whole experience. Now I'm off to brainstorm...