Dear Yuletide Writer...
Dear Writer:
First, the most important thing I want to tell you, Yuletide Writer, is that I will seriously LOVE anything you write. I mean that. How could I not, with you writing a fic in one of the small fandoms of my heart. <3 Second, I apologize for the length of my requests and this post. I seem to be constitutionally incapable of writing anything short, ever.:D
Later in this post I'll talk about some specific things I tend to love, but the truth is, some of the best Yuletide fics I've ever read aren't something anyone could ever have asked for... they're way more creative than that. So if you have some big, amazing idea based off my request, go for it!
By the same token, if you want to write me a "small" character study fic in the fandom set with just one or two of my requested characters, do it! I guarantee you I will hold that fic to my bosom and love it forever. And many of the things I love, I love because they are sweet and small and character focused.
Really, dear writer, what I most want is for you to have fun writing this story (and for there to BE a story/another story in any of these tiny fandoms). <3 (P.S. For a few of my requests, my requests are virtually identical to ones I made in a prior year. I got amaaaazing gifts for a few of them, and don't want anyone to think I didn't love those, because I did, SO much. It's just that for these fandoms, I just want MOAR fic, more, more, more *grabby hands*, so that's why I tend to request the same thing! Trust me, I love and cherish every fic in these fandoms of my heart).
Anyway, as I myself am the type of person who loves and needs as much information as possible about someone I'm writing a fic for, and I know many others are, I'm going to include a bunch of stuff in this letter. So, for you IF you are like that, under the cut I will: 1) copy the text of what I wrote in my requests on the Yuletide site, because I've found that's helpful; 2) for each fandom, add any more notes about what I love or even more possible story ideas/prompts (letting myself do this because I know that personally I LOVE it when requesters give tons of ideas) 3) in the Most Optional of ways, discuss some of the things I Tend To Like in Fic and a couple of things I tend not to; 4) Give links to a few places you can see fics I've loved and in case for some reason it helps, even the fic I write.
All of this is to help, if like me you like to get as much guidance as possible into the mind of the requester, but all of this is OPTIONAL. If you're ready to write, stop right here. <3 (Honestly, my word spewage is worthy of mocking, so feel free to do so. And then write me a fic! *bounces* <3)
Note: These are in alphabetical order so as not to imply anything about how much I like one fandom vs. the other by order -- similarly, I'm not implying anything by length, either -- the discussion just goes as long as I needed to talk about it. General information about my fic preferences is at the bottom of this ridiculous document.
AUBREY-MATURIN SERIES - Patrick O'Brian
text of my request
Requested Character(s): Stephen Maturin,Jack Aubrey
First, I will love anything you do! I love the books and have read all of them, some of them twice. I love the movie. I love every character and every adventure and every terrible pun and every complex relationship. I love the way the books are written, so that they're like another language, like you're back in that time and place. But I also love the movie and the way it sweeps you in.
Most of all, beyond all, I love Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin (but I also appreciate Sophie and Diana a ton as characters). I love how Jack and Stephen complement each other and understand each other even though they're so very different. I love their loyalty and how much they care about each other.
If you feel like you want to write in the style of the books, oh my gosh DO!!! But if that's a bit much, any style you want will be great also (by the way, fwiw I know nothing about sails, sailing etc., so I won't care that every sail reference be perfect!)
A fic that slashes Jack and Stephen and/or focuses on their amazing friendship would be awesome. If you are comfortable with it, I would love to see them falling in love and having a bit of angst about that and then having a happy ending. (I do like Diana and Sophie, so would ask that they be dealt with kindly or simply taken out of the picture if you do this type of fic). I am totally down for hot sex scenes between them as well, if you enjoy writing that kind of thing. I love scenes like this where their characters/personalities shine through, and I believe wholeheartedly that they would be passionate.
If you're not comfortable writing m/m, or just not mused for it, trust me when I say, I will love friendship fic every bit as much! After all, that's why I love the books so much... their lovely, at times hilarious, friendship.
For either type of fic, m/m or friendship/gen, there are endless fics that would be awesome! Perhaps they could have an adventure of some kind while at sea, or there could be something scientific. In fact, feel free to go au here if you want, and have them meet up with some science fictiony or fantasy thing (I'm not a huuuge fan of super cracky premises though, so something where they're not, say, pencils or something would probably be best). Something with spying would be very cool! Maybe the fate of England and/or the world hangs on something Stephen's investigating or involved with. Perhaps Jack blunders into something he shouldn't, but it gives Stephen the necessary information to save the world, or whatever. Jack rescuing Stephen or Stephen rescuing Jack is always awesome. ALL THE FEELINGS.
Adventure/new cultures is always a win. Maybe they get stranded somewhere they've never been. Maybe they learn things through the local culture, about life or themselves. This would need to be done with sensitivity to that real culture, but them being fish out of water could be excellent!
I love it when these characters talk about things, so some of that would be excellent as well, and I love it when they encounter new things/people together. Of course I love it when they play music or listen to music or discuss music.
Whether you write friendship fic or m/m, another thing I would love reading would be them having a falling-out of some sort, and them finding their way back to each other. That happens canonically, almost. What would happen if something caused a rift, and how would they find their way back? The dynamics of their relationship are something that is of highest interest to me and whether you write m/m or friendship, I would love to see them coming to a greater understanding of each other or themselves, growing in some way as friends, or just, well, being themselves together.
Finally, though I've highlighted the Jack/Stephen relationship, I do have a few other ideas in the post on my journal for you (OT4 anyone haha?), in case these are not working for you or you just want to see more. I also have a general "preferences" list for things I tend to love and tend to want to avoid that you are welcome to consult. Above all, please know that I adore these books and the movie and all the characters, so anything in the 'verse will be loved by me.
Additional Information/Ideas
I could even see a modern au working with Jack and Stephen, so long as they retained their basic characters. If you are mused to do this, it would probably be good to check out my ~preferences listing at the bottom of this post, but those caveats aside, this could be very fun.
If for some reason you don't want to write a fic focused on Jack and Stephen, I'm open to some type of foursome/poly fic here adding in Diana and Sophie, which is funny because it's not something I routinely read. I've read a couple of things along these lines and they actually work, so go for it if Jack and Stephen m/m or friendship fic don't work for you. I love the contrast in characterization between Diana and Sophie and something with that friendship added into the mix could be excellent also.
Above all, please know that I adore these books and the movie and all the characters, so anything in the 'verse will be loved by me. Like, I could read a whole fic that was just Stephen pointedly not rolling his eyes at Jack's use of foreign languages! Or the witty comments he cooks up! Meals at sea! Stephen's next pet/experiment! Hammocks!
In case this helps, here are some master and commander fics I have loved! my bookmarks (not exhaustive -- I wasn't consistently bookmarking)
edit: Another fic possibility: what if Jack and Stephen started what was in essence a "fuck buddies" relationships, perhaps ostensibly to help Jack be less tense or whatever. It's a long time at sea and manly men need to have relief! Or something. :D What would happen?
GIVE ME LOVE (MUSIC VIDEO)
Characters: Woman, Police Officer, Man kissing Man 2, Man kissing Man 1 (at 3:30 in video)
Text of my request:
So I never thought I'd request about a video, but something about Give Me Love hit me hard and haunted me. There are a couple of different stories I'm super interested in:
The woman who is the main character - Cupid? - what is her story?!?! There are so many different interpretations I can imagine for her story. I have seen there are people who've talked about this (quick Google search), but this is one where I would love to see what YOU thought her story was.
The policeman who appears at the beginning and the end. What is his story? There seems to be an implication at the end that maybe the woman sees him, and maybe they fall in love then? Or maybe they already were in love a long time ago but lost track of each other? Or maybe he's going to end up being her friend, just friends, the first one she's had? Or she will end up saving him in some way, in the future? If you make this a love story of some kind, which I would love, it would be wonderful if it's not just a case of him ~saving her, but vice versa as well, as I definitely prefer women characters to be strong in their own right and not focused solely on ~finding a man.
I could see a really cool treatment of this video that had supernatural/fantasy/science fiction elements, too. Is she really a human woman? Or is she something different? Maybe she got stranded on Earth thousands of years ago and finally despairs of finding one of her own kind? Maybe the ~policeman is, and finally finds her. Maybe she really is some sort of Cupid with powers, but they never work on herself, and her loneliness just got to be too much.
Of course, maybe you see her as fully human and all the arrows, etc. are just symbolic. If so, the one thing I'd really prefer is that she not engage in graphic self-harm and that there be no death of any of the nominated characters - . I realize the video might be seen as depicting that, but I'd prefer this to be off screen if it occurs at all. I can handle pretty dark and angsty, but no graphic descriptions of violence or self harm or death at Yuletide pretty please.
If ships aren't your thing, I would equally love some story about the friendship these two characters form, or anything featuring the Woman by herself, in which she becomes happy and fulfilled in life!
Anyway, dear writer, I would love to hear whatever story you wanted to tell with these characters! I feel that there are tons of directions you could go with the Woman and the Police Officer, and I'd love to see what you want to write.
If the main character woman and/or police officer aren't working for you, how about the two guys who kiss when she starts getting aggressive with her arrows. Who are they? Did they know each other before? Why were they where they were? If the effect of the arrow runs out, how do they feel? Still attracted, or not? Can you show them falling in love, after they, well, get hit by the arrow? Like, when the dust settles, can they actually fall in love? Or were they already in love, but circumstances caused them to break up, and this is their chance to find each other again?
Their kiss is pretty damn passionate, and as you will see if you visit my journal post, I love reading hot sex, and love reading m/m relationships in general, so feel free to include that if you like it, particularly if I can get a sense of who these two guys are as people and why they have fallen for each other.
Though the above are the stories I'm super interested and I nominated characters for, honestly this is the request where if you have another idea you're mused for, go for it! I waffled and went back and forth on my third and fourth character slots, because I was also super interested in ALL of the other couples/groupings, of all their different genders (for example the two blonde women who kiss passionately nearer the beginning). And even the fact Ed Sheeran appears briefly in the video raises interesting questions, not to mention the setting itself, and I could see someone doing something really cool with those elements as well.
If you would like to see a few additional ideas, and/or a listing of some preferences I tend to have in fic, follow the link to my journal post. If you're good to go, go for it, and most of all, have fun!
Additional Ideas/Info not in my signup:
If I think of any additional prompt ideas or anything like that, I'll come back and add them here.
p.s. Here's the video:
LITTLE WOMEN SERIES - LOUISA MAY ALCOTT
Requested Character(s) Josephine March; Theodore Laurence (Laurie)
text of my request
I am going to love anything at all that you write in this 'verse! Almost all of my suggested ideas involve Jo, one of my top favorite characters of all time, and most of them involve Laurie, but I'm even including a couple of ideas that involve other characters, that Jo and/or Laurie wouldn't even have to be in, just in case you decide you're more interested in those (obviously, we matched on Jo and Laurie, so these other ideas are BEYOND optional - they just provide another option <3)
{C}
The first kind of story I'd love would involve Jo and Laurie and yes, I would love to see a plausible way for them to get together romantically and have it be wonderful. There are lots of ways I could imagine you could get there! One of the main stories you could explore would be a future!fic, where Jo and Laurie have both had their marriages to others, but their spouses die and they are single again and they rediscover each other. Or perhaps they realize just in time before they marry other people what they should actually be doing.
Or perhaps they even do get together back in Little Women days. What would happen? Maybe they'd be happy at first, but grow further apart or be bad influences on each other, and then need to do some growing and changing and fall in true love later in that process. Feel free to go au wherever/whenever you want to. I do love the canon characters and relationships (Amy, Friedrich) as well, so you could either handwave them away completely, or show them as loving relationships, but no longer a factor due to death or etc.
Basically, I'd just love to get a fic with a happy ending that allowed Jo and Laurie to be together, but in a way that felt like it honored Jo's early feeling that they were too much alike/not good for each other. How do they grow and change, either together or apart, so that they end up being right for each other? Or, maybe they WERE right for each other, and Jo was just scared. Maybe there's a story where over time she comes to realize that. Maybe something happens so that they run into each other unexpectedly somewhere that's not home, and in that environment they fall even harder for each other.
By the way, feel more than free to add "in bed" after everything I've said about Jo and Laurie. :D Basically, I think their personalities and attraction would make for some hot sex, and I would love to read about it if you want to tackle that, assuming it could be done within the framework of what might be realistic for the time/style of writing.
If you for some reason end up not mused to write Jo getting together with Laurie romantically, then write me anything about Jo (and Laurie as her friend)! She and Laurie can be the good buddies and best friends they are in canon! Maybe Jo gets into a scrape when she should be old enough to know better. Maybe she finds herself super famous as a writer and has to deal with that. Maybe she gets involved in an important social issue of the day. Maybe she has problems with one of her "boys" and she addresses it in her awesome Jo way (I love Little Men and Jo's Boys as well). Maybe she travels to some far away place and meets other awesome women doing awesome things! Really, any story that deals with her is going to be a win/win for me. Laurie can be a big or negligible presence - it's up to you!
If you, like me, have some serious love for some of the characters featured in the later books -- Dan, Nan, etc. -- take a look at my post on my journal for some additional ideas for stories that feature them that I would love equally to all the above (obviously, these are Beyond Optional!).
As you can probably see from my novel-length request, bwahaha, my love for this 'verse is huge, so really, you basically can't go wrong with anything at all you write for me! <3 And, as I mentioned, I have put even MORE ideas on my post on my journal, just in case you would appreciate more, as well as a list of ~preferences I tend to have in fic generally.
{C}
additional ideas/thoughts
These books -- Little Women, Little Men and Jo's Boys -- were among my most cherished childhood reading. Even as an adult, I'll go back sometimes and read one. This is truly a case of me just wanting to revisit this much loved world.
Lol I ran out of space in the nomination form :P, but on the off chance for some reason you decide you don't want to write the pairing/friendship we matched on, feel more than free to write about Jo's marriage with Friedrich (who isn't even in the nommed tagset but we are talking optional options here), and write THAT love story (though I'm guessing due to the characters we matched on that that might not be something you're interested in. But I just mention this in case you're like me and basically ship all the things <3). I'd enjoy a fic that explores their relationship and shows them falling deeper and deeper in love. If you're comfortable writing sex, I'd love to see into their relationship there, and see how they both approach the wedding night and after. They obviously respect each other and care about each other a ton canonically... is it also/can it turn into/grow into passion? (I don't necessarily mean sexual). Just, further insight into their private relationship of any kind would be awesome. And even aside from all of that, in what ways are they good for each other? In what ways do they have fun together? Grow together? Share joys and sorrows/complement each other? Any story about that would be awesome. I loved that moment in the book when Friedrich appeared with his umbrella -- such a powerful and sweet moment. Take me further, show me more, should you for some reason wish to!
{C}
As a side note/addendum, I'll just say that in my head canon, Jo/Laurie would be awesome in bed. Haha hot funny makeup sex y/y? In fact, Jo in general would be fun and probably relatively uninhibited, but then probably think maybe she was supposed to be, but then forget again. :D
A final type of story I would love doesn't have to have Jo or Laurie in it at all, or can feature them peripherally (this is the most very optional of optional details haha!). I loved Little Men and Jo's Boys, but as we can only request one thing in a "fandom," have to append this here on the off-chance you, like me, also love these things. I would equally to the above suggestions love a story about Dan. I've always felt bad about his story, and thought his character was interesting. I would love to see a fate for him other than death far from his found family. Something that fits him, but allows him a joy filled life, eventually.
Being as how I'm an inveterate slasher, maybe Dan is gay, and finds love somehow. It could be with one of the Little Men/Jo's boys characters or someone from somewhere else. But if you love Dan/Bess or Dan/other woman, go for it -- I'll happily read anything that allows Dan some redemption and happiness.
Or maybe he and Nan -- another awesome fave character! -- live together, but platonically, and do awesome things! Maybe they each realize they're happiest not attached to someone romantically. Maybe they bond over being "black sheep/different" and help each other in unexpected ways to become their best selves. Maybe they have adventures together, traveling places and meeting awesome people.
SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET (1997)
Characters requested: Peter Aufschnaiter (Seven Years in Tibet) Heinrich Harrer (Seven Years in Tibet)
Text of request
Yeah, so for job related reasons, I watch this movie every year or so, and every single time I (inappropriately for the setting haha) find my brain madly slashing the main characters, plus a few other things I'll get to. I love the setting, too, and the redemption arc for Heinrich's character.
Basically, Heinrich and Peter remind me of so many fics I've loved over the years. It's the classic tale of two men, one nice and one selfish/not nice, but both stubborn, who through circumstances, come to appreciate and love each other. Not only are they stuck together in tough/close circumstances, they even ~compete for the same woman! Part of me just wants hate!sex between them, okay? That same part wants that to then end up resolving into admission of their obvious seriously epic love for each other, and some sort of semi-realistic feeling happy ending for them. My feelings on this are probably furthered by the fact Thewlis is just amazing, period, in any role, and I can't help but respond to the characters he portrays, with their kindness, yet core of iron strength. (Uh. Him topping the heck out of Heinrich would be fine with me, by the way, just saying. Even a little humiliation could work here ahaha).
I had to look up the name of the Tailor who they both fall for, who is in herself a kickass character. I nominated her so she'd be in the set, but didn't request her here so as to make this request as broad as possible, but this is a rare situation where I think some type of threesome resolution would be amazing (they pour Heinrich a cup of tea EVERY TIME THEY HAVE TEA WHILE HE'S GONE OKAY). Assuming, though, that you go with a relationship that is just Heinrich/Peter, please do treat her respectfully, whether you go au and have her not interested in them/men or have it not work out with Peter specifically or whatever approach you take. Future!fic is also a great option, set when Peter and Heinrich are older, and perhaps she has died, or maybe they have decided to be just friends. Tl;dr: She is awesome and it is up to you whether she's part of this love match or not. Just treat has as a strong woman with agency who is awesome, and I'll be more than happy (or leave her out completely - that's totally fine too).
If you aren't a writer who likes to write shippy fic, then by all means just write some gen that features these two guys' friendship, and I will be thrilled. Something with some angst and then a good resolution would be great. It could cover the time period of the movie and show more about how they worked through their rift, or be set in the future. Perhaps Heinrich comes and visits again, or brings his son to live in Tibet for some reason. Or perhaps Peter and his wife come to Europe, and they all go mountain climbing or have an adventure of some kind, or perhaps Peter and Heinrich once again find themselves fighting for survival in a harsh environment. You could even take it very au and do some type of apocafic or fic set in another war, whatever muses you!
Anyway, dear writer, if you write fic featuring these guys, you will be making me happy, period, whatever it might be, so follow your muse/heart/imagination, and please have fun! If you want a bit more information about the things I tend to enjoy most in fic (and not), come on over to the post on my dw/lj. The one thing I do feel I should mention here is that for personal reasons, I strongly prefer not to read a fic that in any way involves the death of Heinrich or Peter.
If I think of any other specific prompt ideas or things I might love to see in this 'verse once requests close, I'll add them over on my dw/lj post. Truly, all of this extra information is totally optional, and anything you do in this fandom with ZERO current fic to bump that number up will make me ecstatic.
p.s. I found a youtube link to the entire movie, in parts, if that's helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBekm2kirxQ&list=PL67A0BBF75CBA2AB9
Additional ideas/thoughts
If I have any, I'll add them here once the Yuletide Requests closes, so if you want to, you can keep an eye out and see if I do.
SHELTER
Characters requested: Shaun (Shelter), Zach (Shelter)
text of my request
Okay, so I love this movie? I love pretty much everything about it, actually. I loved watching Shaun and Zach fall in love, the found family feelings in it, the contrast between Zach's family home and Shaun's, the tension between Shaun and Zach as they're in the throes of UST, and then the angst when Zach can't handle the relationship and it tears them both apart, being apart. I love the ending, and I love the secondary characters - Gabe is a personal fave ahaha and Tori, best friend forever SERIOUSLy she's awesome, and then of course there's Cody. <3 I don't hate kidfic like some people do, if it's good, and this is like the best kidfic.
My primary interest in a gift fic is Zach and Shaun. I would love to see what happens next for them, either immediately after the movie or a bit further down the road. I think there are some issues that could come bubbling up for them that could support some light angst - maybe they break up for a while SOB and there's angst and then they get back together, stronger than ever. Or maybe they don't break up, but come close to it and resolve their issues in the nick of time. Maybe Zach's spending a lot of time with a guy from school and Shaun is insecure. Maybe the opposite - Zach's all covered in paint and being a dad all the time and Shaun has a new book out and is wined and dined by handsome men. Of course, in line with my general likes/dislikes, I would not like there to be any actual infidelity or even close to it - something I don't think would be in character anyway. <3 But some jealousy/insecurity/angst... bring it on!
Another possibility would be some light angst over the massive change in their lives and adjusting to that. They are insta-dads and insta-boyfriends, in a lot of ways, as they had to suddenly take on Cody full time and are moving in. How do they adjust to these big changes? Do they get crabby and tired and have fights sometimes? Do they start questioning if the other is in for the long haul? Do they wonder if they themselves even want the long haul? Do they wonder if they are holding the other person back (I think they do!).
Okay, and then there's sex. I would seriously love some sex in a fic, either along with any of the above ideas (or any of your own), or sex showing the progression of their relationship, or basically anything. I don't see these guys as into any serious Bdsm or lifestyle kink or anything like that and wouldn't prefer to read that, but I DO think they'd be open to quite a bit in bed. And in Zach's case, he's new to all of this, and it makes sense that they'd do quite a bit of exploration. I honestly don't have any preference per se regarding topping/bottoming, and usually don't think of relationships in that way, but I also don't mind them being portrayed with both of them consistently in one role (though sex scenes don't need to be penetrative to be interesting to me!) The kinds of sex I love to read about includes some emotion, though unstated emotion is just as good or maybe even better than stated - I tend to prefer non-mushy scenes that are nevertheless full of love.
I have a personal head canon that at some point, Shaun will think Zach will want/need more gay experience(s), both sexually and otherwise. Does Zach need that? Could his lack of experience pull them apart (temporarily) in some way? By Shaun insisting on it, if nothing else? Does Shaun start bringing Zach to ~gay bars and introducing him to his L.A. friends? Or does he keep those lives separated? Also, what about Shaun's former relationship? What baggage does he have from the way that went? Is Zach curious about the ~gay scene? Or not?
Cody could be another source of issues for them, particularly given the custody situation. I wouldn't prefer any heavy duty angst over losing Cody, I couldn't stand it, but fic exploring Shaun's adjustment to being a father -- and Zach's for that matter -- would be wonderful as well.
If the idea of them working through some angst over some issues and/or writing sex doesn't work for you, I would also love any fic about their future life, or even possibly something au. An au in which they meet in some other way and face somewhat different challenges could be really cool, so long as they were recognizably themselves! And if they were both in a bit of a tough place emotionally when they met, that could be great and lend a bit of angst. I'm also sucker for "fuck first, then fall in love" type scenarios, so that could work as well. Generally speaking, I'd prefer Cody to still be a part of Zach's life in some way if you do go au, I think. If you want to go that route, you might want to look at my list of ~preferences when you were picking what type of au to do, in my post on dw/lj that's linked here.
Finally, I would definitely love fic having to do with Cody and Shaun becoming closer, or anything at all to do with their lives together as a family. <3
Additional Stuff
If I think of any more ideas/thoughts/prompts, etc. after the Request period closes, I'll put them here. <3
GENERAL FIC LIKES PLUS A FEW ~PLEASE AVOIDs
Okay, so because I know as a writer I love to get just a BIT more guidance than "do whatever!" I'm going to talk a bit about things I usually love a lot. But again, PLEASE know that I am really open to whatever your brain cooks up. This is just IF you don't already know what you're writing, based off my request and the above paragraphs:
I PARTICULARLY LOVE:
character-driven stories where people grow or come to a realization or embrace life or etc.
love stories
sex that is character driven
hot sex/intense sex (this can definitely include some level of kink - see my recs I guess for guidance? For Yuletide, I suppose I would suggest erring on the less-kinky side if in doubt, because mainly Yuletide for me is about characters and 'verses).
cool science fictiony or fantasy type plots/tropes/explorations including exploration of time
love stories where people have a small to medium amount of angst and then there is a happy ending
fics where people are forced together -- e.g. arranged marriage, trapped together, etc. -- and find themselves falling in love, but don't believe the other person feels the same, or things like that
strong women characters
m/m stories, either friendship or romantic/sexual
stories where people are put into a situation where they are "out of their element" and must adapt/change/grow
cool worldbuilding
found families
UST that does eventually ~resolve; yearning
stories that explore social realities of the time period in a character-driven way. example: stories where characters deal with the difficulties of being gay in 1800, or being a woman (but in yt fic specifically, I'd prefer it wasn't harshly realistic all the way through the fic -- so some coming to terms or finding a way to survive and still be oneself would be awesome if this theme is present)
telepathy, soulbonding, etc. - - again with the theme of forced emotional intimacy
AUs of many kinds (maybe not so much the super cracky ones) including all the "regular" ones like bookstores and lawyers and such, as well as including ones with magic or characters in professions that suit their personalities or where there's telepathy or whatever. (Don't get me wrong, though: in all of the Yuletide fandoms I've requested, I'd really love canon based fic! This is just another option, should you struggle with that)
fuck buddies or other relationships that start as sexual and turn ~complicated/more
road trip or adventure type fics, so long as still character-driven
happy endings, but that feel well-earned
NOT USUALLY A FAVORITE THING:
non-con (dub con can be really hot/interesting if it makes sense in the context and it's really con -- hell, I've written quite a bit of dub con!). Non-con is totally fine if it's as a necessary background element or not featured heavily on-screen. For example, a character having been raped as a plot element is fine, so long as it's treated with the gravity that requires. A character being raped graphically onscreen or for titillation is not something I like to read).
explicit hard core or lifestyle D/s or bdsm (but note: I can read this and enjoy it if the characters feel like real people -- in other words, their relationship is more than just their roles -- an example of this would be Manna's The Administration Series, or a few of the things I've saved under the "kink" tag on my pinboard)
A/b/o/omegaverse type 'verses.
sec worker/prostitute AUs if they don't straddle the line between realism and ~fantasy in a way that works for me. Since this is so subjective and hard to describe, I suppose I would say, consult things I've bookmarked to get an idea? Basically, these aren't my favorite type of au, but they aren't an absolute "no," so if you have a great idea, do it!
fics where they are all inanimate objects or animals. fic where someone's a robot. "crack" premises. (But listen! There are some awesome fics I love with these premises, so if that's what you want to write, go for it)
stories that focus only on plot without character development
crossovers/fusions. It's harder for me to ~suspend disbelief, because my brain reads these as more fictional IDK? But as with everything, there are exceptions, and I've tried to note above where a crossover/fusion might be awesome.
fics that focus a lot on death. This is kind of related to stuff in my personal life, as well as being how I'm wired. I definitely do not want fic where one of my favorite characters dies. You can assume that if I nominated them as a character they are a favorite. Death of another character is fine so long as it's mainly offstage. Example: Sophie died a few years earlier, or we see it in a few vignettes = no problem. I just can't watch anyone I care about die excruciatingly slowly onscreen as it were (you can assume I care about the characters I requested and don't mind bad things happening to the others hehe).
inter-generational sex/romance. (not that I haven't violated this at times in my reading *coughHarryPottercough* as I read, but this generally is a no-go zone for me. I'd prefer romances to be kept among members of approximately the same generation, please (but I'm very loose on what I consider ~same generation if both parties are adults!).
student/teacher relationships beyond friendship. This probably rises to an actual squick due to real life things, and regardless, the dynamic doesn't do anything for me. Though as with everything there are exceptions, see above haha.
sad endings. Ambiguous, I can love, though. Just, since this is a yt fic, maybe a bit on the happy side of ambiguous lol?
Things that are good with me that a lot of people don't seem to like:
kidfic (so long as the focus stays on my beloved character(s))
original characters (so long as I get my requested faves)
graphic sex (but not required!! some of my favorite stories in the world are PG!)
PLACES TO SEE THINGS I LIKE
You might be able to get a general idea of what I tend to like by visiting:
my Pinboard to see what fics I've saved as awesome reads, and/or
some RECS on AO3 (random whether I think to bookmark though)
my own fic (if it's true that what one writes is what one likes idk?)
Uh, also, my rl has gotten insanely busy and I've hardly been posting anywhere, though I lurk around as much as possible. You might have a chance of seeing actual signs of life once in a while on my tumblr, here: http://cathalins.tumblr.com/
[NOTE: This is a WIP. I may add in more prompts and discussion as I think of it (or better yet, edit it DOWN lol), so do check back occasionally if it affects you, if you want. Anon without ip logging is always enabled here, so go for it and ask questions if you want! <3]
Also posted at My Dreamwidth. Comment in either place. <3
First, the most important thing I want to tell you, Yuletide Writer, is that I will seriously LOVE anything you write. I mean that. How could I not, with you writing a fic in one of the small fandoms of my heart. <3 Second, I apologize for the length of my requests and this post. I seem to be constitutionally incapable of writing anything short, ever.:D
Later in this post I'll talk about some specific things I tend to love, but the truth is, some of the best Yuletide fics I've ever read aren't something anyone could ever have asked for... they're way more creative than that. So if you have some big, amazing idea based off my request, go for it!
By the same token, if you want to write me a "small" character study fic in the fandom set with just one or two of my requested characters, do it! I guarantee you I will hold that fic to my bosom and love it forever. And many of the things I love, I love because they are sweet and small and character focused.
Really, dear writer, what I most want is for you to have fun writing this story (and for there to BE a story/another story in any of these tiny fandoms). <3 (P.S. For a few of my requests, my requests are virtually identical to ones I made in a prior year. I got amaaaazing gifts for a few of them, and don't want anyone to think I didn't love those, because I did, SO much. It's just that for these fandoms, I just want MOAR fic, more, more, more *grabby hands*, so that's why I tend to request the same thing! Trust me, I love and cherish every fic in these fandoms of my heart).
Anyway, as I myself am the type of person who loves and needs as much information as possible about someone I'm writing a fic for, and I know many others are, I'm going to include a bunch of stuff in this letter. So, for you IF you are like that, under the cut I will: 1) copy the text of what I wrote in my requests on the Yuletide site, because I've found that's helpful; 2) for each fandom, add any more notes about what I love or even more possible story ideas/prompts (letting myself do this because I know that personally I LOVE it when requesters give tons of ideas) 3) in the Most Optional of ways, discuss some of the things I Tend To Like in Fic and a couple of things I tend not to; 4) Give links to a few places you can see fics I've loved and in case for some reason it helps, even the fic I write.
All of this is to help, if like me you like to get as much guidance as possible into the mind of the requester, but all of this is OPTIONAL. If you're ready to write, stop right here. <3 (Honestly, my word spewage is worthy of mocking, so feel free to do so. And then write me a fic! *bounces* <3)
Note: These are in alphabetical order so as not to imply anything about how much I like one fandom vs. the other by order -- similarly, I'm not implying anything by length, either -- the discussion just goes as long as I needed to talk about it. General information about my fic preferences is at the bottom of this ridiculous document.
AUBREY-MATURIN SERIES - Patrick O'Brian
text of my request
Requested Character(s): Stephen Maturin,Jack Aubrey
First, I will love anything you do! I love the books and have read all of them, some of them twice. I love the movie. I love every character and every adventure and every terrible pun and every complex relationship. I love the way the books are written, so that they're like another language, like you're back in that time and place. But I also love the movie and the way it sweeps you in.
Most of all, beyond all, I love Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin (but I also appreciate Sophie and Diana a ton as characters). I love how Jack and Stephen complement each other and understand each other even though they're so very different. I love their loyalty and how much they care about each other.
If you feel like you want to write in the style of the books, oh my gosh DO!!! But if that's a bit much, any style you want will be great also (by the way, fwiw I know nothing about sails, sailing etc., so I won't care that every sail reference be perfect!)
A fic that slashes Jack and Stephen and/or focuses on their amazing friendship would be awesome. If you are comfortable with it, I would love to see them falling in love and having a bit of angst about that and then having a happy ending. (I do like Diana and Sophie, so would ask that they be dealt with kindly or simply taken out of the picture if you do this type of fic). I am totally down for hot sex scenes between them as well, if you enjoy writing that kind of thing. I love scenes like this where their characters/personalities shine through, and I believe wholeheartedly that they would be passionate.
If you're not comfortable writing m/m, or just not mused for it, trust me when I say, I will love friendship fic every bit as much! After all, that's why I love the books so much... their lovely, at times hilarious, friendship.
For either type of fic, m/m or friendship/gen, there are endless fics that would be awesome! Perhaps they could have an adventure of some kind while at sea, or there could be something scientific. In fact, feel free to go au here if you want, and have them meet up with some science fictiony or fantasy thing (I'm not a huuuge fan of super cracky premises though, so something where they're not, say, pencils or something would probably be best). Something with spying would be very cool! Maybe the fate of England and/or the world hangs on something Stephen's investigating or involved with. Perhaps Jack blunders into something he shouldn't, but it gives Stephen the necessary information to save the world, or whatever. Jack rescuing Stephen or Stephen rescuing Jack is always awesome. ALL THE FEELINGS.
Adventure/new cultures is always a win. Maybe they get stranded somewhere they've never been. Maybe they learn things through the local culture, about life or themselves. This would need to be done with sensitivity to that real culture, but them being fish out of water could be excellent!
I love it when these characters talk about things, so some of that would be excellent as well, and I love it when they encounter new things/people together. Of course I love it when they play music or listen to music or discuss music.
Whether you write friendship fic or m/m, another thing I would love reading would be them having a falling-out of some sort, and them finding their way back to each other. That happens canonically, almost. What would happen if something caused a rift, and how would they find their way back? The dynamics of their relationship are something that is of highest interest to me and whether you write m/m or friendship, I would love to see them coming to a greater understanding of each other or themselves, growing in some way as friends, or just, well, being themselves together.
Finally, though I've highlighted the Jack/Stephen relationship, I do have a few other ideas in the post on my journal for you (OT4 anyone haha?), in case these are not working for you or you just want to see more. I also have a general "preferences" list for things I tend to love and tend to want to avoid that you are welcome to consult. Above all, please know that I adore these books and the movie and all the characters, so anything in the 'verse will be loved by me.
Additional Information/Ideas
I could even see a modern au working with Jack and Stephen, so long as they retained their basic characters. If you are mused to do this, it would probably be good to check out my ~preferences listing at the bottom of this post, but those caveats aside, this could be very fun.
If for some reason you don't want to write a fic focused on Jack and Stephen, I'm open to some type of foursome/poly fic here adding in Diana and Sophie, which is funny because it's not something I routinely read. I've read a couple of things along these lines and they actually work, so go for it if Jack and Stephen m/m or friendship fic don't work for you. I love the contrast in characterization between Diana and Sophie and something with that friendship added into the mix could be excellent also.
Above all, please know that I adore these books and the movie and all the characters, so anything in the 'verse will be loved by me. Like, I could read a whole fic that was just Stephen pointedly not rolling his eyes at Jack's use of foreign languages! Or the witty comments he cooks up! Meals at sea! Stephen's next pet/experiment! Hammocks!
In case this helps, here are some master and commander fics I have loved! my bookmarks (not exhaustive -- I wasn't consistently bookmarking)
edit: Another fic possibility: what if Jack and Stephen started what was in essence a "fuck buddies" relationships, perhaps ostensibly to help Jack be less tense or whatever. It's a long time at sea and manly men need to have relief! Or something. :D What would happen?
GIVE ME LOVE (MUSIC VIDEO)
Characters: Woman, Police Officer, Man kissing Man 2, Man kissing Man 1 (at 3:30 in video)
Text of my request:
So I never thought I'd request about a video, but something about Give Me Love hit me hard and haunted me. There are a couple of different stories I'm super interested in:
The woman who is the main character - Cupid? - what is her story?!?! There are so many different interpretations I can imagine for her story. I have seen there are people who've talked about this (quick Google search), but this is one where I would love to see what YOU thought her story was.
The policeman who appears at the beginning and the end. What is his story? There seems to be an implication at the end that maybe the woman sees him, and maybe they fall in love then? Or maybe they already were in love a long time ago but lost track of each other? Or maybe he's going to end up being her friend, just friends, the first one she's had? Or she will end up saving him in some way, in the future? If you make this a love story of some kind, which I would love, it would be wonderful if it's not just a case of him ~saving her, but vice versa as well, as I definitely prefer women characters to be strong in their own right and not focused solely on ~finding a man.
I could see a really cool treatment of this video that had supernatural/fantasy/science fiction elements, too. Is she really a human woman? Or is she something different? Maybe she got stranded on Earth thousands of years ago and finally despairs of finding one of her own kind? Maybe the ~policeman is, and finally finds her. Maybe she really is some sort of Cupid with powers, but they never work on herself, and her loneliness just got to be too much.
Of course, maybe you see her as fully human and all the arrows, etc. are just symbolic. If so, the one thing I'd really prefer is that she not engage in graphic self-harm and that there be no death of any of the nominated characters - . I realize the video might be seen as depicting that, but I'd prefer this to be off screen if it occurs at all. I can handle pretty dark and angsty, but no graphic descriptions of violence or self harm or death at Yuletide pretty please.
If ships aren't your thing, I would equally love some story about the friendship these two characters form, or anything featuring the Woman by herself, in which she becomes happy and fulfilled in life!
Anyway, dear writer, I would love to hear whatever story you wanted to tell with these characters! I feel that there are tons of directions you could go with the Woman and the Police Officer, and I'd love to see what you want to write.
If the main character woman and/or police officer aren't working for you, how about the two guys who kiss when she starts getting aggressive with her arrows. Who are they? Did they know each other before? Why were they where they were? If the effect of the arrow runs out, how do they feel? Still attracted, or not? Can you show them falling in love, after they, well, get hit by the arrow? Like, when the dust settles, can they actually fall in love? Or were they already in love, but circumstances caused them to break up, and this is their chance to find each other again?
Their kiss is pretty damn passionate, and as you will see if you visit my journal post, I love reading hot sex, and love reading m/m relationships in general, so feel free to include that if you like it, particularly if I can get a sense of who these two guys are as people and why they have fallen for each other.
Though the above are the stories I'm super interested and I nominated characters for, honestly this is the request where if you have another idea you're mused for, go for it! I waffled and went back and forth on my third and fourth character slots, because I was also super interested in ALL of the other couples/groupings, of all their different genders (for example the two blonde women who kiss passionately nearer the beginning). And even the fact Ed Sheeran appears briefly in the video raises interesting questions, not to mention the setting itself, and I could see someone doing something really cool with those elements as well.
If you would like to see a few additional ideas, and/or a listing of some preferences I tend to have in fic, follow the link to my journal post. If you're good to go, go for it, and most of all, have fun!
Additional Ideas/Info not in my signup:
If I think of any additional prompt ideas or anything like that, I'll come back and add them here.
p.s. Here's the video:
Click to viewLITTLE WOMEN SERIES - LOUISA MAY ALCOTT
Requested Character(s) Josephine March; Theodore Laurence (Laurie)
text of my request
I am going to love anything at all that you write in this 'verse! Almost all of my suggested ideas involve Jo, one of my top favorite characters of all time, and most of them involve Laurie, but I'm even including a couple of ideas that involve other characters, that Jo and/or Laurie wouldn't even have to be in, just in case you decide you're more interested in those (obviously, we matched on Jo and Laurie, so these other ideas are BEYOND optional - they just provide another option <3)
{C}
The first kind of story I'd love would involve Jo and Laurie and yes, I would love to see a plausible way for them to get together romantically and have it be wonderful. There are lots of ways I could imagine you could get there! One of the main stories you could explore would be a future!fic, where Jo and Laurie have both had their marriages to others, but their spouses die and they are single again and they rediscover each other. Or perhaps they realize just in time before they marry other people what they should actually be doing.
Or perhaps they even do get together back in Little Women days. What would happen? Maybe they'd be happy at first, but grow further apart or be bad influences on each other, and then need to do some growing and changing and fall in true love later in that process. Feel free to go au wherever/whenever you want to. I do love the canon characters and relationships (Amy, Friedrich) as well, so you could either handwave them away completely, or show them as loving relationships, but no longer a factor due to death or etc.
Basically, I'd just love to get a fic with a happy ending that allowed Jo and Laurie to be together, but in a way that felt like it honored Jo's early feeling that they were too much alike/not good for each other. How do they grow and change, either together or apart, so that they end up being right for each other? Or, maybe they WERE right for each other, and Jo was just scared. Maybe there's a story where over time she comes to realize that. Maybe something happens so that they run into each other unexpectedly somewhere that's not home, and in that environment they fall even harder for each other.
By the way, feel more than free to add "in bed" after everything I've said about Jo and Laurie. :D Basically, I think their personalities and attraction would make for some hot sex, and I would love to read about it if you want to tackle that, assuming it could be done within the framework of what might be realistic for the time/style of writing.
If you for some reason end up not mused to write Jo getting together with Laurie romantically, then write me anything about Jo (and Laurie as her friend)! She and Laurie can be the good buddies and best friends they are in canon! Maybe Jo gets into a scrape when she should be old enough to know better. Maybe she finds herself super famous as a writer and has to deal with that. Maybe she gets involved in an important social issue of the day. Maybe she has problems with one of her "boys" and she addresses it in her awesome Jo way (I love Little Men and Jo's Boys as well). Maybe she travels to some far away place and meets other awesome women doing awesome things! Really, any story that deals with her is going to be a win/win for me. Laurie can be a big or negligible presence - it's up to you!
If you, like me, have some serious love for some of the characters featured in the later books -- Dan, Nan, etc. -- take a look at my post on my journal for some additional ideas for stories that feature them that I would love equally to all the above (obviously, these are Beyond Optional!).
As you can probably see from my novel-length request, bwahaha, my love for this 'verse is huge, so really, you basically can't go wrong with anything at all you write for me! <3 And, as I mentioned, I have put even MORE ideas on my post on my journal, just in case you would appreciate more, as well as a list of ~preferences I tend to have in fic generally.
{C}
additional ideas/thoughts
These books -- Little Women, Little Men and Jo's Boys -- were among my most cherished childhood reading. Even as an adult, I'll go back sometimes and read one. This is truly a case of me just wanting to revisit this much loved world.
Lol I ran out of space in the nomination form :P, but on the off chance for some reason you decide you don't want to write the pairing/friendship we matched on, feel more than free to write about Jo's marriage with Friedrich (who isn't even in the nommed tagset but we are talking optional options here), and write THAT love story (though I'm guessing due to the characters we matched on that that might not be something you're interested in. But I just mention this in case you're like me and basically ship all the things <3). I'd enjoy a fic that explores their relationship and shows them falling deeper and deeper in love. If you're comfortable writing sex, I'd love to see into their relationship there, and see how they both approach the wedding night and after. They obviously respect each other and care about each other a ton canonically... is it also/can it turn into/grow into passion? (I don't necessarily mean sexual). Just, further insight into their private relationship of any kind would be awesome. And even aside from all of that, in what ways are they good for each other? In what ways do they have fun together? Grow together? Share joys and sorrows/complement each other? Any story about that would be awesome. I loved that moment in the book when Friedrich appeared with his umbrella -- such a powerful and sweet moment. Take me further, show me more, should you for some reason wish to!
{C}
As a side note/addendum, I'll just say that in my head canon, Jo/Laurie would be awesome in bed. Haha hot funny makeup sex y/y? In fact, Jo in general would be fun and probably relatively uninhibited, but then probably think maybe she was supposed to be, but then forget again. :D
A final type of story I would love doesn't have to have Jo or Laurie in it at all, or can feature them peripherally (this is the most very optional of optional details haha!). I loved Little Men and Jo's Boys, but as we can only request one thing in a "fandom," have to append this here on the off-chance you, like me, also love these things. I would equally to the above suggestions love a story about Dan. I've always felt bad about his story, and thought his character was interesting. I would love to see a fate for him other than death far from his found family. Something that fits him, but allows him a joy filled life, eventually.
Being as how I'm an inveterate slasher, maybe Dan is gay, and finds love somehow. It could be with one of the Little Men/Jo's boys characters or someone from somewhere else. But if you love Dan/Bess or Dan/other woman, go for it -- I'll happily read anything that allows Dan some redemption and happiness.
Or maybe he and Nan -- another awesome fave character! -- live together, but platonically, and do awesome things! Maybe they each realize they're happiest not attached to someone romantically. Maybe they bond over being "black sheep/different" and help each other in unexpected ways to become their best selves. Maybe they have adventures together, traveling places and meeting awesome people.
SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET (1997)
Characters requested: Peter Aufschnaiter (Seven Years in Tibet) Heinrich Harrer (Seven Years in Tibet)
Text of request
Yeah, so for job related reasons, I watch this movie every year or so, and every single time I (inappropriately for the setting haha) find my brain madly slashing the main characters, plus a few other things I'll get to. I love the setting, too, and the redemption arc for Heinrich's character.
Basically, Heinrich and Peter remind me of so many fics I've loved over the years. It's the classic tale of two men, one nice and one selfish/not nice, but both stubborn, who through circumstances, come to appreciate and love each other. Not only are they stuck together in tough/close circumstances, they even ~compete for the same woman! Part of me just wants hate!sex between them, okay? That same part wants that to then end up resolving into admission of their obvious seriously epic love for each other, and some sort of semi-realistic feeling happy ending for them. My feelings on this are probably furthered by the fact Thewlis is just amazing, period, in any role, and I can't help but respond to the characters he portrays, with their kindness, yet core of iron strength. (Uh. Him topping the heck out of Heinrich would be fine with me, by the way, just saying. Even a little humiliation could work here ahaha).
I had to look up the name of the Tailor who they both fall for, who is in herself a kickass character. I nominated her so she'd be in the set, but didn't request her here so as to make this request as broad as possible, but this is a rare situation where I think some type of threesome resolution would be amazing (they pour Heinrich a cup of tea EVERY TIME THEY HAVE TEA WHILE HE'S GONE OKAY). Assuming, though, that you go with a relationship that is just Heinrich/Peter, please do treat her respectfully, whether you go au and have her not interested in them/men or have it not work out with Peter specifically or whatever approach you take. Future!fic is also a great option, set when Peter and Heinrich are older, and perhaps she has died, or maybe they have decided to be just friends. Tl;dr: She is awesome and it is up to you whether she's part of this love match or not. Just treat has as a strong woman with agency who is awesome, and I'll be more than happy (or leave her out completely - that's totally fine too).
If you aren't a writer who likes to write shippy fic, then by all means just write some gen that features these two guys' friendship, and I will be thrilled. Something with some angst and then a good resolution would be great. It could cover the time period of the movie and show more about how they worked through their rift, or be set in the future. Perhaps Heinrich comes and visits again, or brings his son to live in Tibet for some reason. Or perhaps Peter and his wife come to Europe, and they all go mountain climbing or have an adventure of some kind, or perhaps Peter and Heinrich once again find themselves fighting for survival in a harsh environment. You could even take it very au and do some type of apocafic or fic set in another war, whatever muses you!
Anyway, dear writer, if you write fic featuring these guys, you will be making me happy, period, whatever it might be, so follow your muse/heart/imagination, and please have fun! If you want a bit more information about the things I tend to enjoy most in fic (and not), come on over to the post on my dw/lj. The one thing I do feel I should mention here is that for personal reasons, I strongly prefer not to read a fic that in any way involves the death of Heinrich or Peter.
If I think of any other specific prompt ideas or things I might love to see in this 'verse once requests close, I'll add them over on my dw/lj post. Truly, all of this extra information is totally optional, and anything you do in this fandom with ZERO current fic to bump that number up will make me ecstatic.
p.s. I found a youtube link to the entire movie, in parts, if that's helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBekm2kirxQ&list=PL67A0BBF75CBA2AB9
Additional ideas/thoughts
If I have any, I'll add them here once the Yuletide Requests closes, so if you want to, you can keep an eye out and see if I do.
SHELTER
Characters requested: Shaun (Shelter), Zach (Shelter)
text of my request
Okay, so I love this movie? I love pretty much everything about it, actually. I loved watching Shaun and Zach fall in love, the found family feelings in it, the contrast between Zach's family home and Shaun's, the tension between Shaun and Zach as they're in the throes of UST, and then the angst when Zach can't handle the relationship and it tears them both apart, being apart. I love the ending, and I love the secondary characters - Gabe is a personal fave ahaha and Tori, best friend forever SERIOUSLy she's awesome, and then of course there's Cody. <3 I don't hate kidfic like some people do, if it's good, and this is like the best kidfic.
My primary interest in a gift fic is Zach and Shaun. I would love to see what happens next for them, either immediately after the movie or a bit further down the road. I think there are some issues that could come bubbling up for them that could support some light angst - maybe they break up for a while SOB and there's angst and then they get back together, stronger than ever. Or maybe they don't break up, but come close to it and resolve their issues in the nick of time. Maybe Zach's spending a lot of time with a guy from school and Shaun is insecure. Maybe the opposite - Zach's all covered in paint and being a dad all the time and Shaun has a new book out and is wined and dined by handsome men. Of course, in line with my general likes/dislikes, I would not like there to be any actual infidelity or even close to it - something I don't think would be in character anyway. <3 But some jealousy/insecurity/angst... bring it on!
Another possibility would be some light angst over the massive change in their lives and adjusting to that. They are insta-dads and insta-boyfriends, in a lot of ways, as they had to suddenly take on Cody full time and are moving in. How do they adjust to these big changes? Do they get crabby and tired and have fights sometimes? Do they start questioning if the other is in for the long haul? Do they wonder if they themselves even want the long haul? Do they wonder if they are holding the other person back (I think they do!).
Okay, and then there's sex. I would seriously love some sex in a fic, either along with any of the above ideas (or any of your own), or sex showing the progression of their relationship, or basically anything. I don't see these guys as into any serious Bdsm or lifestyle kink or anything like that and wouldn't prefer to read that, but I DO think they'd be open to quite a bit in bed. And in Zach's case, he's new to all of this, and it makes sense that they'd do quite a bit of exploration. I honestly don't have any preference per se regarding topping/bottoming, and usually don't think of relationships in that way, but I also don't mind them being portrayed with both of them consistently in one role (though sex scenes don't need to be penetrative to be interesting to me!) The kinds of sex I love to read about includes some emotion, though unstated emotion is just as good or maybe even better than stated - I tend to prefer non-mushy scenes that are nevertheless full of love.
I have a personal head canon that at some point, Shaun will think Zach will want/need more gay experience(s), both sexually and otherwise. Does Zach need that? Could his lack of experience pull them apart (temporarily) in some way? By Shaun insisting on it, if nothing else? Does Shaun start bringing Zach to ~gay bars and introducing him to his L.A. friends? Or does he keep those lives separated? Also, what about Shaun's former relationship? What baggage does he have from the way that went? Is Zach curious about the ~gay scene? Or not?
Cody could be another source of issues for them, particularly given the custody situation. I wouldn't prefer any heavy duty angst over losing Cody, I couldn't stand it, but fic exploring Shaun's adjustment to being a father -- and Zach's for that matter -- would be wonderful as well.
If the idea of them working through some angst over some issues and/or writing sex doesn't work for you, I would also love any fic about their future life, or even possibly something au. An au in which they meet in some other way and face somewhat different challenges could be really cool, so long as they were recognizably themselves! And if they were both in a bit of a tough place emotionally when they met, that could be great and lend a bit of angst. I'm also sucker for "fuck first, then fall in love" type scenarios, so that could work as well. Generally speaking, I'd prefer Cody to still be a part of Zach's life in some way if you do go au, I think. If you want to go that route, you might want to look at my list of ~preferences when you were picking what type of au to do, in my post on dw/lj that's linked here.
Finally, I would definitely love fic having to do with Cody and Shaun becoming closer, or anything at all to do with their lives together as a family. <3
Additional Stuff
If I think of any more ideas/thoughts/prompts, etc. after the Request period closes, I'll put them here. <3
GENERAL FIC LIKES PLUS A FEW ~PLEASE AVOIDs
Okay, so because I know as a writer I love to get just a BIT more guidance than "do whatever!" I'm going to talk a bit about things I usually love a lot. But again, PLEASE know that I am really open to whatever your brain cooks up. This is just IF you don't already know what you're writing, based off my request and the above paragraphs:
I PARTICULARLY LOVE:
character-driven stories where people grow or come to a realization or embrace life or etc.
love stories
sex that is character driven
hot sex/intense sex (this can definitely include some level of kink - see my recs I guess for guidance? For Yuletide, I suppose I would suggest erring on the less-kinky side if in doubt, because mainly Yuletide for me is about characters and 'verses).
cool science fictiony or fantasy type plots/tropes/explorations including exploration of time
love stories where people have a small to medium amount of angst and then there is a happy ending
fics where people are forced together -- e.g. arranged marriage, trapped together, etc. -- and find themselves falling in love, but don't believe the other person feels the same, or things like that
strong women characters
m/m stories, either friendship or romantic/sexual
stories where people are put into a situation where they are "out of their element" and must adapt/change/grow
cool worldbuilding
found families
UST that does eventually ~resolve; yearning
stories that explore social realities of the time period in a character-driven way. example: stories where characters deal with the difficulties of being gay in 1800, or being a woman (but in yt fic specifically, I'd prefer it wasn't harshly realistic all the way through the fic -- so some coming to terms or finding a way to survive and still be oneself would be awesome if this theme is present)
telepathy, soulbonding, etc. - - again with the theme of forced emotional intimacy
AUs of many kinds (maybe not so much the super cracky ones) including all the "regular" ones like bookstores and lawyers and such, as well as including ones with magic or characters in professions that suit their personalities or where there's telepathy or whatever. (Don't get me wrong, though: in all of the Yuletide fandoms I've requested, I'd really love canon based fic! This is just another option, should you struggle with that)
fuck buddies or other relationships that start as sexual and turn ~complicated/more
road trip or adventure type fics, so long as still character-driven
happy endings, but that feel well-earned
NOT USUALLY A FAVORITE THING:
non-con (dub con can be really hot/interesting if it makes sense in the context and it's really con -- hell, I've written quite a bit of dub con!). Non-con is totally fine if it's as a necessary background element or not featured heavily on-screen. For example, a character having been raped as a plot element is fine, so long as it's treated with the gravity that requires. A character being raped graphically onscreen or for titillation is not something I like to read).
explicit hard core or lifestyle D/s or bdsm (but note: I can read this and enjoy it if the characters feel like real people -- in other words, their relationship is more than just their roles -- an example of this would be Manna's The Administration Series, or a few of the things I've saved under the "kink" tag on my pinboard)
A/b/o/omegaverse type 'verses.
sec worker/prostitute AUs if they don't straddle the line between realism and ~fantasy in a way that works for me. Since this is so subjective and hard to describe, I suppose I would say, consult things I've bookmarked to get an idea? Basically, these aren't my favorite type of au, but they aren't an absolute "no," so if you have a great idea, do it!
fics where they are all inanimate objects or animals. fic where someone's a robot. "crack" premises. (But listen! There are some awesome fics I love with these premises, so if that's what you want to write, go for it)
stories that focus only on plot without character development
crossovers/fusions. It's harder for me to ~suspend disbelief, because my brain reads these as more fictional IDK? But as with everything, there are exceptions, and I've tried to note above where a crossover/fusion might be awesome.
fics that focus a lot on death. This is kind of related to stuff in my personal life, as well as being how I'm wired. I definitely do not want fic where one of my favorite characters dies. You can assume that if I nominated them as a character they are a favorite. Death of another character is fine so long as it's mainly offstage. Example: Sophie died a few years earlier, or we see it in a few vignettes = no problem. I just can't watch anyone I care about die excruciatingly slowly onscreen as it were (you can assume I care about the characters I requested and don't mind bad things happening to the others hehe).
inter-generational sex/romance. (not that I haven't violated this at times in my reading *coughHarryPottercough* as I read, but this generally is a no-go zone for me. I'd prefer romances to be kept among members of approximately the same generation, please (but I'm very loose on what I consider ~same generation if both parties are adults!).
student/teacher relationships beyond friendship. This probably rises to an actual squick due to real life things, and regardless, the dynamic doesn't do anything for me. Though as with everything there are exceptions, see above haha.
sad endings. Ambiguous, I can love, though. Just, since this is a yt fic, maybe a bit on the happy side of ambiguous lol?
Things that are good with me that a lot of people don't seem to like:
kidfic (so long as the focus stays on my beloved character(s))
original characters (so long as I get my requested faves)
graphic sex (but not required!! some of my favorite stories in the world are PG!)
PLACES TO SEE THINGS I LIKE
You might be able to get a general idea of what I tend to like by visiting:
my Pinboard to see what fics I've saved as awesome reads, and/or
some RECS on AO3 (random whether I think to bookmark though)
my own fic (if it's true that what one writes is what one likes idk?)
Uh, also, my rl has gotten insanely busy and I've hardly been posting anywhere, though I lurk around as much as possible. You might have a chance of seeing actual signs of life once in a while on my tumblr, here: http://cathalins.tumblr.com/
[NOTE: This is a WIP. I may add in more prompts and discussion as I think of it (or better yet, edit it DOWN lol), so do check back occasionally if it affects you, if you want. Anon without ip logging is always enabled here, so go for it and ask questions if you want! <3]
Also posted at My Dreamwidth. Comment in either place. <3