Dear Yuletide Author (2012),
Dear Yuletide Author,
Halloo!!! Thank you so much for being a part of Yuletide and I am so so excited to read your piece! This is my second time doing Yuletide - the first time last year was so much fun that I have been waiting in anticipation for this year's Yuletide to beginl
In general, I tend to like character studies or stories that expand upon small details in the canon. I do like angsty stuff, but I am also partial to fluff. I tend to like stories that focus less on the sex and more on the lead-up to romance, but if it fits in with the story, then I enjoy all the way up to NC-17.
Forward on to the specific requests:
Request #1: Secret (Band)
Jeon Hyosung, Jung Hana | Zinger, Song Jieun, Han Sunhwa
I have a lot of thoughts on Secret. They are probably my biggest Kpop fandom at the mo (and has been for a while) and I think they're fascinating on the whole. They were the first idol ventures of TS Entertainment, which was certainly not a large company and which didn't have any placehold in the idol market. So Secret really came out of nothing and you could see that in how their initial living conditions weren't so great (basement idols) and how they really had to fight to get the opportunities they acquired. And then the girls themselves have their own histories to deal with - they had lengthy training periods and failed groups and personal issues in general. I also think they're interesting in that they don't really fit the idol mold exactly - the idol marketing strategy is to build a dedicated following that obsessively tracks every aspect of the idol's life. But Secret doesn't seem to have that same kind of following nor do they exactly play to that strategy (For example, Starlight Moonlight makes no sense as an idol venture as it catered to middle-aged and older audiences). Of course, this means that it's harder for them to have explosions of popularity like idols, although it might make for more longevity? Anyway, I feel like Secret is rather unique in the idol world and so I would love something exploring these behind-the-scenes. Seriously though, I'd love anything because there really isn't much Secret fic.
Hyosung - Ah, Jeon-leadah. Hyosung always has a smile on her face and is incredibly bubbly on camera, but if you look closely, you can see her backbone of steel going through her. She's clearly gone through so much with the failure of Five Girls and her father passing away and now she has to be leader of a group that really had so many obstacles in front of them. And she is actually a great leader - she has kept the group together through all those struggles and you can also see it in little moments like when she wipes their tears or how in Strong Heart, Sunhwa mentioned that Hyosung gave Sunhwa the window to trust her in sharing pain. So I'd love to see something that gives us a glimpse into these struggles and demonstrates her strength to them. Or a happy piece with Hyosung being friendly and outgoing as she does. :)
Zinger - Being an idol clearly wasn't Zinger's first choice. Zinger has struggled with her dreams to be a hip-hop artist and then playing up the idol elements that Secret requires - She still doesn't get many opportunities to create her own music as she does co-write many Secret songs but she hasn't had any songs by herself (even Amazinger was with Marco) and she hasn't able to produce her own songs. She also is given the fewest opportunities other than just the Secret promotions and so she has the least exposure. On top of that, I feel like Zinger has some body image issues (perhaps more so than Hyosung, although Hyosung's body image issues are also interesting) as she isn't stick-thin and yet she always angles her selcas to make her look skinnier and she has often heard comments attacking her body. So there are a lot of issues at play with Zinger that I'd love to see explored - or surprise me! Even within the dearth of Secret fics, there tend to be even less of Zinger.
Jieun - Jieun is, in my opinion, the least entertainer-y of the bunch. That is, she is clearly a singer as she has great musical talent (although that is often overlooked because her tone/style isn't belting and flashy and people often think that that's the only kind of good singing) but she doesn't go into things with the calculating mindset to figure out how best to pander to audiences and the like. Jieun seems to genuinely be an honest-to-goodness sweet girl and there's this sense of innocence about her. As she's said in Immortal Song 2 (which I also have a lot of feelings about), she's never gone into anything with the willingness to step on people in order to get to the top. But the entertainment biz is a cruel world, and so I feel like she often gets hurt. So an angsty fic of this sort would be great - or anything fluffy, because Jieun is a fluffy gal.
Sunhwa - Sunhwa is also absolutely fascinating. She gets a lot of hate, especially because of her 'blank paper' image and because people misunderstand her straightforward friendliness to be devious. The 'blank paper' image is clearly not that true - Sunhwa clearly has a keen intuition for entertainment, and that requires a type of intelligence. But this means that Sunhwa is very mindful of her image - to the point where she internalizes any hurt or struggle that she has. This also means that Sunhwa is especially harsh on herself and I think this especially comes to play when she questions her position in the group. The other members have labels like lead vocal or rapper or leader, but she's not the representative for any of those things. She's given the label of 'face' and 'visual' which, quite frankly, doesn't really mean anything except that she's pretty. She's supposed to be the one going to variety shows and things with this mysterious 'star quality' but I don't think she always believes that she actually has it. So I'd love to see a piece where we crack through her shell and actually see her vulnerable. Or something happy, because Sunhwa is hilarious.
Request #2: Gashlycrumb Tinies - Edward Gorey
Clara, Leo, Titus, Zillah
As I said in my request, I nominated this and requested it because my name is Clara and because I think Gashlycrumb Tinies fic would be brilliant. I'd love to see some backstory for these characters and their deaths. Ooh, maybe like a murder mystery kind of thing where there's a whole complicated ring of people trying to kill each other. I guess there really isn't any option for future!fic since they're all dead, unless maybe it's about them as ghosts haunting the world or something?
Clara - Ah my namesake. So okay, how did Clara waste away? From what disease? Or is there maybe no disease at all and she's just a hypochondriac? Or maybe she's wasting away because of a lost love or something romantic like that. And what's her relationship like with the other Tinies? Actually, *GASP*, was she in love with another Tiny?!?! Anyway, let your imagination run wild!
Leo - How do you even swallow tacks without noticing? Like seriously, bro, was the food or drink that was spiked with tacks that delicious that you just gulped it down without noticing the sharp things piercing your throat?!?! And again, who wanted to murder him and is there significance to it being tacks instead of, I don't know, poison?
Titus - Okay, what does it exactly mean by Titus flying into bits? Like was there a bomb in that box that he's holding and thus he exploded into bits? If that's the case, then who sent the box and why would you want to murder Titus? Alternatively, does flying into bits mean that he like had an angry fit and thus exploded in that sense?
Zillah - Zillah is a child and yet she is an alcoholic. How did that happen? Is somebody deliberately giving her the alcohol for some reason? Where does she even procure this gin?
Request #3: Skins (US)
Daisy Valero, Chris Collins
Yes, I know Skins US was rather dreadful. But I do think there was promise there if you look close enough. I'd definitely like to see the departures from the UK series expanded upon, as I think that's generally where the potential lies. (The webisodes were so much better than the actual episodes - my favorite was 'Clown' because I ship Cadie/Tony but they weren't available as characters to request, so.) So potentially, what do you think would've happened in the next series if Skins US had been renewed?
Daisy - Daisy's ep was one of the best in the whole series. Unfortunately, she was criminally underused for every other episode. But she's still an interesting character, considering that y'know, she's the most straight-edge of the group in the sense that she basically has her shit the most together, but clearly she partakes in the naughtiness that all the Skins kids get into. I loved that her episode delved into her relationship with her family, so more of that would be cool (her little sister was adorbs). Also an introspective look would be interesting, as I feel like there are some contradictions there that she's dealing with resolving. Also, personally, I thought her relationship with Abed was a hot mess and in this sense, I would've actually preferred for them to stick with the UK storyline and had Daisy/Chris. So if you ship that, then I'd love to see Daisy/Chris!
Chris - Again, I'd like to see more of where US Chris departs from UK Chris. Although both Chrises' storylines are heartbreaking, really. I didn't like the Tina storyline...at all...so if you could not have that be involved in the story, that would be great. I especially enjoyed his presence in the webisodes, so something along those lines would be great, too. Something lighthearted where Chris is funny is always enjoyable.
Request #4: Tower Prep
Suki Sato, Ian Archer, Gabe Forrest
Suki - Suki's my favorite. She is supposed to be playing second fiddle to CJ, and I think that reflects an interesting aspect of her character - you see bits of it in the dream sequence of that dream episode. Speaking of, I'd love to see a delving into that dream. I also think her family dynamic is intriguing, so more about growing up in the Sato household would be great as well. I also avidly ship Suki with Ian, so if you ship them, I'd love to see a piece of this pairing.
Ian - So, to me, Ian has a tad bit of a hero complex going on. I'd be really intrigued by something in which this hero complex gets him in trouble and he's taken down a peg or two. Also, the first episode gave a little glimpse into what his life was like before Tower Prep and I'd be interested in a backstory about him.
Gabe - Gabe is just adorable. I'd love some more delving into his character, going further than just his funny exterior. In terms of prompts, perhaps going into why hypersuasion is his power or a story making light of why Señor Guapo is so important to him.
Alrighty then, whew! That was super long. These are really just suggestions and hopefully I helped to get your imaginative creative gears going. I really appreciate your participation and I'm grateful for anything you write, so thank you again!
With love,
Clara