Yuletide 2024 letter
Dear Yuletide Writer:
Thank you for writing something for me, and adding to the fic collections for whichever of my tiny little fandoms you pick I'm colorguard28 at AO3, too (and everywhere else in fandom), and I'm open to receiving treats.
General likes/dislikes/DNWs
- Plotty, aligned with canon
- Slow burn or friends to lovers
- Found family
- Character study, deeper dives into how canon events would change the person going forward
- First times, getting together
DNWs: I'm demi, so while not averse to explicit fics, it's the feelings/romance/connection between characters that appeals to me about pairings, so pure smut isn't my thing. I’m pop-culturally challenged, so I don’t want crossovers, though I noted a couple of exceptions below.
MacDonald Hall - Gordon Korman
Bruno and Boots, and it can be just one of them. I didn't list any other characters, but all canon characters are fine with me. Crossovers within the Kormanverse are fine.
For pairing fics, I'm a big fan of first time, friends-to-lovers, especially with Bruno and Boots and the whole sharing a room thing. UST, possible unrequited love and slow burn are all things I tend to like. I'm fine with crossovers in the Korman-verse. Since it's impossible to fit all the books into reality in any way, I'm fine with implausible timing, such as Go Jump In the Pool as their senior year, if that works better age-wise for a pairing fic.
Other likes that don't require a pairing: I'd love to see some of the stuff that's not in there. What was their first year like? How did they swap the judo suit for the Fish's tuxedo on Founder's Day? What was the reaction when everybody found out Bruno couldn't swim? Boots was the driving force in the first book and went even more over the top than Bruno was in subsequent books. A character study post them being reunited as roommates that explains the shifts between that book and the subsequent ones would be great. Also any ensemble pieces with all the regular co-conspirators on some kind of caper or found family-type story would be great. Ditto stories with the Fish and Mrs. Fish playing a role.
In general, I like them at the Hall, but post-series fics where they stay in each others lives are good to.
I was not a huge fan of the Bruno wants to be in the movie plot line (but love the Die in The Woods section) so would not want stories riffing on that.
I Want To Go Home - Gordon Korman
Rudy, Mike - it can just be one of them.
Crossovers within the Kormanverse are fine.
I'm fine with other canon characters making an appearance, or even being the POV character observing Mike and Rudy from the outside. (Bonus points for Jeffrey, Vicky or Mrs. Miller.) Set during the book, what were any of those last nine escapes? How did it go when they returned on their own, uncaught? I also like seeing different approaches people have to what happens after the book ends. Does Rudy make good on his comment to Chip about going back the next year? Does Mike join him? Do they even allow them back? Do they stay in touch? If not, how do they reconnect later? How is Mike different after he spends a month ensnared in Rudy's plans? Do Rudy's parents enable them staying in touch because they think Mike's a good influence? Do Mike's parents ever think Rudy's a bad influence on Mike? Does Mike have a little Rudy voice in his head snarking during school assemblies or boring lessons by high school teachers where he starts laughing for no reason? Do they plan escapes from high school events?
For pairing fics, I'm a big fan of first time, friends-to-lovers, UST, possible unrequited love and slow burn, which could mean a story where they somehow slide from BFFs to boyfriends without quite being sure when it happened. In this fandom, I also really like the stories where one of the guys is clueless that they're basically dating, either Mike because Rudy gives up so little or Rudy because he doesn't connect his attachment to Mike to attraction. When they're older teenagers, I like the ones where they try and keep their relationship a secret from their parents because they like sleepover privileges (as one great fic puts it). Or a college fic where they plan to go to the same school and room together, either paired or a situation where one is pining (or whatever the Rudy version of pining looks like) and the other appears to be oblivious.
And one thought that could be either pairing or BFFs/partners in crime: They're freshmen in college, sharing a dorm room, and Harold Green is in another room on their floor. It's the first time they've seen him since the events in the book, but he's still definitely a twit. Chaos ensues.
Hardy Boys
Frank Hardy
All canon characters are fine, and I'm also good with crossovers with Nancy Drew, Rick Brant or Ken Holt.
A case fic is good, or any kind of character study. I'm good with having both brothers in there, but Frank is my favorite of the two, so that's why I only picked him. I read my dad's copies, so I prefer the earliest versions, not the later rewrites or Case Files, etc., and would especially like fics set in those earlier years, before the first round of rewrites.
Mrs. Pollifax
Carstairs. All canon characters are fine.
We see Bishop's perspective in many of the books, but Carstairs is almost always through his eyes. I'd love to see Carstairs' POV on a Pollifax mission, canon or otherwise. Or a period piece during his OSS days when he was in the field.
DNW: Not a big fan of Grace Hartshorne, but am OK with her in roughly the role in the books.