Dear Yuletide Author!
Hi, Yuletide author! Hi! I am so happy and grateful that you are here to write a story just for me. I am super excited to read whatever it ends up being, and I hope you have fun with it! Yuletide is a time for joy.
So, obviously, optional details are totally optional. If you are here, though, you are probably looking for my thoughts, and, well, look no further. I have lots and lots of thoughts. Feel free to pick and choose!
First, some general stuff:
Likes:
--Happy endings! I do not require puppies and rainbows, but I'd rather a story end on an up note. Before the end, though, all sorts of stuff can happen.
--People who are kind of messed up! Maybe this is clear from the fandoms I chose? I like it when people have been through stuff, and been affected by it, and are not the same because of it.
--Sex! This is absolutely not a requirement, but I am totally down with explicit stories. Kink is great too, although if there is a lady involved, I have to ask that she not be submissive, please.
--Srs bsns emotional entanglements! (This might also be apparent from my fandoms.) I love connections between people, people who have histories with each other, who've experienced stuff together. This can be romantic, familial, intense friendship or comradeship, whatever. Exploration of that is always awesome.
Dislikes:
--Public embarrassment! It makes me cringe a lot.
--Sap! I am not super romantic? I mean, I totally love romance stories, I love it when people are crazy about each other, I am all for lovin', but roses and endearments and people tenderly touching each others' faces and making love and so on is a little much for me. (That said, I am kind of a sucker for hurt/comfort. Just...so you know.)
--Misunderstandings! Especially when they fuel a plotline, and especially if they're out of character. Like, if two characters are not communicating because they suck at communication, okay (possibly even great!), but if someone just happens to overhear a conversation that leads them to a host of unwarranted assumptions...perhaps less okay. (I know I requested a soap opera. I suck it up sometimes.)
--Extreme jealousy! A little can be okay, but overall, it tends to turn me off.
Beyond this, if you're unsure about something and really want to check if I'm squicked by, like, dinosaurs or avocados or cock rings or whatever, [personal profile] liviapenn will probably either know or be able to unobtrusively check with me, so talk to her.
Now for fandoms!
One Life To Live: Kyle Lewis and Oliver Fish
My Optional Details Are Optional said: Kyle and Fish! I would be cool with lots of things here - a look at their college relationship, a look at their lives with Sierra after they leave the show, maybe something about them meeting Fish's parents again as an official couple (I was totally fascinated by Kyle's relationship with Oliver's mother, and I'd love to see more of them together). Or, you could AU the show's plotline, have it all go differently somehow? One thing I would actually really love would be to see an AU where Kyle didn't get together with someone else so fast after declaring himself over Oliver - I was never a huge fan of Nick - and them having to deal with the fallout of Oliver's behavior plus his coming-out. A look at their sex life would also be great, whether first time (or first time back together) or not. Basically, I'd just love to see anything with the two of them!
I watched this storyline on Youtube as it was airing, and ohhhhhh my God. THE FEELS. I love Kyle and Fish - I love how fucked-up they are at the beginning, and I love that by the end they got a blissful happy ending WITH A BABY. One of my favorite things about this pairing is the fact of a backstory - how much is there. I love all of their early scenes, when none of it's out in the open, especially that moment at Roxy's when Kyle says, "Well, thanks a lot, Oliver," and Oliver says, "Don't call me that"--and how Kyle's the only one who calls him Oliver at all, for a while. The history is just so thick around them, whenever they're together. So, like I said, one thing I'd love is an exploration of that history, their relationship in college and how it started or how it worked. Or, rather than a flashback, just an exploration of how intertwined Kyle is in Oliver's life - I'm really interested in how the two of them together might interact with Oliver's parents, and how his parents might react to the reality of a relationship AND OF COURSE A BABY. (They'd have to come visit their grandkid, right?) On the other hand, if you just wanted to do a post-series slice of life, with the BABY (and Cris and Layla, maybe!), and them negotiating the whole settled-down thing, after so much awfulness, that would be awesome, too. Sex would be welcome, though it isn't necessary, of course!
I also mentioned an AU in my details--basically, I was always a little sad that Oliver didn't really have to make it right with Kyle after how he treated him, because Kyle had moved on, and I also always had a hard time accepting that Kyle went so far with Nick, so fast. (And oh God, the public breakup. Nooooooo.) So if you wanted to try that storyline again, that would be awesome. (And actually, if you wanted to try their whole storyline again, that could be interesting too - what if they met up again under different circumstances than the whole murder/blackmail/etc thing? Like I said, I love how their history suffuses their interactions, and seeing that play out again, some other way, would be totally cool. Plus then there could be more of the delicious repressed-desire/repulsed-desire angst, which I also love.)
So there are a ton of options here, basically, and they all kind of boil down to: more Kyle and Fish! That is truly what I want. <3
Doctrine of Labyrinths: Murtagh
My Optional Details Are Optional said: Murtagh! Murtagh deserves so many props for stepping up and helping stuff work out for crazy people and their ridiculous problems. I love how he's compassionate without being weak, tough without being cruel, imperfect and real but still so much more in control of his shit than…anybody else. I would love a post-Corambis story, to see how everything works out. I'd also love to see Murtagh slashed with either Felix or Kay, if you want. I feel like he could really help Felix work on his issues (and that could be super hot, if you wanted to go that route), and…I also really feel like he has a thing for Kay, and Kay deserves some loving, frankly. On the other hand, if you wanted to explore Isobel as a character, and maybe get Murtagh to work some stuff out with her, that would be really cool, too. It would also be neat just to see stuff from Murtagh's perspective (first- or third-POV), since he isn't a POV character in the book. And frankly, any situation where he just comes in and pwns all the idiots makes me happy--he's so *competent*! On the other hand, seeing the rare occasions when he's unsure of himself (e.g. when he's apologizing to Felix for the whole prostitution thing) is great, too. Basically whatever you want to do would be awesome!
I have literally copied and pasted this for a couple of years now, because I love Murtagh so much that I always want it. My experience of this series was--I read the first three books before the fourth came out, and of course The Mirador is so unrelentingly awful for all of the characters, and I finally picked up Corambis with a certain amount of apprehension and, to my UTTER SHOCK, stuff got--better! Felix and Mildmay's situation improved! They began acting constructively, um, sometimes. So I truly adore Corambis for the foundation it lays, the way it builds everything up into a situation where finally, finally, there's hope for the future. And I think Murtagh is a good--symbol of that, I guess, just because he is a problem-solver in a very practical way, the sort of guy who looks at a situation and is like, Okay, what is our goal, what are our resources, let's get some shit done. And I love that, and I love watching him interacting with--well, pretty much everybody else. He and Felix are as awkward as two really smooth people can be, which is always amazing to watch, and it would be cool to see them work through that awkwardness. Or, okay, I said in my details that I feel like he has a thing for Kay, except really what I mean is I am basically certain he is pining after Kay. At the very least he has a major friend-crush on him (oh my God, the scene where he asks Kay if he at least likes him, awwwww). So I'd really love to see some further exploration of that, either during the book, or maybe a post-book story where Kay gets over his issues a little and starts to return some of that affection more openly. A plain ol' slash first-time story would be really, really awesome, too. Oh, and one thing I didn't say in my details that I think would be totally great is Murtagh and Mildmay becoming friends (whether Mildmay finds out about Felix and Murtagh's, ah, prior association, or not). They don't get much face time together, and it would be cool to explore their dynamic some, especially since despite their many differences, Mildmay is also a really practical down-to-earth kind of guy. So--I hope that is enough optional details for you. *g* But if you think of something that isn't on here, go for it! I heart Murtagh and I want more of him and that is basically it.
Dark Visions: Kaitlyn, Rob, and Gabriel
My Optional Details are Optional said: There's so much that I would love for this prompt. Gabriel and Rob back at the facility they were at pre-series? Gabriel, Rob, and Kait trying to actually be actual friends in a non-awkward way, post-series? Kait discussing one of them with the other one? (...Kait discussing how one of them is IN BED with the other one??) I would also love a threesome, if you can make it work without hurting Anna. And relationships aside, it would be nice to see how they all deal with their issues and trauma and so on, after the book - can they sit down and take a break for a while? Will there be some problems with the Fellowship? How do they deal with the bond? How do they deal with Gabriel? Can Gabriel have actual friendships with actual people when everything is not terrible all of the time? Any and all of these questions would fascinate me.
Also--Kaitlyn, Gabriel, and Rob were the only characters nommed, but I would LOVE to see some exploration of the insane five-way psychic bond thing, and the relationships between the five of them. Anna and Lewis don't get a ton of focus in the books, so I'd really like to see some further developments of their characters and their relationships with everyone else - like, how do Anna and Gabriel relate to each other? Lewis and Rob? I would also LOVE to see a ten-years-later look at the five of them and the bond and their relationships, and how they've grown and changed. Also, if you wanted to go the polyamory route, here, I would be the LAST person to stop you. Any combination! All of them in a pile! I would read it with glee.
So, whatever, Vampire Diaries, THIS was the L.J. Smith series of my young teenagehood. I loved the love triangle, of course, and I was also fascinated by the psychic bond, which is, um, not at all a fascination that has waned with my older age. How do they DEAL with that? How do they grow and change, and how do they change each other? How is someone like Gabriel affected by a psychic link with someone like - uh, I was going to say Anna, but really like ANY OF THEM, I guess. (Oh man, what happens if he and Kaitlyn fall out of love with each other? While linked? How do they get past that, and what does their relationship look like afterwards--like, how does everything stabilize? Um, you don't have to write that. But if you want to, you definitely can.) Basically, I'd just like anything post-books (or pre-books if it were Gabriel and Rob). Any exploration of the totally weird-ass dynamics that now exist between Kaitlyn, Rob and Gabriel would be awesome, like I said. If you go the threesome route (!!), I guess my thoughts are, a) I don't think they would be quite ready to handle it, emotionally speaking, during or immediately after the books, and b) I really, really don't want Anna to get the shaft. So if you wanted to go that route, maybe set it in the future, when Anna and Rob might have gone their separate ways (or maybe AU the events of the books, even? That could be super interesting, if they all three had a thing, instead of - all three separately having things with each other, I guess). Annnnd finally, as I said, polyamory is welcome - any sort, whether the five have different relationships, or they all have a relationship together, or relationships both inside and outside the bond (Lydia never interested me too much, but if you have something interesting you want to do with her, please do go for it, because I'd like to be interested by her), or whatever. Giving Lewis and Anna some more attention would be really welcome! On the other hand, if you're an OTP-er, that is totally fine, too - Kait and Gabriel (or even Kait and Rob, I suppose, or Gabriel and Rob!) can be the romantic pairing, but then of course I'm totally interested in how they relate to the third person (because history! And psychic bond!) and Lewis and Anna as well. So - lots of things! As long as it explores the dynamic between the three (or five) of them, I will be happy.
Ringside - Dreamboat 730
My Optional Details Are Optional said: So, obviously there are a lot of ways to view a song, and I don't want to dictate exactly what you should write! However, I sort of see the verses as talking about a past (which apparently includes a dysfunctional relationship with a lady, which maaay have included some actual literal masochism), and the chorus as the present, where the narrator is either inviting someone to join the land of the fucked-up and get some solidarity, or being similarly invited himself.
You can take a look at my Dear Yuletide Author letter for (a lot) more details on what the story here might or might not be, but basically, I'd like a story with an up note. This guy has been through a lot, and maybe he hasn't had anyone on his side, and now he could have someone on his side! Maybe more than one someone! It's fine if you include dark stuff also (although I have a little bit of a squick regarding drugs, especially if they're really adversely affecting someone's life, so I'd rather addiction not be a theme - I can totally see taking "let's go dreaming" in a Lotus-Eater sense, but I'd rather not go that route, if possible) - in the backstory or in the present day, but I choose to see the chorus as a turning point of sorts, with a possible better situation on the other side (even if it is still a little fucked-up or codependent). I am cool with gen, slash, or het on this, and I'd love a 'found family' situation, and/or polyamory, though that isn't a requirement by any means. Any rating is cool with me - sex would be awesome, but it's not necessary or anything. Mostly I'd just like some look at this guy, what he's been through, and what he might be getting in the future!
So, if you signed up for any of the other fandoms I requested and are now having second thoughts, this is probably the place to flee to, since the canon is three minutes long. Like I said in my optional details, I don't want to say, "Obviously this is what the song is about!" when you might have been thinking something totally different, so the only really hard and fast thing I have to say is that I'd rather it not be about drugs. There are a couple of other request-style things: first, the apparent villain of this song is this lady he was in a relationship with, and I am absolutely fine with that interpretation, but I would also really appreciate it if ladies weren't totally vilified in the story (which can be easy to do in slash stories, at least). Second, there are some religious themes here (angel, sinners, etc.) and if you want to explore that, that's totally cool (and if you don't, that is also totally cool); I would just request that religious thought in general, and/or any religion in particular, be neither totally vilified nor totally sanctified, so to speak - basically just not, like, all Christians are eeeeeeeevil (all Christians are not evil!) nor, Christianity is always great! (Christianity is not always great!). Third, on the sex front--as I said, any rating is good. If you do choose to include sex, you could totally also choose to explore the "I like it when you hurt me" concept (though you don't have to take that literally if you don't want to!). If you do, I should mention that I have this thing about dudes bottoming, where - like, the manlier the are, the happier I am to see them taking it. (Particularly in slash. In het, it matters far less.) It's like - reverse yaoi rules. So, like, in a Who Is the Masochist quiz, I would pick Jim and not Blair, John and not Rodney, Heero and not Duo, Jon Walker and not the rest of Panic, Harry and not Draco, Derek and not Stiles. I would be so, so grateful if you'd take that into account, if you go the kink route.
Now, in case that wasn't enough, these are just some (TOTALLY OPTIONAL) ideas I've had about what might be going on in the song. If you have your own ideas, go with those! But if you are looking for inspiration, here:
So, I said in my details that the verses looked like the past to me, which is totally true, but on the other hand, "Thank you for the life you gave me" could be addressed to either the mysterious lady, or to his new peeps. The second verse could also be a present-day thing, with him trying to go back to his ex. I still think the chorus is the present, though, and it could be interpreted in a couple of ways, I guess. I can see, on the one hand, the narrator inviting the listener into the world of screwed-up, mistreated people, meeting a fucked-up person and saying, hey, I am also waaaaay fucked-up, and I can still get something out of life, come on and join us. On the other hand, maybe other people are narrating the chorus, and the narrator is finding somewhere to recover himself after his bad experiences! So I think it would be neat, on the one hand, to have this guy telling some other character about his hardships and inviting that character to join him in - a group of friends? A secret society? A spaceship? (The Dreamboat 730??) A bar? Or, on the other hand, it would be great to see this dude, whose life has been really rough, meet some people who are like - hey, you're worth it, we will love you, we're on your side, come join our (circle of friends, society, spaceship, drinking group, relationship). I am totally down for plain ol' solidarity in fucked-up-ness leading to friendship or found-family, but like I said, a relationship/relationships (or a single relationship with multiple people) would also be great! Regarding the "let's go dreaming" idea, I'd be curious to see if it was metaphorical (let us dream of a better life! Let us think about the future in ways that are not about stuff being fucked-up!), very literal (let's take a break, catch our breath, and GET SOME SLEEP! <--as a grad student, sleep porn is like the best thing in the world to me, I LOVE reading about character getting sleep), or some sort of sci-fi Inception/VR/FTL-tech/cyberspace thing, or anything else you might think of.
Now that I have written you NOVELS of (totally optional!) possible ideas, you are free to ignore whatever you don't want and write whatever you do! Really, above all, Yuletide Author, have fun. See you on Christmas! This entry was originally posted at http://frostfire.dreamwidth.org/149976.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
So, obviously, optional details are totally optional. If you are here, though, you are probably looking for my thoughts, and, well, look no further. I have lots and lots of thoughts. Feel free to pick and choose!
First, some general stuff:
Likes:
--Happy endings! I do not require puppies and rainbows, but I'd rather a story end on an up note. Before the end, though, all sorts of stuff can happen.
--People who are kind of messed up! Maybe this is clear from the fandoms I chose? I like it when people have been through stuff, and been affected by it, and are not the same because of it.
--Sex! This is absolutely not a requirement, but I am totally down with explicit stories. Kink is great too, although if there is a lady involved, I have to ask that she not be submissive, please.
--Srs bsns emotional entanglements! (This might also be apparent from my fandoms.) I love connections between people, people who have histories with each other, who've experienced stuff together. This can be romantic, familial, intense friendship or comradeship, whatever. Exploration of that is always awesome.
Dislikes:
--Public embarrassment! It makes me cringe a lot.
--Sap! I am not super romantic? I mean, I totally love romance stories, I love it when people are crazy about each other, I am all for lovin', but roses and endearments and people tenderly touching each others' faces and making love and so on is a little much for me. (That said, I am kind of a sucker for hurt/comfort. Just...so you know.)
--Misunderstandings! Especially when they fuel a plotline, and especially if they're out of character. Like, if two characters are not communicating because they suck at communication, okay (possibly even great!), but if someone just happens to overhear a conversation that leads them to a host of unwarranted assumptions...perhaps less okay. (I know I requested a soap opera. I suck it up sometimes.)
--Extreme jealousy! A little can be okay, but overall, it tends to turn me off.
Beyond this, if you're unsure about something and really want to check if I'm squicked by, like, dinosaurs or avocados or cock rings or whatever, [personal profile] liviapenn will probably either know or be able to unobtrusively check with me, so talk to her.
Now for fandoms!
One Life To Live: Kyle Lewis and Oliver Fish
My Optional Details Are Optional said: Kyle and Fish! I would be cool with lots of things here - a look at their college relationship, a look at their lives with Sierra after they leave the show, maybe something about them meeting Fish's parents again as an official couple (I was totally fascinated by Kyle's relationship with Oliver's mother, and I'd love to see more of them together). Or, you could AU the show's plotline, have it all go differently somehow? One thing I would actually really love would be to see an AU where Kyle didn't get together with someone else so fast after declaring himself over Oliver - I was never a huge fan of Nick - and them having to deal with the fallout of Oliver's behavior plus his coming-out. A look at their sex life would also be great, whether first time (or first time back together) or not. Basically, I'd just love to see anything with the two of them!
I watched this storyline on Youtube as it was airing, and ohhhhhh my God. THE FEELS. I love Kyle and Fish - I love how fucked-up they are at the beginning, and I love that by the end they got a blissful happy ending WITH A BABY. One of my favorite things about this pairing is the fact of a backstory - how much is there. I love all of their early scenes, when none of it's out in the open, especially that moment at Roxy's when Kyle says, "Well, thanks a lot, Oliver," and Oliver says, "Don't call me that"--and how Kyle's the only one who calls him Oliver at all, for a while. The history is just so thick around them, whenever they're together. So, like I said, one thing I'd love is an exploration of that history, their relationship in college and how it started or how it worked. Or, rather than a flashback, just an exploration of how intertwined Kyle is in Oliver's life - I'm really interested in how the two of them together might interact with Oliver's parents, and how his parents might react to the reality of a relationship AND OF COURSE A BABY. (They'd have to come visit their grandkid, right?) On the other hand, if you just wanted to do a post-series slice of life, with the BABY (and Cris and Layla, maybe!), and them negotiating the whole settled-down thing, after so much awfulness, that would be awesome, too. Sex would be welcome, though it isn't necessary, of course!
I also mentioned an AU in my details--basically, I was always a little sad that Oliver didn't really have to make it right with Kyle after how he treated him, because Kyle had moved on, and I also always had a hard time accepting that Kyle went so far with Nick, so fast. (And oh God, the public breakup. Nooooooo.) So if you wanted to try that storyline again, that would be awesome. (And actually, if you wanted to try their whole storyline again, that could be interesting too - what if they met up again under different circumstances than the whole murder/blackmail/etc thing? Like I said, I love how their history suffuses their interactions, and seeing that play out again, some other way, would be totally cool. Plus then there could be more of the delicious repressed-desire/repulsed-desire angst, which I also love.)
So there are a ton of options here, basically, and they all kind of boil down to: more Kyle and Fish! That is truly what I want. <3
Doctrine of Labyrinths: Murtagh
My Optional Details Are Optional said: Murtagh! Murtagh deserves so many props for stepping up and helping stuff work out for crazy people and their ridiculous problems. I love how he's compassionate without being weak, tough without being cruel, imperfect and real but still so much more in control of his shit than…anybody else. I would love a post-Corambis story, to see how everything works out. I'd also love to see Murtagh slashed with either Felix or Kay, if you want. I feel like he could really help Felix work on his issues (and that could be super hot, if you wanted to go that route), and…I also really feel like he has a thing for Kay, and Kay deserves some loving, frankly. On the other hand, if you wanted to explore Isobel as a character, and maybe get Murtagh to work some stuff out with her, that would be really cool, too. It would also be neat just to see stuff from Murtagh's perspective (first- or third-POV), since he isn't a POV character in the book. And frankly, any situation where he just comes in and pwns all the idiots makes me happy--he's so *competent*! On the other hand, seeing the rare occasions when he's unsure of himself (e.g. when he's apologizing to Felix for the whole prostitution thing) is great, too. Basically whatever you want to do would be awesome!
I have literally copied and pasted this for a couple of years now, because I love Murtagh so much that I always want it. My experience of this series was--I read the first three books before the fourth came out, and of course The Mirador is so unrelentingly awful for all of the characters, and I finally picked up Corambis with a certain amount of apprehension and, to my UTTER SHOCK, stuff got--better! Felix and Mildmay's situation improved! They began acting constructively, um, sometimes. So I truly adore Corambis for the foundation it lays, the way it builds everything up into a situation where finally, finally, there's hope for the future. And I think Murtagh is a good--symbol of that, I guess, just because he is a problem-solver in a very practical way, the sort of guy who looks at a situation and is like, Okay, what is our goal, what are our resources, let's get some shit done. And I love that, and I love watching him interacting with--well, pretty much everybody else. He and Felix are as awkward as two really smooth people can be, which is always amazing to watch, and it would be cool to see them work through that awkwardness. Or, okay, I said in my details that I feel like he has a thing for Kay, except really what I mean is I am basically certain he is pining after Kay. At the very least he has a major friend-crush on him (oh my God, the scene where he asks Kay if he at least likes him, awwwww). So I'd really love to see some further exploration of that, either during the book, or maybe a post-book story where Kay gets over his issues a little and starts to return some of that affection more openly. A plain ol' slash first-time story would be really, really awesome, too. Oh, and one thing I didn't say in my details that I think would be totally great is Murtagh and Mildmay becoming friends (whether Mildmay finds out about Felix and Murtagh's, ah, prior association, or not). They don't get much face time together, and it would be cool to explore their dynamic some, especially since despite their many differences, Mildmay is also a really practical down-to-earth kind of guy. So--I hope that is enough optional details for you. *g* But if you think of something that isn't on here, go for it! I heart Murtagh and I want more of him and that is basically it.
Dark Visions: Kaitlyn, Rob, and Gabriel
My Optional Details are Optional said: There's so much that I would love for this prompt. Gabriel and Rob back at the facility they were at pre-series? Gabriel, Rob, and Kait trying to actually be actual friends in a non-awkward way, post-series? Kait discussing one of them with the other one? (...Kait discussing how one of them is IN BED with the other one??) I would also love a threesome, if you can make it work without hurting Anna. And relationships aside, it would be nice to see how they all deal with their issues and trauma and so on, after the book - can they sit down and take a break for a while? Will there be some problems with the Fellowship? How do they deal with the bond? How do they deal with Gabriel? Can Gabriel have actual friendships with actual people when everything is not terrible all of the time? Any and all of these questions would fascinate me.
Also--Kaitlyn, Gabriel, and Rob were the only characters nommed, but I would LOVE to see some exploration of the insane five-way psychic bond thing, and the relationships between the five of them. Anna and Lewis don't get a ton of focus in the books, so I'd really like to see some further developments of their characters and their relationships with everyone else - like, how do Anna and Gabriel relate to each other? Lewis and Rob? I would also LOVE to see a ten-years-later look at the five of them and the bond and their relationships, and how they've grown and changed. Also, if you wanted to go the polyamory route, here, I would be the LAST person to stop you. Any combination! All of them in a pile! I would read it with glee.
So, whatever, Vampire Diaries, THIS was the L.J. Smith series of my young teenagehood. I loved the love triangle, of course, and I was also fascinated by the psychic bond, which is, um, not at all a fascination that has waned with my older age. How do they DEAL with that? How do they grow and change, and how do they change each other? How is someone like Gabriel affected by a psychic link with someone like - uh, I was going to say Anna, but really like ANY OF THEM, I guess. (Oh man, what happens if he and Kaitlyn fall out of love with each other? While linked? How do they get past that, and what does their relationship look like afterwards--like, how does everything stabilize? Um, you don't have to write that. But if you want to, you definitely can.) Basically, I'd just like anything post-books (or pre-books if it were Gabriel and Rob). Any exploration of the totally weird-ass dynamics that now exist between Kaitlyn, Rob and Gabriel would be awesome, like I said. If you go the threesome route (!!), I guess my thoughts are, a) I don't think they would be quite ready to handle it, emotionally speaking, during or immediately after the books, and b) I really, really don't want Anna to get the shaft. So if you wanted to go that route, maybe set it in the future, when Anna and Rob might have gone their separate ways (or maybe AU the events of the books, even? That could be super interesting, if they all three had a thing, instead of - all three separately having things with each other, I guess). Annnnd finally, as I said, polyamory is welcome - any sort, whether the five have different relationships, or they all have a relationship together, or relationships both inside and outside the bond (Lydia never interested me too much, but if you have something interesting you want to do with her, please do go for it, because I'd like to be interested by her), or whatever. Giving Lewis and Anna some more attention would be really welcome! On the other hand, if you're an OTP-er, that is totally fine, too - Kait and Gabriel (or even Kait and Rob, I suppose, or Gabriel and Rob!) can be the romantic pairing, but then of course I'm totally interested in how they relate to the third person (because history! And psychic bond!) and Lewis and Anna as well. So - lots of things! As long as it explores the dynamic between the three (or five) of them, I will be happy.
Ringside - Dreamboat 730
My Optional Details Are Optional said: So, obviously there are a lot of ways to view a song, and I don't want to dictate exactly what you should write! However, I sort of see the verses as talking about a past (which apparently includes a dysfunctional relationship with a lady, which maaay have included some actual literal masochism), and the chorus as the present, where the narrator is either inviting someone to join the land of the fucked-up and get some solidarity, or being similarly invited himself.
You can take a look at my Dear Yuletide Author letter for (a lot) more details on what the story here might or might not be, but basically, I'd like a story with an up note. This guy has been through a lot, and maybe he hasn't had anyone on his side, and now he could have someone on his side! Maybe more than one someone! It's fine if you include dark stuff also (although I have a little bit of a squick regarding drugs, especially if they're really adversely affecting someone's life, so I'd rather addiction not be a theme - I can totally see taking "let's go dreaming" in a Lotus-Eater sense, but I'd rather not go that route, if possible) - in the backstory or in the present day, but I choose to see the chorus as a turning point of sorts, with a possible better situation on the other side (even if it is still a little fucked-up or codependent). I am cool with gen, slash, or het on this, and I'd love a 'found family' situation, and/or polyamory, though that isn't a requirement by any means. Any rating is cool with me - sex would be awesome, but it's not necessary or anything. Mostly I'd just like some look at this guy, what he's been through, and what he might be getting in the future!
So, if you signed up for any of the other fandoms I requested and are now having second thoughts, this is probably the place to flee to, since the canon is three minutes long. Like I said in my optional details, I don't want to say, "Obviously this is what the song is about!" when you might have been thinking something totally different, so the only really hard and fast thing I have to say is that I'd rather it not be about drugs. There are a couple of other request-style things: first, the apparent villain of this song is this lady he was in a relationship with, and I am absolutely fine with that interpretation, but I would also really appreciate it if ladies weren't totally vilified in the story (which can be easy to do in slash stories, at least). Second, there are some religious themes here (angel, sinners, etc.) and if you want to explore that, that's totally cool (and if you don't, that is also totally cool); I would just request that religious thought in general, and/or any religion in particular, be neither totally vilified nor totally sanctified, so to speak - basically just not, like, all Christians are eeeeeeeevil (all Christians are not evil!) nor, Christianity is always great! (Christianity is not always great!). Third, on the sex front--as I said, any rating is good. If you do choose to include sex, you could totally also choose to explore the "I like it when you hurt me" concept (though you don't have to take that literally if you don't want to!). If you do, I should mention that I have this thing about dudes bottoming, where - like, the manlier the are, the happier I am to see them taking it. (Particularly in slash. In het, it matters far less.) It's like - reverse yaoi rules. So, like, in a Who Is the Masochist quiz, I would pick Jim and not Blair, John and not Rodney, Heero and not Duo, Jon Walker and not the rest of Panic, Harry and not Draco, Derek and not Stiles. I would be so, so grateful if you'd take that into account, if you go the kink route.
Now, in case that wasn't enough, these are just some (TOTALLY OPTIONAL) ideas I've had about what might be going on in the song. If you have your own ideas, go with those! But if you are looking for inspiration, here:
So, I said in my details that the verses looked like the past to me, which is totally true, but on the other hand, "Thank you for the life you gave me" could be addressed to either the mysterious lady, or to his new peeps. The second verse could also be a present-day thing, with him trying to go back to his ex. I still think the chorus is the present, though, and it could be interpreted in a couple of ways, I guess. I can see, on the one hand, the narrator inviting the listener into the world of screwed-up, mistreated people, meeting a fucked-up person and saying, hey, I am also waaaaay fucked-up, and I can still get something out of life, come on and join us. On the other hand, maybe other people are narrating the chorus, and the narrator is finding somewhere to recover himself after his bad experiences! So I think it would be neat, on the one hand, to have this guy telling some other character about his hardships and inviting that character to join him in - a group of friends? A secret society? A spaceship? (The Dreamboat 730??) A bar? Or, on the other hand, it would be great to see this dude, whose life has been really rough, meet some people who are like - hey, you're worth it, we will love you, we're on your side, come join our (circle of friends, society, spaceship, drinking group, relationship). I am totally down for plain ol' solidarity in fucked-up-ness leading to friendship or found-family, but like I said, a relationship/relationships (or a single relationship with multiple people) would also be great! Regarding the "let's go dreaming" idea, I'd be curious to see if it was metaphorical (let us dream of a better life! Let us think about the future in ways that are not about stuff being fucked-up!), very literal (let's take a break, catch our breath, and GET SOME SLEEP! <--as a grad student, sleep porn is like the best thing in the world to me, I LOVE reading about character getting sleep), or some sort of sci-fi Inception/VR/FTL-tech/cyberspace thing, or anything else you might think of.
Now that I have written you NOVELS of (totally optional!) possible ideas, you are free to ignore whatever you don't want and write whatever you do! Really, above all, Yuletide Author, have fun. See you on Christmas! This entry was originally posted at http://frostfire.dreamwidth.org/149976.html. Please comment there using OpenID.