Yuletide Letter
Hello!
This is my first time doing Yuletide so I'm a bit nervous about what to say. I've joined Yuletide more to write interesting fic so receiving a gift fic is really bonus icing on the cake for me. I'd be thrilled to have more fic in any of these fandoms and hopefully you'll have fun writing them too.
I'll go through some of the things I enjoy and some things I'd rather avoid when reading.
Stuff I don't normally read:
--Mpreg or kidfic
--intense gore/horror
--Character death (unless they're minor characters or villains)
--tragedy/sad!fic
--no character bashing of female characters (I really can't stand this even if I dislike the character myself)
As to what I do like, I find that it varies fandom to fandom. I can be incredibly shippy with some fandoms and others I would prefer gen fic. I'm a sucker for UST stories where they eventually get together in the end. I'm all about characters and I like character studies and explorations of relationships more than specific genre tropes and kinks. I like fics that are missing scenes from canon. I'm a sucker for characters sitting around and talking and I write a lot of fics that are like this. I love fics about close friendships and comfort.
I'm requesting these canons because I love the characters and the dynamics between the characters and I started reading fanfiction to explore what's not seen in canon. So I'll tell you what I love about the canon, why I love the characters I've requested, suggest a few broad ideas and hopefully that will inspire and help you write your fic. I apologize if the letter is a bit long, but I've heard Yuletide writers like long letters so hopefully this will be helpful rather than be intimidating.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Film and Books)
What I love about the canon is how flawed the characters are and how TTSS centers around themes of loyalty (between loyalty to others and loyalty to your ideals). I like character studies and I like fics where you explore relationships between characters who work as a team in high-stress situations. I've read the whole smiley Trilogy so if you want to incorporate anything from the books, I'd encourage you to. But I'm perfectly fine if you only want to stick to the 2011-movie canon. I like that Peter is gay in the film and it adds a certain secrecy and angst about Peter that is lacking in the books.
I prefer gen-fic character study fic. Extra bonus points if you could write a Smiley and Peter friendship fic because I think Peter's loyalty to Smiley is one of the most beautiful things in the books and film. In the books, Peter is willing to sacrifice his career by being loyal to Smiley. I also like Smiley's paternal, quiet and kindly concern for Peter. I'm also interested in Smiley's sense of betrayal when he finds out who the mole is. Or you can write a fic where Smiley is angsting and obsessing over getting the better of Karla. Emotional hurt/comfort between Smiley and Peter would be lovely. And it would be nice if Smiley was quietly accepting of Peter's homosexuality.
Chrestomanci Chronicles by Diana Wynne Jones
I love the whimsy of the Chrestomanci castle and the way magic is a systematic skill to be learned. The Chrestomanci series has that in common with the Harry Potter books, but I always liked the intimate family/apprenticeship dynamics within the Chrestomanci castle. I have read all the Chrestomanci books but my favourites are Conrad's Fate, Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant. You can incorporate any minor characters from those books.
I would love a Cat Chant or Christopher Chant centric gen fic. I know I requested both characters, but you don't have to write both of them together in a fic. I'll be ok if you want to write a young Christopher Chant centric fic without Cat and vice versa.
I love Cat's good hearted loyalty and his modesty. I love Christopher's confidence, style and slight arrogance. You can also do a family/domestic fic of Millie and Christopher!Chrestomanci with the children. A plotty fic where Cat or Christopher gets in trouble is also welcome. Or maybe a missing scene fic between Christopher!Chrestomanci and Cat where Chrestomanci stops being so intimidating to Cat. Maybe there's a point where Christopher!Chrestomanci tries to establish a relationship with Cat beyond an apprentice/successor because Christopher!Chrestomanci doesn't want a repeat of the resentful early relationship with he had with Gabriel. I'd rather not have any shippy fic in this fandom with the exception of Millie/Christopher. I love the charm and humour of the books and I'm mostly asking for a fluffy gen fic that gives me warm fuzzies on Christmas day.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
I'm a bit of a sucker for stories about privileged British people who live decadent lives but live by arbitrary social rules that have the potential to make them incredibly unhappy.
I love the character Sebastian. The book is told from the point of view of Charles who doesn't seem to understand his friend, so there are a ton of gaps in canon to fill for such a deliciously conflicted, slightly tragic and charming character. His family torments him as does his religious conscience for reasons that no one is particularly interested in. His family considers him to be a contrary misfit and Charles is at a complete lost when Sebastian spirals into alcoholism.
And there's so much slashy subtext in Brideshead and in the intense friendship between Charles and Sebastian. It's pretty much my head canon that Sebastian is a closeted homosexual whose catholic guilt and isolation from his family contributes to his depression and addictions. Though the novel never makes a direct connection between the two, I think his unofficial break-up with Charles was the thing that caused Sebastian to become a full-blown alcoholic. I'm a sucker for missing scene stories, which there are numerous for Sebastian: the definitive night when he decides Charles has "betrayed" him, confrontations with his family about his drinking, the conversation with Cordelia in an isolated village near the end of the novel, his relationship with Anthony Blanche etc. Or maybe a scene between Charles and Sebastian told from Sebastian's POV. I wouldn't mind a porny fic between Charles or Sebastian where months of UST leads up to a sex in the rooms at Oxford or at Brideshead. I'm also a sucker for fics dealing with addictions and all of their angst.
This is my first time doing Yuletide so I'm a bit nervous about what to say. I've joined Yuletide more to write interesting fic so receiving a gift fic is really bonus icing on the cake for me. I'd be thrilled to have more fic in any of these fandoms and hopefully you'll have fun writing them too.
I'll go through some of the things I enjoy and some things I'd rather avoid when reading.
Stuff I don't normally read:
--Mpreg or kidfic
--intense gore/horror
--Character death (unless they're minor characters or villains)
--tragedy/sad!fic
--no character bashing of female characters (I really can't stand this even if I dislike the character myself)
As to what I do like, I find that it varies fandom to fandom. I can be incredibly shippy with some fandoms and others I would prefer gen fic. I'm a sucker for UST stories where they eventually get together in the end. I'm all about characters and I like character studies and explorations of relationships more than specific genre tropes and kinks. I like fics that are missing scenes from canon. I'm a sucker for characters sitting around and talking and I write a lot of fics that are like this. I love fics about close friendships and comfort.
I'm requesting these canons because I love the characters and the dynamics between the characters and I started reading fanfiction to explore what's not seen in canon. So I'll tell you what I love about the canon, why I love the characters I've requested, suggest a few broad ideas and hopefully that will inspire and help you write your fic. I apologize if the letter is a bit long, but I've heard Yuletide writers like long letters so hopefully this will be helpful rather than be intimidating.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Film and Books)
What I love about the canon is how flawed the characters are and how TTSS centers around themes of loyalty (between loyalty to others and loyalty to your ideals). I like character studies and I like fics where you explore relationships between characters who work as a team in high-stress situations. I've read the whole smiley Trilogy so if you want to incorporate anything from the books, I'd encourage you to. But I'm perfectly fine if you only want to stick to the 2011-movie canon. I like that Peter is gay in the film and it adds a certain secrecy and angst about Peter that is lacking in the books.
I prefer gen-fic character study fic. Extra bonus points if you could write a Smiley and Peter friendship fic because I think Peter's loyalty to Smiley is one of the most beautiful things in the books and film. In the books, Peter is willing to sacrifice his career by being loyal to Smiley. I also like Smiley's paternal, quiet and kindly concern for Peter. I'm also interested in Smiley's sense of betrayal when he finds out who the mole is. Or you can write a fic where Smiley is angsting and obsessing over getting the better of Karla. Emotional hurt/comfort between Smiley and Peter would be lovely. And it would be nice if Smiley was quietly accepting of Peter's homosexuality.
Chrestomanci Chronicles by Diana Wynne Jones
I love the whimsy of the Chrestomanci castle and the way magic is a systematic skill to be learned. The Chrestomanci series has that in common with the Harry Potter books, but I always liked the intimate family/apprenticeship dynamics within the Chrestomanci castle. I have read all the Chrestomanci books but my favourites are Conrad's Fate, Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant. You can incorporate any minor characters from those books.
I would love a Cat Chant or Christopher Chant centric gen fic. I know I requested both characters, but you don't have to write both of them together in a fic. I'll be ok if you want to write a young Christopher Chant centric fic without Cat and vice versa.
I love Cat's good hearted loyalty and his modesty. I love Christopher's confidence, style and slight arrogance. You can also do a family/domestic fic of Millie and Christopher!Chrestomanci with the children. A plotty fic where Cat or Christopher gets in trouble is also welcome. Or maybe a missing scene fic between Christopher!Chrestomanci and Cat where Chrestomanci stops being so intimidating to Cat. Maybe there's a point where Christopher!Chrestomanci tries to establish a relationship with Cat beyond an apprentice/successor because Christopher!Chrestomanci doesn't want a repeat of the resentful early relationship with he had with Gabriel. I'd rather not have any shippy fic in this fandom with the exception of Millie/Christopher. I love the charm and humour of the books and I'm mostly asking for a fluffy gen fic that gives me warm fuzzies on Christmas day.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
I'm a bit of a sucker for stories about privileged British people who live decadent lives but live by arbitrary social rules that have the potential to make them incredibly unhappy.
I love the character Sebastian. The book is told from the point of view of Charles who doesn't seem to understand his friend, so there are a ton of gaps in canon to fill for such a deliciously conflicted, slightly tragic and charming character. His family torments him as does his religious conscience for reasons that no one is particularly interested in. His family considers him to be a contrary misfit and Charles is at a complete lost when Sebastian spirals into alcoholism.
And there's so much slashy subtext in Brideshead and in the intense friendship between Charles and Sebastian. It's pretty much my head canon that Sebastian is a closeted homosexual whose catholic guilt and isolation from his family contributes to his depression and addictions. Though the novel never makes a direct connection between the two, I think his unofficial break-up with Charles was the thing that caused Sebastian to become a full-blown alcoholic. I'm a sucker for missing scene stories, which there are numerous for Sebastian: the definitive night when he decides Charles has "betrayed" him, confrontations with his family about his drinking, the conversation with Cordelia in an isolated village near the end of the novel, his relationship with Anthony Blanche etc. Or maybe a scene between Charles and Sebastian told from Sebastian's POV. I wouldn't mind a porny fic between Charles or Sebastian where months of UST leads up to a sex in the rooms at Oxford or at Brideshead. I'm also a sucker for fics dealing with addictions and all of their angst.