Dear Yuletide Author
Hello, lovely author! Thank you for writing a fic for me! I've written a fair bit here, but it's all guidelines - if there's a story you really want to tell that doesn't fit the details in this letter, I trust you to write it in a way that's right for the story. If you've signed up for one fandom but want to switch now, Captain Britain and MI:13 is just 15 issues long and easy to find in trade paperback.
Things I like in fic: all characters having agency and purpose: women, people of colour, GLBT and/or disabled people should be characters in their own right. I love plotty genfic, but also fic about relationships (any gender/s) that anchor or propel the plot. Fic that looks at the underpinnings of the fictional universe (including fic about OCs or very minor characters in that universe) is always a favourite of mine. I like historical and local detail, but I'm not going to cry if something is wrong or changed in service of the story!
Things I don't like in fic: sexy rape, sexy or "necessary" torture, incest, adult/child or teacher/student sexual relationships, even when the student is an adult. Exoticising people who are not the same as lead characters is difficult to read (e.g. describing everyone else normally and the one black character as "chocolate-skinned"); plots that would be easily resolved if two people just talked to each other for five minutes. BDSM is not my thing at all, and I don't like it when characters are embarrassed or humiliated. I also have a phobia of zombies and of apocalyptic fic, so please don't write me either of those.
FANDOMS
Undercovers
What I love about this show is that I can relax while I watch it: all the characters are competent, no-one is put down for their race or gender or sexuality, the plots are fun without being humiliating or cruel. Sam and Steven are utterly believable as a couple who - while they may not have told each other everything - still have a tremendous trust, love and respect for each other. I would adore any fic that captured this feeling.
Gen fic about a mission, about catering, Sam's college days or anything else would be lovely, but if you prefer to write Sam or Steven in a different pairing (het, slash or femslash), that's all good with me, too. I don't want to see Sam or Steven cheating or conveniently written out, but pre-relationship hijinks or an open or poly relationship based on the trust they already have would be completely fine. I don't want to see Sam/Lizzie, though, thank you.
Alternatively, there have been things in the show that are happily glossed over - the Blooms or Leo killing people, the CIA intervening in the politics or laws of other countries, extraordinary rendition and the CIA working with other agencies. If you wanted to explore the hidden underbelly of Undercovers - while maintaining Sam and Steven's trust in each other, if nothing else - that could be really fascinating too.
Gotham Central
Regular people in a superpowered world is always enticing to me, and the forced interaction between the cops and the Gotham underworld was particularly tough and well written here. Unlike most people, they can't retreat from this battle, and they struggle on against heroic odds.
My personal favourites are Maggie Sawyer, Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen, if you're looking for a place to start, but it's really the strange, brightly coloured noir that I like; the daily grind of unacceptable compromises that must be made, and working at the edges of the law just to keep the law upheld. Guest appearances from any of the Gotham heroes or villains would be very welcome, but I would love the focus to be on the GCPD or any individual member, and the way they get by.
Captain Britain and MI:13
So ridiculous, so seriously heroic. My favourite characters are Faiza (Excalibur), Jacqueline (Spitfire) and Meggan (did Gloriana stick?) but I love the whole damn lot of them. Even Captain Midlands. I would love a fic about their adventures, or their downtime, or sniping at each other when they're meant to be working. I'd love to see them fight an invasion, or play cricket, or protect visiting dignitaries from magical terrorists, or battle a former friend or teammate.
While this all sounds very gen - and I love genfic - I would be just as happy to see something like how Spitfire and Blade manage a vampire/vampire hunter relationship or Faiza telling Dane "don't mention the war Crusades!" every time he meets her parents. Splitting up or ignoring canon relationships is totally fine. A crossover with other Marvel characters would be fun, too - I'm a particular fan of the assorted X-Men teams, but I have a pretty broad (and entirely flexible!) knowledge of Marvel canon if you want someone else to pop over for a visit. AUs would also be fun, but only if they're not apocalyptic.
Scott Pilgrim (comic)
Roxy Richter! Kim Pine! Ramona Flowers! Envy Adams! Knives Chau, now 18 years old! What's even going on with them? I would love a story about any of these women and what goes on in their crazy, creative lives.
Roxy has a fine art exhibition - why is she in the League of Evil Exes and chasing down Scott? Kim and Ramona should go to college and get drunk together - oh and wait, Knives is going to college! Why did Kim start playing the drum anyway, and how's that rivalry with The Boys! And Crash! and their girl drummer going? Does anyone get to call Envy "Nat" these days, and how did Gideon change her career?
As you can probably tell, I would love femslash or gen for this request. If you're a hardcore slash or het writer, though, go for it, as long as at least one of the women from the comic (or hey, an always!cismale or transman version of them!) is front and centre in the fic.
This entry was originally posted at http://lilacsigil.dreamwidth.org/62426.html - comments are welcome at either location.
Things I like in fic: all characters having agency and purpose: women, people of colour, GLBT and/or disabled people should be characters in their own right. I love plotty genfic, but also fic about relationships (any gender/s) that anchor or propel the plot. Fic that looks at the underpinnings of the fictional universe (including fic about OCs or very minor characters in that universe) is always a favourite of mine. I like historical and local detail, but I'm not going to cry if something is wrong or changed in service of the story!
Things I don't like in fic: sexy rape, sexy or "necessary" torture, incest, adult/child or teacher/student sexual relationships, even when the student is an adult. Exoticising people who are not the same as lead characters is difficult to read (e.g. describing everyone else normally and the one black character as "chocolate-skinned"); plots that would be easily resolved if two people just talked to each other for five minutes. BDSM is not my thing at all, and I don't like it when characters are embarrassed or humiliated. I also have a phobia of zombies and of apocalyptic fic, so please don't write me either of those.
FANDOMS
Undercovers
What I love about this show is that I can relax while I watch it: all the characters are competent, no-one is put down for their race or gender or sexuality, the plots are fun without being humiliating or cruel. Sam and Steven are utterly believable as a couple who - while they may not have told each other everything - still have a tremendous trust, love and respect for each other. I would adore any fic that captured this feeling.
Gen fic about a mission, about catering, Sam's college days or anything else would be lovely, but if you prefer to write Sam or Steven in a different pairing (het, slash or femslash), that's all good with me, too. I don't want to see Sam or Steven cheating or conveniently written out, but pre-relationship hijinks or an open or poly relationship based on the trust they already have would be completely fine. I don't want to see Sam/Lizzie, though, thank you.
Alternatively, there have been things in the show that are happily glossed over - the Blooms or Leo killing people, the CIA intervening in the politics or laws of other countries, extraordinary rendition and the CIA working with other agencies. If you wanted to explore the hidden underbelly of Undercovers - while maintaining Sam and Steven's trust in each other, if nothing else - that could be really fascinating too.
Gotham Central
Regular people in a superpowered world is always enticing to me, and the forced interaction between the cops and the Gotham underworld was particularly tough and well written here. Unlike most people, they can't retreat from this battle, and they struggle on against heroic odds.
My personal favourites are Maggie Sawyer, Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen, if you're looking for a place to start, but it's really the strange, brightly coloured noir that I like; the daily grind of unacceptable compromises that must be made, and working at the edges of the law just to keep the law upheld. Guest appearances from any of the Gotham heroes or villains would be very welcome, but I would love the focus to be on the GCPD or any individual member, and the way they get by.
Captain Britain and MI:13
So ridiculous, so seriously heroic. My favourite characters are Faiza (Excalibur), Jacqueline (Spitfire) and Meggan (did Gloriana stick?) but I love the whole damn lot of them. Even Captain Midlands. I would love a fic about their adventures, or their downtime, or sniping at each other when they're meant to be working. I'd love to see them fight an invasion, or play cricket, or protect visiting dignitaries from magical terrorists, or battle a former friend or teammate.
While this all sounds very gen - and I love genfic - I would be just as happy to see something like how Spitfire and Blade manage a vampire/vampire hunter relationship or Faiza telling Dane "don't mention the war Crusades!" every time he meets her parents. Splitting up or ignoring canon relationships is totally fine. A crossover with other Marvel characters would be fun, too - I'm a particular fan of the assorted X-Men teams, but I have a pretty broad (and entirely flexible!) knowledge of Marvel canon if you want someone else to pop over for a visit. AUs would also be fun, but only if they're not apocalyptic.
Scott Pilgrim (comic)
Roxy Richter! Kim Pine! Ramona Flowers! Envy Adams! Knives Chau, now 18 years old! What's even going on with them? I would love a story about any of these women and what goes on in their crazy, creative lives.
Roxy has a fine art exhibition - why is she in the League of Evil Exes and chasing down Scott? Kim and Ramona should go to college and get drunk together - oh and wait, Knives is going to college! Why did Kim start playing the drum anyway, and how's that rivalry with The Boys! And Crash! and their girl drummer going? Does anyone get to call Envy "Nat" these days, and how did Gideon change her career?
As you can probably tell, I would love femslash or gen for this request. If you're a hardcore slash or het writer, though, go for it, as long as at least one of the women from the comic (or hey, an always!cismale or transman version of them!) is front and centre in the fic.
This entry was originally posted at http://lilacsigil.dreamwidth.org/62426.html - comments are welcome at either location.