Dear Yuletide author letter (2015)
Dear Yuletide author,
Thank you so much for participating this year and making my small fandom dreams come true. I'm very excited that you've been matched with me, and whatever fandom you choose to write from my list will be guaranteed to make me happy, so go hog wild! If you would like some more guidance than "go hog wild," I've compiled some thoughts as to what I like and dislike in fics.
Here are some general things that I enjoy in fics:
- banter!
- friendly antagonism!
- angst! happy endings aren't required for me to enjoy angst, although I also do enjoy happy endings as well. what I'm saying is, if you prefer to write something sad, I am not the kind of reader who will be put off by it.
- unresolved sexual tension! especially if it remains unresolved. I much prefer tension to consummation, and I enjoy reading plot/characterisation more than porn.
- polyamory!
- gen and friendships!
- I love love love old friends and found families, so you can never go wrong with those themes.
- I prefer non-holiday themed fic, because I don't actually celebrate Christmas or any other religious holidays around this time of the year.
- I also prefer non-AUs if that's at all possible with what you have in mind. I picked those fandoms because I really like the canons, and want to read more about those canon universes!
And here are some more detailed comments about what I like in each of my chosen fandoms of Black Sails, Marco Polo, and Whatever This Is.:
Black Sails
My requested characters were Captain Flint, Miranda Barlow, and Thomas Hamilton, so you can probably guess that I'm angling for an OT3 fic here. There are a lot of different directions you can go with this, all of which are fine with me. If you're leaning towards something happy, perhaps it can be set in the flashback time before things go to hell, or perhaps you can write a trope I'm SUPER interested in: Thomas Turns Out Not To Be Dead After All, Surprise Motherfuckers! If you're leaning towards something angstier, I am very fascinated by the dynamics of Flint and Barlow staying together partly out of loyalty to this memory, like they are all each other has left of both Thomas and a bygone time, and so they cling to each other no matter what. One of the scenes I enjoyed the most was when Barlow yelled "this is not what he would've wanted" at Flint, in the first season. How many times do you think they fling Thomas' memory in each other's faces when they're fighting? Does it always hurt? Is it sometimes hilariously petty? If there are other characters you want to bring in, I am also okay with that, as long as the core three are the focus. Perhaps an outsider POV on their relationship?
Marco Polo
My requested characters were Marco Polo, Khutulun, and Byamba. I am interested in explorations of my OT3, Marco Polo/Khutulun/Byamba. That's my number one wish, but since Khutulun/Byamba is canon I understand if you like that pairing as it is and I don't mind if you make it an exploration of permutations of their friendships instead. I LOVE that Byamba and Marco are so close and I wish we could have seen their first meeting. I am obsessed with Marco and Khutulun's first meeting: immediate antagonistic flirting, and then her topping him. I think it's both a very charming and fascinating dynamic. Marco is clearly drawn to damsels in distress, so the fact that Khutulun isn't one (probably hasn't ever been one in her whole damn life) makes the playful tension so fun for me. I'd be interested in fics where she defends him or has his back in some way--fics where there's a role reversal and Marco is the damsel in distress. I'd also love any fics where she talks about him with Byamba, who surely must know that she fucked him. I am extremely not interested in any relationship drama/conflict in the form of anybody being jealous over any other relationship, pretty please. I am 100% okay with other characters appearing as well, as long as there's some element of Marco, Byamba, and Khutulun being the three musketeers in there.
Whatever This Is.
My requested characters were Sam, Lisa, and Ari. If you've read the rest of this letter so far, you will not be at all surprised that what I'm most interested in for this fandom is the OT3 dynamics. The OT3 is my number one wish, but since Sam/Lisa is canon I understand if you want to leave that pairing as it is and I don't mind if you make it an exploration of permutations of their friendships instead. I really enjoyed that scene where Ari describes Sam as at once his surrogate father, brother, and dog, because I can really see shades of all of those. I like how they take care of each other and Lisa, but also let each other (AND LISA!!!) down, and then forgive each other for it. I think about that scene at the end a lot, when Sam says that he's been "asleep at the wheel" and should have taken care of them better, because he's accepting total responsibility for taking care of their household even though the series didn't give us any real backstory to understand where that obligation comes from--it's not that he owes them, it's that he wants to take care of them, and they hold them to it. I also really loved the humour of the series and each character's distinctive yet all snarky voices.
Thank you so much for participating this year and making my small fandom dreams come true. I'm very excited that you've been matched with me, and whatever fandom you choose to write from my list will be guaranteed to make me happy, so go hog wild! If you would like some more guidance than "go hog wild," I've compiled some thoughts as to what I like and dislike in fics.
Here are some general things that I enjoy in fics:
- banter!
- friendly antagonism!
- angst! happy endings aren't required for me to enjoy angst, although I also do enjoy happy endings as well. what I'm saying is, if you prefer to write something sad, I am not the kind of reader who will be put off by it.
- unresolved sexual tension! especially if it remains unresolved. I much prefer tension to consummation, and I enjoy reading plot/characterisation more than porn.
- polyamory!
- gen and friendships!
- I love love love old friends and found families, so you can never go wrong with those themes.
- I prefer non-holiday themed fic, because I don't actually celebrate Christmas or any other religious holidays around this time of the year.
- I also prefer non-AUs if that's at all possible with what you have in mind. I picked those fandoms because I really like the canons, and want to read more about those canon universes!
And here are some more detailed comments about what I like in each of my chosen fandoms of Black Sails, Marco Polo, and Whatever This Is.:
Black Sails
My requested characters were Captain Flint, Miranda Barlow, and Thomas Hamilton, so you can probably guess that I'm angling for an OT3 fic here. There are a lot of different directions you can go with this, all of which are fine with me. If you're leaning towards something happy, perhaps it can be set in the flashback time before things go to hell, or perhaps you can write a trope I'm SUPER interested in: Thomas Turns Out Not To Be Dead After All, Surprise Motherfuckers! If you're leaning towards something angstier, I am very fascinated by the dynamics of Flint and Barlow staying together partly out of loyalty to this memory, like they are all each other has left of both Thomas and a bygone time, and so they cling to each other no matter what. One of the scenes I enjoyed the most was when Barlow yelled "this is not what he would've wanted" at Flint, in the first season. How many times do you think they fling Thomas' memory in each other's faces when they're fighting? Does it always hurt? Is it sometimes hilariously petty? If there are other characters you want to bring in, I am also okay with that, as long as the core three are the focus. Perhaps an outsider POV on their relationship?
Marco Polo
My requested characters were Marco Polo, Khutulun, and Byamba. I am interested in explorations of my OT3, Marco Polo/Khutulun/Byamba. That's my number one wish, but since Khutulun/Byamba is canon I understand if you like that pairing as it is and I don't mind if you make it an exploration of permutations of their friendships instead. I LOVE that Byamba and Marco are so close and I wish we could have seen their first meeting. I am obsessed with Marco and Khutulun's first meeting: immediate antagonistic flirting, and then her topping him. I think it's both a very charming and fascinating dynamic. Marco is clearly drawn to damsels in distress, so the fact that Khutulun isn't one (probably hasn't ever been one in her whole damn life) makes the playful tension so fun for me. I'd be interested in fics where she defends him or has his back in some way--fics where there's a role reversal and Marco is the damsel in distress. I'd also love any fics where she talks about him with Byamba, who surely must know that she fucked him. I am extremely not interested in any relationship drama/conflict in the form of anybody being jealous over any other relationship, pretty please. I am 100% okay with other characters appearing as well, as long as there's some element of Marco, Byamba, and Khutulun being the three musketeers in there.
Whatever This Is.
My requested characters were Sam, Lisa, and Ari. If you've read the rest of this letter so far, you will not be at all surprised that what I'm most interested in for this fandom is the OT3 dynamics. The OT3 is my number one wish, but since Sam/Lisa is canon I understand if you want to leave that pairing as it is and I don't mind if you make it an exploration of permutations of their friendships instead. I really enjoyed that scene where Ari describes Sam as at once his surrogate father, brother, and dog, because I can really see shades of all of those. I like how they take care of each other and Lisa, but also let each other (AND LISA!!!) down, and then forgive each other for it. I think about that scene at the end a lot, when Sam says that he's been "asleep at the wheel" and should have taken care of them better, because he's accepting total responsibility for taking care of their household even though the series didn't give us any real backstory to understand where that obligation comes from--it's not that he owes them, it's that he wants to take care of them, and they hold them to it. I also really loved the humour of the series and each character's distinctive yet all snarky voices.