Dear Yuletide Writer
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Thanks so much for offering to write in one of these fandoms! I love them all and I very much look forward to whatever you come up with. These prompts are merely meant as suggestions; if you have an idea of your own, please go ahead and use it, for I want you to have fun. I only ask that you refrain from including any of the elements on my "not keen on" list.
Likes: Backstory, gap fillers, things set pre-/post-canon, fix-it AUs, canon-divergence AUs in general, complicated relationships (romantic/sexual or otherwise), complex power dynamics, character studies, repression, awkwardness, details that flesh out the characters' everyday lives (about food, for instance), seeing canonical characters/events from different POVs.
Dislikes: Dubcon/noncon, graphic violence, character bashing, Stockholm Syndrome, modern AU (except for Les Mis Dallas), prostitution if treated in an eroticised, glorified, or light-hearted way, kidfic (though stories about the canon characters' childhoods are more than welcome). I'm okay with racism/sexism/homophobia if it's relevant to the story, and I'm fine with any rating you want to write.
>レ・ミゼラブル 少女コゼット | Les Misérables: Shoujo Cosette (Jean Valjean, Javert)
I'm so fond of this anime and the way it included lots of details and elements from the book (convent coffin escape and Gorbeau house FTW) while inventing new subplots and characters of its own. Anime Valjean is so lovely -- stoical and handsome and pained and kind, as he should be. I love how often he's seen sighing wearily and closing his eyes; I love how affectionate he is with Cosette; I love how he will sometimes talk to Bishop Myriel in his thoughts. I also love anime Javert, how eeriely vampire-like he is (scary eyes and all), the fact that he keeps Valjean's hollow sou and talks to it, and of course the fact that he decides on his own that he should not jump into the Seine, but try to become a better person. <3
I ship Valjean and Javert in pretty much any adaptation, and this one is no exception, but I'd also love genfic about both or either of them, and I'd be fine with appearances from other characters, both the standard Les Mis ones and the anime-specific ones such as Alain the bread thief and Chou Chou the dog. (Not to mention General Lamarque, whose anime incarnation is very hot indeed.) Since Javert doesn't kill himself in this version, the canon already lends us a helping hand towards a happy ending for them both (if Valjean can be persuaded not to leave and die).
Some ideas:
- Javert keeps Valjean's hollow sou after the Gorbeau robbery and is seen talking to it. What if the sou talks back, possibly in Valjean's voice? (Up to you whether it's a magical coin or whether it's just Javert's obsession making him imagine things.) Bonus point if Javert wanks with (or at?) the coin.
- At the end of the anime, Valjean leaves Paris to die in Auvergne (boo). What if he went back to Montreuil instead and met Alain the ex-thief, and Alain (perhaps with the aid of Sister Simplice) persuaded him that he is a good person and then stealthily wrote a letter to Cosette?
- AU where Javert is an actual vampire -- perhaps he sheds a tear at the sunrise after the not-suicide because he realises that for the first time he can see the sun without dying, and this means he's been touched by love? :-P
Les Misérables (Dallas 2014) (Jean Valjean, Javert)
I really enjoy this modern-but-ambiguous setting of the musical, especially the way it's open to so many interpretations. I also like the unique takes on Valjean and Javert: Dallas Valjean comes off to me as much more open than in other versions, while Javert is not so much ferociously determined as hopelessly awkward, which makes for a nice contrast. :D I do ship them, but I'd also be happy with any genfic that explores their interactions.
Some ideas:
- Post-canon fix-it/get together fic: Javert is not a virgin, but he's very inexperienced with normal relationships and has no idea how to court Valjean. He still tries, perhaps searching the internet for tips.
- What is the story behind Dallas Javert's long leather coat? Is he even wearing clothing underneath?
- How did Dallas Valjean become a factory owner? Did Javert recognise him in this universe? Did he conduct any investigations into Madeleine's past? How would Valjean cover his tracks in this setting?
- In the book, Javert does not only allow Valjean to bring Marius back to his family after the sewers, but goes with him in a carriage, and it's the most silent and awkward ride ever. How would such ride look in the Dallas version? (I don't mind if you stick with book canon here, but I especially do not mind if you go AU after Javert takes Valjean back home, i.e. so that Javert somehow does not kill himself.)
The Unlit Lamp -- Radclyffe Hall (Joan Ogden, Elizabeth Rodney)
I wrote a whole post about this book when I first read it, which can be found here. I really like these characters with their strengths and flaws, and I think there are several fascinating layers to their relationship, like the hints that part of Elizabeth's interest in Joan comes from some desire to live out her own ambitions through her. If you wanted to write a canon-divergence AU fic where Joan goes to London instead of staying with her mother, that would be really awesome. A fix-it may be hard (though if you pulled it off, that would be great!), but it would be interesting to see how things would have turned out if Joan had made a different choice -- she might be unhappy still, but perhaps not to the same extent or in the same way.
If you'd rather write a canon-compliant fic, either set post-canon or a missing scene, I'm all for that, and if you want to bring other characters, like the Ogdens or Richard Benson, that's more than welcome too!
The Night Watch -- Sarah Waters (Kay Langrish)
Kay is one of my favourite characters in the book: I love her romantic leanings, her vulnerability, her heroism, but I also love her flaws, most notably her need to put her partners on a pedestal. I'm especially interested in backstory, either about her childhood/youth or the time shortly before canon, but I'd also love to see what happens post-canon -- a hopeful ending would be most welcome. Appearances by any of the characters from the novel would be welcome.
Some ideas:
- Kay's courtship of Helen after that first encounter -- perhaps as seen through Mickey or Julia's eyes?
- It's implied that Kay and Julia were in a relationship for a while, only Kay never managed to return Julia's feelings. Anything you want to write about that relationship would be welcome (Julia intrigues me a lot as a character).
- When did Kay and Mickey meet? It's implied they have quite different class backgrounds -- did they know each other since childhood? Or did they meet later? Do they have exes in common?
- Kay's family: who are they? Has she cut off contact with all of them (or they with her)? What was her childhood like? (Did anyone ever give her a copy of Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness, and if so, what did she take away from it?)
Thank you so much!
Thanks so much for offering to write in one of these fandoms! I love them all and I very much look forward to whatever you come up with. These prompts are merely meant as suggestions; if you have an idea of your own, please go ahead and use it, for I want you to have fun. I only ask that you refrain from including any of the elements on my "not keen on" list.
Likes: Backstory, gap fillers, things set pre-/post-canon, fix-it AUs, canon-divergence AUs in general, complicated relationships (romantic/sexual or otherwise), complex power dynamics, character studies, repression, awkwardness, details that flesh out the characters' everyday lives (about food, for instance), seeing canonical characters/events from different POVs.
Dislikes: Dubcon/noncon, graphic violence, character bashing, Stockholm Syndrome, modern AU (except for Les Mis Dallas), prostitution if treated in an eroticised, glorified, or light-hearted way, kidfic (though stories about the canon characters' childhoods are more than welcome). I'm okay with racism/sexism/homophobia if it's relevant to the story, and I'm fine with any rating you want to write.
>レ・ミゼラブル 少女コゼット | Les Misérables: Shoujo Cosette (Jean Valjean, Javert)
I'm so fond of this anime and the way it included lots of details and elements from the book (convent coffin escape and Gorbeau house FTW) while inventing new subplots and characters of its own. Anime Valjean is so lovely -- stoical and handsome and pained and kind, as he should be. I love how often he's seen sighing wearily and closing his eyes; I love how affectionate he is with Cosette; I love how he will sometimes talk to Bishop Myriel in his thoughts. I also love anime Javert, how eeriely vampire-like he is (scary eyes and all), the fact that he keeps Valjean's hollow sou and talks to it, and of course the fact that he decides on his own that he should not jump into the Seine, but try to become a better person. <3
I ship Valjean and Javert in pretty much any adaptation, and this one is no exception, but I'd also love genfic about both or either of them, and I'd be fine with appearances from other characters, both the standard Les Mis ones and the anime-specific ones such as Alain the bread thief and Chou Chou the dog. (Not to mention General Lamarque, whose anime incarnation is very hot indeed.) Since Javert doesn't kill himself in this version, the canon already lends us a helping hand towards a happy ending for them both (if Valjean can be persuaded not to leave and die).
Some ideas:
- Javert keeps Valjean's hollow sou after the Gorbeau robbery and is seen talking to it. What if the sou talks back, possibly in Valjean's voice? (Up to you whether it's a magical coin or whether it's just Javert's obsession making him imagine things.) Bonus point if Javert wanks with (or at?) the coin.
- At the end of the anime, Valjean leaves Paris to die in Auvergne (boo). What if he went back to Montreuil instead and met Alain the ex-thief, and Alain (perhaps with the aid of Sister Simplice) persuaded him that he is a good person and then stealthily wrote a letter to Cosette?
- AU where Javert is an actual vampire -- perhaps he sheds a tear at the sunrise after the not-suicide because he realises that for the first time he can see the sun without dying, and this means he's been touched by love? :-P
Les Misérables (Dallas 2014) (Jean Valjean, Javert)
I really enjoy this modern-but-ambiguous setting of the musical, especially the way it's open to so many interpretations. I also like the unique takes on Valjean and Javert: Dallas Valjean comes off to me as much more open than in other versions, while Javert is not so much ferociously determined as hopelessly awkward, which makes for a nice contrast. :D I do ship them, but I'd also be happy with any genfic that explores their interactions.
Some ideas:
- Post-canon fix-it/get together fic: Javert is not a virgin, but he's very inexperienced with normal relationships and has no idea how to court Valjean. He still tries, perhaps searching the internet for tips.
- What is the story behind Dallas Javert's long leather coat? Is he even wearing clothing underneath?
- How did Dallas Valjean become a factory owner? Did Javert recognise him in this universe? Did he conduct any investigations into Madeleine's past? How would Valjean cover his tracks in this setting?
- In the book, Javert does not only allow Valjean to bring Marius back to his family after the sewers, but goes with him in a carriage, and it's the most silent and awkward ride ever. How would such ride look in the Dallas version? (I don't mind if you stick with book canon here, but I especially do not mind if you go AU after Javert takes Valjean back home, i.e. so that Javert somehow does not kill himself.)
The Unlit Lamp -- Radclyffe Hall (Joan Ogden, Elizabeth Rodney)
I wrote a whole post about this book when I first read it, which can be found here. I really like these characters with their strengths and flaws, and I think there are several fascinating layers to their relationship, like the hints that part of Elizabeth's interest in Joan comes from some desire to live out her own ambitions through her. If you wanted to write a canon-divergence AU fic where Joan goes to London instead of staying with her mother, that would be really awesome. A fix-it may be hard (though if you pulled it off, that would be great!), but it would be interesting to see how things would have turned out if Joan had made a different choice -- she might be unhappy still, but perhaps not to the same extent or in the same way.
If you'd rather write a canon-compliant fic, either set post-canon or a missing scene, I'm all for that, and if you want to bring other characters, like the Ogdens or Richard Benson, that's more than welcome too!
The Night Watch -- Sarah Waters (Kay Langrish)
Kay is one of my favourite characters in the book: I love her romantic leanings, her vulnerability, her heroism, but I also love her flaws, most notably her need to put her partners on a pedestal. I'm especially interested in backstory, either about her childhood/youth or the time shortly before canon, but I'd also love to see what happens post-canon -- a hopeful ending would be most welcome. Appearances by any of the characters from the novel would be welcome.
Some ideas:
- Kay's courtship of Helen after that first encounter -- perhaps as seen through Mickey or Julia's eyes?
- It's implied that Kay and Julia were in a relationship for a while, only Kay never managed to return Julia's feelings. Anything you want to write about that relationship would be welcome (Julia intrigues me a lot as a character).
- When did Kay and Mickey meet? It's implied they have quite different class backgrounds -- did they know each other since childhood? Or did they meet later? Do they have exes in common?
- Kay's family: who are they? Has she cut off contact with all of them (or they with her)? What was her childhood like? (Did anyone ever give her a copy of Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness, and if so, what did she take away from it?)
Thank you so much!