Yuletide Letter
Dear Yuletide Author,
First off, thank you for signing up to write some of my favorite wee fandoms. Every fandom I requested this year is a fandom in which any story, of any shape or size or cast will make me happy. So go where inspiration takes you!
I threw a number of prompts at you because I know for me, “Write anything!” is the most difficult thing to write. I hope I gave you something you could get a grip on, or at least some clues about my favorites kinds of stories.
Likes:
In general, I like stories where plot is driven by solid character portrayals. I like active characters who take actions that affect the plot. That said, a scene of a conversation between characters can easily have enough ‘plot’ to make me happy.
I like a little drama, peril, snappy dialogue, and characters caring deeply about each other. I like stories that think about the characters in a realistic way. For example, Shannon Cassul -- while a badass on the level of anything the Leinwan military could throw at him -- is actually from a very small town. He’s a bit of a luddite when it comes to picking up on the advanced technology as well as the political machinations of the powerful people he’s caught up in. Of course, he doesn’t talk that much so, who would notice? :)
And world-building. I really, really love world-building. And mostly happy endings. In general.
Dislikes:
The only deal-breakers I can think of are incest pairings and humiliation. On a much lesser note -- I don't mention smut at all in my prompts or in this letter (except now, that is). I'm not opposed to it, but it's usually not a priority. I have a tendency to scroll past those scenes, actually!
Fandoms:
SCRAPPED PRINCESS
(Ok, well, first off - Spelling of character names is flexible here. :D)
Re-watching this show, I don’t think a scene has gone by that hasn’t made me think, “Oh, why didn’t I ask for a story about THAT?” How did I forget Baroness Bairach? Why didn’t I put Shannon + Zefiris’ warrior codependent love into one of my prompts?
So, really, when I tell you you could come up with almost anything here, I’m not kidding. On another level, if you want to know what I like in a story - this anime is pretty close to the platonic form.
A note about my prompts for Senes and Zefiris:
For Senes, I don’t think she’s the character people are drawn to first when watching this anime, but I always come back to the shot of her as a child, roughed up and furious and hiding in the garden. Eirotte’s voice-over tells us how much smarter, faster, sharper Senes is than her brothers and how that scared them. I hear that and I think, “This lady is a badass. I want this lady to kick some ass.” Eirotte also tells us that in that moment she felt the overwhelmingly urge to protect this person, despite Senes’ obvious strength. That scene captures why I’ve become so fond of Senes. She is a badass, but she also has enough vulnerability to make her feel like a real character and, more importantly, like a character I want to read fic about.
With Zefiris, it’d be interesting to see something that considers what she’s been doing in the 5000 years since humanity lost the war. Planning? Watching? The show mentions that she was performing self-upgrades, that she’s only just now getting back up to fighting strength, as well telling us there were instabilities in the original dragoon programming. Did she take steps to prepare for the day after her objective was accomplished? What does she know about the world’s magic system? (If you read this and think ‘Forget the characters, I could write an entire story about how magic fits into the sci fi aspect of the show and what happens to it afterwards’, go for it! I am with you all the way.)
Basically, Shannon may be the center of Zefiris world - but she’s a 5000 year old A.I. with super powers who’s spent millenia preparing for this objective. I’d like to think she took some kind of active role in that time, even if she thinks of herself as passive. On another note, it’s been 5000 years since she was programmed to think of her pilot as the center of her world. How has that shifted?
TEMERAIRE
[ETA: 11/18/09 Hi! Sorry, sorry, I'm not sure if you've fond this letter, or how often you'll come back to check on it, but it just occurred to me -- I'm implied this in the prompts, but took out any direction reference. If you want to write a Temeraire story of entirely original characters (or a majority of such), I am a-okay with that.]
Unlike Scrapped Princess, I am not currently, as we speak, re-reading the canon, so I don’t have anything to add to my prompts, really.
Granby is my soft-spot character. Jane is brilliant but usually doesn't show the bit of vulnerability that draws me into fic (if, on the other hand, you want to write a story that reveals why we should identify with Jane, well, that would be delicious. I think Jane/Wellington could achieve that. :)). Izkierka currently drives me a little nuts. When I read Victory of Eagles I was unreasonably sad that we didn’t spend more time in the breeding grounds learning how their communications network worked.
TORTALL
(Of the existing Tortall books, I’ve read the Alanna and the Daine books - and a few Raoul bits from Keladry’s series.)
I am fond of Alanna as a dangerous, stubborn, thinky person.
I am fond of Jonathan for being exceptionally talented as a cool and savvy political operator rather than a classic hero king and who, as far as I can tell from descriptions of his adult self, considers an excellent wardrobe and heroic good looks to be useful PR tools (he does not come onscreen without Tamora Pierce mentioning the way his crisp new Armani tunic matches his eyes, ok).
I am fond of George for being so charismatic that I forget, except on rereading, that he’s actually a scary and murderous King of Thieves.
I am fond of Numair for his vanity and awkwardness and that despite the former, his made-up fancy sorcerer name came into existence as a sleight of hand juggler on the run.
I am fond of Daine for, in retrospect, being so outrageously, out-of-everyone-else’s-league power-wise in the scheme of the Tortall universe. This woman is effectively one of the pantheon of gods, or will be someday, even if she doesn’t seem to realize it. There is simply no way she’s going to die a mortal death. (I could take Daine’s power as a deus ex machina or a Mary Sue, but instead I choose to find it a little farcical and therefore, appealing.)
ENCHANTED FOREST CHRONICLES
I come from one of those fandoms where fics can be referred to by their AU premise -- ‘the bakery!au’, ‘the spacecowboy!au’, ‘the orchaestra!au’, etc. One day, after I spent a few minutes wondering if I could cast Mendanbar as Hugh Grant in Two Weeks Notice, I realized that a classic AU romance fic with Cimorene and Mendanbar would be glorious. I really, truly don't care which AU you pick.
(I did write a Cimorene/Mendanbar AU for an NYR last year, but mostly it confirmed that there are roughly 150 bajillion AUs that I still want to read.)
And finally:
I hope you don't feel overwhelmed or trapped by my ramblings. I don't hold you to any of these prompts. Write to your strengths and enjoy yourself. I will enjoy reading it. :)
First off, thank you for signing up to write some of my favorite wee fandoms. Every fandom I requested this year is a fandom in which any story, of any shape or size or cast will make me happy. So go where inspiration takes you!
I threw a number of prompts at you because I know for me, “Write anything!” is the most difficult thing to write. I hope I gave you something you could get a grip on, or at least some clues about my favorites kinds of stories.
Likes:
In general, I like stories where plot is driven by solid character portrayals. I like active characters who take actions that affect the plot. That said, a scene of a conversation between characters can easily have enough ‘plot’ to make me happy.
I like a little drama, peril, snappy dialogue, and characters caring deeply about each other. I like stories that think about the characters in a realistic way. For example, Shannon Cassul -- while a badass on the level of anything the Leinwan military could throw at him -- is actually from a very small town. He’s a bit of a luddite when it comes to picking up on the advanced technology as well as the political machinations of the powerful people he’s caught up in. Of course, he doesn’t talk that much so, who would notice? :)
And world-building. I really, really love world-building. And mostly happy endings. In general.
Dislikes:
The only deal-breakers I can think of are incest pairings and humiliation. On a much lesser note -- I don't mention smut at all in my prompts or in this letter (except now, that is). I'm not opposed to it, but it's usually not a priority. I have a tendency to scroll past those scenes, actually!
Fandoms:
SCRAPPED PRINCESS
(Ok, well, first off - Spelling of character names is flexible here. :D)
Re-watching this show, I don’t think a scene has gone by that hasn’t made me think, “Oh, why didn’t I ask for a story about THAT?” How did I forget Baroness Bairach? Why didn’t I put Shannon + Zefiris’ warrior codependent love into one of my prompts?
So, really, when I tell you you could come up with almost anything here, I’m not kidding. On another level, if you want to know what I like in a story - this anime is pretty close to the platonic form.
A note about my prompts for Senes and Zefiris:
For Senes, I don’t think she’s the character people are drawn to first when watching this anime, but I always come back to the shot of her as a child, roughed up and furious and hiding in the garden. Eirotte’s voice-over tells us how much smarter, faster, sharper Senes is than her brothers and how that scared them. I hear that and I think, “This lady is a badass. I want this lady to kick some ass.” Eirotte also tells us that in that moment she felt the overwhelmingly urge to protect this person, despite Senes’ obvious strength. That scene captures why I’ve become so fond of Senes. She is a badass, but she also has enough vulnerability to make her feel like a real character and, more importantly, like a character I want to read fic about.
With Zefiris, it’d be interesting to see something that considers what she’s been doing in the 5000 years since humanity lost the war. Planning? Watching? The show mentions that she was performing self-upgrades, that she’s only just now getting back up to fighting strength, as well telling us there were instabilities in the original dragoon programming. Did she take steps to prepare for the day after her objective was accomplished? What does she know about the world’s magic system? (If you read this and think ‘Forget the characters, I could write an entire story about how magic fits into the sci fi aspect of the show and what happens to it afterwards’, go for it! I am with you all the way.)
Basically, Shannon may be the center of Zefiris world - but she’s a 5000 year old A.I. with super powers who’s spent millenia preparing for this objective. I’d like to think she took some kind of active role in that time, even if she thinks of herself as passive. On another note, it’s been 5000 years since she was programmed to think of her pilot as the center of her world. How has that shifted?
TEMERAIRE
[ETA: 11/18/09 Hi! Sorry, sorry, I'm not sure if you've fond this letter, or how often you'll come back to check on it, but it just occurred to me -- I'm implied this in the prompts, but took out any direction reference. If you want to write a Temeraire story of entirely original characters (or a majority of such), I am a-okay with that.]
Unlike Scrapped Princess, I am not currently, as we speak, re-reading the canon, so I don’t have anything to add to my prompts, really.
Granby is my soft-spot character. Jane is brilliant but usually doesn't show the bit of vulnerability that draws me into fic (if, on the other hand, you want to write a story that reveals why we should identify with Jane, well, that would be delicious. I think Jane/Wellington could achieve that. :)). Izkierka currently drives me a little nuts. When I read Victory of Eagles I was unreasonably sad that we didn’t spend more time in the breeding grounds learning how their communications network worked.
TORTALL
(Of the existing Tortall books, I’ve read the Alanna and the Daine books - and a few Raoul bits from Keladry’s series.)
I am fond of Alanna as a dangerous, stubborn, thinky person.
I am fond of Jonathan for being exceptionally talented as a cool and savvy political operator rather than a classic hero king and who, as far as I can tell from descriptions of his adult self, considers an excellent wardrobe and heroic good looks to be useful PR tools (he does not come onscreen without Tamora Pierce mentioning the way his crisp new Armani tunic matches his eyes, ok).
I am fond of George for being so charismatic that I forget, except on rereading, that he’s actually a scary and murderous King of Thieves.
I am fond of Numair for his vanity and awkwardness and that despite the former, his made-up fancy sorcerer name came into existence as a sleight of hand juggler on the run.
I am fond of Daine for, in retrospect, being so outrageously, out-of-everyone-else’s-league power-wise in the scheme of the Tortall universe. This woman is effectively one of the pantheon of gods, or will be someday, even if she doesn’t seem to realize it. There is simply no way she’s going to die a mortal death. (I could take Daine’s power as a deus ex machina or a Mary Sue, but instead I choose to find it a little farcical and therefore, appealing.)
ENCHANTED FOREST CHRONICLES
I come from one of those fandoms where fics can be referred to by their AU premise -- ‘the bakery!au’, ‘the spacecowboy!au’, ‘the orchaestra!au’, etc. One day, after I spent a few minutes wondering if I could cast Mendanbar as Hugh Grant in Two Weeks Notice, I realized that a classic AU romance fic with Cimorene and Mendanbar would be glorious. I really, truly don't care which AU you pick.
(I did write a Cimorene/Mendanbar AU for an NYR last year, but mostly it confirmed that there are roughly 150 bajillion AUs that I still want to read.)
And finally:
I hope you don't feel overwhelmed or trapped by my ramblings. I don't hold you to any of these prompts. Write to your strengths and enjoy yourself. I will enjoy reading it. :)