Dear Yuletide Writer!
OMG, you are writing in one of my tiny fandoms! For me! I love you already! Please, please, please: have fun with your assignment! I don't expect you to read my mind, and I don't want you to write something you feel unenthusiastic or even uncomfortable about. Really, every fic in my teeny tiny fandoms is a win! Yuletide is for fun and the collective squee!
I don't have any triggers and I am very hard to squick, but I ask that your fic does not contain mpreg, non-canon death of canon characters, non-con involving canon characters, or overly kinky sex. Other than that, go wild!
Okay, so if you already have an idea for you fic, that's great! Stop reading this letter, forget about my request details and go write; I can't wait to see what you come up with! *g* In case you do want some inspiration, though, here's what I have to say about my fandoms:
Literary RPF: Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Stefan George
I LOVELOVELOVE Hofmannsthal's poems and prose, they are so beautiful and intense! I find the homoerotic tendencies in some of his friendships (and some of his work!) very interesting, they are palpable but not quite "crossing border to Sodom", as he himself phrases it. Especially there's his ambivalent relationship to George: on the one hand Hofmannsthal was fascinated by him and happy to have found a kindred spirit, on the other hand he was overwhelmed by George's pushiness and dominance. And although their friendship didn't last, Hofmannsthal and George could never stop thinking about each other... I've collected some resources in another post. (It's not too much to read and might be an alternative even if you haven't heard of this before; understanding of German might be VERY useful, though.)
Some ideas: If you want to stick to the facts, there's lot of potential for angst, UST and unhappy endings. I wouldn't mind if you go wild with what-if's, though! ~*~ George and Hofmannsthal's first encounters in Vienna seem to have been brief, but intense. What happened? ~*~ Both George and Hofmannsthal seemed to be fine with homosexual love and attraction (even viewed it as a source of creativity) as long as it was intellectual and not physical. How did that influence their relationship? ~*~ Maybe you can base a story on one of their poems? The content of a poem, its creation, or how it's been received?
While I'm generally more for fic that ends on a hopeful note, this fandom is definitely an exception, with canon being what it is. I should note that German's my native language, so feel free to write in German, or include German bits. And if you want to go all literary geek or history geek, that's fine, too!
Dinner for One: Any character
If we matched on another fandom but you are desperate for an alternative, you might want to give this one a try: It's a 15-minutes watch on Youtube: Part 1 and Part 2. (It also makes for a fabulous drinking game!) I have watched it countless times, and I can still laugh my ass off! I think it's the juxtaposition of the absurd situation with James' drunken shenanigans and silly slapstick on the one hand and Miss Sophie's totally unfazed dignity on the other. I love May Warden's Miss Sophie!
Some ideas: Miss Sophie has obviously never married, and I always wonder about her relationship to her former friends. ~*~ In the end when James accompanies Miss Sophie to bed, is he playacting? If yes, whom, and if no, what is his relationship to Miss Sophie? (Or does he just pass out anyway?) ~*~ How did the birthday party evolve into what it is now? ~*~ Uh, crack?
I'm also thinking that a crossover could be hilarious. Any fandom I know is fair game. (OMG, OMG, this is crazy, but now I can't get Poirot/Dinner for One crossover out of my head! /o\ Maybe one of Miss Sophie's friends was murdered?)
This fandom is for having fun and being crazy. I mean, I won't mind if you want to go in a more serious direction, but plain fun will definitely do!
Albion (Video Game): Any character
I've written a pimp for this a while back. I love the plot with its twists and the detailed world of Albion. I especially like the tropic Nakiridaani with all those exotic plants and animals, and the Iskai. I can spend hours walking around there, looking at stuff and talking to people! (Glow-in-the-dark flora & fauna, buildings that are actually shaped out of living plants!). Among my favourite characters are Rainer (because he's a scientist and I'm a science geek; I was sad when I had to kick him out of the party) and Drirr (because he has his funny moments). (Also, I ship these two.) But I'm by no means picky about whom you write!
Some ideas: Rainer/Drirr if you'd like to try. Maybe there's shyness, awkwardness, misunderstandings because of their different cultures? ~*~ What about the time after the shuttle crash that Rainer spent with the Iskai, before Tom regained consciousness? What was the first contact like, how did Rainer learn the language and culture? ~*~ What happens after the game ends, with the player characters or with the group of humans from the ship? ~*~ Some good old adventure fic somewhere on Nakiridaani? Maybe they are encountering a new liveform? Hercule Poirot - Agatha Christie: Poirot, Hastings
(Or ITV's Poirot series if you prefer that; differences are minuscule and David Suchet rocks!)
I've written a pimp for this a while back, and the first Poirot novel is public domain. I love Poirot! He's notoriously arrogant and vain but still funny and lovely, he's brilliant, he's quirky, he's hopelessly old-fashioned on the one hand but unconventional and open-minded on the other. And Hastings, the noble British gentleman, a little naive, wearing his heart on his sleeve, who at times can be just as self-opinionated as Poirot himself! I love the relationship between Poirot and Hastings! They bicker, they fight, they mock each other, but in the end I think they genuinely like/love each other. I love the non-darkness(?) of the crime stories, the historical English upper-class setting, and the focus on brainy puzzles.
Some ideas: If you want to focus on the relationship: Poirot/Hastings slash or friendship stories are both fine with me. ~*~ Maybe something domestic? Dancing, listening to music, reading books? ~*~ Poirot being all agitated about something (maybe with a Japp all exasperated about Poirot), but Hastings knows how to handle/calm down Poirot? ~*~ Christmas dinner (with or without other characters), mistletoe? ~*~ If you want to write casefic: What about bringing in contemporary historical persons? Scientists? ~*~ Something Christmas-themed: vanishing Christmas presents, or a "mistletoe murderer" (whatever that is)? ~*~ (... crazy idea, but when I wrote my request for Dinner for One, I suddenly thought of a crossover with Poirot... /o\ Maybe one of Miss Sophie's friends was murdered?)
If you want to see what other fandoms or stories I like, or what I write (not much!), have a look at my fic and bookmarks on AO3, and at my sticky post.
The following is a brainstormy collection of things I tend to like. Please take this as a possible source of inspiration; I'm not suggesting that your fic should contain any of these (some wouldn't even make sense for my requests...) or can't contain anything else.
- romance
- humour
- action/adventure/casefic/mystery/...
- plot
- banter/snark/witty dialogue
- flirting
- first touching of hands/first kiss/first time (not necessarily as in sex, but especially as in realising things, getting together, working things out)
- dancing
- aliens made them do it/mate or die/mistletoe/truth or dare
- sex pollen/drunk fic/...
- undercover as gay/having to share a bed/...
- using each other's titles as a playful endearment/developing an own, unconventional language (verbal or not) in which to declare each other's love
- competence
- outsider POV (my favourite characters/their relationship through the lens of others; other people's reactions to my favourite characters/their relationship)
- other people playing matchmaker
- feels like an episode/episode related (missing scene, post-ep, casting a new light upon canon events)
- bittersweet/melancholy atmosphere
- beautiful prose
- geeky/nerdy/techy stuff
- uniforms/formal dress; hiding behind
- UST/becoming aware of one's feelings/trying to suppress one's feelings and failing
- best buddies, colleagues (with or without slowly becoming lovers)/acting like a married couple/knowing how to handle each other's quirks
- relationships (as friends or lovers) that seem mismatched or unbalanced at first glance, but aren't
- a silly premise
- open or ambiguous ending
- happy ending
I'm going to allow anonymous comments on this post, so feel free to ask me questions!
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