Dear Yuletider
So we've been matched on one of my very favorite fandoms, which pretty much means I already think you're made of ALL the awesome. (I copy and paste this for just about every exchange that I'm in, but seriously - I LOVE ALL OF THESE FANDOMS. I am about a poly-fannish as they come, so while I may have more things to say about some of the fandoms I'm requesting, it's not from a lack of love.) I'm the sort of person who likes really detailed lists of likes and dislikes so that I have as much information to play with as possible, so that's what I'm giving you, but PLEASE don't think that this is a checklist or anything like that. I'm sort of ridiculously easy to please, so as long as you like your story, I bet I'll like it too. ♥
Things I like - dealing with issues of faith/loss of faith/finding new faith, exploration of sexual/gender identity, polyamory of all configurations, distopias, racebending (ie making a character a different race or ethnicity and exploring the consequences of that change), exploration of community, always the opposite sex of the canon, kink (with or without sex), sex positivity, girls kicking ass, feminism, hopeful endings (as opposed to happy endings, although I do love those as well), transitioning back to "normal" life after an exceptional event, characters being passionate about the things they love and non-traditional story telling formats like letters or journal articles or mixed media. I'm also a really big fan of most tropes and AUs, so if you have an idea for a Harlequin AU or want to write about people being reincarnated or having to deal with the random child that showed up on their front step, GO FOR IT. My one exception is the prostitute AU, which I mention in my dislikes notes. I rec things haphazardly (you can find those under any of my recs tags) and pretty much everything I've ever read and liked even a part of is bookmarked on my pinboard. Which, you know, means that you'll quickly notice I'm pretty damn catholic in my fic tastes. *g*
Things I dislike - one true loves (that is, anything that confirms the idea that there is only One Person Out There For Everyone And You Only Have One Chance At Finding Them Ever as anything but creepy/sad), entirely hopeless endings (you can get as dark and as grim as you want, just as long you leave me a little room for hope. And yes, Pandora's Box IS one of my favorite tales, why do you ask? *g*), infidelity (which is to say where the characters consider it being unfaithful to whatever arrangement they've agreed upon), addiction plotlines (I don't mind recreational drug usage or drinking if it's in character though), dubious consent (by which I include most sex had while high/drunk unless both characters are at about equal levels of intoxication), rape (my one exception is that I don't mind things that mention rape or assault as a trauma that the character has worked through in the past, but I'd prefer that not be the main focus of the story), hurt without comfort (H/C is never going to be my MOST favorite genre, but all of the stories that fall into it that I love focus much more on the comfort and trauma recovery narratives, which are really where my interests lie), prostitute AUs (Pretty Woman is one of my least favorite movies in the entire world) and pregnancy (although I do like fic involving children of any age).
Note on sex: Please don't let the fact that my recs clearly demonstrate my love for NC-17 fics scare you off if you don't feel comfy writing sex. I am a big fan of the make-out fic! Or hand holding! Or even just longing glances! (I also REALLY LOVE GEN. I just love stories and narrative about people a LOT. :D) I am a big fan of snark as love or wild flirting in all circumstances, not just those that end in bed and I feel very passionately about all people being sex positive no matter their level of sexual experience or personal orientation. (And if you want to write about a character who you see as asexual or demisexual, that would also kick so much ass.) If you do want to write explicit sex, I don't really have any squicks that aren't covered by my dislikes section. I have an excessive love for D/s dynamics, bondage, blindfolds, orgasm denial, sex toys and crossdressing and I'm not terribly fond of things involving bodily waste or role play.
Which brings us to this year's Yuletide! Um, let me think. Quick note on fandom formats, just in case you decide you want to write something other than what we were matched on: All three of the movies that I requested are 3 hours or less, and SHOULD be pretty easy to acquire. The Night Circus is about 500 pages long, so it's on the long side, but it isn't quite like reading Tolstoy or anything. And as is always the case with RPF, the canon there is as involved or not involved as you want it to be! All of the people are relatively fannish mainstream (and honestly, most of them are even regular popular mainstream) so tracking down info wouldn't be too difficult a task.
X-Men (2000) RPF
Patrick Stewart
Ian McKellen
I have been charmed by their friendship for YEARS, but recently, they just seem to have stepped up the adorable to 11. I would be up for just about ANYTHING - unrequited pining, being platonic lifemates, unexpected poly relationships, AUs where they are space pirates, fic from when they were young, unabashed curtain fic - seriously, anything that strikes your fancy, I will be charmed by, simply because they are both in it. \0/
I don't really think I have any thing much to add here, other than that I find Patrick's relationship with his new wife ADORABLE, so if you want to go with a non-poly Patrick/Ian option, I'd prefer that she be written out of the picture entirely or be friend of Patrick's who was never romantically interested in him, because break-ups tend to make me sad, even when they are amicable.
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Rafe McCawley
Danny Walker
Evelyn Johnson
I would very much like to see an AU where Danny doesn't die, because I ship the three of them as an OT3 LIKE BURNING, and there is something really compelling about the idea of how they would work their relationship out, given all of the complications from the movie. But if that's not a direction that you're inclined to go, I also ship all three of the twosomes involved, I'd just like to request no unrequited pining from whoever isn't involved in the romantic relationship. I'd also be terribly pleased to see something that focuses on Evelyn, because I think that she is GREAT and I want great things for her. \0/
So for full disclosure, I have an MA in US history and I wrote about Pearl Harbor for my thesis. But I just want to reassure you that I don't actually require you to do any additional research to make me happy! If you are a history nerd like me and that would be fun for you, then please feel free to throw in any additional research that you want and I'll lap it up like a cat with milk. (And if you want to put them in another period of history more to your areas of interest, that is cool too! I won't promise to notice the accuracy, but historical AUs are GREAT.) But if you don't like historical research or are worried about my ~exacting standards~ or something, PLEASE DON'T. (And this is the point where I note that I'd also be into putting them in space or making them wizards or whatnot.) I am very much into this film for the characters involved, so as long as you love them as much as I do and don't contradict any of the movie canon, we will get along just FINE. ♥
Marvel Avengers Movies RPF
Robert Downey Jr.
Susan Downey
My canon for this request is basically non-existent (Susan seems to be a bit more spotlight shy than her husband, NOT THAT THAT WOULD TAKE MUCH) and for that, I must apologize. But I find myself entirely fascinated by the bits of their relationship that we can see, especially in light of Robert's epic bromances with his male costars. Do they have an open relationship? Are they really just BFFs with benefits? Do they just love picking people up together? Whatever the case is, they seem to be really quite happy with each other and their status quo, so as long as they are happy and together, I will be 100% pleased by this fic!
I think my request about covers it! The only things that I can think of to add are the fact that while I nommed these two under Marvel RPF, I'm pretty much happy to read about them interacting with most of Hollywood, if that's something that strikes your fancy. (I'm thinking specifically here about Jude Law, because his interactions with Robert during their press cycles around the Sherlock Holmes movies were ADORABLE, but I'm epically not picky, if you're in the mood to explore random bits of Hollywood RPF.) Also, I tend to read most of Robert's comments in interviews about how essential Pepper is to Tony as actually being about Susan (because of just HOW much he over-identifies with Tony Stark) so if that is an area that you are interested in exploring, I would be totally happy to read about it! My only request is that you not include Tom Hiddleston, because I find him irrationally creepy. Um. /0\
Sound of Music (1965)
Maria von Trapp
Georg von Trapp
A group of friends and I were watching this recently, and I think that all of us were entertained and delighted at just how damned kinky this movie is when viewed through a fannish lens. (The uniforms! The whistle! The way that Maria and Georg pretty much exclusively refer to each other by their titles!) So my request is really just to play with Maria and Georg's relationship as one with a consensual power imbalance that they both are surprised by how into it they are. But if kink is not your thing, I would ALSO be deeply delighted by anything focused on Maria's transition from one vocation (that of the religious life) into another (that of being a wife and a mother) because I LOVE Maria and her heart and her bravery, and pretty much anything involving her is going to be made of win.
I think my request about covers it, but I do want to reiterate that while my love of kink was the impulse behind nominating this film, Maria is just SO GREAT that if you're not into writing about kink, you don't have to fret at ALL. I'd be happy to read gen or romantic fic or an AU or just about ANYTHING, as long as Maria is in it. :D
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Frances "Baby" Houseman
Johnny Castle
Penny Johnson
The thing that always strikes me the most about this film is how much I want to know what happens to everyone in the future. Also that Penny and Baby and Johnny should totally hook up, because that would be AMAZING. So if you were inclined to try to write threesome future fic, that would be EPICALLY amazing. But if you're not threesomely inclined, I'd really love to see something about Penny, because I love her a LOT and I want good things to happen to her.
Here is my quick pitch for a threesome - Baby is awesome, and Johnny and Penny hit my "co-dependent BFF" kink, and ANY THREESOME OR POLY SITUATION INVOLVING THE THREE OF THEM WOULD BE REALLY HOT AND FULL OF CLASS CONFLICTS AND LONGING. Also I SWEAR that Baby is looking at Penny when Penny's dancing with Johnny just as much as Baby's looking at Johnny. See this vid for more evidence. And now that my pitch is over, yes, I am 100% happy to get not threesome fic, but in that case I'd rather have the focus be on Penny or Johnny and their futures. Because, see, the thing about Baby is that while I love her to bits, she is so privileged that we don't really fret about her future working about well. She is pretty much guaranteed to have the chance to try for everything that she wants, a chance that Penny and Johnny don't have and I'd love to see their stories told too.
The Night Circus
Bailey Alden Clarke
Penelope Aislin "Poppet" Murray
Winston Aidan "Widget" Murray
These are three characters that just seem to be weird about each other. However you interpret that weirdness is entirely up to you (Threesomes or flirting or any combination of the twosomes or abnormally close BFFs!) And I'm also totally in LOVE with the setting, so what I think I'm most interested in is seeing how their relationship(s) and the future of the circus play out. But god, anything set in this beautiful universe would make me giddy, because MAGIC AND DREAMS AND THE POWER OF STORYTELLING. *___________*
There are SO MANY THINGS I love about this book, but to keep it specifically to the things I find most compelling about Bailey and Poppet and Widget - The seer and the dreamer and the historian, possibly never aging, forever bound to the magical circus of dreams. The power of storytelling to shape the future and our understandings of it. MAGIC. And I wish I could be more coherent about my feels for this book, but I have been trying and failing to articulate them for a good three months now, so I think this is probably about as good as it's gonna get.
You can come and talk to me at Dreamwidth too! (
comments)
Things I like - dealing with issues of faith/loss of faith/finding new faith, exploration of sexual/gender identity, polyamory of all configurations, distopias, racebending (ie making a character a different race or ethnicity and exploring the consequences of that change), exploration of community, always the opposite sex of the canon, kink (with or without sex), sex positivity, girls kicking ass, feminism, hopeful endings (as opposed to happy endings, although I do love those as well), transitioning back to "normal" life after an exceptional event, characters being passionate about the things they love and non-traditional story telling formats like letters or journal articles or mixed media. I'm also a really big fan of most tropes and AUs, so if you have an idea for a Harlequin AU or want to write about people being reincarnated or having to deal with the random child that showed up on their front step, GO FOR IT. My one exception is the prostitute AU, which I mention in my dislikes notes. I rec things haphazardly (you can find those under any of my recs tags) and pretty much everything I've ever read and liked even a part of is bookmarked on my pinboard. Which, you know, means that you'll quickly notice I'm pretty damn catholic in my fic tastes. *g*
Things I dislike - one true loves (that is, anything that confirms the idea that there is only One Person Out There For Everyone And You Only Have One Chance At Finding Them Ever as anything but creepy/sad), entirely hopeless endings (you can get as dark and as grim as you want, just as long you leave me a little room for hope. And yes, Pandora's Box IS one of my favorite tales, why do you ask? *g*), infidelity (which is to say where the characters consider it being unfaithful to whatever arrangement they've agreed upon), addiction plotlines (I don't mind recreational drug usage or drinking if it's in character though), dubious consent (by which I include most sex had while high/drunk unless both characters are at about equal levels of intoxication), rape (my one exception is that I don't mind things that mention rape or assault as a trauma that the character has worked through in the past, but I'd prefer that not be the main focus of the story), hurt without comfort (H/C is never going to be my MOST favorite genre, but all of the stories that fall into it that I love focus much more on the comfort and trauma recovery narratives, which are really where my interests lie), prostitute AUs (Pretty Woman is one of my least favorite movies in the entire world) and pregnancy (although I do like fic involving children of any age).
Note on sex: Please don't let the fact that my recs clearly demonstrate my love for NC-17 fics scare you off if you don't feel comfy writing sex. I am a big fan of the make-out fic! Or hand holding! Or even just longing glances! (I also REALLY LOVE GEN. I just love stories and narrative about people a LOT. :D) I am a big fan of snark as love or wild flirting in all circumstances, not just those that end in bed and I feel very passionately about all people being sex positive no matter their level of sexual experience or personal orientation. (And if you want to write about a character who you see as asexual or demisexual, that would also kick so much ass.) If you do want to write explicit sex, I don't really have any squicks that aren't covered by my dislikes section. I have an excessive love for D/s dynamics, bondage, blindfolds, orgasm denial, sex toys and crossdressing and I'm not terribly fond of things involving bodily waste or role play.
Which brings us to this year's Yuletide! Um, let me think. Quick note on fandom formats, just in case you decide you want to write something other than what we were matched on: All three of the movies that I requested are 3 hours or less, and SHOULD be pretty easy to acquire. The Night Circus is about 500 pages long, so it's on the long side, but it isn't quite like reading Tolstoy or anything. And as is always the case with RPF, the canon there is as involved or not involved as you want it to be! All of the people are relatively fannish mainstream (and honestly, most of them are even regular popular mainstream) so tracking down info wouldn't be too difficult a task.
X-Men (2000) RPF
Patrick Stewart
Ian McKellen
I have been charmed by their friendship for YEARS, but recently, they just seem to have stepped up the adorable to 11. I would be up for just about ANYTHING - unrequited pining, being platonic lifemates, unexpected poly relationships, AUs where they are space pirates, fic from when they were young, unabashed curtain fic - seriously, anything that strikes your fancy, I will be charmed by, simply because they are both in it. \0/
I don't really think I have any thing much to add here, other than that I find Patrick's relationship with his new wife ADORABLE, so if you want to go with a non-poly Patrick/Ian option, I'd prefer that she be written out of the picture entirely or be friend of Patrick's who was never romantically interested in him, because break-ups tend to make me sad, even when they are amicable.
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Rafe McCawley
Danny Walker
Evelyn Johnson
I would very much like to see an AU where Danny doesn't die, because I ship the three of them as an OT3 LIKE BURNING, and there is something really compelling about the idea of how they would work their relationship out, given all of the complications from the movie. But if that's not a direction that you're inclined to go, I also ship all three of the twosomes involved, I'd just like to request no unrequited pining from whoever isn't involved in the romantic relationship. I'd also be terribly pleased to see something that focuses on Evelyn, because I think that she is GREAT and I want great things for her. \0/
So for full disclosure, I have an MA in US history and I wrote about Pearl Harbor for my thesis. But I just want to reassure you that I don't actually require you to do any additional research to make me happy! If you are a history nerd like me and that would be fun for you, then please feel free to throw in any additional research that you want and I'll lap it up like a cat with milk. (And if you want to put them in another period of history more to your areas of interest, that is cool too! I won't promise to notice the accuracy, but historical AUs are GREAT.) But if you don't like historical research or are worried about my ~exacting standards~ or something, PLEASE DON'T. (And this is the point where I note that I'd also be into putting them in space or making them wizards or whatnot.) I am very much into this film for the characters involved, so as long as you love them as much as I do and don't contradict any of the movie canon, we will get along just FINE. ♥
Marvel Avengers Movies RPF
Robert Downey Jr.
Susan Downey
My canon for this request is basically non-existent (Susan seems to be a bit more spotlight shy than her husband, NOT THAT THAT WOULD TAKE MUCH) and for that, I must apologize. But I find myself entirely fascinated by the bits of their relationship that we can see, especially in light of Robert's epic bromances with his male costars. Do they have an open relationship? Are they really just BFFs with benefits? Do they just love picking people up together? Whatever the case is, they seem to be really quite happy with each other and their status quo, so as long as they are happy and together, I will be 100% pleased by this fic!
I think my request about covers it! The only things that I can think of to add are the fact that while I nommed these two under Marvel RPF, I'm pretty much happy to read about them interacting with most of Hollywood, if that's something that strikes your fancy. (I'm thinking specifically here about Jude Law, because his interactions with Robert during their press cycles around the Sherlock Holmes movies were ADORABLE, but I'm epically not picky, if you're in the mood to explore random bits of Hollywood RPF.) Also, I tend to read most of Robert's comments in interviews about how essential Pepper is to Tony as actually being about Susan (because of just HOW much he over-identifies with Tony Stark) so if that is an area that you are interested in exploring, I would be totally happy to read about it! My only request is that you not include Tom Hiddleston, because I find him irrationally creepy. Um. /0\
Sound of Music (1965)
Maria von Trapp
Georg von Trapp
A group of friends and I were watching this recently, and I think that all of us were entertained and delighted at just how damned kinky this movie is when viewed through a fannish lens. (The uniforms! The whistle! The way that Maria and Georg pretty much exclusively refer to each other by their titles!) So my request is really just to play with Maria and Georg's relationship as one with a consensual power imbalance that they both are surprised by how into it they are. But if kink is not your thing, I would ALSO be deeply delighted by anything focused on Maria's transition from one vocation (that of the religious life) into another (that of being a wife and a mother) because I LOVE Maria and her heart and her bravery, and pretty much anything involving her is going to be made of win.
I think my request about covers it, but I do want to reiterate that while my love of kink was the impulse behind nominating this film, Maria is just SO GREAT that if you're not into writing about kink, you don't have to fret at ALL. I'd be happy to read gen or romantic fic or an AU or just about ANYTHING, as long as Maria is in it. :D
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Frances "Baby" Houseman
Johnny Castle
Penny Johnson
The thing that always strikes me the most about this film is how much I want to know what happens to everyone in the future. Also that Penny and Baby and Johnny should totally hook up, because that would be AMAZING. So if you were inclined to try to write threesome future fic, that would be EPICALLY amazing. But if you're not threesomely inclined, I'd really love to see something about Penny, because I love her a LOT and I want good things to happen to her.
Here is my quick pitch for a threesome - Baby is awesome, and Johnny and Penny hit my "co-dependent BFF" kink, and ANY THREESOME OR POLY SITUATION INVOLVING THE THREE OF THEM WOULD BE REALLY HOT AND FULL OF CLASS CONFLICTS AND LONGING. Also I SWEAR that Baby is looking at Penny when Penny's dancing with Johnny just as much as Baby's looking at Johnny. See this vid for more evidence. And now that my pitch is over, yes, I am 100% happy to get not threesome fic, but in that case I'd rather have the focus be on Penny or Johnny and their futures. Because, see, the thing about Baby is that while I love her to bits, she is so privileged that we don't really fret about her future working about well. She is pretty much guaranteed to have the chance to try for everything that she wants, a chance that Penny and Johnny don't have and I'd love to see their stories told too.
The Night Circus
Bailey Alden Clarke
Penelope Aislin "Poppet" Murray
Winston Aidan "Widget" Murray
These are three characters that just seem to be weird about each other. However you interpret that weirdness is entirely up to you (Threesomes or flirting or any combination of the twosomes or abnormally close BFFs!) And I'm also totally in LOVE with the setting, so what I think I'm most interested in is seeing how their relationship(s) and the future of the circus play out. But god, anything set in this beautiful universe would make me giddy, because MAGIC AND DREAMS AND THE POWER OF STORYTELLING. *___________*
There are SO MANY THINGS I love about this book, but to keep it specifically to the things I find most compelling about Bailey and Poppet and Widget - The seer and the dreamer and the historian, possibly never aging, forever bound to the magical circus of dreams. The power of storytelling to shape the future and our understandings of it. MAGIC. And I wish I could be more coherent about my feels for this book, but I have been trying and failing to articulate them for a good three months now, so I think this is probably about as good as it's gonna get.
You can come and talk to me at Dreamwidth too! (
comments)