Dear Yuletide benefactor...
Hi, author! Thanks for writing for me this year! I’m always super excited about Yuletide, and I’m psyched to be matched with someone else who enjoys one or more of these fandoms. Though I never know what to write in these letters that would be helpful, hopefully something here will give you an idea of the kind of stuff I might enjoy. I’ll talk a bit about my general likes and dislikes and a few more fandom-specific things, which I hope is helpful.
My likes include include AUs and fusions of all kinds, happy endings, found families, moments of discovery or revelation, important conversations between characters, and first meetings. I love exploring relationships where both parties really like each other, and where both parties have interesting lives of their own. Fandom clichés are fine by me, as is literally any amount of sex in a story, from no sex or romance whatsoever to the super explicit.
My dislikes include dark or angsty endings, character bashing, betrayal, graphic violence, non-con, incest, and infidelity. I’m okay with complicated relationships, but I don’t like stories where the main pairing doesn’t seem to like each other, or where one character is the ‘good’ one and one character the ‘bad’ one-it’s just not a dynamic that appeals to me.
When it comes to specific fandoms:
In the sign-up I said: I really want to see Carol and Therese making a life together after the movie. I love the suggestion we get at the end that both of them are growing and making their lives what they want them to be, Therese with her photography and trying to expand her friend group, Carol pulling away from Harge and his family and being true to herself, and I'd love to see these two find a relationship dynamic that fits in their new life and makes them both happy. Feel free to include any side characters you like.
One of the things I liked about this movie was how much about Therese's self-discovery it was, and how Carol really needed to make changes in her own life before they could be together, but both of them really made those changes. They're a pairing for which something super romantic would be awesome, but I also think it'd be good to see them getting to know each other (...again? Everything went really fast that first time around, there's probably still a lot they don't know about each other!) and figuring out how to make their relationship work. I didn't request Abby or Rindy, since I'm really looking for a pairing-focused story, but if you want to include them or anyone else from the movie, that's fine by me--I really liked Abby, and some of Therese's friends seemed cool, and I don't know who those old guys were that Carol was talking to in the final scene, but they're probably cool, too.
In the signup, I said: I'd be really excited to read about any of the nominated characters for Pride. I think my dream story would probably be Gethin/Jonathan or something about Sian coming into her own as a leader, but I'd honestly like to learn more about all of their lives, either backstory before the movie or thoughts during the movie or what they do with themselves after the movie.
I feel like I wasn't super specific in my request here, and that's basically because I love everybody in this movie. So I guess I'll just talk about what I really liked about it--the sense of community, the way that the political struggles helped some of the characters figure themselves out, and the unexpected friendships that formed between people. If specific prompts would be helpful, here are a couple: Gethin/Jonathan backstory, Sian making the decision to go to university, somebody either in London or in Wales hosts a huge party which members of both LGSM and the mining community attend, Steph and Gail hook up, Joe has a really cute rom-com-y relationship that everybody's trying to give him advice about, Cliff comes to hang out in the bookstore and read a lot of poetry...I think that's all I got, but really, I'll honestly be happy with something about any of these characters.
In the sign-up I said: I super want more interactions between Misty and Claire, whether platonic or otherwise. Misty had to face so many hard revelations, and Claire played such an interesting role in helping Luke face his own revelations and encouraging him in his heroics--I feel like both of them underwent a really interesting journey, and I'd love to read more about what they do next, what they think about each other, where their relationship goes from there. I didn't request him, but feel free to include Luke or any of the side characters that you like--I thought the supporting cast was awesome.
I loved Misty. Just loved her. And I loved how her arc interacted with Claire's in a way that initially was very hostile but ended up being more cooperative. I loved that both of them had a past and a community in the neighborhood, places that were important to them, and it would be really cool to see them getting reacquainted with the neighborhood in the aftermath of what were some pretty life-shaking events and revelations. I'd love a story where they get romantically involved--maybe they go for coffee, ha!--but I'll be honest, Luke/Claire was pretty awesome, too, and I love a good gen story, so if you want to got the Misty & Claire friendship route, I am A-OK with that. They are two people I'd love to see have a conversation about the crazy stuff going on in New York in the MCU Netflix verse.
In the sign-up, I said: I know the whole movie is basically about Lucy becoming part of the Callaghan family...but I'd like to see more about her becoming part of the family after the truth is revealed and she gets together with Jack. Does she open up to them more about her own life? Does she get really close with any member of the family in particular (other than Jack, of course)? Are things super awkward with Peter? And what does Lucy do after quitting her job with the CTA? All questions that might be fun to explore. And I'd also love to see more of her relationship with Jack after they actually get together.
It seems almost like a given with this movie, but yeah, my favorite part was how Lucy fell in love with the whole family. I'd really like to see how her relationships with the Callaghans change and grow after she gets together with Jack. One of the things that was cool to me was how the Callaghans pretty much loved her right away, but because Jack was so suspicious of her, he got to see the snarkier and more lonely side of her--would that side come out with the Callaghans more once she wasn't so worried about the truth being revealed? And one of the things that was so sad was that Lucy didn't seem to have anything to work toward in her life, besides the dream of a passport stamp, so I'd really like to see her figure out what she wants out of life and figure out how to get it, the way Jack does with the furniture business. And how does that go? Jack's relationship with his family probably changes, too, what with leaving the family business and the whole "marrying Peter's fake fiancee" thing. I'm just tossing around thoughts here. I guess ultimately the thing I'm looking for is where Lucy, Jack, and the Callaghans go from the end of the movie.
I hope at least something in here is helpful to you. Thanks again for writing for me--I'm looking forward to seeing your story, and I hope you have fun writing it.
Best wishes,
Tam Cranver
My likes include include AUs and fusions of all kinds, happy endings, found families, moments of discovery or revelation, important conversations between characters, and first meetings. I love exploring relationships where both parties really like each other, and where both parties have interesting lives of their own. Fandom clichés are fine by me, as is literally any amount of sex in a story, from no sex or romance whatsoever to the super explicit.
My dislikes include dark or angsty endings, character bashing, betrayal, graphic violence, non-con, incest, and infidelity. I’m okay with complicated relationships, but I don’t like stories where the main pairing doesn’t seem to like each other, or where one character is the ‘good’ one and one character the ‘bad’ one-it’s just not a dynamic that appeals to me.
When it comes to specific fandoms:
In the sign-up I said: I really want to see Carol and Therese making a life together after the movie. I love the suggestion we get at the end that both of them are growing and making their lives what they want them to be, Therese with her photography and trying to expand her friend group, Carol pulling away from Harge and his family and being true to herself, and I'd love to see these two find a relationship dynamic that fits in their new life and makes them both happy. Feel free to include any side characters you like.
One of the things I liked about this movie was how much about Therese's self-discovery it was, and how Carol really needed to make changes in her own life before they could be together, but both of them really made those changes. They're a pairing for which something super romantic would be awesome, but I also think it'd be good to see them getting to know each other (...again? Everything went really fast that first time around, there's probably still a lot they don't know about each other!) and figuring out how to make their relationship work. I didn't request Abby or Rindy, since I'm really looking for a pairing-focused story, but if you want to include them or anyone else from the movie, that's fine by me--I really liked Abby, and some of Therese's friends seemed cool, and I don't know who those old guys were that Carol was talking to in the final scene, but they're probably cool, too.
In the signup, I said: I'd be really excited to read about any of the nominated characters for Pride. I think my dream story would probably be Gethin/Jonathan or something about Sian coming into her own as a leader, but I'd honestly like to learn more about all of their lives, either backstory before the movie or thoughts during the movie or what they do with themselves after the movie.
I feel like I wasn't super specific in my request here, and that's basically because I love everybody in this movie. So I guess I'll just talk about what I really liked about it--the sense of community, the way that the political struggles helped some of the characters figure themselves out, and the unexpected friendships that formed between people. If specific prompts would be helpful, here are a couple: Gethin/Jonathan backstory, Sian making the decision to go to university, somebody either in London or in Wales hosts a huge party which members of both LGSM and the mining community attend, Steph and Gail hook up, Joe has a really cute rom-com-y relationship that everybody's trying to give him advice about, Cliff comes to hang out in the bookstore and read a lot of poetry...I think that's all I got, but really, I'll honestly be happy with something about any of these characters.
In the sign-up I said: I super want more interactions between Misty and Claire, whether platonic or otherwise. Misty had to face so many hard revelations, and Claire played such an interesting role in helping Luke face his own revelations and encouraging him in his heroics--I feel like both of them underwent a really interesting journey, and I'd love to read more about what they do next, what they think about each other, where their relationship goes from there. I didn't request him, but feel free to include Luke or any of the side characters that you like--I thought the supporting cast was awesome.
I loved Misty. Just loved her. And I loved how her arc interacted with Claire's in a way that initially was very hostile but ended up being more cooperative. I loved that both of them had a past and a community in the neighborhood, places that were important to them, and it would be really cool to see them getting reacquainted with the neighborhood in the aftermath of what were some pretty life-shaking events and revelations. I'd love a story where they get romantically involved--maybe they go for coffee, ha!--but I'll be honest, Luke/Claire was pretty awesome, too, and I love a good gen story, so if you want to got the Misty & Claire friendship route, I am A-OK with that. They are two people I'd love to see have a conversation about the crazy stuff going on in New York in the MCU Netflix verse.
In the sign-up, I said: I know the whole movie is basically about Lucy becoming part of the Callaghan family...but I'd like to see more about her becoming part of the family after the truth is revealed and she gets together with Jack. Does she open up to them more about her own life? Does she get really close with any member of the family in particular (other than Jack, of course)? Are things super awkward with Peter? And what does Lucy do after quitting her job with the CTA? All questions that might be fun to explore. And I'd also love to see more of her relationship with Jack after they actually get together.
It seems almost like a given with this movie, but yeah, my favorite part was how Lucy fell in love with the whole family. I'd really like to see how her relationships with the Callaghans change and grow after she gets together with Jack. One of the things that was cool to me was how the Callaghans pretty much loved her right away, but because Jack was so suspicious of her, he got to see the snarkier and more lonely side of her--would that side come out with the Callaghans more once she wasn't so worried about the truth being revealed? And one of the things that was so sad was that Lucy didn't seem to have anything to work toward in her life, besides the dream of a passport stamp, so I'd really like to see her figure out what she wants out of life and figure out how to get it, the way Jack does with the furniture business. And how does that go? Jack's relationship with his family probably changes, too, what with leaving the family business and the whole "marrying Peter's fake fiancee" thing. I'm just tossing around thoughts here. I guess ultimately the thing I'm looking for is where Lucy, Jack, and the Callaghans go from the end of the movie.
I hope at least something in here is helpful to you. Thanks again for writing for me--I'm looking forward to seeing your story, and I hope you have fun writing it.
Best wishes,
Tam Cranver