Dear Yuletide Writer:
[I'm participating in Yuletide for the first time ever. This is an open letter to my anonymous benefactor.]
Dear Yuletide Writer,
I hope you're as excited as I am, because I'm over the moon about being involved in Yuletide this year. First of all, thank you for signing up and for choosing my request. I realize that I requested some rare fandoms. Frankly, I'll be delighted to receive fic for any of 'em. Everything else is icing on the cake. If you write me a story and have fun yourself while you're at it, you will be making me a very happy person. All the details below are optional. That said, you may find them useful, so here we go.
Fandoms I requested:
--Baltimore; Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire (book)
--Mad Love (film)
--Metropolis (film)
--The Wolfman (film, 2010)
Notes:
Baltimore
Whew. I love this book to a ridiculous extent, and I also recognize that it's probably the least-known fandom on my list. Most of all, I'd like to receive a story that answered the question: What on earth happened to his heart?! Otherwise, I'd enjoy any story about Baltimore himself, plus any of the named characters or original characters, set at any point after the beginning of the book. I also like the comic book spinoff series, so feel free to use that if you like.
Mad Love
I'm primarily in this for Professor Gogol. Perhaps a "Five Things That Never Happened" story? A crossover with Gogol in early life meeting other doctor characters from early horror films? The characters manipulate each other constantly in canon, so backstabbing and head-games feel right to me here. I also like the Orlacs, and Dr. Wong is a neglected character.
Metropolis
There must be dozens of untold stories about Dr. Rotwang. I'd enjoy pastfic about him, Fredersen, and Hel. Then again, Maria and Mecha!Maria fascinate me, and I could get into just a straightforward story about Maria--before the film or afterwards. (I've seen the most recent extended release, so I'm well up on all the plot elements.)
The Wolfman
I'm a fan of both the 1941 original and the remake, but I requested fic for the remake. How about a story set years later, when grave-robbers open the family crypt on a moonlit night and disturb the sleep of everybody's favorite angsty werewolf? As in "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman", only you could go anywhere--bring Lawrence back to life in whatever year, do a crossover with British war writers or P.G. Wodehouse, fling an entirely new plot at his head. I've been wanting to write this premise for months (and if you don't do it, I will sometime). Otherwise, I'd enjoy any fic set during the film proper or directly afterwards, when the survivors are dealing with the consequences.
In general
Likes:
Plot-driven stories, even when the plot is quite well-trodden. Fresh takes on old narrative elements. Adventure and incident. I'm fond of fairy tales, myths and legends, and traditional songs. The tropes of Gothic fiction and melodrama, and nineteenth-century sensational writing. I appreciate stage time for female characters, though I'm aware that there aren't a lot of women in the fandoms I chose. Despite what I just said about liking plotty stories, I also like fic for a canon which is plotty and eventful, where the fic proper is a small oasis of romantic interludes. I like slash, het, happily married characters, young and lonely characters, unspoken sexual tension, actual friggin' sex scenes, offstage sex, or no sex at all. I like angst if it's well integrated with the plot. Also I have a soft spot for knowing what-all everybody had to eat and drink and whether they liked it.
Hurt/comfort is a big favorite of mine, mostly for the comfort. Most of my favorite characters do a lot of suffering, in one way or another. I'm paraphrasing something I saw on TV Tropes here: I know I can't reach into the character's world and wrap a soft blanket round their shoulders and fix them supper and listen to their troubles, but thanks to the magic of fic, sometimes things don't completely suck for them. Of course, sometimes a moment's respite from pain makes the next batch of angst hit harder than usual, but, you know, life is harsh and unpredictable.
Dislikes:
There are a few things I dislike in fiction. I'm easily grossed out by bodily functions, and I don't like the narrative trope where a character is raped to create the drama of the story. Those are really the only things that I reliably hate. Stories that are only and exclusively about sex bore me these days, but I don't object to smut.
Neutral:
Almost any concept can be fun if it's well-written. I don't usually seek out stories with time travel, or stories with original characters, or threesome/polyfic, but I'm willing to read any of those if it's part of a story that interests me for other reasons.
In conclusion
Have fun! And thanks in advance, because whatever gift I receive will make my day!
Dear Yuletide Writer,
I hope you're as excited as I am, because I'm over the moon about being involved in Yuletide this year. First of all, thank you for signing up and for choosing my request. I realize that I requested some rare fandoms. Frankly, I'll be delighted to receive fic for any of 'em. Everything else is icing on the cake. If you write me a story and have fun yourself while you're at it, you will be making me a very happy person. All the details below are optional. That said, you may find them useful, so here we go.
Fandoms I requested:
--Baltimore; Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire (book)
--Mad Love (film)
--Metropolis (film)
--The Wolfman (film, 2010)
Notes:
Baltimore
Whew. I love this book to a ridiculous extent, and I also recognize that it's probably the least-known fandom on my list. Most of all, I'd like to receive a story that answered the question: What on earth happened to his heart?! Otherwise, I'd enjoy any story about Baltimore himself, plus any of the named characters or original characters, set at any point after the beginning of the book. I also like the comic book spinoff series, so feel free to use that if you like.
Mad Love
I'm primarily in this for Professor Gogol. Perhaps a "Five Things That Never Happened" story? A crossover with Gogol in early life meeting other doctor characters from early horror films? The characters manipulate each other constantly in canon, so backstabbing and head-games feel right to me here. I also like the Orlacs, and Dr. Wong is a neglected character.
Metropolis
There must be dozens of untold stories about Dr. Rotwang. I'd enjoy pastfic about him, Fredersen, and Hel. Then again, Maria and Mecha!Maria fascinate me, and I could get into just a straightforward story about Maria--before the film or afterwards. (I've seen the most recent extended release, so I'm well up on all the plot elements.)
The Wolfman
I'm a fan of both the 1941 original and the remake, but I requested fic for the remake. How about a story set years later, when grave-robbers open the family crypt on a moonlit night and disturb the sleep of everybody's favorite angsty werewolf? As in "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman", only you could go anywhere--bring Lawrence back to life in whatever year, do a crossover with British war writers or P.G. Wodehouse, fling an entirely new plot at his head. I've been wanting to write this premise for months (and if you don't do it, I will sometime). Otherwise, I'd enjoy any fic set during the film proper or directly afterwards, when the survivors are dealing with the consequences.
In general
Likes:
Plot-driven stories, even when the plot is quite well-trodden. Fresh takes on old narrative elements. Adventure and incident. I'm fond of fairy tales, myths and legends, and traditional songs. The tropes of Gothic fiction and melodrama, and nineteenth-century sensational writing. I appreciate stage time for female characters, though I'm aware that there aren't a lot of women in the fandoms I chose. Despite what I just said about liking plotty stories, I also like fic for a canon which is plotty and eventful, where the fic proper is a small oasis of romantic interludes. I like slash, het, happily married characters, young and lonely characters, unspoken sexual tension, actual friggin' sex scenes, offstage sex, or no sex at all. I like angst if it's well integrated with the plot. Also I have a soft spot for knowing what-all everybody had to eat and drink and whether they liked it.
Hurt/comfort is a big favorite of mine, mostly for the comfort. Most of my favorite characters do a lot of suffering, in one way or another. I'm paraphrasing something I saw on TV Tropes here: I know I can't reach into the character's world and wrap a soft blanket round their shoulders and fix them supper and listen to their troubles, but thanks to the magic of fic, sometimes things don't completely suck for them. Of course, sometimes a moment's respite from pain makes the next batch of angst hit harder than usual, but, you know, life is harsh and unpredictable.
Dislikes:
There are a few things I dislike in fiction. I'm easily grossed out by bodily functions, and I don't like the narrative trope where a character is raped to create the drama of the story. Those are really the only things that I reliably hate. Stories that are only and exclusively about sex bore me these days, but I don't object to smut.
Neutral:
Almost any concept can be fun if it's well-written. I don't usually seek out stories with time travel, or stories with original characters, or threesome/polyfic, but I'm willing to read any of those if it's part of a story that interests me for other reasons.
In conclusion
Have fun! And thanks in advance, because whatever gift I receive will make my day!