Yuletide 2014-Dear Author
Hello Friendly Stranger!
Right off the bat, let me just say: Thank You SO MUCH in advance for doing this. I am very easy to please and I know I will be delighted with whatever you come up with.
Now, to get down to business...
Request 1: Vienna Teng-Works:
Characters: Narrator (Walter), Carrie (Shasta) and Walter (Homecoming)
Basically, as I said in my request, I love the intricate characters that VT manages to create within her songs. I'm very partial to the idea which has been floating around that Walter and Carrie (from Homecoming and Shasta, respectively) were romantically involved, and that she is the waitress in his song, and he is the father of her unborn child. I also really like the story of "Whatever You Want". In my head, I've always imagined the narrator as a sort of Joan Harris from Mad Men type of character, who gets revenge on her oblivious husband.
Now, here is where you come in, dear author. What if all three of them were related? Is the WYW narrator the disapproving older sister of Carrie? Or Walter's old girlfriend? Or maybe Carrie's lover? Maybe she meets up with Carrie and the two of them go on a Thelma and Louise style cross country road trip/crime spree, running into Walter along the way. Literally, go crazy here. The sky is the limit. I would say that the only guidelines should be that the characters should be recognizable as the people from the songs.
Request 2: Dublin Murder Squad-Tana French
Characters: Rob, Cassie
I know, I know, the open ending of In the Woods was gutsy and literary and I really ultimately wouldn't have it other way...but still....I WANT TO KNOW WTF HAPPENED!! Are Rob's friends dead? How did he survive? I understand that this might be intimidating to come up with a plausible scenario so let me add some disclaimers-you don't have to come up with a full explanation of everything. But lets see a scene that offers a little glimpse into what went on that day. Because of the nature of her writing, I'm not adverse to some kind of fantastical element playing a role in the abduction, but it would be great if it wasn't overtly magical. (However, I'm flexible on this-do what calls to you for this) Bonus points if you manage to add Cassie into the story somehow (as a friend-I'm VERY against Rob/Cassie as an OTP).
Request 3: Sleep No More
Characters: Porter, Boy Witch, Bald Witch (Honestly though I picked these guys, just cause, but I really would be happy to read a story about any of the characters)
Really, this is pretty open ended. I loved my experience at SNM, but I also left feeling like there was so much of it that completely went over my head/was going on out of my sight. I would love you to illuminate some small corner of the story that appeals to you. This can be cannonical or non-cannoical or some combination of the two. Whats going on inside the Porter's head? Write me the whole, compelling tale of the Nurse. Or the Boy Witch's off-stage torid affair with the taxidermist. You can include the audience or not in your story, as you see fit.
Request 4: A Place of Greater Safety
Characters: Camille, Max, Georges
Another old request that I thought I would throw out here, since I'm always going to be happy to get fic like this: write me something dark, hot and twisty that explores the relationship dynamics between Camille, Georges and Max. I adore the fucked up undercurrents that are running just under the surface of the novel, and the way Mantel constantly implies that there is a whole lot more going on just off stage. Let's make some of that subtext, text.
General Do's and Don't's:
Most important: Please, please please stay true to the characters.If you can manage to do that, and a given action feels "in character", then I'm usually pretty flexible and open to most kinds of things.
I definitely often like darkfic (non-con included), but something doesn't have to be dark for me to get into it so feel free to write something funny or fluffy if that is your thing. Just justify it within the context of the world and the characters!
I'm not particularly looking for anything porny with requests 1-3, however, if your muses take you there, then Im not adverse=). (In general I'm more an m/m person than a het person if you do go in that direction.) For # 2 however, please don't let Rob/Cassie end up together! I llike them much more as friends. For 4, I am looking for something sexy, but I also recognize that writing porn is hard and can be awkward! So don't force any graphic descriptions that you don't really want to put in there. I'd much rather have a fic about sexy mind games and power plays, then have awkward genitalia descriptions shoehorned in.
Likes: Dark overtones; mindgames; submission; female friendships; unconventional friendships: surprising heroes, being heroic in non-heroric ways, m/m; hurt comfort; ambiguousness, magical realism, open endings, cross-overs
Dislikes: mpreg; babyfic; characters acting out of character; a/b/o fics; bodily fluids; gross-out stuff; mary sues. canibalism, forced happy endings that seem too pat