[Yuletide] Letter to my YuleWriter
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Did I mention? Simply the fact that you offered one (or more?) of my fandoms makes me a happy panda, and I love you. And also, thank you for taking the trouble to check out my Santa letter. I hope it's not too, hm, lengthy or scary or whatever. I also hope that by stating my tastes, preferences and squick factors, I won't be offending anyone who reads this. It's certainly not my intention.
So here we go. I'm new to this, so, hm, I hope this is going to be helpful - do bear with me?
I enjoy stories in which characters are flawed and plot twists surprise me. Sarcasm, irony and slapstick humor are my friends. Language, used judiciously, does not offend me. I tend to prefer canon relationships and I like to see them explored in new and interesting ways, but that's not set in stone.
Awkward interactions, arguments and wild make up sex are the win. Finally, I really like stories that take a mysterious occurrence in canon and try to develop a plausible explanation for it. I love in-depth character studies, but I also have an inordinate fondness for crack alternate universes and parodies (Lord of the Rings, HP Lovecraft style? Bring it on! Harry Potter in Space? Awesome. The Knights of the Round Table, but during World War II? Yes please.)
I like het, and gen, mostly, though I don't hate slash (I'm just picky about it). When it comes to porn, I prefer erotica that leaves something to the imagination. As long as it happens between consenting adults, I'm easy.
I don't have many squicks aside from mpreg, age of consent and rape, but these are squicks that I feel very strongly about. Between consenting adults means between people that are over eighteen. And I can't stand pairings with very large age differences because of this. It's really important to me, for reasons of my own. I'm certain that I don't need to state that positive depictions of racism, homophobia, sexism etc. are not on the list of things I would enjoy reading, but there it is anyway, for the halibut.
BDSM and power play don't perturb me (and I find them hot, even), though I dislike graphic and gratuitous smut. I don't particularly enjoy PWP but plot-driven porn that is tastefully written will interest me. I don't mind incest in canon, but not so much in slash. I am a big, big fan of UST. Death and angst are my friends when they come in moderate proportions. I'm not adverse to fluff, as long as it's not saccharine.
I've written fic for three of the four fandoms I requested, all of which is available over at tomboy_fic. I've never written Mists of Avalon fic per say, but I wrote some general Arthuriana fic that may or may not be helpful.
Here are my requests. Any of these four will make me a very happy, bouncing and slightly hyperactive bunny. (Mental image, courtosy of yours truly.)
Fandom: J R R Tolkien - The Silmarillion
Characters: Any, officially
Requests: … I know, it's obscure. I don't know if anyone has ever tried it before. And I'm sorry, I thought of this after nominations closed. But. We have no clue what happened with The Blue Wizards, we just know that they went East and were never heard of again. I'm ridiculously curious to have someone's take on them. So what happened with those two Maiar? Were they corrupted? Did they suffer untimely deaths? Did they wage a war of their own that the tales have forgotten to tell us? What were their relationships to the other Maiar - Sauron, Gandalf, Saruman and the like? As long as the blue wizards are discussed in a plot-driven way, I will be happy, but no slash, please.
Contingency plan: I also enjoy Aredhel/Celegorm, Aredhel/Eol, Galadriel/Celegorm, Galadriel/Fingon. Anything with UST will make me happy. Also, anything that gets into Caranthir's head, Maeglin's head or Angrod's head is also wonderful.
Pimp section: I couldn't find an e-book, but there is an audiobook playlist on Youtube. Tolkien Gateway is very helpful and has a section on the wizards, and so is the Wikipedia article on the Silmarillion, which has a section about the Istari. For the halibut, if you want to see a trailer for the Silmarillion (which summarizes the plot), it's here. silmarillion and tolkienart are a fan community dedicated to the book which might be helpful.
Fandom: Marion Zimmer Bradley - Mists of Avalon
Characters: Morgaine
Requests: How does Morgaine's love for Accolon accommodate itself of her marriage with Uriens? Do they meet secretly, or does Uriens turn a blind eye? Does Morgaine think much about Arthur, or does she forget about him completely? If this scenario doesn't do anything for you, how do Morgaine's powers affect her life away from court during that time? Does she miss the Lady of the Lake? Character studies interest me very much. Het, gen or femslash is alright, but no PWP, please.
Contingency plan: I'm also a fan of Malory's Morte d'Arthur (the online e-book is here), so if you want to go with that instead and do something gen, I'd be happy too. No slash, please.
arthurian_fic (a com for posting fan fiction), king_of_camelot (a com for discussiong anything arthurian), morte_d_arthur (a com focused on Malory), mzb (the Marion Zimmer Bradley Fan Com).
Fandom: George RR Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire series
Characters: Olenna Tyrell
Requests: Can you see a motif? I love GRRM's old and irrevent characters, and I'd love to see old man Frey and Olenna snark at each other while Dolorous Edd facepalms, with instances of Edd's no-nonsense manically pessimistic stories showing up. It probably would have to be AU, which I don't mind. They could be playing poker in heaven, or something. Entirely up to you, but I think I'd prefer gen for this one.
Contingency plan: Jaime / Brienne: A happy ending for Brienne and Jaime would make my day. Could she possibly have survived, somehow? I'd love to read her point of view on her time traveling with Jaime, or a moment of complacency between them. Maybe Jaime can bring up Cersei, if subtly. Maybe she can question him about it after getting one of Stannis' pamphlets. Maybe they just have a moment of hurt/comfort with lots of UST, or maybe they do cross the line at long last. At any rate, something that would get us into Brienne's head space at any moment would be awesome. I would love some romance for them, but gen / friendship fic is alright if you can't make the romance work. Angst is fine, but no character death and no porn, please.
Pimp section: Wikipedia's article has summaries and spoliers galore, so you have been warned. It's also incredibly helpful. The Tower of the Hand is a fan wiki and A Wiki of Ice and Fire can be helpful as well. The author has a not!blog over at asoiaf and westeros are fan communities dedicated to discussing the books. If you've read all four books, you probably don't need me to mention westerosorting and its affiliates.
Fandom: Jacqueline Carey - The Kushiels Legacy series
Characters: Hyacinthe/Joscelin Verreuil/Phedre no Delaunay
Requests:Something cute with Phedre and Hyacinthe would make my day. Maybe a day on Night's Doorstep when they were younger, or a moment with lots of UST before he becomes the Master of the Straits. Alternatively, Phedre and Joscelin go on an off-screen quest with Hyacinthe in Kushiel's Justice. Any plot-driven glimpse into that quest would be marvelous, perhaps with remaining UST - and now we wonder what Joscelin thinks of that. Other possibility - while isolated on the Three Sisters, Hyacinthe thinks of Phedre. Let's get in his head space. Het or gen is fine, plot-driven porn is fine but not a must at all.
Contingency plan: Phedre and Joscelin are love, so is anything with them and little Imriel, acting as a family. I also adore Phedre's interaction with Melisande, so something going in that direction would also please me. Lastly, something exploring an adept's life in one of the Houses of the Night Court would interest me (what if Phedre had been inducted into Valerian, instead of being Delaunay's Anguissette?)
Pimp section: This series has also a large section on Wikipedia. The author has a site, here. eluaschildren is a fan community focused on fan fiction. kushiel_trilogy is a fan community dedicated to discussing of the books.
There, I'm done with my rambling. I think this is the moment where I take a step back from my hugely long list of preferences, and say...
Thank you, again, dear secret Santa, for taking the time to read this letter. I hope that I was able to throw your way enough elements to fight writer's block and beckon inspiration.
I really hope that this is going to be fun for you and that you won't be out there, pulling your hair out because of my requests ! If you have a question of sorts about any of this, feel free to go through the mods and I'll be happy to answer whatever way I can. My friend minviendha can probably help if you're stumped. She knows everything about my preferences and what not.
Lastly, well... Please have fun while writing? I would hate to be the angst-inducing recipient who makes your Yuletide impossible to enjoy. If you have fun writing the story - your story - I will have fun reading it.
Happy holidays! And thank you again for offering to write in at least one of my fandoms!
Did I mention? Simply the fact that you offered one (or more?) of my fandoms makes me a happy panda, and I love you. And also, thank you for taking the trouble to check out my Santa letter. I hope it's not too, hm, lengthy or scary or whatever. I also hope that by stating my tastes, preferences and squick factors, I won't be offending anyone who reads this. It's certainly not my intention.
So here we go. I'm new to this, so, hm, I hope this is going to be helpful - do bear with me?
I enjoy stories in which characters are flawed and plot twists surprise me. Sarcasm, irony and slapstick humor are my friends. Language, used judiciously, does not offend me. I tend to prefer canon relationships and I like to see them explored in new and interesting ways, but that's not set in stone.
Awkward interactions, arguments and wild make up sex are the win. Finally, I really like stories that take a mysterious occurrence in canon and try to develop a plausible explanation for it. I love in-depth character studies, but I also have an inordinate fondness for crack alternate universes and parodies (Lord of the Rings, HP Lovecraft style? Bring it on! Harry Potter in Space? Awesome. The Knights of the Round Table, but during World War II? Yes please.)
I like het, and gen, mostly, though I don't hate slash (I'm just picky about it). When it comes to porn, I prefer erotica that leaves something to the imagination. As long as it happens between consenting adults, I'm easy.
I don't have many squicks aside from mpreg, age of consent and rape, but these are squicks that I feel very strongly about. Between consenting adults means between people that are over eighteen. And I can't stand pairings with very large age differences because of this. It's really important to me, for reasons of my own. I'm certain that I don't need to state that positive depictions of racism, homophobia, sexism etc. are not on the list of things I would enjoy reading, but there it is anyway, for the halibut.
BDSM and power play don't perturb me (and I find them hot, even), though I dislike graphic and gratuitous smut. I don't particularly enjoy PWP but plot-driven porn that is tastefully written will interest me. I don't mind incest in canon, but not so much in slash. I am a big, big fan of UST. Death and angst are my friends when they come in moderate proportions. I'm not adverse to fluff, as long as it's not saccharine.
I've written fic for three of the four fandoms I requested, all of which is available over at tomboy_fic. I've never written Mists of Avalon fic per say, but I wrote some general Arthuriana fic that may or may not be helpful.
Here are my requests. Any of these four will make me a very happy, bouncing and slightly hyperactive bunny. (Mental image, courtosy of yours truly.)
Fandom: J R R Tolkien - The Silmarillion
Characters: Any, officially
Requests: … I know, it's obscure. I don't know if anyone has ever tried it before. And I'm sorry, I thought of this after nominations closed. But. We have no clue what happened with The Blue Wizards, we just know that they went East and were never heard of again. I'm ridiculously curious to have someone's take on them. So what happened with those two Maiar? Were they corrupted? Did they suffer untimely deaths? Did they wage a war of their own that the tales have forgotten to tell us? What were their relationships to the other Maiar - Sauron, Gandalf, Saruman and the like? As long as the blue wizards are discussed in a plot-driven way, I will be happy, but no slash, please.
Contingency plan: I also enjoy Aredhel/Celegorm, Aredhel/Eol, Galadriel/Celegorm, Galadriel/Fingon. Anything with UST will make me happy. Also, anything that gets into Caranthir's head, Maeglin's head or Angrod's head is also wonderful.
Pimp section: I couldn't find an e-book, but there is an audiobook playlist on Youtube. Tolkien Gateway is very helpful and has a section on the wizards, and so is the Wikipedia article on the Silmarillion, which has a section about the Istari. For the halibut, if you want to see a trailer for the Silmarillion (which summarizes the plot), it's here. silmarillion and tolkienart are a fan community dedicated to the book which might be helpful.
Fandom: Marion Zimmer Bradley - Mists of Avalon
Characters: Morgaine
Requests: How does Morgaine's love for Accolon accommodate itself of her marriage with Uriens? Do they meet secretly, or does Uriens turn a blind eye? Does Morgaine think much about Arthur, or does she forget about him completely? If this scenario doesn't do anything for you, how do Morgaine's powers affect her life away from court during that time? Does she miss the Lady of the Lake? Character studies interest me very much. Het, gen or femslash is alright, but no PWP, please.
Contingency plan: I'm also a fan of Malory's Morte d'Arthur (the online e-book is here), so if you want to go with that instead and do something gen, I'd be happy too. No slash, please.
arthurian_fic (a com for posting fan fiction), king_of_camelot (a com for discussiong anything arthurian), morte_d_arthur (a com focused on Malory), mzb (the Marion Zimmer Bradley Fan Com).
Fandom: George RR Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire series
Characters: Olenna Tyrell
Requests: Can you see a motif? I love GRRM's old and irrevent characters, and I'd love to see old man Frey and Olenna snark at each other while Dolorous Edd facepalms, with instances of Edd's no-nonsense manically pessimistic stories showing up. It probably would have to be AU, which I don't mind. They could be playing poker in heaven, or something. Entirely up to you, but I think I'd prefer gen for this one.
Contingency plan: Jaime / Brienne: A happy ending for Brienne and Jaime would make my day. Could she possibly have survived, somehow? I'd love to read her point of view on her time traveling with Jaime, or a moment of complacency between them. Maybe Jaime can bring up Cersei, if subtly. Maybe she can question him about it after getting one of Stannis' pamphlets. Maybe they just have a moment of hurt/comfort with lots of UST, or maybe they do cross the line at long last. At any rate, something that would get us into Brienne's head space at any moment would be awesome. I would love some romance for them, but gen / friendship fic is alright if you can't make the romance work. Angst is fine, but no character death and no porn, please.
Pimp section: Wikipedia's article has summaries and spoliers galore, so you have been warned. It's also incredibly helpful. The Tower of the Hand is a fan wiki and A Wiki of Ice and Fire can be helpful as well. The author has a not!blog over at asoiaf and westeros are fan communities dedicated to discussing the books. If you've read all four books, you probably don't need me to mention westerosorting and its affiliates.
Fandom: Jacqueline Carey - The Kushiels Legacy series
Characters: Hyacinthe/Joscelin Verreuil/Phedre no Delaunay
Requests:Something cute with Phedre and Hyacinthe would make my day. Maybe a day on Night's Doorstep when they were younger, or a moment with lots of UST before he becomes the Master of the Straits. Alternatively, Phedre and Joscelin go on an off-screen quest with Hyacinthe in Kushiel's Justice. Any plot-driven glimpse into that quest would be marvelous, perhaps with remaining UST - and now we wonder what Joscelin thinks of that. Other possibility - while isolated on the Three Sisters, Hyacinthe thinks of Phedre. Let's get in his head space. Het or gen is fine, plot-driven porn is fine but not a must at all.
Contingency plan: Phedre and Joscelin are love, so is anything with them and little Imriel, acting as a family. I also adore Phedre's interaction with Melisande, so something going in that direction would also please me. Lastly, something exploring an adept's life in one of the Houses of the Night Court would interest me (what if Phedre had been inducted into Valerian, instead of being Delaunay's Anguissette?)
Pimp section: This series has also a large section on Wikipedia. The author has a site, here. eluaschildren is a fan community focused on fan fiction. kushiel_trilogy is a fan community dedicated to discussing of the books.
There, I'm done with my rambling. I think this is the moment where I take a step back from my hugely long list of preferences, and say...
Thank you, again, dear secret Santa, for taking the time to read this letter. I hope that I was able to throw your way enough elements to fight writer's block and beckon inspiration.
I really hope that this is going to be fun for you and that you won't be out there, pulling your hair out because of my requests ! If you have a question of sorts about any of this, feel free to go through the mods and I'll be happy to answer whatever way I can. My friend minviendha can probably help if you're stumped. She knows everything about my preferences and what not.
Lastly, well... Please have fun while writing? I would hate to be the angst-inducing recipient who makes your Yuletide impossible to enjoy. If you have fun writing the story - your story - I will have fun reading it.
Happy holidays! And thank you again for offering to write in at least one of my fandoms!