Dear Yuletide Writer
Hi, yuletide writer!
I hope you have a fun, stress-free time with your story. Optional details honestly are optional. If there's something you've been dying to write, I really hope you go with your instincts instead of fretting about my likes and dislikes.
If you are fretting: any rating's fine by me, and I don't really have any squicks to speak of. I'm definitely more about characters/relationships/feels over complicated plots, but don't let that stop you if you've a story to spin. If I've requested more than one character then I'm definitely shippishly-inclined, even if they're related, underage, undead, etc. Overprotective fixation, unhealthy co-dependence, devotion, ardour - these things are ficnip to me. (Gravity's the sole exception to my shippishness, since I kinda love that we weren't force-fed a Hollywood romance.) The only narrative tropes that would bring my Yuletide down would be character death or relentless depression or cheating/betrayal (unless included in the canon itself - and I am all about the fix-it fics).
The Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
(Saucepan Man, Mister Watzisname, Silky, Moon-Face)
This was probably my favourite Blyton series and I still read it happily today, even if every tree I climb proves a disappointment. I can't help but wonder about how events seem to the ostensibly grown up inhabitants of the Tree, and what their lives are like when the children aren't about. My head canon tells me that Mister Watzisname and Saucepan Man (played by Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart) are in a joyful but sometimes torrid LTR, and that Silky and Moon-Face are the naughtiest of friends with benefits. I love to imagine them all going about their usual domestic activities like baking and sewing or visiting various Lands above or choofing around on the train, all the while leading lives of an emotional scope imperceptible to Jo, Bessie and Fanny until they themselves are much older.
Flight of the Navigator (1986)
(Jeff Freeman, David Freeman)
This is a childhood favourite that still gives me joy. (Seriously, I'm humming the synthesised 80s theme music even as I type.) David's adventure with Max is an escapist dream. But it's always been the time skip that really blows my brain. The moment when David sits down on the stairs and cries for his mom and dad slays me. I want to know more about what his family went through while he was gone, how Jeff coped. What went through their minds when David was returned unchanged? How did it feel to have the brother relationship reversed? I also wonder how things would have gone had Max not returned David to 1978. Would the family be held in confinement, with ever more invasive experimentation on David, or would they go on the lam? Would the relationship between David and Jeff become an over-protective, claustrophobic snarl of mixed-up feels? I LIKE TO THINK SO.
Gravity (2013)
(Ryan Stone)
'(K)ind of a huge destruction porn movie' (yay!) according to io9, but Gravity also has an intimate simplicity that's just as appealing to me. I could feel Ryan's nausea, frustration, terror, sadness and exaltation like it was my own. She's not fearless or infallible, but just so capable and gutsy in such a mad situation. I'd love to know what happens in the aftermath, once she's on her own two feet again. Does she meet Shariff's family? Does she ever speak with Aningaaq again? And while Cuarón apparently resisted the suggestion to cut to Houston in the blind (a choice I totally agree with), that doesn't stop me wondering about the earthside POV, especially since they tease us with Ed Harris as Capcom.
Near Dark (1987)
(Homer, Sarah Colton)
Homer's my favourite. He's a freak and he knows it, and the less sympathy we're supposed to have for him, the more I feel. He's a murderous, bratty little shit, but his disturbingly wrong yet weirdly charming courtship of Sarah hits my woobie buttons like whoa; the more he takes it to Pepé Le Pew levels, the bigger my hearteyes grow. The contrast between them is so intriguing: he thinks he's a grown-up trapped in a child's body, while she's a kid with a maturity far beyond her years. That last despairing "Sarah!" as Homer's burning up on the road is a kick to the stomach, and even though I'm rooting for Sarah I can't help but wonder what if. What if Sarah didn't get away from the clan? Or what if Homer did? Pre-pubescence be damned, I ship it.
Tintin (Comics)
(Tintin, Chang Chong-Chen)
Tintin in Tibet is id-central for me. Plane crash! Abominable snowman! Hurt/comfort magical soulbond! I mean, everyone loves Tintin, but only Chang has the actual trufax, mountain-moving soulbond with him. The generally unruffled Tintin displays a depth of feeling in this book previously unheard of; I honestly don't remember him ever crying over anybody except Chang. And what's it like for Chang, trapped in the frozen desolation with an overprotective yeti and little hope of rescue? Does he remember the good times with Tintin? What's it like for them both once they're safe? ARE THERE TENDER EMBRACES?
And seriously, what about the poor, heartbroken snowman? I would read the hell out of the yeti's POV.
美しき獣たち。| Utsukushiki Kemonotachi
(Toudou Kazuki, Saijou Chiharu)
I adore Fujisaki Kou's Beast series, and I sob bitter tears because Countless Time didn't finish Utsukushiki Kemonotachi or Toriko ni Natta... Kemono and none of the other groups seem keen to pick up more recent instalments. SO BITTER. My beginner's Japanese is not up to nutting out the unscanlated work, so don't freak if you're in the same boat. And if you do know what's going on, feel free to spoil me. All the Beast pair-ups please me immensely, but it's Chiharu and Kazuki who get me truly starry-eyed. The stone-faced lug in his teensy weensy undies, getting manfully frantic over his bratty young charge, hits my id hard. Chiharu's scarily possessive, single-minded devotion to Kazuki is the epitome of delicious yaoi wrongness to me. Whether you write about office shenanigans or Kazuki's boyhood or Yuuhi & Shouta or Kaoru's machinations or suit shopping, I will be happy.
I hope you have a fun, stress-free time with your story. Optional details honestly are optional. If there's something you've been dying to write, I really hope you go with your instincts instead of fretting about my likes and dislikes.
If you are fretting: any rating's fine by me, and I don't really have any squicks to speak of. I'm definitely more about characters/relationships/feels over complicated plots, but don't let that stop you if you've a story to spin. If I've requested more than one character then I'm definitely shippishly-inclined, even if they're related, underage, undead, etc. Overprotective fixation, unhealthy co-dependence, devotion, ardour - these things are ficnip to me. (Gravity's the sole exception to my shippishness, since I kinda love that we weren't force-fed a Hollywood romance.) The only narrative tropes that would bring my Yuletide down would be character death or relentless depression or cheating/betrayal (unless included in the canon itself - and I am all about the fix-it fics).
The Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
(Saucepan Man, Mister Watzisname, Silky, Moon-Face)
This was probably my favourite Blyton series and I still read it happily today, even if every tree I climb proves a disappointment. I can't help but wonder about how events seem to the ostensibly grown up inhabitants of the Tree, and what their lives are like when the children aren't about. My head canon tells me that Mister Watzisname and Saucepan Man (played by Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart) are in a joyful but sometimes torrid LTR, and that Silky and Moon-Face are the naughtiest of friends with benefits. I love to imagine them all going about their usual domestic activities like baking and sewing or visiting various Lands above or choofing around on the train, all the while leading lives of an emotional scope imperceptible to Jo, Bessie and Fanny until they themselves are much older.
Flight of the Navigator (1986)
(Jeff Freeman, David Freeman)
This is a childhood favourite that still gives me joy. (Seriously, I'm humming the synthesised 80s theme music even as I type.) David's adventure with Max is an escapist dream. But it's always been the time skip that really blows my brain. The moment when David sits down on the stairs and cries for his mom and dad slays me. I want to know more about what his family went through while he was gone, how Jeff coped. What went through their minds when David was returned unchanged? How did it feel to have the brother relationship reversed? I also wonder how things would have gone had Max not returned David to 1978. Would the family be held in confinement, with ever more invasive experimentation on David, or would they go on the lam? Would the relationship between David and Jeff become an over-protective, claustrophobic snarl of mixed-up feels? I LIKE TO THINK SO.
Gravity (2013)
(Ryan Stone)
'(K)ind of a huge destruction porn movie' (yay!) according to io9, but Gravity also has an intimate simplicity that's just as appealing to me. I could feel Ryan's nausea, frustration, terror, sadness and exaltation like it was my own. She's not fearless or infallible, but just so capable and gutsy in such a mad situation. I'd love to know what happens in the aftermath, once she's on her own two feet again. Does she meet Shariff's family? Does she ever speak with Aningaaq again? And while Cuarón apparently resisted the suggestion to cut to Houston in the blind (a choice I totally agree with), that doesn't stop me wondering about the earthside POV, especially since they tease us with Ed Harris as Capcom.
Near Dark (1987)
(Homer, Sarah Colton)
Homer's my favourite. He's a freak and he knows it, and the less sympathy we're supposed to have for him, the more I feel. He's a murderous, bratty little shit, but his disturbingly wrong yet weirdly charming courtship of Sarah hits my woobie buttons like whoa; the more he takes it to Pepé Le Pew levels, the bigger my hearteyes grow. The contrast between them is so intriguing: he thinks he's a grown-up trapped in a child's body, while she's a kid with a maturity far beyond her years. That last despairing "Sarah!" as Homer's burning up on the road is a kick to the stomach, and even though I'm rooting for Sarah I can't help but wonder what if. What if Sarah didn't get away from the clan? Or what if Homer did? Pre-pubescence be damned, I ship it.
Tintin (Comics)
(Tintin, Chang Chong-Chen)
Tintin in Tibet is id-central for me. Plane crash! Abominable snowman! Hurt/comfort magical soulbond! I mean, everyone loves Tintin, but only Chang has the actual trufax, mountain-moving soulbond with him. The generally unruffled Tintin displays a depth of feeling in this book previously unheard of; I honestly don't remember him ever crying over anybody except Chang. And what's it like for Chang, trapped in the frozen desolation with an overprotective yeti and little hope of rescue? Does he remember the good times with Tintin? What's it like for them both once they're safe? ARE THERE TENDER EMBRACES?
And seriously, what about the poor, heartbroken snowman? I would read the hell out of the yeti's POV.
美しき獣たち。| Utsukushiki Kemonotachi
(Toudou Kazuki, Saijou Chiharu)
I adore Fujisaki Kou's Beast series, and I sob bitter tears because Countless Time didn't finish Utsukushiki Kemonotachi or Toriko ni Natta... Kemono and none of the other groups seem keen to pick up more recent instalments. SO BITTER. My beginner's Japanese is not up to nutting out the unscanlated work, so don't freak if you're in the same boat. And if you do know what's going on, feel free to spoil me. All the Beast pair-ups please me immensely, but it's Chiharu and Kazuki who get me truly starry-eyed. The stone-faced lug in his teensy weensy undies, getting manfully frantic over his bratty young charge, hits my id hard. Chiharu's scarily possessive, single-minded devotion to Kazuki is the epitome of delicious yaoi wrongness to me. Whether you write about office shenanigans or Kazuki's boyhood or Yuuhi & Shouta or Kaoru's machinations or suit shopping, I will be happy.