Yuletide 2014 Dear Author Letter
(Rough draft of the letter -- I might clean it up/add more prompts later.)
Hello, writer! This is my second Yuletide, and I'm excited to participate all over again. I'm copy-pasting some of the generals of last year's letter here, so if you're one of those people who browses past LJ entries and thinks things look familiar... well, that would be why.
In general my favorite fics tend to be either short character studies or porn -- or some combination of the two. I like anything from angst to fluff to humor, but I dislike graphic violence and outright horror. In general I'd rather read a short fic exploring characters' relationships and emotions or a single scenario than any lengthy complicated epics. Not really a fan of crossovers or AUs, or magic/supernatural events in a canon that doesn't already contain them.
When it comes to sex scenes I prefer m/m or het, but I'm fine with f/f if there's plot in it, though I haven't requested many female characters. I also mostly like fairly vanilla sex -- light bondage is great, anything beyond that (heavy BDSM, watersports, bloodplay, etc) not so much. And hey, don't want to write sex at all, or would rather keep it vague or fade to black? That's fine too! I'm only being so specific in the hopes of avoiding something that squicks me, and to let you know that if you DO want to write me porn, I'm a-ok with it.
I feel like browsing what I've written and bookmarked on ao3 is a pretty good indication of the kind of thing I like. But honestly, I'm REALLY not very picky. I also genuinely want every fandom I'm requesting, and they're all so tiny that just having more fic of them exist will delight me. Optional details are ENTIRELY OPTIONAL - don't feel the need to use any of them if you don't want to.
The Royal Tenenbaums - Chas Tenenbaum, Eli Cash
They're my two favorite characters, and for similar reasons; they both seem so lost and lonely, and I have to admit that I sort of ship them post-film. I'd love getting-together fic for that reason (and I can't imagine Chas getting into any kind of relationship without a fair amount of angst.) Non-romantic friendship fic would also be fantastic, though, or just general getting to know each other better. Eli was around a lot during their childhood, but as Richie's best friend. Did he and Chas ever hang out much as kids?
Tropic Thunder - Any (Tugg Speedman, Kirk Lazarus, Rick Peck, Alpa Chino)
I'd prefer something Tugg-centric, because darn it if I didn't end up strangely attached to him by the end of the movie. I really like Tugg and Kirk's friendship; they're both struggling with identity crises over the course of the whole movie, and they definitely seem to have gotten close by the end. But I also really like Tugg and Rick, and how devoted Rick is (well, okay, devotion that is temporarily tested by the allure of a private plane, but still, it wins through in the end.) So, yeah, anything friendship-y or regular ship-y with either of those pairings would be fantastic - but I also nominated Alpa, because Alpa is awesome, and I love that he and Lance Bass are apparently a happy couple at the end. But what did coming out do to his career? Are the guys all still friends, and were they all supportive? If Tugg were to end up in a relationship with Kirk or Rick (...or both. I am okay with that, too) it seems like he'd ask Alpa for advice.
Or maybe there are lots of rumors swirling about the sexuality of one of the characters and they have to deal with it, or somebody posts something poorly worded on Twitter and finds himself involuntarily causing a scandal and having to go on the defensive.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) - Walter Mitty, Cheryl Melhoff, Sean O'Connell
I completely love this movie. It's sweet and earnest and Walter is just the most adorable thing. I'm just about a fandom of one on ao3 for this (though Doyle wrote me a fantastic Cheryl-centric giftfic this summer), and I really just want more fic, forever. I really strongly ship Walter, Sean and Cheryl as an ot3, but I could live with Walter paired with either of them as long as the other is still a close friend. (I wouldn't say no to Cheryl/Sean either although that seems kind of unfair to Walter! But hey, if you want to play with the idea, go for it.)
Anyway, as for specific prompts - I feel like Walter's emails from the end of the movie could potentially lead to some ideas:
Or maybe Sean's photo wins some kind of award, but Sean doesn't normally attend that kind of thing. How does Walter feel about the attention? Or: Sean had to "self-stitch a bullet wound to my abdomen" shortly before sending Walter the negatives, what the heck is the story behind that?
Zoolander - Any (Derek Zoolander, Hansel, Matilda Jeffries)
Such an ot3. I'm slightly afraid that Zoolander 2 is going to joss my polyamory headcanon. My favorite scene in the entire movie is when Derek and Hansel switch instantly from enemies to BFFs after awkwardly airing their feelings, while Matilda just gets confused. All three of them are so cute together. I don't really have any concrete plot prompts except that I'd love to see something post-movie where they're all in a relationship together. Maybe something delving a little deeper into Derek founding his Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good and how Hansel comes to be involved.
The Watch - Any (Evan, Bob, Jamarcus, Paul)
As you may have already gathered by looking at my nominations list, I really really like Ben Stiller. So I started watching everything he's ever been in that I could get my hands on, which is the only reason I ever picked up The Watch; it didn't seem like something I'd like at all. Then I actually watched it, annnnnnd I sorta love it a little bit. Don't get me wrong, it's an incredibly stupid movie, but it has a surprising amount of heart, and Evan's actually one of my favorite characters, from anything, ever. He's so driven and cares so much (he actually reminds me a bit of Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation), even if he's sometimes misguided, and the scene where he's talking to Bob about his problems having kids is actually kind of sort of touching in a way I didn't expect from a goofy comedy about aliens invading Costco. Bob in general is kind of a sweet doofus, although he has that "overprotective dad" schtick going on that can be annoying. (also his daughter was Audrey Hart in True Detective which is unrelated but amuses me.) I actually thought Bob was flirting with Evan at first and that was why he joined the neighborhood watch (the random butt-slap on their first meeting, I mean, come on), so heck, explore that if you want.
As much as I love Evan, the character that interests me the most is actually Jamarcus. I have SO MANY questions about Jamarcus. Is that his real name? Where does he live both during and after the film? Are his species monogendered or what? If they are, exactly what is he getting up to at Paul's orgies, anyway? (PS: If you are a porn writer, Paul gives you the perfect excuse to write a total PWP. I'm cool with xenophilia in this case too!) What's Jamarcus doing post-movie - does he have a job? Is the rest of the neighborhood watch helping him fit in and keep himself a secret? Does he ever get homesick?
(And what the heck were the aliens stealing skin for, anyway? That's never actually addressed.)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Ned Plimpton, Jane Winslett-Richardson
This movie ripped my heart out and stomped all over it, in the best way. I completely adore Ned, and his relationship with Jane. Filling in some time between them during the movie would be lovely, but I would also really like something post-movie about Jane. What was in those letters she wrote? Do she and Steve ever talk about Ned? Also, I know I said earlier that I don't normally like supernatural stuff in my non-supernatural fics, but the end credits sequence of the movie clearly shows Ned standing on the top of the Belafonte, and I sure as heck would not say no to a ghost story this time.
Hello, writer! This is my second Yuletide, and I'm excited to participate all over again. I'm copy-pasting some of the generals of last year's letter here, so if you're one of those people who browses past LJ entries and thinks things look familiar... well, that would be why.
In general my favorite fics tend to be either short character studies or porn -- or some combination of the two. I like anything from angst to fluff to humor, but I dislike graphic violence and outright horror. In general I'd rather read a short fic exploring characters' relationships and emotions or a single scenario than any lengthy complicated epics. Not really a fan of crossovers or AUs, or magic/supernatural events in a canon that doesn't already contain them.
When it comes to sex scenes I prefer m/m or het, but I'm fine with f/f if there's plot in it, though I haven't requested many female characters. I also mostly like fairly vanilla sex -- light bondage is great, anything beyond that (heavy BDSM, watersports, bloodplay, etc) not so much. And hey, don't want to write sex at all, or would rather keep it vague or fade to black? That's fine too! I'm only being so specific in the hopes of avoiding something that squicks me, and to let you know that if you DO want to write me porn, I'm a-ok with it.
I feel like browsing what I've written and bookmarked on ao3 is a pretty good indication of the kind of thing I like. But honestly, I'm REALLY not very picky. I also genuinely want every fandom I'm requesting, and they're all so tiny that just having more fic of them exist will delight me. Optional details are ENTIRELY OPTIONAL - don't feel the need to use any of them if you don't want to.
The Royal Tenenbaums - Chas Tenenbaum, Eli Cash
They're my two favorite characters, and for similar reasons; they both seem so lost and lonely, and I have to admit that I sort of ship them post-film. I'd love getting-together fic for that reason (and I can't imagine Chas getting into any kind of relationship without a fair amount of angst.) Non-romantic friendship fic would also be fantastic, though, or just general getting to know each other better. Eli was around a lot during their childhood, but as Richie's best friend. Did he and Chas ever hang out much as kids?
Tropic Thunder - Any (Tugg Speedman, Kirk Lazarus, Rick Peck, Alpa Chino)
I'd prefer something Tugg-centric, because darn it if I didn't end up strangely attached to him by the end of the movie. I really like Tugg and Kirk's friendship; they're both struggling with identity crises over the course of the whole movie, and they definitely seem to have gotten close by the end. But I also really like Tugg and Rick, and how devoted Rick is (well, okay, devotion that is temporarily tested by the allure of a private plane, but still, it wins through in the end.) So, yeah, anything friendship-y or regular ship-y with either of those pairings would be fantastic - but I also nominated Alpa, because Alpa is awesome, and I love that he and Lance Bass are apparently a happy couple at the end. But what did coming out do to his career? Are the guys all still friends, and were they all supportive? If Tugg were to end up in a relationship with Kirk or Rick (...or both. I am okay with that, too) it seems like he'd ask Alpa for advice.
Or maybe there are lots of rumors swirling about the sexuality of one of the characters and they have to deal with it, or somebody posts something poorly worded on Twitter and finds himself involuntarily causing a scandal and having to go on the defensive.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) - Walter Mitty, Cheryl Melhoff, Sean O'Connell
I completely love this movie. It's sweet and earnest and Walter is just the most adorable thing. I'm just about a fandom of one on ao3 for this (though Doyle wrote me a fantastic Cheryl-centric giftfic this summer), and I really just want more fic, forever. I really strongly ship Walter, Sean and Cheryl as an ot3, but I could live with Walter paired with either of them as long as the other is still a close friend. (I wouldn't say no to Cheryl/Sean either although that seems kind of unfair to Walter! But hey, if you want to play with the idea, go for it.)
Anyway, as for specific prompts - I feel like Walter's emails from the end of the movie could potentially lead to some ideas:
Or maybe Sean's photo wins some kind of award, but Sean doesn't normally attend that kind of thing. How does Walter feel about the attention? Or: Sean had to "self-stitch a bullet wound to my abdomen" shortly before sending Walter the negatives, what the heck is the story behind that?
Zoolander - Any (Derek Zoolander, Hansel, Matilda Jeffries)
Such an ot3. I'm slightly afraid that Zoolander 2 is going to joss my polyamory headcanon. My favorite scene in the entire movie is when Derek and Hansel switch instantly from enemies to BFFs after awkwardly airing their feelings, while Matilda just gets confused. All three of them are so cute together. I don't really have any concrete plot prompts except that I'd love to see something post-movie where they're all in a relationship together. Maybe something delving a little deeper into Derek founding his Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good and how Hansel comes to be involved.
The Watch - Any (Evan, Bob, Jamarcus, Paul)
As you may have already gathered by looking at my nominations list, I really really like Ben Stiller. So I started watching everything he's ever been in that I could get my hands on, which is the only reason I ever picked up The Watch; it didn't seem like something I'd like at all. Then I actually watched it, annnnnnd I sorta love it a little bit. Don't get me wrong, it's an incredibly stupid movie, but it has a surprising amount of heart, and Evan's actually one of my favorite characters, from anything, ever. He's so driven and cares so much (he actually reminds me a bit of Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation), even if he's sometimes misguided, and the scene where he's talking to Bob about his problems having kids is actually kind of sort of touching in a way I didn't expect from a goofy comedy about aliens invading Costco. Bob in general is kind of a sweet doofus, although he has that "overprotective dad" schtick going on that can be annoying. (also his daughter was Audrey Hart in True Detective which is unrelated but amuses me.) I actually thought Bob was flirting with Evan at first and that was why he joined the neighborhood watch (the random butt-slap on their first meeting, I mean, come on), so heck, explore that if you want.
As much as I love Evan, the character that interests me the most is actually Jamarcus. I have SO MANY questions about Jamarcus. Is that his real name? Where does he live both during and after the film? Are his species monogendered or what? If they are, exactly what is he getting up to at Paul's orgies, anyway? (PS: If you are a porn writer, Paul gives you the perfect excuse to write a total PWP. I'm cool with xenophilia in this case too!) What's Jamarcus doing post-movie - does he have a job? Is the rest of the neighborhood watch helping him fit in and keep himself a secret? Does he ever get homesick?
(And what the heck were the aliens stealing skin for, anyway? That's never actually addressed.)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Ned Plimpton, Jane Winslett-Richardson
This movie ripped my heart out and stomped all over it, in the best way. I completely adore Ned, and his relationship with Jane. Filling in some time between them during the movie would be lovely, but I would also really like something post-movie about Jane. What was in those letters she wrote? Do she and Steve ever talk about Ned? Also, I know I said earlier that I don't normally like supernatural stuff in my non-supernatural fics, but the end credits sequence of the movie clearly shows Ned standing on the top of the Belafonte, and I sure as heck would not say no to a ghost story this time.