Yuletide letter 2015
Hello Yuletide author! :) I can't believe it's Yuletide again - I'm so excited to have you here! Allow me to ramble on about the things I love - but in the end I want you to have fun and write the story that you want to write! Thank you for being my author - I can't wait to see what you come up with!
My fandoms this year are:
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie, which I've just fallen ridiculously deeply in love with
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E. RPF, which I totally didn't know I needed in my life until the option popped up on Ao3 as I was filling in the signup sheet!
- The Jack Reacher series, by Lee Child (the books, not the movie!)
Things I love in general
Look, there's no denying it. Hurt/comfort just about pushes all my buttons, as long as the characters stay in character and don't suddenly become helpless and needy and just a target for Florence Nightingale syndrome (which, admittedly, is totally what I have). In fact, the exact opposite appeals most to me - my favourite trope is when a character is sick/injured and just pushes through, being a totally BAMF, to the point of collapse (it's a thing! I will totally melt into a puddle of squeeing, happy fangirl for that, especially if there's a buildup to it). But yeah. Hurt/comfort. Slightly more on the hurt than the comfort, but comfort is totally delicious too.
I also really love character dynamics and interesting dialogue and character details and discovery. Keeping characters in character is totally beautiful for me, because the characters are who I love to begin with! I especially appreciate it when men act like men and not like helpless teenagers :) And I have a total competence kink.
Plot! I know not everyone has the time to write plot and that's A-OK! I just get a huge thrill out of long and plotty fics that are also all about character, so I thought I'd just mention it here in case, dear Yuletide author, you were considering it, so that you would know that I would be extremely appreciative of your efforts.
Things I really don't love
Out-of-character characters. Non-happy endings (normally they would be fine! But I don't want to cry on Christmas!). MPREG. Genderswaps. Babies/children. Character bashing. PWP. Non-canon nicknames. Overuse of different variants of a character's name (e.g. the author switching between calling Napoleon "Napoleon", "Solo" or "Cowboy" throughout the fic; and to be extra special picky and weird, it weirds me out when the author refers to characters by their nicknames. Like, "You're a terrible spy, Cowboy," said Illya is fine, but "You're a terrible spy, Cowboy," said Peril just weirds me out because I'm weird.)
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
I fell so hard for this movie! It's so ridiculously pretty and fun and adorable and the chemistry between them all is amazing. I love suave, flamboyant, charismatic Napoleon Solo, who can charm or irritate anyone but uses all that charm to as a mask to hide his true feelings most of the time. I love super!Agent Illya Kuryakin with his grim determination and Russian/KGB stoicism and the fact that he tries so hard to suppress his emotions because he's terrified of them. And that he's an honest-to-god smartass a lot of the time, not just a huge ball of Russian angst! And I adore Gaby, who is the prettiest and toughest thing ever and she's smart and sassy and very much her own woman.
I would be ever so happy if you were into writing hurt/comfort <3 Whump Napoleon. Or Illya. Or both, I don't mind. As I said earlier, my favourite trope is having a character being sick/injured and just pushes through, being a totally BAMF, to the point of collapse (it's a thing! I will totally melt into a puddle of squeeing, happy fangirl for that, especially if there's a buildup to it). Have Napoleon poisoned. Give Illya a high temperature. Exposure to the elements? Being the last man (barely) standing at the end of one fight, only to realise there's an even bigger one around the corner? Have in-more-critical-condition Character A looking after less-injured-but-more-incapacitated Character B? Any and all things work! Seriously, I think this is all I want for Christmas <3
But! alternatively, if you just Do Not Write h/c (or as part of the above!), I love plot based escapades where the three (or four, if you include Waverly) of them are total BAMFs and save the world, even if they might take a detour on the way. Introspective character pieces are also lovely, and 5 + 1 fics are always fun. I like AUs as well (except ABO), as long as the characters keep in character. Not a huge fan of romance just for the sake of romance, unless it's long and super-slow-build. My ship is Napoleon/Illya, but I also like OT3 (and don't dislike Gaby/Illya) but I really love gen or offscreen shipping best. Basically, I just want more TMFU in my life! <3
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. RPF
This had honestly never even occurred to me until it popped up when I started typing in TMFU, but.... I need this like burning! <3 Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer look so adorable and bromance-y in all their interviews. I haven't watched many of them, but I love they way they just seem to be great friends and have fun joking around each other. I especially love how opposite to their characters they are, with Armie Hammer being a huge, excitable puppy and Henry Cavill seeming more reserved and tired and guarded.
Some potential plots that you may or may not want to run with:
- Henry Cavill seems quite uncomfortable with his body at times, despite, or because he's Superman. He's also said that his nickname in school was 'Fat Cavill' "which was fitting, because my name is Cavill, and because I was, indeed, fat." Give me something around this, and Armie, and it can be slash or not but it shouldn't end sadly because while it's hard to let go of body image issues that stem from childhood, I just want someone to hug him better!
- He's also said that acting is quite lonely - how does ridiculously happy and energetic Armie take Henry's rather jaded, tired attitude when they first meet?
- Or just random hilarity and bromance while shooting, or during interviews - anything that's them and funny and warm
- Or just fluff, the two of them looking out for each other and taking care of each other (or Armie taking care of Henry <3 - because see the whole hurt/comfort thing above...) and being ridiculously adorable <3
I would love it if your fic was inspired by something real (an interview, a photo, an article, etc) even if it doesn't depend heavily on it or maybe interprets it in a different light, and if you linked me to your inspiration as well!
Jack Reacher series - Lee Child
Oh, Reacher. You're my guilty pleasure, my long-haul-trip read. There's something eminently satisfying in knowing that no matter how tough and scary and uncertain the world is, Reacher is ready and waiting and all set to smash the bad guys into oblivion.
For Yuletide, I'd love to see that subverted bit. I'm an incurable hurt/comfort junkie. I want Reacher to need someone else's help for once. Is he injured in a critical situation where bad guys still need subduing? Trapped in a completely foreign location? Strapped to a bomb/injected with a toxin/stuck on a bus that will explode if it goes below 50/caught in some other time critical and physically limiting situation? Does he hole up sick in a dodgy motel during a snow storm? Up to you dear author, but I would like to see Reacher being vulnerable for a change. How does he react? He's independent and proud, but also very polite and pragmatic. If h/c isn't your thing, perhaps this is just about Reacher teaming up, out of necessity, with someone who is as badass as he is and the two of them causing unimaginable amounts of mayhem in the name of the greater good. Extra points for an awesome bromance!
Or it could be an introspective - I think in one of the books, Reacher thinks back about his old army comrades and how they have all moved on with their lives, but he himself is rather unchanging through the books (unless you could the first book, in which he fights someone and promptly throws up). When Reacher isn't blowing up the world, does he stop to philosophise?
Or, I would even totally love a Jack Reacher Christmas Special, whatever that entails :)
Feel free to bring in some OCs (as long as they're not Mary Sues) or reintroduce some of our old friends.
Thank you, dear Yuletide author! :)