dear yuletide writer 2012
Oct. 20th, 2012 09:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
atheilenHello, Yuletide Writer
(warning: long letter is long)
Thank you so much for writing in one of these really tiny fandoms! I'm sure I will love anything you write, and if you have something planned out, please feel free to ignore my ramblings. One thing I'd like to say from the outset, though, is that I've had a really tough year, and I'd really appreciate something with a happy or hopeful ending. Usually I am Princess Angsty McAngstMuffin of Angstland, and please feel free to have as much angst as you like in the story itself, but yeah, really bad year. I would love to have something that leaves me with the feeling that all the struggle is worth it in the end.
That said, here's some things I like in general, mostly copied from last year's letter:
Well-crafted dialogue
Witty banter
Hurt/comfort (though as a trauma survivor and friend of trauma survivors, I am VERY PICKY about this. I need at least an attempt at realism to feel okay about it.)
AUs of any type, whether it's the 'one small decision changes everything' type, or, well, Rachel Maddow and Ezra Kliuen as space pirates (for which see below)
Happy endings that are well-earned
Porn with plot
Plot with porn
Angst
Historical accuracy
BDSM themes/anything to do with power exchange or shifting power dynamics--especially shifting power dynamics, actually. If you have a character that is the Domliest Dom that ever Dommed *and the narrative never examines this* I will probably roll my eyes a lot
Character studies
Stories that pass the Bechdel test
Worldbuilding
Humour
Things I don't like in general
Endings that are irredeemably bleak
Gender-swapping
Mpreg
Using trauma as an impetus for a character to get together with her one Twu Wuv
Gratuitous rape
Overly fluffy things. I like my romances to have an edge
Damage to eyes
Damage to tongues
Disabled characters that exist in any way to Inspire! others.
Erasure of bisexuality/other sexual identities
Cross-species relationships (no Elizabeth/Dragon sex, I beg of you.)
Middle Ages-bashing
Now onto my specific requests:
Captive Prince--Freece (Laurent/Damen)
My Prompt: I would love either Laurent's POV on anything that has happened in the story so far, or some sort of Captive Prince AU--the relationship between the main characters is so intense that I'd love to see how it translates into another setting. But really all I want for yuletide is Laurent. Lots and lots of Laurent.
Basically either Laurent POV or Laurent-centric is what I'd like here. Laurent is such a fascinating character and I'd love to know what goes on inside his head. As far as whether Laurent Knows or not, my personal position is that he does and has all along, especially after the end of Part II. But if you think otherwise, feel free to explore how that might look. As far as AUs go, I'd love to see what might have happened if both Auguste and Damen had survived. But if you want to go completely crackfic and write, like, a Laurent/Damen high school AU or something that's fine too.
For those of you who don't know, Captive Prince is a web serial and available to read completely free online. It is about Damen, Prince and heir to the throne of Akielos, who gets sold into slavery by his evil half brother. He ends up the slave of Prince Laurent of Rabat, a magnificent bastard and incredibly well-drawn abuse survivor. Hijinks ensue. The first chapter is here: http://freece.livejournal.com/35519.html.
Closing Time: Leonard Cohen song
My Prompt: The Gates of Love they budged an inch/I can't say much has happened since..." Look, if you had the balls to offer this song, you probably already have an awesome idea, so just go with that. I'd love to see this in an SFnal or post-apocalyptic setting. Just tell me what is going on here!
Not much to say other than that. The important thing with this one is to have fun with it and let your imagination run wild! The music video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-0lV5qs1Qw
Pundit RPF (US) (Rachel Maddow and Ezra Klein)
My Prompt: I would love to see these two in a completely platonic mentor-student relationship where each thinks the other is just fabulous. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE RACHEL STRAIGHT I MEAN IT. If you were to bring in Lawrence being wonderfully bitchy, that would also be awesome. AUs are also totally awesome here. Rachel and Ezra in space! Rachel and Ezra kidnapped by pirates! Rachel and Ezra Regency AU! Rachel and Ezra in poisontaster's Keptverse or something like it---Ezra is pretty enough to be a body-slave, and they would totally both get involved in the abolitionist movement! Rachel and Ezra as Jedi! The possibilities are endless. But if you want to play it straight (heh), that's fine too, as long as there is no icky sex between them.
This is my first time requesting RPF and I'm kind of nervous about it. I focused on AUs in the prompt because I have no idea how the election is going to go, and if it goes the bad way, I don't know how you'd write an uplifting fic. This is not to say real life isn't welcome, it's just I don't know where you would go with it. (For those of you who want an idea of my politics beyond the fact that I watch MSNBC enough to be fannish about it, I'm Canadian and Romney fills me with such horror and distaste he makes me long for the simpler days of Bush the Lesser. At least I felt like Bush believed what he said some of the time.) If you do go RL, if Lawrence O'Donnell could actually get in a fistfight with Tagg Romney, that would be awesome beyond description. (Can you tell I wish Lawrence were on the nominated characters list?)
If you don't know what I mean by 'poisontaster's Keptverse,' well. The main fic is A Kept Boy, a Supernatural slavefic AU, and if you liked Captive Prince, you'll probably like it. It is not a happy slavefic world--it exists in more of the grim future I imagine if, well, Romney gets elected and hands everything over to the plutocrats, and then that trend doesn't stop. (The divergent point in history is fairly clearly the Great Depression, and the consequences of that aren't pretty.) You don't need any knowledge of Supernatural to read it--I don't have any. The masterpost is here: http://poisontaster.livejournal.com/417962.html#cutid1. Trigger warnings: chld sexual abuse, mentions of rape, violence, suicide, and forced starvation, drug use, Tom Cruise, the 1%.)
I mention this story in part because it's the only RPS verse I've ever liked, and also because it's a springboard for me to talk about sexuality. As I said above, I really don't want straight!Rachel. And yet, I have no problem reading JDM/Jensen Ackles, even though I'm fairly sure neither are gay in RL. As well, if you wanted to write Ezra/Chris Hayes slash, say, as part of the larger story, I would read the shit out of that, cause who wouldn't? But I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of erasing the sexuality of an openly lesbian woman. I'm not sure why, but there it is. As well, I think fandom needs more fics about friends, and it's pretty clear to me that these two are. (please don't feel you have to go with anything power-dynamicy here, I just offer it as an example of something I've liked, plus the idea of Rachel and Ezra as revolutionaries makes me smile.) I woud just mainly love to see anything at all where they are supportive and encouraging of each other, and recognize the other's great intellectual gifts.
Rachel Maddow is the anchor of the Rachel Maddow Show, which has the primetime spot on MSNBC. Their website is http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/. Ezra Klein is an MSNBC contributor and the main writer of the Washington Post blog Wonkbook: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/. They may be followed on Twitter @maddow and @ezraklein.
The Paper Bag Princess--Robert Munsch. (Princess Elizabeth and the Dragon)
My Prompt: have always, always wanted the fic where Elizabeth goes back to the dragon and they have adventures. If you write it for me, I will love you forever.
Tread carefully with this one, it's my childhood, and one of the books that most shaped my character as an adult. It made me a feminist. I love Princess Elizabeth and the Dragon, and I'd love to see what happens if they meet in the future. Should contain copious amounts of Elizabeth being awesome. Have fun with it.
Thank you so much, dear Yuletide writer! I can't wait to see what you create.
(warning: long letter is long)
Thank you so much for writing in one of these really tiny fandoms! I'm sure I will love anything you write, and if you have something planned out, please feel free to ignore my ramblings. One thing I'd like to say from the outset, though, is that I've had a really tough year, and I'd really appreciate something with a happy or hopeful ending. Usually I am Princess Angsty McAngstMuffin of Angstland, and please feel free to have as much angst as you like in the story itself, but yeah, really bad year. I would love to have something that leaves me with the feeling that all the struggle is worth it in the end.
That said, here's some things I like in general, mostly copied from last year's letter:
Well-crafted dialogue
Witty banter
Hurt/comfort (though as a trauma survivor and friend of trauma survivors, I am VERY PICKY about this. I need at least an attempt at realism to feel okay about it.)
AUs of any type, whether it's the 'one small decision changes everything' type, or, well, Rachel Maddow and Ezra Kliuen as space pirates (for which see below)
Happy endings that are well-earned
Porn with plot
Plot with porn
Angst
Historical accuracy
BDSM themes/anything to do with power exchange or shifting power dynamics--especially shifting power dynamics, actually. If you have a character that is the Domliest Dom that ever Dommed *and the narrative never examines this* I will probably roll my eyes a lot
Character studies
Stories that pass the Bechdel test
Worldbuilding
Humour
Things I don't like in general
Endings that are irredeemably bleak
Gender-swapping
Mpreg
Using trauma as an impetus for a character to get together with her one Twu Wuv
Gratuitous rape
Overly fluffy things. I like my romances to have an edge
Damage to eyes
Damage to tongues
Disabled characters that exist in any way to Inspire! others.
Erasure of bisexuality/other sexual identities
Cross-species relationships (no Elizabeth/Dragon sex, I beg of you.)
Middle Ages-bashing
Now onto my specific requests:
Captive Prince--Freece (Laurent/Damen)
My Prompt: I would love either Laurent's POV on anything that has happened in the story so far, or some sort of Captive Prince AU--the relationship between the main characters is so intense that I'd love to see how it translates into another setting. But really all I want for yuletide is Laurent. Lots and lots of Laurent.
Basically either Laurent POV or Laurent-centric is what I'd like here. Laurent is such a fascinating character and I'd love to know what goes on inside his head. As far as whether Laurent Knows or not, my personal position is that he does and has all along, especially after the end of Part II. But if you think otherwise, feel free to explore how that might look. As far as AUs go, I'd love to see what might have happened if both Auguste and Damen had survived. But if you want to go completely crackfic and write, like, a Laurent/Damen high school AU or something that's fine too.
For those of you who don't know, Captive Prince is a web serial and available to read completely free online. It is about Damen, Prince and heir to the throne of Akielos, who gets sold into slavery by his evil half brother. He ends up the slave of Prince Laurent of Rabat, a magnificent bastard and incredibly well-drawn abuse survivor. Hijinks ensue. The first chapter is here: http://freece.livejournal.com/35519.html.
Closing Time: Leonard Cohen song
My Prompt: The Gates of Love they budged an inch/I can't say much has happened since..." Look, if you had the balls to offer this song, you probably already have an awesome idea, so just go with that. I'd love to see this in an SFnal or post-apocalyptic setting. Just tell me what is going on here!
Not much to say other than that. The important thing with this one is to have fun with it and let your imagination run wild! The music video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-0lV5qs1Qw
Pundit RPF (US) (Rachel Maddow and Ezra Klein)
My Prompt: I would love to see these two in a completely platonic mentor-student relationship where each thinks the other is just fabulous. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE RACHEL STRAIGHT I MEAN IT. If you were to bring in Lawrence being wonderfully bitchy, that would also be awesome. AUs are also totally awesome here. Rachel and Ezra in space! Rachel and Ezra kidnapped by pirates! Rachel and Ezra Regency AU! Rachel and Ezra in poisontaster's Keptverse or something like it---Ezra is pretty enough to be a body-slave, and they would totally both get involved in the abolitionist movement! Rachel and Ezra as Jedi! The possibilities are endless. But if you want to play it straight (heh), that's fine too, as long as there is no icky sex between them.
This is my first time requesting RPF and I'm kind of nervous about it. I focused on AUs in the prompt because I have no idea how the election is going to go, and if it goes the bad way, I don't know how you'd write an uplifting fic. This is not to say real life isn't welcome, it's just I don't know where you would go with it. (For those of you who want an idea of my politics beyond the fact that I watch MSNBC enough to be fannish about it, I'm Canadian and Romney fills me with such horror and distaste he makes me long for the simpler days of Bush the Lesser. At least I felt like Bush believed what he said some of the time.) If you do go RL, if Lawrence O'Donnell could actually get in a fistfight with Tagg Romney, that would be awesome beyond description. (Can you tell I wish Lawrence were on the nominated characters list?)
If you don't know what I mean by 'poisontaster's Keptverse,' well. The main fic is A Kept Boy, a Supernatural slavefic AU, and if you liked Captive Prince, you'll probably like it. It is not a happy slavefic world--it exists in more of the grim future I imagine if, well, Romney gets elected and hands everything over to the plutocrats, and then that trend doesn't stop. (The divergent point in history is fairly clearly the Great Depression, and the consequences of that aren't pretty.) You don't need any knowledge of Supernatural to read it--I don't have any. The masterpost is here: http://poisontaster.livejournal.com/417962.html#cutid1. Trigger warnings: chld sexual abuse, mentions of rape, violence, suicide, and forced starvation, drug use, Tom Cruise, the 1%.)
I mention this story in part because it's the only RPS verse I've ever liked, and also because it's a springboard for me to talk about sexuality. As I said above, I really don't want straight!Rachel. And yet, I have no problem reading JDM/Jensen Ackles, even though I'm fairly sure neither are gay in RL. As well, if you wanted to write Ezra/Chris Hayes slash, say, as part of the larger story, I would read the shit out of that, cause who wouldn't? But I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of erasing the sexuality of an openly lesbian woman. I'm not sure why, but there it is. As well, I think fandom needs more fics about friends, and it's pretty clear to me that these two are. (please don't feel you have to go with anything power-dynamicy here, I just offer it as an example of something I've liked, plus the idea of Rachel and Ezra as revolutionaries makes me smile.) I woud just mainly love to see anything at all where they are supportive and encouraging of each other, and recognize the other's great intellectual gifts.
Rachel Maddow is the anchor of the Rachel Maddow Show, which has the primetime spot on MSNBC. Their website is http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/. Ezra Klein is an MSNBC contributor and the main writer of the Washington Post blog Wonkbook: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/. They may be followed on Twitter @maddow and @ezraklein.
The Paper Bag Princess--Robert Munsch. (Princess Elizabeth and the Dragon)
My Prompt: have always, always wanted the fic where Elizabeth goes back to the dragon and they have adventures. If you write it for me, I will love you forever.
Tread carefully with this one, it's my childhood, and one of the books that most shaped my character as an adult. It made me a feminist. I love Princess Elizabeth and the Dragon, and I'd love to see what happens if they meet in the future. Should contain copious amounts of Elizabeth being awesome. Have fun with it.
Thank you so much, dear Yuletide writer! I can't wait to see what you create.
