Dear Yuletide Writer letter - 2016
Oct. 5th, 2016 12:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elen_nareDear Yuletide Writer,
First, thank you so much for this! Here are things I like or dislike in general, and some ideas for each fandom. I know this looks rather long, I'm just trying to make it as detailed as possible in case that makes it easier for you. I adore each and every one of these fandoms, so getting fic for any of them will make me a very, very happy person!
General stuff:
Ratings-wise, I’m fine with anything. I’m fine with (of age, consensual) sex scenes if that’s where the story’s going - though gen fic is equally awesome! I’m not too fond of highly detailed graphic violence, but if it’s absolutely necessary to your fic, go ahead.
Feel free to look through my LJ for inspiration :) There's a masterlist of fic (though it may be somewhat out of date... everything is definitely on AO3!) and a link to tumblr on the sidebar, too.
Story-wise: A good plot, a character piece, an exploration of friendship or romance, an adventure, a quiet moment, a missing scene, a different POV to the canon... Any and all of these are great! Gen, het, slash, femslash, are all fine. I'm not a huge fan of AUs. With crossovers it depends on the fandoms; essentially, if there's a way they could realistically meet (same time period and universe) any fandom I know is fair game. Within the ones I’m requesting, El Tiempo Entre Costuras, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and Swallows and Amazons, could all cross over potentially… Phryne takes a trip to Tetuan and has a dress made by Sira? Jim and Sira’s paths cross in intelligence work in WWII? Or indeed, Jim’s and Phryne’s in WWI? Phryne solves a murder in the Lakes (imagine Nancy Blackett meeting Phryne…)?
Things I like: friendship, friends helping each other out, humour, banter, nerdiness, science, happy (or happy-ish at least, not overwhelming despair) endings, worldbuilding, sibling love (and family interactions in general), found families...and a great many other things! These were just the first that came to mind.
Things I dislike: suicide - I’d prefer it if you didn’t kill any major characters (other than canon deaths, or to set the scene for a murder investigation obviously, but maybe murder an OC if that’s what you’re writing?), but if you absolutely must, please avoid suicide! - , noncon/dubcon, incest, gratuitous violence, underage sex, unrelieved gloom and angst, character/ship bashing.
Fandom specific:
Listed in alphabetical order. Obviously, all optional details are optional! I'm just giving them in case you're interested (or stuck for ideas and wondering why you ever offered to write this fandom :P). Spoilers abound I’m afraid, so if there’s something on here you’re interested in reading/watching and haven’t yet, I’d avoid that section. Feel free to include any other characters, nominated or not.
El Tiempo Entre Costuras - Felix Aranda, Sira Quiroga, Rosalinda Fox
There is literally no fic for this utterly wonderful series (except a fairy tale AU which I wrote!), so absolutely anything about these lovely three people and their friendship would delight me!
A few ideas:
What I love about these characters: I love Sira’s impulsiveness and bravery, her willingness to do absolutely anything no matter the risk to help those she cares about. I love Felix’s kindness, his snark and sense of irony, his occasional flair for the dramatic (like showing up to Rosalinda’s farewell party in mourning). I love Rosalinda’s intelligence, the way she moves in her world, how she knows the rules and just how far they can be played with; and her dedication to using her power and influence for good, from getting Sira’s mother out of Madrid to opposing Hitler. And I love how much all three of them care about each other, the genuine friendship between them.
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries - Phryne Fisher, Jack Robinson
I just watched the entirety of seasons 2 and 3 (in… about two weeks. Oops?) and was left with a massive craving for more of Jack and Phryne! I ship them like there’s no tomorrow, and I love their “no of course we’re not flirting, this is a serious police matter, we have to stand less than five inches apart and gaze at each other's eyes for serious detective business” style of flirting.
A few ideas:
What I love about this fandom: I’m a fan of detective shows in general, but Phryne herself is a big part of what makes this one so special! I also love the found family aspect, with Dot, Jane, Mr Butler, Bert and Cec. I like how the police and the amateurs collaborate (more or less) amicably from pretty early on, and how they both bring something to the investigation - Jack’s access to police resources, Phryne’s ability to work outside the rules that bind him, as well as both their detecting skill.
What I love about these characters: I love Phryne’s bravery and adventurous spirit, her complete disregard for any society rules she doesn’t care to follow, her unabashed confidence in her sexuality and sensuality, her kindness to anyone in need (Dot, Jane, Paddy…). I love Jack’s steadiness, his integrity, his wry sense of humour, his determination to bring killers to justice whatever the cost. And I love how their relationship develops, from somewhat antagonistic, to welcome collaborators, to friends, to finally admitting they care for each other.
Swallows and Amazons series - Jim Turner, Timothy Stedding
I was re-reading Pigeon Post (you know, as you do - pick it up to check one detail, wind up reading the whole thing :P), and wound up really interested in the relationship between Jim and Timothy - as you can see in this tumblr post and its tags.
I did rather wind up shipping them this time around, so if you want to write it as a romantic relationship I’d love that (though I really don’t want angsty ‘no-one must ever know’ plotlines; obviously they’d have to be discreet given the time period, but I’d rather it wasn’t the main focus). I’d be equally happy seeing a friendship, though.
A few ideas:
What I love about these characters: Jim must be in good standing for a “best fictional uncle ever” award! Maybe he loses some points for going all reclusive in the first book, but he certainly makes up for it after that. I love how he supports the kids, all the work he does to make sure Nancy’s maddest plans can actually happen. I love his sense of humour. And Timothy, I adore him in all his desperately shy politeness - and equally in his “this is a crisis and I must take charge” moments of amazing levelheadedness and calm courage.
Vexed - Georgina Dixon
Georgina being awesome, that’s all I want :) Include any and every character from the show you’d like to! They’re all brilliant.
A few ideas:
What I love about this character: She’s brilliant, she kicks ass, what’s not to love? :) I love her geeking out with Naz about forensics, and bonding with Tony over cooking. I love how she and Jack drive each other up the wall, but despite/because of that make such a good team. I love her competitiveness, her drive to be the best, how she's strong but not invulnerable.
---
If you're stuck on the fandom we matched on and/or would like to know more about the others:
El Tiempo Entre Costuras is one season, 11 or 17 episodes depending on where you're watching it from, as it was split differently in different countries (annoying, I know) - the 17-episode version has ~40 minutes per episode. On netflix I believe, or else online. If you watch the first half you're probably set, though once you've got that far you'll most likely want to finish it ;)
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is the longest, 3 seasons of 13/13/8 episodes which are ~45 minutes long... possibly not the one to pick up unless you've already seen some or are really intrigued. On netflix and elsewhere online.
Swallows and Amazons is a 12-book series, but for the characters I've picked you're fine with just "Pigeon Post" and "The Picts and The Martyrs". There are kindle editions available, or google is your friend ;)
Vexed is two seasons of respectively 3 and 6 1-hour episodes. You can watch the full thing in less time than a Lord of the Rings marathon, is what I'm saying here! You don't need season 1 for the character I'm requesting, either. They're currently up on Youtube.
---
I hope this was helpful! And you're not panicking too much over my requests ;) Feel free to ask if you have any questions/concerns (anonymous comments are enabled here, and anonymous asks on tumblr), and happy writing :)
First, thank you so much for this! Here are things I like or dislike in general, and some ideas for each fandom. I know this looks rather long, I'm just trying to make it as detailed as possible in case that makes it easier for you. I adore each and every one of these fandoms, so getting fic for any of them will make me a very, very happy person!
General stuff:
Ratings-wise, I’m fine with anything. I’m fine with (of age, consensual) sex scenes if that’s where the story’s going - though gen fic is equally awesome! I’m not too fond of highly detailed graphic violence, but if it’s absolutely necessary to your fic, go ahead.
Feel free to look through my LJ for inspiration :) There's a masterlist of fic (though it may be somewhat out of date... everything is definitely on AO3!) and a link to tumblr on the sidebar, too.
Story-wise: A good plot, a character piece, an exploration of friendship or romance, an adventure, a quiet moment, a missing scene, a different POV to the canon... Any and all of these are great! Gen, het, slash, femslash, are all fine. I'm not a huge fan of AUs. With crossovers it depends on the fandoms; essentially, if there's a way they could realistically meet (same time period and universe) any fandom I know is fair game. Within the ones I’m requesting, El Tiempo Entre Costuras, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and Swallows and Amazons, could all cross over potentially… Phryne takes a trip to Tetuan and has a dress made by Sira? Jim and Sira’s paths cross in intelligence work in WWII? Or indeed, Jim’s and Phryne’s in WWI? Phryne solves a murder in the Lakes (imagine Nancy Blackett meeting Phryne…)?
Things I like: friendship, friends helping each other out, humour, banter, nerdiness, science, happy (or happy-ish at least, not overwhelming despair) endings, worldbuilding, sibling love (and family interactions in general), found families...and a great many other things! These were just the first that came to mind.
Things I dislike: suicide - I’d prefer it if you didn’t kill any major characters (other than canon deaths, or to set the scene for a murder investigation obviously, but maybe murder an OC if that’s what you’re writing?), but if you absolutely must, please avoid suicide! - , noncon/dubcon, incest, gratuitous violence, underage sex, unrelieved gloom and angst, character/ship bashing.
Fandom specific:
Listed in alphabetical order. Obviously, all optional details are optional! I'm just giving them in case you're interested (or stuck for ideas and wondering why you ever offered to write this fandom :P). Spoilers abound I’m afraid, so if there’s something on here you’re interested in reading/watching and haven’t yet, I’d avoid that section. Feel free to include any other characters, nominated or not.
El Tiempo Entre Costuras - Felix Aranda, Sira Quiroga, Rosalinda Fox
There is literally no fic for this utterly wonderful series (except a fairy tale AU which I wrote!), so absolutely anything about these lovely three people and their friendship would delight me!
A few ideas:
- That beach day with Marcus Logan doesn’t look as if it’s the first time they’ve had expeditions like this together, they seem so comfortable with each other. Tell me about other days like that?
- Felix and Rosalinda coaching Sira in some interaction with Tetuan’s fashionable set - dressmaking for some eccentric aristocrat? Dealing with the different national groups?
- Sira and Rosalinda rescuing Felix from his mother, and taking him off to have fun with them.
- The three of them together at some social event - a dance? An art show where Felix is displaying his work? A social evening at Rosalinda’s?
- Perhaps Marcus wasn’t the first time Rosalinda (with Felix to help) tried to set Sira up with someone, either - were there other attempts? Probably to Sira’s mixed amusement and exasperation...
- Or perhaps Rosalinda and Sira try to set Felix up with some nice man? He’s lovely and he deserves to be happy!
- A reunion (in Tetuan? Spain? Portugal?) after the end of the series, catching up together (if you go for this, I’d rather Marcus didn’t feature too much as I’m not a huge fan of his, I find him rather on the useless side for a supposedly wonderful spy! I’d rather you didn’t bash him either, but he can be busy elsewhere or something).
- Epistolary fic - we know Rosalinda wrote to them after she and Juan Luis had to return to Spain.
- I’d be happy to see most of the other characters if you wanted to bring them in. In Tetuan, especially, I’m very fond of Candelaria and her no-nonsense attitude, and of Comisario Vazquez and his willingness to give people a second chance (even if he sometimes has to look very very hard the other way to do so).
What I love about these characters: I love Sira’s impulsiveness and bravery, her willingness to do absolutely anything no matter the risk to help those she cares about. I love Felix’s kindness, his snark and sense of irony, his occasional flair for the dramatic (like showing up to Rosalinda’s farewell party in mourning). I love Rosalinda’s intelligence, the way she moves in her world, how she knows the rules and just how far they can be played with; and her dedication to using her power and influence for good, from getting Sira’s mother out of Madrid to opposing Hitler. And I love how much all three of them care about each other, the genuine friendship between them.
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries - Phryne Fisher, Jack Robinson
I just watched the entirety of seasons 2 and 3 (in… about two weeks. Oops?) and was left with a massive craving for more of Jack and Phryne! I ship them like there’s no tomorrow, and I love their “no of course we’re not flirting, this is a serious police matter, we have to stand less than five inches apart and gaze at each other's eyes for serious detective business” style of flirting.
A few ideas:
- Case fic would be fantastic if that’s your thing, obviously!
- Phryne’s “now that’s a tale I haven’t heard” line about the Chinese brothel Jack had to raid suggests that Jack did tell her other anecdotes about his days in the force - tell me (about him telling her about) some of those? Or, hey, Phryne getting the Chinese brothel tale out of him.
- Post-canon fic - does Jack follow her to London? (How? She took a plane, a ship would take a lot longer… comedy of errors where he arrives after she’s left again? How does he even get the time off when City South is surely short a constable already while Hugh’s on honeymoon?) Or I imagine Phryne returns to Australia as soon as she’s got her parents sorted out, so a reunion in Melbourne?
- Missing moments from any episode(s) - I haven’t seen season 1 recently, but now I’ve finished the other two I may well rewatch it, so go for any you like :)
- Jack and Phryne giving Hugh and Dot respectively advice about some dilemma of engaged or married life - is their advice similar or hilariously conflicting?
- Poor long-suffering Mac watching them dance around each other, and having to work very hard to resist the urge to tell them to just get together already and stop flirting in her morgue!
- If what you want to write is a thousand words of them snarking at each other, I would totally read that ;)
What I love about this fandom: I’m a fan of detective shows in general, but Phryne herself is a big part of what makes this one so special! I also love the found family aspect, with Dot, Jane, Mr Butler, Bert and Cec. I like how the police and the amateurs collaborate (more or less) amicably from pretty early on, and how they both bring something to the investigation - Jack’s access to police resources, Phryne’s ability to work outside the rules that bind him, as well as both their detecting skill.
What I love about these characters: I love Phryne’s bravery and adventurous spirit, her complete disregard for any society rules she doesn’t care to follow, her unabashed confidence in her sexuality and sensuality, her kindness to anyone in need (Dot, Jane, Paddy…). I love Jack’s steadiness, his integrity, his wry sense of humour, his determination to bring killers to justice whatever the cost. And I love how their relationship develops, from somewhat antagonistic, to welcome collaborators, to friends, to finally admitting they care for each other.
Swallows and Amazons series - Jim Turner, Timothy Stedding
I was re-reading Pigeon Post (you know, as you do - pick it up to check one detail, wind up reading the whole thing :P), and wound up really interested in the relationship between Jim and Timothy - as you can see in this tumblr post and its tags.
I did rather wind up shipping them this time around, so if you want to write it as a romantic relationship I’d love that (though I really don’t want angsty ‘no-one must ever know’ plotlines; obviously they’d have to be discreet given the time period, but I’d rather it wasn’t the main focus). I’d be equally happy seeing a friendship, though.
A few ideas:
- Their meeting in South America (Brazil, presumably, from the matchbox) - what precisely was each of them doing there? I have a headcanon Jim does Intelligence work at least part of the time, if that catches your fancy.
- That letter Jim never posted to Molly, explaining things - what did it say? And why on earth didn’t Jim think to warn the obviously shy Timothy there was a good possibility there would be a bunch of children around?
- The houseboat battle Nancy was planning at the end of Pigeon Post, and which Jim calmly roped Timothy into - I like to think it happened before the Walkers decamped for Pin Mill.
- Timothy meeting Aunt Maria properly - are they mutually horrified, or does he somehow manage to make a good impression on her?
- If you go for the romance route, Molly having known Jim’s gay since they were kids (I imagine they were each other’s sole confidantes, pretty much, and know everything about each other), being happy he’s finally found someone, and teasing him mercilessly about the whole thing, along the lines of “You finally send me a postcard with actual writing, and it’s ‘love to Timothy’? I should have known”, would probably be huge fun! She probably wouldn’t tease Timothy, because he’s so shy, but her brother would be fair game.
- The Swallows and Amazons adopting Timothy as another uncle - and proceeding to include him in their plans and generally walk all over him just like they (especially Nancy) do to Jim!
- Timothy telling Jim about the events of The Picts and The Martyrs (Jim is probably massively amused from the whole thing since he’s at a safe distance from Aunt Maria…).
What I love about these characters: Jim must be in good standing for a “best fictional uncle ever” award! Maybe he loses some points for going all reclusive in the first book, but he certainly makes up for it after that. I love how he supports the kids, all the work he does to make sure Nancy’s maddest plans can actually happen. I love his sense of humour. And Timothy, I adore him in all his desperately shy politeness - and equally in his “this is a crisis and I must take charge” moments of amazing levelheadedness and calm courage.
Vexed - Georgina Dixon
Georgina being awesome, that’s all I want :) Include any and every character from the show you’d like to! They’re all brilliant.
A few ideas:
- Case fic, with her and Jack fighting over everything as they always do, and Tony being brilliant, and Naz being geeky.
- Her childhood - a girl who was shoplifting hamsters age 8 must have an interesting story or two to tell.
- A meeting with Kate Bishop - I suspect they'd find plenty of common ground in complaining about Jack ;)
- Who won the bet she made with Jack at the end of Episode 3, about who would solve the next case?
- Getting obsessively competitive about something, like with the cooking in Episode 4.
- If you're going in a shippy direction, I have something of a soft spot for Jack/Georgina, but can also see Naz and Georgina being really cute together…
- Does she go with Jack to his brother’s wedding? How does that go?
What I love about this character: She’s brilliant, she kicks ass, what’s not to love? :) I love her geeking out with Naz about forensics, and bonding with Tony over cooking. I love how she and Jack drive each other up the wall, but despite/because of that make such a good team. I love her competitiveness, her drive to be the best, how she's strong but not invulnerable.
---
If you're stuck on the fandom we matched on and/or would like to know more about the others:
El Tiempo Entre Costuras is one season, 11 or 17 episodes depending on where you're watching it from, as it was split differently in different countries (annoying, I know) - the 17-episode version has ~40 minutes per episode. On netflix I believe, or else online. If you watch the first half you're probably set, though once you've got that far you'll most likely want to finish it ;)
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is the longest, 3 seasons of 13/13/8 episodes which are ~45 minutes long... possibly not the one to pick up unless you've already seen some or are really intrigued. On netflix and elsewhere online.
Swallows and Amazons is a 12-book series, but for the characters I've picked you're fine with just "Pigeon Post" and "The Picts and The Martyrs". There are kindle editions available, or google is your friend ;)
Vexed is two seasons of respectively 3 and 6 1-hour episodes. You can watch the full thing in less time than a Lord of the Rings marathon, is what I'm saying here! You don't need season 1 for the character I'm requesting, either. They're currently up on Youtube.
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I hope this was helpful! And you're not panicking too much over my requests ;) Feel free to ask if you have any questions/concerns (anonymous comments are enabled here, and anonymous asks on tumblr), and happy writing :)
