Dear Yule Goat,
Dec. 24th, 2011 10:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
paxpinnaeHello! I just got done with a challenge that was very stressful for me, largely through my own fault, so let me tell you what I wish someone had told me: it doesn't matter what you write, as long as you write it. I love every single one of these fandoms to itty bitty pieces (in one case literally; one of the books has disintegrated), and no matter what you write, I'll love it. Take every single thing I say from here on as strictly or as loosely as you need to to have a joyous Yuletide.
In brief: I'm a multishipper and a multifandom whore. I love, in alphabetical order, femslash, gen, het, and slash. I'm a huge fan of fanworks that look at the canon from a new perspective and that build in new details about the world in which they are set. I generally prefer badinage and wit over angst and despair, but I can be persuaded otherwise. My absolute squicks are embarrassment, mpreg, and mentor-mentee sex. If you want details about my preferences generally, I urge you to consult the list at the end of this letter, my “dear internet please bring me a pony tag,” which collects all of my fandom exchange letters, and my Delicious and AO3 bookmarking pages, which are linked in the sidebar. If you want details about my prompts specifically, those are below the cuts.
Young Wizards
Right. When I said “write the fic of your heart,” I meant it. This is my favorite fandom, forever and for always, and I've yet to read anything in it that didn't make me at least a little bit happy. That said, if you want a jumping-off point, here are a few ideas.
1. The Lone Power vs the Winged Defender throughout history and myth, on Earth and in the greater universe. Pairing the two is appreciated but not necessary.
2. The Transcendent Pig meets Darryl.
3. Ronan and Darryl and Kit doing anything together. (For more about my Feeeeeeelings on Ronan and Darryl particularly, consult last year's Yuletide letter.)
4. Dairine and Carmela: intergalactic Indiana Joneses.
5. Nita and the Peridexis: developments in the relationship.
Pick one, spin it off, mix it up, and write it down. I multi-ship in this fandom, with the exception of Tom/Carl, who are totally husbands for life, so you can pair everyone or no-one.
Newsflesh
Like I said, I ship Shaun and George as co-dependant and not entirely healthy, but close enough for them. Their relationship is totally moulded by the world in which they live. Alive!George/Shaun, Dead!George/Shaun, and Clone!George/Shaun are all acceptable time periods. I'm a big fan of the rest of the Blogging Team as well (this prompt was almost Becks: The First Time She Poked A Dead Thing and How Her Parents Reacted, which is totally an acceptable back-up if you're not feeling the quasi-incestuous love), so feel free to work them into the story.
The Night Circus - Erin Morganstern
I really, vividly, incoherently fell in love with the world of The Night Circus within 48 hours of the book's release. Like everyone else I've ever talked to about it, I loved its sense of place, although the main duo, Marcus and Cecelia, often left me a bit flat. Tsukiko, though, immediately wormed her way into my heart, and I'd love to receive any sort of story about her, though I'd like one with her and Hinata best. If you don't feel that you can do, that, go nuts playing with the world. Have fun!
Fidelio (Op.72)
Okay, so I make it a point to leave one slot open every Yuletide for a bail-out fandom. It's a spontaneous, last-minute, readily-available fandom which can be consumed in 3 hours or less: if the prompt you matched with me on completely fails you and writer's block is threatening to eat your soul, you can watch/read the bail-out fandom, and write in that. This year, it's Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera, in which a woman crossdresses gains employment as a prison guard, and romances the warden's daughter in order to rescue her husband, who has been unjustly imprisoned by a wicked provincial governor. This is an opera you want to watch; the plot is cracktastic, the music is heavenly, and the Prisoner's Aria never fails to make me weep openly.
Anyway, now that our brief pimping session is over with, clarification: there isn't really much of it. “Fidelio”/Marzelline appeals to me deeply, pairing as it does a somewhat flighty girl with a woman on a mission in a slightly fucked-up yet still-innocent way; I would also enjoy seeing Florestan's time in a shell with another unjustly imprisoned man, including Jean Valjean, the Count of Monte Cristo, or Phillipe from the Man in the Iron Mask. Honestly, if you pair with me in this fandom, I already consider you a superior human being and will happily read what you have to write.
I love:
I like:
I loathe:
In brief: I'm a multishipper and a multifandom whore. I love, in alphabetical order, femslash, gen, het, and slash. I'm a huge fan of fanworks that look at the canon from a new perspective and that build in new details about the world in which they are set. I generally prefer badinage and wit over angst and despair, but I can be persuaded otherwise. My absolute squicks are embarrassment, mpreg, and mentor-mentee sex. If you want details about my preferences generally, I urge you to consult the list at the end of this letter, my “dear internet please bring me a pony tag,” which collects all of my fandom exchange letters, and my Delicious and AO3 bookmarking pages, which are linked in the sidebar. If you want details about my prompts specifically, those are below the cuts.
Young Wizards
Last year during Yuletide, I asked for - and received - the fic of my dreams in this fandom. This year, I'm using my prompt to give you an excuse to write yours. Tell me the story you've always wanted to read in the Young Wizards universe, but never quite gotten around to writing. I promise you, I will love it.
I understand that this much freedom in a prompt can be intimidating. If you prefer to work from a jumping-off point, or if your mind has gone completely blank in panic, I've laid out a few different potential ideas in my Dear Yule Goat letter. If you're already scribbling outlines in a .txt file, then ignore them completely and write what you want. Good luck!
Right. When I said “write the fic of your heart,” I meant it. This is my favorite fandom, forever and for always, and I've yet to read anything in it that didn't make me at least a little bit happy. That said, if you want a jumping-off point, here are a few ideas.
1. The Lone Power vs the Winged Defender throughout history and myth, on Earth and in the greater universe. Pairing the two is appreciated but not necessary.
2. The Transcendent Pig meets Darryl.
3. Ronan and Darryl and Kit doing anything together. (For more about my Feeeeeeelings on Ronan and Darryl particularly, consult last year's Yuletide letter.)
4. Dairine and Carmela: intergalactic Indiana Joneses.
5. Nita and the Peridexis: developments in the relationship.
Pick one, spin it off, mix it up, and write it down. I multi-ship in this fandom, with the exception of Tom/Carl, who are totally husbands for life, so you can pair everyone or no-one.
Newsflesh
I would like some filthy quasi-incestuous porn, please! To me, the really fascinating aspect of Shaun and George's relationship is the way they are so utterly competent in most spheres and so co-dependent on each other. Their skills and inclinations are separate, but they keep returning to each other, in all aspects and all situations. If you can work in some world building, that would also be awesome, but if you can't, don't sweat it.
Like I said, I ship Shaun and George as co-dependant and not entirely healthy, but close enough for them. Their relationship is totally moulded by the world in which they live. Alive!George/Shaun, Dead!George/Shaun, and Clone!George/Shaun are all acceptable time periods. I'm a big fan of the rest of the Blogging Team as well (this prompt was almost Becks: The First Time She Poked A Dead Thing and How Her Parents Reacted, which is totally an acceptable back-up if you're not feeling the quasi-incestuous love), so feel free to work them into the story.
The Night Circus - Erin Morganstern
Tsukiko - wry, mysterious, and tinged with regret - was probably my favorite character in The Night Circus. I'd really like to see how her and Hinata's challenge and relationship played out, and what made Hector Bowen and The Man In The Grey Suit switch from open warfare to the more indirect circus.
If that doesn't gun your engine, however, I'll be perfectly content with circus-related worldbuilding. Give me a look at the culture of the reveurs! Invent your own tent, and tell me how it came to be, and whose life it changes! How did the internet affect the way reveurs communicate and share knowledge? Really, I just love this world, and want to spend more time in it.
I really, vividly, incoherently fell in love with the world of The Night Circus within 48 hours of the book's release. Like everyone else I've ever talked to about it, I loved its sense of place, although the main duo, Marcus and Cecelia, often left me a bit flat. Tsukiko, though, immediately wormed her way into my heart, and I'd love to receive any sort of story about her, though I'd like one with her and Hinata best. If you don't feel that you can do, that, go nuts playing with the world. Have fun!
Fidelio (Op.72)
Marzelline/Lenore femmeslash please! I'm a fan of the contrast between Marzelline's happy naivete and Lenore's more mature concerned distraction. If that idea fails you, I will also be totally happy with a meeting between Florestan and the 19th century crossover prisoner of your choice - Jean Valjean of Les Miserables comes to mind.
Okay, so I make it a point to leave one slot open every Yuletide for a bail-out fandom. It's a spontaneous, last-minute, readily-available fandom which can be consumed in 3 hours or less: if the prompt you matched with me on completely fails you and writer's block is threatening to eat your soul, you can watch/read the bail-out fandom, and write in that. This year, it's Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera, in which a woman crossdresses gains employment as a prison guard, and romances the warden's daughter in order to rescue her husband, who has been unjustly imprisoned by a wicked provincial governor. This is an opera you want to watch; the plot is cracktastic, the music is heavenly, and the Prisoner's Aria never fails to make me weep openly.
Anyway, now that our brief pimping session is over with, clarification: there isn't really much of it. “Fidelio”/Marzelline appeals to me deeply, pairing as it does a somewhat flighty girl with a woman on a mission in a slightly fucked-up yet still-innocent way; I would also enjoy seeing Florestan's time in a shell with another unjustly imprisoned man, including Jean Valjean, the Count of Monte Cristo, or Phillipe from the Man in the Iron Mask. Honestly, if you pair with me in this fandom, I already consider you a superior human being and will happily read what you have to write.
I love:
- Obscure historical, scientific, or background details
- Characters who communicate with each other in realistic ways
- Solving shipping wars through OT3s
- Banter and Badinage
- Wings/flying
I like:
- Women who talk to each other and do things
- Characters who fuck up and try to do better
- Stories that deal with what happens after you save the world/win Nationals/resurrect your dead loved one/take down the corrupt government official/achieve what you thought was your purpose in life.
I loathe:
- Racefail
- Genderfail
- Queerfail
- Bad spelling and grammar
- Stories where characters get viscerally embarrassed.
- Relationships of younger people with older people in a position of power (incl. teachers, parents, and Batman)
- Conflicts that could easily be resolved if two characters who have no reason not to talk to each other talked to each other
- Stories where someone gets raped with a knife (Look, you really only have to stumble upon this once before you start putting it on every “DO NOT WANT” list ever.)
*Note: I use the terms “XXXfail” rather than “XXXism” because I have nothing against works that show people dealing with the various “isms,” but I do have something against works that themselves use “ist” tropes.
A clarifying example: Mad Men is one of my favorite TV shows, because it shows women dealing with sexism in a realistic way; working around it, rising above it, and yes, even falling prey to it. The Dresden Files is one of my unfavorite book series, because the main character's opinion on women is as follows: “sure, she's said that she doesn't like or appreciate my interfering with her life, but that's just the feminism talking. I can't help taking care of the womens in overbearing ways, because they need it and I am such a Nice Guy. So sue me! *rakish wink*”
Have fun with this, dear Yule Goat. I can't wait to see what you make.
