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Hello, Yuletider!
[note: edited for elaboration/explanation in the Yes Please section below.]
Thanks for fic-writin' for me! You're a star. Here are my Yes Pleases and DNWs, and a rundown of my preferences for each fandom I've requested, although- as per usual- they aren't binding, optional details are optional, etc etc. As I said in the signups, write what pleases you, and verily, it shall please me also.
Thanks for fic-writin' for me! You're a star. Here are my Yes Pleases and DNWs, and a rundown of my preferences for each fandom I've requested, although- as per usual- they aren't binding, optional details are optional, etc etc. As I said in the signups, write what pleases you, and verily, it shall please me also.
1. YES PLEASE TO
a. Pining. Allllllll the pining. Slow burn, misunderstandings, mutual heartsickness, Agonised Yearning From Afar; as long as it ends happily, give it allllll to me. I am addicted to the Feels. Person A is so gone on Person B, but doesn't think Person B loves them (spoiler: they do)? The agonies! The hoping! The confusion! The relief! I will ride the rollercoaster of shipping into the sunset of mixed metaphors, dammit.
b. Worldbuilding! I love it. I love the small details of what makes a universe- the politics, the social niceties, supermarkets, toilets, strange rituals, clothing, assumptions, post offices, the lot. It's certainly not necessary, of course- I've definitely loved fics that were scant on the worldbuilding and Very Strong on the Character-Centred Feels, which, *hearteyes*. So please do write what works for you.
c. I have a significant love for AUs. Modern interpretations, what-ifs, Groundhog Day, A/B/O, soulmates, daemons, superheroes, Harry Potter crossovers, genderswaps, you name it and I will eat it up with a spoon. Soulmate-mark tropes in particular are my favourite, as are marriages of convenience/fake dating etc, because I am An Unashamed Sap.
I particularly love pushing the boundaries of tropes and finding new variations on them- questioning assumptions and stereotypes in existing trope ideas and subverting those (are soulmates really destined to fall in love or is there choice or work involved? love isn't easy, after all- could you break soulmate bonds with neglect? or could you end up with a culture of unhappy soulmates who stay in abusive relationships because they can't help loving their soulmates? at what point does that stop being love- how are we defining love anymore? can you have platonic or multiple soulmates? can that change over time? are alphas really the dominant orientation? what exactly are betas for? also, isn't that a discredited variation of wolf hierarchy- aren't wolfpacks usually families? how would that change the definitions in a/b/o dynamics? ... and so on).
But basically, this GIF of Jason Momoa shaking out a chair to sit down?
It Me, the moment someone says 'soulmarks'. Or 'A/B/O'. Or 'fake dating'. Or 'what if this hadn't happened-?' I am all about twisting canon into new and bizarre positions because I love finding new perspectives on familiar characters- you get glimpses into people you wouldn't otherwise. Also, having them push against the relational boundaries and obstacles of tropes like soulmate bonds or marriages of convenience really makes characters interrogate their relationship for compatibilities and incompatibilities, and really examine whether romance is a thing they want to do with this other person. That? I am all for that. Self-awareness makes for good pining.
But! I also greatly enjoy canon! Particularly when the canon is complicated enough on its own that just seeing it fleshed out is a satisfying read (Imperial Raaaaadch). Some things do honestly work better in canon, so write what suits you.
d. I tend to prefer my relationships between equals. Two people equally skilled in their own areas, both highly competent, both with their own sense of self and abilities and boundaries and rights- this is why my OTP is Arthur/Eames from Inception. This is also why I'm far more likely to ship Otayuri than Victor/Yuuri in the Yuri on Ice fandom, for instance, given the dynamic between the pair- I don't really do mentor/student type relationships. It's not a squick, it's just. Not a preference. I have no objection at all to one independent person adjusting themselves to fit another, or, say, one person choosing to fight their pride and inherited beliefs in order to love the other (Seiiiiiiiivarden), but I don't particularly like it if one of the party starts out... lesser.
a. Pining. Allllllll the pining. Slow burn, misunderstandings, mutual heartsickness, Agonised Yearning From Afar; as long as it ends happily, give it allllll to me. I am addicted to the Feels. Person A is so gone on Person B, but doesn't think Person B loves them (spoiler: they do)? The agonies! The hoping! The confusion! The relief! I will ride the rollercoaster of shipping into the sunset of mixed metaphors, dammit.
b. Worldbuilding! I love it. I love the small details of what makes a universe- the politics, the social niceties, supermarkets, toilets, strange rituals, clothing, assumptions, post offices, the lot. It's certainly not necessary, of course- I've definitely loved fics that were scant on the worldbuilding and Very Strong on the Character-Centred Feels, which, *hearteyes*. So please do write what works for you.
c. I have a significant love for AUs. Modern interpretations, what-ifs, Groundhog Day, A/B/O, soulmates, daemons, superheroes, Harry Potter crossovers, genderswaps, you name it and I will eat it up with a spoon. Soulmate-mark tropes in particular are my favourite, as are marriages of convenience/fake dating etc, because I am An Unashamed Sap.
I particularly love pushing the boundaries of tropes and finding new variations on them- questioning assumptions and stereotypes in existing trope ideas and subverting those (are soulmates really destined to fall in love or is there choice or work involved? love isn't easy, after all- could you break soulmate bonds with neglect? or could you end up with a culture of unhappy soulmates who stay in abusive relationships because they can't help loving their soulmates? at what point does that stop being love- how are we defining love anymore? can you have platonic or multiple soulmates? can that change over time? are alphas really the dominant orientation? what exactly are betas for? also, isn't that a discredited variation of wolf hierarchy- aren't wolfpacks usually families? how would that change the definitions in a/b/o dynamics? ... and so on).
But basically, this GIF of Jason Momoa shaking out a chair to sit down?
It Me, the moment someone says 'soulmarks'. Or 'A/B/O'. Or 'fake dating'. Or 'what if this hadn't happened-?' I am all about twisting canon into new and bizarre positions because I love finding new perspectives on familiar characters- you get glimpses into people you wouldn't otherwise. Also, having them push against the relational boundaries and obstacles of tropes like soulmate bonds or marriages of convenience really makes characters interrogate their relationship for compatibilities and incompatibilities, and really examine whether romance is a thing they want to do with this other person. That? I am all for that. Self-awareness makes for good pining.
But! I also greatly enjoy canon! Particularly when the canon is complicated enough on its own that just seeing it fleshed out is a satisfying read (Imperial Raaaaadch). Some things do honestly work better in canon, so write what suits you.
d. I tend to prefer my relationships between equals. Two people equally skilled in their own areas, both highly competent, both with their own sense of self and abilities and boundaries and rights- this is why my OTP is Arthur/Eames from Inception. This is also why I'm far more likely to ship Otayuri than Victor/Yuuri in the Yuri on Ice fandom, for instance, given the dynamic between the pair- I don't really do mentor/student type relationships. It's not a squick, it's just. Not a preference. I have no objection at all to one independent person adjusting themselves to fit another, or, say, one person choosing to fight their pride and inherited beliefs in order to love the other (Seiiiiiiiivarden), but I don't particularly like it if one of the party starts out... lesser.
2. NOPES
Unmitigated cruelty, humiliation without restoration, horror without eventual hope. Pages of detailed descriptions of sex without any particular plot (I am not averse to sex! I just get bored if that's the primary aspect of a fic. Feelings are my thing, after all). Rape as an excuse or as wallpaper. Endless torture. The primary narrative voice of a character who is genuinely, disturbingly psychopathic and has neither remorse nor kindness nor pity for others in them (I read a Hannibal fic once where Will was also a murderer and it was well and chillingly told and I felt sick afterwards from being in his head. so: no). Most of this is copied from my 2016 Dear Author letter. it still remains relevant.
Unmitigated cruelty, humiliation without restoration, horror without eventual hope. Pages of detailed descriptions of sex without any particular plot (I am not averse to sex! I just get bored if that's the primary aspect of a fic. Feelings are my thing, after all). Rape as an excuse or as wallpaper. Endless torture. The primary narrative voice of a character who is genuinely, disturbingly psychopathic and has neither remorse nor kindness nor pity for others in them (I read a Hannibal fic once where Will was also a murderer and it was well and chillingly told and I felt sick afterwards from being in his head. so: no). Most of this is copied from my 2016 Dear Author letter. it still remains relevant.
3. SPECIFIC FANDOMS
a. IMPERIAL RADCH
Okay, so, Seivarden is a Hot Mess and I love her. I love her awful, wonderful personality and her character growth and her arrogance and in particular, I love her complex relationship with Breq. I would Very Much Like to know what it would take to get those two into some kind of romantic... thing, even with all their issues, and what that Romantic Thing would look like. Because these two definitely have a lot of romantic-barrier issues (Breq's identification with non-humanness, her stoic ancillary... sorta-asexuality, sorta-refusal-to-attach?, Seivarden's addictions and depression and out-of-timeness and pride).
But! nonetheless, when I was reading the Ancillary trilogy, I wanted them to be in some kind of romantic thing with Feelings eventually, because Seivarden's devotion gives me feelings. And also Seivarden's feelings in general give me feelings? It's a complicated thing, devotion in this kind of character- it runs counter to how she's been raised, and how she believed the world to work, and it's such a learning thing for her, and she's pretty smashed up on the inside, and it's hard. Seivarden's such a mess, but she's trying, because Breq. but you may not agree with this ship! and that is totally okay! I am fine with whatever exploration of their relationship you are happy to write, romantic or otherwise. I just- I have a lot of feels about Seivarden, okay, and about the many things Seivarden feels about Breq.
b. PERSUASION
Okay! So, we see a lot of Anne's point of view canonically and also in fandom, but I really, reaaaaallllllly want some pining from Wentworth. This genuinely excellent commentary on Wentworth's feelings made me reassess my general apathy towards him? Like, I thought he was Kind Of A Dick, previously. but really, that tumblr post is key to why I decided to request Persuasion. I would very much like some insight into the Feelings behind that stoic exterior, because, yes, my drug is Feelings. Allllll the Feelings. (and frankly, Anne needs to be appreciated and pined for more, because she is A Precious. I love my gentle bb.)
Okay! So, we see a lot of Anne's point of view canonically and also in fandom, but I really, reaaaaallllllly want some pining from Wentworth. This genuinely excellent commentary on Wentworth's feelings made me reassess my general apathy towards him? Like, I thought he was Kind Of A Dick, previously. but really, that tumblr post is key to why I decided to request Persuasion. I would very much like some insight into the Feelings behind that stoic exterior, because, yes, my drug is Feelings. Allllll the Feelings. (and frankly, Anne needs to be appreciated and pined for more, because she is A Precious. I love my gentle bb.)
But yes. Feelings. Pining. Mutually requited, eventually resolved pining! But pining. If that's your jam. It can be canon, it can be an AU, it can be a what-if, anything. I just very much want secret longings (this is also why I ship E/R in the Les Miserables fandom, if it helps to pin me on the fandom map).
Also. I read an excellent genderbent historical version yesterday and it was so good, except for the fact that it was pre-novel and ended at the beginning of the eight year separation. Wentworth ended the fic hating genderbent-Anne. Yuletider, I died. Please don't do that to me.
Also. I read an excellent genderbent historical version yesterday and it was so good, except for the fact that it was pre-novel and ended at the beginning of the eight year separation. Wentworth ended the fic hating genderbent-Anne. Yuletider, I died. Please don't do that to me.
c. BRAVE
Right! I enjoy Merida's forthright, adventurous, good-humoured personality, and her rambunctious but affectionate relationship with her family, and her- wonder and curiosity at the world, really. Also her messiness and unashamed... unpolishedness? Yeah, let's go with that.
What I've been wanting to know for a while now is who Merida would end up marrying and why she'd marry them (see: Unashamed Sap Loves Having Feelings). It doesn't have to be one of the three clansmen suggested (preferably not, actually, but write what you please). Really, I'd love to know what kind of person she'd actually have feelings for- are they even Scottish? Do her parents like them? Does she end up marrying for love or for diplomacy (and can it please be both, see 'Marriage of Convenience' trope)? Does she set them some quests? Are they a bear? Are they from another animated film? Are they a real historical person? Are they magical? Is this a 'five suitors Merida turned down and one she didn't' fic prompt? WHO KNOWS.
Alternatively, if you're not into that, I wouldn't mind knowing what Merida's like as an adult, particularly when it comes to her history with the eldritch and whatever political happenings were occurring in the handwavey-fantasy-historical time period Brave is set in (is this pre-British annexation? very likely). As mentioned earlier, I love worldbuilding, so any of that wider fantasy-political funtimes is great. By all means, make it a crossover with real-world events (can we stick this entire story into the events of William Wallace? Braveheart? Dragons? Wait, I'm getting my faux-Scottish jowly American men confused).
Also, I am, as noted above, a Very Big Fan of both modern AUs and the wide-ranging meadows of AU alternatives (soulmates! daemons! genderswap! A/B/O! what-ifs!), so if you like those, go for gold with all my excited squealing behind you. As an extra sidenote, on the romance front I'm an m/f shipper in this part of the Disney fandom, but write what works for you.
4. ENDING NOISES
If you're the research-my-audience's-tastes kind of writer, I'm magpiemountains on tumblr, here was last year's yuletide letter, and my fic reading account is hollowmen on Ao3 (although two thirds of my bookmarks are private, so... this may not be helpful). I have no idea how useful any of these things are, but, you know. Better safe than etc.
If you're the research-my-audience's-tastes kind of writer, I'm magpiemountains on tumblr, here was last year's yuletide letter, and my fic reading account is hollowmen on Ao3 (although two thirds of my bookmarks are private, so... this may not be helpful). I have no idea how useful any of these things are, but, you know. Better safe than etc.
Aaaaand that's it. Really, if I could sum this entire letter up it would be FEELINGS, GIVE THEM TO ME (LET ME ROLL IN THEIR GLORIOUS AGONY JUICES). But honestly, feel free to throw all my prompts out the window and HAVE AT. write what you want to! make your fannish heart happy! I very much look forward to reading it.
Happy Yuletide!
Happy Yuletide!
