![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Dear Yuletide Writer...
And here we go for another fine year!
Eleventh verse, same as the—no, actually significantly different from the first. I've been mining all my previous letters and signups for things I should note, but instead of formulating the One Perfect Sign-Up I think I've just ended up with a frankenletter. There are only so many times I can second guess myself and rewrite this, though, so it will have to do!
Edited on November 7 to add information on my position on AU/AR and crossovers
Dear Yuletide Writer:
We share a tiny fandom! How cool is that? First of all, thank you so much for writing for me. I am already excited to see what I get this year! For me, Yuletide is meant to be a fun and joyful experience, so don't stress about any of this. I offer ideas and details to give you insight into the things that I like or the ways that I view the canon and characters, but they're all meant to inspire and not to limit. If none of it speaks to you, just take the fandom and character request and go your own way. I'm totally cool with that.
Overall, I have very broad tastes. I'm a slash and femslash fan who also enjoys het and poly relationships, or no foregrounded romantic relationships at all. Porn is great. Gen is great. Action is great. Character study is great. Complicated plotty stories that include everything up to and including the kitchen sink are great. Long stories, short stories, screenplays, epic poems, dioramas: all good. (Well, maybe not the dioramas, but only because they come under the required word count.) Dark is good, funny is good, melancholy is good, joyous is good... This obviously doesn't offer much in the way of helpful parameters, but I wanted you to know that whatever tone or length or style your story comes out in, it's going to be something that I'm open to.
I'm fine with holiday stories (for any holiday) if that's your pleasure, but I'm not looking for that specifically. I also welcome original characters--I think the dynamic of introducing an original character as a significant other (especially in queer relationships) can do really interesting things in terms of character and relationship development with existing friends and families in stories, and there are a couple of requests here that could be almost entirely peopled with original characters, if that's your thing. I could have made many more requests than just six, so there definitely isn't one of these that I want more than any of the others. And I don't have an OTP in any fandom--there are pairings I like to explore more than others, but a good story can convince me of any combination.
ETA: I do enjoy AUs of the sort that are fork-in-the-road, or otherwise a divergence from canon ("What if Character Pi had chosen the red door instead of the blue door?"); when it comes to the other sort, recasting the characters in an entirely different scenarios ("What if the Avengers were a baseball team?") I do like that in RPF fandoms (which I haven't requested any of this year) but less so in fictional canons. Unless it's a coffeshop/bakery AU, which I will read in pretty much any canon ever. We all have our weaknesses. I also am fine with crossovers with any canon that I know; since I can't really give an exhaustive list of canons I know, things I've discussed in my journal and elsewhere on the internet will have to do. I don't generally suggest crossovers because I feel like they're the kind of thing that needs to be inspired rather than forced or shoehorned, but if you're inspired, go with it.
Things I particularly enjoy (not all of which will necessarily be applicable, or even compatible): complex relationships (romantic and otherwise); the supernatural and paranormal; queer themes (including coming out) or even just worldviews that incorporate queerness; prominent and well-rounded female characters (whether or not they're the requested characters); interesting small details; zombies and apocalypses, not necessarily at the same time; roadtrips of all kinds
Things I don't particularly enjoy: bodyswap; amnesia; plots that revolve around misunderstandings, especially ones that are easily resolved if people just communicate; evil with no underlying motivation or logic; significant power imbalances in romantic or sexual relationships (including but not limited to D/s and teacher/student); serious or terminal illness, especially cancer
Most importantly, no matter what happens or what you write, you will not Ruin Yuletide. So don't sweat it. ♥
If you'd like to see my letters from previous years, the best place to look is at http://cjmarlowe.livejournal.com/tag/yuletide. (Because I didn't import my entire journal, the same tag on dreamwidth is less exhaustive.)
For convenience, my AO3 is at http://archiveofourown.org/users/cjmarlowe.
Now, to the specific fandoms/requests:
:: Mine vaganti | Loose Cannons (2010) [ Tomasso Cantone, Marco ]
Tomasso and Marco are just so adorable together and I really want to see more of them (and their friends), especially back in Rome either before or after Tomasso's visit to his family in the film. The family issues in the film are very (but not exclusively) generational, and while I think it's all really interesting, that's a struggle I'd like to see backgrounded to focus more on the way Tomasso is living his life outside of the influence of his family. Which isn't to say I don't want to see him talking about it, because obviously it's a huge part of what he's dealing with, but there's also a lot more to his life and I'd love to see that side of it, where he's happy and free to be himself.
Alternatively, I'd also be interested in seeing something about Tomasso's relationship with his brother, particularly after the film when they're both out but have lived their lives so far in very different ways. ::
If this isn't the fandom you were matched on, Loose Cannons is about a young, gay man who returns home to visit his family intending to come out, but instead his older brother beats him to it and is disowned by his father. Tomasso is suddenly expected to take his place in the family business and is urged into the arms of the daughter of their new business partner. It's much more of a comedy than it sounds like from that, especially when Tomasso's boyfriend and best friends arrive unexpectedly from Rome, and the overarching theme of the film is balancing the expectations of family with living one's own life. This was on Netflix when I wrote up my request, which I thought would increase my chances of getting matched on it or even just convincing someone to give it a try, but it doesn't seem to be there anymore which is a bummer. Maybe it'll still be up on Netflix in other countries, though? And it's easily findable via...other means. You know what I'm talking about. I promise it's worth it.
:: Beware the Batman (Cartoon) [ Tatsu Yamashiro, Alfred Pennyworth ]
The show has given us a little bit of the backstory relationship between Alfred and Tatsu and I've really love to see that explored and expanded in fic. I'd also be interested in backstory on one or the other of them for this particular universe, or if you offered 'any' and are looking for something completely different, I'd be happy to see something on the trials of raising young Barbara Gordon. :) Really, I'm all about how these characters arrived at where the series started. Alfred is one serious badass and Tatsu is still sort of in her origin story (though she is also already one serious badass).
However, if you'd rather go in an action or casefic direction rather than backstory--which I would also be happy to receive--my favourite villains that have shown up in this canon so far are probably Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad, and I think the ecoterrorism angle they're going with is really interesting, but I'd be happy with any of them (including ones that haven't shown up yet). There's nothing that I don't want to see here, though I don't ship any of the main characters with each other. ::
So why this particular canon, of all the versions of Batman out there? I really like the whole tone and ambiance of it, and I like the twists they've placed on the characters, particularly Alfred and Katana but also everyone else. It's interesting to see a straight-up partnership between Batman and Katana (rather than being part of a larger team), especially since he's fairly inexperienced here (relatively speaking) and she's both embracing and bristling against his mentorship. There are really just new dynamics to explore all around.
:: Rebel Without a Cause (1955) [ Jim Stark, Buzz Gunderson ]
There's a moment in the movie, right before the chickie race, when Buzz and Jim are standing on the cliff and Jim lights a cigarette and Buzz just reaches over and takes it out of his mouth and smokes it, and I've always thought that was one of the most unexpectedly sexy things I've ever seen. It precedes the iconic lines that really sum up that whole teen genre ("Why do we do this?" asks Jim. "You've gotta do something, now don’t you?" says Buzz) and the entire interaction just makes me want more of them. So I'd love to see what would have happened between them if Buzz hadn't died that night. Slash is excellent, but friendship (whatever form that might end up taking) between them is welcome too. ::
I've loved this movie since I was in high school, and I continue to love it whenever I watch, even though it breaks my heart every time. And don't get me wrong, I love Plato and Judy, and have even written essays about the relationship between Jim and Plato, but that little moment between Jim and Buzz has stuck with me for years (it's the image in my LJ default icon) and I finally figured I would ask for something about the two of them. Which doesn't mean it has to be exclusively about them, by any means.
:: The Cabin in the Woods (2011) [ Ancient Ones (Cabin in the Woods) ]
My desire here is simple: I'd like to see a past scenario (or part of a past scenario--preparation, selection, long-term planning, aftermath, whatever) play out. Could be recent past, could be ancient past, could be in the U.S. or in a different country with entirely different horror tropes. Could have all of the characters from the movie or none of them (which is why I specified only the Ancient Ones--their presence is the only essential thing though you don't necessarily have to write them, they're just present and driving everything that everyone does to keep them appeased.) It's the whole behind-the-scenes machinations that I really dig about the movie and want to see more of. ::
I was a latecomer to this movie and after finally watching it wondered why someone didn't come to my house and hold me down and make me watch it because it's totally my kind of thing. I'm less concerned with which specific characters are highlighted in the story, though you really can't go wrong with any of them and Hadley and Sitterson are delightful.
:: Murdoch Mysteries [ William Murdoch, James Pendrick ]
Despite their rocky (understatement!) start, Murdoch and Pendrick have formed a kind of a friendship now and I especially love watching them bond over science. In another world, where Julia and Darcy remained happily married and Murdoch had to seek out someone else to spend his life with, I wonder what would have happened if he and Pendrick had fallen into something. There are a lot of complications to think of, not the least of which being the era and Murdoch's faith, but that's a big part of what makes it interesting to me. Alternatively, any story with William and James (and Julia) geeking out over some new scientific discovery would make me very happy. Either way, it's important to me that Julia remain a central figure in William's life, even if they aren't romantically involved. Also important: Science! ::
Canonically I am thrilled with William/Julia, but I'm also curious about other ways that things might have worked out, which is exactly what fic is for. I love the whole crew at the station, especially Brackenreid, and there's no one I don't want to see in the story. I love the canon for its cheeky winks at technology yet to come and its very genuine take on human relationships of all sorts and especially for Science! It's my happy place, so maybe not darkfic for this one, though peril(!) is always welcome.
:: Promised Land - Connie Willis & Cynthia Felice [ Delanna Milleflores, Cadiz Flaherty ]
The truth is that I would love anything for this fandom, about any character. But more specifically, I want to see more of Delanna and Cadiz's friendship, especially as Delanna settles in to her home and learns more about the way of life there. There is just so much world to explore here--literally an entire planet--that you could have them doing just about anything. I'd love to see more of it, through the eyes of (relative) newcomer Delanna or jaded native Cadiz. And if you want to go somewhere completely different with it...what if it was Cadiz Delanna had been betrothed to and not Sonny? ::
I won't call this a guilty pleasure book, because there is nothing guilty about it, but I've read it so many times and every time I pick it up I end up reading it right through. It never occurred to me to ask for fic until the most recent time I read it, but there are just so many things left to explore in this world they've created (very different from Willis's Oxford Time Travel universe, but there are some similarities in tone and character). Straight up, it's a romance, but it's a pioneer romance on a sparsely settled planet and there something about that that appeals to me in a way that most romance novels (of which I admittedly read very few) just don't. Maybe it appeals to me on the same level that my favourite fanfiction does--a building relationship as part of a much larger and very interesting story.
So have fun, dear writer, and I look forward to meeting you in January!
This entry was originally posted at http://cj.dreamwidth.org/23759.html.
Eleventh verse, same as the—no, actually significantly different from the first. I've been mining all my previous letters and signups for things I should note, but instead of formulating the One Perfect Sign-Up I think I've just ended up with a frankenletter. There are only so many times I can second guess myself and rewrite this, though, so it will have to do!
Edited on November 7 to add information on my position on AU/AR and crossovers
Dear Yuletide Writer:
We share a tiny fandom! How cool is that? First of all, thank you so much for writing for me. I am already excited to see what I get this year! For me, Yuletide is meant to be a fun and joyful experience, so don't stress about any of this. I offer ideas and details to give you insight into the things that I like or the ways that I view the canon and characters, but they're all meant to inspire and not to limit. If none of it speaks to you, just take the fandom and character request and go your own way. I'm totally cool with that.
Overall, I have very broad tastes. I'm a slash and femslash fan who also enjoys het and poly relationships, or no foregrounded romantic relationships at all. Porn is great. Gen is great. Action is great. Character study is great. Complicated plotty stories that include everything up to and including the kitchen sink are great. Long stories, short stories, screenplays, epic poems, dioramas: all good. (Well, maybe not the dioramas, but only because they come under the required word count.) Dark is good, funny is good, melancholy is good, joyous is good... This obviously doesn't offer much in the way of helpful parameters, but I wanted you to know that whatever tone or length or style your story comes out in, it's going to be something that I'm open to.
I'm fine with holiday stories (for any holiday) if that's your pleasure, but I'm not looking for that specifically. I also welcome original characters--I think the dynamic of introducing an original character as a significant other (especially in queer relationships) can do really interesting things in terms of character and relationship development with existing friends and families in stories, and there are a couple of requests here that could be almost entirely peopled with original characters, if that's your thing. I could have made many more requests than just six, so there definitely isn't one of these that I want more than any of the others. And I don't have an OTP in any fandom--there are pairings I like to explore more than others, but a good story can convince me of any combination.
ETA: I do enjoy AUs of the sort that are fork-in-the-road, or otherwise a divergence from canon ("What if Character Pi had chosen the red door instead of the blue door?"); when it comes to the other sort, recasting the characters in an entirely different scenarios ("What if the Avengers were a baseball team?") I do like that in RPF fandoms (which I haven't requested any of this year) but less so in fictional canons. Unless it's a coffeshop/bakery AU, which I will read in pretty much any canon ever. We all have our weaknesses. I also am fine with crossovers with any canon that I know; since I can't really give an exhaustive list of canons I know, things I've discussed in my journal and elsewhere on the internet will have to do. I don't generally suggest crossovers because I feel like they're the kind of thing that needs to be inspired rather than forced or shoehorned, but if you're inspired, go with it.
Things I particularly enjoy (not all of which will necessarily be applicable, or even compatible): complex relationships (romantic and otherwise); the supernatural and paranormal; queer themes (including coming out) or even just worldviews that incorporate queerness; prominent and well-rounded female characters (whether or not they're the requested characters); interesting small details; zombies and apocalypses, not necessarily at the same time; roadtrips of all kinds
Things I don't particularly enjoy: bodyswap; amnesia; plots that revolve around misunderstandings, especially ones that are easily resolved if people just communicate; evil with no underlying motivation or logic; significant power imbalances in romantic or sexual relationships (including but not limited to D/s and teacher/student); serious or terminal illness, especially cancer
Most importantly, no matter what happens or what you write, you will not Ruin Yuletide. So don't sweat it. ♥
If you'd like to see my letters from previous years, the best place to look is at http://cjmarlowe.livejournal.com/tag/yuletide. (Because I didn't import my entire journal, the same tag on dreamwidth is less exhaustive.)
For convenience, my AO3 is at http://archiveofourown.org/users/cjmarlowe.
Now, to the specific fandoms/requests:
:: Mine vaganti | Loose Cannons (2010) [ Tomasso Cantone, Marco ]
Tomasso and Marco are just so adorable together and I really want to see more of them (and their friends), especially back in Rome either before or after Tomasso's visit to his family in the film. The family issues in the film are very (but not exclusively) generational, and while I think it's all really interesting, that's a struggle I'd like to see backgrounded to focus more on the way Tomasso is living his life outside of the influence of his family. Which isn't to say I don't want to see him talking about it, because obviously it's a huge part of what he's dealing with, but there's also a lot more to his life and I'd love to see that side of it, where he's happy and free to be himself.
Alternatively, I'd also be interested in seeing something about Tomasso's relationship with his brother, particularly after the film when they're both out but have lived their lives so far in very different ways. ::
If this isn't the fandom you were matched on, Loose Cannons is about a young, gay man who returns home to visit his family intending to come out, but instead his older brother beats him to it and is disowned by his father. Tomasso is suddenly expected to take his place in the family business and is urged into the arms of the daughter of their new business partner. It's much more of a comedy than it sounds like from that, especially when Tomasso's boyfriend and best friends arrive unexpectedly from Rome, and the overarching theme of the film is balancing the expectations of family with living one's own life. This was on Netflix when I wrote up my request, which I thought would increase my chances of getting matched on it or even just convincing someone to give it a try, but it doesn't seem to be there anymore which is a bummer. Maybe it'll still be up on Netflix in other countries, though? And it's easily findable via...other means. You know what I'm talking about. I promise it's worth it.
:: Beware the Batman (Cartoon) [ Tatsu Yamashiro, Alfred Pennyworth ]
The show has given us a little bit of the backstory relationship between Alfred and Tatsu and I've really love to see that explored and expanded in fic. I'd also be interested in backstory on one or the other of them for this particular universe, or if you offered 'any' and are looking for something completely different, I'd be happy to see something on the trials of raising young Barbara Gordon. :) Really, I'm all about how these characters arrived at where the series started. Alfred is one serious badass and Tatsu is still sort of in her origin story (though she is also already one serious badass).
However, if you'd rather go in an action or casefic direction rather than backstory--which I would also be happy to receive--my favourite villains that have shown up in this canon so far are probably Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad, and I think the ecoterrorism angle they're going with is really interesting, but I'd be happy with any of them (including ones that haven't shown up yet). There's nothing that I don't want to see here, though I don't ship any of the main characters with each other. ::
So why this particular canon, of all the versions of Batman out there? I really like the whole tone and ambiance of it, and I like the twists they've placed on the characters, particularly Alfred and Katana but also everyone else. It's interesting to see a straight-up partnership between Batman and Katana (rather than being part of a larger team), especially since he's fairly inexperienced here (relatively speaking) and she's both embracing and bristling against his mentorship. There are really just new dynamics to explore all around.
:: Rebel Without a Cause (1955) [ Jim Stark, Buzz Gunderson ]
There's a moment in the movie, right before the chickie race, when Buzz and Jim are standing on the cliff and Jim lights a cigarette and Buzz just reaches over and takes it out of his mouth and smokes it, and I've always thought that was one of the most unexpectedly sexy things I've ever seen. It precedes the iconic lines that really sum up that whole teen genre ("Why do we do this?" asks Jim. "You've gotta do something, now don’t you?" says Buzz) and the entire interaction just makes me want more of them. So I'd love to see what would have happened between them if Buzz hadn't died that night. Slash is excellent, but friendship (whatever form that might end up taking) between them is welcome too. ::
I've loved this movie since I was in high school, and I continue to love it whenever I watch, even though it breaks my heart every time. And don't get me wrong, I love Plato and Judy, and have even written essays about the relationship between Jim and Plato, but that little moment between Jim and Buzz has stuck with me for years (it's the image in my LJ default icon) and I finally figured I would ask for something about the two of them. Which doesn't mean it has to be exclusively about them, by any means.
:: The Cabin in the Woods (2011) [ Ancient Ones (Cabin in the Woods) ]
My desire here is simple: I'd like to see a past scenario (or part of a past scenario--preparation, selection, long-term planning, aftermath, whatever) play out. Could be recent past, could be ancient past, could be in the U.S. or in a different country with entirely different horror tropes. Could have all of the characters from the movie or none of them (which is why I specified only the Ancient Ones--their presence is the only essential thing though you don't necessarily have to write them, they're just present and driving everything that everyone does to keep them appeased.) It's the whole behind-the-scenes machinations that I really dig about the movie and want to see more of. ::
I was a latecomer to this movie and after finally watching it wondered why someone didn't come to my house and hold me down and make me watch it because it's totally my kind of thing. I'm less concerned with which specific characters are highlighted in the story, though you really can't go wrong with any of them and Hadley and Sitterson are delightful.
:: Murdoch Mysteries [ William Murdoch, James Pendrick ]
Despite their rocky (understatement!) start, Murdoch and Pendrick have formed a kind of a friendship now and I especially love watching them bond over science. In another world, where Julia and Darcy remained happily married and Murdoch had to seek out someone else to spend his life with, I wonder what would have happened if he and Pendrick had fallen into something. There are a lot of complications to think of, not the least of which being the era and Murdoch's faith, but that's a big part of what makes it interesting to me. Alternatively, any story with William and James (and Julia) geeking out over some new scientific discovery would make me very happy. Either way, it's important to me that Julia remain a central figure in William's life, even if they aren't romantically involved. Also important: Science! ::
Canonically I am thrilled with William/Julia, but I'm also curious about other ways that things might have worked out, which is exactly what fic is for. I love the whole crew at the station, especially Brackenreid, and there's no one I don't want to see in the story. I love the canon for its cheeky winks at technology yet to come and its very genuine take on human relationships of all sorts and especially for Science! It's my happy place, so maybe not darkfic for this one, though peril(!) is always welcome.
:: Promised Land - Connie Willis & Cynthia Felice [ Delanna Milleflores, Cadiz Flaherty ]
The truth is that I would love anything for this fandom, about any character. But more specifically, I want to see more of Delanna and Cadiz's friendship, especially as Delanna settles in to her home and learns more about the way of life there. There is just so much world to explore here--literally an entire planet--that you could have them doing just about anything. I'd love to see more of it, through the eyes of (relative) newcomer Delanna or jaded native Cadiz. And if you want to go somewhere completely different with it...what if it was Cadiz Delanna had been betrothed to and not Sonny? ::
I won't call this a guilty pleasure book, because there is nothing guilty about it, but I've read it so many times and every time I pick it up I end up reading it right through. It never occurred to me to ask for fic until the most recent time I read it, but there are just so many things left to explore in this world they've created (very different from Willis's Oxford Time Travel universe, but there are some similarities in tone and character). Straight up, it's a romance, but it's a pioneer romance on a sparsely settled planet and there something about that that appeals to me in a way that most romance novels (of which I admittedly read very few) just don't. Maybe it appeals to me on the same level that my favourite fanfiction does--a building relationship as part of a much larger and very interesting story.
So have fun, dear writer, and I look forward to meeting you in January!
This entry was originally posted at http://cj.dreamwidth.org/23759.html.