Lilith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
reflectedeve) wrote2009-11-08 02:32 pm
reflectedeve) wrote2009-11-08 02:32 pm
Yuletide Letter 2009
Dear Yule Goat,
Thank you so much for being my writer! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your efforts already, mysterious and awesome person. I should also warn you: this letter is long. This is intended to give you more options (if you want them), rather than freak you out, so . . . I hope it doesn't. Freak you out, that is. ♥
See, I like to put lots of details in my requests/letters, but it's not because I'm picky. Honestly, as a writer/artist, I usually tend to prefer detailed prompts, but! If that's not the way you like to work, that's more than fine. :) If you are seized with inspiration that totally ignores my prompts, please run with it! As far as I'm concerned, Yuletide is about everyone involved having as much fun as possible, and I really want you to enjoy writing this story rather than stressing about whether it fits my specifications.
Overall, there's one thing I look for most in a fic: character voices (where applicable - one of my requested fandoms this year definitely doesn't have a lot of dialog). If the people sound like themselves (tone, word choice, phrasing, etc), I will be over the moon. :) For Yuletide I prefer to avoid the really dark stuff, also, so leave out character death and really serious angst, and you're pretty golden.
As for more specific taste things: it's probably obvious from my requests that I'm sort of relationship-focused (in my fannish pursuits, anyway), and a bit of a femslash junkie; but, I also love me some well-written gen. I love plot, I love reflective character pieces . . . it's all good. When a fic is pairing-focused, I do tend to prefer "first time" stuff, particularly if it's a pairing that is non-canon, because it's always interesting to see how it happens; however, established stuff can be really interesting as well! Oh, and I definitely enjoy sex scenes, but am perfectly happy without them, too. (If you do want to get porny, I'd prefer to avoid noncon and most hard kink, though at least one of my pairings here definitely lends itself to a little light bondage. ;))
Okay, so here's a reiteration of my requests, with a few additional thoughts on why I like the fandoms/characters. Feel free to use as much or as little as you like! (Fandoms listed alphabetically; there is no preference here!)
1. Dar Williams - The Honesty Room (album) | Alleluia
"Yeah, I found love here." Oh really? Ever since I first heard this song, I've 'shipped the narrator and the magenta-haired angel. I would love some femslash that fills in details! Gen that builds on the fun, if mildly cynical, vision of the afterlife portrayed in the song would also be fun.
Well, here's the entirety of the canon: Alleluia. (I'll leave this up until after reveals.) It's been one of my favorite songs for years (I've been a Dar devotee since high school), and actually inspired one of the original comics I'm currently working on. (The plot's totally different, though; promise.) Plus, there's so much room to play. :)
For this, I guess I'd prefer something on the lighter side, rather than straying too far into cynicism. Apart from that, I'm just really interested to see what you might do with this tiny little canon! It might be fun to see some historical/cultural detail included (informing the narrator's character, in particular; there could be flashbacks), for instance. You could explore transformations of various traditional Christian theological/popular beliefs or constructs, if you wanted to get that in-depth (it's an area of interest for me) - though please don't make the perspective preachy/evangelical (I'm quite agnostic). Or you could play with the narrator appearing to/advising other kids (from her contemporaries to someone more present-day), as is implied in the song! Or just, you know, heavenly romance. ;) I am a sucker for two girls in love.
Obviously there's not a lot I can say about the characters, in depth. We have a cynical dead punk girl and a magenta-haired cussing angel - hey God, the bad kids - but no further details on their deeper personalities, backgrounds, appearances, etc. Lots of room to maneuver! :D
In general, this song is just full of themes that I enjoy: an off-beat look at theological concepts, implied lesbianism, punk, rebellion, and the feel of a silly high school AU or ridic indie movie (I picture something along the lines of But I'm A Cheerleader or Saved!) . . . I'm so thrilled at the prospect of more. :D
2. Family Man (comic) | Luther Levy/Lucien de Saint-Yves
Luther is such a rich character; I'm fascinated by his identity issues, his religious disillusionment, and all his various relationships (with family, with peers, etc). His interactions with Lucien are particularly fun (I love the banter, and the personality contrasts). I would enjoy slash or gen with them; I also have a real thing for all the historical background and for Christian theology.
You can find all the (ongoing) canon for this, complete with the author's notes, here. (There's also the author's previous comic series, available here. It shares a couple of characters with Family Man, but takes place long afterwards, is not necessarily canonical, and is stylistically completely different. Not required reading by any means, but I rec it - it's lots of fun!)
This is the highlight of my (lengthy) webcomics reading list. I love it for its serious, contemplative (but often wry) mood; for the relate-able lead character and his search for self (touched by both humor and bitterness); for its strong, intriguing female lead; for the depth and complexity of their backgrounds . . . plus, the rich historical and visual detail is an absolute joy. Speaking of historical detail: I would value a certain amount of that, in any fic for this fandom.
As for the characters . . . as I've mentioned, I find Luther extremely relate-able and engrossing, and honestly, I would be happy with just about any story about him (his childhood, and the difficulties of his dual identity; his university days and growing disillusionment; his rich and complicated family life; the day-to-day experiences of his new life in Familienwald, etc). As for his interactions with Lucien, there is a certain amount of meeting of the minds there, but a fair bit of contrast also, which I find very pleasing. Lucien here is fairly sure of himself and a bit lighter in his approach to life; he's also clearly intrigued with his "find" (on a personal and academic level). And there's banter! :D I'd love to see more of this, be it slashy or strictly on the gen side. (I already love Luther/Ariana, so.)
If you'd like to draw on material from Bite Me! at all (such as details from Lucien's background - not to mention, the somewhat vague question of his supernatural identity in this version) . . . please feel free, although it might be a challenge to fit it in with Family Man's much less wacky tone. Also, please don't go too dark with this; a certain amount of angst and complication is essentially inherent to anything that deals with Luther Levy (in his youth, at any rate), but I'd prefer to be left on at least a hopeful note. :)
3. Fried Green Tomatoes | Idgie Threadgoode/Ruth Jamison
I would love a happy story from their younger days, before lost arms or murder investigations or cancer; either their first summer of friendship (prior to Ruth's marriage), or in the earliest days of the cafe. Courtship and romance would be wonderful; hijinks and getting in and out of scrapes together would be delightful; a combination would be pretty ideal.
I should note that I love both versions of this (I may prefer the book a little bit because there's more of it, but they don't differ too much), so use whatever source material you like.
This fandom is like comfort food for me (which I guess is odd, with the sad ending, but nevertheless). It's such a sweet love story! I'm particularly compelled by the character of Idgie, with her endearing shy awkwardness that progresses into a slightly rough-edged charm; by her rebellious streak; and by her fierce loyalty to her loved ones. (I may have mentioned that I like rebels - I also particularly love nontraditional gender presentation, particularly androgynous/butch women.) Ruth makes a fantastic counterpoint to her; diplomatic and even demure at times, but with a steely determination underneath it, and the steadyness to balance Idgie's wild tendencies. There's some nice push-and-pull between them! I love the richly-detailed setting, too, and the close (but troubled and complicated, particularly across racial divisions) relationships both women have with family and neighbors. (I really appreciate that the setting is so complicated, so if you want to put in some serious undertones to balance funtimes a little, that'd be great too.)
As far as story wishes go, I don't really have a lot to add? Youthful romance and/or youthful adventures are what I dream about, here. While I find the Ruth/Idgie relationship as presented in the book and movie fairly satisfying, I wouldn't mind seeing it made a bit more explicit (not necessarily in a sexual way). Probably in private, given the culture they live in, but! Anyway. That's about it. :)
4. Strangers in Paradise | Casey Bullocks-Femur/Tambi Baker
What a fantastic, contrasting dynamic these two have! I want more of it! I'd be particularly interested in something set after or around the end of the series, expanding on our glimpses of their relationship (which I read as romantic, but YMMV, and that's fine). Or, well, they certainly have a lot of history to expand on! Would prefer something that ends on an up note, however.
Strangers in Paradise is one of my all-time favorite comic series (and a huge influence on my own art). While I love Katchoo, Francine, and David, their stories are told pretty thoroughly in the comic itself; I never would have expected to be requesting SiP fic for Yuletide before I read the very last issue of the series, and saw Casey and Tambi's dynamic suddenly shift. I already loved them both: Casey just adds fun to any scene (until she gets serious, which always makes me sit up and pay attention), and Tambi, well. She's big and growly and butch and not terribly approachable, but there are things and people that she really CARES about. (I love her relationship with Katchoo and would not mind reference to it, if you felt so inclined!)
Their interactions in the last few issues are just dynamite. There are revelations and rifts; we have our protagonists on one side and Casey and Tambi (such an unlikely pair) on the other, and then . . . the confrontation (both verbal and physical), where Casey tries to blame Tambi for what's happened; the very unusual opening-up on Tambi's side; and in the last issue . . . well. Okay, I'm just going to quote these two scenes, because I love them so much.
So yeah! I really read that as 'new couple,' and would be very interested to see how that actually, y'know, happened. ;) Or at least, they've clearly grown closer, and I'd love a story about their lives at the end of the series. Or, it could be interesting to go back and explore past events within the series, from their perspective . . . etc. Whatever strikes your fancy! I would (yet again) appreciate a happy (or at least hopeful) ending, and inclusion of any of the SiP cast as background characters would be pretty awesome, too.
I think that's probably plenty to be going on with, yeah? Like I said before: feel free to use as much or as little as you like. I'm quite convinced that I'm going to love whatever you come up with. ♥
Thank you again, and happy writing!
Thank you so much for being my writer! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your efforts already, mysterious and awesome person. I should also warn you: this letter is long. This is intended to give you more options (if you want them), rather than freak you out, so . . . I hope it doesn't. Freak you out, that is. ♥
See, I like to put lots of details in my requests/letters, but it's not because I'm picky. Honestly, as a writer/artist, I usually tend to prefer detailed prompts, but! If that's not the way you like to work, that's more than fine. :) If you are seized with inspiration that totally ignores my prompts, please run with it! As far as I'm concerned, Yuletide is about everyone involved having as much fun as possible, and I really want you to enjoy writing this story rather than stressing about whether it fits my specifications.
Overall, there's one thing I look for most in a fic: character voices (where applicable - one of my requested fandoms this year definitely doesn't have a lot of dialog). If the people sound like themselves (tone, word choice, phrasing, etc), I will be over the moon. :) For Yuletide I prefer to avoid the really dark stuff, also, so leave out character death and really serious angst, and you're pretty golden.
As for more specific taste things: it's probably obvious from my requests that I'm sort of relationship-focused (in my fannish pursuits, anyway), and a bit of a femslash junkie; but, I also love me some well-written gen. I love plot, I love reflective character pieces . . . it's all good. When a fic is pairing-focused, I do tend to prefer "first time" stuff, particularly if it's a pairing that is non-canon, because it's always interesting to see how it happens; however, established stuff can be really interesting as well! Oh, and I definitely enjoy sex scenes, but am perfectly happy without them, too. (If you do want to get porny, I'd prefer to avoid noncon and most hard kink, though at least one of my pairings here definitely lends itself to a little light bondage. ;))
Okay, so here's a reiteration of my requests, with a few additional thoughts on why I like the fandoms/characters. Feel free to use as much or as little as you like! (Fandoms listed alphabetically; there is no preference here!)
1. Dar Williams - The Honesty Room (album) | Alleluia
"Yeah, I found love here." Oh really? Ever since I first heard this song, I've 'shipped the narrator and the magenta-haired angel. I would love some femslash that fills in details! Gen that builds on the fun, if mildly cynical, vision of the afterlife portrayed in the song would also be fun.
Well, here's the entirety of the canon: Alleluia. (I'll leave this up until after reveals.) It's been one of my favorite songs for years (I've been a Dar devotee since high school), and actually inspired one of the original comics I'm currently working on. (The plot's totally different, though; promise.) Plus, there's so much room to play. :)
For this, I guess I'd prefer something on the lighter side, rather than straying too far into cynicism. Apart from that, I'm just really interested to see what you might do with this tiny little canon! It might be fun to see some historical/cultural detail included (informing the narrator's character, in particular; there could be flashbacks), for instance. You could explore transformations of various traditional Christian theological/popular beliefs or constructs, if you wanted to get that in-depth (it's an area of interest for me) - though please don't make the perspective preachy/evangelical (I'm quite agnostic). Or you could play with the narrator appearing to/advising other kids (from her contemporaries to someone more present-day), as is implied in the song! Or just, you know, heavenly romance. ;) I am a sucker for two girls in love.
Obviously there's not a lot I can say about the characters, in depth. We have a cynical dead punk girl and a magenta-haired cussing angel - hey God, the bad kids - but no further details on their deeper personalities, backgrounds, appearances, etc. Lots of room to maneuver! :D
In general, this song is just full of themes that I enjoy: an off-beat look at theological concepts, implied lesbianism, punk, rebellion, and the feel of a silly high school AU or ridic indie movie (I picture something along the lines of But I'm A Cheerleader or Saved!) . . . I'm so thrilled at the prospect of more. :D
2. Family Man (comic) | Luther Levy/Lucien de Saint-Yves
Luther is such a rich character; I'm fascinated by his identity issues, his religious disillusionment, and all his various relationships (with family, with peers, etc). His interactions with Lucien are particularly fun (I love the banter, and the personality contrasts). I would enjoy slash or gen with them; I also have a real thing for all the historical background and for Christian theology.
You can find all the (ongoing) canon for this, complete with the author's notes, here. (There's also the author's previous comic series, available here. It shares a couple of characters with Family Man, but takes place long afterwards, is not necessarily canonical, and is stylistically completely different. Not required reading by any means, but I rec it - it's lots of fun!)
This is the highlight of my (lengthy) webcomics reading list. I love it for its serious, contemplative (but often wry) mood; for the relate-able lead character and his search for self (touched by both humor and bitterness); for its strong, intriguing female lead; for the depth and complexity of their backgrounds . . . plus, the rich historical and visual detail is an absolute joy. Speaking of historical detail: I would value a certain amount of that, in any fic for this fandom.
As for the characters . . . as I've mentioned, I find Luther extremely relate-able and engrossing, and honestly, I would be happy with just about any story about him (his childhood, and the difficulties of his dual identity; his university days and growing disillusionment; his rich and complicated family life; the day-to-day experiences of his new life in Familienwald, etc). As for his interactions with Lucien, there is a certain amount of meeting of the minds there, but a fair bit of contrast also, which I find very pleasing. Lucien here is fairly sure of himself and a bit lighter in his approach to life; he's also clearly intrigued with his "find" (on a personal and academic level). And there's banter! :D I'd love to see more of this, be it slashy or strictly on the gen side. (I already love Luther/Ariana, so.)
If you'd like to draw on material from Bite Me! at all (such as details from Lucien's background - not to mention, the somewhat vague question of his supernatural identity in this version) . . . please feel free, although it might be a challenge to fit it in with Family Man's much less wacky tone. Also, please don't go too dark with this; a certain amount of angst and complication is essentially inherent to anything that deals with Luther Levy (in his youth, at any rate), but I'd prefer to be left on at least a hopeful note. :)
3. Fried Green Tomatoes | Idgie Threadgoode/Ruth Jamison
I would love a happy story from their younger days, before lost arms or murder investigations or cancer; either their first summer of friendship (prior to Ruth's marriage), or in the earliest days of the cafe. Courtship and romance would be wonderful; hijinks and getting in and out of scrapes together would be delightful; a combination would be pretty ideal.
I should note that I love both versions of this (I may prefer the book a little bit because there's more of it, but they don't differ too much), so use whatever source material you like.
This fandom is like comfort food for me (which I guess is odd, with the sad ending, but nevertheless). It's such a sweet love story! I'm particularly compelled by the character of Idgie, with her endearing shy awkwardness that progresses into a slightly rough-edged charm; by her rebellious streak; and by her fierce loyalty to her loved ones. (I may have mentioned that I like rebels - I also particularly love nontraditional gender presentation, particularly androgynous/butch women.) Ruth makes a fantastic counterpoint to her; diplomatic and even demure at times, but with a steely determination underneath it, and the steadyness to balance Idgie's wild tendencies. There's some nice push-and-pull between them! I love the richly-detailed setting, too, and the close (but troubled and complicated, particularly across racial divisions) relationships both women have with family and neighbors. (I really appreciate that the setting is so complicated, so if you want to put in some serious undertones to balance funtimes a little, that'd be great too.)
As far as story wishes go, I don't really have a lot to add? Youthful romance and/or youthful adventures are what I dream about, here. While I find the Ruth/Idgie relationship as presented in the book and movie fairly satisfying, I wouldn't mind seeing it made a bit more explicit (not necessarily in a sexual way). Probably in private, given the culture they live in, but! Anyway. That's about it. :)
4. Strangers in Paradise | Casey Bullocks-Femur/Tambi Baker
What a fantastic, contrasting dynamic these two have! I want more of it! I'd be particularly interested in something set after or around the end of the series, expanding on our glimpses of their relationship (which I read as romantic, but YMMV, and that's fine). Or, well, they certainly have a lot of history to expand on! Would prefer something that ends on an up note, however.
Strangers in Paradise is one of my all-time favorite comic series (and a huge influence on my own art). While I love Katchoo, Francine, and David, their stories are told pretty thoroughly in the comic itself; I never would have expected to be requesting SiP fic for Yuletide before I read the very last issue of the series, and saw Casey and Tambi's dynamic suddenly shift. I already loved them both: Casey just adds fun to any scene (until she gets serious, which always makes me sit up and pay attention), and Tambi, well. She's big and growly and butch and not terribly approachable, but there are things and people that she really CARES about. (I love her relationship with Katchoo and would not mind reference to it, if you felt so inclined!)
Their interactions in the last few issues are just dynamite. There are revelations and rifts; we have our protagonists on one side and Casey and Tambi (such an unlikely pair) on the other, and then . . . the confrontation (both verbal and physical), where Casey tries to blame Tambi for what's happened; the very unusual opening-up on Tambi's side; and in the last issue . . . well. Okay, I'm just going to quote these two scenes, because I love them so much.
[Scene One:]
Casey: [She’s been waffling about seeing Katchoo again, after her outing as an undercover agent] “But what if . . . “
Tambi: “What if I throw you over my shoulder and spank you until you stop whining and trust me?”
Casey: ::Blink!:: ::Blink!::
Casey: ::Sigh:: “I would love that.”
Tambi: ::Stares over the top of her sunglasses:: “Seriously?”
Casey: “Yes.”
Tambi: “Okay, you do know you’re totally bent, right?”
Casey: ::adoring, sheepish expression:: “Yeah, sad, isn’t it?”
[Scene Two:]
Tambi: “Okay, can we get the hugging thing under control here? This is getting ridiculous!”
Casey: “Tambi, be nice!”
Tambi: “You’re acting likea bunch of damn college girls!”
Casey:”Hey! No! No! No! Bad girl! Be nice or no dessert!”
Tambi: “You’re a freak.”
Casey: “And you take yourself way too seriously.”
Tambi: ::GROWL::
Casey: “Aww! I love it when she growls like a bear--she’s so cute!” ::squeek!::
Katchoo and Francine: ::terrified moment of silent comprehension::
So yeah! I really read that as 'new couple,' and would be very interested to see how that actually, y'know, happened. ;) Or at least, they've clearly grown closer, and I'd love a story about their lives at the end of the series. Or, it could be interesting to go back and explore past events within the series, from their perspective . . . etc. Whatever strikes your fancy! I would (yet again) appreciate a happy (or at least hopeful) ending, and inclusion of any of the SiP cast as background characters would be pretty awesome, too.
I think that's probably plenty to be going on with, yeah? Like I said before: feel free to use as much or as little as you like. I'm quite convinced that I'm going to love whatever you come up with. ♥
Thank you again, and happy writing!