Dear Yuletide Writer Letter
Oct. 16th, 2021 10:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
przedIt's another Yuletide, and I could not be more excited that you're going to write a story for me. If you already have an idea, I'm sure I'll love it. But if you'd like some guidance about the things I like, here it is.
Things That Make Me Happy
Angst and hurt/comfort
AUs
Banter
Competent characters behaving competently
Crossovers
Plotty stories
Character studies
Found families
Happy endings
Unhappy endings, if they're of the magnificently tragic variety.
I prefer slash, but like gen. No matter the relationship, emotional intimacy that matters more to me than the physical sort, though I would never turn down some rousing physical intimacy. While I most want to see the characters listed, I am fond of seeing other characters in the fandoms and how they all interact. And I'm not averse to OC's, if they're well drawn and essential to the plot.
Do Not Wants
Non-con or rape
A/B/O
BDSM and most kink
Death of a requested character
Mpreg
Additionally, I dislike seeing competent characters acting stupidly. I also don't want to see other characters or ships beyond what I've requested criticized or belittled.
And here are the details about my requested fandoms:
The Talk of the Town (Leopold Dilg, Michael Lightcap, Nora Shelley)
I discovered this movie when my husband recorded it from TCM and told me "You have to watch this. Cary Grant and Ronald Colman are supposed to be fighting over Jean Arthur, but they're really flirting with each other!" And he wasn't wrong! Grant's labour activist Leopold Dilg is wrongfully accused of arson, and hides out at the house of an old school friend, Nora Shelley. But Nora has just rented the house out to a law professor, Michael Lightcap (Colman). Nora convinces Lightcap that Dilg is a gardener, and the flirting just ramps up from there. Lightcap and Dilg pretty much falling in love over a game of chess while Nora looks adoringly on is a high point of the film. My dream ending for the film is the three of them going off together. However you want to manage that, I'll love it. Maybe Lightcap stays on the Supreme Court, maybe he doesn't. I'd love to see Dilg pulling him into activism, and Nora supportING them both, but also finding her own place in the world. If an OT3 isn't your thing, having them all as a supportive found family also works for me. Available as a rental from Youtube https://youtu.be/_ju6Z2v9TnI
Political Animals (TJ Hammond & Margaret Barrish)
Sebastian Stan and TJ were what sucked me into this show, and though it turns out I love pretty much every character and all their crazy flaws, TJ is still the one I love most. I hurt when he screws up and am hopeful when he takes steps in the right direction. I'd love to see him find happiness, to see him shake the hold his addictions have on him. I'd love to see more of him and his grandmother together. Margaret is the one in the family that seems to care for TJ most, and the one whose good opinion TJ most cares about. And I'd love to see more of his brother or his father trying to protect him, and more of his complicated relationship with his mother. And finally, I'd love to see him find a boyfriend who'd actually look after him, not just someone who wants to shag the ex-president's son, and not someone who'll cut and run when he needs them.
The Crimson Kimono (Joe Kojaku, Charlie Bancroft, Christine Downs)
From the start of The Crimson Kimono, Joe and Charlie are such an old married couple. They live together; they work together; they obviously care for each other a great deal. Then Christine comes onto the scene and the movie they're in can see no other way but to drive a wedge between them. But what if that didn't happen? What I'm saying is that Joe/Charlie/Christine is totally my OT3. I'd love to see the three of them negotiating their relationship. How does Christine fit with both of them? Does Joe stay on the force? Does Charlie? Or, if you don't want to write the OT3, maybe look at Joe and Charlie during the war. How did they keep each other safe? If there's some good hurt/comfort content, I definitely won't complain.
Ted Lasso (Roy Kent, Keeley Jones, Ted Lasso, Trent Crimm)
Roy Kent and Keeley Jones are absolutely my favourite couple in the show. Keeley is adorable, and I love Roy's "Fuck!" when he's had an epiphany. I'm worried about the state of their relationship at the end of season two, but hopeful they'll stay together. Maybe show Roy on his own in Italy while Keeley becomes a badass boss of her own. I also love the possibilities between Ted and Trent Crimm, The Independent. Trent setting out to write a hatchet piece in first season and ending up charmed by Ted is a great starting point for their relationship, whether it be friendship or more. So, give me a moment between them during one of the episodes. Or show us what happens between them not that Trent is no longer a journalist. Mostly, I hope you'll stay true to the hopeful, if not always pain free, tone of the show.
What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger (James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers)
This is absolutely my sneaky way of making a Stucky request in Yuletide. All I really want from this fandom is to ignore the What If finale and have Bucky and Steve surviving the war and living happily together in Brooklyn. Barring that, Bucky and Steve engaging in wartime shenanigans with Peggy and the Howlies would also be fun. I am absolutely a Stucky slash fan, but enjoy gen if that how you roll. But please, please, please do not pair Steve with Peggy.
In the end, I hope you write something that gives you joy. That's sure to bring me joy as well.
Things That Make Me Happy
I prefer slash, but like gen. No matter the relationship, emotional intimacy that matters more to me than the physical sort, though I would never turn down some rousing physical intimacy. While I most want to see the characters listed, I am fond of seeing other characters in the fandoms and how they all interact. And I'm not averse to OC's, if they're well drawn and essential to the plot.
Do Not Wants
Additionally, I dislike seeing competent characters acting stupidly. I also don't want to see other characters or ships beyond what I've requested criticized or belittled.
And here are the details about my requested fandoms:
The Talk of the Town (Leopold Dilg, Michael Lightcap, Nora Shelley)
I discovered this movie when my husband recorded it from TCM and told me "You have to watch this. Cary Grant and Ronald Colman are supposed to be fighting over Jean Arthur, but they're really flirting with each other!" And he wasn't wrong! Grant's labour activist Leopold Dilg is wrongfully accused of arson, and hides out at the house of an old school friend, Nora Shelley. But Nora has just rented the house out to a law professor, Michael Lightcap (Colman). Nora convinces Lightcap that Dilg is a gardener, and the flirting just ramps up from there. Lightcap and Dilg pretty much falling in love over a game of chess while Nora looks adoringly on is a high point of the film. My dream ending for the film is the three of them going off together. However you want to manage that, I'll love it. Maybe Lightcap stays on the Supreme Court, maybe he doesn't. I'd love to see Dilg pulling him into activism, and Nora supportING them both, but also finding her own place in the world. If an OT3 isn't your thing, having them all as a supportive found family also works for me. Available as a rental from Youtube https://youtu.be/_ju6Z2v9TnI
Political Animals (TJ Hammond & Margaret Barrish)
Sebastian Stan and TJ were what sucked me into this show, and though it turns out I love pretty much every character and all their crazy flaws, TJ is still the one I love most. I hurt when he screws up and am hopeful when he takes steps in the right direction. I'd love to see him find happiness, to see him shake the hold his addictions have on him. I'd love to see more of him and his grandmother together. Margaret is the one in the family that seems to care for TJ most, and the one whose good opinion TJ most cares about. And I'd love to see more of his brother or his father trying to protect him, and more of his complicated relationship with his mother. And finally, I'd love to see him find a boyfriend who'd actually look after him, not just someone who wants to shag the ex-president's son, and not someone who'll cut and run when he needs them.
The Crimson Kimono (Joe Kojaku, Charlie Bancroft, Christine Downs)
From the start of The Crimson Kimono, Joe and Charlie are such an old married couple. They live together; they work together; they obviously care for each other a great deal. Then Christine comes onto the scene and the movie they're in can see no other way but to drive a wedge between them. But what if that didn't happen? What I'm saying is that Joe/Charlie/Christine is totally my OT3. I'd love to see the three of them negotiating their relationship. How does Christine fit with both of them? Does Joe stay on the force? Does Charlie? Or, if you don't want to write the OT3, maybe look at Joe and Charlie during the war. How did they keep each other safe? If there's some good hurt/comfort content, I definitely won't complain.
Ted Lasso (Roy Kent, Keeley Jones, Ted Lasso, Trent Crimm)
Roy Kent and Keeley Jones are absolutely my favourite couple in the show. Keeley is adorable, and I love Roy's "Fuck!" when he's had an epiphany. I'm worried about the state of their relationship at the end of season two, but hopeful they'll stay together. Maybe show Roy on his own in Italy while Keeley becomes a badass boss of her own. I also love the possibilities between Ted and Trent Crimm, The Independent. Trent setting out to write a hatchet piece in first season and ending up charmed by Ted is a great starting point for their relationship, whether it be friendship or more. So, give me a moment between them during one of the episodes. Or show us what happens between them not that Trent is no longer a journalist. Mostly, I hope you'll stay true to the hopeful, if not always pain free, tone of the show.
What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger (James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers)
This is absolutely my sneaky way of making a Stucky request in Yuletide. All I really want from this fandom is to ignore the What If finale and have Bucky and Steve surviving the war and living happily together in Brooklyn. Barring that, Bucky and Steve engaging in wartime shenanigans with Peggy and the Howlies would also be fun. I am absolutely a Stucky slash fan, but enjoy gen if that how you roll. But please, please, please do not pair Steve with Peggy.
In the end, I hope you write something that gives you joy. That's sure to bring me joy as well.
