Dear Yuletide Writer!
Nov. 17th, 2009 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
queenbookwenchDear Yuletide Writer,
First of all, I'd like to apologize for writing the world's latest Dear Yuletide Writer letter. I have computer access issues this season, I'm afraid.
First of all, write the stories that inspire you. I think I gave about the right amount of information in my details, though I apologize if they were a trifle incoherent. I was pretty ill at the time, and it was also going to be my only chance to sign up. So, if anything beyond the details would cramp your style, feel free to stop here. Otherwise, there will be a lot of babbling about these fandoms and why I love them behind the cut!
General loves:
--angst
--witty banter, if in-character
--h/c
--backstory
--AUs (of the "one tiny change changed everything" variety, as opposed to the "they're all vampires/space pirates/etc" variety)
--plottiness (if it floats your boat)
--missing moments
--character pieces
--seeing events from a different perspective than in canon
general non-loves:
--porn without plot
--explicit kink (but not-too-explict kink would be cool in Vorkosigan fandom, for reasons that are pretty clear given my character choices ;) )
--angst _without_ a ray of hope
Babylon 5:
I was so, so excited when I saw this was eligible this year! I love each of my characters, so let me say a bit about each of them.
Susan: I love her Russianness and Jewishness, her telepath-angst and family issues, her sense of honor, her fondness for breaking heads, her wry humor, even the fact that she reads 20th century SF for fun (there's srsly a screenshot of her reading Harlan Ellison, which I'm sure was a shout-out, but it seems in-character). I'd love backstory, post-season 4 fic, AU fic where she kicks ass and rescues Talia from PsyCorps, or some missing moments from the Shadow War arc. Although I'm a huge Susan/Talia shipper, I'm open to het pairings for her too, though, as I mentioned, I'd prefer not to get shippy Susan/Marcus. I'd also love a gen story for her.
Talia: I think I read on the Lurker's Guide somewhere that JMS had planned to bring her back if Andrea Thompson had stayed on the show...so any way you might want to do that would be great. Backstory fic about her days in PsiCorps would be awesome too (bonus points if Lyta shows up!) Even though I ship Susan/Talia, as mentioned, I also love her interactions with Garibaldi, which brings me to
Michael Garibaldi: I love them all but I think he might be my favorite, because he's so damn fucked up, and he knows it, but he keeps trying; I also like that he's not a stereotypical xenophobic security chief. Het, slash, or gen friendship fic, anything you wanna give me with Garibaldi being angsty and tortured would be awesome--could be backstory, could be post-season 4, could be Sinclair-related/post-season 1. It's also my personal fanon that he and Susan probably slept together at least once ;) Also, I love his friendship with G'Kar, which I think got a little lost in later seasons.
Stephen Franklin: He's brilliant, an idealist, utterly committed to justice...and also kind of an asshole sometimes. What's not to love? He's an awesome character and I kind of feel like the show never really knew what to do with him. And what was up with all those girls of the week? I love his passion, his addictive, driven personality, his friendship with Garibaldi; I think backstory fic exploring his heritage and his dad issues would also be nifty.
Lois McMaster Bujold--Vorkosigan series.
Mark Vorkosigan: I love him for a lot of the same reasons I love Garibaldi--utterly fucked up, keeps trying. I'd love to see his and Kareen's relationship develop as they work through some issues, but I'd also love gen fic focusing on Mark--either on his past or what makes him tick now, on his own or in relation to his family. Mark and Kareen kicking ass and saving the day (and possibly _Miles'_ ass!) would also be awesome!
Kareen Koudelka: In addition to Kareen/Mark shipfic, I also think genfic exploring what it was like being a Koudelka sister and one of the first of a new generation would be awesome. I love Kareen because although she's young, she has a strong sense of who she is, and she's not going to be satisfied with status-quo Barrayar. Also, she isn't excessively impressed by Miles ;) I also love her relationship with Cordelia. I said more about Kareen and Mark in last year's Yuletide letter, so feel free to read that too ;).
Donna/Dono and Olivia Koudelka: I'd love backstory fic focusing on Dono's years as Donna--we get some hints in canon about her hellish childhood, the reasons behind her seductive reputation, and her fascinating mixture of idealism and ruthlessnes--and I'd love to see those explored. Olivia is the Koudelka sister we know the least about, and I'd love to see more of her as well. I'd also love shippy Dono/Olivia fic set either during or after A Civil Campaign.
Sarah Monette--Doctrine of Labyrinths
To expand on what I wrote in my details, I don't dislike Felix/Mildmay per se (I've read some and liked it) but my love of this fandom is so connected to what I see as the central theme: the journey from brokenness to healing. It seems like having a deep love that's not tied to sex was really important to both characters, and I'd like to see that developed even further as they settle down and learn each other. But other slash (Felix) or het (Mildmay) pairings are totally fair game, or feel free to keep it gen if you like. I have to say that I do enjoy the unapologetic hurt/comfort in canon, so feel free to add more of that. :) I also think it would be nifty to see the POV of Vanessa Carey Brightmore and her son, as they are going to be a part of Kay's (and like Felix and Mildmay's) future.
Alternatively, I'd love to see some resolution to the whole Bastion/Juggernaut/Titan Clock issues, which could involve Mehitabel (and maybe Lord Stephen or Lord Shannon or Vincent Demabrien); there are so many ways that could go.
Suzanne Collins--Hunger Games series.
I think I pretty much said it all in my details, except that, for some bone-headed reason, I forgot to select Cinna as one of my characters. I've been wondering how a stylist from the Capital became a rebel, so feel free to work him in ;) And I want to take another opportunity to stress how much Haymitch rocks!
Also, if you matched on one of my other fandoms and aren't feeling the inspiration, this is probably the easiest one to pick up--it's two fast-paced, not terribly long YA novels.
First of all, I'd like to apologize for writing the world's latest Dear Yuletide Writer letter. I have computer access issues this season, I'm afraid.
First of all, write the stories that inspire you. I think I gave about the right amount of information in my details, though I apologize if they were a trifle incoherent. I was pretty ill at the time, and it was also going to be my only chance to sign up. So, if anything beyond the details would cramp your style, feel free to stop here. Otherwise, there will be a lot of babbling about these fandoms and why I love them behind the cut!
General loves:
--angst
--witty banter, if in-character
--h/c
--backstory
--AUs (of the "one tiny change changed everything" variety, as opposed to the "they're all vampires/space pirates/etc" variety)
--plottiness (if it floats your boat)
--missing moments
--character pieces
--seeing events from a different perspective than in canon
general non-loves:
--porn without plot
--explicit kink (but not-too-explict kink would be cool in Vorkosigan fandom, for reasons that are pretty clear given my character choices ;) )
--angst _without_ a ray of hope
Babylon 5:
I was so, so excited when I saw this was eligible this year! I love each of my characters, so let me say a bit about each of them.
Susan: I love her Russianness and Jewishness, her telepath-angst and family issues, her sense of honor, her fondness for breaking heads, her wry humor, even the fact that she reads 20th century SF for fun (there's srsly a screenshot of her reading Harlan Ellison, which I'm sure was a shout-out, but it seems in-character). I'd love backstory, post-season 4 fic, AU fic where she kicks ass and rescues Talia from PsyCorps, or some missing moments from the Shadow War arc. Although I'm a huge Susan/Talia shipper, I'm open to het pairings for her too, though, as I mentioned, I'd prefer not to get shippy Susan/Marcus. I'd also love a gen story for her.
Talia: I think I read on the Lurker's Guide somewhere that JMS had planned to bring her back if Andrea Thompson had stayed on the show...so any way you might want to do that would be great. Backstory fic about her days in PsiCorps would be awesome too (bonus points if Lyta shows up!) Even though I ship Susan/Talia, as mentioned, I also love her interactions with Garibaldi, which brings me to
Michael Garibaldi: I love them all but I think he might be my favorite, because he's so damn fucked up, and he knows it, but he keeps trying; I also like that he's not a stereotypical xenophobic security chief. Het, slash, or gen friendship fic, anything you wanna give me with Garibaldi being angsty and tortured would be awesome--could be backstory, could be post-season 4, could be Sinclair-related/post-season 1. It's also my personal fanon that he and Susan probably slept together at least once ;) Also, I love his friendship with G'Kar, which I think got a little lost in later seasons.
Stephen Franklin: He's brilliant, an idealist, utterly committed to justice...and also kind of an asshole sometimes. What's not to love? He's an awesome character and I kind of feel like the show never really knew what to do with him. And what was up with all those girls of the week? I love his passion, his addictive, driven personality, his friendship with Garibaldi; I think backstory fic exploring his heritage and his dad issues would also be nifty.
Lois McMaster Bujold--Vorkosigan series.
Mark Vorkosigan: I love him for a lot of the same reasons I love Garibaldi--utterly fucked up, keeps trying. I'd love to see his and Kareen's relationship develop as they work through some issues, but I'd also love gen fic focusing on Mark--either on his past or what makes him tick now, on his own or in relation to his family. Mark and Kareen kicking ass and saving the day (and possibly _Miles'_ ass!) would also be awesome!
Kareen Koudelka: In addition to Kareen/Mark shipfic, I also think genfic exploring what it was like being a Koudelka sister and one of the first of a new generation would be awesome. I love Kareen because although she's young, she has a strong sense of who she is, and she's not going to be satisfied with status-quo Barrayar. Also, she isn't excessively impressed by Miles ;) I also love her relationship with Cordelia. I said more about Kareen and Mark in last year's Yuletide letter, so feel free to read that too ;).
Donna/Dono and Olivia Koudelka: I'd love backstory fic focusing on Dono's years as Donna--we get some hints in canon about her hellish childhood, the reasons behind her seductive reputation, and her fascinating mixture of idealism and ruthlessnes--and I'd love to see those explored. Olivia is the Koudelka sister we know the least about, and I'd love to see more of her as well. I'd also love shippy Dono/Olivia fic set either during or after A Civil Campaign.
Sarah Monette--Doctrine of Labyrinths
To expand on what I wrote in my details, I don't dislike Felix/Mildmay per se (I've read some and liked it) but my love of this fandom is so connected to what I see as the central theme: the journey from brokenness to healing. It seems like having a deep love that's not tied to sex was really important to both characters, and I'd like to see that developed even further as they settle down and learn each other. But other slash (Felix) or het (Mildmay) pairings are totally fair game, or feel free to keep it gen if you like. I have to say that I do enjoy the unapologetic hurt/comfort in canon, so feel free to add more of that. :) I also think it would be nifty to see the POV of Vanessa Carey Brightmore and her son, as they are going to be a part of Kay's (and like Felix and Mildmay's) future.
Alternatively, I'd love to see some resolution to the whole Bastion/Juggernaut/Titan Clock issues, which could involve Mehitabel (and maybe Lord Stephen or Lord Shannon or Vincent Demabrien); there are so many ways that could go.
Suzanne Collins--Hunger Games series.
I think I pretty much said it all in my details, except that, for some bone-headed reason, I forgot to select Cinna as one of my characters. I've been wondering how a stylist from the Capital became a rebel, so feel free to work him in ;) And I want to take another opportunity to stress how much Haymitch rocks!
Also, if you matched on one of my other fandoms and aren't feeling the inspiration, this is probably the easiest one to pick up--it's two fast-paced, not terribly long YA novels.
no subject
Date: 2009-12-18 04:23 pm (UTC)Craig
no subject
Date: 2009-12-22 01:51 am (UTC)Don't worry if you're confused; scifi fandom sort of has its own special vocabulary, and it would take awhile to explain.
That's actually why I haven't responded until now--most of my free time over the last few days has been spent trying to finish my story.