Dear Yuletide Writer!

[eleanorjane]

Dear Yuletide Writer,

First, and most importantly, thankyou very much for signing up to write a story in one of the fandoms I love so much. I hope that you enjoy writing the story as much as I'll enjoy reading it!

If you're looking to get a general idea of what pushes my buttons, you can read my fandom journal here; my main day-to-day journal is ladyjestyr. But this wouldn't be a Dear Yuletide Writer letter without some specifics, so here goes!


General thoughts:

Things I Love: banter, snark, UST, UST that gets resolved, first times, stoic pining, stoic pining that gets resolved, partnerships of equals, partners who know each other well enough not to need words, shenanigans and capers, snappy dialogue, lyrical prose, humour, happy endings, bittersweet endings, het, gen, slash (including femslash), love, loyalty, lust, hot sex, a total absence of hot sex, crack, AUs, crossovers, bodyswaps, genderfuck, anything wildly improbably that works anyway.

I also have a massive kink for competence; people being assured and good at things is just hot.

Things On Which I Am Generally Not Quite So Keen: unrelenting misery, heavy kink, character bashing, het-hate, LGBTQ-phobia, *ism, incest (although in some fandoms I buy it), men written like thirteen year old girls, humiliation, the fish-out-of-water trope. And I have a major embarrassment squick.

* I'm not really into slash-for-slash's sake. While I often get OTPish about some fandoms, those OTPs are just as likely to be het as slash pairings. But I'm not anti-slash - it's just about the characters for me, and who they have individual chemistry with.

* I love gen. Hot sex is great, of course, but if you're a bit iffy about the pairings I prefer, I really don't mind a gen piece - preferably something with a bit of plot, not just a character study. Canon gen stories are what our fandoms are often based on, after all, and I love the characters for much more than just having sex with each other in our minds.

* It's Yuletide, which I kind of feel is not entirely the time for really miserable angst or grinding despair - if it's going to be dark, give me some leavening touches of humour or hope, please! That said, I don't require all sweetness-and-light la la happy fun times fic either. I'm an adult, and adult conflicts and dilemmas are interesting. :) (However, if you are inspired for sweet fluff, far be it from me to say no thanks!)

* I have a huge embarrassment/humiliation squick. It makes me sad in my pants.

Now, onto the specifics!

Fandom thoughts:

1: Pamela Brown - Swish of the Curtain

My prompt:

I love Swish of the Curtain very much, and I always finished it wanting to know so much more about what happens next. It turns out there are actually sequels! (and I've now read two of them), but I don't mind whether your fic is sequel-compliant or not. I'd especially love fic set after the novel, when the Blue Doors are off at drama school or opening the theatre as a professional repertory, but I will basically just love anything in this fandom. I chose "Any" characters because I'd genuinely be happy to read about any of Our Heroes; an ensemble fic, or any pairings, or a focus on any of the Blue Doors, I don't mind. I'd prefer no sibling pairings for sex or romance, but other than that I'm very easy to please in this fandom!

This is an awesome book (series), and I'm surprised no-one's ever written it for Yuletide before. My absolute favourites are Sandra and Bulldog, but I love all the Blue Doors, and I'd love to read about them as an ensemble or individually. I'd love stories about what they do in London when they're training at stage school, or how Nigel copes with being the first one there (or how Maddy copes with being the last one left at home!). I'd love futurefic about their later careers, too. Basically, any more glimpses into their lives would be absolutely lovely.

There are four sequels: Maddy Alone and Golden Pavements (which are concurrent), Blue Door Venture and Maddy Again. I've read the first two, and if you want to write something referencing those stories I'd be A-OK with that! And if you've read the other sequels I'd be perfectly happy for fic set around their stories, provided you spell out any necessary details. :)

Please note that I think in many ways this fandom is ripe for a crossover with Noel Streatfeild's "Ballet Shoes" (and the other books in that 'verse), so if you want to go in that direction I'm totally cool with that.

2: Castle

My prompt:

Oh, show. I love a lot of things about Castle; I love the characters, I love the relationships, I /really/ love the banter. I must admit that I'm something of a Castle/Beckett shipper - but I'm quite happy with a gen fic or fic where one of them is paired with someone else, provided any other romances aren't Forever And Ever Amen. ;) I especially love Beckett and Castle's wry snarkery, Alexis and Martha and the Castle family's relationships, and Esposito and Ryan (who are so very married). I'd love a look at Beckett's history, or Castle's writing career, or Esposito and Ryan working a case (or each other!), or even a gen-centric banter fest like the canon episodes.

I asked for "Any" characters for this one - I would generally prefer a story with at least Castle or Beckett in it, or both, but I didn't want to specify that because if you're super-inspired to write The Adventures of Ryan And Esposito, or What Lanie Parrish Does On Her Day Off, I really don't want to dissuade you. :)

I love Beckett and Castle's working relationship, so an ordinary mystery story with Banter And Crimesolving would be fine by me, or a look at Castle's relationships with his family. I love the implications about all the other things Castle has done in the name of research; he has a lot of names on his speed dial, and I'm sure there are stories in that history!

If you decide to go the Castle/Beckett route, that's more than fine with me, as I do very much like them together. I'd prefer it to be them getting together, or taking steps towards it, rather than an established relationship, though.

3: Gordon Korman - The Bugs Potter series

My prompt:

These are such awesomely fun books, in which Bugs gets up to ridiculously awesome stunts while being totally oblivious to the chaos in his wake. In other words, it's vintage Gordon Korman. I don't mind whether you only know Who Is Bugs Potter? or Live At Nickaninny; the only common theme is Bugs (and his drums, obviously). I'd love more in the vein of the books, crazy situations Bugs gets into because of his single-minded devotion to percussion, or a look at Bugs as an adult - famous rockstar, session drummer to the famous rockstars, or even deadbeat with one last pair of drumsticks.

What can I say here that I didn't say in the prompt? This is really just an opportunity for more Kormaniferous shenanigans, and nobody does "oblivious awesomeness" like Bugs. I don't mind whether it's Who Is Bugs Potter?-era, or Live at Nickaninny-era, or some other (preferably future) period in Bugs' life. I'm also fine with crossovers with the Macdonald Hall series, or I Want To Go Home! Basically, as long as it's got hijinks and Bugs, I'll be happy. :)

4: The Fifth Element

My prompt:

This is possibly my favourite movie of all time, and I've always lamented that we only get to see the universe it's set in for a tiny slice of a very big story. I'd be happy with anything here. What did Leeloo do before the Mondoshawans crashed and she woke up in the reactor? What did Leeloo and Korben do afterwards? What else has Korben done in his rather full, exciting-sounding life? Het, slash, gen, it's all good.

What the prompt says! :) Basically I love this setting so much; it's so richly-drawn and there's so much detail, and I'm fascinated by the whole world and all the people in it, especially Korben and Leeloo. I'm sorry this prompt isn't more helpful, but honestly, I will truly be happy with anything in this fandom.