Yuletide Letter
Oct. 16th, 2012 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bakerlooMy dear Yuletide Angel,
I think I should start with the most important matter; which is, of course, a great big thank you! Your effort and kindness in writing for one of my small fandoms is just fantastic. It’s a shame that I’m now going to repay you by launching into endless paragraphs of excitable fandom chatter. Yes, um, sorry about that… I hope, though, that it might prove useful to you. In the past, I’ve found Yuletide much easier when I’ve been given some clue of what my recipient might like and a few ideas to inspire me. I thought you might feel the same, and that’s all that this information is here for. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you but I feel I should all the same: whatever you write, have fun with it. If you do that, I’m sure I’ll adore it. :3
A few personal preferences:
- When it comes to pairings, I like slash, femslash, het, threesomes, moresomes… Pretty much anything goes. I’ve listed the pairings I like for each fandom and, unless I’ve noted otherwise, you can presume I ‘ship them romantically.
- If pairings aren’t your thing, fear not, I like gen too!
- I think AUs and cross-overs are great, as are cross-over pairings.
- I’d prefer it if you avoided rape scenes or anything sexual involving underage characters. Those are the only things I can think of that I really wouldn’t want to read.
Anything about Charles and Edmund's friendship would be lovely. There are so many sweet moments between them in the book, and it would be nice to see a few more - think Charles' gift to Edmund of a fresh rainwater bath, or their reconciliation and declaration of friendship at the end of 'Close Quarters'. :3 Personally, I think that Charles is deeply in unrequited love with Edmund. I'm not so sure that Charles would ever confess and I doubt that Edmund would ever pick up on it. It would be great if you felt like exploring that possibility though. How would it change things between them? It would be nice to have a happy ending, seeing as Charles is given so few of them. But, of course, you'll know what will best suit the story. :3
I’m reusing the ‘optional details’ I wrote last year becauseI’m essentially lazy they still work. Edmund and Charles’ friendship is the thing, among many adorable things, that I most adore about To the Ends of the Earth. However, perhaps, you matched with me on Miss Chumley or the glorious Miss Granham? I have to admit, I ‘ship Edmund with Miss Granham far more than I do with Miss Chumley. But I would be more than happy for you to change my mind. I think the thing that makes Marion so uninteresting is probably that we see her from Edmund’s perspective, which, love him though I do, isn’t always to be trusted. What is she really like? What adventures has she had on her own journey?
If you want to change the ending so that Charles survives the fire, I think it would be really interesting to imagine how Charles, Edmund and Marion’s lives would connect. Does Marion suspect he’s in love with Edmund? Is he welcomed into the family? Not going to lie, I’d be pleased if this ended up as a fluffy, domestic ménage à trois.
I think it’s important to mention here that I think Edmund is a terrible, infuriating person and I love him to distraction. He can treat people horrendously and justify his own cruelty. He’s also, I believe, essentially good, essentially kind, and constantly learning to be a better human being.
However, although I love the young, constantly changing Edmund, I do wonder what he would be like as an older man, and whether he would live up to all his potential. I also wonder what his life in 19th century Australia would be like. (I do a lot of wondering, clearly…) Anyway, all those possibilities! Take him exploring wherever you wish. :3
General things I love: Edmund/Charles (friendship or romantic); Charles/Edmund/Miss Chumley; Edmund/Miss Granham (unlikely, I know, but maybe a few years down the line things could be different?); ships ~ ♥; the Age of Sail setting; the focus on characterisation and the psychology of the ship’s inhabitants; the sense of the ship being a world in miniature, but slightly skewed; all the emotional intensity; Edmund, my lovely, stupid, terrible boy.
Eternal Law
Zak/Richard would be my pairing of choice, but I’m equally happy with gen. Anything to do with Mrs. Sheringham in particular. :3 There’s so much to be done with this fandom, I can’t think where to start… The courtroom aspect is great, and I’d love to see more of it, but I’d also really love a step back in time. The angels have had long lives, after all.
Really, I love the idea of looking at Zak and Richard’s relationship through the ages~ They’re ancient creatures so presumably they’ve seen a lot in their time. Take them anywhere, any when. Personally, I think it would be fun to send them out of the western hemisphere; Mr. Mountjoy did create a big, wide world for angels to play in.
You could even go back to the very beginning and look at why Richard chose Lucifer’s side.
If you don’t want to do anything relationship based, a bit of courtroom drama with Zak and Tom would be really ace. As would a little more back-story for Mrs. Sheringham. I’d like to know whether it’s always been her job to look after other angels. Looking at what led to her giving up her wings would be interesting too. We know that the main reason was love, but I think there must have been other issues weighing in on such a huge decision.
I’m going to mention one very specific thing, just in case it takes anyone’s fancy. I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the Angel of Mons. It made me so very happy when there was a reference to it in the series; I can’t but request Zak!Angel-of-Mons fic.
General things I love: Zak/Richard; Zak/Tom/Mrs. Sheringham (friendship); angel/demon pairings; huge metaphysical concepts meet quaint British legal drama with a healthy sense of humour; theological/mythological details; non-human minds at work; middle-aged-man-fan-service, courtesy of Mr. Samuel West (this is probably irrelevant when writing fic but it’s good stuff…)
Cambridge Spies
I would really love something about Guy and Anthony’s relationship. I don’t mind if it’s friendship or romantic. Something set post-series, or perhaps filling in gaps within the series, would be great. :3
I think I’ve requested Cambridge Spies every year since I started taking part in Yuletide, and every year it gets harder to think of something to say beyond, “I would like Guy/Anthony sadness please”. You know those days when you just need to wallow in melancholy? For me, those days are what Cambridge Spies was made for.
I lap up historical detail, so if you’d like to throw in anything from the lives of the real Cambridge Five, I would absolutely love that. Mothers! Tom Driberg! Tolya! Julian Bell! All and more are welcome. :D
General things I love: Guy/Anthony; Guy/Anthony/Julian Bell; queer history; espionage; quoting E. M. Forster; the whole tragedy of thwarted idealism… I have a lot of feels. I will shut up about them now. :P
War Horse
I love Jim/Jamie as a romantic pairing, but I’d be very happy with friendship if that’s more your thing. I’d like a fic where they meet for the first time, or maybe one looking at their separate lives before the war.
Seeing as Jim and Jamie’s time in the film is so short, there’s a lot of room for personal head-canon. Over the year since I first saw War Horse, I’ve come to imagine Jim as a Sassoon-esque ‘Fox Hunting Man’. I’d really love to know your own interpretation of the characters and their histories.
If you’d like to write Jim/Jamie, well, that would be simply lovely. I do have a soft spot for Edwardian reticence and silent yearning. I like happy endings (so anything where Jim survives to see the end of the war with Jamie - and perhaps makes a decent life with him afterwards). Equally, I like something properly sad every once in a while. You have my permission to make me weep. :P
General things I like: Jim/Jamie; Jim/Jamie/Charlie (friendship or romantic, I don’t mind at all); the First World War setting; repressed Edwardians; men who bond with horses.
Well then, I think that’s about it. Now all you have to do is write the damn thing. Enjoy yourself!
I think I should start with the most important matter; which is, of course, a great big thank you! Your effort and kindness in writing for one of my small fandoms is just fantastic. It’s a shame that I’m now going to repay you by launching into endless paragraphs of excitable fandom chatter. Yes, um, sorry about that… I hope, though, that it might prove useful to you. In the past, I’ve found Yuletide much easier when I’ve been given some clue of what my recipient might like and a few ideas to inspire me. I thought you might feel the same, and that’s all that this information is here for. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you but I feel I should all the same: whatever you write, have fun with it. If you do that, I’m sure I’ll adore it. :3
A few personal preferences:
- When it comes to pairings, I like slash, femslash, het, threesomes, moresomes… Pretty much anything goes. I’ve listed the pairings I like for each fandom and, unless I’ve noted otherwise, you can presume I ‘ship them romantically.
- If pairings aren’t your thing, fear not, I like gen too!
- I think AUs and cross-overs are great, as are cross-over pairings.
- I’d prefer it if you avoided rape scenes or anything sexual involving underage characters. Those are the only things I can think of that I really wouldn’t want to read.
(Spoilers ahead!)
To the Ends of the Earth
Anything about Charles and Edmund's friendship would be lovely. There are so many sweet moments between them in the book, and it would be nice to see a few more - think Charles' gift to Edmund of a fresh rainwater bath, or their reconciliation and declaration of friendship at the end of 'Close Quarters'. :3 Personally, I think that Charles is deeply in unrequited love with Edmund. I'm not so sure that Charles would ever confess and I doubt that Edmund would ever pick up on it. It would be great if you felt like exploring that possibility though. How would it change things between them? It would be nice to have a happy ending, seeing as Charles is given so few of them. But, of course, you'll know what will best suit the story. :3
I’m reusing the ‘optional details’ I wrote last year because
If you want to change the ending so that Charles survives the fire, I think it would be really interesting to imagine how Charles, Edmund and Marion’s lives would connect. Does Marion suspect he’s in love with Edmund? Is he welcomed into the family? Not going to lie, I’d be pleased if this ended up as a fluffy, domestic ménage à trois.
I think it’s important to mention here that I think Edmund is a terrible, infuriating person and I love him to distraction. He can treat people horrendously and justify his own cruelty. He’s also, I believe, essentially good, essentially kind, and constantly learning to be a better human being.
However, although I love the young, constantly changing Edmund, I do wonder what he would be like as an older man, and whether he would live up to all his potential. I also wonder what his life in 19th century Australia would be like. (I do a lot of wondering, clearly…) Anyway, all those possibilities! Take him exploring wherever you wish. :3
General things I love: Edmund/Charles (friendship or romantic); Charles/Edmund/Miss Chumley; Edmund/Miss Granham (unlikely, I know, but maybe a few years down the line things could be different?); ships ~ ♥; the Age of Sail setting; the focus on characterisation and the psychology of the ship’s inhabitants; the sense of the ship being a world in miniature, but slightly skewed; all the emotional intensity; Edmund, my lovely, stupid, terrible boy.
Eternal Law
Zak/Richard would be my pairing of choice, but I’m equally happy with gen. Anything to do with Mrs. Sheringham in particular. :3 There’s so much to be done with this fandom, I can’t think where to start… The courtroom aspect is great, and I’d love to see more of it, but I’d also really love a step back in time. The angels have had long lives, after all.
Really, I love the idea of looking at Zak and Richard’s relationship through the ages~ They’re ancient creatures so presumably they’ve seen a lot in their time. Take them anywhere, any when. Personally, I think it would be fun to send them out of the western hemisphere; Mr. Mountjoy did create a big, wide world for angels to play in.
You could even go back to the very beginning and look at why Richard chose Lucifer’s side.
If you don’t want to do anything relationship based, a bit of courtroom drama with Zak and Tom would be really ace. As would a little more back-story for Mrs. Sheringham. I’d like to know whether it’s always been her job to look after other angels. Looking at what led to her giving up her wings would be interesting too. We know that the main reason was love, but I think there must have been other issues weighing in on such a huge decision.
I’m going to mention one very specific thing, just in case it takes anyone’s fancy. I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the Angel of Mons. It made me so very happy when there was a reference to it in the series; I can’t but request Zak!Angel-of-Mons fic.
General things I love: Zak/Richard; Zak/Tom/Mrs. Sheringham (friendship); angel/demon pairings; huge metaphysical concepts meet quaint British legal drama with a healthy sense of humour; theological/mythological details; non-human minds at work; middle-aged-man-fan-service, courtesy of Mr. Samuel West (this is probably irrelevant when writing fic but it’s good stuff…)
Cambridge Spies
I would really love something about Guy and Anthony’s relationship. I don’t mind if it’s friendship or romantic. Something set post-series, or perhaps filling in gaps within the series, would be great. :3
I think I’ve requested Cambridge Spies every year since I started taking part in Yuletide, and every year it gets harder to think of something to say beyond, “I would like Guy/Anthony sadness please”. You know those days when you just need to wallow in melancholy? For me, those days are what Cambridge Spies was made for.
I lap up historical detail, so if you’d like to throw in anything from the lives of the real Cambridge Five, I would absolutely love that. Mothers! Tom Driberg! Tolya! Julian Bell! All and more are welcome. :D
General things I love: Guy/Anthony; Guy/Anthony/Julian Bell; queer history; espionage; quoting E. M. Forster; the whole tragedy of thwarted idealism… I have a lot of feels. I will shut up about them now. :P
War Horse
I love Jim/Jamie as a romantic pairing, but I’d be very happy with friendship if that’s more your thing. I’d like a fic where they meet for the first time, or maybe one looking at their separate lives before the war.
Seeing as Jim and Jamie’s time in the film is so short, there’s a lot of room for personal head-canon. Over the year since I first saw War Horse, I’ve come to imagine Jim as a Sassoon-esque ‘Fox Hunting Man’. I’d really love to know your own interpretation of the characters and their histories.
If you’d like to write Jim/Jamie, well, that would be simply lovely. I do have a soft spot for Edwardian reticence and silent yearning. I like happy endings (so anything where Jim survives to see the end of the war with Jamie - and perhaps makes a decent life with him afterwards). Equally, I like something properly sad every once in a while. You have my permission to make me weep. :P
General things I like: Jim/Jamie; Jim/Jamie/Charlie (friendship or romantic, I don’t mind at all); the First World War setting; repressed Edwardians; men who bond with horses.
Well then, I think that’s about it. Now all you have to do is write the damn thing. Enjoy yourself!
