Dear Yuletide Writer
Oct. 16th, 2021 01:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swan_towerWelcome, Yulemouse/Yulegoat/Yulecritter of whatever sort! Thank you so much -- this is always a delight, and after the two years we've had, a bit of fannish escapism is very welcome.
The optional details below are optional; they are also, shall we say, a bit long. Please do not be put off by this. It's mostly me babbling about why I like the sources, and then offering a variety of tidbits that I hope will be useful to you. Basically, I'm just trying to feed the plotbunnies. (There are also more general notes about my tastes at the bottom.) (Also, way too many parenthetical asides.) Fandoms are in alphabetical order.
My username on AO3 is russian_blue, if you're the sort of Yuletider who trawls through previous gifts and/or fics for data before you start writing. :-)
***
Fandom: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci
Characters: Christopher Chant, Cat Chant, Gabriel de Witt
What I love about the source: Unlike most people, I read The Lives of Christopher Chant first, and so I always view this series through a Christopher lens, rather than a Cat one. I have a biiiiiig weak spot for characters whose power occasionally outstrips their ability to figure out what they're doing with it, and I really liked watching Christopher mature.
What I'd love to get: We know from the short story "Stealer of Souls" that Christopher took over as Chrestomanci and Cat arrived at the castle while Gabriel was still alive, which means that for a while there, you had no less than three nine-lived enchanters running around at once. How badass would it be if all three of them worked together on something? Especially given the wild differences in their personalities -- Cat earnest and young, Christopher sarcastic and adult, and Gabriel strict and old -- but all of them throwing around gobsmackingly large amounts of power, often in casual ways. I have no particular vision of what incident would involve all three of them; you can run with whatever suits your fancy. But I love the idea of seeing three Chrestomancis go to town on some problem, especially since it would give us a chance to see Christopher and Gabriel interacting when Christopher has grown out of being a twelve-year-old snot. :-P
I also have a (very optional!) crossover request involving this series, which is an idea that has really just possessed my brain and not let go. A passing reference in "Warlock at the Wheel" makes it clear that Chrestomanci's multiverse is the same as that in The Homeward Bounders. Which means that it's possible for Christopher to meet up with Jamie Hamilton.
What would Christopher (as an adult and Chrestomanci, not, I think, as a kid) say to Jamie? How long has Jamie been wandering, by the time the two of them run into each other? Do they meet up in Christopher's world, or somewhere out in the Anywheres? It isn't the sort of encounter that could fix anything, I imagine, though Christopher would probably offer to try; the anchor has to keep moving, and even Chrestomanci can't change that. But the encounter could be really intense. For all his sarcasm and flaws, I think Christopher would have a deep empathy for what Jamie's going through, and why. If that fires your imagination the way it did mine, then I'd love to read the result. (If you go this route, none of the other requested characters have to appear in the story unless you really want them to. I'm more interested in the dynamic Christopher would have with Jamie.)
***
Fandom: Elfquest
Characters: Worldbuilding
What I love about the source: Oh god, where do I start? This was, for many years, the only comic book I had ever read. It's still one of the deep foundational stories in my mind. I love how well-realized the characters are, and the capacity for the narrative to be about the ensemble and subsets thereof, rather than being just Cutter's story with everybody else playing bit parts. I love the way conflict is handled, never being casually dismissed, or treated as if violence is a get-out-of-jail-free card for everything. I love the consequences, and the fact that the characters experience both real losses and real victories. And I've got a big ol' soft spot for the soul-names thing, and the various bonds that can be created from that, both voluntary and not, both good and bad.
If you need to refresh your memory or want to get in on this awesome series, virtually all of it is available for free online.
What I'd love to get: The advent of the "worldbuilding" tag for this exchange was perfect for this request! While I love the characters in this canon, what I've always really craved in fic is just stuff that expands the setting, whether geographically or historically. I've read most of the series, basically lacking only the second half of the Skywise bit -- though nothing after Kings of the Broken Wheel hit me quite as deeply. There's so much richness there, and also so much open space to develop new things. Possible angles include:
1) A story about a tribe of your own devising, either meeting one of the canonical groups or off doing their own thing. This could explore an environment not already covered (previous gifts have included subterranean volcanic elves, polar-bear-riding elves, and arctic aquatic elves), or be your own take on something the canon already touched on. (I love the idea of sea elves, for example, but the canonical Wavedancers didn't quite do it for me.) Or -- since I've finally caught up on the Final Quest arc -- more about the Rootless Ones? My academic background is in anthropology, so elves adapting socially and physically to different environments is really interesting to me -- which sounds high-falutin', but really what I mean is yay cool stuff!
2) A historical incident for any of the canonical groups. Life under a past Wolfrider chief, early days of the Sun Village, Go-Backs vs. trolls, the Gliders before they fell into decadence and apathy -- a story about any of those would be cool. The High Ones right after the fall. Etc. Whatever strikes your fancy.
3) Human contact. This one could combine with any of the other prompts. Maybe your invented tribe runs into humans, or has even learned to co-exist with them in (non-warped-Glider-style) peace. Or maybe there were other contacts that we haven't been told about, for the canonical tribes or individual characters therefrom. We've already had a few examples of how that could go, but there's room for a lot more variety.
I'm especially interested in how being a member (by birth or adoption) of a particular tribe shapes the way a character approaches different situations, the things that are unique to being an elf (long life, soul name, magical gifts) and how they handle those things culturally or psychologically, etc. Stories about Recognition or other kinds of soulbonds, or the development/use/ethics/consequences of magic powers, are great.
Really, I just want MOAR ELFQUEST DAMMIT, whether it's following the existing material somewhere new or breaking fresh ground entirely. Whatever idea you have, if you think I'll like it, then go for it!
***
Fandom: Gabriel Knight
Characters: Gabriel Knight, Grace Nakimura
This is the request that inspired me to create the Some Day My Fic Will Come mini-challenge, though I stopped maintaining it a while ago. We are the few, the stubborn, the ones who obsessively ask for the same thing year after year!
If you didn’t match with me on this fandom, you probably aren’t going to write it, but juuuuust in case, I should mention that you can now buy all three games on GOG.com. Or you can buy novelizations of the first two games (not the third, unfortunately), or it looks like there are some Let's Play videos on Youtube. And there's an HD remake of the first game, too! (I reviewed it here, if you're curious.)
Anyway, if you like the old Sierra point-and-click style adventure games, this series is really fun. (And not as horror-ish as the descriptions would have you believe: it's more a matter of horror tropes than lots of gore or jump moments.)
What I love about the source: These days, with companies like Bioware around, the notion of a computer game with character development and a genuinely dramatic plot isn't such a big deal. But back when I first played these, it was mind-blowing! There's still a lot of humour (because Sierra's like that), but it's used as leavening for some weightier stuff. I also loved the way Jensen made use of real-world history and folklore, as well as the sense that Gabriel was a flawed guy who was, step by step, becoming a better person.
What I'd love to get: Closure. Pleeeeeeeeease.
This is the downside to having actual character development: when the arc gets cut short, it leaves the audience hanging. The relationship between Gabe and Grace built up over three games, until they slept together in Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, but they never really talked about it and then Grace bailed out and we didn't even get to read her note and auuuuuuuggggggggggggggh.
I'd like to see that hanging thread tied up. The closure could take whatever form you like, and be from whichever point of view you like, or both. Grace, presumably, was going to talk to that guy in India she'd been e-mailing, about how she could fight supernatural evil on her own terms. Maybe Gabe goes after her. Maybe he doesn't (I can see him not having the confidence to do so), and she shows up again a few years later, after becoming some kind of full-blown Schattenjäger equivalent herself. Maybe they run into each other without warning when they both go after the same supernatural beastie. I'd love to see Grace treated as Gabe's professional equal (I think she's always been his equal in personal terms), rather than a sidekick, and for him to accept her as such -- which is not to say he should have a personality transplant and suddenly be without flaws or blind spots, but I feel like he's been working through his issues there, and it would nice to see him continue to grow.
I'd like there to be a happy ending eventually -- get your mind out of the gutter! I mean happy emotions! -- but I don't mind angst along the way. (Where "happy endings" are concerned, wink wink nudge nudge -- eh, I really care more about the emotional resolution. They can sleep together or not, as you like, but I'd prefer for smut not to be the main focus of the story.) If you have the time and energy, I would ADORE something plotty, with a supernatural threat they have to take care of. Flavor of threat is entirely up to you: rumour has it the fourth game would have taken place in Scotland and dealt with ghosts, so run with that if you want, or grab any cool bits of folklore and history that you know and want to play with.
***
Fandom: Howl Series
Characters: Howl Pendragon
What I love about the source: Like The Lives of Christopher Chant, I picked this up at an early age and imprinted on it. I love the way it plays with fairy-tale tropes, and Howl is a good example of DWJ's trope of a man who isn't quite in full possession of himself, while Sophie is entertainingly strong-minded. Plus, Calcifer! The walking stick! Mrs. Penstemmon!
What I'd love to get: How exactly did Howl get from Wales to Ingary? We know he studied the occult, but that doesn't remotely fill in the gap there. The doorknob is clearly the vital element to the castle's ability to open on different places; did Howl find the doorknob, and that's how he stepped through? Or is he the one who made the doorknob, after finding his way to Ingary by some other means? I'd love to see a younger Howl stumbling into far more than his studies ever suggested could exist, and how he reacts to all of that.
Or, if that prompt leaves you totally stuck, how about the night he struck his deal with Calcifer? What did that feel like, giving up his heart? We know Howl "felt sorry" for Calcifer, but I feel like there's a lot more story that could be told there -- the event itself, and/or its aftermath, the early days of their partnership before they became the old married couple Sophie encounters years later.
***
More generally: These days I try to split my general commments into clear divisions, on the grounds that it might be more convenient for my writer. These are grouped in descending order of how much I want them, with DNWs at the bottom.
Things That Are Yay: plot! (Casefic, etc. If you have the time and energy -- I know it can be a lot of work.) Exploration of character motivations, exploration/expansion of the setting. Fic that could fit into canon. Drama, up to and including aaaaaangst. Characters getting whumped on and being comforted afterward. Witty humour, especially if it's used as the jab to set up the dramatic roundhouse that follows. Unshakeable loyalty. Enemies having to work together for a good reason. Characters revealing a hidden layer. Siblings, or people with equally close relationships even if they don't share blood.
Things That Are A-okay: violence, up to a point (see below). Non-explicit sex (doesn't have to be immediate fade-to-black, but not looking for multiple paragraphs of action, either). AUs of the "what if this event went differently?" sort. Inclusion of nominated characters I didn't request. Inclusion of canonical characters who haven't been nominated. Original characters as needed for the story (in the case of my Elfquest prompt, the whole story can be OCs if you like). Most povs, tenses, narrative formats, etc.
Things That Are Meh: straight-up character introspection. Nonfiction-style worldbuilding. Second person pov without a really good reason. Non-canonical ships unless specifically requested (ships between OCs are fine).
Things That Are Nay: AUs that alter the premise like coffee shop, genderswaps, a/b/o, etc. Explicit smut and its associated kinks/tropes. "Five Things"-type stories (I've read some good ones, but that format rarely does it for me; I strongly prefer one continuous tale). Requested characters having only a cameo in the story, unless otherwise specified in the prompt. Gross-out humour. Humiliation. Characters being flat-out stupid. Bashing characters or canonical relationships. Torture porn, especially with female victims: go ahead and hurt characters, but don't make gore and suffering the whole point. And for this year, no disease references or plots, please.
***
As mentioned before, I'm russian_blue on AO3, so feel free to rummage around in the entrails of what I’ve got there if you need more data on what I like. And above all: have fun!
The optional details below are optional; they are also, shall we say, a bit long. Please do not be put off by this. It's mostly me babbling about why I like the sources, and then offering a variety of tidbits that I hope will be useful to you. Basically, I'm just trying to feed the plotbunnies. (There are also more general notes about my tastes at the bottom.) (Also, way too many parenthetical asides.) Fandoms are in alphabetical order.
My username on AO3 is russian_blue, if you're the sort of Yuletider who trawls through previous gifts and/or fics for data before you start writing. :-)
***
Fandom: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci
Characters: Christopher Chant, Cat Chant, Gabriel de Witt
What I love about the source: Unlike most people, I read The Lives of Christopher Chant first, and so I always view this series through a Christopher lens, rather than a Cat one. I have a biiiiiig weak spot for characters whose power occasionally outstrips their ability to figure out what they're doing with it, and I really liked watching Christopher mature.
What I'd love to get: We know from the short story "Stealer of Souls" that Christopher took over as Chrestomanci and Cat arrived at the castle while Gabriel was still alive, which means that for a while there, you had no less than three nine-lived enchanters running around at once. How badass would it be if all three of them worked together on something? Especially given the wild differences in their personalities -- Cat earnest and young, Christopher sarcastic and adult, and Gabriel strict and old -- but all of them throwing around gobsmackingly large amounts of power, often in casual ways. I have no particular vision of what incident would involve all three of them; you can run with whatever suits your fancy. But I love the idea of seeing three Chrestomancis go to town on some problem, especially since it would give us a chance to see Christopher and Gabriel interacting when Christopher has grown out of being a twelve-year-old snot. :-P
I also have a (very optional!) crossover request involving this series, which is an idea that has really just possessed my brain and not let go. A passing reference in "Warlock at the Wheel" makes it clear that Chrestomanci's multiverse is the same as that in The Homeward Bounders. Which means that it's possible for Christopher to meet up with Jamie Hamilton.
What would Christopher (as an adult and Chrestomanci, not, I think, as a kid) say to Jamie? How long has Jamie been wandering, by the time the two of them run into each other? Do they meet up in Christopher's world, or somewhere out in the Anywheres? It isn't the sort of encounter that could fix anything, I imagine, though Christopher would probably offer to try; the anchor has to keep moving, and even Chrestomanci can't change that. But the encounter could be really intense. For all his sarcasm and flaws, I think Christopher would have a deep empathy for what Jamie's going through, and why. If that fires your imagination the way it did mine, then I'd love to read the result. (If you go this route, none of the other requested characters have to appear in the story unless you really want them to. I'm more interested in the dynamic Christopher would have with Jamie.)
***
Fandom: Elfquest
Characters: Worldbuilding
What I love about the source: Oh god, where do I start? This was, for many years, the only comic book I had ever read. It's still one of the deep foundational stories in my mind. I love how well-realized the characters are, and the capacity for the narrative to be about the ensemble and subsets thereof, rather than being just Cutter's story with everybody else playing bit parts. I love the way conflict is handled, never being casually dismissed, or treated as if violence is a get-out-of-jail-free card for everything. I love the consequences, and the fact that the characters experience both real losses and real victories. And I've got a big ol' soft spot for the soul-names thing, and the various bonds that can be created from that, both voluntary and not, both good and bad.
If you need to refresh your memory or want to get in on this awesome series, virtually all of it is available for free online.
What I'd love to get: The advent of the "worldbuilding" tag for this exchange was perfect for this request! While I love the characters in this canon, what I've always really craved in fic is just stuff that expands the setting, whether geographically or historically. I've read most of the series, basically lacking only the second half of the Skywise bit -- though nothing after Kings of the Broken Wheel hit me quite as deeply. There's so much richness there, and also so much open space to develop new things. Possible angles include:
1) A story about a tribe of your own devising, either meeting one of the canonical groups or off doing their own thing. This could explore an environment not already covered (previous gifts have included subterranean volcanic elves, polar-bear-riding elves, and arctic aquatic elves), or be your own take on something the canon already touched on. (I love the idea of sea elves, for example, but the canonical Wavedancers didn't quite do it for me.) Or -- since I've finally caught up on the Final Quest arc -- more about the Rootless Ones? My academic background is in anthropology, so elves adapting socially and physically to different environments is really interesting to me -- which sounds high-falutin', but really what I mean is yay cool stuff!
2) A historical incident for any of the canonical groups. Life under a past Wolfrider chief, early days of the Sun Village, Go-Backs vs. trolls, the Gliders before they fell into decadence and apathy -- a story about any of those would be cool. The High Ones right after the fall. Etc. Whatever strikes your fancy.
3) Human contact. This one could combine with any of the other prompts. Maybe your invented tribe runs into humans, or has even learned to co-exist with them in (non-warped-Glider-style) peace. Or maybe there were other contacts that we haven't been told about, for the canonical tribes or individual characters therefrom. We've already had a few examples of how that could go, but there's room for a lot more variety.
I'm especially interested in how being a member (by birth or adoption) of a particular tribe shapes the way a character approaches different situations, the things that are unique to being an elf (long life, soul name, magical gifts) and how they handle those things culturally or psychologically, etc. Stories about Recognition or other kinds of soulbonds, or the development/use/ethics/consequences of magic powers, are great.
Really, I just want MOAR ELFQUEST DAMMIT, whether it's following the existing material somewhere new or breaking fresh ground entirely. Whatever idea you have, if you think I'll like it, then go for it!
***
Fandom: Gabriel Knight
Characters: Gabriel Knight, Grace Nakimura
This is the request that inspired me to create the Some Day My Fic Will Come mini-challenge, though I stopped maintaining it a while ago. We are the few, the stubborn, the ones who obsessively ask for the same thing year after year!
If you didn’t match with me on this fandom, you probably aren’t going to write it, but juuuuust in case, I should mention that you can now buy all three games on GOG.com. Or you can buy novelizations of the first two games (not the third, unfortunately), or it looks like there are some Let's Play videos on Youtube. And there's an HD remake of the first game, too! (I reviewed it here, if you're curious.)
Anyway, if you like the old Sierra point-and-click style adventure games, this series is really fun. (And not as horror-ish as the descriptions would have you believe: it's more a matter of horror tropes than lots of gore or jump moments.)
What I love about the source: These days, with companies like Bioware around, the notion of a computer game with character development and a genuinely dramatic plot isn't such a big deal. But back when I first played these, it was mind-blowing! There's still a lot of humour (because Sierra's like that), but it's used as leavening for some weightier stuff. I also loved the way Jensen made use of real-world history and folklore, as well as the sense that Gabriel was a flawed guy who was, step by step, becoming a better person.
What I'd love to get: Closure. Pleeeeeeeeease.
This is the downside to having actual character development: when the arc gets cut short, it leaves the audience hanging. The relationship between Gabe and Grace built up over three games, until they slept together in Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, but they never really talked about it and then Grace bailed out and we didn't even get to read her note and auuuuuuuggggggggggggggh.
I'd like to see that hanging thread tied up. The closure could take whatever form you like, and be from whichever point of view you like, or both. Grace, presumably, was going to talk to that guy in India she'd been e-mailing, about how she could fight supernatural evil on her own terms. Maybe Gabe goes after her. Maybe he doesn't (I can see him not having the confidence to do so), and she shows up again a few years later, after becoming some kind of full-blown Schattenjäger equivalent herself. Maybe they run into each other without warning when they both go after the same supernatural beastie. I'd love to see Grace treated as Gabe's professional equal (I think she's always been his equal in personal terms), rather than a sidekick, and for him to accept her as such -- which is not to say he should have a personality transplant and suddenly be without flaws or blind spots, but I feel like he's been working through his issues there, and it would nice to see him continue to grow.
I'd like there to be a happy ending eventually -- get your mind out of the gutter! I mean happy emotions! -- but I don't mind angst along the way. (Where "happy endings" are concerned, wink wink nudge nudge -- eh, I really care more about the emotional resolution. They can sleep together or not, as you like, but I'd prefer for smut not to be the main focus of the story.) If you have the time and energy, I would ADORE something plotty, with a supernatural threat they have to take care of. Flavor of threat is entirely up to you: rumour has it the fourth game would have taken place in Scotland and dealt with ghosts, so run with that if you want, or grab any cool bits of folklore and history that you know and want to play with.
***
Fandom: Howl Series
Characters: Howl Pendragon
What I love about the source: Like The Lives of Christopher Chant, I picked this up at an early age and imprinted on it. I love the way it plays with fairy-tale tropes, and Howl is a good example of DWJ's trope of a man who isn't quite in full possession of himself, while Sophie is entertainingly strong-minded. Plus, Calcifer! The walking stick! Mrs. Penstemmon!
What I'd love to get: How exactly did Howl get from Wales to Ingary? We know he studied the occult, but that doesn't remotely fill in the gap there. The doorknob is clearly the vital element to the castle's ability to open on different places; did Howl find the doorknob, and that's how he stepped through? Or is he the one who made the doorknob, after finding his way to Ingary by some other means? I'd love to see a younger Howl stumbling into far more than his studies ever suggested could exist, and how he reacts to all of that.
Or, if that prompt leaves you totally stuck, how about the night he struck his deal with Calcifer? What did that feel like, giving up his heart? We know Howl "felt sorry" for Calcifer, but I feel like there's a lot more story that could be told there -- the event itself, and/or its aftermath, the early days of their partnership before they became the old married couple Sophie encounters years later.
***
More generally: These days I try to split my general commments into clear divisions, on the grounds that it might be more convenient for my writer. These are grouped in descending order of how much I want them, with DNWs at the bottom.
Things That Are Yay: plot! (Casefic, etc. If you have the time and energy -- I know it can be a lot of work.) Exploration of character motivations, exploration/expansion of the setting. Fic that could fit into canon. Drama, up to and including aaaaaangst. Characters getting whumped on and being comforted afterward. Witty humour, especially if it's used as the jab to set up the dramatic roundhouse that follows. Unshakeable loyalty. Enemies having to work together for a good reason. Characters revealing a hidden layer. Siblings, or people with equally close relationships even if they don't share blood.
Things That Are A-okay: violence, up to a point (see below). Non-explicit sex (doesn't have to be immediate fade-to-black, but not looking for multiple paragraphs of action, either). AUs of the "what if this event went differently?" sort. Inclusion of nominated characters I didn't request. Inclusion of canonical characters who haven't been nominated. Original characters as needed for the story (in the case of my Elfquest prompt, the whole story can be OCs if you like). Most povs, tenses, narrative formats, etc.
Things That Are Meh: straight-up character introspection. Nonfiction-style worldbuilding. Second person pov without a really good reason. Non-canonical ships unless specifically requested (ships between OCs are fine).
Things That Are Nay: AUs that alter the premise like coffee shop, genderswaps, a/b/o, etc. Explicit smut and its associated kinks/tropes. "Five Things"-type stories (I've read some good ones, but that format rarely does it for me; I strongly prefer one continuous tale). Requested characters having only a cameo in the story, unless otherwise specified in the prompt. Gross-out humour. Humiliation. Characters being flat-out stupid. Bashing characters or canonical relationships. Torture porn, especially with female victims: go ahead and hurt characters, but don't make gore and suffering the whole point. And for this year, no disease references or plots, please.
***
As mentioned before, I'm russian_blue on AO3, so feel free to rummage around in the entrails of what I’ve got there if you need more data on what I like. And above all: have fun!
