Yuletide Letter 2020
Oct. 15th, 2020 07:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sugar_fey It's the most wonderful time of the year!
General Likes:
I love character-driven fics. Plotty fics are wonderful too, but I like to have significant character/relationship development. I don't enjoy stories which are completely devoid of conflict or development. I like seeing women be competent and smart whilst still dealing with inner conflict.
I prefer tight, 3rd person limited POVs, but I enjoy multiple POVs as well as long as the change in POV is indicated (eg. by a line break) and not super jarring, such as a mid-scene switch. I'm fine with past or present tense narration. I love themes of identity and belonging. I enjoy everyday/mundane details in world-building, such as foods, pop culture, daily routines and so on. I love character backstories, be they in a fic specifically about a character's backstory or hints sprinkled throughout a fic. I love reading about the ways past experiences can impact our perspectives in the present.
I enjoy both angsty and light, happy fics. I'm not a fan of deathfic or super, super darkfic, but if your muse leads you in an angsty direction, I'm happy to go there with you. I enjoy lighter, happy fics as well, but I would still like there to be some sort of narrative conflict or something which leads to character/relationship development. I love endings which feel earned, be they happy endings, bittersweet endings or sad endings. I want to feel like I've gone on a journey with these characters and have watched them grow, even if only in very small ways.
Trope-wise, I love UST, UST-leading-to-resolved-ST, canon divergence, missing scene fic, outsider POV, There's Only One Bed, found family, physical or verbal sparring (if it makes sense for the characters to spar), feelings of loyalty and trust, mutual pining, friends to lovers, friends-with-benefits to lovers, enemies to lovers, tattoos, characters who normally have trouble expressing their feelings being put into situations where they have to confess their feelings, bedroom confessions, swimming pool confessions, ALL THE CONFESSIONS.
General Dislikes:
Conflict for the sake of conflict, ie. conflict which doesn't further the plot, character or relationship development in some way. Crack fic. Kid fic. Pregnancy fic. Case!fic without much character development.
Do-Not-Wants:
Non-con, dub-con, intimate partner abuse, child abuse, animal abuse. If these things are part of character's backstory I don't mind references or inferences to them, but nothing detailed or 'on-screen.' Please, no stories where victims of abuse or assault are not believed by the people closest to them. That is a very hard 'no' for me. Cheating/infidelity (open/poly relationships are fine and welcome!), hardcore BDSM or extreme kinks (especially anything involving bodily functions). Omegaverse.
The Sexy Stuff:
Please don't feel as though you have to include sexual content! I'm happy with anything G to PG. However, if you would like to write smut or include sexual content within a fic, feel free! I do prefer sex scenes which give some insight into the characters and their relationship or further the character/relationship development in some way. I enjoy loving, romantic sex and rough, wild sex (as long as everything is consensual). Kink-wise, I enjoy light bondage (ropes!!), light pain play (hair pulling!!), light knife-play, blindfolds, sensation play. I enjoy kink-free, vanilla sex as well. I also like chair sex or sex on a surface which wouldn't normally be used for sex (counter tops!), though sex on surfaces which are normally used for communal meals squicks me.
Now, onto the fandoms! Feel free to adapt or combine any of these prompts as you choose.
The Expanse (Camina Drummer, Naomi Nagata, Bobbie Draper, Any):
(character requests are Any/Or)
The women in this show are my everything. I love them so much. Also, the world-building! The politics! The social and political parallels! I'm most interested in the Belter storylines so I would enjoy fic based in that part of the 'verse.
DNW: Body horror, big focuses on protomolecule stuff or physics, hopeless/super unhappy endings (bittersweet is fine).
- Drummer/Naomi. My fandom OTP! Talk about peak YEARNING. I will read basically anything for this pairing. I love them as friends with benefits as well, but I like them most as a romantic pairing, or at least with some element of romantic pining. I'd love to see them respect each other even when they disagree on something important, like the future direction of the Belt. I love stories which touch on their Belter identity and what it means to be a Belter. I love missing scene fic or canon divergence fic for these two, especially during S2 or while Naomi is on the Behemoth in S3, or maybe a scene of them meeting after the events of Season 4 and having to deal with the Marco situation. I love little moments of intimacy, such as Naomi calling Drummer by her first name. I love the idea of two tough women at the top of their game learning to open up to and trust each other.
- Drummer/Naomi/Holden. I'd love a story where Drummer, Naomi and Holden have some sort of open relationship arrangement where Naomi can be in a committed relationship with both of them. I'm really interested to see how they would navigate that dynamic. If you want to go the OT3 route and have a poly relationship between all three of them, great!
- I'd love to see interactions between the different women on this show, especially Drummer and Bobbie. That would be one fascinating dynamic to watch. I'd love to see them negotiating on something or having to reluctantly work together for a common good, which may or may not lead to amazing sex.
- "those Mormon pictures in my office always made me laugh..." The complexities of Belter culture and politics are my favourite aspects of the show. I'd love to read a fic which examines the varying attitudes among the Belter characters we see. How do their views for the future of the Belt influence their actions?
- The Story Behind the Tattoos. Tattoos obviously play a significant role in Belter culture, but we don't hear much about the individual tattoos and what they mean to the characters. What does Naomi's tattoo mean? Or Drummer's tattoo? When did they come by them? Is it purely and aesthetic/individual choice, or is there a greater cultural meaning behind them? Basically, I love the world-building details around Belter culture and I'd love to read more about it.
Strange Empire (Kat Loving, Isabelle Slotter, Caleb Macredi, Any):
(character requests are Any/Or)
The cancellation of this series means there are sadly a lot of unresolved plot lines. But what is fanfiction if not the opportunity to explore and resolve these plot threads?
DNW: Fetishisation of Kat Loving's Native American ethnicity. ://
- Kat/Isabelle post-series fic. I mean, you end the series on a F/F fake!marriage??? That's like fandom crack. I'd love to see how their interact after this. Do they remain reluctant allies? Is this a wonderful opportunity for some quality enemies-to-lovers romance? Your choice!
- I'd love to learn more about Kat Loving's backstory. We get some tantalising snippets in the series, but never a huge amount of detail. How did she meet Jeremiah? What was her childhood like? Does she share her story with Isabelle or Caleb? I'd love to know.
- The relationship between Kat Loving and Caleb Mecredi intrigues me and screams potential friends-to-lovers goodness. The series ended with Kat agreeing to marry Caleb (and Isabelle...). What happened next? Did she marry him? Do they love each other? Do they stay friends with benefits?
Crossover: The Expanse and Strange Empire. Kat Loving and Camina Drummer are both played by the wonderful Cara Gee. Naturally, this means I headcanon Kat as Drummer's ancestor. Maybe a fic where Drummer learns of her ancestor's life?
Vagrant Queen (Elida Al-Feyr, Amae Rali, Any)
(Character requests are Any/Or)
Oh, my technicolour queer happy place of a show. It deserved so much better. But this is where fanfic comes in!
DNW: cute alien animals dying :(
Elida/Amae: The cuteness! The yearning! What a blessing of a ship. I'd love to see a missing scene fic for these two. Maybe they bond over fixing Winnibot? Or exchange banter on a long flight between planets? Watch kitten videos together? Kiss a lot? Something which helps Elida open up as their relationship deepens. I'm fully on board with all the ridiculousness this universe provides, if you want to go there. Bring on the aliens and the 80s synth music!
The Poppy War- R.F Kuang
(character requests are Any/Or)
I know Burning God comes out before due date for Yuletide, but I may not have finished the book by then and I don't want to pressure anyone else to finish it quickly, so no Burning God spoilers please. Canon divergence is perfectly fine!
DNW: while references/inferences towards the canon abuse suffered by characters is fine, please no physical/sexual abuse on the page.
- Rin/Venka. I'd love to see more bonding between these two, be it romantic or platonic. Maybe they bond after a battle? During a rare moment of calm? Have epic hate sex? Frienemies-with-benefits? Give me all the enemies-to-lovers/enemies-to-friends goodness!
- Anything to do with Venka's backstory. How did she grow up? Why did she decide to go to Sinegard? What was her childhood like? Who did she leave behind? I'd love to know.
- Rin/Qara or Qara genfic. I desperately wanted more Qara in the novels. What is her backstory? What are her feelings towards her brother? Does she bond more with Rin? What is her perspective during the events of the novels?
General Likes:
I love character-driven fics. Plotty fics are wonderful too, but I like to have significant character/relationship development. I don't enjoy stories which are completely devoid of conflict or development. I like seeing women be competent and smart whilst still dealing with inner conflict.
I prefer tight, 3rd person limited POVs, but I enjoy multiple POVs as well as long as the change in POV is indicated (eg. by a line break) and not super jarring, such as a mid-scene switch. I'm fine with past or present tense narration. I love themes of identity and belonging. I enjoy everyday/mundane details in world-building, such as foods, pop culture, daily routines and so on. I love character backstories, be they in a fic specifically about a character's backstory or hints sprinkled throughout a fic. I love reading about the ways past experiences can impact our perspectives in the present.
I enjoy both angsty and light, happy fics. I'm not a fan of deathfic or super, super darkfic, but if your muse leads you in an angsty direction, I'm happy to go there with you. I enjoy lighter, happy fics as well, but I would still like there to be some sort of narrative conflict or something which leads to character/relationship development. I love endings which feel earned, be they happy endings, bittersweet endings or sad endings. I want to feel like I've gone on a journey with these characters and have watched them grow, even if only in very small ways.
Trope-wise, I love UST, UST-leading-to-resolved-ST, canon divergence, missing scene fic, outsider POV, There's Only One Bed, found family, physical or verbal sparring (if it makes sense for the characters to spar), feelings of loyalty and trust, mutual pining, friends to lovers, friends-with-benefits to lovers, enemies to lovers, tattoos, characters who normally have trouble expressing their feelings being put into situations where they have to confess their feelings, bedroom confessions, swimming pool confessions, ALL THE CONFESSIONS.
General Dislikes:
Conflict for the sake of conflict, ie. conflict which doesn't further the plot, character or relationship development in some way. Crack fic. Kid fic. Pregnancy fic. Case!fic without much character development.
Do-Not-Wants:
Non-con, dub-con, intimate partner abuse, child abuse, animal abuse. If these things are part of character's backstory I don't mind references or inferences to them, but nothing detailed or 'on-screen.' Please, no stories where victims of abuse or assault are not believed by the people closest to them. That is a very hard 'no' for me. Cheating/infidelity (open/poly relationships are fine and welcome!), hardcore BDSM or extreme kinks (especially anything involving bodily functions). Omegaverse.
The Sexy Stuff:
Please don't feel as though you have to include sexual content! I'm happy with anything G to PG. However, if you would like to write smut or include sexual content within a fic, feel free! I do prefer sex scenes which give some insight into the characters and their relationship or further the character/relationship development in some way. I enjoy loving, romantic sex and rough, wild sex (as long as everything is consensual). Kink-wise, I enjoy light bondage (ropes!!), light pain play (hair pulling!!), light knife-play, blindfolds, sensation play. I enjoy kink-free, vanilla sex as well. I also like chair sex or sex on a surface which wouldn't normally be used for sex (counter tops!), though sex on surfaces which are normally used for communal meals squicks me.
Now, onto the fandoms! Feel free to adapt or combine any of these prompts as you choose.
The Expanse (Camina Drummer, Naomi Nagata, Bobbie Draper, Any):
(character requests are Any/Or)
The women in this show are my everything. I love them so much. Also, the world-building! The politics! The social and political parallels! I'm most interested in the Belter storylines so I would enjoy fic based in that part of the 'verse.
DNW: Body horror, big focuses on protomolecule stuff or physics, hopeless/super unhappy endings (bittersweet is fine).
- Drummer/Naomi. My fandom OTP! Talk about peak YEARNING. I will read basically anything for this pairing. I love them as friends with benefits as well, but I like them most as a romantic pairing, or at least with some element of romantic pining. I'd love to see them respect each other even when they disagree on something important, like the future direction of the Belt. I love stories which touch on their Belter identity and what it means to be a Belter. I love missing scene fic or canon divergence fic for these two, especially during S2 or while Naomi is on the Behemoth in S3, or maybe a scene of them meeting after the events of Season 4 and having to deal with the Marco situation. I love little moments of intimacy, such as Naomi calling Drummer by her first name. I love the idea of two tough women at the top of their game learning to open up to and trust each other.
- Drummer/Naomi/Holden. I'd love a story where Drummer, Naomi and Holden have some sort of open relationship arrangement where Naomi can be in a committed relationship with both of them. I'm really interested to see how they would navigate that dynamic. If you want to go the OT3 route and have a poly relationship between all three of them, great!
- I'd love to see interactions between the different women on this show, especially Drummer and Bobbie. That would be one fascinating dynamic to watch. I'd love to see them negotiating on something or having to reluctantly work together for a common good, which may or may not lead to amazing sex.
- "those Mormon pictures in my office always made me laugh..." The complexities of Belter culture and politics are my favourite aspects of the show. I'd love to read a fic which examines the varying attitudes among the Belter characters we see. How do their views for the future of the Belt influence their actions?
- The Story Behind the Tattoos. Tattoos obviously play a significant role in Belter culture, but we don't hear much about the individual tattoos and what they mean to the characters. What does Naomi's tattoo mean? Or Drummer's tattoo? When did they come by them? Is it purely and aesthetic/individual choice, or is there a greater cultural meaning behind them? Basically, I love the world-building details around Belter culture and I'd love to read more about it.
Strange Empire (Kat Loving, Isabelle Slotter, Caleb Macredi, Any):
(character requests are Any/Or)
The cancellation of this series means there are sadly a lot of unresolved plot lines. But what is fanfiction if not the opportunity to explore and resolve these plot threads?
DNW: Fetishisation of Kat Loving's Native American ethnicity. ://
- Kat/Isabelle post-series fic. I mean, you end the series on a F/F fake!marriage??? That's like fandom crack. I'd love to see how their interact after this. Do they remain reluctant allies? Is this a wonderful opportunity for some quality enemies-to-lovers romance? Your choice!
- I'd love to learn more about Kat Loving's backstory. We get some tantalising snippets in the series, but never a huge amount of detail. How did she meet Jeremiah? What was her childhood like? Does she share her story with Isabelle or Caleb? I'd love to know.
- The relationship between Kat Loving and Caleb Mecredi intrigues me and screams potential friends-to-lovers goodness. The series ended with Kat agreeing to marry Caleb (and Isabelle...). What happened next? Did she marry him? Do they love each other? Do they stay friends with benefits?
Crossover: The Expanse and Strange Empire. Kat Loving and Camina Drummer are both played by the wonderful Cara Gee. Naturally, this means I headcanon Kat as Drummer's ancestor. Maybe a fic where Drummer learns of her ancestor's life?
Vagrant Queen (Elida Al-Feyr, Amae Rali, Any)
(Character requests are Any/Or)
Oh, my technicolour queer happy place of a show. It deserved so much better. But this is where fanfic comes in!
DNW: cute alien animals dying :(
Elida/Amae: The cuteness! The yearning! What a blessing of a ship. I'd love to see a missing scene fic for these two. Maybe they bond over fixing Winnibot? Or exchange banter on a long flight between planets? Watch kitten videos together? Kiss a lot? Something which helps Elida open up as their relationship deepens. I'm fully on board with all the ridiculousness this universe provides, if you want to go there. Bring on the aliens and the 80s synth music!
The Poppy War- R.F Kuang
(character requests are Any/Or)
I know Burning God comes out before due date for Yuletide, but I may not have finished the book by then and I don't want to pressure anyone else to finish it quickly, so no Burning God spoilers please. Canon divergence is perfectly fine!
DNW: while references/inferences towards the canon abuse suffered by characters is fine, please no physical/sexual abuse on the page.
- Rin/Venka. I'd love to see more bonding between these two, be it romantic or platonic. Maybe they bond after a battle? During a rare moment of calm? Have epic hate sex? Frienemies-with-benefits? Give me all the enemies-to-lovers/enemies-to-friends goodness!
- Anything to do with Venka's backstory. How did she grow up? Why did she decide to go to Sinegard? What was her childhood like? Who did she leave behind? I'd love to know.
- Rin/Qara or Qara genfic. I desperately wanted more Qara in the novels. What is her backstory? What are her feelings towards her brother? Does she bond more with Rin? What is her perspective during the events of the novels?
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}