Dear Yuletide Writer!
Oct. 24th, 2015 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorindaHello there! We got matched! Or you chose me for a pinch hit! And that means you're willing to write something in a tiny fandom of my heart, and I am delighted. Thank you so much! \o/
If you already have an idea you want to write, go ahead and have fun with it. I want you to have a good time and enjoy your own story. But if more thoughts about my preferences would be helpful, here are some!
I prefer slash if I can get it, but for me slash doesn't automatically equal porn. For me it's about the depth of the bond between the characters, the discovery of a startling and unexpected intimacy. I like a subtle, nuanced, gradual approach, the characters getting closer maybe even despite themselves, and figuring things out as they go. If there's a sex scene(s), I prefer if it has a reason to exist within its story, that it goes somewhere and says something.
In gen, I prefer very intense-feeling gen of the kind I'm used to calling "warm gen" and that people today might call bromantic? Anyway, gen that's at least as connected and slashy as the source, which I think is fair.
Some of the tropes and approaches I enjoy: happy or at least hopeful endings, words that camouflage deeper/unspoken meanings, protectiveness, worry, extreme competence (with honest weakness), hurt/comfort, chosen families, uncovering a secret, partners against the world, nurturing via food/drink/warmth. (Also, I must admit I like past tense best, unless there's a reason for present tense.)
Don't be afraid of classic frameworks if you like 'em! I mentioned hurt/comfort, but I also won't turn up my nose at Having To Share A Bed, Huddling for Warmth, Pretend Couple, Undercover as Rentboy, situations where one suffers or sacrifices for the other, rescues, stranded somewhere (idyllic or non-), etc.
I love both members of each pair equally, and I especially love how each of them brings such different and complementary things to the relationship, together making a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts.
If you're the sort of writer who'd like to hear a few more thoughts on my chosen characters, here are some details about my fandoms this year (in alphabetical order): Peacemakers, Rejseholdet|Unit One, Sinbad (TV).
PEACEMAKERS
Stone and Finch are so different, and initially present themselves as so set in their different ways. No-nonsense old-school sheriff! Cutting-edge technological scientist! Never the twain shall meet! They sort of hissed at each other in their early meetings like two tomcats, and I can't imagine they'd have thought they'd be dropping that bristling business so fast.
I love their differences, but also the underlying things they have in common that get them to mesh those differences so very quickly. I mean, neither of them ever drops what's important to him. But they find out that they share deeper things that are even more important--an enormous curiosity, a drive for justice, a need to protect others--and that they're both the quickest one on their particular block. It's like, competence calls to competence, and they end up finding such satisfaction in working in harness together. Their different surface approaches are taking them in the same direction.
But we also see them running into problems because of the depth of those differences. Underestimating each other, for instance--how Finch's physical abilities surprise Stone; how Stone's thoughtfulness surprises Finch. Even after they've realized they're not the City Slicker or the Brutal Rube, they can rasp against each other when they're not expecting it (especially as the season progresses and Stone seems to get more depressed, seeing Finch as entirely pro-new-technology and feeling that he himself and his ways are being left behind).
Other characters are welcome, especially Katie, of course. I'm not into het or the OT3, I admit, but I love Katie having a profound platonic dynamic with Finch or Stone or both. She and Stone have known each other longer and respect/rely on each other, but she and Finch have that instant Nerd Bond and will gladly science together all day.
REJSEHOLDET|UNIT ONE
Fischer and La Cour seem to need each other so much, like there's something they just can't get anywhere else. But they also seem to run into communication blockages--like, Fischer wants so much to be close to La Cour that he'll...he'll...MOVE INTO HIS FLAT (when La Cour isn't even there). Or La Cour wants to touch Fischer so much that he'll...PET HIS HEAD AND COMPLAIN ABOUT ALL THE GEL. And as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
halotolerant has rightly pointed out, Fischer is an ambitious Bad Boy who doesn't do as he's told...unless La Cour complains about his hair, and then OFF IT ALL COMES.
They rely on the structure of the job to let them be together, work together, relax together, sit quietly in dark cars on stakeouts together, protect each other, rescue each other. And eventually, they rely on it to let them create a situation where literally Fischer's only lifeline is La Cour. They have this need to connect at very deep levels, and I would love to see them learn to create and savor this connection without needing to pretend it's about something else.
I love their high levels of competence, each with their own very different angle: Fischer the expressive extrovert who is so good at talking with people, and La Cour the tightly-wrapped introvert who loses himself in the tiniest crime scene details. I love how matter-of-fact and supportive Fischer is about La Cour's abilities, even when they get otherworldly and frighten La Cour himself. I love their humor and the way they enjoy poking at and needling each other. But also how much they share with each other, support each other, think of each other.
Other characters are welcome, especially Ingrid and IP. I love the team! But Fischer and La Cour on their own would be great too.
SINBAD (TV)
Sinbad and Gunnar are part of the larger crew-family, with Sinbad gradually emerging as the actual leader as he gains experience and maturity--but there's something about their dyad in particular that I love. They're very different--Gunnar so serious and focused and steady and repressed; Sinbad so quick and creative and impulsive and emotional. Gunnar has suffered and faced terrible consequences for his past, and though he's wiser he's also still quietly feeling the pain and shame; Sinbad is just now encountering major suffering and consequences for the first time in his life and has a lot to learn.
I love Gunnar's protectiveness, and the times he refuses to draw his sword or to fight unless it's to protect someone else. But his refusals to fight are a conscious choice, and underneath it he still has a powerful capacity for violence that he's well aware of. From the very beginning he has his eye on Sinbad, and falls naturally into step at his shoulder as soon as Sinbad steps up to lead. Sinbad, in turn, takes chances and thinks around corners, throwing himself forward with a devil-may-care optimism that gets them out of seeming no-win situations; being such a risk-taker, he really benefits from having someone like Gunnar watching his back, while Gunnar benefits from learning to trust and hope again.
Other characters are welcome--I love the found-family aspect of the show!--or it could be Gunnar and Sinbad off on their own. If it matters, I prefer Nala over Tiger.
Have fun writing, and thank you! *\o/*
If you already have an idea you want to write, go ahead and have fun with it. I want you to have a good time and enjoy your own story. But if more thoughts about my preferences would be helpful, here are some!
I prefer slash if I can get it, but for me slash doesn't automatically equal porn. For me it's about the depth of the bond between the characters, the discovery of a startling and unexpected intimacy. I like a subtle, nuanced, gradual approach, the characters getting closer maybe even despite themselves, and figuring things out as they go. If there's a sex scene(s), I prefer if it has a reason to exist within its story, that it goes somewhere and says something.
In gen, I prefer very intense-feeling gen of the kind I'm used to calling "warm gen" and that people today might call bromantic? Anyway, gen that's at least as connected and slashy as the source, which I think is fair.
Some of the tropes and approaches I enjoy: happy or at least hopeful endings, words that camouflage deeper/unspoken meanings, protectiveness, worry, extreme competence (with honest weakness), hurt/comfort, chosen families, uncovering a secret, partners against the world, nurturing via food/drink/warmth. (Also, I must admit I like past tense best, unless there's a reason for present tense.)
Don't be afraid of classic frameworks if you like 'em! I mentioned hurt/comfort, but I also won't turn up my nose at Having To Share A Bed, Huddling for Warmth, Pretend Couple, Undercover as Rentboy, situations where one suffers or sacrifices for the other, rescues, stranded somewhere (idyllic or non-), etc.
I love both members of each pair equally, and I especially love how each of them brings such different and complementary things to the relationship, together making a whole that's greater than the sum of its parts.
If you're the sort of writer who'd like to hear a few more thoughts on my chosen characters, here are some details about my fandoms this year (in alphabetical order): Peacemakers, Rejseholdet|Unit One, Sinbad (TV).
PEACEMAKERS
Stone and Finch are so different, and initially present themselves as so set in their different ways. No-nonsense old-school sheriff! Cutting-edge technological scientist! Never the twain shall meet! They sort of hissed at each other in their early meetings like two tomcats, and I can't imagine they'd have thought they'd be dropping that bristling business so fast.
I love their differences, but also the underlying things they have in common that get them to mesh those differences so very quickly. I mean, neither of them ever drops what's important to him. But they find out that they share deeper things that are even more important--an enormous curiosity, a drive for justice, a need to protect others--and that they're both the quickest one on their particular block. It's like, competence calls to competence, and they end up finding such satisfaction in working in harness together. Their different surface approaches are taking them in the same direction.
But we also see them running into problems because of the depth of those differences. Underestimating each other, for instance--how Finch's physical abilities surprise Stone; how Stone's thoughtfulness surprises Finch. Even after they've realized they're not the City Slicker or the Brutal Rube, they can rasp against each other when they're not expecting it (especially as the season progresses and Stone seems to get more depressed, seeing Finch as entirely pro-new-technology and feeling that he himself and his ways are being left behind).
Other characters are welcome, especially Katie, of course. I'm not into het or the OT3, I admit, but I love Katie having a profound platonic dynamic with Finch or Stone or both. She and Stone have known each other longer and respect/rely on each other, but she and Finch have that instant Nerd Bond and will gladly science together all day.
REJSEHOLDET|UNIT ONE
Fischer and La Cour seem to need each other so much, like there's something they just can't get anywhere else. But they also seem to run into communication blockages--like, Fischer wants so much to be close to La Cour that he'll...he'll...MOVE INTO HIS FLAT (when La Cour isn't even there). Or La Cour wants to touch Fischer so much that he'll...PET HIS HEAD AND COMPLAIN ABOUT ALL THE GEL. And as
halotolerant has rightly pointed out, Fischer is an ambitious Bad Boy who doesn't do as he's told...unless La Cour complains about his hair, and then OFF IT ALL COMES.They rely on the structure of the job to let them be together, work together, relax together, sit quietly in dark cars on stakeouts together, protect each other, rescue each other. And eventually, they rely on it to let them create a situation where literally Fischer's only lifeline is La Cour. They have this need to connect at very deep levels, and I would love to see them learn to create and savor this connection without needing to pretend it's about something else.
I love their high levels of competence, each with their own very different angle: Fischer the expressive extrovert who is so good at talking with people, and La Cour the tightly-wrapped introvert who loses himself in the tiniest crime scene details. I love how matter-of-fact and supportive Fischer is about La Cour's abilities, even when they get otherworldly and frighten La Cour himself. I love their humor and the way they enjoy poking at and needling each other. But also how much they share with each other, support each other, think of each other.
Other characters are welcome, especially Ingrid and IP. I love the team! But Fischer and La Cour on their own would be great too.
SINBAD (TV)
Sinbad and Gunnar are part of the larger crew-family, with Sinbad gradually emerging as the actual leader as he gains experience and maturity--but there's something about their dyad in particular that I love. They're very different--Gunnar so serious and focused and steady and repressed; Sinbad so quick and creative and impulsive and emotional. Gunnar has suffered and faced terrible consequences for his past, and though he's wiser he's also still quietly feeling the pain and shame; Sinbad is just now encountering major suffering and consequences for the first time in his life and has a lot to learn.
I love Gunnar's protectiveness, and the times he refuses to draw his sword or to fight unless it's to protect someone else. But his refusals to fight are a conscious choice, and underneath it he still has a powerful capacity for violence that he's well aware of. From the very beginning he has his eye on Sinbad, and falls naturally into step at his shoulder as soon as Sinbad steps up to lead. Sinbad, in turn, takes chances and thinks around corners, throwing himself forward with a devil-may-care optimism that gets them out of seeming no-win situations; being such a risk-taker, he really benefits from having someone like Gunnar watching his back, while Gunnar benefits from learning to trust and hope again.
Other characters are welcome--I love the found-family aspect of the show!--or it could be Gunnar and Sinbad off on their own. If it matters, I prefer Nala over Tiger.
Have fun writing, and thank you! *\o/*
