Dear Yuletide Writer!
Oct. 29th, 2019 03:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorindaHello, Writer! We got matched, or you selected me as a pinch hit, or maybe you're writing a treat. In all cases, thank you for being willing to write for me! I'm happy you're here.
(Also, let me say: you'll notice it's not uncommon for me to ask for some of the same fandoms from year to year. If you've written for me previously, please do not ever think this is because I don't still love your gift! It's just that these fandoms are so small and I love them so much--I crave another cake, to go with my previous delicious cakes. In my cake hoard. :9 )
If you already have an idea, please feel free to write it. I want you to have a good time with the process and not stress out. Anything that you have fun with, I'll have fun with.
But if some more info about my preferences might help and inspire you, here's some!
Some of my general preferences:
* Happy or at least hopeful endings. Melancholy/bittersweet tones are also fine, just not grim/hopeless/tragic. I'd like the characters to be there for each other, no matter how hard their circumstances.
* Slash. Ship 'em, please! Although for me that doesn't mean mandatory sex--sex is great if the story calls for it, onscreen/offscreen/fade-to-black is all good, but it isn't necessary if you have other plans. For me, slashing or shipping is about the depth of connection, the discovery of unexpected (frightening? joyful? both?) intimacy and vulnerability, realization of just how much they feel and need, grappling with how to handle it, crossing those last boundaries of self-protection. I usually seek out first times rather than established relationships.
* Some of the tropes and approaches I particularly like: trust, protectiveness, loyalty, worry, communication between the lines, seemingly-ordinary words that camouflage deep meaning, a surface shell cracking to reveal vulnerability beneath, hurt/comfort, uncovering a secret, me and you against the world, physical care like tending wounds/washing/etc., nurturing with food/drink/warmth.
And don't hesitate to go for classic frameworks if you like them! Along with hurt/comfort I am also big on things like bedsharing, huddling for warmth, pretend couple, undercover as a rentboy, rescues, suffering/sacrificing for the other, stranded somewhere, etc.
One jumps in the way of the other getting hurt? (Especially if the saved one is then mad about it?) One gets attacked and the other rises in wrath, GET BACK HE IS MINE? One awkwardly expresses the depth of his feelings with a painstakingly fried egg on toast? A desire to impress him, an effort to figure out how to be silently vulnerable with him, a need for him that he hadn't understood until now or had hidden while pining? Yepppp.
Big drama is good, quiet subtlety is good. ♥
If you'd find it helpful to hear more about the fandoms I've asked for, here are some details about this year's, in alphabetical order: The Exorcist (TV), 镇魂 Guardian (TV), Shetland, Sinbad (TV), The Sting (1973).
The Exorcist (TV)
Marcus Keane, Tomas Ortega, Peter Osborne
Tomas and Marcus end up so intensely close (and handsy!), even when they conflict. Marcus comes from such a strange, dysfunctional upbringing, which has made him knowledgeable and skilled as well as a lonely basketcase. And Tomas brings something new and sorely needed to Marcus's basketcase-loner approach--Tomas doesn't have the same length of experience, but he has a fresh, idealistic tenacity and a powerful urge to think outside the box. Granted, sometimes it goes badly, but that has its own angsty charm. :D
I love the quiet hope that Peter offers, the patience and the ability to listen as well as to share his own trauma. There's such promise but also pain in that little taste of normal life for Marcus, someone who has always thought he could (should?) never have it.
As well as my Yuletide signup below, you might enjoy looking at the Exorcist section of my signup for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange, if you're feeling hurt/comforty: https://dorinda.dreamwidth.org/87630.html#cutid3
My signup:
(Doesn't have to include all three characters at once, though Marcus is mandatory, please; Marcus/Tomas or Marcus/Peter is great, or both pairings involved in the same story, whatever you like. It would be interesting to see how Tomas and Peter interact, too, especially if they had to work together to rescue Marcus somehow.)
Marcus is my bulletproof-fave--so sensitive but so intensely strong and resilient even under torture; so fraught with emotion and pain but also quick to joke; with that terrible history and that training as basically a child-soldier; climbing right into Tomas’ life as well as his apartment; so frightened and vulnerable with Peter.
Special mention to Marcus's total queer-rough-trade aesthetic, A+++.
I love a troubled mentor/pushy student dynamic, with mistakes made on both sides, as well as the mentor not automatically having all of the power all of the time. I also love the dynamic with Peter where Marcus tentatively reaches past all he's ever known, to allow himself to experience normality for a second. But what if Marcus's secret life bleeds over into that normality and puts Peter at risk? Oh no, angst and guilt. \o/ Though I bet Peter might be better able to handle it than Marcus expects.
I have no problem with show-typical violence/horror tropes, and enjoy the trappings/customs/labyrinthine histories of the Catholic church (plus this show's alternate-history church; feel free to do some worldbuilding if you want). Exorcisms and other aspects of their work are great, but you don’t have to focus on that if you don’t want to--I’m also into long dusty road trips, boats in the fog, troubled characters eating in roadside diners and sleeping in shabby motels and seeking an ineffable something that they end up finding in each other.
Post-canon continuations/fixits are great (and I also like Bennett, as well as Mouse), but not at all necessary--set it anytime, or no time in particular.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
镇魂 Guardian (TV)
Chu Shuzhi
First off, let me say, I have no objections whatsoever to shipping here! Especially of course Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan. Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng is good (though I prefer late-series Guo Changcheng, who has gained maturity and a spine and also his own power, not the early-series comic-relief hot mess), or you can go in the intensely-demonstrative big-brother-little-brother direction with them. I would also be interested in Chu Shuzhi/Ye Huo (Wildfire) if you're feeling a little more battle-comrade about it (though I know he's not in the nominated tagset).
But I listed only Chu Shuzhi in my signup because I'm dying to see more about him in particular--his backstory, his future, his outlook on things. He's the muscle (yum), but he also has subtle smarts. He's a hundred-and-some years old, and spent most of it in prison before these last few years on the surface. And not just prison--Dixing prison! Dixing is already such a charming place that I can't help but wonder what its prison is like, and how that formed Chu Shuzhi as he grew up. It couldn't have been nothing but constant whippings, could it? And is it just the imprisonment that created his clear grudge against the Regent, or was there more to it than that?
My signup:
I love Chu Shuzhi's generally unimpressed demeanor, and how he is mostly unflappable--he can stand there killing ghost beasts all day, he stops government flunkies by just leaning against the doorway and looking at them, he waits for fights to come to him and then he kicks all the ass. Zhao Yunlan getting shocked by the fear-baton is hilarious to him. "What are polite remarks?" he asks sincerely.
But I also love how when he does get shaken, he is shaken all the way to the ground! The man has no chill. So fierce and reliable in the field, but so dramatic (even hysteric) and unresolved down in his emotions--he has clearly never yet gotten over any of his guilt and distress about Nianzhi even though it's been almost a hundred years, and he falls utterly to pieces when history seems to have repeated itself with him seemingly causing Guo Changcheng's death.
He idolized/hero-worshiped the Envoy from his youth, and now he is the Envoy's to command. A dream come true? What has it been like? I adore the intense, complete, and unwavering loyalty there, and am always interested in seeing the Envoy, and Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, through Chu Shuzhi's eyes and experience. (Though I still would want it to be about Chu Shuzhi, not just using him to tell someone else's story.)
Special mention to Chu Shuzhi's shoulders, and also his scarf.
Feel free to worldbuild all you like, there's so much we don't know. Chu Shuzhi is so gentle with and protective of the puppet--what is that power even like?
Fixits, either canon-divergent or post-canon, are great, but not necessary--set it anytime, or no time in particular.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
Do Not Want: no references to episode 25's "comedy" moments, please.
Shetland
Duncan Hunter, Jimmy Perez
I love Jimmy and Duncan’s relationship, both in its contrasts and its surprising unity. On the one hand, Jimmy has a thoughtful, protective, almost paladin-like urge to protect his community with the power of the law compassionately applied; whereas Duncan has always taken a more opportunistic, shades-of-gray approach to the law and to people alike. So they’re coming from very different places and personalities.
But when it comes to their domestic situation, they are both such honest-to-god grownups, doing their best to parent together. They don’t always agree on the perfect approach, but they still do their best to communicate and to support each other, and I love seeing them manage that.
I also love seeing that depth of relationship show up in parts of their lives that don’t have to do with Cassie, which happens more and more over time. She was the original catalyst, but now that connection with each other has expanded into other arenas as well. Duncan comes to Jimmy as his automatic refuge in hard times; Jimmy in turn can stop pretending he has it all together, and lean on the supportive compassion Duncan has beneath his casual exterior.
As well as my Yuletide signup below, you might enjoy looking at the Shetland section of my signup for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange, if you're feeling hurt/comforty: https://dorinda.dreamwidth.org/87630.html#cutid6 . And that was written before I saw season 5, with cold/wet/traumatized Duncan on the beach in a blanket. Followup on the effects of that event on him would also be welcome.
My signup:
Circumstances brought Jimmy and Duncan together as co-parents in the least-stereotypical, least-macho ways imaginable, and that relationship seems to have left them open and vulnerable to each other, with deep potential reservoirs of trust and tenderness despite the strains of daily life. But there are also conflicts there, and I think the conflicts bite harder because of how vulnerable they are to each other, how much they care what the other one does and thinks. And they can bring out the worst in each other--Jimmy's wish for Duncan to pull himself together can shade into self-righteousness; Duncan's wish for Jimmy to think past a black-and-white worldview can shade into immaturity.
We know Jimmy has been openly suffering Empty Nest Syndrome since Cassie first started spreading her wings--but what about Duncan, how is he feeling about it? Does he fear losing Jimmy, now that their initial reason for being so close is changing? Jimmy seems to think he has to be alone and apart in order to do his job, but he forgets that Duncan has always somehow been an exception to that--can he get that through his head?
Special mention to Duncan being a total silver fox, and Jimmy having the coziest sweaters.
Post season 5 is great, but not necessary--set it anytime, or no time in particular.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
Sinbad (TV)
Gunnar, Sinbad
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.
My signup:
I love Gunnar's high levels of competence, and the way he represses like a sunburnt Viking clam. Gunnar is obviously protective of Sinbad, but he often just has to let him make his own mistakes. Even when Sinbad has those rough times, though, he always seems to keep a sunny, hopeful outlook on life, and Gunnar could use a little of that. I like how their strengths are also their weaknesses--Gunnar's protectiveness and looking after others also leads to him undervaluing and not looking after himself; Sinbad's creativity and risk-taking can lead to him being reckless and careless. So they each potentially balance the other, though it's an ongoing effort.
I also like the prospect of things we didn't get to see as much of in the show, such as Sinbad's protectiveness toward Gunnar. How to protect the protector, how to look after the guy who thinks the looking-after should all go the other way? How does Sinbad get through Gunnar's self-imposed isolation? And what about Gunnar's literary/poetic side?
Special mention to Gunnar's entire torso (tattoo and back scarring definitely included), and also Sinbad's kohl eye makeup.
Other characters are welcome--I love the found-family aspect of the show--or it could be Gunnar and Sinbad off on their own. Post-series is great, but not necessary; set it anytime, or no time in particular.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
The Sting (1973)
Henry Gondorff, Johnny Hooker
I love Henry's hard-won wisdom, and the way he quietly worries; I love Johnny's eagerness to learn, and the way his energy seems to bring Henry back to life. They've both sought out that underworld life on the edge, and now each has the other to work with, to whet his skills on, and to watch his back. The competence, the risk-taking, the newly-developing knowledge of and need for each other--I'd love to see that go further and become more intimate.
I'm also curious about their vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Why was Henry passed-out drunk when Johnny first finds him? Was it all about Luther, or was there something else as well? Johnny is such a good mark for Salino because he's so restless and lonesome, having lost not just Luther but his whole de facto family circle. How might he find that again in Henry, and Henry's network of Big Con grifters? Johnny's experience is lower-level, hustling pinball and working short-cons on the street--how does he expand his horizons, and what new things might he bring into Henry's life?
A closeup on the Henry/Johnny relationship is great, but I also am totally into the whole parallel grifter society beneath the surface of the regular world, sort of a mixture of a huge extended family and an experienced repertory theater company. So if you want, feel free to paint a larger picture.
As well as my Yuletide signup below, you might enjoy looking at The Sting section of my signup for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange, if you're feeling hurt/comforty: https://dorinda.dreamwidth.org/87630.html#cutid7 . And let me reinforce the fact that I am fine with either or both being hurt/comforted, if that's the way you go.
My signup:
I enjoy how Henry and Johnny's partnership changes over time, starting out awkward and uncertain, and becoming close and trusting, with barely-repressed emotional undertones. I also enjoy what we get to see of Kid Twist--dapper, flamboyant, confident, 100% welcoming to the new kid (also, calls him “Tootsie” on the phone. :D ), though I didn't officially include him in my signup, so you can suit yourself there.
I love the movie's worrying, caretaking Henry, and needy, hungry Johnny, though of course I would also love to see other aspects of them. Including the sheer reverse: what about Johnny worrying about or taking care of Henry for a change? What does Henry need, what makes him hungry?
I love a troubled mentor/pushy student dynamic, and I love to see mistakes made on both sides, as well as the mentor not automatically having all of the power all of the time. I adore skill in trickery and performance and improvisation, and the way an almost psychic bond might develop when they’re in a tight spot. A new con, large or small, is great, but you don’t have to focus on that if you don’t want to. I’m also into the time between jobs (or offstage during a job), long train trips or fancy hotels or rides hitched in a dusty jalopy, risk-junkies on the road and finding something in each other they had never expected.
Special mention to the way Henry and Johnny look in strap undershirts. Also: Henry's hat.
If it becomes relevant, I ask that the good guys’ cons be against deserving targets--fitting the Robin Hoodish tone of the movie, where you go after the well-heeled and greedy, using their own greed to trap them. The con as reparative justice.
I love the rest of the grifters, so feel free to include them if you want.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
Have fun writing, and thank you! *\o/*
(Also, let me say: you'll notice it's not uncommon for me to ask for some of the same fandoms from year to year. If you've written for me previously, please do not ever think this is because I don't still love your gift! It's just that these fandoms are so small and I love them so much--I crave another cake, to go with my previous delicious cakes. In my cake hoard. :9 )
If you already have an idea, please feel free to write it. I want you to have a good time with the process and not stress out. Anything that you have fun with, I'll have fun with.
But if some more info about my preferences might help and inspire you, here's some!
Some of my general preferences:
* Happy or at least hopeful endings. Melancholy/bittersweet tones are also fine, just not grim/hopeless/tragic. I'd like the characters to be there for each other, no matter how hard their circumstances.
* Slash. Ship 'em, please! Although for me that doesn't mean mandatory sex--sex is great if the story calls for it, onscreen/offscreen/fade-to-black is all good, but it isn't necessary if you have other plans. For me, slashing or shipping is about the depth of connection, the discovery of unexpected (frightening? joyful? both?) intimacy and vulnerability, realization of just how much they feel and need, grappling with how to handle it, crossing those last boundaries of self-protection. I usually seek out first times rather than established relationships.
* Some of the tropes and approaches I particularly like: trust, protectiveness, loyalty, worry, communication between the lines, seemingly-ordinary words that camouflage deep meaning, a surface shell cracking to reveal vulnerability beneath, hurt/comfort, uncovering a secret, me and you against the world, physical care like tending wounds/washing/etc., nurturing with food/drink/warmth.
And don't hesitate to go for classic frameworks if you like them! Along with hurt/comfort I am also big on things like bedsharing, huddling for warmth, pretend couple, undercover as a rentboy, rescues, suffering/sacrificing for the other, stranded somewhere, etc.
One jumps in the way of the other getting hurt? (Especially if the saved one is then mad about it?) One gets attacked and the other rises in wrath, GET BACK HE IS MINE? One awkwardly expresses the depth of his feelings with a painstakingly fried egg on toast? A desire to impress him, an effort to figure out how to be silently vulnerable with him, a need for him that he hadn't understood until now or had hidden while pining? Yepppp.
Big drama is good, quiet subtlety is good. ♥
If you'd find it helpful to hear more about the fandoms I've asked for, here are some details about this year's, in alphabetical order: The Exorcist (TV), 镇魂 Guardian (TV), Shetland, Sinbad (TV), The Sting (1973).
The Exorcist (TV)
Marcus Keane, Tomas Ortega, Peter Osborne
Tomas and Marcus end up so intensely close (and handsy!), even when they conflict. Marcus comes from such a strange, dysfunctional upbringing, which has made him knowledgeable and skilled as well as a lonely basketcase. And Tomas brings something new and sorely needed to Marcus's basketcase-loner approach--Tomas doesn't have the same length of experience, but he has a fresh, idealistic tenacity and a powerful urge to think outside the box. Granted, sometimes it goes badly, but that has its own angsty charm. :D
I love the quiet hope that Peter offers, the patience and the ability to listen as well as to share his own trauma. There's such promise but also pain in that little taste of normal life for Marcus, someone who has always thought he could (should?) never have it.
As well as my Yuletide signup below, you might enjoy looking at the Exorcist section of my signup for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange, if you're feeling hurt/comforty: https://dorinda.dreamwidth.org/87630.html#cutid3
My signup:
(Doesn't have to include all three characters at once, though Marcus is mandatory, please; Marcus/Tomas or Marcus/Peter is great, or both pairings involved in the same story, whatever you like. It would be interesting to see how Tomas and Peter interact, too, especially if they had to work together to rescue Marcus somehow.)
Marcus is my bulletproof-fave--so sensitive but so intensely strong and resilient even under torture; so fraught with emotion and pain but also quick to joke; with that terrible history and that training as basically a child-soldier; climbing right into Tomas’ life as well as his apartment; so frightened and vulnerable with Peter.
Special mention to Marcus's total queer-rough-trade aesthetic, A+++.
I love a troubled mentor/pushy student dynamic, with mistakes made on both sides, as well as the mentor not automatically having all of the power all of the time. I also love the dynamic with Peter where Marcus tentatively reaches past all he's ever known, to allow himself to experience normality for a second. But what if Marcus's secret life bleeds over into that normality and puts Peter at risk? Oh no, angst and guilt. \o/ Though I bet Peter might be better able to handle it than Marcus expects.
I have no problem with show-typical violence/horror tropes, and enjoy the trappings/customs/labyrinthine histories of the Catholic church (plus this show's alternate-history church; feel free to do some worldbuilding if you want). Exorcisms and other aspects of their work are great, but you don’t have to focus on that if you don’t want to--I’m also into long dusty road trips, boats in the fog, troubled characters eating in roadside diners and sleeping in shabby motels and seeking an ineffable something that they end up finding in each other.
Post-canon continuations/fixits are great (and I also like Bennett, as well as Mouse), but not at all necessary--set it anytime, or no time in particular.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
镇魂 Guardian (TV)
Chu Shuzhi
First off, let me say, I have no objections whatsoever to shipping here! Especially of course Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan. Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng is good (though I prefer late-series Guo Changcheng, who has gained maturity and a spine and also his own power, not the early-series comic-relief hot mess), or you can go in the intensely-demonstrative big-brother-little-brother direction with them. I would also be interested in Chu Shuzhi/Ye Huo (Wildfire) if you're feeling a little more battle-comrade about it (though I know he's not in the nominated tagset).
But I listed only Chu Shuzhi in my signup because I'm dying to see more about him in particular--his backstory, his future, his outlook on things. He's the muscle (yum), but he also has subtle smarts. He's a hundred-and-some years old, and spent most of it in prison before these last few years on the surface. And not just prison--Dixing prison! Dixing is already such a charming place that I can't help but wonder what its prison is like, and how that formed Chu Shuzhi as he grew up. It couldn't have been nothing but constant whippings, could it? And is it just the imprisonment that created his clear grudge against the Regent, or was there more to it than that?
My signup:
I love Chu Shuzhi's generally unimpressed demeanor, and how he is mostly unflappable--he can stand there killing ghost beasts all day, he stops government flunkies by just leaning against the doorway and looking at them, he waits for fights to come to him and then he kicks all the ass. Zhao Yunlan getting shocked by the fear-baton is hilarious to him. "What are polite remarks?" he asks sincerely.
But I also love how when he does get shaken, he is shaken all the way to the ground! The man has no chill. So fierce and reliable in the field, but so dramatic (even hysteric) and unresolved down in his emotions--he has clearly never yet gotten over any of his guilt and distress about Nianzhi even though it's been almost a hundred years, and he falls utterly to pieces when history seems to have repeated itself with him seemingly causing Guo Changcheng's death.
He idolized/hero-worshiped the Envoy from his youth, and now he is the Envoy's to command. A dream come true? What has it been like? I adore the intense, complete, and unwavering loyalty there, and am always interested in seeing the Envoy, and Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, through Chu Shuzhi's eyes and experience. (Though I still would want it to be about Chu Shuzhi, not just using him to tell someone else's story.)
Special mention to Chu Shuzhi's shoulders, and also his scarf.
Feel free to worldbuild all you like, there's so much we don't know. Chu Shuzhi is so gentle with and protective of the puppet--what is that power even like?
Fixits, either canon-divergent or post-canon, are great, but not necessary--set it anytime, or no time in particular.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
Do Not Want: no references to episode 25's "comedy" moments, please.
Shetland
Duncan Hunter, Jimmy Perez
I love Jimmy and Duncan’s relationship, both in its contrasts and its surprising unity. On the one hand, Jimmy has a thoughtful, protective, almost paladin-like urge to protect his community with the power of the law compassionately applied; whereas Duncan has always taken a more opportunistic, shades-of-gray approach to the law and to people alike. So they’re coming from very different places and personalities.
But when it comes to their domestic situation, they are both such honest-to-god grownups, doing their best to parent together. They don’t always agree on the perfect approach, but they still do their best to communicate and to support each other, and I love seeing them manage that.
I also love seeing that depth of relationship show up in parts of their lives that don’t have to do with Cassie, which happens more and more over time. She was the original catalyst, but now that connection with each other has expanded into other arenas as well. Duncan comes to Jimmy as his automatic refuge in hard times; Jimmy in turn can stop pretending he has it all together, and lean on the supportive compassion Duncan has beneath his casual exterior.
As well as my Yuletide signup below, you might enjoy looking at the Shetland section of my signup for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange, if you're feeling hurt/comforty: https://dorinda.dreamwidth.org/87630.html#cutid6 . And that was written before I saw season 5, with cold/wet/traumatized Duncan on the beach in a blanket. Followup on the effects of that event on him would also be welcome.
My signup:
Circumstances brought Jimmy and Duncan together as co-parents in the least-stereotypical, least-macho ways imaginable, and that relationship seems to have left them open and vulnerable to each other, with deep potential reservoirs of trust and tenderness despite the strains of daily life. But there are also conflicts there, and I think the conflicts bite harder because of how vulnerable they are to each other, how much they care what the other one does and thinks. And they can bring out the worst in each other--Jimmy's wish for Duncan to pull himself together can shade into self-righteousness; Duncan's wish for Jimmy to think past a black-and-white worldview can shade into immaturity.
We know Jimmy has been openly suffering Empty Nest Syndrome since Cassie first started spreading her wings--but what about Duncan, how is he feeling about it? Does he fear losing Jimmy, now that their initial reason for being so close is changing? Jimmy seems to think he has to be alone and apart in order to do his job, but he forgets that Duncan has always somehow been an exception to that--can he get that through his head?
Special mention to Duncan being a total silver fox, and Jimmy having the coziest sweaters.
Post season 5 is great, but not necessary--set it anytime, or no time in particular.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
Sinbad (TV)
Gunnar, Sinbad
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.
My signup:
I love Gunnar's high levels of competence, and the way he represses like a sunburnt Viking clam. Gunnar is obviously protective of Sinbad, but he often just has to let him make his own mistakes. Even when Sinbad has those rough times, though, he always seems to keep a sunny, hopeful outlook on life, and Gunnar could use a little of that. I like how their strengths are also their weaknesses--Gunnar's protectiveness and looking after others also leads to him undervaluing and not looking after himself; Sinbad's creativity and risk-taking can lead to him being reckless and careless. So they each potentially balance the other, though it's an ongoing effort.
I also like the prospect of things we didn't get to see as much of in the show, such as Sinbad's protectiveness toward Gunnar. How to protect the protector, how to look after the guy who thinks the looking-after should all go the other way? How does Sinbad get through Gunnar's self-imposed isolation? And what about Gunnar's literary/poetic side?
Special mention to Gunnar's entire torso (tattoo and back scarring definitely included), and also Sinbad's kohl eye makeup.
Other characters are welcome--I love the found-family aspect of the show--or it could be Gunnar and Sinbad off on their own. Post-series is great, but not necessary; set it anytime, or no time in particular.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
The Sting (1973)
Henry Gondorff, Johnny Hooker
I love Henry's hard-won wisdom, and the way he quietly worries; I love Johnny's eagerness to learn, and the way his energy seems to bring Henry back to life. They've both sought out that underworld life on the edge, and now each has the other to work with, to whet his skills on, and to watch his back. The competence, the risk-taking, the newly-developing knowledge of and need for each other--I'd love to see that go further and become more intimate.
I'm also curious about their vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Why was Henry passed-out drunk when Johnny first finds him? Was it all about Luther, or was there something else as well? Johnny is such a good mark for Salino because he's so restless and lonesome, having lost not just Luther but his whole de facto family circle. How might he find that again in Henry, and Henry's network of Big Con grifters? Johnny's experience is lower-level, hustling pinball and working short-cons on the street--how does he expand his horizons, and what new things might he bring into Henry's life?
A closeup on the Henry/Johnny relationship is great, but I also am totally into the whole parallel grifter society beneath the surface of the regular world, sort of a mixture of a huge extended family and an experienced repertory theater company. So if you want, feel free to paint a larger picture.
As well as my Yuletide signup below, you might enjoy looking at The Sting section of my signup for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange, if you're feeling hurt/comforty: https://dorinda.dreamwidth.org/87630.html#cutid7 . And let me reinforce the fact that I am fine with either or both being hurt/comforted, if that's the way you go.
My signup:
I enjoy how Henry and Johnny's partnership changes over time, starting out awkward and uncertain, and becoming close and trusting, with barely-repressed emotional undertones. I also enjoy what we get to see of Kid Twist--dapper, flamboyant, confident, 100% welcoming to the new kid (also, calls him “Tootsie” on the phone. :D ), though I didn't officially include him in my signup, so you can suit yourself there.
I love the movie's worrying, caretaking Henry, and needy, hungry Johnny, though of course I would also love to see other aspects of them. Including the sheer reverse: what about Johnny worrying about or taking care of Henry for a change? What does Henry need, what makes him hungry?
I love a troubled mentor/pushy student dynamic, and I love to see mistakes made on both sides, as well as the mentor not automatically having all of the power all of the time. I adore skill in trickery and performance and improvisation, and the way an almost psychic bond might develop when they’re in a tight spot. A new con, large or small, is great, but you don’t have to focus on that if you don’t want to. I’m also into the time between jobs (or offstage during a job), long train trips or fancy hotels or rides hitched in a dusty jalopy, risk-junkies on the road and finding something in each other they had never expected.
Special mention to the way Henry and Johnny look in strap undershirts. Also: Henry's hat.
If it becomes relevant, I ask that the good guys’ cons be against deserving targets--fitting the Robin Hoodish tone of the movie, where you go after the well-heeled and greedy, using their own greed to trap them. The con as reparative justice.
I love the rest of the grifters, so feel free to include them if you want.
Happy or at least hopeful ending please!
Have fun writing, and thank you! *\o/*
