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Dear Yuletide Author
Dear Yuletide Author,
Thank you so much in advance for writing me a story! I love that we both share one of these tiny, beloved fandoms, and I'm excited to read what you come up with for me.
LOVES
competence
partnership
pining
worldbuilding
friendship (especially complex, difficult, or between female characters)
epistolary
loyalty/fealty
teams/found families
hurt/comfort
trust issues
amnesia
outsider POV
how-they-met backstory
banter & good dialogue
cons, heists, and spy shenanigans (c.f. my competence kink)
character misjudging another character and then figuring out they were wrong
SQUICKS
-incest: my absolute hardline no; if you try to write this for me, I will inevitably fail out after a few pages at most, dnw
-amputation: while there are multiple amputee characters that I adore (Furiosa, Bucky, Luke Skywalker, etc etc), I've found that reading about the actual trauma of amputation/permanently disabling injuries and their immediate aftermath is super distressing to me and would like to skip reading things through my metaphorical fingers for Yuletide
-infidelity/adultery: also a thing that I *can* read, but which almost always makes me loathe the betraying character, which is no fun. Please avoid!
I generally have no preference between gen and shippy stories, and love any range of (a)sexuality, kinks, and relationship types that seem in-character based on canon. If I do ship something (mentioned in the fandom details below), please don't feel obliged to write it if you don't ship it - I will enjoy gen for any of these characters just as much, and you should get to write a story you love, too. Optional details are optional!
The Breakfast Club
John Bender
I had the pleasure of seeing this movie on the big screen in a theater recently, and for some reason getting to soak in all the detail like that really made me crave fic. Specifically, getting to see it like that really emphasized Judd Nelson's performance, all the little subtleties and microexpressions and the way he's fighting his own instincts half the time. Bender is such a complicated, heartbreaking mess, I love him, and I want a story centered around him if we matched on this fandom.
I guess I'm also looking to read a story I haven't read before for this fandom. I've never requested it before, but I always check out the Yuletide stories that come out every year, and they tend to fall into two categories: stories about what happens between the four when they meet again at school, and stories where they meet again years after high school. I love both of those tropes and will happily read more of them, but if you're up for it, I'd LOVE to see something new and different.
-epistolary fic: the Club passing notes (in person, in their lockers) because even if they aren't brave enough to stay friends in public they still don't want to let go of their connection, or staying in touch with letters after they graduate
-documentation fic: school records, college applications, school newspaper articles, idek
-outsider POV: I noticed this time around that in the opening sequence, the school counselor has a name plate! Dr. Hashimoto (named for the production supervisor on set, apparently). You can't tell me s/he doesn't end up with Bender in their office ALL THE TIME.
-Stranger Things crossover: the date (March 24, 1984) caught my eye this time around, and I can't believe a crossover doesn't exist for these two distinctively eighties stories, especially since they're both set in the same area! Some ideas: Bender gets the fuck out of Shermar but his car breaks down in Hawkins and he meets Hopper/El/Will/etc; Bender runs into Kali & Co. because his dad used to work for the Lab (he seems like that kind of asshole); the ST kids meet Brian at some kind of science fair or other nerd event in Chicago/University of Illinois/Indianapolis
Nirvana in Fire
Xiao Jingyan
I adored pretty much everyone in this massive ensemble, but my favorite is definitely Jingyan, the world's most heartbreaking water buffalo. He's just so good and so sad and so perfectly imperfect as a human being: I both enjoy watching him suffer and want him to be happy always. I'm sure you, as a fellow NIF fan, know exactly what I mean. :)
I ship Jingyan/Mei Changsu|Lin Shu pretty hard, as they are the heart of the show, and there are never enough fix-its in this fandom, but I also love gen stories digging into all the side relationships. If you like prompts, some stories I've been looking for but haven't found yet include:
-how did Prince Ji hide Tingsheng's identity as a baby? Was Jingyan involved that early, or did he find out later - how, when?
-Tingsheng getting Jingyan to dismantle the servant's prison, post-canon; I can't imagine either of them consider that system something that should continue
-if MCS was secretly sending people to help Nihuang when she was in trouble pre-canon, he was DEFINITELY doing the same thing for Jingyan, who is 2000% more likely to get into trouble than Nihuang and had much less support
-how did Jingyan end up with Lin Shu's bow if the Lin Manor was locked down? Did LS just leave it habitually at Jingyan's manor, despite not wanting anyone to touch his stuff?
-there's a throwaway reference to Jingyan making friends with Shen Zhui when MCS arranges for them to ~coincidentally~ meet at a restaurant, which sounds like a good story to me. I'm a sucker for first meetings in general, and curious what Shen Zhui's first impressions of Jingyan were since he's such a perceptive character.
Sadly, I watched this show in the gap between nominations and signups, so there are several characters I was interested in stories about that did not get nominated. So if you felt the urge to write about Tingsheng's backstory in the palace servants' prison, or Yujin/Gong Yu being spy buddies and music fans and falling in love post-canon (or during the fight with Da Yu in the last ep), that would also be incredibly okay with me. :)
The Murderbot Diaries
Murderbot
I would love post-canon fic for this - I loved the ending of the last novella, but there's still so much to explore or resolve! I'd love some wrapup for the events on RaviHyral - does Murderbot ever tell his crew about what really happened in the mining operation massacre? Do Tapan and the collective end up immigrating to Preservation, or maybe see that documentary they ask Murderbot to do at the end of Exit Strategy? Or, I'd love to see Murderbot and Dr. Mensah's daughter making friends - they've already bonded over a TV show and how awesome Dr. Mensah is, that's how all of Murderbot's friendships have started so far. Or really just anything about adjusting to life as a free, non-human person and all the joys and pitfalls of that.
Banlieue 13
any character
This is a perennial Yuletide fandom for me - I've requested it every year since 2010 - so I will literally be happy with any story, about any character, in this fandom. I'm obviously partial to the four nominated characters - Damien, Leito, Lola, and Tao - and I ship Damien/Leito really hard, because hello hoyay, competence, and enemies-to-super-loyal-friends trope. I love Lola and her fierce strength, and reading about what happened to her after the first movie. I even love the weird dystopian setting and the hope of fixing it - you could probably do some fun solarpunk stuff with B13, now that I think about it. If you want to tell me about, idk, Gassman's secretary going to therapy to deal with having someone drive a car through her office, or Tao's childhood, or the neighborhood kids who hero worship Leito, I would adore any of it.
Thank you again, and good luck with your writing! If there's anything that's really confusing or stymying you about my prompts, or you have a thrilling plot bunny that really inspires you but you're not sure I'll like or not, or whatever, please feel free to get in touch with inmyriadbits (DW, Tumblr). She's my twin sister, so she knows all my preferences and all of these fandoms and can guide you - and will probably be delighted to keep the secret from me and then tell me all about it after reveals ;)
Thank you so much in advance for writing me a story! I love that we both share one of these tiny, beloved fandoms, and I'm excited to read what you come up with for me.
LOVES
competence
partnership
pining
worldbuilding
friendship (especially complex, difficult, or between female characters)
epistolary
loyalty/fealty
teams/found families
hurt/comfort
trust issues
amnesia
outsider POV
how-they-met backstory
banter & good dialogue
cons, heists, and spy shenanigans (c.f. my competence kink)
character misjudging another character and then figuring out they were wrong
SQUICKS
-incest: my absolute hardline no; if you try to write this for me, I will inevitably fail out after a few pages at most, dnw
-amputation: while there are multiple amputee characters that I adore (Furiosa, Bucky, Luke Skywalker, etc etc), I've found that reading about the actual trauma of amputation/permanently disabling injuries and their immediate aftermath is super distressing to me and would like to skip reading things through my metaphorical fingers for Yuletide
-infidelity/adultery: also a thing that I *can* read, but which almost always makes me loathe the betraying character, which is no fun. Please avoid!
I generally have no preference between gen and shippy stories, and love any range of (a)sexuality, kinks, and relationship types that seem in-character based on canon. If I do ship something (mentioned in the fandom details below), please don't feel obliged to write it if you don't ship it - I will enjoy gen for any of these characters just as much, and you should get to write a story you love, too. Optional details are optional!
The Breakfast Club
John Bender
I had the pleasure of seeing this movie on the big screen in a theater recently, and for some reason getting to soak in all the detail like that really made me crave fic. Specifically, getting to see it like that really emphasized Judd Nelson's performance, all the little subtleties and microexpressions and the way he's fighting his own instincts half the time. Bender is such a complicated, heartbreaking mess, I love him, and I want a story centered around him if we matched on this fandom.
I guess I'm also looking to read a story I haven't read before for this fandom. I've never requested it before, but I always check out the Yuletide stories that come out every year, and they tend to fall into two categories: stories about what happens between the four when they meet again at school, and stories where they meet again years after high school. I love both of those tropes and will happily read more of them, but if you're up for it, I'd LOVE to see something new and different.
-epistolary fic: the Club passing notes (in person, in their lockers) because even if they aren't brave enough to stay friends in public they still don't want to let go of their connection, or staying in touch with letters after they graduate
-documentation fic: school records, college applications, school newspaper articles, idek
-outsider POV: I noticed this time around that in the opening sequence, the school counselor has a name plate! Dr. Hashimoto (named for the production supervisor on set, apparently). You can't tell me s/he doesn't end up with Bender in their office ALL THE TIME.
-Stranger Things crossover: the date (March 24, 1984) caught my eye this time around, and I can't believe a crossover doesn't exist for these two distinctively eighties stories, especially since they're both set in the same area! Some ideas: Bender gets the fuck out of Shermar but his car breaks down in Hawkins and he meets Hopper/El/Will/etc; Bender runs into Kali & Co. because his dad used to work for the Lab (he seems like that kind of asshole); the ST kids meet Brian at some kind of science fair or other nerd event in Chicago/University of Illinois/Indianapolis
Nirvana in Fire
Xiao Jingyan
I adored pretty much everyone in this massive ensemble, but my favorite is definitely Jingyan, the world's most heartbreaking water buffalo. He's just so good and so sad and so perfectly imperfect as a human being: I both enjoy watching him suffer and want him to be happy always. I'm sure you, as a fellow NIF fan, know exactly what I mean. :)
I ship Jingyan/Mei Changsu|Lin Shu pretty hard, as they are the heart of the show, and there are never enough fix-its in this fandom, but I also love gen stories digging into all the side relationships. If you like prompts, some stories I've been looking for but haven't found yet include:
-how did Prince Ji hide Tingsheng's identity as a baby? Was Jingyan involved that early, or did he find out later - how, when?
-Tingsheng getting Jingyan to dismantle the servant's prison, post-canon; I can't imagine either of them consider that system something that should continue
-if MCS was secretly sending people to help Nihuang when she was in trouble pre-canon, he was DEFINITELY doing the same thing for Jingyan, who is 2000% more likely to get into trouble than Nihuang and had much less support
-how did Jingyan end up with Lin Shu's bow if the Lin Manor was locked down? Did LS just leave it habitually at Jingyan's manor, despite not wanting anyone to touch his stuff?
-there's a throwaway reference to Jingyan making friends with Shen Zhui when MCS arranges for them to ~coincidentally~ meet at a restaurant, which sounds like a good story to me. I'm a sucker for first meetings in general, and curious what Shen Zhui's first impressions of Jingyan were since he's such a perceptive character.
Sadly, I watched this show in the gap between nominations and signups, so there are several characters I was interested in stories about that did not get nominated. So if you felt the urge to write about Tingsheng's backstory in the palace servants' prison, or Yujin/Gong Yu being spy buddies and music fans and falling in love post-canon (or during the fight with Da Yu in the last ep), that would also be incredibly okay with me. :)
The Murderbot Diaries
Murderbot
I would love post-canon fic for this - I loved the ending of the last novella, but there's still so much to explore or resolve! I'd love some wrapup for the events on RaviHyral - does Murderbot ever tell his crew about what really happened in the mining operation massacre? Do Tapan and the collective end up immigrating to Preservation, or maybe see that documentary they ask Murderbot to do at the end of Exit Strategy? Or, I'd love to see Murderbot and Dr. Mensah's daughter making friends - they've already bonded over a TV show and how awesome Dr. Mensah is, that's how all of Murderbot's friendships have started so far. Or really just anything about adjusting to life as a free, non-human person and all the joys and pitfalls of that.
Banlieue 13
any character
This is a perennial Yuletide fandom for me - I've requested it every year since 2010 - so I will literally be happy with any story, about any character, in this fandom. I'm obviously partial to the four nominated characters - Damien, Leito, Lola, and Tao - and I ship Damien/Leito really hard, because hello hoyay, competence, and enemies-to-super-loyal-friends trope. I love Lola and her fierce strength, and reading about what happened to her after the first movie. I even love the weird dystopian setting and the hope of fixing it - you could probably do some fun solarpunk stuff with B13, now that I think about it. If you want to tell me about, idk, Gassman's secretary going to therapy to deal with having someone drive a car through her office, or Tao's childhood, or the neighborhood kids who hero worship Leito, I would adore any of it.
Thank you again, and good luck with your writing! If there's anything that's really confusing or stymying you about my prompts, or you have a thrilling plot bunny that really inspires you but you're not sure I'll like or not, or whatever, please feel free to get in touch with inmyriadbits (DW, Tumblr). She's my twin sister, so she knows all my preferences and all of these fandoms and can guide you - and will probably be delighted to keep the secret from me and then tell me all about it after reveals ;)