Oct. 16th, 2015 05:36 pm
dear yuletide writer (2015)
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chicafrom3Dear Yuletide Writer:
Hello, welcome, and thank you for writing for me. ♥ All details in this letter are completely optional; just the fact that you're writing something for one of these fandoms makes you awesome. Write the story that's in your heart!
That said, if you want more from me, keep reading! I've listed my requests in alphabetical order for easier reading.
General stuff:
AO3: chicafrom3
Likes: Gen/het/femslash/slash, in no particular order. Character studies. Plot. AUs, both of the canon divergence and alternate setting kinds. Crossovers. Slice-of-life. Fluff. Angst. Crack. Futurefic. Backstory. Missing scenes. Outsider POV. . . . Probably more that I'm forgetting.
Dislikes: Explicit sex. Torture porn.
The Requests
Everworld - K.A. Applegate (Jalil Sherman, Christopher Hitchcock)
He's a prickly, touchy, superior, arrogant, condescending butt-spasm, he really is, but I'm getting so I like him.
What is it: Everworld is a twelve-book YA fantasy series by K.A. Applegate, the author of Animorphs. It's about four kids from Chicago who, due to their connections to a girl named Senna Wales, end up drawn into Everworld, an all-myths-are-true alternate universe created by the gods of the Old World when humanity became increasingly rational and science-driven. It's currently out of print, but you can check out the fan-compiled ebooks here.
The request:
I've requested Everworld for Yuletide three times before, so if you are curious to read my rambling about the series feel free to check out my past Yuletide letters. This year I am asking specifically for Jalil and Christopher, and therefore will try to restrain myself to talking about the two of them. I love their screwed-up, dysfunctional dynamic with each other; they are two people who certainly would never have chosen to become friends, much less the ride-or-two comradeship Everworld eventually forces them into. That's true to varying degrees of all of the main four, of course, but I think it's particularly noticeable with the two of them, given Jalil's defensiveness and very strong self-protection streak and Christopher's kneejerk racism and automatic mockery of everyone else; just looking at the evolution of the way they are with each other is a great way of seeing just how much Everworld forces the kids to dismantle their own self-images and rebuild them. Character development!
I would love to see fic exploring how that dynamic continues to evolve, post-canon. How do they cope with the knowledge that their comradeship is now almost certainly permanent? There's no escaping to the "real" world anymore, but there's also no more pressure from the "real" world to try to hang onto who they used to be. That's got to change things for them somehow. Alternately, I'd love to see "missing scene" type fics set during the canon era, looking at how their relationship is evolving from outright antagonism to a very intense kind of friendship. We get a little of that in canon with both of them musing on how they can't quite understand how things are changing, and certainly as Christopher gets more self-aware he starts looking at his interactions with Jalil with a more critical eye towards himself, but I'd love to see more, particularly any conversations between the two of them or crises where they need to rely on each other.
For this fandom, I would prefer not to receive any AUs that don't involve Everworld itself, though canon-divergent AUs are totally cool. I'm also completely happy with either a platonic or slashy dynamic between the boys.
Girl Meets World (Zay Babineaux)
Someone here is going to be very surprised to see me.
What is it: Girl Meets World is a Disney channel kidcom, a spinoff/sequel to the 90s TGIF series of my childhood Boy Meets World, following the adventures of Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley and her best friend Maya as they learn about life. It is currently on its second season; the first season is available legally on Netflix, and many of the episodes can be found on YouTube.
The request:
"Girl Meets The Secret Of Life" wasn't over before I decided Zay was one of my new favorites. He's ninety percent bravado and ten percent fear -- but he'll intentionally seek out one frightening situation (for example, getting beaten up by the school thug) in order to allay his fears about a different situation (in that case, his fear that Lucas won't have his back anymore). On the surface, he's a lot like Maya, getting into trouble and running wild, but under that he's a lot more like Riley, good-natured and seeing the best in people and full of hope (and needing someone else to help him out of trouble). He's charming, and smarter than people assume (I will never stop laughing over the fact that Zay was the only one who realized Riley wasn't in her bed in Rah Rah), and he clearly likes being the center of attention. Plus he has zero shame, which I love in a character.
So I want fic about Zay, and I am open to anything: backstory about getting into trouble with Lucas in Texas, futurefic about adjusting to New York as he grows up, friendship bonding with the core four, missing scenes about what the hell he's been up to during all those episodes he hasn't been in, character studies of any flavor, shipfic with anyone in his age range. (I do kind of headcanon Zay as being attracted to guys to one degree or another, but please don't feel like you need to stick to that if it's not your own headcanon.) How did he get into ballet, and why didn't he tell Lucas about it? What the hell went down with cheerleader Vanessa? How did he and Lucas become friends? He seems to have adapted pretty quickly to NYC and Riley's circle of friends; how does he really feel about it? Basically, just give me more Zay and I will be happy.
I know it can be stressful to write for an open canon, and I give you carte blanche to ignore anything aired after any given point.
Sense8 (Lito Rodriguez, Capheus, Hernando, Daniela Vasquez)
In the end, we'll all be judged by the courage of our hearts.
What is it: Sense8 is a Netflix original TV series about a group of eight people scattered across the world who discover they are psychically linked to one another. It has had one season so far, which is available on Netflix.
The request:
One of my favorite things about Sense8 is the different ways the clustermates interact with each other and their surroundings -- from the big action-packed moments when they save each other from bad guys to the smaller, quieter moments like Capheus and Kala watching a Van Damme movie together, or Riley showing Will around her childhood home, or Lito and Nomi sitting in an art gallery talking about their pasts.
And essentially I just really want Capheus visiting or sharing with Lito, and interacting with Hernando and Dani. I feel like Capheus would get a big kick out of seeing a real movie set and Lito would get an equally big kick out of showing off, and I imagine he'd get along well with the other two as well -- Hernando would probably love to talk about the artistic value and meaning of Van Damme films, and Dani and Capheus are both irrepressible balls of unfiltered sunshine and joy. I'd also just love to see Hernando and Dani finding out about the cluster and the other people who live in Lito's head, tbh. But literally anything involving Capheus interacting with the Mexico City trio would delight me.
Feel free to ignore the season-ending cliffhanger if you want, and including other characters is welcome but definitely not required.
Sit Down By The Fire - The Pogues
They're the things that you see when you wake up and scream, the cold things that follow you down the boreen
What is it: Do you love creepy supernatural horror stories in the form of Celtic punk songs? Then you should probably be listening to the Pogues! (They also have a lot of songs that aren't creepy supernatural horror stories. But that's beside the point.) Sit Down By The Fire can be listened to on YouTube here, and you can see the full lyrics here.
The request:
This song is so creepy and full of unanswered questions that I feel like it's perfect for fic purposes. What are the things? Faeries or demons? Where do they come from? ("They live in the small ring of trees on the hill up at the top of the field" but "they march out of that hole in the wall passing through on their way out of hell"; which one is the real explanation? And where are they going?) Has anyone survived an encounter with them? How does the narrator know so much about them, and is he telling his subject about them as a warning or a taunt? (IDK, the "lie near the wall and cover your head, good night and God bless, now fuck off to bed" sometimes reads to me like he's setting the kid up as a sacrifice to the things. Mostly it reads as he's made all of this up to give the kid nightmares, but that's less interesting for fic purposes.)
Basically, I just really want any kind of fic about the things and the havoc they wreak, whether that's from the POV of the narrator, the kid he's talking to, or the things themselves.
Song Of The Sea (Saoirse)
Are you really a selkie?
What is it: Song Of The Sea is an animated film by the Cartoon Saloon studio, about a young boy, Ben, struggling to cope after his mother vanished several years earlier following the birth of his little sister Saoirse. And then he finds out that both Saoirse and his mother are selkies, and all of his mother's bedtime fairy stories are true . . . Song Of The Sea is available on Blu Ray and DVD.
The request:
I adore everything about this gorgeous movie but especially Saoirse. She's so expressive and determined! Plus she gives her brother the best "you dumbass" looks I have ever seen from an animated six-year-old. I have a weakness for selkies and selkie stories anyway, and Song Of The Sea puts an interesting new spin on the "all selkie stories end sadly" thing with Saoirse having to make a choice between the two halves of her heritage.
And I'd love to see the ramifications of that choice explored in fic. I mean, Saoirse obviously adores both her father and her brother (especially once Ben wises up and stops torturing her), but growing up knowing that you're part faerie and that you gave that part up can't be completely easy. Does she ever regret the choice? Chase fairy tales? Have an inexplicable affinity for seals? Maybe she (and Ben?) have regular (or irregular for that matter) accidental encounters with the mythological afterwards, or maybe they go seeking out the same now that they know the truth about their heritage. Or anything about how her relationship with her family evolves -- we see in the epilogue glimpses of Saoirse and Ben bonding, Conor coming out of his grief-stricken shell, and Granny becoming a more comfortable member of the family, but there's only so much that can be shown in a short epilogue sans dialogue, and I'd love to see more!
Inclusion of any canon characters beside Saoirse is welcome but 100% optional!
Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom (Yu Ming)
An bhfuil tusa ag labhairt liomsa?
What is it: Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom is a short (nine-and-a-half minutes) Irish film about a young Chinese man (the titular Yu Ming) who decides to change his life by visiting a foreign country. He randomly picks Ireland as his destination of choice, and when his research tells him that the official language of Ireland is Gaeilge, he devotes himself to becoming fluent before his visit. It can be viewed in its entirety on Youtube.
The request:
To be honest, I'm not sure how to phrase this request, because the one thing I really want is just MORE. More of Yu Ming in Ireland, more culture clash, more self-reinvention, more anything and everything.
As a self-taught Irish language learner myself, this film is super relevant to my interests, though I am nowhere near as accomplished in the language as Yu Ming manages to become. I first saw this film a few years ago, loved it and then forgot about; I stumbled back upon it early this year and remembered how much I adore it. It's so sweet and good-natured, and even at its darkest it manages to maintain an undercurrent of optimism. The ending consistently makes me tear up, and it's become one of the films I put on when I need a quick pick-me-up and a reminder not to give up when things don't go as planned. Plus it's great motivation for my own language studies.
So for this Yuletide, I would just like something about Yu Ming in Connemara. How he adjusts, how it lives up to his dreams, the kinds of friends he makes, if he stays in touch with Paddy from the bar, whatever. I realize I'm being very vague with this request and I apologize for that, but it's only because I'm truly open to anything.
To conclude: Optional details are optional, write what you want to write, I desperately crave more/any fic in all of these fandoms so just writing in a fandom off the list is enough to endear you to me forever.
Thank you, and have a wonderful Yuletide!
-Chica
Hello, welcome, and thank you for writing for me. ♥ All details in this letter are completely optional; just the fact that you're writing something for one of these fandoms makes you awesome. Write the story that's in your heart!
That said, if you want more from me, keep reading! I've listed my requests in alphabetical order for easier reading.
General stuff:
AO3: chicafrom3
Likes: Gen/het/femslash/slash, in no particular order. Character studies. Plot. AUs, both of the canon divergence and alternate setting kinds. Crossovers. Slice-of-life. Fluff. Angst. Crack. Futurefic. Backstory. Missing scenes. Outsider POV. . . . Probably more that I'm forgetting.
Dislikes: Explicit sex. Torture porn.
The Requests
Everworld - K.A. Applegate (Jalil Sherman, Christopher Hitchcock)
He's a prickly, touchy, superior, arrogant, condescending butt-spasm, he really is, but I'm getting so I like him.
What is it: Everworld is a twelve-book YA fantasy series by K.A. Applegate, the author of Animorphs. It's about four kids from Chicago who, due to their connections to a girl named Senna Wales, end up drawn into Everworld, an all-myths-are-true alternate universe created by the gods of the Old World when humanity became increasingly rational and science-driven. It's currently out of print, but you can check out the fan-compiled ebooks here.
The request:
I've requested Everworld for Yuletide three times before, so if you are curious to read my rambling about the series feel free to check out my past Yuletide letters. This year I am asking specifically for Jalil and Christopher, and therefore will try to restrain myself to talking about the two of them. I love their screwed-up, dysfunctional dynamic with each other; they are two people who certainly would never have chosen to become friends, much less the ride-or-two comradeship Everworld eventually forces them into. That's true to varying degrees of all of the main four, of course, but I think it's particularly noticeable with the two of them, given Jalil's defensiveness and very strong self-protection streak and Christopher's kneejerk racism and automatic mockery of everyone else; just looking at the evolution of the way they are with each other is a great way of seeing just how much Everworld forces the kids to dismantle their own self-images and rebuild them. Character development!
I would love to see fic exploring how that dynamic continues to evolve, post-canon. How do they cope with the knowledge that their comradeship is now almost certainly permanent? There's no escaping to the "real" world anymore, but there's also no more pressure from the "real" world to try to hang onto who they used to be. That's got to change things for them somehow. Alternately, I'd love to see "missing scene" type fics set during the canon era, looking at how their relationship is evolving from outright antagonism to a very intense kind of friendship. We get a little of that in canon with both of them musing on how they can't quite understand how things are changing, and certainly as Christopher gets more self-aware he starts looking at his interactions with Jalil with a more critical eye towards himself, but I'd love to see more, particularly any conversations between the two of them or crises where they need to rely on each other.
For this fandom, I would prefer not to receive any AUs that don't involve Everworld itself, though canon-divergent AUs are totally cool. I'm also completely happy with either a platonic or slashy dynamic between the boys.
Girl Meets World (Zay Babineaux)
Someone here is going to be very surprised to see me.
What is it: Girl Meets World is a Disney channel kidcom, a spinoff/sequel to the 90s TGIF series of my childhood Boy Meets World, following the adventures of Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley and her best friend Maya as they learn about life. It is currently on its second season; the first season is available legally on Netflix, and many of the episodes can be found on YouTube.
The request:
"Girl Meets The Secret Of Life" wasn't over before I decided Zay was one of my new favorites. He's ninety percent bravado and ten percent fear -- but he'll intentionally seek out one frightening situation (for example, getting beaten up by the school thug) in order to allay his fears about a different situation (in that case, his fear that Lucas won't have his back anymore). On the surface, he's a lot like Maya, getting into trouble and running wild, but under that he's a lot more like Riley, good-natured and seeing the best in people and full of hope (and needing someone else to help him out of trouble). He's charming, and smarter than people assume (I will never stop laughing over the fact that Zay was the only one who realized Riley wasn't in her bed in Rah Rah), and he clearly likes being the center of attention. Plus he has zero shame, which I love in a character.
So I want fic about Zay, and I am open to anything: backstory about getting into trouble with Lucas in Texas, futurefic about adjusting to New York as he grows up, friendship bonding with the core four, missing scenes about what the hell he's been up to during all those episodes he hasn't been in, character studies of any flavor, shipfic with anyone in his age range. (I do kind of headcanon Zay as being attracted to guys to one degree or another, but please don't feel like you need to stick to that if it's not your own headcanon.) How did he get into ballet, and why didn't he tell Lucas about it? What the hell went down with cheerleader Vanessa? How did he and Lucas become friends? He seems to have adapted pretty quickly to NYC and Riley's circle of friends; how does he really feel about it? Basically, just give me more Zay and I will be happy.
I know it can be stressful to write for an open canon, and I give you carte blanche to ignore anything aired after any given point.
Sense8 (Lito Rodriguez, Capheus, Hernando, Daniela Vasquez)
In the end, we'll all be judged by the courage of our hearts.
What is it: Sense8 is a Netflix original TV series about a group of eight people scattered across the world who discover they are psychically linked to one another. It has had one season so far, which is available on Netflix.
The request:
One of my favorite things about Sense8 is the different ways the clustermates interact with each other and their surroundings -- from the big action-packed moments when they save each other from bad guys to the smaller, quieter moments like Capheus and Kala watching a Van Damme movie together, or Riley showing Will around her childhood home, or Lito and Nomi sitting in an art gallery talking about their pasts.
And essentially I just really want Capheus visiting or sharing with Lito, and interacting with Hernando and Dani. I feel like Capheus would get a big kick out of seeing a real movie set and Lito would get an equally big kick out of showing off, and I imagine he'd get along well with the other two as well -- Hernando would probably love to talk about the artistic value and meaning of Van Damme films, and Dani and Capheus are both irrepressible balls of unfiltered sunshine and joy. I'd also just love to see Hernando and Dani finding out about the cluster and the other people who live in Lito's head, tbh. But literally anything involving Capheus interacting with the Mexico City trio would delight me.
Feel free to ignore the season-ending cliffhanger if you want, and including other characters is welcome but definitely not required.
Sit Down By The Fire - The Pogues
They're the things that you see when you wake up and scream, the cold things that follow you down the boreen
What is it: Do you love creepy supernatural horror stories in the form of Celtic punk songs? Then you should probably be listening to the Pogues! (They also have a lot of songs that aren't creepy supernatural horror stories. But that's beside the point.) Sit Down By The Fire can be listened to on YouTube here, and you can see the full lyrics here.
The request:
This song is so creepy and full of unanswered questions that I feel like it's perfect for fic purposes. What are the things? Faeries or demons? Where do they come from? ("They live in the small ring of trees on the hill up at the top of the field" but "they march out of that hole in the wall passing through on their way out of hell"; which one is the real explanation? And where are they going?) Has anyone survived an encounter with them? How does the narrator know so much about them, and is he telling his subject about them as a warning or a taunt? (IDK, the "lie near the wall and cover your head, good night and God bless, now fuck off to bed" sometimes reads to me like he's setting the kid up as a sacrifice to the things. Mostly it reads as he's made all of this up to give the kid nightmares, but that's less interesting for fic purposes.)
Basically, I just really want any kind of fic about the things and the havoc they wreak, whether that's from the POV of the narrator, the kid he's talking to, or the things themselves.
Song Of The Sea (Saoirse)
Are you really a selkie?
What is it: Song Of The Sea is an animated film by the Cartoon Saloon studio, about a young boy, Ben, struggling to cope after his mother vanished several years earlier following the birth of his little sister Saoirse. And then he finds out that both Saoirse and his mother are selkies, and all of his mother's bedtime fairy stories are true . . . Song Of The Sea is available on Blu Ray and DVD.
The request:
I adore everything about this gorgeous movie but especially Saoirse. She's so expressive and determined! Plus she gives her brother the best "you dumbass" looks I have ever seen from an animated six-year-old. I have a weakness for selkies and selkie stories anyway, and Song Of The Sea puts an interesting new spin on the "all selkie stories end sadly" thing with Saoirse having to make a choice between the two halves of her heritage.
And I'd love to see the ramifications of that choice explored in fic. I mean, Saoirse obviously adores both her father and her brother (especially once Ben wises up and stops torturing her), but growing up knowing that you're part faerie and that you gave that part up can't be completely easy. Does she ever regret the choice? Chase fairy tales? Have an inexplicable affinity for seals? Maybe she (and Ben?) have regular (or irregular for that matter) accidental encounters with the mythological afterwards, or maybe they go seeking out the same now that they know the truth about their heritage. Or anything about how her relationship with her family evolves -- we see in the epilogue glimpses of Saoirse and Ben bonding, Conor coming out of his grief-stricken shell, and Granny becoming a more comfortable member of the family, but there's only so much that can be shown in a short epilogue sans dialogue, and I'd love to see more!
Inclusion of any canon characters beside Saoirse is welcome but 100% optional!
Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom (Yu Ming)
An bhfuil tusa ag labhairt liomsa?
What is it: Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom is a short (nine-and-a-half minutes) Irish film about a young Chinese man (the titular Yu Ming) who decides to change his life by visiting a foreign country. He randomly picks Ireland as his destination of choice, and when his research tells him that the official language of Ireland is Gaeilge, he devotes himself to becoming fluent before his visit. It can be viewed in its entirety on Youtube.
The request:
To be honest, I'm not sure how to phrase this request, because the one thing I really want is just MORE. More of Yu Ming in Ireland, more culture clash, more self-reinvention, more anything and everything.
As a self-taught Irish language learner myself, this film is super relevant to my interests, though I am nowhere near as accomplished in the language as Yu Ming manages to become. I first saw this film a few years ago, loved it and then forgot about; I stumbled back upon it early this year and remembered how much I adore it. It's so sweet and good-natured, and even at its darkest it manages to maintain an undercurrent of optimism. The ending consistently makes me tear up, and it's become one of the films I put on when I need a quick pick-me-up and a reminder not to give up when things don't go as planned. Plus it's great motivation for my own language studies.
So for this Yuletide, I would just like something about Yu Ming in Connemara. How he adjusts, how it lives up to his dreams, the kinds of friends he makes, if he stays in touch with Paddy from the bar, whatever. I realize I'm being very vague with this request and I apologize for that, but it's only because I'm truly open to anything.
To conclude: Optional details are optional, write what you want to write, I desperately crave more/any fic in all of these fandoms so just writing in a fandom off the list is enough to endear you to me forever.
Thank you, and have a wonderful Yuletide!
-Chica
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