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Dear Yuletide writer...
Dear Yuletide writer,
You got my assignment! Whoever you are, thank you so much for offering to write in one of my fandoms. You already made my Christmas just by offering!
Let me begin by saying I truly will enjoy any story you write in any of the four fandoms I requested. If you have a story idea that doesn't fit with the prompts or even the character choices I've asked for, please go right ahead and write that. My requests are what I think I would like, but I'm happy to be surprised with something quite different.
Secondly, in terms of genre and pairings my tastes are pretty wide ranging. I enjoy gen, het, slash and femslash. If you like to write sexy or romantic fic, almost any pairing will suit me if it's well written, though I confess to a slight bias for canon pairings or at least those where the characters have some friendly interaction in canon. In terms of content, I used to say almost nothing squicks me...but in the past year or so SPN fandom has shown me that ain't true. So instead I'll say that I dislike anything to do with pregnancy. Kinky sex is good, but some of the more extreme kinks are not to my taste. I like most genres of fic: drama, angst, mysteries, character studies and introspection, action, deathfics, romance, alternate universes...you name it. I don't do well with "crack" fic, but I enjoy gentle humour and quirky humour. Well, you can probably tell that from a couple of my fandom choices.
Most of what I want to say about my specific fandom choices is in my signup/request.
Kate Daniels
Love, love love this series! Most of all, I love the worldbuilding - the magic vs tech, the weird creatures we encounter - not just the standard vamps and shape shifters, but harpy-grandma on the telephone pole, Frost Giants, zombie dragons and ancient hunters of legend. Vampires in purple sunscreen. I love the way the magic affects everything from artitechture to transportation. Unicorn Lane. Having to change plans fast when a wave hits. Gods slipping through when magic is high.
What I would most love to receive is a story that taps into some of that. I like Kate, but honestly, a story with any of the canon characters, or even none of them would suit me. It's the world I love. My only caveat is I would prefer a story that deals with the "present" in the series, not something delving into the thousands of years of history implied by Kate's family background.
Ally McBeal
I nominated this fandom on impulse. Ally McBeal has for many years been my fandom equivalent of a soft comfy blanket: it's the series I watch when my brain just can't cope with anything complicated, when I'm tired or cranky or just plain depressed. Sometimes I love Ally, sometimes I can't stand the woman! But I always adore the series and it seemed like a good one to pick for Yuletide, given how many episodes were devoted to Christmas.
My two favourite characters in the show are John Cage and Renee. John because I love his quirks. He seems to understand human nature with more insight than anyone else, and yet he sets himself apart with his moments and nose whistle and love of frogs. Renee is the woman I wish I could be: smart, sexy, confident and assertive...but with a lot of vulnerability when she lets her guard down.
I would love a story about either or both of them. If John/Renee as a pairing appeals to you, I would enjoy that, but I'll be equally thrilled with a gen fic or a same-sex pairing. There was a certain amount of canon chemistry between them, but they are such different personality types I don't see the pairing as more than a fling. A post-canon story would really appeal to me. How are Ally's closest friends coping without her? Has her leaving been hard on everyone or were there positive effects? Did John ever go back to the courtroom? How is Renee's independent practice going? But if post-canon doesn't work for you, then please, go with whatever does. Another Christmas at Cage and Fish? A court case? A missing scene or alternate view of an episode? I will love it regardless.
Hamish MacBeth
Of my four requests, this is the one fandom where I would really love a seasonal story, or at least something set in winter. The landscape is perfect for it, after all! Canon never really showed us how Lochdubh copes with a blizzard, or what strange local Christmas traditions they might have. Nor even Hogmanay in the village. Any of those would make a perfect gift for me.
I love all the characters in this show, but I picked out Esme and TV John in my request because they are my favourites. I love Esme's slow-and-secret affair with Rory, the way she's so shy and private, but a real tiger when she needs to be. I love TV John's angsty past and his weird psychic visions. If you could focus on either of them, I will be thrilled, but this is a fandom where I don't think I can possibly be disappointed; if any of the other characters pop up as your muse, please feel free to go with it.
Black Swan
I love the movie to pieces. I love the look of it, I love the dancing, the horror and the hot lez action :) But I don't have a particular story request. I know very little about ballet, so I'm not necessarily looking for authenticity and I'm sure I'll love any story based on this film. In lieu of a prompt, let me mention two things about the movie. Not necessarily my favourite things, but the parts that stay with me, that I keep returning to as intriguing.
The first is the way Nina sees her own face everywhere: in mirrors, in the woman who passed her in the alley, long before she really starts to crack. Is this the first sign of her losing her self? Or is it simply the nature of her being: those mirrors being the essence of the ballet studio?
In one of the documentaries about the making of the film, Aronofsky refers to it as a were-story, Nina's transformation akin to the werewolf legends. This made me view the film in a rather different way than my original interpretation. What if Nina's transformation were real, if not literal...and no one noticed. What horror, for her to have to go through that alone, with no one understanding that she wasn't just imagining her body changing.
Well...that's all I have to say, dear writer, except to thank you again for offering to write a story for me.
I am going to be away from home over the holiday period; I should have internet access on my phone so I hope to be able to read your story on Christmas day, but I may be unable to comment until after the holiday. So please don't think I'm ungrateful if I don't comment right away.
Happy holidays!
Morgan
You got my assignment! Whoever you are, thank you so much for offering to write in one of my fandoms. You already made my Christmas just by offering!
Let me begin by saying I truly will enjoy any story you write in any of the four fandoms I requested. If you have a story idea that doesn't fit with the prompts or even the character choices I've asked for, please go right ahead and write that. My requests are what I think I would like, but I'm happy to be surprised with something quite different.
Secondly, in terms of genre and pairings my tastes are pretty wide ranging. I enjoy gen, het, slash and femslash. If you like to write sexy or romantic fic, almost any pairing will suit me if it's well written, though I confess to a slight bias for canon pairings or at least those where the characters have some friendly interaction in canon. In terms of content, I used to say almost nothing squicks me...but in the past year or so SPN fandom has shown me that ain't true. So instead I'll say that I dislike anything to do with pregnancy. Kinky sex is good, but some of the more extreme kinks are not to my taste. I like most genres of fic: drama, angst, mysteries, character studies and introspection, action, deathfics, romance, alternate universes...you name it. I don't do well with "crack" fic, but I enjoy gentle humour and quirky humour. Well, you can probably tell that from a couple of my fandom choices.
Most of what I want to say about my specific fandom choices is in my signup/request.
Kate Daniels
Love, love love this series! Most of all, I love the worldbuilding - the magic vs tech, the weird creatures we encounter - not just the standard vamps and shape shifters, but harpy-grandma on the telephone pole, Frost Giants, zombie dragons and ancient hunters of legend. Vampires in purple sunscreen. I love the way the magic affects everything from artitechture to transportation. Unicorn Lane. Having to change plans fast when a wave hits. Gods slipping through when magic is high.
What I would most love to receive is a story that taps into some of that. I like Kate, but honestly, a story with any of the canon characters, or even none of them would suit me. It's the world I love. My only caveat is I would prefer a story that deals with the "present" in the series, not something delving into the thousands of years of history implied by Kate's family background.
Ally McBeal
I nominated this fandom on impulse. Ally McBeal has for many years been my fandom equivalent of a soft comfy blanket: it's the series I watch when my brain just can't cope with anything complicated, when I'm tired or cranky or just plain depressed. Sometimes I love Ally, sometimes I can't stand the woman! But I always adore the series and it seemed like a good one to pick for Yuletide, given how many episodes were devoted to Christmas.
My two favourite characters in the show are John Cage and Renee. John because I love his quirks. He seems to understand human nature with more insight than anyone else, and yet he sets himself apart with his moments and nose whistle and love of frogs. Renee is the woman I wish I could be: smart, sexy, confident and assertive...but with a lot of vulnerability when she lets her guard down.
I would love a story about either or both of them. If John/Renee as a pairing appeals to you, I would enjoy that, but I'll be equally thrilled with a gen fic or a same-sex pairing. There was a certain amount of canon chemistry between them, but they are such different personality types I don't see the pairing as more than a fling. A post-canon story would really appeal to me. How are Ally's closest friends coping without her? Has her leaving been hard on everyone or were there positive effects? Did John ever go back to the courtroom? How is Renee's independent practice going? But if post-canon doesn't work for you, then please, go with whatever does. Another Christmas at Cage and Fish? A court case? A missing scene or alternate view of an episode? I will love it regardless.
Hamish MacBeth
Of my four requests, this is the one fandom where I would really love a seasonal story, or at least something set in winter. The landscape is perfect for it, after all! Canon never really showed us how Lochdubh copes with a blizzard, or what strange local Christmas traditions they might have. Nor even Hogmanay in the village. Any of those would make a perfect gift for me.
I love all the characters in this show, but I picked out Esme and TV John in my request because they are my favourites. I love Esme's slow-and-secret affair with Rory, the way she's so shy and private, but a real tiger when she needs to be. I love TV John's angsty past and his weird psychic visions. If you could focus on either of them, I will be thrilled, but this is a fandom where I don't think I can possibly be disappointed; if any of the other characters pop up as your muse, please feel free to go with it.
Black Swan
I love the movie to pieces. I love the look of it, I love the dancing, the horror and the hot lez action :) But I don't have a particular story request. I know very little about ballet, so I'm not necessarily looking for authenticity and I'm sure I'll love any story based on this film. In lieu of a prompt, let me mention two things about the movie. Not necessarily my favourite things, but the parts that stay with me, that I keep returning to as intriguing.
The first is the way Nina sees her own face everywhere: in mirrors, in the woman who passed her in the alley, long before she really starts to crack. Is this the first sign of her losing her self? Or is it simply the nature of her being: those mirrors being the essence of the ballet studio?
In one of the documentaries about the making of the film, Aronofsky refers to it as a were-story, Nina's transformation akin to the werewolf legends. This made me view the film in a rather different way than my original interpretation. What if Nina's transformation were real, if not literal...and no one noticed. What horror, for her to have to go through that alone, with no one understanding that she wasn't just imagining her body changing.
Well...that's all I have to say, dear writer, except to thank you again for offering to write a story for me.
I am going to be away from home over the holiday period; I should have internet access on my phone so I hope to be able to read your story on Christmas day, but I may be unable to comment until after the holiday. So please don't think I'm ungrateful if I don't comment right away.
Happy holidays!
Morgan