ionthesparrow

Hello and thank you so much for writing for me! And right upfront: yes, I am open to receiving treats :)

All of my prompts are suggestions and optional inspiration, so if you already have an idea in mind that you want to write — please write that! I’ll be thrilled, I promise. Otherwise, feel free to pick & choose, mix & match, etc.

The fandoms I’m requesting this year are:

The Half Life of Valery K - Natasha Pulley
Monarch - Candice Wuehle
Death on the Nile (Movie 2022)

General likes:

I read all ratings of fic so don’t feel obligated to shoehorn in smut, but feel free to if that’s where the spirit moves you! I love themes of queerness and growth — people growing into themselves, exploring how they (and their relationships) do and do not fit into society’s expectations of them. I love intimacy in all its forms: learning to trust, learning to be vulnerable, both platonic and romantic longing and desire. I love sci-fi and horror elements! I’d love an AU for any of the fandoms where they’re in space! Or any sci fi/horror tropes related to possession, powers and the struggle to control powers, telepathy, empathy, transformation would all be welcome. Feel free to go Dark (dubcon and bodily harm is ok), but also I love humor! I love the absurd happening and people trying their best to deal with it. I’m also totally cool with experiments with non-traditional form or style. You’re always wanted to attempt a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story? Go for it. Weird POV? Sure, why not.

General dislikes:

I would prefer to receive a story that does not contain misogyny, violence against women, explicit heterosexual sex, or animal harm as a central element or major theme. I also have a loved one in the hospital this year, so I would appreciate it if you avoided the following elements: hospitalization, parental death, medical caregivers and caregiver burnout.

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Fandom-Specific Requests:

The Half Life of Valery K - Natasha Pulley
Characters: any!

I love stories about love blooming in adverse circumstances, as well as people having to navigate dystopian power structures - so I loved this book! I loved Pulley’s depiction of the difficult and severe elements of Soviet life - the paranoia, the fear of being watched or discovered. I loved reading about Valery’s crush, and the cautious way he and Konstantin worked towards a relationship. I loved Anna - her pragmatism, her intelligence, and the subtle ways in which she and Konstantin seemed understand each other and make space for each other’s needs within the bounds of their relationship.

Some ideas:
- I thought one of the weirder choices the author made was to have Anna + the fam NOT come with them to England. I’d love a story that explored what it would have been like if the whole family did make it out.
- I really like that Anna, Valery, and Konstantin all get different kinds of support from each other. I’d love a story that explored how she thinks about their relationship. Really any story that explored Poly-V dynamic for their relationship would be great (but if you prefer to focus entirely on Valery/Konstantin or Konstantin/Anna, I’m totally fine with that too)
- Honestly, if you wanted to give Anna a girlfriend (at the Chocolate Factory or in England!) I’d be thrilled
- I would LOVE to read a fleshed-out version of Valery and Konstantin’s night in the Moscow hotel room. Anything that deals with stealing moments of affection and intimacy in secret would be awesome. Valery or Konstantin reflecting on that intimacy and what it meant to them would also be great
- And if you’re looking for specific sex-related likes: anything to do with them having to keep each other quiet during sex and/or Valery topping would be killer.
- I’d also be super interested in hear more about Konstantin’s time with Sergei. Was Sergei his queer awakening? How does grieving Sergei affect his relationship with Anna? Does it inform his protectiveness of Valery?
- What if Konstantin's stubborn good health is because he's a Secret Vampire? Just sayin.

Fandom-Specific Do Not Wants: I would prefer the story not be set during Valery’s time in Germany. Him recalling it, or being affected by his time there is fine, but I’d prefer not to dwell on the horrific work he was involved in there. Likewise, I know this book has a lot of characters with chronic, radiation-related health issues - acknowledging those is fine, but I would prefer a story that does not center themes of sickness, disease or caregiving. I’m also not a big kidfic person - Konstantin’s love for his children (all helpless things really) is a big part of his character, and I’m fine with you celebrating that, but I’d prefer a story that was not strictly about raising or caring for children.

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Monarch - Candice Wuehle
Characters: Any!

Oh man - I loved this the way this book took the idea that young women have to try on and take off multiple ideas in order to survive in society and made it literal. I love the weird sci-fi elements. I love that love and connection was what helped Jessica figure out which elements of herself were “true” and who she wanted to be. I also adore that in some ways, it was her queerness that helped her ability to examine the system/culture she was in. I would love any kind of story that explored Jessica’s queerness or the way outsiders to society are sometimes able to see it more clearly.

Some ideas:
- Jessica/Veronica! Oh my god, I would adore a story in which Jessica seeks out Veronica and they DO end up together. I would love to read any version of their happily-ever-after
- Jessica/Jane road trip hookups. Maybe they stopped on the way back to the “University”? Anything that explored the love/hate dynamic they’ve got going on, and/or Jessica’s need/ability to manipulate Jane into doing what she wants would be incredible.
- Or, something action-adventure set in Jessica’s life After - maybe she has to draw on her Sleeper Agent skills one last time to track down someone who’s slaying former Pageant Queens? Or maybe Veronica needs rescuing from the dregs of Monarch? Or Christine? Maybe she has a side-line to her art gig as an assassin for hire?
- I was fascinated by the character of Christine. I would love anything that explored her POV. What were her conversations with Jessica’s mother like? Does she keep tabs on Jessica after? What’s her perspective on the whole Monarch thing?
- I loved that Jessica grew up to become an artist. I would love a story that explores ideas about how creating art is connected with creating the self, or representations of the self.
- Also on the theme of the many selves and identities we create: this book explored the idea of girls and young women having to invent and re-invent themselves; I would love a story that examined that same need later in life. What sort of selves do women in their 30s have to create? What does Jessica’s life look like at 40, and as women age out of the time in which they are viewed as “traditionally desirable” by society, what sort of new identities do they create?

Fandom-Specific Do Not Wants: I would prefer a story that doesn’t focus on sexual trauma - for example, sex that Jessica was forced to have as part of her work as a Monarch agent. Passing mentions are fine, just please don’t center it.

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Death on the Nile (movie, 2022)
Characters: Hercule Poirot, Marie Van Schuyler, Mrs. Bowers, Jacqueline De Bellefort 

First off, all of the characters in this movie were fantastic - so please feel free to include anyone you like. And you do not need to include every character I've requested if you’d prefer to focus more on one or a subset. I’m totally fine with that.

I love the atmosphere of this movie! I love Hercule being his persnickety, insightful self. I love the antics of everyone aboard. Also I love older lesbian couples. So I was especially delighted to see this movie’s take on Mrs. Van Schuyler and Nurse Bowers’ relationship.

Some ideas:
- First of all, I am Here for every incarnation of queer Poirot. Does his insight into the Van Schuyler/Bowers relationship come in part from the attachment he had (has??) to Hastings (or someone else?)
- Please give me any and all cynical lesbian observations on the wild antics of the young Straights on the boat (or are they so straight???)
- What if instead of 1937, it’s 2937. Android Poirot? The Karnak as a space ship?
- Jacqueline!!! I love her mad passion and her cunning in this film. Any of her insights or observations about the others would be divine.
- Also, I’m just saying, if she was passionately in love, not with Simon, but with Linnet, then I would read any possible incarnation of that story.

Thank you for writing for me! I hope you have a wonderful Yuletide!

Thank you so much for writing for me! I’d like to start by saying all the ideas below are just for your (optional) inspiration. If you’ve got an idea for story that you’re passionate about, please write that! I’ll love it.

General Likes: I read mostly queer relationships (m/m, f/f, etc) and gen. I’m totally down with any rating you want to write. I frequently consume stories with darker elements — so don’t be afraid to beat characters up, or run them through the emotional wringer. I love ghosts, hauntings, pining, tentacles. But I love humor, too. Likewise, if you’ve been looking for the opportunity to do something experimental, either with fic structure or content: go for it. AUs? Totally down. I love mundane AUs with a twist: office workers AU but it takes place the day after Godzilla attacks? Yes please. I love sci fi tropes, like: set it in space! telepathy! body swap! time loops!

I’m also a huge fan of people coming through for each other under trying circumstances, forced proximity, h/c, pining, loyalty, spookiness/ghosts, hooking up followed by accidentally developing Feelings.

Also, please feel free to mix and match the prompts below, or to crossover any of my requested fandoms with any of my other requested fandoms!

Do Not Wants:
I would prefer not to receive a story where a m/f romance or m/f sex is the main plot of the story. I’d also appreciate it if you could avoid rape and intimate partner violence. I’m fine with stories being set during quarantine, and passing mentions of characters being stressed out by current World Events, but please no stories that focus on illness, a character worrying about contracting COVID, or COVID-centric mourning or death.

Fandoms

Brunch (Podcast) RPF
The Center for Otherworld Science
FAQ: The “Snake Fight” Portion Of Your Thesis Defense
Jaws (1975 movie)

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Brunch RPF (Podcast)
Characters: Pete Blackburn, DJ Bean

Available here, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I ship it, and I would love a story where their mutually-supportive-bros relationship is infused with pining. Drunken, bad-idea sex? Jealousy? Navigating shifting concepts of sexual identity with the patented Brunch mix of navel-gazing and stumbling toward growth? Yes please.

I love the idea of a story where one of them doesn’t, technically, exist. An ice cream shop AU where Pete is the ghost of a former employee killed by a falling freezer and DJ is an aspiring musician who just needs some encouragement to chase his dream? A story where they met and started their podcast during the quarantine, but once quarantine is over, Pete can’t find any evidence DJ exists in the real world? Something Fight Club-esque where one exists as a voice in the other’s head?

DJ’s makeup. I love things that play with gender roles, and DJ’s new habit of twitch-streaming his makeup routine is very good for that. I would love anything about DJ expanding into more dramatic evening looks, or expanding into experimenting with women’s clothing. Or putting makeup on Pete. Or Pete putting makeup on DJ. Or Pete letting DJ use him as model.

I love how much Pete loves Pete, and how much Pete loves attention. Pete’s been streaming a ton of video games, what if he has a secret other streaming channel? What’s on it and what happens when DJ discovers it? Or does he ask DJ for help with it, and this leads to pining?

Vineyard Nights! (x3)! Where is the fic where DJ is rocketed into music stardom, and the man who hates being Perceived has to be, you know, famous. How’s Pete help him navigate that? And listen, if you wanted to put a Bodyguard AU spin on this one, that would be amazing.

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The Center for Otherworld Science
Characters: any!

Available here

One of the things that intrigues me the most about this fandom is that there’s so much room for world building. What’s the relationship between the Otherworld and ours? When was it first discovered? How?

The strip opens with an unsettling encounter between Blue, a creature from the Otherworld and a group of human explorers, but I think what exactly happens is a bit unclear. Are the creatures somehow toxic to humans? Are we toxic to them? How intelligent are they? I would love a story that plays with the questions of scientific ethics in this comic. Maybe you could lean into the dark and explore how one world destroys the other?

I have such a huge soft spot for Mags! She’s a disaster, but she knows it and she’s trying. I want to know everything about her backstory. How’d she get this gig? Did she have qualms about it even before all the shit went down with Jen? What’s her day to day life like in the Center?

Honestly, lets be real: Dani deserves so much better, and her insecurity and her need to protect her heart resonate so much with me, but that said: what’s her next date with Mags look like? Does Mags make up for being awful by being amazing in bed? I also love that Dani clearly has a supportive circle of friends, and I would love to see more of her interactions with them.

What is Jen up to???? How’d she first get involved? What drives her? What was her first meeting with Blue like? What made her sympathize with the Otherworld creatures over humans? One of the panels that resonated the most with me was when Jen releases the creatures, and one gets eaten. I think it effectively makes the point that even with the best intentions, there are consequences. How does that affect her? Her work?

I ALSO loved the panel with Jen and Dani screaming into the void. What’s their relationship like? What would a friendship between them look like?

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FAQ: The “Snake Fight” Portion Of Your These Defense (McSweeney's Post)
(no characters)

Available here

This McSweeney’s post has stuck with me for so long now — I think because it’s both absurd, and because if you’ve had any exposure to academia it probably makes you think: yes, this all makes sense.

I would love any kind of story that fleshes out this world! Who is The Guy Who Picks The Snake? What are they like? Do they have thoughts and feelings about the process? Do they shake their head sadly at an acrimonious adviser-student relationship?

How’s the snake feel about the whole thing?

Maybe you would like to tell the story of the biggest snake ever chosen? And how the defense turned out?

Or maybe you would like to write a send up of academia by writing excerpts of a thesis by a student who wrote their thesis about the history of academic snake fighting? No lie, I would absolutely love this.

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Jaws (1975)
Character: Matt Hooper

Available on Amazon Prime, Hulu, and probably elsewhere.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure which characters to include in this request. I ended up requesting Hooper for max flexibility, and because he’s a favorite, but I love all the combinations of their assorted interactions, so please feel free to include any of the nominated (or not) characters if you like. Whoever you want to write about in addition to Hooper would be great! Honestly, you could write 1000 words of Shark POV that barely mentions Our Heroes and I would love it!

If you’d rather focus on Hooper solo, I would love more of his backstory. How does the wealthy heir of a family fortune end up a scruffy, sea-faring scientist? What got him hooked on sharks?

Do you want to write a super dark psychological horror story set entirely during the interlude where Hooper in his SCUBA gear is hiding from the shark? I would absolutely read that.

If you’re into the idea of pairing Hooper up with other characters (in a romantic/sexual way or not), great news — I’m into basically all combinations!

I love the vibe of Hooper third-wheeling the Bradys. Big OT3 vibes for me. I would love a story (romantic, sexual, or platonic, whatever vibe you prefer) or him continuing to show up with bottles of wine, even after the shark danger has passed. They all work through their trauma together and end up as found family? Here for it.

That said, if you just want to write Hooper/Martin Brody panic-fucking in the pool of spilled shark guts after they split it open, I will be your audience of one for that story.

Hooper/Quint! I also love Quint so much! He’s so performatively gruff and takes such joy in being off-putting! What a guy! I love how captivated Hooper is by his war stories. I would love glimpses of their attraction during the movie, or, if you wanted to write a fix-it AU where Quint lives and Hooper and Quint forge a relationship in the aftermath I would read 1 million words about that! Whats under that gruff exterior? Does Quint every meet Hooper’s well-to-do family? How’s that go? How does someone as uninhibited as Hooper navigate someone as defensive as Quint?

Finally, if you’d like to put an AU spin on the whole movie, I’d super dig a story where you moved the whole thing to space. Or are they hackers fighting the S.H.A.R.K. virus? Or maybe the shark doesn’t exist and the whole town is just super delusional? Whatever you can dream up, I’m interested in.

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***edit 10/28: Hey Yuletide Author, in case I can catch you here, I also wanted to let you know I'll be traveling on 12/25 and may or may not get a chance to read anything Yuletide-related until the 26th. Just a heads up! thank you! ***

Dear Yuletide Author,

Thank you for writing for me! I think writing is most fun when you’re passionate about what you’re working on, so if you’re coming into this already inspired or with an idea you’re super excited about — that’s what I want to read! Go crazy. Write your bliss! I’ll love it.

But, if you prefer working off prompts or you’re looking for inspiration, read on. And feel free to mix and match, or pick and choose amongst the ideas below if you like :)


General Things I Love:

I mostly read/write queer relationships and gen, and I would be totally totally happy with either ship fic or gen (honest). I’m down with any rating your want to write. I tend to gravitate towards darker, angsty stuff. I like hurt/comfort, dystopian worlds, and horror tropes.

But I ALSO love characters and scenarios about people exploring/pushing the boundaries of gender roles. Boys in makeup. Butch women. Gender play. Crossdressing. Self-exploration. I also love friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers. I’ve written mostly in sports fandoms, so I love team-as-family and family of choice stories.

I love SFF and weird shit! Magic! (With the caveat that if you’re going to adapt a system of magic from an existing piece of media, odds are good I’m not familiar with it, so I’ll just need the ground rules explained within the story). You want to write about tentacles? Cool. Androids and robots? I’m in. Put them in space. Send them through time loops. Other things I think are fun: royalty/betrothed AUs. Bring your fandom to work AUs. Boys crying. Bed/space sharing.

I’m also in if you want to write experimental fic. You wanna try out nonlinear narrative? I’m down. You’ve always been looking for an excuse to write a weird POV? Go for it. (although this is, of course, optional).

Do Not Wants:

Please avoid stories centered around sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and violence against women (edit to clarify: I'm fine with, say, a giant evil worm attacking a female character. I'm not fine with a giant evil worm attacking a character because she is a woman. Does that make sense?) The fandoms I’ve requested include het ships, and I’m down with you writing that, but please don’t bash queer characters or relationships. I also have at least one OT3 prompt below, and if you’re not into that, that’s totally cool, but I would prefer you avoided a story about the unresolved pining of a third person for a couple.

Jump to:
The Center for Otherworld Science
Gill & Gilbert
Hackers
Tremors

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The Center For Otherworld Science (characters = any)

Since this is maybe the least well-known fandom I’m requesting, a quick intro in case I can lure anyone new in: The Center for Otherworld Science is an on-going webcomic by Shing Yin Khor available in its entirety here
(it's pretty short. maybe an hour's worth of reading so far?), and a basic intro to the characters can be found here.

The art is amazing:


The story centers around three female scientists and engineers as they explore a strange world, grapple with issues of scientific morality, and, oh yeah, try to get laid:



Mags is canonical bisexual disaster. Dani is just trying to do her damn job. Jen is looking for a moral compass in a world of grays. What’s not to love?

- One of the things that intrigues me the most about this fandom is that there’s so much room for world building. What’s the relationship between the Otherworld and ours? When was it first discovered? How?

- The strip opens with an unsettling encounter between Blue, a creature from the Otherworld and a group of human explorers, but I think what exactly happens is a bit unclear. Are the creatures somehow toxic to humans? Are we toxic to them? How intelligent are they?

- This comic has real dark spots — somebody dies in the first section, it’s largely about ethics and how we do or do not live up to our better angels — but there’s so much humor woven in. I love that Mags is making jokes at a literal funeral. So what’s it like living and working in an unknown world where people die so often? What’s their gallows humor lifestyle really like?

- I love all three characters, so I would love fic about all of them working together, but if you want to focus on one (or two) I’d be totally down with that too.

- I have such a huge soft spot for Mags! She’s a disaster, but she knows it and she’s trying. I want to know everything about her backstory. How’d she get this gig? Did she have qualms about it even before all the shit went down with Jen? What’s her day to day life like in the Center?

- Honestly, lets be real: Dani deserves so much better, and her insecurity and her need to protect her heart resonate so much with me, but that said: what’s her next date with Mags look like? Does Mags make up for being awful by being amazing in bed? I also love that Dani clearly has a supportive circle of friends, and I would love to see more of her interactions with them.

- What is Jen up to???? How’d she first get involved? What drives her? What was her first meeting with Blue like? What made her sympathize with the Otherworld creatures over humans?

- One of the panels that resonated the most with me was when Jen releases the creatures, and one gets eaten. I think it effectively makes the point that even with the best intentions, there are consequences. How does that affect her? Her work?

- I ALSO loved the panel with Jen and Dani screaming into the void. What’s their relationship like? What would a friendship between them look like?

- I would love to see our three heroes team up for something. A rescue mission? Does Blue get lost in [insert city of your choice here] and they have to rescue Blue before something harms them?

- Heist fic! the scene where Jen “liberates” some of the Center’s collection gets glossed over real fast, but what if next time all three are involved? What does it take to convince Dani to get involved? Does it go off without a hitch? What are the sacrifices made? We haven’t gotten a real glimpse of how the Center came to be, or who runs it, so who’s the antagonist here? What if it’s someone one of our heroes is close to? Dani’s mother? Jen’s brother? Mags’ ex?

- On a slightly different note, what would a scientific paper one of them authored about the creatures or plant life in the Otherworld be like?

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Gill and Gilbert (characters = Brian David Gilbert, Patrick Gill)

These silly, lanky boys! You can find several of their videos on Youtube, here and more on Polygon’s twitch channel here.

- I love Polygon’s vibe of gentle ridiculousness, and I love how Pat and Brian take that to the extreme. Boys doing a weird modern take on public access television, complete with ridiculous graphics and sound cues? Yes please.

- Some of my prompts are more shippy than others, and I just want to say: I would be thrilled to have a story where they are best platonic bros or one where they have a sexual and/or romantic relationship. I’m excited for all of it!

- I love tons of Polygon content and staffers. I love the McElroy brothers, and would be super excited to see any of the above appear in fic. (But I would prefer you left Nick Robinson out of the story).

- Jumanji-esque fic! What happens if Pat and Brian get sucked into one of the video games they’re playing? Despite watching a lot of Polygon content, I’m not a huge gamer. But I’m generally familiar with the games Pat and Brian have played, as well with the games Polygon has done streams of — e.g. Monster Hunter World, PUBG, Sea of Thieves etc

- More specifically: Pat & Brian get stuck on the PUBG island and have to survive. What’s that like? What happens when gentle, song-singing, hair-touching soft boys have to murder everyone? Or do they try to make alliances and charm their way out? Is there crying? I hope there’s crying.

- On the opposite end of the spectrum: what if they get stuck in Stardew Valley? Is there a period of disbelief before they settle in and begin making a life? Is there bed-sharing in that tiny one-bedroom starter cabin? What are their trials and tribulations with parsnips and wine-making like?

- Do you want to make up your own video game out of whole cloth for them to play and/or get trapped in? That sounds awesome, go for it!

- What if a zombie apocalypse hits NYC, and Pat and Brian’s stream suddenly becomes an organizational and communication tool for reaching the survivors and plotting escape?

- What about the story of their forbidden office romance? Are there stolen moments in supply closets? Is there angst on Pat’s part about how Brian is new to the industry and this could hurt his career? Is there bad decision sex after an office event? Shenanigans to keep things secret?

- Do you want to write a tropey story about how they have to fake-date “for the stream” and it accidentally turns into real feelings? Let’s be honest: I would love that

- Dancing. Brian teaches Pat to dance. That’s it, that’s the prompt.

- “Five Segments Brian Didn’t Complete + 1 He Did”

- Brian brings Pat home for thanksgiving. Is Pat sad and solo on Thanksgiving for some reason? Does he get a glimpse in Gilbert family life? Does he experience mixed feelings and/or massive guilt if and when they bone in Brian’s childhood bed?

- What about a time/era shift? What’s the equivalent of streaming in the Old West? In Victorian England? On a future space fleet?

- Finally, if you happen to be into horror tropes, what if there’s some kind of curse where they have to keep streaming constantly/keep number of viewers above some number or terrible things start happening/everyone dies???


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Hackers (characters = any)

Hackers (1995) is available for streaming (free with ads) on Vudu, and available to rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play and iTunes.


- I waffled on which characters to request for this fandom, but I’m pretty much down for everything. Feel free to write about who you’re excited about, and don’t feel pressure to include everyone.

- I love the gender-bending aspects of the movie. I love Kate’s fantasy about Dade, Emmanuel’s hair, and Ramon’s entire vibe. I love how their outsider status manifests in their clothing (love Dade’s Traffic Vest But Make It Fashion look) and appearance as well as their hacking, and I would love a story that explored that

- I love the 90s-ness of this film, but also, what about time shifting it? What is the equivalent of hacking and what would this movie look like set in 1895? Or 2195?

- A LOT of my fic dreams for this movie involve variations on the Squad as some kind of queer polyamorous techy commune, or queer found family, or Kate’s harem, basically. Anything you want to do along those lines would be amazing

- Backstories! We don't get very much about Ramon or Emmanuel or Joey's background or how they came to hacking. What's going on in their world? What do they think of the events that went down? What are their goals for things to do next?

- I kind of love the idea of Dade as the “pet genius” of the team who can do anything with a computer, but needs help from his friends navigating the real world. How does the team help him thrive in NYC? (or elsewhere?)

- …sort of along those lines, i’d be super down with an AU where Kate is Dade’s bodyguard

- If you’re feeling plotty, I would love a story about the Squad taking down a second tech terrorist. Do things go smoother this time? Worse?

- I’m super fascinated with Dade’s background story, especially his relationship with his mom, I’d love it if you explored how his family dynamics/past shaped him into who he is today

- the AU version where Dade DOES wear a dress on his date with Kate. I would be ecstatic to get to see Dade getting ready for his date. Ramon helping Dade dress/do his makeup for his date. Dade discovering he likes wearing dresses…..

- Sports team AU? What if they’re all on the roller derby team together or something

- Finally, what if Dade is such a prodigy/so attached to his mom because he’s an android she built? What if his dad had moral qualms about that and that’s why Dade’s parents split? How does that affect his sense of self? What does it mean for his life going forward now that he’s come of age?


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Tremors (characters = Earl Bassett, Rhonda LeBeck, and Valentine "Val" McKee)

Tremors (1990) is available to rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play and iTunes.

- Okay, so the first thing I want to say is that I haven’t seen any of the sequels or TV spin-offs. If you have, and you want to lift canon from them? That’s cool, you’ll just have to explain it to me. On the other hand, if you want to discard anything and everything that happens after Tremors I, that’s fine too!

- Whenever I watch this film, the first thing I think of is that this trio is the OT3 of my heart. Romantic or platonic, I’d love stories focusing on the rapport that the three of them have

- That said, if you’re more comfortable focusing on just one or two of them, I’d be psyched about that too.

- I would love a prequel-type story. How did Val & Earl meet? How’d they get their start in Perfection? Are they from there? Did they just sort of end up there? How’d this unlikely duo get together?

- I would also love to know more about Rhonda! I would love to get more of her POV. What made her want to study earthquakes? How’d she end up studying Perfection? Was she nervous about ending up in the middle of nowhere, all by her lonesome? What’d she first think about the town and its inhabitants?

- Along shippier lines… how does the introduction of Rhonda influence Val & Earl’s relationship? Have they been steady, best-friends-with-benefits for awhile? Or does Val’s interest in Rhonda make one or both of the guys realize their feelings for each other?

- If you’re not interested in writing OT3, but you are interested in writing one of the couples in a relationship, I’m totally cool with that, I would just ask you don’t make the third party into the “bad guy”; and I’d like all three characters to end up in a place where they’re happy.

- What happens next??? Do Our Heroes road trip somewhere to discover the source of the Graboids? What IS the source of the Graboids?

- Do Val & Earl try to settle down somewhere new only to be interrupted by a new danger? What’s their attempt at a new life look like?

- Twist on the above: Val and/or Earl have successfully moved on to other things until one of them realizes exposure to the Graboids has left them with some weird power.... a psychic link to the worms? An ability to sense earthquakes about to happen? Something something, hand wave forced proximity curse?

- The academic in me would LOVE a story where Rhonda is invited to give a talk about her findings at a fancy research conference and drags Val & Earl with her. Please give me small town Val & Earl as the fish out of water in a hotel that is wall to wall scientists and where Rhonda is viewed as a rock star.

- Tremors and Perfection already has a kind of Old West vibe, so what would this story look like if it were set in the real, late 1800s Old West?

- Finally, I can’t help but notice that two of the fandoms I’m nominating involve giant, otherworldly worms. If you wanted to play with the idea of a Center for Otherworld Science/Tremors cross over? That would be amazing! What are Rhonda’s interactions with the scientists studying the Otherworld like? Can the Center provide an explanation for Graboids? What do Val & Earl make of the nutrient tubes? The wacky suits? The idea that there are other worlds out there??


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In conclusion: thank you so much for writing for me! I hope you have a wonderful Yuletide and I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Hello friend,

I always start these letters with the caveat that if you have a story or idea in mind you’re excited about writing for any of these people, you should run with it. Are you waiting for a “…but”? There is no but. Honest. The stuff I’m asking for is so… niche… lets call it, that if you want to write it, I want to read it. Okay? Okay.

That said, if you’re the type that likes more guidance in these matters, read on.

General Ideas That I Think Would Be Great And Fun With Any of the Pairings/People I Have Listed Below

* Universes with magic: Magic on top of hockey. Magical systems. Elemental magic. Familiars. Battle Magic. Complex rules of magic vs intuitive/feral magic. Dragons.

* Letting Your Inner Nerd Run Free: Secret Nerd stories. Office Space-esque AUs. D&D AUs. E-Sports AU. Maybe someone is trying to stage a coup in their LARPing league, I don’t know, go crazy.

* Bush league stuff: you know the glitz & glamor of being rich in the NHL? Yeah, the opposite of that. Terrible bus rides. Shitty hotel rooms. Broken heat. Four-letter leagues that no one’s heard of. Week to week contracts. Being roped into embarrassing mandatory team promotions to sell tickets. Hoarding coupons. Checking your account balance to find it’s -$0.21.

* Incompetence: People fucking up. Making mistakes. Playing terribly and having a crowd rain beer & popcorn on you. Accidentally turning your teammate into a cat. Plain old putting your foot in your mouth. Striving to be better.

* Dark stuff. Dubious consent. Mind control. Manipulation. Unhealthy levels of codependence. Good People Doing Bad Things for what they believe to be good reasons. Obsession.

* Heist fic. are they getting together for One Last Job? I’m here for it.

* When in doubt: make someone cry.

General Stuff I Tend To Avoid (With the Caveat That If You Have Your Heart Set On It, I Am Perfectly Willing To Be Talked Into It)

* Always-a-girl fic. (I don’t know, it’s just never done much for me)
* AUs of specific movies, TV shows, or video games. This is not so much a “don’t do this”, as it is, I feel like I should mention I watch hardly any movies/TV shows, so if you DO want to write some kind of AU you should treat it like an original universe that needs building because odds are good I will have never seen it.


Specific Pairing Stuff!

Nick Shore/Quentin Shore (+/- Drew Shore)

I’m not even gonna apologize.

The Shores, to me anyway, are the epitome of bland-on-the-outside, possibly-super-weird-on-the-inside.

Nick plays for the LA Kings. Quentin got signed this past season to the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Ontario, CA. What’s their relationship like? Competitive? Co-dependent? Are they overprotective about each other? Are they secretly criminals/serial killers/demon-infested? Do all four Shore brothers magically share a pool of hockey talent that they can distribute amongst each other so that if only one is playing they can make him really good? Drew was overseas but came back to play for Vancouver, was it because he missed his brothers? Was it because he thought they needed more supervision? Was it because he sensed the disruptions their blood-magic was making in the earth’s magnetosphere? Do you want to write the outsider POV of how they’re just weirdly super-duper-creepily co-dependent but no one knows for sure if they’re fucking & everyone super doesn’t want to ask? Do you want to write the one where they’re all corporate espionage experts because they’re just too bland to be remembered? (plus HR who does). Or, was the Shore house basically the Adams Family when they were growing up? I would love that story.

Kyle Rau/Emily Pfalzer (+/- Nick Bjugstad)

Look, I’ll be honest. I’m super into the idea of OT4 Kyle Rau, Nick Bjugstad, Emily Pfalzer & Mike Matheson. Emily & Mikey are a super cute hockey power couple and Nick & Kyle are… well, the same thing.

I choose to nominate Emily/Kyle because I sort of desperately want the story where Kyle & Emily play together on barely-scraping-by-semi-pro-coed league while their boyfriends are riding high in the NHL. Man do I want that. But like, all kinds of variations of that. Maybe they’re platonic best friends. Maybe they’re just fucking because their BFs are long-distance and it’s convenient & easy, and then Oops, Feelings. Maybe Nick & Kyle broke up in high school and now it’s awkward.

Basically any combination of +/- Nick Bjugstad and +/- Mike Matheson works for me.


Derek Forbort/Nick Bjugstad

Okay, this one takes a tiny bit of explaining. Okay. So. Nick Bjugstad’s Uncle Scott played in the NHL, at one point for the LA Kings. When Nick was drafted there was some speculation the Kings would take him (in part for the family connection & in part because the LA Kings love ~big ~bodies. So when the Kings traded picks with Florida to move in the draft, people were like: okay, yes, maybe that’s what’s happening.

Instead, LA drafted Derek Forbort. So instead of getting Nick Bjugstad who for better or worse went straight into the NHL, they got a guy who is famous for taking LITERALLY FOREVER to make his NHL debut and also for texting Paul Bissonnette about his jerking off habits.

So, I, naturally, would like the body swap and/or weird telepathic connection fic. Maybe one day Nick and/or Derek makes wish that they hadn’t been drafted where they were & they end up swapping places. I would love to see Nick Bjugstad interacting with all my favorite Kings and/or Reign players. Why do people keep giving him shit about jacking off? Will he ever find out? How does Derek deal with fielding texts for Kyle Rau? Why are people so surprised when he is Not Nice to someone? Or maybe they got stuck with a weird, telepathic link at the draft and now they have just a kind of causal, long-distance friendship that sometimes gets weird because they’re an inadvertent voyeur anytime the other gets laid? Look, the possibilities for awkwardness are endless. Just what everyone wants!

Kyle Rau/Chad Rau (+/- Nick Bjugstad)

Gosh, I’ve spent a lot of time making Chad the Bad Guy in my fics about Kyle, and you should feel free to continue that trend here. What’s their weird, fucked up, competitive relationship like? Does Chad constantly try to steal Kyle’s boyfriends? Is Chad the prodigal son who comes home from the war and tries to muscle in and take over when Kyle has been literally holding the kingdom together with his fingernails by himself for years? Are they part of a crime family and Kyle is trying to Get on the Straight & Narrow and Chad keeps pulling him back in? Are they super villains and Chad keeps making fun of the fact that Kyle has a crush on super hero Nick Bjugstad? Do Chad and Kyle somehow both end up on the Olympic team together? Do Chad and Nick go to Worlds together?

Nic Dowd

I know you are thinking, “Who?” And possibly also, “Why?”, and very possible also, “Why… abby… why do you always” but hear me out.

Here are some fun facts about Nic Dowd, and why I think a fic about Nic Dowd would be Fun thing to do:

Nic Dowd is from Huntsville, Alabama (!)
Nic Dowd is the second guy from Alabama (!!) to score a goal in the NHL (the first guy played 1941-1943)
Nic Dowd learned how to play in the (growing) Huntsville youth program.
After that, for high school, he went to Culver Military Academy in Indiana
And then after that, Nic Dowd went St Cloud State
Where he was the 2014 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Which he managed to do while being a biomedical sciences major.

Nic Down wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up, ““I’m interested, definitely, in the medicine side of it, but not with people,” he said. “I don’t even know if with animals, I’m not even sure really, to be honest. I think a science field after hockey, maybe, but we’ll see, things change.”

All this biomedical stuff might have something to do with the fact that his parents are a doctor and nurse. They are originally from England, but Nic and his brothers were born in Alabama.

That would be his two older brothers, who are, respectively 10 and 12 years older than him.
Naturally, both of them played hockey (“We had what would've been a rink if it was cold enough out back. It was a nice little concrete area fenced in.”)

Nic Dowd was drafted by the Kings in the seventh (!) round in 2009. He found out via a text message.

He got to sit next to Mike Richards in Manchester, (“For the situation he was in, I thought he handled it terrific. I was lucky, I got to sit next to him in the locker room. I didn't bother him too much, but I got to listen and talk to him a little bit every day”)

Jon Rosen once wrote an article titled, POTENTIAL FOR CHEMISTRY TO GROW IN BROWN-DOWD DUO?

He has a very cute dog.

His coaches love him, but also this faint praise. Damn. “I think Jagr’s record’s safe for now, the 750 that he has. Nic’s got a ways to go, but it was awesome. There was so much composure shown by Dowder on that goal. He’s played so hard, played so well for us. There’s a real trust factor between the coaches and Nic as a player. I just think it’s great. He’s going to win a lot of people over.”

Okay, so, now aren’t there like five million stories about Nic Dowd you want to read? And write??

Like, for example, the story where Nic actually becomes a vet — fill the office in with the rest of your favs and boom: shenanigans. Or what if fresh out of office candidate school, nerdy Nic Dowd he is assigned to lead a bunch of whatever the magical equivalent of jocks is? Or just a vignette that is really just reality of a nerdy guy amongst OHL children? Or what about Mike Richards And The What Not To Do Mentorship Program? Maybe Mike Richards is a vampire and because OHL culture is so weird all the Manch children think it’s normal, but Nic Dowd is like: um, you guys, it is NOT

I didn’t nominate him with anyone not because I’m opposed to pairing him with someone, but because, you know. I wanted to keep your options open. Pick your fav. Run with it. Be free.

Hello, friends:

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Such tremendous affection for the story I received this year <333

And you all should read it, too:

how fast the night (8343 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: National Football League RPF
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, AJ Hawk, Clay Matthews
Additional Tags: Sexuality, Closeted Character, Coming Out, Families of Choice, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, American Football, Social Media, Worldbuilding, Internalized Homophobia, Team as Family, Meet-Cute
Summary:

Being an Unbonded thirty-year old superstar athlete isn't easy. Particularly not when your name is Aaron Rodgers, and you're the best quarterback in the NFL — and you don't have a girlfriend.

Hello Yuletide author / new friend:

( Read more... )

So, you like Michael Sam, but you do not like (American) football. Or, you like Michael Sam, but you do not care about (American) football. OR, you like Michael Sam, would like to know what’s lies in store for him next, and you do not care about (American) football, YET.

( Read more... )

On the Exploitation of Personal Tragedy For Narrative Purposes

(some meta up on tumblr; lemme know what you think!)