Dear Yuletide Author

[calliatra]

Dear Yuletide Author,

PLEASE NOTE: I’m not participating in Yuletide this year. RL work descended on me unexpectedly and I had to delete my signup. (*sob*)
 
I’m leaving this up mainly because I have a deep personal hatred of broken links, and I don’t want to do that to anyone. But if you’re looking to write a treat for someone who’s participating in Yuletide, you’re going to have to look elsewhere, sorry. :(


Hi! It’s so nice to (virtually) meet you. :) Thanks so much for taking the time to write something for me; I really hope you have fun with it!

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Quick Info:

I go by Calliatra everywhere. You can find me mainly on ao3 and tumblr. You can find my letters for previous exchanges here.

Anon commenting is enabled here, so if there’s anything you’d like clarified, feel free to ask! And of course feel free to contact me via mod anytime.

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General Notes:
  

• I love both first person and third person POV. Same goes for past and present tense. I’ll also happily read more unusual or experimental things (second person, future tense, non-linear progression, you name it)! …Just don’t go all Finnegans Wake, ‘k?


• The prompts for every fandom are only there in case you’re looking for inspiration. If they don’t work for you, or you’ve got an idea of your own, feel free to change or completely ignore them!


• You may notice I have more to say about some fandoms than others, but that honestly has nothing to do with how much I love them. I would be absolutely thrilled to receive fic for any of fandoms I’ve requested here!

 

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Do Not Want
  

• character death (mentioning canon character death is fine, so is killing an OC, but everything else is not)


• unhappy endings (I don’t need perfect fairy tale endings or anything, but I do like them to be at least hopeful.)


• overwhelming angst


• gore/graphic violence


• PWP


• humiliation or public embarrassment (seriously, I have such an embarrassment squick, please spare me)


• an imbalance of power in romantic relationships (anything from teacher/student to D/s)


• cheating on a romantic partner


• non-canon ships (unless you know I ship them or at least don’t mind them)


• a lot of introspection (or navel-gazing)


• pregnancy and kidfic


• bashing any characters


• body-shaming any characters


• Christmas-themed fic (Setting the fic around Christmas is fine, I’d just rather the story didn’t revolve around celebrating it.)

 

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Likes!

• interactions between characters and closer looks at the dynamics of their relationship(s). Can be gen or shippy, I adore it either way, especially between characters who are at least to some degree fond of each other.


• subtlety. I love it when I have to read a fic twice to really understand everything that was going on and everything that was implied.


• atmosphere! Set up one (in the language, in the setting, in the anything at all honestly) that envelops me and transports me to the world and feel of the story, and I’ll love your fic forever!


• humor, especially wordplay and language-based humor.


• surprises! I like the unexpected. It doesn’t need to be huge or shocking or anything, even just a little thing that I totally didn’t see coming is delightful.


• playing with tropes. Invert them, subvert them, deconstruct them, whatever – anything other than playing them straight is always a fantastic kind of surprise! (Though of course there are a good few that I really love seeing played straight, as well – I’ve added a list below.)


• mysteries.Not just the traditional crime-related ones, but really any kind at all. I love being intrigued! And I adore it when all the pieces finally make sense in the end.


• psychological stories: stories about conflicts between people or within them, and how they deal with them.


• Getting Together/“First Time” fics. Possibly my favorite thing in the world. I just really love that moment when all that tension finally gets resolved, and all the various ways that can happen!


• friends-to-lovers/slow burn relationships. I tend to ship what I ship because the characters like each other a lot already, and I like the way they like each other. And want more of it!


• explorations of queer themes. I really love seeing queerness from the POV of different characters, in different times throughout history, and/or in other universes. (Though I prefer these kinds of stories to be written by people who are queer themselves, so if you’re not, maybe go with something else.)


• a deliberate use of language. I absolutely adore it when language is used to set or match a specific tone, atmosphere, genre, POV, or anything like that! Or when it’s part of the plot somehow! I just… language. ♥

 

 

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Some Tropes I Always Enjoy

• Hogwarts AU


• Bodyswap


• Handcuffed Together


• Huddling for Warmth


• Mind Reading (especially if it’s a newly developing power!)


• Power Outage


• Road Trip


• Snowed In


• Undercover as a Couple

(If you’re interested, you can find some more details on what I like about these tropes in my Tag Exchange letter.)

 

 

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Fake News FPF

(“Stephen Colbert”, Jon Stewart)

 

What I Like About this Fandom

I adore “Stephen Colbert” both for the humor and the complexity he bings. I like taking him seriously as a character and seeing where that leads. Or, for fun, just making reasonable people react to him. I’m also endlessly intrigued by the universe of the Colbert Report, and the infinite amount of weird-but-wonderful world-buildy things to explore.

 

About the Characters:

“Stephen”:

I love the magical, ridiculous, comical, gritty, scifi-fantasy pundit AU world you get when you take the Report seriously. And the way it all seems to circle and center around “Stephen”, like he’s the source of it all, is just delightful. It gives you pretty much infinite paths to explore, and I love seeing all the different places they can lead!

And of course I adore the character of “Stephen Colbert” himself. I love “Stephen” for all the genuine goodness and caring and fun in him, I want to hug him for all the hurt and shame and fear he keeps bottled up, and I’m fascinated by his rage and violence. I really enjoy all takes on his character, from pure humor to serious darkness!

He’s probably the most fun when pitted against or playing off someone reasonable (usually Jon), but the wild places he can take things when left unchecked are also quite something to behold. In that regard, I’d especially love to see the dynamic of his held-up-to-be-perfect, larger-than-life television persona and the (fictional) apparently cult-like followers of the Colbert Nation. What’s a typical interaction there like? And in what ways does it affect “Stephen”-the-(normal-sized-and-flawed)-person?

Honestly, though, there’s no direction you could take here that I wouldn’t love. There are a thousand facets to and interpretations of this character, with plenty of canon material to support each one. And I really love reading about all of them!

Jon:

As for Jon: I love Jon. Really just in general, but in relation to “Stephen” I love him as the voice of reason. I love the way he combines patience and understanding and genuine caring into the kind of soft-touch approach “Stephen” needs, but still won’t take any bullshit from him. And the kind of wry amusement he defaults to when there’s too much bullshit to ignore, but not enough to warrant confronting “Stephen” is a delight.

In “Stephen’s” world, I love him as the outsider, the one who doesn’t really believe in all the impossible things happening in and on TCR, the one who tries to use normal-world logic on them. I’m a fan of it being a little ambiguous whether he’s right or whether the weirdness is real. But on the other hand, I’d also really enjoy a turning-of-the-tables kind of thing, where “Stephen” is the one who really understands how this world works, and Jon is the one battling with denial.

In a more real-world-based scenario, I’d love a situation in which Jon has to deal with something morally (or otherwise) grey. Being reasonable means he’s denied the kind of absolute moral certainty that “Stephen” gets to claim, and getting a peek at him dealing with something along those lines would be fantastic. Especially if, at the same time and in contrast to that, “Stephen” is grappling with it in his own way.

 

Fandom-Specific Likes & DNWs:

• No cannibalism, please. I prefer to think that thing with Bobby was… really, anything but cannibalism.


• Also, I’d prefer if “Stephen” wasn’t immortal. Whether do that by setting the fic before the finale, or by ignoring it, or some other way, is completely up to you!


• I ship Jon/“Stephen”, but I’m just as happy with gen.


• I’m lifting my DNW-ban on excessive angst for this, in case the dark places are what you’d like to explore. I’d still ask for an at least hopeful ending, though.

Prompts:

• Kittens! Adorable, fluffy kittens! …Aren’t quite what they seem.


• Mind Reading: It’s a cool power! And, of course, a game-changer in pretty much any kind of character interaction.


• “Siri! What do I do now?”


• It’s best not to think about it too hard.


• What if there’s a power outage at the studio(s)? How much does that mess with the production of the show(s)? And how much does it mess with Stephen’s mind?


• Adventures with an unintentionally free-roaming chicken.


• Just a normal day, writing and preparing for the show. Nothing to see here.

 

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John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme

(Finnemore | The Storyteller)

 

What I Like About this Fandom:

All of JFSP is brilliant, but the Well, since you ask me sketches are pretty definitely my favorite thing about it. I’m a fan of that type of old, atmospheric (but not overly exciting) stories they’re based on, and an even bigger fan of wordplay and language-based humor, so it’s like they were made for me. And, of course, the Storyteller’s naiveté is always beautiful and hilarious.

 

Fandom-Specific Likes & DNWs:

• I prefer tales/elements that are more or less believable (within the realm of fantasy) to the completely ridiculous. (So, for example, a witch accidentally curses the wrong duke? Sure! A runaway train returns to kill the duke in his sleep? Not so much.)


• I think I also prefer it when the tales are more lighthearted, and don’t involve any real harm to anyone. (My favorite tales are the one with Hey-Ho Rumblelow and the one with the Eagleing.)

Prompts:

• I would really love a story written in the style of the Well, since you ask me sketches! So how about…

o   A haunted castle, occupied perhaps by an ill-tempered ghost?
o   An expedition into inhospitable lands.
o   A tale of the “mysterious Orient”?
o   Demon possession. (Oh, come one, that’s just a metaphor!)
o   A werewolf. Probably. Or just a very hairy fellow with a very howl-y bunch of vocal exercises.

• Alternatively, how about exploring who the Storyteller is? He seems to be ageless, or to have shifting ages, and to move through time and space randomly. How does that work? What does that mean? Is he a Time Lord? A ghost? A loose fictional construct that falls apart when examined too closely?


• Or, how about something extremely meta? I love the meta asides that are showing up more and more in the show, so why not try and take it all the way? Or as far as it can go while still being fic. I don’t even know what that would look like, but I know I’d love it! 

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Swingtown

(Trina Decker, Susan Miller)

What I Like About the Show:

The thing I probably love most about this show is the maturity. Like, the way over-the-top soap-type-misunderstandings are set up… and then the characters recognize how irrelevant they are, dismiss them, and cut to the actual heart of the problem. Usually by actually talking to each other! I love how real and relatable their emotions always seem.

And, of course, I adore how much of the focus is on seeing Susan, Trina, and Janet grow as people and develop such great friendships.

About the Characters:

I’d love both femslash or gen friendship, so take your pick!

Trina & Susan:

I love the way we got to watch these two start out with not much more than curiosity about each other, and then grow into real friends over the course of one short summer/season. There’s a beautiful kind of simplicity to that, as well as so much potential for future development.

It was great to see Trina trying to look out for Susan, kind of taking on a mentoring role, while still admiring and appreciating the different viewpoints Susan had to offer. And seeing Susan being introduced to Trina’s world, and being so incredibly open-minded and willing to engage and just basically growing immensely in front of our eyes was just fantastic! But I love that she didn’t let go of her own judgment, and instead evaluated everything on her own terms. That’s a huge part, I think, of why Trina and Susan still appear as equals, despite the imbalance in experience, and I adore that.

I also adore the fact that they just plain talk to each other, that they address problems and concerns and get them out into the open to try to solve them, and generally have such a great open and communicative approach. I so love to see that in relationships of any kind. And of course that makes it all the greater when they team up to solve problems.

Trina/Susan:

Basically this is everything I said about Trina & Susan above, plus UST. I mean, come one, the way Trina looks at Susan is practically an open invitation! And I like to think Susan is growing just open-minded enough to take her up on it. (Plus, of course, it sure doesn’t hurt that they seem to get along better with each other than with their respective husbands.)

I don’t see them as truly in love (yet), given that, in the course of the short (oh god so short why was this amazing show cancelled WHY) show, they didn’t really have time to get to know each other well enough. To me it seems more like they would have budding feelings for each other on top of their growing friendship that may or may not turn into romantic love.

And in the mean time, there’s all that UST to explore! (And maybe resolve?) Which could be anything from hidden glances over shifting dynamics on their swinging nights to trying out a friends-with-benefits setup, or anything in between or beyond – whichever way you want to take this, I’ll be not just happy, but ridiculously excited!

 

Fandom-Specific Likes & DNWs:

• Any and all of the other characters are welcome! Especially Janet - I love her and her development so much!


• I’m not wild about Trina’s pregnancy storyline, so I’d be happiest if you didn’t make that the central focus.


• I’d also prefer for Trina and Susan’s relationships with their husbands not to be the central focus.


• This show being what it is, I’m lifting my DNW-ban on cheating on partners for this fandom.

 

Prompts:

• I’d love to see more of Trina and Susan (and Janet, if you’re so inclined) having honest conversations, being there for each other, solving problems together, teaming up, and getting stuff done!


• Or how about exploring new things? Whether it’s Trina introducing Susan (and/or Janet?) to more aspects of her world, or both (or all three) of them trying out something new together, that’d be great to see!


• “This… isn’t what I expected.”


• Summer’s over; now comes the fall.


• “Oh.”


• Pick a hit song from the 70s (maybe one that wasn’t featured heavily on the show?) and make it part of the fic. How? Completely up to you!


• Road Trip! …Honestly, I think I may just want the women to jump into a car and drive far, far away from the men. But I also really love Road Trip Shenanigans, such as: Where Are We Going? Did You Even Bring a Map OMG? How Do You Have a Perfectly Packed Suitcase We Had Like Five Minutes’ Warning? Let’s Sing Along with the Radio! Oh No, Unexpected Car Trouble! And so, so much more! Basically just show me the girls having a great (or, hell, terrible, or ambivalent!) time together on the road.