Dear Yuletide Author (2018)

[calliatra]

Dear Yuletide Author,

Hey, it’s that time of year again! Time for me to get super excited about all my tiny fandom loves, and even more excited that someone out there shares them! Hi!

Okay, so, I’ve written what I admit is a pretty long letter here because, well, I'm excited, and I'm also a fan of having lots of different options. But I promise I’m not picky about them! As long as you avoid my DNWs we’re good, and if you include even one thing I like, I’m sure to be happy. So please help yourself to whatever optional details you’re interested in, ignore the rest, and write a story you’ll have fun with!

* 

Index

General Things

• Quick Info
• General Notes
• DNWs
• Likes

 

Fandoms

• Fresh Off the Boat
• Gardenscapes
• Grantchester
• John Finnemore’s Double Acts
• John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme
• Swingtown

 

*

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! (Or, hey, if you just want to chat about a tiny fandom, I’m always happy to!) And of course feel free to contact me via mod anytime.

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General Notes 

• I enjoy fics of any length. I love both first person and third person POV. Same goes for past and present tense. I’ll also very happily read more experimental things (drabble sequences, future tense, non-linear progression, script format, you name it)! …Just don’t go all Finnegans Wake, ‘k?


• Any and all prompts are only suggestions. If they don’t work for you, feel free to change or completely ignore them!


• In case you’d like additional (tropey) prompts: A List of My Favorite Tropes (With Explanations)


• You may notice I have more to say about some fandoms than others, but that honestly has nothing to do with how much I like them. I’m head-over-heels in love with all the fandoms and characters I requested here, and I’d be absolutely thrilled to receive a fic for any of them!

 

* *

 
Do Not Want

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


• any focus on death/grief/mourning, or any overwhelming angst in general (mentions are okay)


• gore, graphic violence, or intense suffering


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


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


• pregnancy or kidfic


• infidelity


• the concepts of soulmates or destiny


• PWP


• long passages of pure introspection

 

* *

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 implied.


• atmosphere!Anything that transports me deep into the feel of a different place or world.


• humor,especially wordplay and language-based humor.


• surprises!


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


• 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 come together in the end.


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


• communication. Whether it’s talking, texting, letter writing, hand signals, body language, Morse code, or anything else, I love it when characters communicate with each other. And I love it even more when they find innovative ways to do it.


• banter! It makes for such fun scenes and great character moments, I just adore it!


• 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 and slow burn relationships


• 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.


• 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. ♥

* * *

Fresh Off the Boat
(Jessica Huang, Honey)

What It Is

An American sitcom set in the 1990s about a Chinese-American family settling in in Orlando, Florida. Part culture clash, part family comedy, and all good-hearted, silly fun, with lovable, continually growing characters. 4 seasons so far. (Trailer: x)

What I Like About It

I enjoy the light-hearted tone and glimpse into the past this show offers, but the reason I really love it are the relationships between all the characters, the way they’re in large part based on love (and that shines through even when things are rough), and the way they grow and change with the characters. I also adore the way all the characters are lovable in their own way, and how the humor is generally so very good-hearted, rather than mean. It makes for such pleasant watching! And I have to say, I also really like being shown a perspective I don’t usually get to see, and a culture I don’t know much about, especially from a point of view that is unapologetic about being “different”. Oh, and hey, the feminist undertones are pretty delightful, too.

About the Characters:

I love Jessica and Honey’s relationship so much, and I just want them to do everything together, and everything to be about them! Femslash or close friendship are both equally great here.

Jessica & Honey

I love their friendship, and I love that right from the start, they’re united both by being more or less social outcasts, and by shared interests. It creates such a wonderful instant bond, and it’s a beautiful moment when Jessica chooses Honey over acceptance in the neighborhood. They were both lonely, and then they found each other, and had an instant, genuine connection! I also adore the fact that they’ve gone into business together and are managing that on their own, without any real input from their husbands, and doing well again rough odds.

Individually, I love every single time Honey subverts the stereotype she’s set up to superficially look like! Every time she proves she’s smart and capable and loving, and didn’t actually break up her husband’s first marriage, and every time she uses people’s preconceptions to her advantage. And just in general, I really like how she’s so genuinely sweet and caring without crossing into cloying. And I enjoy the tempering influence she has on Jessica, drawing her slightly closer to being a bit more cautious, considerate, and calm.

In Jessica, I love her spirit, her self-confidence, and the incredibly impressive way she takes no shit and gets stuff done. She can be overly harsh to good people at times, which admittedly isn’t my favorite thing, but I adore the moments when she gives someone just what they deserve! Especially when it’s misogyny she’s taking down. And I love that she’s rubbing off on Honey, and helping her be more confident and forward.

 

Jessica/Honey

Like with most my ships, you pretty much just take the above friendship and add some sexual/romantic attraction, and you’re good to go! They’ve already got all the chemistry and closeness, so it’s basically just a question of who makes the first move.

Jessica rarely hesitates in going for what she wants, but she’s also extremely clueless about anything queer. Honey, on the other hand “was a lesbian for a summer” (and knew just how to be perfect about Nichole’s coming out!), and whatever that means in terms of her sexual orientation, she must have some experience with women, and with queerness. The problem, of course, is that she can tend to be more hesitant, and wait for cues from others… Mutual self-questioning and pining, anyone? Or, if you prefer, the “we’re running with this thing before we even know what it is ourselves” approach is also fabulously fun! Or, of course, either of them gathering her substantial courage and making the first move would be fantastic, too. (As you can hopefully see, I’m very easy to please here.)

And, man, once they were in a relationship, that could be such sitcom-y fun, too. Their personalities differ in the perfect way for so many comedy tropes, enough to cause conflict, but not enough to create irreparable damage. And when working together, they’d be practically unstoppable! Anything in that direction would be a joy to read.

 

Fandom-Specific Likes & DNWs:

• No focus on infidelity, please. I really like Jessica and Honey’s relationships with Louis and Marvin, so if you go for femslash while keeping the husbands around, I’d prefer to keep things positive. A little worrying about cheating is fine if you want it there for realism, but please don’t make it a major point. Otherwise feel free to just not mention the husbands at all, or say their marriages are open, or just straight-up run with a husband-less AU!


• Also, please don’t put a lot of focus on the kids. (Though of course having them make an appearance or two is totally fine.)


• I love Nichole, and the relationship she and Honey have developed, so anything involving her is more than welcome!


• Regarding the trope-heavy prompts, I do enjoy pure tropey fun in this fandom, but I also always love any kind of subversion, or deconstructions that show how those types of situations would go down in reality, so you’re very welcome to take any of the prompts in that direction as well.

 

Prompts:

• Solving a Mystery! I absolutely adored Jessica and Honey investigating together in 2x19, and I would love to see them do it again! With anything from a tiny neighborhood nuisance to a full-blown murder mystery. Or maybe they could try to find out what happened to Kimmy Pozlacek, the girl mentioned in 2x23 as having lived in the Huangs’s house before them?


• Horror movie night gets extra scary! Is there something lurking outside the window? Or in the dark corners of the house? Will the phone not stop ringing? Is there news of an escaped murderer? (I’m a fan of tension and creepiness and all that kind atmosphere, whether it’s played seriously or for comedy, but please don’t stray too far from the tone of the show, i.e. don’t have anything seriously bad happen.)


• Girl’s Night Out! Where do they go, what do they do? How do their tastes clash, or mesh? Do they end up at the Denim Turtle, or might they try something completely new? Do they get into sitcom-y trouble? Or drama-y character revelations? Or something else entirely?


• Single Moms AU! What if it was just Jessica and her boys who moved into the new neighborhood? What if Honey had partial custody of Nichole for *handwave* reasons? What would change, what would stay the same? And how would their relationship develop? (If you mention ex-husbands/fathers of the children/etc., I’d strongly prefer Jessica and Honey’s relationships with Louis and Marvin to be amicable.)


• Undercover in a Gay Bar! Good old tropey fun, which I think could work very well with a sitcom like this. Feel free to use the flimsiest of excuses as to why the undercover op is necessary ;) So, how about some Heteronormative Hesitation, followed by Surprising New Feelings, “Plot”-Mandated Experimentation, Sexual Confusion with Mutual Pining, and/or Sage Advice from Gay Bar Patrons? (Or, like mentioned above, feel free to take this in a more serious or just generally different direction.)


• Snowed In! More tropey fun that doesn’t need to involve any actual snow. (I’m told that would be difficult in Florida.) Just Jessica and Honey stuck somewhere (preferably somewhere comfortable, with food and heating and a working bathroom, and all that), alone together. Maybe they get trapped/forced to stay in a house they’re flipping? Or anything else you can think of!


• Handcuffed Together! Okay, so by now you’re probably getting the gist: I like my characters being forced to interact, and let each other see more of themselves than they might ordinarily choose. And I love all the directions this can go, from wild shenanigans to emotional confrontation. So, under what circumstances might Jessica and Honey get handcuffed together? And what might it lead to?


• Jessica plotting crime! Whether it’s her working on another novel, planning a cunning crime of her own, or just helping someone else cover one up (like when Louis pretends to have run someone over in 3x03), I love seeing her show her chops that way. Feel free to run all the way into an AU with this, if the mood takes you there. Maybe Jessica’s a full-time writer, turning her latest bestseller into a screenplay? Or maybe she’s a secret mob boss plotting to usurp another gang! Anything and everything is cool here. (Though I’d prefer the tone to stay light and humorous rather than be genuinely dark.)


• Jessica the author! I love, love, love anything and everything about Jessica and her novel(s). Can’t get enough of it! What problems does she run into on the road to publication? What’s it like after her book gets published? Does she gather a large fanbase? Does the book linger in obscurity? Is it accidentally mistaken for a parody? Is it optioned for a movie? What might working on a sequel be like? And what role does Honey play in all of this? Do the two of them ever ditch their rule about not commenting on each other’s creative pursuits?


• Honey taking the lead! We see a lot of Honey following Jessica’s lead, or establishing herself as an equal partner, which is always nice, but I’d really love to see Honey taking charge for a change. So how about unceremoniously dumping the two of them into a situation that Honey has more experience with or skills for than Jessica? What kind of situation that might be is totally up to you!


• Alternatively, some short and very open prompts!
  
  
  
  • Body Swap
  
  
  • Murder Mystery
  
  
  • New experiences in the Denim Turtle.
  
  
  • Mind Reading
  
  
  • Power Outage
  
  
  • UST
  
  
  • In Space! AU
  
  
  • Discovering something new about each other.
  
  
  • Hogwarts AU
  
  
  • Flipping a house together.

 
 

* * *

Gardenscapes
(Austin, Robbie Wood)

 

What It Is

A free-to-play casual phone/computer game where you beat match-3 levels in order to restore a beautiful, expansive garden and discover nuggets of its history and magical little secrets. Includes a rich world of charming in-game characters you cooperate and make friends with. (Website: x)

 

What I Like About It

I love the atmosphere of this game, the sheer happiness and positivity and optimism that it brings. Everything is fun, problems are both small and solvable, and friends and family are always around to help out or join in. It’s perfect for relaxing, but it’s also never boring! I enjoy all the interactions with all these lovely, quirky characters, and I can’t get enough of all the charming and intriguing discoveries you make in the garden.

 

About the Characters:

Austin is such a delight, really, in all his wonderful and contradictory ways. He can be such a grouch, but also such a positive thinker, he’s so competent at times, and so fail at others, and he switches between practical and philosophical in no time. And he’s so relatable, too, in all the ways he’s dorky and awkward and over-excited and just plain flawed and aware of it. But what I love most about him is his unending kindness, the way he’s always eager to help out anyone who drops by, and really wants to do the right thing.

In Robbie, I love his good-heartedness, his ever-present sense of humor, and how open he is. He always lets you know what he’s thinking/feeling, either in person or via emoticons. He’s also always willing to help, quick to forgive, and just all-round a great friend to have.

They’re well-matched, both being so kind and generous, and also in the way they both take pride in doing their work well. And their friendship goes back so far, and seems to have included so many interesting episodes!

I low-key ship the two of them, and would love to see them getting together, but I also love canon their friendship, and would be equally happy to see them just having some fun adventures in the Garden together.

 

Fandom-Specific Likes & DNWs:

• Feel free to include any of the other characters, I enjoy them all!


• I’ve played a bit of Homescapes, but I haven’t gotten very far. So I’m unlikely to know what’s going on there, but I don’t mind spoilers or anything at all.


• If you go with Austin/Robbie, please write Robbie as unmarried.


• I’d prefer a tone in keeping with the that of the game. So, no serious angst, no smut, no dark real world stuff, pretty please. Think G rating (though I won’t quibble about PG13 elements or anything).


• For dog’s name, feel free to call him whatever you want. In my game, he’s named Bartleby, but I wouldn’t expect anyone else to think that’s a good name for a dog. ;)

 

Prompts:

• Why did Austin and Robbie drift apart? At the beginning of the game, it seems like they haven’t seen each other in a long time. They live in the same, seemingly small-ish town, so what happened?


• It’s a rainy day! What do you do on a day like that? Stay indoors? Splash about in the garden? Get soaked doing necessary tasks and then warm up in front of a cozy fireplace?


• Worldbuilding, taken seriously: Sooooo, is the Garden magic? If yes, how does the magic work? If not, how does any of this work? How to things appear, disappear, and transform with a *poof*? How do plants grow so quickly, how do free-roaming animals not ever cause trouble? (Hard mode: How do the match-3 levels, and the use of stars to pay for things tie in? And what on earth is happening in the Electric Show Competition?) How much of all this is normal for the world the Garden exists in, anyway, and how much of the unusual stuff does Austin notice? And does Robbie have a different perspective?


• Worldbuilding, humor/parody-style: There are so many charmingly ridiculous computer-game-things to poke fun at here! The way someone can keep painting the same spot over and over again for hours, until suddenly - *poof* - the whole thing is painted! Or patiently keep putting the same brick in the same place, because it keeps vanishing and returning to where it came from. The way characters and animals can sometimes walk over or right through others. Or take a swing at any of the “serious” worldbuilding questions. As long as it’s a loving parody, rather than a mocking one, anything goes!


• Discovering more hidden secrets in the Garden! What else might Austin and Robbie stumble across while working in or exploring it? Is there a cave system? Or maybe some man-made tunnels? (I thought for the longest time that the niches in the swan area were doorways that lead underneath the garden…) Could there be some (more) buried treasure? Or old artifacts? More clues to the mansion’s and the Garden’s history? Feel free to take this wherever your imagination lead you!


• Austin’s book! The one he keeps writing, on and off, and is planning to include all sorts of tales from the Garden and his life in. What has he written so far? Is it ever going to be finished? Shared with friends? Published? Is it an unexpected masterpiece, or, well, not? Who makes appearances in it, and how fictional(ized) are the people, places, and events?


• What if Austin and Robbie hid something in the Garden themselves when they were kids? Or just plain left it behind? What memories might resurface, if they rediscover it now?


• Actual magical/mythological creatures secretly living in the Garden! I mean, it doesn’t feel unlikely, does it? But what kind, and how many? Are there groups of kindly undersea monsters? Or mermaids? Or maybe leprechauns, or nifflers, stashing away all those gold coins? (Stealth Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts crossovers welcome!) Could there be tiny dragons living in the trees? Or jackalopes mixed in with the ordinary rabbits? How might Austin and/or Robbie discover them? And what might happen when they do?


• Austin and Robbie working on a project together! Usually we see them going about their separate tasks in the Garden, but occasionally there must come some task or project for which they team up! What is it, and what’s it like, the two of them working together? Do they make a good team, or do their personal styles clash?


• Adventures in the still-abandoned areas! I love how pretty the Garden is, but I always think that the new areas look a lot more exciting before they get restored… What might draw Austin and Robbie deep into one of those as yet untamed areas? What adventures are there to be had with all those weeds and brambles and half-crumbling structures?


• Some short and open:
  
  
  
  • a secret well
  
  
  • explosions
  
  
  • garden party
  
  
  • pie
  
  
  • “Has that always been there?”
  
  
  • holding hands
  
  
  • time travel
  
  
  • a ghost
  
  
  • the peacocks did it
  
  
  • perfect-temperature tea

 
 

* * *

 
 

Grantchester
(any of: Sidney Chambers, Leonard Finch, Amanda Kendall, Cathy Keating, Geordie Keating, Sylvia Maguire, Margaret Ward)

 

What It Is

A British TV crime/drama series set in the 1950s about a charming priest and a grumpy cop who solve crimes and develop an unlikely friendship. Or about an unconventional young priest in a small town, and his complex and evolving relationships with society, himself, and the found family he gathers around him. 19 episodes. (Trailer: x)

 

What I Like About It

Pretty much everything! But I especially adore the relationships between all the characters, and the subtlety and nuance and just believability there. I also really like the atmosphere that’s woven into that, and the sense of things happening quietly and without drama, but not being any less meaningful for that. In terms of the cases, I love the fact that they’re not too convoluted, and that they deal more with human nature and psychology than with forensic clues and the likes. And there’s so much else I don’t have the room to list here, so just assume that I love everything that isn’t a DNW and you won’t be wrong!

 

About the Characters:

I love everyone, which is why I’ve requested ‘any.’ And I love them especially in their relationships and interactions with each other, so here are some thoughts about which aspects of everyone I find particularly interesting in their relationships with each other person. Feel free to mix it up, or go in an entirely different direction, though – I really am open to seeing basically anything about anyone.

Sidney & Geordie (or Sidney/Geordie): I love these two, and I always love their relationship, whether it’s gen or shippy. See here for far too many thoughts and prompts about these two.

Sidney & Leonard: How do things stand between them, after the events of series three? How did Sidney abandoning everyone without warning change their relationship?

Sidney & Mrs. Maguire: They both feel like they have a role they have to play, more often than not. But might they become comfortable enough around each other to drop the act?

Sidney & Cathy: Could they build a relationship independent of Geordie? Can she forgive him for having known about Geordie’s affair, or is all trust gone?

Sidney & Margaret: A lot has happened since their breakup… how do they feel about each other now?

Sidney & Amanda: How do they move on? How might that work, or how might it not? After everything, is there any way for them to be friends?

Geordie & Leonard: What might they discover they have in common? How might they interact with each other in the absence of Sidney? Has Geordie gotten past his homophobia?

Geordie & Mrs. Maguire: Might their relationship involve growing used to each other, and working from there?

Geordie & Cathy: What’s next for them? Can they fix their marriage? Do they want to?

Geordie & Margaret: Where do they go from here, and how?

Geordie & Amanda: How much did they bond when Amanda stayed with his family? What do they have in common, apart from Sidney?

Leonard & Mrs. Maguire: What might it look like if they reached a deeper understanding of each other?

Leonard & Cathy: Maybe she likes his gentleness and understanding? Maybe he likes her toughness and pragmatic wisdom? Or maybe they bond over something else entirely?

Leonard & Margaret: They haven’t interacted much with each other, so what would it look like if some situation forced them to spend time together?

Leonard & Amanda: Do they make unlikely allies? Unexpected friends? Could they be close even after Amanda walked away from Sidney?

Mrs. Maguire & Cathy: Mrs M has so much understanding and experience to offer, and she could surely stand to learn a few things in return. Maybe they bond over unhappy experiences in marriage?

Mrs. Maguire & Margaret: Could they get past all their potential for conflict? And if so, what would it take to get to that point?

Mrs. Maguire & Amanda: How does Amanda’s changing relationship with Sidney affect her relationship with Mrs. M? Or what do they have independent of Sidney?

Cathy & Margaret: Is there any way they could find peace with each other?

Cathy & Amanda: Between relationship problems and motherhood, they have more in common now than before. Could they help each other out? Might it make them closer?

Margaret & Amanda (or Margaret/Amanda): They’re both spirited, unconventional women, trapped by the time they’re in, and they might have been fast friends if they’d met another way… could they still be? (Or could they even be more than friends? I ship and just plain love these two to a ridiculous degree, considering how little we see them interact in canon. And I would love to see anything at all in that direction, from first tentative attempts at friendship, to them running off as a couple and starting their own private detective agency!)

 

Fandom-Specific Likes & DNWs:

• No focus on Amanda’s pregnancy, or at least the physical aspects of it, please.


• This canon being what it is, infidelity is okay with me here. Just please don’t portray it as a good thing.


• The deleted scenes from the second series add so, so much to both the characters and the story, in my opinion, that I like to pretend they’re canon.


• I adore the show exactly as it is, so I particularly enjoy fics that are similar to canon in their tone and type of story.


• Please don’t include any non-canon relationships I haven’t requested. But any of the canon ones are welcome!

 

Prompts:

• Quiet conversations! Any of the characters talking to any other(s) about canon events. Because so much has happened, and so much is still open. Or talking about anything else; I’m not picky!


• Any interaction between two (or more) people who don’t get to interact much in canon! What kind of relationship do they have? What kind of relationship might they develop, given more time together? What do they have in common, and what are issues they might clash on?


• Another crime/(murder) mystery, but this time it’s up to someone (or several someones) other than Sidney and Geordie solve it! Is someone sneaking money from the collection plate? Or is someone dead unexpectedly? Is it a curious and seemingly innocuous case that no one else attaches any importance to? Why is it up to this particular person to solve it, and what unique skills do they bring to the table that help them do that?


• A missing scene, from any moment in canon. What should have, or might have happened?


• What happens after series 3?


• What if one of them ends up under suspicion of murder (again)? How do the others rally round (or not)? What interpersonal drama does it cause?


• Any character vs. the 1950s. How do their personal desires clash with the culture, morals, and/or expectations of the time? How is that expressed? Where does everyone else side on the matter? And who wins?


• Going ‘undercover’ somewhere where they don’t fit in at all. Play it for humor, or drama, or self-discovery, anything you want. I just really enjoy seeing characters taken out of their comfort zones that way.


• Non-verbal or coded communication; subtlety, implications, mutual silent understanding, all that jazz. The show is full of it! Because some things just can’t be properly said out loud, and other things don’t need to be.


• Short and succinct:
  
  
  
  • unlikely friendship
  
  
  • unexpected allies
  
  
  • a big change
  
  
  • rebellion
  
  
  • trying something new
  
  
  • “We can do that.”
  
  
  • pirates
  
  
  • discovery
  
  
  • a family picnic
  
  
  • modernisation

* * *

 

John Finnemore’s Double Acts
(Søndergaard, Bunning)

 

What It Is

A series of unconnected half-hour comedy radio plays, each featuring two different characters. The characters I’m requesting are from the episode “Penguin Diplomacy,” which takes us to an encounter between a British diplomat and a Danish penguin lover on a tiny, disputed island in the year 1948... (Listen: x | Download: x | Read the script: x )

 

What I Like About It

As with everything John Finnemore writes, I adore the humor, wit, wordplay, and banter, and also the honest good-heartedness underneath it all. But in Penguin Diplomacy especially, I so love Søndergaard and Bunning, with all their delightful eccentricities, and the wonderful, warm friendship the two develop despite their differences. And the plot is so great, too. All the little twists are such fun, and the ending ties everything together so brilliantly! And also just makes me love the characters all the more.

 

About the Characters:

These two are such pure delights, I don’t even know what to say. They’re both so warm-hearted, so charmingly idiosyncratic, and so utterly wonderful in their interactions!

I love Søndergaard’s sense of humor, his cheerfulness, and his delightful way with words, but also his open honesty, his scientific curiosity, and his understated intelligence. In Bunning, I’m ridiculously charmed by his ridiculous sense of duty, but even more so by the way he is so entirely different in private. I especially love his easy warmth and affection, and his willingness to be open-minded about unexpected things.

And together the two of them are such a perfect match! They’re both so genuinely well-intentioned and caring, so interested in whatever they come across, and they get along so well immediately, despite or maybe because of the weirdness of their meeting. And also, of course, they both have experiences from the war that they’re moving past.

The thing I love most about the two of them, though, has to be how they seem like the polar opposites of each other in some ways, but end up not only complementing each other, but having more crossover than expected. Like the way Bunning gravitates towards thinking logically and Søndergaard towards considering things emotionally, but not only do they each understand how the other’s mind works, they can also think the same way when necessary. And even if in all that they’re occasionally (delightfully) exasperated with each other, they still always enjoy each other’s company so much! I just love it. 

I ship these two so hard, I genuinely thought while listening to this for the first time that they might actually get together. And I still desperately want them to! (That being said, I do obviously also really enjoy their canon gen dynamic, so if that’s what you’d prefer to write, that’s not a problem! Just don’t hook them up with someone else, please.)

Fandom-Specific Likes & DNWs:

• No smut in this fandom, please. (You don’t have to shy away from mentions of sex or innuendo, though; it’s only explicit porn I’m not interested in.)


• I know pretty much nothing about the time and place of the story, so there’s no need to stress about historical (etc.) accuracy on my account! I’m not fussed about it. (If you happen to know a lot about it, though, or really enjoy research, actual true facts are, of course, also super welcome! And if you want them recognized, feel free to point them out, write footnotes, or put interesting links in the end notes as well, I always enjoy that.)

 

Prompts: 

• More diplomacy! What if there’s another twist in the island dispute? Maybe there’s a new development, or maybe a third party turns up and insists they have a claim on the island(s)?


• How about a role reversal? What if this time Søndergaard is forced to act like a diplomat, and Bunning is at sea? How would their communication work then? And what would it even take to force Søndergaard into that?


• Private diplomacy. Can’t you just see Bunning using careful/non-committal tactics to broach delicate personal topics? And can’t you just imagine how Søndergaard might react? Ooooor, might Søndergaard be the one to take a leaf out of Bunning’s book here, to not frighten him away with un-English emotionality?


• There’s a big storm brewing! Does Bunning get trapped on the island with Søndergaard because the sea’s too choppy for his motor launch? Or does Bunning have to get Søndergaard off the island to keep him safe? And does any of that cause a diplomatic incident?


• So, how often does Bunning visit the island, anyway? And how does he justify all his visits to whomever he has to justify things to? Intense negotiations? Diplomatic formalities? And what’s his setup like in South Georgia, anyway? Does he have his own “governor’s mansion”? Does he have a support staff?


• Quiet conversations over stew/brandy/chess. Or not-so-quiet ones! About penguins, food, life, love, loneliness, ancient history, anything and everything.


• How about some new arrivals? Wikipedia tells me that “[t]he base at King Edward Point [on South Georgia] was expanded as a research facility in 1949/1950 by the British Antarctic Survey.” Does that interfere with Bunning’s duties? With Søndergaard’s nearby penguin-watching? If so, what do they do about it?


• “John Wayne” and “Humphrey Bogart” continue to be, to all appearances, very happily married. It’s starting to give Bunning ideas. It’s already given Søndergaard quite a lot of ideas.


• Jump into the future a bit. They’re probably not going to spend the rest of their lives on barely-inhabited islands, so… what’s next for them? Is Søndergaard ready to return to civilization? Does Bunning get called back to England? Do they go together, or do they separate, only to be drawn together again by further diplomatic entanglements?


• Short and free:
  
  
  
  • iceberg
  
  
  • supply ship
  
  
  • “Do you really think so?”
  
  
  • it’s dangerous
  
  
  • animal kingdom
  
  
  • spy
  
  
  • international intrigue
  
  
  • soup
  
  
  • amazing
  
  
  • boredom

* * *

 

John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme
(Finnemore | The Storyteller)

 

What It Is

A British radio sketch comedy show made of pure joy and happiness. And lots and lots of witty wordplay. And ever increasingly meta jokes. And talking animals! And, okay, a liberal sprinkling of suppressed rage. But always in the form of bitingly hilarious satire, so it’s all good! 41 episodes so far. (Listen to the Well, since you ask me sketches here: x )

 

What I Like About It

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) story they’re based on, and an even bigger fan of wordplay and language-based humor, so it’s like they were made for me.

 

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? Eh, not really my thing.)


• 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.)


• The one genre of old-timey fiction I don’t really care for is the noir detective story, so if possible, please go with a different style.


• I do enjoy the meta nods to modern-day morality/editorializing about how the olden days weren’t that great, so if you do too, feel free to include some.

 

  Prompts:

• I would really love a story in the style of the Well, since you ask me sketches! So how about…
  
  
  
  • A haunted castle, occupied perhaps by an ill-tempered ghost?
  
  
  • An expedition into inhospitable lands.
  
  
  • A tale of the “mysterious Orient”?
  
  
  • A magical body swap, oh my!
  
  
  • Demon possession. (Oh, come one, that’s just a metaphor!)
  
  
  • Mix-ups with mind reading!
  
  
  • A werewolf. Probably. Or just a very hairy fellow with a very howl-y bunch of vocal exercises.
  
  


• If you feel like heading more strongly in a parody direction, how about unceremoniously dropping a clueless muggle Storyteller into the wizarding world of Fantastic Beasts?


• Or for a direct crossover, I’ve often wondered how (amazingly, hilariously, and potentially destructively) it would go if the Storyteller met Bertie Wooster…?


• Or, hey, do you like slashiness and innuendo? I certainly do, and I think there’s a lot of potential in double entendres there that will sadly never be used in JFSP… I’m thinking not just of the infamous “ejaculations,” and the way people in oldentimey stories are constantly being “aroused” by strange visitors in the early hours of the morning, but also of beauties like “I came upon him”, “I had to satisfy myself”, and the M.R. James story I read where one guy drags another guy into an empty church to show off his “enormous organ”… So if you feel like going there, please do!


• 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 vampire? A loose fictional construct that falls apart when examined too closely?


• Or, how about something extremely meta? (I do so adore the meta asides that are showing up more and more in the show.) Maybe the Storyteller comments on or narrates John Finnemore’s writing process? Or the performance of a live show? Or, hey, go as wild as you like here; whatever meta realm you’d like to go to, I’d be happy to follow!

 

 
 

* * *

 
 

Swingtown
(Trina Decker, Susan Miller)

 

What It Is

An American TV drama series set in the 1970s about a couple moving into a new neighborhood and being drawn into the swinger lifestyle. Full of well-rounded characters, nuanced and developing relationships, subtle subversions of soap opera tropes, fantastic female friendships, and sizzling summer fun! 13 episodes. (More detailed info: x | Trailer: x )

 

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 would love femslash here, but I do also really like the canon friendship, and you’re welcome to go with that if that’s what you prefer!

 

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 to make an appearance. Especially Janet - I love her and her development so much!


• I’d prefer no unrequested non-canon pairings


• I’m not wild about Trina’s pregnancy storyline, so I’d be happiest if you didn’t make that the focus. (If you want to, you can totally just pretend it never happened – that’s what I like to do.)


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


• In this fandom, I’m happy with any rating! (Up to and including a fic that’s all sex, so long as there’s a bit of narrative in that and it’s not a pure PWP.)


• And this show being what it is, my DNW of cheating on partners doesn’t really apply here. Just please don’t make the whole fic center around it.

  Prompts:

• Friendship and General Awesomeness! I adored it in the show, and I’d just 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, growing closer, and getting stuff done! And goodness knows, the show’s ending left us with more than enough problems that need resolving…


• Exploring New Things! Maybe Trina introduces Susan (and Janet?) to more aspects of her world (fancy social functions? easy air travel? new and exciting sex games?), or maybe both (or all three) of them try out something new together?


• Road Trip! …Honestly, I think I may just want the women (again including Janet, if you feel like it) 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! This Motel Looks Perfectly Fine and Not Creepy At All… And so, so much more! Basically just show me the girls having a great (or, hell, terrible, or ambivalent!) time together on the road.


• Activism! After Trina got Susan on board with the Deep Throat/pornography thing, do they move on to other causes? If they do, it has to involve a lot of changes of beliefs and new perspectives for Susan (and definitely for Janet!), doesn’t it? But between civil rights and women’s rights and gay rights, there’s so much going on, and Trina does not strike me as someone who stays nonpartisan…


• Friends with Benefits! While the husbands are away, the girls can still play… I feel like it’s exactly the sort of thing Trina would enjoy, and would enjoy introducing (or seducing) Susan (in)to. And isn’t everything more fun if a girls’ movie night can take a spontaneous turn towards sex? And if confusing, possibly romantic feelings start entering the mix at some point, you won’t find me complaining…


• Sexual Exploration! Trina’s emphatically experienced, Susan’s emphatically not, and Trina emphatically takes pleasure in introducing Susan to new things. So far, so fantastic! And hot. But maybe there are also things Trina’s not an expert in, and that they could experiment with together?


• Undercover as a Couple! Yeah, exploring a lesbian club under the guise of being a couple is not the best idea, but it’s totally the sort of idea Trina might have, isn’t it? What surprises might a night like that have in store for her and Susan?


• Investigating a Mystery! I don’t know why (maybe it’s the scavenger hunt?), but I get the feeling that these lovely ladies would be surprisingly skilled at solving mysteries, and I would love to see that! It could be anything, from mysteriously disappearing panties to an actual murder mystery. Bonus points if they figure out something the men can’t because of their different approaches and/or areas of experience!


• Actor AU! Okay, yeah, this is a completely out there idea, but what if Trina, Susan, and everyone else weren’t ordinary everyday folks, but actors on a TV show or movie? How would their relationships and dynamics change if they were all co-workers instead of neighbors? Would Trina be the lead actress, and Susan an up-and-coming young one? Or maybe they’d be an established central character and a new addition to the cast, respectively? Or something else entirely? Go wild! 70s or modern setting are both equally great.


• Or, if short and open prompts are more your thing, here’s a few ideas:
  
  
  
  • “This… isn’t what I expected.”
  
  
  • Summer’s over; now comes the fall.
  
  
  • Body Swap!
  
  
  • Watching porn, again
  
  
  • 70s music
  
  
  • “Oh.”
  
  
  • Playboy Magazine and/or/vs. Playgirl Magazine
  
  
  • baking together
  
  
  • dancing together
  
  
  • “Let’s try this again.”