Dear Yuletide Author ....

[jedibuttercup]

It's that time of year again!! yuletide sign-ups are open until the 31st. It'll be my seventh year participating; I love the experience of writing gifts for people, especially in such small fandoms, and the whole atmosphere of fannish glee that surrounds the challenge.

And I also love waiting up to read whatever's been written for me: it adds an extra sparkle to my holiday season. So. Dear Yuletide Author! You are automatically awesome for offering any of these fandoms, and I look forward to reading whatever you gift me with!

In general, I prefer fic that feature character interaction and/or plot, rather than PWP. But for theme: romance, humor, drama, action, domestic moments, worldbuilding, crossovers, whatever you enjoy writing? I'll probably enjoy reading. Though I do have a few squicks, which I'll list after the fandom details at the bottom of the cut.

If you want to stalk me, this is my main journal; my fic index post is here, and you can find me on AO3 and ff.net as well. I am an extremely eclectic writer, mostly gen but with the occasional het or slash and frequent crossovers, but don't worry too much about it; I am very open to receiving almost any type of fic.

• Fandom 1: Barsoom - Edgar Rice Burroughs
  Character: Dejah Thoris
  
  I just discovered the Barsoom series this year. I've seen the movie (aka John Carter), and it was fun in a popcorn sort of way, but I enjoyed the books more; so far I've read the first three, A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, and The Warlord of Mars. The science is of course wildly improbable by modern standards, and they were written in a time of cultural attitudes and assumptions that are way out of date and could use serious revision-- but making allowances for that, they're splendid pulpy fun.
  
  Give me something from the perspective of Dejah Thoris, set anytime during the first three books, or before. Because she is at least as awesome as John Carter himself, but spends too much of her time offpage! There's no way she spent all the times he was away (back on Earth, while she was kidnapped, etc.) just waiting for him to show up-- what were some of her adventures? Or: she grew up in a highly political environment, among very strong personalities, on a dying world-- what was her life like before he showed up? How did it change after? What were Cathoris' early years like for her, before John came back? Did they have any other amusing/shocking mismatches in courtship or the physical side of their relationship while they were getting used to each other? Basically anything you want to write would be fabulous. (Include any other characters you like. Just don't break up the canon pairings, please).



• Fandom 2: Safe (2012)
  Characters: Mei, Luke Wright
  
  I'm a huge fan of Jason Statham action films in general, and of this one in particular, in which his badass action hero saves, and is also in turn saved by, a very stubborn, intellectually gifted young girl who has run afoul of bad guys connected to the ones who destroyed his life. I love that the movie puts them on fairly even footing, despite the difference in ages and experiences; he doesn't want to be her dad, and she's clearsighted about the realities of the world she's found herself in, and they stick together because it's "good business"... but there's a squishy appreciation for each other lurking behind that, too.
  
  I would love to see something set after the movie; virtually anything would be awesome, but I'd prefer if Mei retains that adult-like clearsightedness rather than trying to be a normal kid, and Luke doesn't suddenly start treating her like one. Slices of life; trying to negotiate roles in a household together; planning for the future; does the past ever catch up with them; what's school like for her after everything; etc. Include any other characters you like, or cross with other fandoms if you want, as long as Mei and Luke are the focus. (I envision gen, but I'm not opposed to romance-- just make sure if Mei's involved, she's of age.)



• Fandom 3: Person of Interest (TV)
  Characters: Joss Carter, Lionel Fusco
  
  I am a big fan of the complex characters on this show, starting with the lead pair, Finch and Reese. But there are a million stories focusing on them in the fandom. Show me something with Detectives Carter and Fusco interacting out of view of the main two, because they couldn't do what they do without their support staff!
  
  I'm really interested in how Carter and Fusco's interactions changed after they found out they were both helping 'our guys', and how it affected their partnership; but something in those tense days of late Season 1 when they were increasingly suspicious of each other, or in the early awkward days when she was actually chasing the Guy in the Suit and and all he knew was said Suit wanted her watched, would be fascinating too. Regular case fic, or better coordinating on one of those cases after they're able to, or just at a bar talking, or noticing the secretive things each other does at work, or discussing potential fallout or concerns about what they've gotten involved in, or even something AU or future-focused... basically anything. (Also: I don't see a 'ship there, but if you do, between them or any canon characters, feel free to try and convince me.)



• Fandom 4: Falling Skies
  Characters: Anne Glass
  
  I've enjoyed the show a lot more than I ever expected to: the combination of interesting characters surviving however they can in a difficult situation fascinates me. I enjoy the interactions between almost all of the main cast, especially Tom, Weaver, Pope, Anne, and Maggie. But Anne has been explored so little by the fandom, I really want to see some fic from her point of view.
  
  Show me the awesomeness of Anne Glass! I'm full up on canon, so you can set it any any point during, after, or before. Clips of her life before the Skitters came; or surviving alone before she found the Second Mass; adjusting to being the only doctor for the group when her training only goes so far; her growing romantic connection to Tom, and the complications that come with it; her friendships with the camp's other women, particularly Maggie and Lourdes; becoming one of the group's acknowledged leaders; what life was like for her when Tom was kidnapped after more or less leaving his kids in her care and she lost her aunt and uncle too; any of the ups and downs, struggles and joys, of being Anne Glass. (Include whomever, but canon 'ships only for this one, please.)

As for squicks, certain things will completely turn me off a story: sibling or parent/child incest, partner betrayal (romantic or otherwise), severely unbalanced power dynamics in pairings, serious drug abuse, abuse of children or animals, noncanon main character death, character bashing or humiliation, and rape/non-con.

I hope I've given you some things to be thoughtful about, rather than boxing you in. Just have fun writing whatever you're writing, and I'll love you for whatever you give me, I'm sure. Thank you again!