soph (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophia_sol) wrote2011-11-16 03:51 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2011-11-16 03:51 pm
Dear Yuletide Writer!
(Okay I think I will call this post complete. I'll try not to poke at it anymore, at any rate! PS, dear author, just because I rambled at far greater length about my first request doesn't mean I wouldn't be equally thrilled by the others. Seriously, whenever I even try to think about which of these I would like the most, my brain goes DOES NOT COMPUTE, because I am desperately in love with the idea of getting fic for any of these things. :D)
Dear Yuletide Writer,
I am so thrilled and happy and excited to know that you are going to be writing me a shiny fic in one of my fandoms! I already know you have excellent taste, since you offered to write one of these fandoms, so have no fear that I will adore whatever it is you write for me.
Also, feel free to stalk the rest of my DW or LJ for further details about me if you feel so inclined; none of it is locked! But also feel free to not do that, or to not even read this post if you don't want to; I totally understand that different people have different approaches to this kind of thing!
But if you DO want to see me rambling happily (and hopefully usefully) about myself and my fandoms, read on! :D
First: I wrote a pimp-post for my fandoms, which you can read here.
Second: Last year for my yuletide letter I wrote a section for stuff that was relevant for ALL my fandoms, but that's a bit harder to do this year, given the nature of my requests. Let me try anyways.
In terms of fanfiction in general, I pretty much like ALL THE THINGS. No really, I am very easy. I love romance, I love angst, I love fluff, I love worldbuilding, I love character studies, I love crack, I love AUs of pretty much every variety imaginable, I love explorations of canon, I love -- agh, it is hard to list all the things, because really, ALL THE THINGS.
Obviously not all the things are relevant for the fandoms I've requested, but really, go where your heart takes you and I promise I will be delighted. The sheer breadth of stuff I enjoy in fandom is kind of alarming sometimes. Do not be afraid to get tragic on me, or ridiculously fluffy! You can be serious or snark-tastic, you can warm-hearted or cynical, you can be bleak or beautiful or ridiculous or anything else you care to imagine.
A few things I particularly enjoy:
1. Competence kink ftw. People who are really good at something, whatever that thing is -- especially if it's surprising to the people around them. I especially love when the competence is intelligence.
2. People who care deeply about each other, whether that's romantic or friendship or family or found-family or something else entirely.
3. Fannish tropes. Yes, I love them, and I am not ashamed: telepathic bond! accidental marriage! bodyswap! robots! time-travel! etc! so many sweet tropes!
4. AUs and crossovers. SO AWESOME. Although actually for Three Hearings and Robinson Crusoe I'd rather a closer adherence to canon, so, uh, there's a two-thirds chance this isn't actually relevant to you. Ditto with the more fantastical fannish tropes from point 3.
5. Awesome ladies. I know my requested characters are either guys or no characters at all, but that doesn't mean there can't also be awesome ladies in the background or alongside.
But don't feel you have to include any of those things in your fic if it doesn't fit or isn't something that interests you, because really, you were listening when I said I like all the things, right?
I just have two requests of things I would rather you avoid:
1. lots of explicit sex. It has its time and its place, but I just end up skimming past the vast majority of sex scenes, because I don't find them terribly interesting. Feel free to address sex or sexuality in the fic, though! Just because I find the mechanics mostly boring doesn't mean I'm uninterested by people's sexuality!
2. embarrassing situations. I have a terrible embarrassment squick, and would rather not have to read my gift through my fingers! Mostly what this means is avoiding conversations where characters are speaking at cross-purposes without realizing it, resulting in awkward misunderstandings. Or where characters overhear something without all of the context, resulting in awkward misunderstandings. Basically awkward misunderstandings in general, really, especially if said misunderstandings are treated as funny!
Third: And now on with the stuff about each specific fandom!
Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream, by James Alan Gardner
Dude, I am just fascinated by the world that Gardner's built here! Anything about this paradigm would be amazing. Some ideas:
A fourth hearing, set in the future? (what IS the future like in this world? I am curious! Especially since our world doesn't yet have enough "future" to have an analogue!)
Or in-universe fanfic of the Bible-analogue of the religion? (I do adore it when fic gets meta like that! What is the Bible-analogue like, beyond the snippets we get in the story? What would the fandom be like? Would there be much of a fandom? How wanky does it get? What are the beloved ships?)
Or fic about branches of the religion other than the two main ones discussed in the story? (zomg, if you could figure out the Anabaptist equivalent, given that the Protestant Reformation analogue was rather different in that world, that would be so cool and I would love you forever. But obviously there are lots of variants of Christianity these days, as there are lots of variants of most religions! I doubt that this world's religion manages to hold itself strictly into only two camps; the lone protester at the end is a good sign that, if nothing else, not all religious people adhere to the Papist or Redeemed teachings.)
I also really love how this religion is clearly more lady-centred than our world's Christianity: the Unbetombed Virgin is the saviour, and there's a gospel of Susannah, and the church is Mother Church. And there's a whole lot more queens of England than our world has had -- an influence of the importance of women in the religion, I would guess! I approve of this, and exploration of what it means for gender relations in this society would also be a fascinating one to explore if your tastes lie that way.
And there's intriguing hints of other ways in which this world is different than ours, like the ringed planet being named Cronus instead of Saturn. Greek influence instead of Roman: does this mean the Roman empire was never really a thing? What does that mean for the history and development of the culture -- and the religion, since the Roman empire was kind of an important part of the way Christianity began!
...Uh, sorry, I kind of got carried away. But really ANYTHING about the world and religion of this story would be super fantastic! Mostly I seem to want gen for this story, but feel free to mix in some slash and/or het if you so desire, it's all good.
(also, pls to be respectful of religion. Part of the point of the original story is to demonstrate ways in which religion can be problematic, but it does it in a way that isn't just simplifying it to "RELIGION IS STUPID", and I request you do the same. Thanks!)
Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe
Oh, I was fighting mad when I read that scene where Crusoe happily hands over Xury to be a slave for the next ten years (or indefinitely if Xury doesn't convert) even though Crusoe and Xury were slaves together and escaped together. Crusoe thinks that's okay, just because Xury isn't white and Christian, and Crusoe thinks he's being thoughtful and kind. So.
Anything at all about Xury that fixes this, or draws attention to the problematic nature of what's going on, would totally make my life. Fic where Xury runs away and does something awesome! Fic about Xury's ten years as a slave! Fic about Xury's relationship with religion, given that he has to convert to Christianity if he wants to be freed! Etc! There are so many possibilities!
Slash, het, and gen all welcome.
(pls to be respectful of religion if you choose to address this aspect of Xury's story. I know very well that Christianity can be and was hugely problematic, and it's those problematic bits that Xury's running up against, but simplifying that into just "RELIGION IS STUPID" would make me sad. Thanks!)
19th Century CE RPF - Sir Richard Francis Burton
Oh my god this man. He is just -- the biggest, wankiest bnf ever and I want to read all about his wacky hijinks. Fic about some of his documented adventures, like, say, his pilgrimage to Mecca, or his undercover investigation of a male brothel! Fic about adventures that were undocumented but totally could have happened! AU fic about Richard Burton in space or Richard Burton in fandom or Richard Burton as a barista or Richard Burton in other classic AU scenarios, or for that matter non-classic AU scenarios! Fic about Richard Burton and the other more-or-less contemporaneous translators of the Thousand and One Nights and the epic wank between them! Fic about Richard Burton IN the Thousand and One Nights! And I could keep going!
Basically ANY FIC about Richard Burton and his enormous balls and enormous ego and enormous intelligence, and I will be the happiest. Slash, het, and gen all welcome.
(if you go the AU route, just fyi, I'm unusual in that I'm not particularly interested in vampires or werewolves or zombies.)
And that is all, O Wondrous Author! I look forward with great anticipation to see what you will come up with for me! I hope you have fun with this.
With much love,
Sophia
Dear Yuletide Writer,
I am so thrilled and happy and excited to know that you are going to be writing me a shiny fic in one of my fandoms! I already know you have excellent taste, since you offered to write one of these fandoms, so have no fear that I will adore whatever it is you write for me.
Also, feel free to stalk the rest of my DW or LJ for further details about me if you feel so inclined; none of it is locked! But also feel free to not do that, or to not even read this post if you don't want to; I totally understand that different people have different approaches to this kind of thing!
But if you DO want to see me rambling happily (and hopefully usefully) about myself and my fandoms, read on! :D
First: I wrote a pimp-post for my fandoms, which you can read here.
Second: Last year for my yuletide letter I wrote a section for stuff that was relevant for ALL my fandoms, but that's a bit harder to do this year, given the nature of my requests. Let me try anyways.
In terms of fanfiction in general, I pretty much like ALL THE THINGS. No really, I am very easy. I love romance, I love angst, I love fluff, I love worldbuilding, I love character studies, I love crack, I love AUs of pretty much every variety imaginable, I love explorations of canon, I love -- agh, it is hard to list all the things, because really, ALL THE THINGS.
Obviously not all the things are relevant for the fandoms I've requested, but really, go where your heart takes you and I promise I will be delighted. The sheer breadth of stuff I enjoy in fandom is kind of alarming sometimes. Do not be afraid to get tragic on me, or ridiculously fluffy! You can be serious or snark-tastic, you can warm-hearted or cynical, you can be bleak or beautiful or ridiculous or anything else you care to imagine.
A few things I particularly enjoy:
1. Competence kink ftw. People who are really good at something, whatever that thing is -- especially if it's surprising to the people around them. I especially love when the competence is intelligence.
2. People who care deeply about each other, whether that's romantic or friendship or family or found-family or something else entirely.
3. Fannish tropes. Yes, I love them, and I am not ashamed: telepathic bond! accidental marriage! bodyswap! robots! time-travel! etc! so many sweet tropes!
4. AUs and crossovers. SO AWESOME. Although actually for Three Hearings and Robinson Crusoe I'd rather a closer adherence to canon, so, uh, there's a two-thirds chance this isn't actually relevant to you. Ditto with the more fantastical fannish tropes from point 3.
5. Awesome ladies. I know my requested characters are either guys or no characters at all, but that doesn't mean there can't also be awesome ladies in the background or alongside.
But don't feel you have to include any of those things in your fic if it doesn't fit or isn't something that interests you, because really, you were listening when I said I like all the things, right?
I just have two requests of things I would rather you avoid:
1. lots of explicit sex. It has its time and its place, but I just end up skimming past the vast majority of sex scenes, because I don't find them terribly interesting. Feel free to address sex or sexuality in the fic, though! Just because I find the mechanics mostly boring doesn't mean I'm uninterested by people's sexuality!
2. embarrassing situations. I have a terrible embarrassment squick, and would rather not have to read my gift through my fingers! Mostly what this means is avoiding conversations where characters are speaking at cross-purposes without realizing it, resulting in awkward misunderstandings. Or where characters overhear something without all of the context, resulting in awkward misunderstandings. Basically awkward misunderstandings in general, really, especially if said misunderstandings are treated as funny!
Third: And now on with the stuff about each specific fandom!
Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream, by James Alan Gardner
Dude, I am just fascinated by the world that Gardner's built here! Anything about this paradigm would be amazing. Some ideas:
A fourth hearing, set in the future? (what IS the future like in this world? I am curious! Especially since our world doesn't yet have enough "future" to have an analogue!)
Or in-universe fanfic of the Bible-analogue of the religion? (I do adore it when fic gets meta like that! What is the Bible-analogue like, beyond the snippets we get in the story? What would the fandom be like? Would there be much of a fandom? How wanky does it get? What are the beloved ships?)
Or fic about branches of the religion other than the two main ones discussed in the story? (zomg, if you could figure out the Anabaptist equivalent, given that the Protestant Reformation analogue was rather different in that world, that would be so cool and I would love you forever. But obviously there are lots of variants of Christianity these days, as there are lots of variants of most religions! I doubt that this world's religion manages to hold itself strictly into only two camps; the lone protester at the end is a good sign that, if nothing else, not all religious people adhere to the Papist or Redeemed teachings.)
I also really love how this religion is clearly more lady-centred than our world's Christianity: the Unbetombed Virgin is the saviour, and there's a gospel of Susannah, and the church is Mother Church. And there's a whole lot more queens of England than our world has had -- an influence of the importance of women in the religion, I would guess! I approve of this, and exploration of what it means for gender relations in this society would also be a fascinating one to explore if your tastes lie that way.
And there's intriguing hints of other ways in which this world is different than ours, like the ringed planet being named Cronus instead of Saturn. Greek influence instead of Roman: does this mean the Roman empire was never really a thing? What does that mean for the history and development of the culture -- and the religion, since the Roman empire was kind of an important part of the way Christianity began!
...Uh, sorry, I kind of got carried away. But really ANYTHING about the world and religion of this story would be super fantastic! Mostly I seem to want gen for this story, but feel free to mix in some slash and/or het if you so desire, it's all good.
(also, pls to be respectful of religion. Part of the point of the original story is to demonstrate ways in which religion can be problematic, but it does it in a way that isn't just simplifying it to "RELIGION IS STUPID", and I request you do the same. Thanks!)
Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe
Oh, I was fighting mad when I read that scene where Crusoe happily hands over Xury to be a slave for the next ten years (or indefinitely if Xury doesn't convert) even though Crusoe and Xury were slaves together and escaped together. Crusoe thinks that's okay, just because Xury isn't white and Christian, and Crusoe thinks he's being thoughtful and kind. So.
Anything at all about Xury that fixes this, or draws attention to the problematic nature of what's going on, would totally make my life. Fic where Xury runs away and does something awesome! Fic about Xury's ten years as a slave! Fic about Xury's relationship with religion, given that he has to convert to Christianity if he wants to be freed! Etc! There are so many possibilities!
Slash, het, and gen all welcome.
(pls to be respectful of religion if you choose to address this aspect of Xury's story. I know very well that Christianity can be and was hugely problematic, and it's those problematic bits that Xury's running up against, but simplifying that into just "RELIGION IS STUPID" would make me sad. Thanks!)
19th Century CE RPF - Sir Richard Francis Burton
Oh my god this man. He is just -- the biggest, wankiest bnf ever and I want to read all about his wacky hijinks. Fic about some of his documented adventures, like, say, his pilgrimage to Mecca, or his undercover investigation of a male brothel! Fic about adventures that were undocumented but totally could have happened! AU fic about Richard Burton in space or Richard Burton in fandom or Richard Burton as a barista or Richard Burton in other classic AU scenarios, or for that matter non-classic AU scenarios! Fic about Richard Burton and the other more-or-less contemporaneous translators of the Thousand and One Nights and the epic wank between them! Fic about Richard Burton IN the Thousand and One Nights! And I could keep going!
Basically ANY FIC about Richard Burton and his enormous balls and enormous ego and enormous intelligence, and I will be the happiest. Slash, het, and gen all welcome.
(if you go the AU route, just fyi, I'm unusual in that I'm not particularly interested in vampires or werewolves or zombies.)
And that is all, O Wondrous Author! I look forward with great anticipation to see what you will come up with for me! I hope you have fun with this.
With much love,
Sophia
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