stripytights

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thanks for matching with me on any of these fandoms! I love them all, and I will genuinely like anything that you write for me. I'm happy to read slash, femslash, gen or het, and I'm equally happy to read explicit fic or gen fic (or anything in between). Any story you'd like to tell with these characters is one that I would like to read. I've tried to give a feel for what I like about the canons - any minor discrepancies in length is mostly down to the different canon lengths - I love all of these equally.

DNWs: I would ask that you don't write non-con, eye injury, pregnancy of any kind, kidfic, prostitution AUs, or D/s. I also as a matter of preference would rather no set top/bottom dynamics if you do write sex (and no universes that have fixed top/bottom rules - A/B/O or BDSM universes etc).

General Likes: I'm very very fond of friendship and closeness between characters whether sexually or not, I'm a big fan of tough people doing hard things, of humour and banter, of mentally strong characters who battle through against all odds, of love that isn't schmoopy or fluffy, of plot, of character pieces, I like brittleness which isn't fragility, love/friendship that is prized above everything else, of sacrifices, fighting and ambition. I also like funny things and veneers of casualness that conceal a lot. I like epistolary fic, third person, lush writing, sparse writing, most things inbetween, details of a person or place that makes me feel like I know them, weather references, dark brooding tension/atmosphere, light breeziness, secrets between two people. Porn likes: switching, comeplay, slightly more than comfortable penetration (toys, large cocks etc), blowjobs, scar touching, hair tugging, but I'll give most things a try that aren't D/s based.

Hilary Tamar Mysteries. Requested Characters: Selena, Hilary and Julia

I don't really have words to describe how much I flat out enjoy this canon. I love everything about it - I love the attention to detail, I love the beautifully over the top nature of it, Hilary's narratory voice and Julia's letters are what I want buried with me as a Viking grave good, I enjoy the casual approach to sex, and the way letters (and telexes) get used. I've requested Selena, Julia and Hilary not because I don't love Cantrip and Ragwort (I do!) but because I had to narrow it down somehow when it came to describing all the things that I like. This is blanket permission for you to include anybody you'd like, in any combo you like, including focus away from the requested characters (as long as it stays within the main group).

For this particular canon, I'm absolutely fine with crossovers, especially with people who are hanging about at the same time (or who can wander in from other detective canons regardless of time - Harriet Vane on Hilary Tamar action? H2 could be the ship name). On the AU front, I'd rather it stayed within the book world, but I'm also very prepared to enjoy the story where the world's only 4-person Jaeger saves the world, with instructions from Marshal Hilary Tamar.

As regards Hilary's gender, I really prefer the gender-neutral narration of the books and how that's maintained throughout, but if you'd particularly like to gender them, then my slight preference is towards being a woman.

As above, feel free to include Cantrip and Ragwort in whatever capacity you like, including Julia's hopeless passion for Ragwort's face. Shipping wise, I'm particularly fond of Julia/Selena if you can work it as a foreground relationship, and Hilary/academia (or rather, Hilary/avoiding academia), but this is not a canon where ships are essential in the least - I will happily read any background relationships involving the main 5, though I would rather the same tone was kept as the series - sex/relationships as something lighthearted and fun, rather than something serious and angsty.

I really will be happy with anything you write - I've included some prompts below, but these are only for if you'd rather something to be prompted with - they're in no way essential at all.

- Mystery fic, of any scale that you like at all - from a full on mystery to the mystery of who drank the last bottle of Nierstein.

- Canonically, Selena's idea of cutting loose and indulging all her deepest held desires, is to read Pride and Prejudice at an orgy. Is there anything Julia can do to tempt her away from that paperback? Perhaps telling her she's got a new copy of Persuasion back at her place? Alternatively, the other way round...what will Julia do to save her Finance Act?

- Holiday fic, canon style! One person away from the group, sending a letter back (in fact epistolary fic of any kind would be awesome)

- Anything that features reactions to Julia's truly incredible scattiness. You cannot beat a joke too hard into the ground with this canon. A story about Julia tracking a lost comb through the wild streets of London? Interrupting a drug deal gone bad?

- Consider the terrifying thought of Selena losing her voice to an awful cold.

- I cannot tell a lie, the Cambridge jokes in canon give me a great deal of pleasure. Maybe Hilary has to set foot there, whether for a mystery or for any other reason, just how does that go down?

- any codas to any of the books, involving any requested character (or all of them) enjoying the pleasures of the Corkscrew.

Top Gun: Requested Characters: Maverick and Iceman

Rarely has a canon achieved ultimate nostalgia status for me, but this is one of them! I enjoy the flat out ridiculousness of this film, the way it's been crafted to be an (un)intentionally homoerotic masterpiece, standing alone by itself (with maybe the Lost Boys for company). I actually enjoy a lot of things about this film even apart from that chemistry between Maverick and Iceman, I like the detached feel of the small world of the base, the inherent tensions and sliding loyalties in the group, the friendships that make up a lot of the backbone of the film, I like the planes, and the feel of time and place that lingers, especially the Americana feel of those motorcycle rides, and anything that touches on the flying aspect of canon would be particularly amazing. I enjoy the extremely not subtle push and pull of Iceman and Maverick, the sense of something electric, that spurs each of them on in different ways, and I absolutely ship them. That said, if you find yourself drawn to Maverick/Charlie or to writing gen fic about either/both of them, that's awesome as well, but I would ask that you don't ship Iceman with anyone who isn't Maverick.

As regards crossovers, I know plenty of '80s action films, so if that works for you, I'm more than happy to read it. AUs are also fine - what would it be like to shift them from one potential war to another? What would an updated canon look like? Please no AUs that remove the airforce/flying element though - AUs where they're actually piloting small spacecraft in a war are excellent, AUs where they're 18th century bandits or working in a coffee shop are not so much my thing.

I really will be happy with anything you write - I've included some prompts below, but these are only for if you'd rather something to be prompted with - they're in no way essential at all.

- Anything with Maverick/Iceman would be fantastic. During the film, post film, ten years later, flying side by side, a one night stand that scared them both to pieces but left them wanting more. Anything that maybe deals with how flying might always be the number one thing in their life (or how maybe gradually that changes). Them on holiday, free from the strictures of their job, or wrestling with the guilt of their decisions. Meeting each other in a civilian setting and the different structure that gives to their interaction. Any of these things.

- Iceman's relationships with people on/off the base. He's not quite a loner in canon, but he gives off an air of immense self sufficiency. Does he have friends or just people he trust and works with, but has nothing in common with? What does he want to do post-canon? Is there a backstory for him and who he is? How does he handle not just being a great flier, but potentially being a leader?

- Maverick in any capacity - does the thing with Charlie last? Does he (or she) want it to? Anything that deals with him post-Goose or healing from that a little - perhaps engaging with Goose's family?

- I'd find it really fascinating if his decision at the end of the film got poked at a little bit. Does he still have doubts about his capacity to lead, and his capacity to make the right calls?

Emily of New Moon: Requested Characters: Ilse Burnley and Emily Byrd Starr

I have a deep and abiding love for this canon, and it's the Montgomery canon that's closest to my heart. I feel that it portrays in very subtle ways, not just the growing and development of Emily as a person, but also as a writer, and the way that those two things combine and interact produces something unique. Her status as outsider, observer, part of traditions but also apart from them (dealt with in the book a lot of the time by differentiation between her blood lines) is something I find deeply intriguing, and although I love Emily as recorder and creator, I also love the places of engagement, especially when she's drawn by something deep within her to abandon that role however momentarily, and let someone else in (for example telling Ilse her secrets, even though she regrets it). I enjoy L.M.M's meticulous care in regards to place and setting, and the minute realism of her world, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ilse is fascinating as well - not just in her own right as an interpreter (both of Emily and in her job) and friend, but also as a reflection/distortion of Emily, and a walking example of a dissonant note. I enjoy the way that they interact, and the ferocity and depth of their engagement with each other. This is a canon where I can easily imagine darker, older notes, and that's reflected in the prompts below, but if that's not something that interests you in the canon, I would absolutely love gen fic that expands on Emily's world, or sweet femslash about the haystack incident/bathing together/sleepovers at nights. I have no objection to background Perry/Ilse and Teddy/Emily in gen fic, but please no stories that are primarily about those relationships, as I don't especially ship them, and would prefer the focus to be either on Emily/Ilse's interaction or character pieces about them. As regards underage, the characters are underage for a portion of the canon, but please no sexual contact before the age of 16, though kissing before that is fine.

As regards crossovers and AUs. This is a canon I would really prefer not be AUed, as the time/setting is extremely important to it. Crossovers with other canons of a similar age or by the same author are welcome (I have a pretty wide knowledge) but please move the characters from the other canons into Emily's milieu, rather than the other way round.

I really will be happy with anything you write - I've included some prompts below, but these are only for if you'd rather something to be prompted with - they're in no way essential at all.

- Darker takes on canon (or exploration of the darkness of canon) is something that particularly intrigues me, especially for Ilse. Her father told her that if she ever told a lie, he would kill her, and his outright neglect/disdain of her and then the later spoiling are things that really fascinate me. What mark did that leave on Ilse? She's particularly passionate and unrestrained thanks to that early upbringing, and I'd like to see where her facility for rage and insult throwing comes from.

- Ilse's potential atheism is another thread that would be great to see picked up. It got downplayed later in the books after the revelation of Ilse's mother, but L.M.M. never gave Ilse a moment of stated belief, and I would really like that as a facet of her character, particularly if contrasted with Emily's instinctive spirituality.

- The ways in which Emily and Ilse differ in knowledge of the world. I'd be interested to see something that compares knowledge that we're told Emily has (through Mr Carpenter) that sense of her knowledge of people's inner lives, with potentially Ilse's experience of the world - not just her childhood, and the way she's treated by the town/other girls, but also her later travel and her entrance into society that would be far less naive and innocent than New Moon.

- Ilse/Emily in any form at all, from sweetness and light, to obsessive devotion in the dark and then reluctance/withdrawal in the day. If you found a way to write sex with them, I'd be thrilled, and I think there's a lot of interesting dynamics that could be played with. Power plays and struggles, and hidden angers (Teddy and Perry) and stored up emotions would be great.

- Emily and her writing, and her observation of those around her. Anything that digs into the growing maturation and changing of her writing and of her viewpoint, or that adds an extra dimension to her views, whether through her touches of psychic visions, or through her relationships.

- Emily went with Janet Royale. What changed?

- There's a running theme through the book of Emily being evaluated from a very young age - constant dissections of her looks/mannerisms, with an oddly loaded emphasis on physical attractiveness (Dean Priest, Great Aunt Nancy, the authorial viewpoint of the effect of Emily's lashes/smile on everyone she meets including from strangely inappropriate sources like relatives and old men who drive carts) and I'd really like to see how Emily responds to/is shaped by that, or how it informs her later viewpoint on sexuality, especially since Ilse gets some of the same treatment.

From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series: Requested characters: Richie Gecko and Seth Gecko.

I did not expect to enjoy this show nearly as much as I did, but it wormed itself into my favourites with considerable speed! The first season in particular was tailormade for all sorts of my favourite things in TV - the intense closeness and creepiness of Richie and Seth's bond, the camaraderie, the occasional macabre joke (looking through his hand!), the casual violence and indiscriminate mayhem that created a real sense of a bubble around them both. They hit a lot of my themes - back against back, looking out for someone else, sticking through the worst and coming out the other side, and it's that aspect of them that I'd most like to see in fic.

I've seen what there is of s2 bar a couple of episodes (and I will be caught up by Yuletide end) and I appreciate the development and range of their emotions, and the expansion of the Geckos world, and inbuilding that into the fic would be amazing as well, but in terms of emotional thrust and heft, I would rather the focus remains on Richie and Seth. That said, it really doesn't have to be positive or good for them! I'm equally up for explorations of how they bring out the worst in each other, and depictions of a poisonous or antagonistic relationship, as long as there remains a core of unbreakable connection between them. I do ship them, and if that's your jam, that's awesome and I would welcome it with open arms, but I'm also thrilled and fascinated by the thought of all kinds of stories that deal with one or the other, so if you don't ship them, that's also great. I would rather no heavy focus on romantic relationships outside of that, although background ships are terrific (especially Seth/Vanessa and Richie/Santanico).

As regards crossovers and AUs. I find it hard to imagine an AU that would work, because it feels very rooted in place/time, but if there's somewhere you'd like to take it, please do! (Though I would prefer no mundane types - no coffeeshop AUs etc). Crossovers on the same note are also good - my AO3 shows some of the fandoms that I know.

I really will be happy with anything you write - I've included some prompts below, but these are only for if you'd rather something to be prompted with - they're in no way essential at all.

- Pre-canon stories for either Richie, Seth, or both of them. Tell me about where they came from, what shaped them etc. We got the backstory on what Richie did, any exploration of that would be really interesting - including AUed backstories, especially with Seth taking care of his brother, and Richie maybe concealing just how little he needs that in some ways (and how much in others).

- Richie/Seth at any time in canon - missing scenes from s1 perhaps, flashbacks in s2, struggle with the emotional toll of their relationship, in particular how twisted and deviant they both are for wanting/having it. If you do ship them, I would prefer the incest not to be normalised.

- Themes of betrayal and connection are always a winner for this fandom - what does Richie's loyalty to Seth look like inside his head, how much of Seth's life has been shaped by his need to protect Richie, and his loyalty towards him? Is there an element of stiflingness to it, or have they both got used to living outside of societal norms.

- Seth and his time in prison, the ways he's had to adapt and change over the years. Any exploration of what moral code he has, and how he feels it crumble when it comes to Richie.

- Richie and Santanico, how does he feel leaving Seth behind, what about the monstrousness of his nature and his change? Anything exploring his sense of self (or his lack of it would be great).

- Kate as a fulcrum or connection between them, the difference in how they relate/consider her as a comparison of them both.

- What would happen if Seth became a monster of some kind, how would that change how he relates to the world or Richie (or Kate or Vanessa for that matter)?

Thanks once again, and I hope you have an amazing Yuletide

Stripy