sarcasm always wins out in the end

Dear Yuletide writer,

Deep apologies for not finishing my letter earlier. I hope this has not stopped you from starting on your story. Please know that my philosophy for Yuletide is to consider recipient's wishes as a loose premise which can be used or ignored, and to prioritise your own preferences in writing. I promise I will be happy with whatever you do.

That said, if you would like to know my general views:

Things I like: Banter, historical/cultural accuracy, character dynamics, world-building, innovative narrative structures/storytelling (this last is very much not a requirement, I do also like conventional storytelling - I only mention this in case it's something you also enjoy, in which case, go mad!)

Things I dislike: Character death, weddings/marriage, historical/cultural inaccuracy.

Looking forward to whatever you come up with!

Dear Yuletide writer,

Thank you for writing for me. My general policy for Yuletide is that you should do whatever pleases you - that my prompts are very much a platform for your work, rather than something you need to adhere to - and that any additional details are very much optional. That said, should you be wanting additional suggestions, please see below.

Dislikes: marriage, death, historical and cultural inaccuracy.
Likes: banter, people being smart and competent, people thinking about work (no, really, this to me is fascinating).

Specific fandoms under the cut: ( Read more... )

Hello friends!

I have done a yuletide. Each calls into themselves the divine and the infernal

The fandom is Nirvana in Fire, a Chinese TV show about political scheming and interpersonal pining in 7th-century China. You can (and you should) watch here: https://www.viki.com/tv/22943c-nirvana-in-fire

The premise is this: 11 years ago, the Crown Prince Qi was falsely accused of treason against the Emperor and executed. A part of this false accusation included the supposed betrayal of the Chiyan army, led by General Lin and his son the Young Marshal Lin Shu (very special close friend of the Crown Prince's younger brother, Jingyan), who were all massacred by the supposedly loyal troops of the Emperor's brother-in-law.

Except Lin Shu survived, and spent the next 11 years in disguise - becoming the leader of the Pugilist World (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia), recovering from his injuries at the Chiyan massacre by changing the shape of his body entirely, and developing a bickering friendship with the doctor Lin Chen (who is a troll and a gift to the world). At the start of the show, Lin Shu arrives in the Imperial City Jinling with the aim of becoming a strategist to Prince Jingyan, so that he may become the next Crown Prince and eventually the next Emperor, and bring justice to the world generally but to the victims of the Chiayn case in particular.

But here's the rub - Lin Shu does not tell Jingyan that he is his special best friend whom he thinks dead, but rather he presents himself as a scheming political operator named Mei Chang Su, who by nature and practice is opposed to the virtues of honesty and righteousness which Prince Jingyan values.

And then you get 50 episodes of awkward pining and political drama.

I should also say that there are amazing female characters here - the Princess-General Mu Nihuang, who was Lin Shu's betrothed 11 years ago, and Xia Dong, a super-competent investigative officer for the Emperor, who is both the best friend of the Princess and extremely bitter about the supposed betrayal of the Chiyan army, who killed her husband (or did they? Or did he magically turn into a yeti-vampire?).

Anyway; it is glorious - the character dynamics are very well constructed and the end result is vastly engaging, the scenery is gorgeous and everyone has amazing hair and costumes, and it is very interesting to see, if you are mainly used to anglophone TV, how TV drama works in a new cultural context - how the mixture of historical drama and contemporary resonances is achieved, for example. I also ended up learning random bits of Mandarin (how to say "Your Majesty" and "Your Highness", for example, or the different gradations of "yes" when speaking to a superior, an equal, or a subordinate), so if you're interesting in learning a Chinese language, this is very inspirational.

Here is a thing I wrote for Yuletide:

Title: Respire le grand air
Fandom: Les Hommes Libres
Pairing: Salim Halali/Younes Ben Daoud

It is based on a film centred around the Grand Mosque in Paris during the Nazi occupation, and its role in saving Jewish people from persecution by issuing false certificates of Islamic faith. The extent to which this happened is a matter of some debate - there seem to be current politics related to the state of Israel and its relationship with other countries in the Middle East which affect this discussion - but one person who is thought to have been saved this way is Salim Halali, a Jewish Algerian who later became a famous singer. He was known, particularly, for reviving classical Andalusian music (which originated in Moorish Andalucia during the Middle Ages - it's beautiful, and I would recommend you give it a go. Try Jordi Savall and Granada Eterna as well as Salim Halali himself). He is also known to have been gay.

The film shows the relationship between Salim Halali and a fictional Algerian Muslim named Younes, who ends up (apparently through accidental awkwardness) getting involved in the operations of the Mosque; it basically consists of a lot of pining and longing glances and casual touching. There is even a happy ending.

It is not a well-known film, and I was sincerely surprised to get two comments on my fic because that meant that more than one person (my recipient) had seen it. But it is a good film, and a thoughtful film, and you can get it for £4.99 from iTunes, so you should all see it and then come and read my fic.

Dear yuletide writer,

Apologies for the late delivery! Real life has been stupidly busy recently.

First of all, let me tell you my yuletide policy. The premise of this fest is that we are given a prompt by a person, and we write that person a story. Or alternatively, we write a story in a fandom requested by someone, and that story can be read by everyone in the community. Both of these interpretations have their followers in fandom, but I am firmly in the second camp. So, if you want to ignore everything I'm about to say, and just write whatever pleases your fancy in any of these fandoms, I shan't be offended and will absolutely consider it your right to do so.

If you would prefer some prompts or suggestions, I am happy to provide these. All my fandoms take place in a historical setting, and this is one of the things I like best about them - I am a historian myself, and immersing myself in historical fiction is one of my greatest pleasures. That said, if you feel like writing a modern AU out of any of these fandoms, I wouldn't mind that at all - what I enjoy is comprehensive world-building, and learning new things about how people and things work within various contexts.

This is one of the things I love about the Dunnett novels, and there is a lot of potential for additional exploration - what WOULD happen if Jerott met Mikal? Or if Francis decided to give him a good old-fashioned seeing to, as he so clearly wants? Or what if a tiny Francis met his grandmother Kathi, or his great-grandmother Gelis? Or Sybilla did - she might have done at some point. I would love to read more about people from the Lymond Chronicles meeting people from the Niccolo series, if you're familiar with both series.

If you are planning to write about Akkadian things, I have no limitations - my research is more to do with Neo-Assyrians stuff, but I am fascinated by the earlier periods as well. Anything you want to do, historical or mythical, would be lovely. Or, a modern AU could be interesting - what kind of a world would we have if we still worshiped the Akkadian gods?

If, on the other hand, it is Christopher Marlowe that we share, WELL. I love many things about him: his erudition and his shamelessness (about his erudition and other things), his characters who refuse to give up and refuse to fail and so don't, his engagement with classical literature and how he plays with it to create clever and suggestive allusions. One of my favourite novels is Anthony Burgess's A Dead Man in Deptford,and I have a lot of feelings about any and all fictional representations of Christopher Marlowe. If you did want to write a modern AU of him, I would love to read about him as an obnoxious sexy poet-scholar who gets drunk with fans and trolls the world. For example. :)

I did a Yuletide thing!

Waves of Regret, Waves of Joy. House of Niccolo by Dorothy Dunnett. Gelis van Borselen/Nicholas de Fleury. 2900 words.

This was a curiously easy fic to write, partly because it turns out I have a lot of thoughts about Gelis van Borselen, and partly because I gave up on trying to write dynamic conversations - this being Dunnett, I trust that all the necessary conversations have already been offered for our perusal, and it would have been impertinent to try and add to them. The story takes place during Scales of Gold, and I reread the book as I was writing - there were moments when I didn't allow myself to read further until I had discovered what Gelis thought about a given thing, or why she did something, or even what Nicholas thought she was doing, and consequently did himself. It's an interesting way to read. Dunnett is very good at telling us when a character is feeling something without explaining why (Francis Crawford's OH SHIT I'M HAVING A FEELING in The Ringed Castle being a prime example), and so having to figure out the rationalisations behind various acts was quite a challenge. Not least because both Nicholas and Gelis are very good at having excellent reasons for their actions, but somewhat blind to their own irrationality.

It was also a bit heartbreaking, because it was only during this my third read that I noticed how Nicholas actually allows himself to be vulnerable about Gelis, and with Gelis, and that this is the only time that he ever does. And he is blatant enough about it that she must be know it too, and yet, she does the thing. Why Gelis does the thing is a question I've been wondering about with every read.

I have my theories, which you may find in the fic above, but I would be curious to hear about yours. My story is the first fic in the fandom (at least, according to AO3); it would be great to see more. This is a source rich in both people and world-building - let's make use of it!

And for those of you who have not read the books but would like to, give me your email address and I can send you stuff.

Hello everyone, I'm not dead yet!

I am, in fact, bringing you porn.

Here's a thing I did for Yuletide:

All The Pleasures Prove
Christopher Marlowe/William Shakespeare, with wine and bickering and discussion of poesy.

Kit pours some wine into a new cup; the man sits down. His fingers are also stained with ink.

“Master Shakespeare, I have a grievance against you.”

The man smiles. “I thought you might.”

And more importantly, here's what I got for Yuletide, a magnificent experiment in crossovers by yunitsa in which Christopher Marlowe meets Francis Crawford. Take a moment to consider the perfection of that idea, and then read the fic because it is amazing.

A Meeting of Minds

Dear Yulewriter,


Thank you for writing for me - I appreciate that Yuletide can be stressful, so please don't worry if any of the suggestions below don't suit your writing. I promise I will be happy with whatever you choose to do.

General likes: Banter and bickering, historical accuracy, sexual tension, plotty plot, adults behaving like adults.

General dislikes: Marriage, teenagers, porn-without-plot, anachronisms.

Lymond Chronicles

In the last year or so, Dorothy Dunnett has eaten my brain and ruined me for all other books. I've read the Lymond Chronicles three times during this period, and the Niccolo series twice, and I expect I'll keep doing that for the rest of my life. Because they are that amazing. And if we are matched on this fandom, I expect you feel the same way - Francis Crawford has that effect. :)

I am interested in anything and everything about him, so anything you want to do with him - during the series, post-canon - is fine. To give you some specifics, I shall try to restrict myself to a few things, so: his interaction with all the men who fall in love with him (Will Scott, Robin Stewart, Jerott Blyth, Graham Malett) and how he both draws them in and then shies away from them. I'm fascinated by how Lymond charms people, and how, when it is not necessary for political purposes, he actively tries not to by being deliberately unpleasant. I'm also quite interested in how much of his behaviour with other people is always based on what he considers necessary for his agenda - do we ever see him have sex for just the pleasure of it, until Philippa? One of the curious differences between Francis and Nicholas is that Nicholas refuses to have sex for any other reason, whereas Francis seems to think it would be self-indulgent to employ his body for reasons other than politics. Anything you might want to do with that, I'd be delighted to see.

Vikings!

I enjoyed the first six episodes of this show enormously, and was puzzled and disappointed by the last two. That said, I love Lagertha and everything she chooses to be and do, so - whatever you want to tell me about her, I'll be happy to read! This could be her life before or after the current events, any additions to things shown in the series, her interactions with Athelstan, or Siggy, or Floki, or her children, or even Ragnar (we see quite a lot of that, so I'm a bit less interested in this than her other relationships). Or if you wanted to discuss the wider legend of Lagertha in viking sagas, that could also be cool.

The Hour

This show is pretty much flawless, and I am fascinated by everything in it, particularly the development and characterisation of Bel and Freddie. If you wanted to write about their relationship at any point during the two seasons, or before or after (I am very invested in their future happiness), that would please me greatly. However, if you'd prefer to discuss either one individually, that is also fine. The Hour is a perfect example of a show demonstrating adults behaving like adults, so as long as you maintain that aspect, I'll be happy with whatever you do.

Christopher Marlowe

I know that's not the name of the fandom, but since we are matched on this character, I expect you will appreciate why he gets to be the title. I have a lot of feelings about Christopher Marlowe; I've read many terrible novels (Deborah Harkness, I'm looking at you) just because he was a character, and will undoubtedly read more because I love him a lot. I'm interested in his facility with words, and the outrageous possibilities he evokes in his plays (No one could conquer all of Asia! Oh wait.), and the clever allusions and games he makes in his poetry (my favourite is Hero and Leander). I also take great delight in the legend that has grown up around him, from 'all who love not tobacco and boys are fools' to the general gay atheist spy thing. And I get sporadically angry about when and how he was killed (stories where he secretly doesn't make me very happy). Again, I love everything about him, so whatever you want to do will be fine with me - slices of life, a discussion of his reputation, a graphic description of how he seduces William Shakespeare...

That Meme About Your Sex Life in 2012: Apparently mine will compare the acting styles of Kemble and Kean in productions of Coriolanus in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. I am kind of intrigued by how that might apply.

In other news, I did a thing for Yuletide, and it is the most self-indulgent thing I have ever written. This is basically what my brain sounds like, and, if you've ever met me, what my conversation sounds like after a few drinks. Okay, I lie, it doesn't take a few drinks.

An Uncommon Want. Lord Byron, Don Juan.

Dear Yuletide-writer,

My apologies for not writing my letter earlier. I hope you have not been fretting. Please do not fret, I promise I will be happy with whatever you write! These are all tiny fandoms and every new story is a cause for joy. REALLY. So don't fret.

However, if you would like to know more about what would make me even more happy than I will already certainly be...

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 2011.

I went to see this film because of Tom Hardy and his beauteous musculature, and ended up having Feelings about things entirely unrelated to Tom Hardy (which is not to say that I didn't have feelings about Tom Hardy, only that they were located elsewhere). This is a quiet and clever film about people being subtle and thoughtful, and I love all of those things. ( spoilers )

The Hour, 2011.

I was fascinated by the relationship between Bel and Freddie, and basically, anything more you want to tell me about that I will be delighted to hear. Preferably after the series, but if you get an interesting bunny that takes place during, go for it. Again I am interested in the work they are doing and how they think about their work, the mechanics of tv production as well as their self-fashioning as people who work, class and gender issues included. ( spoilers )

State of Play, 2003.

I started to watch this show for James McAvoy, but stayed for the plot. That said, the character of Dan Foster is fascinating, not to mention so ridiculously charming that I ended up blushing at my screen a lot. Seriously, I think James McAvoy actively turns down the charm for all other performances, because if he did this all the time...*fans self* Ahem. Yes, anything you want to tell me about Dan Foster, his family, his sex life (we know there's a missus but who says it has to be a woman? :P Or whatever you like!), his work, his sense of himself, his flirtations...I loved his banter in the show, and the way he connected with other members of staff - basically, if you just focus on Dan Foster being delightful, I will be very happy.

General Things Wot I like:

* As you may have gathered, I like characters who are good at their jobs and whose competence is shown in the story. I would like to hear about the mechanics of spying, tv production, investigative journalism, the skills required for those jobs and how people teach themselves to be good at what they do. I also like people to be thoughtful and intelligent in areas other than their work.

* I am a stickler for historical and cultural accuracy. Two of the fandoms requested deal with fairly recent history, one is modern, but I would nevertheless like to see that what happens is plausible in the relevant context. This could be an opportunity to engage with topics in the film/show (1970s politics, women in the workplace in the 1950s, modern British politics), or just an occasion for a few world-building details. It doesn't have to be the focus of the story, but I do hate being jolted out of a story because of historical inaccuracies.

* I like banter and clever dialogue, and there's space for that in all of these fandoms. I like character interaction to be funny, but also subtle and thoughtful, so whichever way the mood of the fic takes you...I like pining and UST, and sex while pretending not to have feelings. I like people poking at each other, and growing tension. I prefer a long drawn out mess to instant gratification.

* I really like happy endings. Please don't give me an unhappy ending. It would make me most sad.

* Most importantly, I would really like you to enjoy writing this story, so ignore all these if you need to. I am looking forward to reading it in any case!