Once again, I only write in this thing when Yuletide comes around. Ah well, here we go.
Dear Yuletide Author:
Great to have you here, and super excited to read about whichever mutual fandom we have. I am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thewreckofapoet on both AO3 and Tumblr. I'm super impressed with all the fandoms that have been suggested and can't wait to read/write whatever is on offer.
As far as preferences, I'll say what I say every year: my taste in fic tend towards the humorous. I love wit, whimsy, and wordplay. I'm tickled by meta-references and fourth-wall breaking. I adore surreal humor and patently absurd situations that a lone person points out while everyone else goes about their day. I also like fluffy and "slice of life" fics where people are just being normal. Bonus points if there's a juxtaposition of a fearsome, elegant, staid, or stodgy, etc. character and something utterly mundane or even silly. (For example, some of my favorite fics include: Stannis Baratheon playing the overprotective father and lecturing Rickon Stark for trying to take his daughter on a date, Yelp reviews for Ea-Nasir’s subpar copper, and Molly Weasley’s brothers going to the aquarium with Lucius Malfoy, who is having none of it.)
As you can tell from some of the above examples, I’m down with AU too, for the most part.
That doesn't mean I don't like more serious fics, of course. As far as romance goes, I tend to prefer a slow burn. I like my sexual tension like I like my actual sex: sulky and belligerent. I am totally more about sexual frustration than consummation, though I will say there is nothing better than a satisfying end to a hard-fought courtship/flirtation. I certainly don't mind smut, but it wouldn’t be my first choice. (I also have a bad habit of not finishing the smut I start out to write, so this could just be my frustration talking.) If you are struck by inspiration and want to write a sexual scene in your fic, by all means, write it. Above all, however, I adore thoughtful world-building! I love well-researched, immersive fic where the writer has really shown their work and enthusiastically engaged with the source material. I'm inspired by Tolkien and Kurosawa. I want answers to questions like, What kind of infrastructure does Middle Earth have? Has the Federation of Planets ever imposed trade embargoes on Cardassia? Shouldn't Luke Skywalker have grown up in better conditions considering that moisture would probably be priceless on a desert planet?
That being said, I know how hard it is to toil on a story, so I am sure that I will love and appreciate whatever it is you come up with!
General DNWs: fat-shaming, slut-shaming, racist/fascist/eugenicist apologia, situations where a naked person is paraded around for someone's amusement, sexual or otherwise (if they're naked by choice in an attempt to amuse other people, that's fine), child or animal abuse, dead children in general (references to children who have passed in canon are fine; just don't linger)
Robert Goulet's Red Ships of Spain (SNL skit)
Any character
Yes, I nominated this during the nomination process. This has long been one of my favorite SNL skits of all time. I don't really care what you do with it; maybe write some backstory for the Goulet brothers/the production, or elaborate on the experience the critics had in the theater. For example: how did two of the Goulet brothers end up using understudies on opening night? Are there any additional hilarious reviews that came in later? Are there other ridiculous lyrics? How did the critic from The Cincinnati Dispatch acquire a battery to whip at the actors? How exactly did Robert Goulet end up playing a love scene opposite his daughter? You could also write out the complete plot (such as it is) of the show.
Real Real Japan (YouTube Channel)
Sugi
Cameron
I just got into this channel this year and I absolutely love these two idiots. I love the dynamic of Sugi's goofy ass and Cameron being absolutely done with him (and with the idiosyncrasies of the Japanese language in general). You could do something straightforward like writing out a conversation between them, or you could do one of those surrealist goofy skits they do where Sugi is a vending machine and Cameron is trying to figure out what drink to buy. Or you could riff off that one video where Sugi is made to fend for himself around NYC. I'd love it for sure if you worked Sugi's "Not why: memorize" catchphrase into your fic.
Patron Saints of Nothing - Randy Ribay
Jason "Jay" Reguero
Manuel "Jun" Reguero, Jr.
Tito Maning
This was the best book I read this year. You can pick any character to focus on but I'd love to read about how Tito Maning might deal in the aftermath of Jun's death, a vignette about Jay and Jun's interactions as young boys, or what happens when Jay spends his gap year in the Philippines. Bonus points if you feature a karaoke scene.
Sinners (2025 Film)
Sammy Moore
OR
Elias "Stack" Moore
Elijah "Smoke" Moore
OR
Elias "Stack" Moore
Elijah "Smoke" Moore
Bo Chow
Grace Chow
OR
Elias "Stack" Moore
Annie
I think everyone's going to be writing fic about Remmick; I want to hear about Sammy. What was his relationship with his family like? What happened after he decided to leave for Chicago? Did he ever reconcile with his dad?
Alternatively, I want to hear about the SmokeStack Brothers' lore behind their friendship with the Chows. I would love if you did some deep research into the history of the Mississippi Delta Chinese and how the Chows might have interacted with their neighbors and become close with the brothers.
Or, you could write about what Stack and Annie were doing in the years between the juke joint opening and that night in Chicago where they approach Sammy. I am thinking they lived through Woodstock/free love, the disco era, and the birth of hip-hop. I want to see how they react to all of that or even have a part in bringing about their rise.
World War Z - Max Brooks
Worldbuilding
While I still adore this book, I think a lot of it is rather dated/didn't age well. The book strongly implies that Colin Powell was President during the war (and that Howard Dean became VP as a compromise candidate, because Obama would have been a step too far for a lot of people), that the British monarchy is still a beloved, service-oriented institution (which seems laughable at the moment), and that Karl Rove is shoveling shit somewhere (a cheeky "take that" in 2005; not so much in 2025 where there are far worse people in government). And I feel like I don't even really need to explain how the chapter about Israel's response rings hollow in the present day. Anyway, if you could write a chapter (or a couple) that explores what would unfold if the zombie invasion happened now, that would be great - and while I'm tempted to say "we would absolutely be cooked," bonus points if you manage to make it not completely bleak.
Dear Yuletide Author:
Great to have you here, and super excited to read about whichever mutual fandom we have. I am
thewreckofapoet on both AO3 and Tumblr. I'm super impressed with all the fandoms that have been suggested and can't wait to read/write whatever is on offer. As far as preferences, I'll say what I say every year: my taste in fic tend towards the humorous. I love wit, whimsy, and wordplay. I'm tickled by meta-references and fourth-wall breaking. I adore surreal humor and patently absurd situations that a lone person points out while everyone else goes about their day. I also like fluffy and "slice of life" fics where people are just being normal. Bonus points if there's a juxtaposition of a fearsome, elegant, staid, or stodgy, etc. character and something utterly mundane or even silly. (For example, some of my favorite fics include: Stannis Baratheon playing the overprotective father and lecturing Rickon Stark for trying to take his daughter on a date, Yelp reviews for Ea-Nasir’s subpar copper, and Molly Weasley’s brothers going to the aquarium with Lucius Malfoy, who is having none of it.)
As you can tell from some of the above examples, I’m down with AU too, for the most part.
That doesn't mean I don't like more serious fics, of course. As far as romance goes, I tend to prefer a slow burn. I like my sexual tension like I like my actual sex: sulky and belligerent. I am totally more about sexual frustration than consummation, though I will say there is nothing better than a satisfying end to a hard-fought courtship/flirtation. I certainly don't mind smut, but it wouldn’t be my first choice. (I also have a bad habit of not finishing the smut I start out to write, so this could just be my frustration talking.) If you are struck by inspiration and want to write a sexual scene in your fic, by all means, write it. Above all, however, I adore thoughtful world-building! I love well-researched, immersive fic where the writer has really shown their work and enthusiastically engaged with the source material. I'm inspired by Tolkien and Kurosawa. I want answers to questions like, What kind of infrastructure does Middle Earth have? Has the Federation of Planets ever imposed trade embargoes on Cardassia? Shouldn't Luke Skywalker have grown up in better conditions considering that moisture would probably be priceless on a desert planet?
That being said, I know how hard it is to toil on a story, so I am sure that I will love and appreciate whatever it is you come up with!
General DNWs: fat-shaming, slut-shaming, racist/fascist/eugenicist apologia, situations where a naked person is paraded around for someone's amusement, sexual or otherwise (if they're naked by choice in an attempt to amuse other people, that's fine), child or animal abuse, dead children in general (references to children who have passed in canon are fine; just don't linger)
Robert Goulet's Red Ships of Spain (SNL skit)
Any character
Yes, I nominated this during the nomination process. This has long been one of my favorite SNL skits of all time. I don't really care what you do with it; maybe write some backstory for the Goulet brothers/the production, or elaborate on the experience the critics had in the theater. For example: how did two of the Goulet brothers end up using understudies on opening night? Are there any additional hilarious reviews that came in later? Are there other ridiculous lyrics? How did the critic from The Cincinnati Dispatch acquire a battery to whip at the actors? How exactly did Robert Goulet end up playing a love scene opposite his daughter? You could also write out the complete plot (such as it is) of the show.
Real Real Japan (YouTube Channel)
Sugi
Cameron
I just got into this channel this year and I absolutely love these two idiots. I love the dynamic of Sugi's goofy ass and Cameron being absolutely done with him (and with the idiosyncrasies of the Japanese language in general). You could do something straightforward like writing out a conversation between them, or you could do one of those surrealist goofy skits they do where Sugi is a vending machine and Cameron is trying to figure out what drink to buy. Or you could riff off that one video where Sugi is made to fend for himself around NYC. I'd love it for sure if you worked Sugi's "Not why: memorize" catchphrase into your fic.
Patron Saints of Nothing - Randy Ribay
Jason "Jay" Reguero
Manuel "Jun" Reguero, Jr.
Tito Maning
This was the best book I read this year. You can pick any character to focus on but I'd love to read about how Tito Maning might deal in the aftermath of Jun's death, a vignette about Jay and Jun's interactions as young boys, or what happens when Jay spends his gap year in the Philippines. Bonus points if you feature a karaoke scene.
Sinners (2025 Film)
Sammy Moore
OR
Elias "Stack" Moore
Elijah "Smoke" Moore
OR
Elias "Stack" Moore
Elijah "Smoke" Moore
Bo Chow
Grace Chow
OR
Elias "Stack" Moore
Annie
I think everyone's going to be writing fic about Remmick; I want to hear about Sammy. What was his relationship with his family like? What happened after he decided to leave for Chicago? Did he ever reconcile with his dad?
Alternatively, I want to hear about the SmokeStack Brothers' lore behind their friendship with the Chows. I would love if you did some deep research into the history of the Mississippi Delta Chinese and how the Chows might have interacted with their neighbors and become close with the brothers.
Or, you could write about what Stack and Annie were doing in the years between the juke joint opening and that night in Chicago where they approach Sammy. I am thinking they lived through Woodstock/free love, the disco era, and the birth of hip-hop. I want to see how they react to all of that or even have a part in bringing about their rise.
World War Z - Max Brooks
Worldbuilding
While I still adore this book, I think a lot of it is rather dated/didn't age well. The book strongly implies that Colin Powell was President during the war (and that Howard Dean became VP as a compromise candidate, because Obama would have been a step too far for a lot of people), that the British monarchy is still a beloved, service-oriented institution (which seems laughable at the moment), and that Karl Rove is shoveling shit somewhere (a cheeky "take that" in 2005; not so much in 2025 where there are far worse people in government). And I feel like I don't even really need to explain how the chapter about Israel's response rings hollow in the present day. Anyway, if you could write a chapter (or a couple) that explores what would unfold if the zombie invasion happened now, that would be great - and while I'm tempted to say "we would absolutely be cooked," bonus points if you manage to make it not completely bleak.
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