starfishstar (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
starfishstar) wrote2023-10-21 02:01 pm
starfishstar) wrote2023-10-21 02:01 pm
Entry tags:
Yuletide 2023 Letter
Dear Yuletide writer, thank you for writing for me! (And apologies for the lateness of this letter!)
General notes: I’m starfishstar on AO3 and on DW.
Likes: A focus on character interactions, be that friendship or romance or family. Found family dynamics. Humor and banter. UST (all the UST) as long as it resolves by the end. Happy or hopeful endings (angst and complexity are fine – I like stories that are realistic! – but I do need at least a degree of hope). I'm generally not looking for PWP, but I'm not going to make that a hard DNW this year, just a preference (as in, I'd prefer things other than pure smut). :-) I especially have a soft spot for what I'll term "crack treated seriously" – a premise that sounds ridiculous, but then is treated with such earnestness and emotional depth that it somehow really works.
DNW: I think just the big ones: please no major character death, non-con/dub-con, or graphic violence.
Treats: Yes, please! I have the option for receiving treats enabled on AO3.
FANDOMS:
(listed alphabetically)
Boyfriend Material - Alexis Hall
Characters: one or more of Luc O'Donnell and/or Oliver Blackwood...and absolutely open to any of the others as well!
I've enjoyed plenty of Alexis Hall's other books, but something about this book just lands in the absolute sweet spot for me. It's how Luc and Oliver are both complicated, well-developed characters who are fucking things up but trying really hard to do better. It's how the plot arc of their romance isn't about overcoming contrived external obstacles to reach an inevitable happily ever after; it's how the story is about the two of them learning about themselves as people, recognizing their issues and working on them, and how that individual stuff intersects with their attempts to have a functional relationship together. (And they don't magically make each other happier and better people; being together provides the motivation, but they have to do the work themselves, individually and together.)
This book for me also strikes the perfect balance of treating the characters and their relationship earnestly, but also having the off-the-wall marvelous ridiculousness of the supporting characters. I've reread this book so many times, but it still makes me laugh! I selected Luc and Oliver as the specific characters to request because it would certainly be nice to have them as a focus, but I would also LOVE to see Luc—or Luc and Oliver both—interacting with any of the others from amongst this zany cast of characters. Alex Twaddle being Alex Twaddle. Luc's mum being off-the-wall bonkers in the way she lives her life and the things she talks about, yet also staunchly supportive and loving. Oliver having to deal with Luc's oddball friends? Odile taking on Oliver as her other favorite son? Or any of the other supporting characters... (What is the deal with Barbara Clench's husband, Gabriel? Don't think I haven't noticed that he doesn't speak a single line across both the books!)
Go wild and have fun!
CatNet Series - Naomi Kritzer
Characters: any of the nominated characters (Steph, CheshireCat) along with any others you want
What a brilliant idea to nominate this series! Thank you to whoever nominated it! These books are delightful, really sweet and heartwarming, with the whole premise of an AI who wants to help, not harm, the world. A nice respite from the usual dystopias. And all these characters who look out for each other and help each other!
I requested this fandom on a happy whim after seeing that it was nominated, so I have fewer specific requests/prompts here. But just know that any adventure you want to send these characters on (Steph and/or CheshireCat and/or any of the others) I'm excited to go along! Also, in the second book the author is explicitly exploring the possibilities of a near-future world that has actually learned some lessons from the Black Lives Matter movement and taken real steps to undo the excesses of police brutality in the United States. I was intrigued by the glimpses we got in the book, so if you want to take this request in more of a worldbuilding direction, and explore the world of Naomi Kritzer's benevolent near-future Minneapolis, I'd be very interested to read that!
Darius the Great Series - Adib Khorram
Characters: Darius Kellner and any others you want
I can't help hoping Adib Khorram someday makes this a trilogy, because Darius the Great Deserves Better sets up so many interesting potential themes that could be explored in a further sequel... But for now, fic ;-)
One possible thread to follow that would interest me a lot is: Sohrab! He's going to be in Canada? He and Darius will be able to visit?? This could go in a gen or a shippy direction, I'm fine with either, but I think I'm especially interested in the unexpected ways it might change their friendship. A huge shift in circumstances like that – even though it's a good change! – can shift the nature or tone or whatever of a friendship, and there might be some hurdles to overcome on the way to finding a new (and even better?) way to be friends. I'd be really interested in any of that.
I was also intrigued in the second book by how certain Darius was that he's not going the college route, but I don't think we really got a picture of what he wants to do instead. Show me some of the possibilities!
I couldn't muster up much enthusiasm for either of the love interests in Deserves Better, so you're welcome to give Darius a new romance. Or focus on his family, because these books are so beautifully about family. This could be about Darius with his grandfather, or his dad, or I'd actually be especially interested to see more of Darius with his mom! (I felt like we didn't get as much of her, because especially in the first book Darius was understandably so focused on his struggle to connect with his dad.) Or more about Laleh! What is she like as she gets a little older?
Fire Island (2022)
Characters: one or more of Noah and/or Will and/or Howie...as well as any others you want, especially from among Noah's close-knit chosen family!
I finally got a chance to watch this just a couple of months ago, and WOW was I taken with it! This film is so good in its own right, and then it's also a brilliant adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Even the stuff that's really hard to translate into a present-day context, like the reputation-destroying scandal of Wickham running away with Lydia? This clever, modern, social-media era movie finds a way to nail even that. And the central romance...swoonworthy.
Here are a few prompt ideas, of themes I'd like to see more of:
Noah/Will: I mean...anything, obviously! I enjoyed how there was a kind of understanding between them a ways before they actually gave in and kissed each other. Like when Noah storms into their beach house/palace to deal with some other bullshit from that group, but when Will shows up, Noah takes a half second out of his tirade to give Will this "oh, hey" nod – like, I see you, you get me, we're on the same page, sorry that I have to deal with this ridiculousness right now but also hi, I see you. The way they both take care of their respective chosen families (in their very different ways) and get each other on that level, even when they're baffling each other in all other ways. Will at the drag show!! I love that he seems so buttoned up, but when he decides to go for something, he goes for it. More, please, of Will embarrassing (and charming) Noah with his fearlessness when he decides to go all in on something absurd. Their acknowledgement at the end that they're both nonmonagamous, but they're going to try this romance thing with each other anyway. What will that look like for them? Will they find a nontraditional way to form a lasting connection, while also both being true to themselves?
Noah & Howie: This is a wonderful friendship I could do with seeing a lot more of! The best friends who've had each other's backs, no matter how much the specifics of their individual lives may diverge. The dynamic between the "hot" friend who can move with ease in the world of the popular people, and the friend who thinks he's uncool and will never have access to that world, and how they support each other even if they don't always understand each other, and how sometimes they get it wrong and have to reset their expectations of what, in fact, is the best way they can support their friend.
Noah & his chosen family: I love how the film translates Austen's world of "your family of origin is everything" into a queer chosen family instead. Possibly one of my favorite little touches of this is how Luke comes to thank Noah, after Noah deals with the whole video situation. And Luke is kind of like, ugh, emotions! I know we don't really get along or have much in common, but I love you or whatever. And that's what makes this group family...even when they don't particularly like each other, they'll do anything to protect each other. <3 So, anything you want to explore in that vein, with any of the others in the group.
Or anything else you want to explore about this delightful cast of characters.
.
General notes: I’m starfishstar on AO3 and on DW.
Likes: A focus on character interactions, be that friendship or romance or family. Found family dynamics. Humor and banter. UST (all the UST) as long as it resolves by the end. Happy or hopeful endings (angst and complexity are fine – I like stories that are realistic! – but I do need at least a degree of hope). I'm generally not looking for PWP, but I'm not going to make that a hard DNW this year, just a preference (as in, I'd prefer things other than pure smut). :-) I especially have a soft spot for what I'll term "crack treated seriously" – a premise that sounds ridiculous, but then is treated with such earnestness and emotional depth that it somehow really works.
DNW: I think just the big ones: please no major character death, non-con/dub-con, or graphic violence.
Treats: Yes, please! I have the option for receiving treats enabled on AO3.
FANDOMS:
(listed alphabetically)
Boyfriend Material - Alexis Hall
Characters: one or more of Luc O'Donnell and/or Oliver Blackwood...and absolutely open to any of the others as well!
I've enjoyed plenty of Alexis Hall's other books, but something about this book just lands in the absolute sweet spot for me. It's how Luc and Oliver are both complicated, well-developed characters who are fucking things up but trying really hard to do better. It's how the plot arc of their romance isn't about overcoming contrived external obstacles to reach an inevitable happily ever after; it's how the story is about the two of them learning about themselves as people, recognizing their issues and working on them, and how that individual stuff intersects with their attempts to have a functional relationship together. (And they don't magically make each other happier and better people; being together provides the motivation, but they have to do the work themselves, individually and together.)
This book for me also strikes the perfect balance of treating the characters and their relationship earnestly, but also having the off-the-wall marvelous ridiculousness of the supporting characters. I've reread this book so many times, but it still makes me laugh! I selected Luc and Oliver as the specific characters to request because it would certainly be nice to have them as a focus, but I would also LOVE to see Luc—or Luc and Oliver both—interacting with any of the others from amongst this zany cast of characters. Alex Twaddle being Alex Twaddle. Luc's mum being off-the-wall bonkers in the way she lives her life and the things she talks about, yet also staunchly supportive and loving. Oliver having to deal with Luc's oddball friends? Odile taking on Oliver as her other favorite son? Or any of the other supporting characters... (What is the deal with Barbara Clench's husband, Gabriel? Don't think I haven't noticed that he doesn't speak a single line across both the books!)
Go wild and have fun!
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Characters: any of the nominated characters (Elio, Oliver, Annella, Samuel) as well as any others you want
(Much of this is similar to my requests from last year, but that's because this has been a Yuletide-forever-fandom for me, and the things I love about it just keep on being things I love about it!)
Tell me any story of Elio/Oliver. During that summer, the longing before they confess their feelings, the stolen moments once they’ve come together, the bittersweetness as the summer rushes to its close; or give me the story of after – do they stay together? do they find each other again 20 years later? or something in between? I love these two characters, and I do long to see them get a chance to be happy together – but I'm definitely appreciative of fics that work through all the obstacles they face, rather than waving them away. I always appreciate a story that brings them back together in a way that feels earned.
I love the lushness of this world – emotionally, visually, everything. It's an achingly beautiful portrait of being on the cusp of adulthood and falling in first love, and what exquisite agony both of those things can be. Elio is a perfect encapsulation of all of that: awkward and longing and passionate and bold. This request is for movie canon, but one thing I love from the book is the whole section in Rome, that endless night of new experiences, Elio discovering the world and engaging with it as an adult for the first time, being treated as an adult for the first time – basically falling in love with life at the same time as he's falling in love with Oliver. So if you want to explore anything like that – not necessarily Rome specifically, but that pairing of "Elio/world" along with "Elio/Oliver" – I always enjoy that.
I also love Elio's parents, so wise and kind, and how they give him space to grow while also being there to catch him if he falls. I love seeing their dynamic with Elio, or with Oliver – Oliver, who (it seems to me) clearly hasn't had that kind of unconditional parental support. What does it mean to Oliver to have that, from two adults who respect and care for him...and who are also all tangled up with the boy he's falling in love with? Is he able to let himself accept that love (both the romantic kind and the familial kind)?
Bonus prompt: I'm Jewish, and I love that these characters are Jewish and that it's part of what connects them. For all he has more hang-ups in other ways, Oliver is more confident and open in his Judaism than Elio's family is, and that's new and exciting for Elio. If you're Jewish, or can write about Judaism knowledgeably/sensitively, I'm always hungry for a fic that involves Judaism being an important point of connection between them. Celebrating a holiday or tradition together? Sharing favorite family foods? Discovering unexpected differences between the traditions they grew up with (Oliver in the US, Elio in Italy)? Or anything else that acknowledges their Jewishness as a shared identity, something that draws Elio toward Oliver – with that parallel of being both queer and Jewish, both of those identities setting Elio and Oliver somewhat apart from many of the others around them and connect them to each other.
Fandom-specific DNW: Plot points/characters from “Find Me”; treating female characters dismissively (i.e., please either don’t include Marzia in the fic at all, or let her be a fully developed character in her own right).
Characters: any of the nominated characters (Elio, Oliver, Annella, Samuel) as well as any others you want
(Much of this is similar to my requests from last year, but that's because this has been a Yuletide-forever-fandom for me, and the things I love about it just keep on being things I love about it!)
Tell me any story of Elio/Oliver. During that summer, the longing before they confess their feelings, the stolen moments once they’ve come together, the bittersweetness as the summer rushes to its close; or give me the story of after – do they stay together? do they find each other again 20 years later? or something in between? I love these two characters, and I do long to see them get a chance to be happy together – but I'm definitely appreciative of fics that work through all the obstacles they face, rather than waving them away. I always appreciate a story that brings them back together in a way that feels earned.
I love the lushness of this world – emotionally, visually, everything. It's an achingly beautiful portrait of being on the cusp of adulthood and falling in first love, and what exquisite agony both of those things can be. Elio is a perfect encapsulation of all of that: awkward and longing and passionate and bold. This request is for movie canon, but one thing I love from the book is the whole section in Rome, that endless night of new experiences, Elio discovering the world and engaging with it as an adult for the first time, being treated as an adult for the first time – basically falling in love with life at the same time as he's falling in love with Oliver. So if you want to explore anything like that – not necessarily Rome specifically, but that pairing of "Elio/world" along with "Elio/Oliver" – I always enjoy that.
I also love Elio's parents, so wise and kind, and how they give him space to grow while also being there to catch him if he falls. I love seeing their dynamic with Elio, or with Oliver – Oliver, who (it seems to me) clearly hasn't had that kind of unconditional parental support. What does it mean to Oliver to have that, from two adults who respect and care for him...and who are also all tangled up with the boy he's falling in love with? Is he able to let himself accept that love (both the romantic kind and the familial kind)?
Bonus prompt: I'm Jewish, and I love that these characters are Jewish and that it's part of what connects them. For all he has more hang-ups in other ways, Oliver is more confident and open in his Judaism than Elio's family is, and that's new and exciting for Elio. If you're Jewish, or can write about Judaism knowledgeably/sensitively, I'm always hungry for a fic that involves Judaism being an important point of connection between them. Celebrating a holiday or tradition together? Sharing favorite family foods? Discovering unexpected differences between the traditions they grew up with (Oliver in the US, Elio in Italy)? Or anything else that acknowledges their Jewishness as a shared identity, something that draws Elio toward Oliver – with that parallel of being both queer and Jewish, both of those identities setting Elio and Oliver somewhat apart from many of the others around them and connect them to each other.
Fandom-specific DNW: Plot points/characters from “Find Me”; treating female characters dismissively (i.e., please either don’t include Marzia in the fic at all, or let her be a fully developed character in her own right).
CatNet Series - Naomi Kritzer
Characters: any of the nominated characters (Steph, CheshireCat) along with any others you want
What a brilliant idea to nominate this series! Thank you to whoever nominated it! These books are delightful, really sweet and heartwarming, with the whole premise of an AI who wants to help, not harm, the world. A nice respite from the usual dystopias. And all these characters who look out for each other and help each other!
I requested this fandom on a happy whim after seeing that it was nominated, so I have fewer specific requests/prompts here. But just know that any adventure you want to send these characters on (Steph and/or CheshireCat and/or any of the others) I'm excited to go along! Also, in the second book the author is explicitly exploring the possibilities of a near-future world that has actually learned some lessons from the Black Lives Matter movement and taken real steps to undo the excesses of police brutality in the United States. I was intrigued by the glimpses we got in the book, so if you want to take this request in more of a worldbuilding direction, and explore the world of Naomi Kritzer's benevolent near-future Minneapolis, I'd be very interested to read that!
Darius the Great Series - Adib Khorram
Characters: Darius Kellner and any others you want
I can't help hoping Adib Khorram someday makes this a trilogy, because Darius the Great Deserves Better sets up so many interesting potential themes that could be explored in a further sequel... But for now, fic ;-)
One possible thread to follow that would interest me a lot is: Sohrab! He's going to be in Canada? He and Darius will be able to visit?? This could go in a gen or a shippy direction, I'm fine with either, but I think I'm especially interested in the unexpected ways it might change their friendship. A huge shift in circumstances like that – even though it's a good change! – can shift the nature or tone or whatever of a friendship, and there might be some hurdles to overcome on the way to finding a new (and even better?) way to be friends. I'd be really interested in any of that.
I was also intrigued in the second book by how certain Darius was that he's not going the college route, but I don't think we really got a picture of what he wants to do instead. Show me some of the possibilities!
I couldn't muster up much enthusiasm for either of the love interests in Deserves Better, so you're welcome to give Darius a new romance. Or focus on his family, because these books are so beautifully about family. This could be about Darius with his grandfather, or his dad, or I'd actually be especially interested to see more of Darius with his mom! (I felt like we didn't get as much of her, because especially in the first book Darius was understandably so focused on his struggle to connect with his dad.) Or more about Laleh! What is she like as she gets a little older?
Fire Island (2022)
Characters: one or more of Noah and/or Will and/or Howie...as well as any others you want, especially from among Noah's close-knit chosen family!
I finally got a chance to watch this just a couple of months ago, and WOW was I taken with it! This film is so good in its own right, and then it's also a brilliant adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Even the stuff that's really hard to translate into a present-day context, like the reputation-destroying scandal of Wickham running away with Lydia? This clever, modern, social-media era movie finds a way to nail even that. And the central romance...swoonworthy.
Here are a few prompt ideas, of themes I'd like to see more of:
Noah/Will: I mean...anything, obviously! I enjoyed how there was a kind of understanding between them a ways before they actually gave in and kissed each other. Like when Noah storms into their beach house/palace to deal with some other bullshit from that group, but when Will shows up, Noah takes a half second out of his tirade to give Will this "oh, hey" nod – like, I see you, you get me, we're on the same page, sorry that I have to deal with this ridiculousness right now but also hi, I see you. The way they both take care of their respective chosen families (in their very different ways) and get each other on that level, even when they're baffling each other in all other ways. Will at the drag show!! I love that he seems so buttoned up, but when he decides to go for something, he goes for it. More, please, of Will embarrassing (and charming) Noah with his fearlessness when he decides to go all in on something absurd. Their acknowledgement at the end that they're both nonmonagamous, but they're going to try this romance thing with each other anyway. What will that look like for them? Will they find a nontraditional way to form a lasting connection, while also both being true to themselves?
Noah & Howie: This is a wonderful friendship I could do with seeing a lot more of! The best friends who've had each other's backs, no matter how much the specifics of their individual lives may diverge. The dynamic between the "hot" friend who can move with ease in the world of the popular people, and the friend who thinks he's uncool and will never have access to that world, and how they support each other even if they don't always understand each other, and how sometimes they get it wrong and have to reset their expectations of what, in fact, is the best way they can support their friend.
Noah & his chosen family: I love how the film translates Austen's world of "your family of origin is everything" into a queer chosen family instead. Possibly one of my favorite little touches of this is how Luke comes to thank Noah, after Noah deals with the whole video situation. And Luke is kind of like, ugh, emotions! I know we don't really get along or have much in common, but I love you or whatever. And that's what makes this group family...even when they don't particularly like each other, they'll do anything to protect each other. <3 So, anything you want to explore in that vein, with any of the others in the group.
Or anything else you want to explore about this delightful cast of characters.
Seraphina - Rachel Hartman
Characters: any of the nominated characters (Seraphina, Tess, Glisselda, Orma, Worldbuilding) as well as any others you want
This is one of the forever books/series of my heart. I love Rachel Hartman and the empathy she shows all of her characters.
Drawing from the specific characters nominated this round (though you're welcome to add any others you like!) here are some themes I'd be especially interested to see explored:
Seraphina and Tess: We only get small glimpses of them interacting. After having lived so deeply inside each of their perspectives in their separate books, I'd love to see more of them together, learning to finally be sisters to each other, recognizing that maybe not all of their assumptions about each other have been true. I did feel like the Tess books were kind of unfair to Seraphina, portraying her as distant and even uncaring, when that wasn't my experience from the Seraphina books at all. So maybe play with that, what it's like as these two fumble to get to know each other after having had massively different experiences of each other and of their (somewhat) shared childhood.
Seraphina and Glisselda (and Kiggs): The implication I took away from the end of Shadow Scale was that the three of them were heading toward forming a triad, or at least a vee: Glisselda and Kiggs have the public, official marriage for royal purposes, but in reality Seraphina has a relationship with Kiggs and also a relationship with Glisselda. I realize that's not made explicit, though, so I'm open to whatever your interpretation may be! Regardless, I’m endlessly curious about the dynamics of this relationship, what kind of day-to-day life the three of them build for themselves. Do the ways they have to play pretend in public take a toll? When they get precious moments just to be themselves, what is that like? What is triad parenting like? Come to think of it, this needn’t necessarily be shipping fic – just give me Seraphina & Kiggs & Glisselda bantering together in the behind-the-scenes of running a kingdom.
Seraphina and Orma: Always a fan of their awkward, dragon-ish, and yet ultimately very loving bond; how Orma looks out for Seraphina even though he doesn't entirely understand her. (FYI one of my favorite lines from the book is this: Orma moved a pile of books off a stool for me but seated himself directly on another stack. This habit of his never ceased to amuse me. Dragons no longer hoarded gold; Comonot's reforms had outlawed it. For Orma and his generation, knowledge was treasure. As dragons through the ages had done, he gathered it, then he sat on it. :D I love that image, Orma the dragon atop his hoard of…knowledge. )
Worldbuilding: There's so much great stuff here! Dragons who can transform physically into human shape (but still remain dragon-minded), the cultural differences between dragons and humans based on their very, very different histories and ways of interacting with their environment. Dragons and quigutl. Quigutl and humans. Not to mention the enormous expansion of this world in In the Serpent's Wake, with the many different nations of the south we get to meet, and the sabak, and the Katakutia... I'm up for all of it!
Characters: any of the nominated characters (Seraphina, Tess, Glisselda, Orma, Worldbuilding) as well as any others you want
This is one of the forever books/series of my heart. I love Rachel Hartman and the empathy she shows all of her characters.
Drawing from the specific characters nominated this round (though you're welcome to add any others you like!) here are some themes I'd be especially interested to see explored:
Seraphina and Tess: We only get small glimpses of them interacting. After having lived so deeply inside each of their perspectives in their separate books, I'd love to see more of them together, learning to finally be sisters to each other, recognizing that maybe not all of their assumptions about each other have been true. I did feel like the Tess books were kind of unfair to Seraphina, portraying her as distant and even uncaring, when that wasn't my experience from the Seraphina books at all. So maybe play with that, what it's like as these two fumble to get to know each other after having had massively different experiences of each other and of their (somewhat) shared childhood.
Seraphina and Glisselda (and Kiggs): The implication I took away from the end of Shadow Scale was that the three of them were heading toward forming a triad, or at least a vee: Glisselda and Kiggs have the public, official marriage for royal purposes, but in reality Seraphina has a relationship with Kiggs and also a relationship with Glisselda. I realize that's not made explicit, though, so I'm open to whatever your interpretation may be! Regardless, I’m endlessly curious about the dynamics of this relationship, what kind of day-to-day life the three of them build for themselves. Do the ways they have to play pretend in public take a toll? When they get precious moments just to be themselves, what is that like? What is triad parenting like? Come to think of it, this needn’t necessarily be shipping fic – just give me Seraphina & Kiggs & Glisselda bantering together in the behind-the-scenes of running a kingdom.
Seraphina and Orma: Always a fan of their awkward, dragon-ish, and yet ultimately very loving bond; how Orma looks out for Seraphina even though he doesn't entirely understand her. (FYI one of my favorite lines from the book is this: Orma moved a pile of books off a stool for me but seated himself directly on another stack. This habit of his never ceased to amuse me. Dragons no longer hoarded gold; Comonot's reforms had outlawed it. For Orma and his generation, knowledge was treasure. As dragons through the ages had done, he gathered it, then he sat on it. :D I love that image, Orma the dragon atop his hoard of…knowledge. )
Worldbuilding: There's so much great stuff here! Dragons who can transform physically into human shape (but still remain dragon-minded), the cultural differences between dragons and humans based on their very, very different histories and ways of interacting with their environment. Dragons and quigutl. Quigutl and humans. Not to mention the enormous expansion of this world in In the Serpent's Wake, with the many different nations of the south we get to meet, and the sabak, and the Katakutia... I'm up for all of it!
.