meretricula (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meretricula) wrote2012-10-16 03:56 pm
meretricula) wrote2012-10-16 03:56 pm
Entry tags:
Dear Yulegoat
Dear Yuletide Author:
First of all: thank you so much for signing up to write a Yuletide story! Everything in this letter is just extra detail in case you want more direction, so please do not feel constrained by it. Ignore the entire letter if that's helpful! Write the story you want to write. I'd rather read that than a story you don't like but you wrote because you wanted to include everything I asked for. I know the holidays are a stressful time, but don't stress on my account: I am super easy to please. I really hope you'll have fun writing for me!
General likes and dislikes:
Basically, I would prefer a happy ending. I want everybody to be happy or at least not overtly miserable at the end of the fic. They can suffer and be angsty in the beginning or middle but please please please let the ending be sunshine and rainbows or the promise of sunshine and rainbows on the not-too-distant horizon. I'm also happy to get a fic that's 100% fluffy sunshine and rainbows all the way through. I like characters bantering with each other and goofing off and being total dorks! And I love love love characters showing how much they love each other. It can be romantic, it can be familial, it can be friendship, but give me people who really care about each other and worry and hover and bully in a loving manner and just generally want to make each other happy. Also? Cuddling. I am a fan.
Other things that I like! Crazy AUs are always great. Want to write the fic where they're ice-skaters or porn stars or hookers or college students? GO FOR IT! Reach into that box of cliches and pull one out at random if you feel like it, because I eat them up like candy. That said! I also really like stuff that stays super close to canon, but I am a tiny bit picky about things being accurate if you go this route. (I know, right? Anyone who's this into lunatic Alternate Universes has no ground to be fussing about canon compliance.) But anyway, if you are very familiar with the fandom and you're comfortable writing something that sticks obsessively close to canon, I love that too. Seriously, I like it when people put footnotes on their fic so I can check their references. I'm weird like that.
Things I don't like: pretty small list. No deathfic, please. No super-intense wrist-slashing angst, non-con or dub-con. No woman-bashing. No gay-bashing. If you want to try addressing something difficult like internalized misogyny or homophobia or racism, feel free, but do it carefully, okay? (I know it seems like that should go without saying but JUST IN CASE.) I'm a bit of a grammar nazi (I know, it's a character flaw) so if that's something you know you have issues with, get a beta to give it a quick scrub. :)
Request #1: Bend It Like Beckham, Jess Bhamra, Jules Paxton
Jess/Jules romance or Jess&Jules friendship: go nuts. I'd really like post-movie fic while they're at college, or even after they graduate! Alternately, if you felt like writing me the original version of the movie before they had to de-lesbianize the plot (TRUE STORY THAT IS A THING THAT HAPPENED), I would be all over that. If this is a thing you're comfortable with, I would be so beyond happy to get a fic that focused on the football side of things -- what's it like for Jess and Jules to go from struggling to be taken seriously as athletes in England to America, where soccer is considered a girls' sport? How would they react to the collapse of the WUSA or the WPS? Would they have tried to play professionally in foreign leagues, or gone back to England and joined a ladies' side there? If you're not into the football, I'd also love something about the culture shock of coming to America or how Jess and Jules deal with potential culture clash with each other. I love this movie, I love these characters, write about them together and we'll be great!
Request #2: She's The Man, Viola Hastings, Duke Orsino
I ship them so hard it hurts. They like each other because they really got to know each other as people before they thought about each other romantically! They respect each other as athletes! They have common interests besides making out! Just write me something about them together and I'll love it, promise. I'd love to hear what happens after the end of the movie -- how do they deal with dating and being on the same soccer team? Do they go on dates to cheese markets? Are there triple dates with Sebastian and Olivia and Toby and Eunice? I really loved the wacky screwball-comedy tone of the movie: shenanigans are more than welcome.
Request #3: Olympics RPF, Hope Solo, Aya Miyama
I just find their friendship incredibly charming! (And I know Hope is incredibly heterosexual in real life but I would be delighted to suspend my disbelief if you felt like writing them as more than friends...) Hope is so fierce and intimidating but she's also obviously super fond of Aya who is tiny and fluffy and adorable, and I love that contrast. I mean, the fact that someone as competitive as Hope could find it in herself to be happy for Aya right after losing the World Cup says a lot. (And shallowly, I love watching Hope just lean down and envelop Aya when they hug.) If you want suggestions: Olympic Village sex is a cliche that never gets old! Hurt/comfort dealing with Saint Louis Athletica folding and the two of them moving together to Atlanta! Something more serious, if you feel up to it, dealing with Hope sticking up for her Japanese teammates in the face of racist comments from opposing fans? I'd be happy with anything.
Request #4: Tennis RPF, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova
The most epic tennis rivalry in the history of the sport and there is literally no fic. This makes me sad. Fix this sad lack and make my yuletide gay! Chrissie and Martina played each other 80 times! They shared so much with each other that nobody else in the world could possibly have understood. I would adore a fic about them being friends (or, predictably, more than friends) at any stage of their lives - when they first met, at the height of their rivalry, when their careers were winding down. I would totally love post-retirement fic about them reconnecting while doing commentary, or Chrissie supporting Martina while she was getting chemo, or Martina being there for Chris during her divorces. Anything.
You've probably noticed the "female athletes" theme going on this year, and I know it's not really something most people are familiar with, so I'm going to go ahead and volunteer some of my friends as consultants if you want more information.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
khoshgeleh_16 and distira are both awesome, knowledgeable ladies who can tell you about women's soccer (khoshgeleh_16 more on the European side, distira more about American and high school/college level sports in general) and aramley is fantastic to talk to about tennis! (And anything else, of course. ♥) They are all wonderful people and they know what I like so if you have any questions that are too specific to send via elynross, that's always an option!
MOST IMPORTANTLY: HAVE FUN.
First of all: thank you so much for signing up to write a Yuletide story! Everything in this letter is just extra detail in case you want more direction, so please do not feel constrained by it. Ignore the entire letter if that's helpful! Write the story you want to write. I'd rather read that than a story you don't like but you wrote because you wanted to include everything I asked for. I know the holidays are a stressful time, but don't stress on my account: I am super easy to please. I really hope you'll have fun writing for me!
General likes and dislikes:
Basically, I would prefer a happy ending. I want everybody to be happy or at least not overtly miserable at the end of the fic. They can suffer and be angsty in the beginning or middle but please please please let the ending be sunshine and rainbows or the promise of sunshine and rainbows on the not-too-distant horizon. I'm also happy to get a fic that's 100% fluffy sunshine and rainbows all the way through. I like characters bantering with each other and goofing off and being total dorks! And I love love love characters showing how much they love each other. It can be romantic, it can be familial, it can be friendship, but give me people who really care about each other and worry and hover and bully in a loving manner and just generally want to make each other happy. Also? Cuddling. I am a fan.
Other things that I like! Crazy AUs are always great. Want to write the fic where they're ice-skaters or porn stars or hookers or college students? GO FOR IT! Reach into that box of cliches and pull one out at random if you feel like it, because I eat them up like candy. That said! I also really like stuff that stays super close to canon, but I am a tiny bit picky about things being accurate if you go this route. (I know, right? Anyone who's this into lunatic Alternate Universes has no ground to be fussing about canon compliance.) But anyway, if you are very familiar with the fandom and you're comfortable writing something that sticks obsessively close to canon, I love that too. Seriously, I like it when people put footnotes on their fic so I can check their references. I'm weird like that.
Things I don't like: pretty small list. No deathfic, please. No super-intense wrist-slashing angst, non-con or dub-con. No woman-bashing. No gay-bashing. If you want to try addressing something difficult like internalized misogyny or homophobia or racism, feel free, but do it carefully, okay? (I know it seems like that should go without saying but JUST IN CASE.) I'm a bit of a grammar nazi (I know, it's a character flaw) so if that's something you know you have issues with, get a beta to give it a quick scrub. :)
Request #1: Bend It Like Beckham, Jess Bhamra, Jules Paxton
Jess/Jules romance or Jess&Jules friendship: go nuts. I'd really like post-movie fic while they're at college, or even after they graduate! Alternately, if you felt like writing me the original version of the movie before they had to de-lesbianize the plot (TRUE STORY THAT IS A THING THAT HAPPENED), I would be all over that. If this is a thing you're comfortable with, I would be so beyond happy to get a fic that focused on the football side of things -- what's it like for Jess and Jules to go from struggling to be taken seriously as athletes in England to America, where soccer is considered a girls' sport? How would they react to the collapse of the WUSA or the WPS? Would they have tried to play professionally in foreign leagues, or gone back to England and joined a ladies' side there? If you're not into the football, I'd also love something about the culture shock of coming to America or how Jess and Jules deal with potential culture clash with each other. I love this movie, I love these characters, write about them together and we'll be great!
Request #2: She's The Man, Viola Hastings, Duke Orsino
I ship them so hard it hurts. They like each other because they really got to know each other as people before they thought about each other romantically! They respect each other as athletes! They have common interests besides making out! Just write me something about them together and I'll love it, promise. I'd love to hear what happens after the end of the movie -- how do they deal with dating and being on the same soccer team? Do they go on dates to cheese markets? Are there triple dates with Sebastian and Olivia and Toby and Eunice? I really loved the wacky screwball-comedy tone of the movie: shenanigans are more than welcome.
Request #3: Olympics RPF, Hope Solo, Aya Miyama
I just find their friendship incredibly charming! (And I know Hope is incredibly heterosexual in real life but I would be delighted to suspend my disbelief if you felt like writing them as more than friends...) Hope is so fierce and intimidating but she's also obviously super fond of Aya who is tiny and fluffy and adorable, and I love that contrast. I mean, the fact that someone as competitive as Hope could find it in herself to be happy for Aya right after losing the World Cup says a lot. (And shallowly, I love watching Hope just lean down and envelop Aya when they hug.) If you want suggestions: Olympic Village sex is a cliche that never gets old! Hurt/comfort dealing with Saint Louis Athletica folding and the two of them moving together to Atlanta! Something more serious, if you feel up to it, dealing with Hope sticking up for her Japanese teammates in the face of racist comments from opposing fans? I'd be happy with anything.
Request #4: Tennis RPF, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova
The most epic tennis rivalry in the history of the sport and there is literally no fic. This makes me sad. Fix this sad lack and make my yuletide gay! Chrissie and Martina played each other 80 times! They shared so much with each other that nobody else in the world could possibly have understood. I would adore a fic about them being friends (or, predictably, more than friends) at any stage of their lives - when they first met, at the height of their rivalry, when their careers were winding down. I would totally love post-retirement fic about them reconnecting while doing commentary, or Chrissie supporting Martina while she was getting chemo, or Martina being there for Chris during her divorces. Anything.
You've probably noticed the "female athletes" theme going on this year, and I know it's not really something most people are familiar with, so I'm going to go ahead and volunteer some of my friends as consultants if you want more information.
khoshgeleh_16 and distira are both awesome, knowledgeable ladies who can tell you about women's soccer (khoshgeleh_16 more on the European side, distira more about American and high school/college level sports in general) and aramley is fantastic to talk to about tennis! (And anything else, of course. ♥) They are all wonderful people and they know what I like so if you have any questions that are too specific to send via elynross, that's always an option! MOST IMPORTANTLY: HAVE FUN.