Yuletide Letter 2019
Nov. 3rd, 2019 05:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nomadicwriterHi, thanks for writing for me! I'm Nomad (nomadicwriter) over on AO3 and I'm generally pretty flexible in my reading habits, so don't feel like you have to stick particularly closely to any of my prompts if you've got a great idea for something else. They're really just some suggestions in case you're looking for inspiration.
General Likes
+ Enemies/rivals/antagonistic characters working together
+ Conflicts where both sides have good points and neither is completely in the right
+ Canon-divergent AUs that explore "what if" scenarios when one small thing changes
+ Gradual relationship development where even a small step forward feels meaningful
+ Relationships with a lot of history, and people seeing new sides to someone they've known for years
+ Characters who are bad at dealing with feelings making tiny, subtle gestures that are still huge for them
+ First-time fics showing how a pairing go from their canon relationship to getting together; relationship firsts
+ Forced intimacy scenarios where characters who wouldn't voluntarily hang out are stuck with each other
+ Casefic and canon-style adventures
+ Both gen and any type of shipfic
+ Lighthearted fics with humour, banter and verbal fencing
+ Darker fics and sad endings too, as long as there are glimmers of hope or dark humour
General Dislikes
- Explicit sex scenes or PWP fic
- Scenes of characters being humiliated, especially played for laughs
- AUs that change the setting/era/rules of the universe (e.g. high school, no superpowers, soulmates, etc.)
- Established relationships and non-canon background relationships (I like the fic to show how they got together if they're not already in canon)
Fandom-specific details:
Ballykissangel
Characters:
- Any (of Peter, Assumpta, Brendan and Siobhan)
Request:
I recently rewatched a few seasons of this show and remembered how much I loved the characters. I prefer the tone of the early seasons most, fairly lighthearted with more serious elements rather than too heavy on the angst and melodrama, so anything more in that vein would be great. Ship-wise I love both the UST-filled Peter/Assumpta and the Brendan/Siobhan low-key friends with benefits thing, but gen and exploring any of the friendships is also equally fine. (And while this isn't a fandom that seems to much go for non-canon ships, if you're inspired to pair the nominated characters up some other way I'd be interested to read that too.)
I'm always up for fix-its for Assumpta's death: maybe going AU earlier in season three so Peter never leaves or Assumpta never gets married, or exploring what happens next if she survives. (If you do write something set in season three, I'd prefer if it avoided the love triangle with Leo; you don't need to retcon it away as never happened, but I'm really not interested in angst dwelling on that aspect.) Alternatively, I'm always interested in takes on Peter returning to the village after Assumpta's death, whether that incorporates later-seasons events and characters or goes AU. (Obviously that prompt's likely to be more bittersweet than lighthearted, but that's fine.) Or just some canon-style hijinks of some sort! Peter's first winter in the village? More drunken adventures along the lines of Siobhan's efforts to rescue the ram? Brendan and Siobhan at Valentine's Day, probably being interrupted by a veterinary emergency? Or equally, something set pre-canon could be interesting. Assumpta when she was younger, maybe even as a teenager being taught by Brendan? Brendan and Siobhan's early friendship? Really, I'm pretty flexible here, I'd just like to see more of these characters.
Additional Details:
I like the whole ensemble cast from the early years, so feel free to include any other characters you want. Padraig and Brian are particular favourites of mine, plus I have an inexplicable fondness for Father Mac. I'm less familiar with seasons four to six since I haven't seen them since they first aired on TV, but would be fine with any of the characters and events being incorporated if you want to set the story in later years or further in the future. Also, I'm not religious but it's obviously an important aspect of Peter's character, so, you know, go into that element as much or little as suits you, I'm fine either way.
Doctor Doom
Characters:
- Victor von Doom
Request:
I nominated this comic on the strength of how much I loved the first issue, and chose to only nominate and request Doom himself because it's a little early to really tell how much of a role any other characters might play. But don't let that stop you including any of the rest of the cast that catch your interest! Obviously issues two and three are due to come out between close of sign-ups and the final deadline; I'll be keeping up as they're released, but I'm equally happy whether you incorporate later details or just base your fic wholly on issue one, and won't mind at all if it ends up getting jossed before reveals. Based on just issue one I'm probably mostly looking for gen, but I'll read Doom paired with pretty much anyone, so if you're inspired by any of the relationships in a more shippy way, go for it.
Exploring Doom's state of mind in this series would be great. He seems to be pretty lost and directionless, which is striking in a character known for unbreakable self-confidence. How does he deal with being unsure of his decisions for maybe the first time in his life? I love the moment where he asks Petra's opinion and she parrots his own words back to him; I feel like there's a theme of Doom maybe finally considering listening to disagreement, but so established in the mode of unquestioned dictator that he can't get honest opinions even if he tries, and is still dangerously unpredictable about lashing out even when he solicits it. Plus there's the contrast of his loyal retainer Boris, who's known him since childhood and is close enough to get away with a touch of respectful insolence, being ill and maybe dying, while his new young lieutenant Victorious may be obedient but clearly doesn't understand him well enough to realise that denying responsibility for the attacks isn't his style. I'd love anything digging into all this stuff, or maybe expanding on those repeat accidental visits from Kang, or really just whatever you're inspired to write!
Additional Details:
I'm not planning to add any further prompts in response to the later issues as they come out, so feel free to just run with what I've requested here and ignore everything else. That said, if you are desperately curious about my reaction to any later developments, I do post reviews over at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
doomfans, so you'll be able to find my ramblings in response to the issues over there. (As well as reviews of many previous Doom-related comics.) In general I'm fairly up on most of Doom's past appearances, so if you want to incorporate elements from any previous story arcs, go for it. In terms of recent-ish stories, I loved all of Hickman's Fantastic Four/FF and Secret Wars, the whole Infamous Iron Man storyline and Marvel 2-in-1, but really didn't like Slott's very retro Silver Age-y version in the current Fantastic Four ongoing, so I'd be happy for that to be ignored.
From Eroica With Love
Characters:
- Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
- Dorian Red Gloria
Request:
I'd love some kind of lighthearted caper here this year. It doesn't necessarily need to be pure fluff or humour, but something fun and a bit ridiculous would be great. I generally prefer fics to stick with the original 70s/80s setting of the canon; not necessarily in terms of a lot of period detail, but avoiding bringing in more modern technology or world events unless it's futurefic where the characters are equivalently aged up. I feel like the Cold War setting and relatively low-tech old-school capers are part of the series' charm. I'm up for shippy Klaus/Dorian, whether first-time fic or canon one-sided pursuit, but gen adventures are cool too.
I love stories that run with wacky spy and secret agent tropes: gadgets, secret doors, absurd disguises, people being replaced by doubles, melodramatic meetings and coded exchanges and all the rest. How about Eroica pulling off a heist where he steals something big and fairly absurd? (A building, an aircraft carrier, an elephant, Klaus's entire team of Alphabets?) Or maybe some kind of farcical shenanigans with various factions continually nabbing each other's operatives instead of their actual target, or people all trying to get into each other's hotel rooms for different reasons. Then there's always the fact that the Eroica universe technically has canon ESP, which opens the door to all kinds of vaguely supernatural or sci-fi-ish tropes. Klaus gets turned into a very grumpy werewolf? He and Dorian touch some kind of artefact that gives them a psychic connection or causes them to swap bodies? Dorian steals something from an aristocrat who turns out to be a vampire? Both get caught in a time loop? Anything like that would be great. Just some kind of fairly upbeat adventure, please!
Additional Details:
I'd be happy to see any of the rest of the ensemble cast you want to use, some personal favourites of mine being Polar Bear, Klaus's poor sentimental old butler and the Alphabets in general, plus I also have a strange soft spot for James. But feel free to include any OCs the plot might need as well. (In fact, I'm always pretty interested in outsider POVs of Klaus because I'm kind of fascinated by the question of what his coworkers/neighbours/domestic staff think of him.) Anything that delves into his relationship with his father is always great too.
Thanks again for writing for me, and, again, feel free to go your own way if you've got a different idea you want to write.
General Likes
+ Enemies/rivals/antagonistic characters working together
+ Conflicts where both sides have good points and neither is completely in the right
+ Canon-divergent AUs that explore "what if" scenarios when one small thing changes
+ Gradual relationship development where even a small step forward feels meaningful
+ Relationships with a lot of history, and people seeing new sides to someone they've known for years
+ Characters who are bad at dealing with feelings making tiny, subtle gestures that are still huge for them
+ First-time fics showing how a pairing go from their canon relationship to getting together; relationship firsts
+ Forced intimacy scenarios where characters who wouldn't voluntarily hang out are stuck with each other
+ Casefic and canon-style adventures
+ Both gen and any type of shipfic
+ Lighthearted fics with humour, banter and verbal fencing
+ Darker fics and sad endings too, as long as there are glimmers of hope or dark humour
General Dislikes
- Explicit sex scenes or PWP fic
- Scenes of characters being humiliated, especially played for laughs
- AUs that change the setting/era/rules of the universe (e.g. high school, no superpowers, soulmates, etc.)
- Established relationships and non-canon background relationships (I like the fic to show how they got together if they're not already in canon)
Fandom-specific details:
Ballykissangel
Characters:
- Any (of Peter, Assumpta, Brendan and Siobhan)
Request:
I recently rewatched a few seasons of this show and remembered how much I loved the characters. I prefer the tone of the early seasons most, fairly lighthearted with more serious elements rather than too heavy on the angst and melodrama, so anything more in that vein would be great. Ship-wise I love both the UST-filled Peter/Assumpta and the Brendan/Siobhan low-key friends with benefits thing, but gen and exploring any of the friendships is also equally fine. (And while this isn't a fandom that seems to much go for non-canon ships, if you're inspired to pair the nominated characters up some other way I'd be interested to read that too.)
I'm always up for fix-its for Assumpta's death: maybe going AU earlier in season three so Peter never leaves or Assumpta never gets married, or exploring what happens next if she survives. (If you do write something set in season three, I'd prefer if it avoided the love triangle with Leo; you don't need to retcon it away as never happened, but I'm really not interested in angst dwelling on that aspect.) Alternatively, I'm always interested in takes on Peter returning to the village after Assumpta's death, whether that incorporates later-seasons events and characters or goes AU. (Obviously that prompt's likely to be more bittersweet than lighthearted, but that's fine.) Or just some canon-style hijinks of some sort! Peter's first winter in the village? More drunken adventures along the lines of Siobhan's efforts to rescue the ram? Brendan and Siobhan at Valentine's Day, probably being interrupted by a veterinary emergency? Or equally, something set pre-canon could be interesting. Assumpta when she was younger, maybe even as a teenager being taught by Brendan? Brendan and Siobhan's early friendship? Really, I'm pretty flexible here, I'd just like to see more of these characters.
Additional Details:
I like the whole ensemble cast from the early years, so feel free to include any other characters you want. Padraig and Brian are particular favourites of mine, plus I have an inexplicable fondness for Father Mac. I'm less familiar with seasons four to six since I haven't seen them since they first aired on TV, but would be fine with any of the characters and events being incorporated if you want to set the story in later years or further in the future. Also, I'm not religious but it's obviously an important aspect of Peter's character, so, you know, go into that element as much or little as suits you, I'm fine either way.
Doctor Doom
Characters:
- Victor von Doom
Request:
I nominated this comic on the strength of how much I loved the first issue, and chose to only nominate and request Doom himself because it's a little early to really tell how much of a role any other characters might play. But don't let that stop you including any of the rest of the cast that catch your interest! Obviously issues two and three are due to come out between close of sign-ups and the final deadline; I'll be keeping up as they're released, but I'm equally happy whether you incorporate later details or just base your fic wholly on issue one, and won't mind at all if it ends up getting jossed before reveals. Based on just issue one I'm probably mostly looking for gen, but I'll read Doom paired with pretty much anyone, so if you're inspired by any of the relationships in a more shippy way, go for it.
Exploring Doom's state of mind in this series would be great. He seems to be pretty lost and directionless, which is striking in a character known for unbreakable self-confidence. How does he deal with being unsure of his decisions for maybe the first time in his life? I love the moment where he asks Petra's opinion and she parrots his own words back to him; I feel like there's a theme of Doom maybe finally considering listening to disagreement, but so established in the mode of unquestioned dictator that he can't get honest opinions even if he tries, and is still dangerously unpredictable about lashing out even when he solicits it. Plus there's the contrast of his loyal retainer Boris, who's known him since childhood and is close enough to get away with a touch of respectful insolence, being ill and maybe dying, while his new young lieutenant Victorious may be obedient but clearly doesn't understand him well enough to realise that denying responsibility for the attacks isn't his style. I'd love anything digging into all this stuff, or maybe expanding on those repeat accidental visits from Kang, or really just whatever you're inspired to write!
Additional Details:
I'm not planning to add any further prompts in response to the later issues as they come out, so feel free to just run with what I've requested here and ignore everything else. That said, if you are desperately curious about my reaction to any later developments, I do post reviews over at
doomfans, so you'll be able to find my ramblings in response to the issues over there. (As well as reviews of many previous Doom-related comics.) In general I'm fairly up on most of Doom's past appearances, so if you want to incorporate elements from any previous story arcs, go for it. In terms of recent-ish stories, I loved all of Hickman's Fantastic Four/FF and Secret Wars, the whole Infamous Iron Man storyline and Marvel 2-in-1, but really didn't like Slott's very retro Silver Age-y version in the current Fantastic Four ongoing, so I'd be happy for that to be ignored.From Eroica With Love
Characters:
- Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach
- Dorian Red Gloria
Request:
I'd love some kind of lighthearted caper here this year. It doesn't necessarily need to be pure fluff or humour, but something fun and a bit ridiculous would be great. I generally prefer fics to stick with the original 70s/80s setting of the canon; not necessarily in terms of a lot of period detail, but avoiding bringing in more modern technology or world events unless it's futurefic where the characters are equivalently aged up. I feel like the Cold War setting and relatively low-tech old-school capers are part of the series' charm. I'm up for shippy Klaus/Dorian, whether first-time fic or canon one-sided pursuit, but gen adventures are cool too.
I love stories that run with wacky spy and secret agent tropes: gadgets, secret doors, absurd disguises, people being replaced by doubles, melodramatic meetings and coded exchanges and all the rest. How about Eroica pulling off a heist where he steals something big and fairly absurd? (A building, an aircraft carrier, an elephant, Klaus's entire team of Alphabets?) Or maybe some kind of farcical shenanigans with various factions continually nabbing each other's operatives instead of their actual target, or people all trying to get into each other's hotel rooms for different reasons. Then there's always the fact that the Eroica universe technically has canon ESP, which opens the door to all kinds of vaguely supernatural or sci-fi-ish tropes. Klaus gets turned into a very grumpy werewolf? He and Dorian touch some kind of artefact that gives them a psychic connection or causes them to swap bodies? Dorian steals something from an aristocrat who turns out to be a vampire? Both get caught in a time loop? Anything like that would be great. Just some kind of fairly upbeat adventure, please!
Additional Details:
I'd be happy to see any of the rest of the ensemble cast you want to use, some personal favourites of mine being Polar Bear, Klaus's poor sentimental old butler and the Alphabets in general, plus I also have a strange soft spot for James. But feel free to include any OCs the plot might need as well. (In fact, I'm always pretty interested in outsider POVs of Klaus because I'm kind of fascinated by the question of what his coworkers/neighbours/domestic staff think of him.) Anything that delves into his relationship with his father is always great too.
Thanks again for writing for me, and, again, feel free to go your own way if you've got a different idea you want to write.