Yuletide Letter

[sophiap]

Hello! If you're reading this, I assume you got me as your Yuletide assignment. Thank you so much for writing a story for me!

I hope you find at least one of my prompts fun to work with. That said, if you have a different idea for how you want to approach one of the fandoms I selected, and it doesn't hit one of my few squicks, go for it! Given the time and effort you are so kindly putting into writing this story for me, I want it to be an enjoyable time for you as well.

That said, it may help if I went over some of my likes and those few squicks I mentioned.

Likes

I love stories that poke at the unexplored edges of canon - stories that expand on or dig deeper into the story's universe or a character's backstory/psychology, or that involve things that are only touched on lightly or left maddeningly unexplained in canon. I also like stories that play with how things may have gone if a key event had gone differently, or if a particular character had a different upbringing, gender, race, etc.

Humor is always a big plus, be it based on slapstick, snark, banter, wit, or the kind of wackiness you'd find in an old Warner Bros. cartoon. I'm especially fond of humor under adversity/gallows humor.

I did mention on two of my prompts that I would be open to crossovers, if that's something you enjoy writing. My tags and my DW profile should give you an idea of what I enjoy. In the spirit of Yuletide, however, I would ask that any popular (i.e. non-Yuletide eligible) crossover fandom take a back seat to the requested fandom.

If you choose to write porn (and only if - I am honestly more than happy with gen), I love it when the sex is used as a way of exploring the relationship between the characters. This could either be extremely sweet and heartwarming, or it could be a way of showing how massively screwed up the characters are. On the fluffy side, particular kinks of mine are romantic and awkward first times (with a particular person, particular gender, or first time ever), sex where trust is a huge issue for one of the parties involved, and sleepy morning sex between people who know each other intimately. On the not-so-fluffy side, I like rough and desperate thank-god-we're-alive sex, sex for All The Wrong Reasons (revenge on another party, transference or sublimation, proving a point, etc.), and impulsive or ill-considered liaisons that one or more of the involved parties might regret afterwards.

Dislikes

As for dislikes, I honestly only have a few hard and fast Do Not Wants.

One, I have an extreme embarrassment squick. I don't like humor or plot elements that rely on putting a character into a humiliating/embarrassing situation.

Two, I seriously dislike AUs of the 'everyone works in a bakery/coffee shop/circus' or 'the entire setting has been transposed to highschool and/or Regency England' sort. I know some people enjoy writing extreme AUs as a way of playing with beloved characters in a fun new setting, but for me, the world a fandom is set in is generally a big part of my enjoyment of that fandom. (Canon-divergent AUs of the 'what if X didn't happen in quite this manner' or 'what if Y is trans*' sort, however, I adore.)

Three, if you do choose to write porn, please keep away from roleplay and similar or anything like scat, watersports, or bloodplay. Also, my already epic embarrassment squick is quintupled when it comes to sexual situations.

Go for it!

Beyond my few dislikes, it's all good - case fic or character study, het or slash or gen or poly, SFW or smut, canon ships or rarepairs, genderswap, angst, graphic violence, fluff, crack, non-con, first person, second person, third person, present tense, past tense, experimental styles, 'five things/times,' ambiguous endings, etc. Also, given that it's Yuletide, I'm perfectly fine with it if you wish to give the story a seasonal and/or holiday bent.

When it comes to story endings, I don't mind dark endings so long as it's not completely bleak - please give me at least a tiny shred of hope to hang onto! Also, I am not at all averse to major character death/permanent injury in a story, should you feel yourself so inclined.

Also, even though I mention pairings in some of my prompts, I have no OTPs in any of the fandoms I requested.

My requests:

These are in alphabetical order, not in any kind of order of preference. Also, the amount of additional notes isn't an indicator of preference, either. I just got wordier on some of these than I did on others. I would honestly be thrilled with any of these.

Beasts of the Southern Wild
I would love to see something about what becomes of Hushpuppy as she grows older. Is she able to keep living on her own even with her father gone? Does her worldview shift as time passes, and does that impact how she remembers the events of the film?

Another possibility would be something more about Miss Bathsheba. What led her to gain an interest in aurochs, of all things? And what about that spoke to her enough that she got a cave art tattoo?

Additional Note: While I did request both Hushpuppy and Miss Bathsheba, if your story idea ends up so that one of the two doesn't show up, I would be perfectly fine with that. As for what I love about this movie, well, pretty much everything about Hushpuppy. Her fierceness, her sense of wonder, her determination, her love for her daddy and her home, and most of all, her unshakeable belief that she will grow up to be someone amazing. Something about that little girl just shines. As for Miss Bathsheba, she's just plain intriguing - I will never forget her strange classroom and the teaching that was more like apocalyptic preaching.

Neverwhere
Marquis or Hunter backstory or Hunter/Serpentine femslash would be lovely, as these are things I would love to read but would have no idea how to go about writing. That said, I adore all of the characters in this and would be happy with a story focusing on any of the main or secondary characters.

The other thing I would love to see, if you're interested in tackling it, is something with another City Below, preferably one that is very different from London. What would Tokyo be like, with that city's mix of deeply held tradition and fascination with the new? What about someplace like Mexico City - would it be Tenochtitlan Below? How would 'below' manifest in a city with no underground transit system, or in a city that is genuinely very young (and not built over an existing city from another culture)? How do various undercities deal with each other diplomatically/trade-wise?

I'm very open to crossovers in this fandom.

Additional note and more ideas: As you can probably tell from the prompt, one of the things I love most about Neverwhere is the world Gaiman created for it. Any further exploration of London Below during the course of the story would be wonderful if the other cities thing doesn't appeal. Again, even though I list the Marquis, Serpentine, and Hunter in my optional details, I really mean it that I would be happy with any of the characters in this - or no canon characters at all, if you choose to go with a story that is primarily about the setting. I also love Richard/Door fluff, Marquis vs. anyone banter/mindgames, Croup and Vandemar being their horrible selves, etc. I would even love to see to something about Jessica getting pulled into London Below, or something else that treats her sympathetically.

Also, while I do ship Richard/Door, I am open to either of them being paired off with someone else.

Prometheus
What if David had imprinted on a classic movie other than Lawrence of Arabia? Oh, the possibilities...

Additional note: While I was originally thinking 'humor' or even 'crack' when I first thought of this prompt (what if David started obsessing with 'Singing in the Rain' or 'Duck Soup' or 'Rocky Horror?'), a more serious or even dark take could also be highly enjoyable. A 'five things' style fic would be huge amount of fun.

Sapphire and Steel
I'm up for almost anything in this fandom - backstory, "how did they get out of the diner," case-fic, crossovers, character study, ship!fic, OCs, world exploration, etc. Whatever it is, I would love to see it!

If you need more of a prompt to get started, I'd love to know more about the whys and wherefores of the 'verse, especially the transuranic heavy elements mentioned in the intro. Or, where do the operatives come from, anyway? In terms of characters, Silver is always delightful to read about.

Additional Note: One thing I love about the series is how inhuman the characters are, each in his or her own different way, and how they can sometimes grate against each other. I particularly love the interaction between the two leads, and how Sapphire deals with Steel's prickliness. I also love how Silver fits into their dynamic (or rather, unbalances it). Also, Lead is criminally underused.

If you're not familiar with the series, it's a well-written/low budget British sci fi/horror series from the late 70s and early 80s starring Ilya Kuryakin and Patsy David McCallum and Joanna Lumley. You can find the 6 multi-part stories on YouTube here. Each story runs about 2-3 hours, and there's not much of an overall mytharc to worry about. If you are familiar with the series, I should probably disclose that I've only seen the TV series, and have not listed to the audio dramas.