Dear Yuletide Writer

[kindkit]

Dear Yuletide writer,

We share a love for a small fandom, which is a wonderful thing in itself. And you're writing a story for me, which is even better. Thank you for that, and I hope my prompts make your task easier rather than harder. If these suggestions don't catch your interest, please write a story that you like and enjoy writing rather than forcing yourself to comply with a prompt.



My taste tends to run towards character studies and vignettes rather than plot-driven stories; I usually fall in love with a fandom because I love the characters and want to know more about them. Worldbuilding is another of my favorite things: a story that explored the magic of the Points universe or the "tradecraft" of spying would thrill me.

You will have noticed, from my prompts, that I like male/male slash, but I mean it when I say that gen is welcome. Gen is every bit as interesting to me as pairing fic, and in fact gen can do things that pairing stories can't. Similarly, if you do write a pairing story, don't feel obliged to include a sex scene if that's not something you enjoy writing, or if you just don't think the story needs one. Sex scenes are great when they show something important about the characters; otherwise they can feel tacked on. I enjoy non-explicit stories just as much as explicit ones.

As far as genre, tone, style, and that sort of thing . . . go for it. I love everything from slice-of-life stories to mindblowing weirdness, from traditional narrative to avant-garde experiments, from baroque language to stripped-down simplicity, from funny to grim, from "happily ever after" to stories of death and grieving.

There are, however, a few things I'd prefer not to read. Please don't write me rapefic or anything graphically violent. I'd also prefer no mpreg or kidfic, no BDSM or kink, and no AUs of the "all the characters are vampires/pirates/American high school students" kind (I like the canon settings). Finally, although references to canonical het relationships are perfectly fine, please don't make heterosexual romance the focus of the story.

Below are a few additional comments on the requests I made. Just to re-emphasize, please do take all this stuff as optional. (I know that's part of the Yuletide rules anyway, but I also know that many writers try very hard to do exactly what the prompt asks for.) And feel free to include other canon characters I didn't list, although I'd rather the focus stayed on the ones I did.


Request 1: DAAS Kapital (Tim Ferguson, Richard Fidler, Paul McDermott)

DAAS Kapital is 99% pure crack, so bizarre adventures (kidnapped by space pirates! forced to test a new Shitsu-Tonka drug that makes them nice!) would be great. So would something more character-focused, such as backstory about why they agreed to join the Titanic, some more of the boys' letters to their parents, or a conversation between them as they lie in bed (or, for that matter, something about why they all sleep in one bed even though they have separate rooms!). I'd be happy with gen or m/m slash; if you write slash, I'd love to see a relationship between all three of them, but any pairing/combination is fine.

All of DAAS Kapital is currently viewable on YouTube if you'd like to refresh your memory (or if you're not familiar with the fandom but are curious). Link to each episode are here.

About all I'd add to my request is that I'd prefer a story that leans a little towards the gentle/affectionate side of the DK tone spectrum, rather than the bleak/cruel/violent side. I'm not asking for OOC sweetness, but while the episodes often end quite brutally with torture or character death, I'd rather the story didn't. (In the episodes, everyone is always all right again next week, which makes the bleakness easier to take.)


Request 2: Doug Anthony All Stars RPF (Tim Ferguson, Richard Fidler, Paul McDermott)

One of the things that fascinates me about RPF, and this fandom in particular, is the relationship between stage persona and offstage emotions and personality. I'd love to read a story that explores those tensions and overlaps; a look at "stage gay," perhaps, or Paul's onstage aggression and his offstage reserve and sensitivity. A slice-of-life look at the work of performing would also make me very happy, as would an exploration of any or all the guys in the years since DAAS split. Gen or m/m slash is welcome (Paul/Tim is my favorite, but I'd be happy to read any pairing or a threesome).

If you're curious about this fandom, have a look at this excellent promotional post by damned_colonial; there are a couple of additional promo posts by me, here and here. Additional DAAS resources are listed and linked to here.

Because this is RPF, I'd strongly prefer not to read stories that portray any of the guys (or their families/friends) in a very negative way; it's absolutely okay--desirable, in fact--to show them as flawed people, but not as bad people, if you see what I mean. And although I'm very interested in stories dealing with Tim's disability, I'd rather the story didn't either miraculously cure Tim's multiple sclerosis or worsen it for angst's sake (by showing him dying of MS, for example).


Request 3: Points - Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett (Nicolas Rathe, Philip Eslingen, Istre b'Estorr)

Although I've listed Nicolas, Philip, and Istre, feel free to pick just one or two of them as the center of the story if you like, so long as the others aren't totally left out. I'd love a closer look at the Nicolas/Philip relationship than we got in canon; an established-relationship rather than a first-time story would be my preference. Something Istre-centric would also be great, perhaps focusing on his work at the university. I'd be delighted if Istre got a romance of his own (with a man; het just isn't my thing). Basically-gen stories are welcome so long as the canonical Nicolas/Philip relationship isn't ignored or broken up.

Points is a fandom where I love the worldbuilding with a passionate intensity. I'm fascinated by the decidedly non-utopian matriarchal social structure of Chenedolle, the recognized but unequal status of same-sex relationships, the stories' focus (uncommon in fantasy) on middle-class city life, and the complex magical/astrological system and its integration into characters' everyday lives. I would absolutely adore more exploration of any of this stuff or of things only hinted at in canon, such as the university or Istre's background at the Chadroni court.


Request 4: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John Le Carre (Jim Prideaux)

I'm fascinated by Jim Prideaux; to me he's the central and most mysterious character in Tinker, Tailor, and any fic exploring his character will make me happy. I'd love to read about Prideaux's Oxford days, his early relationship with Bill Haydon, or his introduction to spying; Prideaux and Haydon's work during WWII or the early cold war; Prideaux during the Czechoslovakia disaster or recovering from it; or Prideaux after the novel ends (especially his tentative and somewhat emotionally-inappropriate friendship with Bill Roach, haunted as it is by Prideaux's love for Haydon). Feel free to bring in any other canonical characters you wish in addition to Prideaux; a POV character other than Prideaux is fine so long as the focus stays on him.

I don't have anything to add to this one, really. I've always longed for more fic in this fandom, and I'll be thrilled with anything you care to write.

Comments

[pixiestikks]

I must have read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy a dozen times when I was in my early teens. Prideaux was my favorite character, too, by far.

[kindkit]

I only started reading Le Carré this year, although of course I'd heard of him before. But I assumed that spy novels must be icky right-wing propaganda, not to mention badly written trash, so for a long time I wasn't willing to give his books a try.

Have you read The Naive and Sentimental Lover? It's Le Carré's only "mainstream" novel, about a middle-aged, middle-class, conventional man who meets a dissolute writer called Shamus and Shamus's wife Helen, and essentially falls in love with them both. But mostly with Shamus. It's a strange and very fascinating book.

[pixiestikks]

I only read it for the first time because my parents made me watch the BBC adaptation of it. It was great, but once I read the book and fell in love with it, I was SO mad at them for completely cutting out any references to homosexuality. I only saw it once when I was about 13, though, so maybe there's significant subtext that I didn't notice back then. Have you seen it? What did you think of it, if you have?

No, I haven't read The Naive and Sentimental Lover. Guess I should put it on my list! Sounds really good.

Also, I haven't signed up for yuletide, but would you mind if I tried to write one or two of your DAAS Kapital prompts anyway?