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Yuletide 2024 Dear Author letter
Oct. 16th, 2024 08:51 pmJump to: Likes
Jump to: Do Not Wants
Jump to: Requests
Dear Yuletide author,
I am SweetPollyOliver on AO3. Thank you for offering one of my fandoms! I'm excited to see what you write.
Except for DNWs, everything I’ve said in this letter is extremely optional and I’ve only included what I have to give people who like a jumping off point some guidance into things I enjoy. Feel free to ignore whatever you don’t vibe with and read as much or as little of this as you like.
Likes
SFW likes
NSFW likes
I don’t mean to imply any judgement with any of my DNWs and some of them are things that I do enjoy from time to time in some contexts, but aren’t things that I’d like as part of a gift work/that I’m in a headspace for right now.
DNWs
I have included some suggestions for prompts below. I was able to write more for some fandoms than others, largely because I was able to plunder past letters for details for some fandoms and I wrote this letter over a couple of days and my brain was braining great toward the end, so any disparity in length or level of detail isn't a reflection on how much I like any of them and I will be equally delighted to receive a fic for any fandoms I've requested.
Requested characters: Norman Stanley "Fletch" Fletcher; Lennie Godber Something shippy would be lovely, if you were so inclined, but canon-typical gen would also be a delight. I'd love a "case fic" of some kind where they had to do some labyrinthine shenanigans to accomplish a goal of some variety, or a scene that implied a larger plot to that effect. Other thoughts I've had is that Fletch and Godber both had birthdays while in prison, so maybe you could do something about that? Godber feeling glum about turning 24 on the inside possibly? Fletch having his own inscrutible birthday-related feelings when he adds up how many he's spent on the inside versus out? Something more lighthearted and caper-adjacent than I'm suggesting? You could also do something more general with holidays/special occasions where they try to make the days feel different from each other, maybe up to and including inventing nonsense holidays to amuse themselves. If you wanted to write something post-canon that included stuff from Going Straight or Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher, or that diverged from the spin-off and mockumentary if you wanted to go in other directions, that would be great! In terms of tone, I enjoy the comedic and silly vibe of canon but feel free to have more somber moments about life in prison, etc., if the mood strikes you. If you were interested in writing something shippy, I do also think that Fletch has about a metric tonne of internalised homophobia, so that's also something I'd be intrigued to read about. Requested characters: Max Bialystock; Leopold "Leo" Bloom I really love the relationship between these two whether it's framed as shippy or platonic. For all that it starts out as a manipulation to try and get Leo more on board with committing fraud with him, it seems to turn very sincere and affectionate very quickly. I think both of them, in their own way, are very lonely at the start of the movie. Bialystock does, technically, have a sex life, albeit one that is having sex with his investors to fund his rapidly diminishing lifestyle, but I don't think it would be a stretch to say there is no intimacy in his life before their friendship develops. Leo, for his part, was never called by his first name even in kindergarten! On the shippier side of things, it intrigues me that on Bialy's side of things, sexual relationships with women seem to be a means to get something rather than something he wants in their own right. He has sex with the little old ladies for money, he cat-calls women out the window to peacock and put Leo off-balance when he arrives to do his accounts, he hires Ulla to ogle but then turns her down every single time she propositions him, sometimes quite irritably. Obviously it's Not Great to use women as a status symbol, but is that what's going on? Is he maybe gay or ace? While we're in headcanon territory, I also think that Leo Bloom pings very autistic (although I wouldn't use that specific terminology in a fic because it would be incongruous with the time period). His composure that rapidly gives way to emotional fragility and meltdowns, his job that involves a lot of tolerance for tedious repetition and attention to detail, his near-total social isolation and then intense devotion to a single friend, it all adds up into the most relatable character I have ever seen on screen. I also have thought on occasion that there is scope for a trans reading of him, with lines like "No one ever called me Leo before" and "I'm Leo Bloom! I'm me! I can do whaever I want! I'm Leo Bloom!" and his discomfort with gender non-comformity (when he meets Roger de Bris and is thrown by him wearing a dress and the "I'm not a madam; I'm a concierge!" scene), which I think have a different vibe when you interpret him as a stealth trans man in his mid-thirties in the late 60s. This would also, potentially, factor into his loneliness and social isolation, if he were stealth and trying to a) distance himself from his pre-transition life and b) avoid intimacy that could be compromising. If this was something you were intrigued by, I'd be interested in reading a fic along those lines, but it is far from the only take I'd be interested in reading about! For some specific ideas, maybe something post-canon where they are putting Prisoners of Love from prison? Or maybe a canon-divergent fic where they were able to make it to Rio de Janeiro before it all went south. Do they immediately start a new scheme when they're there? Does Leo manage to convince Max to quit while they're ahead? Maybe something set during canon? A missing scene when they're going through scripts? Bialy telling Leo stories about his old shows? Requested characters: Sabrina Clarke, Sharleen Clarke, Rodney Cullen, Spud This show was such a breath of fresh air in the superhero genre! It had such a strong sense of place and the characters were so distinct and vivid, and the premise genuinely felt like a novel take on a superhero origin story. As I mentioned in my sign up, if you would prefer, you can write a fic that just features Sharleen and Sabrina or one that just features Rodney and Spud rather than something with all four of them. Although, maybe something around the theme of family would lend itself to something that they'd all fit into? I love that Sharleen and Sabrina are so different from each other, but that doesn't flatten them into a "bad girl vs good girl" stereotypical dynamic. Sabrina does let herself get coaxed out to the club (and, for that matter, tells Krazy that she will kill him herself and be the one going to prison for thirty years when she thinks Shar is in danger), Sharleen is writing her dissertation, and they both love each other so fiercely. If you wanted to go post-canon and show something about Sabrina trying to rescue her sister from where she's been kidnapped, that would be great, or you could go pre-canon and have something about the two of them growing up, or something that wove through pre-, during and post-canon. Maybe Rodney could bond with Sabrina about how horrifying it is for your loved ones to be in peril and for you to have no power to help, even with bloody superpowers. With Rodney and Spud, I'm intrigued by what their relationship is. Is it romantic? If so, are they non-monogamous, or does Rodney just keep flirting with random women to keep in practice? They do seem to share all their money and I did assume they lived together in that one-bedroom flat until the line where Rodney says that Spud "stays over most nights". See also: Rodney saying they'd be shopping for a house once the money started coming in. I don't think it necessarily needs to be kissy-kissy for them to be life partners, of course, and a fic about them being in a QPP would also be great. It would also be pretty on-brand for Rodney to have sped past the trivial little details of asking someone out or telling him he like him before deciding they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. Requested characters: Dorothy "Dot" Everest, Overkill, Arthur Everest, the Tick As mentioned in my sign up, I'm open to something that only feaures Dot and Overkill or something that just features Arthur and the Tick if you don't have an idea for somethign with all four of them. I'm happy for something shippy involving either or both Dot/Overkill and Tick/Arthur, or something gen. I love how this show combines campy superhero shenanigans with a more grounded approach to emotional storytelling. I'm totally in the market for either silly jokes or something with a more serious slant. Or, indeed, both! If you wanted to do sort of a mid-mission case fic (since 1000 words isn't a lot of scope for a full on plot along those lines) that would be really cool, or something not related to crime-fighting would also be fun. Maybe something where Arthur could flex his paperwork skills to save the day through administrative means? Dot and Overkill having to get bailed out by Arthur and the Tick for some antiheroics gone wrong? In the event you wanted to write something shippy with Tick/Arthur, I tend to prefer when smutty fic for this pairing is a bit off the beaten path and I think there's a lot of scope for some fun xenophilia-adjacent things. The "suit" being a living part of his body rather than something that can conveniently come off or make way for more conventional human anatomy is very compelling to me. With Dot/Overkill, I think that something that engages with Overkill's disabilities in an access intimacy kind of way would be really cool. Him allowing himself to be vulnerable around Dot by taking off/turning off his prostheses to be comfortable maybe? Requested characters: Beetlejuice, Lydia Deetz, Delia Deetz, Astrid Deetz I'm open to somethat that just features Beetlejuice and Lydia, or something that just features Lydia and Delia, or something that just features Lydia and Astrid if you would rather write that than something with all four characters. I saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on the big screen recently with no real expectations, but I loved it so much! Maybe even more than the original, because it was so much less cruel, especially in its treatment of Delia. I've always felt that, all things being equal, she as an oddball artist would have been a natural ally to Lydia the weird goth girl with a penchant for photography. I also like that Beetlejuice was significantly defanged in terms of how menacing he seemed and he was borderling sweet at points. Honestly, Lydia's scumbag fiance being a more realistic kind of terrible makes old BJ come off like a prince in comparison. She could, and did, do a lot worse! Which is all to say, I am very happy to receive shippy Beetlejuice/Lydia fic, although feel free to not go that route if you'd rather write something gen with them, or a gen fic about Lydia's relationship with either Astrid or Delia. Or both of them! I'm very intrigued by how Lydia's relationship with Delia improved and how it was that they reached the cheerful equilibrium they did in the sequel that wasn't barb-free but was still friendly. Similarly, when did Astrid's relationship with Lydia start to go downhill? Was she maybe more even-handed before her father died, or did she start being resentful once Lydia and her dad separated/divorced? Was she embarrassed about Lydia's paranormal shtick before then, or was it "selling out" that soured her on it? Or maybe did she believe her mom as a kid and get made fun of for it? Feel free to drop references to other adaptations – I loved the cartoon as a kid and I have approximate knowledge of the musical from my sister who is a big musical theatre fan. If you do go shippy with Beetlejuice/Lydia, I'd prefer if Lydia had agency and the ability to assert boundaries and was actively choosing the relationship as opposed to being tricked or coerced, although I'm not against a "fake marriage to real relationship" sort of thing, or something that starts more dubious and moves to a more equal playing field. Requested characters: Caeneus, Eurydice "Riddy", Ariadne "Ari", Dionysus I am open to a fic that just features Caeneus and Riddy, or one that just features Ari and Dionysus or one that is about any of the requested characters invididually. I loved this show so much! I feel like it's so hard to adapt Greek mythology in a way that feels fresh at this point, given how many centuries worth of interpretation and reinterpretation have been going on at this point, but it had me in the palm of its hand from start to finish. I have been saying for ages now that I want a version of Ariadne who genuinely loved her brother instead of aiding and abetting his murder (justice for the minotaur!). And the idea of a Eurydice who just isn't that into Orpheus is inspired! What does it mean to be the object of someone's undying loyalty when that comes at the expense of being the subject of your own narrative? Caeneus as a former Amazon who had to leave after coming out as trans was a very rich vein to mine too, and I really liked Dionysus as just sort of a nice (by the standards of the gods) guy who likes people, which seemed very appropriate for a god with his particular domain. The nod at the end of the series to his relationship with Ariadne in the myths was also very fun! I'd love if you wanted to write a fic where they met. I also adore Caeneus and Riddy's relationship and I think that's rich with the potential for something deliciously angsty, or maybe something more fluffy as a missing scene when they are in the underworld together? I also would really love to read a character study of any of the characters I have requested. Their backstories are so intriguing and canon has left a lot of room to carve out discrete moments in their past in a fic.Porridge
The Producers (1968)
Supacell
The Tick (TV 2017)
Beetlejuice (movies)
Kaos
To anyone else reading letters to look for people to treat, hi there! I have gifts enabled on my AO3 account, so treat away if you so desire, and thank you for the kind thought.
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