Dear Yuletide Author

[jessikast]

Here we go again! I'm EXCITED.

This is my fourth year doing yuletide, and you can see my previous letters here, here and here. Some of the fandoms are the same, and many of the general details about my wants/do-not-wants.



In General

I would really, really like a happy ending. I am a person who enjoys squeeing and fics which make me helplessly happy. I can appreciate a poignant ending, but I would prefer not to.

I like cliches, including:

• Aliens made them do it
  
  • Or sex pollen, or a weird aphrodisiac or sex-or-die(-or-wacky-consequences)
• Someone is a fairy/vampire/alien/werecreature/immortal
  
  • And the other character(s) are cool with this/find it sexy
• Telepathy, mystic soul bond
• Genderswap
• Someone turns into a puppy. Or they adopt a puppy. PUPPIES.
• Wingfic
• Someone loses a sense (temporarily!)
• AUs
• Sentience of a previously inanimate object (like Atlantis, the Metallicar...)
• Clones/duplicates/selves from an alternate reality
  • with whom they have sex
• Fic from the POV of an outside character (not a MarySue and becoming involved with the characters, but someone from whose perspective it's really interesting to see the characters we're used to.)
• PUPPIES
• etc etc.

Seriousness is still okay, of course. I just prefer not to read stories where characters are being stupid because it's needed to advance the plot (I guess I have a "communicating like sensible human beings!" kink), or things which trigger embarrassment squicks. Also no death-fic, unless it's going to turn into a vampire or ghost type fic.

I am, in general, a slash fic fan, and pretty much all my regular, every-day fic reading is slashy. (Or fem-slashy.) However, I find myself more flexible when it comes to Yuletide, and I'd still squee over gen fics for my nominated fandoms. (However, I wouldn't be so keen on OTHER pairings than specified which break up my OTPs. So, favoured pairings>gen>other pairings.)

Oh, and I really like kiss scenes. Yes, please!

Fandoms

HELLCATS
This show hits a lot of fandom kinks for me: pretty people doing cheerleading! College/university setting! Two female main character who should, according to the Laws of TV Writing, be hating on each other but forced to work together, who actually get along really really well! I even love Alice, in all her clever, clever bitchiness.

The only thing lacking (apart from showing on screen the steaming hot lesbian sex Savannah and Marti are CLEARLY having, possibly while wearing their cheer uniforms) is the bit where They Fight Crime.

So, the fic I would love to read is the one where the Hellcats are, in fact, the public front for a team of awesome flipping, high-kicking crime fighters.  Possibly with an underground base. Failing that, anything that celebrates Marti and Savannah's friendship, has Alice working with them for a common goal, and has the kind of plots which make underdog cheerleading movies so much fun.

Please, NO Marti/Dan, except in the context of explaining what a huge, massive mistake this whole concept is.

OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE
I would love some post-show awesomeness. Basically, future-fic. My favourite characters are Van (and his adorable Russian bride), Loretta, Pascalle and Grandpa.

One element I'd like to see is Wolf returning. I was SO SURE they'd bring him back for Cheryl at the end of the series, and it would make it feel complete for me. I otherwise did really love the last episode, especially the places that the characters ended up. (Except Pascalle/Wayne. I mean, I'd like them to stay together, since if they broke up so much pain would have been for nothing, but it's not something I want to dwell on.)

Confession: I religiously watched the first three seasons, and cried when Aurora died, but I drifted off for a couple of seasons before getting hooked again at the end. So I would prefer a fic that didn't rely on needing too much detailed knowledge of those mid seasons.

THE END OF THE ALPHABET - FLEUR BEALE
(Assumption: Hello, fellow Kiwi!)

Fleur Beale is one of my favourite authors, ever since I read <i>Slide the Corner</i> and found myself fascinated by rally driving. Which is something I have no interest in whatsoever. How does she do that?!

Anyway, I love Ruby's story, but found myself wanting more. So, please: future fic. Ruby travelling, Ruby making her career as a personal shopping consultant, Ruby speaking Portugese. (Ruby hooking up with, say, Greg from <i>Slide the Corner</i>... Or encountering characters from other teen novels by Fleur Beale or Tessa Duder etc.)

HUSTLE

They're cool, they're competent, they're criminals, they're sexy-British and they are the most adorable dysfunctional team ever.

I would love a fic that focused on Ash Morgan, who is my favourite character, although I'm happy with anything celebrating their team-ness.

Like I said, I have a huge adoration for Ash Morgan, with my other favourite characters being Micky, Sean and Emma, Stacie, and Albert. Billy and Danny never grew hugely on me, although I do have a fondness for their place in the whole team dynamic.

I love that this show is about criminals out to make money, not JUST do good, and I love that they're all smart and very, very good at what they do.

I really enjoyed the last seasons with Sean and Emma. (And I actually kind of ship them harder than any other pairing on the show and if it doesn't squick you I would SO READ THAT FIC.)

If you want to tackle something big, I love long, episode-like convoluted con fics. I would also love to see a day-in-the-life deal, characters attempting something out of their usual skill set, or someone's background coming up to bite them in the ass and the rest of the team covering for them.

If you can manage it, my dearest wish is for a Hustle/Leverage crossover. Both teams are so awesome, and they'd be so much MORE AWESOME together!