moirariordan | yuletide 2016

Hello there! It's that time of year again. I'm Meagan, AO3 is jaegermighty. Thanks for clickin', let's hop to it!

; general likes / dislikes
My main DNW is anything that deals with rape, in any form (dubcon included). Other than that, I'm fairly easygoing - generally I'm kind of a weenie in that the fic I prefer usually is kind of happy and ends well and the angst is easily solvable with a conversation or two, but I also like pushing my horizons, so don't let that hold you back.

I don't tend to enjoy PWPs that much, nor do I really like A/B/O and other related tropes. I do like -

fusion-style crossovers,
misunderstandings,
pining/mutual pining,
identity porn,

and, uh...what else. All the classics - fake/pretend relationship, curtain fic. Gen fic with heavy focus on a character's emotional development (like, idk, Sue Storm Goes to Therapy and Gets Her Groove Back, that kind of thing). I like romance (as in, shipping) but I also like reading about friendships, family relationships, found families, etc., so whichever angle you want to take, I'll most probably enjoy it.

My number one with a bullet trope is that particular kind of found family where you have a bunch of outcasts that get thrown into a situation together and then take down the Man, or run off to fight a war, or become revolutionaries, or idk, just run away from home and start a farm together. Like season one of Stargate Atlantis - bunch of weirdos who hop off to another galaxy and then get cut off from Earth, the base at the end of the world (well, I guess at the end of the universe, in SGA's case). That combination of isolation + stress/dangerous circumstances that leads to the really intense bonds that form between the characters (romantic or otherwise) is like, my narrative sweet spot. Most of the fandoms I requested this year have elements of this (I didn't mean to request along a theme, it just sorta...happened), and if you include that dynamic somehow you will have my heart, I guarantee you.

; fandom one: killjoys (tv)
Johnny Jaqobis, Dutch

I love this show, show of my heart! The worldbuilding, the action sequences, the politics, the building storylines, character development - it's all so well done. One of the best shows on television right now, in my opinion.

The dynamic that hooked me in and kept me was Johnny and Dutch, so that's what I'm asking for - if you ship them, awesome, if you don't, also awesome. I like both, and I really do mean that, I'm not just saying it to give you an easy out.

Some prompts -

Backstory! What happened before the pilot, how did they meet, become partners, get so close? A casefic about a warrant they carried out before canon began? Maybe something that investigates what their relationship was like before it was quite so solid?
Casefic - deserves its own bulletpoint. Something meaty/actiony/plotty that digs into why Johnny and Dutch work so well together as a team? I love stories with forced isolation involved, a la "we're trapped in this mansion with a bunch of party guests and we have to figure out who the killer is!" Not that I'm asking for a murder mystery, but really anything that involves putting characters into a puzzle that they can't blast their way out of - that's super interesting to me.
Romance - I mean, like I said, I'm probably one of maybe...ten people that ship them? Unless I'm missing some hidden community of shippers somewhere. So something straight up shippy, romantic, sexy would be great. Any classic trope - misunderstandings, I think, would work well for these two, since they seem to be so good at communicating...when they actually talk. The rest of the time they seem to avoid talking for that exact reason - because they know they'll get held accountable for something they're not ready to face yet. So something that plays on that stubborn avoidance thing they do would work well.
"We can just fly away" - what if Dutch had taken him up on this in season one? Or Johnny in season two? Or any other time that either of them has probably said that? Something bittersweet but domestic, maybe, building a new life together somewhere else, leaving everything behind. That kind of "we're safe and happy because we were selfish, so we feel a little guilty about it" ending is my jam.
Romance, part deux - specifically, with other people, and how that affects their friendship. I'm really, really not into Dutch/D'avin, so I would prefer that you not touch on that too heavily, but Pawter/Johnny was a really interesting plotline this season, and Dutch's reaction to it was brilliantly done, I thought. Or if you want to go pre-canon - obviously, Pawter and D'avin (and Alvis) aren't the only people they've been involved with. How did that interfere with their partnership, or did it at all?
Politics - one of the biggest lies about killjoys is that they're apolitical - clearly, they're not. Something that digs into the worldbuilding of the political world of the quad, and the unique position that Dutch (and the Jaqobis) are in in relation to it would be great.

Hopefully that gets you going! There's lots to talk about with this show, so really anything you wanna write about, so long as it centers on Johnny and Dutch, I'm along for the ride.

; fandom two: jessica jones (tv)
Jessica Jones, Trish Walker

Oh man, I ship it hard, hard, hard. I haven't fallen for a ship like this in a long while. Any couple that's founded on a basis of "us against the world" style friendship is bound to press my buttons, but something about this dynamic really knocked me off my feet. The wealth of history between them, combined with this dogged determination to stick with it and make it work, despite all the setbacks and fights (some of which were more than serious enough to break a weaker relationship) - man, it just hits me where I live, it really does.

That being said - remember that I'm really into relationship dynamics in general, so if you don't want to ship them, that's totally fine! Their friendship is complex and rich and I would enjoy a fic about it regardless of whether it was explicitly romantic or not.

Some prompts for you - I tried to include romantic ones, as well as gen ones, so hopefully there's something to help, no matter which one you choose -

Pining! This seems set up for pining, tbh. I tend to read Trish as the one who's helplessly stuck wanting and never being able to have, but you can make it the other way around, too.
Backstory - tons tons tons to dig into. When they were teenagers? What was it like for Jessica, being the shadow following Patsy Walker around? (I mean, I gather that she was the equivalent of a Disney Channel star or something - all that hype and glitter must have been overwhelming, to say the least). The juxtaposition between the overly cheerful, happy world of children's entertainment and the very grim, serious real-life problems they were dealing with must have been...something.
What if? AU: What if Trish had never really broken away from Dorothy, and had stayed on the child star track? Would she be a movie star now, or would she have burnt out? What would her relationship with Jessica look like?
Superpowers! Does Trish get them? If you're into the comics, feel free to bring some of that stuff in if you want. I don't know much about Hellcat, but I know there's tons of weird/badass/wild stuff to dig into.
Superpowers, deux - specifically, Jessica's, and how it affects their friendship/relationship. Jessica's obviously intensely afraid of hurting Trish - is that something that she did, accidentally? During a nightmare, or just by not watching her strength one day, when she was younger? If it's a shippy thing - what about sex? Going to bed with someone who can snap you half like a twig has got to affect the dynamic, no matter how much you trust them - and especially with Trish's past.
Superpowers, whatever-three-in-French-is, identity porn! What if Trish becomes Hellcat and tries to keep it a secret from Jessica?

Hopefully that gives you a starting point. One note I do want to make - I realize that this canon deals very directly with rape, and the aftermath of rape, which I realize I just told you I don't want to read about. I don't want to tie your hands here, though, especially since it's such a central theme in the show. So basically - write what you want, and I'll be fine. My main issue with it is that I don't want to read a rape scene, so as long as you're talking about the emotional aftermath of it, and not like...writing the actual occurrence of it, I'll be okay.

; fandom three: annie (2014)
Any (Annie, Will Stacks, Grace)

I was absolutely that little kid who loved the Annie musical and begged her parents to go see it a dozen times every time it came to town, and so of course when the movie was announced I was ecstatic. Pretty sure I bugged the shit out of everyone on my tumblr feed for like, a full four months, leading up to the release date.

I loved the movie, I still think it was one of the most underrated (and unfairly criticized) of the year, I looooooved the cast (they were all perfect for the characters), the music was a bit shaky in some parts, but the essence of the songs were there, and I actually really liked the updates!! The City's Yours is still, I think, one of the most powerful numbers in the film, I love love love it.

So yeah, I would love some fic. Family fic, to be precise! I don't have many actual prompts for you on this one, because the only thing on my head is "what happens next???!?!" so yeah - that's my prompt. What happens next? Annie growing up, getting older - what kind of teenager does she become? Young adult? What does she want to study in college, what kind of student is she anyway, what are her hobbies, her passions, her interests? Do Will and Grace get married, and if so, how many Will & Grace jokes do they endure at the reception? What's Grace like as a mother, what's Will like as a full-time dad? What's Annie's relationship to each of them on their own, and how is it different from how she relates to them together? Do they have more children?

If you want to focus in on one of the characters - I'm down for that, too!! Pre-canon stuff about Grace and/or Will, maybe, or even a Grace/Will shippy thing, that's great. Any of them on their own, or in any combination - I'm game.

I'm just hungry for it all, I loved the movie and I really just want more, tbh. I'm sorry this is so vague! It really does leave me incoherently happy, though, whenever I watch it. It's my childhood memory, updated! Literally my dream-come-true movie, and I guarantee you that I'll love whatever you want to write about it, just because it's Annie, you know? Ugh.

; fandom four: practical magic - alice hoffman
Gary Hallet

This is one of my favorite books in the entire world, and I was really hyped to see that the book was nominated along with the movie, since they're both incredible (!!) but the book really has a lot more interesting character stuff in it, particularly when it comes to Gillian, Antonia & Kylie, and Gary.

I requested Gary because he's the character I'm most intrigued by, but since it's a book about a family, don't feel obligated to focus only on him. I love everything and everyone. Sally, of course, has a good reason to be involved, but don't shy away from the other characters too, if that's where the writing takes you.

Some starting points for you -

Backstory, backstory, backstory, I feel like that's all I'm asking for this year, but - more about Gary's life before he met Sally would be great. Sonny was obviously a huge influence on him, but one of the things I thought was really interesting was that he not only ignored Sonny's explicit advice, but willingly contradicted it. Gary's passages are short, but they seem to be themed around this idea of him walking into Sally's arms with his eyes wide open, knowing all along that it's probably a mistake, that his judgment is compromised and that it'll probably end badly, and he does it anyway because he wants it so much, and he seems like a man who rarely wants anything. Exploring that conflict through the lens of his childhood might be a really interesting place to start.
Will Sally and Gary have children of their own? What about Gillian and Ben? How do the father/s fit into the matriarchal dynamic of the Owens family? What's Gary's relationship like with Antonia and Kylie?
Gary and the Aunts. I mean...enough said.
Every character in the book seems to place a great amount of importance on superstitions, luck, and that unique way of looking at the world that leads to descriptions like - "Gary looks into her eyes and sees himself upside down" (that good old Alice Hoffman lyricism). Clearly, Gary has a bit of magic in him as well - all the characters do - so how does his interact with Sally's? Or the rest of the Owens family? I have a feeling he would understand a lot more about that part of their lives than some of the other men in their lives do/did.
Gary's life post-Sally in general - does he stay in law enforcement in some capacity, does he move right away, what kind of life is he setting himself up for exactly? Or does it matter?

I hope that's enough to get you started! :)

; good luck! :)
My tumblr is johnnyjacqobis, if you're the type that likes to poke around. Feel free to do the same here on my DW - not that there's anything here but other Yuletide letters anymore, but sometimes those are helpful. If you have specific questions for me, feel free to get in touch via the mods, or drop me an anon comment here or an ask on tumblr - I'm pretty sure I've got it turned on in both places.

Most of all, just have fun with it. I'm of the opinion that if the writer really enjoyed the process of creating it, then the reader will enjoy it too, even if it's not exactly the same tropes or plot or characters that they were daydreaming about. But also - I chose fandoms this year that I absolutely adore, and anything about these canons/characters will make me happy (and again, I'm not just saying that!), so don't stress, have fun, and enjoy writing. And happy holidays! :)