YULETIDE 2020
Oct. 16th, 2020 03:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
freakinguselessThank you so much for agreeing to write me a story for one of these fandoms. By virtue of that alone, I can tell you're wonderful. I'm so excited to read whatever it is you come up with, and I'm sure I will love and be absolutely delighted by it! If you have fun writing it, I know I will have the time of my life reading it!
GENERAL LIKES: character studies, slice-of-life, scenes that slot somewhere within the canon and expand upon it, Outsider POV, intimacy in all its guises (domestic fic, doing the laundry together, really knowing someone else, healthy and sometimes unhealthy dependencies), messy, complicated, nuanced relationships, future fic, road trips, tropes! -- fake dating, sharing a bed, mutual pining, trapped in an elevator -- AUs (all the AUs! a good soulmate au -- sometimes that means two people who aren't soulmates saying fuck it and going all-in on each other, heist au, etc.)! I enjoy fic that delves into relationships, and I don't mind smut, but I like it to say something about the relationship and how it functions/changes.
GENERAL DISLIKES: noncon or dubcon, major character death that's not in canon, character bashing, especially to prop up a ship (it obviously depends, but there's a fine line between Character A not liking Character B, and the story putting a character down, you know?), pregnancy fic, kid fic, A/B/O, first person POV.
THE AMERICANS (TV 2013) [Elizabeth Jennings, Philip Jennings | Clark Westerfield]
I rewatched this last year, and just rewatched the pilot (with intent to continue), and am still going absolutely bonkers over Elizabeth and Philip (Friends know me as someone who regularly yells about the romance of Philip extracting Elizabeth's tooth). I love how nuanced and complex their relationship is. It's such a real and deep exploration of marriage, the ebb and flow of how they feel about each other, and ultimately, the loyalty and love that underpins it all. Anything exploring that would be amazing.
For these two, the canon is so rich that I would love anything that explores it. A character study about either Elizabeth or Philip - expanding on their life in the Soviet Union, their training with the KGB, the early years of their time together in the US, any moment that slots into canon, or their time in Russia when we leave them. I'm really interested in the two of them learning to live with each other, both at the start of their relationship in America, and after they leave Henry and Paige in the finale (and everything in the middle). When all they have is each other, and they've been partners for so long that they don't know how to be anything else. But their lives are so drastically different, as is the home the left years ago and have now returned to. Settling into their new normal has to be weird and difficult.
I also think there are trope -y things you could do, if you wanted: trap them in an elevator at any time in their relationship! Hurt/Comfort! Amnesia! I also think the show does a great job with the push/pull of sex between them. The perfunctory nature of it when they conceive Paige and Henry, when that changes in the pilot, and how it evolves from there to be about an emotional connection - which has its ups and downs - and trust. Exploring how that changes for them over the years would be great, too.
NORMAL PEOPLE (TV 2020) [Marianne Sheridan (Normal People 2020), Connell Waldron (Normal People 2020)]
I read the novel this year before watching the miniseries (after having it on my list for ages, and then having friends watch the show and tell me it's a type of media that speaks to what I love so thoroughly), and it completely turned me inside out. I adored both Marianne and Connell, their relationship, the nuance, complications and contradiction within it, and the connection and love that ultimately binds them to each other through everything. I would love anything about the two of them, whether it takes place within the various time frames of the show, or explores the two of them at a time set after it ends -- which felt hopeful to me, bittersweet, but ultimately love-affirming and optimistic.
I would love fic where Connell comes back home after his time in New York, whether for holiday or a short time or permanently. I would love fic where Marianne visits him in New York just as much. In either scenario, in any moment of reconnection, the two of them finding that their bond is malleable, able to change and stretch, unable to be severed because of how they've impacted each other and how they understand each other. Anything that explores the way their relationship has changed as they have as individuals, especially while physically away from each other, and attempting to readjust to that.
I adore outsider POV fic, so something that explores how other people see Marianne and Connell's relationship at various times would be fascinating to me. Give me Lorraine, or Helen, or Peggy, or Joanna, or Jamie, (or all of them!) or someone else -- a friend or romantic partner either of them has while Connell is in New York and Marianne is still in Ireland, who knows the other exists, but that knowledge becomes new and changes once they actually witness Marianne and Connell together. Marianne and Connell being unfaithful to someone with each other is something I would love, but not the other way around.
A story that deals with Marianne and Connell when they get back together toward the end of the series. The scene where they're having sex, and Marianne asks Connell to hit her, and he refuses, is so interesting to me. A story that has them working through that moment and what it means for their relationship and their intimacy going forward. Marianne's desire to submit to Connell, and how that is impacted by his aversion to having power over her, despite them both having power over each other in different ways. The two of them coming terms with that in a healthy way. It seems to be touched on in the show but not explored in-depth or in practicality -- how do we get from that scene to the sex they have on Marianne's birthday? I would love to see them navigating sexual intimacy that is, once again, satisfying to both of them, and deals with their ideas of love and sex and power and how it's, maybe, become more complicated over the years.
THE LAST DANCE (2020) RPF [Michael Jordan (Last Dance 2020 RPF), Scottie Pippen (Last Dance 2020 RPF)]
I am generally not a big sports person, but watching this docuseries was so much fun, and despite knowing the outcome for the Bulls, I was riveted. My favorite aspect was the partnership between Michael and Scottie, and I'm endlessly fascinated by that kind of dynamic. The trust and respect you have to have for someone, simply to pass them the ball and hope they don't mess up the game for you (team sports!). The struggle of ego, of wanting to win, and also of wanting recognition and to be The Best. I read an article that stated once, Scottie took a shot (and made it!), and the cameras caught Michael reaming him out after, because Michael wanted Scottie to pass him the ball so he could score instead. That push and pull is interesting to me. I'm interested in this dynamic in any way, and that includes in a more ... romantic/sexual sense.
I'd be curious in the power dynamic between the two of them, an alternating sense of friendship and animosity, working that out through a game of one-on-one, in a hotel room on the road, in the locker room. I wouldn't want something that specifically deals with any sort of outright and intense homophobia, but some sort of internalized resistance to it along with an inability to stay away from each other -- they have to get out of some of that adrenaline after a win. I had the idea that part of the reason Michael comes back to the game is because his ego cannot stand the idea of Scottie having or developing the same sort of connection the two of them have on the court with someone else.
I also love the shots of Michael leaning on Scottie during the flu game (hung over game! -- and Scottie knowing what happened there is a great well to explore, too), the tactility of it, and exploring that aspect of sports. The excuse sports offers, and how aware or unaware they are of it and how it affects them.
SUCCESSION (TV 2018) (Kendall Roy, Roman "Romulus" Roy, Siobhan "Shiv" Roy)
Siblings! My favorite fucked-up, billionaire siblings! I love them all so much, and I would be interested in any fic that explores the dynamic among the three of them (sorry, Connor). Some of my favorite interactions on the show are theirs -- Roman and Shiv having that physical, slap fight in the hospital, Kendall putting himself between his dad and Roman and telling his father not to touch him, Shiv hugging Kendall when he's breaking down and it's Not Going To Be Him, the three of them in the boathouse before Shiv's wedding, the three of them on the yacht laughing about discussing their feelings! Anything that deals with them, pre-show, during the show, or going forward to what we haven't seen yet would be wonderful.
Anything exploring the way they mock and hurt each other, egg each other on, and protect and maybe even love each other, especially during tense family moments or while one of them is particularly struggling with something. The idea that they're all fucked up, they don't show affection for each other in healthy ways, and how that affection ends up manifesting, and how those manifestations can ultimately cause more hurt and harm than good. But are they ever going to admit they were hurt? Not a chance.
I love these three, particularly, because growing up, they were the only people they had who understood what it was like with Logan as a father (sorry, Connor!), constantly in his formidable shadow, to grow up with their Mom and her own brand of selfishness. How they would never want to be vulnerable with each other, or admit to any feelings, but still being witnesses to those insecurities and emotions if they happened to crack, to still depend on each other in their owns ways. To make fun of each other, and be in competition with each other, and be siblings, in all their messy, gory, complicated ways.
This is one request where I'd also be just as happy to receive a character study focused on any one of the three siblings I requested, or a fic that focuses on the dynamic between any two of them!
My AO3 is perfectlystill, and I'm on tumblr at amyabbotts!
GENERAL LIKES: character studies, slice-of-life, scenes that slot somewhere within the canon and expand upon it, Outsider POV, intimacy in all its guises (domestic fic, doing the laundry together, really knowing someone else, healthy and sometimes unhealthy dependencies), messy, complicated, nuanced relationships, future fic, road trips, tropes! -- fake dating, sharing a bed, mutual pining, trapped in an elevator -- AUs (all the AUs! a good soulmate au -- sometimes that means two people who aren't soulmates saying fuck it and going all-in on each other, heist au, etc.)! I enjoy fic that delves into relationships, and I don't mind smut, but I like it to say something about the relationship and how it functions/changes.
GENERAL DISLIKES: noncon or dubcon, major character death that's not in canon, character bashing, especially to prop up a ship (it obviously depends, but there's a fine line between Character A not liking Character B, and the story putting a character down, you know?), pregnancy fic, kid fic, A/B/O, first person POV.
THE AMERICANS (TV 2013) [Elizabeth Jennings, Philip Jennings | Clark Westerfield]
I rewatched this last year, and just rewatched the pilot (with intent to continue), and am still going absolutely bonkers over Elizabeth and Philip (Friends know me as someone who regularly yells about the romance of Philip extracting Elizabeth's tooth). I love how nuanced and complex their relationship is. It's such a real and deep exploration of marriage, the ebb and flow of how they feel about each other, and ultimately, the loyalty and love that underpins it all. Anything exploring that would be amazing.
For these two, the canon is so rich that I would love anything that explores it. A character study about either Elizabeth or Philip - expanding on their life in the Soviet Union, their training with the KGB, the early years of their time together in the US, any moment that slots into canon, or their time in Russia when we leave them. I'm really interested in the two of them learning to live with each other, both at the start of their relationship in America, and after they leave Henry and Paige in the finale (and everything in the middle). When all they have is each other, and they've been partners for so long that they don't know how to be anything else. But their lives are so drastically different, as is the home the left years ago and have now returned to. Settling into their new normal has to be weird and difficult.
I also think there are trope -y things you could do, if you wanted: trap them in an elevator at any time in their relationship! Hurt/Comfort! Amnesia! I also think the show does a great job with the push/pull of sex between them. The perfunctory nature of it when they conceive Paige and Henry, when that changes in the pilot, and how it evolves from there to be about an emotional connection - which has its ups and downs - and trust. Exploring how that changes for them over the years would be great, too.
NORMAL PEOPLE (TV 2020) [Marianne Sheridan (Normal People 2020), Connell Waldron (Normal People 2020)]
I read the novel this year before watching the miniseries (after having it on my list for ages, and then having friends watch the show and tell me it's a type of media that speaks to what I love so thoroughly), and it completely turned me inside out. I adored both Marianne and Connell, their relationship, the nuance, complications and contradiction within it, and the connection and love that ultimately binds them to each other through everything. I would love anything about the two of them, whether it takes place within the various time frames of the show, or explores the two of them at a time set after it ends -- which felt hopeful to me, bittersweet, but ultimately love-affirming and optimistic.
I would love fic where Connell comes back home after his time in New York, whether for holiday or a short time or permanently. I would love fic where Marianne visits him in New York just as much. In either scenario, in any moment of reconnection, the two of them finding that their bond is malleable, able to change and stretch, unable to be severed because of how they've impacted each other and how they understand each other. Anything that explores the way their relationship has changed as they have as individuals, especially while physically away from each other, and attempting to readjust to that.
I adore outsider POV fic, so something that explores how other people see Marianne and Connell's relationship at various times would be fascinating to me. Give me Lorraine, or Helen, or Peggy, or Joanna, or Jamie, (or all of them!) or someone else -- a friend or romantic partner either of them has while Connell is in New York and Marianne is still in Ireland, who knows the other exists, but that knowledge becomes new and changes once they actually witness Marianne and Connell together. Marianne and Connell being unfaithful to someone with each other is something I would love, but not the other way around.
A story that deals with Marianne and Connell when they get back together toward the end of the series. The scene where they're having sex, and Marianne asks Connell to hit her, and he refuses, is so interesting to me. A story that has them working through that moment and what it means for their relationship and their intimacy going forward. Marianne's desire to submit to Connell, and how that is impacted by his aversion to having power over her, despite them both having power over each other in different ways. The two of them coming terms with that in a healthy way. It seems to be touched on in the show but not explored in-depth or in practicality -- how do we get from that scene to the sex they have on Marianne's birthday? I would love to see them navigating sexual intimacy that is, once again, satisfying to both of them, and deals with their ideas of love and sex and power and how it's, maybe, become more complicated over the years.
THE LAST DANCE (2020) RPF [Michael Jordan (Last Dance 2020 RPF), Scottie Pippen (Last Dance 2020 RPF)]
I am generally not a big sports person, but watching this docuseries was so much fun, and despite knowing the outcome for the Bulls, I was riveted. My favorite aspect was the partnership between Michael and Scottie, and I'm endlessly fascinated by that kind of dynamic. The trust and respect you have to have for someone, simply to pass them the ball and hope they don't mess up the game for you (team sports!). The struggle of ego, of wanting to win, and also of wanting recognition and to be The Best. I read an article that stated once, Scottie took a shot (and made it!), and the cameras caught Michael reaming him out after, because Michael wanted Scottie to pass him the ball so he could score instead. That push and pull is interesting to me. I'm interested in this dynamic in any way, and that includes in a more ... romantic/sexual sense.
I'd be curious in the power dynamic between the two of them, an alternating sense of friendship and animosity, working that out through a game of one-on-one, in a hotel room on the road, in the locker room. I wouldn't want something that specifically deals with any sort of outright and intense homophobia, but some sort of internalized resistance to it along with an inability to stay away from each other -- they have to get out of some of that adrenaline after a win. I had the idea that part of the reason Michael comes back to the game is because his ego cannot stand the idea of Scottie having or developing the same sort of connection the two of them have on the court with someone else.
I also love the shots of Michael leaning on Scottie during the flu game (hung over game! -- and Scottie knowing what happened there is a great well to explore, too), the tactility of it, and exploring that aspect of sports. The excuse sports offers, and how aware or unaware they are of it and how it affects them.
SUCCESSION (TV 2018) (Kendall Roy, Roman "Romulus" Roy, Siobhan "Shiv" Roy)
Siblings! My favorite fucked-up, billionaire siblings! I love them all so much, and I would be interested in any fic that explores the dynamic among the three of them (sorry, Connor). Some of my favorite interactions on the show are theirs -- Roman and Shiv having that physical, slap fight in the hospital, Kendall putting himself between his dad and Roman and telling his father not to touch him, Shiv hugging Kendall when he's breaking down and it's Not Going To Be Him, the three of them in the boathouse before Shiv's wedding, the three of them on the yacht laughing about discussing their feelings! Anything that deals with them, pre-show, during the show, or going forward to what we haven't seen yet would be wonderful.
Anything exploring the way they mock and hurt each other, egg each other on, and protect and maybe even love each other, especially during tense family moments or while one of them is particularly struggling with something. The idea that they're all fucked up, they don't show affection for each other in healthy ways, and how that affection ends up manifesting, and how those manifestations can ultimately cause more hurt and harm than good. But are they ever going to admit they were hurt? Not a chance.
I love these three, particularly, because growing up, they were the only people they had who understood what it was like with Logan as a father (sorry, Connor!), constantly in his formidable shadow, to grow up with their Mom and her own brand of selfishness. How they would never want to be vulnerable with each other, or admit to any feelings, but still being witnesses to those insecurities and emotions if they happened to crack, to still depend on each other in their owns ways. To make fun of each other, and be in competition with each other, and be siblings, in all their messy, gory, complicated ways.
This is one request where I'd also be just as happy to receive a character study focused on any one of the three siblings I requested, or a fic that focuses on the dynamic between any two of them!
My AO3 is perfectlystill, and I'm on tumblr at amyabbotts!
