Yuletide 2019 Letter
My dear Yuletide writer,
Thank you so so much for signing up for one of my requests! This is my first year doing Yuletide, and I couldn’t be more excited to be part of this exchange!
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A bit about me, I've been writing fic for five years now; got my start in the small-ish Death Note fandom, and took a hard left into the tiny Spaghetti westerns fandom; had a brief love affair with True Detective, a slightly longer one with Wolf 359, a jumble of interesting interludes with The Silmarillion, and was the second to post fic in the Helvetica tag. Really, though, I've never stopped loving writing for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly as long as I've been in the Spaghetti fandom.
I'll start you off with some words of reassurance; the thing I love most about fic and fandom is people writing what they love from their own desire to put something they want to read into the world. So though I'm going to give you a long and meandering treatise on what I like as an audience, along with a few specs for things that would really be a turn-off to me for certain fandoms -- I do first and foremost want you to write something that you love and are proud of. I've read in a lot of different fandoms, some of which come totally foreign to me; and fic writers never fail to impress me with their creative voices. I'm really excited to see what yours is like. Despite everything I'm going to write to help you get an idea of my preferences -- I know the best fic to read is that which an author loves writing. So if you have something that doesn't fit in with my "I love this" specs, but doesn't go against my "please don't write this" specs, and it's something you love? Feel free to try me <3 I love being surprised. Beyond my DNW, this is really just a guide if you're a writer who prefers to write with audience or prompts.
* But in the spirit of what these letters tend to be about -- what do I like in fic? My bookmarks list on Ao3 corresponds to a "rec forever" list, so that will give you a broad sampling of things that have charmed me. If I had to put to a favourite genre, that would definitely be noir, neo-noir, detective noir, cowboy noir. Anything with a bleak flavor and a drawling protagonist tends to corral me right in.
My favourite thing to read and write are meaningful conversations between characters-- these don't have to be between a ship, it can be really satisfying to have two characters in a platonic relationship in dialogue as well. The emotional core to a story is what draws me in, more so than an intricate plot or a well-built world. Simply put; I'm interested in stories where characters listen to each other and themselves, or fail to listen to each other and themselves, and reap the consequences.
I'm fond of atmospheric settings; Leone's large landscapes, the drip of rain on a city skyline, tiny cramped cabins in a snowstorm. You can probably guess from my fondness of podcasts that I don't necessarily need the writing to be detailed visual; just so long as it's got a sensory feel and emotional charge. In terms of canonicality of characters, I play it fast and loose when I write, so if you have an idea of a character that you want to run with; I'm the last person who'll accuse you of writing someone as OOC. As long as the characters have a self-consistent and interesting motivation, I'm all for it.
If you're interested in getting the flavor of fics that have captivated me, the ones I reread most often and with the most fervor: A Cornstalk Fiddle, Fancy Boy, not the way the world ends, Incident of the Two Hundred Thousand. Of my own fics, I've reread Sighted Crows in a Desert of Rime more times than I can count. If I write or read within a genre, it tends to go with a twist. I like fluff, but only if it's tempered with melancholy. I like angst, but not without some kind of hopefulness to go with it; if not a happy ending. I like PWP, but only if the sex actually has a story, a communication to it-- something the characters aren't telling each other. In terms of things I don't like? I've unfortunately never been fond of omegaverse. Slow-burn and mutual pining I'm also not fond of; though if that's what you're fond of writing, I can enjoy an emotional slow-burn if the couple(/polygroup) has already had sex and is in denial about there being emotions involved.
An important note about writing ships for me-- I'm myself polyamorous, but I'm also a writer. This means I tend to have a preference for softer endings for poly triads, and would strongly prefer that monogamonormativity only play a small role in emotional conflicts for polyamorous writing. Basically, much as reading about internalized homophobia or irl homophobia can be difficult for someone who is gay/lesbian, I don't tend to seek out repetitions of my own anxieties about selfishness, providing for my partners, jealousy etc in fanfic. That said; I'm not setting a hard limit with this one, and if you've got a jealousy/insecurity/"I don't deserve polyamory" plotline you think you can do justice to (with a happy ending!), I'll choose to trust you there.
In terms of couples though; as I said, I'm a writer, and I adore fraught conflict to a high degree. I'm also completely fine with explicit nsfw, I more or less consider it just an extension of the way a ship communicates. I don't actually have many hard limits in terms of triggers/squicks/kinks, though you should know I'm not...shy about the things I like, so if it's something hardcore and it's not something you see on my bookmarks list, maybe not a great time to drop this Extremely Specific Kink on me.
...that said, I did laugh out loud when someone wrote a Reader x Peter B. Parker x BAGEL fic, so like. Golden rule is still "if you love it and think you'll really enjoy writing it...", heheh. You can also always drop me an anon ask if you're really unsure.
All right, I think that's enough generic commentary, let's get on to some fandom-specific guidelines, if you're looking for them :)
* Helvetica (Webcomic)
I think the important thing to know about my love of Helvetica is it comes from a deep existential horror with the premise. I mean, imagine waking up for a second life, with knowledge that you HAD a first life, but no idea what that first life was...and you just have to get a job, pay rent, live life again as if that's normal...
Worldbuilding opportunities are abound for such a setting; however I do have a preference for the backstories and explanations of death for the characters to remain out of reach. It's analogous to life itself that way; it's interesting to pine and wonder after a great meaning, but the truth of the matter is we all have to figure out our own meanings (and hopefully through loving each other!).
So with that said, for prompts I'm more or less requesting the Autumn/Lucy/Helvetica OT3. A mystery, led by Lucy and/or Autumn, is always welcome. I tend to headcanon Helvetica as a bit of a bookworm, so if you're craving writing some fluff, a bookstore date with the three of them would be nice. I did a take on the OT3 get-together with a Christmas party fic; but I'm completely willing to read another get-together fic for them :)
...I will accept PWP about the ship, cf. my own skeleton PWP. That would be really funny to me.
If you're craving some angst, a funeral would be an interesting thing to write about. I headcanoned Niles as dead in my dics, so if you wanted a canon character to die...easy choice. Steak and Good Heavens I wouldn't be totally opposed to having die, especially under natural circumstances (fun prompt: what the heck is "natural circumstances" for a skellie...) -- but they're a ship I love too, so that's got the potential to be sad.
One of the things I play with in my Helvetica writings is bringing characters to settings they understood or had connections to in life, and having them feel the ghost of their past life without being able to confirm it. I headcanon Lucy, for instance, as a Jewish atheist in life, so he celebrates the various holidays and feels things in connections to certain Jewish symbolism. Autumn I headcanoned as semi-practicing protestant Christian, Helvetica as agnostic but celebrating Christian holidays, Good Heavens as Catholic, Steak as practicing Jewish... you can feel free to shuffle around these headcanons as you see fit; or heck, write about something else that you have a connection to and give that to the characters :) Helvetica is ample ground for pontificating on spiritual matters! In terms of additional characters, I'd be thrilled to see a take on my OC Wittgenstein, more development on the sketch of Niles I provided in Ashes to Oxide, or a completely fresh take on Niles if you have one!
DNW: In bone wing shelters (can't keep out the wind), I mentioned another OC, Gabriel. I would prefer she not be written about. The other DNW I have for Helvetica is a sad ending for the OT3. Melancholy and struggles is fine, but no breakups. They're my comfort ship, and I want nice things for them. So if you go the angst route, just make sure they're supportive of each other throughout the experience.
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Drive (Film)
Ahh one of my favourite aesthetic-heavy pieces :) I'm really angling for a fix-it in this request, to be sure, where everyone lives and gets to escape to someplace they're happy. What would make me happiest is an AU where the Driver saves Standard from his untimely death, and then the three of them run away together, falling in love slowly and carefully along the way. Lots of opportunities for plot and action there!
But for wont of a prompt that is one-shot length at least: The Driver playing with Benicio shortly after he's cleaned up Standard; and Standard realizing "oh my god I'm bi and have a crush on this man". Another: Standard and Irene on the road together, quietly talking about the fact that they both like having the Driver around (while he watches over Benicio). Benicio teaching the Driver a secret sign language; then the Driver using it to talk with Standard and Irene.
(I'm like. dropping hints that I like the Driver and Benicio hanging out).
You can feel free to name the Driver what you think is appropriate. I would prefer something one-syllable that isn't a conventional name (for instance, one fanfic I liked called him "66", which I thought was neat).
A well-coordinated OT3 threesome PWP is welcome, especially on the road to safety :)
This is one of the few films I'd prioritize one thing about staying IC; and that's that the Driver should remain terse; speaking normally should be difficult for him. You can get around this by signing or something creative though, if you prefer :)
DNW: this is probably obvious, but I'll add it anyways -- Benicio walking in on his parents+Driver having sex.
DNW: any internal struggle from Irene about whether the Driver would be a better partner for her than Standard is. Would strongly prefer her to be certain in her conviction that she wants to stay with her husband, but knowing her feelings for the Driver to be strong -- and worrying about what to do with that. Any external conflict (from Benicio, Irene for instance), as to Standard being a good father (it's okay for him to worry about that; but only if his partners are supportive and reassure him that he's doing his best).
The main reason for that is the film definitely veers close to "white man supplants brown man's role as husband" and then backs away from it with violence pretty quick -- basically I don't want that dynamic leaned on any further than the film already does.
* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The classic canon OT3 film! I'm also definitely angling for a fix-it here. My ideal is that Butch and Sundance agree to go with Etta's plan to settle down on the farm. I'd really most love a fic, any fic, centered around the trials and struggles of that concept, them struggling to stick with it but doing so for the love of each other. There's a lot of opportunity to play with either a short fic or a slow burn to healthy coping, so I'd love to see a fic of any length playing with that.
Angst and fighting in the OT3 is fine, but small preference for the fic to end on at least a cautionsly optimistic note, if not a happy one :) PWP is super welcome here! If you feel like staying within the film’s canon, Sundance whump at any point during their first chase across America is v welcome. Would also find a pre-canon story about the time Sundance was in jail to be interesting; or you could give that a headcanon explanation.
DNW: The ending of the story to go the same way as the film's ending, that is leaning on "we are backsliding into this narrative and it's going to be what kills us". Nothing against that as a concept, I just know the film does that already better than any fic I'd possibly want.
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Oh man. Oh man, you're walking into My Town here, partner, ahaha.
GBU is a fandom I've written for coming on 3 years now; and I still find things I want to read or experience from it. The most recent story to captivate me was a 70s au fic that I'm still cowriting on. By that notion; AUs are very welcome (save for one I've specified in my DNW).
My favourite character by far is Angel Eyes, and I've written and loved several versions of him. A pervasive fanon I'm proud to have coined is that he's fond of Latin quotes -- you can take or leave that; but it would make me smile to see it continued in the fic. In general the commonality between my versions of Angel is that he tends to be a sort of cowboy Hannibal (as in NBC Hannibal), written to varying degrees of sympathetic.
I have specified Blondie, Angel, Tuco as characters, but as long as Angel Eyes is present, the other characters I'm fine with you deciding who you want to write. My first love was Blondie/Angel Eyes, and I'm always there for more of that ship. I also fell for Blondie/Angel Eyes/Tuco (aka the Trio), and fluff with them is super welcome. Angel Eyes / Tuco is one that surprises me that I love, but I do. For prompts: sci-fi AU would be fun (something Firefly style?). I love anything with a post-apocalyptic vibe (Mad Max AU would be so cool!). I would laugh really hard if you wrote a trio everyone lives post-canon where they try to run a farm together badly.
DNW: Traditional Pirate au (already working on something to that effect). If you're writing the trio (Blondie/Tuco/Angel Eyes), I DNW to read a scenario where Blondie/Tuco are the main ship and Angel Eyes is an afterthought, an interloper, pining jealously, etc. In general I prefer equal partnership in all my OT3s, but for personal reasons I want to set that one as a hard boundary. I DNW any fic written in my 'talking won't save you' / Tweechik verse, or with versions of those OCs. In general I would prefer an original take that you see on the characters :)
* Okay, that's about all I have to say! Thank you again, dear Yuletide writer, and happy writing to you!
Good wishes,
Syb <3