Yuletide Letter
Sep. 30th, 2016 07:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakDear Yuletide Writer,
thank you so much for writing a story for me! I’m greatly looking forward to it, and hope you’ll enjoy writing it. We share at least one fandom, and hopefully some of my ideas will be of interest to you.
General likes/dislikes: Generally, I’m fond of canon settings. By which I mean: I don’t want to read about the characters in a coffee shop AU, or a high school AU, or in a story where no one evolved beyond their pilot characterization and the plot went totally differently from there.
This isn’t an absolute demand. I’ve come across A U s which I have truly loved, and some had pretty cracky premises. So if you are truly inspired to write about, say, Lily Frankenstein’s adventures in space, fine, go for it. “If possible, canon era setting” is a guideline, no more.
On the other hand: no A/B/O, please. Can’t stand it. Also, no character bashing. By which I don’t mean characters can’t have negative opinions about other characters. But there is a difference between that and story intent. To choose a Black Sails example: Jack Rackham having no good things to say about Eleanor Guthrie post s3 would be in character and more than likely. Flint, otoh, passing judgment on Eleanor on one particular act given what he did to Mr. Gates would be hypocritical, and if the entire story is devoted to all the characters hating on Eleanor and Eleanor getting humiliated by the narrative, we’re definitely in bashing territory, and I want nothing to do with it.
Slash, het, bi, poly: I’m fine with it all, and you can write non-generic sex scenes, more power to you, I’m envious (I tend to go for the discreet cut between scenes not because I’m against explicit writing but because I’m not good at it), but I’d prefer it if the story consists of more than just an extended sex scene.
On to fandom specifics.
Penny Dreadful: I love most of the ensemble in this show. Why yes, I have issues with the ending of the show as far as Vanessa is concerned, but what I want most, as far as she is concerned, isn’t an “that never happened” type of fixit but a story that works with what happened and still finds a way to give her agenda, interaction with Malcolm in person instead of letters and possibly a supernatural return. (Not as a vampire, though. What’s wrong with a Mummy or a ghost?)
But while Vanessa and her fate are an issue, you don’t have to write about her to make me happy in this fandom. I’m thrilled that the fabulous Ferdinand Lyle survived; more about him, either backstory or post show fic, would be great. New s3 characters Dr. Seward and Catriona Hartdegen beg for fictional exploration. Why did Dr. Seward choose her job? (Also, she’s short of an assistant right now. Meanwhile, a certain former Orderly is out of a job…) Is Catriona a secret time traveler, given her last name?
The dysfunctional Murray clan: In early s2, I was struck by the difference in how Gladys Murray appears in Vanessa’s s1 flashback episode (as a complete nonentity without lines or presence) and how she acts in her scene with Malcolm, where she’s very much her own woman, has no problem making verbal mincemeat of him with one devastating sentence and doesn’t give the impression this is the first time this happens. Part of it might be the difference between Vanessa’s and Malcolm’s povs, of course. Still, I think a story with Gladys’ pov might be fascinating – what was the “no families could be closer than ours” era like for her, what did she make of the big scandal, how did she relate to her two children, Mina and Peter? Did she ever find out more about Peter’s death than the fact that he died? Did she and Mina remain in contact until Dracula (or possibly after)? Did she know about Malcolm’s affair with Anna Ives, or just that Malcolm was unfaithful in general? What did she make of the fact Vanessa started to live with him in the town house? And so forth.
I was quite happy with what s3 did with Lily, after the s2 ending had left me afraid she might be turned into a supervillain. After Dorian, I don’t think she’ll make the mistake of relying on a single sponsor for a revolution again, but I don’t see her giving up on the cause per se. How about her getting into contact with the women’s movements that are already organized, or? Also, if she and Caliban/John Clare were to reencounter each other again now, I think they might actually be able to form a (non-romantic!) relationship; they share more than resurrection by Victor, after all, and the odd in between status of being not the humans they were before that anymore yet also identifying with that past, now that he remembers (some of) his life as the Orderly. Given how Brona’s loss of her daughter still affects Lily, what would she make of her fellow Creature’s decision to NOT have his son resurrected (leaving aside the question whether Victor would have done it at all if asked)? (Speaking of children, I noticed that John Clare’s description of Victor to his/the Orderly’s wife and Lily’s summing up are pretty similar: for all that he’s in a creator way their father, they see him as a big child.) They both have blood on their hands but seem to be past their unfocused rage phases, they’ve both proven they’re still capable of compassion; what will they do with their immortality now? I’m really curious.
(Speaking of the Orderly: quite how he died and where Victor got the body from to create Caliban is one of the show’s unsolved mysteries. It’s not on my “I urgently need to know” list exactly, but I’m a bit curious, so if you want to do something with that…)
I would be happy to see either Lily or Caliban/John Clare or both interact with some of the other characters. With Lily, there's of course the ticking Ethan time bomb which never exploded on the show, but also: wouldn't Dr. Seward and Catriona Hartdegen be women of great interest to her? With her brother in Frankenstein: given that the Orderly as well as John Clare ended up befriending Vanessa at key points in her life, what would he and Malcolm make of each other?
Lastly: Inspector Rusk dying in the Wild West was not cool, show. I so wanted him to go after Dr. Jekyll once the first Hyde misdeeds start to happen. Also, I thought he was an excellent example of a character who is antagonistic to our regulars not because he's evil or corrupt but because his (ethical) goals are directly opposed to theirs. So if you, dear writer, either give me some missing scenes with Rusk in the s2 or s3 era or let him survive being shot at (hey, Katenay did!) and show up in some future scenario, it would be great. Maybe he tries to solve Vanessa's death? (If you were Rusk, would you buy Ethan's "she asked me to"?) Or the case of all those missing hands? Or maybe he's the only one who bothers finding out what happened to poor Angelique. If ever a person asked to end up in an Victorian prison, it's Dorian Gray...
The Americans:
S4 probably gave us more Martha focus than anything before, but still left a lot to explore. Once Philip showed himself to her undisguised, she must have realized Clark’s mother and sister had to be agents, too, even though she doesn’t point blank ask him until she sees “Jennifer” again. Did she meet Jennifer in addition to the two times we know about, btw? I think the show leaves that open for interpretation. Maybe Elizabeth had to don the Jennifer disguise to make excuses for Clark more than once, after all. We know Elizabeth started to have issues with the idea that Martha saw a side of Philip she didn’t, while Martha if anything seems to have been shying away from as much as considering that the man without a disguise was anyone but Clark with another look, i.e. that there was more than one personality. Jennifer and what little she saw of Elizabeth when Elizabeth tracked her down couldn’t be more different; did that, and the implications for Clark sink in? Did they talk more than what we saw? Martha spend a day and night with Gabriel the safe house, even if she tried to interact as little as possible with him on screen, but that begs for missing scenes/conversations.
And of course there’s the big minefield that is Martha’s post-exit life. Russia was “the Evil Empire” to her, and now she’s living there. (If she is; she’s Schrödinger’s Martha, I guess we might never know for sure, but let’s say Gabriel is telling the truth re: that.) She doesn’t speak the language, any other expatriate Americans she might meet would be ideological opposites, and Philip didn’t lie and give her false hope that he would come to her. How does she handle this, given once she knew who he was really working for, she rationalized it to herself on a “as long as he loves me and we’re together” level?
Going back a bit in time: the show more than once depicts the casual every day sexism at the FBI work place. One reason why Martha believed the tape Philip had manipulated back in s2 was that it was all too likely her boss and coworkers talked about her this way. Martha’s pov on the FBI characters, including the newbie, Aderholt, who is and is not in a similar position to her – on the one hand, black, on the other: male -; and yet she was clearly invested in her job, she was proud of it, and if not for “Clark” would have wanted to remain with the Bureau forever. A backstory for Martha, why she ended up with the FBI, how she saw her work, whether she was sometimes envious of the agents or on the contrary was glad she didn’t have to go into the field – why not tackle that?
If you absolutely do not want to write Martha, have no fear, I’m an ensemble person in this show, and would be happy with pretty much everything you choose to give me. But some suggestions about other characters:
- Gabriel revealed a bit of his backstory this season: specifically, his experience of the Stalin era, the Purges, which still haunt him. (Previous senior Russian characters like Claudia or GeneralExposition Zhukov talked about the Stalin era solely in terms of World War II, the Great Patriotic War, hardships in Stalingrad etc., so that was a first.) Why not work with that? And: for all his tense s3 relationship with Philip, he’s emotionally invested in him as well as in Elizabeth, and given Misha’s orphan boy backstory the sole paternal role model Philip had. Maybe a story focused on the Gabriel-Philip relationship, fatherhood both literal and metaphorical, and always in the shadow of the State as the ultimate Father.
- Paige’s pov on Pastor Tim, Alice and her parents changed rapidly through season 4. By the end of s4, she’s consciously choosing to do (some) spy stuff. How does she see her future now? How does she now define the greater good she once thought the youth church would allow her to work for? Or is she past the idealistic and into the jaundiced phase already?
- Kimberly: we didn’t see her this season, but going by a few aside sentences, Philip is still running her. How does that work out? And what would happen if Kimmie were to meet Paige?
Black Sails: I love this show to bits by now. Again, since I’m fond of most of the ensemble, you’ll make me happy with a story even if my specific prompts or the characters I requested (Miranda, Madi, Eleanor or Max) don’t work for you. Two exceptions: please no stories focusing on either Billy Bones or Charles Vane. It’s not that I don’t appreciate either man on the show, but they happen to be the characters I’m least curious about where fanfiction is concerned, so a story where either (or both at the same time!) are the central focus would be pretty much the opposite of what I want from Yuletide.
Some specific requests and specific characters I want to read more about: Miranda: dead now for a season, still a firm favourite with me. I really appreciate that s3 kept her around for half a season as a ghost haunting Flint, not just because the way she did it said some interesting things about Flint (and gratifyingly jossed any and all fanfiction that had him tied to her solely because of their mutual loss of Thomas, and not invested in Miranda as Miranda). (Seriously: one of the reasons why they are my perfect OT3 is that canon really is clear on the fact that between Thomas, Miranda and James, everyone loved everyone else, not just two of them the same person.) Now on the show proper, I assumed Flint’s Miranda sightings were all in Flint’s mind, but in fanfiction, feel free to let her be an actual ghost if you want. What does she make of her unlife? Is she able to manifest for other people? How would those other characters react?
Leaving this possible angle aside, I still want a complete Miranda backstory – who she was before Thomas, and during her pre-James early marriage to him. Were they always honest to each other? How did they create this remarkable partnership? Did Miranda have political hopes of her own? Did she want children, or was she secretly/openly glad not to have them? Post-Thomas, pre-show: how did Miranda manage the transition from Lady Hamilton, leader of salons and able to command servants galore, to Mrs. Barlow who has to do her own planting and cooking and has to win a community of distrustful colonials (and their pastors) over if she wants to interact with anyone at all? (Other than Flint every 8 months or so.) Was it her decision to live away from Nassau, in the countryside? Was she ever tempted to play a role like Eleanor’s?
Madi: one of the most intriguing s3 characters. What was it like, growing up on the Maroon island, raised to become a leader but knowing that if the island is ever discovered and conquered by white men, she’s more likely to end up a slave along with her people? She knew Eleanor as a girl before Mr. Scott moved Madi and her mother to the secret island, and once called her her father’s other daughter (the one he actually raised), even if Mr. Scott denied it. Did she see Eleanor, at least as a child, as a sort of sister? Or always as completely other (and rival/enemy)?
Her developing relationship with Silver: at this point, not knowing she’s in a Treasure Island prequel, what does she expect from him? Does she think they’ll end up like her mother and father, with her ruling her people and him being the outside agent engineering supplies but not very present in her life? Does she even trust/want him enough at this point to see him as something more than temporary in her life? What does she make of his relationship with Flint? She must have considered the likelihood that the pirates could turn on her people at any point, and literally sell them out – what are her planned strategies against this?
(Note: I love the Flint/Silver relationship, I truly do. Love how the show continues to evolve it. And if you write me a Flint/Silver story, I’ll be happy as well. HOWEVER, if you do write a story about Madi, please make it about her, not about her narrating how hot the guys are and/or how their relationship is the truly superior one. That slash trope was old even a decade ago.)
Eleanor: s3 turned a lot of fandom against her and predictably turned me into an Eleanor Guthrie partisan. So what I don’t want to read is how wrong/evil/stupid she was to have Vane executed at the end of it, or an AU in which her s3 storyline never happened. I loved what s3 did with Eleanor. One reason why Max/Eleanor back in early s1 hadn’t appealed to me as a ‘ship to root for was that it appeared so uneven: Eleanor cared for Max but was always invested in Nassau far more, Max was in love with Eleanor (and then in anger) but absolutely powerless. By s3, however, Max has Eleanor’s old job, status and more, and she understands Eleanor far better than when they were a couple because she’s in Eleanor’s position now (“that fucking chair”). While Eleanor goes from no power at all at the start of the season to second most powerful person on Nassau but very much aware this is a temporary thing at best. She’s also emotionally invested in Woodes Rogers in a way that could be read is paralleling the way Max used to feel about her at the start of s1. In short, they both have now experienced a bit from what the other one did, and their conversations in s2 in their prickly guardedness and sudden emotional honesty, then retreat behind respective self interests, were riveting. So more interaction between Eleanor and Max on that new s3 level? By all means.
I also like Eleanor’s developing relationship with Woodes Rogers, while we’re at it. (Speaking of Woodes Rogers: Thomas Hamilton if he’d actually become Governor of Nassau and had to make a few compromises with reality while still trying to obtain his original goal. I think on some level Flint is aware of the irony. Rogers certainly is.) So far, they’ve both been honest to each other throughout, as opposed to Vane, he’s never tried to tell her what she truly wants/is like, as opposed to Flint, he actually listens to what she has to say, and while I expect there might be betrayal in the future on either side because this is what happens in Nassau in everyone’s relationship (both the romantic and the unromantic ones) sooner or later, I’m currently crossing my fingers for them to make it through that anyway because I happen to like them together right now.
Eleanor’s backstory: what was it like, being raised by Mr. Scott, aiming at and succeeding in becoming the supreme fence of Nassau at age 17? Does she remember Madi (see above)? Did she interact with Anne Bonny before their shared Max rescue in s1? She must have seen Anne around, though, as part of Vane’s crew; what did she make of her? Eleanor lived an unusual but still privileged life until the end of s2. We only see the tail end of her time in prison at the start of s3, when she’s waiting to be executed by the time Rogers shows up. What was that experience like for her, those months of powerlessness and a death sentence hanging over her, in the knowledge that all her goals had failed and all her relationships had broken down? (It clearly affects how she acts in season 3.)
Max: we finally got some backstory for her as well – the slave daughter of a plantation owner, watching his white daughter through the window. We got her breakup with Anne while still clearly having strong emotions for her, and her changed relationship with Eleanor (see above), with the new awareness of what having power in Nassau is like. Max is pragmatist enough not to put all her eggs in one basket (see: not telling Eleanor Idelle is the leak), but for now, she’s invested a lot in English rule in Nassau succeeding (literally: all those black pearls), and while most fanfic has her switching back to Team Pirates without hesitation in a speculated s4, I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. Or quickly, if it happens. (Plus, let’s not forget: the Brits win, in the end. I don’t think Max will go down with a sinking ship, even if Anne is on it.). A Max-centric story, set in present, past or future, would always be welcome to me.
The Last Kingdom: it was a pleasant surprise to see this nominated! First of all: I haven’t read the novels, except for one of the (much) laters, “The Empty Throne”, so my emotional investment is into the tv version and its characterizations. The character who intrigues me most is Alfred, so any story focusing on him would make me happy. Backstory (where did he learn those manipulative skills? If you happen to be a Vikings watcher as well, feel free to go for the ECBERT answer!) , season 1 tense relationship with Uthred, his various Dane opponents, or maybe a hostile encounter with Brida – anything. Note that the ambiguity in Alfred is part of what makes the character for me, so you don’t have to present him in a positive light (if, say, you go for a Brida pov) to make me enjou your story.
thank you so much for writing a story for me! I’m greatly looking forward to it, and hope you’ll enjoy writing it. We share at least one fandom, and hopefully some of my ideas will be of interest to you.
General likes/dislikes: Generally, I’m fond of canon settings. By which I mean: I don’t want to read about the characters in a coffee shop AU, or a high school AU, or in a story where no one evolved beyond their pilot characterization and the plot went totally differently from there.
This isn’t an absolute demand. I’ve come across A U s which I have truly loved, and some had pretty cracky premises. So if you are truly inspired to write about, say, Lily Frankenstein’s adventures in space, fine, go for it. “If possible, canon era setting” is a guideline, no more.
On the other hand: no A/B/O, please. Can’t stand it. Also, no character bashing. By which I don’t mean characters can’t have negative opinions about other characters. But there is a difference between that and story intent. To choose a Black Sails example: Jack Rackham having no good things to say about Eleanor Guthrie post s3 would be in character and more than likely. Flint, otoh, passing judgment on Eleanor on one particular act given what he did to Mr. Gates would be hypocritical, and if the entire story is devoted to all the characters hating on Eleanor and Eleanor getting humiliated by the narrative, we’re definitely in bashing territory, and I want nothing to do with it.
Slash, het, bi, poly: I’m fine with it all, and you can write non-generic sex scenes, more power to you, I’m envious (I tend to go for the discreet cut between scenes not because I’m against explicit writing but because I’m not good at it), but I’d prefer it if the story consists of more than just an extended sex scene.
On to fandom specifics.
Penny Dreadful: I love most of the ensemble in this show. Why yes, I have issues with the ending of the show as far as Vanessa is concerned, but what I want most, as far as she is concerned, isn’t an “that never happened” type of fixit but a story that works with what happened and still finds a way to give her agenda, interaction with Malcolm in person instead of letters and possibly a supernatural return. (Not as a vampire, though. What’s wrong with a Mummy or a ghost?)
But while Vanessa and her fate are an issue, you don’t have to write about her to make me happy in this fandom. I’m thrilled that the fabulous Ferdinand Lyle survived; more about him, either backstory or post show fic, would be great. New s3 characters Dr. Seward and Catriona Hartdegen beg for fictional exploration. Why did Dr. Seward choose her job? (Also, she’s short of an assistant right now. Meanwhile, a certain former Orderly is out of a job…) Is Catriona a secret time traveler, given her last name?
The dysfunctional Murray clan: In early s2, I was struck by the difference in how Gladys Murray appears in Vanessa’s s1 flashback episode (as a complete nonentity without lines or presence) and how she acts in her scene with Malcolm, where she’s very much her own woman, has no problem making verbal mincemeat of him with one devastating sentence and doesn’t give the impression this is the first time this happens. Part of it might be the difference between Vanessa’s and Malcolm’s povs, of course. Still, I think a story with Gladys’ pov might be fascinating – what was the “no families could be closer than ours” era like for her, what did she make of the big scandal, how did she relate to her two children, Mina and Peter? Did she ever find out more about Peter’s death than the fact that he died? Did she and Mina remain in contact until Dracula (or possibly after)? Did she know about Malcolm’s affair with Anna Ives, or just that Malcolm was unfaithful in general? What did she make of the fact Vanessa started to live with him in the town house? And so forth.
I was quite happy with what s3 did with Lily, after the s2 ending had left me afraid she might be turned into a supervillain. After Dorian, I don’t think she’ll make the mistake of relying on a single sponsor for a revolution again, but I don’t see her giving up on the cause per se. How about her getting into contact with the women’s movements that are already organized, or? Also, if she and Caliban/John Clare were to reencounter each other again now, I think they might actually be able to form a (non-romantic!) relationship; they share more than resurrection by Victor, after all, and the odd in between status of being not the humans they were before that anymore yet also identifying with that past, now that he remembers (some of) his life as the Orderly. Given how Brona’s loss of her daughter still affects Lily, what would she make of her fellow Creature’s decision to NOT have his son resurrected (leaving aside the question whether Victor would have done it at all if asked)? (Speaking of children, I noticed that John Clare’s description of Victor to his/the Orderly’s wife and Lily’s summing up are pretty similar: for all that he’s in a creator way their father, they see him as a big child.) They both have blood on their hands but seem to be past their unfocused rage phases, they’ve both proven they’re still capable of compassion; what will they do with their immortality now? I’m really curious.
(Speaking of the Orderly: quite how he died and where Victor got the body from to create Caliban is one of the show’s unsolved mysteries. It’s not on my “I urgently need to know” list exactly, but I’m a bit curious, so if you want to do something with that…)
I would be happy to see either Lily or Caliban/John Clare or both interact with some of the other characters. With Lily, there's of course the ticking Ethan time bomb which never exploded on the show, but also: wouldn't Dr. Seward and Catriona Hartdegen be women of great interest to her? With her brother in Frankenstein: given that the Orderly as well as John Clare ended up befriending Vanessa at key points in her life, what would he and Malcolm make of each other?
Lastly: Inspector Rusk dying in the Wild West was not cool, show. I so wanted him to go after Dr. Jekyll once the first Hyde misdeeds start to happen. Also, I thought he was an excellent example of a character who is antagonistic to our regulars not because he's evil or corrupt but because his (ethical) goals are directly opposed to theirs. So if you, dear writer, either give me some missing scenes with Rusk in the s2 or s3 era or let him survive being shot at (hey, Katenay did!) and show up in some future scenario, it would be great. Maybe he tries to solve Vanessa's death? (If you were Rusk, would you buy Ethan's "she asked me to"?) Or the case of all those missing hands? Or maybe he's the only one who bothers finding out what happened to poor Angelique. If ever a person asked to end up in an Victorian prison, it's Dorian Gray...
The Americans:
S4 probably gave us more Martha focus than anything before, but still left a lot to explore. Once Philip showed himself to her undisguised, she must have realized Clark’s mother and sister had to be agents, too, even though she doesn’t point blank ask him until she sees “Jennifer” again. Did she meet Jennifer in addition to the two times we know about, btw? I think the show leaves that open for interpretation. Maybe Elizabeth had to don the Jennifer disguise to make excuses for Clark more than once, after all. We know Elizabeth started to have issues with the idea that Martha saw a side of Philip she didn’t, while Martha if anything seems to have been shying away from as much as considering that the man without a disguise was anyone but Clark with another look, i.e. that there was more than one personality. Jennifer and what little she saw of Elizabeth when Elizabeth tracked her down couldn’t be more different; did that, and the implications for Clark sink in? Did they talk more than what we saw? Martha spend a day and night with Gabriel the safe house, even if she tried to interact as little as possible with him on screen, but that begs for missing scenes/conversations.
And of course there’s the big minefield that is Martha’s post-exit life. Russia was “the Evil Empire” to her, and now she’s living there. (If she is; she’s Schrödinger’s Martha, I guess we might never know for sure, but let’s say Gabriel is telling the truth re: that.) She doesn’t speak the language, any other expatriate Americans she might meet would be ideological opposites, and Philip didn’t lie and give her false hope that he would come to her. How does she handle this, given once she knew who he was really working for, she rationalized it to herself on a “as long as he loves me and we’re together” level?
Going back a bit in time: the show more than once depicts the casual every day sexism at the FBI work place. One reason why Martha believed the tape Philip had manipulated back in s2 was that it was all too likely her boss and coworkers talked about her this way. Martha’s pov on the FBI characters, including the newbie, Aderholt, who is and is not in a similar position to her – on the one hand, black, on the other: male -; and yet she was clearly invested in her job, she was proud of it, and if not for “Clark” would have wanted to remain with the Bureau forever. A backstory for Martha, why she ended up with the FBI, how she saw her work, whether she was sometimes envious of the agents or on the contrary was glad she didn’t have to go into the field – why not tackle that?
If you absolutely do not want to write Martha, have no fear, I’m an ensemble person in this show, and would be happy with pretty much everything you choose to give me. But some suggestions about other characters:
- Gabriel revealed a bit of his backstory this season: specifically, his experience of the Stalin era, the Purges, which still haunt him. (Previous senior Russian characters like Claudia or General
- Paige’s pov on Pastor Tim, Alice and her parents changed rapidly through season 4. By the end of s4, she’s consciously choosing to do (some) spy stuff. How does she see her future now? How does she now define the greater good she once thought the youth church would allow her to work for? Or is she past the idealistic and into the jaundiced phase already?
- Kimberly: we didn’t see her this season, but going by a few aside sentences, Philip is still running her. How does that work out? And what would happen if Kimmie were to meet Paige?
Black Sails: I love this show to bits by now. Again, since I’m fond of most of the ensemble, you’ll make me happy with a story even if my specific prompts or the characters I requested (Miranda, Madi, Eleanor or Max) don’t work for you. Two exceptions: please no stories focusing on either Billy Bones or Charles Vane. It’s not that I don’t appreciate either man on the show, but they happen to be the characters I’m least curious about where fanfiction is concerned, so a story where either (or both at the same time!) are the central focus would be pretty much the opposite of what I want from Yuletide.
Some specific requests and specific characters I want to read more about: Miranda: dead now for a season, still a firm favourite with me. I really appreciate that s3 kept her around for half a season as a ghost haunting Flint, not just because the way she did it said some interesting things about Flint (and gratifyingly jossed any and all fanfiction that had him tied to her solely because of their mutual loss of Thomas, and not invested in Miranda as Miranda). (Seriously: one of the reasons why they are my perfect OT3 is that canon really is clear on the fact that between Thomas, Miranda and James, everyone loved everyone else, not just two of them the same person.) Now on the show proper, I assumed Flint’s Miranda sightings were all in Flint’s mind, but in fanfiction, feel free to let her be an actual ghost if you want. What does she make of her unlife? Is she able to manifest for other people? How would those other characters react?
Leaving this possible angle aside, I still want a complete Miranda backstory – who she was before Thomas, and during her pre-James early marriage to him. Were they always honest to each other? How did they create this remarkable partnership? Did Miranda have political hopes of her own? Did she want children, or was she secretly/openly glad not to have them? Post-Thomas, pre-show: how did Miranda manage the transition from Lady Hamilton, leader of salons and able to command servants galore, to Mrs. Barlow who has to do her own planting and cooking and has to win a community of distrustful colonials (and their pastors) over if she wants to interact with anyone at all? (Other than Flint every 8 months or so.) Was it her decision to live away from Nassau, in the countryside? Was she ever tempted to play a role like Eleanor’s?
Madi: one of the most intriguing s3 characters. What was it like, growing up on the Maroon island, raised to become a leader but knowing that if the island is ever discovered and conquered by white men, she’s more likely to end up a slave along with her people? She knew Eleanor as a girl before Mr. Scott moved Madi and her mother to the secret island, and once called her her father’s other daughter (the one he actually raised), even if Mr. Scott denied it. Did she see Eleanor, at least as a child, as a sort of sister? Or always as completely other (and rival/enemy)?
Her developing relationship with Silver: at this point, not knowing she’s in a Treasure Island prequel, what does she expect from him? Does she think they’ll end up like her mother and father, with her ruling her people and him being the outside agent engineering supplies but not very present in her life? Does she even trust/want him enough at this point to see him as something more than temporary in her life? What does she make of his relationship with Flint? She must have considered the likelihood that the pirates could turn on her people at any point, and literally sell them out – what are her planned strategies against this?
(Note: I love the Flint/Silver relationship, I truly do. Love how the show continues to evolve it. And if you write me a Flint/Silver story, I’ll be happy as well. HOWEVER, if you do write a story about Madi, please make it about her, not about her narrating how hot the guys are and/or how their relationship is the truly superior one. That slash trope was old even a decade ago.)
Eleanor: s3 turned a lot of fandom against her and predictably turned me into an Eleanor Guthrie partisan. So what I don’t want to read is how wrong/evil/stupid she was to have Vane executed at the end of it, or an AU in which her s3 storyline never happened. I loved what s3 did with Eleanor. One reason why Max/Eleanor back in early s1 hadn’t appealed to me as a ‘ship to root for was that it appeared so uneven: Eleanor cared for Max but was always invested in Nassau far more, Max was in love with Eleanor (and then in anger) but absolutely powerless. By s3, however, Max has Eleanor’s old job, status and more, and she understands Eleanor far better than when they were a couple because she’s in Eleanor’s position now (“that fucking chair”). While Eleanor goes from no power at all at the start of the season to second most powerful person on Nassau but very much aware this is a temporary thing at best. She’s also emotionally invested in Woodes Rogers in a way that could be read is paralleling the way Max used to feel about her at the start of s1. In short, they both have now experienced a bit from what the other one did, and their conversations in s2 in their prickly guardedness and sudden emotional honesty, then retreat behind respective self interests, were riveting. So more interaction between Eleanor and Max on that new s3 level? By all means.
I also like Eleanor’s developing relationship with Woodes Rogers, while we’re at it. (Speaking of Woodes Rogers: Thomas Hamilton if he’d actually become Governor of Nassau and had to make a few compromises with reality while still trying to obtain his original goal. I think on some level Flint is aware of the irony. Rogers certainly is.) So far, they’ve both been honest to each other throughout, as opposed to Vane, he’s never tried to tell her what she truly wants/is like, as opposed to Flint, he actually listens to what she has to say, and while I expect there might be betrayal in the future on either side because this is what happens in Nassau in everyone’s relationship (both the romantic and the unromantic ones) sooner or later, I’m currently crossing my fingers for them to make it through that anyway because I happen to like them together right now.
Eleanor’s backstory: what was it like, being raised by Mr. Scott, aiming at and succeeding in becoming the supreme fence of Nassau at age 17? Does she remember Madi (see above)? Did she interact with Anne Bonny before their shared Max rescue in s1? She must have seen Anne around, though, as part of Vane’s crew; what did she make of her? Eleanor lived an unusual but still privileged life until the end of s2. We only see the tail end of her time in prison at the start of s3, when she’s waiting to be executed by the time Rogers shows up. What was that experience like for her, those months of powerlessness and a death sentence hanging over her, in the knowledge that all her goals had failed and all her relationships had broken down? (It clearly affects how she acts in season 3.)
Max: we finally got some backstory for her as well – the slave daughter of a plantation owner, watching his white daughter through the window. We got her breakup with Anne while still clearly having strong emotions for her, and her changed relationship with Eleanor (see above), with the new awareness of what having power in Nassau is like. Max is pragmatist enough not to put all her eggs in one basket (see: not telling Eleanor Idelle is the leak), but for now, she’s invested a lot in English rule in Nassau succeeding (literally: all those black pearls), and while most fanfic has her switching back to Team Pirates without hesitation in a speculated s4, I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. Or quickly, if it happens. (Plus, let’s not forget: the Brits win, in the end. I don’t think Max will go down with a sinking ship, even if Anne is on it.). A Max-centric story, set in present, past or future, would always be welcome to me.
The Last Kingdom: it was a pleasant surprise to see this nominated! First of all: I haven’t read the novels, except for one of the (much) laters, “The Empty Throne”, so my emotional investment is into the tv version and its characterizations. The character who intrigues me most is Alfred, so any story focusing on him would make me happy. Backstory (where did he learn those manipulative skills? If you happen to be a Vikings watcher as well, feel free to go for the ECBERT answer!) , season 1 tense relationship with Uthred, his various Dane opponents, or maybe a hostile encounter with Brida – anything. Note that the ambiguity in Alfred is part of what makes the character for me, so you don’t have to present him in a positive light (if, say, you go for a Brida pov) to make me enjou your story.
