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I realized today that I've never actually managed to get around to writing a Yuletide letter any of the years I've previously participated. Oops? Anyway, let's see how this goes...

To start with, hello! Thank you so much for writing for me! I'm really excited to see what you come up with; the best part of Yuletide is all this generous creativity concentrated in one place. I think that's awesome.

I don't have a lot of specific dislikes that you need to avoid -- mainly, I don't particularly like incest (I've read it, but I can't really buy into happy-go-lucky scenarios; exploring about the messed-up, claustrophobic aspects is something I find interesting if well done, but not exactly enjoyable). I can't stand character-bashing (i.e., when an author decides that "not liking a character" is the same thing as "said character being evil/wretched/a terrible person/to blame for everything" and essentially pile-drive them, accordingly). I tend toward happy endings and a lighter tone for Yuletide, since I'm generally in a cheerful mood at the holidays -- but then again, my Yuletide present last year was scary enough that I had trouble going to sleep after reading it, and I was delighted, so...basically I'm pretty easy in that regard. :) I have no aversion to any mode -- gen, het, slash, polyamory, whatever, just as long as it's in-character.

Specific likes:
- wacky shenanigans
- con artistry and heists
- banter and clever dialogue
- competence! I have such a competence kink.
- friendship/partnership; also friends/partners slowly growing into something more
- strength in adversity
- hurt/comfort
- pining
- respect and admiration in romances (i.e., rationally actually liking the other person's qualities, in addition to more irrational, schmoopier feelings)
- epistolary fic (i.e., anything where people have long exchanges in letters/emails/text messages/memos/etc.)
- AUs and crossovers

Elaboration on requests:

1. Banlieue 13 (2004) - Damien Tomaso, Leito

I said: I would love anything with Damien and Leito together -- fighting bad guys, sparring, working in B13, hanging out watching movies, wandering around Paris, anything you can think of! (I would be totally down with it if "having sex" is on that list for you, but no worries if it's not.) I just really adore their dynamic from the movies, and would love to see more of them being the awesome, competent characters that they are.

Seriously, is there anything more fun than the way Damien and Leito are in this movie? They kick ass and leap around rooftops(/moving cars/stairways/ANYTHING THEY LIKE)...and then start arguing about democratic ideals and socioeconomic discrimination in France and urban renewal, or they start bantering about how best to kick ass on the next bunch of bad guys. It's really delightful. I enjoy their dynamic quite a bit, like I said. If you want to play with worldbuilding, I think there's a lot of potential there. I only chose Damien and Leito as characters, but if you want to bring Lola back, that could be loads of fun. Or Tao, she's great in the second movie. These two hit my competence kink like whoa, so anything in that line (i.e. them being really awesome at what they do) would be most welcome. I like when they work together, when they argue about politics, when Leito laughs at Damien for saying things like "the law is my bible now!" and meaning it (but secretly probably thinks it's great). I love that they trust each other despite all the reasons they should theoretically be archenemies. I like Damien's bullheaded pursuit of justice and Leito's beleaguered idealism.... Basically, I have a lot of feelings about this ridiculous action movie. Have fun with this prompt, if you choose it!

2. Gaslight (1944) - Paula Alquist Anton, Brian Cameron

I said: I would dearly love a post-movie, Paula-centric story. I love the strength we see in her during the attic scene, when she stands up to the man who has literally been driving her mad, and is so beautifully angry and brave. After her horrible experiences during the film, I would love to see coming into her own, and learning to trust in her own sanity and opinions again. I'd also like to see Brian Cameron again -- his respect for Paula in the midst of all the doubt was really lovely, and his history with her aunt is such a great story. (There's definitely romantic potential there, in my opinion, but I think at the very least a growing friendship between them would be wonderful.) But mostly, I want Paula -- singing and venturing out into London and reconnecting with her friends and healing.

This is such a good movie. I also find it rather terrifying; gaslighting is a real form of psychological abuse, and Ingrid Berman's performance in this is just heartbreaking real to me. I firmly believe she can grow past the trauma, and I would very much like to see it happen. If you decide to use Brian, I would love for you to retain his respect for Paula's choices and agency, and I would be interested to see you develop his crush on her aunt/crush-by-proxy on Paula from nostalgia/memory into something real (friendship or relationship, whichever you prefer). Maybe you could give him some characterization that would endear Paula to him (beyond just the savior complex; it could be fun to give him some competing suitors for contrast, so it's not just an "he got there first when she was vulnerable" sort of situation). Let's see, what else...I mentioned my love of period settings in the Paper Moon prompt, but forgot to do so here, so let me just say: YAY Victorian London! The movie itself is so necessarily claustrophobic that I would love to see Paula's world expanding outward, and there are so many fun period details you could play with. The movie hints at a network of former acquaintances and friends that Paula's husband prevented her from connecting with, which provides all kinds of opportunities.

3. Paper Moon (1973) - Addie Loggins

I said: Addie is such an awesome character. She's a brilliant, precocious little con artist! What's not to love? Anyway, I would like to have another adventure with her -- could be when she's grown up, or still a kid and kicking around with Moses, or whatever you like. I am a great lover of con artistry, clever ladies, and period settings, so please feel free to bring those things into play.

If you haven't seen this movie -- and it seems a lot of people haven't, which is no surprise because it's a random Peter Bogdanovich period piece from the 70s -- I highly recommend it. The little girl who plays Addie (who is a miniature con artist) turns out such a brilliant performance that you can totally believe in her as a con artist, cleverer than all of the adults around her. I really would just love more Addie, doing her thing and being clever and pulling off cons like a boss. Female con artists were fairly rare, so if you want to explore that aspect of things, I would be fascinated to see it. I feel like this fandom is wide open to crossovers or cameos, if that's your thing -- like maybe she schooled a young Neal Caffrey as a wise old con woman, or hears a story about the con they pull in The Sting, or what have you. IDK, you can be massively creative with con artists, IMO.

If you're looking for inspiration, I would like to make a recommendation: there's a book called The Big Con by David Maurer, which is absolutely brilliant, and still a fantastic resource for con artistry even though it was written 70 years ago. There's a free preview on Google Books, if you feel like checking it out. There's tons of brilliant anecdotes about Depression-era con men and various tricks that they pulled, which are period-appropriate for Addie's character. I admit, I'm mentioning this book because I'm a GIANT NERD and I get hugely geeky about it, and I pretty much think you should read it whether you're writing this prompt or not, but I'm trying to keep a lid on that. (Doesn't seem to be working all that well...) Also, watching The Sting is always fun -- Paul Newman and Robert Redford as 1930s con men pulling a revenge heist? YES PLEASE.

4. Lost In Austen - George Wickham, Caroline Bingley

I said: No one was more blindsided than me when I came out of watching this miniseries and realized that George Wickham was totally my favorite character. SURPRISE! But he's just so much fun -- snarky and clever and charming, and secretly a giant sweetheart. And then they had that little moment at the end, with Caroline Bingley and the handkerchief and the carriage...and suddenly my brain decided that the best thing in the world would be a story where Wickham and Miss Bingley somehow team up and have loads of shenanigans in Regency-era London. I mean, doesn't that sound great?

I kind of blame this prompt on all the Georgette Heyer I've been reading recently. She is all about Regency-era shenanigans, and it has infected my mind. In all seriousness, I loved the complexity that the miniseries brought to Wickham's character -- turning him from the manipulative villain of the books into a multi-dimensional character was such a fun move. And ditto for the revelations about Caroline Bingley's character. I don't have much more to say about this prompt -- "shenanigans!" pretty much sums it up. Do have fun with this, if you write it. Wickham is a singularly irreverent character, and I think that characteristic would interact hilariously with Caroline's proud reserve, and their mutual fondness for mocking people's foibles and failings.


Right! So...if you're stuck on the fandom(s) that you matched on, I suppose you're in luck that three of the four are easily-watched movies. Plus a mini-series. I know Paper Moon and Lost In Austen are both currently streaming on Netflix, if you have access to that; Gaslight, B13 and its sequel are available as DVDs.

Anyway, good luck! This turned rather longer than I expected -- lots of rambling about what I like in the source material and throwing out ideas for the story -- but please don't feel too overwhelmed! If you need to throw out all my optional details and follow your muse, please feel free. I'm going to be delighted to get fic in any of these fandoms, and I'm so very curious to see what you'll write; please don't tie yourself in knots feeling beholden to my prompts.

A million thanks, and the best of luck to you!

Cheers,
Lindsey

(no subject)

Date: 2011-11-27 07:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gingerwall.livejournal.com
I haven't even caught up on Fringe, and now I have more things to watch!

P.S. My dad is doing well. He just got moved to a new hospital after a month in the St. David's ICU, which I think will be really good for him psychologically. Plus it's way more rehab oriented and they'll actually let him do things like go outside and walk across the room.

(no subject)

Date: 2011-11-27 08:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] inmyriadbits.livejournal.com
Girl, you should know by now that this is what happens when you're friends with me. :)

I'm so glad to hear that! Give him my best, will you? And hugs to yourself! *hugs*

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