Dear Yuletide Writer 2016

[cinaed]

Hello, Yuletide Writer!

I’m Cinaed here, Tumblr, AO3, and pretty much everywhere except real life.

First off, thank you for participating! I hope you enjoy Yuletide this year and that you have fun with my requests.

As you may guess from glancing at my fandoms and potential prompts, I like gen and relationships of any variety.

Stuff I love includes but is not limited to: found families, epistolary/documentary, friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, pretend couples (that turn into real couples), friends with benefits, people showing their care and concern by feeding the other person, gardening, developing platonic or romantic relationships, fix-its, missing scenes, and future-fic.

Stuff I don't want is: infidelity/adultery, character death, and non-con/dub-con.

Fiddler on the Roof [Any: Chava, Hodel, Fydeka, Perchik]

If I could have nominated every character in the musical, I would have! I adore this show, and feel like it begs for post-canon epistolary fic. One example: various family members writing to each other as they settle into their lives in America, Poland, and Siberia. But the fic doesn’t have to be an epistolary one if that’s not your style. Another idea might be Hodel and Chava discussing Fyedka and what it means for Chava to want to marry outside the faith, or Chava and Hodel saying good-bye to each other before Hodel leaves for Siberia. A look at Perchik and his life side by side the history of the Russian revolution would be fascinating as well. Also one of my friends jokingly suggested a heist canon divergence where Fyedka and Chava go to Siberia and help Hodel rescue Perchik from the camp, and now I want it, whoops.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend [Darryl Whitefeather, Josh Wilson]

Darryl and White Josh are my favorite couple on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend! I love how well they communicate, and how they might not always understand each other, but they’re charmed by each other and their quirks nevertheless. I especially enjoyed WJ defending Darryl as a hot Tom Selleck lookalike. I would love anything about their relationship, but if you need ideas, maybe Darryl throws an office party just so he can show off his boyfriend off to his coworkers, or White Josh meets Madison and her snails with their celebrity pun names, or this time White Josh takes Darryl out for dinner. Upon rewatch, I realized that Rebecca wasn’t in the room for Darryl’s staff meeting about his bisexuality, and then was too busy with her own problems at the wedding, so she might not actually know Darryl and White Josh are together! Though I didn’t ask for her, it might be funny to see her delayed reaction to their relationship.

The Squire’s Tales Series – Gerald Morris [Dinadan, Palomides]

This is one of my favorite book series of all time and a comfort reread. I love the way Morris writes Arthurian mythology, with humor but also heart and critical look at what being a knight truly means. I especially enjoy Dinadan, who isn’t a stereotypical knight and yet upholds the best tenets of knighthood, in protecting people as well as he can and treating everyone as worthy of respect. Palomides is an equally wonderful character. I am so intrigued by his backstory, how he fought in the Crusades against knights and traveled to Arthur’s kingdom to learn more about them. I love the dynamic between Dinadan and Palomides and how they connect as outsiders and musicians and become lifelong friends. I’d honestly be happy with anything about them, whether it’s a post-canon adventure with Dinadan and Palomides still saving the day, or Dinadan and Palomides having a quiet moment of learning more about each other’s cultures and music, or Dinadan trying to grow Camelot flowers or fruits in Palomides’ homeland, or even taking another Arthurian tale and putting a Morris spin on it. One of my favorite stories is about Moriaen, a young Moorish knight who comes to Camelot in search of his father. It’d be fun to have Dinadan get involved with that young man’s adventure because of his friendship with Palomides, and Palomides showing up as well. I ship Dinadan/Palomides one hundred percent, but I would also be delighted by a story showcasing their friendship, so whatever you’re comfortable with!

Longmire [Cady Longmire, Victoria "Vic" Moretti]

Longmire is an amazing show, my favorite modern western alongside Justified, and I especially love Cady and Vic. In a show dominated by men, I think they’re both fascinating, strong women with their own personal journeys. Although we haven’t seen too much of their friendship on the show, it’s clearly there, and I’d love to see more of it, whether it’s Cady helping Vic with a case, Vic and Cady having a girl’s night out, or Vic and Cady discussing Cady’s recent career shift. I would be very happy for friendship fic, but I also ship them, so if you do too, I’d be happy to receive a shippy fic! And as of this letter, I haven’t seen season 5, so please no spoilers for the newest season.

District Merchants [Lorenzo, Jessica, Shylock]

I fell in love with this Merchant of Venice adaptation that retells the story in 1870s Washington DC, with the characters very recognizable from their original counterparts but also shaped by their new historical context. I especially loved what they did with Shylock, Jessica, and Lorenzo, both giving Jessica a reason to leave (Shylock is controlling and over-protective) but also giving them all a chance at a future reconciliation. The courtroom scene leaves Shylock destitute but still strong in his faith, Jessica doesn’t convert but rather continues her traditions, and Lorenzo is well on his way to converting to Judaism. I loved Jessica, who ran away with Lorenzo hoping for romance but also clear-eyed and seeing him as a means to escape a restricted life if he turns out to be a total con man, and Shylock, whose survival of the pogroms and the loss of his family in America shows sympathy and understanding as to his decisions throughout the play. And Lorenzo as the hapless con man who falls in love with the mark was delightful! I’d love to see the beginnings of a family reconciliation, whether face to face or via letter, or maybe Jessica teaching Lorenzo more Jewish traditions.

Miss Congeniality [Gracie Hart, Sam Fuller]

I loved the first movie, but the sequel was also tons of fun, and gave us Sam Fuller. I love that Hart and Fuller’s relationship plays out like so many other buddy cop movies, where there are misunderstandings and trust issues and then over the course of the movie they both grow to care about and respect each other. Some ideas for fic would be Hart and Fuller working another case together, or going undercover with a new fun disguise, or just spending some downtime together and getting to know each other better post-movie. Maybe after disguising themselves for the contest they both end up getting into local karaoke nights and it becomes a regular thing? I love female friendship stories, but I would also be delighted by a relationship fic as well! Gracie was burned by her boyfriend from the first movie, so it would be interesting to see her struggle to reach out and make a new romantic connection.