Dear Yuletide Author 2014!

Revised on 10/24 to add more prompts. Everything that was in the original posted version is still here, it just has a couple more prompts and hopefully easier to read formatting.

Can't find a non-awkward place to put this, so I'm Kharasma @ AO3. And this is my pretty terrible letter:

Hey, anonymous person who's been matched to me! I know stress is part of the game with writing a Yuletide fic, but seriously: I'm not difficult to please. Hopefully you'll find something here that inspires you, or if not, go your own way and try not to worry too much. I don't bite.

I'll start with the general preferences and work down to the specifics.

Likes: I'm all about the characters. I'm a huge, huge sucker for fic that explores a character in more depth than we see in canon, though how much deeper it can go will depend on the canon. I also love fic that explores relationships with characters: friendship, family-friendship, and romance are all great to me.

If it goes in a more action-oriented direction, I love to see my faves triumph against impossible odds. Victory hugs (or possibly smooches) are very welcome here. Tropey schmoop and old cliches delight me---ridiculous tropes like sick days, the classic 'stuck in a freezing cave', or wingfic wouldn't bother me. Again, though, it depends on the canon. And if you're looking to worldbuild, my more fantastical canons can work with that.

If you're a ship-inclined writer, as far as shipping preferences go, you'll see in the fandom specifics that I like a mix of slash, het, and femslash pairings. You can use the ones I requested, or try something new! If there's any specific pairing I don't want, I'll mention it.

tl;dr: I'm one of those saps who loves happy things to read. Angst and hurt/comfort can really do it for me if the prompt leads you that way, though! I'm sure I'll love whatever you write. Family/friendship focused gen, slash, het, and femslash are all A-OK.

Dislikes: I'm not really looking for a super-dark fic. What that means for me is no character deaths (except canon ones), no bad endings for characters that have no hope of getting better, and no extreme character abuse. Basically: ending on a somber, poignant note can be awesome. Ending on a WELCOME TO YOUR DOOM note, not so much. I'd also prefer no smut about underage characters.

And now, the nitty-gritty! This was the first Yuletide I had the chance to nominate fandoms, so I'm super-excited about them all! (Plus the perennial favorite someone else got to first.) Whatever you matched on, whatever you pick, I'm happy. Don't worry if any of the sections are longer than the others, I promise I adore them all. So now I'll offer a bit about each of my requested fandoms and some prompts that might help you. Optional details are optional, of course, so don't worry if you can only write something completely different. You might come up with something awesome I hadn't thought of! I'm easy to please, I promise.

But that's enough rambling from me. Here are the fandoms I requested:

Request 1: Girl Meets World
Characters: Any (Riley, Maya, Farkle, Lucas, Smackle, Cory, Topanga, Shawn, Eric)

Girl Meets World is my new favorite feel-good show, and I love every goshdarn character in the tag set. In general, I'd most like a fic in line with the tone of the show: life lessons optional, of course, but a story of hope and conquering adversity is always good. And I love the barbs these characters trade sometimes, so some banter is always great! Maya's relentless teasing of Lucas, Smackle and Farkle's wordy smackdowns, Cory and Topanga relentlessly teasing the kids...I love it all.

I'm equally interested in fics about the new teen cast and the adults from Boy Meets World. But if you want to be ambitious and include a mix, that's fine too! I'm very familiar with Boy Meets World, so slipping in references to the old show is fine! But if you haven't seen Boy Meets World, don't worry at all. The great thing about Girl Meets World is that it stands on its own.

As far as shipping goes: for the adult cast I'm fond of Cory/Topanga, Cory/Shawn, and Shawn/Cory/Topanga. They all love each other, let's be honest, and feel free to go as far as you like with that! Cory and Topanga are the life-ruining OTP with some squabbles in the mix, Shawn and Cory were life partners to the max, and Topanga adores them both too. And they adore her---Shawn's shipping of Cory/Topanga was the cutest.

For the teen cast, I like any combination---I haven't been following the Riley/Lucas vs. Maya/Lucas vs. Riley/Maya or anyone/Farkle shipping wars very closely, but I love how they all band together to protect someone in trouble. Girl Meets Flaws makes it clear that they all love Farkle, for example, and all the ships are adorable. But if you're going to ship the teen characters, I'd prefer nothing more explicit than kissing.

And now, the prompts:

What happens when Uncle Eric visits? Will the kids recoil in horror? Does Maya approve of anything that embarrasses her girl Riley? (Yes.) Is there actually a brain in his head? (Yes. Eric's big bro instincts are really on point sometimes, and I'd love to see this if you include him.)

Something exploring one of the kids' lives in depth. How is Lucas adjusting to big city life, and do his hippie parents embarrass him in front of his friends? Is Farkle under a lot of pressure at home with the legendary Stuart Minkus as his dad? Any weird rituals there? Since Maya's mom isn't around too much, does her Gammy Hart pitch in? Does she have a peet? Or even an exploration of Riley's life beyond what we see in the show. All the awkwardness of having her dad for a teacher, or the moments with Topanga that we never seem to catch in the show.

Cory and Shawn were practically married when they were younger. How are they dealing with the gulf between them now? (Shawn's return episode will air during the writing period, so feel free to incorporate that episode. Or not.)

Smackle's still working on this friendship thing. Is she now successful at flirting? What's a sleepover like with her? She learned a lot from Riley and Maya, but maybe it's time to teach them one of her hobbies. And will her crush on Farkle actually go somewhere?

Or one of the kids realizes they like someone romantically. They go to their other friends (and maybe one of the adults, somehow) for advice. Whether it goes well or badly is up to you! I'm always down for some shippy feels. Ship fluff, no matter what pairing, would also be very welcome. Because I love this show the best when the characters love each other.


Request 2: Homestar Runner
Characters: Any (Homestar Runner, Marzipan, Strong Sad, Strong Bad)

Hi, I'm the weirdo who nominated the other famous Homest- web series. I've been thinking about my old favorite dot com since last year, but now that the site's in the middle of a revival, I thought this would be the year to do it. Homestar Runner brought me a lot of laughter over the years, but as usual, I've started thinking too deeply about ridiculous dumb animal characters.

There are basically two approaches I'm envisioning with a Homestar Runner fic. It can be a total crackfic in line with the cartoons: maybe a badfic parody written in-universe by Strong Sad would fit the bill, for example. It could be a wacky adventure centering around a made-up holiday. I'm usually not into holiday fic, but something about Decemberween would be welcome! It could even be a social media fic, about Strong Bad's struggles to use his Twitter or Strong Sad finding an audience for his Tumblr posts.

And then there's the feels-y character-based approach. I'm not saying no to comedy in these stories, they wouldn't be themselves if there wasn't a little laughter, but I also love to see the characters in action, perhaps in a more serious tone than canon. Humanized AUs of the cast would fit well here, if you need to do that to take these weirdos seriously.

(optional details are optional note: I could only nominate my four faves, but I adore the whole cast. Please feel free to include anyone else if you think they fit!)

I'm really interested in the ins and outs of Homestar and Marzipan's rocky relationship. When did they start dating, what do they see in each other? They always seem to be fighting, so remind us why they're an item. And with these two, it's probably adorable. Or Strong Sad seems to have a crush on Marzipan too...is he writing her awkward poetry? Are they listening to music, or going to a protest together? And just what does Strong Bad really think of her, anyway?

And then there's Strong Bad. I'd love a fic about his relationship with Strong Sad. They do have common interests buried deep down---something about them bonding, however briefly, would be very welcome. Whether Strong Sad is willing to forgive after all that is a different story, of course. As far as Homestar and Strong Sad go...happy and clueless, well-read and morose. As opposite as opposite can be. I'd love to see them come to an understanding, or just frustrate each other forever.

And here's my last awkward confession: I'm one of those scary bad slash fans Strong Bad mocks in the fan club email. If you want to write about Homestar's obvious puppy crush, deep tissue massages, or Strong Bad realizing that his hatred for Homestar is disguising something else, please do! This one especially lends itself to AU, but I love more canon-compliant takes too.

Request 3: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Live Action TV)
Character: Aino Minako | Sailor Venus

PGSM is legitimately my favorite incarnation of Sailor Moon to ever exist, though certain musicals are a close second. I adore the complexity of the character relationships in this version, the dramatic twists, and the really strong story about friendship and love overcoming a painful past. I think it was the best-executed version of the story, because the characters get fairly balanced focus.

For this request, though, I'd specifically like a fic featuring Minako Aino: pop idol, dreaming schoolgirl, and cold soldier Sailor Venus. What fascinates me the most about her is that she's so pointedly different from the more familiar animanga Minako who was practically Usagi's double. This Minako treats the other girls with disdain at first due to her extenuating circumstances, but we see brief glimpses of the familiar bubbly Minako under the cold shell.

For a solo or mostly-solo Minako story, I'd love to see her thought process as she writes a song. The cheery lyrics fit her at first, but they diverge from the reality of her life more and more. Does it help her to sing? Is she sad? A post-canon story about her happiness returning would be welcome too, with her decisions about remaining an idol or living a normal life with her best friends. Artemis was not nominated, but if you want to include him here, feel free.

I would also adore a story focusing on Minako's relationships with any of the other Sailor Guardians:

Ami and Minako's relationship got the least focus in the show---I thought it was a shame, because they're similarly serious and lonely. Plus, it's super-cute that Ami is a total Minako stan. What if Minako encouraged her to sing?

At first, Minako thought Usagi was a total loss. How could this vapid girl be the Princess? But her opinion starts to change when Usagi has a laugh with her---she can even almost believe her that the tragedy of the past will end. I'd love to see one of their outings as Usagi shows her normal life. Including Mamoru in the whirlwind of fun could be cool too!

Rei and Minako: rivals, comrades, friends, maybe even girlfriends? They're always butting heads. I'd love to see Minako visiting the shrine for a retreat, the two of them having a dual concert as Minako and Reiko, or just some battlefield banter.

Makoto and Minako are both self-sacrificing to the extreme---and Minako can't see how bad she's become until Makoto almost dies. Clearly this must be remedied in their new lives. I'd love to see cooking and gardening at Mako's house, Minako offering some support when she sees Mako alone, or even some love advice with Motoki.

Request 4: Wreck-it Ralph (2012)
Character: Tamora Calhoun

Wreck-it Ralph remains my favorite of the recent Disney films, I just love this story about lonely game characters all finding a family in each other (and Ralph reconnecting with his dear brother Felix), and I need a sequel to it like burning. It seems to be trapped in development hell, though :/

But in the meantime, there is fic! And this year, I'd like to see a story focusing on Ms. Calhoun. She's interesting: she's supremely tough and has a dark sense of humor, but she melts for Felix's sweet and tender charm. This suggests she's just a little more domestic than she lets on. I have a burning need to know more about her.

And now, some prompts!

Here's the obligatory Hero's Cuties option, Felix/Calhoun shipping. She's dating a much shorter man---maybe some fluff about her helping him out of some tight spots? Fix-it guys like him can really get into some jams sometimes. Or maybe an exploration of the various reasons she falls for him more and more each day.

I'd like to see something exploring her prior relationship with Brad Scott, and maybe some comparisons she draws between life with Brad and life with Felix, Ralph, and Vanellope.

Then there's Calhoun and Ralph's relationship. She first meets him as the buffoon who endangered the whole arcade, but he returns as a hero who saved a little girl from eternal solitude. She'd probably be open to some friendly competition: maybe not in Hero's Duty, but she could see herself joining Felix for one of the after-hours games of Fix-it Felix Jr., thwarting Ralph at every turn. She loves him like a brother in law, though. Really.

I would really love something family-like with Calhoun and Vanellope. Vanellope thinks this cool lady would clearly love to race, so she convinces her (and maybe Felix?) to build carts. Their cart is very...interestingly designed. A friendly war on the tracks ensues. Also, Vanellope might be just a kid, but she knows more about loss and loneliness than anyone might expect.

And feel free to include three characters or all four! Who's cooking the meal? Who needs to be dragged back into the house by their ear? How long can Calhoun put up with their nonsense? Or if there's more action going down, how does she save them all? They can all blast out of any trouble as an awesome video game hero team, right?
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And I think that's about it! Thank you, writer, and I hope your writing experience goes well for you! I look forward to reading whatever you write.