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Hello, Dear Author! Yulegoat! Yulefriend!

I'm so happy you're writing me a fic! I love getting gifts, and I promise I am a low-key, easy-to-please giftee. What I love most, beyond everything else, are fics that written with love, with passion, with excitement. I hope you're excited to write something for the fandom that we matched on! I've tried to give you plenty here to hang your hat on, because I am chatty and excitable and also I understand the bone-chilling fear of not knowing what to write for someone. I tried to make it easy! And if nothing here gives you an idea, I've included a list of some of my favorite tropes at the end. If you're stuck and have scrapped three attempts to write something.... well, I've been there, and I understand. Grab a couple tropes, slap 'em together with some fluff or angst for glue, and wrap 'em up with a bow.

If it's written with love, I promise I will love it.

As for myself, I’m Tess, I’ve been in fandom for over a decade now. You can find my fandom shit over on my tumblr, and you already have access to my Ao3 account, both of which you are free to browse for things I like. I have plenty of bookmarks and thousands of posts to give you a glimpse into what I’m into.

You're gonna do great!

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
Chars: Cosmo Brown, Kathy Selden

Thoughts: This movie has been a fave of mine for most of my life, no pressure! :P I have loved Cosmo more than anything, since day 1. He is so lovable. I also adore Kathy, because......how could you not, right? I adore a heroine who sticks her foot right in her mouth. If you want to write a fic about either individually, ship the two together, toss Don in for some ot3, I'd be happy with any of it. ANY OF IT.

Prompts:

You know the energy and joy of Good Morning? The way all three of them are having fun with each other and being silly and enjoying life? Anything that captures its energy is amazing. Another all-nighter at Don's, in the future? A missing moment from this scene? Can't go wrong.
Kathy excelling in Hollywood: tell me everything. Does she end up acting opposite someone other than Don, someone who's gross or rude? Does she end up opposite Cosmo? What if she and Lina end up in a feud and then get cast in the same film? What if she gets laryngitis and can't sing for a long period of time? Or what if she and Don have a fight and have to play nice at the premier? Kathy having a laugh as she reads the gossip rags she used to love, now with her face plastered across the front and accompanying nonsense inside: tell me everything.
Cosmo gets the girl. (I'm okay with this being Kathy, a minor character, or an OC, if she's drawn with love.) Does he make her laugh when she's sad? Is she just as funny, and he's thrilled to find someone who finally makes him laugh? Is she devastatingly beautiful, and he pines to Kathy and Don about how he'll never win her over? Is she a fan, and Cosmo's shocked to find out that Don's not the only one who might have some fangirls?
Related: tell me about Cosmo's fanclub. I wanna know everything. In fact, if you wrote a whole story populated with OCs who are poring over the gossip mags, and our fearless heroes appear only as gossip items, I would probably adore that.
OT3 options: Don and Kathy, figuring out how to convince Cosmo they're not joking when they invite him to stay over with them-- no, no in the guest room, this time. Don and Cosmo, long-time partners, figuring out how to tell Kathy about them, and ask her to join them. All three jealous of the other two for their bonds with the other points on the triangle, until someone says the wrong thing and they finally all come clean. Kathy being the first to notice that Cosmo's, like, super in love with Don, and gently sorting them all out.
Kathy and Cosmo, no Don at all, just enjoying life and making each other laugh. Cosmo writing music for Kathy. Kathy surprising Cosmo with a picnic as a thank you for some little thing. Two people caring about each other!!

Things I love for this fandom: BANTER. Costume nonsense. Period-appropriate music. Cosmo being more than just funny. Kathy being more than just a romantic interest. Meaningful dancing. Meaningful tie-straightening.

DNWs: Non-con, character death unless at a ripe old age from natural causes, child harm or death, explicit vomiting, D/s, pregnancy fic, infidelity, sexism/racism/homophobia. Cosmo/Don without Kathy.

MUSIC AND LYRICS (2007)
Chars: Alex Fletcher, Sophie Fisher

Thoughts: Okay, this movie is such a ridiculous and joyful romp, I adore it. Drew Barrymore is a weakness for me, and Hugh Grant as a charming, lovable dick is like, my catnip. Two damaged people who find someone who understands them and supports them!!! My idiot children!!! Also, 80s music!!!!!!

Prompts:

I adore Khan the tone-deaf doorman. You could write me The Continuing Adventures of Alex and Sophie As Told By Khan and I would devour it.
Post canon fic! Gimme all the post-canon fic!
I have to admit, I really liked Cora. Tell me more about her! Does Cora keep in touch with our dynamic duo? Sophie gently trying to counsel her out of her "sweaty and sticky" Buddhist phrase and accidentally sends her into her next phase. Alex trying to be hip and, uh, not being hip. Alex and Sophie co-creating Cora's entire next album.
I love Alex with Sophie's niece and nephew. I don't necessarily see them having kids of their own, but I'd love Alex hanging out with Sophie's family and getting to be part of a family. I think he's a fundamentally lonely person, and Sophie's family is loud and weird and welcomes him in with open arms. Tell me more about how that goes. (Related: Alex does something that kills Rhonda's childhood crush on him stone-cold dead, and I want to know what it is.)
Sophie writing a book that out-sells Sloan Cates. What's it about? How does she rub it in? Or has she moved past all that? (How does Alex rub it in?) Does Sloan try to claim some of her reflected glory? Does it get optioned into a movie?
Sophie and Alex collaborating on his comeback album. What's his hit single? The overarching themes? What do the critics say? Does Sophie duet with him? Does she have to talk him out of a very bad idea? Please tell me about Alex Fletcher's Very Bad Musical Ideas.
Honestly, I just adore this movie. Gimme whatever you want.
"That doesn't make any sense, why would you have a clown in your bed?" / "Let me tell you, it would not be the first time." Uh, if you wanted to write about Alex/The Clown.... I wouldn't say no, tbh.

Things I love for this fandom: BANTER BANTER BANTER. Sophie being amazing. Alex....trying his best. Tight pants. Sex under the piano. Fake plants. Media fic. Rearranging the furniture. Love Autopsy.

DNWs: Non-con, character death unless at a ripe old age from natural causes, child harm or death, explicit vomiting, D/s, pregnancy fic, infidelity, sexism/racism/homophobia.

ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS (1993)
Chars: Any

Thoughts: This movie was, iirc, my first Mel Brooks movie. (It might have been Spaceballs, but this has been lost to the sands of time.) I have never stopped loving this movie and can still recite it. No pressure! (No really, no pressure. It's fine. If you're offering Men in Tights, you're almost certainly the type of person I trust to write me some Men in Tights.) I adore all of the nonsense, the funsense, the dirty jokes, the shade thrown at other Robin Hoods... it's beautiful. I put "Any" because I'd love any character, or a character not listed in the tagset. I tried to provide a wide array of thoughts!

Prompts:

Robin/Marian, and the locksmith.
Ahchoo's family. Tell me everything. What's Asneeze like as a dad? Does he have any siblings? What's his mom's name?? Do they come for a visit to celebrate Ahchoo's new job as Sheriff?
Blinkin Finds Love. (Who with? That's entirely up to you.)
Marian's adventures in the chastity belt. (This could get dirty, and if you want it to, I am a-okay with that.)
Robin and Blinkin definitely have some absolutely incomprehensible stories/running jokes from their shared youth. Tell me about them. How baffled is everyone else by their stories? How did Blinkin take care of Goldie the goldfish, considering he's blind? Who found out that Playboy had a version for the blind? Pre-Crusades Robin and Blinkin nonsense, it's what we deserve.
Robin gets his castle back from the repo man. Where does he park it? Who lives in it?.....how?
Will Scarlett O'Hara!!! Little John!!! Tell me about the continuing adventure of the Men in Tights! Who do they help? Where do they go? Robin's probably pretty busy being a lord and boinking his wife, so who's in charge now? Who's the choreographer?
Latrine's happily ever after, and Sheriff of Rottingham's.......after. Where do they live? What do they eat?? How many times does Rotty try to escape before giving up?
Do Broomhilde and Little John fall in love, or is it one-sided? Tell me about Broomhilde trying to get her man.
Uh, Patrick Stewart. End tweet.

Things I love for this fandom: Crack. Absolute nonsense. Inaccurate everything. Lampshading. Loxley and Bahgel. Checking the script. Sending a fox. Answered prayers. Tolls for rolls.

DNWs: Non-con, character death unless at a ripe old age from natural causes, child harm or death, explicit vomiting, D/s, pregnancy fic, infidelity, serious sexism/racism/homophobia.

SET IT UP (2018)
Chars: Harper, Charlie

Thoughts: The very first time I watched this, I fell in love. I'm firmly in the age range of Charlie and Harper, and it just spoke to me. I love how messy and un-put-together they are, and how hard they work, and how hard they play, and the way they commit to the nonsense they're committing, and Harper's hero worship, and Charlie's redemption, and despite, and because.

Prompts:

Harper catching the bouquet at Becca's wedding. (Becca has impeccable aim.)
Charlie The Intern: where does he work now? How terrible is it? Is he surrounded by 19-year-olds who quotes vines and John Mulaney and make him feel old? I love this, please tell me more.
Harper and Charlie moving in together: do they find a new place, or does Charlie take over Becca's half of the lease when she moves out? Do they disagree on which way the toilet paper goes? Does Charlie buy the wrong brand of chocolate chips? Do they adopt a cat? Which one cooks, and who does the dishes?
Harper beats Charlie at every activity they attempt. Charlie is baffled. (So is Harper, but she's not mentioning that to him, no sir.) Charlie tries to come up with weirder and weirder things for them to do. Harper Wins. (Ideas: minigolf, ping-pong, pool, double dutch, frisbee, ice skating, basketball....)
Charlie wants to set Kirsten up with someone at his new job. Harper takes some convincing, because there isn't a man alive who could be worthy of Kirsten. Things go better the second time around.
Harper meets the girl from the jewelry store again!!!
Charlie wants to propose, and agonizes about it. Harper might think he's joking at first? Or maybe they just talk about marriage, and what they want, and what they see in the future. (While slow-dancing at Becca's wedding, maybe?)
If you can't tell, I love Becca. More Becca!!

Things I love for this fandom: Fluff. Bickering. Pizza night. Supportive friendships. Baseball games. Endless chips. Charlie's well-organized files and spreadsheets. Harper not carrying cash. Photobooths. Beer pong. New York City. Love in open spaces.

DNWs: Non-con, character death unless at a ripe old age from natural causes, child harm or death, explicit vomiting, D/s, pregnancy fic, infidelity, sexism/racism/homophobia. Kirsten being disrespected, marriage-bashing.

PENELOPE (2005)
Chars: Penelope Wilhern

Thoughts: This is a comfort watch for me. I love the aesthetics, the sort of modern-timeless setting, the details. I adore the minor characters, and the way Penelope adapts to her circumstances, and princes in tinfoil armor, and witches in disguise. I love true love!!!! (Also, Catherine O'Hara is a gift.)

Prompts:

How did Wanda reach out to Penelope? What did she say? What was their relationship like, considering it looked like Wanda was a live-in full-time matchmaker for Penelope for years? I find Wanda fascinating.
I am also intrigued by Penelope's relationship with Lemon. Like, obviously he's the reason her mother buried her. But he's also the reason she met Johnny. They speak a few times, mostly over the phone it seemed like; what do they think of each other? Lemon and Johnny seemed to have an accord by the end of the movie; how does that affect Penelope? Do they write to each other? See each other in passing and nod? I'd love to know more.
Obviously, Penelope and Johnny. OBVIOUSLY. What does their happily-ever-after-for-now look like? Where do they live? Together? How do Penelope's parents feel about Johnny? Does she have to mediate them, or do they get along? Tell me about Penelope cheering for her boyfriend playing piano on Friday nights. (Tell me about her glaring at the girls making eyes at her man on Friday nights.) They both make music; do they duet? Write music together? Do they travel? Does he bring her flowers? What kind?
Penelope and Johnny traveling! He was going to get out of town, and she speaks French (and probably some other languages, let's be real) so where do they go? What do they do? Penelope spent almost her entire life inside one house, and once she's free just stays put? I think not! Put Penelope on an airplane or a boat or heck, a camel. I'll follow.
Penelope at the wedding of Annie and Jack the Bartender. (Write about Annie and Jack the Bartender!! Join me in my canoe!!)
AU in which Penelope is something other than a teacher. As much as I love the ending of this movie, her as a teacher never quite sat right with me. (Also, as the child of education professionals, you need a degree! Certifications! You can't just roll up and teach kids if you're homeschooled with no training at all, and on this hill I will die. Teaching is hard.) So instead, give me Penelope running a flower shop! Penelope teaching music lessons! Penelope as a writer, a bartender, an actual horticulturalist! So many wonderful options, and I love them all.

Things I love for this fandom: James McAvoy's extremely blue eyes. Misunderstandings, and how they're resolved. Curses. True love, and self love, and the intersections of the two. Street fairs. Newspaper headlines. Ice skating. Postcards. Helleborous orientalis.

DNWs: Non-con, character death unless at a ripe old age from natural causes, child harm or death, explicit vomiting, D/s, pregnancy fic, infidelity, sexism/racism/homophobia. Character bashing, any kind of pig-based kink.

TESS'S FAVORITE TROPES
Banter, bottle episodes, character studies.
Hand holding, hair touching, forehead leaning.
Pining, mutual pining, bed sharing, fake dating/married.
Found family, enemies to friends to lovers and all permutations therein.
Light to medium angst, fluff, alternate universes.
Staying up all night and watching the sun rise.
Happy (or at least hopeful) endings.

Hello, dear writer! Happy Yuletide!

I love Yuletide. This is only my second year participating, but I’ve been following it for years. A time of joy! A time of fic!

I want to promise you on the outset: I am open to almost anything. Literally just avoid my DNWs and I will be THRILLED with whatever you have, because what I love most about fic is people loving the characters and the world and the writing they’re doing. So if you’re not inspired by any of my prompts, feel free to just take a couple of tropes and go running into the wild blue yonder. (I even provide a list of my favorite tropes! You’re not going in blind here!)

Dear writer, I have faith that whatever you write you will write with love (and possibly panic, as I have done for nearly all of my own exchange fics. C’est la vie!) And therefore I will love it in return. Please do not be nervous about writing for me. You are gonna do GREAT!

Now, I’m putting various tropes I think fit the character(s)/fandom best under each one, but there’s a masterlist of Tess’s Favorite Tropes at the end. Grab what grabs you.

As for myself, I’m Tess, I’ve been in fandom for over a decade now. You can find my fandom shit over on my tumblr, and you already have access to my Ao3 account, both of which you are free to browse for things I like. I have plenty of bookmarks and thousands of posts to give you a glimpse into what I’m into. If you’re panicking, anon is always on over on my tumblr; shoot me a line and I’ll let you know how I feel!

With that out of the way, here’s the things I requested, and how I feel about them. It might be lengthy, but as you may have noticed, I write like I talk, which is to say I ramble ;)

MANIAC
Chars: Annie Landsberg

Ok, I was SO INTO this show. I watched it in like two days. I will be THRILLED with whatever I get.

I liked Annie and Owen together, so you are more than free to include him however you want. Two damaged people trying to help each other? Crack to me. It doesn’t have to be romantic, even. Missing scenes from the show- other lives they might have lived together?
Or, obvious, post-canon road trip! Tell me about them making their way to Salt Lake City. Do they end up with an Ad Buddy for a hundred miles to pay for gas? What happens when the truck breaks down? Do they get a motel room and gasp- there’s only one bed? Do they get a cheap mattress on whatever weird-future-Craigslist is and sleep in the truck bed together, awkwardly cracking jokes about it would be easier if they were still “married” like in their B-pill dreams? Honestly, a series of unconnected scenes of Owen learning how to function a bit more healthily with other people by watching Annie drive and joke with cashiers and tell him stories would be amazing. I’ll take whatever road-trip goodness you’ve got.
If you wanna go pre-canon, Annie and Ellie’s childhood is obviously a place to explore. You could frame it as the present, or Annie remembering stories from the past; I thought their relationship was really cool and would love to see it explored further.
Similarly, Annie and her father had an interesting dynamic; write about Annie from his POV, or write the lead-up to him getting in the isolation pod, and how Annie reacted to it.
If you want to do a character exploration of Annie, I’m down for that too. Taking the A pills like that wore a neural path for that memory; what happens to her now? Does she dream it over and over? How does it impact her going forward?
If you just want to explore the weird little universe, please do. I find it endlessly fascinating.

THE HOLIDAY
Chars: Iris Simpkins, Miles Dumont

This is one of my favorite holiday movies, no lie. I love the found-family aspects especially! And the mutual pining! Oh man, and I LOVE Iris and Miles. Love them. Froodley-doo!

Gimme that post-canon goodness. How do they make it work? Does Iris move to LA? Does Miles love England so much he never wants to leave? Do they split their time?
MILES PROPOSING- DOES HE SING IT? TELL ME HE WRITES HER A SONG.
More of them with Arthur! I love Arthur, tell me how he gives Miles pointers about not screwing up with Iris, because she’s been hurt before. Tell me about how they adopt him like a grandfather and have family dinners and pinocle nights. Tell me about Arthur mentioning to them off-handedly that he’s written them into his will! Tell me about them naming their son after him, oh my god.
Iris is a writer, and yes she’s a wedding columnist, but she’s a writer. Tell me about how she writes a biography of Arthur. (If the biography is after he dies, well. Please at least make it good. I understand.) Tell me about how Iris and Miles choose the right pictures, how they track down people who knew him when to get anecdotes. If he’s still alive, tell me how she hid it from him until she had a rough draft, tell me how he reacts.
If you’re into H/C, break them up, then get them back together. They couldn’t make it work, jobs got in the way, time zones are hard, etc etc…… Iris crying into her ice cream, Miles writing nothing but sad music. Then pep talks from their friends! Arthur smacking some sense into Miles! Then a big gesture from one of them! Do it.

THE BOOK OF LIFE
Chars: Manolo Sánchez, María Posada, Joaquín Mondragón

Honestly, I don’t have as many prompts for this one. I just love these characters. Manolo and his guitar, María and her badassery, Joaquín and his insecurity.

Obviously, ot3 me. Whatever you want, with the three of them together. Manolo and Maria deciding that they’d actually like to include him? Maria getting tired of the boys arguing and just saying “I don’t want to choose and I don’t see why I should have to”? If it fits, it ships. Go for it.
Don’t want to write ot3? That’s totally cool! Tell me about their continuing adventures. Do they set out across Mexico, helping to right wrongs? Does Manolo follow along behind his warrior girlfriend, setting her escapades to music? What’s Joaquin up to, without his enchanted medal?
More childhood adventures, of course. The scene with the pigs is pretty indicative of how things went- give me more of that! Racing barefoot through the fields, stealing fruit from the fields, sneaking out to tell ghost stories, whatever appeals to you!

CROSSROADS SERIES
Chars: Any

I don’t know if anyone will offer it, but it’s worth a shot! If we matched on Crossroads, god bless and keep you.

Post-canon: what happens now? BJ going out ot bring the various groups home, some of them unwilling to come back? BJ, afraid to let anyone new into Crossroads, because of what happened last time she did so?
More centaurs! Tell me about how the changes BJ encouraged affect the group. Tell me about the pushback as Polyta changes the old ways, and how minds are changed. Tell me about a life that wouldn’t have been there, but. Tell me how about an ounce of prevention, and the pound of cure it brings about.
BJ’s daughter, and how she grew, and who she became.
AU: Horvat Lives.

TESS’S FAVORITE TROPES
Banter, bottle episodes, character studies.
Hand holding, hair touching, forehead leaning.
Pining, mutual pining, bed sharing, fake dating/married.
Found family, friends to lovers, learning to trust.
Light to medium angst, fluff, alternate universes.
Staying up all night and watching the sun rise.
Happy (or at least hopeful) endings.

If you're having trouble, please don't hesitate to get in touch (via the mods or on anon on my tumblr) because I don't want to this be stressful for you at all! If you want to write a series of connected ficlets, or a 5+1 things, or something like that, please feel free. As I said at the beginning, I'm not super picky. If it's written with love, that's what really counts in my eyes.

Have fun!

Yuletide Letter 2019!

Yuletide Letter 2018