Dear Yuletide Writer
Oct. 30th, 2014 01:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
healyg*Sigh* Okay, Healy, you can do this.
Hi, guys! My name is Healy (or HealyG on here), and I'm a newcomer to both Yuletide and fanfic in general! I am trying to jump into this whole fanfiction thing feet first and not drown! Now if you're reading this it's likely you're my assigned writer (or someone looking to treat, but let's ignore that possibility for now). If so, I truly apologize for the wretched mess my prompts were in. I hope you got the gist alright, so let's get started! Most of this is copy-and-pasted from the prompt with some edification; think of it at a director's cut of sorts.
General Likes and Dislikes
Likes: Comedy, action, fake documents, mysteries, humor, mysterious places, heartwarming junk, humor based on people acting like jerks (hey! I can like two things), wordplay, weird junk, character studies, jokes in general.
Favorite types of gags/tropes: Hypocrite humor, parody commercials, show-within-a-show stuff, puns, humor about someone who blithely misunderstands the obvious, characters revealing a surprising side of themselves, mystery symbolism! That's all I can think of right now.
DNW: Underage, incest, physical/sexual abuse, porn and sexually explicit content in general (especially rape/noncon/dubcon), and graphic violence.
Other notes: I'd prefer Gen but romance is okay so long as there is equal attention on the comedy and/or action. Not a big fan of crossovers, although they can be fine so long as they're subtle. I am okay with weird formats like scriptfics, interactive fiction, fics in the form of fake documents from the series, and the like.
Gravity Falls
Dipper Pines, Mabel Pines, Stan Pines
Gravity Falls Opening
Gravity Falls Wiki
Gravity Falls shorts Youtube playlist
Ah yisss, I love this show! It's a funny, weird cartoon that is currently one of best on TV, and considering all the other great cartoons that are airing now, that's saying a lot. I love the wacky Forteana, the mysteries, the TV gags, Grunkle Stan's shady behavior, Mabel's sweaters, Waddles, Soos, the codes, etc. Here's an interview with Alex Hirsch, if you find that kind of thing helpful. My favorite bit is where he talks about how adding in monsters and spooks only work if you've got some other kind of story to tell with them.
Anyway, some general thoughts on chracters: I like the interplay between Grunkle Stan the professional conman and Stan the guy who wants to do right by his family. I like how he's a jerk with a rarely-seen good side (but also still a jerk). I really like the relationship the twins have and how even when they fight sometimes they're still friends. I like Mabel's silliness and Dipper's attempts to be the smart one. I think Mabel might be my favorite, but they work best as a team. As for the other characters, I wouldn't mind any of them showing up except for maybe Pacifica. Also! I really like the cyphers at the end of the show, and I think it would be fun to include them in a fic! You wouldn't have to do anything fancy like the combined cyphers featured this season, and in fact a lot of the time on the show they mostly serve as an extra post-credits gag, but if you can't think of anything to cypher don't stress yourself out thinking about it.
ML KRMVXVHG.
Note that you don't have to write a fic with all three Pines if you don't want to! I would be cool with fics that focused either on Stan or more on the twins.
Fic focusing on Stan: Something about Stan's mysterious past! Like, what's the story with his tattoo? What is he after with the portal? (Power? Bringing back something from the past?) Does anyone have dirt on him, or has he escaped everyone's notice? (Besides Bill, I mean.) Maybe you could write a story about him butting heads with Little Gideon or Bill?
ROT13: Vs lbh'er snzvyvne jvgu nal bs gur Fgna-Cvarf-gjva gurbevrf, srry serr gb rkcnaq ba gurz vs lbh jnag! Vs lbh'er abg, gur onfvp tvfg vf, gur thl jr synfurq-onpx gb va Gur Gvzr Geniryre'f Cvt qbrfa'g ybbx zhpu yvxr gur Tehaxyr Fgna jr xabj nsgre n frpbaq tynapr (be guveq, guvf gbbx fbzr pyhvat ol gur fubj'f perngbe gb svaq bhg). Ovttrfg gurbel bhg gurer fnlf gung Fgna unf n gjva, bsgra avpxanzrq Fgnayrl. Vs lbh jnaan xabj zber, tbbtyr "Tenivgl Snyyf Fgna Cvarf gjva" fbzrgvzr.
Fic focusing on the Pines twins: Another installment of Mabel's Guide to Life! Look at the ones in the cold opens/theme song for inspiration. Another installment of Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained would be good, too. Maybe they could find a haunted tape?
Fic focusing on all three: Stan and the twins have a scuffle which leads into a full-fledged prank war! Mabel and Dipper put up a good fight, but Stan is winning! To beat him, they need to get help from... Wendy? Mabel's friends Candy and Grenda? Bill?? Soos???
Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet
Steven Universe Theme Song
Steven Universe Wiki
Pastebin of selected questions from creator Rebecca Sugar's reddit AMA
I love Steven Universe just as much as Gravity Falls! I just love the mystery surrounding the Gems' history, the Gems' often awkward interactions with the townsfolk, Steven growing up and learning life lessons, the diverse cast of characters, the subtle symbolism (hey, what's with all the food and cats?), and so much more!
Let's talk a bit about the characters. Pearl I can really relate to, because I can be just as bossy and OCD at times. I like how even though she's kind of neurotic she still has a serene side. Amethyst is also someone I can relate to (my room was almost as messy as hers before I cleaned it up)! Her transforming powers are pretty cool, and I like her sense of humor. Garnet is very cool, very mysterious. I feel like we haven't really gotten to know her much, though, at least not as much as the other Crystal Gems. I think her best aspect is her patience with Steven and Amethyst, two characters you might expect to drive her up the wall.
Like with Gravity Falls, it's okay if you only want to focus on one of these characters. Also, it's alright to add in Steven Universe or Rose Quartz (with some of these prompts it'd be hard not to). Sorry the prompts for these are so dang long; I went overboard on making sure there were at least two prompts for each character.
Fic focusing on Amethyst: Write about her wrestling days! What kind of baddies and/or faces did she have to fight? Does she still wrestle, or did she quit while she was ahead? If she still wrestles, does she still wrestle as a heel?
OR If you don't want to write about wrestlin', write about when she first met up with the Crystal Gems! Garnet mentioned in Steven's Lion that they took in Amethyst as a stray, and while it's likely this was just a dry joke, it got me thinking, "Hmm, there might be a story there." So what was it like when Amethyst first met the Gems? Was she a runaway, a punk, a freedom fighter? Were they even on the same side?
Fic focusing on Garnet: What's up with the two gems? Is the fan-theory about her being some kind of unusual gem fusion true, and if so, why? Was it to trap a prisoner, to save an old friend, both of those things, or something even weirder? If she's not a gem fusion, what is she? A mutant, perhaps, or someone who was gifted with weird power?
OR How does she feel about her status as team leader? Is she proud of the work she does for the team, or does she feel like she could do a better job? Does she sometimes wish Rose Quartz were still around to help?
Fic focusing on Pearl: Pearl seems very edgy, lately. Is it because she misses her old home in the stars? Maybe she didn't like it there so much, but it really hurts that she can never go back. Or maybe it's just the stress of the job getting to her? Maybe all she really needs is a nice, long vacation. And then, just when she's finally chillaxing to the max, some monster comes in...
OR Man, Greg's interactions with Pearl have been pretty weird! Does he have a secret crush? If so, how would Pearl react on finding out? Angry, shocked, no reaction? Is Greg even aware that he's kinda creepin' on her? Or maybe they've had a rough history together, and he's trying to make amends? If so, what caused the smash-up? Was it something involving Steven? Something involving Rose Quartz?
Fic with all three: Write something when they first came to Earth! I doubt the Crystal Gems would have been all together then, but feel free to bend rules here.
OR They've been dropping a lot of hints on the show that the Crystal Gems were involved in the American Revolution, so write something about that! Did they lend their might to the revolutionary forces, or were they able to smooth things over peacefully with the help of Rose Quartz's mad diplomacy skills? And what's the story behind the painting seen in "So Many Brithdays"?
OR If neither of these seems like your bag, write a story about the Gems exploring weird, ancient architecture! I love stories told through setting, especially when it involves magical temples.
Golden Age Of Magic - RPF
Harry Houdini (Magic)
Wikipedia article about Harry Houdini
I would love anything that focused on Houdini's Spiritualism exposés! This is a subject that has fascinated me ever since I first heard about it. Reading The Psychic Mafia (a book about Spiritualism in the 1970's that briefly touches on Houdini) back in 2012 just fueled the flames. There is a book he wrote, called A Magician Among the Spirits, that you might be able to find online.
Anyway, prompts! You could do something about his friendship with Arthur Conan Doyle! I think there's a lot that could mined here, as there relationship went through several phases, from chums acquainted through their mutual interest in Spiritualism to bitter rivals over stances on the same. I might be biased, as one of my favorite flash fiction stories, a little piece by John Hodgman, dealt with this topic.
Or you could do a casefic about trying to discover an unscrupulous medium's methods! Really there are a lot of books detailing the ways phony mediums work their tricks, so if you don't mind doing some research and are decent at writing mysteries (not always a given, I know), then this might be a good tack to take.
Or you could write a character study that closed in on why he wanted to expose people who claimed to talk to the dead! It seems to me he was motivated by one part arrogance, one part being sickened by phony mediums who preyed on other people's grief, and one part sheer chutzpah. The opinions on this will vary, of course.
Homestar Runner
Strong Bad
Homestar Runner Website
Strong Bad Emails
Homestar Runner Wiki
I've been thinking a lot about Homestar Runner after all the new cartoons that came out this, and I've realized that a lot of it has buried its way into my head over the years. I watched most of it during my impressionable middle school and high school years, so I guess that makes sense. I think its use of character and wordplay have made it a touchstone to people of my generation. Judging by how little I remember the later cartoons I must've fell off the wagon sometime late into the Lappy era, but nearly everything before then is still pretty fresh in my head.
I think I first came across the site sometime in 2003-2004ish, so naturally my favorite character is jerky pseudo-wrestler Strong Bad. I've come to love jerky pseudo-main character Homestar Runner almost as much, but let's face it, it just doesn't feel like an hr cartoon without Strong Bad. Feel free to include whatever other Homestar Runner characters you want, though! I will probably only object if the Poopsmith gets a big role.
Dangeresque reboot!: Sick and tired of all the money he's not getting, Strong Bad sets off to outdo Hollywood at their own game and reboot the beloved Dangeresque series. You could do all kinds of great jokes with this set-up; special effects don't work, actors get injured, sets get broke, actors demand bigger/better parts (Coach Z and Marzipan seem especially liable to do this), Strong Sad refuses to do stuntwork, they run into the perils of crowdfunding, the hardcore Dangeresque fans start bashing the new flick (all both of them), etc. I haven't played the Dangeresque 3 game yet, but if you make references to it go right ahead! Just remember to make it comprehensible to folks who haven't seen it yet. Relevant Toons: Stunt Double, Dangeresque 3
Fanfiction Off!: Oh brother! Strong Sad is writing sbemail fanfiction again! But you can be sure Strong Bad ain't gonna take this lyin' down! In this proposed sequel to sbemail 188, "fan club", just channel your inner badfic writer and have fun! Will Strong Bad take a brief break to mock the King of Town? Will 12-Times-a-Day Man bring all of his loser friends? Will Homestar ever get his deep tissue massage??? Relevant Toons: Fan Club
Teen Girl Squad!: TGS! has always been one of my favorite Homestar Runner features, so feel freet to write a fic in that vein if you really want to. I've always had a soft spot for What's Her Face, so either save her to be killed last or kill her off first and be done with it. Relevant Toons: TGS! Cartoons
Down...time?: So just what was Strong Bad doing during the hiatus? Slouching on the coach, playing video games, playing video games while slouching on the coach? What do you do when there's nothing really to do? Is there any point to pulling off capers when nobody's watching? What happened to the Compé? And what's up with Homestar's duffel bag? Relevant Toons: April Fools 2014 (click on "computer" after the cartoon is over)
Whew! Whatta a lot of words! I hope you've found them helpful. You don't have to adhere very strictly to these prompts, and I may rewrite some of these for clarification/more ideas later. Have fun!
Hi, guys! My name is Healy (or HealyG on here), and I'm a newcomer to both Yuletide and fanfic in general! I am trying to jump into this whole fanfiction thing feet first and not drown! Now if you're reading this it's likely you're my assigned writer (or someone looking to treat, but let's ignore that possibility for now). If so, I truly apologize for the wretched mess my prompts were in. I hope you got the gist alright, so let's get started! Most of this is copy-and-pasted from the prompt with some edification; think of it at a director's cut of sorts.
Likes: Comedy, action, fake documents, mysteries, humor, mysterious places, heartwarming junk, humor based on people acting like jerks (hey! I can like two things), wordplay, weird junk, character studies, jokes in general.
Favorite types of gags/tropes: Hypocrite humor, parody commercials, show-within-a-show stuff, puns, humor about someone who blithely misunderstands the obvious, characters revealing a surprising side of themselves, mystery symbolism! That's all I can think of right now.
DNW: Underage, incest, physical/sexual abuse, porn and sexually explicit content in general (especially rape/noncon/dubcon), and graphic violence.
Other notes: I'd prefer Gen but romance is okay so long as there is equal attention on the comedy and/or action. Not a big fan of crossovers, although they can be fine so long as they're subtle. I am okay with weird formats like scriptfics, interactive fiction, fics in the form of fake documents from the series, and the like.
Dipper Pines, Mabel Pines, Stan Pines
Gravity Falls Opening
Gravity Falls Wiki
Gravity Falls shorts Youtube playlist
Ah yisss, I love this show! It's a funny, weird cartoon that is currently one of best on TV, and considering all the other great cartoons that are airing now, that's saying a lot. I love the wacky Forteana, the mysteries, the TV gags, Grunkle Stan's shady behavior, Mabel's sweaters, Waddles, Soos, the codes, etc. Here's an interview with Alex Hirsch, if you find that kind of thing helpful. My favorite bit is where he talks about how adding in monsters and spooks only work if you've got some other kind of story to tell with them.
Anyway, some general thoughts on chracters: I like the interplay between Grunkle Stan the professional conman and Stan the guy who wants to do right by his family. I like how he's a jerk with a rarely-seen good side (but also still a jerk). I really like the relationship the twins have and how even when they fight sometimes they're still friends. I like Mabel's silliness and Dipper's attempts to be the smart one. I think Mabel might be my favorite, but they work best as a team. As for the other characters, I wouldn't mind any of them showing up except for maybe Pacifica. Also! I really like the cyphers at the end of the show, and I think it would be fun to include them in a fic! You wouldn't have to do anything fancy like the combined cyphers featured this season, and in fact a lot of the time on the show they mostly serve as an extra post-credits gag, but if you can't think of anything to cypher don't stress yourself out thinking about it.
ML KRMVXVHG.
Note that you don't have to write a fic with all three Pines if you don't want to! I would be cool with fics that focused either on Stan or more on the twins.
Fic focusing on Stan: Something about Stan's mysterious past! Like, what's the story with his tattoo? What is he after with the portal? (Power? Bringing back something from the past?) Does anyone have dirt on him, or has he escaped everyone's notice? (Besides Bill, I mean.) Maybe you could write a story about him butting heads with Little Gideon or Bill?
ROT13: Vs lbh'er snzvyvne jvgu nal bs gur Fgna-Cvarf-gjva gurbevrf, srry serr gb rkcnaq ba gurz vs lbh jnag! Vs lbh'er abg, gur onfvp tvfg vf, gur thl jr synfurq-onpx gb va Gur Gvzr Geniryre'f Cvt qbrfa'g ybbx zhpu yvxr gur Tehaxyr Fgna jr xabj nsgre n frpbaq tynapr (be guveq, guvf gbbx fbzr pyhvat ol gur fubj'f perngbe gb svaq bhg). Ovttrfg gurbel bhg gurer fnlf gung Fgna unf n gjva, bsgra avpxanzrq Fgnayrl. Vs lbh jnaan xabj zber, tbbtyr "Tenivgl Snyyf Fgna Cvarf gjva" fbzrgvzr.
Fic focusing on the Pines twins: Another installment of Mabel's Guide to Life! Look at the ones in the cold opens/theme song for inspiration. Another installment of Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained would be good, too. Maybe they could find a haunted tape?
Fic focusing on all three: Stan and the twins have a scuffle which leads into a full-fledged prank war! Mabel and Dipper put up a good fight, but Stan is winning! To beat him, they need to get help from... Wendy? Mabel's friends Candy and Grenda? Bill?? Soos???
Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet
Steven Universe Theme Song
Steven Universe Wiki
Pastebin of selected questions from creator Rebecca Sugar's reddit AMA
I love Steven Universe just as much as Gravity Falls! I just love the mystery surrounding the Gems' history, the Gems' often awkward interactions with the townsfolk, Steven growing up and learning life lessons, the diverse cast of characters, the subtle symbolism (hey, what's with all the food and cats?), and so much more!
Let's talk a bit about the characters. Pearl I can really relate to, because I can be just as bossy and OCD at times. I like how even though she's kind of neurotic she still has a serene side. Amethyst is also someone I can relate to (my room was almost as messy as hers before I cleaned it up)! Her transforming powers are pretty cool, and I like her sense of humor. Garnet is very cool, very mysterious. I feel like we haven't really gotten to know her much, though, at least not as much as the other Crystal Gems. I think her best aspect is her patience with Steven and Amethyst, two characters you might expect to drive her up the wall.
Like with Gravity Falls, it's okay if you only want to focus on one of these characters. Also, it's alright to add in Steven Universe or Rose Quartz (with some of these prompts it'd be hard not to). Sorry the prompts for these are so dang long; I went overboard on making sure there were at least two prompts for each character.
Fic focusing on Amethyst: Write about her wrestling days! What kind of baddies and/or faces did she have to fight? Does she still wrestle, or did she quit while she was ahead? If she still wrestles, does she still wrestle as a heel?
OR If you don't want to write about wrestlin', write about when she first met up with the Crystal Gems! Garnet mentioned in Steven's Lion that they took in Amethyst as a stray, and while it's likely this was just a dry joke, it got me thinking, "Hmm, there might be a story there." So what was it like when Amethyst first met the Gems? Was she a runaway, a punk, a freedom fighter? Were they even on the same side?
Fic focusing on Garnet: What's up with the two gems? Is the fan-theory about her being some kind of unusual gem fusion true, and if so, why? Was it to trap a prisoner, to save an old friend, both of those things, or something even weirder? If she's not a gem fusion, what is she? A mutant, perhaps, or someone who was gifted with weird power?
OR How does she feel about her status as team leader? Is she proud of the work she does for the team, or does she feel like she could do a better job? Does she sometimes wish Rose Quartz were still around to help?
Fic focusing on Pearl: Pearl seems very edgy, lately. Is it because she misses her old home in the stars? Maybe she didn't like it there so much, but it really hurts that she can never go back. Or maybe it's just the stress of the job getting to her? Maybe all she really needs is a nice, long vacation. And then, just when she's finally chillaxing to the max, some monster comes in...
OR Man, Greg's interactions with Pearl have been pretty weird! Does he have a secret crush? If so, how would Pearl react on finding out? Angry, shocked, no reaction? Is Greg even aware that he's kinda creepin' on her? Or maybe they've had a rough history together, and he's trying to make amends? If so, what caused the smash-up? Was it something involving Steven? Something involving Rose Quartz?
Fic with all three: Write something when they first came to Earth! I doubt the Crystal Gems would have been all together then, but feel free to bend rules here.
OR They've been dropping a lot of hints on the show that the Crystal Gems were involved in the American Revolution, so write something about that! Did they lend their might to the revolutionary forces, or were they able to smooth things over peacefully with the help of Rose Quartz's mad diplomacy skills? And what's the story behind the painting seen in "So Many Brithdays"?
OR If neither of these seems like your bag, write a story about the Gems exploring weird, ancient architecture! I love stories told through setting, especially when it involves magical temples.
Harry Houdini (Magic)
Wikipedia article about Harry Houdini
I would love anything that focused on Houdini's Spiritualism exposés! This is a subject that has fascinated me ever since I first heard about it. Reading The Psychic Mafia (a book about Spiritualism in the 1970's that briefly touches on Houdini) back in 2012 just fueled the flames. There is a book he wrote, called A Magician Among the Spirits, that you might be able to find online.
Anyway, prompts! You could do something about his friendship with Arthur Conan Doyle! I think there's a lot that could mined here, as there relationship went through several phases, from chums acquainted through their mutual interest in Spiritualism to bitter rivals over stances on the same. I might be biased, as one of my favorite flash fiction stories, a little piece by John Hodgman, dealt with this topic.
Or you could do a casefic about trying to discover an unscrupulous medium's methods! Really there are a lot of books detailing the ways phony mediums work their tricks, so if you don't mind doing some research and are decent at writing mysteries (not always a given, I know), then this might be a good tack to take.
Or you could write a character study that closed in on why he wanted to expose people who claimed to talk to the dead! It seems to me he was motivated by one part arrogance, one part being sickened by phony mediums who preyed on other people's grief, and one part sheer chutzpah. The opinions on this will vary, of course.
Strong Bad
Homestar Runner Website
Strong Bad Emails
Homestar Runner Wiki
I've been thinking a lot about Homestar Runner after all the new cartoons that came out this, and I've realized that a lot of it has buried its way into my head over the years. I watched most of it during my impressionable middle school and high school years, so I guess that makes sense. I think its use of character and wordplay have made it a touchstone to people of my generation. Judging by how little I remember the later cartoons I must've fell off the wagon sometime late into the Lappy era, but nearly everything before then is still pretty fresh in my head.
I think I first came across the site sometime in 2003-2004ish, so naturally my favorite character is jerky pseudo-wrestler Strong Bad. I've come to love jerky pseudo-main character Homestar Runner almost as much, but let's face it, it just doesn't feel like an hr cartoon without Strong Bad. Feel free to include whatever other Homestar Runner characters you want, though! I will probably only object if the Poopsmith gets a big role.
Dangeresque reboot!: Sick and tired of all the money he's not getting, Strong Bad sets off to outdo Hollywood at their own game and reboot the beloved Dangeresque series. You could do all kinds of great jokes with this set-up; special effects don't work, actors get injured, sets get broke, actors demand bigger/better parts (Coach Z and Marzipan seem especially liable to do this), Strong Sad refuses to do stuntwork, they run into the perils of crowdfunding, the hardcore Dangeresque fans start bashing the new flick (all both of them), etc. I haven't played the Dangeresque 3 game yet, but if you make references to it go right ahead! Just remember to make it comprehensible to folks who haven't seen it yet. Relevant Toons: Stunt Double, Dangeresque 3
Fanfiction Off!: Oh brother! Strong Sad is writing sbemail fanfiction again! But you can be sure Strong Bad ain't gonna take this lyin' down! In this proposed sequel to sbemail 188, "fan club", just channel your inner badfic writer and have fun! Will Strong Bad take a brief break to mock the King of Town? Will 12-Times-a-Day Man bring all of his loser friends? Will Homestar ever get his deep tissue massage??? Relevant Toons: Fan Club
Teen Girl Squad!: TGS! has always been one of my favorite Homestar Runner features, so feel freet to write a fic in that vein if you really want to. I've always had a soft spot for What's Her Face, so either save her to be killed last or kill her off first and be done with it. Relevant Toons: TGS! Cartoons
Down...time?: So just what was Strong Bad doing during the hiatus? Slouching on the coach, playing video games, playing video games while slouching on the coach? What do you do when there's nothing really to do? Is there any point to pulling off capers when nobody's watching? What happened to the Compé? And what's up with Homestar's duffel bag? Relevant Toons: April Fools 2014 (click on "computer" after the cartoon is over)
Whew! Whatta a lot of words! I hope you've found them helpful. You don't have to adhere very strictly to these prompts, and I may rewrite some of these for clarification/more ideas later. Have fun!
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Date: 2014-11-13 08:40 pm (UTC)