speakingwosound

Hello Dear Author Anon!

Thank you so much for participating in Yuletide 2021. It's my favorite challenge of the year and I'm so glad we've matched. This letter is long, but please, please, please don't get intimidated. You love my small, underserved fandoms as much as I do so, honestly, I'm going to love anything you write!

I'm going to start with some general likes and dislikes, and then dig deeper into each fandom. Everything in this letter is, of course, optional. But, when I write for these challenges I love having as much detail as possible, so I'm going to try to give you as much of that as I can.

Finally, I only use DW for DA letters these days, so please check me out on AO3 and tumblr.

General Likes: I love romance (first time or established relationships, doesn’t matter), especially with an earned happy ending. I adore coming out fics, fics about people (friends, family, press) finding out, outsider POV stories, future fic, h/c, fake dating, and found families. The more people involved (family, found families, coworkers) the better. I’m always down with world-building tropes that twist the world a bit but don't change it entirely, like soulbonds, name-on-wrists, and touch/emotional telepathy. I particularly enjoy fics that deal with overcoming societal expectations of gender and sexuality and characters struggling to deal with insecurities while trying to fit in with fame and what's expected from 'jock'/political/entertainment culture.

DNWs: Not a big fan of BDSM, unequal power dynamics, break-ups or infidelity, unhappy endings (although I’m definitely onboard with unhappy beginnings), de-aging fics, or stereotypical gender roles. First or second-person POV.

Re: real-life partners: I’m fine with pretending the partner doesn’t/never has existed. I’m also good with fics where the partner is a best friend/beard, or where they dated but now no longer date. I'm also fine with post-divorce fic. Any of those are cool!

Re: AUs: I love alternate histories and AUs that play within the same story world. I also love sci fi AUs, robot AUs, dystopian fics and all sorts of future AUs. I do not, however, like mundane AUs (coffee shop AUs, high school AUs, college AUs).

Re: Ratings: Pure smut isn’t my favorite, but other than that write what you’re comfortable with/wherever the story takes you!

Also, I've left my tumblr anon open if you have any questions throughout the exchange!

Prompts (in no order I promise!) below:

For All Mankind - Margo, Molly

For All Mankind has taken me by storm the past couple months. I don’t know why it took me so long, because it was all my favorite things: the space race; alt-history; fascinating pop culture references; amazingly-drawn, intelligent, ambitious women who often share the screen together; equally complicated men who make mistakes and (often) learn from them. I’ve requested Margo/Molly because I adore their dynamic (the tension, the bristled support, the understanding only really the two of them can have together), but I love a lot of the other characters. Feel free to include Gordo/Ed or Molly & Ed as platonic soulmates or anyone else you’re drawn to.

Because I’m enamored with the alt-history world, I’d prefer to stay canon or canon with a slight twist (e.g. I always love soulmates! Or another speculative element on top of the canon-world). I will honestly read anything Molly/Margo, but a few moments/character bits that have stood out to me:From the first moment, they were testing each others’ limits. Margo calling Molly on her reentry equations and Molly finishing the test in record time is both a challenge and a recognition that they’re equals in ambition, talent, and ego. Does Margo find Molly later and give her her test results before pushing her into a supply closet to make out? Does this start a back-and-forth challenge that continually has them competing?
That scene early in season 1 at the jazz club, with Molly leaning forward in her chair to stare at Margo playing the piano. Followed by Margo’s insistence that Molly maintain her secret. How often does Molly go back to see her play? How often do they get a hotel room afterwards?
They represent the first woman in space and the first female head of the program. They know what it’s like to face the pressure of perfection. How have they pushed each other to get there? Do they take solace in each others’ understanding of their position?
Anything with Molly on the moon. That’s it, that’s the prompt.
I lied. It’s fascinating to think about Molly and Margo communicating while Molly is on the moon. How do they find private time? Do they speak in coded letters? Do they bottle everything up until Molly returns? How much of all of this does Molly share with Ed?

Game Changers - Ilya, Shane

I haven’t been in hockey rpf fandom for almost a decade now, but these romance books bowled me over this summer. I don’t have a good explanation. There’s something about rivals who have been in love since they were babies, stumbling through the NHL together and having to hide themselves behind closed doors (or, in Shane’s case, in empty investment properties). I adore both these boys equally: Shane’s naive innocence laced with ego and a healthy awareness of his position in the NHL and in Montreal generally fits so well with Ilya’s gruff no-holds-barred exterior that encases the soft boy who has never been loved.

I don’t have a ton of specific requests for this fandom. Ilya and Shane’s sequel comes out next spring and I need anything that will hold me over. Give me a quiet scene between the two of them at the lake house. Give me a fic at their charity hockey school. Give me Ilya coming out to his team (as the fifth book is so clearly building towards, what a tease of a book). Give me Troy awkwardly coming to Ilya’s for dinner with him and Shane. Give me Ilya and Shane at one of Fabian’s shows with Ryan. Give me Scott finally getting his head out of his ass and seeing that Ilya and Shane are together. I’m kind of obsessed with the Ottawa team so give me anything with any of them. See? Promised I’ll be happy with anything!

Ted Lasso - Ted, Trent

This is another show that I waited too long to see. I’ve devoured both seasons over the past few weeks, but I was struggling to figure out who to slash until I saw this brilliant video and I. Was. Sold. Ted and Trent (Crimm, The Independent) have such an achingly slow and sweet relationship built on both mutual respect and the natural antagonism of their jobs. Ted’s natural energy is balanced by Trent’s calm thoughtfulness. Ted’s warmth and optimism are needed contrasts to Trent’s general pessimism at the current world order.

As is clearly a theme in this letter, I will read and love anything Ted/Trent. A few specific prompts/thoughts if that’s more helpful though:

Any moment from that same brilliant video, from a Ted/Trent perspective.
This is the full article that Trent wrote about Ted’s anxiety at the end of season 2. Tell me Trent wasn’t desperately in love while writing that article?
Speaking of, I like the idea of Trent quitting his job because he’s too in love with Ted to keep that conflict of interest between them. What if Ted took him up on his offer to drive Ted home? What if that conversation outside the stadium had gone more like a declaration of love? What if Trent came by the next day with the morning paper and a coffee and an offer of a date?
I can also see them getting together at the very beginning of the show. Maybe they sleep together the night before Ted’s first day with the team, not knowing who each other is. They’d have to stay apart for their jobs. How does that go? When do they slip up? When do they look across the press room and want each other so much it hurts?
What’s Trent’s next move? Does he work with the team? If so, do he and Ted get closer over the next football season?
I also really love all the other characters. Please feel free to incorporate Rebecca or Keeley (or Rebecca/Keeley) or Roy or Coach Beard!

Crooked RPF - Dan, Jon, Lovett, Tommy

My perennial fandom! I’ve requested Crooked a lot, so if you want even more Crooked ideas feel free to scroll back for previous YT, Crooked Secret Santa, and Crooked Exchange letters. This year, I’ve requested all four of the boys. I’d LOVE an OT4 fic, but also please feel free to write the permutations within OT4. My favorite pairings besides OT4 are danlo, jonjon, and danjonjon. The only things I ask are that the fic includes Dan and doesn’t include any of the boys’ real life partners.

For inspiration, here’s my top OT4 moments and a list of my Top 15 Dan moments. Here are a few more specific prompts if you’d like:

I always love soulmate AUs: in a world where everyone's born with their soulmates' name(s) on their wrist, Dan's wrists are bare; in a world where everyone’s born with their soulmates’ name on their wrist, Lovett doesn’t have one name he has three; in a world where soulmates have a psychic component, Jon's mind opens to his soulmate(s) at the exact time he's starting his dream job
I'm also obsessed with canon-divergence: Dan's knees didn't give out so he gave basketball a real chance instead of going to Georgetown; Dan never went to his interview with Obama and stayed a congressional aide; Tommy took the job with Senator Kennedy and never joined the Obama team; Lovett’s comedy writing took off before he entered politics
Full AUs work excellently too: the boys were born in a different decade/century; Dan is a high-powered executive at a soul-sucking company; Reality TV AU (some ideas here, here, and here)
Particularly sci-fi and dystopian AUs: transport the Crooked world onto a space station or an intergalactic government; robots!; the apocalypse has come and Crooked are fighting for their lives; the country has descended into a second civil war
Finally, canon and future fic based on canon work excellently too! Any instance of road trips or the HBO specials, or canvassing - these are all excellent opportunities!
(I lied again) Finally, finally, I like the entire Crooked team (e.g. Michael, Elijah, Tanya, Alyssa from afar), so if you’d like to incorporate them I’d be very into it!

Hello Dear Author Anon!

Thank you so much for participating in Crooked Secret Santa 2020! I had so much fun last year, receiving and gifting stockings of Crooked art, and I’m so glad we’ve matched this year. This letter is a bit of a mess because I’m into so many of the nominated pairings, but please bear with me!

I'm going to start with some general likes and dislikes, and then dig deeper into prompts. Everything in this letter is, of course, optional. But, when I write for these challenges I love having as much detail as possible, so I'm going to try to give you as much of that as I can.

Finally, I only use DW for DA letters these days, so please check me out on AO3 and tumblr.

DNWs: Not a big fan of BDSM, unequal power dynamics, break-ups for infidelity, unhappy endings (although I’m definitely onboard with unhappy beginnings), de-aging fics, or stereotypical gender roles. First or second-person POV. Please no references to Rolo, Ronan, or Hanna.

Re: Holiday Fics: I’m not a huge holiday fic person, but I do celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, so if the holiday is an incidental part of a fic, I don’t mind it.

Re: Ratings: Pure smut isn’t my favorite, but other than that write what you’re comfortable with/wherever the story takes you!

Also, I've left my tumblr anon open if you have any questions throughout the exchange!

I’ve requested a, ahh, inordinate number of pairings: danlo, davs, dommy, OT4, danjonjon, dan/elijah, elijah/michael, emlyssa, emlyssatanya, pritanya, pritanyaelijah, and commune (jon/tommy/lovett/dan/alyssa/elijah/michael/pri/tanya/em. So, I’m going to list some overall prompts and themes that would work for every pairing. Please feel free to adapt for different characters as you’d like!

I always love soulmate AUs:
- In a world where everyone's born with their soulmates' name(s) on their wrist, Dan's wrists are bare
- In a world where your soulmate’s name is tattooed on your wrist, Jon has two names. That might be okay in liberal places, like Oregon or Colorado, but it is definitely not okay in the wasp-y suburbs of Boston
- In a world where soulmates have a psychic component, Dan's mind opens to his soulmate(s) at the exact time he's starting his dream job that also happens to contain a lot of sensitive information
I’m also obsessed with canon-divergence:
- Dan's knees didn't give out so he gave basketball a real chance instead of going to Georgetown
- Lovett’s comedy career took off in NY before he joined the Clinton campaign
- Dan never went to his interview with Obama and stayed a congressional aide. Maybe Tommy never went to his either.
- Jon hired that other speechwriter
But full AUs work excellently too:
- They were born a few decades earlier but still met up on Harvey Milk’s campaign
- Or in the Crusades
- Or during the French Revolution
- Tanya is a high-powered executive at a soul-sucking company, and only Pri and Em can make her realize it
- DanJonJon as tired, worn-out cable pundits desperate for something different
- Em and Alyssa meet each other working on the ERA
- Reality TV AU (some ideas here, here, and here)
Particularly sci-fi and dystopian AUs:
- Transport the Crooked world onto a space station or an intergalactic government
- Robots!
- Pri and Tanya and Elijah are space pirates reluctantly working together to pull of a heist
- A meteor hits the Atlantic Ocean and Crooked is, most literally, the last radio show on Earth
- The country has descended into a second civil war
Speaking of, I don't generally want a fic dealing with the pandemic, but I am fascinated by the idea of a Democratic National Convention bubble, ala the NBA bubble. The team, locked in a small space with an awful lot of his favorite people at a time where anxieties are running high
I also love a good future fic:
- e.g. Lovett’s 2028 Iowa caucus or Dan’s Senate office or Jon’s Gubernatorial campaign (any and all permutations of political campaigns/office), giving local speeches, shaking lots of hands, coordinating interns who are younger than they ever were, fighting back against quotes and pictures taken from their podcast days (I’m picturing ‘20 Hours in America’, PODSA style)
Or a good canon fic:
- Anything about Lovett's short hospital stay in Texas
- Anything around the Kennedy Center Q&A
- I’ve put together lists of my top OT4 and top Dan moments, any fic jumping off any of these moments would be excellent!
Finally, some commune-specific prompts:
- The aforementioned DNC bubble
- Hospitality industry (e.g. hotelworkers, cruise ship, Below Deck AU?, running a Dude Ranch) workers who drown their frustrations in each other
- An Away AU, a Lady Astronauts AU, any fic that takes place in a spaceship or on the Moon or Mars, the commune forming Earth’s newest colony
- Vegas Casino workers who have a whole lot of fun once the guests go to bed
- A future or past (or, let’s be real, current) resistance movement
- A 1960s pot smoking, protesting, meal-sharing commune becomes a romantic and sexual commune
- In front of or behind the camera sports AU: athletes attending the Olympics, anchors broadcasting the Olympics
- A morning news show. A cable news show. A sports show.

Hello Dear Author Anon!

Thank you so much for participating in Yuletide 2020. It's my favorite challenge of the year and I'm so glad we've matched. This letter is long, but please, please, please don't get intimidated. You love my small, underserved fandoms as much as I do so, honestly, I'm going to love anything you write!

I'm going to start with some general likes and dislikes, and then dig deeper into each fandom. Everything in this letter is, of course, optional. But, when I write for these challenges I love having as much detail as possible, so I'm going to try to give you as much of that as I can.

Finally, I only use DW for DA letters these days, so please check me out on AO3 and tumblr.

General Likes: I love romance (first time or established relationships, doesn’t matter), especially with an earned happy ending. I adore coming out fics, fics about people (friends, family, press) finding out, outsider POV stories, future fic, h/c, fake dating, and found families. The more people involved (family, found families, coworkers) the better. I’m always down with world-building tropes that twist the world a bit but don't change it entirely, like soulbonds, name-on-wrists, and touch/emotional telepathy. I particularly enjoy fics that deal with overcoming societal expectations of gender and sexuality and characters struggling to deal with insecurities while trying to fit in with fame and what's expected from 'jock'/political/entertainment culture.

DNWs: Not a big fan of BDSM, unequal power dynamics, break-ups for infidelity, unhappy endings (although I’m definitely onboard with unhappy beginnings), de-aging fics, or stereotypical gender roles. First or second-person POV.

Re: real-life partners: I’m fine with pretending the partner doesn’t/never has existed. I’m also good with fics where the partner is a best friend/beard, or where they dated but now no longer date. I'm also fine with post-divorce fic (although I'd rather that be way in the past and not have characters dwelling on it all fic). Any of those are cool!

Re: AUs: I love alternate histories and AUs that play within the same story world. I also love sci fi AUs, robot AUs, dystopian fics and all sorts of future AUs. I do not, however, like mundane AUs (coffee shop AU, high school AU, college AU).

Re: Ratings: Pure smut isn’t my favorite, but other than that write what you’re comfortable with/wherever the story takes you!

Also, I've left my tumblr anon open if you have any questions throughout the exchange!

Prompts (in no order I promise!) below:

Away (TV) - Lu, Mei, Emma, Melissa

Away was my surprise fave of the fall and I can. not. stop. thinking. about. it. I'm fascinated by all the dynamics of being in space and planning to be in space and living on Mars(!). There is so much emotional baggage in deciding to leave you family and your planet and everything you know behind, and in dedicating your entire life to a mission that you may (or may not in Melissa, Matt, and Mei's cases) get to go on. The scientific, mental, and physical toll is immense.

I am - if you couldn't already tell haha - fascinated by smart, strong, dedicated people who are passionate about things doing the things they're experts in. Anything - and I mean anything - dealing with this is more than up my alley. If you want a few specific prompts, though, here are some:

What was Mei and Lu's last night on Earth like? Or, for that matter, any of the days of them falling in love that we didn't get to see?
What if Lu's plan had actually worked and she had been able to get Mei reinstated? What would Lu's life on Mars be like if she could be in constant (delayed) contact with Mei?
What if Mei and Lu had been caught much earlier? Would they have sought asylum? Would the Chinese Space Force have swept it under the rug?
What if Lu had met Mei (or another woman) much earlier? Would she still have gotten married, buried herself so deep so she could get what she wanted, career wise?
Similar questions for Emma and Melissa. What if they had met in training and had fallen in love? What if they'd met in training and fallen in love with Matt and had a loving, stable poly relationship? Did they have to hide it? Is it NASA's worst kept secret? What was Emma's prep and trip like leaving both of them behind?

The Lady Astronaut Series - Elma York, Nicole Wargin

If Away was my surprise TV show of the fall, the Lady Astronaut series was my surprise series of the year. I love many of the same things about it that I love about Away - space! insanely talented women doing amazing things! women being each other's most fervent supporters! - with the added elements of alt-history and the impending destruction of Earth.

I love the discussions of race and women's rights and intergalactic cooperation and conspiracy theories. I also love, love, love how full and real life on the moon colony is.

Again, I would LOVE anything addressing any single one of these issues, but here are a few specific prompts:

How would this world have handled a queer relationships between astronauts? Would the moon be more accepting? Is there a small, secret, Mattachine society type group on the moon?
Would the world deny a marriage between the Lady Astronaut, just returned from Mars, and the newly elected President?
How did Nicole handle Elma's long trip to Mars? Did they send their own encrypted messages to each other?
I requested Elma and Nicole, but I also love, love, love Helen and Myrtle too. I'm down with any of the combination, including (especially?) if they started a queer poly commune on the Moon or in the Presidential suite.
Finally, I know I mostly came up with requests for later in the series, but that's only because I just finished The Relentless Moon. I'm equally fascinated by the world post-asteroid hit and how these girls would have met each other and fallen in love while initially training for space.
Lied. Finally, finally, I’d never say no to a commune that includes these amazing ladies and their husbands, as long as it’s an equal and committed poly relationship.

Crooked RPF - Dan Pfeiffer

I will read any and all fic about Dan! I love how passionate, dedicated, loyal, nerdy, and embarrassing he can be. He’s such a central part of Crooked Media, and he believes in these people and this mission so much. Here’s a list of my Top 15 Dan moments for inspiration!

Dan pairs so well with everyone: he spends all day and night talking to Jon, he thinks Lovett is the absolute funniest and always wants to hear what he has to say, he loves Tommy's loyalty, his friendship with Alyssa is beyond friendship goals. Any of these pairings would be excellent, as would multiples of them (e.g. Dan/Jon/Lovett, Dan/Jon/Lovett/Tommy, a Crooked commune of Dan/Jon/Lovett/Tommy/Elijah/Tanya/Pri/Alyssa/Em and any iteration of this you're into). The only things I ask is not to include Ronan or Dan/Alyssa romantic partnerships outside of Commune. A few prompts that can applied writ large:

I always love soulmate AUs: in a world where everyone's born with their soulmates' name(s) on their wrist, Dan's wrists are bare; in a world where soulmates have a psychic component, Dan's mind opens to his soulmate(s) at the exact time he's starting his dream job
I'm also obsessed with canon-divergence: Dan's knees didn't give out so he gave basketball a real chance instead of going to Georgetown; Dan never went to his interview with Obama and stayed a congressional aide
Full AUs work excellently too: Dan was born in a different decade/century; Dan is a high-powered executive at a soul-sucking company; Reality TV AU (some ideas here, here, and here)
Particularly sci-fi and dystopian AUs: transport the Crooked world onto a space station or an intergalactic government; robots!; the apocalypse has come and Crooked are fighting for their lives; the country has descended into a second civil war
Speaking of, I don't generally want a fic dealing with the pandemic, but I am fascinated by the idea of a Democratic National Convention bubble, ala the NBA bubble. Dan, locked in a small space with an awful lot of his favorite people at a time where anxieties are running high
Finally, canon and future fic based on canon work excellently too! Any instance of road trips or the HBO specials, or canvassing - these are all excellent opportunities!

Good Girls Revolt - Cindy Reston, Jane Hollander

It's a tragedy how cut short this show was. I'd want ten more seasons of these women finding themselves and their pens and their voices. I like all the women nominated - so feel free to include them as well - but I have a particular fascination with Cindy and Jane and the amount of work they've both done to remove themselves from society expectations. They started the season as the two most traditional women, and ended the season as the most radical.

For this series, I'd really love a post-season one fic. Something that wraps up the cliffhangers, that shows Jane and Cindy years down the line, doing the work they want to be doing. How long did it take them to fall in love? How did they make enough money to support themselves once they left their husband and father? Were they roommates who turned into more? Did they start community organizing in their neighborhood? Where are they 5 years from now? Ten? What happens the first time Jane brings Cindy to a law school function or to see her father?

I mostly want a canon or post-canon fic for this fandom, but if you do wanna do an AU please keep the women’s rights elements that exist in canon. A historical AU might be kinda fun. Or a canon-divergent. I can’t really see a modern AU, but, please, surprise me if the spirit takes you!

Reply All RPF (Podcast) - Alex Goldman, PJ Vogt

I’ve always really loved Alex and PJ’s relationship, and it got even stronger with the Zoom calls and game nights they were doing early on in the pandemic. I love how smart Alex is and I love how funny PJ finds him. I love Alex's frustrations with the world and how endearing PJ finds it. I love how prickly Alex thinks he is and how PJ knows better. I love how Alex is actually the softer of the two. Some specific prompts:

Any fic dealing with the early days of Gimlet, when Reply All was their second show and it was pretty much Alex Blumberg, Matt Lieber, PJ and Alex running the place. There were a lot of late nights, a lot of pressure on Reply All to succeed. This episode of Start Up explores how stressful this time was. I'd love any fic where all this stress brings Alex and PJ together. Or fic where Matt and Alex Blumberg are so stressed out/focused on making Gimlet a successful company that when they find out about Alex and PJ's relationship, they react badly at first.
In this episode, PJ takes low-dose LSD at work for a week. Alex didn't know. I'd love a fic that deals with that week – a super sappy, loving PJ and a very confused Alex – either as established relationship for leading to a first time. There's also some implications in that episode that while it was PJ's first time, Alex has extensive experience with drugs. Anything exploring that past would be really fascinating.
In Today's the Day, PJ and Alex explore the city and record the whole thing. There are so many great possible moments here: karaoke with Alex Blumberg, waking Matt up in the middle of the night, sneaking into an abandoned building (and PJ freaking out during the whole thing). Again, established relationship and first time would both work great here.
In Long Distance Parts I and II, Alex goes to India to explore a scamming company. PJ seems honestly worried about him throughout the episode, and I'd love a fic where PJ realizes how important Alex is to him while he's worrying away in NY.
In this ep, Alex lets PJ hack his phone for an entire week. There are so many possibilities here. Maybe PJ was too worried about what Alex would find about himself, so refuses to do it, but Alex has no problem letting PJ find out exactly how much he means to Alex. Maybe Alex spends the whole week hiding his secrets from PJ, but slips up. Maybe something comes up on Alex's phone that really pisses PJ off. Maybe Alex hopes that this will jump start a relationship, and gets frustrated when PJ doesn't get the clue. So many possibilities.
In Hello, Alex and PJ spent 48 hours straight answering listener phone calls. A little surprisingly (although it probably shouldn't have been), PJ has a really, really hard time and Alex is mostly okay. I think this fic would be best as first time fic, but would also be a really cute established relationship fic.
In this interview, Alex and PJ talk about the issues they went through a couple years into the show. When things started to go well at Reply All, they started settling into roles: PJ in a more leadership and editing position, Alex in a more reporting-centric position, and they both struggled so much with it that they went to couples counseling. Does couples counseling reveal that the root of their problem is actually all the feelings they're repressing? Did they start fighting because during the early, hectic days they'd work 20 hours then fall into bed together and do it all again the next day, but now that things are quiet they've stopped doing the fucking part?