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avani008 · 2 years

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Dear Yuletide Writer 2022!

Here are some things I think are rad: snark. friendships. sneaky twisty endings. stories with bite. characters with personalities. stories that make their writers happy. mythology. humor. stories that dig into and expand on the canon, whether that’s backstory or minor characters or worldbuilding. brown paper packages tied up with string.

Stuff I’m not so keen on: rape, incest, mentions of RL pandemics/quarantines or cancer? more into het and femslash than slash. no modern AUs for the fandoms I’ve selected this year, as I’m interested in the canon settings; AUs that preserve the canon setting (either canon divergence or trope-based [soulmate, daemons, fantasy elements in non-fantasy canons]) are not just fine but would be much adored!

Treat Policy: Yes, please!

Fandoms Requested: Ponniyin Selvan (2022), Regency Faerie Tales- Olivia Atwater, Spymaster series- Joanna Bourne

Ponniyin Selvan

Characters Requested: Kundavai, Nandini

Where to Find Source Material: currently playing in theaters, but supposedly coming to streaming (Prime?) in November 2022

I love so many characters in this movie (and the source material), but to exactly no one's surprise, I loved Kundavai and Nandini best. I'd really love to see anything more about one, or both, of them (writer, you do have explicit permission to only feature one character in your fic, if that is what works better); but also here are some prompts that may help!

A quick note, though: while I'm familiar with the novel, the movieverse seems very different--starting from the fact that everyone is aged up in this adaptation to bigger details (Kundavai is implied to be solely responsive for Nandini's adolescent banishment, Vanathi's...entire personality). I'm totally fine with incorporating elements of the novel, but a fic based only on what we see in the movie is fine, too!

Another quick note: for people familiar with the novel, certain revelations and fakeouts about Nandini's backstory skirt the no-incest DNW. If including it is necessary for your fic, that's fine; but I ask you don't center the fic around that particular tension.

For Kundavai:

Kundavai is my historical (and fictional!) favorite, and I loved how the movie showcases her political competence and general smarts--so tell me more about that! 5 times fic for Kundavai backstory? Love it. Kundavai having to solve a mystery and save the day? Amazing. Kundavai's political and moral development, taking into account her very real blinders about class/caste that we see? Please!

In terms of shipping, if you want to stick with canon verse: Kundavai and Vandiyadevan have pretty great chemistry, and I'd love to see something that explored their relationship further, since most of their novel scenes establishing their attraction got cut (though Karthi did a phenomenal job in quickly conveying that *this* crush/flirtation was serious). What actually did happen during the offscreen scene where Kundavai gives him her message for Arunmozhi?

For Nandini:

Nandini is unsurprisingly such a clever, mercurial, magnetic character-- one of my favorite scenes is the compression of 3 chapters in the book, where she faces down 3 different men confronting her, all into the space of 5 minutes; she handles each differently, easily swinging from amused indifference to indignant earnestness to furious authority. Also fascinating: her unapologetic "Yes, I have [grown accustomed to luxury]" to Ravidasan, her co-conspirator, her tangled feelings for Aditya (unlike book Nandini, who isn't nearly as venomous about him), but, more than anything the scene where Nandini is staring at the throne. Not only does she seem far more longing than we've seen her look at any man around her, but I adore the choice to have her picture her younger self (alone, rather than as royal consort) enthroned, rather than her present self: is this because her present self is no longer worthy of it? Who knows? Nandini could easilyfuel a thousand character studies by herself, and certainly all of those questions would be great to include.

Or: again, while Kundavai's protegees got cut, Nandini's handmaidens are very prominently around--and clearly involved in her scheming, both in terms of her husband's plans, but also the Pandya plot? Why? Are they also ex-Pandyas, or (the more interesting option, IMO), is Nandini, with her experience of being looked down upon, actually a phenomenal boss who inspires incredible loyalty? Exploring their relationship and who these women are and how they interact with her would also be fantastic.

For both together:

One of the things that intrigues me the most are the years just pre-canon where Kundavai and Nandini are technically both part of the royal court; we know Kundavai spends most of her time away, but surely she must have made other, earlier visits. While their verbal sparring is ever- delightful (and one of my favorite things about their relationship), I'd particularly love something about them being forced to work together to solve a problem--political intrigue? a mystery at court? a conspiracy? They'd be a startlingly brilliant team despite (or because) how much they clash, and I'd love to see them together.

Or, naturally, their troubled backstory. Aditya accuses Kundavai (both in the novel and in the film) of being motivated by jealousy only, while her defense is her duty/her internalized casteism/classism, but what if there was more that inspired her to act?

Finally: if you want to acknowledge the incredible chemistry between them, and pair them together (as enemies-to-...still-enemies-but-now-with-benefits?), absolutely go for it!

Regency Faerie Tales- Olivia Atwater

Characters Requested: Dora Ettings, Elias Wilder

Where to Find Source Material: Your local library, bookstore, or ebook supplier!

This fandom, along with the next, were two surprise discoveries this year, both amazing in their own ways! The Regency Faerie Tales are such lovely comfort reads, with truly likeable, pleasant characters --though paired with an honest look at the social inequalities of the time period, and the chilling nature of Faerie. Consider:

That last paragraph of the epilogue and its implications! How does that come about, after their previous distaste for Lord Hallowvale’s world? How do Elias and Dora adjust to a rejoined Dora, and how is that different from their previous relationship, if in any way? How do they adjust to life in the faerie realm?

Or: each of the books is clearly vaguely based on a fairy tale--"Rumplestilskin" " Cinderella" "Goose Girl"--so maybe something that centers around another fairy tale? The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast/East of the Sun West of the Moon, and Snow White would all be interesting given the themes and backstories that the characters have, and I'd love to see a take on them!

Or, an exploration of Faerie would be so intriguing! Tell me more how its alien customs and structures really work. In particular, while I haven’t requested her specifically, I’d be totally fine with the inclusion of Lady Hallowvale, even if you wish to set it prior to the Epilogue. I’m also fascinated by the similarities and differences between her and Dora, but also the parallels between her and Elias, especially given his backstory.

Finally, if you are interested in worldbuilding, and/or other cultures, I would love to see a more inclusive look at characters, magic systems/entities, fairy tales from other countries! How do they play into this world? How does (or doesn't) magic change this world? How do Elias and Dora react to storytelling tropes from another culture altogether?

Spymaster series- Joanna Bourne

Characters Requested: Justine DeCabrillac, Adrian "Hawker" Hawkhurst

Where to Find Source Material: Your local library, bookstore, or ebook supplier!

In contrast to that last fandom--while they share a nominal setting in the Regency period--the Spymaster series is all brilliant characterization and intrigue. The action plots are superbly paced, where the romance doesn't take up too much from the main plot, and the limited perspective works so well--the Annique twist in the first book took me utterly by surprise, and then delighted me.

So writer, if your long standing dream has been to write canon-typical plotfic, I would be so ecstatic! Couples working and bantering together is always one of my favorite things to read, and the espionage aspect of this series is a particular strength . While we see a lot of glimpses of the Adrian-Justine relationship, I think there's always room for more, so whether you want to add a post-canon adventure, or invent one we didn’t see between flashbacks, it would be great!

I also love these characters, and their relationship--I love the pining in the face of duty, the very real tragedy* I love how it extends in bits and pieces of the years, I love how it's frequently interpreted and misinterepreted through outsider POVs. Something that plays with outsider POVs would also be so fascinating, again, at any time during the series; or, what a happily ever after looks like for these two crazy kids.

*again, DNW caveat: it's okay to acknowledge canon-accurate mentions of prior assualt in this case, but I would really prefer that it be kept to a minimum, with no on-screen incidences.

Finally, although I haven't formally requested, Annique (and her irreverent narration) is always a delight. I love her instant platonic-soulmates friendship with Adrian, and I am intrigued by Joanna Bourne's words on her blog on how Annique compares with Justine:

When I was writing Annique, I was making her the other side of the coin with Justine. They were both child spies, about the same age. Both raised by Lucille. One relatively protected, innocent, a child of the light, one who had not killed. The other abandoned and debauched, a child with little light inside her, a willing killer.

And they knew each other, of course, as they were growing up. They were more than a little jealous. When Annique makes the remark about the doppleganger, she's thinking of Justine.

Adrian, in TSL, come fresh from one side of the coin to the other and neither Annique nor Adrian realize this.

This is such an amazing dynamic we never see on-screen, and I would love to dig into it further at both ends.

I hope at least some of these prompts help! Thank you in advance and have a wonderful Yuletide yourself:D

#yuletide22 #dear yuletide writer letter #ponniyin selvan #regency faerie tales #spymaster series #queue ho gaya na

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kiraziwrites · 7 months

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dear yuletide writer letter (2023)

These are a few of my favorite things: missing scenes, romantic interludes, reflective moments, epilogues and aftermaths, porn with feelings. I love thoughtful exploration of the power dynamics (smutty or otherwise) between characters, battle couple vibes, intrigue and adventure, extensions of canon worldbuilding, and stories that explore queerness and gender nonconformity. I strongly prefer canon-consistent settings, but canon-divergent plotlines are okay. Any rating from Gen to E is fine, and mild-to-moderate kink is welcome. Angst is great as long as it comes with a happy (or at least gentle) ending, and I love a bit of hurt/comfort as long as the hurt isn’t on the DNW list.

The DNWs: dubcon/noncon; torture or violence beyond a canon-typical degree; A/B/O and alien or magical creature AUs; kink involving ageplay, blood/piss/scat, medical/school/prison settings, or non-standard anatomical features like tentacles and oviposition. I strongly prefer canon settings and canon-aged characters, so no high school/coffeeshop/other historical period AUs, please.

Fandom-specific preferences and prompts below, in no particular order of preference! If you got assigned one of these requests but we happen to share multiple fandoms, pick whichever sparks the most joy for you.

Fandom: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Characters: Keita Mori, Thaniel Steepleton, Six.

I enjoyed Keita and Thaniel in the first book, but it was The Lost Future of Pepperharrow that really made me ship it hard: all that delicious angst and pining and misunderstanding and devotion is extremely my jam. I’d really love a missing scene (or scenes) fic about Keita and Thaniel recovering and reconnecting in the immediate aftermath of their departure from Japan, or a post-canon fic where they reckon with the big revelations from the epilogue of Pepperharrow. And while I’m not usually a big fan of kidfic, I adore Six, so a glimpse at the three of them growing and changing as a family would also be lovely. If smut is your writing preference, I would certainly enjoy some character-centric Keita/Thaniel porn, with or without plot, from any stage of the relationship. I'd especially like to see their first time together after the reunion, either while they're still in Tokyo or once they are back on the boat home.

Fandom: Prophet, Characters: Sunil Rao, Adam Rubenstein.

Give me post-canon anything about these two! I just want more of whatever comes after the book’s ending. If you’re up for writing E-rated, I’d love to see what happens immediately after that fade-to-black in the last chapter, or a subsequent sex scene focused on kink exploration (particularly one that builds on the canon hints about Rao’s BDSM interests and experience). But if you’d prefer to avoid anything explicit, I’d be equally delighted to read post-coital cuddling or morning-after conversation, or a near-future fic about these two working out how to be together now that they’ve finally moved past the pining stage. I'm especially interested in seeing Adam coping with the aftermath of his grief and the uncanny nature of Rao's resurrection, and Rao reckoning with what he's come to understand about the depth and duration of Adam's feelings for him (that moment in when he realizes "he's done real damage there"—how does he make amends?) While I enjoyed the book's worldbuilding, the draw for me here is the dynamic between these characters, and I would prefer a strong focus on their relationship.

Fandom: The Last Binding Series, Characters: Violet Debenham, Maud Blyth.

I loved A Restless Truth and need more fic about the Boat Lesbians (even if only one is technically a lesbian and they are no longer on the boat). I will be reading A Power Unbound the day it drops, so feel free to involve its protagonists and plot developments! I’d like the focus to be on Maud and Violet, but Hawthorn and Ross are welcome to crash the party (and Robin and Edwin cameos are also fine, unless it’s a sex party, in which case they should probably keep their distance). Some ideas: if you want to write smut, I’d love to see Violet follow up on her promise to introduce Maud to the possibilities of strap-ons, or further exploration of those glimmers of interest in bondage and sensation play. I would also definitely enjoy a threesome/moresome involving Hawthorn and Ross (perhaps they decide to restage the encounter Maud interrupted? or some other voyeurism scenario?) If smut is not your jam, I'd love a fic of their next meeting(s) after the voyage, or missing scenes about what they're getting up to while offscreen during the events of the third book, or a post-canon fic about what happens afterwards. I'm particularly interested in seeing how they negotiate the leap from the hothouse intensity of their boat affair to something more long-term, especially given Violet's baggage and Maud's lack of relationship experience.

#yuletide 2023 #dear yuletide writer letter

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scifihobbit · 7 months

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Yuletide Letter 2023

I’ve been participating in Yuletide incredibly sporadically since 2009. I love it here! It's such a fun look at what we as fandom care about and such an incredible labor of love from everyone involved.

I'm scifihobbit over on AO3 as well. I am very open to treats. Thanks for reading my letter! (I didn't get this posted in time to include it with my sign-up, but maybe you found it anyway.) We all know the mantra, optional details are entirely optional, so, if you even see this letter, don't feel beholden to it, just use it as a jumping off point if you're so inclined.

I enjoy yuletide for so many different reasons. The gift work isn't the end-all be-all of it. (It's about the friends we made along the way!) So, if you're feeling anxious, know that I'm going to have a great time no matter what, so, have fun with it!

Things I'm a sucker for in general

Character studies

World-building

“There was only one bed”

Found families

Angst with a happy ending

Hurt/Comfort

Broken characters finding ways to heal each other in general

Using smarm to hide wildly low self-esteem

Extremely close, to the point of being unhealthily codependent, friendships

Playing with genre conventions. (i.e. Something that couldn’t be easily shelved in a bookstore that insists on having a literary fiction section and a sci-fi/fantasy section and a thriller section etc.)

Canon compliance. (This is not to say that I wouldn't enjoy a story that takes canon in an unexpected or unusual direction. Like I said, throw genre conventions out the window, but I would love the story to have emanated from somewhere in canon.)

Queers and queerness and queering

DNWs:

PWP (I'm not particularly prudish, I just like me some plot, or meandering conversation.)

AUs

1st person narration

2nd person narration

Major character death (that isn’t canonical)

mpreg (well.... Lower Decks pulled it off, but, in general.)

A/B/O

Non-canon unrequested romantic relationships

Rape/non-con

Fandom: Star Trek: Lower Decks (Cartoon) Characters: (any combination) Kayshon Samanthan Rutherford Shaxs Dr. T'ana

Request: It is hard to explain how much I adore this show. I was raised on Star Trek and this show never disappoints. Every episode leaves me with a smile plastered on my face basically the entire time. I love the entire crew (and especially the main 4), so I've just requested a FEW of my favorites, but feel free to write about anyone on the Cerritos and mix and match! A few prompts/ideas for my requested characters below. (But really, all of these prompts/ideas could apply to just about any of the crew. I just want to know more about them!)

Kayshon: I am still not over the concept of Kayshon! I love him as an addition to the crew so much. The Universal Translator is a constant source of fascination for me, so of course I love the Tamarians and their whole deal. Anything you want to do to explore that would be amazing. I'm also curious about how Kayshon navigates life on the ship and in Starfleet in general. (I love the little moment where Ransom uses a Tamarian phrase and Kayshon is touched.) What does he miss about Tamarian culture? What is he surprised and delighted by on the Cerritos? How does he spend his free time?

Rutherford: My perfect cinnamon roll of an engineer dealing with more trauma than any everyman ever should! I love his energy and optimism and eagerness, and am of course fascinated by his backstory. (If you want to explore that more you should absolutely feel free! But, also, it is a giant can of worms and if you would prefer not to touch it, completely understandable.) Despite what we've learned about Billups, I won't ever be able to stop shipping Rutherford with him at least a little bit, so, if you want to explore that, be my guest. (At the very least Rutherford has a competency crush on Billups and it is adorable.) Whatever engineering adventures you want to send him on I am thrilled to follow. Whatever downtime activities you want to drop him in I'm delighted to read.

Shaxs: I love Shaxs as grumpy mentor to all the floundering ensigns. I love his one-up-manship with Kira. I'm curious to know about his time in the resistance and what brought him to Starfleet. I'd love to see him interacting with other members of the crew (lower deckers or not.) His speech to Boimler about how security's there to protect the crew's emotional well-being too was so wonderful and I'd be delighted to see more of those "missions."

T'Ana: I love a grumpy doctor! (Bones is my fav. I'll be a Pulaski defender for life.) I want to know everything about T'Ana's backstory and what she gets up to in her off hours. What was her time at the academy like? So Caitians used to hunt Betazoids?? Does she indulge in some "most dangerous game" time in the holodeck? Who are her heroes in Starfleet? Who inspired her to be where she is? (Even if she'd never admit it.) What are her friendships with the rest of the crew like? Just give me T'ana content!

More Feelings: I asked for Lower Decks last year, too. So you can check out my 2022 Yuletide letter if you want even more of my giddy delight. Also, my Star Trek and LWD tags are overflowing on this blog.

In general, Vulcans are not my jam. And I find Jennifer kind of irritating... I'm usually annoyed by the mirror universe and section 31, but if there's any place they could be properly skewered, it's in Lower Decks. My Star Trek knowledge runs deep, but I'll admit I gave up on Discovery around the beginning of season 4, didn't finish Prodigy, and have never seen The Animated Series.

Also, since Star Trek essentially invented the AU, there is certainly some wiggle room here around my AU DNW.

Fandom: Severance (TV) Characters: Irving Bailiff Burt Goodman

Request: Irving and Burt ran away with my entire heart and I want so much more about them. This was one of those rare delightful times where I started shipping something not believing the show was going to go there, and then it did!

I would be happy to read about some of their innie's stolen moments. It would be interesting to know more about their life on the outside. (How did Irving take up painting? What kind of solace does he find in it? Why did either of them decide to go through with being "severed"?)

More Feelings: This show is just so good. I love all its weird mysteries (the goats? the green house?) Its aesthetic. The found family of the MDR division. This is another show where I'm incredibly fond of all the characters, so if you want to bring in more of them, please, feel free! I would love to see Irving talking to someone else in MDR about his relationship with/burgeoning feelings for Burt. Feel free to go wild hypothesizing what might have happened after the terrible-awful-no-good-very-bad cliffhanger of season one, or set things firmly within season one.

Fandom: Oppenheimer (Movie 2023) Characters: Leslie Groves J Robert Oppenheimer

Request: Leslie's fascination with Oppenheimer was so interesting to me. I did not expect to come away from this movie with warm feelings about the military general played by Matt Damon, but man, did I.

Anything you want to write exploring their relationship (platonic or romantic) I'd love to read. They're just such an extreme set of opposites that their begrudging admiration of each other is so interesting. Their dynamic is endlessly compelling. I love how intrigued Leslie is by Oppenheimer. I find Leslie's pragmatism vs. Oppenheimer's naivete fascinating.

What was day-to-day life for them like at Los Alamos? Did they ever run into each other years later? (I'm going to be honest, I know next-to-nothing about the actual history around these people, so feel free to play it fast and loose. But also, if you're the sort of writer who likes to get lost in the nitty-gritty, don't let me stop you!)

(Do I think they had "the world might end" sex before the first test? Yes. Yes I do.)

More Feelings: Are you detecting the theme of incredibly driven, rather geeky people being drawn to each other despite/because of their differences in these requests? (I might have just noticed it myself...) I've had a soft spot for Cillian Murphy for a long time now and he was stunning in this movie. Everyone was. It was incredibly well acted and I just feel like the scenes between Groves and Oppenheimer crackled. (Well, most of the movie did.) Again, thanks for reading this letter! Have so much fun! Happy Yuletide!

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itsjuneofallthings · 7 months

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dear yuletide writer,

This is my second yuletide and I'm still as lost what to put in a letter as I was last year, but it didn't stop me then either!

So, just let me tell you:

Thank you so much for writing for me!

I hope this letter helps to spark some inspiration and you'll have the utmost fun writing and please, don’t just write for me! It’s first and foremost for you and I’m just a happy beneficiary!

This being said, let’s get started:

Likes:

M/M Pairings (But I don’t mind and also like good written M/F Pairings, or M/M/F)

Friendships

Found Family Dynamics

Soulmate-AUs

Hurt/Comfort (dealing with PTSD, trauma, phobics, you name it, and being taken care of, getting help and being loved)

Slow Burn

Smut (including, blowjobs, handjobs, analsex, fingering, etc, just mind the dnws please :))

Porn with Plot

Angst

Fluff

Happy Endings

Cuddling

Tender Touches (holding the neck, caressing the cheek/lip, hand in hair)

kisses

getting together

first times

DNW:

A/B/O Dynamics

Rape/Non-Con

Incest

BDSM

Dom/Sub

Daddy-Kink

Underage

Abuse of animals

Bloodplay

Watersports

Impact Play

de-aging

humiliation

vampires/werwolves AU

reader-insert

My beloved fandoms are

The Hurog-Series

Seriously, I LOVE THE BOOKS!

Oreg got me after his first sentence and I kept falling deeper and deeper for him.

I love his banter, his wit and his power, and I love that he, as the probably most powerful mage walking around, still has boundaries.

I love his and Wardwicks dynamics, the friendship, love and trust they share and of course I love Wardwick, our little dumb looking hero with heart of gold and caring nature.

I also really, really love Tisala because she is a wonderful, loving person and a fierce badass and she wouldn’t hesitate to put Ward back in his place if she had to.

That being said:

I’d love to read something about Oreg being taken care of, I’m sure he still suffers from plenty of PTSD and he deserves hugs and love and soft strokes through his hair.

Maybe, if you’d also like, a polyamourus relationship between the three of them, maybe just deep and reassuring friendship moments between the dragon and the hurogmeten.

But there is also Seleg! And so much that happened between them and- there are so many things to explore and so many stories to tell!

I'm already excited!

Anyway, I’ll be happy!

A Quiet Place

These movies.

THESE MOVIES.

I love the world, the always luring danger, the silence, the smallest sounds are doom, the atmosphere.

I love Regan and I love Emmett and I love Regan and Emmett (But NOT as a romantic couple! This is really, really DNW!)

I love their dynamics, the speech barriers, the taking care, the father/daughter-big brother/little sister vibes

To be honest, I have no specific prompt, I’d just love to read some fics of them.

(okay, while I’m writing, maybe ASL lessons? Their own language? Gift giving? Taking care of emmetts wound (Not in a weird sexual way)? the fallout after the radio station? I don’t- I just- you know? You know.

Olympus has fallen (Movies)

Mike Banning is a walking disaster and I love him for that.

he and his (imho) boyfriend are kinda doomed from the start (how good can something run, when it is your job to literally take a bullet for your husband?) but they make it work, while screaming “DRAMA” and running from terrorists.

Again, I guess, no prompts for this fandom, too?, but I don’t (really don’t) mind canon typical violence and speech.

I’m pretty sure someone REALLY needs to start to look after Mike before he burns out (wouldn’t that be a lovely task for our beloved president asher?) So yes, he also deserves some comfort (and to be honest: therapy).

That being said, also Ben deserves his PTSD outburst, his nightterrors after nearly being killed by terrorist (twice!) and his fears and panic attacks being take care of (and therapy)

But this doesn’t have to be a romantic relationship, great friendships are also this: great.

Maybe they didn’t even like each other at the beginning? (Mike can be bossy, to be fair) ;)

Chernobyl

My beloved.

Boris and Valerie have written hurt, no comfort wide across their lovely faces in big, bolt letters but they deserve some comfort nonetheless, right? Right!

I’d like the fear and the glooming doom, the invisible death, lingering in every breath take, the fighting against windmills and against invisible, untouchable party members who just order something so utterly stupid that-!

I like the ship of them because the ever present fear of being caught, (generally don’t like homophobia, but canon and period typical homophobia are such a great fuel for drama and hurt/comfort plots…) and that middle aged men can still find and fall in love.

But also, the friendship between these two is awesome and I love to read more about them.

So, that’s it.

I hope this got you some insight, feel free to also browse my ao3 for more, it this isn’t enough.

have a great yuletide!

And, again, thank you so much!

lots of love

masked_madness

#yuletide 2023 #dear yuletide writer #yuletide letter

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sobriquett · 2 years

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Dear Yuletide Author 2022

Dear Yuletide Author,

Thank you very much for writing for me, or at least thinking of writing for me! Yuletide is my favourite time of year, and I wish you an unending supply of creativity and may the words come smoothly and silkily at your whim! (If you’re also a treat writer then doubly so!)

Treats are enabled and very, very welcome! If you are treating, please don’t feel bound by my character requests if you have an idea but remember that your fic will need to go in the Madness collection if it doesn’t feature Uhtred, Jane, Margaret and John, or Nobu and Sayuri!

Please find below a summary of things I love in fic, things I don’t love, and then some further details and prompts by fandom. Also, if you’re looking for a beta reader in any of these fandoms (or any other fandom referenced in past dear author letters or on my AO3 page or Tumblr page, please get in touch!

I am also happily signed up to Crueltide, Yuleporn, Season’s Treatings and Yule Be First! Many of my prompts overlap multiple categories. Please treat any prompt in any way you like, for any or all challenges as you like.

As you can tell by my overuse of exclamation marks, I am excited!

Likes:

DNWs:

A/B/O Dynamics | Bestiality | Body Horror | Gore | Graphic On-Screen Depiction of Torture | Modern/Mundane AU | Mpreg | Explicit On-Screen Non-Con | Out of Context AU (e.g. coffee shop, college AU) | Scat | Vore (The Last Kingdom clarification: implied/referenced/off-screen/non-gratuitous sexual violence is fine, as sexual violence is particularly a fact of life in The Last Kingdom and a reality faced by women of all stations - in fact, I would really enjoy a thoughtful fic about that because of its significance in the historical context. I would simply prefer not to receive direct and explicit "rapefic". All fandom clarification: Anything canon/canon-compliant is broadly fine, such as description of/reference to canonical injury/torture, etc. Again, I just don't want graphic on-screen depiction. Graphic violence is cool, especially in battle contexts! It's specifically torture that's my squick. Please ask the mods if you're unsure.)

For Crueltide:

Darkfic Likes

Darkfic DNWs:

For Yuleporn:

Smut-Specific Likes:

Honestly, I am up for near anything that feels like it fits into the canon context and isn't on my DNW list. Bonus points for anything I haven't thought of that is really contextually appropriate!

Smut DNWs:

---

1. The Last Kingdom (TV)

Requested character: Uhtred of Bebbanburg

Tag set characters: Aethelflaed, Alfred the Great, Aelswith, Beocca, Finan, Hild, Pyrlig

At time of writing, I am reading book seven eight nine of the Bernard Cornwell series, but I binged my way through the TV show twice over the summer and fell in love.

I have only requested Uhtred because I would be delighted with any fic with him and any or all of the other characters in the tag set. That said, Uhtred doesn’t have to be the main character if you prefer. I love Outsider POV and he’s an almost alien figure compared to the people he lives among, and I am interested in all eight characters in the tag set. Please feel free to include any book content you like (I’ll almost certainly be done with the whole series by reveals), or not worry about it at all.

I have no particular ships in this fandom, although I enjoy Aethelflaed/Uhtred and Uhtred & Everyone. Ship whoever you want with whoever you want, if you can make it work. (I was about to say I didn’t want Uhtred/Aelswith, Uhtred/Beocca or Uhtred/Pyrlig but actually that first one is deeply intriguing to me, and I’ll read anything you can make me believe in.)

What I Love About This Fandom

The different worldviews, values, priorities, etc. between the different characters: the conflicting interests of ealdormen and thegns, kings, Danish leaders. The Danish reluctance to lose men is interesting, as well as the way their armies fall apart at the first defeat, no matter how individually formidable the warriors and leaders. Alfred’s building of Burhs, and the way Wessex and the Saxon kingdoms usually prefer to be on the defensive. Uhtred’s absolute scorn for Christianity, versus the way it sweeps through his world and the people he loves against all reason. I’d particularly enjoy Yuletide/Christmas fic with conflict between Uhtred’s religion and Christianity. Also, political intrigue and war strategy and close friendships between unlikely pairs (and likely ones) and batshit plans that work out.

General Prompts

Uhtred dealing with Aelswith living at Bebbanburg. How does she enjoy her room with a sea view? How does she try to exert her influence? Do they become grudging friends, or does Uhtred plot to get her out, or both?

Finan and Uhtred are brothers in arms for decades. Missing moments, moments where that relationship isn’t as close, moments where that relationship gets even closer?

A missing moment for Uhtred and Aethelflaed. Does she ever break her oath, or come close to it? Separately or additionally: Aethelflaed is caught breaking her oath.

I enjoy fics featuring character death or its aftermath and every tag set character loses someone or is lost themselves.

Alfred’s perspective on some of Uhtred’s nonsense? Alfred’s reflections on his deathbed? Love, hate, madness, loyalty, obligation, respect, scorn – they’re one messy tangle of thorns for these two.

Uhtred collects bastards: Osferth, Aethelstan, Sihtric (maybe more books than TV), etc., but is not a great father to his own sons. He has a difficult relationship with his own father but a warm and close one with Ragnar the Fearless. A fic about father/son relationships, adopted or by blood?

A fic about Uhtred's reunion and relationship with his second son, who appears at the very end of the series.

Is Uhtred ever haunted by his ghosts?

One of Uhtred’s plans goes wrong.

A prophecy or seer spelling doom, and someone/many people believe it. Does this drive them all to that doom?

Yule Be First

Possibilities: Uhtred of Bebbanburg & Beocca, Uhtred of Bebbanburg & Pyrlig,

There are no relationships for Uhtred and the priests he actually liked: Beocca, his childhood teacher, and Pyrlig, the Welsh warrior priest who fought Sigefrid and won. I would love any stories of mutual respect here, or their relationship over time.

(Five?) Things Uhtred learned from Beocca? Was this different to what he learned from Ragnar, or was Uhtred learning from Beocca all through his life, whether he wanted to or not? (Five?) Battles where Uhtred fought alongside Pyrlig? Another time that Pyrlig and Uhtred conspire to shock and surprise using Pyrlig's unlikely skills. Drinking and commiserating. Bonus: Crueltide crossover, looking at Thyra or Beocca’s death.

Crueltide

I will suspend my DNWs of gore and non-con here, but would still prefer to avoid graphic depiction of torture. (Referenced/threatened is fine.)

The horror of the shield wall. The spectre of sexual violence in the lives of these women. Seven kings will die, and all of Uhtred’s women. Prophecy, especially self-fulfilling. A battle is lost. A bad death. A hall burning.

Season’s Treatings

Yule vs. Christmas! Uhtred celebrates Yule, as do many of his men, but others (and the majority of people in Wessex and Mercia) celebrate Christmas, and their festivities are very different. I would enjoy either a delightfully pagan Yule fic, or a fic exploring the contrast or how the two are balance on Uhtred’s estate/at Bebbanburg (at a point in canon that suits the author!)

Yuleporn

I mostly read F/M but am happy with F/F, M/M or whatever else takes your fancy. I am up for anything, with any combination of these characters or other characters from the show. (Please note that if these don’t include Uhtred, you’ll need to put them in Madness.)

Battle joy spills over. On the march/on the run. A different form of palace intrigue. Keeping to the letter if not the spirit of Aethelflaed's oath.

2. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

Requested character: Jane Eyre

Tag set characters: Adele Varens, Bertha Mason, Edward Rochester, Grace Poole, Helen Burns, Jane Eyre, Maria Temple

What I Love About This Fandom

This is one of my favourite novels ever, but I read a new story each time I read it. I had a different experience of it as a child, teenager, young adult, and so on – and with time, I’ve come to see Rochester as more of a villain, and then also as a victim of circumstances and a product of his environment, and to increasingly believe that Jane Eyre lies to us. She’s also every bit as prejudiced and superior as those she criticises, but/because she’s also a product of her world. But I still love her, and love that she says she got a happy ending. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay happy, or even that she was telling the truth.

From a fic perspective, the novel is a first person autobiography. Have fun with that! Jane Eyre is an unreliable narrator. The novel is her autobiography and I don’t believe that the story she told is necessarily the story that happened. What did she conceal? What did she tweak? What did she exaggerate or minimise? Is she trying to tell a moral story? Does her faith endure and guide her quite as steadfastly, perfectly and purely as she says? I adore fics that play with this idea.

Despite my personal lack of religion, I enjoy stories that feature faith and conflicting faiths. That’s the case with the first three of my fandoms – Christianity and personal faith are a major influence in all of them, and Uhtred’s paganism. I’m shoehorning this in here for want of a better place to put it in the letter! If that’s your jam, great. If it’s not… I can’t write it either, which is why I appreciate it so much when I read it.

General Prompts

Does Jane ever meet her Reed cousins again after Mrs Reed’s death? What would they think of her changed circumstances? Perhaps she calls in to the French abbey, or comes across her other cousin in society. Does Jane become – or put on the airs of – a great lady, and put them in their place? Or does she forgive, warmly, and try to cultivate relationships because she remembers what it was like to be alone, as her cousins may both become?

Do Jane and Mrs Fairfax meet again in the future? At Thornfield, they were the closest thing to peers as they were both ladies but dependents, but there was a huge gulf between them in terms of age, experience and outlook. How does their relationship change?

What if the Thornfield wedding isn’t interrupted? (I’m writing this myself too, very slowly.)

If Jane and Rochester have children, what does that do to Adele’s place in the family? Is she beloved sister or unwanted burden? (Any POV here – hers, Rochester’s, an outsider. I can’t see Jane considering her a burden but I could perhaps see Jane being torn in too many directions and having no time left for Adele, leaving her bereft.)

What if Adele’s mother returned to collect her, or for some other (nefarious) purpose?

Post-canon happiness?

Post-canon unhappiness?

Canon divergence at any point.

A missing moment from the engagement - an evening spent together, a walk, a trip out. Tension, anticipation, uneasiness, a sense that all's not quite right that can't be entirely set aside. Rochester trying to claim more affection than Jane is yet willing to give, with either a playful or darker edge.

A missing moment between the interrupted wedding and Jane fleeing Thornfield? (See also Yuleporn!)

How does Rochester discover Jane’s missing? How does Adele find out? Mrs Fairfax? How do they all react? What is that day like? (Jane's absence would almost be the character in this case. She doesn't have to appear, she's still the focus.)

Jane, Mrs Fairfax and Adele are all dependents. Thornfield Hall might be where they live but it’s not their home, and there’s an inherent precariousness to their position that might be worth exploring – or what it’s worth when they finally do have a home that’s theirs, and they feel it.

Yule Be First

Jane Eyre & Maria Temple

There are no fics about Jane Eyre and her former teacher, Maria Temple. Do they keep in touch through Jane’s adult life, or get in touch or meet again in the future? What does the former Miss Temple (I can’t at this moment remember her married name but it is given in the novel) think of how Jane’s life turns out, her choice of husband, his story? Does she offer Jane counsel? What if Jane goes to her instead of to the Rivers when she flees Thornfield? Would the story go differently?

Crueltide

So many options!

Rochester dies in the fire. Jane dies on the moors. The marriage isn’t interrupted and then Rochester’s a bigamist and Jane a fallen woman when it comes out. (I have started writing this but not finished it.) They don’t have a happily ever after. Jane goes with St. John and it doesn’t end well. What if they do have a night of madness before Jane flees Thornfield, where just for a moment she gives in? Or is coerced? (Dubcon over non-con though please! Bonus: Yuleporn fun.) Remember, she’s an unreliable narrator – if it had happened, she just wouldn’t have told us. Jane tries to put Adele back together, as she’s traumatised by the sudden loss of her home, the dismissal of her nurse Sophie, the loss of Jane, the wrath/rage of Rochester, her cruel treatment at school, etc. Does Jane come to see Rochester as a villain? Does she find herself corrupted, tarnished or lessened in his eyes in some way when he comes to marry/possess her and the sharper, darker side of his character turns on her once she’s off her pedestal? Does Jane resent being Rochester’s carer, his eyes and hands?

Season’s Treatings

Jane is not in the habit of receiving gifts, and still isn’t used to it. But she has grown to enjoy giving them to those she loves and cares for. Christmas at Ferndean, with her new husband, reunited with Adele. How does Jane celebrate her first Christmas at Thornfield with Adele and Mrs Fairfax, before she meets Mr Rochester?

Yuleporn

How does their wedding night go? What if they do have a night of madness before Jane flees Thornfield, where just for a moment she gives in? Or is coerced? (Dubcon over non-con though please! Bonus: Crueltide consequences.) Remember, she’s an unreliable narrator – if it had happened, she just wouldn’t have told us. How do Rochester’s blindness and injury affect this side of their relationship? An in-character moment of passion, with badinage and fairy talk.

3. North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

Requested characters: Margaret Hale, John Thornton

What I Love About This Fandom

Yes, I got into the fandom by way of the Richard Armitage series (who didn’t?) but I read Gaskell’s Ruth at school and now I re-read this novel every couple of years and walk past old mills on a daily basis in my Northern English town so I’m steeped in the history. (I’m writing this letter in Manchester, Milton-Nothern by another name and a few miles from Gaskell’s house! I need to remember to go another time when I’m in town.) I love the context of the place, the contrast between north and south, old and new, leisure and trade, masters and workers, masculinity and femininity. It’s Pride and Prejudice with higher stakes. (Although arguably there are three worlds – Margaret’s, John’s, and Higgins’.) There’s so much pride in all these characters, and they’re all looking down on each other, and then they start to understand one another.

There’s such a rich setting to explore here - time, place, convention, mores, differences in education and worldview… I love this fandom so much. I have requested it many times before and as well as past letters there are many pretty gif sets under this tag for you to enjoy.

General Prompts

Wedding fic! How does their wedding day/night go? How do their friends and relatives behave and respond?

How do they pass their engagement? Do they write to one another? Do they keep finding excuses to be in one another’s company? Do they keep finding themselves alone in back drawing rooms?

Do they live with Mrs Thornton? How do they all get on?

John buys some of the Hales’ furniture from the auction after Margaret’s parents die. Does this come back to Margaret in her married life?

Does something in their (very different) pasts come back to haunt them?

Does Frederick Hale return to England? What does he think of his sister’s husband? Does he impact Margaret and John’s life? Frederick is Margaret’s only living male relative, but they have only seen each other once in a decade – and illicitly at that. Does he have a say in her life? Does he think he does?

Do Margaret and John have a traditional marriage or a more equitable one in terms of ownership and management of the mill?

Is Thornton traumatised, or at least significant affected, by the loss of the mill and his close brush with disaster? Does it colour his relationships with his mother, who he nearly failed, and his new wife who saved him, and/or his management of the mill once he owns it? Can he feel the ghost of his father’s failure and shame?

John and Hannah Thornton and Nicholas Higgins have tasted poverty – or at least true difficulty. Margaret might think she has, but she has not. Is there conflict there?

Yule Be First

Sadly not applicable here! Or at least not possible with the characters in the tag set.

However, at time of writing, there are no fics for Margaret Hale & Bessy Higgins, Margaret Hale & Richard Hale, Frederick Hale & John Thornton, Maria Hale & John Thornton, all of which could be interesting!

Crueltide

Victorian bankruptcy was a deliberate cruel, destructive, public, shameful process, designed to grind a man down to nothing at all. Does Thornton go through this, either during the novel or post-canon? Does he survive, or is he weighed down by grief and shame? He is so very conscious of his place in the world, his responsibilities to his peers, his workers, and his family. And a bankrupt man has pointedly failed in every one of these things – and it would all be so terribly, terribly public. (Very interested in stories about financial pressures/public shaming/private support, Crueltide or otherwise.)

What if the riot goes wrong? Is one or both of them more seriously injured? Is there a disaster at the mill, or in the police response? Does the incident become even more infamous?

Disaster at the mill! Fire, accident, disease. Mills were a very, very dangerous place to work.

John and Margaret’s marriage, despite their love for one another, isn’t accepted in either the north or south. John is not the right sort of man in the eyes of Margaret’s southern friends and relatives – a manufacturer, not a gentleman, soiled by his engagement with trade and industry and direct work, and even more so because of his father’s past and suicide. Margaret is not acceptable to society in the north as an outsider who meddles where she’s not wanted, doesn’t understand their world, and represents an old world with no relevance to their new modern vision. She says the wrong thing, values the wrong things, has the wrong priorities in their eyes, took one of their most eligible men. Can they be happy in such circumstances? Society thinks, alternately, that they either married to avert scandal (which means scandal happened) or Thornton wants Margaret’s fortune (which reflects badly on him in the south and Margaret in the north).

Season’s Treatings

Christmas in the big house at the mill. What does their day look like? What gifts do they buy/give one another? Christmas celebrations with mill workers. There would be a gap between how masters and workers celebrate. How would Margaret manage everyone’s pride, to make it into a celebration genuinely enjoyed and valued by all, not merely unwelcome charity?

What if the Thorntons (possibly including Hannah) go to London for Christmas with Edith and her family, Henry, Mrs Shaw?

Future fic: family Christmas.

Yuleporn

The world’s your oyster here.

Pre-marital shenanigans? Misuse of mill equipment? The virtues of a private train carriage.

4. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

Requested characters: Nobu Toshikazu, Nitta Sayuri | Sakamoto Chiyo

My rarest of rare pairs, Nobu/Sayuri. (I also very much enjoy Nobu & Sayuri!) I massively prefer the novel to the movie, mostly because there’s so much more Nobu. He’s my favourite character, for the gap between how he’s perceived and how he is. He inspires such loyalty and friendship in those who know and value him – Mameha, the Chairman, Sayuri - and yet more shallow characters (Hatsumomo) can’t stand him based only on his looks (and grumpiness).

In many ways, the Chairman is the more ghost-like character in the novel, floating in the background as Sayuri develops a deep and genuine friendship with Nobu despite their differences. Her entire fantasy of the chairman is based on a five-minute encounter and a hanky and then she essentially doesn’t speak to him for a decade, and I wish she’d made a different choice. Nobu would have been an active choice, rather than continuing down the path she set as a child without consideration for how she’s changed as she’s grown up and seen more of the world. I understand Sayuri’s heartbreak knowing that having Nobu as her danna would preclude any possibility of such a relationship with the Chairman, but it would open up a world of other possibilities, and to kindness from a different source. Neither Nobu nor Sayuri know much kindness in their lives, and I really enjoy their repartee. It's one of the few times Sayuri seems to have fun.

General Prompts

What if Sayuri chose Nobu instead, and accepted him as her danna before the war? What if she accepted him after the war? Sayuri appreciating Nobu, with optional romantic edge How does Nobu feel when he realises what Sayuri’s done? What does he know, what is he told, does he try to find out more? Is his respect once lost gone forever? Sayuri could be the Chairman’s but he could never be hers – he already had a wife – but Nobu would have been hers. Would she want this? What would Sayuri want, given the opportunity? Nobu and Sayuri being affectionate to one another, even gruffly and distractedly. How would an evening with Sayuri, Nobu and the Chairman unfold? With or without Mameha to guide Sayuri’s choices to their advantage? Exploring the differences between the pair – in power (financial, sexual, influence), personal freedom, status, ability to make their own decisions, the rules they play by. What do they have in common? They are both survivors, at the top of but on the outside of their respective worlds. (Teahouses, factories, okiyas, battlefields.) Sayuri and Nobu have an en. How else does this manifest?

Yule Be First

Sadly not applicable here, I think!

Crueltide

Do Nobu and Sayuri ever meet again, in the future? Are things frosty, all bridges burned? What if Pumpkin does bring Nobu instead of the Chairman?

Season’s Treatings

I don’t know any Japanese traditions or festivals that would be celebrated at this time! But I would be absolutely delighted to learn.

Yuleporn

Neither of them knows much of kindness or tenderness. Could they find it in each other?

Nobu is severely burned, missing an arm. These facts would definitely affect the experience, but it doesn’t have to be negatively.

First time/only time Tenderness Passion Frustration

#yuletide #yuletide 2022 #dear yuletide writer #dear author letter #the last kingdom #jane eyre #north and south #memoirs of a geisha

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lebibish · 2 years

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Yuletide Letter

It's that time of year again and I am so happy for it! I love Yuletide and I can pretty much guarantee that I will love whatever gets written for me, especially if you enjoyed writing it. Tell me the story you want to tell!

I do include a lot of ideas and possible prompts, mostly because as a Yuletide writer I find it a lot easier to work from those. But please do not feel beholden to include any of those ideas/details!

Please no child death, death of pets, grim!dark, infidelity (polyamory requires enthusiastic consent from all parties), or making characters more evil or selfish than they actually are.

I love worldbuilding and cultural details, family relationships (I am especially all about the sibling feels—found family and family you were raised with equally), extremely competent characters, discovering secrets, mythology, and discovering/building competence. You know how training montages are common tropes for saving time in a series? I’d be a happy clam if those were expanded into entire series where I could watch people building their skills, connecting to the people around them, and learning more about the world. I adore fantasy world-building—the concept of everyday magic, for example, where everyone has their own little piece of the world (always knowing when the phone is about to ring or being able to call how many times a rock will skip on the water) or integrated magic systems where the society has been built around a magic system. I like stories about hope, about survivors who find joy and comfort together (not a request this year, but Kipo and the Wonderbeasts is a great example of the kind of “dystopia” I really love—where people are rediscovering how wonderful the world can be even when there are a lot of terrible things).

Anything from gen to smut is welcome, angst with a happy ending is good but the happy ending is key, kidfic is lovely, all types of pairings or no pairings at all work. If you present me with a love triangle my go-to solution is always polyamory.

Ideas are always suggestions, optional details are optional, tell me a story you enjoy telling!

Sinbad

Why I love this: I ask for this fandom every year because: people with different cultures and languages coming together and forming a functional group/found family/deep friendships, real mythology being played with, magic hiding in the world as science becomes more prevalent…it’s all amazing.

Ideas: Sinbad’s original curse—not being able to stay on land for more than a day and what that would mean if they had succeeded in being traders; the possibility that Cook has something strange going on with his own refusal to leave the ship; and post-series what these people end up doing and how they interact. Any and all back-stories are love, any and all myths, legends or monsters entering the story are brilliant. I’m in it for the magic, for the adventure, for the learning to care about other people and finding a new sense of family. Also, playing creatively with world mythology.

Emelan

Why I love this: I love everyone, I love the magic system, I'd love to dig into the lives and relationships of the teachers. This one is all about the characters for me--and also characters being actual grown-ups and actual grown-ups being responsible care takers of kids. In my YA fiction? Don't I wish.

Ideas: I love the magic system in this so much. The idea that there are people who learn this school-based/book-based magic, but also people who just interact with magic in their own ways. Craft-based magic and magic that flows through how you interact with the world—love it. I loved all of the found-family feels in the books too and I adore fics where we get to see that relationship as they grow up and continue to care for and take care of each other. I especially love the teachers. I’m all in for Rosethorn/Lark, but it’s not a requirement. I’m really interested in all of the teachers and what it’s like to be a teacher in a school like that and how they deal with other the other more traditional schools and what they think about the kids in their care. What about the other students they’ve had in their care over the years? How did they find their kind of magic? What conversations are going on between the teachers during canon?

Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar

Why I love this: Because it’s fun. Because it’s about best friends (and possibly more….).

Ideas? Friends to lovers! Bisexual awakenings! Realizing you’ve been in love with your best friend all along! I’ll take queerplatonic life partners too. If you’re up for polyamory, Edgar and Star are planning their wedding and honeymoon and coming to realize they can’t have a honeymoon without Barb and what does that mean for their relationship? Feel free to bring in Trish! Or just lean in hard to shenanigans and go for their next adventure because they are going to keep going on vacations and finding trouble.

Suikoden (1 or 2)

Why I love this: I love all of the Suikoden series. They make me feel things! They have so many characters and stories and you know there’s a whole world there with real people. And the lore for the true runes is really interesting. I love Riou, Jowy, and Nanami’s relationship, I absolutely ship Riou/Jowy but I will happily accept platonic love and devotion.

Ideas? Take the best ending-what comes next. The three of them sticking together—what does that look like? What has changed, what re-adjustments do they need to make, what do they learn about each other after being separated so long? Or prequel – Jowy’s point of view before the main story. OR shift the story—what if Jowy had found another way to save Jillia? Or had managed to stay in contact with Riou and they had secretly plotted together? What if time travel and Jowy ended up back in the past—what would he do? Or if Riou did? Or if Jowy, Riou and Nanami all traveled back into the past but (at least at first) each thought they were the only one and they were coming up with competing plans to protect each other. Optional detail: I really enjoy the idea that silent protagonists are actually silent/mute and how that could play in the game.

Mr. Queen

Why I love this: Because every single moment of this show is Queer. Because several characters are living in completely different genres and the show manages to seamlessly tie them together into a story. Because the love story felt very real to me. Because Bong-hwan’s cooking was amazing and the fact that he kept retreating into a place where he felt comfortable and confident meant so much to me, because there were so many DETAILS they paid attention to including what modern convenience and global trade networks mean to ingredient sourcing and how ridiculous some of his demands were in the time period.

Ideas? I pretty firmly believe that Jang Bong-hwan was Kim So-yong’s reincarnation, so anything incorporating that (like, I think that after her experiences of powerless as a woman, when she killed herself she insisted on being reborn as a man, and because she wasn’t supposed to die (or a lake spirit took pity on her? IDK), her future self was called back into her past self to fix things. I’d be interested to see the changes made in Korea, the butterfly effect of the past, and Jang Bong-hwan finding his own happy ending. I’d be interested to see Kim So-yong with both sets of memories, figuring out who she wants to be. I’m also a sucker for outsider pov—so the perspectives of other characters during or after the show.

Raya and the Last Dragon

Why I love this: Badass women. Also has a found family potential. Worldbuilding based on southeast Asian cultures.

Ideas? The missing time – Raya growing up. The fact that she and Namaari clearly have continued to run into each other as they grew up and what that looked like (and yes, I very much ship Raya/Namaari). Or maybe the perspectives of Raya’s father and Namaari’s mother through the movie and after. Maybe what it means to Kumandra that the dragons are back and how do you learn to trust people when that trust has been lost and broken for such a long time? Or, hey, time travel fix it fic. Or lean into the cultural worldbuilding.

I had a really hard time sticking to 6 requests this year because I DESPERATELY want Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know fic in my life, but I have absolutely no idea what I want it to look like, soo…..

#yuletide #yuletide letter #yuletide 2022 #dear yuletide writer

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narastories · 7 months

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Yuletide Letter 2023

This post is so I can put my Yuletide letter under the cut and link to it. If you have no interest in Yuletide, please ignore and scroll past. At the moment, sign-ups have already closed, but you can still get involved in a few ways if you want. Check their DW page for more info! There are SO many good fandoms this year. Seriously, if you think you can't think of a small obscure fandom you like, just look through the tagset. And if you are just nosy that's fine too, but don't take it personally if I say I don't like something. It just means that in the context of this exchange, I would rather not receive such a story. Okay? Okay.

Dear Yuletide Writer,

thank you so much for writing for one of my obscure little fandoms. This is my first year signing up for this exchange so I'm really excited to participate.

This letter supposed to help give you some ideas about what I like, and what to write. Take from it what helps and leave the rest. I want you to have a fun time writing it, so as long as it respects my DNWs, please write what you are inspired to write <3

My AO3 username is Nara_stories, feel free to poke around in my works and bookmarks. I'm open to receiving treats and I'm pretty sure my AO3 settings allow it ^^".

General likes (without any rhyme or reason and may only be partially applicable to the fandom in question): fix-it, fluff, getting together, humor, banter, crack treated seriously or not, enemies to lovers, villains, tropes like 5+1 things, twoob, coffeeshop, pwp

General dislikes: kidfic, cliche m/f romance, truly unrequited love, infidelity/divorce unless canon, unhappy endings

Opt-in (I really don't see some of these come up for my particular fandoms, but don't shy away from these if that's what you want to write): 1st & 2nd person, incest, watersports, rimming, age difference, non-con, dub-con

General Do Not Wants (I'll specify some of these for the fandoms below): major character death, pregnancy, amnesia (unless canon), RL politics, Covid, omegaverse, hopeless endings

REQUESTED FANDOMS

The Fetch Phillips Archives Series - Luke Arnold (any character)

This fandom is very close to my heart. In case you don't know, I've founded a Discord server for the fandom hint hint shoutout and all that. So I would be super happy about any kind of story, seriously. That said, here are some ideas.

For solo character-study type of fic: - Fetch: you could just write 1000 words of what the everloving hell is going on in this man's pretty little head, easy. Self-loathing, dog metaphors, kicked puppy feelings, guilt, suicidal ideation, the options are endless. Or, you can try giving him a little confidence. How is the café going on? I bet he can brew a mean cup of coffee by now at least - Amari: how did she really feel about Fetch? What is her backstory with Eliah? Is she still there?? - Hendricks: come on, he's a piece of work too. A confident, charming leader, mentor of questionable morality, a man who lost everything... I would be interested in reading his thoughts too. - Niles: while I say all of them are my favorites, I secretly whisper to Niles: "We all know you are my real favorite". I would be over the moon reading a fic about him. What is his backstory? Where did he come from? What was his relationship with his brother? What are really his plans and motivations?

For shippy fic: - Fetch/Hendricks: the puppy and his master, happy to read pre-Coda experimentation, or let Hendricks be a post-Coda old man Fetch would still fuck. Whatever works. - Fetch/Hendricks/Amari: may I offer you the idea of the tattoo night? Or what if nothing hurt and they all loved each other in peace? - Fetch/Niles: warning, if you give me a Philes fic I will dissolve into incoherent screeching. Some ideas: backyard fisticuffs, how did that start? Why are they so comfortably buddy-buddy in OFITF??? Or Niles comes up with a new invention and forces Fetch to help him test it. Alternatively: "coffeeshop AU" except the lone barista is increasingly annoyed with the smug businessman and is itching to dump a pot of hot coffee all over him.

fandom-specific addition to my DNWs: canonical MCD is fine for this one

Runemarks Series - Joanne Harris (Loki, Maddy Smith)

I'm going to say this for every fandom, but this little book series has such a special place in my heart. In preparation for Yuletide, I actually started listening to the audiobooks and I'm happy to report that the narrator is super good.

I would love to read any and all shenanigans involving Loki and Maddy. But any character from the books can make an appearance! I just love love love Loki's and Maddy's dynamics, the hilarious trouble they get into, the banter, the mutual ass-saving, the mayhem and chaos. They are so cute.

It doesn't have to be canon-compliant, and I'm not opposed to AU's like a modern AU for example. Also, I'm fine with any level of platonic/romantic relationship between them. If you ask me, the best is when it's juuust riiight in the middle: nothing too explicit, but maybe they have an unfortunate mutual crush. That makes it even funnier because Loki knows Maddy's dad (and granddad) would murder him, and Maddy knows Loki is a piece of work who you can't trust with your heart.

I realize that I unfortunately don't have any specific prompts, just VIBES.

fandom-specific addition to my DNWs: MCD is fine as long as it isn't permanent (you know what I mean lol)

Lord John Series - Diana Gabaldon (Percy Wainwright, Lord John Grey)

Again, this book series also has a very special place in my heart. OL/LJG was the first fandom I started writing for in English, and I found so many good friends among the LJG fans. I'm not super active in the fandom anymore but I will always be fond of it.

What I would love to receive is a fic where John and Percy are happy and nothing hurts, whether it's a fix-it fic, getting together, or a reunion that has nothing to do with the main series. I'm not opposed to AU scenarios, like a modern AU for example, at all.

Percy is so criminally underrated. I think both he and John make mistakes in canon, so I would love to see them figure those things out. I wouldn't be opposed to reading about them navigating their differences and learning how to communicate and treat each other with respect.

fandom-specific addition to my DNWs: Please don't allude to any character deaths that occur in the OL series (What I mean is: fuck Bees, Bees didn't happen)

Dominion of the Fallen - Aliette de Bodard (any character)

I actually read these books on Yuletide recommendation (and really enjoyed them so thank you whoever recommended it on Discord). Someone said it featured fallen angel x dragon murder husbands and I was like GIMME xD It didn't disappoint, I really liked how the clashes of the different cultures were handled, and I also appreciated how it didn't hold back on the violence part. I feel like without that it wouldn't have been sufficiently gothic lol

Things I would like to read about: more Thuan and Asmodeus, of course. I would be especially interested in reading from Asmodeus's POV how he went from "oh well, it's a shame he's so cute" to being head over heels in love with Thuan. I like it when they are solving mysteries together and when they are very protective of each other. I also wouldn't mind reading one of their fade-to-black scenes not fade-to-black...

Alternatively, I would also be happy about a modern AU, I think the "florist-tattooist" trope would be very cute and entertaining with these two.

Thank you for reading my ramblings and I'm looking forward to what you'll write xx

#yuletide #dear yuletide writer 2023 #yuletide 2023 #lord john grey #fetch phillips archives #runemarks #dominion of the fallen

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caracalliope · 7 months

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Dear Yuletide Writer letter 2023

Dear Author,

Hi! Thank you for writing for me. Hope the end of 2023 finds you well.

I’m requesting my absolute favorite things I’ve read and watched this year. My Optional Details are EXTREMELY optional: anything you write in these fandoms is going to bring me joy. If you have any questions, anon asks are turned on.

My requests this year are: the Doctor Blake Mysteries, the Dom DM, Vespertine, Several People Are Typing..., The Seven (Dimension 20), Demon 79 (Black Mirror episode).

In general, I like romance! Kink! Friendship! Hurt/comfort! Characters knowing each other really well! Drama! Anguish! Loyalty! Weird AUs (especially BDSM AUs or historical/fantasy AUs)! Experimental or unusual formats (including 1st and 2nd person narration, epistolary, drabble sequences, etc.)! Ooh, also roleswap AUs.

Extremely optional specific details that please me:

Dogs.

Kneeling, ritually or for any other reason.

Character A running a con on someone and character B rolling with it even though it wasn’t discussed beforehand.

Kisses on the wrist/shoulder/neck/knee/etc.

Painplay. Especially caning!

Characters having big feelings about their social role conflicting with what they want.

Righteous patricide (probably not applicable here, but if you can make it work, go for it)!

Characters learning about each other's passions and getting really into it.

General Do Not Wants:

extremely unhappy endings with no hope of things ever changing,

underage sex for characters 14 or younger,

ageplay where the character is roleplaying someone age 14 or younger,

drunk/high characters,

noncon or abuse among the requested characters - it’s generally fine if it’s from a third party as a source of hurt/comfort,

and characters succumbing to uncontrollable instincts (heats, ruts, vampire instincts, ). This includes intense, all-consuming, uncontrollable, the-character-is-literally-a-different-person-now type subspace.

mentions of current IRL wars. Other current events are fine.

The Doctor Blake Mysteries

Characters: Lucien Blake, Jean Beazley

I am so pleased with this cozy show and its extremely creative, hard-working fandom!

Lucien is a compelling lead; I love how much he loves his mom (even when he learns complicated things about her), and I enjoy his multifaceted kindness that coexists comfortably with him being an arrogant prick. Him changing his mind is delightful to me.

Jean is a magnificent foil and love interest. I love her many ties to the community, and the way she really understands people; her kindness is different than Blake’s, more pragmatic. I enjoy the way she defends him from threats, physical and otherwise. The scene where she calmly makes tea, and they negotiate with Hannam as a couple - magnificent!

For Yuletide, I’d love to read something adventurous or porny. Let them defeat enemies and fuck about it, is what I’m saying. Or if you prefer longing, I’d also love something about that period after they became friends but before they realized they’re in love.

I’d also enjoy a different-setting AU that explores their relationship. Feel free to throw in some more cool power differences there! You could also tilt the power in Jean’s favor if you like: say a D/s AU where she’s a dom but also his housekeeper, and Lucien is a sub but also a doctor! I like the way they navigate their canonical power difference with grace, but I’d also like to see it shook up a bit in fic.

Fandom-specific Do Not Wants:

Love triangles, jealousy. I like Mei Lin, but if she’s in the story, I prefer it to be set after the divorce, with Jean and Mei Lin being on relatively good terms.

Danny. A casual, one-off mention would be fine, but I would prefer him not to have any lines. All other secondary/supporting characters are 100% welcome (I love them all! Especially Charlie, Mattie, and Rose.)

Note: My blanket DNW for characters being drunk/high in the story does extend to Lucien! I know his drinking is a major characterization beat, and you’re welcome to mention it casually or delve into it. But for the duration of the fic, I’d prefer him to be sober.

A Dom DM - Make Some Noise (Sketch)

Any characters

Please feel free to treat it as an origific concept! You’re welcome to use any gender configuration for the characters. A good girl can be anybody.

Is this a nerdy couple who fuse their love of TTRPG with kink? How did this hobby fusion develop? Do they ever switch? Are there kinks they tried and decided they won’t do? What happens if they roll high?

(Very optionally, I like the headcanon that the sub’s failed kneeling roll is because of a physical disability. That sounds like a fun way for a couple to work out mid-scene communication! Maybe the dice are a metaphor?)

Or you could delve into it as an AU concept: maybe it’s characters trying kink in a universe operating under TTRPG rules? Or kink is innately tied in with magic somehow? Are there Kink Bards and Kink Rogues and Kink Level-Ups? Feel free to add any amount of convoluted fantasy/sci-fi worldbuilding to it.

Fandom-specific Do Not Wants:

Outright RPF! I don’t mind RPF usually, but for this fandom, I prefer a degree of separation from the creators. Absolutely feel free to include other Brennan moments in your characterization (like his thoughts on DMing as submission). But please don’t have the dom character be named Brennan, and don’t base the other character on from the Dropout cast.

Note: My noncon DNW applies, but I’d be perfectly happy with some bodice-ripping dubcon AU where the dom is a Dark Fuck Prince who is all “have them bathed and brought to my - hitherto dragonless - dungeons” and the sub is both horny and kind of hapless.

Vespertine Series - Margaret Rogerson

Characters: Artemisia, The Revenant, Leander

Absolutely obsessed with the FEELINGS between Artemisia and her revenant, as well as Artemisia and Leander. There is so much deliciousness packed into this book.

I love the revenant’s growing loyalty, the way its innate curiosity drove its need to understand its nun (my headcanon is that, when the Raven King was sundered, our revenant got his curiosity in the divorce); and conversely, Artemisia FINALLY found someone who sees all of her and understands the ways she tries to make the world better. She’s got all this strange, offputting kindness and resilience in her - she always did! And now she gets to nurture that and also take care of herself, and all that needed to happen was a lil bit of demonic possession. <3

Leander, meanwhile, is a loser, and I say this with all the love in my heart. I need him to be at least a little reverent about Artemisia. She’s his saint, he ought to kneel at her feet like a worm, etc. etc. but also he’s kind of micromanaging and she’s not doing anything the right and proper way. What’s a sad masochist to do!?!

In fic, I’d love to see the three of them build something love-filled and lasting. It’s up to interpretation exactly how the revenant and Leander would feel about each other! Speaking of sad masochists, I think this is a good OT3 - or platonic OT3 - for some kinkfic. Namely, Leander getting flogged by his saint, or, like in this post by Rogerson, offering up his body for Artemisia and the revenant to get to touch each other. ("Stop hitting Yourself!)

Fandom-specific Do Not Wants:

Please don’t give the revenant a separate permanent body! I like body sharing too much (see also: Malevolent podcast). Feel absolutely free to write a different-setting AU, but even if they’re high schoolers or space werewolves, let Artemisia and the revenant share a body.

Note: I like the revenant using it/its pronouns like in canon, but if that doesn’t work for you, please feel free to go with whatever you like!

Several People Are Typing - Calvin Kasulke

Any characters

I’m so into this strange little Night Vale Does WFH Hell book, and I’m fond of all its characters. I nominated my faves, but if you’re fonder of someone else, please follow your heart. I like everyone in this office-slash-work-community-slash-layer-of-hell, and I like the way they’re all somewhat fond of each other. I love routine-loving Doug Smorin, Kerolyn of the skinks, and Louis C being too much of a dad to be fully involved in the Twilight Zone of it all.

Gerald/Pradeep is such a compelling gradual romance, I love that Gerald is the only one to call him Deepu, and I love the strange forced intimacy of, you know, just guys being dudes, taking each other of a good buddy’s flesh vessel while the good buddy has to find pleasure and maintain his humanity in the face of metaphorical and literal digital submersion of the self. I’d love to see more of their conversations. More weird intentional hedonism. Hanging out together. Finding meaning outside work or even, somehow, meaning in work.

Rob, meanwhile, has got the role of being the only sane one! Kind of! Who’s to say Lydia is any less real than Rob himself? Who’s to say she’s any less real than you or me? I love the surreality of the whole plotline. Maybe you could write about the wolves? Howling is a good theme for Yuletide.

Or write about dear, sweet, precious, horny Slackbot! It’s interesting that this book came out before ChatGPT got to be everywhere. Combine the two in some unholy way?

I don’t know, please have fun. If you’d like to write an AU set at your job, or an AU where they’re all exchange mods or activists or members of a spreadsheet-centered polycule, that would be cool too.

Fandom-specific Do Not Wants:

Graphic descriptions of pet death. RIP to Bjärk loyalists but I’m different.

Please no fucking of Gerald’s body when nobody’s in it.

Fandom: Dimension 20: The Seven

Characters: Sam Nightingale, Antiope Jones

OKAY, I WON’T LIE: I ship these two like burning. I ship all of the Maidens on some level, but Sam/Antiope are my favorites and I think they fit together beautifully. BUT I also adore their friendship, and I would love to see more of their canon dynamic but in new situations.

Sam is a delight to me, the way she accurately recognizes when something is a terrible, self-destructive idea, and then she goes ahead to do it anyway. She’s got no reason to trust good things happening to her, and she lashes out preemptively because that’s better than trusting and getting screwed over (as by Penelope). BUT she’s also got a secret kindness and largesse, and I love the way it manifests towards Talura, towards Taffodil, possibly even towards random people they meet on their adventures.

And then Antiope is sort of the conceptual opposite of Sam: she KNOWS she’s loved and she knows where she belongs to - or, at least, where she’s supposed to belong to - but she’s struggling with her authentic sense of self. (Sam’s ALWAYS known who she is, and hence the conflict with her terrible mom, and maybe eventually the conflict with Penelope too.) Antiope is very practical and has BIG FEELINGS she’s keeping restrained, and I love the way she and Sam spark into conflicts, but Antiope is so dedicated to being a good leader, not just because she’s even-keeled but because she’s got a very good sense of the right justice/compassion balance.

In fic, I’d love to see them save each other from Situations. Whether they’re friends or lovers, I’d love them to have a femme-butch kind of dynamic? (If you watch Dirty Laundry, a recent episode had Aabria casually kiss a friend’s hand, and that is definitely, definitely something I can see Antiope doing too). Weird/wacky/sexy AUs seem especially interesting here, like goddess AUs, soulmate AUs, D/s AUs, etc.

Fandom-specific Do Not Wants:

Violent transphobia, worse than in canon. I loved Sam’s interactions with her mom, and her reluctance to be filmed, but I wouldn’t like to see transphobia interfere more intensely than that with her life.

Please no cheating/infidelity, or even friendship jealousy. I know Sam’s possessive, and I love that about her, but I’m not interested in “Antiope is spending more time with others” as a source of angst at this time.

Black Mirror: Demon 79 (TV 2023)

Characters: Nida Huq (Black Mirror: Demon 79), Gaap (Black Mirror: Demon 79)

I’ve been staring at this request like a deer in headlights for days now.

I just want more? Literally every second they spent together was perfect, and I want to revel in that feeling. So I apologize if this request turns out hazy: it’s not through a lack of love for the canon, I just don’t know in what direction to take my feelings.

Nida and Gaap? Are perfect. I have no idea if they’re friends or lovers or demon/apprentice or even some kind of subverted twisty demon/worshiper or whatever else. I’d love some post-canon fic set in the void. Bring in other demons? Make it hurt/comforty? Or just ignore the ending have them explore Earth. I love Gaap’s appearance being Boney M-inspired, and I think maybe the two of them should go clubbing. Or they could bring clubbing into the void? Oooh, or they could try out some outfits. Nida finally has a willing model, if she’s into that sort of thing.

I do appreciate the episode’s deeper themes too. Nida Versus Seventies British Fascism is a deeply satisfying story, and I love just how creepy and visceral that part turned out. I was initially going to say I don’t want a no-magic AU, but actually, I could really enjoy like a kitchen sink realism approach, as long as it still ends on SOME kind of victoriousness for Nida and Gaap.

The crux of this ship, to me, is that everything is almost entirely unbearable for Nida, but, she’s got a hammer and also a demon pal. And frankly the world is not worth saving if it keeps failing her.

Fandom-specific Do Not Wants:

Betrayal or perceived betrayal. They like each other despite everything, and even during their spat they’re sort of on each other’s side.

Edit: it also just occurred to me that they'd make for magnificent vampires together.

THANK YOU FOR READING

THIS LETTER GOT LONGER THAN I MEANT IT TO BE. I hope you find something here to spark an idea! But again feel free to go wherever your canon feelings take you

Hope you have a happy Yule!

#doctor blake mysteries #dom dm #vespertine #several people are typing...#d20 the seven #demon 79 #yuletide letter #✨✨✨

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liminal-zone · 7 months

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DEAR YULETIDE WRITER LETTER 2023

IT’S A YULETIDE LETTER. IT’S YULETIDE 2023, BAYBEEE. LET’S FUCKING GO.

2008. 2009. 2010. 2011. 2012. 2013. 2014. 2015. 2016. 2017. 2018. 2019.

HIIII. I LOVE YOU. THANK YOU. It’s yuletide; it’s the best time of the year. I’ve been gone for a minute but I’m back, baybeee, back with the matrix fandom amongst others. So let’s fucking go! Thank you thank you and thank you.

Likes (generally): I love kisses and angst and smut and darkfic and tension and hurt/comfort and a good adventure and heroism and sacrifice. I love every flavor of sexuality. I love women in dominant roles (including but not limited to domme). I prefer fics in canon or canon divergence. I enjoy the following kinks: enemies to lovers, sex pollen/fuck or die, Stockholm syndrome, voyeurism, fingering, conditioning. Dubcon and non-con and dead dove is always welcome (pls tag it).

Dislikes (generally): Watersports, scat; omegaverse; mpreg/pregnancy/breeding; submissive female characters; domestic fluff; kid fic and curtains; mundane AUs; super sugar ending; hurt no/comfort or utter hopelessness or despair as the final beat of the story (beloved in the opening or middle of a story!)

It’s Yuletide, baybeee, so if you want to write any of these prompts fully gen: I’m so happy to read it!!

THE PROMPTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Matrix (Movies)

Trinity

If you could please write me a character study of Trinity; dig deep into the character and show me something vulnerable and new and wonderful about her.

My favorite things about Trinity: she is powerful, vulnerable, steadfast, competent, anxious, loyal, brave, and a twinge of cunt. She’s my favorite character ever; a touchstone, a rock, an icon. Tell me a story about Trinity.

If the muse strikes, feel free to ship her with Neo, Ghost, Switch, Bane, or Groff!Smith.

Very emotional that The Matrix is a YT fandom for perhaps one reprise since ffn.net fics were thrown out re: eligibility. I’m a historied Matrix fandom old; this is bittersweet to be eligible again perhaps one last time. Hi, I love you, Matrix fandom <3

The Wheel of Time (TV)

Lanfear

If you could please write me a character study of Lanfear; dig deep into the character and show me something vulnerable and new and wonderful about her.

My favorite things about Lanfear: she is powerful, vulnerable, terrifying, terrible, cruel, full of desire, and that she’s a complete cunt. She makes my heart flutter. Tell me a story about Lanfear.

If the muse strikes, feel free to ship her with Lews, Rand, Moiraine, Moggy, or Ishamael. I don’t mind book spoilers!

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV 2022)

Galadriel | Artanis

If you could please write me a character study of Galadriel; dig deep into the character and show me something vulnerable and new and wonderful about her.

My favorite things about Galadriel: she is powerful, vulnerable, terrifying, terrible, kind, and sometimes a bit cunt. She’s the dom femme of my life currently. Tell me a story about Galadriel.

If the muse strikes, feel free to ship her with Sauron, Gandalf, or Celeborn.

IDK how TROP was eligible this year, but LFG.

Chronicles of Narnia (Movies)

Edmund Pevensie

Lucy Pevensie

Bless my problematic heart but I really want an Edmund/Lucy fic, like. In that way. Any canon era (I am partial to HHB).

If that’s too rich for your blood, forgive me, and write me a non ship duet about them. I WILL LOVE ANY FIC WITH THEM CODEPENDENT.

My favorite things about them together is that they are complementary; he is tainted and a spymaster and Jadis marked him, she is blessed and valiant and Aslan marked her. Tell me a story about Edmund and Lucy Pevensie.

If the muse strikes, and you need alt ships: throw in Caspian for either, and I have a soft spot for Lucy/Tumnus or Lucy/any woman. Edmund/Jadis is my true love.

A bit emotional that Narnia films are a YT fandom for perhaps one reprise since ffn.net fics were thrown out re: eligibility. LFG.

Willow (TV 2022)

Elora Danan

Jade Claymore

Kit Tanthalos

I am desperate to see Jade evolving into Elora’s General Kael; a glorious mirror of her father as a warrior, a leader, and an absolute terror.

Background (or foreground) Jade/Kit is wonderful, and mixing Elora in there is great if you enjoy that too! My favorite thing about Jade Claymore is that she’s surprise the new General Kael and I’m so obsessed with that concept.

Dune (2021)

Duncan Idaho

Paul Atreides

Bless my problematic heart but I really want an Duncan/Paul fic, like. In that way.

My preference is for the film character dynamic transposed into a book spoiler (so if you know it - that’s my dream; I’d love to see that), and I would also love something messy in current film canon.

If that’s too rich for your blood, forgive me, and write me a non ship duet about them. I WILL LOVE ANY FIC WITH THEM CODEPENDENT. My favorite things about them together is that Duncan is so loyal (and for what?) and Paul is so needy for that loyalty (and soon, for what?).

If the muse strikes, and you need alt ships: I also adore me some Duncan/Leto and Paul/Chani.

Xoxoxo love you forever!

#yuletide 2023 #the finals you sign up for #emotional about the matrix being eligible again #(also narnia)#my favorite thing about my yt history is how i started anti mlm and anti noncon #growth dot gif

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elektra121 · 7 months

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Dear Yuletide Writer 2023...

It’s this time of the Year again...

Dear secret Santa,

this year I wish for world peace more than ever! If for some reason you can’t deliver, I’d be delighted about a sweet little story, too! ;)

Things I really like to read (about):

Happy endings. Period. It may be old-fashioned, I don’t care. It’s christmas, after all. J Name dropping, historical events dropping (is this even a word that exists?). Slash, especially femslash. Historical accuracy – or, at least not blatant inaccurancy. People who are good at heart. People who are interesting/special (in whatever way). People who manage to be good at heart and interesting/special (in whatever way) at the same time. (Why do so often the baddies end up being the only interesting people)? The sea. The seasons. Wordplay and banter. Colours and clothing. Nature. Wittiness. Little moments. The weather. Characters that have deep respect for each other. Characters that are competent at things (but not to a nearly-impossible, „genius“ degree). Characters that are open-minded.

Things I don’t mind at all:

Religion in general and christianity in special. POV/ first person narrator. Consensual Sex (in whatever form). Rainbows.

Things I don’t like to read (about):

Sad endings. No, not even if they’re called „bittersweet“. Graphic violence. Injustice. Bashing of religion. Non-con. Characters dying. Slapstick. Parents who don’t love their children. Friendships or relationships that come apart.

Please. I mean it. Honestly. Even while mentioning all of the above, I had too many Yuletides getting stories about main characters dying (twice! because of time travel), mothers that despised her children, friends that took their farewells forever, characters seriously debating killing babies ... And no, however much some people would find this cool and edgy - I’m not one of them. I’m a hippie at heart! Please, please, love and peace and pancakes (in the end), even if only at Christmas. :)

---

Things I love about my fandoms - and some questions and plotbunnies to hopefully give you some ideas:

19 Century CE German writers:

Two years ago, while I was teaching about German Romanticism Writers I really became interested in them. They were such nerdy guys - all of them! And so much of their lives sound like they were taken from romantic novels themselves: dead parents, living at old castles or near a moor, being unhappily in love with each other, having dark secrets, dying of consumption ...

I absolutely like Annette von Droste-Hülshoff best! Because if you read about her in any literary history book (or even wikipedia), she seems like *the* most boring writer ever. Which couldn’t be further from the truth! Only that she very much valued her privacy... with burning letters, inventing tricks like little letters inside of letters, using ‘male’ speakers in her poems, self-censuring her writing to the point of being in danger of not getting across the message. Or, plaing demure Catholic noble lady, exploiting all the stereotypes - which, sadly, backfired into later generations taking them for truths.

So much about her is so worthy to be digged out: her being bilingual from childhood (since she was so small at birth, no one believed she would live, so she was given to a wet nurse who spoke French and called her Annette), her shortsightedness to the point of being legally blind (yet she wasn’t allowed to wear her glasses outside of the house because glasses are “ugly” and the sense of life, as we all know, for women is being pretty), her rap battle roast (well, isn’t “Stegreifreimen” more or less a kind of rap?) of the Brothers Grimm when she was only 15 (and, by the way, she may have been the one who told them Snow White and the Story of the Youth who went forth to learn what fear was), her being a badass natural scientist, trained singer and even composer (even if, to this day still, not a single note by her has ever been performed). Even if she suffered her whole life from bad migraines and other chronic illnesses (a food intolerance, maybe). Or that she was the only German writer who tried something like Catholic Enlightenment literature in her - which mostly got ignored like so many other texts by her. And speaking of “the only one” - besides Heinrich Heine (who, as a jew, had a very personal interest in it) she was the only Romantic writer who, in “Die Judenbuche” wrote against Anti-Semitism.

And of course, all the major queer vibes she gives with her many lady friends (Amalie Hassenpflug even got buried beside her and Adele Schopenhauer fumed with jealousy over a possible blooming relationship between Annette and Adele’s girlfriend, Sibylle Meertens-Schaaffhausen) and rededicated poems (”What do you mean, this poem is about my ‘lady’ friend?! I’m sorry...?! Of course, it is dedicated to my publisher! I really do not know what you’re insinuating here and I don’t think that thing is appropriate to discuss with a decent unmarried Catholic lady like myself.”). It seems crazy to think that even today, this is nearly never mentioned at all in articles or books about her. Because of cause, famous writers have to be gold standard hetero, each and every one, don’t they - and anyway, being queer was not yet invented? And surely, her not marrying was because her heart was broken after her family destroyed her relationship with her boyfriend in the “Jugendkatastrophe” - and of course she never tried her luck in love e v e r again after this. Sigh...

There is so much more I could mention... like, for example, her early (for lack of a better word) environmental awareness... yet, for now, lets free some plot bunnies, shall we?

I’d like to read about her childhood and youth. Some episodes that foreshadow things that will be important in her later life, maybe? Or what really happened in all of those holidays at the Haxthausen house in Bökendorf, with the Brothers Grimm whom she hated? What about her first ball where she got to know that ‘feminist’ writer Katharina Sibylla Schücking that she instantly was so fascinated with (the diary of Annette’s sister Jenny complains that Annette “nearly did not dance at all and only talked with that woman all night”)? Or write about her hiking in the moors, about how a normal day would have been for her. Or how some of her works came into existence. Or some censored (and uncensored) correspondance - (most of which, of cause, got destroyed by her family)?

I’d like for it to be at least a tiny little bit queer... would be such a waste if not! ;)

Das Fräulein von Rodenschild (Annette von Droste-Hülshoff)

Even if I have a lot to do with German literature professionally, I only came across this ballad relatively recently. And I love it!

It would lend itself nicely for a backup fandom, since it is only a ballad with not much (if any) context to it. You can read it here: https://www.droste-portal.lwl.org/de/werk/lyrik/ausgabe-1844/balladen/das-fraulein-von-rodenschild/

I have to say, however, that my headcanon derives from the self-censored earlier version in which she kisses the ghost. ;) Because I very much got the vibe the Fräulein von Rodenschild is a lesbian female ghost huntress in the Middle Ages (or, alternatively, in the Early Modern Era or the early 19th century). And I’d absolutely love for a story about such a woman!

Some ideas:

What is the emotional distress our hero is in in the first few lines? “Schwül” and “siedend(es) Blut” sounds very much like an unfulfilled desire, does it not? ;) What does the ghost want? Why is it there? Is it even a “real” ghost - or some psychological phenomenon? Does our heroine have experience in handling ghosts? Where from? What do the peasants think of her? How does she come to the idea to kiss the ghost? What happened to her hand? What is so very “toll”/”crazy” about her?

Feel absolutely free to merge the heroine of the poem with Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, who wrote it to impress Adele Schopenhauer - only to have her judge that “the FRäulein von Rodenschild” got punished to little!

The Sea-Wolf (Jack London)

Maybe my love of the sea may have been arisen partly from watching the German/French/Romanian mini TV series (1971) as a very young child.

If it so happens that you know it, too – I’d be delighted if you write in that canon, where both men know each other (or, at least, Van Weyden does) from their youth. I loved the soundtrack and the wonderful sailing ship and how Van Weyden fells in love with the sea, harsh and beautiful beyond compare, and becomes his true self even under cruel circumstances.

They both make for wonderful slash, don't you think? ;) But please no violence (opposed to story as a whole) or non-con. I don't care much how far they would go (write as much as you feel comfortable or what seems right for you) - instead more for the mutual, grundgingly admitted respect and appreciation that blooms into something more or finds ways to be expressed.

Maud is a very interesting addition to the equation – she makes them all a real triangle, because there is genuine interest and respect and a shared love for literature and not to forget a whole lot of UST between all of them. And Maud is such a great character! She doesn’t need to be the “strong” female to be strong in her own right. She is much more emancipated and feminist than a lot of “wonder women” out there.

So, I absolutely can picture some kind of threesome polyarmory – but it doesn’t have to be one, could also be like a POV from each of them. Or a couple that tentatively explores their interest in the third party? So many possibilities!

And while I’m absolutely aware that the book (and the mini series) goes very deep into philosophilcal and ethical questions about what friendship is or the nature vs. nurture debate and so on… I’d be absolutely happy with good old porn, too! :P

Prince Ahmed and the fairy Pari Banu (Arabian Nights)

This fairy-tale was something special to me when I was a child. I completely identified with the sorceress. How cool to be so competent that they send you as a spy to complete a dangerous mission? And what exciting and amazing mission to spy on a mighty fairy! Also, I didn’t quite understand the tingly feeling when I pictured myself as the sorceress amazed by all the glory of Pari Banu… until much, much later in life. 😉 Pari Banu, who is everything fairy(-tale)- like: has powers and riches seemingly without end, a brother who is a djinni, a kingdom (queendom?) made entirely out of women, that puts even princes in awe, a queen that seemingly can read minds and do magic, the ruler of animals and weather phenomena. Just… wow.

So please, give me a story about that sorceress and let’s just forget about her gruesome ending in the fairy-tale, will we? Surely that was some kind of mistake with the translation…

If you’re comfortable with it, make it Sorceress/Pari Banu, I would love to hear a story that somehow has them both together. I’m relatively sure that not only has the Sorceress any cause of being in awe with the Pari Banu, Pari Banu herself may also be quite delighted in a woman that is clever and cunning and not afraid of danger and may or may not know herself some kind of magic? There’s such a great backstory slumbering within… - don’t you think?

So, after all that rambling - I hope I could get you some ideas! May the muses be graceful! Have a happy Yuletide! :)

#yuletide #dear yuletide author #secret santa

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howlingmoonrise · 7 months

Text

Dear Yuletide Writer (2023)

Hello and welcome to my long rambling letter!

I hope you have a lot of fun participating this year, and the below is meant to help you with that! As usual, the only things that are hard lines are the squicks listed on the Yuletide form, but I'd prefer if you respected my other dislikes/squicks as well, even if our likes don't match and you chose not to use any of these prompts! Feel free to mix and match what you like ;)

I tried to place things mostly under bullet points in an effort to cut down on my rambling but, uh, I'm a very wordy person overall. I'd rather you have plenty to choose from and a good grasp on my likes/dislikes if you don't have an idea in mind already, than you wanting ideas and not finding any you like, though!!

I hope you have an excellent time!

GENERAL LIKES:

Truly egregious amounts of pining! Truly egregious amounts of increasingly obvious denial!

Non-established relationships - what I love most is the progression of the dynamics between two characters!

Fake dating! This applies to all the fandoms, it's one of my favourite tropes if you want to give it a whirl. Same for time loop fics;

Despite the first three items above, either gen or romance is fine! What really does it for me is the dynamics between the characters, and how they find unprecedented levels of kinship and trust and intimacy and comfort and understanding with each other, not necessarily romantic acts. In fact, I don't particularly like huge romantic acts either, and would love a more subtle sort of thing if you're going down the romance road!

Bickering/banter is great! Doubly so if the characters are already a bit petty by nature!

Sticking to the tone of the original characterizations/canon/humour is definitely a plus! I love when ways of speaking and running gags and references to the original material show up!

Casual intimacy! CASUAL INTIMACY! I'm a sucker for this and it's super fun, especially if placed amidst the bickering - it throws a whole different depth to their interactions and really shows how comfortable the characters are with each other. DOUBLY so if they have some enmity going on at that point since that makes it downright hilarious with the other half not really knowing how to react. A pair that communicates without needing to use words is also so intimate and great! I love this kind of thing;

Trope subversion all the way!!!

Usually smooth characters going tongue-tied when faced with the possibility of feelings or the presence of their crush, I'm so weak for that;

Characters getting roped into shenanigans, the wilder the better. Double points if they have no clue how they got themselves into this and are very much bewildered at how the situation went this sideways;

Enemies/rivals-to-reluctant-allies-(to-maybe-friends?)-to-lovers are *chef's kiss*;

Idiots to lovers. Idiots to lovers. It's really, really important and hilarious to me that they're huge dumbasses about it if your gift isn't the serious poetical prose sort, even if the "to lovers" part doesn't get all the way there;

I really need to emphasize how much I don't need a full romantic resolution or even a full story/ending resolution - like I said, what I like the most is how the dynamics between the characters evolve, both in gen and in romance! Ambiguous endings are fine both in terms of relationships and plot.

GENERAL YIKES:

I really cannot overstate how much I don't want to see pregnancy or motherhood related stuff, mpreg and babies/toddlers included. Kidfics, babyfics, next gen fics, anything related to pregnancy or kids at all. This is my biggest squick alongside scat;

Unhappy endings (ambiguous or hopeful endings are more than okay!);

On the completely opposite direction, the stereotypical 2.5 kids white picket fence sort of happy ending;

For these fandoms, I'd pass on playing around with gender when it comes to characters that aren't canonically prone to it (Loki), and even for those nothing permanent;

Most hard AUs (further detailed under each fandom) but you can assume stuff like merpeople AU or high fantasy AUs are a pass from me, they rely too much on setting and often lose all which makes the setting and the characters… them. Further specified under each fandom;

No going into the hows and whys of a character's sexuality or gender or huge discussions of it - if they're bi/ace/etc, then they're bi/ace/etc and that's that, going into the backstory of it and other people's reactions (including their own) is a no from me. I would prefer if there were no depictions of homophobia, sexism, racism, transphobia, etc, even from the mouths of villain/background antagonistic characters;

Huge dramatic declarations of love (unless it's for a con or a bit);

Huge time skips. Except for some specific situations it makes me feel as if I've missed way too much development, which is my favourite part when it comes to relationships and character development;

Angst is.... *waggles hand*. I don't dislike angst, but it really depends on the kind of angst and it can often be overdone (to my tastes, YMMV). I'll give it a hard pass on stuff to do with major character death (unless canon or they get better), sexual abuse, self-harm, gender/sexuality angst, and the like. I'd also rather not read one long torture/depression fic. Other than that, feel free to go ahead (but definitely don't give it an unambiguously bad ending!);

Huge non-canon past trauma;

Cheating and infidelity are HUGE no-nos;

Sickfics, dysphoria, deep dives into mental illness and other disorders;

Script-based or roleplay fic is not really my preferred format, I really enjoy prose instead of nearly 100% dialogue!

Tons of gore, permanent disabilitating injury (it's fine if it's like... one limb of your chosing or one eye getting fucked up, but more than that I'll pass), etc. I don't generally mind it, for these fandoms/characters in particular it's not really my scene. Note that I mean this for the main characters in particular, if you want to get really into writinh random Order people exploding into little bits in a Runemarks fic I'm not stopping you;

Fully unrequited love between the main characters;

Flashback/nightmare/dream sequences.

IF YOU'RE GOING FOR SMUT

Kinks

Moderate masochism (pain is nice - anything from spanking to knife-play is A-OK - but maiming or an actual beating not so much. Dry penetration with no prep is no good, but the character being underprepped/understretched or too little lube used if M/M is);

Bondage (especially predicament bondage or unconvencional bindings, AKA got stuck in a compromising position somewhere or some way normally no one would get stuck);

Breathplay, knifeplay (preferably no blood drawn during specifically this for these character sets except for Runemarks, would also rather not see knife-play in GSNK), nails digging/dragging on/breaking skin;

Edging/desperation play. If bottoming/subbing, David/Wakamatsu/Loki in particular being super flustered, red-faced, maybe a bit teary-eyed is *chef's kiss*;

Ladies topping and calling the shots!

Lowkey cannibalism imagery and hunger, biting.

Squicks

I already put an entire bucket list on the form so. yeah. those. I'll repeat some here just in case;

Scat, vomit, bed-wetting, farting, wound-fucking, castration, CBT (myth for Loki already went there so. pass in general);

Dehumanization, slavery, pet-play, A/B/O;

Mommy/daddy/baby kinks, age play, anything involving diapers, pregnancy kink, mpreg or pregnancy of any sort;

Praise kink (this one isn't exactly a hard line but I'd pass on this);

Forced feminization;

Stuff very involved with body hair;

Outright vore and/or shrinking;

Super big breasts (unless we're talking about Cobra Bubbles, in which case... further down in the section for that fandom), super small breasts, microdicks;

Humiliation or degradation to do with any physical characteristics of a character;

Non-con betwen these characters or with others. Dub-con such as fuck-or-die or sex pollen is fine;

Would rather have no anal sex if a female character is the one being penetrated.

RUNEMARKS

Runemarks! Runemarks, my beloved. It's been so long, and I didn't read the Loki prequels/sequels/spinoffs because it'd been so long I needed a reread of the series to properly appreciate them, and I have no clue where I placed Runelight.

(That being said, please do disregard Runelight while writing my request. I didn't entirely dislike it, but not only do I not remember it well, there also were some iffy things about it that didn't fit my tastes (crazy!possessive!Sigyn, Maggie/Adam, the Big Betrayal with no further resolution, lack of major Loki&Maddy interaction outside of that), and for me the essence of Runemarks lays, in fact, with the original book). You can of course add in details from the books I haven't read, I just won't recognize them or appreciate your references properly. If you could avoid those things in particular I'd be thankful.

What do I like? Loki! Maddy! Loki and Maddy! Not even necessarily romantically, but their dynamic is the thing that most grabbed me about the books and had me crazy about them. We love two unhinged, super tricky individuals who aren't used to others seeing through them and who end up terribly fond of each other because they're both so dishonest that when you put them together it flips all the way back into actual honesty. They SEE each other, your honour!!! Not as archetypes or what others expect of them, but as people!!! Plus, the banter. Can't forget about the banter.

What I would like to see/possible prompts:

Exploration of the dynamics between those two. I really can't say this enough. I don't care if it's gen or romantic or somewhere ambiguously in between (in fact, somewhere ambiguously in between is my favourite), but the ideal fic would dive into the relationship between these two and how similar yet different they are to each other.

Soft AUs/Canon-verse AUs: the Runemarks world placed slightly to the left - an added, unseen scene that might have happened in canon, or a world where some of the canon events didn't happen, or even the Runemarks world minus all the plot with a different meeting. Examples:

Canon-verse Maddy running into "The Captain"/"Lucky" post-identity reveal in some other (potentially hilarious) situation where Loki is really really hoping he didn't piss Maddy off enough on their last meeting that she'll spill the beans, and her having the time of her life teasing him with double-meanings and puns about his identity to make him (deservedly) sweat a bit;

Canon-verse (or not) Loki and Maddy falling simultaneously into the same troublesome scenario, shenanigans ensue;

Soft AU where the canon plot didn't happen and Maddy may or may not have moved away from the village (the Order did not come for her, or they did and she got away, etc), and runs into Loki-as-Captain/Lucky, or under some other job he's lying low in (bartender, soldier down on his luck, charming thief, etc), and they get in and out of trouble together, as some fun alternate first meeting;

Soft AU where the Order did come for Maddy, and Loki (who was in the surroundings and may or may not have had a snarky altercation with Maddy just before, where he felt Seen™) is begrudgingly roped into helping her escape them;

Canon-verse or soft AU where Maddy and Loki are linked somehow (time loop, some supernatural/god bullshit, a curse/geas, etc) while pretty far apart and with no clue of what it means or possibly even who each other are (depending on whether or not they've met already, dealer's choice) and try to figure it out/find each other/get rid of it while growing close or empathetic to one another during it.

TONS of banter, if possible. That sardonic tone of canon is fantastic, and doubly so with underlying fondness;

If going down the romantic route, I do like things more subtle - no grand declarations of love, but that sense of comfort and belonging and understanding with each other that they don't get with anyone else. I would rather have pink ears and flustered feelings at a brushed touch or a more flirty-bantery remark rather than outright romantic kissing, but this is entirely up to you. What I really like is the journey getting there, and the relationship being already established tends to skip over all those parts;

That being said, I'm definitely not opposed to some sexual tension. I mean, *gestures vaguely towards their interactions* it's them;

Moral ambiguity! I think they should be gay-- er, bi, and do crime, or at least seriously annoy people. Especially Loki. I love that little bastard.

If you'd rather not write within the Runemarks universe, I'd rather not a full fantasy AU (merpeople AU, magic school AU, etc), but for example a modern era AU with the characters being placed into relatively equivalent roles/settings is OK too, so long as their dynamics remain the same! A role reversal AU could also be interesting if their personalities/roles in the story remained relatively the same but adapted to fit it (Loki is a trickster menace to the gods, Maddy upheaved the world as they know it and people/gods might not like her for it, much like the villagers in the OG version, but then stuff like the Maddy/Modi thing could parallel with the Loki/Lucky/Captain thing, for example). Overall, the focus should be on the relationships and the characters instead of the background setting.

What I wouldn't like to see:

Please no more humiliation and pain for Loki - give him a break! It's fine if he gets in a sticky situation (who is even Loki if he's not in some sort of trouble lmfao), but he should be able to get out of it basically unscathed (some light stabbing and jokes about it are fine, so long as he shakes it off easily and not too long is spent dwelling on the pain). This applies to Maddy too, but a special emphasis on Loki for this;

No female form/dress jokes, it's one thing for him to assume that form or wear a dress (that is fine), it's another to make it the butt of the situation or make it sound as if it's humiliating;

That being said, I wouldn't like to see a fic fully focused on gender-flipped Loki, or one that went super into gender or sexuality dynamics. Treat it as commonplace if possible!

Most hard AUs (such as a merpeople AU, magic school AU, etc) would not be favourites (check the section above for details on AUs I would not mind seeing);

Please no love triangles or unrequited love! (Unless it's Adam with a creepy crush on Maddy/Maggie getting what's coming to him, that is);

Full Maddy-as-Modi AUs. Which isn't really an AU, but I like Maddy as Maddy - an AU where she grew up as Modi, or a canon-verse continuation where she grows into that role isn't really my thing, except maybe on the role reversal AU I detailed above (in which it would be Modi growing into being Maddy instead of the other way around);

In that line, Loki-that-isn't-Loki. He can (and should!) be under disguise at some point, or under an alias, but even if there's no true reveal we should for sure know that it's him under there, and that person is a little redhead scar-lipped shit-stirrer;

No other ships involving these two! Past relationship mention is fine, though I'd pass on past Odin/Loki;

Would probably pass on heavy smut for this but not a hard line.

Other notes for this fandom:

No need to follow the plotline of Runemarks, honestly. You can, but it's definitely not a requirement, especially considering how complex it becomes! For me what matters most is really the character dynamics, I don't really need the plot (or any plot), so don't stress about writing an extremely plotty fic in line with it unless it's your kind of thing. I wasn't super into the Order plot Runelight went so far into anyway, but if you want to take any pieces of plot from the book anyway I'd rather you focused on the god drama and interdynamics, which are hilarious to me;

If you must bring Sigyn in, make her OOC - which is something I never thought I'd say about any character, ever! I am actually fond of Sigyn in myth despite there being so little on her (on past Yuletide requests, I've actually requested her and Loki on both the Prose Edda and the Ancient Norse Mythology and Religion fandoms). Be kinder to her than Joanne was! The crazy marriage-obsessed lady is a bit. Uh. Yeah, no. Better to leave her off of it than to bring all of that into the fic;

Bringing in Angrbod, Skadi, Hel, Jormungandr, and other god-related characters is obviously beyond fine, but more fun if Maddy is chill with everyone. Relationships with Loki may vary - possibly going down the disbelieving-look-at-Maddy route when she's clearly more than cool with him around (and would actively oppose it if someone tried to slice his head off, Skadi!) - and this contrast can be the inciting incident for the fic! No matter the relationship the other characters hold with Loki, negative or positive, they all question Maddy's life choices nonetheless, which is a mood.

LILO & STITCH

I'll be real with you, I was desperately looking for a third fandom that I hadn't 1) fallen out of touch to the point where I missed a fuckton of sequels/prequels/spinoffs being released, 2) completely forgot about like 80% of it so I'd write a very vague and nebulous letter among the lines of "I just really like those characters so I want to see more of them!", which would be very unhelpful if my writer (you!) didn't have any ideas in mind and was desperate for a prompt.

I passed by L&S once. I passed by it twice. On the third time, I actually took more than a two second look at the character list, glimpsed Cobra Bubbles and David listed next to each other, and my brain went ding! with "holy shit, new rarepair!!! i wanna read/write about this right the fuck now!". The rest, as they say, is history.

So! You're not here for my random backstory of how we got here! Let's get down to business.

Possible ship/gen configurations:

For gen: Nani&David, Nani&Cobra, Nani&David&Cobra;

For romance: David/Cobra, Cobra/David/Nani;

This is explained more thoroughly on the Yuletide assignment.

What I would like to see/possible prompts:

Canon-verse-ish instead of a huge AU would be great! Post the first movie or during the show (if possible ignore the movie sequels, I barely remember anything about them);

If you want to write an AU, keep the characters in roles/dynamics as similar as possible;

Would love to see some alien shenanigans (not restricted to the experiments). In general would love to see some more of Cobra Bubbles' work on the interplanetary level;

Lilo and Stitch should at least be referenced even if they've, idk, gone off to college or to go have wild space adventures together if you don't want to write them, since they are/were such a huge pat of the characters' lives;

I love the fixer-upper space tech DIY vibe of the house and equipment, bonus points for mentioning how they live with/around some of those modifications in a casual way instead of it being a normal human house;

FOR GEN FIC:

Ideally I'd love to see a fic of the three of them (or Nani and one of the boys) tiredly bonding over a day of alien shenanigans and raising Lilo;

Seriously, there are way too many plasma explosions involved on a so-called "normal day";

This is not covered in any parenting manuals;

Or government ones;

Alternatively, Nani and David accidentally-on-purpose get Cobra Bubbles (in denial about this) to lowkey adopt an experiment and it's adorable (bonus points if the experiment's appearance and personality is entirely at odds with what the average bystander would think Cobra Bubbles would tolerate. the average bystander would be very wrong);

FOR ROMANCE (DAVID/COBRA EDITION):

David is thirsty and extremely oblivious to this;

At some point he noticed one of these on Cobra Bubbles: his large hands, his massive tits, and his tender heart. Whichever one it was, the other two quickly followed;

Very likely, David is not exactly conscious of this. He just. Keeps looking? There is A Lot to look at. Cobra Bubbles is a big man. Objectively.

His hands are very big, objectively. And warm. And kinda calloused, but in a way different to his own, and Cobra picked him up and moved him aside like it was nothing one day and David now lies awake at night thinking about it all the time;

His heart is very soft and very tender and, like, hypotethically David already knew this by virtue of *gestures towards L&S movie end* but. Somehow it's a lot harder to face when you just had a hell of a day and your first instinct when you see a guy that scowl-y and intimidating and official looking is not great, but then you see him doing the equivalent of saving an alien kitty from a tree, or being really good with handling Lilo despite her not being an easy kid no matter how much you love her, and suddenly his heart is speeding up and his day is a whole lot brighter and it definitely doesn't mean anything, right?

Listen, I know I just wrote about the hands and the heart but the things David thirsts over are entirely negotiable other than the massive pecs, okay? Just. Huge titties. Big bahonkadonks. He walks into them once and almost says 'thank you' instead of 'sorry'. He might have actually said it, he doesn't remember. He spent all day walking into things afterwards. He wants to walk into them again;

Incidentally, the crush-that-is-not-a-crush makes him clumsy as hell;

He may or may not set himself on fire more than once. Again;

How he manages to keep being in denial despite having entire raging wet dreams of suffocating himself on Cobra's pecs is beyond human or alien comprehension;

And many many thoughts of the muscles that go all pillowy when relaxed but he's so BIG;

Meanwhile, Cobra Bubbles could be either extremely awkward in that quiet way of his OR panicking behind his stoic glasses but not letting the world see SHIT;

If you go the full idiots to lovers, Cobra could be completely oblivious to the way David is basically performing a bird of paradise mating dance while stumbling into things along the way;

Otherwise, a smooth operator kinda amused Cobra that just stoicly doesn't look like he's noticing anything until David shoves his foot too far into his mouth and then hms a monosyllable and handles everything David to its logical conclusion could also be funny as hell;

A possible prompt/inciting event: road trip! Some experiment or alien breaks free, Cobra is called to action (Lilo&Stitch usual team not available due to age/distance/whatever). Whether by accident or as the only backup that was left, David ends up coming along (for example, Cobra had to take a vehicle, David could have lended it or had been napping on it and only realized the van/spaceship/whatever was moving AGES after they were in hot pursuit, ergo no turning back), offering chips and terrible puns as his contribution to the chase. Cobra is extremely done and likely very annoyed, all the way until he's not.

Look, I don't have a lot of thoughts on smut for this other than: 1) David being super desperate is THE most important thing; 2) Cobra might have some alien body mods or alien tech at hand; 3) maybe predicament bondage with loose cables on a spaceship?; 4) neither of them should be mean/cruel about it, I think? unless you're writing an AU scenario where their relationship is not the same, but this would not be preferred; 5) alien plants can come in for predicament bondage and/or sex pollen, if that's your kind of thing;

FOR ROMANCE (COBRA/DAVID/NANI EDITION):

Most of the above applies;

David/Nani can be established or not, and Cobra is the one (eventually) brought into the fold;

Nani is very cool with David thirsting over Cobra Bubbles and thinks it's super fucking funny since he's even more of a disaster than he was with her;

The trio slowly starting to nest on the Pelekai house would be amazing. The kind of slow moving in you don't even realize until there's three brushes in the cup, and other people's clothes occupying full shelves in the closet, and they're there every morning cooking and eating breakfast with you and bringing you that thing you forgot to work without you having to say so.

What I wouldn't like to see:

Love triangles or cheating. As I said above, a poly relationship with Nani is fine though (all participants must be aware and OK with it, or at least this is implied);

Lilo, Stitch, or Cobra Bubbles in an established relationship;

Please no Nani/David unless it's pre-poly with Cobra Bubbles;

On a similar note, no Cobra Bubbles/Nani without David already being in the mix;

Would not love to see a focus on the Cobra/Nani even on a poly context (some is fine but not the majority);

No relationships between any of the tagged characters and other characters, or dwelling a lot on past relationships;

…Is it xenophobia if it applies to literal aliens? No xenophobia from either of the main family please, Cobra (especially!) included;

Cobra as a cop or cop-like character;

Species-bending? Is that a thing? Basically if you're writing an AU, the human characters should remain human, and the aliens should remain non-human.

GEKKAN SHOUJO NOZAKI-KUN

What I would like to see/possible prompts:

To put it short and sweet: let Waka lowkey bully Seo back 2k23! I cannot overstate how much I absolutely adore that Seo is weak to Waka's affection, we seem to have gotten past that point in the manga but the chapter where she kept getting flustered and running away when Waka flatly confessed over and over again is one of my favourites! There's no need to go to such great lengths as it happened in that chapter, but one (1) little moment where something like that happened for 0.5 seconds within the fic would make me super happy! Revenge! Vindication! Retribution rights for Waka! (cue him being super flustered when the situation reverses on him again);

That being said, if that particular dynamic is not how you vibe with those two, that's also fine! I LOVE how tsundere Waka is about the entire relationship, one moment complaining about being "forced" to hang out with Seo, and the next jealous over someone else getting to do it, or sulking because she hasn't texted him yet when she's away on a field trip, and don't get me started on the entire plushie chapter thing (incidentally another of my favourites). Needy Waka semi-permanently in denial is adorable;

And I love, love, LOVE how chill they've gotten with each other and how easily they fall into stride together or how they just immediately jump into the other's shenanigans;

THAT BEING SAID, how fucking unhinged is that? Especially in comparison to how they started out? Would love to see an exploration of that (could be an outsider's POV for example), especially since Waka has such good boy vibes and then... keeps sticking to Seo? That Seo? Everyone is trying to give you an out, Waka, why don't you take them?;

Best flavours of Waka: canon!tsundere!Waka, jealous-needy-puppy!Waka, sadistic streak!Waka;

Best flavours of Seo: flustered!Seo (versus sadistic!vengeful!Waka), canon!tsundere!Seo, mindlessly-patting-Waka's-head!Seo, casual-and-chill!Seo, downright-unhinged-cackling-maniac!Seo, canon-lowkey-sugar-mommy!Seo;

You know how sulky pets will pretend they don't want your affection even when they're shoving their face right into your body parts so you'll pet them? Yeah, that's Waka. We (by 'we' I mean 'I') love to see it. A fic where Waka is Like That and Seo comes to a realization while mindlessly indulging him (AKA noogie-ing him which transitions to hair petting or something of the sort) would be *chef's kiss*;

Lorelei reveal shenanigans where Waka desperately tries to conciliate his Lorelei fantasies with... Seo.

(depending on whether that's your thing, the above could be horny! Where Waka used to have pure nice fantasies of a siren singing on a rock suddenly it's Seo with a mermaid tail and sharp teeth and nails pulling him underwater and stealing his breath forever.... but hornily. Bonus points for man-eating mermaid imagery and Waka waking up with a "mark me down as scared AND horny" boner and immediately trying to suffocate himself in his pillow to NOT think about it ever again, because thinking about Seo-senpai that way is a fast track ticket to insanity);

Another soft prompt (pre or post-Lorelei reveal, might be the cause of the reveal itself): one of the times Seo accidentally (or not) puts Waka to sleep and then lets him sleep on her lap, he wakes up but is so slow at doing it that he doesn't move or open his eyes until registering where he is, soft thighs and nice scent and very soothing hair petting and all, and in a move that might or might not send a few bricks of his wall of denial crumbling down, elects to stay there pretending to be asleep for a bit longer;

Look, just give Waka some head pats/hair-petting, he deserves it!

If you're going for smut, Waka bringing his little game of flustering Seo when she doesn't have anywhere to run to would also be gr9;

Otherwise, Seo just barreling forward when it comes to "weird" sex stuff with Waka barely managing to keep up (and being very flustered about it but also reluctantly into it) is excellent. No need to actually go through with the things she'd bring up, could just serve to fluster Waka before going for something less wild or be fade to black for the laughs;

In particular for those two, it would be interesting to see pegging, or a bit of bondage just so Seo can unexpectedly be an extra super gentle dom with Waka while he doesn't know how to react and is flustered and sensitive and squirmy and desperate and a bit teary about it because he doesn't know what the hell is going on but it feels good and it's so tender (while presumably he would have been expecting something completely wild and lowkey unpleasant or embarrassing, but he definitely did not expect to feel this loved and cherished by Seo-senpai of all people, what the hell?).

What I wouldn't like to see:

Love triangles or past/established relationships;

UNLESS the past relationship was with the other, they broke up, and now in the fic they go through completely unhinged shenanigans and get back together, and overall the breakup and the getting back together were both for stupid reasons;

Same or similar amount of focus on non-main characters (such as double dates, same plotline is happening to Seo and Sakura at the same time while they're looking for/saving Waka and Nozaki, lots of time being spent on a B-plot that doesn't have to do with Waka or Seo);

No 100% "bullying" of Waka on Seo's part without the text at least somehow letting us know Waka is not entirely against it. He should get something out of the relationship, even if it's just a very confused/frustrated boner, or a sense of satisfaction at supposedly having triumphed even when it's to his own detriment (such as when he went around shouting love confessions at Seo so she'd run away blushing and flustered, or ended up killing his back to get pets from Seo just so she wouldn't pet his plushie instead);

Not a super hard line, but would rather not see big AUs. Mermaid/Siren!Seo AUs are pretty common, so if you really want to write something like that, a different twist would help sell it. (And if you MUST write a mermaid/siren!Seo AU, i like dangerous man-eating varieties of mermaid the most.) That being said, regardless of whether AU or canon-verse, the focus should be more on the characters and their dynamics than on the setting! These should remain more or less the same regardless of the AU.

Thank you so much for staying with me this far! I hope you have a fantastic time this Yuletide, and that you end up loving your own requested fic as well!

#dear yuletide writer #yuletide 2023 #howl rambles a lot #yuletide

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thecoziestbean · 7 months

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Dear Yuletide Writer Letter 2023

Hi! Hello! How are you? Thank you so much for writing me something! I already think you're brilliant. This is my first Yuletide, and I am both very excited and very nervous. I hope something in here inspires you and that you have fun writing for me. I'm sure I'm going to have fun reading whatever you write. Again, thank you thank you thank you!

My Likes/Dislikes

Likes: enemies/rivals to lovers, villain fuckers, hard headed women, smut (especially smut that reveals something to one or more characters about themselves or their emotional states), "I can make them worse," forced proximity (road trips/travel, there was only one bed, locked in a closet, forced to work together to get out of a tricky situation, etc.), grumpy/sunshine, humor, character studies, character introspection, worldbuilding, I’m happy with canon settings or AUs (including modern ones), fairy tale & mythological elements, metaphors from the natural world, praise kink, soft dom, bratting/brat taming, manhandling, spanking, size kink (but not done to an extreme or in excessive, explicit detail)

Dislikes/DNWs: bugs of the creepy crawly variety, unprompted crossovers; unprompted genderbending; pregnancy and kidfic (ok if it’s not the main focus of the fic); cheating/infidelity (again, ok if it’s not the main focus of the fic); hurt/no comfort or totally hopeless endings; scat, watersports, vomit; incest; underage; mommy/daddy kink; forced noncon/assault (dubcon, and coercive noncon, including mindcontrol, is alright)

Prompts/Fandoms

Prompt 1: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV)

Galadriel | Artanis

I’d love a character study of Galadriel, in particular her relationship to power (her own, political power, Sauron’s offer, etc.). Personally, I love the Galadriel x Sauron ship, but do not expect it here. I’d just ask that whatever you write not be anti-Haladriel.

My preferences for tone vary depending on character and setting. For this prompt, I’m comfortable with anything from fluff to tragic, I’d just ask for a heads up in the tags.

Some possible prompts could include Galadriel’s ongoing struggle against and temptation by Sauron, Galadriel learning to use Nenya, when/if/how Galadriel reveals the truth about Halbrand/Sauron to Elrond/Gil-galad/etc.

Prompt 2: Uprooted - Naomi Novik (Book)

Agnieszka

The Dragon | Sarkan

I’d love an exploration of Agnieszka & Sarkan’s romantic relationship post-canon. I like happy endings, but I'm open to what that might look like to you. If you'd like to incorporate the Wood as a character, that's fine, I'd just like the focus to be on Agnieszka and Sarkan.

Prompt 3: The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (Book)

Celia Bowen

Marco Alisdair

I’d love an exploration of Celia and Marco's romantic relationship. Some possible prompt ideas: Celia and/or Marco creating one of the circus attractions for the other, rivals to lovers, or what happens to them post-canon. I like happy endings, but I'm open to what that might look like to you.

Prompt 4: The Bards of Bone Plain - Patricia McKillip (Book)

Princess Beatrice

I love character studies and stories that reflect on how characters have changed or how far they’ve come. I'd enjoy something like this for Princess Beatrice set during or post-canon. Feel free to use members of the Cle family if you'd like.

Treats are welcome! I'm so excited to read what you write, and can't thank you enough! Happy Yuletide!

xo - Cozy

#yuletide 2023 #yuletide letter #yuletide baby #ao3

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robininthelabyrinth · 2 years

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Yuletide Letter

Fandoms: Tai Sui, Night in the Lonesome October, Return of Mount Hua sect.

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

Dear Yuletide writer - thanks! I love plot and worldbuilding and shenanigans, and also darkfic on occasion, and I look forward to seeing what you write.

Tai Sui

I love everything about Tai Sui – the characters, the setting, the plot, the feels…everything. (I’d say everyone, too, but this isn’t true as long as Xiang Rong exists.) Also, I’m a multi-shipper, so I am fully convinced of the validity/OTP truth of…many, many things. Sometimes (often?) simultaneously. Incidental spoilers in the suggestions.

So for my request I want non-standard genre fic and/or wacky hijinks, preferably both (though only set in canon). The suggestions below are NOT in order of preference (I’d probably say Lin Chi first, then Zhou Ying, then Zhao Qindan, then Yu Chang)

Zhao Qindan – for Zhao Qindan, I generally ship her with Wei Chengxiang, and I love the squabbling dynamic both of them have with Xi Ping (though not shipping in that case).

Suggestions:

An article written in the style of the toilet bulletins describing…something going on, possibly another pairing (feat. Xi Ping? Yu Chang?), but in the most sarcastic with plausible deniably style possible. Extra points for in-universe appropriate multimedia

Zhao Qindan/Wei Chengxiang shenanigans, film noir style (or book noir style for that matter). parody film noir also good

Police procedural mystery solving with background Zhao Qindan/Wei Chengxiang? Maybe featuring Pang Jian finally getting to live out his dreams of being a cop in a world in which cop isn’t really a job?

Courtship letters between Zhao Qindan and Wei Chengxiang that are 95% about foreign food

Lin Chi – I ship Lin Chi/Wen Fei, disaster duo, and of course Lin Chi’s forever doomed one-sided puppy crush on Hui Xiangjun. Also the dynamic of Lin Chi, harassed college student stuck babysitting child neighbor Zhi Xiu and toddler Xi Ping while they play with dynamite. And I really like the suggestive little hints we get about Lin Chi and Lin Zongyi and what could have been if canon was not...canon.

Suggestions:

Lin Chi/Wen Fei, buddy cop travelogue. Maybe solving a murder? causing a murder? both?

Something from Lin Chi’s POV, in which he very nearly notices how much havoc everyone around him is causing and trying to hide from him

Lin Chi-written reference manual or error log entries, complete with errata and vague commentary that somehow conveys the monumental disasters that caused him to need to invent these things/fix these things/etc.

Excerpts from Lin Chi’s official letters of complaint to Zhi Xiu about His New Disciple

Lin Chi and Lin Zongyi having the world’s most awkward non-verbal conversations at family parties for years and years and YEARS and somehow both never realizing that they’re actually really close

Fix-it in which somehow we get Lin Zongyi back to hang out with Lin Chi, in either ghostly or corporeal form. Possibly in a situation where Lin Chi is hiding this return from everyone else. I’d be open to Lin Zongyi/Lin Chi in this context :) If you write this one I will extra love you forever

Zhou Ying – as far as I’m concerned, Zhou Ying/Xi Ping is canon, and Zhou Ying&Zhi Xiu, divorced parents fighting over who takes care of Xi Ping better, is also canon. But Zhou Ying, everybody’s problem now, is the most canon.

Zhou Ying & Zhi Xiu (or, even better, Zhou Ying/Zhi Xiu), stuck together doing something. Maybe another buddy cop travelogue, except somehow even worse than the Lin Chi/Wen Fei version, maybe they’re just stuck in an elevator, but either way turn the bitchy pettiness up to 11

There is deaged Zhou Ying and literally only Bai Ling and Xi Ping think it’s cute, everyone else is just horrified at how much damage a single small child can cause

Bby!Zhou Ying & Bai Ling, here to cause problems and cause problems, and they’re all out of…no, they’ve actually made new problems

Extra points for Zhou Ying somehow managing to meet and befriend Luo Qingshi, preferably not during his clarity phase

Yu Chang – He is evil, but baby (in his own POV, anyway). Rule: always loses, but somehow usually still manages to get what he actually needs in the end (no relation to what he wants). Open to Yu Chang/Xi Ping spitesex and/or long-standing frenemy relationship while Xi Ping/Zhou Ying OTPs in the background.

Canon, but told in the style of “Yu Chang’s Very Bad No Good Really Terrible Lifetime”

Yu Chang doesn’t trust anyone, so he keeps the meeting minutes for his multiple conspiracies. With commentary. Very mean commentary.

You know the trope with someone developing the ability to see ghosts? That, except it’s Yu Chang suddenly being able to perceive a ghostly Zhou Ying who is now commenting gleefully on the Yu Chang/Xi Ping shenanigans and Yu Chang haaaaaaates it

Yu Chang/Xi Ping stuck together and forced to work together, complete with Yu Chang’s inevitable backstabbing attempts and Xi Ping’s equally inevitable outsmarting him over it, but also a get-together story. Preferably but not necessarily told in a series of Looney Toons style shorts.

Additional request:

Any of the requested characters time traveling and meeting the 3 Elders (especially Lin Zongyi) as they are in the extra. Just come stab me.

DNW: no predestination, no infidelity (people can be sleeping with multiple people at a time but no one should feel like they’re cheating or be angsting about it. Minor exception for Yu Chang somehow making spiteful comments about Xi Ping, especially if he’s always wrong about who he thinks Xi Ping is cheating on), no anti-sex-worker stuff, no mindbreaks or permanent amputation of a body part, no in-fic unhappy endings. NO modern AUs or complete AUS (i.e. Zhao Qindan is a reporter from the beginning) – please only canon-verse settings, although deviations from canon-verse (e.g. the world doesn’t work quite the same way, people don’t die, irrevocable things don’t occur or if they do it was somehow not fatal, etc.) are OK.

Night in the Lonesome October

The Count was my favorite character as a kid, especially the reveal moment…!

In short: I would very much like post-canon Count/Jack/Jill fic. Ideally get-together fic - possibly where they are all forced to live together for whatever reason? Possibly where Something happened offscreen during October and they’re still settling into a new dynamic as a result?

All the points for dealing with recovery from the events of canon (esp. for the Count), dealing with adjusting to each other’s little “quirks” (there’s a difference between dealing with it for a month in the abstract and literally living with it, whether it’s the Count’s particular diet or Jack’s knife issues or Jill’s everything), dealing with manners/expectations from different eras, and possibly them getting stuck in the Dreamlands and needing some help from Snuff or Greymalkin or Needle (or all of them!) to get out because that would be cool. I’d also be into something in which they have to rescue each other from the different situations - Jack from the police, the Count from hunters, Jill from...different type of hunters and/or morality police.

I have thrown Snuff in there because I would be really amused by temporarily-stuck-as-a-bat-or-wolf!Count and Snuff hanging out.

DNW: no predestination, no infidelity, no “the Openers should win”, only happy endings please

Return of Mount Hua

I’ve been enjoying the manhwa so far, but I’m only reading the translation, so please no spoilers past that.

I know our protagonist doesn’t much care for the silly cliché backstory going on between Baek Chun and Jin Geumryong, but I certainly do! I’d like toxic relationship darkfic Jin Geumryong/Baek Chun (either as Baek Chun or Jin Dongryong) please, with extra points for obsessive Jin Geumryong who both wants to humiliate Baek Chun but also keep him. NOT angsty, please, just sexy dubious badwrong.

Also OK with something in which Jin Dongryong is the initial victim but eventual victor (…but still into the original dynamic they have), and something in which they have to find equilibrium. Or maybe something in which they have to work together post-current-canon and deal with their new dynamic.

DNW: either character being completely broken – i.e. nothing where Jin Geumryong is shattered by losing and becomes a shadow of himself, nothing in which Baek Chun breaks and gives up completely because he can never win; no infidelity, no permanent mindbreak/amputation of a body part, no spoilers past the current translation point, happy endings only please

Kan mænd undværes?

Max deserves better!

...yeah, that’s it, that’s the prompt XD Max not getting the canon end, but something better. with someone who isn’t Maja. Complete AUs are OK (e.g. gangsters! pirates! space!), but modern AUs are not. I would like it if we got to see Max and Nisse spending time together, but not necessarily. Maybe they can go on some adventure, just the two of them?

also under the circumstances I’m specifying no on screen infidelity on the DNW list (see: Maja. see: the plot) rather than total DNW infidelity, since we can be dealing with the aftereffects, but I’d rather it not be the main focus of the plot

DNW: no on screen infidelity, no endgame Max/Maja, no amputation or mindbreak, no bad end, happy ending only please

#yuletide 2022

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mustlovemustypages · 2 years

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Yuletide 2022 Letter

Dear potential writer,

I hope this letter finds you well, but if not, then I hope this year’s Yuletide gives you an extra dose of happiness to diffuse these chaotic times. A great story can be the simplest way to turn around someone’s day and make life just a little bit brighter.

Thank you so much in advance for even taking the time to read this and consider writing for me. Due to the new requirement this year of opting in with treats, know that I am open and grateful for any that you may choose to write.

Below are my desired fandoms/pairings and story ideas, but please don’t feel stifled by the prompts. I’ve also listed my general likes and dislikes at the very bottom if you decide to go a different route.

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs:

Characters: Leah Cornick and Bran Cornick

The world Patricia Briggs has created with Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega is ever-growing and continues to astound me with its complexity. It feels so real and has such a lush history that every surprise revelation is both shocking and simultaneously feels very organic to the story. I think the urban fantasy/paranormal aspects are handled very well, especially the werewolf dynamics and rules that Briggs has created.

One of the biggest shocks to me from the Alpha and Omega companion series is how much I’ve come to love Leah. I, like most readers, absolutely hated her when she was introduced in the Mercy Thompson books. But as we’ve come to learn more about her backstory and her relationship with Bran, I have a new level of understanding of why she is the way she is. She is so much stronger and more nuanced than I would have ever believed her capable. And while I still like Bran, he’s also a much more flawed person than I'd originally thought. I realize there are a lot of books in this world, so don’t worry about spoiling anything with your potential story. You can include as much or as little of the newer books as you’d like. I’m also going to keep my prompts relatively simple for this pairing. I only ask that Leah and Bran are not broken up. If you’d like to just write them in an adventure story without any romantic elements, that’s totally fine. I would like them to remain together, though.

Story ideas:

What are the dynamics like between Bran and Leah now that he knows more about her past? How has his understanding of her personality and actions changed with these revelations

For a long time, Bran and Leah were together without really being “together” in the emotional sense. I’d love to see them learning more about each other and falling in love all over again.

Leah is constantly full of surprises. What is something that she does that surprises Bran and/or the pack (preferably for the better), and how do they react?

While some of the more recent books have focused more strongly on Leah and Bran than in the beginning, I’d still not consider them the main characters so we don’t always get to see the full fallout of all their storylines. Taking any of the major plots involving them and giving their perspective or showing what happens later would be wonderful.

Becoming Elizabeth (TV 2022):

Characters: Elizabeth I of England and Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester

There is so much that we don’t know about the inner workings of the Tudors. What we do know, though, is absolutely riveting. Who doesn’t love stories of royalty and betrayals and struggles for power? In a world that was dominated by men, Elizabeth I being a queen in her own right is part of what makes her so fascinating. Her refusal to marry just adds to the intrigue of what was going on in her mind during all of these important historical events that we only get glimpses of in books.

Becoming Elizabeth is the first show I’ve seen that dedicates so much story to the early years before Elizabeth even takes the throne. From feeling estranged from her only remaining family to being emotionally manipulated by a man twice her age, she is portrayed as such a flawed yet sympathetic character. The only ocassions where we see her actually act her age and be herself are when she’s with her friend, Robert Dudley, the only one who was truly on her side. We don’t know exactly what happened between the real life Elizabeth and Robert, but with the fictional show versions I wish circumstances were different and they could have found a way to be together. If you prefer them as just very supportive friends, most of the below prompts should still work, I would just ask little or no focus be placed on Robert's two marriages.

Story ideas:

I'm crushed we won't be getting future seasons to see Elizabeth take the throne. I'd love to see a story exploring the progression through her brother's death and sister's ascension to her finally becoming queen. How does Robert support her during any/all of these moments?

Even though I knew she was going to decline him, I still wanted to reach through the screen and shake some sense into our future queen when she turned down Robert's proposal. We know from history that Queen Elizabeth was plenty successful without a man at her side. But it doesn't make someone weak to want to be loved. What could have happened if the proposal was accepted?

I found the scene in episode 8 where Edward Seymour apologizes to Elizabeth for not stopping his brother's inappropriate actions very refreshing as we so rarely see in historical dramas any acknowledgment that these predatory behaviors are wrong. We even got an indirect acknowledgment from John Dudley when he was reading Kat's account of Elizabeth's treatment. It would be interesting to see how Elizabeth's perspective of Thomas Seymour and what he did shifts over time. We can assume that Robert knows some of what happened, but his realization that he may have gotten some of it wrong, reaction to the truth, and support to Elizabeth's emotional recovery would be a nice addition as well.

Political machinations and all of the scheming are part of what make these dramas so fun to watch! Departing from some of my more serious story ideas, I want to throw in a suggestion of just something bantery and tropey. Fake dating for political gain with ultimately friends to lovers! Throw in humorous exasperation from Edward Seymour and John Dudley who don't know how Elizabeth and Robert are so oblivious.

Fate: The Winx Saga (TV):

Characters: Riven and Musa

Despite this show’s flaws, I became instantly enamored with it. Season 2 was an improvement over season 1 in some ways, and a regression in others. One of the main positives that came out of the second season was more interactions between Musa and Riven. I was sold on them from their single (I think?) scene in the first season, and even though they still didn’t have a lot more screen time together, what they did have was *chef’s kiss*.

These two are so natural together and you can see that they genuinely enjoy being in each other’s presence. In season 1, they gave off more enemies-to-lovers vibes and I expected more of the same this season, which we got with their banter and butting heads over Musa’s specialist training. However, I was shocked by how soft Riven could also be with Musa from their discussion of Musa’s lost powers to the image of Riven carrying her prone form after battle. I’m so hopeful for another installment so we can get more relationship development and more of their insane chemistry!

Story ideas:

Episode 5 was a gift sent straight down from heaven. From Riven's pleased expression when we "saves" Musa from Terra's ministrations, to him trying to figure out what's bothering her when they're fighting, to him sitting down with Musa when she's stuck on the track and having a heart-to-heart... I want more soft Riven protecting Musa from her well-intentioned friends and having the serious conversations that need to be had. Whether it's about her not wanting her powers back in season 2 or her learning to cope with them next seadon (or something else entirely!).

It was no mistake the way the ending scenes of the second season were set up, with each fairy being comforted by a loved one. And of course Musa's comforter was in the form of Riven bring her the magic-supressing bracelets and them practicing together. We see you writers... Training sessions are practically their love language at this point. As they start to recognize their feelings for each other, what sorts of conversations do they have and what issues do they work out in the middle of a session?

I like to imagine Riven being the proud boyfriend when he hears of Musa's fighting skills coming in handy when reacuing Flora, while simultaneously being angry that she didn't have any back-up in a dangerous situation. Except, maybe as Sky has to remind him, Riven isn't Musa's boyfriend and perhaps he needs to stop being scared and avoiding the inevitable. This could even be set past season 2 when the gang getting Bloom back. There are a lot of opportunities for Riven to be the doting and overprotective not-quite-a-boyfriend.

Any type of enemies-to-lovers story you want to write would be welcome. There is so much potential here for some wonderfully angst-filled scenes! It could be reluctant allies as they work toward a common cause, fake dating to get information on someone, their friends trying to pair them up despite their protests, etc.

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (TV 2022):

Characters: Elrond Peredhel and Durin IV

To get this out of the way first, no, the first season was not perfect, nor was it even "good" at some points. There were many missteps with pacing and characterization. Still, I found myself sitting down each week to watch the newest episode, and I did become increasingly invested in the characters. In particular, I loved when the episodes focused on the dwarves. Durin was an immediate favorite of mine as I found him to have one of the most compelling storylines.

One thing I did appreciate with the direction the show took was the focus placed on Durin and Elrond's friendship. The actors were absolutely convincing in their portrayls of best friends that had been apart for years and were seeing each other again with a lot of history behind them. They were simultaneously heartwearming and hilarious together. Almost all of my laughs and cries were during their scenes, and each week my main wish was just to see more of their interactions and to hope they didn't become estranged. Durin and Elrond have so much going against them, but I think their bond of friendship is strong enough to prevail. I personally only see Durin and Elrond as friends so would prefer nothing overtly romantic between them. If you want to include a romance, I like all of the canon relationships (both within the show and in general Tolkien lore). I just ask that the main focus is on Durin and Elrond's friendship.

Story ideas:

All the backstory! How did their first meeting really go? It seems that Elrond was actually the one to save Durin, but the tale of the trolls sounds like a wild and hilarious time.

Durin was a better friend than I with how quickly he forgave Elrond for missing his wedding and the births of his children. I would have required a lot more groveling. Show me a Durin that is a little slower to forgive and makes Elrond do some crazy things to earn that forgiveness. Or if you want to go really off path here, change up history and have Elrond and Durin reconnect much sooner than two decades (late to the wedding perhaps?).

I truly have no predictions of how closely the show is going to follow canon given the contents of season 1. That being said, I think it would be interesting to see Durin's reaction to the rings being created, his conversations with Elrond about the rings (and perhaps Sauron), or just in general a scene(s) of Durin and Elrond conversing about the events that just took place. If you are familiar with the Tolkien canon and where the story may go, feel free to include pieces as you see fit without fear of spoiling.

All the times Durin and Elrond have supported each other over the years and have been more like brothers than just friends. Could be funny, serious, or both!

Things I don’t like:

Non-Con/Rape/BDSM/Sexual Violence/Graphic Sex – I like my characters to be happy and everything within ships to be 100% consensual, no question about it (mentions of non-con if it occurred in canon is fine). I also prefer plot over porn, especially with one-shots.

OT3s – Two people per romantic relationship, please. Any more than that makes me uncomfortable.

Character Bashing - Unless a character is a bad guy in canon, I don’t want to read hundreds of words about how awful they are, especially if they are one of the characters that I requested. Don’t take it out on the characters. If you hate my pairings, just write gen.

Things I love:

Hurt/Comfort – There is nothing I love more than one character comforting another. The hurt can be physical, psychological, or both.

Happy Endings – I’m all for the realistic endings… but if they could be plausible AND at least happy-ish, that would be amazing.

Expanded Scenes/Contorting Canon – Feel free to expand scenes and change up the canon to your heart’s content as long as it makes logical sense.

Humor/Banter/Snark – I thrive on this stuff.

Bonding/Building Relationships – Whether it be a friendship or a romantic relationship, I adore reading about two people growing closer together. When characters know each other so well that they can have conversations with just their eyes or anticipate the person’s next move (especially if it’s to the surprise/confusion of everyone around them), my shipper heart is thrilled.

Dark to Light - Seeing a character come out of a bad mindset or situation and get better is so satisfying.

Happy writing and I hope you get the Yuletide gift of your dreams!

- Maddy @mustlovemustypages (on Tumblr, Ao3, and FF.net)

#yuletide 2022 #yuletide letter #yuletide #lord of the rings #rings of power #durin iv #elrond #fate the winx saga #fate rivusa #becoming elizabeth #elizabeth i #alpha and omega #mercy thompson #bran cornick #robert dudley #winx riven #winx musa

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sobriquett · 7 months

Text

Dear Yuletide Author 2023,

Dear Yuletide Author,

What a wonderful time of year! Thank you for thinking about writing for me, I hope this letter is useful to you. Up here, you’ll find a bunch of stuff about general loves, likes and DNWs, both generally and for certain mini-challenges. Further down, there’s fandom-specific information and a handful of prompts for each fandom.

I am Sobriquett in pretty much all fandom spaces I use (here, AO3, Dreamwidth, Discord, etc.), so at least that should be easy to remember!

Please use as much or as little of this letter as you like. As a writer, I like to have all the information and so I want to make sure my writer has everything they might need, but the intention is absolutely not to overwhelm you with minutiae or to restrict you to these prompts. If you only get 5% in but the Lightbulb of Inspiration is flashing in your mind, then go for it! I hope you have a blast.

Treats are enabled and very welcome, including drabbles – I have high hopes of writing a few of my own. I am also open to IF or poetry.

You can also poke me if you’re looking for a beta reader in this fandom or any other fandom I’ve requested before. I will sign up in relevant places as I see them, or use the ask box or email sobriquett at outlook dot com.

If you still want more information, please look through previous letters using the tags at the bottom of this post. (I've requested everything except Boston Legal before.)

I don’t have any major triggers – I’d just avoid or Alt+F4 any of my DNWs, I wouldn’t be harmed by them – so you’re probably safe with most darker ideas, even if I haven’t explicitly opted in. However, because I do love darkfic but we’re generally a thoughtful community, by all means ask through the mods if you have an idea but it’s on the edge of the commonly acceptable and you’re not certain. Also, anything canon-typical/canonical/canon-appropriate will almost certainly get a thumbs up, except my DNWs.

Also, please don’t feel obliged to be unrelentingly positive about any or all of these characters. I am happy to read you poke at their hypocrisies, selfishness, resentments, poor decisions or unkind thoughts as appropriate. Characters don’t have to be perfect, even our favourites; people certainly aren’t.

(I spend a lot of time in disability advocacy spaces and, as the person I'm usually caring for will say, "disabled people can be arseholes too". It turns out I really want to read nuanced, imperfect disabled/neurodivergent characters being arseholes with agency who are occasionally called out by the people who know and love them; who knew? Three of my requested fandoms contain canonically disabled/neurodivergent/otherwise physically or mentally impaired characters, and I am 100% on board if you want to headcanon something for the women of The Godfather too.)

DNWs for All Fandoms and Challenges

(Note: Nobu has canonically lost an arm and Rochester has lost a hand and I would love fic to explore or consider that – it’s more that I don’t want characters losing limbs “on-page”, so to speak.)

General Likes and Loves

Crueltide Likes

Yuleporn Likes

Honestly, I am up for near anything that feels like it fits into the canon context, would be in-character(-ish) and isn’t on my DNW list. Bonus points for anything I haven’t thought of that is really contextually appropriate!

-----

Fandoms in alphabetical order to avoid the impression of favouritism!

1. Boston Legal

Requested characters: Any Tag set characters: Alan Shore | Denny Crane | Jerry Espenson | Katie Lloyd

I watched this series for the first time this year and I really enjoyed it. There are certainly elements that haven’t aged well, and some things that are unfortunately still far too relevant, but I was so delighted by it overall. This is a first-time request this year, so this section is a little thinner and my thoughts a little more disorganised than for other fandoms!

I am interested in any or all four of these characters, and in any combination of & relationship between them, or perhaps Jerry/Katie, and but let's talk a little more about Alan~/~Denny:

Alan and Denny’s relationship was remarkable. I am 100% here for that queerplatonic dynamic – the sleepovers, the platonic intimacy, the complete joy of their friendship and their reliance but not dependence upon one another (although of course that dynamic may shift as Denny’s illness progresses). They have so many differences and yet such consistent and open love for one another. And then they get married, and it makes sense. Oh, my heart.

I would love to see more of this relationship, either during canon or post-canon. (I haven't seen The Practice, so references there will go over my head, but pre-canon is cool too!) They’re both so aggressively, offensively heterosexual that I think it would be a tough sell for me to believe in a sexual relationship here, but an incredibly intimate friendship with occasional romantic overtones where they are unambiguously the most important person in each other’s lives? Yes please. We should all be so lucky. Dysfunction also welcome.

I’m not sure Jerry’s character is 100% okay by today’s standards, but I related to so many of his quirks and tics and I rooted for him right from his first appearance. I felt a physical pang when Alan was deliberately cruel to Jerry to knock him off-balance when they were on opposing sides and I’m glad it wasn’t immediately dismissed. Equally, I was delighted when Katie stood up to Jerry when he was “using” his issues to avoid his problems or to play the victim when things were within his abilities to address.

Katie is also interesting to me. What is a young British woman doing in an American law firm? What effect does her Britishness have on her life and career in Boston? Does she have any darker shades to her personality?

I am a little short of prompts here and will try to add more if I think of them. Hopefully the likes/loves above will provide some inspiration if the below doesn't, or you already have an idea of your own! I just want a little bit more of these characters; that would be lovely.

Prompts:

How did Katie find herself in Boston, or at an American law school before that?

Post-canon:

How do these characters and their relationships develop?

Does Alan get to open his legal clinic? Do Jerry and Katie work for him?

How does Denny get on? Does he continue to work, maintain his streak?

Do Alan or Denny have any other intimate relationships outside their marriage? Is the other jealous?

How does Jerry get on after the changes at Crane, Poole & Schmidt? Does he find a new firm? Does he land on his feet? Does he keep working with Katie? Does their relationship work, despite their differences?

2. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë

Requested characters: Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is an unreliable narrator.

This is one of my favourite novels ever, but I read a new story each time I read (or rewatch – Ruth Wilson 2006 version, yes) it. I had a different experience of it as a child, teenager, young adult, and so on – and with time, I’ve come to see Rochester as more of a villain, and then also as a victim of circumstances and a product of his environment, and to increasingly believe that Jane Eyre lies to us. She’s also every bit as prejudiced and superior as those she criticises, but/because she’s also a product of her world. But I still love her, and love that she says she got a happy ending. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay happy, or even that she was telling the truth.

This is a fandom where I particularly enjoy a darker edge, and a playful approach to the text on the author’s part. The novel is a first person autobiography. Have fun with that! Jane Eyre is an unreliable narrator. The novel is her autobiography and I don’t believe that the story she told is necessarily the story that “happened”. What did she conceal? What did she tweak? What did she exaggerate or minimise? Is she trying to tell a moral story, and if so for whom? Does her faith endure and guide her quite as steadfastly, perfectly and purely as she says? I adore fics that play with this idea.

Although my only requested character is Jane herself, I am also happy with Outsider POV stories that are very much about Jane.

Prompts:

Post-canon happiness?

Post-canon unhappiness?

Canon divergence at any point.

A missing moment from the engagement - an evening spent together, a walk, a trip out. Tension, anticipation, uneasiness, a sense that all’s not quite right that can’t be entirely set aside. Rochester trying to claim more affection than Jane is yet willing to give, with either a playful or darker edge.

A missing moment between the interrupted wedding and Jane fleeing Thornfield? What if they do have a night of madness before Jane flees Thornfield, where just for a moment she gives in? Or is coerced? (Dubcon over complete non-con please? Also: gloriously awful or happy consequences welcome.)

How does Rochester discover Jane’s missing? How does Adele find out? Mrs Fairfax? How do they all react? What is that day like? (Jane’s absence would almost be the character in this case. She doesn’t have to appear, she’s still the focus.)

Does Jane ever meet her Reed cousins again after Mrs Reed’s death? What would they think of her changed circumstances? Does Jane become – or put on the airs of – a great lady, and put them in their place? Or does she forgive, warmly, and try to cultivate relationships because she remembers what it was like to be alone, as her cousins may have become?

If Jane and Rochester have children, what does that do to Adele’s place in the family? Is she beloved sister or unwanted burden? (I can’t see Jane considering her a burden but I could perhaps see Jane being torn in too many directions and having no time left for Adele, leaving her bereft.)

What if Adele’s mother returned to collect her, or for some other (nefarious) purpose?

Rochester dies in the fire. What happens then?

Jane goes with St. John as a missionary and it doesn’t start/go/end well.

What if the first wedding isn’t interrupted? Rochester’s a bigamist and Jane a fallen woman when it comes out. (I have started writing this but not finished it.)

Jane tries to put Adele back together, after she’s traumatised by the sudden loss of her home, the dismissal of her nurse Sophie, the loss of Jane, the wrath/rage of Rochester, her cruel treatment at school, etc.

Does Jane come to see Rochester as a villain? Does she find herself corrupted, tarnished or lessened in his eyes in some way when he comes to marry/possess her and the sharper, darker side of his character turns on her once she’s off her pedestal?

Does Jane resent being Rochester’s carer, his eyes and hands?

Jane is not in the habit of receiving gifts, and still isn’t used to it. But she has grown to enjoy giving them to those she loves and cares for.

News articles of the aborted wedding, Thornfield fire and subsequent events?

Does Adele correspond with Jane or Rochester from her school? Either miserably from the school Rochester sends her to, or more happily from Jane’s choice? How does Adele find school, either the one Rochester sends her to, or the one Jane moves her to? How does this compare to Jane’

Is Rochester more of a villain? How?

How does their wedding night go? How do Rochester’s blindness and injury affect this side of their relationship?

An in-character moment of passion, with badinage and fairy talk.

Jane dies on the moors.

Does Jane resent being Rochester’s carer, his eyes and hands?

Is Rochester “really” as injured as Jane writes in her autobiography? Did she provide some sort of divine/literary punishment for his sins? Or what really happened instead, did he get a comeuppance?

3. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

Requested characters: Nitta Sayuri, Nobu Toshikazu

Nobu/Sayuri is my rarest rare pair, although I have been lucky enough to receive fic before.

I enormously prefer the novel to the movie, mostly because there’s so much more Nobu. He’s my favourite character, for the gap between how he’s perceived and how he is. He inspires such loyalty and friendship in those who know and value him – Mameha, the Chairman, Sayuri - and yet more shallow characters (Hatsumomo) can’t stand him based only on his looks (and grumpiness). In many ways, the Chairman is the more ghost-like character in the novel, floating in the background as Sayuri develops a deep and genuine friendship with Nobu despite their differences. Her entire fantasy of the Chairman is based on a five-minute encounter and a hanky and then she essentially doesn’t speak to him for a decade, and I wish she’d made a different choice. Nobu would have been an active choice, rather than continuing down the path she set as a child without consideration for how she’s changed as she’s grown up and seen more of the world. I understand Sayuri’s heartbreak knowing that having Nobu as her danna would preclude any possibility of such a relationship with the Chairman, but it would open up a world of other possibilities, and to kindness from a different source, as well as a more even relationship. Neither Nobu nor Sayuri know much kindness in their lives, and I really enjoy their repartee. It’s one of the few times Sayuri seems to have fun.

Nobu is missing an arm and disfigured by burning; there’s no need to romanticise or sanitise these parts of his character, but I am curious about their effects on any long-term or physical relationship with Sayuri (either practically or just in his head).

Prompts:

What if Sayuri chose Nobu instead, and accepted him as her danna before the war?

What if she accepted him after the war?

Sayuri appreciating Nobu, with optional romantic edge

How does Nobu feel when he realises what Sayuri’s done? What does he know, what is he told, does he try to find out more? Is his respect once lost gone forever?

Sayuri could be the Chairman’s but he could never be hers – he already had a wife – but Nobu would have been hers. Would she want this? What would Sayuri want, given the opportunity?

Nobu and Sayuri being affectionate to one another, even gruffly and distractedly.

How would an evening with Sayuri, Nobu and the Chairman unfold? With or without Mameha to guide Sayuri’s choices to their advantage?

Exploring the differences between the pair – in power (financial, sexual, influence), personal freedom, status, ability to make their own decisions, the rules they play by.

What do they have in common? They are both survivors, at the top of but on the outside of their respective worlds. (Teahouses, factories, okiyas, battlefields.)

Sayuri and Nobu have an en. How else does this manifest?

Do Nobu and Sayuri ever meet again, in the future? Are things frosty, all bridges burned?

What if Pumpkin does bring Nobu instead of the Chairman?

4. The Godfather - Mario Puzo

Requested characters: Any Tag set characters: Apollonia Vitelli Corleone | Carmela Corleone | Kay Adams Corleone | Lucy Mancini

I reread this over the summer. (Well, more specifically, Audible finished one book and rolled straight into playing this one and I went with it.) As always, I want more of the women. The author (probably the author, but definitely the authorial voice) is wildly misogynistic, where all women are essentially defined in terms of their fuckability and/or relationships with men (specific and general), and very few women are ever really the POV character. Kay is occasionally, and possibly Lucy, but that’s it. But they are all defined by their (sexual) relationships with the Corleone men – wives, lovers, mothers. I want more of the women as women. That can include the men, but no woman is defined entirely by her relationship with a man.

Apollonia says one word in the novel: “Grazie.” Who is she? Give her some flesh, a spark, to be more than just a pretty shell. What does she want? What moves and motivates her? How would she have fit in with the New York family if she’d lived?

Mama Corleone is much the same, she turns up for a moment here and there to (magnificently) berate one of her sons or to feed somebody, but she also feels like a thread of steel in the lives of those around her, holding them up, but it’s unspoken. I love her Catholicism and how it both sustains her and supports her family, and how she converts Kay, and they go together to pray for the souls of their husbands. The ending of the novel is divine.

Kay is an outsider to the world for more than just having girl parts, and I’m curious how that changes her experience, and particularly how she relates to her mother-in-law (and sister-in-law) through cultural and generational differences.

Lucy’s character arc is literally defined by her vagina and she willingly and semi-knowingly lets herself continue to be used by the family through the hotels, but there is more to her than that. Like what? How does she balance what she wants to know, what she guesses, what she thinks, what she absolutely and definitely knows? Is Sonny a lingering ghost through her life?

I don’t really know what I want, just more of the women.

Prompts:

Apollonia and the American dream: what does she actually want? Is Michael a way to get it? (Children, comfort, fortune, adventure, love, other?)

Does Apollonia love Michael? Does it matter? Was her courtship/marriage a pleasant or a horrible experience? What did she think her future would look like?

What does Kay want? What does she think their future will look like?

The same questions for Kay as Apollonia, possibly different answers. Compare the women, be thoughtful or go dark.

I’m always intrigued by Kay’s Catholicism, especially in the book. The movie’s ending happens too, but then Kay goes to church with Mama Corleone and prays for Michael’s soul.

Michael’s grief at losing both women in his life, in very different ways. (Does he acknowledge them as women and individuals, or only as wives/lovers?)

A missing happy moment for any of these characters or either couple.

A contrast between weddings – Connie’s, Apollonia’s, Kay’s, others.

What if Apollonia had lived, and met Kay?

What if Apollonia lives?

I feel like Kay makes a “better” American wife for Michael, in the world he wants to move in. Would the path have unfolded differently with a different woman at his side?

Does the ghost of Apollonia haunt Michael at later points in his life?

How does Carmela respond to the milestones in her husband’s life? The shooting of Don Fanucci, having Clemenza and Tessio in her home, the Don’s first shooting, the rise in their fortunes, that magnificent carpet?

What if Apollonia had lived, and they’d returned to New York, and she’d lived in the compound? What place would she find in that family, in that life, in that country? What would Mama Corleone have thought of her new daughter-in-law? Would this have impacted Michael, how would he show it? Could Apollonia be happy? Or a very mixed bag?

#dear author letter #boston legal #jane eyre #memoirs of a geisha #the godfather #yuletide #yuletide 2023

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blurhawaii · 2 years

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yuletide 2022

dear yuletide writer,

another year, another yuletide! hello and thanks for reading my letter. even if you’re not my assigned writer and are just checking it out for the hell of it. i’m still terrible at putting what i like into words, hopefully all this rambling makes sense. just know that the prompts are only suggestions–if you’ve got something else in mind you’re longing to write, then go for it.

and i feel like this goes without saying but i am more than okay with receiving treats.

likes:

dysfunctional relationships eg. codependency, messed up father/son dynamics, enemies to lovers, power imbalances.

vulnerability in men, uncertain intimacy.

UST, slow burn, first times.

supernatural/magical realism/cosmic horror. weird hints of it in an otherwise normal universe.

redemption arcs.

found family.

big loyalty kink. love it when trust is earned and kept.

praise kink.

open and honest communication between partners.

polyamory. it’s the journey of them getting together and making it work that interests me the most. or how a couple goes about bringing in a third person.

stories set in canon. or a divergence of canon. fix-it fics.

soulmate/soulmark fics. i’m mostly interested in these kinds of scenarios when they’re dysfunctional takes on them. e.g. they don’t actually have each other marks but get together anyway.

daemon AUs. i’m especially into the intimacy of touching/comforting each other’s daemons, them expressing thoughts and feelings they otherwise don’t say out loud.

dark/bleak fics. don’t be afraid to drag characters through the mud. happy endings are welcome but i like the struggle.

i’m fine with anything from gen to porn but would be happiest with something in the middle.

canon typical violence is fine and to be expected from some of my choices.

characters and the development of their relationships are more important than plot for me.

dislikes:

AUs that are completely disconnected from canon e.g. high school, coffee shop AUs.

established relationships, unless they are already together in canon

crossovers

genderbending

feminisation of male characters

fics that are entirely fluff

A/B/O fics

PWP

mpreg

first person fics (i have no problem with second person fics tho if you feel like experimenting and think that could work.)

The Departed (2006)

*Billy Costigan *Sean Dignam

one of my favourite films ever. i request it every year so you can't really go wrong with this as i'm just thirsty for anything.

most of my love is for dignam and his tough love attitude towards his job and the undercovers he's responsible for. i am endlessly endeared by his wild card quality, expletive fueled speech and hair trigger temperament. his father/son relationship with queenan contrasted against billy’s father/son relationship with queenan--how cyclical the whole set up is. his complete disregard for everyone else in that office, especially sullivan. and despite all of that, it's obvious that he cares. i don't think you could do a job like that and not care in some way, and it’s those few and rare moments where we see him soften around billy --we need you, pal-- that's what i would like to see more of. that juxtaposition of good cop/bad cop all coming from the same guy.

shipping fic is what i am craving but honestly whatever you are comfortable with writing is fine, as long as it involves them both. due to the nature of the film i am perfectly comfortable with violence and the screwed up relationship they are bound to have. the friction born of the situation vs the fact that they need each other to get through it is what i am all about.

things that really get me with these two: codependency, power imbalances, the enemies to lovers trope, unexpected moments of vulnerability, loyalty.

prompts:

fics where billy survives are my usual go-to. i'd love something that explores the angst of billy's ‘where the hell were you when i needed you’ reaction towards dignam, supposing that he survives that ending. because from billy’s POV, at least, dignam basically disappears from the film after queenan’s death. maybe dignam still kills sullivan, and billy’s reaction to that. is he thankful or is he pissed?

i’ve wasted a lot of time thinking about the line --why don’t we meet up, sweetheart, let me buy you an ice cream-- the jokey seriousness of it just kills me. if you can somehow write that happening in a believable, in character fic you would earn my eternal respect. whether that’s a clandestine meeting during billy’s undercover period, or some kind of post-film scenario where dignam makes good on his promises, i have no idea but i’d love to see it.

daemon au - very curious how this would impact going undercover. daemons expressing feelings that the characters otherwise can’t. and the intimacy of touching/comforting each other’s daemons is an absolute favourite trope of mine.

soulmate au - either having their names on each other or their first words. or something else more uncommon/unusual. this interests me particularly here for the same reason the daemon au does because i’d love to see how this would work in a universe where you’re going undercover. i’m thinking about that scene where costello is smashing billy’s arm cast and the idea that it could be hiding something other than a wire.

time loop/groundhog day fic - there’s a lot of moments in the film i think they would both like to change, and it kind of makes sense to me to have billy’s survival be the pivotal thing triggering the loop.

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

*Arthur O’Dwyer *Samantha O’Dwyer *John Brooder

i’m a huge fan of westerns and i’m a huge fan of thinking too deeply about potential ot3s. bone tomahawk gave me both of these things to gorge on.

every time i watch it i latch onto all the little hints dropped about the kind of relationship brooder has with both of the o’dwyers. he’s a weird, vain, loner, dandy man type who is rude to pretty much everyone else in the film, except the married o’dwyers. it’s established that he was interested in samantha o’dwyer, presumably before she was married, flirted with her, but was ultimately rejected by her. instead of this being a point of conflict in the film, brooder is nothing but cordial with her, respectful even--knowing to go to her when told to find a doctor--and is quick to hold himself responsible for putting her in danger once she is taken.

it would then be very easy for the film to pit brooder and arthur against each other because of this past. but, excluding a couple moments when tensions are high, they’re both unusually friendly with each other. the way arthur jokes about wanting no flirtations between brooder and samantha but still allows brooder to escort his wife into town when he can’t because of his leg. arthur is the only one who ever calls him john. arthur is the only one to ever call brooder out when he’s being too rude, and have brooder actually listen to him and reel his rudeness in. i am especially floored by brooder calling arthur ‘cowboy’ multiple times, in the most fond manner possible. in fact, this might be the only way he refers to arthur, thinking back on it. i also love the little moment where brooder helps arthur down from his horse. such a small moment that means a lot considering the kind of man he’s been shown to be.

the film has an extremely violent end, hopeful in a few ways but largely not. anything written for this would inevitably have to draw on some of this violence, which i am fine with, but i’m mostly interested in how the characters deal with the trauma and less the trauma itself. it probably goes without saying that i ship all three of them in all configurations.

prompts:

anything set before the events of the film. how the three of them might interact on a day-to-day basis in the town of bright hope. how they reached this level of fondness. how outsiders might view the different way brooder interacts with the o’dwyers, compared to the face he shows to everyone else.

brooder lives AU - not gonna lie, my enjoyment of this film dips slightly once brooder is gone. (i’m always pleasantly surprised by how much matthew fox is the MVP here.) but maybe they find him hurt but not quite dead as they’re escaping, and all three of them get to return home. maybe for convenience sake samantha sets brooder up to recover in their home, so she can tend to him and arthur at the same time.

would love to see something that explores brooder having to come to terms and live with the amputation of his hand, considering how vain he is. he explicitly states in the film that he’d rather die than live like that, but maybe the o’dwyers can help him through this with what i imagine would probably have to be tough love.

Il buono il brutto il cattivo | The Good The Bad and The Ugly (1966)

*Blondie *Tuco Ramirez

i rewatched this recently and it sent me down a bit of a spiral of watching spaghetti westerns. i love the landscapes, the loneliness, talking around campfires under the stars, sharing a smoke, the constant underlying search for fortune and a place to settle down. the good the bad and the ugly remains my favourite simply because it has all these things and the added bonus of an antagonistic, reluctant partnership. and i especially love when partnerships eventually grow a layer of trust, no matter how flimsy.

these two fascinate me because the whole set up of their partnership in the beginning--the bounty hunting and the subsequent rescuing from the hanging--requires so much trust between them, and i am a firm believer that there is a certain amount of fondness between them, even when they’re trying to kill each other. this feels obvious to me by the end, what with blondie going out of his way to orchestrate a situation where tuco lives.

i love the darkness and the humour of their relationship and how they can both be deceptively smart when they need to be. i feel like they really do bring out the best and the worst of each other, in way that can only happen when you feel very strongly about someone. i do ship them but would be fine getting something that just explores their relationship.

prompts:

anything that explores the willingness of tuco putting a rope around his neck. how they got themselves into that situation, the trust it requires on tuco’s part to do that, the discussion they must have had to hash out all the details. maybe there’s a part of this deal we don’t see in the film, some kind of quid pro quo thing where blondie lets tuco do the same to him when they’re alone, as a way to even the score and it’s probably the only way to get tuco shut up about it. go as kinky as you like, breathplay and choking kink is welcome. i have a tiny obsession with the black neckerchief the man with no name usually wears, how thick it is, how he always wears it so close to his throat. if you can incorporate that somehow i would be crazy pleased.

post film reunion. would they just fall back into routine? whether that is going back to the bounty hunting scam or trying to kill each other again. i kind of doubt either of them would be able to hang onto the money for very long but what if one of them does use the money to buy some land. what if there was some very strange domesticity for a time.

weird west. go wild with ghosts, hauntings, legends of the old west. i love it most when the weirdness sits on the outskirts and creeps slowly into canon.

feel free to try out a soulmate/daemon fic here. it could be an interesting interpretation of the trust they development. even more so when they still trade murder attempts.

Uncharted (2022)

*Nathan Drake *Victor Sullivan

i’m a fan of the games which, in turn, should probably make me dislike this film. however, i regrettably had an okay-ish time with it. i wouldn’t exactly call it good but it was a passable buddy adventure film. uncharted 3 was always my favourite game because it focused on the relationship between these two, on how they met specifically, and so i was pretty much predetermined to get some enjoyment out of this concept here.

the things i like: the older man/younger man, mentor/protege dynamic. the competency shown when treasure hunting, pick-pocketing, pilot/flying kink. the friction of sully’s prior relationship with nate’s brother, how that didn’t end well, how that affects his and nate’s relationship, the insecurity of being seen as a replacement. i like that nate eventually softens sully’s edges but i also like that they are still kind of dicks to each other. i, for some reason, even enjoyed all the bubblegum teasing, the fondness towards sully and his cat, and the terrible attempt at sully’s infamous mustache at the end. and i cannot believe it’s canon that they spent many hours spooning in the trunk of that car.

i do ship it. i have since the games and i’m fine with acknowledging the age gap.

prompts:

a case fic of sorts. just them on the hunt for treasure. more focus on how they learn to work together when nate is more used to working alone and sully sees a lot of nate’s brother where he probably wishes he didn’t. maybe sully acknowledging how different his and nate’s dynamic is in comparison. because of feelings.

any kind of exploration into role reversal. some kind of situation that puts nate in charge. sully, despite being the older/more experienced one, being forced on the back foot.

i love the moments in the games when it crosses over into the supernatural. where, for the most part, the universe is perfectly normal, but the deeper they get the more things like yetis and immortality just becomes the norm. like indiana jones films when the religious objects and myths exist just below the surface. i would love something where they stumble on it during a treasure hunt.

The Color of Money (1986)

*Eddie Felson *Vincent Lauria *Carmen

i almost nominated this but eventually dropped it for something else. so i was pleasantly surprised to see someone else had thrown it into the ring.

the thing i really love about this film is that it’s made very obvious that they are all bad for each other. all three of them make each other worse in some way, and it’s largely about the corruption of goodness. most obviously of vincent, but i think it could be argued for all of them.

i like how each pairing gangs up on the other for different reasons at different times to best reach their goal. how eddie and carmen use vincent’s naivety and his softer heart against him. the way they work together to manipulate vincent--you make him feel good, i teach him how to run. how they both share the understanding that they’re not good people--they’re professionals, vincent.

i love the older/younger dynamic and the attempts at being a mentor between eddie and vincent. but i especially appreciate that the film lampoons the idea of it being a father/son kind of relationship when they use it in a grift and treat it like a joke. same with eddie and carmen when he outright says it’s not like that. eddie allowing vincent to get hurt to teach him a lesson, but then touching him with kid gloves when he checks out the damage done. the unavoidable phallic-ness of eddie giving vincent the pool cue--he’s been thinking of nothing else all day. then there’s the betrayal of vincent throwing his game against eddie. being confronted with the fact that they’ve created this monster, so what did they honestly expect would happen?

vincent becoming jealous of eddie and carmen acting like a couple. but which one is he jealous of exactly? eddie throwing his money around, sugar-daddying the younger couple. but also trying to keep his distance at the same time.

the way vincent and carmen keep pushing eddie, like letting him into their room while they’re showering and getting dressed. contrasted with the moments where we see them hanging out, watching tv together, just being happy in each other’s company. and the odd kindness they show him sometimes, like when eddie eventually gets played himself.

i definitely ship all three of them in all configurations.

prompts:

anything set during their time on the road. maybe having to share a hotel room for some reason. not sure if the ‘there’s only one bed’ trope counts when there’s three of them, but i’d still love to see it. vincent and carmen having to coax eddie into the bed with them because an old man like him shouldn’t be sleeping in a chair. stopping at diners, driving late into the night, deep conversations, falling asleep on people, fooling around in the back seat and the voyeurism of the third person pretending not to watch.

eddie and vincent teaching carmen how to play pool. maybe they’re the last ones left at a pool hall late at night. and their natural one-upmanship takes over.

anything post film where they keep running into each other. tripping up each other’s plans and grifts on purpose.

#yuletide #yuletide 2022

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