Yuletide Letter 2021
It's the most wonderful time of the year: the run-up to Yuletide! All the stories for all the fandoms? Sign me up! In fact, here are my requests.
Let's begin with my general likes and dislikes First off, know that I'm a fan of fandom and excited to see what you've created in a fandom we both enjoy. Don't worry that I won't like what you've written: I'll love it!
Likes: While I like smut, it isn't a be-all and and end-all. I particularly like gen-fic, whether big plotty events or perfect slice-of-life moments. For sexy-times, I prefer some elements of either het and femslash. Anything that involves women in some integral way. Boyslash in stories that give women equal time is also great.
Smart characters and/or smart-asses are a real weakness. Wordplay and wit are my kryptonite and I enjoy all the crazy allusions or meta references you may want to employ. I'm a sucker for competence porn which includes domestic skills as well as professional work - if you want to write a story about baking cookies, repairing a transmission, eliminating an invading army, or curing a plague, I'll be right there with the characters, soaking it all in.
I equally adore plotty and PWP stories. If you like to launch AUs or delve into meta, I think they are fabulous options. Humour, angst, action: those are also fantastic.
General Dislikes: I'm not keen on gore, horror and dark hurt/comfort, definitely not so much with explicit (or main character) death, torture or sadism. Please, no zombies or a lot of bodily fluids. I also don't like character slams and I'm definitely not here for dissing women in particular or in general.
Overall, I'm delighted that you're in love with fandoms and fanworks the way that I am too. Make yourself at home and all that, k?
The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells)
Characters: Murderbot, Asshole Research Transport
These are incredibly comforting reads even if the stories come wrapped in a science fiction universe filled with evil corporate entities and casual, murderous mayhem. Murderbot is incredibly relatable and there's not a single nominated character I'm not happy to read about, but my favourites are Murderbot and ART: competent, caring, and ruthless when necessary.
A few prompts: We can have a missing scene moment where Murderbot and ART get deeply into their fandoms and snarky debates ensue as they discover they have deeply divided views on a minor character in Sanctuary Moon. Perhaps they discover fanfic/fanworks and you have ART being all enthusiastic, diving right in and participating widely even as Murderbot cautiously pokes at the range of material. Or maybe an epistolary story where Murderbot and ART snark at each other across the light-years while they work to keep their charges from certain doom (or failing their fieldwork exams in ART's case).
I like how Murderbot is so uncomfortable in the world of fragile humanity but nevertheless also finds great comfort in these slowly growing relationships. The alter ego of "Security Consultant Rin" might be fun to resurrect again as Murderbot takes another job away from Preservation. Feel free to have Murderbot and ART engage in some anthropological fieldwork of their own as they work to further understand the strange world of humans. Does Murderbot attend a festival while ART rides shotgun through one of those ever-present drones?
A Discovery of Witches (TV)
Character: Ysabeau de Clermont (A Discovery of Witches)
The story world and character Based on a series of books by Deborah Harkness that I've fan-girled from the get-go, the series stars Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer, with the remarkably Lindsay Duncan playing the vampire matriarch, Ysabeau de Clermont. The show interleaves historians, rare books, vampires, witches, and more. This is my catnip, people! The premise is that supernatural creatures are among humans, right in plain sight but largely unnoticed, and have been for centuries with Ysabeau amongst the oldest.
Ysabeau de Clermont was old when she made Matthew a vampire (and her son). She's married to Philippe de Clermont, another ancient vampire, who adopted the heroine, Diana Bishop - a witch whose kind Ysabeau hates and hunts until she encounters Diana Bishop, the show's lead character. As Diana becomes integrated into the de Clermont family, the two become close allies but Ysabeau never loses her dangerous edge.
Prompts & ideas: With centuries of life, it would be fascinating fun to see an episode of Ysabeau's past.
Maybe before she met Philippe? Before she was turned? Or we could see the fearless, ruthless Ysabeau de Clermont, helping to organize Sept Tours' construction in the early Middle Ages, presiding over its court in the Renaissance, possible stumbling over some tantalizing and confusing suggestions of a Diana de Clermont after the timewalks of season two? We could see Ysabeau struck by the loss of Philippe, working her vengeance out on the witches she hunted in the decades that followed. Or maybe Ysabeau during the time of the show, fencing verbally with Gerbert, reminiscing fondly with Marcus, meeting the glorious Phoebe?
I could even see an AU - a non-magical Ysabeau, still a terrifying powerbroker at whatever point in history that she emerges. Maybe Ysabeau never became a vampire, but instead manifested great powers of witchcraft, perhaps stopping the creation of the gruesome if dazzling "Book of Life" and thus setting the stage for a very different world of witches, daemons, and vampires? Whatever it is that intrigues you about Ysabeau de Clermont and A Discovery of Witches, have fun exploring!
Enola Holmes (2020)
Characters: Enola Holmes, Viscount "Tewky" Tewksbury
Giddy, adorable, and oh-so-cute, the adventures of Enola Holmes
on screen are on the whole charming with a cast that clearly enjoyed the experience of inhabiting these characters. A lot of smart questioning of the norms of late Victorian society, from the restrictions on women to questions of race and class privilege. Sherlock is clearly not the smartest Holmes but I like that he's smart enough to support Enola and blow smoke in Mycroft's eyes. Enola's young, preternaturally smart, and brave beyond belief. Tewky is loving, caring, and trusts Enola without reservation.
Some story ideas: I would love to see more of Enola and Tewky in London. Maybe he keeps up his flower shop alter ego? They could be pretty free around the city, and that could be fun. I'd love to see Enola intersect with some more of London's diversity and energy in this era. Is she working as an investigator to get someone off of a criminal charge? Does Tewky offer some vital assistance in the case (even if it's just evading Mycroft or the stuffy keepers of his noble dignity)?
In any case, I'd love to see more of their teaming up, using their smarts to tear down the system. I also like how much Tewky admires Enola's whipsmart ways and is comfortable playing to his own strengths without feeling he has to better her. If you came up with a way in your story to also explain away the film's complete catastrophe of his titles (introducing himself as Viscount and then Marquess? Rank thrown out the window, whyyyyyyy?), I'd be thankful. Maybe he uses the viscount title preferentially for some reason you'll explain or in unconscious denial of his father's passing? Maybe he has some deeper objection to the marquessate?
You could even explore an AU. Maybe genderswap or steampunk or they're butting heads in a competitive undergrad program? I'm game if you are!
The Nonesuch - Georgette Heyer
Characters: Ancilla Trent, Waldo Hawkridge
Things to know: Heyer helped to jump-start the whole Regency romance phenomenon and even if her stories have aged a little bit unevenly, I still adore many of them. Heyer had a gift for writing women of immense practicality who also could show great love and care. Ancilla Trent is one of these: twenty-six years and impoverished enough to seek employment as a genteel ladies' companion and governess, tasked with providing polish for the beautiful but bull-headed and selfish young Tiffany. I like that Waldo, the nonesuch of the book's title, a gentleman feted by all, sees Ancilla's worth from early on. While cognizant of Tiffany's charms, he is never really susceptible. Nevertheless, there are some misunderstandings, so it still takes time for the match to be made and their happily-ever-after to result.
Some prompts for your consideration: Obviously, you could have a lot of fun with Ancilla and Waldo's happily ever after, beginning with his establishment of the school for orphans at Broom Hall. Maybe we see more of Ancilla's entrance into polite society on the arm of her new husband? This could be a fun opportunity for some interplay with other Heyer characters or anyone else from Regency history or stories - maybe they honeymoon on Lake Geneva and encounter Mary Shelley in the midst of writing Frankenstein?
The Nonesuch takes place soon after Waterloo, either in 1816 or 1817. 1816 was the year with no summer thanks to a volcanic eruption half the world away, which ruined crops as well as climate, bringing suffering to so many. Sir Waldo clearly sees his property and power not just as privilege but as responsibility: maybe we can see him shouldering more of this with Ancilla's equally thoughtful guidance?
Maybe an AU strikes your fancy - a Regency with magic where Ancilla attempts to tutor Tiffany in the bare minimum of magics and human decency? Or perhaps she runs a cupcake shop with Tiffany as the impossibly demanding regular and Waldo as the new landlord?
Here's to a happy and creative Yuletide writing season with so much joy in reading ahead! X-posted from Dreamwidth. (
comments there.)
Let's begin with my general likes and dislikes First off, know that I'm a fan of fandom and excited to see what you've created in a fandom we both enjoy. Don't worry that I won't like what you've written: I'll love it!
Likes: While I like smut, it isn't a be-all and and end-all. I particularly like gen-fic, whether big plotty events or perfect slice-of-life moments. For sexy-times, I prefer some elements of either het and femslash. Anything that involves women in some integral way. Boyslash in stories that give women equal time is also great.
Smart characters and/or smart-asses are a real weakness. Wordplay and wit are my kryptonite and I enjoy all the crazy allusions or meta references you may want to employ. I'm a sucker for competence porn which includes domestic skills as well as professional work - if you want to write a story about baking cookies, repairing a transmission, eliminating an invading army, or curing a plague, I'll be right there with the characters, soaking it all in.
I equally adore plotty and PWP stories. If you like to launch AUs or delve into meta, I think they are fabulous options. Humour, angst, action: those are also fantastic.
General Dislikes: I'm not keen on gore, horror and dark hurt/comfort, definitely not so much with explicit (or main character) death, torture or sadism. Please, no zombies or a lot of bodily fluids. I also don't like character slams and I'm definitely not here for dissing women in particular or in general.
Overall, I'm delighted that you're in love with fandoms and fanworks the way that I am too. Make yourself at home and all that, k?
The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells)
Characters: Murderbot, Asshole Research Transport
These are incredibly comforting reads even if the stories come wrapped in a science fiction universe filled with evil corporate entities and casual, murderous mayhem. Murderbot is incredibly relatable and there's not a single nominated character I'm not happy to read about, but my favourites are Murderbot and ART: competent, caring, and ruthless when necessary.
A few prompts: We can have a missing scene moment where Murderbot and ART get deeply into their fandoms and snarky debates ensue as they discover they have deeply divided views on a minor character in Sanctuary Moon. Perhaps they discover fanfic/fanworks and you have ART being all enthusiastic, diving right in and participating widely even as Murderbot cautiously pokes at the range of material. Or maybe an epistolary story where Murderbot and ART snark at each other across the light-years while they work to keep their charges from certain doom (or failing their fieldwork exams in ART's case).
I like how Murderbot is so uncomfortable in the world of fragile humanity but nevertheless also finds great comfort in these slowly growing relationships. The alter ego of "Security Consultant Rin" might be fun to resurrect again as Murderbot takes another job away from Preservation. Feel free to have Murderbot and ART engage in some anthropological fieldwork of their own as they work to further understand the strange world of humans. Does Murderbot attend a festival while ART rides shotgun through one of those ever-present drones?
A Discovery of Witches (TV)
Character: Ysabeau de Clermont (A Discovery of Witches)
The story world and character Based on a series of books by Deborah Harkness that I've fan-girled from the get-go, the series stars Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer, with the remarkably Lindsay Duncan playing the vampire matriarch, Ysabeau de Clermont. The show interleaves historians, rare books, vampires, witches, and more. This is my catnip, people! The premise is that supernatural creatures are among humans, right in plain sight but largely unnoticed, and have been for centuries with Ysabeau amongst the oldest.
Ysabeau de Clermont was old when she made Matthew a vampire (and her son). She's married to Philippe de Clermont, another ancient vampire, who adopted the heroine, Diana Bishop - a witch whose kind Ysabeau hates and hunts until she encounters Diana Bishop, the show's lead character. As Diana becomes integrated into the de Clermont family, the two become close allies but Ysabeau never loses her dangerous edge.
Prompts & ideas: With centuries of life, it would be fascinating fun to see an episode of Ysabeau's past.
Maybe before she met Philippe? Before she was turned? Or we could see the fearless, ruthless Ysabeau de Clermont, helping to organize Sept Tours' construction in the early Middle Ages, presiding over its court in the Renaissance, possible stumbling over some tantalizing and confusing suggestions of a Diana de Clermont after the timewalks of season two? We could see Ysabeau struck by the loss of Philippe, working her vengeance out on the witches she hunted in the decades that followed. Or maybe Ysabeau during the time of the show, fencing verbally with Gerbert, reminiscing fondly with Marcus, meeting the glorious Phoebe?
I could even see an AU - a non-magical Ysabeau, still a terrifying powerbroker at whatever point in history that she emerges. Maybe Ysabeau never became a vampire, but instead manifested great powers of witchcraft, perhaps stopping the creation of the gruesome if dazzling "Book of Life" and thus setting the stage for a very different world of witches, daemons, and vampires? Whatever it is that intrigues you about Ysabeau de Clermont and A Discovery of Witches, have fun exploring!
Enola Holmes (2020)
Characters: Enola Holmes, Viscount "Tewky" Tewksbury
Giddy, adorable, and oh-so-cute, the adventures of Enola Holmes
on screen are on the whole charming with a cast that clearly enjoyed the experience of inhabiting these characters. A lot of smart questioning of the norms of late Victorian society, from the restrictions on women to questions of race and class privilege. Sherlock is clearly not the smartest Holmes but I like that he's smart enough to support Enola and blow smoke in Mycroft's eyes. Enola's young, preternaturally smart, and brave beyond belief. Tewky is loving, caring, and trusts Enola without reservation.
Some story ideas: I would love to see more of Enola and Tewky in London. Maybe he keeps up his flower shop alter ego? They could be pretty free around the city, and that could be fun. I'd love to see Enola intersect with some more of London's diversity and energy in this era. Is she working as an investigator to get someone off of a criminal charge? Does Tewky offer some vital assistance in the case (even if it's just evading Mycroft or the stuffy keepers of his noble dignity)?
In any case, I'd love to see more of their teaming up, using their smarts to tear down the system. I also like how much Tewky admires Enola's whipsmart ways and is comfortable playing to his own strengths without feeling he has to better her. If you came up with a way in your story to also explain away the film's complete catastrophe of his titles (introducing himself as Viscount and then Marquess? Rank thrown out the window, whyyyyyyy?), I'd be thankful. Maybe he uses the viscount title preferentially for some reason you'll explain or in unconscious denial of his father's passing? Maybe he has some deeper objection to the marquessate?
You could even explore an AU. Maybe genderswap or steampunk or they're butting heads in a competitive undergrad program? I'm game if you are!
The Nonesuch - Georgette Heyer
Characters: Ancilla Trent, Waldo Hawkridge
Things to know: Heyer helped to jump-start the whole Regency romance phenomenon and even if her stories have aged a little bit unevenly, I still adore many of them. Heyer had a gift for writing women of immense practicality who also could show great love and care. Ancilla Trent is one of these: twenty-six years and impoverished enough to seek employment as a genteel ladies' companion and governess, tasked with providing polish for the beautiful but bull-headed and selfish young Tiffany. I like that Waldo, the nonesuch of the book's title, a gentleman feted by all, sees Ancilla's worth from early on. While cognizant of Tiffany's charms, he is never really susceptible. Nevertheless, there are some misunderstandings, so it still takes time for the match to be made and their happily-ever-after to result.
Some prompts for your consideration: Obviously, you could have a lot of fun with Ancilla and Waldo's happily ever after, beginning with his establishment of the school for orphans at Broom Hall. Maybe we see more of Ancilla's entrance into polite society on the arm of her new husband? This could be a fun opportunity for some interplay with other Heyer characters or anyone else from Regency history or stories - maybe they honeymoon on Lake Geneva and encounter Mary Shelley in the midst of writing Frankenstein?
The Nonesuch takes place soon after Waterloo, either in 1816 or 1817. 1816 was the year with no summer thanks to a volcanic eruption half the world away, which ruined crops as well as climate, bringing suffering to so many. Sir Waldo clearly sees his property and power not just as privilege but as responsibility: maybe we can see him shouldering more of this with Ancilla's equally thoughtful guidance?
Maybe an AU strikes your fancy - a Regency with magic where Ancilla attempts to tutor Tiffany in the bare minimum of magics and human decency? Or perhaps she runs a cupcake shop with Tiffany as the impossibly demanding regular and Waldo as the new landlord?
Here's to a happy and creative Yuletide writing season with so much joy in reading ahead! X-posted from Dreamwidth. (
comments there.)