Dear Yuletide Author 2021
Dear New Yulefriend,
Hi! My name is Carly, thecarlysutra on AO3. I am so glad you are here, because that means you love for at least two things that I love: Yuletide and (at least) one of these fandoms! This is my twelfth time participating in Yuletide, and my excitement has only grown every year, so I am psyched, and I hope you are, too.
DNWs: Let’s get the unpleasantness out of the way first. Please no animal harm/death, body horror, gore, rape, asylums/institutionalization unless it's in canon (Channel Zero), the characters I've requested dying, graphic descriptions of suicide or self-injury, "she was crazy the whole time!" twists. Please nothing about illness, the pandemic, or the current political climate. And I really would prefer a happy story, so please no heavy angst or sad endings.
Okay, that’s over! Now for the happy stuff. I love stories. Stories are my favorite thing. Recently, I pulled my baby book out of storage, and when I was two years old, my mother wrote that my favorite thing in the world was stories, AND IT’S STILL TRUE. I love all kinds of stories, but my favorites tend to be character driven. They have dialogue and small moments that illustrate relationships or grow characters, not just move the plot along. I love small character details. I want to know the song that gets stuck in Zoe Wood's head when she’s bored. I want to know what Ray Levoi dreams about when they're not visions. I want everything. You cannot give me too much.
I love found families, and close relationships both romantic and non. I love all the different kinds of love the Greeks had that are all in Tumblr gifsets now. I love people loving each other and enjoying each other’s company. It’s so great, okay? It’s the best thing.
I love hurt/comfort (and its cousin, sexual healing) and sudden! intimacy tropes like arranged marriage, fake dating, and “there was only one bed!” I love soulmate stuff, especially soulmarks. I love humor and softness and competence and sexiness and playfulness. I love happy endings. I know I said that already, but I really love when everything turns out all right in the end.
Now for my individual prompts.
Thunderheart (1992): Ray Levoi and Walter Crow Horse
I ask for Thunderheart for Yuletide every year, because I have an endless appetite for these characters and their stories. I love them both individually, and I ship them like mad, but you can write their snarky, reluctantly fond friendship from the movie with no romantic stuff, and I’ll still be thrilled. If they’re together, I tend to prefer stories that are a little down the road, not just “what happens after Ray leaves the rez.” Ray’s going to need some time to get his shit together, so give him a few months, y’know? If you want to write about these characters individually instead, that’s okay. I’m super interested in their backstories, especially Ray’s time working deep cover. I would also adore an AU for this fandom. I'd prefer it not be a banal AU like high school or coffee shop, but try your hand at anything else and I will be delighted.
Channel Zero: Butcher's Block (TV): Zoe Woods, Luke Vanczyk, Louise Lispector, Izzy Marcus
This little found family GIVES ME LIFE. I would love love LOVE anything about the new family Zoe, Luke, Louise, and Izzy forged after the Peaches were destroyed. I would love just a normal day with them-or maybd a fancy day, like their first Christmas together! But if you want to throw them some new supernatural curveball to deal with, I am so here for it, because this family knows how to fight together, and they know how to take care of each other. I'm especially interested in how Zoe is adjusting to a normal family dynamic, to psych meds and being the caretaker (of Izzy) for the first time in her life.
Vampire Academy (2014): Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir
I recently rewatched this movie, and remembered how much I love it. I love loyal, brave, shadowkissed Rose and how she loves strong, charming, haunted Lissa. If you're into romance, I do kind of ship them in a polycule that I think looks like this:
... but I would love just as much a story about their friendship and their special, magical bond, or even just a day with Rose at training or with Lissa learning more about Spirit. What I do not want is content that requires knowledge of the books. I read the first of the books, and honestly I like the movie better, and I just really want a story about this version, okay?