dear yuletide writer
Dear Yuletide Writer:
Hello! Thank you for the story you're about to write me. I'm extremely fond of all of the things that I've asked for and if you've offered them, you probably are too and that makes me very happy, because I like when people like the things that I like.
Before getting to the fandoms themselves, I always think it's good to cover general likes and dislikes so that no one gets any terrible surprises later on.
Things I like include: friends to lovers, porn, reluctant allies, hurt/comfort, emotional codependence, baby/kid fic, character development, banter, road trips, "oh no, [they're] hot," fake dating, casual touching, all touching, intimacy of all kinds. There are probably more, but that is a relatively representative list.
Things I don't like include: non-con, character bashing. That's pretty much it. I don't ask for characters I don't like and if you make it really obvious you don't care for them, I'm probably not going to like whatever else it is you write.
Now, as for the fandoms themselves, I tried to give at least a couple sentences on each of them on my sign up. But, uh, I have more to say about almost all of them. And explanatory quotes. Or gifs. Or just me rambling, there's going to be a lot of that. I hope that it's helpful.
Request #1
Fandom: The Cranes Dance by Meg Howrey
Character(s): Kate Crane, Marius Lytton
Request: ILLICIT AFFAIR. I want them to have an illicit affair in Amsterdam while setting the ballet and then maybe have one after and forever, I don't know. But really. The illicit affair is what I want. For more, please see my letter.
For reference, in case you're not familiar but my ILLICIT AFFAIR request caught your interest, The Cranes Dance is a book about ballet. It is also a book about sisters and mental health and what comes after you're done doing the thing you've always done and a lot of other stuff. Here's a link to the description on Goodreads. I really, really liked this book.
The illicit affair thing comes from near the end of the book, when Marius (the artistic director of the company) wants Kate to come have a drink with him right after she performs in a role that was supposed to be her sister's. Here is a snippet:
"You have a job for me?"
"I'm setting Dream in Amsterdam," Marius said. "This summer. July. I want you to come with me."
I selected a piece of cheese. Marius watched me eat it.
"Why?" I asked, finally.
""To have an illicit affair with me," he said. I choked on the last swallow of cheese.
Throughout the book, there are little snippets of them getting each other in ways that the other characters don't quite. Something in them is very much the same, and it sort of culminates in this scene when Marius offers her a job, tells her he's not promoting her, but that he eventually wants her on the artistic staff because he needs someone to talk to.
IT'S JUST REALLY GREAT.
And really, I meant what I said in my sign up. Maybe it's just Amsterdam. Maybe it's an ongoing thing they have to hide once they're back in New York because she shouldn't be sleeping with the director of the company. Maybe it's Amsterdam and then they put it aside until she's done dancing. I don't know. You can do what you want, I really just want them fulfilling the promise of the one thing the book didn't give me.
Request #2
Fandom: The Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Character(s): Blue Sargent, Richard Gansey III, Maura Sargent, Grey Man | Dean Allen
Request: What I would really like more than anything else is a comedy. Wrong for the series, wrong for the post-BLLB world, maybe, but still, that's what I want. Maybe ESPECIALLY post BLLB, because tell me that the idea of Blue bringing home the boy she can't kiss to her two newfound dads and suddenly very contrite mother isn't the makings of high comedy. For more, please see my letter.
OKAY, SO, I REALIZE THIS IS A RIDICULOUS REQUEST.
But being perfectly honest (and this may turn you off my request more, as if the character set I asked for didn't already), I do not give a shit about the plot of these books. I don't even always care about all of the characters in them. (See also, Ronan Lynch.) However, Blue and her eccentric family and Gansey and his, well, Gansey-ness grabbed me hard. Plus, DOOMED KISSING. I am pretty much always here for doomed kissing. And the Maura/Grey Man stuff was one of the better subplots of The Dream Thieves for me.
So, along comes BLLB and Blue and the Grey Man are bonding over missing Maura and Blue and Gansey are almost making out in cars and fighting over things because Blue needs to be fighting with him, and it's all just a lot.
My way of coping with a lot? Comedy.
And really, tell me that the idea of a hit man asking Gansey's intentions towards his not-step-daughter isn't hilarious. I won't believe you.
So, wacky family comedy please. Or failing that, if you just want to write me straight Blue/Gansey (five times Blue and Gansey made out without actually kissing, etc) or Blue and Maura or Maura/Grey Man, I'm flexible. I just really like these characters and would like more of them in nearly any setting.
Request #3
Fandom: Psy-Changeling by Nalini Singh
Character(s): Nadiya "Naya" Hunter, Julian Ryder
Request: Yes, these characters are currently children. That has not in any way prevented me from thinking that they are going to mate when they are older. And that's what I want. For more, please see my letter.
SO.
Assuming you are not one of the people I have not already discussed the potential of these children growing up into lovers with, this all started from one of Nalini Singh's newsletters. She regularly includes short stories or scenes that are more or less the best kind of gross domestic fluff and one of them was called "Naya's Most Important Visitors" and was about Julian and Roman Ryder meeting Naya Hunter for the first time. These are the two relevant quotes:
"I still can't believe she's ours."
Chin propped on her shoulder and muscular arms wrapped around her, Lucas said, "What are you talking about? She belongs to Rome and Jules. They were very clear on that."
Giggling, Roman said, "She smells all soft."
"Is that going to be her real smell?" Julian didn't sound too enthused about the baby scent that made every maternal instinct in Sascha's belly sigh in wonder.
She glanced at Lucas for help. Her panther came over to grab a laughing Roman in a growling hug before setting him down on the bed again. "No, that's her scent for now. She'll develop a deeper scent as she grows."
"Oh good," Julian sighed. "'Cause she really smells like a girl right now."
SHE SMELLS LIKE A GIRL, SO OF COURSE THEY'RE GOING TO FALL IN LOVE. I've shipped for less, okay? And this idea has taken root in my brain and will not go away and if she ever does write second gen stuff and this isn't one of them, I am going to weep.
As for what I'm looking for in a fic, there are a lot of potential options. Childhood friends to lovers. They see each other after he goes off roaming and she goes off to New York to study medicine and it's all "CRAP, THEY'RE HOT." Roman having to play intermediary. Sneaking around from her alpha father. Fake dating turned more. A romantic comedy of errors. Whatever. I'm not usually one to want things that are super tropey, but this is the exception to the rule. Let your trope flag fly free. The tropier the better.
Request #4
Fandom: Outlander RPF
Character(s): Catriona Balfe, Sam Heughan
Request: Secretly doing it fic, please. Or not so secretly doing it fic. Whatever. I am not picky. For more, please see my letter.
The Outlander press tour did very bad things to me. VERY BAD THINGS.
If you would like to see gifs of Sam and Cait being cute as fuck and invading each other's personal space all over the place, you can look here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here.
I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry.
Request #5
Fandom: Bloodlines - Richelle Mead
Character(s): Sydney Sage, Adrian Ivashkov
Request: HAPPINESS. Maybe that's Sydney taking her vampire husband home to mom. Maybe that's them getting to go to Rome. Or Sydney in college. Or having dhampir babies. Whatever. I just want a break from the oppressive angst of canon BECAUSE THEY'RE MARRIED. For more, please see my letter.
THEY GOT MARRIED.
I mean, yes, things are still grim. Adrian's hearing voices and the Alchemists still want to brainwash Sydney and Jill is missing, BUT THEY GOT MARRIED.
And yes, you could write me a story about any of the lingering plot threads that are going to be wrapped up in the last book of the series, and I'd almost certainly like it, but what I really want more than anything is a story about what happens after, when they get to be disgustingly happy and married and voice and fear free. I listed some of my ideas in the original request, but if you've got others, I am more than open to them.
Regarding other characters, I haven't read the Vampire Academy books yet so I'm sort of whatever about all of those carryover characters. Update: I have read the Vampire Academy books, and with the exception of Eddie, I'd more or less prefer you leave them out. You could maybe work Dimitri or Christian in and I wouldn't hate it, but Rose and Lissa? No thank you. I love Jill and Eddie and Trey from the primary Bloodlines cast. I do not care for Angelique. If you want to do a reconciliation with Zoe, that's fine, but I don't need it. And her dad can go jump off a cliff.
And if you need any other inspiration, well, this has to be their song. (Don't judge me.)
Click to viewRequest #6
Fandom: Cainsville - Kelley Armstrong
Character(s): Olivia Taylor-Jones, Gabriel Walsh, Ricky Gallagher
Request: Poly? Maybe? I really don't know exactly what I want here, but I am FASCINATED by the dynamics that the three of them share, maybe especially the reincarnated angle that seems to be being set up. For more, please see my letter.
After reading the first one last year, there's no way I make this request. But I read book two immediately after it came out and it grabbed me HARD. I like what it seems obvious Armstrong is setting up as the ultimate ship a lot and I'd be happy to read about that, but what really grabbed me in this one was the triumvirate of Ricky, Olivia, and Gabriel. There's obviously some sort of reincarnation angle being worked by the elders (though how Gabriel works into that given that he's a hobgoblin, idk), but even just in the present, both men are giving Olivia things that she needs, just in very different ways.
If you want to do something gen with the three of them, that's cool. If you can see a way to do something poly, given that both dudes are extremely possessive, that would be excellent. If you want to write something with just two of them, I'm fine with that too, though if you're going that route, I'd prefer straight Gabriel/Olivia to Ricky/Olivia.
*
And that's it! Thank you again for writing for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you've written me come December 25th.
Love,
Me