Dear Yuletide Writer
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Is it December 25th yet? I'm so excited to read what you write for me! So my actual requests were on the short side and if that's enough inspiration for you, AWESOME! Go write! If you're like me and do better with more ideas to bounce of, well, this is the letter for you. I've written lots and lots!
Some general stuff, first. I like canon-compliant fic. If you go AU, then I like the characters to be their canon selves, with canon relationships. This goes for content, too. Sex for my Psy-Changeling request? Totally okay with that! Sex in Betsy-Tacy or Anne of Green Gables? Would make me uncomfortable. (I'd say Chime is somewhere in between. Use your judgement.)
I really like missing scene fic. Along those lines, I like fic that shows stuff that wouldn't really fit in the source material, even though it probably happened. For example, I re-watched a little bit of Doctor Who season two and I love the implication that Rose and the Doctor have plenty of adventures that go relatively smoothly. It makes sense that we wouldn't see that on the show, but I love fic that shows those kind of quieter moments. (. . . obviously not for Doctor Who specifically, as that is very much not eligible! :D)
I like happy endings! And I like stories that are hopeful in a realistic way.
I'm fascinated by romantic relationships. This doesn't mean you have to write something super-shippy for me (though I'm very open to it!), but I like observing anything about that kind of bond between people. Most of my requests are along those lines, but I am okay with gen, too!
For all of these fandoms, please feel free to include any other characters within the fandom.
This is my fourth year doing Yuletide and you can read my previous letters under this tag. Most of my journal is locked, but you can find a little more about my past Yuletide experiences under this tag. You can read my fic at Archive of Our Own and both my Twitter and GoodReads are public.
And now on to more about my requests! Optional details are optional, so feel to disregard as needed. I've added a little about each canon, in case you want to write something other than what we matched on or if you're just curious.
Chime - Franny Billingsley
Briony Larkin, Eldric Clayborne
I loved how this book ended and I wouldn't change it . . . and yet I long to see a glimpse of Briony and Eldric's happy ending.
Right! So I put off reading this book for a long time because I'd seen all this praise for it and I just wasn't sure I'd like it. It's a hard book to describe and I get weary of hype. But since I'm requesting it for Yuletide, you have probably figured out that I eventually read it and fell in love. And I immediately wanted to request it for Yuletide.
I love Briony. I love how hard she tries and how her self-perception is so different from how I, the reader, saw her, even though the book is in her point of view. And I love that, at the end, she works to change her self-perception. That's something I really take heart in.
As I said in the request, I love how the book ended. It's the kind of ending I love, that leaves me wanting more without feeling unfinished. So, please, give me that "more." I want to see Briony and Eldric in the future. How far in the future is up to you. Immediately after, years and years in the future, somewhere in between . . . I am open to it all!
And please don't feel the need to focus only on these two and their relationship! I'd love to see other characters. I love Briony and Rose's relationship, the way Briony loves Rose SO MUCH, even though she won't admit it. I love how their father tried so hard to protect them and how it created so much misunderstanding between them.
If you want to explore Briony as Chime Child, that would be awesome, too! Basically, I just want MORE.
Canon: This is one book and a fairly quick read. It's received a lot of awards and such, so should be fairly widely available.
Betsy-Tacy Series - Maud Hart Lovelace
Any
I requested "any" and I mean it! Just tell me a story. If you offered a certain characters or characters, awesome! Tell me about them. Something you've been longing to write in this fandom? Write it! (More specific ideas in my Yuletide letter.)
Betsy-Tacy! I grew up reading these over and over. I love that we get to follow Betsy from childhood into marriage. I love all the romances and all the friendships. And I love what a complete world this is, which is what led to my open request. I can think of so many more stories I want in this fandom.
Now! I am the kind of writer who needs some ideas to feed off of, so here are some of the things I'd like to read. I believe "any" means "any of the nominated characters," so I'm going to start with those, but I'm definitely open to hearing about non-nominated characters. I've listed some (okay, a lot) of ideas for characters, but please feel free to ignore, as needed. Just tell me a story!
Tacy! Being a shy girl, I always related to Tacy. Although I love Tacy and Betsy's friendship, I'd also love a glimpse of Tacy outside of Betsy. Maybe with her family or some of her other friends? Maybe something about her music? Harry wasn't nominated, but, if you want to write it, I'd love to hear about them! I asked for them last year and I'm still interested in any of the ideas listed there. So much of their relationship happens off screen and I'd love to see some of it.
Tib! So I was in some friendships of three growing up and I was wildly jealous whenever it seemed like the other two were closer to each other than to me. Tib never seemed that way. Why? Or was she? I'd love to see that explored. I'm also really interested in adult Tib. She was so independent for the time period. Did she ever face criticism for that? And Betsy and Tacy worked so hard to matchmake Tib in the last book, but was that something Tib thought much about?
Joe! I'd love to see some of the books from his point-of-view! How did he view all of his and Betsy's missed chances? And what was it like for him when they finally connected? I love the description of their reunion in Betsy and Joe, that as close as they were before, their relationship was something more now. Or maybe some of Betsy and the Great World from his perspective? What was he thinking about Betsy though all this time? When he received her letter?
Betsy! Future-fic would be awesome! She has to have Bettina, right? Or maybe something about her writing? Does she write that novel? I'd also like to hear about the time between Betsy-Joe and Betsy and the Great World.
Winona/Denny! Recently, I've become pretty interested in them because I think they make so much sense and yet we don't get any of their romance. We just find out they're together and that's it. Anything about them would be great!
Katie/Leo! Another relationship where we don't know much except for that they're together. At some point in the book, we just start hearing Leo's name always mentioned with Katie's and this fascinates me.
Katie and Julia as kids! I'm an older sister, so I must admit to a bit of sympathy with them and their battles with their younger sisters. I'd love to see something of their childhood. (Whether or not it includes the younger sisters.)
Tacy's other siblings! She has so many and we don't even know all of their names! One of their stories would be great.
Bonnie! Did she marry a minister in the end? Maybe, after all that dreaming and preparing for marriage, she ended up never getting married or getting married late in life.
Margaret! I could always relate a little to her. How she was less social than her sisters and not as good at sharing her emotions. I'd like to hear more about her. I would also be very open to a story about her and Tony. Their relationship fascinates me and I'd be very into hearing more about it (romance more than okay with me!).
Mr. and Mrs. Ray! We get to hear their engagement story, but how about more about their past? Or the engagement story more fully written out! Or their point of view during the books or maybe after the books.
Vassar! I love college stories and the glimpses we get of Carney's college life are so interesting. I'd love to hear more about that. Of her and her friends' adventures or maybe Sam visiting her there!
Okay, so hopefully I haven't overwhelmed you with all these ideas. Please don't feel limited by them. If you signed up for Betsy-Tacy, hoping to write a specific story, please write that! If you have another idea in general, please write that.
Canon: So this series is 10 books long, plus three spin offs. That's a lot, but they're pretty fast reads. You can find a list of the books at wikipedia.
Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery
Jerry Meredith, Nan Blythe
Really, anything about their relationship! I just want to know about it.
So I've wanted to ask for Jerry/Nan or Jem/Faith for a while now and I'm finally taking the plunge. I decided to go with Jerry/Nan, since we hear more about Jem/Faith.
I love this bit in Rilla of Ingleside, talking about Rainbow Valley: Jerry and Nan went there to pursue uninterruptedly the ceaseless wrangles and arguments on profound subjects that seemed to be their preferred method of sweethearting. Because YES. That is an AWESOME method of sweethearting! So, I'd be very into reading about one of those arguments.
Or maybe something pre-ship, when they're first starting to notice each other? Or first getting together? I'd also be interested in reading something set during the war. What's it like for Nan to be at college while Jerry's at war? Or something set after the war! What's their reunion like? What's their life together like?
Please feel free to include any other characters you want! I love them all.
Canon: The Anne of Green Gables series is eight books long (nine, if you count the recently published The Blythes are Quoted), but Nan is only in the last three and Jerry in the last two. The little we know about their relationship is in the last book, Rilla of Ingleside. The other two the characters appear in are Anne of Ingleside (Nan only) and Rainbow Valley. (You also find out a little about their future in The Blythes are Quoted, but feel free to ignore that book. Or not ignore it! I'm cool either way.) You can find a list of the books here.
Psy-Changelings - Nalini Singh
Anthony Kyriakus, Nikita Duncan
As I went through this series, I started wondering what it would be like if two Psy in the Net fell in love. Then I started seeing (or, at least, wishing for) something between Anthony and Nikita specifically.
I love romance, but what really makes me love this series is the worldbuilding and larger plot. The moment I really fell was the end of Visions of Heat when Anthony tells Faith everything that's going on. As for Nikita, I always felt like there must be more to her and I'm so glad we've started seeing some of that.
And now these two are working together. And, sometimes, it seems like they really do have a connection outside of what's necessary. Certainly, they have something in common because of their daughters.
So I guess this request is kind of vague, huh? If you want to show me an established relationship, that would be awesome! Or maybe something about them talking around the fact that they can't have a relationship within the Net? Maybe talking about their daughters?
Canon: This series is eleven books and counting. You can find a list of the books here. Nikita and Anthony are minor characters who appear throughout the story. The first book, Slave to Sensation tells Nikita's daughter's story and the next book, Visions of Heat is Anthony's daughter's story.
In the end, my requests basically boil down to, "Tell me more!", so anything you write will be awesome!
Thank you,
katayla
Is it December 25th yet? I'm so excited to read what you write for me! So my actual requests were on the short side and if that's enough inspiration for you, AWESOME! Go write! If you're like me and do better with more ideas to bounce of, well, this is the letter for you. I've written lots and lots!
Some general stuff, first. I like canon-compliant fic. If you go AU, then I like the characters to be their canon selves, with canon relationships. This goes for content, too. Sex for my Psy-Changeling request? Totally okay with that! Sex in Betsy-Tacy or Anne of Green Gables? Would make me uncomfortable. (I'd say Chime is somewhere in between. Use your judgement.)
I really like missing scene fic. Along those lines, I like fic that shows stuff that wouldn't really fit in the source material, even though it probably happened. For example, I re-watched a little bit of Doctor Who season two and I love the implication that Rose and the Doctor have plenty of adventures that go relatively smoothly. It makes sense that we wouldn't see that on the show, but I love fic that shows those kind of quieter moments. (. . . obviously not for Doctor Who specifically, as that is very much not eligible! :D)
I like happy endings! And I like stories that are hopeful in a realistic way.
I'm fascinated by romantic relationships. This doesn't mean you have to write something super-shippy for me (though I'm very open to it!), but I like observing anything about that kind of bond between people. Most of my requests are along those lines, but I am okay with gen, too!
For all of these fandoms, please feel free to include any other characters within the fandom.
This is my fourth year doing Yuletide and you can read my previous letters under this tag. Most of my journal is locked, but you can find a little more about my past Yuletide experiences under this tag. You can read my fic at Archive of Our Own and both my Twitter and GoodReads are public.
And now on to more about my requests! Optional details are optional, so feel to disregard as needed. I've added a little about each canon, in case you want to write something other than what we matched on or if you're just curious.
Chime - Franny Billingsley
Briony Larkin, Eldric Clayborne
I loved how this book ended and I wouldn't change it . . . and yet I long to see a glimpse of Briony and Eldric's happy ending.
Right! So I put off reading this book for a long time because I'd seen all this praise for it and I just wasn't sure I'd like it. It's a hard book to describe and I get weary of hype. But since I'm requesting it for Yuletide, you have probably figured out that I eventually read it and fell in love. And I immediately wanted to request it for Yuletide.
I love Briony. I love how hard she tries and how her self-perception is so different from how I, the reader, saw her, even though the book is in her point of view. And I love that, at the end, she works to change her self-perception. That's something I really take heart in.
As I said in the request, I love how the book ended. It's the kind of ending I love, that leaves me wanting more without feeling unfinished. So, please, give me that "more." I want to see Briony and Eldric in the future. How far in the future is up to you. Immediately after, years and years in the future, somewhere in between . . . I am open to it all!
And please don't feel the need to focus only on these two and their relationship! I'd love to see other characters. I love Briony and Rose's relationship, the way Briony loves Rose SO MUCH, even though she won't admit it. I love how their father tried so hard to protect them and how it created so much misunderstanding between them.
If you want to explore Briony as Chime Child, that would be awesome, too! Basically, I just want MORE.
Canon: This is one book and a fairly quick read. It's received a lot of awards and such, so should be fairly widely available.
Betsy-Tacy Series - Maud Hart Lovelace
Any
I requested "any" and I mean it! Just tell me a story. If you offered a certain characters or characters, awesome! Tell me about them. Something you've been longing to write in this fandom? Write it! (More specific ideas in my Yuletide letter.)
Betsy-Tacy! I grew up reading these over and over. I love that we get to follow Betsy from childhood into marriage. I love all the romances and all the friendships. And I love what a complete world this is, which is what led to my open request. I can think of so many more stories I want in this fandom.
Now! I am the kind of writer who needs some ideas to feed off of, so here are some of the things I'd like to read. I believe "any" means "any of the nominated characters," so I'm going to start with those, but I'm definitely open to hearing about non-nominated characters. I've listed some (okay, a lot) of ideas for characters, but please feel free to ignore, as needed. Just tell me a story!
Tacy! Being a shy girl, I always related to Tacy. Although I love Tacy and Betsy's friendship, I'd also love a glimpse of Tacy outside of Betsy. Maybe with her family or some of her other friends? Maybe something about her music? Harry wasn't nominated, but, if you want to write it, I'd love to hear about them! I asked for them last year and I'm still interested in any of the ideas listed there. So much of their relationship happens off screen and I'd love to see some of it.
Tib! So I was in some friendships of three growing up and I was wildly jealous whenever it seemed like the other two were closer to each other than to me. Tib never seemed that way. Why? Or was she? I'd love to see that explored. I'm also really interested in adult Tib. She was so independent for the time period. Did she ever face criticism for that? And Betsy and Tacy worked so hard to matchmake Tib in the last book, but was that something Tib thought much about?
Joe! I'd love to see some of the books from his point-of-view! How did he view all of his and Betsy's missed chances? And what was it like for him when they finally connected? I love the description of their reunion in Betsy and Joe, that as close as they were before, their relationship was something more now. Or maybe some of Betsy and the Great World from his perspective? What was he thinking about Betsy though all this time? When he received her letter?
Betsy! Future-fic would be awesome! She has to have Bettina, right? Or maybe something about her writing? Does she write that novel? I'd also like to hear about the time between Betsy-Joe and Betsy and the Great World.
Winona/Denny! Recently, I've become pretty interested in them because I think they make so much sense and yet we don't get any of their romance. We just find out they're together and that's it. Anything about them would be great!
Katie/Leo! Another relationship where we don't know much except for that they're together. At some point in the book, we just start hearing Leo's name always mentioned with Katie's and this fascinates me.
Katie and Julia as kids! I'm an older sister, so I must admit to a bit of sympathy with them and their battles with their younger sisters. I'd love to see something of their childhood. (Whether or not it includes the younger sisters.)
Tacy's other siblings! She has so many and we don't even know all of their names! One of their stories would be great.
Bonnie! Did she marry a minister in the end? Maybe, after all that dreaming and preparing for marriage, she ended up never getting married or getting married late in life.
Margaret! I could always relate a little to her. How she was less social than her sisters and not as good at sharing her emotions. I'd like to hear more about her. I would also be very open to a story about her and Tony. Their relationship fascinates me and I'd be very into hearing more about it (romance more than okay with me!).
Mr. and Mrs. Ray! We get to hear their engagement story, but how about more about their past? Or the engagement story more fully written out! Or their point of view during the books or maybe after the books.
Vassar! I love college stories and the glimpses we get of Carney's college life are so interesting. I'd love to hear more about that. Of her and her friends' adventures or maybe Sam visiting her there!
Okay, so hopefully I haven't overwhelmed you with all these ideas. Please don't feel limited by them. If you signed up for Betsy-Tacy, hoping to write a specific story, please write that! If you have another idea in general, please write that.
Canon: So this series is 10 books long, plus three spin offs. That's a lot, but they're pretty fast reads. You can find a list of the books at wikipedia.
Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery
Jerry Meredith, Nan Blythe
Really, anything about their relationship! I just want to know about it.
So I've wanted to ask for Jerry/Nan or Jem/Faith for a while now and I'm finally taking the plunge. I decided to go with Jerry/Nan, since we hear more about Jem/Faith.
I love this bit in Rilla of Ingleside, talking about Rainbow Valley: Jerry and Nan went there to pursue uninterruptedly the ceaseless wrangles and arguments on profound subjects that seemed to be their preferred method of sweethearting. Because YES. That is an AWESOME method of sweethearting! So, I'd be very into reading about one of those arguments.
Or maybe something pre-ship, when they're first starting to notice each other? Or first getting together? I'd also be interested in reading something set during the war. What's it like for Nan to be at college while Jerry's at war? Or something set after the war! What's their reunion like? What's their life together like?
Please feel free to include any other characters you want! I love them all.
Canon: The Anne of Green Gables series is eight books long (nine, if you count the recently published The Blythes are Quoted), but Nan is only in the last three and Jerry in the last two. The little we know about their relationship is in the last book, Rilla of Ingleside. The other two the characters appear in are Anne of Ingleside (Nan only) and Rainbow Valley. (You also find out a little about their future in The Blythes are Quoted, but feel free to ignore that book. Or not ignore it! I'm cool either way.) You can find a list of the books here.
Psy-Changelings - Nalini Singh
Anthony Kyriakus, Nikita Duncan
As I went through this series, I started wondering what it would be like if two Psy in the Net fell in love. Then I started seeing (or, at least, wishing for) something between Anthony and Nikita specifically.
I love romance, but what really makes me love this series is the worldbuilding and larger plot. The moment I really fell was the end of Visions of Heat when Anthony tells Faith everything that's going on. As for Nikita, I always felt like there must be more to her and I'm so glad we've started seeing some of that.
And now these two are working together. And, sometimes, it seems like they really do have a connection outside of what's necessary. Certainly, they have something in common because of their daughters.
So I guess this request is kind of vague, huh? If you want to show me an established relationship, that would be awesome! Or maybe something about them talking around the fact that they can't have a relationship within the Net? Maybe talking about their daughters?
Canon: This series is eleven books and counting. You can find a list of the books here. Nikita and Anthony are minor characters who appear throughout the story. The first book, Slave to Sensation tells Nikita's daughter's story and the next book, Visions of Heat is Anthony's daughter's story.
In the end, my requests basically boil down to, "Tell me more!", so anything you write will be awesome!
Thank you,
katayla