Dear Yuletide Writer
Dear Yuletide Author:
First of all, thank you so much for writing a story for me! Any fic with these characters will make me happy, so please just write what seems fun and interesting to you! I saw this phrase in someone’s letter last year, and it perfectly expressed my feelings: If you come to a place where you think you can either write a good story or make me happy, write a good story. ( and if that’s your phrase-thank you!).
If it’s helpful, here are some things about my general preferences:
I like slash, gen and het equally (I tend to read less F/F, but when it's right for the characters I enjoy it; this year, I’ve requested one fandom where it would be absolutely appropriate)-I’ll be as happy with a G story as I will with one that’s NC-17-same goes for anything in between.
H/c is bulletproof for me, especially of the minor-injury/sick!fic/comfort!fic variety. Give character A the flu and have character B look after him/her and I’ll be yours for life.
If you do feel like writing porn, I’m quite partial to kink, if you can make it plausible for the characters. Any kind of sensation play/ pain play is great, including guns and knives,as long as it’s RACK. I have a soft spot for AMTDI and fuck-or-die fic.
If it's something you're interested in, I like fic that explores altered mental states, dissociation and the effects of PTSD.
I love crossovers, so if for some reason we’ve matched on more than one fandom, feel free to mix and match. I don’t really like AUs, unless it’s in the service of a crossover.
Other things: being in dubious battle; unexpected moments of empathy; compassion; connection; courage; honor; competency--but also moments of uncertainty and failure.
Things I don't like: mpreg; watersports; alpha/omega stuff; non-canonical character deaths; infidelity; kid!fic; and fluffy animal!fic.
Also: I love fic exploring spirituality and religious practices of all kinds, including Christianity, but my enjoyment of fic about the cozier cultural aspects of Christmas is pretty limited (which is a roundabout way of saying, no Christmas!fic, please-though if you want to write me some Chanukah fic, especially for canonically Jewish characters, that would be great).
On the theory that one writes what one likes, here's my list of fic on AO3.
Requests, in alphabetical order
Himalayan Mountain Climber RPF
George Mallory, Howard Somervell, Edward “Teddy” Norton, George Finch.
Trying this one again, since canadian_plant came up with a genius way of making it a viable category. I’ve requested members of the 1921, 22, 24 expeditions (and feel free to include Sandy Irvine, too, if you want). I’m fascinated by Mallory, but stories about any combination of people would be great. Of course, I crave Everest expedition fic, of any kind. No need to write about the tragic end in 1924-just any characters, sharing tents, reading poetry to each other, dealing with the weather and other hardships, etc.-all would be awesome! I think what interests me most about Mallory is the way sheer physical grace could be its own kind of heroism--so other people's views of him might be particularly interesting.
If you want to tackle other parts of Mallory's life, that would be fantastic, too! And any story about Finch, the odd man out on the 1922 expedition, would be amazing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Finch_%28chemist%29).
The Honourable Woman
Nessa Stein, Atika Halabi
I was mesmerized by this show, and I’m fascinated by both women, either alone or together; I’d be delighted with a story about Nessa only, Atika only, or about their relationship, whether you see it as primarily romantic/sexual or more adversarial (or both). Feel free to add in any of the other nominated or non-nominated characters from the show, if you like, just focus on the women (Ephra wasn’t nominated, but if you want to include their relationships with him, that would be cool, though certainly not necessary). The intimacy of Nessa and Atika’s time in captivity together, whether sexual or not, with all its hidden layers and surprising revelations really interests me, but if you want to write something about their lives afterwards, that’s good, too. This canon calls out for darker fic, and I’m absolutely fine with explorations of the canonical non-con (and its effects on Nessa) and all the gaslighting/intimate deception. I guess I’m particularly interested in Nessa’s relationship to her body-after rape, after pregnancy-and to her carefully chosen and laid out clothes. The show didn’t have much to say about religion (as opposed to nationalism), but if you want to explore that for either character, it would be cool.
Imperial Radch
I left this request open for all nominated characters because I felt that if you offered to write this difficult universe you should be able to write whatever characters and situation appealed to you. So, really, this is an open request! I’ve read both books, so no need to worry about spoilers. After reading both, I still felt more engaged by the strong relationships of Ancillary Justice--between Breq and Seivarden and between Justice of Toren and Lieutenant Awn-than to those in the later book, but I’m very willing to be convinced. I’d also be delighted with a story about Breq or Seivarden (or Awn) alone, perhaps set before the events of AJ (Justice of Toren , or Seivarden’s descent into addiction). If you really wanted to write id!fic for me, I’d love a story about Breq recognizing Seivarden’s feelings for her, and reciprocating them, but I understand if you feel that would be unlikely or undesireable. I love the “distributed subjectivity” of the books-being able to see things from multiple perspectives through (and of) technology-so if you could work that into a story, that would be cool, too, but no worries if not.
Rivers of London
Thomas Nightingale, Peter Grant, Abdul Haqq Walid, Varvara Sidorovna Tamoina.
Another really open request. Chances are I won’t have read Foxglove Summer before the reveal (it won’t be published in the US until January), though, so no spoilers for that, please. No need to include all the requested characters in your story-a fic focusing on one or two would be lovely, too. What I like best about the books are the descriptions of London’s history and its heterogeneous present. Casefic is always great, but I’m very intrigued by Varvara and her backstory in Russia, so something along those lines would be great. I love crossover fic in this fandom, so if there’s a fandom you know I know that you’d like to cross with this one, go ahead!
Y Gwyll | Hinterland
And yet another open request! I loved the setting of this series, and the sense that so much was going on in the characters’ lives that we knew nothing about. A story with all the characters I’ve requested would be great, but a story about just one or two would be fine, too. If you wanted to write something shippy about Tom and Mared, that would be cool, but not necessary at all. The episodes I liked best were the ones that drew on local legends or Welsh folklore, and I think it would be really interesting to push farther in that direction-folktales or mythology coming to life, or something else supernatural showing up (I wouldn’t even mind if one of the main characters turned out to have supernatural qualities of some kind. Along those lines, a crossover with the Rivers of London characters would be really fun. NB: I don’t know that much about Wales or Welsh, so don’t worry about pinpoint accuracy for my sake.
First of all, thank you so much for writing a story for me! Any fic with these characters will make me happy, so please just write what seems fun and interesting to you! I saw this phrase in someone’s letter last year, and it perfectly expressed my feelings: If you come to a place where you think you can either write a good story or make me happy, write a good story. ( and if that’s your phrase-thank you!).
If it’s helpful, here are some things about my general preferences:
I like slash, gen and het equally (I tend to read less F/F, but when it's right for the characters I enjoy it; this year, I’ve requested one fandom where it would be absolutely appropriate)-I’ll be as happy with a G story as I will with one that’s NC-17-same goes for anything in between.
H/c is bulletproof for me, especially of the minor-injury/sick!fic/comfort!fic variety. Give character A the flu and have character B look after him/her and I’ll be yours for life.
If you do feel like writing porn, I’m quite partial to kink, if you can make it plausible for the characters. Any kind of sensation play/ pain play is great, including guns and knives,as long as it’s RACK. I have a soft spot for AMTDI and fuck-or-die fic.
If it's something you're interested in, I like fic that explores altered mental states, dissociation and the effects of PTSD.
I love crossovers, so if for some reason we’ve matched on more than one fandom, feel free to mix and match. I don’t really like AUs, unless it’s in the service of a crossover.
Other things: being in dubious battle; unexpected moments of empathy; compassion; connection; courage; honor; competency--but also moments of uncertainty and failure.
Things I don't like: mpreg; watersports; alpha/omega stuff; non-canonical character deaths; infidelity; kid!fic; and fluffy animal!fic.
Also: I love fic exploring spirituality and religious practices of all kinds, including Christianity, but my enjoyment of fic about the cozier cultural aspects of Christmas is pretty limited (which is a roundabout way of saying, no Christmas!fic, please-though if you want to write me some Chanukah fic, especially for canonically Jewish characters, that would be great).
On the theory that one writes what one likes, here's my list of fic on AO3.
Requests, in alphabetical order
Himalayan Mountain Climber RPF
George Mallory, Howard Somervell, Edward “Teddy” Norton, George Finch.
Trying this one again, since canadian_plant came up with a genius way of making it a viable category. I’ve requested members of the 1921, 22, 24 expeditions (and feel free to include Sandy Irvine, too, if you want). I’m fascinated by Mallory, but stories about any combination of people would be great. Of course, I crave Everest expedition fic, of any kind. No need to write about the tragic end in 1924-just any characters, sharing tents, reading poetry to each other, dealing with the weather and other hardships, etc.-all would be awesome! I think what interests me most about Mallory is the way sheer physical grace could be its own kind of heroism--so other people's views of him might be particularly interesting.
If you want to tackle other parts of Mallory's life, that would be fantastic, too! And any story about Finch, the odd man out on the 1922 expedition, would be amazing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Finch_%28chemist%29).
The Honourable Woman
Nessa Stein, Atika Halabi
I was mesmerized by this show, and I’m fascinated by both women, either alone or together; I’d be delighted with a story about Nessa only, Atika only, or about their relationship, whether you see it as primarily romantic/sexual or more adversarial (or both). Feel free to add in any of the other nominated or non-nominated characters from the show, if you like, just focus on the women (Ephra wasn’t nominated, but if you want to include their relationships with him, that would be cool, though certainly not necessary). The intimacy of Nessa and Atika’s time in captivity together, whether sexual or not, with all its hidden layers and surprising revelations really interests me, but if you want to write something about their lives afterwards, that’s good, too. This canon calls out for darker fic, and I’m absolutely fine with explorations of the canonical non-con (and its effects on Nessa) and all the gaslighting/intimate deception. I guess I’m particularly interested in Nessa’s relationship to her body-after rape, after pregnancy-and to her carefully chosen and laid out clothes. The show didn’t have much to say about religion (as opposed to nationalism), but if you want to explore that for either character, it would be cool.
Imperial Radch
I left this request open for all nominated characters because I felt that if you offered to write this difficult universe you should be able to write whatever characters and situation appealed to you. So, really, this is an open request! I’ve read both books, so no need to worry about spoilers. After reading both, I still felt more engaged by the strong relationships of Ancillary Justice--between Breq and Seivarden and between Justice of Toren and Lieutenant Awn-than to those in the later book, but I’m very willing to be convinced. I’d also be delighted with a story about Breq or Seivarden (or Awn) alone, perhaps set before the events of AJ (Justice of Toren , or Seivarden’s descent into addiction). If you really wanted to write id!fic for me, I’d love a story about Breq recognizing Seivarden’s feelings for her, and reciprocating them, but I understand if you feel that would be unlikely or undesireable. I love the “distributed subjectivity” of the books-being able to see things from multiple perspectives through (and of) technology-so if you could work that into a story, that would be cool, too, but no worries if not.
Rivers of London
Thomas Nightingale, Peter Grant, Abdul Haqq Walid, Varvara Sidorovna Tamoina.
Another really open request. Chances are I won’t have read Foxglove Summer before the reveal (it won’t be published in the US until January), though, so no spoilers for that, please. No need to include all the requested characters in your story-a fic focusing on one or two would be lovely, too. What I like best about the books are the descriptions of London’s history and its heterogeneous present. Casefic is always great, but I’m very intrigued by Varvara and her backstory in Russia, so something along those lines would be great. I love crossover fic in this fandom, so if there’s a fandom you know I know that you’d like to cross with this one, go ahead!
Y Gwyll | Hinterland
And yet another open request! I loved the setting of this series, and the sense that so much was going on in the characters’ lives that we knew nothing about. A story with all the characters I’ve requested would be great, but a story about just one or two would be fine, too. If you wanted to write something shippy about Tom and Mared, that would be cool, but not necessary at all. The episodes I liked best were the ones that drew on local legends or Welsh folklore, and I think it would be really interesting to push farther in that direction-folktales or mythology coming to life, or something else supernatural showing up (I wouldn’t even mind if one of the main characters turned out to have supernatural qualities of some kind. Along those lines, a crossover with the Rivers of London characters would be really fun. NB: I don’t know that much about Wales or Welsh, so don’t worry about pinpoint accuracy for my sake.