Dear Yuletide Writer!
Writer, I have to tell you; Yuletide is my favorite time of year. Like a good friend of mine said, you get to open so many things; opening your assignment, opening pinch-hit e-mails (for those of us who do that), opening your story when you get it, and then the New Year Reveal! It's it fantastic? I hope you're having as much fun as I am! Thank you so much for taking part and for taking the extra time to read this letter.
I am the type of writer who prefers highly detailed prompts and lots of info, so that's what I've tried to give here. If you're not, remember that optional details are optional, and feel free to ignore this entire post! The best thing you could possibly give me is a good story, and those come from inspiration and joy. So go forth, and enjoy!
Stuff I like: Happy endings, drawn-out, romantic hurt that ends in massive comfort, plot; lots of delicious plot with little clever details and interesting twists, and humor. I adore twist-in-the-tail endings, and nothing thrills me more when reading a book or watching a film than finding that the author/film-maker has managed to trick me! I believe humor is a very important part of any story, regardless of genre. I like things that are funny or even silly while still being realistic and internally consistent. Intelligence is sexy. Sex is sexy, and welcome! Differences are awesome. Robots are cool, but so are people, in general.
Stuff I DON'T like: I find torture, particularly disfiguring, or deeply psychological torture triggering - none of that, please. While I am fine with most kink, I sometimes have issues with explicit/extreme power exchange, so I'd prefer it if you'd go lightly on that.
In general: I enjoy reading about graphic sex, and very few things about it squicks me (except bodily fluids that aren't sexual fluids - none of that, please). Beyond that caveat and the one above, I'm OK with most any type of sex, kink or preference. I'm easy. Don't be afraid to include stuff I haven't specifically mentioned here, or in my request. Yuletide stories are a gift, and I accept them joyfully! :D
Freyaverse series - Charles Stross
Just a few pages into the first Freyaverse novel, I knew I wanted to request it for Yuletide. And I did, and I've kept on doing it, because they're just that good. I suppose what I like so much about the novels and the universe is the writing style; the humor and the tight, clever plotting; the sly references that never quite become parodic, and on top of everything else: Solid, relatable, realistic characters! I'm a huge fan of Wodehouse and Jeeves & Wooster in general, and Jeeves/Wooster slash in particular, so a tie in/crossover with that would be my fondest wish. That said, anything exploring the character(s) of Jeeves and the Jeeves Corporation would be fantastic. I really love the world Stross has created here, and I'm eager to know more about it. As some of my other requests will show, I'm fascinated by robots, so any exploration of themes related to that would be shiny, too. Though I've requested slash, I don't mind incidental or implied het. Or gen! I just really love this stuff, and I want MOAR.
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series:
What I like about Daneel and Elijah is the friendship they've managed to establish despite their differences. Though there's always a bit of tension and unease between them, they clearly have a strong bond, and that's what I'd prefer the story to be about; wether you want to depict that relationship as romantic or not, is up to you. (I'll happily admit that I slash them, and would prefer slash, but don't write it if you're not comfortable with that.) Anything exploring Elijah's struggle to accept Daneel as a person and friend, wondering if Daneel is capable of love and emotion; all that good stuff. As far as the setting goes, I'm fascinated by robots, robotics, and Asimov's vision of the future. He's one of my favorite SF writers, and also one of my favorite mystery writers. I'd prefer to see Elijah and Daneel investigating something - a complete mystery story would be great, but just seeing them working together would be lovely. As much as I would love, love, LOVE casefic, the characters are paramount for me, regardless of story format.
Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse
As will be evident by some of my other requests, I have a thing for Jeeves, I really do. Jeeves and Bertie Wooster are adorable, the pair of them, but like Bertie, I'm entirely enamored with the fine chiseled features of that remarkable valet. I would love to see them happily romantically entangled (explicitly so!), but if not, a heart-warming tale of their close friendship would be a welcome second. In addition to the above, I love the Jeeves stories for their fantastic narration, verbose deliciousness, creative use of language, inventive characters, mind-bogglingly clever and intricate plots, and the evident joy Wodehouse had in creating them. If you have anything near as much fun, I'll be happy!
Twilight Zone:
Given the fact that I've already mentioned my love of surprising endings and twisty plots, it should come as no surprise that I love The Twilight Zone. My favorite episodes are those that deal with human psychology and how we relate to one another; and those in which reality is twisted in some subtle way. I prefer science fiction to horror and fantasy. Here are some favorites, in no particular order:
"Mirror Image"
"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"
"A World of Difference"
"The Lateness of the Hour"
"Number 12 Looks Just Like You"
I would prefer a story to something in a script format, but I don't mind if you base your story on an existing episode, write something entirely new, or anything in between.
Frankenstein - Nick Dear
This play will always hold a very special place in my heart - I saw it twith two very good friends, none of whom, myself included, live in England. We came to London together and queued half the night for tickets in the early morning, and certainly, this has colored my memory and experience of the play. That said, I stumbled out of the theater wondering what had hit me, and had to decompress for quite a while as I processed all the impressions. I tell you this not to intimidate, but because I suspect that, having offered to write for it, you've had something of a smiliar experience, and that is what I want to invoke. Remember that night, or nights, if you were extra lucky, and tell me MOAR. I absolutely love the novel too, so if you want to use elements from there, please, please do! My heart has always gone out to the Creature, so if you can give him sort of a happy ending, I would much appreciate it.
IT Crowd
I'll be honest; I do slash Moss and Roy, so if you want to write a hot/romantic story about them, I would welcome it; however, I'm not specifically looking for that. I just want to know what's happened to them since we saw them last and/or after the special - where do they live, what do they do? Do they still have movie nights, and does Jen come along? How big is Roy's TV? Do either of them still wear women's slacks, and if so, do they use their powers for good, or for awesome? What are they like as managers? Does Moss even know that he's a manager, or does he still carry on exactly like usual? (Stupid question, but I enjoy reading the answers to stupid questions.) Are they happy? Details, dear writer. Give me details, please and thank you; I would like MOAR.
If you've read all the above, and you're still not sure about something, maybe my fics on AO3 might be helpful? I generally like to read the same type of stuff I write.
Thank you, thank you yet again, and have a great Yuletide!
I am the type of writer who prefers highly detailed prompts and lots of info, so that's what I've tried to give here. If you're not, remember that optional details are optional, and feel free to ignore this entire post! The best thing you could possibly give me is a good story, and those come from inspiration and joy. So go forth, and enjoy!
Stuff I like: Happy endings, drawn-out, romantic hurt that ends in massive comfort, plot; lots of delicious plot with little clever details and interesting twists, and humor. I adore twist-in-the-tail endings, and nothing thrills me more when reading a book or watching a film than finding that the author/film-maker has managed to trick me! I believe humor is a very important part of any story, regardless of genre. I like things that are funny or even silly while still being realistic and internally consistent. Intelligence is sexy. Sex is sexy, and welcome! Differences are awesome. Robots are cool, but so are people, in general.
Stuff I DON'T like: I find torture, particularly disfiguring, or deeply psychological torture triggering - none of that, please. While I am fine with most kink, I sometimes have issues with explicit/extreme power exchange, so I'd prefer it if you'd go lightly on that.
In general: I enjoy reading about graphic sex, and very few things about it squicks me (except bodily fluids that aren't sexual fluids - none of that, please). Beyond that caveat and the one above, I'm OK with most any type of sex, kink or preference. I'm easy. Don't be afraid to include stuff I haven't specifically mentioned here, or in my request. Yuletide stories are a gift, and I accept them joyfully! :D
Freyaverse series - Charles Stross
Just a few pages into the first Freyaverse novel, I knew I wanted to request it for Yuletide. And I did, and I've kept on doing it, because they're just that good. I suppose what I like so much about the novels and the universe is the writing style; the humor and the tight, clever plotting; the sly references that never quite become parodic, and on top of everything else: Solid, relatable, realistic characters! I'm a huge fan of Wodehouse and Jeeves & Wooster in general, and Jeeves/Wooster slash in particular, so a tie in/crossover with that would be my fondest wish. That said, anything exploring the character(s) of Jeeves and the Jeeves Corporation would be fantastic. I really love the world Stross has created here, and I'm eager to know more about it. As some of my other requests will show, I'm fascinated by robots, so any exploration of themes related to that would be shiny, too. Though I've requested slash, I don't mind incidental or implied het. Or gen! I just really love this stuff, and I want MOAR.
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series:
What I like about Daneel and Elijah is the friendship they've managed to establish despite their differences. Though there's always a bit of tension and unease between them, they clearly have a strong bond, and that's what I'd prefer the story to be about; wether you want to depict that relationship as romantic or not, is up to you. (I'll happily admit that I slash them, and would prefer slash, but don't write it if you're not comfortable with that.) Anything exploring Elijah's struggle to accept Daneel as a person and friend, wondering if Daneel is capable of love and emotion; all that good stuff. As far as the setting goes, I'm fascinated by robots, robotics, and Asimov's vision of the future. He's one of my favorite SF writers, and also one of my favorite mystery writers. I'd prefer to see Elijah and Daneel investigating something - a complete mystery story would be great, but just seeing them working together would be lovely. As much as I would love, love, LOVE casefic, the characters are paramount for me, regardless of story format.
Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse
As will be evident by some of my other requests, I have a thing for Jeeves, I really do. Jeeves and Bertie Wooster are adorable, the pair of them, but like Bertie, I'm entirely enamored with the fine chiseled features of that remarkable valet. I would love to see them happily romantically entangled (explicitly so!), but if not, a heart-warming tale of their close friendship would be a welcome second. In addition to the above, I love the Jeeves stories for their fantastic narration, verbose deliciousness, creative use of language, inventive characters, mind-bogglingly clever and intricate plots, and the evident joy Wodehouse had in creating them. If you have anything near as much fun, I'll be happy!
Twilight Zone:
Given the fact that I've already mentioned my love of surprising endings and twisty plots, it should come as no surprise that I love The Twilight Zone. My favorite episodes are those that deal with human psychology and how we relate to one another; and those in which reality is twisted in some subtle way. I prefer science fiction to horror and fantasy. Here are some favorites, in no particular order:
"Mirror Image"
"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"
"A World of Difference"
"The Lateness of the Hour"
"Number 12 Looks Just Like You"
I would prefer a story to something in a script format, but I don't mind if you base your story on an existing episode, write something entirely new, or anything in between.
Frankenstein - Nick Dear
This play will always hold a very special place in my heart - I saw it twith two very good friends, none of whom, myself included, live in England. We came to London together and queued half the night for tickets in the early morning, and certainly, this has colored my memory and experience of the play. That said, I stumbled out of the theater wondering what had hit me, and had to decompress for quite a while as I processed all the impressions. I tell you this not to intimidate, but because I suspect that, having offered to write for it, you've had something of a smiliar experience, and that is what I want to invoke. Remember that night, or nights, if you were extra lucky, and tell me MOAR. I absolutely love the novel too, so if you want to use elements from there, please, please do! My heart has always gone out to the Creature, so if you can give him sort of a happy ending, I would much appreciate it.
IT Crowd
I'll be honest; I do slash Moss and Roy, so if you want to write a hot/romantic story about them, I would welcome it; however, I'm not specifically looking for that. I just want to know what's happened to them since we saw them last and/or after the special - where do they live, what do they do? Do they still have movie nights, and does Jen come along? How big is Roy's TV? Do either of them still wear women's slacks, and if so, do they use their powers for good, or for awesome? What are they like as managers? Does Moss even know that he's a manager, or does he still carry on exactly like usual? (Stupid question, but I enjoy reading the answers to stupid questions.) Are they happy? Details, dear writer. Give me details, please and thank you; I would like MOAR.
If you've read all the above, and you're still not sure about something, maybe my fics on AO3 might be helpful? I generally like to read the same type of stuff I write.
Thank you, thank you yet again, and have a great Yuletide!