Yuletide 2021
Dear Yuletide Author,
First of all, thank you so much for writing for me. Yuletide is one of my favorite times of year, both for seeing all the wonderful writing that comes out of the woodwork and for giving me a reason to keep writing myself. And for celebrating the fandoms that we both have in common! So rest assured that I will love whatever you write, and NONE of these prompts are intended to be binding requests but merely to give you ideas if you are struggling.
A Little about Me
I'm an early-thirties gay/androsexual transgender demiboy. I somewhat recently completed a PhD in history and now I work in social work and family court. I grew up evangelical Christian (love me some niche references to weird '90s Christian culture!) and am now a confirmed Episcopalian, though I'm wrestling a bit with even that. My entry into fandom and fanfic was JAG (I used to write mini-fics on my TI-83 calculator at school and use my grandma's much better internet to visit fansites), which led to NCIS (heavily involved on a message board), which led to Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Doctor Who. These days I tend to be less into long series and fandom as such, but as I mentioned above, I do love how Yuletide keeps me writing and reading.
I'll ready pretty much anything from gen to porn, though I tend to prefer the latter with solid characterization if not necessarily a rich plot. I don't have any kinks I particularly enjoy, and I always feel pretty naive whenever I read long lists of DNWs relating to kinks, so I'll say if you go in a sexy direction, keep it pretty vanilla, please. The only hard DNW I have is sex between real people. I also enjoy a wide variety of tone in fic, from fluffy to dark, though as noted below, I tend to prefer when it generally aligns with the tone of the canon material.
Things I like:
Strong friendships, especially between men
Emotionally vulnerable romance, especially between men
Complex characterization (seemingly "evil" characters having reasonable motivations, "good" characters being petty or morally ambiguous sometimes)
Strong adherence to canon (stories that feel like "missing scenes" or logical developments/precedents)
Tone adherence to canon
Body swapping
Time travel
canon divergence AUs (what if so-and-so had made a different choice?)
Genre/setting AUs or Crossovers if done well (e.g. "[characters] at Hogwarts!" or those '90s Shakespeare/Austen adaptations)
Do Not Want:
RP sex
Fandom Specifics:
Thai BoysLove Actors
Characters: Krist, Singto
Okay, so I loved them in SOTUS, but then I found "Friendship with KristSingto" and they are just so precious when they get to be themselves! I love their relationship; they're so supportive and understanding of each other's various phobias/quirks but also willing to tease each other about them. And they complement each other well: Krist cooks, Singto makes it look pretty, what a partnership!
Prompt ideas: Krist and Singto go to Europe or America! Krist and Singto commiserate about weird fans! Krist and Singto get mistaken for international spies and have a wild adventure that involves heights and boats and fleeing for their lives! Krist and Singto open a restaurant where Krist cooks and Singto does food design! (These are so optional and intended only to showcase the wide range of things I would be happy with as well as to maybe spark some creative juices. Go where the spirit takes you!)
Am more than okay with either close platonic bro-love or something more romantic! (or something they both think is close platonic bro-love until one or both has the ~realization~) I don't like RP sex, but because these two already play up the shipping themselves--and talk about their dicks on screen!--I'd be okay with something a little more PG-13.
The Great British Bake-Off
Characters: Henry, Michael (Peter, James)
I hardcore ship Henry and Michael, but I also love their friendship with the other bakers, especially Alice and Helena. MEMORIAL PINS after Helena and Michelle left?! My baby boys (and Alice) are the most thoughtful and precious. The bittersweetness of Henry getting star baker the same week Michael was eliminated! MY. HEART. And the ties after Henry went out make me think he was behind the Helena & Michelle pins. <3 If you're willing, I'd love if Alice and/or Helena were to play at least a small role in helping the boys get together... (Now, while I do ship them, I get squicky about sexy RPF so keep it pretty PG, please. More like a slow realization, friendship-into-romance thing than a bangfest. And nothing against David, but most of the Michael/Henry fics that do exist tend to involve him, and I am less interested.)
Now, I didn't request James and Peter because I thought that would destroy my chances of matching anyone on this fandom, but I did nominate them and if you would for some reason rather explore that, then read on! I started watching last season and lo and behold, a baby Scot who is a baking wunderkind? Sounds familiar...Would love to see Peter looking up to James as he grows up, Peter reacting to being (constantly?) compared to James, James watching the show and not seeing the comparison, an older and wiser James meeting bright-eyed, fannish Peter, them being Scottish and loving baking together...
Or just either pair or all four of them being buds and baking things, hanging out with other bakers, meeting (or reuniting with, in James's case) Mary, Mel, and Sue? Coming back for an all-star/holiday episode? I would not be mad at something set at Hogwarts...
(I love both Mary and Prue, and Mel, Sue, and Noel are my favorite hosts.)
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Characters: Arthur, Linus, David
I wish I'd had the time/energy to make a promo post for this book, because it deserves all the love. Queer romance that isn't treated like a big angsty deal?? Found family, protective fathers, adorable (odd) children, adorkable chubby awkward protagonist, believable and oh-so-rewarding character growth...GAH, this BOOK!
So, I love Arthur and Linus and their slow-build romance and especially their dadding it up with the kids. I'm so intrigued by the tease of David at the end of the book and would love to explore how they bring him home, how he adjusts, how the other kids rearrange their dynamics around him, etc. And then extrapolating that to the other magical youth they will presumably be adopting in the years to come! What happens when the kids start leaving home? Arthur and Linus as patriarchs of a large extended magical family? As Helen works on bringing the town around, what are those interactions like? Any friendships (or more) develop between town and island youth?
The Dalemark Quartet
Characters: Worldbuilding
I think a lot of fans agree that the glossary/historical notes at the end of Crown are just as interesting as the main narrative, and I am right there with them. I don't know if anything can ever top this incredible fic, but I would love to see you try!! (What I specifically love about that work is the fragmentary, epistolary-ish approach that gives a real sense of just glimpsing a bigger, fully realized world, as well as the tonally excellent and beautifully cited academic excerpts.) The period of the Great Uprising is probably the most intriguing to me, since it's hinted at but never fully fleshed out in the books, but really anything in this world will make me so, so happy. (If you can work Navis in, I would looooove you. He is my favorite.)
Emma
Characters: Mr. Knightley
Mr. Knightley is my favorite Austen hero! I love that he is tender and sweet, but does not hesitate to call Emma out on her bullshit. I love partners that make each other better! I also love how sensitive and insightful he is toward other characters. (Does Jeremy Northam also have something to do with it? ...I mean, yes.)
I would love to see more of the time before the novel begins, particularly the development of their friendship and the evolution of Knightley's feelings toward Emma. I realize that's something that squicks some people out about the original novel, and it is a tricky line to walk! I certainly don't want 20-something Knightley lusting after prepubescent Emma. But as she gets older, and he finds himself still single, when does that start to change, and why? Does someone (John maybe?) jokingly suggest he could marry her, and that starts the wheels turning? Did she pull an Amy March and ask him to kiss her before she died, or marry her if she became an old maid, or did she simply declare (as young children do) that she was going to marry him and it was a big family joke?
If that is still too squicky for you, I totally get it and that's fine. Platonic scenes from Emma's youth are also delightful! Or anything from his youth/young adulthood, pre- or post-Woodhouse. Brother time with John? Managing an estate? Youthful dalliances or pinings (would not be mad at bi!Knightley)? Scenes from the novel from his perspective?
First of all, thank you so much for writing for me. Yuletide is one of my favorite times of year, both for seeing all the wonderful writing that comes out of the woodwork and for giving me a reason to keep writing myself. And for celebrating the fandoms that we both have in common! So rest assured that I will love whatever you write, and NONE of these prompts are intended to be binding requests but merely to give you ideas if you are struggling.
A Little about Me
I'm an early-thirties gay/androsexual transgender demiboy. I somewhat recently completed a PhD in history and now I work in social work and family court. I grew up evangelical Christian (love me some niche references to weird '90s Christian culture!) and am now a confirmed Episcopalian, though I'm wrestling a bit with even that. My entry into fandom and fanfic was JAG (I used to write mini-fics on my TI-83 calculator at school and use my grandma's much better internet to visit fansites), which led to NCIS (heavily involved on a message board), which led to Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Doctor Who. These days I tend to be less into long series and fandom as such, but as I mentioned above, I do love how Yuletide keeps me writing and reading.
I'll ready pretty much anything from gen to porn, though I tend to prefer the latter with solid characterization if not necessarily a rich plot. I don't have any kinks I particularly enjoy, and I always feel pretty naive whenever I read long lists of DNWs relating to kinks, so I'll say if you go in a sexy direction, keep it pretty vanilla, please. The only hard DNW I have is sex between real people. I also enjoy a wide variety of tone in fic, from fluffy to dark, though as noted below, I tend to prefer when it generally aligns with the tone of the canon material.
Things I like:
Strong friendships, especially between men
Emotionally vulnerable romance, especially between men
Complex characterization (seemingly "evil" characters having reasonable motivations, "good" characters being petty or morally ambiguous sometimes)
Strong adherence to canon (stories that feel like "missing scenes" or logical developments/precedents)
Tone adherence to canon
Body swapping
Time travel
canon divergence AUs (what if so-and-so had made a different choice?)
Genre/setting AUs or Crossovers if done well (e.g. "[characters] at Hogwarts!" or those '90s Shakespeare/Austen adaptations)
Do Not Want:
RP sex
Fandom Specifics:
Thai BoysLove Actors
Characters: Krist, Singto
Okay, so I loved them in SOTUS, but then I found "Friendship with KristSingto" and they are just so precious when they get to be themselves! I love their relationship; they're so supportive and understanding of each other's various phobias/quirks but also willing to tease each other about them. And they complement each other well: Krist cooks, Singto makes it look pretty, what a partnership!
Prompt ideas: Krist and Singto go to Europe or America! Krist and Singto commiserate about weird fans! Krist and Singto get mistaken for international spies and have a wild adventure that involves heights and boats and fleeing for their lives! Krist and Singto open a restaurant where Krist cooks and Singto does food design! (These are so optional and intended only to showcase the wide range of things I would be happy with as well as to maybe spark some creative juices. Go where the spirit takes you!)
Am more than okay with either close platonic bro-love or something more romantic! (or something they both think is close platonic bro-love until one or both has the ~realization~) I don't like RP sex, but because these two already play up the shipping themselves--and talk about their dicks on screen!--I'd be okay with something a little more PG-13.
The Great British Bake-Off
Characters: Henry, Michael (Peter, James)
I hardcore ship Henry and Michael, but I also love their friendship with the other bakers, especially Alice and Helena. MEMORIAL PINS after Helena and Michelle left?! My baby boys (and Alice) are the most thoughtful and precious. The bittersweetness of Henry getting star baker the same week Michael was eliminated! MY. HEART. And the ties after Henry went out make me think he was behind the Helena & Michelle pins. <3 If you're willing, I'd love if Alice and/or Helena were to play at least a small role in helping the boys get together... (Now, while I do ship them, I get squicky about sexy RPF so keep it pretty PG, please. More like a slow realization, friendship-into-romance thing than a bangfest. And nothing against David, but most of the Michael/Henry fics that do exist tend to involve him, and I am less interested.)
Now, I didn't request James and Peter because I thought that would destroy my chances of matching anyone on this fandom, but I did nominate them and if you would for some reason rather explore that, then read on! I started watching last season and lo and behold, a baby Scot who is a baking wunderkind? Sounds familiar...Would love to see Peter looking up to James as he grows up, Peter reacting to being (constantly?) compared to James, James watching the show and not seeing the comparison, an older and wiser James meeting bright-eyed, fannish Peter, them being Scottish and loving baking together...
Or just either pair or all four of them being buds and baking things, hanging out with other bakers, meeting (or reuniting with, in James's case) Mary, Mel, and Sue? Coming back for an all-star/holiday episode? I would not be mad at something set at Hogwarts...
(I love both Mary and Prue, and Mel, Sue, and Noel are my favorite hosts.)
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Characters: Arthur, Linus, David
I wish I'd had the time/energy to make a promo post for this book, because it deserves all the love. Queer romance that isn't treated like a big angsty deal?? Found family, protective fathers, adorable (odd) children, adorkable chubby awkward protagonist, believable and oh-so-rewarding character growth...GAH, this BOOK!
So, I love Arthur and Linus and their slow-build romance and especially their dadding it up with the kids. I'm so intrigued by the tease of David at the end of the book and would love to explore how they bring him home, how he adjusts, how the other kids rearrange their dynamics around him, etc. And then extrapolating that to the other magical youth they will presumably be adopting in the years to come! What happens when the kids start leaving home? Arthur and Linus as patriarchs of a large extended magical family? As Helen works on bringing the town around, what are those interactions like? Any friendships (or more) develop between town and island youth?
The Dalemark Quartet
Characters: Worldbuilding
I think a lot of fans agree that the glossary/historical notes at the end of Crown are just as interesting as the main narrative, and I am right there with them. I don't know if anything can ever top this incredible fic, but I would love to see you try!! (What I specifically love about that work is the fragmentary, epistolary-ish approach that gives a real sense of just glimpsing a bigger, fully realized world, as well as the tonally excellent and beautifully cited academic excerpts.) The period of the Great Uprising is probably the most intriguing to me, since it's hinted at but never fully fleshed out in the books, but really anything in this world will make me so, so happy. (If you can work Navis in, I would looooove you. He is my favorite.)
Emma
Characters: Mr. Knightley
Mr. Knightley is my favorite Austen hero! I love that he is tender and sweet, but does not hesitate to call Emma out on her bullshit. I love partners that make each other better! I also love how sensitive and insightful he is toward other characters. (Does Jeremy Northam also have something to do with it? ...I mean, yes.)
I would love to see more of the time before the novel begins, particularly the development of their friendship and the evolution of Knightley's feelings toward Emma. I realize that's something that squicks some people out about the original novel, and it is a tricky line to walk! I certainly don't want 20-something Knightley lusting after prepubescent Emma. But as she gets older, and he finds himself still single, when does that start to change, and why? Does someone (John maybe?) jokingly suggest he could marry her, and that starts the wheels turning? Did she pull an Amy March and ask him to kiss her before she died, or marry her if she became an old maid, or did she simply declare (as young children do) that she was going to marry him and it was a big family joke?
If that is still too squicky for you, I totally get it and that's fine. Platonic scenes from Emma's youth are also delightful! Or anything from his youth/young adulthood, pre- or post-Woodhouse. Brother time with John? Managing an estate? Youthful dalliances or pinings (would not be mad at bi!Knightley)? Scenes from the novel from his perspective?