Dear Yuletide Author
Dear author,
First of all, thank you so much for offering to write one of these amazing fandoms! I love each and every one of them, so whichever you end up writing, I absolutely can't wait to read your story.
I'm not the most active person in any fandom, so I've put together a few notes in general and on each fandom to help you get some ideas, which I hope is useful to you :D My AO3 name, for reference, is also mk_tortie.
All the specific prompts I've given for each fandom are just ideas - if you're inspired to write something else, go for it! Also, some of the fandom sections are longer than others, but I love each of these fandoms equally and would be ecstatic to receive fic in any of them :D
In General
There are a few things I love to see in fic:
- casefic
- plot-focused stories
- before/after the canon stories
- alternative endings/au diversions
- time travel/time loops
- fix it fic
- canon ships/friendships and friendship fic
- UST
- realisations of desire or romantic explorations, explorations of characters realising they're 'more than friends'
- hurt/comfort (overcoming ailments to come out on top, painful confessions, stronger/leader character needing to be helped)
- everyone thinks a friend is dead but then they're not
- crossovers (between the fandoms I've requested, or with any of: Buffy, Firefly, LotR, Stargate SG:1, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: DS9, Star Wars episode I-III, Discworld (City Watch), Persona 3, 4, or 5)
- dark!fic (permanent injuries mentally/physically, torture, Stockholm syndrome, dystopias, violence... ideally paired with hurt/comfort or with a not-completely-sad ending (ie bittersweet or happy ending rather than 'everything's still terrible'!). Feel free to go as dark as you want!
- long stories (I'm not one of those people who only reads short fics - I happily read everything from drabbles to 100k+ epics, so whatever length works for you, works for me!)
There are some things I wouldn't really want:
- surprise!ships (i.e. non-canon ships/friendships/enemies in a story with no justification, explanation or background - non-canon ships are generally fine if they have some exposition or explanation though!)
- fluff!fic (ie, a little fluff is fine, especially in a happy ending, but if the fic is fluff throughout with no darker elements I would be a little disappointed!)
- sex scenes/porn as a major focus in the story (long sex scenes are just not my cup of tea)
- crossovers with canons I don't know
- PWPs
- gender-bending (except when it's canon)
- total AUs (eg hipster AU, high school AU, coffee shop AU...)
- any character bashing
- regional accents written out phonetically
Things I'm ambivalent about: holiday stories - I'm not against these, but I'm not interested in fluff with no plot, so a holiday story would have to be a story-taking-place-on-a-holiday rather than just characters doing happy holiday things for the sake of it!
FYI, if the plotbunny that strikes you ends up not involving all of my requested characters, that’s fine - for the most part, I don’t mind if not all my requested characters end up in the final fic, unless I’ve really made it clear that a character is my favourite!
---
Persona 3
Characters requested: Sanada Akihiko, Female Persona 3 Protagonist, Kirijo Mitsuru, Hasegawa Saori
Signup details: I was lucky enough to receive a wonderful Persona 3 story in a previous Yuletide, but there can never be enough P3 fic as far as I'm concerned so I couldn't help but request it again :)
I really, really loved the fact that I could play as a female character in this game - I’ve played as both protagonists but I really like the female protagonist's interactions and relationships, especially with Akihiko and Mitsuru. I love having a female character be a respected leader - both Mitsuru and the protagonist. I also find Mitsuru and Akihiko’s past to be really interesting (as well as their friendship with Shinjiro), and I’d love to see this elaborated on in some way. The game’s combination of creating deep friendships and then fighting together and developing a huge amount of trust in each other is what I love the most about it, and I’d love to see a story set towards the end-game or post-game as a result (ie, preferably no character death at the end of the game!). I also love the side characters in the game - the social links that are not involved in fighting shadows - which is why I'm also requesting Saori this year, because I really loved her backstory and the friendship she builds with the female protagonist.
I would love to see any story that builds on the female protagonist's relationship with any of the others (or all of them). This can flesh out their back stories, or just build on their relationship as it is in the end game and post-game. It could be ship fic or gen, I don’t mind either way! I have the following P3 ships:
- Female protagonist/Mitsuru
- Female protagonist/Akihiko
- Female protagonist/Saori
- Female protagonist/Mitsuru/Akihiko
- Female protagonist/Mitsuru/Akihiko/Shinjiro
- Mitsuru/Yukari
While my prompts involve suggestions for incorporating ships, I read shipfic and gen in equal measure and really don't mind at all if you'd rather write the gen version of a prompt rather than include ships - I would be equally happy with either. I’d also love to see cameos from any of the other characters, particularly Yukari, Koromaru, and Rio. You’re welcome to either call the protagonist Minako, or find a way to avoid naming her altogether - up to you! Also, I’m a big fan of Persona 4 as well, so if you feel like writing a crossover or bringing in Persona 4 characters in some way, go for it! I've played Persona Q but not Persona 4 Arena or Arena Ultimaxx. Oh, and the version of P3 I played was P3P :)
Some prompts/ideas:
- If you're writing shipfic, I'd love to see a fic dealing with an established Mitsuru/Akihiko(/Shinjiro) relationship which the female protagonist then gets drawn into, maybe through developing an individual relationship with each character in all their messed-up-ness beyond what we see in the social links, and then gradually getting drawn into the relationship between all three. Seeing some of the others' backstory from their childhood could be fun here too. I'm not so interested in porn, more the relationship dynamics that seem to go beyond just friendship between them all in all sorts of ways. I’d especially like a fic that combines facing danger of some kind together, alongside some more introspective relationship building moments.
- Any pre- or post-game story focusing on Akihiko and Mitsuru. I'd love to see something that explores their childhood - it's hinted that Akihiko grew up in an orphanage, but it would be great to see that fleshed out! (Particularly with some hurt/comfort thrown in would be awesome). When did he meet Mitsuru, and how did he get to know her? (For any of these prompts, feel free to not include the protagonist if you're focusing entirely on the pre-game era - although if you can find a way to work her in somehow, that would also be great! Maybe as the Seal she can watch her friends at any point in their lives from afar, and we get her outsider perspective on the others' earlier lives?)
- For Saori, it would be great to see more of her friendship with the female protagonist, (or their friendship developing into something more!). I always love a bit of angst - so facing up to danger together, and having each other's backs, or some hurt/comfort (with a happy ending) would be awesome! It would also be interesting to see Saori discover more details about the female protagonist's 'secret life' fighting shadows, and get drawn into it some way. Or maybe she becomes instrumental in helping her avoid being the Seal and survive the end of the game?
- any kind of relationship building between any of my nominated characters would be great in general - I love seeing the Persona characters get to know each other better, the social links are one of my favourite parts of the game!
Fandom-specific things I would love: cameos from the other characters, particularly Koromaru, Yukari, and Rio, any kind of crossover with Persona 4 or 5 (or just Persona 4 or 5 characters making a cameo appearance), gameplay elements (such as social link level ups or the battle system) incorporated into the story somehow.
Fandom-specific things I wouldn't enjoy so much: miscommunications leading to awkwardness (I get major embarrassment squick from this, it’s just not a trope I enjoy!), character bashing of any of the characters, jealousy as a major component of the story, OT3 or OT4 fic focusing solely or primarily on domestic life/arrangements
---
Poirot - Agatha Christie
Characters requested: Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings
Signup details: I adored these books as a child/teenager, and it would be wonderful to read more of Poirot's adventures. One of my favourite things about Agatha Christie's writing, and the Poirot novels in particular, is the characterisation - even with very minor characters, the reader always has a great sense of who that person is, with all their quirks. I always really enjoyed the relationship between Poirot, with his fastidiousness and incredible talent for seeing the tiniest details and connecting them, with Hastings, who despite sometimes finding Poirot rather frustrating (who wouldn't?) clearly enjoys his company immensely, values his skills, and also brings his own valuable insights to the table.
For this fandom, I would love case!fic (or scenes from a larger plot would be wonderful too!). Alongside that, I would love to see the friendship between Poirot and Hastings - how they work together to solve the mystery, with their disagreements but ultimate appreciation for each other. I'd prefer gen here, or at least not romance if you do ship Poirot/Hastings (I don't mind fic that can be read either way, or in which they're clearly life partners but the focus isn't on romance or that aspect of their relationship). I also would prefer fic set during the 'golden era' of Poirot (circa Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile etc), rather than at the end of his life. Alternatively, an exploration of his backstory would be interesting, during his years in Belgium (perhaps involving his and Hastings' first meeting).
Some prompts/ideas:
- A casefic along the lines of classic Poirot stories would be glorious (although I am in no way expecting this because it would clearly be a huge undertaking!). Equally, scenes from a larger plot in which Poirot and Hastings are solving a mystery would also be awesome (perhaps 5 things style).
- As mentioned above, an exploration of Poirot's backstory - his years in Belgium, his first meeting with Hastings, or perhaps even his first attempts to solve mysteries would be very interesting to read! I'd love to see him discovering his catchphrase, or realising that being a detective is what he is good at.
- A darker possibility would be to see his experiences during the First World War - how did he get the injury that caused his limp? How did he make it to England? Something along these lines, perhaps with some hurt/comfort or in which Hastings has to help Poirot, would be awesome.
- I would also be open to more cracky scenarios for this fandom - for example, cracky crossovers in which Poirot and Hastings end up in the Star Trek universe or the Discworld universe and have to solve a mystery there (with all of Poirot's distaste at the unusual situation!); Poirot meets the Doctor (perhaps after the Doctor has met Agatha Christie!); it turns out that magic is real and Poirot has to accept this in order to solve the mystery. Or something else! I am definitely open to other ideas too :) The only thing I'm not really interested in seeing is 21st century Poirot, either through a time setting change or time travel.
As a general note - I don't think I've read every single Poirot story out there, and it's been a long time since I read some of them. It may therefore be that some of my prompts are answered in parts of canon I haven't read! I therefore totally don't mind if you go AU for your fic, even if it doesn't quite match canon 'history' - for example, the dates/circumstances that Poirot and Hastings met.
Fandom-specific things I would love: mentions of Poirot's quirks and favourite sayings, case!fic, Hastings' suggestion being the key to Poirot solving the mystery, mentions of other Poirot cases, Poirot/Hastings bromance
Fandom-specific things I wouldn't enjoy so much: modern settings (Poirot should always be in or come from his own time period, even in a more cracky scenario), romance or ship-focused fic, more than brief mentions of Hastings' other romantic relationships
---
The Quantocks Quartet
Characters requested: Julia Purcell
Signup details: This series was one of my favourites when I was younger, and I always especially adored Julia. I love the way each book focuses on each sister's growing up from child to adult after their parents' deaths, and the way the war and their relationship with each other (and the Mackenzie family) contributed to that. Julia's story was always especially compelling for me, probably partly because it focuses much more on the psychological impact of those events and relationships than the other books, not only on Julia but also on Geoffrey. I also always loved how the books dealt with the role of art and creativity in the girls' lives, particularly for Julia, as someone 'good, but not quite as good as her sister'!
I would love to see any exploration of Julia's life, particularly during her time in France or after Geoffrey's death. I'm not so interested in her relationship with her eventual husband, but if you want to write something that spans her whole life then of course feel free to include him and her children! I always found her relationship with both Geoffrey and Gabriel fascinating (I have to admit, Gabriel was my first literary crush!), as well as her relationship with Frances and Gwen, so anything that focuses on any of those would be awesome.
Some prompts:
- Julia's letters - with Geoffrey, or to the various people that she writes to, fleshing out her experiences of the War and its aftermath (particularly for her personally). More details about any of the events mentioned in the book would be amazing, as would seeing the replies she receives, or other people's perspectives on her story.
- Julia and Geoffrey during the war - feel free to give them an extra chance to interact that we don't see in the book. Some hurt/comfort would be great (either for Julia or for Geoffrey), and I definitely ship them.
- Julia and Frances, and painting - Frances trying to paint Geoffrey and finding it very distressing was a scene that stuck with me for a long time, and I would love to see more conversation between the two sisters on this or other painting and love-related topics.
In general, feel free to go as angsty and heart-breaking as you want here! Bittersweet endings are fine, particularly where Julia/Geoffrey is concerned, since I'd rather you not retcon his death or shell shock.
Fandom-specific things I would love: First World War specific details (shell-shock, nursing, travel between England and France, letters taking a long time to arrive etc), angst or hurt/comfort, interactions with her sisters and the Mackenzies in general!
Fandom-specific things I wouldn't enjoy so much: incest, fluff, Geoffrey lives-AU
---
So, thanks again, and I hope my requests haven't scared you off altogether! Definitely take everything I've written here as a suggestion to start off your creative process, not anything prescriptive at all - if you get an awesome idea when reading this, but it doesn't match any particular prompt, then go for it. I'm sure I will love it :D If anything here is really confusing, or you want to know more about my preferences that I've missed/forgotten here, then totally feel free to get in touch via the mods or through commenting anonymously here. I am really looking forward to reading your story, and I know if you love any one of these fandoms you must be an awesome person, so I'm really happy we were matched!
Good luck, and happy Yuletide,
Anna/mk_tortie
P.S.: I have anonymous commenting enabled, and IP logging disabled, so if you'd like to ask me about my letter or need to know more from me, you are very welcome to ask here!
First of all, thank you so much for offering to write one of these amazing fandoms! I love each and every one of them, so whichever you end up writing, I absolutely can't wait to read your story.
I'm not the most active person in any fandom, so I've put together a few notes in general and on each fandom to help you get some ideas, which I hope is useful to you :D My AO3 name, for reference, is also mk_tortie.
All the specific prompts I've given for each fandom are just ideas - if you're inspired to write something else, go for it! Also, some of the fandom sections are longer than others, but I love each of these fandoms equally and would be ecstatic to receive fic in any of them :D
In General
There are a few things I love to see in fic:
- casefic
- plot-focused stories
- before/after the canon stories
- alternative endings/au diversions
- time travel/time loops
- fix it fic
- canon ships/friendships and friendship fic
- UST
- realisations of desire or romantic explorations, explorations of characters realising they're 'more than friends'
- hurt/comfort (overcoming ailments to come out on top, painful confessions, stronger/leader character needing to be helped)
- everyone thinks a friend is dead but then they're not
- crossovers (between the fandoms I've requested, or with any of: Buffy, Firefly, LotR, Stargate SG:1, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: DS9, Star Wars episode I-III, Discworld (City Watch), Persona 3, 4, or 5)
- dark!fic (permanent injuries mentally/physically, torture, Stockholm syndrome, dystopias, violence... ideally paired with hurt/comfort or with a not-completely-sad ending (ie bittersweet or happy ending rather than 'everything's still terrible'!). Feel free to go as dark as you want!
- long stories (I'm not one of those people who only reads short fics - I happily read everything from drabbles to 100k+ epics, so whatever length works for you, works for me!)
There are some things I wouldn't really want:
- surprise!ships (i.e. non-canon ships/friendships/enemies in a story with no justification, explanation or background - non-canon ships are generally fine if they have some exposition or explanation though!)
- fluff!fic (ie, a little fluff is fine, especially in a happy ending, but if the fic is fluff throughout with no darker elements I would be a little disappointed!)
- sex scenes/porn as a major focus in the story (long sex scenes are just not my cup of tea)
- crossovers with canons I don't know
- PWPs
- gender-bending (except when it's canon)
- total AUs (eg hipster AU, high school AU, coffee shop AU...)
- any character bashing
- regional accents written out phonetically
Things I'm ambivalent about: holiday stories - I'm not against these, but I'm not interested in fluff with no plot, so a holiday story would have to be a story-taking-place-on-a-holiday rather than just characters doing happy holiday things for the sake of it!
FYI, if the plotbunny that strikes you ends up not involving all of my requested characters, that’s fine - for the most part, I don’t mind if not all my requested characters end up in the final fic, unless I’ve really made it clear that a character is my favourite!
---
Persona 3
Characters requested: Sanada Akihiko, Female Persona 3 Protagonist, Kirijo Mitsuru, Hasegawa Saori
Signup details: I was lucky enough to receive a wonderful Persona 3 story in a previous Yuletide, but there can never be enough P3 fic as far as I'm concerned so I couldn't help but request it again :)
I really, really loved the fact that I could play as a female character in this game - I’ve played as both protagonists but I really like the female protagonist's interactions and relationships, especially with Akihiko and Mitsuru. I love having a female character be a respected leader - both Mitsuru and the protagonist. I also find Mitsuru and Akihiko’s past to be really interesting (as well as their friendship with Shinjiro), and I’d love to see this elaborated on in some way. The game’s combination of creating deep friendships and then fighting together and developing a huge amount of trust in each other is what I love the most about it, and I’d love to see a story set towards the end-game or post-game as a result (ie, preferably no character death at the end of the game!). I also love the side characters in the game - the social links that are not involved in fighting shadows - which is why I'm also requesting Saori this year, because I really loved her backstory and the friendship she builds with the female protagonist.
I would love to see any story that builds on the female protagonist's relationship with any of the others (or all of them). This can flesh out their back stories, or just build on their relationship as it is in the end game and post-game. It could be ship fic or gen, I don’t mind either way! I have the following P3 ships:
- Female protagonist/Mitsuru
- Female protagonist/Akihiko
- Female protagonist/Saori
- Female protagonist/Mitsuru/Akihiko
- Female protagonist/Mitsuru/Akihiko/Shinjiro
- Mitsuru/Yukari
While my prompts involve suggestions for incorporating ships, I read shipfic and gen in equal measure and really don't mind at all if you'd rather write the gen version of a prompt rather than include ships - I would be equally happy with either. I’d also love to see cameos from any of the other characters, particularly Yukari, Koromaru, and Rio. You’re welcome to either call the protagonist Minako, or find a way to avoid naming her altogether - up to you! Also, I’m a big fan of Persona 4 as well, so if you feel like writing a crossover or bringing in Persona 4 characters in some way, go for it! I've played Persona Q but not Persona 4 Arena or Arena Ultimaxx. Oh, and the version of P3 I played was P3P :)
Some prompts/ideas:
- If you're writing shipfic, I'd love to see a fic dealing with an established Mitsuru/Akihiko(/Shinjiro) relationship which the female protagonist then gets drawn into, maybe through developing an individual relationship with each character in all their messed-up-ness beyond what we see in the social links, and then gradually getting drawn into the relationship between all three. Seeing some of the others' backstory from their childhood could be fun here too. I'm not so interested in porn, more the relationship dynamics that seem to go beyond just friendship between them all in all sorts of ways. I’d especially like a fic that combines facing danger of some kind together, alongside some more introspective relationship building moments.
- Any pre- or post-game story focusing on Akihiko and Mitsuru. I'd love to see something that explores their childhood - it's hinted that Akihiko grew up in an orphanage, but it would be great to see that fleshed out! (Particularly with some hurt/comfort thrown in would be awesome). When did he meet Mitsuru, and how did he get to know her? (For any of these prompts, feel free to not include the protagonist if you're focusing entirely on the pre-game era - although if you can find a way to work her in somehow, that would also be great! Maybe as the Seal she can watch her friends at any point in their lives from afar, and we get her outsider perspective on the others' earlier lives?)
- For Saori, it would be great to see more of her friendship with the female protagonist, (or their friendship developing into something more!). I always love a bit of angst - so facing up to danger together, and having each other's backs, or some hurt/comfort (with a happy ending) would be awesome! It would also be interesting to see Saori discover more details about the female protagonist's 'secret life' fighting shadows, and get drawn into it some way. Or maybe she becomes instrumental in helping her avoid being the Seal and survive the end of the game?
- any kind of relationship building between any of my nominated characters would be great in general - I love seeing the Persona characters get to know each other better, the social links are one of my favourite parts of the game!
Fandom-specific things I would love: cameos from the other characters, particularly Koromaru, Yukari, and Rio, any kind of crossover with Persona 4 or 5 (or just Persona 4 or 5 characters making a cameo appearance), gameplay elements (such as social link level ups or the battle system) incorporated into the story somehow.
Fandom-specific things I wouldn't enjoy so much: miscommunications leading to awkwardness (I get major embarrassment squick from this, it’s just not a trope I enjoy!), character bashing of any of the characters, jealousy as a major component of the story, OT3 or OT4 fic focusing solely or primarily on domestic life/arrangements
---
Poirot - Agatha Christie
Characters requested: Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings
Signup details: I adored these books as a child/teenager, and it would be wonderful to read more of Poirot's adventures. One of my favourite things about Agatha Christie's writing, and the Poirot novels in particular, is the characterisation - even with very minor characters, the reader always has a great sense of who that person is, with all their quirks. I always really enjoyed the relationship between Poirot, with his fastidiousness and incredible talent for seeing the tiniest details and connecting them, with Hastings, who despite sometimes finding Poirot rather frustrating (who wouldn't?) clearly enjoys his company immensely, values his skills, and also brings his own valuable insights to the table.
For this fandom, I would love case!fic (or scenes from a larger plot would be wonderful too!). Alongside that, I would love to see the friendship between Poirot and Hastings - how they work together to solve the mystery, with their disagreements but ultimate appreciation for each other. I'd prefer gen here, or at least not romance if you do ship Poirot/Hastings (I don't mind fic that can be read either way, or in which they're clearly life partners but the focus isn't on romance or that aspect of their relationship). I also would prefer fic set during the 'golden era' of Poirot (circa Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile etc), rather than at the end of his life. Alternatively, an exploration of his backstory would be interesting, during his years in Belgium (perhaps involving his and Hastings' first meeting).
Some prompts/ideas:
- A casefic along the lines of classic Poirot stories would be glorious (although I am in no way expecting this because it would clearly be a huge undertaking!). Equally, scenes from a larger plot in which Poirot and Hastings are solving a mystery would also be awesome (perhaps 5 things style).
- As mentioned above, an exploration of Poirot's backstory - his years in Belgium, his first meeting with Hastings, or perhaps even his first attempts to solve mysteries would be very interesting to read! I'd love to see him discovering his catchphrase, or realising that being a detective is what he is good at.
- A darker possibility would be to see his experiences during the First World War - how did he get the injury that caused his limp? How did he make it to England? Something along these lines, perhaps with some hurt/comfort or in which Hastings has to help Poirot, would be awesome.
- I would also be open to more cracky scenarios for this fandom - for example, cracky crossovers in which Poirot and Hastings end up in the Star Trek universe or the Discworld universe and have to solve a mystery there (with all of Poirot's distaste at the unusual situation!); Poirot meets the Doctor (perhaps after the Doctor has met Agatha Christie!); it turns out that magic is real and Poirot has to accept this in order to solve the mystery. Or something else! I am definitely open to other ideas too :) The only thing I'm not really interested in seeing is 21st century Poirot, either through a time setting change or time travel.
As a general note - I don't think I've read every single Poirot story out there, and it's been a long time since I read some of them. It may therefore be that some of my prompts are answered in parts of canon I haven't read! I therefore totally don't mind if you go AU for your fic, even if it doesn't quite match canon 'history' - for example, the dates/circumstances that Poirot and Hastings met.
Fandom-specific things I would love: mentions of Poirot's quirks and favourite sayings, case!fic, Hastings' suggestion being the key to Poirot solving the mystery, mentions of other Poirot cases, Poirot/Hastings bromance
Fandom-specific things I wouldn't enjoy so much: modern settings (Poirot should always be in or come from his own time period, even in a more cracky scenario), romance or ship-focused fic, more than brief mentions of Hastings' other romantic relationships
---
The Quantocks Quartet
Characters requested: Julia Purcell
Signup details: This series was one of my favourites when I was younger, and I always especially adored Julia. I love the way each book focuses on each sister's growing up from child to adult after their parents' deaths, and the way the war and their relationship with each other (and the Mackenzie family) contributed to that. Julia's story was always especially compelling for me, probably partly because it focuses much more on the psychological impact of those events and relationships than the other books, not only on Julia but also on Geoffrey. I also always loved how the books dealt with the role of art and creativity in the girls' lives, particularly for Julia, as someone 'good, but not quite as good as her sister'!
I would love to see any exploration of Julia's life, particularly during her time in France or after Geoffrey's death. I'm not so interested in her relationship with her eventual husband, but if you want to write something that spans her whole life then of course feel free to include him and her children! I always found her relationship with both Geoffrey and Gabriel fascinating (I have to admit, Gabriel was my first literary crush!), as well as her relationship with Frances and Gwen, so anything that focuses on any of those would be awesome.
Some prompts:
- Julia's letters - with Geoffrey, or to the various people that she writes to, fleshing out her experiences of the War and its aftermath (particularly for her personally). More details about any of the events mentioned in the book would be amazing, as would seeing the replies she receives, or other people's perspectives on her story.
- Julia and Geoffrey during the war - feel free to give them an extra chance to interact that we don't see in the book. Some hurt/comfort would be great (either for Julia or for Geoffrey), and I definitely ship them.
- Julia and Frances, and painting - Frances trying to paint Geoffrey and finding it very distressing was a scene that stuck with me for a long time, and I would love to see more conversation between the two sisters on this or other painting and love-related topics.
In general, feel free to go as angsty and heart-breaking as you want here! Bittersweet endings are fine, particularly where Julia/Geoffrey is concerned, since I'd rather you not retcon his death or shell shock.
Fandom-specific things I would love: First World War specific details (shell-shock, nursing, travel between England and France, letters taking a long time to arrive etc), angst or hurt/comfort, interactions with her sisters and the Mackenzies in general!
Fandom-specific things I wouldn't enjoy so much: incest, fluff, Geoffrey lives-AU
---
So, thanks again, and I hope my requests haven't scared you off altogether! Definitely take everything I've written here as a suggestion to start off your creative process, not anything prescriptive at all - if you get an awesome idea when reading this, but it doesn't match any particular prompt, then go for it. I'm sure I will love it :D If anything here is really confusing, or you want to know more about my preferences that I've missed/forgotten here, then totally feel free to get in touch via the mods or through commenting anonymously here. I am really looking forward to reading your story, and I know if you love any one of these fandoms you must be an awesome person, so I'm really happy we were matched!
Good luck, and happy Yuletide,
Anna/mk_tortie
P.S.: I have anonymous commenting enabled, and IP logging disabled, so if you'd like to ask me about my letter or need to know more from me, you are very welcome to ask here!