Dear Yuletide Writer
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Oh god, I'm sorry this is so long! This is only my second year doing Yuletide, so I don't have this quite down yet! But here's the most important part: whatever you do, I will sincerly enjoy it, and I hope you have lots of fun writing it. Don't feel too stuck if you can't write any of my prompts; they're just there for ideas. If it's using the character(s) I've requested and avoiding my DNWs, I'm sure you'll be fine!
My AO3 name is VictoriaWrites (I don't quite have the standardized screenname thing down yet).
Things I Like:
Do Not Wants:
Donna Dark, Jocelyn Dark, Margaret Dark, Peter Penhallow
Ships: Donna/Peter, Jocelyn/Hugh
This book is among my favorite of L.M. Montgomery's books, though I seem to be in the minority even among her fans. I do understand why; it's a "problematic" book (to use one of my least-favorite buzzwords). The punchline to the conflict between the Sams is racist and unfunny to modern eyes, and almost kept me from requesting this.
That caveat aside, I love everything else about this book. I had a truly terrible time narrowing my nominations down to just 4 characters (poor Gay Penhallow and Aunt Becky just couldn't make the cut, nor could Hugh Dark), but don't let that limit your imaginations!
In general, I'd like to read something about the characters post-canon. I want to hear about Margaret, now that she's finally got her little house and has adopted Brian. The rest of the clan probably gives her an awful time about being jilted by Penny- or do they? We saw a little of how Jocelyn started to rebuild her life with Hugh after her awful mistake; how do they go on? (Headcanon alert: Jocelyn always seems to me to be a very blunt person; I've always headcanoned her to be more like the Next Coming of Aunt Becky than anyone else. But with a bit more empathy.) And Donna and Peter- tell me all about their adventures together as a couple! Or if you would rather just write about Peter, I would love to know more about him before he fell in love with Donna. I'd also be interested in Donna's friendship with Virginia, before and after Donna's second marriage.
Galavant
Any (Galavant, Isabella, Sidney, Gwynne, Madalena, Jester, Pirate King, Richard)
Ships: Gwynne/Vinceczo, Galavant/Sid, Galavant/Isabella, Sid/Isabella, Galavant/Sid/Isabella, Richard/Gareth, Madalena/Everyone
This show is an absolute delight. It's weird and clever and I've never seen anything quite like it before. I loved how campy and over-the-top it was- it never took itself too seriously. At the same time, it never sacrificed story for style. It was funny and heartwarming and made me love all the characters, even the fabulously irredeemable Madalena. (Evil looks good on her!) I look forward to seeing what the writers have planned for Season 2, but until then, I'll have to content myself with fanfic and rampant speculation. This is a great canon to go meta in, especially since canon itself is very meta. Don't feel like you have to use all of these characters- though I would be pleasantly surprised if you did.
First of all, Gwynne: what is it like to be a peasant girl caught up in all of these machinations? We got a bit of that in "A Happy Ending for Us" - I'd love more! Or maybe a bit more of her relationship with the chef (aka Vincezo). Or something about what it was like to be Madalena's handmaiden- that couldn't have been an easy job!
As for Madalena herself, I'd love a character study. It doesn't have to be boring; I'd just love to get in her head when she's being manipulative or outright evil. Of course, this may include Madalena/Galavant, Madalena/Richard, Madalena/Jester...really, Madalena is one character I could comfortable ship with just about anyone, though it may be a bit dub-con, due to her manipulations. Just give me Madalena being clever and devious and fabulous!
The Jester is sort of an odd character- tell me more about him! He's obviously down with having sex (all the time) with Madalena, but what does he really think of her? Does he ever feel bad for the king? Most importantly, how does he know everything that he sings about? Does he have some sort of special meta-narrative powers? I need to know!
Give me Richard and Gal bonding after the end of season 1! Or scenes from Richard's childhood! I ship Richard and Gareth a bit; how does Richard deal with being apart from his best friend (and maybe more)? Gal made a deal to look after Richard; how exactly does that go?
The Pirate King (Peter the Pillager, according to the Galavant wikia)! This character embodies everything I love about this show. He's a leader of incompetent pirates who sell homemade organic desserts! I don't have any prompts for him; just tell me more! Backstory, post-canon, wildly-inaccurate tales of his accomplisments, whatever!
Finally, the main trio I pretty much ship these in any configuration, whether it is Galavant/Isabella, Sid/Isabella, Sid/Galavant, or Galavant/Isabella/Sid. And of course, gen is always welcome! More importantly, I'd love to read about their continued adventures. Tell me about the adventures Sid and Galavant had before Gal became cynical and depressed. Or fill in the gaps from Season 1 with extra adventures- they were probably on that pirate ship for a while, and I'm sure they ran into plenty of other problems. Or about how our heroes get out of their predicament at the end of Season 1! Or fast-forward and tell about the adventures they go on together later- does Isabella join Sid and Galavant to rescue fair maidens and slay dragons and other knightly activities?
iZombie
Any (Clive Babineaux, Liv Moore, Major Lilywhite, Peyton Charles, Ravi Chakrabarti, Blaine DeBeers)
Ships: Peyton/Ravi, Liv/Lowell
Another new delightful show this year! I've never read the comic, which I understand is quite different, so any comic references you use will be entirely over my head. I really enjoy the concept of this show, how Liv becomes almost a different person each time she eats a brain. The show frustrates me ridiculously, though, with its steadfast refusal to tell Major or Clive what's going on, but I have high hopes things will get better. And right now, I appreciate it for being the quirky, light-hearted zombie show I never knew I wanted. Again, don't feel like you have to use all the characters in your story; I would love to read about any or all of these!
When I first started watching the show, I thought Major would be the most boring, unmemorable character in recent TV. He was a nice guy (but not a Nice Guy (TM)) with a good job who truly cared about people. That makes for great reality and really boring TV. And then terrible things started to happen to Major. He got beat up and lost his job and got arrested and got beat up some more. And went a little nuts and turned into a zombie hunter. So what I'm saying is that I would really love some good ol' fashioned hurt/comfort for Major. What are his reactions to what happened in those last couple of episodes? What terrible idea does he have now? How is the zombie criminal element of Seattle going to hurt him this time? If that's not your thing, (which I completely understand; I know I'm a little weird) I'd love something about his friendship with Ravi. They have such an odd friendship, it's adorable.
Speaking of the zombie criminal element of Seattle: Blaine! This is another character that I just love to hate. He's clever and awful and always one step ahead. I would love to see him get his comeuppance. I'd also like to see him be written as being a smart and competent antagonist who makes the heroes work hard to keep up. If you want to focus on Blaine himself, I'd like a look at how he reacts to the side-effects of zombie-ism. Obviously he's taken to being nearly invincible and eating brains pretty well, but what about that weird thing where he sometimes takes on other people's personalities? Does that ever get to him? What did he do before he was a zombie? Was he always this stone-cold? Or what about the aftermath of the season 1 finale - what's going through Blaine's head now? What does he do next?
Peyton is very much a side character, but I think she's intriguing. I'd love something about Liv from her perspective, as Liv adjusts to being a zombie. What does Peyton think of these changes? Does she think this is PTSD, or depression, or drugs, or what? Or something after she finds out- how does she feel about Liv, about everything, now that she knows? Or for something a little lighter, I'd like to know a little more about her and Ravi's relationship - we only see a little of it in the show, so give me more! Liv says Ravi isn't the kind of guy Peyton usually dates, so what draws her to him?
And Clive! I love Clive. (I'm probably super biased since I adored the actor in Breakout Kings, but the point stands.) What does he really think of Liv's psychic act? I don't think he believes it, but he's got to wonder where she gets her information. How does he feel about the sudden crazy he's been subjected to, thanks (partly) to Liv? (This is another case where I suspect the people closest to Liv might have some very interesting theories about what exactly is up with her- though nothing close to the truth!) Or I'd love something where he finds out about zombies.
Ravi is a sweetheart and an amazing friend. As stated earlier, I would love something about his and Major's odd friendship, or his relationship with Peyton. Ravi really seems like the kind of friend who brings out the best in people. Additionally, I'd love more about his friendship with Liv, in general. He takes the revelation that his co-worker is a zombie so easily! He creates an antidote to zombie-ism! Ravi is all-around awesome and I want to see that celebrated.
Lowell! I loved Lowell and Liv together. You'd be welcome to fill in some scenes from when they were together- they were such a cute undead couple. <3 I wouldn't mind a divergent AU where Lowell lives, either; how do things change from there?
Finally, our heroine. I would love basically anything about Liv, and this canon is so versatile! Casefic is great, or anything that makes use of Liv's side-effects from eating brains. Her life is kind of traumatic (very traumatic) - how does she cope? Or does she just pretend that nothing bad has happened?
Life (TV)
Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Jane Seever, Ted Earley
I love this show and it ended way too soon. I kind of understand why it did- it's a darkly comedic police procedural with murky ethics. My mom asked me why I was laughing when I was watching an episode, and I had to explain that one of the characters just spent most of the episode with a pencil stuck in his hand.
(This is why no one thinks I'm funny. Because I think weird shit like that is funny.)
I'd love post-canon fic- something about what happens next. Or else I'd just like slice-of-life fic from Dani, Jane, or Ted's point of view. Tell me about what it's like to live or work with Charlie. I recieved a great fic for this series last year, but that only makes me want more! I don't mind if you include Tidwell as a secondary or tertiary character, but no Tidwell/Reese, please!
Rosemary and Thyme
Laura Thyme, Rosemary Boxer
Ships: Laura/Rosemary
I recently binge-watched this entire series on Netflix and it is the show I never knew was missing from my life. A cozy mystery series starring gardeners! And Laura and Rosemary are so shippable, at least in my eyes.
For Laura/Rosemary, I'd love to read a get-together fic. What makes them take their relationship from friendship to something more? Hurt/comfort might be great here, as would pretend dating! Or maybe something with Matthew and/or Helena learning about their relationship.
If you'd prefer to write gen, I'd still love hurt/comfort of some sort. Or a sort of road trip story- the Range Rover is very nearly a character in itself. What about all the odd places Laura and Rosemary travel where they don't find mysteries to solve; surely there must be a few!
And of course, case fic is always welcome, for those who are interested in writing it.
Swordspoint: The Privilege of the Sword
Artemesia Fitz-Levi, Katherine Talbert
Ships: Artemesia/Katherine
The first time I read this book, I was certain it was secretly a lesbian romance. The kiss between Katherine and the Black Rose, and Katherine's sexual awakening! Cross-dressing! Artemesia repeatedly comparing to Katherine Tyrian and Fabian- and Katherine called Artemesia Stella! (I know it's from the play, and the two are using it as code, but I think their silliness about these characters makes it a bit more romantic.) Katherine saving Artemesia from marrying her rapist!* (I have post-it notes marking every single page where these two interact, or think about each other, or otherwise advance that particular plot, so I may be a bit crazed. Someday I will write my own fanfic about these two, when I am less lazy about adhering to worldbuilding.)
I'd love to see Katherine and Artemesia get together; maybe as a canon divergent AU where the girls get together at the end, or maybe something post-canon, where Katherine is Duchess Tremontaine. Honestly, I'd love anything set in this universe where these two get together properly.
If you really don't want to write a shipfic for these two, I'd love to see Katherine putting her skills with a sword to work, fighting for those who can't speak up for themselves, similar to how she did for Artemesia. If you're feeling particularly up for a challenge, I'd love something that plays with the concept of a story within a story, like Kushner did with The Swordsman Whose Name Was Not Death.
*Please note that while I've listed non-con as a DNW, I don't mind acknowledging rape as something that happens in this world and as something that has happened to one of these characters, but don't feel like you have to write about it, either.
Thank you again for your efforts, and know that I will love whatever you write!
Lots of love,
VictoriaWrites
Oh god, I'm sorry this is so long! This is only my second year doing Yuletide, so I don't have this quite down yet! But here's the most important part: whatever you do, I will sincerly enjoy it, and I hope you have lots of fun writing it. Don't feel too stuck if you can't write any of my prompts; they're just there for ideas. If it's using the character(s) I've requested and avoiding my DNWs, I'm sure you'll be fine!
My AO3 name is VictoriaWrites (I don't quite have the standardized screenname thing down yet).
Things I Like:
- Canon! I nominate things because I love the canon worlds, and while I don't mind canon AUs or canon divergences, I want to read about these particular characters.
- That said, feel free to write pre- or post-canon (especially where noted!) and fill in the gaps of canon
- I also love competency. When a character is good at something, I want everyone to know it, dammit!
- Tropes: secretly dating, pretend dating, friends-to-lovers, 5+1, families of choice, outsider POV, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, humor
- I like both gen and ship fic, but please stick to canon ships unless otherwise stated!
- I like things that go meta- but only when appropriate to the source material. Video game fics are probably the obvious example, but here's another one I really liked: a yellow-papered heart. (Why, yes, all of my examples are Nancy Drew related. Why do you ask?)
- Casefic
Do Not Wants:
- PWPs, though porn with plot is usually okay
- non-canon AUs (such as coffeeship AU or high school AU)
- non-con
- extreme violence (stick with canon levels of violence)
- character death
- crossovers
- brainwashing/mental horror
Donna Dark, Jocelyn Dark, Margaret Dark, Peter Penhallow
Ships: Donna/Peter, Jocelyn/Hugh
This book is among my favorite of L.M. Montgomery's books, though I seem to be in the minority even among her fans. I do understand why; it's a "problematic" book (to use one of my least-favorite buzzwords). The punchline to the conflict between the Sams is racist and unfunny to modern eyes, and almost kept me from requesting this.
That caveat aside, I love everything else about this book. I had a truly terrible time narrowing my nominations down to just 4 characters (poor Gay Penhallow and Aunt Becky just couldn't make the cut, nor could Hugh Dark), but don't let that limit your imaginations!
In general, I'd like to read something about the characters post-canon. I want to hear about Margaret, now that she's finally got her little house and has adopted Brian. The rest of the clan probably gives her an awful time about being jilted by Penny- or do they? We saw a little of how Jocelyn started to rebuild her life with Hugh after her awful mistake; how do they go on? (Headcanon alert: Jocelyn always seems to me to be a very blunt person; I've always headcanoned her to be more like the Next Coming of Aunt Becky than anyone else. But with a bit more empathy.) And Donna and Peter- tell me all about their adventures together as a couple! Or if you would rather just write about Peter, I would love to know more about him before he fell in love with Donna. I'd also be interested in Donna's friendship with Virginia, before and after Donna's second marriage.
Galavant
Any (Galavant, Isabella, Sidney, Gwynne, Madalena, Jester, Pirate King, Richard)
Ships: Gwynne/Vinceczo, Galavant/Sid, Galavant/Isabella, Sid/Isabella, Galavant/Sid/Isabella, Richard/Gareth, Madalena/Everyone
This show is an absolute delight. It's weird and clever and I've never seen anything quite like it before. I loved how campy and over-the-top it was- it never took itself too seriously. At the same time, it never sacrificed story for style. It was funny and heartwarming and made me love all the characters, even the fabulously irredeemable Madalena. (Evil looks good on her!) I look forward to seeing what the writers have planned for Season 2, but until then, I'll have to content myself with fanfic and rampant speculation. This is a great canon to go meta in, especially since canon itself is very meta. Don't feel like you have to use all of these characters- though I would be pleasantly surprised if you did.
First of all, Gwynne: what is it like to be a peasant girl caught up in all of these machinations? We got a bit of that in "A Happy Ending for Us" - I'd love more! Or maybe a bit more of her relationship with the chef (aka Vincezo). Or something about what it was like to be Madalena's handmaiden- that couldn't have been an easy job!
As for Madalena herself, I'd love a character study. It doesn't have to be boring; I'd just love to get in her head when she's being manipulative or outright evil. Of course, this may include Madalena/Galavant, Madalena/Richard, Madalena/Jester...really, Madalena is one character I could comfortable ship with just about anyone, though it may be a bit dub-con, due to her manipulations. Just give me Madalena being clever and devious and fabulous!
The Jester is sort of an odd character- tell me more about him! He's obviously down with having sex (all the time) with Madalena, but what does he really think of her? Does he ever feel bad for the king? Most importantly, how does he know everything that he sings about? Does he have some sort of special meta-narrative powers? I need to know!
Give me Richard and Gal bonding after the end of season 1! Or scenes from Richard's childhood! I ship Richard and Gareth a bit; how does Richard deal with being apart from his best friend (and maybe more)? Gal made a deal to look after Richard; how exactly does that go?
The Pirate King (Peter the Pillager, according to the Galavant wikia)! This character embodies everything I love about this show. He's a leader of incompetent pirates who sell homemade organic desserts! I don't have any prompts for him; just tell me more! Backstory, post-canon, wildly-inaccurate tales of his accomplisments, whatever!
Finally, the main trio I pretty much ship these in any configuration, whether it is Galavant/Isabella, Sid/Isabella, Sid/Galavant, or Galavant/Isabella/Sid. And of course, gen is always welcome! More importantly, I'd love to read about their continued adventures. Tell me about the adventures Sid and Galavant had before Gal became cynical and depressed. Or fill in the gaps from Season 1 with extra adventures- they were probably on that pirate ship for a while, and I'm sure they ran into plenty of other problems. Or about how our heroes get out of their predicament at the end of Season 1! Or fast-forward and tell about the adventures they go on together later- does Isabella join Sid and Galavant to rescue fair maidens and slay dragons and other knightly activities?
iZombie
Any (Clive Babineaux, Liv Moore, Major Lilywhite, Peyton Charles, Ravi Chakrabarti, Blaine DeBeers)
Ships: Peyton/Ravi, Liv/Lowell
Another new delightful show this year! I've never read the comic, which I understand is quite different, so any comic references you use will be entirely over my head. I really enjoy the concept of this show, how Liv becomes almost a different person each time she eats a brain. The show frustrates me ridiculously, though, with its steadfast refusal to tell Major or Clive what's going on, but I have high hopes things will get better. And right now, I appreciate it for being the quirky, light-hearted zombie show I never knew I wanted. Again, don't feel like you have to use all the characters in your story; I would love to read about any or all of these!
When I first started watching the show, I thought Major would be the most boring, unmemorable character in recent TV. He was a nice guy (but not a Nice Guy (TM)) with a good job who truly cared about people. That makes for great reality and really boring TV. And then terrible things started to happen to Major. He got beat up and lost his job and got arrested and got beat up some more. And went a little nuts and turned into a zombie hunter. So what I'm saying is that I would really love some good ol' fashioned hurt/comfort for Major. What are his reactions to what happened in those last couple of episodes? What terrible idea does he have now? How is the zombie criminal element of Seattle going to hurt him this time? If that's not your thing, (which I completely understand; I know I'm a little weird) I'd love something about his friendship with Ravi. They have such an odd friendship, it's adorable.
Speaking of the zombie criminal element of Seattle: Blaine! This is another character that I just love to hate. He's clever and awful and always one step ahead. I would love to see him get his comeuppance. I'd also like to see him be written as being a smart and competent antagonist who makes the heroes work hard to keep up. If you want to focus on Blaine himself, I'd like a look at how he reacts to the side-effects of zombie-ism. Obviously he's taken to being nearly invincible and eating brains pretty well, but what about that weird thing where he sometimes takes on other people's personalities? Does that ever get to him? What did he do before he was a zombie? Was he always this stone-cold? Or what about the aftermath of the season 1 finale - what's going through Blaine's head now? What does he do next?
Peyton is very much a side character, but I think she's intriguing. I'd love something about Liv from her perspective, as Liv adjusts to being a zombie. What does Peyton think of these changes? Does she think this is PTSD, or depression, or drugs, or what? Or something after she finds out- how does she feel about Liv, about everything, now that she knows? Or for something a little lighter, I'd like to know a little more about her and Ravi's relationship - we only see a little of it in the show, so give me more! Liv says Ravi isn't the kind of guy Peyton usually dates, so what draws her to him?
And Clive! I love Clive. (I'm probably super biased since I adored the actor in Breakout Kings, but the point stands.) What does he really think of Liv's psychic act? I don't think he believes it, but he's got to wonder where she gets her information. How does he feel about the sudden crazy he's been subjected to, thanks (partly) to Liv? (This is another case where I suspect the people closest to Liv might have some very interesting theories about what exactly is up with her- though nothing close to the truth!) Or I'd love something where he finds out about zombies.
Ravi is a sweetheart and an amazing friend. As stated earlier, I would love something about his and Major's odd friendship, or his relationship with Peyton. Ravi really seems like the kind of friend who brings out the best in people. Additionally, I'd love more about his friendship with Liv, in general. He takes the revelation that his co-worker is a zombie so easily! He creates an antidote to zombie-ism! Ravi is all-around awesome and I want to see that celebrated.
Lowell! I loved Lowell and Liv together. You'd be welcome to fill in some scenes from when they were together- they were such a cute undead couple. <3 I wouldn't mind a divergent AU where Lowell lives, either; how do things change from there?
Finally, our heroine. I would love basically anything about Liv, and this canon is so versatile! Casefic is great, or anything that makes use of Liv's side-effects from eating brains. Her life is kind of traumatic (very traumatic) - how does she cope? Or does she just pretend that nothing bad has happened?
Life (TV)
Charlie Crews, Dani Reese, Jane Seever, Ted Earley
I love this show and it ended way too soon. I kind of understand why it did- it's a darkly comedic police procedural with murky ethics. My mom asked me why I was laughing when I was watching an episode, and I had to explain that one of the characters just spent most of the episode with a pencil stuck in his hand.
(This is why no one thinks I'm funny. Because I think weird shit like that is funny.)
I'd love post-canon fic- something about what happens next. Or else I'd just like slice-of-life fic from Dani, Jane, or Ted's point of view. Tell me about what it's like to live or work with Charlie. I recieved a great fic for this series last year, but that only makes me want more! I don't mind if you include Tidwell as a secondary or tertiary character, but no Tidwell/Reese, please!
Rosemary and Thyme
Laura Thyme, Rosemary Boxer
Ships: Laura/Rosemary
I recently binge-watched this entire series on Netflix and it is the show I never knew was missing from my life. A cozy mystery series starring gardeners! And Laura and Rosemary are so shippable, at least in my eyes.
For Laura/Rosemary, I'd love to read a get-together fic. What makes them take their relationship from friendship to something more? Hurt/comfort might be great here, as would pretend dating! Or maybe something with Matthew and/or Helena learning about their relationship.
If you'd prefer to write gen, I'd still love hurt/comfort of some sort. Or a sort of road trip story- the Range Rover is very nearly a character in itself. What about all the odd places Laura and Rosemary travel where they don't find mysteries to solve; surely there must be a few!
And of course, case fic is always welcome, for those who are interested in writing it.
Swordspoint: The Privilege of the Sword
Artemesia Fitz-Levi, Katherine Talbert
Ships: Artemesia/Katherine
The first time I read this book, I was certain it was secretly a lesbian romance. The kiss between Katherine and the Black Rose, and Katherine's sexual awakening! Cross-dressing! Artemesia repeatedly comparing to Katherine Tyrian and Fabian- and Katherine called Artemesia Stella! (I know it's from the play, and the two are using it as code, but I think their silliness about these characters makes it a bit more romantic.) Katherine saving Artemesia from marrying her rapist!* (I have post-it notes marking every single page where these two interact, or think about each other, or otherwise advance that particular plot, so I may be a bit crazed. Someday I will write my own fanfic about these two, when I am less lazy about adhering to worldbuilding.)
I'd love to see Katherine and Artemesia get together; maybe as a canon divergent AU where the girls get together at the end, or maybe something post-canon, where Katherine is Duchess Tremontaine. Honestly, I'd love anything set in this universe where these two get together properly.
If you really don't want to write a shipfic for these two, I'd love to see Katherine putting her skills with a sword to work, fighting for those who can't speak up for themselves, similar to how she did for Artemesia. If you're feeling particularly up for a challenge, I'd love something that plays with the concept of a story within a story, like Kushner did with The Swordsman Whose Name Was Not Death.
*Please note that while I've listed non-con as a DNW, I don't mind acknowledging rape as something that happens in this world and as something that has happened to one of these characters, but don't feel like you have to write about it, either.
Thank you again for your efforts, and know that I will love whatever you write!
Lots of love,
VictoriaWrites