Yuletide Letter 2023
Oct. 17th, 2023 03:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonbat2006Dear Yuletide Writer,
First of all, thanks so much for doing this! I usually do put my DNWs in the initial sign-up just in case I don't get around to writing this, but here are a few tweaks.
In general, I'm pretty easy to please. I go with genfic or canon pairings but am open to whatever you come up with. In general, unless I say otherwise, don't go more graphic/explicit than the source material. Some of my picks deal with some pretty dark canonical stuff this year, but in each case, it's addressed without all the gory details. I'm good with that.
I like happy endings and hopeful endings. You can put the characters through several kinds of hell at the beginning and middle, but convince me that by the end, they're ready to pull themselves together, pick up the pieces, and go on, and I'm a happy camper.
As far as character death, if it's canonical, no issues. If you want to do something like, "Decades later [Character A] gives the eulogy at [Character B]'s funeral, or finds happiness with B's spouse, Character C"? Great. I'd prefer not to have the dying part happen on-page, though.
I love angst, hurt-comfort, friendship, missing scenes, post-canon, quiet interludes, divergence AUs that deal with "What if Character had chosen differently at [key point]?" I'm not great with the kinds of AUs that put the characters in a milieu that's so far removed from their own that they're practically OCs with canon names. Xena Warrior Princess High School AU? Hard pass. Ditto for Lord of the Rings Coffee Shop AU, btw.
So that's the general. As for the specifics, it's going to be mostly copy-paste from my signup, but here we go again:
1. Flowers in the Attic
Cathy. With other characters or introspecting, I'm good either way. I know incest is in the canon, but it's not something I'm generally into. If you want to deal with her agonizing over the aftermath, struggling with her feelings for her brother, etc., I'm okay, but I'd rather you don't graphically describe the act itself. Other prompts:
Let her tell her mother or grandmother a few bitter truths.
Let her agonize over being forced to be a mother to her younger siblings.
Heck, if you want to picture what might have happened if she had got out of that chest at the Christmas party and confronted her grandfather in front of the crowd, go for it.
Just please give me an ending on an upbeat. Doesn't necessarily have to be happy, as long as it's hopeful.
2. The Winds of War series
No Holocaust porn. No "Natalie charms an SS officer into giving her extra food and blankets" or "Natalie offered freedom for sex." Probably avoid everything between Theresienstadt and liberation, actually.
Other characters are welcome. I would like to see Byron and Natalie post-series. Possibly helping each other to parse their wartime experiences, even though neither can fully understand/appreciate what the other went through. Helping Louis. How does the Henry clan relate to Natalie? Natalie taking Byron home to meet her family. Facing the future.
Barring that, give me a missing scene from their early days in Sienna.
Or, if you'd rather, show me Byron being his headstrong self, either with his family, some bureaucrat he's trying to get help from, or his fellow submariners/commanding officer (just don't let him do something that would be a guaranteed court-martial offense)! Natalie trying to persuade Aaron to leave. Or convince her mother to let her go back to Italy after her father's funeral. A long love letter, to Byron, Slote, or some other boyfriend/old chum.
No graphic sex, no infidelity, no rape.
3. Dickensian
I didn't nominate this fandom. Of the characters in the tag-set, Amelia is really the only one who interests me. Doesn't mean I hate the other two, just that I wouldn't be interested in a fic that focuses on them. IF you want to use characters not in the tag-set, I loved Amelia's friendship with Honoria, and I'm curious about how a conversation between her and Nancy might go. If those other two ladies don't do it for you, no worries. They're not in the tag-set, after all.
My prompts:
Young Amelia, before she and Arthur fell out!
Amelia interacting with some of the other characters! I loved her friendship with Honoria. Wouldn't mind seeing her carriage driver take a wrong turn and end up driving through a seedier part of London.
Amelia determined to learn how to run the brewery, despite all the strikes against her.
Or show how Amelia changes from the vibrant, hopeful young woman to the cold misandrist she'll become by the time of Great Expectations.
I've seen some speculation that if Dickensian had got another season, Honoria's infant Esther would in fact have been Miss Havisham's Estella. Play with that, if you like and show me how Amelia brings up her young ward. (Actually, for this prompt, Esther and Estella don't need to be the same character, do they? I'd still be happy with something showing Amelia as mother-type.)
4. New Mutants
I'm strictly old-school New Mutants. I read the original series back in the 80s, but not the reboots. If you want to reference things that happened in later iterations, that's fine, but I prefer the original characterizations.
I love the Dani-Rahne friendship, and the Kitty-Illyana friendship is a close second. Suggestions:
Rahne angsting over the conflict between her upbringing and her new life and Dani helping her through it. Dani confiding in Rahne about her fears/worries/losses. Kitty and Illyana helping each other through their own traumas (feel free to reference Kitty Pryde and Wolverine, if you're familiar.)
Or just a standard "Face a threat with mutant powers, teamwork, and a few well-placed quips."
Other characters welcome. Prefer gen-fic. T-rated or lower.
5. Earth's Children
I always wondered what happened to the Clan after Ayla left them. So...
What happened to Durc after Ayla was death-cursed? I'd like to see how things progress. Possible ideas:
1. Broud keeps assigning Durc dangerous tasks, hoping he'll be killed... and Durc keeps living.
2. Brac (or another of Broud's sons) ends up befriending Durc, despite his father's wishes.
3. Durc manages to earn Broud's respect
4. Durc challenges Broud for leadership, either in his youth, or after he mates Ura.
Don't feel bound by these. Sky's the limit with one exception: No physical death-fic. Spiritual death-curses are fine, however!
6. Blue Castle
This is my all-time favorite LMM novel! I love Valancy, but really, all of the nominated characters are great. If you'd rather write something about Cissy coming home to Abel, ill and pregnant, for example, go for it!
Actually, any or all of the nominated characters are fine.
Possible ideas: Barney talking to Cissy about Valancy. Cissy musing about the afterlife. Valancy enjoying her newfound freedom. Barney and Valancy very much in love. Cousin Georgina thinking about Cissy and questioning whether she really is such a 'bad' girl.
Don't go any more graphic than canon did, please.
Thanks again for doing this. I'm looking forward to reading whatever you come up with and I can't wait to see it!
First of all, thanks so much for doing this! I usually do put my DNWs in the initial sign-up just in case I don't get around to writing this, but here are a few tweaks.
In general, I'm pretty easy to please. I go with genfic or canon pairings but am open to whatever you come up with. In general, unless I say otherwise, don't go more graphic/explicit than the source material. Some of my picks deal with some pretty dark canonical stuff this year, but in each case, it's addressed without all the gory details. I'm good with that.
I like happy endings and hopeful endings. You can put the characters through several kinds of hell at the beginning and middle, but convince me that by the end, they're ready to pull themselves together, pick up the pieces, and go on, and I'm a happy camper.
As far as character death, if it's canonical, no issues. If you want to do something like, "Decades later [Character A] gives the eulogy at [Character B]'s funeral, or finds happiness with B's spouse, Character C"? Great. I'd prefer not to have the dying part happen on-page, though.
I love angst, hurt-comfort, friendship, missing scenes, post-canon, quiet interludes, divergence AUs that deal with "What if Character had chosen differently at [key point]?" I'm not great with the kinds of AUs that put the characters in a milieu that's so far removed from their own that they're practically OCs with canon names. Xena Warrior Princess High School AU? Hard pass. Ditto for Lord of the Rings Coffee Shop AU, btw.
So that's the general. As for the specifics, it's going to be mostly copy-paste from my signup, but here we go again:
1. Flowers in the Attic
Cathy. With other characters or introspecting, I'm good either way. I know incest is in the canon, but it's not something I'm generally into. If you want to deal with her agonizing over the aftermath, struggling with her feelings for her brother, etc., I'm okay, but I'd rather you don't graphically describe the act itself. Other prompts:
Let her tell her mother or grandmother a few bitter truths.
Let her agonize over being forced to be a mother to her younger siblings.
Heck, if you want to picture what might have happened if she had got out of that chest at the Christmas party and confronted her grandfather in front of the crowd, go for it.
Just please give me an ending on an upbeat. Doesn't necessarily have to be happy, as long as it's hopeful.
2. The Winds of War series
No Holocaust porn. No "Natalie charms an SS officer into giving her extra food and blankets" or "Natalie offered freedom for sex." Probably avoid everything between Theresienstadt and liberation, actually.
Other characters are welcome. I would like to see Byron and Natalie post-series. Possibly helping each other to parse their wartime experiences, even though neither can fully understand/appreciate what the other went through. Helping Louis. How does the Henry clan relate to Natalie? Natalie taking Byron home to meet her family. Facing the future.
Barring that, give me a missing scene from their early days in Sienna.
Or, if you'd rather, show me Byron being his headstrong self, either with his family, some bureaucrat he's trying to get help from, or his fellow submariners/commanding officer (just don't let him do something that would be a guaranteed court-martial offense)! Natalie trying to persuade Aaron to leave. Or convince her mother to let her go back to Italy after her father's funeral. A long love letter, to Byron, Slote, or some other boyfriend/old chum.
No graphic sex, no infidelity, no rape.
3. Dickensian
I didn't nominate this fandom. Of the characters in the tag-set, Amelia is really the only one who interests me. Doesn't mean I hate the other two, just that I wouldn't be interested in a fic that focuses on them. IF you want to use characters not in the tag-set, I loved Amelia's friendship with Honoria, and I'm curious about how a conversation between her and Nancy might go. If those other two ladies don't do it for you, no worries. They're not in the tag-set, after all.
My prompts:
Young Amelia, before she and Arthur fell out!
Amelia interacting with some of the other characters! I loved her friendship with Honoria. Wouldn't mind seeing her carriage driver take a wrong turn and end up driving through a seedier part of London.
Amelia determined to learn how to run the brewery, despite all the strikes against her.
Or show how Amelia changes from the vibrant, hopeful young woman to the cold misandrist she'll become by the time of Great Expectations.
I've seen some speculation that if Dickensian had got another season, Honoria's infant Esther would in fact have been Miss Havisham's Estella. Play with that, if you like and show me how Amelia brings up her young ward. (Actually, for this prompt, Esther and Estella don't need to be the same character, do they? I'd still be happy with something showing Amelia as mother-type.)
4. New Mutants
I'm strictly old-school New Mutants. I read the original series back in the 80s, but not the reboots. If you want to reference things that happened in later iterations, that's fine, but I prefer the original characterizations.
I love the Dani-Rahne friendship, and the Kitty-Illyana friendship is a close second. Suggestions:
Rahne angsting over the conflict between her upbringing and her new life and Dani helping her through it. Dani confiding in Rahne about her fears/worries/losses. Kitty and Illyana helping each other through their own traumas (feel free to reference Kitty Pryde and Wolverine, if you're familiar.)
Or just a standard "Face a threat with mutant powers, teamwork, and a few well-placed quips."
Other characters welcome. Prefer gen-fic. T-rated or lower.
5. Earth's Children
I always wondered what happened to the Clan after Ayla left them. So...
What happened to Durc after Ayla was death-cursed? I'd like to see how things progress. Possible ideas:
1. Broud keeps assigning Durc dangerous tasks, hoping he'll be killed... and Durc keeps living.
2. Brac (or another of Broud's sons) ends up befriending Durc, despite his father's wishes.
3. Durc manages to earn Broud's respect
4. Durc challenges Broud for leadership, either in his youth, or after he mates Ura.
Don't feel bound by these. Sky's the limit with one exception: No physical death-fic. Spiritual death-curses are fine, however!
6. Blue Castle
This is my all-time favorite LMM novel! I love Valancy, but really, all of the nominated characters are great. If you'd rather write something about Cissy coming home to Abel, ill and pregnant, for example, go for it!
Actually, any or all of the nominated characters are fine.
Possible ideas: Barney talking to Cissy about Valancy. Cissy musing about the afterlife. Valancy enjoying her newfound freedom. Barney and Valancy very much in love. Cousin Georgina thinking about Cissy and questioning whether she really is such a 'bad' girl.
Don't go any more graphic than canon did, please.
Thanks again for doing this. I'm looking forward to reading whatever you come up with and I can't wait to see it!
