Yuletide Letter 2025

[dragonbat2006]

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you for doing this! I look forward to this exchange all year, and I really appreciate your taking the time to participate.

I generally put my likes, prompts, DNWs, etc right in my signup in case I don’t have time to write a letter, so some of this is going to be copy-pasta from AO3.

In general:

• I tend to go for books and shows I read and loved as a child. Usually, I don’t want the tone to go much darker than the source material. Some of my picks (Bloody Jack and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, I am looking right at you!) deal with some serious topics, but they’re rarely presented in canon in explicit, gory detail.
• I love angst, humor, drama, fluff, h/c, introspection, family, and friendship themes. I don’t mind a bit of darkness, but I want a happy (or at least a hopeful!) ending. Something like, “We lost everything in the [disaster] but we have each other; that’s what matters. We can rebuild”? Absolutely fine. Typical noir where things go from bad to worse with no glimmer of hope in sight? Not my thing.
• I’m not a fan of graphic sex or violence. If you keep it to a T rating or lower, we’re good. (An M rating for dark themes or profanity is okay.) As far as I know, I don’t have any genuine triggers. Non-canonical infidelity is a bit of a squick, as is ‘parent and child dating the same romantic partner’ even if it’s not simultaneous. I’m okay with underage if we’re talking about, say, a couple of teenagers experimenting. If both parties are above the legal age of consent, as long as the age gap between them is five years or less, I have no issue.
• Non-canonical character death can be a problem for me. Not always; there are some characters I seriously can’t stand, but it’s a problem more often than not. Now, if A is already dead, or if you’re dragging B through angst and self-recrimination as they believe that A is dead, only to have them show up, hale and hearty by fic’s end, or if you’re setting the fic at a point in canon where A was ‘missing, presumed dead’, that’s fine. So is futurefic, that opens with some canon characters having passed away peacefully off-screen.

Okay. Now that that’s out of the way, here are my fandom-specific likes and dnws:

Bloody Jack Adventures:

I like the first four books better than the others. It doesn't mean you can't set things later (some of my suggestions canonically would have to come later), but if you're leaning on canon events, I'd prefer that they come from the earlier part of the series. Suggestions:

Clarissa makes a play for Jaimy to infuriate Jacky. Hysteria and dirty tricks ensue.

Jaimy has a fight with Jacky and flirts with either Clarissa or Amy, much to Jacky's consternation.

Jaimy is kidnapped/mistaken for a British spy and it's Jacky and friends to the rescue.

Jacky telling Amy about her latest adventures with Clarissa openly mocking and Jaimy gently correcting Jacky's 'embellishments'.

Missing scenes from any of the first four novels.

The Blue Castle

I love Valancy as she 'comes into her own'. I'm probably not the only person whose favorite scene is that family dinner. With that in mind, having her tell off one or more relatives would be great. Or a quiet romantic evening with Barney. Or a missing scene with Cissy. Basically, as long as you don't end with Valancy going back to the miserable timid thing she was at the beginning of the novel, I'm sure I'll love what you come up with!

MacDonald Hall

Typical scheming and comedy hijinks, please. Include any other characters you like. I'm not wild about Myron Blakenship (from the Zucchini Warriors), but I can take him in small doses, if you really want to include him. Alternatively, Bruno and Boots hanging out together on summer vacation. I have not requested "I Want to Go Home," but I'm familiar with the book and if you wanted to have some of those characters turn up, I'd be cool with it. Or not. Your call. Actually, if you wanted to crossover with other Korman books (or give some of those other Korman characters brief cameos) I’d be thrilled.

Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon

A typical adventure in the realm or some character introspection. Maybe some downtime. Or give me a prequel before the kids get on the ride, or a story about them finally getting home or adjusting to their lives afterwards.

Or for something completely different, what does 'A Day in the Life of Venger' look like?

Please no character death or adult situations.

Singin’ In the Rain

Kathy finding out that stardom has its price.

Don and Kathy coping with one or the other having to play the lover of some other character and getting worried that the acting is looking a little too realistic.

What does Lina do next?

Years later, Don, Kathy, and Lina (now past their prime) are reunited as part of a 'star-studded ensemble' in a TV miniseries. How do they get along?

You might notice I'm not saying much about Cosmo. I love him as strong support, so while I don't really have suggestions for anything focusing on him, I'd love it if you can include him in some capacity (understanding ear for Don and/or Kathy, snarking Lina... or vice versa. Or anything else that takes your fancy.)

Please nothing darker than your typical 1950s musical would be likely to include.

Blackadder Goes Forth

Oh my dear, snarking, conniving, Edmund! I don't care who you use as a foil for him. In the tagset, out of the tagset... let him be himself and give him some absolutely cutting one-liners to unleash on some poor sap, and I will be happy!

The Facts of Life

I specifically asked for Blair and Jo, but I have no problem at all if you want Tootie and Natalie too. I love them all, but I really enjoy the banter between Jo and Blair during their Eastland years. Not just the snarking (but I love the snarking), but the way that when the chips are down, they still have each other's back. Give me a serious situation, like S2E3. Let Jo come to Blair's rescue for a change if you like.

It doesn't have to be comedy (though it absolutely can be), but throw in a few good one-liners and don't go gritty or gory and we're good!

Murder, She Wrote

It can be a typical episode or missing scenes or just some quiet downtime between friends. I'm pretty flexible. Just please keep it platonic with these two (Jessica and Amos).

 

Thanks again! I’m looking forward to reading what you come up with!