Dear Yuletide 2022 author
Oct. 7th, 2022 03:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolorosa_12Thank you for writing for me!
I'm pretty easygoing about what type of fic you want to write for me. I read fic of any rating, and would be equally happy with plotty genfic or something very shippy. I read gen, femslash, het and slash, although I have a slight preference towards femslash, het, and gen that focuses on female characters. I mainly read fic to find out what happens to characters after the final page has turned or the credits have rolled, so I would particularly love to have futurefic of some kind. Don't feel you have to limit yourself to the characters I specifically mention — I'm happy with others being included if they fit with the story you want to tell.
Feel free to have a look around my Ao3 profile, as it should give you a good idea of the types of things I like to read. You can also look at my Yuletide tag, which includes past letters, and recs posts of my previous gifts and other fic I've enjoyed in previous Yuletide colletions.
I have treating enabled on Ao3 and would be delighted to receive treats for any of my requests.
General likes
Found families and 'us against the world' dynamics
Human/non-human pairings
Relationships with power imbalances
Hurt/comfort and trauma recovery
People with vastly different backgrounds, perspectives, or life experience working together - especially grudging enemies/antagonists-to-allies/lovers stories
Explorations of characters' religious/philosophical beliefs, especially if they clash with the beliefs of other characters
Fairytale, folktales or mythology being incorporated into fic
Characters with a strong sense of home and place (whether that 'home' is a city, or other people)
Characters who are migrants, exiles or refugees, and for whom this is an important component of their identity
DNWs
Fusions and crossovers
AUs, apart from canon-divergence AUs (basically, please don't change the setting)
Incest
Unrequested ships involving my requested characters (background pairings involving unrequested characters are fine though)
No death of requested characters
Several fandom-specific DNWs, which I will outline below
Fandom-specific prompts:
The Bone Season — Samantha Shannon
Requested characters: Warden | Arcturus Mesarthim, Paige Mahoney
What I like about the series
The intricate alternate world, particularly Scion London, with its underworld of criminal clairvoyants trying to eke out an existence in the face of oppression, the uneasy shifting alliances, and all the little details about the urban geography and history of Soho, Covent Garden and so on.
The pervasive sense of threat and menace that permeates the series, and the choices this forces the characters to make.
Paige and Arcturus's relationship — the initial mistrust, the power imbalances, the secrets they keep from each other, the way they share dreams, and the way Arcturus makes Paige a bit more supernatural and she makes him a bit more human.
The hurt/comfort potential for the Paige/Arcturus relationship — I absolutely loved The Dawn Chorus, since it was one whole novella of Paige/Arcturus hurt/comfort!
The tensions and contradictions in Paige's existence — becoming a criminal mollisher for Jaxon Hall gives her a measure of safety, but also puts her in greater danger, and in some ways the series represents her slow shift from pragmatism to risk-taking revolutionary leadership.
Prompts I'd love to see
Any fic that explores Paige and Arcturus's relationship, particularly the power imbalances, cultural differences, and the ways in which their relationship forces them to reflect on their respective identities as human and Rephaite. I really love hurt/comfort fic, and would be particularly delighted to see more scenes of hurt/comfort with this pair of characters. Missing moments from when Paige was in hiding in London would be most welcome. I'd also love to read futurefic set just after the end of events in The Mask Falling — is Arcturus really dead? How do they find each other again, and how do they rebuild trust after the events of the most recent book caused Paige to doubt her own reality? I'd love to read fic set in another part of Samantha Shannon's alternate world — so far we've seen Scotland, England, Ireland, and Paris but nothing of the rest of the world. What are other Scion countries like? Alternatively, a fic that takes place entirely within shared dreamscapes would be absolutely amazing! Given this series is a retelling of the myth of Prometheus and Pandora, any fic that really leans into this premise could also be really interesting.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I'm happy for other characters from the series to appear in any fic you write, but I would prefer it if your fic didn't focus on Jaxon Hall.
The Pagan Chronicles - Catherine Jinks
Requested characters: Babylonne Kidrouk, Isidore Orbus
What I like about this series
The found families — this whole series is just one long story of hurt/comfort within found families, and I love it!
I love that it's this multigenerational story of broken, damaged orphans finding each other, healing each other and making each other whole.
The strong sense of history, and the way it makes forgotten episodes in world history come alive.
The fact that the series doesn't shy away from its characters' religious faith, but shows that their observance and understanding of religion was more flexible and pluralistic than is generally portrayed in popular fictional depictions of the Middle Ages.
The compassionate, empathetic, and forgiving way the characters deal with the realities of their world — they expect people to be flawed, and the strong to hurt the weak, but this doesn't stop them being kind, and imaginative, and skilled at talking their way out of difficult situations.
Prompts I'd love to see
I would be eternally grateful for futurefic set after Pagan's Daughter in which Isidore and Babylonne have adventures in Bologna. (I don't mind if you don't ship them, however, and if you prefer to write about their relationship from a gen perspective I would be equally thrilled!)I love the series' emphasis on religious pluralism, scholarship and learning, and good-faith engagement with people with different religious and cultural backgrounds, and any fic that explored these ideas would be fantastic. I'd also love to see the pair travelling elsewhere, having adventures, and meeting (and reacting to) new people and ideas. I love how clever, talkative, argumentative and downright wordy all the characters in this series are, and any fic which gave free rein to their loquaciousness, differing religious perspectives, or similar ideas would be absolutely marvellous.
Fandom specific DNWs
None
The Queens of Innis Lear — Tessa Gratton
Requested characters: Elia Lear, Aefa Thornhill, Morimaros, or Ban the Fox
Please note: I have not read Lady Hotspur, and my request and prompts possibly reflect that. I have no problem if you write a fic that incorporates aspects of Lady Hotspur, as long as it doesn't contradict my prompts or include any of my DNWs.
What I like about the book
I love that it digs behind the bluster and symbolism of King Lear to get to the heart of what motivates the characters psychologically, coming up with convincing and emotive explanations for what could seem like very (self-) destructive behaviour.
I love that all the nominated characters are ultimately motivated by a desire to do good, but what that good looks like is so fundamentally different that it sets them all in conflict.
The quiet moments of devastation: when Elia realises she’s so passive and reactive that people think of her as a sort of buffer, the calm shore against which crash the waves of other people’s emotions, selfishness, and sheer greedy need, or the tragedy of Ban, who is so accustomed to being treated not like a person but rather as a tool or weapon to be wielded that he gives his devoted loyalty to the first person who asks to use him so, rather than demanding or assuming.
The setting of Innis Lear — I love how it's almost a character of its own, alive and reacting to the actions of the characters who walk upon it, the tensions between worship of the stars and worship of roots and earth, and the way this informs the magic of Gratton's world, with people talking to trees and flowers.
The transformation over the course of the book of Elia — from quiet, austere, guarded star priest to a queen who is at once regal and of the earth.
Prompts I'd love to see
This is a fandom in which I'd particularly enjoy post-canon fic. What kind of queen is Elia, and how does she interact with Aremoria, and Morimaros, in the years that follow? Any particular moments requiring royal diplomacy between the two kingdoms would be great. Alternatively, how does she go about repairing the fractured pieces of Innis Lear — dealing with the nobles who sided with Regan or Gaela, reintroducing worship of rootwater, opening the wells again, and so on? What role might Aefa play in that? How does Ban's new semi-supernatural identity interact with all this, and how does Elia's role as mediator between the people and the land interact with Ban?
In terms of shipping, this is a fandom in which I am a genuine and enthusiastic multi-shipper. I love pretty much any combination of the four nominated characters (including threesomes or all four of them together). Elia and Morimaros is such a fraught pairing — they both know they are not just themselves, but are their entire kingdoms as well, and so their relationship has political implications far beyond their own immediate desires. There is genuine admiration and attraction there, but the politics holds them back, particularly Elia (although I love that by the end of the book, Morimaros has realised that he needs to put aside his own aims for the kingdom of Aremoria and just be there for Elia if he's to have any chance at doing the right, moral thing). I always got the feeling from the book that Aefa herself was a little in love with Morimaros (in any case, she certainly ships him and Elia), and is constantly pushing Elia towards him — and I'm therefore intrigued by the idea of Elia/Morimaros/Aefa, or Aefa/Morimaros (although I feel the latter pairing would be fraught with guilt about Elia). Then we come to Ban, whose upbringing has given him a terrible understanding of what love means — to him it means love is like a loaf of bread, and if you cut off one slice for someone, there is less to go around — and whom both Elia and Morimaros love, but, due to their roles as rulers of entire kingdoms, can never put him first. He is at first utterly devoted to Morimaros because he was the first person to truly value Ban and his skills, and I can see very easily how, pre-canon, this might have become something more, although it would be a very bittersweet pairing, as Ban would always be aware that Morimaros meant more to him than he to Morimaros. Ban and Elia are childhood sweethearts, and do get together in canon, but it's painful and fraught for both of them. And I feel that Elia/Aefa would also be a great pairing to explore: Aefa is one of the few people in canon who genuinely cares about Elia not for what she symbolises, but for herself, and who truly knows Elia as a person. I love the contrast in the two of them between Elia's celestial guardedness, and Aefa's kind, earthy practicality.
Fandom specific DNWs
Fic shipping Ban/Aefa without either of the other two characters.
Don't feel you have to stick rigidly within the bounds of my prompts. As long as your fic is focused on the characters I requested, I will be thrilled to receive anything you write for me, as these really are some of my most beloved fandoms of the heart, and the existence of any fic for them will make me extremely happy.
I'm pretty easygoing about what type of fic you want to write for me. I read fic of any rating, and would be equally happy with plotty genfic or something very shippy. I read gen, femslash, het and slash, although I have a slight preference towards femslash, het, and gen that focuses on female characters. I mainly read fic to find out what happens to characters after the final page has turned or the credits have rolled, so I would particularly love to have futurefic of some kind. Don't feel you have to limit yourself to the characters I specifically mention — I'm happy with others being included if they fit with the story you want to tell.
Feel free to have a look around my Ao3 profile, as it should give you a good idea of the types of things I like to read. You can also look at my Yuletide tag, which includes past letters, and recs posts of my previous gifts and other fic I've enjoyed in previous Yuletide colletions.
I have treating enabled on Ao3 and would be delighted to receive treats for any of my requests.
General likes
DNWs
Fandom-specific prompts:
The Bone Season — Samantha Shannon
Requested characters: Warden | Arcturus Mesarthim, Paige Mahoney
What I like about the series
Prompts I'd love to see
Any fic that explores Paige and Arcturus's relationship, particularly the power imbalances, cultural differences, and the ways in which their relationship forces them to reflect on their respective identities as human and Rephaite. I really love hurt/comfort fic, and would be particularly delighted to see more scenes of hurt/comfort with this pair of characters. Missing moments from when Paige was in hiding in London would be most welcome. I'd also love to read futurefic set just after the end of events in The Mask Falling — is Arcturus really dead? How do they find each other again, and how do they rebuild trust after the events of the most recent book caused Paige to doubt her own reality? I'd love to read fic set in another part of Samantha Shannon's alternate world — so far we've seen Scotland, England, Ireland, and Paris but nothing of the rest of the world. What are other Scion countries like? Alternatively, a fic that takes place entirely within shared dreamscapes would be absolutely amazing! Given this series is a retelling of the myth of Prometheus and Pandora, any fic that really leans into this premise could also be really interesting.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I'm happy for other characters from the series to appear in any fic you write, but I would prefer it if your fic didn't focus on Jaxon Hall.
The Pagan Chronicles - Catherine Jinks
Requested characters: Babylonne Kidrouk, Isidore Orbus
What I like about this series
Prompts I'd love to see
I would be eternally grateful for futurefic set after Pagan's Daughter in which Isidore and Babylonne have adventures in Bologna. (I don't mind if you don't ship them, however, and if you prefer to write about their relationship from a gen perspective I would be equally thrilled!)I love the series' emphasis on religious pluralism, scholarship and learning, and good-faith engagement with people with different religious and cultural backgrounds, and any fic that explored these ideas would be fantastic. I'd also love to see the pair travelling elsewhere, having adventures, and meeting (and reacting to) new people and ideas. I love how clever, talkative, argumentative and downright wordy all the characters in this series are, and any fic which gave free rein to their loquaciousness, differing religious perspectives, or similar ideas would be absolutely marvellous.
Fandom specific DNWs
None
The Queens of Innis Lear — Tessa Gratton
Requested characters: Elia Lear, Aefa Thornhill, Morimaros, or Ban the Fox
Please note: I have not read Lady Hotspur, and my request and prompts possibly reflect that. I have no problem if you write a fic that incorporates aspects of Lady Hotspur, as long as it doesn't contradict my prompts or include any of my DNWs.
What I like about the book
Prompts I'd love to see
This is a fandom in which I'd particularly enjoy post-canon fic. What kind of queen is Elia, and how does she interact with Aremoria, and Morimaros, in the years that follow? Any particular moments requiring royal diplomacy between the two kingdoms would be great. Alternatively, how does she go about repairing the fractured pieces of Innis Lear — dealing with the nobles who sided with Regan or Gaela, reintroducing worship of rootwater, opening the wells again, and so on? What role might Aefa play in that? How does Ban's new semi-supernatural identity interact with all this, and how does Elia's role as mediator between the people and the land interact with Ban?
In terms of shipping, this is a fandom in which I am a genuine and enthusiastic multi-shipper. I love pretty much any combination of the four nominated characters (including threesomes or all four of them together). Elia and Morimaros is such a fraught pairing — they both know they are not just themselves, but are their entire kingdoms as well, and so their relationship has political implications far beyond their own immediate desires. There is genuine admiration and attraction there, but the politics holds them back, particularly Elia (although I love that by the end of the book, Morimaros has realised that he needs to put aside his own aims for the kingdom of Aremoria and just be there for Elia if he's to have any chance at doing the right, moral thing). I always got the feeling from the book that Aefa herself was a little in love with Morimaros (in any case, she certainly ships him and Elia), and is constantly pushing Elia towards him — and I'm therefore intrigued by the idea of Elia/Morimaros/Aefa, or Aefa/Morimaros (although I feel the latter pairing would be fraught with guilt about Elia). Then we come to Ban, whose upbringing has given him a terrible understanding of what love means — to him it means love is like a loaf of bread, and if you cut off one slice for someone, there is less to go around — and whom both Elia and Morimaros love, but, due to their roles as rulers of entire kingdoms, can never put him first. He is at first utterly devoted to Morimaros because he was the first person to truly value Ban and his skills, and I can see very easily how, pre-canon, this might have become something more, although it would be a very bittersweet pairing, as Ban would always be aware that Morimaros meant more to him than he to Morimaros. Ban and Elia are childhood sweethearts, and do get together in canon, but it's painful and fraught for both of them. And I feel that Elia/Aefa would also be a great pairing to explore: Aefa is one of the few people in canon who genuinely cares about Elia not for what she symbolises, but for herself, and who truly knows Elia as a person. I love the contrast in the two of them between Elia's celestial guardedness, and Aefa's kind, earthy practicality.
Fandom specific DNWs
Fic shipping Ban/Aefa without either of the other two characters.
Don't feel you have to stick rigidly within the bounds of my prompts. As long as your fic is focused on the characters I requested, I will be thrilled to receive anything you write for me, as these really are some of my most beloved fandoms of the heart, and the existence of any fic for them will make me extremely happy.