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Juletide writer letter 2021!
Dear Juletide Writer,
First, thank you so much for this! Here are general notes, and some ideas for each fandom. I know this looks rather long, I'm just trying to make it as detailed as possible in case that makes it easier for you. I adore each and every one of these fandoms, so getting fic for any of them will make me a very, very happy person!
General stuff:
Ratings-wise, I’m fine with anything. I’m fine with (of age, consensual) sex scenes if that’s where the story’s going - though gen fic is equally awesome! I’m not too fond of highly detailed graphic violence, but if it’s absolutely necessary to your fic, go ahead.
Feel free to look through my journal for inspiration :) You can also find me on AO3 and on Tumblr.
A plotty story, a character piece, an exploration of friendship or romance, an adventure, a quiet moment, a missing scene, a different POV to the canon... Any and all of these are great! Gen, het, slash, femslash, are all fine.
Things I like: friendship, friends helping each other out, humour, banter, nerdiness, science, happy (or happy-ish at least, not overwhelming despair) endings, worldbuilding, sibling love (and family interactions in general), found families...and a great many other things! These were just the first that came to mind.
Do Not Wants: suicide - I’d prefer it if you didn’t kill any major characters (other than canon deaths), but if you absolutely must, please avoid suicide! - , noncon/dubcon, incest, gratuitous violence, underage sex, unrelieved gloom and angst, character/ship bashing, AUs, crossovers.
Fandom specific:
Listed in alphabetical order. Obviously, all optional details are optional! I'm just giving them in case you're interested (or stuck for ideas and wondering why you ever offered to write this fandom :P). For the “ideas” lists, they’re absolutely not intended to be mutually exclusive, nor exhaustive - mix, blend, combine, as you like, or throw them out the window! I include them in my letters because I’ve found them really useful myself :) Spoilers abound I’m afraid, so if there’s something on here you’re interested in reading/watching and haven’t yet, I’d avoid that section. Feel free to include any other characters, nominated or not.
First, a brief “where do I find these things” in case you’d like to check out any of them:
Flower Fairies - any
I am so delighted to have this fandom in Yuletide again! I’d be happy with any or all of the nominated fairies, and any others you like. For this fandom, I’d prefer G-rated fic only - I’m happy with romance if that’s what you want to write, but keep it… innocent, for lack of a better word? A few ideas:
High Rollers (Aerois campaign) - Qillek Ad Khollar, Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
I would be delighted to see any or all of the main cast as co-stars, I love them all! This is a tricky one because it’s an ongoing canon (I won’t update the letter so you don’t have to re-check it, you can probably find me yelling on tumblr if there are any huge developments!), but here are a few ideas:
What I love about these characters: Quill, my darling bird boi, I love (and may identify just a bit with) his worrying and nervousness, how he tries to plan for every eventuality. I also love how he is slowly gaining in confidence, both in his abilities and in his friends. I like his game-breakingly ridiculous perception and how it still never saves them from getting brookstoned ;) And Lucius, I love how very much he loves his friends, how he’ll risk anything for them (even as it utterly terrifies me at times with how very squishy he is). I love how much he’s grown from the sheltered daddy’s boy he was at the start, but also how he still sometimes has that endearing naivete, still loves his shiny hair and fancy clothes.
High Rollers (Curse of Strahd campaign) - Rose Venandi, Yesper
I would be delighted to see any or all of the main cast, I love them all! And feel free to just focus on one of Rose and Yesper, I just couldn’t pick between our poor traumatized humans. Strahd is a dark campaign of course, so if you’re worried about how that plays with my DNW list - I’m fine with up to Mark’s level of descriptions for violence and battles and such; I know there’s probably going to be a fair bit of gloom and grief, but maybe have some hope or light in there too, even if it’s a small or distant or temporary thing? Like Aerois, this is a tricky one because it’s an ongoing canon (I won’t update the letter so you don’t have to re-check it, you can probably find me yelling on tumblr if there are any huge developments!), but here are a few ideas:
What I love about these characters: I love Rose’s strength of character and pragmatism, how she keeps going and keeps everyone else on track. I love Yesper’s courage and determination to see their destiny through, his willingness to return to life to help them.
The Red House Mystery - Antony Gillingham, Bill Beverly
I got this murder mystery from a family friend and loved it at once - so much so I’ve read it several times, and even got the ebook so I can read it on my kindle! And I especially loved Antony and Bill. A few ideas:
What I love about this fandom: I always enjoy a good murder mystery, and this one had plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. It’s got so much humour and fun in it, too! But equally its moments of seriousness, when Antony is meditating on the implications of their discoveries and is genuinely horrified by them... It’s a really good balance.
What I love about these characters: I love Antony’s brilliance, his determination to see the case solved, his melodramatic “I’m a genius - no, I’m an ass - no, definitely a genius” moments, his compassion for the murderer. I love Bill’s easygoing attitude, the way he plays the fool, his willingness to do anything to help Antony.
Swallows and Amazons - Titty Walker, Dick Callum, Dorothea Callum, Roger Walker
It was incredibly hard to choose characters for this fandom, so feel free to bring in any and all others you like as co-stars! I love the friendship dynamic between these four, so I’d be delighted to see that. A few ideas:
What I love about this fandom: It’s one of my favourite book series ever. I love the way there’s never a sense of just “playing pretend” – they are (to themselves, at least) pirates or explorers or miners or an arctic expedition or martyrs or picts... I like how everyone works together, and how hard they work – how they all bring something to the team, and how they’re all valued. I like how they can be friends without having to be all the same; how they respect each other, even if they don’t see eye to eye on some things.
Why I love these characters: as an astrophysicist who loves to write, I may identify slightly with Dick and Dot ;). I love how close these two are, how they take care of each other. I love Dot's genuine concern for other people - looking out for Dick, making up Captain Flint's bed in the houseboat, offering to leave Beckfoot in P&M despite how excited she was to be there - and her storytelling. I love Dick's enthusiasm for whatever the latest hobby is, stars or rocks or birds; his methodical notes, his anxiousness to get things right. I love Titty’s imagination, both when it works for her and when (like with the wax GA) it terrifies her, and her courage, how she pushes through her fears; how committed she is to their adventures. I love Roger’s cheerfulness; his determination to be involved in everything going on; his streaks of independence.
First, thank you so much for this! Here are general notes, and some ideas for each fandom. I know this looks rather long, I'm just trying to make it as detailed as possible in case that makes it easier for you. I adore each and every one of these fandoms, so getting fic for any of them will make me a very, very happy person!
General stuff:
Ratings-wise, I’m fine with anything. I’m fine with (of age, consensual) sex scenes if that’s where the story’s going - though gen fic is equally awesome! I’m not too fond of highly detailed graphic violence, but if it’s absolutely necessary to your fic, go ahead.
Feel free to look through my journal for inspiration :) You can also find me on AO3 and on Tumblr.
A plotty story, a character piece, an exploration of friendship or romance, an adventure, a quiet moment, a missing scene, a different POV to the canon... Any and all of these are great! Gen, het, slash, femslash, are all fine.
Things I like: friendship, friends helping each other out, humour, banter, nerdiness, science, happy (or happy-ish at least, not overwhelming despair) endings, worldbuilding, sibling love (and family interactions in general), found families...and a great many other things! These were just the first that came to mind.
Do Not Wants: suicide - I’d prefer it if you didn’t kill any major characters (other than canon deaths), but if you absolutely must, please avoid suicide! - , noncon/dubcon, incest, gratuitous violence, underage sex, unrelieved gloom and angst, character/ship bashing, AUs, crossovers.
Fandom specific:
Listed in alphabetical order. Obviously, all optional details are optional! I'm just giving them in case you're interested (or stuck for ideas and wondering why you ever offered to write this fandom :P). For the “ideas” lists, they’re absolutely not intended to be mutually exclusive, nor exhaustive - mix, blend, combine, as you like, or throw them out the window! I include them in my letters because I’ve found them really useful myself :) Spoilers abound I’m afraid, so if there’s something on here you’re interested in reading/watching and haven’t yet, I’d avoid that section. Feel free to include any other characters, nominated or not.
First, a brief “where do I find these things” in case you’d like to check out any of them:
- Flower Fairies: all available at the official site for your perusal! I’ve linked the nominated fairies in the fandom section.
- High Rollers Aerois: A very long canon, at 115 and counting 3h episodes. On youtube and Twitch as videos, also available as a podcast. I prefer the videos for seeing maps and reactions, but they do a good job of describing things for the podcast as needed too.
- High Rollers Curse of Strahd: Somewhat more manageable at 36 and counting 2h episodes, on youtube and the same twitch and spotify channels.
- The Red House Mystery: free ebook on Project Gutenberg.
- Swallows and Amazons: 12 book series, all in print and available as ebooks I believe.
Flower Fairies - any
I am so delighted to have this fandom in Yuletide again! I’d be happy with any or all of the nominated fairies, and any others you like. For this fandom, I’d prefer G-rated fic only - I’m happy with romance if that’s what you want to write, but keep it… innocent, for lack of a better word? A few ideas:
- Alder fairy: “Seasons come and seasons go” - what does Alder see, through the seasons? From the poems, some of the fairies seem to be more seasonal, to come and go, and others to be there year-round, with Alder being the latter sort.
- Traveller’s Joy fairy: what travellers has she seen throughout the years? The poem talks about human travellers, but perhaps she also sees fairy ones? Or more natural ones, like migrating birds?
- Wayfaring Tree fairy: this is one of my favourite illustrations, and the poem raises so many questions! Where is Fairyland? Is it where the seasonal fairies go when their flowers are out of season? Or do all the fairies come and go as they please?
- Willow fairy: I love the joyfulness of the poem, how light-hearted it is - and what an interesting contrast that makes with the “weeping willow” that’s probably the best known willow variety? (I am no botanist and have no clue if the willow depicted is a weeping one!).
- I can see a couple of obvious combinations here - Traveller’s Joy waving off Wayfaring Tree on her travels, and welcoming her when she returns? Or Willow and Alder skimming over the water and dancing along the riverside? But if you come up with other ones I’d love to see them too!
High Rollers (Aerois campaign) - Qillek Ad Khollar, Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
I would be delighted to see any or all of the main cast as co-stars, I love them all! This is a tricky one because it’s an ongoing canon (I won’t update the letter so you don’t have to re-check it, you can probably find me yelling on tumblr if there are any huge developments!), but here are a few ideas:
- Quill let his family think he’s dead - did Lucius losing his family make him rethink that decision at all? Did he regret it after his encounter with his mother? (I love Mireeka so much, if you want to bring her in I’d be delighted to see her!)
- The whole “Elenasto fiasco” arc was such a pivotal part of Lucius’s character growth, anything set around there could be interesting.
- There’s been a few “big” time skips, in Gusthaven, on the Stormchaser, on the Twinstar Longbow - what did they do in those? But there’s also just the natural gaps of travelling, camping, and so on; I love quiet conversations and missing moments.
- I very much ship Quill and Lucius! (I have /thoughts/ on how they could potentially deal with the “vastly different lifespans” thing… True Polymorph might work, or Clone, or maybe Divine Intervention? Or a well-worded Wish of course.) So anything shippy between the two of them would delight me :)
- The party meeting on the Sparrowblade? How have Quill and Lucius’s opinions of everyone changed over time?
- Quill has his wing back! It was such a beautiful and moving moment :) We didn’t see Sentry or Lucius’s reactions to it, if you want to look at those?
- Lucius. Talk. To. Your. Friends. About. Your. Trauma. PLEASE. Honestly, they could both do with talking to their friends - Lucius is dealing with losing his parents, the dragon-turtle encounter, and all his insecurities; and Quill with H’esper sacrificing himself for him, and all his anxiety… SInce they probably won’t in canon, I’d love to see it in fic!
What I love about these characters: Quill, my darling bird boi, I love (and may identify just a bit with) his worrying and nervousness, how he tries to plan for every eventuality. I also love how he is slowly gaining in confidence, both in his abilities and in his friends. I like his game-breakingly ridiculous perception and how it still never saves them from getting brookstoned ;) And Lucius, I love how very much he loves his friends, how he’ll risk anything for them (even as it utterly terrifies me at times with how very squishy he is). I love how much he’s grown from the sheltered daddy’s boy he was at the start, but also how he still sometimes has that endearing naivete, still loves his shiny hair and fancy clothes.
High Rollers (Curse of Strahd campaign) - Rose Venandi, Yesper
I would be delighted to see any or all of the main cast, I love them all! And feel free to just focus on one of Rose and Yesper, I just couldn’t pick between our poor traumatized humans. Strahd is a dark campaign of course, so if you’re worried about how that plays with my DNW list - I’m fine with up to Mark’s level of descriptions for violence and battles and such; I know there’s probably going to be a fair bit of gloom and grief, but maybe have some hope or light in there too, even if it’s a small or distant or temporary thing? Like Aerois, this is a tricky one because it’s an ongoing canon (I won’t update the letter so you don’t have to re-check it, you can probably find me yelling on tumblr if there are any huge developments!), but here are a few ideas:
- Yesper has lost so much… Madame Eva first - he said he’d never have made the deal Xiros made, but deep down, did he ever consider it? How did he feel after speaking with her soul in Avernus? But also, the Vistani were cast from Strahd’s favour, the camp near Vallaki destroyed - how did he feel about that? How is he dealing with his death and resurrection? Is he still super freaked out by the Mire, or is he gradually getting used to them?
- Rose, werewolf slayer, monster hunter - she’s in the worst place she can imagine, probably. How is she dealing with Shadow’s loss, with the vision she had of her? How okay is she with Dogsbody, really? With the Mire? She lost everyone she came to Barovia with - is she scared that she’ll lose more people, or that she’ll be next, or both? They were able to get Yesper back, but not Shadow - how does she feel about that? Or about Vasilka and Alvaski and the Abbot?
- If you want to write ship-fic, I don’t have any particular OTPs here but can see pretty much any pairing, so go for it :)
What I love about these characters: I love Rose’s strength of character and pragmatism, how she keeps going and keeps everyone else on track. I love Yesper’s courage and determination to see their destiny through, his willingness to return to life to help them.
The Red House Mystery - Antony Gillingham, Bill Beverly
I got this murder mystery from a family friend and loved it at once - so much so I’ve read it several times, and even got the ebook so I can read it on my kindle! And I especially loved Antony and Bill. A few ideas:
- The story of any of their previous meetings, they sound fun!
- There aren’t many missing moments in the book itself that I recall, everything happens in a pretty short timeframe - but if you find one you like, or would like to expand something, I’d love that.
- Maybe they turn detectives again at a later date? Constant murders would be rather hard on their friends, but there’s plenty of other crimes they could tackle. Or it could be murder, of course! Consider my "no deaths" DNW waived for that, just don't kill Antony or Bill, please :)
- I rather ship them - I know Bill talks about Betty on one hand, but on the other he and Antony will just spend hours strolling about arm-in-arm complimenting each other… and the Holmes and Watson nicknames, too!
What I love about this fandom: I always enjoy a good murder mystery, and this one had plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. It’s got so much humour and fun in it, too! But equally its moments of seriousness, when Antony is meditating on the implications of their discoveries and is genuinely horrified by them... It’s a really good balance.
What I love about these characters: I love Antony’s brilliance, his determination to see the case solved, his melodramatic “I’m a genius - no, I’m an ass - no, definitely a genius” moments, his compassion for the murderer. I love Bill’s easygoing attitude, the way he plays the fool, his willingness to do anything to help Antony.
Swallows and Amazons - Titty Walker, Dick Callum, Dorothea Callum, Roger Walker
It was incredibly hard to choose characters for this fandom, so feel free to bring in any and all others you like as co-stars! I love the friendship dynamic between these four, so I’d be delighted to see that. A few ideas:
- Childhood adventures at the lake? A missing moment from any of the books would be lovely… Titty and Roger helping the Ds sail the Scarab? Going up to the mine again to see how it’s progressed? Another trip to Secret Water?
- Or a bit later on, when the elders are already adults and it’s just them at the Lakes ...is Titty Captain and Roger Mate of the Swallow now? Is anyone sailing the Amazon? (Who's doing the cooking without Susan and Peggy?!)
- As adults, pre, during, or post war – what do they do, how does the war affect them? I can see Dick and Dorothea at Bletchley Park, Titty in the Wrens or nursing perhaps, Roger in the RAF? Or any of them in the SOE?
- If you’re pulled in a shippy direction, I generally write Dick and Titty, but I can also see Titty and Dorothea together.
What I love about this fandom: It’s one of my favourite book series ever. I love the way there’s never a sense of just “playing pretend” – they are (to themselves, at least) pirates or explorers or miners or an arctic expedition or martyrs or picts... I like how everyone works together, and how hard they work – how they all bring something to the team, and how they’re all valued. I like how they can be friends without having to be all the same; how they respect each other, even if they don’t see eye to eye on some things.
Why I love these characters: as an astrophysicist who loves to write, I may identify slightly with Dick and Dot ;). I love how close these two are, how they take care of each other. I love Dot's genuine concern for other people - looking out for Dick, making up Captain Flint's bed in the houseboat, offering to leave Beckfoot in P&M despite how excited she was to be there - and her storytelling. I love Dick's enthusiasm for whatever the latest hobby is, stars or rocks or birds; his methodical notes, his anxiousness to get things right. I love Titty’s imagination, both when it works for her and when (like with the wax GA) it terrifies her, and her courage, how she pushes through her fears; how committed she is to their adventures. I love Roger’s cheerfulness; his determination to be involved in everything going on; his streaks of independence.