elen_nare | Dear Yuletide Writer letter

Dear Yuletide Writer,

First, thank you so much for this! Here are general notes, and some ideas for each fandom. This may seem long, but 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:

A character piece, a plotty story, 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. Ratings-wise, I’m fine with anything. I’m happy 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.

Things I like: friendship, friends helping each other out, humour, banter, nerdiness, science, happy (or happy-ish at least, not overwhelming despair) endings, sibling love (and family interactions in general), found families, friends-to-lovers, mutual pining that resolves in friends-to-lovers… 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 graphic violence, underage sex, unrelieved gloom and angst, character/ship bashing, AUs. While I'm fine with “reasonable” crossovers with fandoms I know (same world and time period, or canonical time/world change shenanigan), please keep the main focus on the requested fandom.

A brief “where do I find these things” in case you’d like to check out any of the other things I've requested:

High Rollers Aerois: A long canon, at 191 3h episodes. On youtube as videos, also available as a podcast on Spotify. And we have a Wiki! Still a work in progress, but we have Mark's recaps transcribed for all episodes and are working on full recaps, plus character pages, items, and so on.
High Rollers Lightfall: Comparatively somewhat more manageable at 87 total 3h episodes, on youtube (no podcast, I’m afraid). The Wiki linked above is for all of High Rollers, so there's Lightfall content there too.
High Rollers Curse of Strahd: And even more comparatively manageable at 37 total 2h episodes, on youtube and the same spotify channel.
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London: just two books! Fairly recent and thus available in print and ebook formats! Absolutely shocking, I know.

Fandom specific:

Listed in alphabetical order. Obviously, all optional details are optional! I'm just giving them in case you're interested (or utterly 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.

High Rollers (Aerois campaign) - Qillek Ad Khollar, Sentry

I would be delighted to see any or all of the main cast as co-stars, I love them all! Here are a few ideas:

Quill let his family think he was dead after the lightning strike - did Lucius losing his family, or Sentry’s grief over Solwynn, ever make him rethink that decision at all? And we met Mireeka, who I utterly love! Her Sendings, we know where Quill gets his passive-aggressive snippiness from; her “you are not nothing, you are my son!” and “this is a good child” lines; how thrilled everyone was to meet her… So if you want to bring her in, please go ahead, I will be delighted! Mireeka tells the gang adorable/embarrassing baby Quill stories? Quill tries to reconnect with her and the rest of his family?
Sentry finding Petal again was so so beautiful and makes me cry every time. Tell me about their life in Solwynn? Sentry telling Quill about it? Their life in Horizon post-canon, with Quill dropping in to visit?
The Valley of Storms arc was huge for Quill, if you want to look at that! Or Quill getting his new wing, that 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?
Likewise, everything with becoming the Prime, and fighting Voracitor, was so huge for Sentry! Did she have any doubts, any fears, any hopes, she might have only told Quill about?
There’s been a few “big” time skips, in Gusthaven, on the Stormchaser, on the Twinstar Longbow, the month after the Horizon/Voracitor stuff - 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.
Sentry and Quill meeting pre-canon - how did they decide to travel together? What was it like for both of them, Sentry so lost in a new world, Quill still reeling from the Valley?
Their thoughts on the spark of divinity, and the choice they made to reject it? Of all the characters, Quill and Sentry were the ones I thought were most likely to take it.
If you’re inclined towards ship-fic, I very much ship Quill and Lucius! I also really like Quill/Lucius/Aridan - Lucius has two hands and deserves two boyfriends ;) (as a side note, I also love Faeth and her relationship with Lucius, as a platonic, asexual one, so so much - that representation is important to me). I’d rather not see Sentry shipped with anyone.

What I love about this fandom: Everything! I’ve loved seeing the party come together, from strangers to willing to die for each other. I love the world of Aerois, the fantasy-sci-fi vibes. I like how well-intentioned they are, and also how utterly terrible they can be at communicating those good intentions at times! I also enjoy having my heart broken by cruel uncaring plastic polyhedrons, apparently. You can find plenty of my ramblings about it over on tumblr! I’m pretty familiar with 5e if you want to have fun with game mechanics, but I’m also totally happy with ignoring them for better narrative.

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’s slowly grown 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 ;) Sentry, I love her kindness, her protectiveness, her devotion to her loved ones. Her one-liners never fail to be a punch in the heart in the best way! And with both of them, I love how much they support each other, rely on each other - how Sentry is Quill’s protector, how Quill is Sentry’s squire.

High Rollers (Curse of Strahd campaign) - any

I would be delighted to see any or all of the PCs (including Shadow, Dogsbody, Alvaski, and Xiros), I love them all! 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? Here are a few ideas for the nominated characters:

Xiiki: How did she feel about her pact? Did she *want* Barovia, did she start wanting it more as the Mists sank their claws deeper into her? How does she feel about ending up in Avernus - is it a better fate than the Mists, or not? She got away into the Forgotten Realms at the end - what are her plans now? Does she want to try to help the others, and/or her brother, or just escape? Where did her connection with Liira come from, and is there any of it left?
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? How is he dealing with the Barovians (and Vistani) being taken by Amodeus, with the knowledge his soul, too, is bound to Asmodeus now? What is he (and the others) trying to do about that?
Rose, werewolf slayer, monster hunter - Barovia was the worst place she could imagine, probably. How is she dealing with Shadow’s loss, with finally laying her to rest? How okay was she with werewolf Dogsbody, really? With the Mire? They were able to get Yesper back, but not Shadow - how does she feel about that? Or about Vasilka and Alvaski and the Abbot?
The Mire is such a fascinating character/characters! How do they see the rest of the party? How do they see themselves? Is any of their creepiness deliberate, or do they simply not understand how they come across? And I am super intrigued by their split decisions in the finale - had they been slowly growing separate, and it didn’t fully show until then? What happened to each of them?
If you want to write ship-fic, I don’t have any particular OTPs here but can see pretty much any pairing (except with the Mire and Alvaski, maybe). There’s the Trott-endorsed Yesper and Xiros enemies to lovers / hate sex, of course (if you wanted an excuse to write it, this can be the excuse :P). Rose and Yesper, lost grieving humans trying to find some semblance of joy in Barovia? Xiros and Dogsbody, who was the closest to a friend Xiros had? Rose and Xiiki, who would be better able than Xiiki to understand Rose’s grief over her brother? Xiiki and Dogsbody, after that conversation they had in Argyn Vostholt? Rose and Dogsbody, with Rose working to overcome her understandable fear, and Dogsbody falling for someone who’d do that for him?

What I love about this fandom: I’ve played a couple of Strahd campaigns, and I love the changes Mark has introduced! I love the complicated and fractured team dynamics, how incredibly messy they got so quickly. I’m pretty familiar with 5e if you want to have fun with game mechanics, but I’m also totally happy with ignoring them for better narrative. I’m also fairly familiar with the module.

What I love about these characters: I love Xiiki’s longing to bring joy, and willingness to do anything for her brother; Rose’s strength of character and pragmatism; Yesper’s courage and determination to see their destiny through; the Mire’s eerie strangeness.

High Rollers (Lightfall campaign) - Reynard Ferehorn, Elora Galanodel - giver’s choice

I would be delighted to see any or all of the main cast as co-stars, I love them all! Also, a note - I haven’t watched Lightfall Descent yet, so while I know the outline of it, please don’t base the fic on it. A few ideas:

I love both their families - Reynard’s brothers are a delight, as are Elora’s parents - so I’d love a look at those dynamics, pre-canon (Elora learning druidcraft? Reynard starstruck by his uncle?), or during/post-canon, how they change and evolve.
They both have some hidden (or not-so-hidden) insecurities, Reynard wanting to be like uncle Felix, Elora wanting not to disappoint her parents or her people - maybe they could help each other with those?
Missing moments/character studies/inward reactions during their adventures - Travelling to the other elven spires was so important to Elora, rescuing Uncle Felix to Reynard…
Meeting the party - what were their first impressions, how did those change over time?
I absolutely adore both Elora/Nalistri and Reynard/Grunka, so anything about either or both ships would be lovely! Courting - we know Reynard wrote to Grunka and she never wrote back, and Elora and Nalistri exchanged some letters… Getting married - I can imagine Nalistri ordering a massive shipment of grapes to keep Cam distracted, and Grunka just threatening to punch him if he causes chaos (I am sure both weddings would inevitably be chaotic anyway…)

What I love about this fandom: I love all the adventures and misadventures of the band of weirdos that the party is! I love the whole storyline, it was epic and tragic and amazing - the Broken Sky, and Felania, and the elven spires, and just all of it. I’m pretty familiar with 5e if you want to have fun with game mechanics, but I’m also totally happy with ignoring them for better narrative.

What I love about these characters: I love Reynard's bullshit and boasting, and how he gets found out! But also how he does actually become the hero he always wanted to be. I love Elora’s duality of beautiful princess and terrifying force of nature, her mom-friendness and protectiveness.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London - Susan Arkshaw, Merlin St. Jacques, Vivien St. Jacques

Feel free to focus on any two of the three, I love them all! Some ideas:

Merlin and Vivien at Wooten - what sort of shenanigans did they get up to? I suspect the “do you have a plan?” “My plan was for you to have a plan” exchange was quite typical!
Being left-handed or right-handed seems to have some element of choice - why did Vivien go from left to right? Does it link to her wish to be even-handed? Does that wish come from her mother having been that? Or maybe she went right-handed to be a better team with Merlin, or to distinguish herself more from him? What about Merlin, did he ever want to go right-handed?
Did her immersion in the cauldron affect Susan, Great-Aunt Evangeline to the contrary? How do the powers she inherited affect her? How much of that inheritance has she actually kept, post the meeting with her father?
Merlin and Susan recovering at Jassmine’s, getting to know each other without constant peril? How do Susan’s water, earth, and air protectors react to a St. Jacques (or two, maybe Vivien and/or other booksellers visit) hanging around? Or anything about Merlin and Susan’s relationship, really, I love it.
Silvermere - why does Susan remember everything but it messes with the St. Jacques’s memory? Is it because of who Susan is, or because the St. Jacques expect it to mess with them, or a bit of both? Does Susan get to return and see the St. Jacques side of it?
Post-canon adventures in the Old World, or the New, or the intersection of both! Dealing with minor Old World nuisances, but also with a university deadline / a favourite restaurant shutting down / any other unrelated (or not?) modern annoyance?
I love the way they all play with gender a bit - Merlin the most, of course (does he decide to go for the change? What did he mean by their being “shape-shiftery”?), but also Susan with her buzzcut and overalls, and Vivien with her suits.

What I love about this fandom: As a left-handed book addict, I picked this up on the title XD But it did not disappoint! I'm always enthralled by mythic beings crossing into the modern world, and by alternate history, and the combination was a delight. I love the whole idea of the St. Jacques clan, how they fight fairy-tale evils but also have to meet very real bills.

What I love about these characters: I love Susan’s quickness on her feet even in impossible circumstances, her steadiness in the face of horror, how she teases Merlin. I love Merlin’s cheerful ego and swank, how he does have the skills to back up that casual self-confidence, but also the moments (like when he talks about his mother, or when he thinks Susan is actually turning him down) where it falters. I love Vivien’s focus and drive, her voice of reason to her brother’s impulsiveness, how she teases and argues with him but ultimately always backs him up. I love how all three of them interact with each other, the swift friendship they form, how they look out for each other.

Dear Yuletide Writer letter - 2023