elen_nare | Dear Yuletide Writer Letter

Dear Yuletide Writer,

First, thank you so much for this! Here are things I like in general, and ideas/what I like about each fandom. I know this looks rather 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:
Ratings-wise, I’m fine with anything. I don’t mind sex scenes if that’s where the story’s going (though gen fic is also awesome – in fact, I think most of my requests lend themselves to gen more; this is just extra information), but would prefer them not too explicit – fade to black is also totally cool. I’m not too fond of highly detailed graphic violence, but if it’s absolutely necessary to your fic, go ahead ( this depends on the fandom, too – generally, I’d say stick with the source’s level).

Feel free to look through my LJ for inspiration :) There's a masterlist and a link to tumblr on the sidebar, too.

Story-wise: A good plot, 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, femmeslash, threesomes are all ok. I'm not a huge fan of AUs (exceptions made for any prompts I've given for AUs, obviously); with crossovers it depends on the fandoms, so feel free to ask!

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)...and a great many other things! These were just the first that came to mind.
Things I dislike: noncon/dubcon, incest, gratuitous violence, underage sex, unrelieved gloom and angst.

Fandom specific: (obviously, all optional details are optional! I'm just giving them in case you're interested :) )

Swallows and Amazons – Bridget Walker

Prompt I gave: Given how annoyed Bridget always was at being left out of things, I suspect she'd be quite cross at the lack of fics about her ;) We don't see much of her in canon, so I'd love to see her fleshed out a bit more. See my DYW Letter if you need more ideas!

Prompt continuation: Several prompts, in no particular order – just as I though of them:

Where was Bridget during “Great Northern”? Was she not allowed to go with them (and did she make a fuss about it? I suspect she would have!) or was she somewhere else with her parents?
Bridget is borrowed as crew by the Amazons (maybe Swallow is too crowded, or they want more even crews for a war, or need someone else in Amazon for some reason?). What happens? Does she turn Amazon entirely and want to stay with them, or return to the Swallows? She seems to admire Nancy a lot, and allowing for age differences, I think they're rather similar.
A return to Secret Water – they did promise the Eels they'd go back! Is Bridget a human sacrifice again, or is she an Eel this time?
What happens when the elders have finished school? Do they still go to the Lakes for holidays? Maybe it's just the younger ones – is Amazon left out of the water, or does someone sail her? How do the ranks change as the oldest ones leave?
Bridget would have been 11 at the start of WWII – how did that affect her life? Was she evacuated? Maybe she (and possibly her mother?) went to stay with Molly Blackett?
Completely random idea I just had - how about a crossover with Doctor Who? I think all the kids would be fascinated by him... (Note: I've only seen Seasons 1 through 4 of New Who, so if you go with this please don't include spoilers from later seasons).
If you want to use Brigit Altounyan as a starting point, go ahead! (This is completely, completely, completely optional, I'm equally happy either way - I'm just mentioning it for completeness :) )

I love all the kids (and the adults... I just really love these books!) so feel free to include anyone and everyone you want to! I'd rather have genfic here, mainly because Bridget is so much younger than the others (that said, a teenage Bridget with a one-sided crush on one of the other characters could be adorable, too :) ).

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 this character: We don't see much of her, but from what we do get, she's clearly very determined and brave – seriously, how many four or five year olds are not only willing to play “human sacrifice” with stake and bonfire and all, but are furious at being rescued? Like I said at the beginning, I'd love to see her fleshed out, given more depth.

The Children of Green Knowe –Toby Oldknow, Alexander Oldknow, Linnet Oldknow

Prompt I gave: I’d love some fluffy sibling fic at Green Knowe between these three (in whatever time period/s you like!). More in my DYW letter.

Prompt continuation: The time period you set the fic in offers all sorts of possibilities – when they were alive? Susan and Jacob’s time? Tolly’s grandmother’s childhood? Tolly’s life? When the green animals were first made? A time we don’t actually see or hear of in canon? Any or all would be lovely.

What I love about this fandom: It’s hard to explain... I think one of the things I love most is that the supernatural happenings are at once very magical and very natural. For Tolly, for instance, it’s magical when he sees them for the first time; but for them, it’s natural to be playing at Green Knowe, and making a playmate of this new boy.

Why I love these characters: I adore the way they treat each other in canon – they seem very close, and though they do tease each other it’s never mean-spirited. I love Linnet’s laughter, and Toby’s courage, and Alexander’s music. I love their animals - Feste, the deer, the squirrel, the mole, the hare.

Robots – Susan Calvin

Prompt I gave: Susan being her usual acerbic, awesome, robot-problem-solving self, please! See my DYW Letter for more.

Prompt continuation: A few random ideas:

I'd love to know more about what happened with Lenny, that story was always one of my favourites.
I'd adore an Asimov-style malfunctioning robot mystery, of course!
Susan's interactions with Lanning, Bogert, Powell and Donovan were always really fun to read – especially when she was completely exasperated with them, lol.
The events of “Little Lost Robot” must have been rather traumatic for Susan – she's always liked and trusted robots so much, and one tried to kill her. How did she deal with them, and retain those same feelings towards robots afterwards (because she still clearly loves them)?
Was she right about Stephen Byerley – was he actually a robot?
If you feel like going AU, how about a meeting between Susan, Daneel and Giskard? I think she'd be fascinated with them.

What I love about this fandom: These books were some of the first sci-fi I ever read, and I've loved the genre ever since! I like how Asimov managed to build so many different situations and stories out of just the Three Laws of Robotics (and some fantastic characters, or course! But the plot is pretty much always centred on the Three Laws, twisting and bending them).

Why I love this character: Since you offered her, I guess I don't have to convince you she's awesome ;) I love her sarcasm and her impatience with people who annoy her. She's a brilliant scientist, but not flawless – she makes mistakes, and learns from them, and fixes them. I just love her.

Flower Fairies - Any

Prompt I gave: I saw this fandom on the nominations list and fell in love with the idea of fic for it! I'd love anything that keeps the innocent feel of the original.

Prompt continuation: I love both the images and the accompanying poems, so fic incorporating them would make me very happy!
this is the book I have – It's not got all of the fairies, but it has a pretty large amount, and any I don't know I can google, so please incorporate any and every fairy that takes your fancy! Some of my favourites are Yew, Rose-Bay Willow-Herb, Ragged Robin, Wayfaring Tree, Fuschia, Dandelion, Poppy, Bugle, Rose-Hip, Alder, Willow... but really, they're all amazing, and I know there's lots I'm forgetting to list, so write about whichever ones you like!
I really like the innocence and charm of the originals, so I'd really love it if you kept a similar feel... I wouldn't mind romance per se (in fact I think there are some that would be adorable couples), but if you incorporate it, please keep it at a “childhood sweethearts” sort of level? I think it's because they're drawn like children, but the thought of anything more adult squicks me.
There's lots of worldbuilding that can be done in this fandom, if you feel so inclined :)
And because when it was mentioned I went googling... This site has a searchable collection of all the images (useful for a quick visual reference).

What I love about this fandom: It's just adorable! As a child, I could spend ages happily looking at the pictures and reading the poems (and still can, really).