dear yuletide author!

Hello, dear yuletide author!

Thanks for doing this! I can't wait to see what you write for me :)


Things I love: people supporting each other (especially through unspoken actions), fumbly awkward sex that is still thoroughly enjoyed by everybody involved, fic in the same mood/tone as the canon, hugs, unconventional and non-traditional relationships that work, trinkets and mementoes, traditions and routines, gentle teasing, in-jokes between characters, people understanding each other without needing to be good at communication, intimacy and (well-placed) trust, feeling comfortable/at home in new places or with new people, teaching/learning new skills.

Gen, slash, femslash and het are all fine by me!

Firm things to avoid: I have triggers to do with grief, especially around public grief and commemoration. I realise that’s not very likely to be an issue in most things here, but, just in case. And obviously, this means definitely no character death, please! I can handle a very minor character death if it’s offscreen and/or canonical, and the fic is not about it, but I avoid almost all fic that goes beyond that. Please don't dwell on grief, funerals, or anything along those lines! 

General things I don’t care for: Self injury, gore/violence, serious illness, underage or teacher/student relationships, non- and dub-con, abusive relationships, sexual violence, and incest. Any kind of supernatural AU (werewolves, vampires, etc.), mafia/crime/gang AUs, jealousy/possessiveness, genderswaps or bends, deaging, unrequited love, BDSM, apocalypse scenarios, and secret relationships. Ambiguous or unresolved endings.

Fandom notes:

Seven Kingdoms Trilogy - Kristin Cashore  
Bitterblue & Katsa
[I would love to know more about their friendship! Either between Graceling and Bitterblue, or after Bitterblue ends. I love these characters and this series in general, though, so I'm bound to like almost anything involving either of them. If you want to bring in other characters from the series as well, that would be grand, but please no more Leck than absolutely necessary.]

I really enjoyed this series! I read it all this year, and Bitterblue was my favourite book, with Katsa probably my favourite character overall. I found their interactions in Bitterblue really interesting and would love to read more about them working together, being friends, near-family. I ship Katsa/Po, and am not invested in Bitterblue/Anybody. I love the Seven Kingdoms setting, and would enjoy reading more detail about it, but would prefer not to read a fic that dwells on Leck's legacy within it. Maybe fic about Katsa and Bitterblue visiting Fire? Bitterblue hanging out with Katsa when she's briefly at court between adventures? I have no prompt-of-the-heart here, I just want more of these girls!

Scandal (TV)  
Olivia Pope & Huck
[I would love to know more about their friendship! At any point in its development, really. Past, present or future! Maybe my favourite thing in the show is Huck's intense but silent devotion to Liv, and the way he chooses to show that (e.g. standing guard over her when she needed a moment in S1, my god), and the way she reciprocates that devotion in 'Spies Like Us', so anything that includes a moment of that would be precious to me.]

I love these two! They embody one of my favourite things in fictional friendships: silent, intense understanding. They mean so much to one another, so deeply, and they're all about showing that. I don't see them as romantically involved and would rather read about them as purely being friends.

Also, I requested this before I watched 302! Oh, my goodness. No spoilers, but oh my goodness. I'd love to read about Liv&Huck.

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell 
Eleanor Douglas
[What does Eleanor grow up to be and to do? I just want to know everything post-canon about her life! I don't mind if that means her finding Park again, or just thinking of him fondly as a first love but nothing more. I'd be happy to know more about Park post-novel too, but it's really only Eleanor I'm invested in here. I want to know what she does with her life now--I don't really have any idea about what that might be! But I'd like her to be happy.]

I really liked that the story ended with Eleanor & Park apart, but the ambiguity of the novel's closing irritated me (I like my stories to end at least relatively neatly, with no crucial questions left over). I don't particularly want a fix-it, as I don't mind if they're together or not (you can decide!), but I'd love to read about where Eleanor is in ten, twenty years down the line. Has she settled somewhere? Does she think of her youth often? Does it bother her, or has she flown past it? Is she involved in music as a career, or just a big fan still? Has she grown to be more comfortable with herself, or is that still a daily struggle? I'd like her to be generally happy, but I don't need sugar-sweet, 2.4 children and a puppy happy. Just... not sad? And if you'd like to write about Park, too, that's fine! I just really fell for Eleanor.

Body (movie concept)  
[Anything for this thing will delight me! I loved all the fic for it last year, and would love to see an alternate version of the plot, a deleted scene, a continuation, an AU, etc.

I know people dread an 'anything!', but I'm not sure what else I can say for this one? Something that uses this movie concept and a few of my likes would be just grand.]

Please don't think I'm unenthusiastic about this request because I haven't added a lot! There's just only so much you can say with so little to go on. 

The only thing that merits a mention is that I have experience teaching young children, so I'd rather it not be romanticised/made unrelentingly cute? It's a tough job! (But also, obviously, a bit cute...)

Back Home - Michelle Magorian  
Virginia "Rusty" Dickinson
[I received an absolutely lovely fic for this fandom last year, so another one to keep it company would be wonderful! Anything character-centric and post-canon about Rusty would please me. I wrote Rusty-centric fic (of a sort) for yuletide myself last year, so you could read that if you wanted to get an idea of what I like about her, and where I see her life going long-term? Something generally happy, in the tone of the book, and with a strong sense of setting will make my day.]

My favourite thing about Back Home is the strength and integrity of Rusty as a female character (and as a growing child). She's a brilliantly stubborn and determined and solid character, and I enjoy her enormously. I like how her insecurities play off against her strengths, and I share her enjoyment of making things and being outdoors. I also love her relationship with Charlie, and would love to read about that bond deepening and strengthening over time.

My only firm 'no' particular to this fandom is the first school setting: I'd really rather not read about that sort of situation, please. I'd much prefer something set during Rusty's time at the River School, or in the future post-canon when she's out of school. 

I like all the other characters in the book, barring Rusty's father, so appearances from any of them would be welcome, should you want to include them!

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I hope that wasn't so long your eyes glazed over and your brain froze up, dear writer. Feel free to ignore any of my prompts or suggestions if you have an idea that overtakes you, or something in particular you want to explore. 

I hope you enjoy writing for me, and have a lovely yuletide!


[My AO3 name is suth. My tumblr is slightly.]