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Dear Yuletide Writer,

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get this letter posted. Thank you for your patience and thank you for writing something for me. I'm so excited to read what you come up with! I hope you'll feel free to write something that inspires you - that's what always makes the best stories. The following prompts and ideas are just in case you need a little extra inspiration. I hope they're some help to you!

Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse

Ah, my perennial Yuletide fandom. There have been very few years I haven't requested it because Jeeves fic never tires me. I have loved Wodehouse's books for years, and the Jeeves stories were my very first loves among his various series. I love the language, the setting, the lightness of touch, the humour, the hi-jinks, and most of all the characters.

I have loved quite a few angsty Jeeves fics in the past but my favourites tend to be the ones that keep the tone of the original stories. I don't need pure fluff (hurt/comfort is a trope I think works really well, for example, especially between Jeeves and Bertie) but I like a happy ending.

If you're writing romance, my preferred pairings are Jeeves/Bertie and Madeline/Honoria - go with whichever one appeals to you most, you don't have to write both! If you're writing gen, I'd be interested in any/all of those characters. Looking at some unlikely friendships might be fun. Maybe Jeeves finds himself needing to team up with Honoria or Madeline to rescue Bertie from some predicament, and he discovers a new side to them? Other characters from the Jeeves stories (or any of Wodehouse's books, really) are more than welcome too.

Tropey Goodness: Domesticity, costume porn, pining, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, schmoop, fluff, retirement, epistolary, recipe fic, magic AU, detective AU, soulmate AU, crossover (any of Wodehouse's other works or something from a similar period setting would be ideal.)

Prompts:

Bertie comes home unexpectedly early from the Drones Club and gets to see Jeeves outside of his professional mode. (This would probably just mean that Jeeves is in pyjamas and reading a book, right? But the subtle difference might have an effect on how they see each other. Is Bertie surprised? Does Jeeves, usually an exemplary professional, feel caught out?)

Twelfth Night - Bertie decides to make Jeeves the master for the day, much to Jeeves’ discomfort. Does Bertie eventually get tired, when he realises how much Jeeves does around the house? Does he assume Jeeves’ job is easy because he just isn’t doing it right? How long can Jeeves stand watching Bertie try to make a simple cup of tea? Or does Bertie surprise them both with an aptitude for housework?

Costume party - So much potential for mistaken identity!

Madeline writes Honoria a love poem - or vice versa.

An AU where Honoria is Madeline's lady's maid and acts like her Jeeves - extracting her from unsuitable engagements, keeping her from carrying out harebrained, romantic schemes, proofreading her poetry, etc.

One of the characters is roped into writing relationship advice for Milady's Boudoir.

Psmith - P. G. Wodehouse

My second great Wodehousean love! (Well, maybe tied with Blandings...) I love Mike and Psmith individually and most of all together. They are the perfect dynamic, one eccentric, unpredictable but good-hearted and a devoted friend, the other loyal and grounded (except maybe in matters of cricket).

I like the school stories but, when it comes to fanfiction, I definitely prefer things set post-'Mike and Psmith'. I'm most interested in a look at their future. I love the idea of Mike and his farm, with Psmith a frequent visitor. Or Mike visiting Blandings when Psmith is Lord Emsworth's secretary. I like Eve and Phyllis very much so I would love to see them in the story but, equally, I won't be offended if you pretend they don't exist for the sake of pairing Mike and Psmith. (You can also include them and still pair up Mike and Psmith - making them one big polyamorous unit would probably be my favourite of all the options!) Like I said in my sign up, I'm happy with romance or gen, whichever appeals most to you.

Prompts:

Retirement fic! Often my very favourite type of fic in the Sherlock Holmes, I think it could work equally well with Mike and Psmith. Imagine them in a little cottage in the country together. Psmith bemusing the neighbours, Mike dividing his time between gardening and coaching the local cricket team, the two of them getting cosy by the fire together on winter nights...

The many careers of Rupert Psmith. There are still so many he hasn't explored! I believe Wodehouse wrote that he'd eventually go into the law, and it would be very fun to hear about that. Or how about Psmith in government? Or foreign diplomacy? There are so many good options!

A bit of slice-of-life of Mike on the farm.

Psmith offers a field in Mike's farm to a socialist commune without letting Mike know. (I know, I know, I'm obsessed with the farm. I guess I'm bringing cottagecore to the Psmith fandom.)

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey was the first Austen novel I ever read, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I love Catherine's run-away imagination and the way it allows Austen to poke fun at gothic cliches. More than that, I love Catherine for her sweetness and goodness of spirit, despite her naive mistakes. And I love Henry for his charm and sense of humour - he's definitely up there on my list of favourite Austen heroes and he might be the one I'd most enjoy having a chat with.

How much has Catherine reformed by the end of the book? I'd love to get an idea of Catherine and Henry's married life, including whether Catherine gets herself into more trouble. Is there a new gothic novel that she can't resist reading, that puts new ideas into her head? Maybe she is truly reformed, though, and you'd just like to write something slice-of-life about her new day to day. That would be wonderful. I love slice-of-life, especially when combined with some character exploration. What kind of parents do Catherine and Henry make? What is their house like? Which friends/family members do they entertain? You could go far into the future, too, and look at their life together as they get older. How do they change, and how do they stay the same?

Tropey Goodness: Domesticity, costume porn, pining, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, schmoop, fluff, retirement, epistolary, recipe fic, magic AU, detective AU, soulmate AU, crossover.

Prompts:

Crossover ideas: Any other Austen novel; Dracula (Movies - Hammer), wherein Catherine becomes an apprentice vampire hunter?

Hurt/comfort, Catherine is responsible for nursing Henry through an illness. Alternatively, Henry looks after Catherine. Possibly Catherine begins to worry that someone is poisoning her?

Slice-of-life wherein Catherine and Henry begin setting up house together. Let's see them pick out some curtains together.

1980s AU: In which Catherine's obsessions are, perhaps, paperback horror novels and The Exorcist on VHS.

1890s AU: Catherine can't stop reading this new novel, Dracula. And now she's met this very charming and funny young man, but she's pretty certain his dad is a vampire.

Murder She Wrote

Okay, up until a couple of years ago I had maybe watched a minute or two here and there of this show. Now I love it with all my heart. It was my Covid show, I watched so many episodes of Murder She Wrote during lockdown, and it got me through. I find it so comforting. The best episodes have an excellent mixture of cosiness, mystery, loveable recurring characters, and a little bit of dark humour. My favourites always seem to be set in Cabot Cove - I love all the characters there and the small-town vibe.

I would absolutely love to read a fic set in Cabot Cove. It could be a mystery or just a look at Jessica's life. Jessica is such a wonderful character - she's clever and sharp but so kind and gentle at the same time. She's the kind of person you wish you had as a friend. (Honestly, I'm kind of jealous of Seth, who can just drop by to chat and eat the last slice of Jessica's apple pie.)

I'm also really intrigued by Jessica's life before the start of the series. We never get to meet her late husband, Frank, and I'm curious as to what he was like and what kind of relationship they had together.

As I said in my sign-up, I'd prefer gen for this fandom, although I'm happy for you to write romance about Jessica and Frank. I would also prefer not to read something very dark.

Tropey Goodness: Domesticity, epistolary, recipe fic, magic AU, crossover.

Prompts:

Jessica has actually made a foray into crime-solving before. In fact, when they first met, she and Frank Fletcher had to combine their skills as amateur detectives to find a murderer in Frank's squadron.

A baking competition in Cabot Cove turns deadly.

Magic AU: Combine two iconic Angela Lansbury characters! I'm talking Jessica Fletcher and Miss Price of Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Jessica Fletcher has been learning witchcraft through a postal course and now the people of Cabot Cove are starting to notice some strange occurrences. Maybe her magic powers help Jessica solve a mystery?

My Do Not Wants (non-con, underage) apply to all these fandoms.

Again, thank you for writing for me. I hope you have fun coming up with a story, and that you have a wonderful Yuletide!

Tibby

Dear Yuletide writer,

Welcome, bienvenue, wilkommen! I hope this letter finds you well and happy. I think it has to be said, that this Yuletide is, like everything else this year, feeling slightly different to usual. But I'm thinking of it as a spot of light in the coming months - I hope you have some similar hope. Thank you, dear writer, for being a part of this spot of light.

I hope all that talk doesn't translate into pressure to produce something. (Every year I'm paranoid that I'm going to cause my assigned writer stress, every year I reiterate that I'm so very easy to please - I hope no one out there is reading all of these at once, because I'm sure that it gets very irritating). But, really, I'm so easy to please! Go with the story of your heart, whatever is fun for you. I'm just adding the extra information in case, like me, you like having some prompts to work with.

Here is that extra information, should you want to read it:

( The Fandoms )

Thank you again, dear Yuletider. Have fun!

Tibby

Dear Yuletide Author,

How nice it is to welcome you here, to my bloggish-thing, which only ever seems to host Yuletide letters nowadays - one of which, you are reading! I hope you are happy with the task before you. I don't know if this is your first Yuletide or if you've been participating for years, I don't know if you're a confident writer or if you're someone who finds exchanges like this a challenge. If you are the least bit trepidatious though, please be assured that I am really easy to make happy. I'm sure whatever you write is going to be great and I am so excited to read it. If one of your problems is that you don't know what exactly to write, I hope some of the following fandom-specific babble will give you some ideas.

On the other hand, if you are super relaxed and ready to get going - hurray! Don't even bother to read the rest of the letter if you don't want to - the prompts are there just in case you're stuck, I'm really more interested in the story you want to write.

However you're feeling, I hope this turns out to be a ton of fun for you.

Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse

Characters: Reginald Jeeves, Bertie Wooster, Madeline Bassett, Honoria Glossop

I said in my sign up that I would love something canon-esque and that is true, but I don't necessarily mean that it has to be a perfect pastiche of Wodehouse's writing. A lot of writers in the fandom do that, which is great, but I know that not everyone is comfortable mimicking another's writing style. I meant more that I'd like something with the brightness and lightness of the originals, however you interpret that. I don't mind at all if you want to go for something a little melancholy (I've read such things in the past and loved them) but I'd prefer if you didn't go too dark with this one. Bertie is a precious baa lamb and needs to be protected!

If you're wanting to write Bertie and Jeeves, I am fine with it being platonic or romantic. As long as Jeeves is there, dragging Bertie out of the soup, trying to protect him from fashion disasters, and generally looking after him, I'm happy. Likewise, I think a story about a friendship developing between Madeline and Honoria would be ace, as would a story about the two of them falling in love. I've loved Madeline/Honoria stories in the past - I know butch/femme is such a stereotype but I have a soft spot for it, and I think Madeline's soupiness and Honoria's brashness would complement each other.

The story doesn't have to be focused on relationships though, I love plot-driven stories too. A modern AU could be fun but if you’re keeping to the original setting, I have a real soft spot for period detail of all kinds. Oh, and any other characters from the Jeeves canon (or elsewhere in the Wodehouse 'verse) are welcome.

Prompts:

Bertie comes home unexpectedly early from the Drones Club and gets to see Jeeves outside of his professional mode. (This would probably just mean that Jeeves is in pyjamas and reading a book, right? But the subtle difference might have an effect on how they see each other. Is Bertie surprised? Does Jeeves, usually an exemplary professional, feel caught out?)
Twelfth Night - Bertie decides to make Jeeves the master for the day, much to Jeeves’ discomfort. Does Bertie eventually get tired, when he realises how much Jeeves does around the house? Does he assume Jeeves’ job is easy because he just isn’t doing it right? How long can Jeeves stand watching Bertie try to make a simple cup of tea? Or does Bertie surprise them both with an aptitude for housework?
Costume party - So much potential for mistaken identity! Also, costumes. Which means undressing from costumes…
Madeline writes Honoria a love poem - or vice versa.
An AU where Honoria is Madeline's lady's maid and acts like her Jeeves - extracting her from unsuitable engagements, keeping her from carrying out harebrained, romantic schemes, proofreading her poetry, etc.
One of the characters is roped into writing relationship advice for Milady's Boudoir.

DNW: Non-con, dub-con, underage

The Red House Mystery - A. A. Milne

Characters: Antony Gillingham, Bill Beverly

I was so happy to see this as a fandom in Yuletide! I will never cease to be bitter over the fact that Milne gave us these two charming characters, all ready to solve a series of mysteries if he wanted them to, and then only wrote one book. Thank goodness for fan-fiction, eh?

Of course, I'm not expecting anyone to sit down and come up with a fiendish mystery for these two to solve, that would be a whole lot of pressure. I'm mostly interested in Tony and Bill doing things, anything, together. I'm happy with friendship or romance between them. I love the combination of Tony the sharp, clever eccentric and Bill the bluff, reliable every-man (who nevertheless has something special about him, that perhaps only Tony is perceptive enough to recognise). I suppose Holmes and Watson are the obvious comparison but they also remind me of my other favourites, Mike and Psmith.

I'd love backstory elaborating on how they first met. Missing scenes from the book. Future adventures. We only got one book so there's plenty to explore!

Tropey Goodness: Domesticity, pining, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, schmoop, fluff, retirement, epistolary, magic AU, soulmate AU, daemon AU.

Prompts:

Bill and Tony spend Christmas together at a mutual acquaintance's country house. Neither were expecting to see the other and they're happy to be reunited. A lot of time is spent analysing the other guests (and their possible motives for murder/jewel theft/festive pranks?)
AU with alternative first meetings - maybe a Sliding Doors sort of scenario?
Wodehouse crossover - Tony is a member of the Drones Club and brings in Bill as a new member.

DNW: Non-con, dub-con, underage

Dracula (Movies - Hammer)

Characters: Van Helsing

Oh, Hammer films - I know they're B Movies but I've always thought they look beautiful and there's something about the best of them that is so, so good. If you know a way of incorporating all that chintzy Victoriana and bright red blood into writing, could you give me a bit of that, please? :p To be serious, though, all I need is Van Helsing and a bit of a gothic vibe.

I love Peter Cushing so much, and the way he plays Van Helsing just captures what I love about him. In the midst of all the creepiness and beneath a dark and serious exterior, there's always something gentle and gentlemanly about Van Helsing. I especially love him in The Brides of Dracula, in all his interactions with Marianne Danielle. (I do 'ship them together, if you would like to go down the romantic route and document their further adventures. Like I said in my sign up, I'd also be happy if you paired him with an original character. Or even Dracula, if that takes your interest.)

Any level of horror is fine, although I'd prefer it not to be too graphic.

Tropey Goodness: Domesticity, pining, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, schmoop, fluff, retirement, epistolary, magic AU, soulmate AU, daemon AU.

Prompts:

Crossovers: Carmilla? What We Do in the Shadows? Or (see below) Northanger Abbey?
Origin story! Maybe covering how Van Helsing started out in his particular profession, or his first encounter with a vampire.
What if Van Helsing were to be turned into a vampire? Would it change him completely? Could he fight against his darker nature?
Van Helsing tries to retire but the forces of darkness keep finding him...

DNW: Non-con, dub-con, underage

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Characters: Robert Frobisher, Rufus Sixsmith

These two characters are very dear to me. I'm very predictable, even to myself. Seeing them in the trailer is what persuaded me to read the book and then see the film. And, although I ended up loving many of the characters, these two are still my favourites. They break my heart on every re-watch.

You can visit either end of the emotional spectrum, though, with dear Frobisher and Sixsmith. Because I have a morbid obsession with the First World War, some kind of exploration of the effect of the war on Frobisher's family would be really interesting. Or something focused on the fact that Sixsmith had Frobisher’s letters with him when he died. If you want to go a little lighter, it would be nice to have a letter from the halcyon days detailing one of Frobisher’s misadventures. In fact, it would be just wonderful to finally have a responding letter from Sixsmith!

Tropey Goodness: Domesticity, pining, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, schmoop, fluff, retirement, epistolary, canon divergence AU, magic AU, soulmate AU (although in this case, it's hardly even an AU, is it?), daemon AU.

Prompts:

AU: Frobisher lives! How would Sixsmith's life be different? Would they settle down or fall apart?
Sixsmith contrives to visit Frobisher at his family home. What does he think of the Frobisher family? How does Frobisher himself fit in? I expect some sneaking into each other's bedrooms is involved - do they get caught?
What is Sixsmith's life like between Frobisher's death and his own?

DNW: Non-con, dub-con, underage

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

Characters: Catherine Morland, Henry Tilney, Eleanor Tilney, Isabella Thorpe

Northanger Abbey was the first Austen novel I ever read and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I love Catherine's run away imagination and the way it allows Austen to poke fun at gothic cliches. More than that, I love Catherine for her sweetness and goodness of spirit, despite her naive mistakes.

How much has she reformed by the end of the book? I'd love to get an idea of Catherine and Henry's married life, including whether Catherine gets herself into more trouble. Is there a new gothic novel that she can't resist reading, that puts new ideas into her head? Maybe she is truly reformed, though, and you'd just like to write something slice-of-life about her new day to day. That would be wonderful. I love slice-of-life, especially when combined with some character exploration.

Tropey Goodness: Domesticity, costume porn, pining, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, schmoop, fluff, retirement, epistolary, recipe fic, magic AU, detective AU, soulmate AU, crossover.

Prompts:

Crossover ideas: Any other Austen novel; Dracula (Movies - Hammer), wherein Catherine becomes an apprentice vampire hunter?
Hurt/comfort, Catherine is responsible for nursing Henry (or Eleanor or Isabella) through an illness. Alternatively, the two Tilneys look after Catherine. Possibly Catherine begins to worry that someone is poisoning her?
1980s AU: In which Catherine's obsessions are, perhaps, paperback horror novels and The Exorcist on VHS.

DNW: Non-con, dub-con, underage

Thank you again, dear Yuletider. Have fun!

Tibby

Yuletide season has been full of delights this year! I've had more time than usual to take a good look through the collection, too, so I feel like I've come across even more wonderful fic than I've had the chance to in previous years. I haven't exhausted the collection yet (the joy will be spread into January!) but I wanted to share some of my favourites from my reading thus far.

To start with, there is my gift, a wonderfully atmospheric piece of post-canon for one of my favourite films.

What Dreams May Come (Crimson Peak; M; Edith Cushing/Thomas Sharpe, Edith Cushing/Alan McMichael)

I also loved this fic in a similar vein. Both authors have a wonderful hold on Edith's character, I think. I felt like I was spending time in her company, something I can't get enough of.

'til Death (Crimson Peak; G; Edith Cushing & Alan McMichael, Edith Cushing/Thomas Sharpe)

I find a good Wodehouse fic a treat that can't easily be matched, and this year's offerings were excellent. I haven't read the longer of the two Jeeves fics yet but I am very much looking forward to doing so, based on the first few paragraphs. This one was all the literary sunshine one could hope for from a Wooster narrative:

And Baby Makes Three (Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse; G; Bertie Wooster, Reginald Jeeves, Dahlia Travers, Angela Travers, Madeline Bassett)

The single Psmith fic made my heart skip. It takes the characters' relationships as they stand following Leave It To Psmith and does something wonderful with them. It's romantic and happy and full of perfect character moments and it's just a joy to read.

With Love, Psmith (Psmith - P.G. Wodehouse; N/A; Mike Jackson/Rupert Psmith, Mike Jackson/Phyllis Keeble, Rupert Psmith/Eve Halliday)

More joyful reads:

Letter From Father Christmas (The Father Christmas Letters - J.R.R. Tolkien; G; Father Christmas, North Polar Bear | Karhu, Ilbereth) This reads so much like one of Tolkien's originals. It's delightful.

Sun, Sea, Sangria (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams; G; Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect) Ford and Arthur on an 18-30 clubbing holiday. Arthur is as uncomfortable as you might expect, Ford is in his element. It is perfectly in character and made me smile the whole way through.

Birth Day (Treasure Planet; G; Amelia/Delbert Doppler) A post-canon look at Amelia and Delbert starting a family. Fluffy, adorable, all the good things.

Set Sail (The Road to El Dorado; G; Chel/Miguel/Tulio) The tag 'shenanigans' sums this one up pretty well. A heartily welcome look at the continuing adventures of El Dorado's intrepid heroes. Cute and funny and fun. Also features Chel as a pirate captain!

Tea For Two (North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell; T+; Margaret Hale/John Thornton) A sweet moment between newlywed John and Margaret.

Romantic reads (in descending order from mostly fluffy to heart-aching):

Eternal Verities (Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell; G; Molly Gibson/Roger Hamley) A thoughtful, wonderfully written take on Mrs. Gaskell's unfinished novel. Molly is beautifully characterised.

Untitled 19-39 (History Boys - Bennett; T+; David Posner/Donald Scripps) Charts the course of Scripps and Posner's relationship post-play, although it does deviate from canon a fair bit. It's beautiful and hopeful. Posner and Scripps deserve this.

companioned still (Strange Meeting - Susan Hill; T+; John Hilliard/David Barton) A stunningly beautiful duo of missing scenes.

Reads about twisty, dysfunctional relationships (romantic or otherwise):

Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo? (Blackadder; Explicit; Edmund Blackadder/Kevin Darling) Set in the 1920s, several years after the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, this fic manages to capture and ramp up the underlying melancholy of the series. The tension between Darling and Blackadder is as palpable as ever - but this time it ends in sex! Huzzah and hurrah!

you dug me out of this shallow grave (The Two Faces of January; T+; Rydal Keener/Chester MacFarland) A moody, atmospheric piece that imagines a different fate for Chester MacFarland following the events of the film.

One Knife to the Heart (and One at Your Back) (Jupiter Ascending; T+; Kalique Abrasax/Famulus)

A Certain Riddle of the Sphinx (Jupiter Ascending; M; Kalique Abrasax/Famulus)

The tag for Kalique Abrasax/Famulus did not disappoint. Two absolutely delicious fics for my favourite scheming space royal and her brother's deadly, furry secretary. The best Jupiter Ascending pairing, obviously.

Had They Been Drinking? (Black Books; T+; Fran Katzenjammer, Bernard Black)

Tonight (Black Books; Explicit; Bernard Black/Fran Katzenjammer, Fran Katzenjammer/Manny Bianco)

Two perfect fics for the wonderfully dysfunctional world that is Fran and Bernard's friendship in its early days. Both of these capture the spirit of Black Books wonderfully, both have sharp writing and a feel for the characters. 'Tonight' also has a great twist at the end.

Five times Jamie threatened to quit his job (The Thick of It; T+; Malcolm Tucker, Jamie MacDonald) Clever and funny, the spot-on voices for Jamie and Malcolm make this fic something special.

Sunday tea (Revolutionary Girl Utena; T+; Himemiya Anthy & Shinohara Wakaba) In this case, the relationship isn't dysfunctional and twisty but, it's Utena, everything going on in the background is. This story captures the tone of the series really well. It's wonderful to see Anthy and Wakaba interact in a way that feels true to the characters.

All Set for Extinction (Ex Machina; T+; Ava/Kyoko) I kind of want this author to write an entire sequel for Ex Machina.

And, lastly, the uncategorisable:

The Darkplace Christmas Special (Garth Marenghi's Darkplace; G; Thornton Reed, Rick Dagless, Liz Asher, Lucien Sanchez, Dean Learner, Garth Marenghi) If you know Darkplace, you already know you want to read this. It is as good as it sounds. I especially love Dean and Garth's commentary on the making of the episode.

My dear Yuletide Author,

Oh my gosh, it’s Yuletide time again! I’m sorry that I’m late in getting this letter posted, I really hope it hasn’t thrown you off at all. You don’t have to pay too much attention to this, in any case - unless you want to. I’ll be thrilled to read whatever you want to write about our shared obscure fandom. Not to be overly twee (who am I fooling? I am always twee) but I really do believe this should be about fun and going with whatever moves you. However, if you’re stuck for ideas, maybe I can interest you in a few prompts? A little bit of enthusiastic fan-babble?

In that case, read on…

( The Fandoms )

Thank you again, dear Yuletider. Have fun!

Tibby

Dear Yuletide Author,

I hope you're as excited as I am at the start of this Yuletide journey of ours! Thank you so much for signing up and agreeing to write for one of the following little fandoms. I don't know what's in your head right at this moment - maybe you're bursting with ideas and impatient to get started, maybe you're feeling just the slightest bit lost. Obviously it's important that you do this exchange your way so if nothing in this letter strikes you, I hope you won't think twice about going with the story idea that's ~in your heart~. However, if you are feeling in want of inspiration, hopefully there will be one or two helpful things here. For each fandom, I've put down the things I like most about the original material, some of my favourite tropes that I think would fit, a few prompts - well, you know what goes into a Yuletide letter. Use these as much or as little as you wish.

Right then. Shall we get started? :D

( The Fandoms )

I'm so sorry I've taken such a long time on this. I hope it's still of some use to you. And I hope you have a fantastic, fun Yuletide!

Tibby

Dear Yuletide Author,

Thank you for signing up this year! It’s lovely to know that someone out there is interested in writing for one of my favourite little fandoms. :3 Now, I don’t know how you’re feeling about all this but I think, excited or nervous, you’ll probably be glad to hear that I’m pretty easy to please! I know a lot of people appreciate having details of their recipients’ likes and dislikes to give them inspiration, so I’ve put all that kind of thing in this letter. I hope what I’ve written will help you – there’ll be one or two prompts for each fandom as well, just in case you find them useful. But if you already have an idea of what you’d like to write, please go ahead and write that. Likewise, if nothing I’ve written catches your fancy, do go with something else that does. Just as long as it’s enjoyable for you to write, I’m sure that will be what shines. I enjoy all kinds of fic and, really, the only restriction I’d give you would be to avoid the things on my Absolutely Do Not Want list, which is pretty small in any case.

I just want to say that I hope you have fun; I can’t wait to read what you come up with. And now I’ll carry on with the necessary information!

Absolutely Do Not Want:
• Non-con
• Underage

Well, I think that covers it…

A few personal preferences:
• I like fic of all kinds, romantic or gen. I like introspective character/relationship-based fic and plotty fic equally.
• As will probably become apparent in the fandom talk, I will ‘ship anything and everything. Slash, femslash, het, threesomes, moresomes… I like fic about platonic friendships too, and fic where the romance/friendship is kept ambiguous.
• If you want to write incest, I’m just going to take a wild guess and say you’re here because of Jupiter Ascending. That is a-okay! Damaged space family’s gotta do what damaged space family’s gotta do. However, incest is more generally a DNW for me.
• I think AUs, fusions and cross-overs are great, as are cross-over pairings.

Kinks and Tropes I like a lot:
(Mostly tropes, in all honesty. I am boring and vanilla.)
Domestic; fluff; unrequited love; pining; sudden and unexpected kisses; epistolary fic; historical AUs; werewolves; master/servant; recipe fic; cross-dressing; loyalty; one character teaching another to dance (or any other skill, really); ghost stories; horror…

( The fandoms... )

Happy writing!

Tibby

Crossposts: http://truly-bohemian.livejournal.com/97021.html

Dear Yuletide Author,

Thank you for signing up this year! It’s a delight to know that someone out there is interested in writing for one of my favourite little fandoms. Though I don’t yet know what we matched on, I’d like to reassure you that, regardless, I’m pretty easy to please. This letter is about giving you some idea of what I especially like and throwing around a few prompts, just in case you need some inspiration. I expect you to be as free with these suggestions as you like! I think the best story is going to be the one that you enjoy writing, after all.

So, to begin! Some reading preferences (which will probably end up being very woolly):

• I enjoy gen and I enjoy relationship fic. ♥ Het, slash, femslash, poly, friendship, familial (biological family or found family, I don’t mind). Incest is a bit trickier because I tend to be picky about what I will read in that category – I think I’d prefer if you avoided it, if that’s okay. Anyway, I’ll get into specifics with the individual fandoms.
• I don’t mind if the fic ends up being explicit or not but I tend towards the vanilla... For smut, I’d prefer a fic where it isn’t the entire focus. For violence, I’d like it not to be graphic and prolonged.
• Kinks and tropes I’m very much okay with include: domesticity, hurt/comfort, cross-dressing, pining, soul mates, angst, fluff, ambiguous sexuality/relationships
• The things I’d not like to receive are underage and non-con, of any kind.
• Cross-overs are wonderful. Cross over whichever of the canons you’d like – if you’ve been simply aching to write about Sylvia Tietjens’ adventures in Dinotopia, I’d be the last person to stop you. You can check my interests if you’d like more cross-over ideas.
• AUs are also lovely. Go mad. I like everything from coffee shop scenarios to His Dark Materials-like worlds, with the only exception, I think, being high school/college AUs. My particular weakness is for historical AUs, and I have a definite soft spot for making characters werewolves.

Now onto the fandoms! Huzzah! (The parts in italics are from my sign-up.)

( The Fandoms )

I think that’s about all I have to say for now! I’m very sorry that this letter is late, and I hope I haven’t kept you waiting for it. Just like last year, I thought I’d get it done in time and then real life had other plans for me. In any case, I really hope that it’s some help to you.

Have fun!

Tibby

Crossposts: http://truly-bohemian.livejournal.com/96723.html

My dear Yuletide angel,

Is it that magical time of the year already? I can tell you, I’m so excited I could bite a grape. I hope this letter finds you in a similar state, although I do understand that the thought of having to write a Yuletide gift for someone can be stressful too. Try not to fret! I assure you, I’m a simple-minded thing and very easy to please.

If you’d like some idea of what I like to see in a story, or just a little prompting to hopefully get you started, read ahead. If you already have an idea you’d like to try out, please feel free to toddle off and write that! This should be fun for the writer, and I’m sure I’ll love reading anything that has been a pleasure to write.

Most importantly (and, really, this should have come first): Thank you, as-yet-unknown-Yuletide-participant. The fact that you’re taking the time to write in one of the following tiny fandoms just warms my heart. :)

And now a little bit of babble about the fandoms and fan-fiction in general…

A few personal preferences:
- I like fic of all kinds, romantic or gen. As will probably become apparent in the fandom talk, I will ‘ship anything and everything. Slash, femslash, het, threesomes, moresomes… I like fic about platonic friendships too, and fic where the romance/friendship is kept ambiguous.
- I think AUs and cross-overs are great, as are cross-over pairings.
- I’d prefer it if you avoided rape scenes or anything sexual involving underage characters. Those are the only things I can think of that I really would not want to read.

( Spoilers ahead! )

I'm very sorry that it's taken me so long to finish off this letter. I don't like making excuses, but I thought I'd get back to it before assignments went out and then real life intervened... I hope it hasn't inconvenienced you, and that the finished article proves helpful.

Have fun writing! :)

Tibby

( Mastered Decks )

Crossposts: http://truly-bohemian.livejournal.com/94783.html

( Read more... )

Crossposts: http://truly-bohemian.livejournal.com/94573.html

( Read more... )

Tonight the wind gnaws
With teeth of glass,
The jackdaw shivers
In caged branches of iron,
The stars have talons.

There is hunger in the mouth
Of vole and badger,
Silver agonies of breath
In the nostril of the fox,
Ice on the rabbit’s paw.

Tonight has no moon,
No food for the pilgrim;
The fruit tree is bare,
The rose bush a thorn
And the ground is bitter with stones.

But the mole sleeps, and the hedgehog
Lies curled in a womb of leaves,
The bean and the wheat-seed
Hug their germs in the earth
And the stream moves under the ice.

Tonight there is no moon,
But a new star opens
Like a silver trumpet over the dead.
Tonight in a nest of ruins
The blessed babe is laid.
And the fir tree warms to a bloom of candles,
And the child lights his lantern,
Stares at his tinselled toy;
And our hearts and hearths
Smoulder with live ashes.

In the blood of our grief
The cold earth is suckled,
In our agony the womb
Convulses its seed;
In the first cry of anguish
The child’s first breath is born.

My dear Yuletide Angel,

I think I should start with the most important matter; which is, of course, a great big thank you! Your effort and kindness in writing for one of my small fandoms is just fantastic. It’s a shame that I’m now going to repay you by launching into endless paragraphs of excitable fandom chatter. Yes, um, sorry about that… I hope, though, that it might prove useful to you. In the past, I’ve found Yuletide much easier when I’ve been given some clue of what my recipient might like and a few ideas to inspire me. I thought you might feel the same, and that’s all that this information is here for. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you but I feel I should all the same: whatever you write, have fun with it. If you do that, I’m sure I’ll adore it. :3

A few personal preferences:
- When it comes to pairings, I like slash, femslash, het, threesomes, moresomes… Pretty much anything goes. I’ve listed the pairings I like for each fandom and, unless I’ve noted otherwise, you can presume I ‘ship them romantically.
- If pairings aren’t your thing, fear not, I like gen too!
- I think AUs and cross-overs are great, as are cross-over pairings.
- I’d prefer it if you avoided rape scenes or anything sexual involving underage characters. Those are the only things I can think of that I really wouldn’t want to read.

(Spoilers ahead!)

( The Fandoms )

Well then, I think that’s about it. Now all you have to do is write the damn thing. Enjoy yourself!

Crossposts: http://truly-bohemian.livejournal.com/92389.html

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