Yuletide Letter 2015
Oct. 22nd, 2015 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bakerlooDear 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…
Jeeves – P.G. Wodehouse
Characters: Bertie Wooster, Reginald Jeeves
This is one of my oldest and most beloved fandoms and I’m finally coming back to it after several years away. Wodehouse’s books are such a dependable source of joy for me, I keep a Wodehouse book next to my bed without fail, just in case I need cheering up at any ungodly hour of the night. I’d love to read anything that captures the sunniness of the world he created. Which isn’t necessarily to say that I wouldn’t want you to explore things that Wodehouse stayed away from. I’ve read and enjoyed fics in this fandom that deal with everything from aging to homophobia to WWI. I have a particular soft spot for old-married-couple Jeeves and Bertie. It would be nice for any tribulations to be followed by a happy ending, though. I can’t bear Bertie to be unhappy for long!
It’s probably not hard to tell that I ‘ship Bertie/Jeeves like nobody’s business. The soppier and sweeter the better, honestly. Write what Jeeves is thinking about Bertie while he’s making the tea. One thousand words of Bertie staring at Jeeves’ perfect gloved hands as he passes the golf club. Or stiff-upper-lipped yearning for the young master whilst away for a week’s fishing. It all sounds good to me. I am so far past sanity when it comes to this pairing. I will read anything. If that’s not your thing, I am more than happy with gen – otherwise I wouldn’t read the original stories, right? I’d love a story in the same vein as the canon. My favourite thing is seeing Jeeves removing Bertie from the soup, and the subsequent praise Bertie heaps upon him. And if you’d like to add more characters, please do. They can be from the Jeeves stories (I have a soft spot for pretty much all the ladies, particularly Madeline Bassett, Florence Craye and Aunt Dahlia) or elsewhere. I love seeing Wodehouse characters from different books interacting and I’m familiar with most of the series, with a particular fondness for Blandings, the Drones and anything featuring Mike and Psmith.
A few prompts:
• Twelfth Night. Bertie decides to make Jeeves the master for the day, much to Jeeves’ discomfort.
• Costume party. So much potential for mistaken identity! Also, costumes. Which means undressing from costumes…
• Country house murder AU. Jeeves and Bertie play detective?
The Thick of It
Characters: Ollie Reeder, Emma Messinger, Phil Smith, Malcolm Tucker
I love The Thick of It because… well, because it makes me laugh so much. That’s what it ultimately comes down to, I suppose. But of course a lot of things go into that – the dialogue, the first class swearing, the cringe-inducing familiarity of the things that happen in DoSAC… I love the characters too. It should be difficult to love the characters, but somehow it’s easy. Which isn’t to say that I think they’re the best people. I can’t think of one who would tip the scales with their best traits weighed up against their bad. I mean, Ollie is my favourite character and I still would not disagree with anyone who says he needs a slap around the face in every episode.
When it comes to fic I like to read in this fandom, I’m happiest with three things: fic that’s along the same lines as a regular episode, gen fic that looks at the character’s lives outside the confines of the show or, and I say this with suitable shame, dirtybadwrong hate sex. I hope that’s not being too constrictive. I think there are a lot of things you can do with those three approaches, right? If you’re interested in the last suggestion, my absolute favourite pairing is Ollie/Malcolm. I like Ollie being his usual petty, sarcastic self and giving in to the force of Hurricane Malcolm with a bit of a whimper, basically. And I like a little bit of power play in there too. I also love the epic hate triangle of Ollie/Emma/Phil or any combination thereof. :3
I think it would be interesting to see backstory for any of the characters. How did they get into politics? Did they have other ambitions? How have their lives informed their party allegiances?
A few prompts:
• Ollie bumps into Malcolm outside of work. What does he learn about Malcolm that he didn’t already know?
• When Emma met Phil. How did it happen? Have they always disliked each other? When did they start sharing a house?
• Phil is writing a fantasy novel. Emma finds it.
• A policy gets leaked and Ollie and Malcolm have to do some damage limitation.
To the Ends of the Earth – William Golding
Characters: Edmund Talbot, Charles Summers, Letitia Granham, Mr. Prettiman
Anything about Charles and Edmund's friendship would be lovely. There are so many sweet moments between them in the book, and it would be nice to see a few more - think Charles' gift to Edmund of a fresh rainwater bath, or their reconciliation and declaration of friendship at the end of 'Close Quarters'. :3 Personally, I think that Charles is deeply in unrequited love with Edmund. I'm not so sure that Charles would ever confess and I doubt that Edmund would ever pick up on it. It would be great if you felt like exploring that possibility though. How would it change things between them? It would be nice to have a happy ending, seeing as Charles is given so few of them. But, of course, you'll know what will best suit the story. :3
Edmund and Charles’ friendship is the thing, among many adorable things, that I most adore about To the Ends of the Earth. However, I’ve also requested Miss Granham and Mr. Prettiman, because they’re great too. I love how Edmund’s relationship with the Prettimans develops over the course of Fire Down Below. I admit, too, that I ‘ship Edmund and Miss Granham just a little tiny bit. I understand that it’s an impossibility during the time frame of the books but I do wonder what they’d think to each other if they did meet again, further down the line…
If you want to change the ending so that Charles survives the fire (surely we all do??), I think it would be really interesting to imagine how he and Edmund connect again. If Charles is in love with Edmund, how does he deal with Edmund’s marriage? Does Marion suspect Charles is in love with Edmund? Does she wonder if Edmund reciprocates? Is he welcomed into the family? (Not going to lie, I’d be pleased if this ended up as a fluffy, domestic ménage à trois.)
I think it’s important to mention here that I think Edmund is a terrible, infuriating person and I love him to distraction. He can treat people horrendously and justify his own cruelty. He’s also, I believe, essentially good, essentially kind, and constantly learning to be a better human being.
However, although I love the young, constantly changing Edmund, I do wonder what he would be like as an older man, and whether he would live up to all his potential. I also wonder what his life in 19th century Australia would be like. (I do a lot of wondering, clearly…) Anyway, all those possibilities! Take him exploring wherever you wish. :3
A few prompts:
• Charles and Edmund at a ball.
• Edmund plays Emma Woodhouse and tries to match-make for Charles. Charles is not comfortable with this.
• Edmund and Miss Granham meet again fifteen years later. What have their lives been like in the years between? What kind of relationship do they develop?
• Charles’ career in the Navy before the events of the books.
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Characters: Kalique Abrasax, Famulus, Chicanery Night, Balem Abrasax
I bought Jupiter Ascending for my partner, along with a packet of Jaffa cakes, at the end of a bad day because I had the feeling it would be a good couple of hours escapism. It definitely worked, but then at the end of the film I realised I wanted more. I’m a simple creature, I really am, and sometimes I just need a work of fiction that ticks my personal boxes, it doesn’t have to be deeper than that. The boxes in Jupiter Ascending? Damaged space royalty, non-human intelligence, cute looking animal people, fancy dresses, and a few action sequences for good measure. And they’re all wrapped up in a pretty space opera bow! (Oh, also James-D’arcy-astronomer-dad because… I don’t know, I have issues I guess. Deep James D’arcy issues.)
Any kind of world-building would be interesting for this fandom, but I’d particularly like a further look at the political structure and the House of Abrasax’s place in it. Political/courtly intrigue is a big love of mine so any political manoeuvring or social climbing would be good. How, for instance, did Famulus or Chicanery reach their positions and gain the trust of the Abrasax family? How much power did the individual siblings have when their mother was alive and how satisfied were they? What gave Balem the edge of success when carrying out the harvests? There’s obviously a lot to explore with the siblings’ relationship to their mother. I’m particularly intrigued by Kalique and Seraphi, with Titus’ comment that Kalique inherited Seraphi’s ‘fetish for wrinkles’. Why does Kalique allow herself to age, unlike her brothers? But there are a lot of other interesting backstory things that haven’t been touched on either. What about their father? Which one of them killed him? :P
There are quite a few pairings I’d like to see in this fandom too. If you have any ideas for Kalique/Jupiter (Jones. Not the planet. I… don’t know why I feel I need to make that clear.) or Kalique/Famulus (this one is really just shallow – they are both beautiful women so they should be a pairing) or Balem/Chicanery (unhealthy, resentful master/servant dynamics, ahoy!) I would love to read them.
A few prompts:
• A dynastic marriage is arranged for one of the Abrasaxes.
• Balem/Chicanery: If only in private, Chicanery tips the power balance in his favour.
Lucifer Box – Mark Gatiss
Characters: Lucifer Box, Christopher Miracle
A few years ago I received a Lucifer Box fic for Yuletide that was just perfect. It was Lucifer/Aggie/Charlie (here if you want to read it, you will not regret the decision) and it was everything I wanted and so I stopped requesting Lucifer Box for a while. But now I have found out that I am inherently greedy and I am back to ask for more. I’m not going to be demanding, though, I promise. I’m making things a bit different this time by asking for Lucifer Box and Christopher Miracle. I love the idea of Lucifer’s unrequited crush on Christopher. It’s hardly even mentioned but it is canon and I would love to read more about it. I know Christopher is, according to Lucifer, not interested in men, but perhaps there could be an AU where something does happen between them. Perhaps some experimentation on Chris’ part? How would that affect their friendship? Lucifer is obviously used to casual flings but surely a onetime thing with a friend like Christopher would be a different emotional situation.
If you’d prefer to write gen, I’d love to read a new mission for Lucifer. There are so many throwaway ideas in the books that would be great to run with. How about the Terror Nova? I would adore a fic about that!
I like crossovers involving Lucifer a whole lot. There are all kinds of fandoms you can crossover with the Lucifer Box books to great effect - John le Carré’s George Smiley novels (Smiley would have started out when Lucifer was still in his prime!), Cambridge Spies, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes… I could go on, but for your sake I won’t. Okay, I might just add that I like it when real historical figures get a mention in the books - usually because it turns out that Lucifer has bedded them. A whole fic like that would be brilliant. Lucifer Box/the Queen Mum, anyone?
A few prompts:
• Chris wants Lucifer to model for him.
• There’s a mole in the RA. Reynolds sets Lucifer the task of rooting him out.
Happy writing!
![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
Tibby
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…
Jeeves – P.G. Wodehouse
Characters: Bertie Wooster, Reginald Jeeves
This is one of my oldest and most beloved fandoms and I’m finally coming back to it after several years away. Wodehouse’s books are such a dependable source of joy for me, I keep a Wodehouse book next to my bed without fail, just in case I need cheering up at any ungodly hour of the night. I’d love to read anything that captures the sunniness of the world he created. Which isn’t necessarily to say that I wouldn’t want you to explore things that Wodehouse stayed away from. I’ve read and enjoyed fics in this fandom that deal with everything from aging to homophobia to WWI. I have a particular soft spot for old-married-couple Jeeves and Bertie. It would be nice for any tribulations to be followed by a happy ending, though. I can’t bear Bertie to be unhappy for long!
It’s probably not hard to tell that I ‘ship Bertie/Jeeves like nobody’s business. The soppier and sweeter the better, honestly. Write what Jeeves is thinking about Bertie while he’s making the tea. One thousand words of Bertie staring at Jeeves’ perfect gloved hands as he passes the golf club. Or stiff-upper-lipped yearning for the young master whilst away for a week’s fishing. It all sounds good to me. I am so far past sanity when it comes to this pairing. I will read anything. If that’s not your thing, I am more than happy with gen – otherwise I wouldn’t read the original stories, right? I’d love a story in the same vein as the canon. My favourite thing is seeing Jeeves removing Bertie from the soup, and the subsequent praise Bertie heaps upon him. And if you’d like to add more characters, please do. They can be from the Jeeves stories (I have a soft spot for pretty much all the ladies, particularly Madeline Bassett, Florence Craye and Aunt Dahlia) or elsewhere. I love seeing Wodehouse characters from different books interacting and I’m familiar with most of the series, with a particular fondness for Blandings, the Drones and anything featuring Mike and Psmith.
A few prompts:
• Twelfth Night. Bertie decides to make Jeeves the master for the day, much to Jeeves’ discomfort.
• Costume party. So much potential for mistaken identity! Also, costumes. Which means undressing from costumes…
• Country house murder AU. Jeeves and Bertie play detective?
The Thick of It
Characters: Ollie Reeder, Emma Messinger, Phil Smith, Malcolm Tucker
I love The Thick of It because… well, because it makes me laugh so much. That’s what it ultimately comes down to, I suppose. But of course a lot of things go into that – the dialogue, the first class swearing, the cringe-inducing familiarity of the things that happen in DoSAC… I love the characters too. It should be difficult to love the characters, but somehow it’s easy. Which isn’t to say that I think they’re the best people. I can’t think of one who would tip the scales with their best traits weighed up against their bad. I mean, Ollie is my favourite character and I still would not disagree with anyone who says he needs a slap around the face in every episode.
When it comes to fic I like to read in this fandom, I’m happiest with three things: fic that’s along the same lines as a regular episode, gen fic that looks at the character’s lives outside the confines of the show or, and I say this with suitable shame, dirtybadwrong hate sex. I hope that’s not being too constrictive. I think there are a lot of things you can do with those three approaches, right? If you’re interested in the last suggestion, my absolute favourite pairing is Ollie/Malcolm. I like Ollie being his usual petty, sarcastic self and giving in to the force of Hurricane Malcolm with a bit of a whimper, basically. And I like a little bit of power play in there too. I also love the epic hate triangle of Ollie/Emma/Phil or any combination thereof. :3
I think it would be interesting to see backstory for any of the characters. How did they get into politics? Did they have other ambitions? How have their lives informed their party allegiances?
A few prompts:
• Ollie bumps into Malcolm outside of work. What does he learn about Malcolm that he didn’t already know?
• When Emma met Phil. How did it happen? Have they always disliked each other? When did they start sharing a house?
• Phil is writing a fantasy novel. Emma finds it.
• A policy gets leaked and Ollie and Malcolm have to do some damage limitation.
To the Ends of the Earth – William Golding
Characters: Edmund Talbot, Charles Summers, Letitia Granham, Mr. Prettiman
Anything about Charles and Edmund's friendship would be lovely. There are so many sweet moments between them in the book, and it would be nice to see a few more - think Charles' gift to Edmund of a fresh rainwater bath, or their reconciliation and declaration of friendship at the end of 'Close Quarters'. :3 Personally, I think that Charles is deeply in unrequited love with Edmund. I'm not so sure that Charles would ever confess and I doubt that Edmund would ever pick up on it. It would be great if you felt like exploring that possibility though. How would it change things between them? It would be nice to have a happy ending, seeing as Charles is given so few of them. But, of course, you'll know what will best suit the story. :3
Edmund and Charles’ friendship is the thing, among many adorable things, that I most adore about To the Ends of the Earth. However, I’ve also requested Miss Granham and Mr. Prettiman, because they’re great too. I love how Edmund’s relationship with the Prettimans develops over the course of Fire Down Below. I admit, too, that I ‘ship Edmund and Miss Granham just a little tiny bit. I understand that it’s an impossibility during the time frame of the books but I do wonder what they’d think to each other if they did meet again, further down the line…
If you want to change the ending so that Charles survives the fire (surely we all do??), I think it would be really interesting to imagine how he and Edmund connect again. If Charles is in love with Edmund, how does he deal with Edmund’s marriage? Does Marion suspect Charles is in love with Edmund? Does she wonder if Edmund reciprocates? Is he welcomed into the family? (Not going to lie, I’d be pleased if this ended up as a fluffy, domestic ménage à trois.)
I think it’s important to mention here that I think Edmund is a terrible, infuriating person and I love him to distraction. He can treat people horrendously and justify his own cruelty. He’s also, I believe, essentially good, essentially kind, and constantly learning to be a better human being.
However, although I love the young, constantly changing Edmund, I do wonder what he would be like as an older man, and whether he would live up to all his potential. I also wonder what his life in 19th century Australia would be like. (I do a lot of wondering, clearly…) Anyway, all those possibilities! Take him exploring wherever you wish. :3
A few prompts:
• Charles and Edmund at a ball.
• Edmund plays Emma Woodhouse and tries to match-make for Charles. Charles is not comfortable with this.
• Edmund and Miss Granham meet again fifteen years later. What have their lives been like in the years between? What kind of relationship do they develop?
• Charles’ career in the Navy before the events of the books.
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Characters: Kalique Abrasax, Famulus, Chicanery Night, Balem Abrasax
I bought Jupiter Ascending for my partner, along with a packet of Jaffa cakes, at the end of a bad day because I had the feeling it would be a good couple of hours escapism. It definitely worked, but then at the end of the film I realised I wanted more. I’m a simple creature, I really am, and sometimes I just need a work of fiction that ticks my personal boxes, it doesn’t have to be deeper than that. The boxes in Jupiter Ascending? Damaged space royalty, non-human intelligence, cute looking animal people, fancy dresses, and a few action sequences for good measure. And they’re all wrapped up in a pretty space opera bow! (Oh, also James-D’arcy-astronomer-dad because… I don’t know, I have issues I guess. Deep James D’arcy issues.)
Any kind of world-building would be interesting for this fandom, but I’d particularly like a further look at the political structure and the House of Abrasax’s place in it. Political/courtly intrigue is a big love of mine so any political manoeuvring or social climbing would be good. How, for instance, did Famulus or Chicanery reach their positions and gain the trust of the Abrasax family? How much power did the individual siblings have when their mother was alive and how satisfied were they? What gave Balem the edge of success when carrying out the harvests? There’s obviously a lot to explore with the siblings’ relationship to their mother. I’m particularly intrigued by Kalique and Seraphi, with Titus’ comment that Kalique inherited Seraphi’s ‘fetish for wrinkles’. Why does Kalique allow herself to age, unlike her brothers? But there are a lot of other interesting backstory things that haven’t been touched on either. What about their father? Which one of them killed him? :P
There are quite a few pairings I’d like to see in this fandom too. If you have any ideas for Kalique/Jupiter (Jones. Not the planet. I… don’t know why I feel I need to make that clear.) or Kalique/Famulus (this one is really just shallow – they are both beautiful women so they should be a pairing) or Balem/Chicanery (unhealthy, resentful master/servant dynamics, ahoy!) I would love to read them.
A few prompts:
• A dynastic marriage is arranged for one of the Abrasaxes.
• Balem/Chicanery: If only in private, Chicanery tips the power balance in his favour.
Lucifer Box – Mark Gatiss
Characters: Lucifer Box, Christopher Miracle
A few years ago I received a Lucifer Box fic for Yuletide that was just perfect. It was Lucifer/Aggie/Charlie (here if you want to read it, you will not regret the decision) and it was everything I wanted and so I stopped requesting Lucifer Box for a while. But now I have found out that I am inherently greedy and I am back to ask for more. I’m not going to be demanding, though, I promise. I’m making things a bit different this time by asking for Lucifer Box and Christopher Miracle. I love the idea of Lucifer’s unrequited crush on Christopher. It’s hardly even mentioned but it is canon and I would love to read more about it. I know Christopher is, according to Lucifer, not interested in men, but perhaps there could be an AU where something does happen between them. Perhaps some experimentation on Chris’ part? How would that affect their friendship? Lucifer is obviously used to casual flings but surely a onetime thing with a friend like Christopher would be a different emotional situation.
If you’d prefer to write gen, I’d love to read a new mission for Lucifer. There are so many throwaway ideas in the books that would be great to run with. How about the Terror Nova? I would adore a fic about that!
I like crossovers involving Lucifer a whole lot. There are all kinds of fandoms you can crossover with the Lucifer Box books to great effect - John le Carré’s George Smiley novels (Smiley would have started out when Lucifer was still in his prime!), Cambridge Spies, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes… I could go on, but for your sake I won’t. Okay, I might just add that I like it when real historical figures get a mention in the books - usually because it turns out that Lucifer has bedded them. A whole fic like that would be brilliant. Lucifer Box/the Queen Mum, anyone?
A few prompts:
• Chris wants Lucifer to model for him.
• There’s a mole in the RA. Reynolds sets Lucifer the task of rooting him out.
Happy writing!
