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Yuletide Letter 2018
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…
Jeeves – P. G. Wodehouse
Characters: Reginald Jeeves, Bertram W. Wooster
Wodehouse’s books make me happy, and the Jeeves stories have to be the most happy-making of all. They are like paper sunshine. I can never get enough of Wodehouse’s prose, so of course I love reading fic with a similar feel to the original books. However, I’ve read and enjoyed all kinds of Jeeves fic – from the brilliantly bizarre to the heart-breaking. (Yes, if you want to break my heart and make me cry, you have permission, you monster). I’d just prefer if you kept things from getting too dark.
Bertie and Jeeves’ relationship is probably the most important element for me. I love these sweethearts individually, but I love them best together. Like I said in my sign up, keeping it platonic is just fine with me, but they are kind of my OTP so I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t prefer that. Honestly though, if you don’t want to write them romantically, I’d be happy with anything canon-esque that shows Jeeves looking after Bertie (getting him out of the soup, running baths for him, protecting him from his own taste in clothes, etc.) I thrive on the moments when, after a great ordeal, Bertie’s world is restored to order by Jeeves’ attentions.
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 are welcome (particularly Bertie’s ex-fiancées – Madeline is my personal favourite.)
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! Also, costumes. Which means undressing from costumes…
• Bertie accompanies Jeeves on one of his fishing trips. Was it Jeeves’ idea? Or is Jeeves uncomfortable having the young master present? (If you want to go down the romantic route, maybe this holiday could be a catalyst for them becoming closer. If you really want to go for some cheesy, tropey fun, maybe they can stay in a tiny country hotel where they’re forced to share a room.)
• Bertie celebrates his birthday at the Drones Club. Jeeves has to take care of him and his hangover the next morning.
• Bertie tries to get to grips with one of Jeeves' improving reads.
• Bertie and Jeeves have to solve an Agatha Christie-esque country house murder.
• One of Bertie’s fashion articles from Milady’s Boudoir. Maybe interspersed with some of his real fashion disasters, and Jeeves’ comments?
Do Not Want: Non-con, dub-con, underage, dark fic.
Strange Meeting – Susan Hill
Characters: John Hilliard, David Barton
When I first read this book, there was something about its quiet, melancholic tone that won me over almost immediately. The bond between Hilliard and Barton cemented it as a favourite of mine. Their tenderness and care towards one another in the face of the horrors of trench warfare is just my favourite thing. I have a fascination with World War 1 literature in general, but I’m particularly won over when I find something that has such a human love story running through it. I don’t mean that it is necessarily romantic, I think you can see it either way, but there is a real love between two people who want to protect each other and that… it’s beautiful.
I know Barton is probably dead by the end of the novel, but what if he wasn’t? Could he and Hilliard meet again after the war? Would their relationship be changed? I would love to see this explored. How do both of them cope with returning to a changed world? Do they find that they are better able to face it together, as they did the war, or do the changed circumstances drive them apart? Like I said before, the exact nature of their relationship, platonic or romantic, is ambiguous in the book. I tend to see it as romantic, and that would be my preference. Don’t worry if you don’t feel you can write them in that way though! As long as the story is about them, I’m happy.
A post-war story, even if Barton isn’t there, would still be neat. How does Hilliard fare? How do his wartime experiences influence the course of his life? How does he look back on that time ten or twenty years hence? I’d really like Barton to still be present in the story somehow. For instance, what importance does he continue to have for Hilliard?
Alternatively, how about a few more glimpses of their life in the trenches? Any small, gentle moments between them would be heartily appreciated. Sharing food, writing letters home, listening to music together, maybe even dancing… Anything, really.
Listing prompts and tropes doesn’t feel quite right to me when approaching Strange Meeting. I hope I’ve included enough ideas here to make up for that. Most of all though, I hope you go wherever the book inspires you to go.
That said, I do have one kind of out there idea. Ghost story AU. I know it sounds a bit naff but I really think it could work if you wanted to try it.
Do Not Want: Non-con, dub-con, underage.
Crimson Peak (2015)
Characters: Edith Cushing, Thomas Sharpe, Lucille Sharpe
I love every inch of this gorgeous, gothic work of art. It’s creepy and beautiful and I would love to see an extension of that in a fic. I’m trying not to talk about visual things which, you know, maybe aren’t so helpful when it comes to fic writing… On the other hand, maybe the high-Victorian, oppressive, sinister atmosphere has inspired you to write long passages of description, and you’re happy to know that I love that? I will lap up anything about Allerdale Hall. I want to live there, collapsing roof and nightmare fuel costs and ghosts and all. I thought, if you so fancied, it would be interesting to look at the future of the house. Does it fall into disrepair until eventually it gets demolished like so many other country houses during the twentieth century? Does it have subsequent owners? Does Edith ever see it again? (Even if it’s only in dreams…)
Of course, the characters are my favourite thing about Crimson Peak. Edith is such a wonderful heroine. I love her strength of character and resourcefulness, the way she steers her way through all her ordeals. She knows what she deserves as an intelligent, capable person but she’s also willing to put the work in for it. And when she finds she’s landed herself in a bad situation, she does something about it. I’m sure her experiences have left their mark on her. I’d like to know more about that. She’s resilient but she’s not inhuman – how often does she think back on her time at Allerdale Hall?
Lucille is probably the antithesis of Edith. Even physically, she is dark whereas Edith is a bright light. She is fragile whereas Edith is resilient. She is brittle whereas Edith never breaks. But she is also my favourite of the bunch, my perfect murder princess. And, actually, I think I’m being unfair to her because her resilience manifests in a different way. She manages to keep herself strong enough to provide a life for herself and (most importantly to her, I think) her brother, and she does that by forming a cold, hard shell. Everything underneath that is definitely twisted and broken though. Hence murder.
And Thomas. Thomas. I love him too. I think he occupies the middle ground between Edith and Lucille. He’s more polished than Lucille, and broken in a slightly different way. He’s genuinely sensitive and thoughtful and a bit of a wet blanket. Sadly for him, this makes him both a terrible romantic hero, what with the murder and incest and all, as well as a terrible criminal accomplice. Basically, the girls are doing most of the work on either side. But there’s something endearing about that. I think there’s plenty of room for delving deeper into the Sharpe siblings’ psychology. I’d only ask that you don’t focus on their childhood, as the details in the film were about as much as I could cope with!
Like I said in my sign up, any romantic combination of these three characters will be welcomed! Alan McMichael is also invited, if you’d like to bring him along.
Tropey goodness: Hurt/comfort, costume porn, domesticity, canon divergence AU, daemon AU, soulmate AU, recipe fic, epistolary, pining, crossover.
Prompts:
• Scenes from Edith, Thomas and Lucille’s daily life in Allerdale Hall.
• AU where Thomas and Lucille’s positions are reversed, i.e. it was Thomas who killed their mother and was sent to the asylum. How are their personalities and their relationship altered?
• An estate agent is trying to sell Allerdale Hall./A magazine article on the house (something like Country Life?)/Allerdale Hall is a National Trust property now!
• After the events of the film, Edith and Alan take a long honeymoon in Europe, where Edith reflects on her marriage with Thomas.
Do Not Want: Non-con, underage, focus on Thomas and Lucille’s childhood traumas.
Thank you again, dear Yuletider. Have fun!
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Tibby
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…
Jeeves – P. G. Wodehouse
Characters: Reginald Jeeves, Bertram W. Wooster
Wodehouse’s books make me happy, and the Jeeves stories have to be the most happy-making of all. They are like paper sunshine. I can never get enough of Wodehouse’s prose, so of course I love reading fic with a similar feel to the original books. However, I’ve read and enjoyed all kinds of Jeeves fic – from the brilliantly bizarre to the heart-breaking. (Yes, if you want to break my heart and make me cry, you have permission, you monster). I’d just prefer if you kept things from getting too dark.
Bertie and Jeeves’ relationship is probably the most important element for me. I love these sweethearts individually, but I love them best together. Like I said in my sign up, keeping it platonic is just fine with me, but they are kind of my OTP so I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t prefer that. Honestly though, if you don’t want to write them romantically, I’d be happy with anything canon-esque that shows Jeeves looking after Bertie (getting him out of the soup, running baths for him, protecting him from his own taste in clothes, etc.) I thrive on the moments when, after a great ordeal, Bertie’s world is restored to order by Jeeves’ attentions.
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 are welcome (particularly Bertie’s ex-fiancées – Madeline is my personal favourite.)
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! Also, costumes. Which means undressing from costumes…
• Bertie accompanies Jeeves on one of his fishing trips. Was it Jeeves’ idea? Or is Jeeves uncomfortable having the young master present? (If you want to go down the romantic route, maybe this holiday could be a catalyst for them becoming closer. If you really want to go for some cheesy, tropey fun, maybe they can stay in a tiny country hotel where they’re forced to share a room.)
• Bertie celebrates his birthday at the Drones Club. Jeeves has to take care of him and his hangover the next morning.
• Bertie tries to get to grips with one of Jeeves' improving reads.
• Bertie and Jeeves have to solve an Agatha Christie-esque country house murder.
• One of Bertie’s fashion articles from Milady’s Boudoir. Maybe interspersed with some of his real fashion disasters, and Jeeves’ comments?
Do Not Want: Non-con, dub-con, underage, dark fic.
Strange Meeting – Susan Hill
Characters: John Hilliard, David Barton
When I first read this book, there was something about its quiet, melancholic tone that won me over almost immediately. The bond between Hilliard and Barton cemented it as a favourite of mine. Their tenderness and care towards one another in the face of the horrors of trench warfare is just my favourite thing. I have a fascination with World War 1 literature in general, but I’m particularly won over when I find something that has such a human love story running through it. I don’t mean that it is necessarily romantic, I think you can see it either way, but there is a real love between two people who want to protect each other and that… it’s beautiful.
I know Barton is probably dead by the end of the novel, but what if he wasn’t? Could he and Hilliard meet again after the war? Would their relationship be changed? I would love to see this explored. How do both of them cope with returning to a changed world? Do they find that they are better able to face it together, as they did the war, or do the changed circumstances drive them apart? Like I said before, the exact nature of their relationship, platonic or romantic, is ambiguous in the book. I tend to see it as romantic, and that would be my preference. Don’t worry if you don’t feel you can write them in that way though! As long as the story is about them, I’m happy.
A post-war story, even if Barton isn’t there, would still be neat. How does Hilliard fare? How do his wartime experiences influence the course of his life? How does he look back on that time ten or twenty years hence? I’d really like Barton to still be present in the story somehow. For instance, what importance does he continue to have for Hilliard?
Alternatively, how about a few more glimpses of their life in the trenches? Any small, gentle moments between them would be heartily appreciated. Sharing food, writing letters home, listening to music together, maybe even dancing… Anything, really.
Listing prompts and tropes doesn’t feel quite right to me when approaching Strange Meeting. I hope I’ve included enough ideas here to make up for that. Most of all though, I hope you go wherever the book inspires you to go.
That said, I do have one kind of out there idea. Ghost story AU. I know it sounds a bit naff but I really think it could work if you wanted to try it.
Do Not Want: Non-con, dub-con, underage.
Crimson Peak (2015)
Characters: Edith Cushing, Thomas Sharpe, Lucille Sharpe
I love every inch of this gorgeous, gothic work of art. It’s creepy and beautiful and I would love to see an extension of that in a fic. I’m trying not to talk about visual things which, you know, maybe aren’t so helpful when it comes to fic writing… On the other hand, maybe the high-Victorian, oppressive, sinister atmosphere has inspired you to write long passages of description, and you’re happy to know that I love that? I will lap up anything about Allerdale Hall. I want to live there, collapsing roof and nightmare fuel costs and ghosts and all. I thought, if you so fancied, it would be interesting to look at the future of the house. Does it fall into disrepair until eventually it gets demolished like so many other country houses during the twentieth century? Does it have subsequent owners? Does Edith ever see it again? (Even if it’s only in dreams…)
Of course, the characters are my favourite thing about Crimson Peak. Edith is such a wonderful heroine. I love her strength of character and resourcefulness, the way she steers her way through all her ordeals. She knows what she deserves as an intelligent, capable person but she’s also willing to put the work in for it. And when she finds she’s landed herself in a bad situation, she does something about it. I’m sure her experiences have left their mark on her. I’d like to know more about that. She’s resilient but she’s not inhuman – how often does she think back on her time at Allerdale Hall?
Lucille is probably the antithesis of Edith. Even physically, she is dark whereas Edith is a bright light. She is fragile whereas Edith is resilient. She is brittle whereas Edith never breaks. But she is also my favourite of the bunch, my perfect murder princess. And, actually, I think I’m being unfair to her because her resilience manifests in a different way. She manages to keep herself strong enough to provide a life for herself and (most importantly to her, I think) her brother, and she does that by forming a cold, hard shell. Everything underneath that is definitely twisted and broken though. Hence murder.
And Thomas. Thomas. I love him too. I think he occupies the middle ground between Edith and Lucille. He’s more polished than Lucille, and broken in a slightly different way. He’s genuinely sensitive and thoughtful and a bit of a wet blanket. Sadly for him, this makes him both a terrible romantic hero, what with the murder and incest and all, as well as a terrible criminal accomplice. Basically, the girls are doing most of the work on either side. But there’s something endearing about that. I think there’s plenty of room for delving deeper into the Sharpe siblings’ psychology. I’d only ask that you don’t focus on their childhood, as the details in the film were about as much as I could cope with!
Like I said in my sign up, any romantic combination of these three characters will be welcomed! Alan McMichael is also invited, if you’d like to bring him along.
Tropey goodness: Hurt/comfort, costume porn, domesticity, canon divergence AU, daemon AU, soulmate AU, recipe fic, epistolary, pining, crossover.
Prompts:
• Scenes from Edith, Thomas and Lucille’s daily life in Allerdale Hall.
• AU where Thomas and Lucille’s positions are reversed, i.e. it was Thomas who killed their mother and was sent to the asylum. How are their personalities and their relationship altered?
• An estate agent is trying to sell Allerdale Hall./A magazine article on the house (something like Country Life?)/Allerdale Hall is a National Trust property now!
• After the events of the film, Edith and Alan take a long honeymoon in Europe, where Edith reflects on her marriage with Thomas.
Do Not Want: Non-con, underage, focus on Thomas and Lucille’s childhood traumas.
Thank you again, dear Yuletider. Have fun!