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Yuletide Letter 2022
Oct. 22nd, 2022 08:08 amDear 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.
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.
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
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.
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!
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Tibby
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.
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:
- 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!
