In by the skin of my teeth (Nobody should have skin on their teeth, omg)

[st_aurafina]

Yuletide! It seems like Yuletide comes around faster each year, which I don't mind at all because I FREAKING LOVE this exchange. This is my eleventh, and I've had a great time every year.

So, first up and foremost: I love Yuletide. I will love what you write. I've loved every Yuletide fic I've received. Please don't stress out! Please have fun writing.

Secondly, I write long letters with lots of suggestions, but they really are just suggestions. If you're one of those writers that does not enjoy being fenced in, then fly free, you beautiful wild thing. And if we don't gel on character choice, ODAO is a-okay with me. I like all the characters in these fandoms, I love all these fandoms for the stories and the worldbuilding. If you have to, ODAO like it's a rodeo.


Things that generally tickle my fancy:

People! Gen, slash, femslash, het. Friendship fic, relationship fic, frenemies, enemies, sexy enemies. People putting their differences aside to work with each other. Backstory, AUs (though not so much the mundane kind), crossovers (see st_aurafina for fandoms), teamwork.

Plot! Big sweeping plot, small canon-compliant plot, things for the characters to do while they're snarking at each other, things going on around them while they're getting it on. I like stuff to happen.

Competence! I have a huge competence kink. I love seeing people being really, really good at stuff. I love lateral thinkers and characters who follow their instincts and people putting their skills to use in unexpected ways.

Ladies! BAMF female characters who don't have to bring other female characters down to be BAMFs. Mothers and sisters and girlfriends and girlfriends and wives. Women with agency. Women treated with respect.

Representation! People of colour. People outside the gender binary. Queer identities and culture. Non-nuclear families, found families, poly families, family that is family because you get to define it.

Things that I don't like as much (but can handle if the story takes you there):
Sad endings, character death, angst, embarrassment.

Things I'd rather you didn't write:
Cross-gen relationships, incest, teacher/student, employee/employer, non-con.


Requests:

The Black Tapes
I ship spooky yet deniable paranormal events/Richard Strand's sexy voice! I love the Richard and Alex team, and would love to see them working cases or huddling for warmth or debunking urban legends. I can see Richard/Alex, Richard/Alex/Coralee, or Alex/Coralee easily.

If this wasn't your chosen fandom, but you'd like to check it out, The Black Tapes is a podcast about a journalist following the career of a paranormal investigator and known sceptic. It's just finished its second season, and you can listen to it on iTunes, or from the website here: The Black Tapes Podcast.

I'm largely here for the weird-ass relationship between Dr Strand and Alex; I'm an ancient X-Phile, so sceptic/believer is a dynamic I've loved since Scully said "Explain to me the scientific nature of the whammy." I have enjoyed the way that Alex has been slowly marking out her territory in the world of paranormal investigators, and becoming more decisive about her beliefs. The way that we've been able to see under Doctor Strand's initially rock-solid scepticism is also fascinating to me. Coralee fascinates me, as a hard-core believer married to a sceptic, as someone who has broken free from what sounds like a really cultish upbringing, and as a determined survivor.

I vaguely ship the two of them romantically, but I'm equally happy with gen. Or poly - Richard/Alex/Coralee could be very interesting, given where S2 left Richard and Coralee. (Speaking of Coralee – while I'm an Alex/Richard shipper, I could equally be an Alex/Coralee shipper. Whatever the case, I'd rather Coralee wasn't the villain of the story. No Coralee-bashing.)

Some suggestions:
- Tropey stuff: huddling for warmth, hurt/comfort, fake married, all that fun stuff
- Case fic, another Black Tape, or investigating urban legends, or just random creepy stuff that will spook Alex out until Richard explains it as apophenia
- Any of the creepy world building from the show: the unsound, the upside-down face lady, the teleporting asylum kid, the weird nanny cult
- More evidence that Richard Strand is kinda psychic, or anything that challenges his scepticism that way. Or, alternatively, a case that Alex gets to solve by engaging her own inner sceptic.
- Alex saving Richard from spooky stuff, and them arguing about whether it's actually supernatural while she's saving him. Or Coralee swoops in at the last minute to save both of them. I get the feeling it's a thing she does.
- Alex and Coralee work a case, or hang out, or road trip or anything where they can get to know each other better. I really think they'd get along.
- Richard interacting with the world of the professional paranormal investigators (I just re-listened to the first episode, and all of those psychic/authors that Alex interviewed were so incredibly awesome/terribad.)



Picnic at Hanging Rock
Anything that references the setting and the spookiness of this movie would be great. I love creepy stories, and the way that this had the feel of an urban legend in the making.

I discovered that this film is currently up on youtube: Picnic at Hanging Rock. Handy for canon review, for as long as it lasts.

This movie is about the same age as me, and so I've grown up with the dreamy Sapphic feel of it, the spooky unanswered mystery, and the sense that it's some kind of urban legend. And the pan-pipes. I love this period in general, with the new century and feeling that the world is about to change, and the hindsight that it will change but in relatively horrible ways makes the languid mood of the film just that much creepier to me. The dreamy atmosphere, and the looming dread make the whole movie really creepy to me.

I'm mostly a fan of the movie and the story, though I can pretty much ship Miranda with any of her fellow students, and I can definitely see Michael/Albert. Albert's pragmatism and Michael's eternal huzzah for King and Country make for an interesting dynamic.

What I'm interested in, though, is the mystery of the movie, and the eeriness of the setting, so anything that gives a nod to the creepier side of Victoriana and the overwhelming dread of hot days in rural Australia would be great.

Suggestions:
- Modern AU. Hanging Rock is effing creepy, and it would be interesting to see parts of the same story play out in a modern setting. Social media makes missing children a whole other story these days. And I can imagine Reddit turning the story upside down and inside out to get at the secrets.
- Miranda returns in some form or another. I find Miranda is very distant and untouchable in the movie, so something from her point of view would be a satisfying kind of coda.
- It's not a big stretch to imagine Appleyard College surviving to the current day in one form or another – Australia does a good line in privileged schools that ape British public schools. Does the story of the missing girls (and the missing maths teacher) persist into this century as an urban legend? Does Sara haunt the college?
- Prequel fic. Miranda warned Sara that she would have to learn to love someone else. Did she have a premonition that things were going to change so drastically? Were there any omens or hints about the people that were going to go missing at the Rock?

Honestly, anything creepy, set at Hanging Rock and tied to the story somehow would be perfect.



Inhuman Condition
Stories about Michelle's past, her family, older cases. Or future fic where we can see what happens to her after the final episode.

If this wasn't your nominated fandom but you'd like to check it out, Inhuman Condition is a webseries with 33 episodes of about five minutes each. You can watch it on youtube here..

You can probably guess that I'm all about Michelle Kessler in this – her life, her family, her relationship with her ex-wife and her daughter. I also really liked Tamar's story and development through the series, as well as the way she chose to use her abilities, so something about that would be great.

One warning: I'm squicked by stories about terminal illness, which is why I've not nominated Clara or referenced her storyline much. I love Zombae, I loved the way she was written and her relationship with Linc, but it was uncomfortable to watch and it would be uncomfortable for me to read, so if you can steer away from those topics, it would be great.

Some suggestions:
- Angela and Tamar team up to rescue Michelle from whatever government prison she's been locked away in. Maybe Mira tags along too? I know she's not nominated, but if you want to include her, I think she's great and would drive the team onwards to victory. And speaking of characters that didn't get nominated, Linc would also be a great asset on this big adventure, since I suspect he's the only one with street smarts here. Unless Angela has a hidden criminal history, which I'm well on board for, I'm just saying. Angela boosting cars and picking locks and going on the run with Michelle? Okay!
- Prequel stories from the happy days when Michelle and Angela were still married. I'd really like some happiness for the two of them, either before their marriage or in the early days of it, or when Mira was just a tiny thing.
- What's Tamar up to now? (Hopefully she popped into Graham's office, kicked him hard in the nads and peaced out of there.) How's she managing her anxiety out there on her own, and is she finding strengths and weaknesses she didn't know she had? Does she have any memory of the past that Michelle uncovered?
- What exactly does Graham think he's going to get from bringing Michelle to justice? I'm assuming she was arrested for encouraging Tamar to flee the people that held her, and for digging into Tamar's history. What happens next, who does Michelle meet, are there other prisoners with abilities that they want her to work with?



Confident - Demi Lovato (Music Video)

A story with these two women wreaking havoc and raining down justice would be amazing.

This is a very short canon, so if we've matched on other fandoms and you'd like to check it out, it's here on YouTube: Confident - Demi Lovato (Music Video)

Oh, man, this video! I wish this video were six seasons and a movie worth of material, where the two characters smash stuff and have each other's backs and are generally awesome. This video hits my competence kink really hard – I love how the two women are focused on their respective missions, and how clear it is that they have to work as a team to bring down this corrupt beardy guy.

Suggestions:
- I mean, obviously, what happens next? From the video, it seems that the Demi character is outclassed by Michelle Rodriguez, is there some mentor potential to be told there, now that they're working together? Are they going to turn vigilante and root out corruption all over the country? Do they sleep in cheap motels and huddle together, do they stitch up each other's wounds, do they have each other's backs forever? And if so, can I see it?
- How did both women get to where they are at the start of the clip? I'm assuming from the barcode brand that Michelle's character took the same deal that Demi did. What the hell kind of prison is this? Where did Demi learn to fight? Same for Michelle!
- Straight up a case-file for these women – sweeping in, solving an injustice, sweeping out in a cloud of dust.
- Some kind of paranormal/supernatural AU would be awesome. I don't know, I get a massive werewolf vibe off Michelle's character. The two of them on the road, dealing with all the regular vigilante stuff, plus stopping Michelle from ripping people to pieces every full moon. Awesome.



Wynonna Earp

Ahaha beautiful Western supernatural show of my heart! This was one of the most fun things I watched this year. Anything – case fic, Wynonna and Waverly sisterly bonding, Nicole and Waverly having romantic/fighting times, sequels or prequels, anyone road tripping with Dolls, oh, wow, so many possibilities.

I couldn't fit all of the characters into my sign-up, and this was a honestly torment for me. I am not really into the Willa/Bobo storyline, so I dropped them out of my sign-up, which meant I had to choose four from Waverly, Wynonna, Nicole, Doc and Dolls. That hurt. It hurt a lot. If you want to bring Doc along into your stories, please know that I love him too! A lot!

Overall, I love the worldbuilding, and the fact that the show has sat on some secrets for a whole season already: what's going on with Dolls and his spooky government agency, what did Wynonna get up to while she was away. And how has long Nicole lived in Purgatory? How has she not noticed weird stuff happening?

Suggestions:
- Omg, possessed!Waverly. Can she hide it? CAN NICOLE TELL? I'd love a spooky story with a possessed Waverly, as long as it comes out okay in the end. Pea soup and spinning heads and other exorcism tropes a bonus.
- Wynonna-centric fic from when she was away from town. Has spooky stuff followed her?
- Prequel fic for Dolls, too: what experiences has he had previously with paranormal business? How does he deal with ~whatever is going on with him, and still lead a normal-appearing life? (I love his bickering camaraderie with Doc, especially when it comes to keeping the Earp sisters safe)
- Case fic, forever case fic. With any of the characters front and centre, I love case fic.
- Waverly and Nicole, getting some time alone, having the chance to work on having a relationship, dealing with spooky stuff, dealing with living together or not living together or Nicole's family or anything.



Stranger Things

Eleven was my everything in this show, and I'd love to see some happy scenes for her, whether it be during the show, or wherever she ended up post-finale. I really liked the way that Joyce treated her – with respect and gentleness, and could easily see Joyce taking care of her in the future, either as a parent or a friend. The same for Hopper – I think he recognised her as a survivor and would make a great mentor as Eleven negotiates the outside world.

Okay, so, Eleven finding comfort hits on all my found-family buttons. I loved the few moments of closeness she had with the three kids, but even more than that, I loved the adults that took care of her. I would love to see more of that dynamic, in whatever form you'd like. Thought I'm mostly looking for a gen type story here, I'm happy if you ship Joyce/Hopper – I can totally see it. Joyce's dedication to solving the mystery of where Will vanished to, and her ability to listen and trust her instincts were fantastic. I loved the way that Hopper was holding onto sanity by his fingernails, and that even hungover and disillusioned, he didn't miss a beat. Background relationships with the other characters are fine, but I'd prefer no romance for Eleven.

Suggestions:
- Joyce and Eleven figuring out what their friendship is. Maybe Joyce takes Eleven to meet her mother? Or there's some contact with Eleven's biological mother in some way – I feel like she dropped out of the story mid-season with no resolution.
- Hopper and Eleven surviving some stuff. Maybe Hopper comes across Eleven trying to get info on the program that she was involved in (the other ten children, perhaps?) or there's a recurrence of creatures from the Upside Down. I think they'd be a great team, and he'd be able to help her figure out safe ways to use her power or teach her how to run and hide like a total boss.
- Eleven lurking in the forest, having her own off-kilter, psychic adventures, dealing with Upside-Downiness, keeping away from government agents.


Miscellanea

I do not have a preferred fandom. I haven't put them up in any order except how they came to me tonight as I write my letter. I might have written more about one than another, but that doesn't mean I'm fixated on that fandoms over others. I love them all, and I would be equally delighted with fic for any of them.

If we've matched on a large canon, and it's not going to work for you, I've got a few small or easily accessed canons here:

- Inhuman Condition is a short webseries about a psychologist who treats patients with paranormal characteristics. The main character is Michelle, who is played by Torri Higginson from SGA.
- Picnic at Hanging Rock is an Australian movie set in the Victorian era, about the disappearance of three schoolgirls. It's spooky and atmospheric. It's also as old as me, which means you'll probably find it in a bargain bin. (I guess that means I belong in a bargain bin, too. Oh, dear.)
- Confident by Demi Lovato is a music video. It also stars Michelle Rodriguez, there's a lot of fighting, and women having each other's back. It's great. With explosions.
- The Black Tapes is a podcast about a journalist following the career of a paranormal investigator and known sceptic. It's just finished its second season.


For stalking purposes, I'm st_aurafina and st-aurafina. All my previous Dear Author letters are here: Dear Author. If you have any questions, you're welcome to message my partner, lilacsigil. If you're writing Hanging Rock, and need an Australian beta, she'll do that. I totally volunteer her for it. (No, seriously, she will do that.)

Thank you so much! I hope you have a great Yuletide.

Comments

[dhampyresa]

Inhuman Condition is a short webseries about a psychologist who treats patients with paranormal characteristics. The main character is Michelle, who is played by Torri Higginson from SGA.

That sounds really good!

[st_aurafina]

It's so good! I messed up the html on the link in my post, but this is the series here: Inhuman Condition. Torri Higginson is fantastic, omg, so fantastic. I love her character a lot.

[adafrog]

Picnic at hanging rock! Very freaky.