We're happy little Yuletideers!
Oct. 14th, 2013 09:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
st_aurafinaDear Yuletideer (Yuletide deer?)
Welcome to my letter! This is a great time of year for fic writers, and I always look forward to the whole wild party that is Yuletide. I hope you have a great one!
Firstly, let me reassure you that this letter is completely optional. I'm the kind of writer who likes guidelines – lots of guidelines! – so I've put a whole bunch down to help you out, if that's the kind of thing you like, too. If you're the kind of writer who likes to freewheel, then ignore all of this, and be free! Write what your heart wants. That always makes for great stories.
I'm going to love it, whatever you decide to do. I promise.
Here are my general likes and dislikes, c&p'ed from last year's letter:
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 the no powers barista kind), crossovers, 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.
Death By Silver, Amy Griswold and Melissa Scott
As you'd expect from a Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes fan, I adore this book! I've always loved mysteries, and the integration of magic into practical living, and for me, that's what this series is about.
How about Ned and Julian out of their home territory – at a country house, perhaps, for a shooting party, or stuck on a train, or at the seaside? Somewhere where they're away from their own separate support systems, anyway, so that they have to band together (perhaps literally!) for the sake of the case.
Alternatively, a Miss Frost story would be awesome – how she manages her job in an otherwise male-dominated field. I'll bet she's a killer networker, and I'd love to see her being super competent and amazing while maintaining her Victorian cool.
I know the bullying at their hideous public school forms an important part of Ned and Julian's relationship, but it's not easy for me to read about, so if you can avoid descriptions of the bullying, I'd be very grateful.
---
Dance Academy
Ack, can't believe this awesome little show is over. I'm going to miss it so much. I'm not sure if the final season has aired everywhere yet, so I've broken my request into spoilery and non-spoilery sections.
No spoilers for Season 3:
I love the backstory behind Kat and Abigail's relationship – they've obviously known each other for years, and at the start of the series are at the stage of being very old frenemies. Something set in their childhood, when they were better friends, maybe? What was it like for Abigail, clearly the Eistedfodd queen, to meet Kat, who has ballet in the genes but doesn't care?
Alternatively, anything about younger Kat and her circus of a family would be awesome – Kat and Ethan trapped on a ballet tour, the Karamakovs do 'a normal family Christmas', Kat striking out as an intrepid youngster to see something outside of ballet. When did Kat realise that ballet wasn't the centre of the universe?
I'm all for friendship fic set any time during the show – any combination, any set of circumstances.
Spoilers for Season 3:
I loved the weird little family unit that developed between Grace and Lucy Raine – I'd love to see more of that post-season 3. Does Grace come back to ballet? Or visit Lucy in Austin? I'm pretty happy with Grace/Ben, or Grace & Ben or whatever permutation of that friendship you settle on. Alternatively, anything about Lucy's friendship with Grace's mother before her death would be interesting – what's it like when you're following a teaching career and your best friend is a principal dancer? Is it hard to let go of the dream? What does she bring from that experience to teaching at the Academy?
I also love the awesome post-Sammy friendship that sprung up between Ollie and Abigail, and would adore reading about the adventures of Ollie and Abigail in the company – going on tour together, scoping out guys together. Maybe they'll share a flat? I'd be pretty happy with an Ollie/Wes/Abigail poly situation, too, though no Abigail/Ollie as a single couple, if you don't mind.
---
Zodiac Cycle, art by Julie Dillon
Relevant link to deviantart gallery: Zodiac Cycle.
This art is beautiful! I'm so glad I came across it in one of Yuletide's promo posts – I've since ordered the calendar and I'm looking forward to seeing it all year. I'd love a story about one of these amazing people. I'm a Taurus and I love her round, strong farmer in that image, but I think my favourites are Sagittarius and Pisces, although I could easily add all of the images. Capricorn the architect! The (suspiciously Weasley) Gemini boys! Virgo with a basket of flowers and a satchel of scrolls!
Anything you'd like to write about any or all of these gorgeous art works would be wonderful.
---
Blood Ties (TV series)
I was torn between requesting the book or the television series, and settled on the TV series because of the phenomenal chemistry between the three lead actors. I have read the books, though, and if you want to pull details in from them, I'm all up to date and wouldn't mind at all.
I have lots of vampire fandoms, and as a consequence, I adore any story that takes vampire mythology and plays with it. Just like with Harry Potter, where I love seeing magic used in practical everyday ways, one of the reasons that Blood Ties is a special favourite in the vampire genre is that Henry lives in the modern world, and we get to see how he manages it. Anything about him dealing with stuff like taxes and comic conventions and junk mail is interesting to me.
I'm all good with any permutation of the lead three: Henry/Vicki/Mike, Henry/Mike, Henry/Vicki, Mike/Vicki, anything. Or friendship fic. Or casefic. Or more about Henry in the past – how he gets from Tudor England to Toronto must have some pretty exciting adventures.
---
Agents of SHIELD
My newest love! All the Melinda May! All of it! Backstory, crossover, private scenes, femslash, gen!
I do like all the other characters. I do. I'd be equally happy with case fic, or amazing science adventures, or all of them sitting down to watch Doctor Who that Skye pirated for them while the bus is parked somewhere outlandish. Anything SHIELD. Anything!
---
The Faraway Tree
I loved this series as a child (the old-school, non-pc version with Dame Slap!) but I've realised as an adult that the whole set-up is really quite menacing. Something I'd love is future fic of some sort that explores this – whether you choose to take a horror or supernatural angle, or investigate it as something completely mundane that was somehow elevated into a fantasy world for whatever reason, or something completely different. There's almost something Narnia-like about the idea that the four of them got together each summer, had wild adventures on top of the tree, then presumably went back to boarding schools or whatever later on.
Alternatively, I'd be happy with straight-up Blytonesque fantasy set in the Faraway tree world! It is a fun, multi-coloured, weird kind of place, and anything you'd like to tell me about it would be fascinating.
Miscellanea
I've written more about some of these fandoms, but please don't take that as an indication that I have a preference for one over another. I absolutely don't! They're all there because they're dear to my heart, and I'm happy with whichever you choose.
If you want more info, check out my Dear Author tag. I'm![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
st_aurafina, if you're looking for my other fandoms or fic.
If we've matched on one of the larger fandoms, but you're not sure if you can write for that request, don't panic! I've got a couple of fandoms that are small and quickly absorbed:
Julie Dillon's Zodiac Cycle is a series of twelve pieces of art, available at Deviantart here: Zodiac Cycle.
Death By Silver is a single book, and you can get it DRM-free from Smashwords here.
Thank you so much for writing for me! I hope you have an amazing Yuletide.
Welcome to my letter! This is a great time of year for fic writers, and I always look forward to the whole wild party that is Yuletide. I hope you have a great one!
Firstly, let me reassure you that this letter is completely optional. I'm the kind of writer who likes guidelines – lots of guidelines! – so I've put a whole bunch down to help you out, if that's the kind of thing you like, too. If you're the kind of writer who likes to freewheel, then ignore all of this, and be free! Write what your heart wants. That always makes for great stories.
I'm going to love it, whatever you decide to do. I promise.
Here are my general likes and dislikes, c&p'ed from last year's letter:
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 the no powers barista kind), crossovers, 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.
Death By Silver, Amy Griswold and Melissa Scott
As you'd expect from a Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes fan, I adore this book! I've always loved mysteries, and the integration of magic into practical living, and for me, that's what this series is about.
How about Ned and Julian out of their home territory – at a country house, perhaps, for a shooting party, or stuck on a train, or at the seaside? Somewhere where they're away from their own separate support systems, anyway, so that they have to band together (perhaps literally!) for the sake of the case.
Alternatively, a Miss Frost story would be awesome – how she manages her job in an otherwise male-dominated field. I'll bet she's a killer networker, and I'd love to see her being super competent and amazing while maintaining her Victorian cool.
I know the bullying at their hideous public school forms an important part of Ned and Julian's relationship, but it's not easy for me to read about, so if you can avoid descriptions of the bullying, I'd be very grateful.
---
Dance Academy
Ack, can't believe this awesome little show is over. I'm going to miss it so much. I'm not sure if the final season has aired everywhere yet, so I've broken my request into spoilery and non-spoilery sections.
No spoilers for Season 3:
I love the backstory behind Kat and Abigail's relationship – they've obviously known each other for years, and at the start of the series are at the stage of being very old frenemies. Something set in their childhood, when they were better friends, maybe? What was it like for Abigail, clearly the Eistedfodd queen, to meet Kat, who has ballet in the genes but doesn't care?
Alternatively, anything about younger Kat and her circus of a family would be awesome – Kat and Ethan trapped on a ballet tour, the Karamakovs do 'a normal family Christmas', Kat striking out as an intrepid youngster to see something outside of ballet. When did Kat realise that ballet wasn't the centre of the universe?
I'm all for friendship fic set any time during the show – any combination, any set of circumstances.
Spoilers for Season 3:
I loved the weird little family unit that developed between Grace and Lucy Raine – I'd love to see more of that post-season 3. Does Grace come back to ballet? Or visit Lucy in Austin? I'm pretty happy with Grace/Ben, or Grace & Ben or whatever permutation of that friendship you settle on. Alternatively, anything about Lucy's friendship with Grace's mother before her death would be interesting – what's it like when you're following a teaching career and your best friend is a principal dancer? Is it hard to let go of the dream? What does she bring from that experience to teaching at the Academy?
I also love the awesome post-Sammy friendship that sprung up between Ollie and Abigail, and would adore reading about the adventures of Ollie and Abigail in the company – going on tour together, scoping out guys together. Maybe they'll share a flat? I'd be pretty happy with an Ollie/Wes/Abigail poly situation, too, though no Abigail/Ollie as a single couple, if you don't mind.
---
Zodiac Cycle, art by Julie Dillon
Relevant link to deviantart gallery: Zodiac Cycle.
This art is beautiful! I'm so glad I came across it in one of Yuletide's promo posts – I've since ordered the calendar and I'm looking forward to seeing it all year. I'd love a story about one of these amazing people. I'm a Taurus and I love her round, strong farmer in that image, but I think my favourites are Sagittarius and Pisces, although I could easily add all of the images. Capricorn the architect! The (suspiciously Weasley) Gemini boys! Virgo with a basket of flowers and a satchel of scrolls!
Anything you'd like to write about any or all of these gorgeous art works would be wonderful.
---
Blood Ties (TV series)
I was torn between requesting the book or the television series, and settled on the TV series because of the phenomenal chemistry between the three lead actors. I have read the books, though, and if you want to pull details in from them, I'm all up to date and wouldn't mind at all.
I have lots of vampire fandoms, and as a consequence, I adore any story that takes vampire mythology and plays with it. Just like with Harry Potter, where I love seeing magic used in practical everyday ways, one of the reasons that Blood Ties is a special favourite in the vampire genre is that Henry lives in the modern world, and we get to see how he manages it. Anything about him dealing with stuff like taxes and comic conventions and junk mail is interesting to me.
I'm all good with any permutation of the lead three: Henry/Vicki/Mike, Henry/Mike, Henry/Vicki, Mike/Vicki, anything. Or friendship fic. Or casefic. Or more about Henry in the past – how he gets from Tudor England to Toronto must have some pretty exciting adventures.
---
Agents of SHIELD
My newest love! All the Melinda May! All of it! Backstory, crossover, private scenes, femslash, gen!
I do like all the other characters. I do. I'd be equally happy with case fic, or amazing science adventures, or all of them sitting down to watch Doctor Who that Skye pirated for them while the bus is parked somewhere outlandish. Anything SHIELD. Anything!
---
The Faraway Tree
I loved this series as a child (the old-school, non-pc version with Dame Slap!) but I've realised as an adult that the whole set-up is really quite menacing. Something I'd love is future fic of some sort that explores this – whether you choose to take a horror or supernatural angle, or investigate it as something completely mundane that was somehow elevated into a fantasy world for whatever reason, or something completely different. There's almost something Narnia-like about the idea that the four of them got together each summer, had wild adventures on top of the tree, then presumably went back to boarding schools or whatever later on.
Alternatively, I'd be happy with straight-up Blytonesque fantasy set in the Faraway tree world! It is a fun, multi-coloured, weird kind of place, and anything you'd like to tell me about it would be fascinating.
Miscellanea
I've written more about some of these fandoms, but please don't take that as an indication that I have a preference for one over another. I absolutely don't! They're all there because they're dear to my heart, and I'm happy with whichever you choose.
If you want more info, check out my Dear Author tag. I'm
If we've matched on one of the larger fandoms, but you're not sure if you can write for that request, don't panic! I've got a couple of fandoms that are small and quickly absorbed:
Julie Dillon's Zodiac Cycle is a series of twelve pieces of art, available at Deviantart here: Zodiac Cycle.
Death By Silver is a single book, and you can get it DRM-free from Smashwords here.
Thank you so much for writing for me! I hope you have an amazing Yuletide.
no subject
Date: 2013-10-14 02:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-15 03:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-15 03:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-15 03:57 am (UTC)Isn't it amazing art? I always like to have something short in my requests, and someone linked this art and I thought, yeah, so much story potential there.