![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jenettHello dear Yuletide author (and anyone else reading this)!
I’ve been doing Yuletide since 2011 (and reading rather longer than that) and have such an incredibly good time with the wonderful things that come out of it. I am here for stories exploring things in new ways, people delighting in sharing things they love, and all the things I didn't know I wanted that come out of Yuletide requests.
Thank you so much for writing for me, and I hope one of these ideas delights you. (And if you are delighted by something else in any of these canons, I will, I bet, also be delighted...)
Have a lovely Yuletide!
If seeing previous letters and recs is helpful, they're all in my Yuletide tag. I am![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
jenett if you want to look at what I've written.
Several of my requests this year lend themselves to non-narrative formats - if an exchange of letters, a series of journal entries, or some other structure appeals to you, go for it.
Worldbuilding, especially worldbuilding which makes canon make more sense, or clarifies something - those moments where everything lines up, and you go "Oh, that's how that works." If you're making a choice between plotty story and something focusing on character or world, feel free to indulge in the latter.
People being competent, and I'm here for all kinds of competence, whether that's about skill, knowledge, problem-solving, or finding the best in other people. I'm also here for whatever kind of geekery you want to get up to - magical theory, folklore, obscure byways of knowledge, cooking, crafting, history, technology, etc.
People being good to each other. Drama and narrative tension are necessary things for the plot, but for Yuletide, I'd love a story that is fundamentally about people being good to each other, and hopeful, at least at the end.
(aka my do not wants)
There are some things that don't work for me at Yuletide length, or that I'd rather not read. I've added notes to the canon sections where there might be any confusion, but please feel free to inquire through the mods if you're not sure.
1) No explicit sex, graphic violence, language choice, or bigotry beyond where the canon itself goes.
One of my canons has some period anti-Semitism, but I'd prefer to it to be touched on as relatively lightly as the canon does (i.e. it's not ignored that that's a thing people do or an attitude people have, but it's not focused on in dialogue more than it has to be.)
2) Non-canon relationships, AUs, and crossovers depend a lot on setup for me, so please not for this exchange.
By AU I mean 'something that makes a fundamental change in the worldbuilding, arc of the work, or events of the work' And on the relationship front background changes to minor characters are fine, but please don't break anyone up, or write people out of the relationships they were in at that point in the canon.
3) No situations where every teacher (including professors) is stupid, entirely unobservant, abusive, etc.
Obviously, not all teachers are great, but narratives where every teacher is lousy at their profession or has no care for their students are awful for me.
4) No stories that focus on despair or bad things happening.
It's 2020, do I need to say more about how a little good in the world would be really great right now? Unpleasant plot events are fine, just please end on a hopeful note, or people being good to each other in the aftermath, etc.
Angharad Scott
Piranesi | Matthew Rose Sorenson
Sixteen | Sarah Raphael
So, I read this as soon as it came out because I had suspicions I’d want to request it for Yuletide. It's a glorious puzzle of a book, where the way it unfolds is even more intriguing to me than what actually happens. (Or who these people are.)
There’s so much to wonder about in the worldbuilding of this book - how the House got there in the first place, who made all the statues, who else has been there in the past. If you want to wander about in the worldbuilding, without any of the nominated characters, I am fine with that.
Tell me more about Angharad Scott. Please. I’m so fascinated by the glimpses of her we get, her work on the biography, her willingness to help Sorenson, and the fact that she’s the one who raises the alarm. What was it like writing the biography in the first place? Does she feel responsible for what happened to Sorenson? What has she been doing in the intervening six years? What else has she written and researched?
I’m also really curious about what happens with Matthew Rose Sorenson and Sarah Raphael after the end of the book. What she’s like with her work, how this particular investigation shapes her approach to later cases. How he rebuilds a life that he makes sense of. What else might be discovered in his journals about the House, how he became Piranesi.
More than anything, this book makes me think a lot about that thin line between research and reality, and how that is also sometimes a gaping chasm full of floods and statues. How different approaches are sometimes essential to answering questions and solving problems, and helping people. Anything along these lines will particularly delight me.
Chester Bane (Blood-Smoke Series - Tanya Huff)
Lee Nicholas (Blood-Smoke Series - Tanya Huff)
Tony Foster (Blood-Smoke Series - Tanya Huff)
So, I reread the Smoke trilogy in the past few months (I’ve read all of them, but the Vicki books some time ago).
I’m particularly fascinated by the various dynamics between these three characters at the end of the Smoke books. Tony, who’s working his way up and proving himself, but in a very unusual position (hello, wizard). Lee, who’s clearly a talented actor, but also skilled at navigating what it means to be in that kind of role and that place in his profession. And then there’s Chester, who is absolutely clear on what he wants and what he’ll take to get there.
(I’m also fine with Henry, who was not nominated, being all over this, speaking of interplay of power and influence… Also fine with whatever other characters not nominated you want in here.)
I am fine with Tony/Lee in relationship mode, but I’m here for the interactions, not the shipping per se. I’m also equally fine with a story focused on a problem Tony’s got to scramble to solve, or a story about what that happens when there isn’t a sudden world-threatening crisis going on.
What happens if Tony figures out a new spell - but it has unexpected consequences? (They usually do.) If there’s something that looks initially like a threat, but is something else instead (Weird new public art? Harmless cryptid?) What happens if there’s a threat or challenge from some unexpected direction? (Hello, Internet.)
Archie Curtis
Daniel da Silva
Fenella Carruth
Patricia Merton
Look, these two books are just delightful, right? They are some of my favourite comfort reading these days. Awful people get what’s coming to them! Interesting people solve crime! All fantastic.
(Note: I wrote a fic focused on Pat and Fen last year, as my Yuletide assignment. This request is entirely me wanting more about them in the world, don’t feel you need to do anything like my take.)
First, I am up for any of these characters: while I’ve requested (and love) them all, if the story that you desire to write is about one of them, I’m fine with that. On the other hand, I’m also here for adventures they get up to together after the events of Think of England.
A comment from last year made me think about the fact that Pat and Fen (in particular, but it’s also arguably true of Archie and Daniel) use unexpected approaches to gathering knowledge and power, sources other people wouldn’t consider. If this inspires you at all, I am very interested in more of that.
I’d also be intrigued about more about any of them much earlier than we see them in the books.
Archie, growing up with his extraordinary uncles. There are hints that he's always been a bit extraordinary himself, seeming to be just like the other men his age, but his inner thoughts suggest that might not be the case. What's that been like for him?
What Daniel must have been like when he was younger, less polished, and even snarkier and quite possibly getting in more difficulty over it. What was his first case like? What else has he done? (This is the bit where my 'please go lightly on explicit anti-Semitism' request in my do-not-wants is relevant. Obviously, it was likely part of his younger years, as it is in canon, but I don't need the nastiness spelled out in text.)
We get brief mentions about Fen’s previous engagements - how did they happen, how were they broken? (Fen is not stupid, so one must assume it wasn’t just that she got carried away somehow without meaning to.)
And for Pat, she was so efficiently running things at home. What happened when she realised that was going to change? How have other people responded to her most excellent shooting skills?
I’ve been doing Yuletide since 2011 (and reading rather longer than that) and have such an incredibly good time with the wonderful things that come out of it. I am here for stories exploring things in new ways, people delighting in sharing things they love, and all the things I didn't know I wanted that come out of Yuletide requests.
Thank you so much for writing for me, and I hope one of these ideas delights you. (And if you are delighted by something else in any of these canons, I will, I bet, also be delighted...)
Have a lovely Yuletide!
General notes and background
If seeing previous letters and recs is helpful, they're all in my Yuletide tag. I am
Several of my requests this year lend themselves to non-narrative formats - if an exchange of letters, a series of journal entries, or some other structure appeals to you, go for it.
Things I love
Worldbuilding, especially worldbuilding which makes canon make more sense, or clarifies something - those moments where everything lines up, and you go "Oh, that's how that works." If you're making a choice between plotty story and something focusing on character or world, feel free to indulge in the latter.
People being competent, and I'm here for all kinds of competence, whether that's about skill, knowledge, problem-solving, or finding the best in other people. I'm also here for whatever kind of geekery you want to get up to - magical theory, folklore, obscure byways of knowledge, cooking, crafting, history, technology, etc.
People being good to each other. Drama and narrative tension are necessary things for the plot, but for Yuletide, I'd love a story that is fundamentally about people being good to each other, and hopeful, at least at the end.
Please don't
(aka my do not wants)
There are some things that don't work for me at Yuletide length, or that I'd rather not read. I've added notes to the canon sections where there might be any confusion, but please feel free to inquire through the mods if you're not sure.
1) No explicit sex, graphic violence, language choice, or bigotry beyond where the canon itself goes.
One of my canons has some period anti-Semitism, but I'd prefer to it to be touched on as relatively lightly as the canon does (i.e. it's not ignored that that's a thing people do or an attitude people have, but it's not focused on in dialogue more than it has to be.)
2) Non-canon relationships, AUs, and crossovers depend a lot on setup for me, so please not for this exchange.
By AU I mean 'something that makes a fundamental change in the worldbuilding, arc of the work, or events of the work' And on the relationship front background changes to minor characters are fine, but please don't break anyone up, or write people out of the relationships they were in at that point in the canon.
3) No situations where every teacher (including professors) is stupid, entirely unobservant, abusive, etc.
Obviously, not all teachers are great, but narratives where every teacher is lousy at their profession or has no care for their students are awful for me.
4) No stories that focus on despair or bad things happening.
It's 2020, do I need to say more about how a little good in the world would be really great right now? Unpleasant plot events are fine, just please end on a hopeful note, or people being good to each other in the aftermath, etc.
Requests
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
Angharad Scott
Piranesi | Matthew Rose Sorenson
Sixteen | Sarah Raphael
So, I read this as soon as it came out because I had suspicions I’d want to request it for Yuletide. It's a glorious puzzle of a book, where the way it unfolds is even more intriguing to me than what actually happens. (Or who these people are.)
There’s so much to wonder about in the worldbuilding of this book - how the House got there in the first place, who made all the statues, who else has been there in the past. If you want to wander about in the worldbuilding, without any of the nominated characters, I am fine with that.
Tell me more about Angharad Scott. Please. I’m so fascinated by the glimpses of her we get, her work on the biography, her willingness to help Sorenson, and the fact that she’s the one who raises the alarm. What was it like writing the biography in the first place? Does she feel responsible for what happened to Sorenson? What has she been doing in the intervening six years? What else has she written and researched?
I’m also really curious about what happens with Matthew Rose Sorenson and Sarah Raphael after the end of the book. What she’s like with her work, how this particular investigation shapes her approach to later cases. How he rebuilds a life that he makes sense of. What else might be discovered in his journals about the House, how he became Piranesi.
More than anything, this book makes me think a lot about that thin line between research and reality, and how that is also sometimes a gaping chasm full of floods and statues. How different approaches are sometimes essential to answering questions and solving problems, and helping people. Anything along these lines will particularly delight me.
Blood-Smoke Series - Tanya Huff
Chester Bane (Blood-Smoke Series - Tanya Huff)
Lee Nicholas (Blood-Smoke Series - Tanya Huff)
Tony Foster (Blood-Smoke Series - Tanya Huff)
So, I reread the Smoke trilogy in the past few months (I’ve read all of them, but the Vicki books some time ago).
I’m particularly fascinated by the various dynamics between these three characters at the end of the Smoke books. Tony, who’s working his way up and proving himself, but in a very unusual position (hello, wizard). Lee, who’s clearly a talented actor, but also skilled at navigating what it means to be in that kind of role and that place in his profession. And then there’s Chester, who is absolutely clear on what he wants and what he’ll take to get there.
(I’m also fine with Henry, who was not nominated, being all over this, speaking of interplay of power and influence… Also fine with whatever other characters not nominated you want in here.)
I am fine with Tony/Lee in relationship mode, but I’m here for the interactions, not the shipping per se. I’m also equally fine with a story focused on a problem Tony’s got to scramble to solve, or a story about what that happens when there isn’t a sudden world-threatening crisis going on.
What happens if Tony figures out a new spell - but it has unexpected consequences? (They usually do.) If there’s something that looks initially like a threat, but is something else instead (Weird new public art? Harmless cryptid?) What happens if there’s a threat or challenge from some unexpected direction? (Hello, Internet.)
England Series - K. J. Charles
Archie Curtis
Daniel da Silva
Fenella Carruth
Patricia Merton
Look, these two books are just delightful, right? They are some of my favourite comfort reading these days. Awful people get what’s coming to them! Interesting people solve crime! All fantastic.
(Note: I wrote a fic focused on Pat and Fen last year, as my Yuletide assignment. This request is entirely me wanting more about them in the world, don’t feel you need to do anything like my take.)
First, I am up for any of these characters: while I’ve requested (and love) them all, if the story that you desire to write is about one of them, I’m fine with that. On the other hand, I’m also here for adventures they get up to together after the events of Think of England.
A comment from last year made me think about the fact that Pat and Fen (in particular, but it’s also arguably true of Archie and Daniel) use unexpected approaches to gathering knowledge and power, sources other people wouldn’t consider. If this inspires you at all, I am very interested in more of that.
I’d also be intrigued about more about any of them much earlier than we see them in the books.
Archie, growing up with his extraordinary uncles. There are hints that he's always been a bit extraordinary himself, seeming to be just like the other men his age, but his inner thoughts suggest that might not be the case. What's that been like for him?
What Daniel must have been like when he was younger, less polished, and even snarkier and quite possibly getting in more difficulty over it. What was his first case like? What else has he done? (This is the bit where my 'please go lightly on explicit anti-Semitism' request in my do-not-wants is relevant. Obviously, it was likely part of his younger years, as it is in canon, but I don't need the nastiness spelled out in text.)
We get brief mentions about Fen’s previous engagements - how did they happen, how were they broken? (Fen is not stupid, so one must assume it wasn’t just that she got carried away somehow without meaning to.)
And for Pat, she was so efficiently running things at home. What happened when she realised that was going to change? How have other people responded to her most excellent shooting skills?
Tags:
