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Dear Yuletide author, (2021 edition)
Hello, dear Yuletide writer!
Thank you so much for being willing to write for me! 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.
First, do not feel you need to include all of my requested characters: I love them all, but sometimes they do not fit in the same story. It's fine to focus on one or two or whatever.
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.
Two of my requests (The England Series and the Will Darling Adventures, both by K.J. Charles) have canon joined by a single epilogue (and I've repeated related requests for this under both canons, since they're linked but also separate focus...) First, these requests do include some spoilers for each other and the epilogue out of necessity to make a request or two I'd love.
Second, despite my obvious interest in that particular epilogue and it's implications (hello, catnip for my brain), I also want to say up front I love all three of the canons I've requested, and would be delighted with anything about any of them.
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.
Look, the world is still a mess out there in a lot of ways (if a little differently than when I wrote my 2020 lettter...) Unpleasant plot events are fine, just please focus on a hopeful note, or people being good to each other in the aftermath, etc.
Requested:
- Archie Curtis
- Bill Merton
- Daniel da Silva
- Jimmy Yoxall
(I also adore Pat and Fen and am delighted if they appear.)
What I love about this series: People (well, the people we like) being caring and kind, but also being ferociously completent and loyal. The tangle of historical reality of the period, the risk and dangers, but also looking to what comes out of those experiences, both good and bad. People being who they are, at the core, and then finding ways to make it better.
1) Honestly, I would just be delighted with further developments after the book (though the epilogue mentioned below may give you some things to hang that on, whether or not you've read the Will Darling trilogy.) How did people grow up, and change? How did the road to the Great War change things for them?
that epilogue) So, K.J. Charles has released on her website an epilogue that ties the England series and the Will Darling Adventures books together which feature scenes at a house party (Jimmy, Bill, Daniel, Archie, Pat, and Fen) after the events of the Will Darling trilogy.
2) One of the things I find fascinating is what you see of Jimmy in Think of England (scattered, admittedly in a lousy position) and the very different way he comes across from Will's experience with him in the War.
There, Will clearly looks up to him, respects him, and considers Jimmy was a clearly competent officer, in all the ways he was allowed to be (and perhaps a few where he wasn't, but he's been hanging out with people who make their own luck for a good while now...)
How'd Jimmy get from here to there? What happens if/when he talks to Will after the events of the Will Darling trilogy? Jimmy is clear Bill doesn't generally tell him things (and for good reason) but it's also clear he keeps his own confidences when needed, and what's that like?
3) There are implications there of what people have been up to, and I would love a story that fills out any of the gaps in those years for any of the characters. Also, entirely here if you want to tell one of the stories that gets referenced in the epilogue of tight moment in difficult places.
4) How have Archie and Daniel renegotiated their relationship over the years (especially moving out of field work, which feels like it must have been a complex shift for them in a lot of ways.)
Requested:
- Bill Merton (The Will Darling Adventures - K.J. Charles)
- Daniel da Silva (The Will Darling Adventures)
- Kim Secretan
- Will Darling
What I like: The time and place (especially the time) of all of the consequences of choices in the Great War coming home to roost. I also love the pulp fiction aspect of the plot (the Zodiac stuff, so over the top, but also so true to certain fiction of the period!)
1) First: I am totally here if what you want to write is Kim and Will having shenanigans especially if it involves Phoebe and Maisie being sensible and clever (and a brilliant business success), any time after the trilogy. Bonus bookshop would be excellent.
2) I'm also really interested in Bill Merton as seen in these books.
What's it like for Bill, given where he's now working? (And who he's working for?) In some ways, the shift to his current work is fairly straightforward (he was already heading that way in Think of England) but one suspects he has had to get slightly more pragmatic about getting things done, in the process. What was that like for him?
One of the things I found fascinating in the trilogy is the point where Bill turns up, Will considers it and then decides to share information. Utterly not what Kim would do, but a good decision.
What was Daniel and Bill's conversation about that like? (Likewise, what were some of hteir conversations during any of the epic chaos of, well, okay a lot of the trilogy when Kim was out of contact for one reason or another.)
epilogue note) So again, the epilogue that ties the England series (and in this case it's mostly Think of England that's relevant) and the Will Darling Adventures books together has me thinking all the thoughts.
3) I'm fascinated by what future conversations between Kim and Daniel might bring up. On one hand, they come from utterly different worlds, and on the other hand, there are ways they are so much alike (in how they use their cleverness, the trouble it can get them into, the ways they are self-deprecating and cutting to themselves before anyone can do it to them, the way they are utterly committed to excelling in what they do.)
Give me future conversations about that, where they're too much alike or one where Daniel has to pull Kim up short because Kim is going down a road that absolutely cannot end well and Daniel has experience with exactly why.
4) I'm also really interested in how that second scene of the epilogue, with Archie considering mentoring Will. Archie - for all his beserker traits - has always struck me as very measured most of the time, very pragmatic. What are they like when they settle down to talking with each other about their work and how to do the thing properly.
Requested:
- Worldbuilding (White Rat Verse)
My actual request is worldbuilding, because I can't figure out how to pick characters! Should you want some named characters, I am particularly fond of the paladins, enjoy Grace Angelica, Clara, and Piper, and of course a person just likes a gnole.
What I like: What I love about this series - and the Temple of the White Rat in particular - is the ruthless "Let us get things done", using whatever tools they have at their disposal, thinking outside the box, and just noticing.
(I'm thinking at the moment, since it's the one I've read most recently, of the bit in Paladin's Hope where Piper gives a referral for something, and how it's complicated to have sorted it out, andsort of illegal, but of course that's a thing they'd have worked out how to arrange, because it makes a huge difference in actual people's lives.)
Stories:
1) I am here for daily slice of life at the Temple of the Rat (if you make me pick, Archon's Glory is my location of choice, but if you get bit by an idea for somewhere else, that's also totally fine.) Particularly interested in antything during the time of the Saint of Steel series is fine, but earlier is also great!
2) I'd also love something that delves into the how the Temple of the White Rat got like this, stories early in their history. I'd especially love a story that got at how that deliberate pragmatism developed, and how they set up a community that encouraged creative thinking and problem solving, while also often taking in or supporting people with complicated needs and histories.
3) If you'd like a character inspiration, I'm curious about Stephen and Grace in the aftermath of Paladin's Grace. And I love Clara and her sister nuns, and more about them in happier times would be delightfully welcome.
Thank you so much for being willing to write for me! If seeing previous letters and recs is helpful, they're all in my Yuletide tag. I am
First, do not feel you need to include all of my requested characters: I love them all, but sometimes they do not fit in the same story. It's fine to focus on one or two or whatever.
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.
Two of my requests (The England Series and the Will Darling Adventures, both by K.J. Charles) have canon joined by a single epilogue (and I've repeated related requests for this under both canons, since they're linked but also separate focus...) First, these requests do include some spoilers for each other and the epilogue out of necessity to make a request or two I'd love.
Second, despite my obvious interest in that particular epilogue and it's implications (hello, catnip for my brain), I also want to say up front I love all three of the canons I've requested, and would be delighted with anything about any of them.
General notes
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.
Look, the world is still a mess out there in a lot of ways (if a little differently than when I wrote my 2020 lettter...) Unpleasant plot events are fine, just please focus on a hopeful note, or people being good to each other in the aftermath, etc.
England Series - K. J. Charles
Requested:
- Archie Curtis
- Bill Merton
- Daniel da Silva
- Jimmy Yoxall
(I also adore Pat and Fen and am delighted if they appear.)
What I love about this series: People (well, the people we like) being caring and kind, but also being ferociously completent and loyal. The tangle of historical reality of the period, the risk and dangers, but also looking to what comes out of those experiences, both good and bad. People being who they are, at the core, and then finding ways to make it better.
Story ideas:
1) Honestly, I would just be delighted with further developments after the book (though the epilogue mentioned below may give you some things to hang that on, whether or not you've read the Will Darling trilogy.) How did people grow up, and change? How did the road to the Great War change things for them?
that epilogue) So, K.J. Charles has released on her website an epilogue that ties the England series and the Will Darling Adventures books together which feature scenes at a house party (Jimmy, Bill, Daniel, Archie, Pat, and Fen) after the events of the Will Darling trilogy.
2) One of the things I find fascinating is what you see of Jimmy in Think of England (scattered, admittedly in a lousy position) and the very different way he comes across from Will's experience with him in the War.
There, Will clearly looks up to him, respects him, and considers Jimmy was a clearly competent officer, in all the ways he was allowed to be (and perhaps a few where he wasn't, but he's been hanging out with people who make their own luck for a good while now...)
How'd Jimmy get from here to there? What happens if/when he talks to Will after the events of the Will Darling trilogy? Jimmy is clear Bill doesn't generally tell him things (and for good reason) but it's also clear he keeps his own confidences when needed, and what's that like?
3) There are implications there of what people have been up to, and I would love a story that fills out any of the gaps in those years for any of the characters. Also, entirely here if you want to tell one of the stories that gets referenced in the epilogue of tight moment in difficult places.
4) How have Archie and Daniel renegotiated their relationship over the years (especially moving out of field work, which feels like it must have been a complex shift for them in a lot of ways.)
The Will Darling Adventures - K.J. Charles
Requested:
- Bill Merton (The Will Darling Adventures - K.J. Charles)
- Daniel da Silva (The Will Darling Adventures)
- Kim Secretan
- Will Darling
What I like: The time and place (especially the time) of all of the consequences of choices in the Great War coming home to roost. I also love the pulp fiction aspect of the plot (the Zodiac stuff, so over the top, but also so true to certain fiction of the period!)
1) First: I am totally here if what you want to write is Kim and Will having shenanigans especially if it involves Phoebe and Maisie being sensible and clever (and a brilliant business success), any time after the trilogy. Bonus bookshop would be excellent.
2) I'm also really interested in Bill Merton as seen in these books.
What's it like for Bill, given where he's now working? (And who he's working for?) In some ways, the shift to his current work is fairly straightforward (he was already heading that way in Think of England) but one suspects he has had to get slightly more pragmatic about getting things done, in the process. What was that like for him?
One of the things I found fascinating in the trilogy is the point where Bill turns up, Will considers it and then decides to share information. Utterly not what Kim would do, but a good decision.
What was Daniel and Bill's conversation about that like? (Likewise, what were some of hteir conversations during any of the epic chaos of, well, okay a lot of the trilogy when Kim was out of contact for one reason or another.)
epilogue note) So again, the epilogue that ties the England series (and in this case it's mostly Think of England that's relevant) and the Will Darling Adventures books together has me thinking all the thoughts.
3) I'm fascinated by what future conversations between Kim and Daniel might bring up. On one hand, they come from utterly different worlds, and on the other hand, there are ways they are so much alike (in how they use their cleverness, the trouble it can get them into, the ways they are self-deprecating and cutting to themselves before anyone can do it to them, the way they are utterly committed to excelling in what they do.)
Give me future conversations about that, where they're too much alike or one where Daniel has to pull Kim up short because Kim is going down a road that absolutely cannot end well and Daniel has experience with exactly why.
4) I'm also really interested in how that second scene of the epilogue, with Archie considering mentoring Will. Archie - for all his beserker traits - has always struck me as very measured most of the time, very pragmatic. What are they like when they settle down to talking with each other about their work and how to do the thing properly.
Temple of the White Rat Universe - T. Kingfisher
Requested:
- Worldbuilding (White Rat Verse)
My actual request is worldbuilding, because I can't figure out how to pick characters! Should you want some named characters, I am particularly fond of the paladins, enjoy Grace Angelica, Clara, and Piper, and of course a person just likes a gnole.
What I like: What I love about this series - and the Temple of the White Rat in particular - is the ruthless "Let us get things done", using whatever tools they have at their disposal, thinking outside the box, and just noticing.
(I'm thinking at the moment, since it's the one I've read most recently, of the bit in Paladin's Hope where Piper gives a referral for something, and how it's complicated to have sorted it out, and
Stories:
1) I am here for daily slice of life at the Temple of the Rat (if you make me pick, Archon's Glory is my location of choice, but if you get bit by an idea for somewhere else, that's also totally fine.) Particularly interested in antything during the time of the Saint of Steel series is fine, but earlier is also great!
2) I'd also love something that delves into the how the Temple of the White Rat got like this, stories early in their history. I'd especially love a story that got at how that deliberate pragmatism developed, and how they set up a community that encouraged creative thinking and problem solving, while also often taking in or supporting people with complicated needs and histories.
3) If you'd like a character inspiration, I'm curious about Stephen and Grace in the aftermath of Paladin's Grace. And I love Clara and her sister nuns, and more about them in happier times would be delightfully welcome.