desertvixen | Juletide 2023 Letter (Reply)

Juletide letter

My Blanket DNW: nominated character death, cruelty/death to animals/children (specifically cats), explicit/graphic/sexual violence

Treats are ALWAYS welcomed.

My general preferences are here. It's just been updated.

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

Jamie Sheridan Min-Dae Sheridan Eleanor Douglas Park Sheridan

Give me the AU where Jamie Sheridan uses his status in the neighborhood to put the fear of God into Eleanor's stepfather, or maybe the story where Park does help his mom get Eleanor ready for their wedding day (without seeing her)

These are the two prompts that are loudest in my head, but if you think of something else that works, that's awesome too. What I loved about this novel and these characters was how REAL they were.

I really liked Park's dad, who was a little dubious about Eleanor at first (and all the changes in his son), but had no real hesitation about supporting his son doing what Park saw as the right thing. I really really wanted the scene where he pounded on Eleanor's stepdad. The whole scene where Park kicks the kid in the face during the fight, and his dad is all “Good job” I love that one too. Parent like it is the 1980s!

I also loved the relationship between the parents - passionate and fun, like the whole interchange about how he'll use whatever language he likes and her threatening to send him to his room. I want a little of everyone, but show me a little of this relationship. Maybe post-Eleanor and Park marriage fic? I also really liked Park's grandparents and Eleanor's relationship with the black girls in her gym class. I really just wanted MORE.

If you go the route about the hairdo, don't let Min-dae make Eleanor too someone she isn't. One of the lines that caught my eye more this time was how Park with eyeliner was like having the volume turned up to 10 or Ming the Merciless. What about makeup that turns Eleanor up to 10?

Nantucket Trilogy - S.M. Stirling

Kathryn Hollard Odikweos Althea Walker (Nantucket Trilogy) Martha Cofflin (Nantucket Trilogy)

I'm a big Kathryn/Kash fan, and love seeing how they balance their worlds - and how fiercely they love each other.

So, what I would really like here is an exploration of Odikweos against the familiar Odysseus. Much like Kashtiliash, he's an ally NOW because it suits him, but what if that changed?

Or perhaps the rise of Althea Walker (we get 10-plus books of Survival through SCA but nothing on her?) causes rifts among the allies. I think she would be interesting because she isn't an uptimer, and she isn't exactly a native of the time period, she's a hybrid. And she's pissed.

And I was looking for a fourth character to fill out noms (no slot left behind) and decided to include one of the underutilized female characters. Martha is a quiet organizer, but I'd love to see her match up with some of the down-time crew. Perhaps she and Odikweos might have some interesting conversations.

I couldn't nominate her because she isn't in the book, but feel free to add Odikweos' Penelope.

So I’ve written a bunch of the fic for the other requestor, and I want someone else to tackle it. Previously, I was very focused on Odikweos (and his Penelope – please feel free to include her, invent her, be my guest) but I really want to know more about Althea. The last we see, she’s riding away from her home with Ohotolarix, and she’s pissed. I’d love to see her rising up, and maybe causing some rifts. Do Odikweos and Kashtiliash want to deal with her? Does she try to get vengeance for her father?

With Matilda Arminger, I feel like we get little echoes of what Althea might have been like (although Sandra and Norman are way more developed and evolved characters than Walker and Alice Hong). But I want Althea. And the Bronze Age.

One of the things I love about Odysseus is that he and Penelope have an excellent and equal relationship, where she is a match for him in her realm. I’d like that preserved and translated to Nantucket. Perhaps Penelope wants to ensure their son/daughter gets full access to Nantucket options? It strikes me that Martha Cofflin and the Queen of Ithaka might have more in common than one might think.

The Scoop - London Detection Club

Geraldine Tracey (The Scoop) Mr. Tracey Beryl Blackwood (The Scoop) Dennis Oliver (The Scoop)

I really just want some fic about this, with a focus on Geraldine Tracey.

Turn the Lonely Bungalow case on its head, or give me a big showy trial (with requisite headlines).

For this one, you can kill off Geraldine Tracey or Mr. Hemingway.

Feel free to include both sides of "Mr. Tracey".

I did get a lovely story for the fandom for Juletide in 2021 that warmed my heart, but I am greedy and want more.

All right, so there is a computer game and the novel, but the two are very close. It's written by the London Detection Club, and is very focused on the newspaper business in 1930s-ish London. The game is available at Abandonia if you need something to goof off on. I had the computer game in 1990, and might have actually written my first (very bad) fanfic for it.

For "Mr. Tracey" (Hemingway), the book/game ends with him slipping and falling to his death. Give me another ending, preferably one with a big showy trial that the papers can cover! (Or even give me another killer who is framing him...)

Or maybe focus on Geraldine Tracey. Maybe he does not successfully kill her, which makes the case quite different (see big showy trial). Maybe she is the killer instead, and leaves his dead body in her bungalow. (I like the Lonely Bungalow aspect.) I like to keep it in the 30s milieu. Maybe it is not her real name and Beryl actually knows her. The Juletide story I received played on this aspect and it was great. I just want more, maybe from Geraldine’s point of view. Thinking about it, I would really like one where she lives.

Denis/Beryl is fun, but I would like to see something more focused on the crime/trial aspect. Maybe Beryl does some more investigating on her own to help him out.

Or feel free to drag a Christie sleuth right in. I am down for Poirot or Marple. Maybe Miss Silver or Lord Peter Wimsey?

Chalion Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold

Betriz dy Ferrej the Mother (Chalion)

While I do enjoy the Penric books, I also miss the first group we were introduced to, and I *really* wanted to see the Mother in action. Betriz and Iselle have both served her Daughter, perhaps She has something in store for Betriz.

Generally I tend more towards Penric and his crew but I’d really love a story where the Mother has a task for an older, wiser Betriz – perhaps to aid her friend again? I’m good with Iselle appearing but I want the focus on Betriz and the Mother (and while he’s not nominated, I’m sure Caz will have some input/advice….

Two Minute Mysteries - Donald J. Sobol

Dr. Haledjian Octavia (Two Minute Mysteries) Mrs. Sydney

Okay, so what DO these characters do when Haledjian's not showing off how superior he is? Does Octavia ever get to eat dinner without a gruesome story? Does she ever solve a mystery?

First off, I am not expecting a pithy Two-Minute Mystery style mystery capped off with an obscure fact that "everyone" knows. (However, if that is something you want to do, go for it!) I'm more interested in off-stage interactions - Who are these people? Why does Haledjian have so many friends who use him to test alibis? Do people dread his "Jessica Fletcher" factor? (ie, when he comes to visit, dead bodies show up). If you want to modernize the crew and bring cell phones into play, go for it.

An idea would be a mystery that Octavia solves, especially if it requires a feminine touch. Maybe she teams up with Mrs. Sydney to stump him?

If you want to play on Haledjian being an Armenian, play away!

I had intended to include Bertie Tilford of the get rich quick schemes, then decided not to. But feel free to pop the opportunistic little blighter in there.