desertvixen | Dear Yuletide Writer - Yuletide 2023 (Reply)

My general preferences are here.

It's my 15th Yuletide!

You can also use the "dear writer" tag but TBH I copy/paste letters a lot. The general preferences were updated and restyled this year, so if you've written for me before, definitely give it a look!

I AM OPEN TO TREATS, ALL THE TREATS YOU WANT TO WRITE.

Optional details are optional, but I love a good chatty letter. I want to give you something to latch on to but don't feel constrained. I have more to say about some but some of that is just more time requesting them.

Remember, whatever you write, I will love! I know ~~2020 2021 2022~~ 2023 has been rough on a lot of people, so please don't stress out too much because Yuletide will be wonderful! It's definitely been full of challenges for me, so let's celebrate with awesome fic! These are a mix - 3 repeat requests and 2 new (for Yuletide) requests.

Crossovers are definitely welcome, as are AUs! If you cross it over with Clue or an Agatha Christie fandom/detective (Poirot, Marple, Ariadne Oliver, And Then There Were None) I'm good with anything - otherwise, see my preferences - cracky or serious crossovers welcome. I also welcome any and all crossovers involving Nancy Drew.

I do enjoy the trappings of the Christmas holiday (mistletoe, gifts, hot chocolate, oh no we're snowed in together and must stay warm somehow... or we're trapped with a killer, family togetherness, snowball fights, traveling over the river and through the terminal) but do not require them. If they work though, by all means, take advantage of it.

And again, have fun!

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

Park Sheridan Eleanor Douglas Jamie Sheridan Min-Dae Sheridan

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

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)

This is a repeat request from 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. When I first read the book, I was blown away. I just wanted more of the 80s life here.

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?

Midnights - Rainbow Rowell (Short Story)

Noel (Midnights) Mags (Midnights) Alicia Porter's Mother (Midnights)

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form

So I just found this story this year. But what happens next?

I am here for a story where we get Alicia's mom's POV on the parties/their relationship - but you do not have to include her if you don't go that route.

So what does Alicia’s mom think of how the crowd has grown up? What is next year’s party like – and how do Mags and Noel pass the time? Is there dancing? I love their voices and just want more.

Nantucket Trilogy - S.M. Stirling

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

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form

I'm a big Kathryn/Kash fan, and love seeing how they balance their worlds - and how fiercely they love each other. I didn't include him, but feel free to have him in there.

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.

I'd really love a story where they all appear, BUT I would be okay with any of the following matchups:

Kathryn & Martha

Kathryn & Odikweos

Kathryn & Althea

Althea & Odikweos

This is a fourth repeat request. 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. How does Kathryn relate to her?

Or tell me more about Martha and her quiet organizing and Girl Scouts.

The Scoop - London Detection Club

Mr. Hemingway (The Scoop) Geraldine Tracey (The Scoop) Denis Oliver (The Scoop) Beryl Blackwood (The Scoop)

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form

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.

I am okay with excluding Denis but everyone else should appear.

This is a multiple repeat request (2014-2022) but if we did not match on it is okay! On the other hand, maybe the eighth time requesting it will be the charm! This is one I will keep requesting until someone writes it!

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?

The Lady or the Tiger? - Frank Stockton

The Maiden (The Lady or the Tiger?) The Tiger (The Lady or the Tiger?)

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

So this is the kind of Yuletide fandom I just can't pass up! I'd love to hear about the lady and the tiger - are they connected? Is the tiger her pet?

Yes, this is a perfect Yuletide canon – short sweet and full of opportunities! I’d like for the lady and the tiger to be connected. How does the lady feel about all of this? Even if it means my repeats get repeated again, I had to request this one!