Yuletide 2025 - Dear Yuletide Writer...

[desertvixen]

 

Happy Seventeenth Yuletide  to Me!  I am as excited as the first one, and I hope you have a delightful time writing and reading!

My general preferences are here.  You can also use the "dear writer" tag but TBH I copy/paste letters a lot, so for fandoms I frequently request, this letter has the most updated version.

DNW: unrequested mundane AU | female characters in fridges | non-con | violent dub-con | graphic violence | gore | graphic sexual violence | cruelty/death to animals | cruelty/death to children | requested character death | unrelieved grimdark | bigotry by the good guys | first or second POV | reader fic | ABO | soulbonds | wildly OOC in a non-cracky way

SMUT DNW: creampies | the word “cunt” | anal | hate each other out of bed | underage | incest

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 2024 2025 has been rough on a lot of people, so please don't stress out too much because Yuletide will be wonderful!  2025 has had some good moments and some not-so good moments, so let's celebrate/escape  with awesome fic!  These are a mix - 1 repeat request, 1 repeat fandom, and 3 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!

 

 

The Scoop - London Detection Club 

Geraldine Tracey (The Scoop)

Amethyst Mainwaring (The Scoop)

Beryl Blackwood (The Scoop)

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags

I've requested this for a few Yuletides now, decided to shake up the characters a little. Would love a mystery and some good old fashioned women's intuition.

Interested in Beryl investigating, Amethyst being the dishy friend, and maybe Geraldine doesn't actually get murdered?

More in letter!

Before I get into the back story on this request, let me talk about the change made in the request.  I decided to drop Denis Oliver and Mr. Hemingway/”Tracey” (although I would be okay if you included Tracey) for a second year to focus more on what happens before the Lonely Bungalow murder and/or another way to solve it/save Geraldine.  Amethyst is Geraldine’s bestie, and I’d be here for her solving the mystery and trapping Mr. Tracey herself!  You can also bring in Henry Vaughan Fisher for fun.

This is a multiple repeat request (2014-2024) but if we did not match on it is okay!  On the other hand, maybe the ninth 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) Mary Sue 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...). Do the ladies manage to trap him somehow?

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.  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.

Or feel free to drag a Christie sleuth right in.  I am down for Poirot or Marple.  Or even bring in Inspector Hemingway from Heyer?  Feel free to cross over with any of the Heyer mysteries - No Wind of Blame, Envious Casca, and Unfinished Clue are all excellent choices.

 

Jem and the Holograms (Cartoon) 

Jem | Jerrica Benton (Jem Cartoon)

Rio Pacheco (Jem Cartoon)

Danielle du Voisin (Jem Cartoon)

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags

 

It's the 40th anniversary, so a Yuletide fic would be TRULY OUTRAGEOUS!

I ship Jerrica/Rio, and I would LOVE to see more from the Countess supporting them!

More in letter!

Jerrica/Rio - One of my OTPs. I love these two!  I want all 3 of these characters, but please know you can also include anyone else from the Holograms side, and I’ll enjoy it.  Maybe another  (less eventful and more romantic) evening on the Countess’ yacht?  Maybe she decides the two of them need some time alone?

For Jerrica/Rio, I like sweet or sexy.  The vibe at the end of Broadway Magic is what I am going for.

Maybe go back to the scene where Jerrica almost tells Rio, and have an AU where she DOES?

Or maybe the Countess’ reaction to finding out who Jem really is?

I do ship Danielle/Howard (like she is clearly into him).  These two TOTALLY had something going on, tell me about it.  Or maybe Jerrica catches them in a quiet moment.

 

Some more general fandom notes – feel free to use any of these as you see fit!

Aja/Craig - They stay together? They meet another way? They have a huge wedding with plenty of DRAMA?  They get back together.  They decide not to worry about their equally outrageous families and get married.  Outrageous!

Jacqui & Jerrica - I'd be totally into a Jacqui Lives AU. Maybe a mother would notice her child's secret identity.  How would this change dynamics? She can be alive at the time of the story or not, but not have her go down in that plane crash. I like to think she’d be a good addition, and see through all of Eric Raymond’s BS. Feel free to kill Emmett instead…or not.

Danse & Nadia - A story where Nadia gets found? Unsolved Mysteries meets Jem?

Forty Years of JEM, one of my first fandom loves!

For Shana/Anthony, we just see so little of them but they are clearly together and happy.  Sneaking off during videos to…collaborate maybe?

I enjoy when this fandom revels in its Eighties roots, so if you want to involve Unsolved Mysteries or some such, go for it.

 

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light 

Cryotek (Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light)

Galadria (Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light)

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags

 

I love these two together and have realized that Yuletide is perfect for the fandom. Would definitely love something shippy and maybe adventure?

I’ve been requesting this and thinking about them more, and realized that Visionaries is really well-suited to Yuletide.  It’s small, it feels like about twenty people on AO3 have even heard of it (eps are available online - 13 episodes (E1, E5, E9 and E11 are the best) and they're all on YouTube.  So for the 80s cartoons, this one gets left out a lot, possibly because it’s not on DVD, but I love it.  It had the potential to be smarter than some of the others, and there’s just something about it that works and is intriguing.

There’s a lot of room to play, a lot of depth and room to explore.  I’ve recently written a pair of longer fics (one post-canon for SFBB that has a delightful podfic, one post-canon with backstory and headcanon for Iddy Iddy Bang Bang), so feel free to check those out.

I love how evenly matched Cryotek/Galadria are.  The whole scene where we see her surprise him (and then they get interrupted by the baddies) is ripe for “like canon but make it sexier”.  But in that scene I love how they immediately slide back to back, and she is an asset, not a liability.  Please bring the shippiness. .  I love that the gruff, stern guy got the girl instead of the usual hero character.  I’m totally here for the two of them kicking some ass, getting down, meeting alternate version of themselves, having romantic sexy times.   I’m easy to please on this one.

Not a fan of damsels in distress, but sometimes a girl needs a little help.

For worldbuilding prompts: New trials at the Shrine? More knights? Are the current ones recruiting like a competition?

There’s a stupid running joke about botanical gardens that is clearly to entertain adults  but tell me about it! Perhaps each region has an area, or it ends up being like the Hanging Gardens?

I think something where they are on a joint mission and have to cooperate with Cindarr (who is not really quite so bad as the rest of the crew) would be interesting.  What do they think of him?  What does he think of them?  Channel the tag “Villain and hero both agree that hero’s loved one is delightful” and I am in.  Teaming up with their counterparts for Reasons is always entertaining.

How does PTSD affect the characters?  How did the collapse of their society impact them?  Obviously our characters coped fairly well. 

If you want to crossover with another YT-eligible 1980s cartoon fandom (such as He-Man & MOTU or Voltron 1984 or DDC, go right ahead don't let me stop you!)

If you feel like going steamy, I have some thoughts as well.

Sparring as foreplay – they hint at it in the first episode, but I feel like it is definitely a thing for them.  This is also a great place for “That one scene from canon, but make it sexier”.

Kneeling for cunnilingus – I like this one for the two of them because they’re both fairly fit, although I feel quite sure he can hold her up.

 

 

World of the Five Gods - Lois McMaster Bujold 

Annaliss dy Teneret (World of Five Gods)

Foix dy Gura (World of Five Gods)

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags  

 

I love these two, and they need a big damn kiss (I feel like they will not run short of rescues and opportunities to be grateful the other is alive, hanging around Ista)! Shippy is good, some plot is good but the kiss is required!

More in letter!

I read Paladin of Souls when I was too young to appreciate it, I think, but I always loved these two.  I forgot they only got some flirtation so give me missing scenes or further adventures, because they needed more.  Now that I am in my forties, I have a new appreciation for the book, and for these two!

These two need a big damn kiss (rescues will NOT be in short supply in their positions, I think).

The two of them getting together, punctuated by demon crises? How does Ferda respond, since he very definitely was eyeing Liss?  Working out how to adapt to having the demon – how devout a Daughter’s Man was Foix?  Liss seems willing to be adaptable.

Feel free to include Ista/Illvin as background or bad influences to Ista’s lady-in-waiting.  Down for encounters with an older Penric/Desdemona’s next rider as well.  I just want them to get together.  Feel free to take them to Court if needed.

I don’t have as many thoughts on this one – I have requested the fandom a few times for Yuletide, but I’ve character hopped a lot.  I need something good for these two, although I did greatly enjoy the Vorkosigan Saga – Chalion crossover that some delightful person created!

 

Betsy-Tacy Series - Maud Hart Lovelace 

Carney Sibley

Emily Webster

My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags

 

So I'm a late convert but I read Emily of Deep Valley and Carney's House Party, and would love to see Carney and Emily hanging out in their married lives!

More in letter!

I’ve enjoyed the visits to Deep Valley, but I particularly like these two characters.  I’m also fond of the teachers like Miss Salmon and Gwen Fowler, and I love how both of these characters were smart enough to realize their initial love interest wasn’t the right choice for them – and smart enough to know who was!

I’m pretty open on this one!