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Dear Yuletide author,
Dear Yuletide Writer (! Just typing that is awesome!):
Thank you times infinity for being willing to dabble in one of my favourite tiny fandoms! I will try not to ramble on and on here and just provide general guidelines.
Major turn-ons for fic include characters I like being awesome in their own particular ways (be that magic users creating new spells, fighters in battle, or diplomats producing clever solutions), people from different backgrounds cooperating for a cause (that "cause" can be "being in love" if you like!), outside perspectives on relationships (Character C as the viewpoint for a romance between A and B), really understated emotional revelations, really emotional revelations :D (I'm easy!), aliens/nonhumans who are very nonhuman in terms of their thinking, worldbuilding and cultural details!
Smutwise, I love slash, het, and there's even one fandom I requested where I would happily read femmeslash. I love explicit smut, and I love fade-to-black (especially with tantalising comments being made afterward to tease me about what I missed!), and I love gen, too, because my love of a fandom is deeply tied to a love of the characters -- as long as my favourites are being happy in some way, I'm happy along with them.
Major turn-offs for fic include pregnancy (this is a genuine squick) and kidfic, rape (but I am fine with dubious-consent/"persuade me" situations and power dynamics that at-least-seem unfair), unrelieved angst/hurt/deathfic, bodily wastes, "permanent" BDSM (as in, long term or "24/7"); I'm okay with anything that won't leave permanent damage (except needles). :D
For more specific info on likes, dislikes, pairings, and kinks, please see the fandom-specific info below!
Or by fandom: commence with the rambling!
Foreigner Series - CJ Cherryh
Algini, Bren, Banichi, Jago
If you write for this series, I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER. It is SUCH a neglected fandom! I have never read sci-fi where the aliens are so unnervingly alien in psychology, even when the aliens are tentacle monsters. I love the contrast between the human appearance of the atevi, which primes humans to react and think of them in human terms, and the unknowable instincts of the atevi that make that a Very Bad Idea. You cannot go wrong if you write me fic where someone has to struggle with that conundrum and second-guess all their actions and impressions. :D
I'm a huge fan of Bren and Jago's relationship, and would love any fic of any rating that deals with them! (How do a seven- or eight-foot alien and a maybe-six-foot human manage things in bed? Did they have to go through some spectacularly failed experiments in the early days?) I would also love outside-perspective stuff, here. From the POV of Bren's aishid -- Tano, Algini, Banichi -- or from Ilisidi or Cenedi -- or from the few humans still in Bren's life: what does Toby think of Bren's partner? When did he first hear the rumours, and when did he actually believe them? Or even Shawn Tyers; does he sometimes wonder if his old friend and theoretical employee has gone too far, become "one of them"?
=======================================================
Dragaera - Steven Brust
Tazendra, Vlad, Kragar, Khaavren
This was one where I just didn't have enough space for all the characters I would love fic about. :D I went with two from each time period, not having grokked the "you must write all of them" thing; I'm so sorry! Please don't think you have to write some crazy time-travel thing in order to fit those four together. :D Pick some of their contemporaries off the "optional details" list instead.
From the Paarfi romances, it must be admitted that my adoration of the esteemed writer's style knows no bounds, and is rivalled only by my adoration -- nay, devotion -- to the character known (at least as we are first introduced to her charming person, an appellation I shall retain for the sake of avoiding confusion) as Tazendra. :D
I would love fic with Tazendra and Khaavren bantering or whatever! I love the way they balance each other and also match: they both have boundless enthusiasm, but Khaavren has a more variable mind, leaping from subject to subject, while Tazendra's is fixed in battle and honour. I don't really see them as a pair, but some friendly flirting wouldn't go amiss. I adore Pel, Aerich, Morrolan, and Sethra too; feel free to throw them in there!
From the Vlad novels, I'd adore any combination of (in rough order) Vlad, Loiosh, Kragar, Kiera the Thief, Morrolan, Sethra, Norathar, Cawti, Aliera. I'd love slash (Vlad and Kragar are ♥! And Kragar is, first, NOT Vlad's soul-sibling, as Morrolan is, and second, far too devoted for someone who pretends it's all about being paid!) :D I'm not too averse to Vlad/Morrolan, either, though; especially given their oddly opposed backgrounds -- Vlad is an Easterner born in the Empire, whose father raised him to (try to) be Dragaeran, while Morrolan was raised in the East by parents who never told him he wasn't an Easterner!
I would love fic about Kiera being all Jheregishly awesome -- give her something that's really a challenge to steal, and then tell me how she does it! Or maybe she's subtly keeping track of Vlad while he's on the run, or helping him out in some way back in Adrilankha? (Do assassins aiming for Vlad inexplicably find their weapons missing, and/or mysteriously turning up at crime scenes they were nowhere near?) :D
Or Vladfic! While I like ontherun!Vlad, I'd love some early!Vlad fic, maybe with him setting up a kill on some particularly obnoxious target (or defending his territory from an upstart)? Or even earlier: the conflict between being a titled Jhereg, link to the Orb and all, but still catching all the grief that Easterners catch for their race...
This is one of the fandoms where I would totally go for femmeslash, too -- that line in Iorich, when Cawti says that Norathar is pretty much her son's other parent? Yeah. ♥ Or even Kiera/Cawti, because Kiera is just awesome like that!
=======================================================
Black Jewels - Anne Bishop
Daemon, Rainier, Surreal, Wilhelmina
Again with me failing to note the "ALL characters must be used" thing. *facepalm* So please feel free to use anything from either the "official" list or the ones I put in the "optional" section, in any combination! I especially love Karla and Saetan and Jaenelle. :D
Listed characters first: I love Daemon and Surreal's snarky friendship and would love to see more of that -- what kinds of jobs does Surreal do for him? And how many does she bother to mention she's going to do for him? :D Does he get reports? Are some of them deeply embarrassing? I also love Daemon and Rainier's partnership, with Daemon shielding him from the necessities of court service by employing him, and the way Surreal has adopted him as her BFF to be dragged along on all her adventures. :D For any of these three, you could either go light -- zany adventures, banter, funny misunderstandings, "silly" missions (find a specific book for Jaenelle's birthday, etc.), or you could go serious -- is Daemon still wary about friendship with people who might be attracted to him, does Rainier wish his sexuality didn't make him such an outcast, or does Surreal really find running errands and interference uses her skills enough? Does Rainier ever find love, or even someone who's happy to be ogled from a distance? :D Does Surreal ever feel disappointed at not fitting in amongst her mother's people?
And Wilhelmina! Fascinating to me because she's the only born-and-bred Terreillean witch to be wholly sympathetic! Yet she doesn't fit in at first, when everyone else who "belonged" to Jaenelle took to Kaeleer like a fish to water. Does she still feel awkward? Has she found something to do at last? She and Dejaal seemed to get along pretty well -- maybe she moved to Scelt and became one of the early kindred healers? Does she still feel a pang of homesickness now and then for Chaillot? Does she ever fall in love?
I also love Karla way too much! If you pair her, please make it femmeslash -- Surreal, Wilhelmina, or ideally (for romance) an OC.
=======================================================
Hurog - Patricia Briggs
Ward, Oreg, Tisala, Tosten
Another neglected fandom, and I don't know why! It's got dragon shapeshifters, it's got a Big Dumb Hero who's not dumb at all, it's got an awesome female guardsman, it's got a love interest for the hero who can go toe to toe with him, it's got a shy, broken bard, it's got ancient curses and forgotten gods and cool fantasy cultures, and it's got a horse named Pansy! ("It hurt to write that name on the pedigree.")
All the main characters are awesome, and I would read just about anything in this universe. (If you want to write some creepy chan, write me Jakoven/Garranon or Past!Hurogmeten/Oreg, please!) Of especial interest would be Ward/Tisala/Oreg (I have a thing for couples seducing someone together), Ward/Oreg (requited or not), Ward/Tisala (rebuilding Hurog couldn't have stopped them from having some sort of honeymoon, right?), or anything with Tosten -- he's so much an outsider in these books, because while Ward loves him, he doesn't quite trust Ward, at least not unquestioningly; and though Ward loves him and wants him around, he doesn't really understand him. I'd love to see anyone trying to draw Tosten a little closer into the circle!
I'm also fascinated by the dragons, and would love to see Oreg taking advantage of his freedom to shapeshift! Is he spreading the news amongst the remaining dragons that Hurog is open once more? Is it weird to be a dragon again after so many centuries stuck in human form? (Does he find that dragon form does nothing to stop him wanting to carry off Ward, Ward+Tisala, or Tosten and seduce them?) :D A glimpse of the dragons by themselves would be great, too -- what did the first Hurog visitor think of Ward and Oreg? What's it like to them, seeing Hurog restored -- a wrongness righted at long last, or a minor inconvenience mended?
Thank you times infinity for being willing to dabble in one of my favourite tiny fandoms! I will try not to ramble on and on here and just provide general guidelines.
Major turn-ons for fic include characters I like being awesome in their own particular ways (be that magic users creating new spells, fighters in battle, or diplomats producing clever solutions), people from different backgrounds cooperating for a cause (that "cause" can be "being in love" if you like!), outside perspectives on relationships (Character C as the viewpoint for a romance between A and B), really understated emotional revelations, really emotional revelations :D (I'm easy!), aliens/nonhumans who are very nonhuman in terms of their thinking, worldbuilding and cultural details!
Smutwise, I love slash, het, and there's even one fandom I requested where I would happily read femmeslash. I love explicit smut, and I love fade-to-black (especially with tantalising comments being made afterward to tease me about what I missed!), and I love gen, too, because my love of a fandom is deeply tied to a love of the characters -- as long as my favourites are being happy in some way, I'm happy along with them.
Major turn-offs for fic include pregnancy (this is a genuine squick) and kidfic, rape (but I am fine with dubious-consent/"persuade me" situations and power dynamics that at-least-seem unfair), unrelieved angst/hurt/deathfic, bodily wastes, "permanent" BDSM (as in, long term or "24/7"); I'm okay with anything that won't leave permanent damage (except needles). :D
For more specific info on likes, dislikes, pairings, and kinks, please see the fandom-specific info below!
Or by fandom: commence with the rambling!
Foreigner Series - CJ Cherryh
Algini, Bren, Banichi, Jago
If you write for this series, I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER. It is SUCH a neglected fandom! I have never read sci-fi where the aliens are so unnervingly alien in psychology, even when the aliens are tentacle monsters. I love the contrast between the human appearance of the atevi, which primes humans to react and think of them in human terms, and the unknowable instincts of the atevi that make that a Very Bad Idea. You cannot go wrong if you write me fic where someone has to struggle with that conundrum and second-guess all their actions and impressions. :D
I'm a huge fan of Bren and Jago's relationship, and would love any fic of any rating that deals with them! (How do a seven- or eight-foot alien and a maybe-six-foot human manage things in bed? Did they have to go through some spectacularly failed experiments in the early days?) I would also love outside-perspective stuff, here. From the POV of Bren's aishid -- Tano, Algini, Banichi -- or from Ilisidi or Cenedi -- or from the few humans still in Bren's life: what does Toby think of Bren's partner? When did he first hear the rumours, and when did he actually believe them? Or even Shawn Tyers; does he sometimes wonder if his old friend and theoretical employee has gone too far, become "one of them"?
Dragaera - Steven Brust
Tazendra, Vlad, Kragar, Khaavren
This was one where I just didn't have enough space for all the characters I would love fic about. :D I went with two from each time period, not having grokked the "you must write all of them" thing; I'm so sorry! Please don't think you have to write some crazy time-travel thing in order to fit those four together. :D Pick some of their contemporaries off the "optional details" list instead.
From the Paarfi romances, it must be admitted that my adoration of the esteemed writer's style knows no bounds, and is rivalled only by my adoration -- nay, devotion -- to the character known (at least as we are first introduced to her charming person, an appellation I shall retain for the sake of avoiding confusion) as Tazendra. :D
I would love fic with Tazendra and Khaavren bantering or whatever! I love the way they balance each other and also match: they both have boundless enthusiasm, but Khaavren has a more variable mind, leaping from subject to subject, while Tazendra's is fixed in battle and honour. I don't really see them as a pair, but some friendly flirting wouldn't go amiss. I adore Pel, Aerich, Morrolan, and Sethra too; feel free to throw them in there!
From the Vlad novels, I'd adore any combination of (in rough order) Vlad, Loiosh, Kragar, Kiera the Thief, Morrolan, Sethra, Norathar, Cawti, Aliera. I'd love slash (Vlad and Kragar are ♥! And Kragar is, first, NOT Vlad's soul-sibling, as Morrolan is, and second, far too devoted for someone who pretends it's all about being paid!) :D I'm not too averse to Vlad/Morrolan, either, though; especially given their oddly opposed backgrounds -- Vlad is an Easterner born in the Empire, whose father raised him to (try to) be Dragaeran, while Morrolan was raised in the East by parents who never told him he wasn't an Easterner!
I would love fic about Kiera being all Jheregishly awesome -- give her something that's really a challenge to steal, and then tell me how she does it! Or maybe she's subtly keeping track of Vlad while he's on the run, or helping him out in some way back in Adrilankha? (Do assassins aiming for Vlad inexplicably find their weapons missing, and/or mysteriously turning up at crime scenes they were nowhere near?) :D
Or Vladfic! While I like ontherun!Vlad, I'd love some early!Vlad fic, maybe with him setting up a kill on some particularly obnoxious target (or defending his territory from an upstart)? Or even earlier: the conflict between being a titled Jhereg, link to the Orb and all, but still catching all the grief that Easterners catch for their race...
This is one of the fandoms where I would totally go for femmeslash, too -- that line in Iorich, when Cawti says that Norathar is pretty much her son's other parent? Yeah. ♥ Or even Kiera/Cawti, because Kiera is just awesome like that!
Black Jewels - Anne Bishop
Daemon, Rainier, Surreal, Wilhelmina
Again with me failing to note the "ALL characters must be used" thing. *facepalm* So please feel free to use anything from either the "official" list or the ones I put in the "optional" section, in any combination! I especially love Karla and Saetan and Jaenelle. :D
Listed characters first: I love Daemon and Surreal's snarky friendship and would love to see more of that -- what kinds of jobs does Surreal do for him? And how many does she bother to mention she's going to do for him? :D Does he get reports? Are some of them deeply embarrassing? I also love Daemon and Rainier's partnership, with Daemon shielding him from the necessities of court service by employing him, and the way Surreal has adopted him as her BFF to be dragged along on all her adventures. :D For any of these three, you could either go light -- zany adventures, banter, funny misunderstandings, "silly" missions (find a specific book for Jaenelle's birthday, etc.), or you could go serious -- is Daemon still wary about friendship with people who might be attracted to him, does Rainier wish his sexuality didn't make him such an outcast, or does Surreal really find running errands and interference uses her skills enough? Does Rainier ever find love, or even someone who's happy to be ogled from a distance? :D Does Surreal ever feel disappointed at not fitting in amongst her mother's people?
And Wilhelmina! Fascinating to me because she's the only born-and-bred Terreillean witch to be wholly sympathetic! Yet she doesn't fit in at first, when everyone else who "belonged" to Jaenelle took to Kaeleer like a fish to water. Does she still feel awkward? Has she found something to do at last? She and Dejaal seemed to get along pretty well -- maybe she moved to Scelt and became one of the early kindred healers? Does she still feel a pang of homesickness now and then for Chaillot? Does she ever fall in love?
I also love Karla way too much! If you pair her, please make it femmeslash -- Surreal, Wilhelmina, or ideally (for romance) an OC.
Hurog - Patricia Briggs
Ward, Oreg, Tisala, Tosten
Another neglected fandom, and I don't know why! It's got dragon shapeshifters, it's got a Big Dumb Hero who's not dumb at all, it's got an awesome female guardsman, it's got a love interest for the hero who can go toe to toe with him, it's got a shy, broken bard, it's got ancient curses and forgotten gods and cool fantasy cultures, and it's got a horse named Pansy! ("It hurt to write that name on the pedigree.")
All the main characters are awesome, and I would read just about anything in this universe. (If you want to write some creepy chan, write me Jakoven/Garranon or Past!Hurogmeten/Oreg, please!) Of especial interest would be Ward/Tisala/Oreg (I have a thing for couples seducing someone together), Ward/Oreg (requited or not), Ward/Tisala (rebuilding Hurog couldn't have stopped them from having some sort of honeymoon, right?), or anything with Tosten -- he's so much an outsider in these books, because while Ward loves him, he doesn't quite trust Ward, at least not unquestioningly; and though Ward loves him and wants him around, he doesn't really understand him. I'd love to see anyone trying to draw Tosten a little closer into the circle!
I'm also fascinated by the dragons, and would love to see Oreg taking advantage of his freedom to shapeshift! Is he spreading the news amongst the remaining dragons that Hurog is open once more? Is it weird to be a dragon again after so many centuries stuck in human form? (Does he find that dragon form does nothing to stop him wanting to carry off Ward, Ward+Tisala, or Tosten and seduce them?) :D A glimpse of the dragons by themselves would be great, too -- what did the first Hurog visitor think of Ward and Oreg? What's it like to them, seeing Hurog restored -- a wrongness righted at long last, or a minor inconvenience mended?