Dear Yuletide Author (2024)

[opalmatrix]

Thank you for writing me a story for Yuletide! My biggest request is no tragedies, no darkness unless followed by light. I have a rough time emotionally when the days are short, and I think we could all use a little light and brightness these days. But, contrariwise, I am a definite believer in the idea that tensions or even pain make a sweet ending better, so go for salt caramel or even black licorice rather than cotton candy.

Have some optional details about what I like and don't like in a story.

Preferences

I Don't Like:

• Sickly-sweet, coy, cutesy romantic stuff (anything in the "tee-hee-hee, is he looking at me?" category is definitely out)
• Extensive use of epithets, or epithets that don't match the character POV (no one should think of his or her long-time lover as "the green-eyed man," for example): these will throw me right out of a story
• Characters acting out of character, especially if the purpose is to force them into a relationship (doubly bad if that relationship is romantic or sexual)
• By-the-numbers, every-action-described sex (a/k/a Ikea Erotica - link goes to TVTropes). Note that actual sex is fine (I love me some sexy stories) — just don't like it when the descriptions turn into a set of exact stage directions.
• Mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), hatesex. Dubcon is OK, especially the sort when the reluctant partner really wants the other person but is just not quite feeling ready yet or doesn't think se wants it in this particular way but gets off on it anyway.
• Humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover
• A/B/O and related kinks/tropes, incest (unless canon), scat/watersports/emetophilia, tentacles, non-human genitalia.

I Like:

• Strong characterization (including character-appropriate dialog: no earthy, uneducated characters using $100 words)
• Positive emotional payoffs that are well-earned
• Passions that are strong without being mushy/fluffy
• Moments of realization — satori
• Friendships - although I am a romantic person, not every relationship must be romantic (I do like the trope of friends becoming lovers, however)
• Families of choice and/or nakama (true companions)
• Wry and even dark humor in the course of a more serious story
• And I like any of the following "cool bits":
  • for Yuletide, wintery/solstice seasonal details where possible but not overtly religious except if it goes with the canon (so the real winter holiday in Japan is New Year's, although Christmas as a non-religious festival has showed up in large cities) (note that I'm Jewish but I do attend friends' Christmas events)
  • hurt-comfort
  • being cozy indoors when it's rainy or snowing
  • senses of smell and touch and memories attached to them
  • warm and oversized bathrobes/dressing gowns or sweaters/jerseys
  • impulsive acts of valor (especially on behalf of the weak or an underdog)
  • an autumn leaf or item of clothing as the only bit of color in a bleak landscape
  • the sound of music from a distance, including music the amplifies the emotional mood of the scene (note that I am Old - 66 this year - and don't always know current popular music)
  • food porn
  • finding in a fight that one's ally feels like a protective wall
  • cynics with secretly soft hearts
  • drops of water or snowflakes clinging to hair and/or skin
  • leaning comfortably against a friend or lover; feeling them chuckle or speak
  • in-jokes among family members or close friends: silly things that make them laugh but that would be senseless to others
  • shopping or low-tension planning scenes, where people are working together to pick things out
  • caper-type operations: crazy elaborate plans that work out well in the end, especially if parts of them are silly/funny
  • unexpected gifts that turn out to be Just Right
  • snark, whether on the part of the narrator or from a character (this should not be *mean*, just apt and funny)
  • a high-control/driven person being persuaded to slow down and enjoy

I'm quite content with both straight and gay relationships. I do tend to ship the canon relationships, unless it's a character who has had no clear relationships shown in the story. I'm not comfortable with sexual relationships shown in children under the age of, say, 14 or so, and even then it's better in context (teens with other teens or in a societal setting where girls expect to marry by 16-18 anyway).

Fandoms and Prompts

Alliance-Union - C. J. Cherryh

Adventure and perhaps a little personal melodrama for the Norway crew as the Company Wars wind down and the Beyond tries to reach a new normal. It could involve action against the last Mazianni hold-outs, or a tense trip to Sol System to deal with the establishment of some kind of detente (or even before that, a very fraught mission to save Sol System, or at least parts of it, from destruction at the weapons of its former Fleet). It could involve a warship's crew and officers adjusting to being nothing but high-powered cops, or running as protection for an exploration mission. Or recruiting and training new crew from among the merchanters and their only base, or re-taking one of the stations lost to Cyteen and then perhaps abandoned because it was too far out.

And perhaps those possible significant events are just the background, the great adventures are only important in the effect they have on the characters, and the story actually focuses on crew members and friends. All of these characters should at least "walk on" during the course of the story, but feel free to focus on whomever seem right for the tale you're telling. And please include anyone else whom you need for your cast (for example, Sal Aboujib, Signy Mallory, Di Janz, or Almarshad from Hellburner, etc.).

Chalion Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold

I love the way Pen, in some ways the logical and analytical representative of the 21st-century reader, keeps running into the gods, sometimes in person. The Bastard is understandable, but Pen's encountered the Son in person twice! (And even scolded Him in "Knot of Shadows.")

The story should be a mystery, of course: this is, at heart, a mystery series. And though I've suggested the Mother as a god whom Penric has not yet encountered face to face, it could be any of the Five - or none. Penric's family and friends are fair game, if you want to revisit them: Nikys, Adelis, all three kids, the Corva sisters - Bujold has given us such a great supporting cast. And I love the worldbuilding around the saints, petty and major. Other "sensitives" have been implied as well. I'd love to learn your own ideas in these areas through your story.

Curtain Up | Theater Shoes - Noel Streatfeild

I love the character of Uncle Mose Cohen, who is clearly Jewish (not just his name, but also his "vell, vell, vell!" shtick and how he wanted the kids to buy books with the money he gives them at the holidays) and Miriam was great too, in her older-than-her-age views and sheer intensity. I'm interested in Mose and Lindsay Warren's relationship. How did they meet? Or, how did her family react when they heard she was marrying a Jewish music hall comic? Has Mose been practicing his religion at all since his marriage? Or has he talked to his daughter about it? Tell me about these or any related topics (or honestly, something you come up with yourself is great too).

I've put Holly in because she and Miriam were becoming such good friends. If you want to do future fic, you could use Mose's viewpoint on their maturing careers - Miriam as a dancer, Holly as a comedian. If you'd rather look at Mose and Lindsey's love story, then the youngsters probably won't actually appear "on screen."

We Could Be So Good - Cat Sebastian

I surprised myself with how much I liked both books (also You Should Be So Lucky) because romances are not really my thing. I'd like future fic: roll the relationship(s) forward. A story that references the current events of the time would be great, but it could just be a cuddly-sweet slice-of-life if that's your jam.

Does Nick surprise Andy by suggesting a summer trip to Provincetown, MA (already a gay Mecca by the time of these books, and we visit it every summer)? Do any of Nick's family members ever reconcile themselves to his relationship with Andy (maybe Sal has a gay college classmate who needs help)? Is there ever a cozy holiday celebration of some sort with Andy's father before it's too late? You may have ideas of your own, too.

What about the 1969 Stonewall Riots, so close to Nick's apartment (Google says an 8 min. walk), or lesser NYC gay milestones, like the opening of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop? Do they get involved with the post-Stonewall establishment of either the Gay Liberation Front or its rival organization the Gay Activist Alliance? Or with the first NYC Pride parade? You may have ideas of your own, too.

Feel free to include Eddie O'Leary along with Mark Bailey, and any of the rich supporting cast from this book or its semi-sequel. Maybe check out the little side-story/more details material that the author had via her website as a treat for those who subscribe to her newsletter (I have read it), and she has a map of significant locations (including Nick's apartment) on the site as well.

Witch King - Martha Wells

I've got two different concepts here, and either would make me happy.

One is some more about Kaiisteron when he was Kai-Enna, a child of the Kentdessa Saredi. It might include his being dispatched from the Underworld to occupy Enna's body (including admonitions about not marrying but having babies), meeting witches for the first time and experiencing how they fit into the demon-Saredi community, or maybe just some worldbuilding and family/clan feelings. This could of course include Arn-Nefa (Arnsterath) and Kai's almost-brother, almost-betrothed Adeni.

The other is the big blank space between the terrifying past that made Kai the being he is and the current era of Rising World politics. At one point, we see a bit of the place that's now home for Kai and his friends, Avagantum, and meet (from a distance) Ziede's daughter Tanis. Although I realize that filling in this space with your ideas might easily result in canon overtaking what you write (because I have a feeling that the next book, Queen Demon, might be focused on Ziede), I still have a yen for some more about this place and this found family. Did Bashasa grant them this place? What was it like, establishing themselves there and making it their home? Feel free to bring in other cast members who would enhance your story.

きのう何食べた? | Kinou Nani Tabeta? | What Did You Eat Yesterday?

The manga is set up as a series of little vignettes throughout the years once they become an established couple, so there's lots of room to tuck a new story in around the edges. I don't really want Shiro's recipes in this. I want focus on their relationship, and I'd love a bit of a return to Yoshinaga-sensei's spicy early yaoi manga, like Ichigenme... The First Class is Civil Law, although I realize that not everyone enjoys writing that - don't push yourself if that's not in your comfort zone.

I'd love a seasonal story: snowy weather, dark but cozy days, special foods of the season, coming in from the cold and being greeted by a partner with hot foods, a warm robe, and a bath. Check out my "cool bits" list above for more inspiration.