Yuletide Letter
Oct. 19th, 2025 05:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daisyninjagirlDear Yuletide Writer,
Thank you for picking something I like! I hope you have a lovely time in this exchange, and also that someones writes something just as wonderful for you.
Thank you for picking something I like! I hope you have a lovely time in this exchange, and also that someones writes something just as wonderful for you.
General Stuff About Me
I tend to enjoy more stories that are reasonably consistent with the original canon - so sequels and prequels and inbetween scenes and canon divergence AUs, and I love it when a minor character gets their story expanded or someone does a nifty bit of world building on some little detail and makes it all make sense. I think poetry and interactive fiction are supposed to be opt-in for this exchange - if you've got an idea that works best in these formats - go for it! Treats are lovely. Original characters are also fine, and I've seen some AUs and crossovers that have really blown me away, so please take this paragraph as an 'optional details are optional' section and write the story that will make you happy. The prompts I've given are also optional, please have fun with what you choose to write. Also, stories that pass the Bechdel Test Are Love.
I tend to enjoy more stories that are reasonably consistent with the original canon - so sequels and prequels and inbetween scenes and canon divergence AUs, and I love it when a minor character gets their story expanded or someone does a nifty bit of world building on some little detail and makes it all make sense. I think poetry and interactive fiction are supposed to be opt-in for this exchange - if you've got an idea that works best in these formats - go for it! Treats are lovely. Original characters are also fine, and I've seen some AUs and crossovers that have really blown me away, so please take this paragraph as an 'optional details are optional' section and write the story that will make you happy. The prompts I've given are also optional, please have fun with what you choose to write. Also, stories that pass the Bechdel Test Are Love.
Squicks and Do Not Wants
I'm seriously not into non-consensual or underage sex. I also don't like graphic torture scenes or incest, and I'm not much interested in reading a story about consensual BDSM, or where pregnancy or infertility is the main focus. I'm more interested in how characters' relationships work out with each other than erotica and I would rather not get an M or E rated story. Please don't include current world events, I want some escapism! (Ta :-) )
Rivers of London (any of Thomas Nightingale, Abigail and Indigo, Abigail and Peter)
I really enjoy how this book series has a core value of connecting. Peter Grant isn't a lone rogue hero who's off on his own - when the shit comes down, he's got the entire Metropolitan Police Force, and a suite of other allies at his back, because he earned them. There's a sense of hope here. Despite all the muckiness the characters go through, they are winning and bringing the Queen's Peace into a bit more of the world. Peter's humanist sensibilities are transforming the way that the Folly does its business. Drug addicts find a way to quit their habit, struggling people reform their lives, supporting characters find love, and there's just about always a new ally for Peter/Abigail/Kimberley/Tobias/Augustus by the end of the story. We could all do with a bit of a blessing sometimes, you know?
I've grouped my prompts by character sets, please mix and match as it suits you, and guest appearances from unnominated characters are welcome:
Abigail and Indigo (and the other foxes)
I really enjoy how the foxes have taken Abigail under their wing. I'm very curious as to why they first started being interested in her as a (cough) operational asset. Would you like to write casefic about other little problems that they sorted without bothering Peter's or Nightingale's delicate sensibilities? More history about how the foxes became the way they are? Abigail and Indigo's very special friendship?
Abigail and Peter
These two have a beautiful relationship, pretty close to older brother and younger sister, with Peter sometimes coming across as a bit flummoxed. Would you like to write some moments of care between them? Does Peter ever <i>turn up to Abigail's school</i> in his full police uniform to have a word with her teachers? How does Abigail go about looking after Peter?
Thomas Nightingale
He's a fascinating character, and I really enjoyed the <i>Masquerades of Spring</i> for showing us what he was like as a young man, with boyish good looks and slightly wild hair on top, and no hesitation in dressing up in drag if that would get the job done. More interludes throughout the years are always fun. That complicated network of Arrangements that Nightingale has with various Rivers, government organisations and members of the Demimonde - how did he develop them? I'm particularly interested in his relationship with Molly - his upstairs/downstairs friendship with her must have been frowned on in the early years, but it was also strong enough that he, a very dutiful man, would light out across the Atlantic at no notice to the Folly to make her happy. And from Moment 1 that his obligation to her was pretty much the only thing keeping him going post-War. How did their friendship start, and how did it change over time?
Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty (any of Count Lilac, Aurora, Leo)
I love this adaptation of Sleeping Beauty, which has all its characters bursting with personality, and made sure that Aurora and Leo could know and love each other before she was cursed, and especially the bit where Leo breaks the curse for the first time and... things are definitely not over. Nope, the rescue is ongoing! The first time I saw that, I practically fell out of my chair.
I would love some stories about Aurora and Leo as children - they look like best friends who teased each other until they became lovers, and I love the playfulness of their relationship. The moment where he's rescued her the second time, and is despairing because he thinks it hasn't worked, and then he's ashamed of how he's changed - and she accepts him, is so tender and beautiful. What are their lives like after the change? I'm also interested in what Leo was doing in the 100 years of the curse. Was he camping outside the gates all that time, or did he have some adventures along the way? Did Count Lilac ever turn up and assign him a little errand? Speaking of which, Lilac is a very careful dresser and Leo is always in the period equivalent of hoodie and trainer - what feelings does the Count have over this? When they're getting ready to go to the nightclub, is there a dressing up scene? Finally, Count Lilac really goes in to bat for Aurora and Leo. I'm curious as to how much of his motivations are using them to get close to Caradoc, and how much is genuine affection. And does Lilac even know?
Bride of the Rat God (Chrysanda Flamande)
1920s Hollywood? A femme fatale film star? A strait-laced English companion? Mysteries involving mysterious magical third parties? There's very much to like. I utterly adore Hambly's attention to historical detail and how it informs her plots, and how her characters always feel incredibly real in their flaws and hidden virtues.
Chrysanda is so very much extra, that I'm not surprised everyone adores her, especially with her careless selfishness that also translates to very deep kindness anytime it matters. Would you like to write the scene where she goes to England and rescues Norah? Show her progressing through her husbands? Developing her film career? Or perhaps more casefic with Norah and Alec, or just working on her next movie.
I'm seriously not into non-consensual or underage sex. I also don't like graphic torture scenes or incest, and I'm not much interested in reading a story about consensual BDSM, or where pregnancy or infertility is the main focus. I'm more interested in how characters' relationships work out with each other than erotica and I would rather not get an M or E rated story. Please don't include current world events, I want some escapism! (Ta :-) )
Rivers of London (any of Thomas Nightingale, Abigail and Indigo, Abigail and Peter)
I really enjoy how this book series has a core value of connecting. Peter Grant isn't a lone rogue hero who's off on his own - when the shit comes down, he's got the entire Metropolitan Police Force, and a suite of other allies at his back, because he earned them. There's a sense of hope here. Despite all the muckiness the characters go through, they are winning and bringing the Queen's Peace into a bit more of the world. Peter's humanist sensibilities are transforming the way that the Folly does its business. Drug addicts find a way to quit their habit, struggling people reform their lives, supporting characters find love, and there's just about always a new ally for Peter/Abigail/Kimberley/Tobias/Augustus by the end of the story. We could all do with a bit of a blessing sometimes, you know?
I've grouped my prompts by character sets, please mix and match as it suits you, and guest appearances from unnominated characters are welcome:
Abigail and Indigo (and the other foxes)
I really enjoy how the foxes have taken Abigail under their wing. I'm very curious as to why they first started being interested in her as a (cough) operational asset. Would you like to write casefic about other little problems that they sorted without bothering Peter's or Nightingale's delicate sensibilities? More history about how the foxes became the way they are? Abigail and Indigo's very special friendship?
Abigail and Peter
These two have a beautiful relationship, pretty close to older brother and younger sister, with Peter sometimes coming across as a bit flummoxed. Would you like to write some moments of care between them? Does Peter ever <i>turn up to Abigail's school</i> in his full police uniform to have a word with her teachers? How does Abigail go about looking after Peter?
Thomas Nightingale
He's a fascinating character, and I really enjoyed the <i>Masquerades of Spring</i> for showing us what he was like as a young man, with boyish good looks and slightly wild hair on top, and no hesitation in dressing up in drag if that would get the job done. More interludes throughout the years are always fun. That complicated network of Arrangements that Nightingale has with various Rivers, government organisations and members of the Demimonde - how did he develop them? I'm particularly interested in his relationship with Molly - his upstairs/downstairs friendship with her must have been frowned on in the early years, but it was also strong enough that he, a very dutiful man, would light out across the Atlantic at no notice to the Folly to make her happy. And from Moment 1 that his obligation to her was pretty much the only thing keeping him going post-War. How did their friendship start, and how did it change over time?
Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty (any of Count Lilac, Aurora, Leo)
I love this adaptation of Sleeping Beauty, which has all its characters bursting with personality, and made sure that Aurora and Leo could know and love each other before she was cursed, and especially the bit where Leo breaks the curse for the first time and... things are definitely not over. Nope, the rescue is ongoing! The first time I saw that, I practically fell out of my chair.
I would love some stories about Aurora and Leo as children - they look like best friends who teased each other until they became lovers, and I love the playfulness of their relationship. The moment where he's rescued her the second time, and is despairing because he thinks it hasn't worked, and then he's ashamed of how he's changed - and she accepts him, is so tender and beautiful. What are their lives like after the change? I'm also interested in what Leo was doing in the 100 years of the curse. Was he camping outside the gates all that time, or did he have some adventures along the way? Did Count Lilac ever turn up and assign him a little errand? Speaking of which, Lilac is a very careful dresser and Leo is always in the period equivalent of hoodie and trainer - what feelings does the Count have over this? When they're getting ready to go to the nightclub, is there a dressing up scene? Finally, Count Lilac really goes in to bat for Aurora and Leo. I'm curious as to how much of his motivations are using them to get close to Caradoc, and how much is genuine affection. And does Lilac even know?
Bride of the Rat God (Chrysanda Flamande)
1920s Hollywood? A femme fatale film star? A strait-laced English companion? Mysteries involving mysterious magical third parties? There's very much to like. I utterly adore Hambly's attention to historical detail and how it informs her plots, and how her characters always feel incredibly real in their flaws and hidden virtues.
Chrysanda is so very much extra, that I'm not surprised everyone adores her, especially with her careless selfishness that also translates to very deep kindness anytime it matters. Would you like to write the scene where she goes to England and rescues Norah? Show her progressing through her husbands? Developing her film career? Or perhaps more casefic with Norah and Alec, or just working on her next movie.
