Yuletide Letter
Oct. 12th, 2025 01:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakDear Yuletide Writer,
we share at least one fandom, which is great, and I'm really grateful you take the time and trouble to write a story for me. All the prompts are just suggestions; if you have very different ideas featuring the same central characters, go for them. Also, I enjoy a broad range from fluff to angst, so whatever suits you best works fine with me.
DNW:
- bashing of canon pairings or characters in general. By which I don't mean the characters have to like each and everyone - a great number of those I've nominated can be described as prickly jerks, among other things, and it would be entirely ic for them to say something negative about people they canonically can't stand - but there's a difference between that and the narrative giving me the impression to go along with said opinions.
- Alpha/Beta/Omega scenarios, watersports, infantilisation. Really not my thing, sorry.
Likes:
- competence, competent people appreciating each other
- deep loyalty and not blindly accepting orders
- flirting/seduction via wordplay and banter (if it works for you with the characters in question)
- for the darker push/pull dynamics: moments of tenderness and understanding in between the fighting/one upman shipping (without abandoning the anger)
- for the relationships, both non-romantic and if you like romantic, that are gentler and harmonious by nature: making it clear each has their own life and agenda as well
- some humor amidst the angst (especially if the character in question displays it in canon)
The question of AUs: depends. "What if this key canon event did not happen?" can lead to great character and dynamics exploration, some of which made it into my specific prompts, but I do want to recognize the characters. Half of those I nominated are from historical canons, and the history is part of the fascination the canon has for me. ) However, if you feel inspired to, say, write Cecily Neville, space captain, and manage to do it in a way that gives me gripping analogues to the historical situations: be my guest!
How much or how little sex: I'm cool with anything you feel comfortable with, from detailed sex to the proverbial fade out after a kiss. Or no sex at all (given that most of my prompts are non-romantic in nature), as long as the story explores the emotional dynamics in an intense way.
Cecily Duology - Annie Garthwaite
I loved, loved, loved the way these two novels - Cecily and The King's Mother - made their Cecily Neville a complex and at times utterly ruthless person in a ruthless age without falling into the trap of bashing her opposite numbers on the Lancastrian side in order to make her look better. The mentor/protegé relationship between her and Margaret Beaufort in particular was the one I never knew I needed in my Wars of the Roses fiction and no can't do without. So anything more about their relationship, focused on them, would be more than welcome. Possible prompts: Margaret's pov on events - what did she make of Cecily at first? When did she decide to go for broke and become essentially the new Cecily, aiming at nothing less than a new dynasty and her son as King? (The novel gives a good indication on what it might have been, but that's Cecily's pov, and you can but don't have to stick to it.) Did she visit Cecily in the years between Bosworth and Cecily's death? Did they become best enemies or did they somehow resurrect their friendship? Did Cecily ever confide in her the truth about George's death?
I also at times was amused and always appreciated how Annie Garthwaite wrote the relationship between Cecily and Jaquetta - with Cecily being so often annoyed by the later until she realises Jacquetta is actually the last person who knew her when they were both 16, the friend who stayed, and then Cecily stuns her sons by getting insulted on Jacquetta's behalf at supposed filial neglicence. Again, I wonder how those decades of a friendship looked from Jacquetta's pov, especially as someone who managed to remain friends with Cecily and Marguerite d'Anjou both. There must have been times - say, when Warwick had her second husband executed and put her on trial - when she wished she never met anyone named Neville and/or talked her daughter Elizabeth out of marrying Edward. Or did she think it was all worth it? Or: I'd like a missing scene between them on the wedding between Jacquetta's 20 years old son John and the 45 years older Katherine Neville, Duchess of Norfolk. Let the barbed comments fly as long as there is awareness that they've both seen it all and know each other a little too well.
Foundation (TV)
My listing of the characters here doesn't mean you have to put them all in the same story, though if you are inspired to a plot featuring Demerzel, Gaal and Hari Seldon, by all means! Still, I'd be happy with either Demerzel on the one hand, with or without Cleon, or Gaal & Hari on the other
With the third season now over, we got even more possible scenarios to play with given all tlhe reveals and encounters. So: Demerzel and Original Hari Seldon, and her deciding to let him use her memories as a basis for psychohistory - how did this come to be? And given that he must have known or found out that she was a robot in order for it to happen, he must have been really fast to convince her so her programming didn't kick in and had her go for a mindwipe at least. Demerzel and Gaal had only a few yet fascinating scenes this season, and because of how the plot happened, there couldn't be any other, but with some slight AU tweaking there might have been, and/or may still be. My theory is that Demerzel managed to download into the Prime Radiant in the finale, so the next time Gaal enters her version of it, they could talk again - what would they say, given all that happened?
Gaal and Hari(s): Gaal and Hari Prime (i.e. the one she interacts with in s1 and 2) were a favourite relationship for me, so anything set during that time would be great, but s3 managed to get me interested in Gaal and Vault!Hari as well, now that she's used him and left him right after he revealed the vulnerability beneath the smugness. Given Gaal now has done all Original Hari did, something her younger self rightfully resented, any interaction would be absolutely fascinating to me.
Demerzel and Cleon XXIV went through a fascinating arc this season, starting out with him so incredibly hostile to her and being nihilistic, insulting her at every opportunity, and ending with him as the one Cleon who did all he could to return her freedom to her and asked her forgiveness. We also got some glimpses of how the relationship went bad to begin with via the flashbacks of him as a child, asking her whether if she could she would choose freedom over them. What I would like is a story giving me the full journey of this particular Cleon vis a vis Demerzel (and connected to that, the point of his existence) - from starting to resent her for wanting freedom to eventually basically giving his life to free her, from loving her to hating her to loving her again, from regarding his existence as pointless to wanting to save humanity. Conversely, Demerzel of course has the problem that with all the Cleons, she can never know whether what she feels is programming or genuine, but she does come across as hurt early in the season at 24's relentless disdain (which none of the previous Cleons ever showed) and pointedly did not go after him when he fled, yet also showed him tenderness when he returned, and was thunderstruck at what he attempted to do, so how does his development affect her?
Lastly: Since it's now on screen canon that Demerzel IS R. Daneel Olivaw, any stories of her solving crime in addition to her many other actions would be welcome. Given that we know she pushed for Bel Riose in s2, my dream "Demerzel solves crime" scenario would be set some years pre s2 when Bel Riose first rises through the ranks, and this is how they meet.
Alien: Earth
By and large, I loved the first season, and am looking forward to the next. Given the cliffhanger ending, future fic is tricky, but: I think the relationship between Wendy/Marcy and Joe is made for the "Five Things" format, i.e. "Five ways their relationship could develop" - will he become her morality pet? Her enemy? Will they somehow manage a new sibling relationship given she has decided she is neither Marcy nor Wendy in the season finale and he not only has now seen Marcy's grave but is understandably disturbed by her amount of power?
I'm also curious about Curly/Jane, who it seems has now ditched wanting to be Kavalier's favourite in favour of her hybrid/synth identity and connections. In the bit we see of human Jane, she seems to have been unable to walk, which must have fed into her appreciation of her new synth existence. Unlike Wendy or Slightly, she shows no sign of wanting anyone from her old life back or feels connected to them - and yet, she chooses the human name "Jane" at the end. Give me her backstory, and/or what's going on with her through the season till the end. Lastly: she told Boy Kavalier she wanted to become him, so: how about a future where she manages to rise to heading on of the big Companies. (Whether in disguise as a human or not is up to you.) She's the Synth who showed neither horror nor fascination re: the Aliens so far, so I don't think she'd share in the "must have those bioweapons" credo, but otoh, she might want to put that money into synth development.
Lastly: given Kirsh's physical resemblance to Roy Batty, it really begs to be written: Alien: Earth/ Blade Runner Crossover/AU, featuring any character from both fandoms you like.
we share at least one fandom, which is great, and I'm really grateful you take the time and trouble to write a story for me. All the prompts are just suggestions; if you have very different ideas featuring the same central characters, go for them. Also, I enjoy a broad range from fluff to angst, so whatever suits you best works fine with me.
DNW:
- bashing of canon pairings or characters in general. By which I don't mean the characters have to like each and everyone - a great number of those I've nominated can be described as prickly jerks, among other things, and it would be entirely ic for them to say something negative about people they canonically can't stand - but there's a difference between that and the narrative giving me the impression to go along with said opinions.
- Alpha/Beta/Omega scenarios, watersports, infantilisation. Really not my thing, sorry.
Likes:
- competence, competent people appreciating each other
- deep loyalty and not blindly accepting orders
- flirting/seduction via wordplay and banter (if it works for you with the characters in question)
- for the darker push/pull dynamics: moments of tenderness and understanding in between the fighting/one upman shipping (without abandoning the anger)
- for the relationships, both non-romantic and if you like romantic, that are gentler and harmonious by nature: making it clear each has their own life and agenda as well
- some humor amidst the angst (especially if the character in question displays it in canon)
The question of AUs: depends. "What if this key canon event did not happen?" can lead to great character and dynamics exploration, some of which made it into my specific prompts, but I do want to recognize the characters. Half of those I nominated are from historical canons, and the history is part of the fascination the canon has for me. ) However, if you feel inspired to, say, write Cecily Neville, space captain, and manage to do it in a way that gives me gripping analogues to the historical situations: be my guest!
How much or how little sex: I'm cool with anything you feel comfortable with, from detailed sex to the proverbial fade out after a kiss. Or no sex at all (given that most of my prompts are non-romantic in nature), as long as the story explores the emotional dynamics in an intense way.
Cecily Duology - Annie Garthwaite
I loved, loved, loved the way these two novels - Cecily and The King's Mother - made their Cecily Neville a complex and at times utterly ruthless person in a ruthless age without falling into the trap of bashing her opposite numbers on the Lancastrian side in order to make her look better. The mentor/protegé relationship between her and Margaret Beaufort in particular was the one I never knew I needed in my Wars of the Roses fiction and no can't do without. So anything more about their relationship, focused on them, would be more than welcome. Possible prompts: Margaret's pov on events - what did she make of Cecily at first? When did she decide to go for broke and become essentially the new Cecily, aiming at nothing less than a new dynasty and her son as King? (The novel gives a good indication on what it might have been, but that's Cecily's pov, and you can but don't have to stick to it.) Did she visit Cecily in the years between Bosworth and Cecily's death? Did they become best enemies or did they somehow resurrect their friendship? Did Cecily ever confide in her the truth about George's death?
I also at times was amused and always appreciated how Annie Garthwaite wrote the relationship between Cecily and Jaquetta - with Cecily being so often annoyed by the later until she realises Jacquetta is actually the last person who knew her when they were both 16, the friend who stayed, and then Cecily stuns her sons by getting insulted on Jacquetta's behalf at supposed filial neglicence. Again, I wonder how those decades of a friendship looked from Jacquetta's pov, especially as someone who managed to remain friends with Cecily and Marguerite d'Anjou both. There must have been times - say, when Warwick had her second husband executed and put her on trial - when she wished she never met anyone named Neville and/or talked her daughter Elizabeth out of marrying Edward. Or did she think it was all worth it? Or: I'd like a missing scene between them on the wedding between Jacquetta's 20 years old son John and the 45 years older Katherine Neville, Duchess of Norfolk. Let the barbed comments fly as long as there is awareness that they've both seen it all and know each other a little too well.
Foundation (TV)
My listing of the characters here doesn't mean you have to put them all in the same story, though if you are inspired to a plot featuring Demerzel, Gaal and Hari Seldon, by all means! Still, I'd be happy with either Demerzel on the one hand, with or without Cleon, or Gaal & Hari on the other
With the third season now over, we got even more possible scenarios to play with given all tlhe reveals and encounters. So: Demerzel and Original Hari Seldon, and her deciding to let him use her memories as a basis for psychohistory - how did this come to be? And given that he must have known or found out that she was a robot in order for it to happen, he must have been really fast to convince her so her programming didn't kick in and had her go for a mindwipe at least. Demerzel and Gaal had only a few yet fascinating scenes this season, and because of how the plot happened, there couldn't be any other, but with some slight AU tweaking there might have been, and/or may still be. My theory is that Demerzel managed to download into the Prime Radiant in the finale, so the next time Gaal enters her version of it, they could talk again - what would they say, given all that happened?
Gaal and Hari(s): Gaal and Hari Prime (i.e. the one she interacts with in s1 and 2) were a favourite relationship for me, so anything set during that time would be great, but s3 managed to get me interested in Gaal and Vault!Hari as well, now that she's used him and left him right after he revealed the vulnerability beneath the smugness. Given Gaal now has done all Original Hari did, something her younger self rightfully resented, any interaction would be absolutely fascinating to me.
Demerzel and Cleon XXIV went through a fascinating arc this season, starting out with him so incredibly hostile to her and being nihilistic, insulting her at every opportunity, and ending with him as the one Cleon who did all he could to return her freedom to her and asked her forgiveness. We also got some glimpses of how the relationship went bad to begin with via the flashbacks of him as a child, asking her whether if she could she would choose freedom over them. What I would like is a story giving me the full journey of this particular Cleon vis a vis Demerzel (and connected to that, the point of his existence) - from starting to resent her for wanting freedom to eventually basically giving his life to free her, from loving her to hating her to loving her again, from regarding his existence as pointless to wanting to save humanity. Conversely, Demerzel of course has the problem that with all the Cleons, she can never know whether what she feels is programming or genuine, but she does come across as hurt early in the season at 24's relentless disdain (which none of the previous Cleons ever showed) and pointedly did not go after him when he fled, yet also showed him tenderness when he returned, and was thunderstruck at what he attempted to do, so how does his development affect her?
Lastly: Since it's now on screen canon that Demerzel IS R. Daneel Olivaw, any stories of her solving crime in addition to her many other actions would be welcome. Given that we know she pushed for Bel Riose in s2, my dream "Demerzel solves crime" scenario would be set some years pre s2 when Bel Riose first rises through the ranks, and this is how they meet.
Alien: Earth
By and large, I loved the first season, and am looking forward to the next. Given the cliffhanger ending, future fic is tricky, but: I think the relationship between Wendy/Marcy and Joe is made for the "Five Things" format, i.e. "Five ways their relationship could develop" - will he become her morality pet? Her enemy? Will they somehow manage a new sibling relationship given she has decided she is neither Marcy nor Wendy in the season finale and he not only has now seen Marcy's grave but is understandably disturbed by her amount of power?
I'm also curious about Curly/Jane, who it seems has now ditched wanting to be Kavalier's favourite in favour of her hybrid/synth identity and connections. In the bit we see of human Jane, she seems to have been unable to walk, which must have fed into her appreciation of her new synth existence. Unlike Wendy or Slightly, she shows no sign of wanting anyone from her old life back or feels connected to them - and yet, she chooses the human name "Jane" at the end. Give me her backstory, and/or what's going on with her through the season till the end. Lastly: she told Boy Kavalier she wanted to become him, so: how about a future where she manages to rise to heading on of the big Companies. (Whether in disguise as a human or not is up to you.) She's the Synth who showed neither horror nor fascination re: the Aliens so far, so I don't think she'd share in the "must have those bioweapons" credo, but otoh, she might want to put that money into synth development.
Lastly: given Kirsh's physical resemblance to Roy Batty, it really begs to be written: Alien: Earth/ Blade Runner Crossover/AU, featuring any character from both fandoms you like.
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Date: 2025-10-16 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-20 08:29 am (UTC)