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Dear Yuletide Writer 2019
Dear Yuletide writer,
First of all, thank you for writing me a story in our shared fandom! These fandoms are all very dear to my heart and I'm excited to see what you will come up with. I can be found on AO3 as deliarium.
General likes: introspective character studies and backstories, complex and intense relationships, hurt/comfort, angst (with happy ending), humor and clever dialogue (when appropriate), historical detail, competency, loyalty, tender caretaking, pining (mutual or unidirectional), characters undergoing some sort of emotional journey or transformation throughout the story, characters grappling with their feelings or with difficult situations, characters working through past trauma or emotional baggage, unstated/understated feelings and emotions, quiet expressions of intimacy or vulnerability.
The Charioteer - Mary Renault
Ralph Lanyon, Laurie Odell, Alec Deacon
This is an OR request, so you do not need to include every character.
Ship likes: I like Ralph/Laurie, pre-canon Ralph/Alec, and Alec/Sandy. I don't have particular post-canon shipping preferences for Alec (Sandy, OMC, or single & mingling Alec are all fine).
The Charioteer is one of my all-time favorite books, and a perennial request for me as I can never get enough of stories set in this universe. I would love any story about these characters - pre-canon backstories, missing moments during the book, canon-divergent AUs, domestic fluff, plot-driven fic, shameless smut, snapshots of their lives during or after the war, etc. All I really ask is a) no character deaths for any of the three, b) Ralph and Laurie are still together by the end (unless it’s a pre-canon fic, of course), and c) the conclusion is relatively happy/hopeful. I generally prefer stories in the canon setting, but if you happen to have a really good idea for an AU that stays true to the characters, I’d be happy to read it.
Possible ideas:
- Ralph fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic and exchanging letters with Laurie throughout the war.
- Ralph temporarily being missing-in-action/captured/presumed (but not actually) dead at some point during the war, and Alec helping Laurie cope through it.
- Anything about Alec's medical career during or after the war. Maybe dealing with a difficult case in hospital, or trying to balance his professional obligations with his personal and social life as a gay man.
- Ralph and Laurie learning to navigate their shared life together, and Laurie becoming more familiar with the Bridstow gay community (perhaps even acquiring a slightly more sympathetic view of its members than Renault allowed).
- Ralph, Laurie, and Alec reacting to the passage of the Sexual Offenses Act of 1967.
- Alec POV fic on the events of the novel, or his break-up with Ralph.
- Something that more explicitly fills in one of the fade-to-black moments in the novel (e.g. "come and say goodbye to me," wedding night, "conditions best suited of all to unreserve").
- Anything with supernatural/magical realism elements - maybe Ralph discovers he has a *literal* healing gift and can treat people by touch; Alec has to deal with some strange paranormal epidemic sweeping across Bridstow (e.g. people turning into vampires/werewolves/etc.); Harry Potter cross-over/fusion AU.
- Detective mystery: maybe a blackmailer or serial killer is targeting members of the Bridstow gay community, and Ralph or Alec decides to do some amateur sleuthing?
- Ralph's adventures at sea in the years after he left school.
- Laurie and Ralph getting a dog together (because Laurie deserves another dog!). I like to headcanon that Laurie has more experience with taking care of pets than Ralph does, but Ralph has a huge soft spot for animals.
DNWs: major character death, sexual assault, infidelity (other than references to canon/canon-typical infidelity, in Alec's case), domestic abuse, graphic torture, tragic endings, breaking up or killing off Ralph/Laurie in post-canon fic, focus on unrequested pairings, modern/mundane AUs.
Hilary Tamar Mysteries - Sarah Caudwell
Julia Larwood, Selena Jardine, Desmond Ragwort, Michael Cantrip
This is an OR request, so you do not need to include every character.
Ship likes: I am very much a multi-shipper with respect to this fandom and am open to various permutations and poly arrangements (in no particular order): Julia/Selena, Selena/Sebastian, Julia/Selena/Sebastian, Ragwort/Cantrip, Julia/Ragwort, Julia/Cantrip, Julia/Ragwort/Cantrip, Julia/Selena/Ragwort/Cantrip, Ragwort/Terry Carver.
These books are always a huge comfort read for me, and I'd just love a light-hearted story in the same delightfully whimsical vein as the novels. There's so little fic out there I'd be happy with almost anything, really: shippy fic, gen or friendship fic, casefic, workplace shenanigans, holiday/seasonal fic, smut, fantastical AUs, you name it. I love all these characters deeply - all their humor and ridiculous capers, their hyper-competence at their professions, and their marked affection for each other - and I would be thrilled with a story about any one of them.
Possible ideas:
- Fake dating for a case! Possibly involving Julia/Selena, Julia/Ragwort, or Ragwort/Cantrip.
- I really adore Selena and Sebastian's canon relationship, especially the glimpse of it we get in The Shortest Way to Hades. Perhaps more of their sailing adventures, background into how they met and got together, and/or Selena using Sebastian as an "instrument of sensual gratification" (to quote Ragwort)?
- Ragwort finally agrees to a date with Julia - how does it go?
- Anything about Julia and Cantrip when they were dating, up to and including the infamous spider incident on April 1. Or the two of them working on that ridiculous novel they were writing together in The Sirens Sang of Murder.
- Anything about Ragwort and Cantrip's relationship or Julia and Selena's relationship, whether as friends, friends with benefits, or boyfriends/girlfriends.
- Julia, Selena, and Ragwort when they were students at Oxford under Hilary's tutelage.
- The OT4 working on a case together or relaxing outside of work.
- I was honestly kind of shipping Ragwort with Terry Carver in The Sibyl in Her Grave, so perhaps more of their relationship, whether platonic or romantic? (Plus or minus Terry's cross-dressing habit.)
- An AU with the characters working in a different profession (medicine, politics, journalism, etc.)
- Anything with supernatural/magical realism elements!
- One of my favorite parts of the series is when Julia and Selena inadvertently get high at the orgy in The Shortest Way to Hades, and how Selena's way of giving in to pleasure is sitting alone on the sofa reading Pride and Prejudice. :D I'd love to see another take on an orgy scene with these characters (with Ragwort and Cantrip, for instance).
DNWs: major character deaths, unhappy/tragic endings, rape/sexual assault, infidelity (open relationships are fine).
Secret History - Donna Tartt
Francis Abernathy, Henry Winter, Camilla Macaulay, Charles Macaulay
This is an OR request, so you do not need to include every character.
Ship likes: I tend to be most interested in Henry/Camilla, Henry/Richard, Francis/Charles, or Francis/Henry. Lesbian or bisexual Camilla interpretations are also very welcome (Camilla/Judy would be lovely, or any f/f, really). I'd prefer not to have a story centered specifically around romantic Charles/Camilla, though I'm not asking you to ignore the incestuous aspect of their relationship, more not to have it as the focus.
This is another perennial request! I'd like a story that explores the complicated and dysfunctional dynamics between any of these characters, especially in a way that the reader doesn't get to see due to the limits of Richard's (highly unreliable) narration. I am definitely open to twisted, unhealthy codependency, love-hate relationships, manipulativeness, over-idealization, or other similarly fucked up relationship dynamics. For this fandom I am also perfectly okay with angst, violence, darkfic, or unhappy/bittersweet endings, as befitting the tone of the novel.
Possible ideas:
- Anything set in the aftermath of the bacchanal, while Richard is still unaware and the others are still grappling with the direness of their situation. I would particularly be interested in seeing the subtle changes in all their relationships due to the life-altering experience they shared, which may not be apparent to Richard.
- A post-canon story with Richard, Francis, Charles, and Camilla encountering each other years later, their lives by now greatly diverged, but unresolved feelings and tensions still linger.
- Henry and Camilla's relationship throughout the novel, from Camilla's view.
- Anything really from Camilla's perspective, especially something that shows a deeper side of her that Richard and the other boys don't (or refuse to) see.
- Henry or Francis’s POV during the last third of the book, as Charles deteriorates and Camilla goes to Henry for protection.
- Anything exploring Henry and Richard's relationship. Richard is obviously fascinated by Henry in a Nick Carraway-like fashion, but what does Henry really think of Richard? Was he manipulating Richard towards the end of the book (as Charles seems to think)? Alternatively, a Rope-inspired AU where Henry persuades Richard to commit a murder with him.
- Anything about Charles and Francis. We get Francis's side of the story wrt their occasional flings, but what is Charles's take on it?
- A "Gone Girl"-style AU where Camilla fakes her death or is secretly the one pulling the strings.
- Francis & Camilla friendship fic, or perhaps an AU where Francis marries Camilla instead in a lavender marriage.
- Francis 5, 10, or 15 years into the future, still haunted by memories of his past.
- True crime podcast episode(s) delving into the unexplained death of Bunny Corcoran and the supposedly unrelated murder of a Vermont farmer.
DNWs: non-canonical major character deaths, sexual assault (dubcon e.g. where both parties are under the influence of drugs/alcohol is ok, but please nothing explicitly non-consensual), focus on unrequested pairings, modern/mundane AUs.
First of all, thank you for writing me a story in our shared fandom! These fandoms are all very dear to my heart and I'm excited to see what you will come up with. I can be found on AO3 as deliarium.
General likes: introspective character studies and backstories, complex and intense relationships, hurt/comfort, angst (with happy ending), humor and clever dialogue (when appropriate), historical detail, competency, loyalty, tender caretaking, pining (mutual or unidirectional), characters undergoing some sort of emotional journey or transformation throughout the story, characters grappling with their feelings or with difficult situations, characters working through past trauma or emotional baggage, unstated/understated feelings and emotions, quiet expressions of intimacy or vulnerability.
Sexual content: Feel free to include it if you wish, though certainly don't feel obligated to. I am fine with any level of explicitness; see my Yuleporn post for more specific details on smut likes/dislikes. I'd prefer not to read anything non-consensual.
The provided prompts are merely suggestions; if you happen to think of another idea that you are really burning to write, please go on ahead! If you need clarification on anything (including DNWs), don’t hesitate to shoot me a question through the mods. Also I have recycled some prompts from older exchange letters here, but if you happen to see a prompt in a past letter that you'd like to try and that isn't here, I'm perfectly okay with you writing for that instead.The Charioteer - Mary Renault
Ralph Lanyon, Laurie Odell, Alec Deacon
This is an OR request, so you do not need to include every character.
Ship likes: I like Ralph/Laurie, pre-canon Ralph/Alec, and Alec/Sandy. I don't have particular post-canon shipping preferences for Alec (Sandy, OMC, or single & mingling Alec are all fine).
The Charioteer is one of my all-time favorite books, and a perennial request for me as I can never get enough of stories set in this universe. I would love any story about these characters - pre-canon backstories, missing moments during the book, canon-divergent AUs, domestic fluff, plot-driven fic, shameless smut, snapshots of their lives during or after the war, etc. All I really ask is a) no character deaths for any of the three, b) Ralph and Laurie are still together by the end (unless it’s a pre-canon fic, of course), and c) the conclusion is relatively happy/hopeful. I generally prefer stories in the canon setting, but if you happen to have a really good idea for an AU that stays true to the characters, I’d be happy to read it.
Possible ideas:
- Ralph fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic and exchanging letters with Laurie throughout the war.
- Ralph temporarily being missing-in-action/captured/presumed (but not actually) dead at some point during the war, and Alec helping Laurie cope through it.
- Anything about Alec's medical career during or after the war. Maybe dealing with a difficult case in hospital, or trying to balance his professional obligations with his personal and social life as a gay man.
- Ralph and Laurie learning to navigate their shared life together, and Laurie becoming more familiar with the Bridstow gay community (perhaps even acquiring a slightly more sympathetic view of its members than Renault allowed).
- Ralph, Laurie, and Alec reacting to the passage of the Sexual Offenses Act of 1967.
- Alec POV fic on the events of the novel, or his break-up with Ralph.
- Something that more explicitly fills in one of the fade-to-black moments in the novel (e.g. "come and say goodbye to me," wedding night, "conditions best suited of all to unreserve").
- Anything with supernatural/magical realism elements - maybe Ralph discovers he has a *literal* healing gift and can treat people by touch; Alec has to deal with some strange paranormal epidemic sweeping across Bridstow (e.g. people turning into vampires/werewolves/etc.); Harry Potter cross-over/fusion AU.
- Detective mystery: maybe a blackmailer or serial killer is targeting members of the Bridstow gay community, and Ralph or Alec decides to do some amateur sleuthing?
- Ralph's adventures at sea in the years after he left school.
- Laurie and Ralph getting a dog together (because Laurie deserves another dog!). I like to headcanon that Laurie has more experience with taking care of pets than Ralph does, but Ralph has a huge soft spot for animals.
DNWs: major character death, sexual assault, infidelity (other than references to canon/canon-typical infidelity, in Alec's case), domestic abuse, graphic torture, tragic endings, breaking up or killing off Ralph/Laurie in post-canon fic, focus on unrequested pairings, modern/mundane AUs.
Hilary Tamar Mysteries - Sarah Caudwell
Julia Larwood, Selena Jardine, Desmond Ragwort, Michael Cantrip
This is an OR request, so you do not need to include every character.
Ship likes: I am very much a multi-shipper with respect to this fandom and am open to various permutations and poly arrangements (in no particular order): Julia/Selena, Selena/Sebastian, Julia/Selena/Sebastian, Ragwort/Cantrip, Julia/Ragwort, Julia/Cantrip, Julia/Ragwort/Cantrip, Julia/Selena/Ragwort/Cantrip, Ragwort/Terry Carver.
These books are always a huge comfort read for me, and I'd just love a light-hearted story in the same delightfully whimsical vein as the novels. There's so little fic out there I'd be happy with almost anything, really: shippy fic, gen or friendship fic, casefic, workplace shenanigans, holiday/seasonal fic, smut, fantastical AUs, you name it. I love all these characters deeply - all their humor and ridiculous capers, their hyper-competence at their professions, and their marked affection for each other - and I would be thrilled with a story about any one of them.
Possible ideas:
- Fake dating for a case! Possibly involving Julia/Selena, Julia/Ragwort, or Ragwort/Cantrip.
- I really adore Selena and Sebastian's canon relationship, especially the glimpse of it we get in The Shortest Way to Hades. Perhaps more of their sailing adventures, background into how they met and got together, and/or Selena using Sebastian as an "instrument of sensual gratification" (to quote Ragwort)?
- Ragwort finally agrees to a date with Julia - how does it go?
- Anything about Julia and Cantrip when they were dating, up to and including the infamous spider incident on April 1. Or the two of them working on that ridiculous novel they were writing together in The Sirens Sang of Murder.
- Anything about Ragwort and Cantrip's relationship or Julia and Selena's relationship, whether as friends, friends with benefits, or boyfriends/girlfriends.
- Julia, Selena, and Ragwort when they were students at Oxford under Hilary's tutelage.
- The OT4 working on a case together or relaxing outside of work.
- I was honestly kind of shipping Ragwort with Terry Carver in The Sibyl in Her Grave, so perhaps more of their relationship, whether platonic or romantic? (Plus or minus Terry's cross-dressing habit.)
- An AU with the characters working in a different profession (medicine, politics, journalism, etc.)
- Anything with supernatural/magical realism elements!
- One of my favorite parts of the series is when Julia and Selena inadvertently get high at the orgy in The Shortest Way to Hades, and how Selena's way of giving in to pleasure is sitting alone on the sofa reading Pride and Prejudice. :D I'd love to see another take on an orgy scene with these characters (with Ragwort and Cantrip, for instance).
DNWs: major character deaths, unhappy/tragic endings, rape/sexual assault, infidelity (open relationships are fine).
Secret History - Donna Tartt
Francis Abernathy, Henry Winter, Camilla Macaulay, Charles Macaulay
This is an OR request, so you do not need to include every character.
Ship likes: I tend to be most interested in Henry/Camilla, Henry/Richard, Francis/Charles, or Francis/Henry. Lesbian or bisexual Camilla interpretations are also very welcome (Camilla/Judy would be lovely, or any f/f, really). I'd prefer not to have a story centered specifically around romantic Charles/Camilla, though I'm not asking you to ignore the incestuous aspect of their relationship, more not to have it as the focus.
This is another perennial request! I'd like a story that explores the complicated and dysfunctional dynamics between any of these characters, especially in a way that the reader doesn't get to see due to the limits of Richard's (highly unreliable) narration. I am definitely open to twisted, unhealthy codependency, love-hate relationships, manipulativeness, over-idealization, or other similarly fucked up relationship dynamics. For this fandom I am also perfectly okay with angst, violence, darkfic, or unhappy/bittersweet endings, as befitting the tone of the novel.
Possible ideas:
- Anything set in the aftermath of the bacchanal, while Richard is still unaware and the others are still grappling with the direness of their situation. I would particularly be interested in seeing the subtle changes in all their relationships due to the life-altering experience they shared, which may not be apparent to Richard.
- A post-canon story with Richard, Francis, Charles, and Camilla encountering each other years later, their lives by now greatly diverged, but unresolved feelings and tensions still linger.
- Henry and Camilla's relationship throughout the novel, from Camilla's view.
- Anything really from Camilla's perspective, especially something that shows a deeper side of her that Richard and the other boys don't (or refuse to) see.
- Henry or Francis’s POV during the last third of the book, as Charles deteriorates and Camilla goes to Henry for protection.
- Anything exploring Henry and Richard's relationship. Richard is obviously fascinated by Henry in a Nick Carraway-like fashion, but what does Henry really think of Richard? Was he manipulating Richard towards the end of the book (as Charles seems to think)? Alternatively, a Rope-inspired AU where Henry persuades Richard to commit a murder with him.
- Anything about Charles and Francis. We get Francis's side of the story wrt their occasional flings, but what is Charles's take on it?
- A "Gone Girl"-style AU where Camilla fakes her death or is secretly the one pulling the strings.
- Francis & Camilla friendship fic, or perhaps an AU where Francis marries Camilla instead in a lavender marriage.
- Francis 5, 10, or 15 years into the future, still haunted by memories of his past.
- True crime podcast episode(s) delving into the unexplained death of Bunny Corcoran and the supposedly unrelated murder of a Vermont farmer.
DNWs: non-canonical major character deaths, sexual assault (dubcon e.g. where both parties are under the influence of drugs/alcohol is ok, but please nothing explicitly non-consensual), focus on unrequested pairings, modern/mundane AUs.