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Dear Yulegoat Letter, 2022
I eagerly welcome treats and have gifts turned on. I adore drabbles and short fic, as well as artwork!
Table of Contents
General Likes, Dislikes, and Hot Sex tips
The Expanse (TV) - Chrisjen, Amos, World-Building
Rivers of London- Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale
Shining Girls (TV) - Kirby Mazrachi, Worldbuilding
The Lazarus Project (TV) - Shiv, Worldbuilding
Mercy Thompson - Warren Smith
Warrior (TV 2019) - Ah Toy, Wang Chao
General Likes
I'm a fan of plotty stories and case fic. I like it when interesting things happen, characters need to do something or figure something out. Even in a story where the sex or relationship is the main focus, I love having some kind of additional conflict, mystery or action going on, something that shows these characters have lives and outside interests. Characters being smart and competent really pleases me, and if some of those characters are women, queer, or people of color, all the better!
I like tight POV's, where I can really get into the narrator's head. I like questions of identity, magical realism and all kinds of world-building. I can get into past or present tense, 3rd or 1st person POV.
I enjoy angst and darkfic, up to and including deathfic, in most of my fandoms. (Crueltide, yeeeees.) Now, don't feel that you have to go there - I like light, happy stories too! But if your Muse leads you somewhere dark, I'm delighted to go there with you. I like it when a character's dark side and flaws are intimately related to their best qualities. It's not that I enjoy the exploration of evil, per se. More that I'm fascinated by the search for love and redemption in even the darkest of circumstances. Unless otherwise specified, I want even my dark stories to have some kind of happy, positive, or hopeful ending.
Unreliable narrators are a particular thrill for me. I like original characters and outsider POVs, so feel free. I'm a sucker for fannish tropes like amnesia fic, omegaverse, and soulbonds. Canon-divergence AUs fascinate me. I'm always interested in stories that reveal character backstory, and I love stories about people who know and trust each other working together as a team. If you see potential for an open or poly relationship in canon, I would enjoy reading about it! And if you are in the mood to treat, I love short fic, including drabbles.
General Dislikes
I don't enjoy kid fic, and pregnancy completely squicks me. I don't want focus on COVID-19 or similar plagues in my Yuletide this year. Plots that depend on characters failing to communicate with each other bug me. Pure romantic fluff with no conflict or other plot doesn't generally work for me, and I'm not a fan of 'These characters are now pirates in the 1700's' or coffee shop alternate setting AUs. I'd rather avoid fics focusing on cheating or infidelity. Gender-bending generally disappoints me, unless there is canonical reason to question or alter the character's gender. I avoid crack-fic. No holiday-themed stories, unless you are inventing holidays as part of your worldbuilding, in which case, please carry-on! I'm not really into poetic or flowery language.
Hot Sex
I read and enjoy lots of G-PG fic, and most of my requests this year are gen. But if you should be in the mood to write porn, yay! I like slash, het, and femme-slash. I'm a fan of intense relationships. People who love each other beyond all reason. Even if you're writing about a hook-up or business transaction, I want it to be in response to some deep need, not just a casual fling. Kink works for me, if you want to go there. You don't have to - one of the hottest stories I ever read never went past a purely vanilla first base. Passionate, nervous first-time kissing. Mmmmm.
My favorite kinks include dirty talk, voyeurism, masturbation, pain, bloodplay, knife-play, marking, bondage, orgasm denial, xeno, tentacles, loyalty kink, and power-imbalances. Most importantly, though, it needs to be in-character, be about these two people, what they want and need. Kinks are all about trust. I don't enjoy non-con or trash party scenarios, but dub-con, especially when a character is forced into something they secretly want and enjoy, but could not take, sets me off like a fire-cracker. (*coughs* omega-verse) Mind control is very, very hot, with or without consent play involved. I'm absolutely into mind control, hypnosis, sex pollen, etc, where someone is forced into participating in and enjoying sex. I enjoy the build-up and character reveal of kink negotiation, but being thrown right into the middle of an intense scene can also be very powerful and arousing. Both work for me.
I'm not generally into fisting, golden showers, scat-play, clothing-fetishes, DS as a lifestyle, necrophilia, or bestiality. One thing that seriously turns me off is fic where the character's kink is because of some childhood trauma, sexual assault, or anything like that. Pregnancy, male or female, is a hard no.
The Expanse (TV): Chrisjen Avasarala OR Amos Burton OR Worldbuilding
THIS SHOW! All the found family love, distinct and competing cultures on Earth, Mars, and the Belt, issues of class and imperialism, plots that depend on all the people, even when in opposition to each other, being so damn smart. What a fabulous diverse cast. I was blown away by the plotting, world-building, and characters. The science even makes sense! I haven’t read the books, but if you want to share some insight from them with me as a part of your story, feel free. Season 6 was terribly rushed, so you can use it, re-write it, or ignore it; it's up to you.
Because this show is such a wonderful ensemble, I had a difficult time deciding which characters to request. Please consider my character request Any of the above, rather than a requirement that they both be in the given fic.
* Chrisjen was born into a position of privilege and wealth. She worked with intelligence, charm, insane ambition, Machiavellian pragmatism, and her uniquely female style of hard-ball politics, until she’s running the whole planet. It seems less a selfish ambition than her not trusting anyone else to be in charge and without fucking things up. She disappointed me during season four, and I think herself as well, so I'd love to see her dealing with that.
* Bobbie/Chrisjen - What can I say, they are both so very hot in very different ways! And OMG, Chrisjen's outfits beg for some clothing porn. If anyone can save Chrisjen from herself, its Bobbie. And Chrisjen would absolutely be willling to use sex as a lever, for getting what she needs. Please don't demonize Chrisjen's husband as part of this or focus on their relationship as an infidelity. I'd be happy with an open marriage, or you could leave Arjun and their marriage out of the story.
* Worldbuilding Earth as a utopia/dystopia. I'd love a story where Naomi or some other Belter asks Chrisjen to describe Earth while Amos is in the room. Chrisjen tells the truth - based on her experience. And Amos's internal dialog shows the contrast, what Earth is like for the undocumented.
Rivers of London Ben Aaronovitch - Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale
DNW: pregnancy/birth/miscarriage, focus on COVID, partner betrayal, non-magical AU, explicit on-screen non-con, focus on Lesley, children or domesticity
I received an amazing RoL story for YT last year, and it made me hungry for more! I adore the magical system, and this very posh, imperial British system being subverted by Nightingale who apparently has an entirely different criteria for who might make a good apprentice. I lived in London in the early 90’s, and this series re-introduced me to it, in all of its glory and history and ridiculousness, like an old friend. The bits about how policing has changed, so now they actually prefer to bring in the person who committed the crime over someone random, is hilarious. But the thing that truly made me fall in love with these books is how the young London constable finds out that there are magical people and beings all around him, and rather than viewing them as threats to be intimidated and put down as necessary, he thinks of them as the community members it’s his duty to protect.
This is an ANY/OR character request, not a demand for both in one story. I'm very open to stories exploring modern issues in London including police and community responses to Brexit, BLM, Truss, etc. My prompts are plotty gen, but I'm open to sex or romance within a larger. I’d be happy with Peter/Nightingale (so long as Beverly isn’t character-bashed) or Peter/Beverly/Nightingale. If you pair Nightingale with someone else, that's fine too, although you might have some heavy lifting to convince me the man is straight!
I realize not everyone has read the graphic novels and comics; feel free to incorporate that part of canon or leave it out. I haven’t read Amongst Our Weapons yet, but I will by the time the collection opens. I enjoy Peter's first-person narrative in canon, but if that's not your thing, feel free to write it in your own style and POV.
* Show me the magical underpinning of some real-world event in London.
* Case-fic! I love the tension of kidnappings, but I have a soft spot for any kind of case-fic. Peter’s professional ethics and morality are important to me, so if that can somehow be incorporated in the story, I’d be thrilled.
* I'm intrigued by Nightingale aging backwards as magic surged in Britain. How has he changed over time? What does he think of how the world has changed around him? What if Peter comes across a younger version of Nightingale (amnesia, time-travel, etc.) and is unimpressed by that version of him? How would he and Nightingale work through the repercussions? A story that explores Nightingale's very particular system of ethics and responsibility would also be interesting.
* Fusion with Foyle’s War: Thomas Nightingale, barely functioning after Ettersberg, is sent to work with Foyle and Sam in cleaning up a very disturbing library. Perhaps this is the beginning of The Arrangement?
Shining Girls (TV)- Kirby Mazrachi OR Worldbuilding
DNW: pregnancy/childbirth/miscarriage; on-screen non-con or graphic murder; Harper POV; AU where alternate realities are not real
This is a dark, 8 episode TV series available on Apple TV+. Our protagonist is a reporter rebuilding her life after a vicious and near-fatal attack, in a world that is never quite right. She discovers that her attacker is a serial killer and begins to dig for the truth about him. Down the rabbit hole Kirby will find hints of time travel, alternate realities, and more.
Elizabeth Moss gives us an unflinching portrayal of Kirby dealing with trauma and mental health issues as a strong woman who refuses to let anyone take her agency from her. The portrayal of gendered stalking and violence can be difficult to watch, but watching women expertly negotiate the boundary-pushing and escalating behaviors is freeing. The plot twists are incredibly clever, and the writer wasn't afraid to leave the unknowns as mysteries.
* I wonder how Kirby realized what was happening to her, and developed a system for coping with the changes. Was she institutionalized at first? When, how and why did she decide to change her name?
* Kirby and Marcus seem to have a genuinely loving relationship, but one that is based on him caring for her as she deals with her trauma and mental health issues. It's something we never learned much about in canon, because our Kirby never experienced it. I'd be interested in how they got together and support each other. Bring on the hurt/comfort!
* Klara/Kirby epistolary fic, as Kirby takes days to write and rewrite painstaking love-letters and leaves them on Klara's pillow for her.
* Klara was clearly interested in Kirby right from the start. I'd love a story where Kirby awkwardly returns her interest, has a terrible first date, and has to decide whether to attempt a 'do over' or not, using her new power. This could be sweet or dark, as it calls back to Harper's pursuit of Klara - your choice.
* Klara is a dancer, and her expertise in deflecting Harper's anger and violence reminds me of some burlesque and drag performers I've known. Where did she learn those skills? (I would love to see Klara and Kirby attend a drag ball together, either in the past or present.)
* I do love case-fic. Chicago has plenty of other rapists and serial killers in its past. Does Kirby decide to take one on as a project? HH Holmes, John Wayne Gacy, the Chicago Strangler? Feel free to go as dark as you like with this!
* Kirby and Jin-Sook devising and carrying out experiments to better understand time travel and alternate realities would be fascinating.
* Worldbuilding: What does the House think of Harper, Kirby, and the changes they've made to the timeline?
* Worldbuilding: It seems that surviving Harper is what enables Kirby and Jin-Sook to travel through alternate realities. What is up with that? How does it work?
* Worldbuilding: In the distant future an archivist is given the thankless task of trying to clearly demarcate and document the various timelines that sprang up from Harper's actions.
* IF This canon is a great fit for interactive fiction, as Kirby tries over and over to save someone or fix something.
The Lazarus Project (TV 2022) - Shiv OR Worldbuilding
DNW: On-screen childbirth or nuclear war; focus on pregnancy, focus on COVID
This 8 episode British TV is the smartest time loop story I've ever seen, with a side of James Bond spy thriller and action. I love the brilliant multi-racial cast in modern London and the truly surprising plot twists as a tiny group of people try to keep the human race from wiping itself out. It includes sharp tension between the greater good and personal happiness - bring on the angst.
There is one episode, The Summer of 2018, that hit both my childbirth and nuclear war triggers, HARD, and kept stomping on them over and over all episode. Consider it a tribute to how deeply compelling the show is that I made it through, with a combination of muting the sound and fast forwarding. The events of that episode are critical to the plot, so I'm not asking you to deny their existence. Please put them in the background of a fic that requires them, rather than focusing on them. Thank you!
* Shiv has spent his whole life reliving months at a time, with no one around him aware of the changes. What is that like? How did it affect him? How did he make sense of it all?
* Worldbuilding: The chase scenes in this show are carelessly violent in ways that would get bystanders killed. On reflection, that makes sense - if they succeed, they save the entire world. If they fail, any collateral damage will never have occurred. As George is trying to force a reset, he becomes more and more desperate to make it happen, so the people he hurt on the way come back. I wonder if, as you spend more time on the project, the people who don't remember start to seem less and less real to you, and what affect that would have?
* Worldbuilding: If you know there's going to be a reset, what might you do to and with the people who won't remember, when nothing will count? That could get very dark. Or very funny! Time loop shenanigans are welcome!
* Shiv died in agony over and over and over after being shot by George - and yet when he was saved, he was immediately both willing and able to give George the info he needed. I would love to see his perspective on that.
* Shiv/George. Shiv obviously cares for the people in the Lazarus Project. We see him trying to comfort Archie, Jane, and George, even though he's not very good at it. What if, instead of, "Do you wanna go fuck him up?" his offer to George was, "Do you wanna fuck?" I'm thinking comfort and intimacy, rather than romance, but take it any direction you like. It might make George's efforts to bring his wife back particularly cutting. If you'd prefer to write Shiv comforting Archie instead, I'd be interested in that scenario, too.
* Shiv & or / Archie: I can imagine them on assignment in a foreign city, playing the party of honeymooners, and Archie trying to get Shiv to actually enjoy himself.
* Worldbuilding: Why is the team of people who try to make changes completely separate from the people who trigger the reset, with Wes the only connection?
* Worldbuilding: The Project discovered both Shiv and George, people who naturally remember the time loops. How do they find these people? What is the protocol if they refuse to join the Project?
* Worldbuilding: What made this possible? Why is July 1st the reset date?
* Worldbuilding: We saw Shiv carefully memorizing winning horses to carry information between resets. How does the project maintain and compare information? Epic story-telling? Mnemonic devices? Mind palaces?
* IF The time loop is MADE for IF story-telling. Let me try to save humanity!
Mercy Thompson- Warren Smith
DNW: pregnancy/childbirth, COVID, unhappy ending, no-werewolves AU, focus on internalized homophobia
This book series is one of my favorites! I adore every one of the nominated characters, but I always want to see more of Warren than we get in canon, especially since he’s so tight-lipped, so I’m requesting a focus on him this year.
* I’m intrigued by the fact that Warren has been hiding how dominant he is, for decades, because the pack couldn’t cope with him as second. How does he hide this? Did someone teach him? Who and how?
* Five times Warren fell in love and kept it to himself, and one time he didn’t. (Bonus points if Kyle is a total bad-ass in this story.)
* Case-fic! Warren is a private investigator for Kyle’s law-firm. Write me a case-fic! Is he investigating some douchebag trying to keep his wife from divorcing him via supernatural means?
* Kink negotiation! Kyle trying to entice Warren into trying something new, but Warren’s concerned it might trigger some violent instinct or bad memory. Maybe it goes great, maybe it’s a terrible failure, but whatever happens I know Kyle would be awesome about it.
* Warren is a very old-school version of masculinity – the strong and silent cowboy, stoic, honorable, gentle and protective. Kyle is delightfully flaming. I’d enjoy a story (plotty or PWP) that somehow invokes or plays with that contrast.
* Kyle defends Warren's place in the pack with his own unique skill set.
* Warren, Kyle, and Mercy get together for movie night and watch a Western. Warren gradually, with their encouragement, starts to MST the fuck out of it for being unrealistic.
* Fusion with The Good Fight: Kalinda Sharma trained Warren and helped him get his documentation and PI license. How did they meet? Did they bond over their hidden sexualities? Is Kalinda a werewolf too? Enquiring minds want to know!
* Fusion with Yellowstone: Warren worked as a hand on the Yellowstone at one point in the past and befriended Rip and Kayce Dutton. When he finds out they’re in trouble, he shouldn’t get involved – but he does. (If you ship Warren with either, I'm 100% in!)
Warrior (TV 2019) - Ah Toy OR Wang Chao
DNW: pregnancy/childbirth/miscarriage, fic written from the POV of a White character, focus on internalized homophobia or internalized racism
Like Peaky Blinders, spaghetti Westerns, and/or kung-fu films? You'll love this! Bruce Lee was the original creator of this sexy, pulpy, action-filled genre series that highlights the history of Chinese immigrants in 1870's San Francisco. Enjoy the canonically queer characters, complex characterization, and some of the best martial arts action I've ever seen. The show doesn't shy away from the ugliness of period-typical racism, sexism and sexual exploitation in a city poised on the edge of a race war, a class war, or both. There is political intrigue among the ruling class of San Francisco, the Tongs and business interests of Chinatown, the Irish police, and the Irish 'Working Men' fighting furiously for the jobs Chinese immigrants will work for less. Ah Toy and Wang Chao are my two favorite characters. Both of them are incredibly clever and brave; they arrived in San Francisco with nothing and somehow carved out space, wealth, power, and independence in a world where that is incredibly difficult.* Wang Chao's realpolitik approach, and the way he has contacts with the police, business community, and various Tongs, fascinates me. He deals in information as well as weaponry, and I'd love to know more about how he rides this tiger.
* Wang Chao's backstory says he decided to cross the salt, was sold as a slave in Cuba, somehow escaped and made his way to San Francisco, and set up his own business?!? I'd enjoy a story that colors between those broad strokes.
* Wang Chao taking his child away from her White, sex-worker mother and arranging for her to be raised (as a White child) by a White family was heartbreaking. Does he dream of a life when he could live as her father?
* Wang Chao and Ah Toy are friends. They recognize and respect each other, and generally try not to spoil each other's plots. I'd enjoy a fic showcasing their relationship, and perhaps how they reached this point.
* Ah Toy was interested in Ah Sahm from the beginning. What does she see in him? What does she want? Is there a master plan at work?
* Ah Toy is canonically bisexual. If you want to explore and perhaps compare her relationships with the various men and women in her life, I'd enjoy that! She is careful in setting boundaries, which is tricky. I also wonder how careful she is to ensure, when she is sleeping with a woman who works for her, that she is willing.
* I was fascinated to see Ah Toy mentor Lai, a frightened young woman with unusual skills into a deadly combatant - and then send her away when she started getting too bloodthirsty. What line did she cross? Does Ah Toy wish someone had done the same for her? I'd like to learn more about their relationship and why she made this choice.
* Ah Toy is a practiced sex worker, a skilled medic, and deadly with a blade. A story where she uses all of that diverse knowledge of the human body to completely overwhelm someone in bed would be hot!
* The scene where Mai Ling tends to a terribly injured Ah Toy was powerful. I'd love to read a story where the two of them enter into a sexual relationship, each enjoying it but also maneuvering for advantage. I imagine that Mai Ling would also be thrilled by the thought of how much it would piss off her brother. If you want to write me a story with the two of them competing for Ah Toy's affections, up to and including in bed at the same time, I am very much into it!
* I really enjoyed the episode where Warrior decided to show off its Western roots. A story with a strong genre or trope that is somehow inverted or subverted by one of these two very clever characters would be amazing!
* Crossover with Hell on Wheels: 1) What if Bohannon ended up taking a job with the San Francisco police in place of Richard Lee? I can imagine Ah Toy considering the dangers and opportunities such a dangerous man might bring.
In Conclusion
To me, fanfic is all about getting a chance to explore characters in ways that the original source didn't allow. I love these characters, these worlds - show me something I didn't know about them, and that's the best present you can give me.
Your Eager Recipient,
- keerawa