Recent Entries

Current Mood: excited

Dear Yuletide Writer 2024

(FYI: treats are super welcome!)

Dear Yuletide Author,

Hello! I'm so glad we have a book(s) in common and that you're going to write something for me. Thank you!

I have two AO3 accounts. Gammarus is where I post my nsfw fics and most of my new fics. Ampithoe has some of my older, smut-free fics as well as most of my bookmarks, regardless of the heat level of the fics bookmarked. I'm amphipodgirl on dreamwidth, twitter, bluesky, tumblr, and various discord servers.I got involved with fan fiction in 2020, and it’s a lot of what got me through lockdown.

Some generalities:

I like it when characters in fics are consistent in attitudes, behavior, and ways of speaking in canon. When I write fan fiction, I start by thinking a lot about who the people are, what makes them tick, why they do the things they do. But if that's not your entry point into writing, that's fine! There are a lot of great ways to make a story.

I love text fics, epistolary fiction, and so on.

This year I would prefer to receive T or G fic.

I'm including some prompts, but if there's something you've been dying to write for one of these fandom/character combos, go for it as long as it doesn't hit my DNWs. The stories that insist on being written are often the best ones.

General Do Not Wants
Sex on page/E-rated fics
Major Character Death
Non-con
Heavy angst
Underage (characters under 18 having sex)
Mpreg
A/B/O
Christmas
Death of a parent or parental figure
AIDS
Death in childbirth/life-threatening childbirth complications
Polyamory in the Russell/Caleb or Luke/Landon relationships
Cheating in the Russell/Caleb or Luke/Landon relationships
A breakup between Russell/Caleb or Luke/Landon

Requested Fandoms/Characters

You & Me/Landon Larsen and Luke Hale

I love this book so much! I like how totally gone for each other Luke and Landon are from the first moment they meet. I love Luke’s cluelessness about what he’s actually feeling. Both the immediate connection and the initial obliviousness are classic Tal Bauer and pure catnip for me. I also like that the book centers around fatherhood, male friendship, and nontoxic masculinity as well as twu wuv.

Prompt One: I’d love a text fic set during the period in the book where Emmet and Bowen know their dads are dating but the dads still think they’re keeping it secret. Lots of the sons rolling their eyes at each other about how their dads think they’re being so slick and subtle and they totally aren’t.

Prompt Two: I find Annie to be a really intriguing character. She clearly knows or suspects that something is going on. For example, she says Landon deserves a really special man and sweet, clueless Luke doesn’t understand why she’s amused when Luke agrees with her. What does she say to Landon when he walks her out at Juice & Butter? What does she figure out about them and when?

Prompt Three: On their wedding day, Luke and Landon decide to have some more kids together. I’d love to see that happen. One idea is that Bethany could be their surrogate, but I’m happy with any process of family formation. I’m a parent of twins, so if you have experience of being a twin or having twins, I think it could be great to read about them raising either twins or same-age children who aren’t biologically related.

The Sleeping Soldier/Russell Krause and Caleb O'Connor

In all of her MM historicals, Aster Glenn Gray pays attention to how the men of the era, both queer and not, conceptualized and described homosexual activity (and identity, if that was even a category at the time). In this book, we have the sharp contrast between Russell's 1865 worldview, where affection, love, and touch between men are fine but there is not gay identity as such and Caleb's 1965 worldview, where there's an emerging homosexual identity, but homophobia has stamped out the easy affection Russell is accustomed to. I find that contrast so interesting.

I also really like the way anyone who encounters Russell while the curse is still active just looks at him and goes "yep, I guess you did just wake up from 100 years of sleep". And all the "gee whiz" and having to have the 20th century explained is fun. Russell’s gregarious cheer is a delight, too.

Prompt One: I'd love to see what Russell makes of the gay community Caleb knows in Chicago. It would be great to see him being the life of one of Francis’s cocktail parties. What would he think of that scene? Would he and Michael become friends? You could write this either post-canon, with them needing to keep Russell's origin a secret, or an AU where people still believe him.

Prompt Two: Russell and Caleb are 20-ish years old in 1965. (Or Russell is 120-ish. But his body is like a young man’s.) They will likely live into the 20^th century and perhaps all the way until 2024. I’d love to see what they think of some of the later developments in the LGBTQ+ liberation movement. How do they feel about the word “queer”? How long does it take Caleb to feel comfortable with being out about their relationship? What about the growing visibility of trans people? (It would be great if they hear about transmasc identities and Russell is like “oh, yeah, we had a corporal like that.”)

Miss Marple

I am an absolute sucker for characters who nobody expects much from because of their demographics (for example, age, race, education, gender, place of residence) but who turn out to be amazing. Miss Marple is a delightful example of this! She’s a fluffy Victorian spinster from a small village but solves murders that baffle seasoned police officers.

I haven’t requested Lucy Eylesbarrow and don’t need her, but I love her competence and if she showed up that would be fun.

Prompt One: In two short stories and one novel, there’s a reference to missing gill (or two—the accounts vary) of picked shrimps that vanishes during the course of a woman’s shopping trip. I’d love to read the story of what happened there and how Miss Marple figured it out. This article has a good summary of the references to the mystery of the shrimps: https://literature.stackexchange.com/questions/25818/what-happened-to-the-gills-of-picked-shrimps

Prompt Two: An AU! It could be a different time period; for example, a Regency Miss Marple could be great. I think a modern AU might be a little harder to sell; you might need to do some demographic shifts to come up with Jane Marple who is as thoroughly discounted as she is in canon. A fantasy AU could be cool too. I’d still like things to hinge on her figuring out the solution to a mystery (big or small) through her knowledge of human nature. A time-travel AU could be interesting, too: Victorian Jane Marple somehow ends up in 2024 and, while she’s a bit confused by some things, she can still figure things out because she understands human nature.

Have a happy Yuletide, oh lovely writer!

Dear Yuletide Writer 2023

(FYI: treats are super welcome!)

Dear Yuletide Author,

Hello! I'm so glad we have a book(s) in common and that you're going to write something for me. Thank you!

I have two AO3 accounts. Gammarus is where I post my nsfw fics and most of my new fics. Ampithoe has some of my older, smut-free fics as well as most of my bookmarks, regardless of the heat level of the fics bookmarked. I'm amphipodgirl on dreamwidth, twitter, bluesky, tumblr, and various discord servers.

Some general loves:

Many of my very favorite stories focus on a character who isn't expected to amount to much, often partly for reasons of class, gender, outsider status, or age, but turns out to be very capable and achieves truly impressive things, often surprising themself in the process. Miss Marple, Mrs. Pollifax, Paksennarion, The Goblin Emperor, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the Vorkosigan Saga, and Remnant Population are a few examples.

I love text fics, epistolary fiction, and so on.

If you want to do an AU, I'm a huge fan of tropes like fake dating, arranged marriage, and fuckbuddies first. There's something about the romantic and sexual connections growing on a different schedule than the mandated standard one, and about the parties trying to hide or suppress their feelings for each other, that really gets me. I'm also a sucker soulmate AUs and hurt/comfort.

I love when people bring their own special interests/knowledge to an AU. Weirdest job you've ever had, period of history you're an expert on, or a hobby some people think you take way too seriously? A cultural background that's totally different from mine? (I'm white, USan, Jewish.) I am so here for that AU. Beekeeping AU! Scuba AU! Handcrafted-prosthetics AU! Jeopardy fact-checker AU! Early Umayyad Caliphate AU! Balinese AU! Bring it!

When I write fan fiction, I come from a very character-centered point of view: I start by thinking a lot about who the people are, what makes them tick, why they do the things they do. But if that's not your entry point into writing, that's fine! There are a lot of great ways to make a story.

I read all ratings/heat levels, but I'm less into the purely horny aspects of fic than I used to be; I definitely like to have some plot or character development or ambiance with my porn, and don't need the porn part at all.

I'm including some prompts, but if there's something you've been dying to write for one of these fandom/character combos, go for it as long as it doesn't hit my DNWs. The stories that insist on being written are often the best ones.

General Do Not Wants
MCD
Non-con
Heavy angst
Underage
Scat, golden showers
Mpreg
A/B/O
Christmas
Death of a parent or parental figure (references to a canon death are okay but please don't dwell)

Requested Fandoms/Characters

(edited to remove The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which I deleted from my request before the request period closed)

Hellspark/Worldbuilding

I love this book for a lot of reasons. I really like the emphasis on linguistics and the insistence on proxemics and kinesics in language learning, and the process of watching Tocohl learn to "speak" with the sprookjes just makes my brain all happy. The insistence on the importance of cross-cultural understanding for working together really resonates with me. I alslo really like all the varied plant and animal life of Flashfever.

I would love to see more detail on the culture of Yn, Jenji, or the sprookjes. This could be explored through the canon characters or in some other way.

For Yn -- How is decision-making done in the culture? How is shamanic knowledge passed down? What is considered men's work/men's sphere? How does courtship, reproduction, and child-rearing work? Who becomes a shaman and how are they trained? What has caused men's rights or roles to gradually expand (e.g. canon states that they've only started to learn to read and write fairly recently -- how did that come about?). Some of these could be answered in a fic that gave backstory for layli-layli and Olitokitok -- how did they meet? How did she come to have such high regard for him? How did they decide to pair-bond, and how did they decide to join a survey company together? If you are a person of trans or nonbinary experience and are interested in exploring how the Yn would treat trans and enby people -- either Yn people or outworlders -- I would be fascinated. (If that's not your background, please don't approach that question unless you're very confident that you can give sensitive representation.)

Jenji -- Who decides who gets reliability bracelets and how and when might they get taken away? What is the process of teaching a child these values like? What is a Jenjin school like? I'd be interested to see Alfvaen and swift-Kalat negotiating their future together. What is it like when she first visits his homeworld? How does she get her first bracelet? Do they raise a child together, and what is that like? She has her proxemics and kinesics down, but does she somehow stray into stating possibilities that bring out Jenjin superstition?

Sprookjes -- I'd like to see more of humans learning sprookje language and culture. What's their social structure like? How much have they engineered their world, given what master geneticists they are? Do they have an ethics of how one does and doesn't interfere? What are the power structures? What do the humans seem like to them? What do they want their relationship with humanity to be like? What are their notions of property, economics, etc? Do they end up trading superconductors to moss cloaks? Are they territorial? How interested are they in learning to use human technology?

Matthew Shardlake/Matthew Shardlake

The two things I love most about this series are the vast amount of historical detail, and poor, emotionally wounded Matthew. I would love to read a romantic happy ending for him -- something where he comes to know and care about a woman (let's keep to his canon sexual orientation, please) and nothing goes wrong. She doesn't have to marry the king, she doesn't feel that she's too cold, nothing; they just get to be happy together. She can be of any class, but I'd like her to be someone he admires for her intellect and character -- I think that's where his attractions generally arise from in canon, plus it's just important to my enjoyment to feel that the female partner is truly valued. If you have Tudor knowledge that you can work in, either big historical events or general lifeways, conditions of daily life, etc., that's great, but don't feel you need to do research. (I'm also an absolute sucker for fashion and textile history, but again, don't feel you need to research that if it's not a thing you're into.)

Noah and Cole Thriller Series/Noah Downing and Cole Kennedy

I love The Murder Between Us so much! (I value the continuation of their story in The Grave Between Us, but it's so heavy and creepy that I've only read it twice, as opposed to re-readings and countless re-listenings of book 1.) First off, "We had amazing, life-changing sex but, um, oops, now we're working together, plus I ghosted you" is super compelling. Second, I love all of the nominated characters, each in their own way. Third, the mystery and action is gripping (I'm happy to ignore the odd plot hole here or there). And they have a thing that Tal's couples nearly always do -- from the moment they set eyes on each other, they have no interest in anyone else; this is going to be who they are with for good, even if it takes a while to get there.

Prompt One: What if there weren't any new Coed Killer murders and Noah didn't get called back and they did get that remaining 2 or 3 nights in Vegas? How would Noah handle James's questions and innuendos about how he spent the night? How would he feel texting with Katie and not telling her about this amazing new thing that's happening in his life? At what point to they gradually start to reveal details about their lives -- how do they find out that they both work for the FBI? (They could run into each other at a seminar or -- remember, this is an AU -- they could actually communicate (eventually)). How does Noah approach revealing that he has a daughter? Is Noah comfortable going out with Cole where it's possible he'll run into someone who knows him?
In the books, much of the relationship conflict comes from a place that their personalities interact badly. Noah is quite unconfident and can't believe that anyone would really want him, and this sometimes makes him hold off on reaching out to Cole. Cole is a very compassionate person who understands other people well and can make them feel at ease, but he doesn't talk easily about his own feelings and is apt to lash out if he feels threatened or rejected. How would those conflicts show up in this different setting?

Prompt Two: In TMBU, Cole saves Noah and Katie. In TGBU, Noah saves Cole. I would love to read about Katie saving both her dads.

Canon-specific DNWs: Ian Ingram! Case fic is fine, even with a serial killer, but please not a criminal who commits sexual assault or necrophilia.

The Sleeping Soldier/Russell Krause and Caleb O'Connor

Okay, so, I love this book too. (I love a lot of books.) In all of her MM historicals, AGG pays attention to how the men of the era, both queer and not, conceptualized and described homosexual activity (and identity, if that was even a category at the time). In this book, we have the sharp contrast between Russell's 1865 worldview, where affection, love, and touch between men are fine but there is not gay identity as such and Caleb's 1965 worldview, where there's an emerging homosexual identity and societal homophobia has stamped out the easy affection Russell is accustomed to. I also really like the way anyone who encounters Russell while the curse is still active just looks at him and goes "yep, I guess you did just wake up from 100 years of sleep". And all the "gee whiz" and having to have the 20th century explained is fun.

Prompt One: I'd love to see what Russell makes of the gay community Caleb knows in Chicago. What would he think of Francis's cocktail parties? Would he and Michael become friends? You could write this either post-canon, with them needing to keep Russell's origin a secret, or an AU where people still believe him.

Prompt Two: I'd be interested to see the fairy's viewpoint either of some of the events of the book, or their post-canon relationship and adventures.

Have a happy Yuletide, oh lovely writer!

Entry tags:

dear yuletide writer

Dear Yuletide Writer 2022

Treats are one of the bestest things ever! And the main Yuletide gift fic is also one of the bestest things ever. So, whether you're assigned to write for me or you decide to treat, thank you SO MUCH for writing for me! I look forward to reading whatever you create, and I'm also delighted to meet someone else who appreciates one or more of the tiny fandoms I've nominated. They are all very (under 20 fics) and I'll be delighted for any of them to grow by a story, wherever you take it — aside from the DNWs, everything here is to suggest and inspire; if your fancy heads in an other direction, please go for it! Whatever you write will be lovely. 8^)

I love queer romance novels; Alexis Hall and KJ Charles are auto-buys for me, and right now I'm on an intense Tal Bauer kick (is there any other kind?)

In general, I like fic that is grounded in who the characters are. If it's an AU, they may be different because of their different life experiences, but still recognizably the same people in some way. Even in an AU, I like the relationships to be canon ones.

I have two AO3 accounts. Gammarus is where I post my nsfw fics (including all the fics I've written in the fandoms I'm requesting). Ampithoe is where I post my smut-free fics as well as all my bookmarks, regardless of the heat level of the fics bookmarked.

I'm amphipodgirl on dreamwidth, twitter, tumblr, and various discord servers.

I enjoy fics at all ratings and sexiness levels. If you like writing smut, I love a good sprinkling of D/s. I also love praise kink, humiliation, fisting, bondage, pain, and orgasm delay/denial (especially of male orgasms). I also like lots of attention to a guy's nipples and it really turning him on.

If you don't want to write smut, I'll also love a G or T fic with these characters.

For these fandoms, I feel like there's still so much to explore in canon-verse — whether that's pre-canon, canon, post-canon, or canon-divergent. It's all incredibly rich and there are a ton of stories still to be told.

If you do want to do an AU, I'm a huge fan of tropes like fake dating, arranged marriage, and fuckbuddies first. There's something about the romantic and sexual connections growing on a different schedule than the mandated standard one, and about the parties trying to hide or suppress their feelings for each other, that really gets me. I'm also a sucker for Only One Bed, text fics, and soulmates.

I love when people bring their own special interests/knowledge to an AU. Weirdest job you've ever had, period of history you're an expert on, or a hobby some people think you take way too seriously? A cultural background that's totally different from mine? (I'm white, USan, Jewish) I am so here for that AU. Beekeeping AU! Scuba AU! Handcrafted-prosthetics AU! Jeopardy fact-checker AU! Early Umayyad Caliphate AU! Balinese AU! Bring it!

I've tried to give a bunch of ideas here, but if there's something you've been dying to write for one of these fandom/character combos, go for it as long as it doesn't hit my DNWs. The stories that insist on being written are often the best ones.

For Real

The first thing I loved about For Real is how the mere combination of command and obedience is hot for both Laurie and Toby, even before you get to any pain, bondage, etc. and how well Hall gets that across. (But I do also love bondage, pain, etc.) He pays such attention to the nature of the D/s relationship for both of them.

I also really appreciate the fact that Toby is the dom and Laurie is the sub but Laurie is usually the insertive partner for intercourse and neither of them sees that as remarkable or contradictory. AJH has written about this, actually: https://quicunquevult.com/books/spires/fr-extras/#sexpectations

I also like how real and human Toby stays even while being a dom — that he can make rookie errors, be silly, laugh at himself, and this generally doesn't reduce his standing as a dom in either his eyes or Laurie's.

I love small, fierce, angry Toby, and I feel for the way he regards himself as being Not Enough for most of the book. I also adore how he insists that this is love and he gets to call it that, whether Laurie does or not.

I really like Laurie, although I spend a lot of the book being irritated with him for not being able to relax, let love in, admit that this is important, treat Toby as he deserves to be treated, let down his walls. I do think it's delightful and telling that, despite all that reserve and distancing, he starts calling Toby “darling” the first time they have sex and never stops.

Much as I love Laurie and Toby, I'm requesting Grace/Sam because they're wonderful and there isn't any specific Grace/Sam fic out there. In my mind, Grace is caring, lusty, and dominant. My visual headcanon for her is River Song from Dr. Who -- masses of curly hair and a ton of attitude. Sam is gregarious and, as he says, likes women telling him what to do.

Do Not Want: Robert, Grandad.

Arden St. Ives

Oh, Ardy! Everyone's favorite disaster pansexual elf. And poor, damaged Caspian. I just want them to be happy!

I love Ardy's positivity, his affectionate nature, his love of sex. I love how he wants to help Caspian and sees (at least some of) what Caspian needs from the very first. Also just his narrative voice — the cleverness, the allusions to every level of culture, the playfulness.

It makes me so happy when Caspian starts to heal and open up. When he asks Ardy to touch him because he loves it even though it's very hard for him — oh. my. god.

There are a lot of side characters I love: Bellerose, George, Ellery, Nik, Poppy Carrie, Ardy's family.
Please no Lancaster Steyne on page!

Here are some fics I would love to see:

Christmas at Kinlochbervie. Caspian hasn't really been part of a family since his dad died when he was 14, and even then he lived in London and his family had money, so he's probably never cut down a live Christmas tree or made ornaments by hand. Arden's family isn't wealthy at all and lives in a very small town in a remote part of Scotland, but they are fiercely loving and loyal.

I think there are some interesting possibilities areound gift-giving. What can Ardy's not-welathy family give to a man who can afford anything money can buy? Probably Iris sews or knitts something. Do Hazel and Rabbie write a jingle for him? Is there something related to chess that Rabbie could give? And what can Caspian get for them that's truly personal and not just insanely expensive?

There's lots of comic potential in poor gift choices and Caspian being comically inept (or frighteningly efficient) at holiday tasks and unfamiliar customs. On the other hand, there's a lot of room for feeling -- Caspian being touched by the warmth of Ardy's family and realizing that they like him for himself as well as in his capacity as Arden's partner.

If you choose to have Ellery there, I can imagine Hazel giving her a well-deserved and highly effective talking-to.

If you want to take it to a slightly heavier place, i think Iris and Caspian might connect around being abuse survivors.

Those are just some ideas; please feel free to write the fic according to your own imaginings of a Kinlochbervie Christmas.

A Happy Ever after for Bellerose. I've written one, but I'd be delighted to read your version. This doesn't need to involve Ardy and Caspian, but it might. One way to do it would be to have Caspian and Ilya encountering each other by accident 10 years hence and catching up on each others' lives, or any other way you think works out to Bellerose's satisfaction.

Caspian healing over time and their relationship growing. Caspian edging back into being able to be a dom.

Arden and Caspian on a double date with Toby and Laurie.

I'd like to see how Caspian's relationship with Ellery gets better. One idea is to have Ardy drag Caspian to a Murder Ballad concert.

I'd love an AU where Caspian's dad didn't die. Ardy and a much healthier Caspian find each other.

DO NOT WANT: Lancaster Steyne in a canonverse fic. I can't stand the man.

A Lady for a Duke

I love the big feelings in this book, and I can still remember the almost-unbearable suspense the first time I read it, waiting to see what would happen when Gracewood found out that Viola was his old friend. I very much appreciate that Viola's transness is never the primary problem; it's her previous identity and her having let Gracewood think she was dead that was the initial difficulty. Later, it's the difference in station and the fact that she doesn't believe marriage and children are possibilities for her.

I also love a lot of the side characters: Lady Lillimere, Louise, Badger, Miranda, Little Bartholomew. They're each very individual and very amusing and not always as simple as they're made to see at first glance. For example, everyone (including Badger) thinks Badger is something of an idiot, but there are times when he has more of a clue in a social situation than Louise does. Little Bartholomew is especially close to my heart -- I love the way his (apparently) artless questions reveal adults' feelings and motivations or foreshadow the action.

Still, my prompts are all for Viola or Viola/Gracewood.

There are a couple of Viola backstory fics I would love to see: either her being cared for by the Barniers, realizing that Monsieur Barnier is trans, and that living openly as a woman is an option for her, or after that, her arriving at Louise and Badger's and revealing herself. If you write one of these two, it doesn't need to include Gracewood.

Alternatively, I would love to see Justin and Viola's wedding (I picture a small family affair; be sure to account for how they get an officiant who will do it) or them adopting their first child. How does Jackscallion come to be theirs?

DNW: misgendering or deadnaming Viola or Monsieur Barnier (though it's okay if Viola uses her own former name before she realizes the possibility of living as a woman); major character death; noncon; underage.

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake

I really like this book. As a bisexual woman married to a man, I appreciate that Rosaline is like me in those ways. Some of the biphobia she encounters is much like things I've run into in my own life. I enjoy all the other contestants on the baking show (except Alain!), and I really, really like Amelie -- she's precocious and practical and asks "why" at just the right (or wrong) time. Harry is such a prince and so good for Rosaline.

I really appreciate the way that Rosaline makes a class-based assumption that Alain will be liberal/progressive and Harry will be sexist and homophobic, but she turns out to be quite wrong. Alain fetishes her bisexuality and denies her agency. Harry, on the other hand, has a sister who's married to a woman, has been in at least one 3-way, and once she asks him not to call her "love" he never does it again. The two men's reactions to the absence of condoms is so telling, too. Basically, Harry is wonderful and perfect for Rosaline in every way (including being great with Amelie because he takes her seriously).

I'd love to read Harry and Amelie planning a birthday surprise for Rosaline. Alternatively, sexy times for Rosaline and Harry, ideally with her pegging him and/or him rimming her.

If you write sexy times, please don't include Amelie (abviously).

Do Not Want: Alain, sexual activity involving Rosaline's breasts.

General Do Not Wants

MCD
Non-con
Heavy angst
Underage sex (for the Grace and Sam at uni prompt, let's just assume they're of age)
Scat, golden showers
Mpreg
A/B/O
Christmas except where specifically prompted
Death of a parent or parental figure (references to a canon death are okay but please don't dwell)

By the way, you might be interested in our friendly little discord server for fans of Alexis Hall's books: https://lalelilolusworld.tumblr.com/post/633244528602677249/alexis-hall-discord-server

Dear Fandom Growth Exchange Creator

Fandoms:

For Real – Alexis Hall: Laurence Dalziel/Toby FinchJasper Leigh/Sheridan Hunter Fitzroy III (For Real - Alexis Hall)Amy/Grace/Sam (For Real - Alexis Hall)Grace/Sam (For Real - Alexis Hall)
Arden St. Ives Series - Alexis Hall: Caspian Hart/Arden St. Ives; Justin "Ilya" Bellerose & None; Justin "Ilya" Bellerose & Caspian Hart; Justin "Ilya" Bellerose & Arden St. Ives
Pansies - Alexis Hall: Alfie Bell/Fen O’Donaghue

Thank you SO MUCH for writing for me! I look forward to reading whatever you create. I'll be delighted to see any of these fandoms to grow by a story, wherever you take it — aside from the DNWs, everything here is to suggest and inspire; if your fancy heads in another direction, please go for it! Whatever you write will be lovely. 8^)

Romance novels (mostly queer ones) and fan fiction are what has kept me sane through these recent, very difficult years and, frankly, they've given my libido a new lease on life. I read Carry On near the beginning of shelter-in-place, joined that fandom, and got very involved in reading and writing fic. Over the last year, I've gotten way more interested in some smaller fandoms like the ones I'm requesting. Alexis Hall and K.J. Charles are my favorite authors these days.

In general, I love for a fic to be grounded in who the characters are. If it's an AU, they may be different because of their different life experiences, but still recognizably the same people in some way. Even in an AU, I like the relationships to be canon ones.

I have two AO3 accounts. Gammarus is where I post my nsfw fics (including all the fics I've written in the fandoms I'm requesting). Ampithoe is where I post my smut-free fics as well as all my bookmarks, regardless of the heat level of the fics bookmarked.

I'm amphipodgirl on dreamwidth, twitter, tumblr, and various discord servers.

I enjoy fics at all ratings and sexiness levels. If you like writing smut, I love a good sprinkling of D/s. I also love praise kink, humiliation, fisting, bondage, pain, and orgasm delay/denial (especially of male orgasms). I also like lots of attention to a guy's nipples and it really turning him on.

If you don't want to write smut, I'll love a G or T fic with these characters.

For these fandoms, I feel like there's still so much to explore in canon-verse — whether that's pre-canon, canon, post-canon, or canon-divergent. It's all incredibly rich and there are a ton of stories still to be told.

If you do want to do an AU, I'm a huge fan of tropes like fake dating, arranged marriage, and fuckbuddies first. There's something about the romantic and sexual connections growing on a different schedule than the mandated standard one, and about the parties trying to hide or suppress their feelings for each other, that really gets me. I'm also a sucker for Only One Bed, text fics, and soulmates.

I love when people bring their own special interests/knowledge to an AU. Weirdest job you've ever had, period of history you're an expert on, or a hobby some people think you take way too seriously? A cultural background that's totally different from mine? (I'm white, USan, Jewish) I am so here for that AU. Beekeeping AU! Scuba AU! Handcrafted-prosthetics AU! Jeopardy fact-checker AU! Early Umayyad Caliphate AU! Balinese AU! Bring it!

I've tried to give a bunch of ideas here, but if there's something you've been dying to write for one of these fandom/character combos, go for it as long as it doesn't hit my DNWs. The stories that insist on being written are often the best ones.

For Real

The first thing I loved about For Real is how the mere combination of command and obedience is hot for both Laurie and Toby, even before you get to any pain, bondage, etc. and how well Hall gets that across. (But I do also love bondage, pain, etc.) He pays such attention to the nature of the D/s relationship for both of them.

I also really appreciate the fact that Toby is the dom and Laurie is the sub but Laurie is usually the insertive partner for intercourse and neither of them sees that as remarkable or contradictory. AJH has written about this, actually: https://quicunquevult.com/books/spires/fr-extras/#sexpectations

I also like how real and human Toby stays even while being a dom — that he can make rookie errors, be silly, laugh at himself, and this generally doesn't reduce his standing as a dom in either his eyes or Laurie's.

I love small, fierce, angry Toby, and I feel for the way he regards himself as being Not Enough for most of the book. I also adore how he insists that this is love and he gets to call it that, whether Laurie does or not.

I really like Laurie, although I spend a lot of the book being irritated with him for not being able to relax, let love in, admit that this is important, treat Toby as he deserves to be treated, let down his walls. I do think it's delightful and telling that, despite all that reserve and distancing, he starts calling Toby “darling” the first time they have sex and never stops.

I would LOVE a Sherry/Jasper fic. Love, love love, love, love. How *did* Jasper's study get to be such a mess? How did the two of them get together? Was it before or after Sherry "took top first at prelims" that Jasper says should have been his? All the Sherry and Jasper is what I'm saying here.

I love Grace and Sam and the institution of pancakes. I would love a fic about a pancake morning with Laurie and Toby in attendance there. If you wanted to pull in any of these characters from other AJH books I would be beyond happy: Arden, Caspian, Luc, Oliver, Harry, Rosaline, Fen, Alfie, Greg, Ilya, George, Poppy Carrie, Nik. By the way, I picture Grace as looking (and, let's be honest, acting) like River Song (Dr. Who).

It would be fun to read about Grace and Sam's first night together back in uni.

I also adore Dom the dom.

A couple other fic ideas: reverse POV of a canon scene; an AU where they meet in a non-kink context (but figure it out anyway).

Do Not Want: Robert, Grandad.

Arden St. Ives

Oh, Ardy! Everyone's favorite disaster pansexual elf. And poor, damaged Caspian. I just want them to be happy!

I love Ardy's positivity, his affectionate nature, his love of sex. I love how he wants to help Caspian and sees (at least some of) what Caspian needs from the very first. Also just his narrative voice — the cleverness, the allusions to every level of culture, the playfulness.

It makes me so happy when Caspian starts to heal and open up. When he asks Ardy to touch him because he loves it even though it's very hard for him — oh. my. god.

There are a lot of side characters I love: Bellerose, George, Ellery, Nik, Poppy Carrie, Ardy's family.
Please no Lancaster Steyne on page!

Here are some fics I would love to see:

A Happy Ever after for Bellerose. I've written one, but I'd be delighted to read your version. This doesn't need to involve Ardy and Caspian, but it might. One way to do it would be to have Caspian and Ilya encountering each other by accident 10 years hence and catching up on each others' lives, or any other way you think works out to Bellerose's satisfaction.

I would love to see Arden and Caspian (and maybe Ellery) go for a family Christmas at Kinlochbervie.

Caspian healing over time and their relationship growing. Caspian edging back into being able to be a dom.

Arden and Caspian on a double date with Toby and Laurie.

I'd like to see how Caspian's relationship with Ellery gets better. One idea is to have Ardy drag Caspian to a Murder Ballad concert.

I'd love an AU where Caspian's dad didn't die. Ardy and a much healthier Caspian find each other.

Caspian taking Ardy shopping for high fashion clothing, like when he lists all the places he could take Ardy after Ardy says that the fabulous silver dress isn't his.

They add another bed to the bedroom in the penthouse so that when Caspian can't stay in the same bed he can stay in the same room.

They take apart the dungeon in the penthouse. What do they do with the furniture and toys? Destroy them? Give them to a public dungeon? Maybe Grace and Sam are creating a play space and they give it all to them. I can't decide whether it should be used in joy by new owners, or just be destroyed because of all the bad karma. You decide and make a case for your choice!

DO NOT WANT: Lancaster Steyne in a canonverse fic. I can't stand the man.

Pansies: I'd love some warm fuzzy Alfie/Fen content. Waking up in a cozy bed on a cold winter day. Going to the theater together. Alfie cooking their first anniversary dinner. Them talking about having kids.

General Do Not Wants

MCD
Non-con
Heavy angst
Underage sex
Scat, golden showers
Mpreg
A/B/O
Christmas except where specifically prompted

Entry tags:

dear yuletide writer

Dear Yuletide Writer

Fandoms:

Docile – K.M. Spara: any (Elisha Wilder, Alex Bishop, Dutch Townsend, Onyx)
For Real – Alexis Hall: Laurence Dalziel, Toby Finch
Arden St. Ives Series - Alexis Hall: any (Arden St. Ives, Caspian Hart, Ellery Hart, Justin "Ilya" Bellerose)

This is my first Yuletide, and I'm very excited to take part. Thank you SO MUCH for writing for me! I look forward to reading whatever you create, and I'm also delighted to meet someone else who appreciates one or more of the tiny fandoms I've nominated. They are all very small (well under 10 fics) and I'll be delighted for any of them to grow by a story, wherever you take it — aside from the DNWs, everything here is to suggest and inspire; if your fancy heads in an other direction, please go for it! Whatever you write will be lovely. 8^)

Romance novels (mostly queer ones) and fan fiction are what has kept me sane through these recent, very difficult years and, frankly, they've given my libido a new lease on life. I read Carry On near the beginning of shelter-in-place, joined that fandom, and got very involved in reading and writing fic. Over the last year, I've gotten way more interested in some smaller fandoms like the ones I'm requesting. Alexis Hall and K.J. Charles are my favorite authors these days. I've also been blown away by Docile (K.M. Szpara) and The Charioteer (Mary Renault).

In general, I love for a fic to be grounded in who the characters are. If it's an AU, they may be different because of their different life experiences, but still recognizably the same people in some way. Even in an AU, I like the relationships to be canon ones.

I have two AO3 accounts. Gammarus is where I post my nsfw fics (including all the fics I've written in the fandoms I'm requesting). Ampithoe is where I post my smut-free fics as well as all my bookmarks, regardless of the heat level of the fics bookmarked.

I'm amphipodgirl on dreamwidth, twitter, tumblr, and various discord servers.

I enjoy fics at all ratings and sexiness levels. If you like writing smut, I love a good sprinkling of D/s. I also love praise kink, humiliation, fisting, bondage, pain, and orgasm delay/denial (especially of male orgasms). I also like lots of attention to a guy's nipples and it really turning him on.

If you don't want to write smut, I'll love a G or T fic with these characters.

If you happen to be a trans dude, I enjoy fic with transmasculine headcanons for male characters. Enby headcanons also welcome.

For these fandoms, I feel like there's still so much to explore in canon-verse — whether that's pre-canon, canon, post-canon, or canon-divergent. It's all incredibly rich and there are a ton of stories still to be told.

If you do want to do an AU, I'm a huge fan of tropes like fake dating, arranged marriage, and fuckbuddies first. There's something about the romantic and sexual connections growing on a different schedule than the mandated standard one, and about the parties trying to hide or suppress their feelings for each other, that really gets me. I'm also a sucker for Only One Bed, text fics, and soulmates.

I love when people bring their own special interests/knowledge to an AU. Weirdest job you've ever had, period of history you're an expert on, or a hobby some people think you take way too seriously? A cultural background that's totally different from mine? (I'm white, USan, Jewish) I am so here for that AU. Beekeeping AU! Scuba AU! Handcrafted-prosthetics AU! Jeopardy fact-checker AU! Early Umayyad Caliphate AU! Balinese AU! Bring it!

I've tried to give a bunch of ideas here, but if there's something you've been dying to write for one of these fandom/character combos, go for it as long as it doesn't hit my DNWs. The stories that insist on being written are often the best ones.

Docile:

Oh my god. I love this book. It blew me away and was most of what I thought about for something like six weeks. I wrote over 50k words of fic for it before I set it down and started to breathe and notice other things again.

I'm so intrigued by all the layers it holds of what consent is, what it means, what its limitations are... Elisha signs a consent form, and he's attracted to Alex, but he doesn't want the sex, especially not when and how it occurs, but he likes it. Over time his sense of self just gets completely eaten away until he doesn't know how to choose anything — and then his healing process is fascinating too.

And Alex seems like he's really a top dog, can have anything he wants, but it gradually becomes clear how much he was conditioned by his family, and when his parents have him committed we see how little freedom he has to step outside the role that's assigned to him. He really wants to be a good guy, but his initial view of what that means is so limited and even wrong; later, when he sees the world differently, he's all in for change.

I found the non-con really hot. That made me really uncomfortable at first, and I eventually decided that was part of the layering too — Szpara gets us to be kind of complicit in the Docile system when we enjoy that stuff.

If you write post-canon Alex/Elisha having sex, I'd like to see them healing and having a fun,caring, positive time.

When I wrote my post-canon fic, I had them eventually get together after working through a lot of feelings. I'd be interested to see a different post-canon fic in which they decide (in a healthy way) that they don't belong together (but stay friends or otherwise retain positive feelings towards each other).

If Alex permanently gives up his money and power for Elisha, will there be times when he resents that or it's just hard for him, when he misses stuff? I kind of made him a paragon in this respect in What Love Sounds Like; I'd love to see a more realistic, human take.

I'd love to see Elisha bring Alex for a family dinner with Nora, David, Abigail, and Dylan after they've rebuilt their relationship some. How would that go? And in that context or any other, does David Burns ever become less of a dick?

There are a lot of great side characters, too. I have a big soft spot for Micah, who was one of the people who did the most to help Elisha.

I love Nora, who is warm and caring but will also give you the side-eye when you deserve it. Her daughter Dylan's spirit and the way she'll just light into Alex or Jess, not show them any respect she feels they haven't earned — gorgeous. It could be interesting to explore her life at the labs, or do a fic centering on one or more of her visits home during her Docile term.

I think Dutch is fascinating and complicated, and I'd love a Dutch/Onyx/Opal fic. (But please keep to the canon relationships: Dutch involved with both Opal and Onyx, by Onyx and Opal not having a romantic or sexual connection.) I love how Onyx is always ready to name the elephant in the room and tell you exactly what he thinks about it. You don't need to include Alex and Elisha if you're concentrating on this trio.

I also think Jess is very cool, and I'd love to see an exploration of the many talks they had about whether engaging with the Docile system by working for Bishop Labs was the right thing to do. Again, doesn't need to have Alex and Elisha.

If you include Mariah, please make her awful, because I think she really, really is.

I've written two fics for this fandom. One is published; the other is still in beta as of this writing. Feel free to either springboard off it, or go in a completely different direction.

For Real

The first thing I loved about For Real is how the mere combination of command and obedience is hot for both Laurie and Toby, even before you get to any pain, bondage, etc. and how well Hall gets that across. (But I do also love bondage, pain, etc.) He pays such attention to the nature of the D/s relationship for both of them.

I also really appreciate the fact that Toby is the dom and Laurie is the sub but Laurie is usually the insertive partner for intercourse and neither of them sees that as remarkable or contradictory. AJH has written about this, actually: https://quicunquevult.com/books/spires/fr-extras/#sexpectations

I also like how real and human Toby stays even while being a dom — that he can make rookie errors, be silly, laugh at himself, and this generally doesn't reduce his standing as a dom in either his eyes or Laurie's.

I love small, fierce, angry Toby, and I feel for the way he regards himself as being Not Enough for most of the book. I also adore how he insists that this is love and he gets to call it that, whether Laurie does or not.

I really like Laurie, although I spend a lot of the book being irritated with him for not being able to relax, let love in, admit that this is important, treat Toby as he deserves to be treated, let down his walls. I do think it's delightful and telling that, despite all that reserve and distancing, he starts calling Toby “darling” the first time they have sex and never stops.

I love Grace and Sam and the institution of pancakes. I would love a fic about a pancake morning with Laurie and Toby in attendance there. If you wanted to pull in any of these characters from other AJH books I would be beyond happy: Arden, Caspian, Luc, Oliver, Harry, Rosaline, Fen, Alfie, Greg, Ilya, George, Poppy Carrie, Nik. By the way, I picture Grace as looking (and, let's be honest, acting) like River Song (Dr. Who).

I also adore Dom the dom.

If you wanted to ignore the nominated characters altogether and just write some Sherry/Jasper that would be Just Fine.

A few other fic ideas: reverse POV of a canon scene; a post-canon fic where they foster a queer kid who has run away from home; an AU where they meet in a non-kink context (but figure it out anyway).

Do Not Want: Robert, Grandad.

Arden St. Ives

Oh, Ardy! Everyone's favorite disaster pansexual elf. And poor, damaged Caspian. I just want them to be happy!

I love Ardy's positivity, his affectionate nature, his love of sex. I love how he wants to help Caspian and sees (at least some of) what Caspian needs from the very first. Also just his narrative voice — the cleverness, the allusions to every level of culture, the playfulness.

It makes me so happy when Caspian starts to heal and open up. When he asks Ardy to touch him because he loves it even though it's very hard for him — oh. my. god.

There are a lot of side characters I love: Bellerose, George, Ellery, Nik, Poppy Carrie, Ardy's family.
Please no Lancaster Steyne on page!

Here are some fics I would love to see:

A Happy Ever after for Bellerose. I've written one, but I'd be delighted to read your version. This doesn't need to involve Ardy and Caspian, but it might. One way to do it would be to have Caspian and Ilya encountering each other by accident 10 years hence and catching up on each others' lives, or any other way you think works out to Bellerose's satisfaction.

I would love to see Arden and Caspian (and maybe Ellery) go for a family Christmas at Kinlochbervie.

Caspian healing over time and their relationship growing. Caspian edging back into being able to be a dom.

Arden and Caspian on a double date with Toby and Laurie.

I'd like to see how Caspian's relationship with Ellery gets better. One idea is to have Ardy drag Caspian to a Murder Ballad concert.

I'd love an AU where Caspian's dad didn't die. Ardy and a much healthier Caspian find each other.

Caspian taking Ardy shopping for high fashion clothing, like when he lists all the places he could take Ardy after Ardy says that the fabulous silver dress isn't his.

They add another bed to the bedroom in the penthouse so that when Caspian can't stay in the same bed he can stay in the same room.

They take apart the dungeon in the penthouse. What do they do with the furniture and toys? Destroy them? Give them to a public dungeon? Maybe Grace and Sam are creating a play space and they give it all to them. I can't decide whether it should be used in joy by new owners, or just be destroyed because of all the bad karma. You decide and make a case for your choice!

DO NOT WANT: Lancaster Steyne in a canonverse fic. I can't stand the man.

General Do Not Wants

MCD
Non-con except canon-typical for Docile
Heavy angst
Underage sex
Scat, golden showers
Mpreg
A/B/O
Christmas except where specifically prompted
Death of a parent or parental figure (references to a canon death are okay but please don't dwell)

By the way, if you were assigned to write for me because of an appreciation for Alexis Hall, you might be interested in our friendly little AJH discord server: https://lalelilolusworld.tumblr.com/post/633244528602677249/alexis-hall-discord-server