Dear Yuletide Author letter!

[madamebadger]

Finally, it is here! Many apologies to my writer for not having it up for matching--this was a heck of a week.



First, a BIG STUPID NOTE re: Dragonriders of Pern: I said that I loved Menolly/Mirrim and then said "for this pairing, I would prefer het or gen." *facepalm* This is obviously wrong. I meant to say "for this fandom, I would prefer femslash or gen." I AM SORRY, that was dumb of me.

First off: I am extremely easy to please. If I have any explicit 'do not want' things, I'll note them below; pretty much anything else is fair game. I really look forward to seeing what you come up with!

For reference, my AO3 username is the same as my DW username: madamebadger.

Some things I particularly like, in case they inspire any story ideas (but with no pressure!):

- Friendship
- Competence, and characters getting a chance to show off their particular skills
- Learning stories: characters learning their awesome skills
- Backstory, whether it's character backstory or world history
- Worldbuilding of all kinds
- Friends-become-lovers stories
- Magic, especially primal or elemental magic, and the way it affects people
- Comrades in arms
- Healing after trauma
- Chosen families
- Bonds that cross cultures or even species
- Humor
- Canon-divergence AUs (like 'what would have happened if Character A had done X instead of Y?')
- Culture clashes and different people learning to work together
- Wilderness, wildness, and the hunt
- In-character storytelling, and the importance of stories
- Survival
- Creation and building a life or a culture
- Self-sacrifice
- Loyalty
- Honor and personal codes
- Unusual storytelling modes (epistolary, metafiction, non-linear, etc.)

A few things that I don't like and would rather not see:

- Rape and noncon
- Gore (violence is okay, but I prefer not to get elaborate descriptions of viscera, body parts, etc.)
- Torture, whether of humans or animals, depicted onscreen or described in detail (references are fine)
- Parent/child and sibling incest
- Bestiality depicted onscreen or described in detail (for at least one of my canons, something that could be considered bestiality is part of the backstory, and that's fine to reference)
- Mundane AUs (like 'coffee shop' or 'high school'), because half of what I love about my fandoms is the setting

I don't have anything new to say about my fandoms, but for reference, here are the prompts:

Elfquest

I'm requesting Elfquest with any character because, frankly, I'd be thrilled with anything in this setting. Backstory, missing scenes, alternate history, character study, vignette--you name it. If you want some more specific pointers, I really like stories dealing with the themes of culture clash, survival on a harsh planet, storytelling, the bond between person and beast (whether that's the Wolfriders or someone else), and the joys and problems of telepathy and soulbonding. I love hunting, magic, wild places, and building a future.

The only setting I'm really not too keen on is the Jink/The Rebels/Futurequest timeframe, but since none of those characters were nominated anyway, I doubt that will be a problem. :)

I am perfectly fine with slash, femslash, het, and gen, and I'm also fine with any rating. I prefer no parent/child or sibling incest, no on-screen bestiality (although of course stories involving the fact that Wolfriders are the product of an elf and a wolf in general are fine--I just don't want an elf/animal sex scene), and no rape or noncon. I'm also not a big fan of gore. Otherwise, have fun!

Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey (Menolly and Mirrim)

Menolly and Mirrim were always my favorite characters in Pern, and I'd be thrilled with just about any story involving them. If you ship them, Mirrim/Menolly would be lovely! If you don't, I'd also be delighted with friendship-fic. My favorite things about them are the way they compliment and contrast each other--Menolly's strengths are not Mirrim's and vice versa.

I also really like stories about people learning things, and both Menolly and Mirrim fit that beautifully. Perhaps a story about Menolly perfecting her craft, or Mirrim learning to be a rider of a fighting dragon (a very different skill set than her Headwoman-like role before that prepared her for!). But really, anything involving these characters will make me happy.

(I didn't explicitly include Path because I wanted to give you the opportunity to write a story where a dragon onscreen might not be appropriate, but if you want to incorporate her, please do!)

For this pairing I would prefer het or gen, and I'm also fine with any rating. (Edit: This was meant to say: For this fandom I would prefer femslash or gen, and I'm also fine with any rating. Ack! Sorry!) I prefer no parent/child or sibling incest, no on-screen bestiality, and no rape or noncon. I'm also not a big fan of gore. Otherwise, have fun!

Changeling: the Dreaming

Changeling is a game I've played and loved for many years, and I'd be really happy with almost any fic about it! I left the character set open so to give you options; I'd be happy with any of the listed "characters" (kiths), or with stories about the world in general. I've always been fascinated by the balance of living in two worlds--I've always liked the idea that, while Banality is obviously the more pressing danger for a Changeling, giving in to the faerie side too much is deadly dangerous as well. Other themes that I love for Changeling are the interaction between creation and destruction, the malleability of reality, and the fine line between madness and magic. It might also be fun to try to make sense of the sometimes-contradictory underpinnings of the setting (I think by the end there were three or four not-entirely-compatible definitions of 'Banality' and 'Glamour'...), if you like.

I'd prefer to keep it to the kiths from the core rulebook, at least as far as major characters go, simply because there's been more time to flesh those out (although other kiths would be fine as background characters). Any setting or timeframe is fine--I'd be equally happy with urban fantasy-ish "changelings in modern New York" or with changelings in Tokyo or at the fall of Rome. Or even a legend about lost Arcadia!

I am perfectly fine with slash, femslash, het, and gen, and I'm also fine with any rating. I prefer no parent/child or sibling incest, no on-screen bestiality, and no rape or noncon. I'm also not a big fan of gore. Otherwise, have fun!

Final Fantasy VI (Celes Chere)

Celes is hands-down my favorite Final Fantasy 6 character, and I'd be just thrilled with any story focusing on her. I love her strength and her reserve, and her magic which--at least initially--is treated as something legitimately eerie. I also love the way she goes from holding herself aloof to really caring about her companions. I'd be happy with a story from any point in her life: backstory as a child, her rise to being a really ludicrously young general and Rune Knight, something set during the game, or something set after. I love woman warriors, themes of rebuilding, and magic.

I'm a fan of Celes/Locke and Celes/Terra (and would not object at all to Celes/Locke/Terra!). That said, the only pairings I can think of offhand that I really don't want are Celes/Kefka, Celes/Cid, or Celes/Gestahl, so if you have another idea for a pairing, please go with it!

I am perfectly fine with femslash, het, and gen, and I'm also fine with any rating. I prefer no parent/child or sibling incest, no on-screen bestiality, and no rape or noncon. I'm also not a big fan of gore. Otherwise, have fun!

Baccano! (Nice Hollystone and Jacuzzi Splot)

I really like practically everything about Baccano!, but if you made me pick favorite characters, Jacuzzi and Nice would be at the top of the list. I love pretty much everything about them--but particularly Nice's ridiculous enthusiasm for things that go boom, and Jacuzzi's near-constant state of terror. (Not to mention the way Jacuzzi always pulls through to do what needs to be done... not because he gets over being afraid, but *despite* his fear.) The moment when Jacuzzi gets a tattoo to make Nice feel better about her scars is high on my list of best heartwarming moments ever.

I do ship them, so if you want to write Jacuzzi/Nice, I'd be thrilled, but you certainly don't need to--I'd also be quite happy with friendship-fic about them. My favorite things about Baccano are the humor, the madcap feel, the heist-like structure, the convoluted jigsaw of a plot, and the way it manages to be oddly feel-good despite being almost entirely about gangsters and murderers.

I also love love love Miria and Isaac, so if you want to work them in too, that would be a great bonus, although of course not necessary. (Actually, if you get a brilliant idea for Miria-and-Isaac fic, you hereby have my permission to ignore the listed characters and write about them instead!)

I am perfectly fine with het and gen, and I'm also fine with any rating. I prefer no parent/child or sibling incest, no on-screen bestiality, and no rape or noncon. I'm also not a big fan of gore (although canon-like depictions of violence are fine as long as there isn't, say, loving descriptions of viscera). Otherwise, have fun!