Yuletide Letter 2024
Oct. 14th, 2024 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taywenDear Yuletide Author,
Thank you so much for offering to write for one of my fandoms! I'm really excited to read your fic, and I know I'll love it. If you already have a story in mind, please feel free to disregard my suggestions, but in case you are looking for a bit of inspiration or a prompt, I've included a few general tropes/AUs that I like, along with more fandom-specific preferences as well!
Tropes, genres & AUs I like:
- fake dating
- huddling for warmth
- time travel (fix-its, timeloops)
- outsider POV
- slice of life
- domesticity
- role reversal/roleswap AUs
- soulmate AUs (esp trope subversion)
- animal transformation
- age regression/kidfic (esp if the “kid” is a character that generally has it together as an adult/hides their childhood issues)
- first time
- overstimulation
- and a lot more that I can't think of at the moment; please don't feel the need to strictly follow this list!
UPROOTED (The Dragon | Sarkan, The Falcon | Solya, Prince Marek)
DNWs: major (non-canon) character death, mpreg, non-con
Feel free to omit one of these characters if you would prefer! I’m open to just about anything involving some combination of these characters, ship or gen fic. I think these characters have interesting dynamics in each pair as well. I’m a firm believer that Marek and Solya were banging during the events of the book. Sarkan and Solya have big bitter exes energy as well. Marek and Sarkan just…do not get along at all, lol, but what if they didn’t have any choice but to work together?
Some prompts:
- Young Marek sets out to enlist the Dragon’s help to save his mother from the Wood, after it becomes obvious that his father and the other court wizards have no intention of doing so. Solya is the lucky wizard who’s sent to retrieve Marek from what everyone assumes to just be a standard problem child running away. Does Marek make it to the valley? Or maybe Solya takes him there just to get a rise out of Sarkan?
- Solya and Marek when they first started working together. Solya seems like pretty much the exact sort of person that Marek would despise, so how did they end up being such close allies? Or are they just using each other for mutual benefit?
- Something about the beginning of Solya and Sarkan’s rivalry? The two of them as apprentices or new wizards, before Sarkan takes up vigil in the the valley?
- After a particularly egregious incident in court, Solya is sent to the valley to guard it as punishment for him and Marek. Sarkan is dragged back to court despite his protests. Sarkan and Marek have to figure out a way to get things restored to the proper order before it’s too late.
- AU where Marek survives the book but the assault by the Wood-queen leaves his ambitions shaken. He and Solya try to pick up the pieces, or perhaps even...make amends?
- Post-canon, Solya trying to cope with Marek's death (or maybe just with how that affects his own ambitions) with Sarkan as a reluctant audience?
- (I know this one in particular is a long shot, but just putting it out there--) I'd love to see a fusion AU with the Scholomance trilogy? Solya and Sarkan as reluctant indie allies? Solya trying to get close to enclaver!Marek, much to Sarkan's disdain?? Solya exasperated af with Sarkan's refusal to cozy up to enclavers in general??? Go wild <3
SCHOLOMANCE (Alfie)
DNWs: major character death, teen pregnancy, focus on pregnancy, non-con
Please feel free to include as many (or as few) of the rest of the cast as you would like, so long as the focus is on Alfie. I'm here for Alfie/Liesel, or some variation of an Alfie/Liesel/El/Orion polycule, or gen. If it is post-canon, I would prefer if Alfie/Liesel are still a thing (although their relationship certainly doesn't need to be the focus of the fic)! I think I just have a soft spot for characters that you wouldn't necessarily expect to be aware of their own privilege being so careful not to take advantage of said privilege and in fact actually feeling an obligation to give something in return for that privilege... Yeah. (Not to say that he doesn't have blind spots or any sense of entitlement, but he did seem to be one of the more decent enclaver kids.)
(Also re: pregnancy DNW - I'm fine with kidfic, but I would rather the kid be born already in the fic. Mentions of pregnancy are fine but I'd prefer it not be the focus.)
Some prompts:
- A typical day in the Scholomance - what does that look like? The Scholomance reacted to his full name in the second book - are there other perks (or disadvantages) that come with being the descendant of the school's founder?
- Or maybe a not-so-typical day in the Scholomance? Enclave kids don't usually get attacked by mals, but maybe that day, he does. Maybe Orion saves him, or maybe another character helps him, or maybe he saves himself. (Alfie as a sort of outsider POV on Orion(/El) could be interesting!)
- We know that Alfie wasn't necessarily Liesel's first choice - is he aware of that? How did her acquisition of him go? Was he aware of her as someone of interest before she became valedictorian?
- Post-canon, how involved would he be in the maw-mouth hunting project? Or in the polycule? (I like the idea of him hooking up with El and/or Orion too, but if he's just very supportive of Liesel's relationship with El I'm here for it!)
MACHINERIES OF EMPIRE (Ajewen Cheris, Shuos Jedao, Jedao Two)
DNWs: major (non-canon) character death, pregnancy of any kind, non-con
I know this combination of characters isn’t the most feasible, so please feel free to omit one or two of them as necessary!
I’d really like Jedao Two to have a happy ending, or at least, like, a Good Day. One good day isn’t too much to ask, is it? (It’s a lot to ask, I know.) Or, maybe he ends up Jedao Prime’s new anchor after the events of Glass Cannon anddisaster hijinks ensue!
How does Cheris react to hernew improved changed bond with Jedao? What do they do after the events of Glass Cannon? How does Jedao cope with Two’s… interesting body?
Or, for a completely AU turn of things… What if Cheris had joined the Nirai? Does she replace Kujen in this scenario? Is she the false hexarch trying to get rid of Kujen? I just like taking characters from one faction and putting them in another and seeing how things shake out; if some other role reversal comes to mind, I'd love to read it!
Thank you so much for offering to write for one of my fandoms! I'm really excited to read your fic, and I know I'll love it. If you already have a story in mind, please feel free to disregard my suggestions, but in case you are looking for a bit of inspiration or a prompt, I've included a few general tropes/AUs that I like, along with more fandom-specific preferences as well!
Tropes, genres & AUs I like:
- fake dating
- huddling for warmth
- time travel (fix-its, timeloops)
- outsider POV
- slice of life
- domesticity
- role reversal/roleswap AUs
- soulmate AUs (esp trope subversion)
- animal transformation
- age regression/kidfic (esp if the “kid” is a character that generally has it together as an adult/hides their childhood issues)
- first time
- overstimulation
- and a lot more that I can't think of at the moment; please don't feel the need to strictly follow this list!
UPROOTED (The Dragon | Sarkan, The Falcon | Solya, Prince Marek)
DNWs: major (non-canon) character death, mpreg, non-con
Feel free to omit one of these characters if you would prefer! I’m open to just about anything involving some combination of these characters, ship or gen fic. I think these characters have interesting dynamics in each pair as well. I’m a firm believer that Marek and Solya were banging during the events of the book. Sarkan and Solya have big bitter exes energy as well. Marek and Sarkan just…do not get along at all, lol, but what if they didn’t have any choice but to work together?
Some prompts:
- Young Marek sets out to enlist the Dragon’s help to save his mother from the Wood, after it becomes obvious that his father and the other court wizards have no intention of doing so. Solya is the lucky wizard who’s sent to retrieve Marek from what everyone assumes to just be a standard problem child running away. Does Marek make it to the valley? Or maybe Solya takes him there just to get a rise out of Sarkan?
- Solya and Marek when they first started working together. Solya seems like pretty much the exact sort of person that Marek would despise, so how did they end up being such close allies? Or are they just using each other for mutual benefit?
- Something about the beginning of Solya and Sarkan’s rivalry? The two of them as apprentices or new wizards, before Sarkan takes up vigil in the the valley?
- After a particularly egregious incident in court, Solya is sent to the valley to guard it as punishment for him and Marek. Sarkan is dragged back to court despite his protests. Sarkan and Marek have to figure out a way to get things restored to the proper order before it’s too late.
- AU where Marek survives the book but the assault by the Wood-queen leaves his ambitions shaken. He and Solya try to pick up the pieces, or perhaps even...make amends?
- Post-canon, Solya trying to cope with Marek's death (or maybe just with how that affects his own ambitions) with Sarkan as a reluctant audience?
- (I know this one in particular is a long shot, but just putting it out there--) I'd love to see a fusion AU with the Scholomance trilogy? Solya and Sarkan as reluctant indie allies? Solya trying to get close to enclaver!Marek, much to Sarkan's disdain?? Solya exasperated af with Sarkan's refusal to cozy up to enclavers in general??? Go wild <3
SCHOLOMANCE (Alfie)
DNWs: major character death, teen pregnancy, focus on pregnancy, non-con
Please feel free to include as many (or as few) of the rest of the cast as you would like, so long as the focus is on Alfie. I'm here for Alfie/Liesel, or some variation of an Alfie/Liesel/El/Orion polycule, or gen. If it is post-canon, I would prefer if Alfie/Liesel are still a thing (although their relationship certainly doesn't need to be the focus of the fic)! I think I just have a soft spot for characters that you wouldn't necessarily expect to be aware of their own privilege being so careful not to take advantage of said privilege and in fact actually feeling an obligation to give something in return for that privilege... Yeah. (Not to say that he doesn't have blind spots or any sense of entitlement, but he did seem to be one of the more decent enclaver kids.)
(Also re: pregnancy DNW - I'm fine with kidfic, but I would rather the kid be born already in the fic. Mentions of pregnancy are fine but I'd prefer it not be the focus.)
Some prompts:
- A typical day in the Scholomance - what does that look like? The Scholomance reacted to his full name in the second book - are there other perks (or disadvantages) that come with being the descendant of the school's founder?
- Or maybe a not-so-typical day in the Scholomance? Enclave kids don't usually get attacked by mals, but maybe that day, he does. Maybe Orion saves him, or maybe another character helps him, or maybe he saves himself. (Alfie as a sort of outsider POV on Orion(/El) could be interesting!)
- We know that Alfie wasn't necessarily Liesel's first choice - is he aware of that? How did her acquisition of him go? Was he aware of her as someone of interest before she became valedictorian?
- Post-canon, how involved would he be in the maw-mouth hunting project? Or in the polycule? (I like the idea of him hooking up with El and/or Orion too, but if he's just very supportive of Liesel's relationship with El I'm here for it!)
MACHINERIES OF EMPIRE (Ajewen Cheris, Shuos Jedao, Jedao Two)
DNWs: major (non-canon) character death, pregnancy of any kind, non-con
I know this combination of characters isn’t the most feasible, so please feel free to omit one or two of them as necessary!
I’d really like Jedao Two to have a happy ending, or at least, like, a Good Day. One good day isn’t too much to ask, is it? (It’s a lot to ask, I know.) Or, maybe he ends up Jedao Prime’s new anchor after the events of Glass Cannon and
How does Cheris react to her
Or, for a completely AU turn of things… What if Cheris had joined the Nirai? Does she replace Kujen in this scenario? Is she the false hexarch trying to get rid of Kujen? I just like taking characters from one faction and putting them in another and seeing how things shake out; if some other role reversal comes to mind, I'd love to read it!
