To my Yuletide writer (2008 edition):

[graycardinal]

Dear yuletide Santa:

First order of business: an apology.  I had meant to get in on Monday and replace at least one of the non-matchable fandoms in my initial signup, but time and circumstance intervened (also, I was hoping one of the two would become matchable again at the last minute).  As a result, I can be confident that you've been matched to one of two, rather than one of four, of the fandoms I requested (and I rather suspect the odds strongly favor one of those, but we'll see).

Anyhow.  First some general notes (mostly reprised from prior years):

I am a fairly mellow Yuletider with wide reading interests.  That said, my attitude toward much slash (particularly m/m as opposed to femslash) is more or less meh.  I'm not opposed to it, providing it arises plausibly out of the character relationships; the Kim Possible fandom produces an impressive amount of well-written Kim/Shego material, for instance.  OTOH, it also produces a lot of well-written Kim/Ron, which I like equally well.  As this may suggest, I am most interested in fic with high story value as opposed to fic defined by its pairing or 'ship.  Having said that, I hasten to distinguish "story" from "plot"; I emphatically do not mean to suggest that I'm not interested in character-driven fic -- quite the contrary.  And having said that, I should add that I very much appreciate strong plotting, too.  It's definitely not a coincidence that the fandoms that tend to attract my attention combine strong characterizations with equally strong plots.


Kate Chambers - Diana Winthrop series (Lydian Sinclair)
Do not worry about this fandom for this year.  It's brand new to Yuletide via my own nomination, and is apparently even more obscure than I thought it was (and that was pretty darned obscure in the first place).  A brief description for pimpage purposes: this was a series of a half-dozen slim "teen sleuth" mysteries first published in the 1980s; the setup most closely resembles the Nancy Drew universe, but the settings were more realistic, the plots more complex, and the characterization somewhat more adult (anticipating the "Nancy Drew Files" incarnation of that series a bit, perhaps); the individual books also featured dedications/homages to various classic mystery writers. 

There doesn't seem to be a good Web resource for the series, though individual titles are findable from the major used-book vendors (in some cases, at insane-looking prices).  "Kate Chambers", incidentally, was apparently a pen name for children's mystery author Wylly Folk St. John; the Lydian Sinclair character I requested (introduced in the second book, Danger in the Old Fort) was a journalist, novelist, and understated romantic interest for Diana's widowed father. I definitely recommend the books if you can find them, and I hope I'm not the series' only surviving fan.  But for this year, this one is clearly a wash.

Linda Haldeman - The Lastborn of Elvinwood (Thomas Heaton)
Also not a matchable fandom this year, though I did enough pimping during the signup process that there was a window where it was matchable, and I know there are other Yuletiders who've at least heard of this book.  It's also a reasonably compact novel and a fairly quick read; irrespective of fic-writing assignments, I absolutely encourage you to hunt down and read the novel -- in addition to the usual online sources, this can be found in many larger libraries. 

A very brief summary of the story: English bachelor Ian James is walking home from his village's theater one evening when he notices two of his neighbors slipping quietly into the nearby wood -- and when he follows them, he finds himself in a Faerie court straight out of "Midsummer Night's Dream".  Except that the faeries are fading away, and as penalty for snoopiness Ian is recruited to help them exchange one of their own for the infant child of a visiting American family.  Haldeman's writing simply charms, in the very best sense of that word, and she weaves Shakespeare, Arthurian lore, Gilbert & Sullivan, Peter Pan, and just a touch of Agatha Christie into a story that absolutely sparkles.  If you like Patricia Wrede, Good Omens, the Narnia series, and/or The Princess Bride, you are likely to find Linda Haldeman a joy.

If you do read the book and choose to write in the setting, I don't think I need to elaborate much further on the request itself.  I will be hugely gratified by nearly any angle of the canon and character you choose to explore (although I have to say that I have a hard time imagining the good Vicar in a slash piece).

Seanan McGuire - Velveteen series (any)
If you're one of the two other Yuletiders who offered this fandom, you don't need the above link to the canonical adventures of Velma Martinez aka Velveteen (four stories as I post this -- five if you count the two parts of the Flashback Sequence separately -- all quite concise).  You already know just how wickedly zany and yet utterly compelling this saga is.  Also you undoubtedly know much of Seanan's other work, including her contributions to Yuletide itself.  If you are not one of those other two Yuletiders, click through and prepare to be amazed (remember to start at the earliest post and work forward).

I admit to a degree of mischievousness in nominating and requesting Velveteen in the first place; this is a very new setting, and given that its creator is deeply infused with fannish sensibility to start with, there's something vaguely incestuous about asking for fanfic of these stories.  That said, I'm also completely sincere: I think the canon is utterly nifty and deserves to be expanded on, and that short of cloning Seanan so she can write even faster (technologically impractical), fanfic is clearly the next best option.  As to what to write?  I won't even begin to prescribe, save to reiterate from the request proper -- respect the canon.  I'd be wary of going too far forward in time, so as to avoid diverging too far from future-canon, but that still leaves lots of room to go sideways or back, to highlight minimally referenced other characters, and to inflict righteous whomping on the Marketing Department.  Or, in theory, to explain why the whomping might not be righteous after all (hard to imagine, but who knows?).   Like Oliver in Oliver Twist, I will be eminently pleased if I can just have some more.

Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? (Carmen Sandiego)
This is my third go at prying Carmen fic out of Yuletide; odds are decent that this time, I've at least got a match on the fandom, and it's certainly the least obscure of my requests for the year.  If we've matched on Carmen Sandiego, I will be very, very happy for the chance at a Carmen story at last.  That said, don't let me stop you from reading the Velveteen stories -- and the Haldeman novel if you can get hold of it -- and if the mood strikes you to write in one of those fandoms, I will be equally delighted to have that story instead.

As per the prior requests (click on my "yuletide" tag to bring up the old letters): I'm fascinated by Carmen's growing connection with Zack & Ivy; a story that moves that forward will make my year, but virtually any solid Carmen-centric tale will be welcome.  I've noted before that het or gen make most sense to me in this fandom; slash strikes me as unlikely, but not impossible -- though no Carmen/Ivy slash, please, and let's not even think about Zack/Ivy as a Wincest-ish pairing [washes brain out with soap].  Definitely bring in secondary characters as needed or desired, particularly the Chief and Avalon.  As to capers, I am equally fond of Carmen the gadgeteer and Carmen the old-school cat burglar; it's the theatrical flair that counts. 

Good luck!  (And no, this message will not self-destruct in five seconds.  That's another universe entirely....)