[personal profile] graycardinal
Greetings, O YuleScrivener, and welcome!

First of all, thank you! As a longtime requester of Seriously Obscure Fandoms™, I am constantly amazed when the matching process succeeds in finding authors who have actually heard of and fallen in love with the canons I so persistently request (there are some new ones this year, but there are also several that I've been reprising for ages now). And I am invariably delighted on Christmas morning when wonderful and wondrous stories land in my AO3 gift-folder. In particular, I've gotten some truly excellent treats in recent years, as well as a stream of gorgeous gifts - it boggles my mind that the Yuletide community is as consistently  productive - and as consistently talented - as it is, and the fact that some of those stories are written just for me never ceases to amaze me.

A word about the current letter: With the evolution in Yuletide customs over the last few years, my detailed fandom requests, prompts and all, are mirrored straight from the signup itself. Anyone needing further details regarding a specific request should email the Yuletide mods. (As far as I'm concerned, this goes both for assigned writers and prospective creators of treats - to which I remain very much open - unless and until the mods tell us otherwise.) A year or two down the road, I may actually stop mirroring the request texts over here, and simply refer people back to the signup, just to save typing and formatting the crosspost, but we're not quite there yet.

My AO3 dashboard is linked to your left; feel free to cruise it looking for fandoms of mutual interest (or just to see what all I've written for). Here on DW, all my fic-exchange letters are tagged "dear santa" as well as to the relevant exchanges, Yuletide included. For those of you willing and able to feed my endless desire for crossovers and fusions, let those listings be your guide to prospective combinations.

Now, then: here's what you need to know about my reading tastes:

Things I like:
Text-driven pluses for me include effective use of wit (aka banter aka snark, etc.), as well as strong characterization & dialogue. I value both respect for and clever use of canon (including well-developed canon-divergence AUs). I thrive on UST (heavy on both U and T), and am mostly neutral where gen/het/slash is concerned; if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind.

I am also a sucker for the well-executed crossover, whether via oblique allusion or head-on fandom collision. Yuletide being Yuletide and Optional Details Being Optional, I have absolutely no expectations along this line...but that's why I include the EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS section in all my requests, because I live in a state of perpetual hope and enthusiasm. Feel free to take up these challenge or set them aside as you prefer.

DNWs:
I've resisted writing specific DNWs for years – not because I don’t have preferences, but because I hate framing them as absolute negatives. I’m a flexible reader, and the story I want most out of Yuletide is the one you want to tell me rather than the one that’s living in my own head (that one, if I want it badly enough, I can always write myself).

However. Here too, both Yuletide customs and a few of my own boundaries have shifted, So, a few general notes beyond those in the signup proper.
  • On explicit sex generally: The DNW text in my requests is meant to discourage gratuitous smut/PWP; it is not meant to forbid frank treatment of sexual matters when that's appropriate for the story you're telling, especially in those cases where I may have brought up romantic or sex-related prompts on my own nickel (for instance, this year's "Young Wizards" request). In general, if your muse takes you into explicit territory in the context of a prompt I've given, or if there's context for it in source canon, I am willing to come along for the ride
  • Specific sex-related squicks: non-con, incest, or adult/child kinks; power-imbalanced sex/romantic partnerships (teacher/student, boss/underling, etc.)
  • Romantic partnerships explicitly inconsistent with canon: that is, please don't break up an established canon pairing, or invalidate a character's established preferences/identity; please do,feel free to thoughtfully establish or expand a character's preferences in ways that amplify canon. (Also see specific fandoms for notes.)
  • Alt-setting AUs (baristas/high-schoolers/etc.): I fall for worlds; transplanting characters out of those worlds just isn't my jam.  


And here are the requests:

Diana Winthrop series - Kate Chambers (any character)
Admin:
(1) A story about *any one or more* of the nominated characters will satisfy this request.
(2) Treats are both welcome and encouraged!

Background:
The Winthrop books are a teen-sleuth series (six slim paperbacks from the mid-'80s) set mostly in New York and New England, with "Kate Chambers" being a pen name for versatile writer Norma Johnston -- a fact I didn't learn till much later. The individual mysteries are dedicated to (and often cleverly plotted in the style of) various classic and then-famous mystery authors, the characterizations are much more nuanced than is usual for this category, and there’s a strong ongoing ensemble cast (including a major and well-rendered secondary character who’s blind).

DNW:
Just in case: please, no Lydian/Diana slash. Between canon’s implied Lydian/Rob Winthrop (which I approve of) and Lydian’s mentor/protegé vibe with Diana, that hits my squick radar multiple ways.

Notes:
As obscure as this series is, I've evidently managed to sell at least one or two new readers on these books over the past couple of years, so there are now more actual prompts in this request than there used to be. Nonetheless, this is what I tend to describe as an "Oliver Twist" request -- what I really and truly want most is simply more, and I am pretty much guaranteed to be delighted whether or not you actually follow any of the prompts given.

Prompts:
One of the really nifty things about Diana's adventures was the multi-generational family dynamic. That's a big reason that in addition to Diana herself, I chose Jacintha (who's clearly an adult here, if pretty new-minted; I see her as mid-20s at the outside), Gran Culhaine, and Lydian Sinclair (who looks likely to become part of the Winthrop clan ere long) to represent the ensemble. I'd like to see familial texture here, whether in the context of a case/adventure or a more personal sort of tale. Feel free to bring in others from the extended cast as appropriate, and to look for story ideas both from Diana's past (the Boston contingent as kids? Diana's original "acting" days?) and future (what does she end up doing career-wise?) as well as the series' present.

Extremely Optional Bonus Points:

The crossover junkie in me points out that Diana's NYC/Boston home base and detective interests make for plausible run-ins with a great variety of other source canons, including at least one of my other current requests, and someone (other than me!) has already nudge-winked a connection between Diana's Ross cousins and a certain family of MCU military and espionage professionals. More generally, see (1) my works and gifts received on AO3, and (2) all entries tagged “Dear Santa” in my DW journal, and assume that any fandom represented therein is welcome.

The Master (TV) (any character)
Admin:
(1) A story about *any one or more* of the nominated characters will satisfy this request.
(2) Treats are both welcome and encouraged!

DNW:
McAllister/Max slash; the mentor/student relationship (evolving into something like a father/son "found family" vibe) is too strong here to make me comfortable with that.  

Notes:
On one hand, this one-season wonder series from 1984 has no official connection to the extended KUNG FU franchise. But the premiseis right out of the same ballpark, with Lee Van Cleef as the only Occidental ever to attain the rank of master ninja - now roving the USA in search of a long-lost daughter and training Tim Van Patten in the arts of stealth and self-defense. (Series creator Michael Sloan would, in fact, go on to create "The Equalizer" in 1985 and "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" in the '90s, and the seeds of those shows are definitely in evidence here.) I've never understood why this show folded as quickly as it did; what separates "The Master" from its assorted successors is that it recognizes and embraces its inner snark. Van Cleef's John Peter McAllister may be the consummate ninja master, but he's also pragmatic, practical, and perfectly willing to point out cliches when he sees them. There's just a touch of 1960s Batman in the tone here, and that's a good thing in my book.

Prompts:
For Yuletide purposes, don't worry much about the arc involving McAllister's daughter; I'll be happy with case/caperfic, with something training-centric, and/or a situation that forces Okasa and our heroes to see each other as something other than outright enemies. And while I'm primarily interested in the show's "present day" setting (or follow-ups to some of the loose ends left open in various individual episodes), I would absolutely not say no to a deep-background tale about Okasa and McAllister from before McAllister left Japan.

Extremely Optional Bonus Points:
Why yes, this is where we talk about crossover prospects...this is, after all, me, and with its road-warrior stop-for-the-week premise, this show is absolutely made for crossovers with nearly any other contemporary-setting fandom, from "Murder She Wrote" (might McAllister have known Frank Fletcher from his wartime service?) on out. More specifically: I have not seen enough of either the original "Kung Fu" or "Kung Fu:TLC" to get much from a cross with either of those series, but I was a definite fan of the original "Equalizer" and am very much on board for the current CW "Kung Fu" revival, so a story pulling in one or the other of those would be particularly welcome. (And there is certainly enough mystical weirdness going on in the latter to handwave McAllister showing up in 2022, with or without Max and Okasa.)

Mrs. Pollifax - Dorothy Gilman
(Grace)
Admin:
(1) Treats are both welcome and encouraged!

DNW:
Explicit sex is neither expected nor required. These prompts are mostly not romance-focused; if included, physical intimacy should be portrayed in a tone and style consistent with canon.

Prompts:
I'm requesting Grace individually purely to give you a freer hand with the character. I'd be delighted to see her thrust into an adventure with Emily in which Emily's CIA status finally comes out. Or maybe even better, one where Grace runs into John Farrell while on one of her group tours, a caper inevitably ensues, and somewhere in the middle they discover they have a certain mutual acquaintance. In case of a Grace-and-Farrell story, I can certainly see the potential for romance. On a totally different tack - might Grace have been working for Carstairs all along? Or how might matters fall out if it were Grace and Carstairs running into one another, perhaps in the context of some cultural event in New York or Washington?

Extremely Optional Bonus Points:
I should mention here that I wrote a Yuletide story [linked in my letter] a few rounds back in which Grace Hartshorne appears, and proves to have a complicated history. If - and only if, and I recognize the extreme iffiness of that if - you're motivated in that direction, I'd be totally delighted to see what you think happens to Grace in the wake of that episode. I should add, in the context of even more extreme optionalness, that the comment to that story asking about Diane Duane's books was dead on target; I came very close to making the work a straight-up crossover. Alternately, there's plenty of room for other possible crossovers - in particular, if you're so inclined and familiar with the author's other series protagonist, I would be absolutely delighted to see what might ensue should Mrs. Pollifax happen to cross paths with a certain Madame Karitska.

Tomorrowland (2015) (Athena)
Admin:
(1) Treats are both welcome and encouraged!

DNW:
Explicit sex is neither expected nor required. These prompts are mostly not romance-focused; if included, physical intimacy should be portrayed in a tone and style consistent with canon.

Prompts:
I really, really like Athena in this movie; she’s such a delightful combination of practical, innocent, wise, and deeply mischievous.  I’m torn between wanting more stories about her quest for dreamers out here in this world vs. more about how she evolved, in the Tomorrowland world, to the point where she bonded with Frank and broke away from Nix. I also admit to being curious about her origins, considering that whereas Tomorrowland has a lot of robots/androids, Athena’s independence is rare to unique among them. Here as always, feel free to introduce any other canon characters you feel inclined to bring in (any of the Plus Ultra founders, for instance). As regards Athena and possible pairings: I don't have a "ship" as such where she's concerned, but I do ask that if you go there, please clearly establish the relationship as one between equals. (Which is to say, if you portray Athena as the teenager she physically resembles, I can see pairing her with Casey; if you portray her as a mature adult based on her chronological age and lived experience, then it's appropriate to pair her with Frank.)

Extremely Optional Bonus Points:
Per usual, crossovers are both welcome and encouraged, and I see a lot of room for them in this universe. In specific, you might consider combining this request with any of my others for this Yuletide round - but I'm by no means limiting you to that field if your muse has another idea in mind. Feel free to prowl the fandom list from my AO3 dashboard for other prospects, and the "Dear Santa" tag from my DW community for fandom requests from prior years. One additional note: I stumbled quite by accident on the prequel tie-in novel, <i>Before Tomorrowland</i>, a good month or so after seeing the movie proper. If you haven't run across the book, I highly recommend it and encourage you to check it out; if you have, inclusion of any elements from that storyline or its consequences would be a lovely bonus.

Young Wizards - Diane Duane (Carmela, Dairine)
Admin:
(1) I would strongly prefer a story featuring both characters, but a story featuring either one will satisfy this request.
(2) Treats are both welcome and encouraged!

DNW:
Explicit sex is neither expected nor required. These prompts are mostly not romance-focused; if included, physical intimacy should be portrayed in a tone and style consistent with canon. Specifically: no Carmela/Dairine slash, please - granting that Carmela's tastes are pretty strongly implied to be gender-flexible, my instinct is that (a) if she were going to go there with a Callahan, it would be Nita, and (b) Carmela does NOT want to find out what would happen if Nita had any idea that she and Dairine were hooking up *that* way. (Come to that, she probably also wouldn't want to find out what Dairine might do if she found out that Carmela and Nita were that sort of item - although in that instance, Nita would be in a position to tell Dairine to stuff it and make it stick.)

Notes:
I am fully conversant with both the “classic” and New Millennium timelines (and happy to receive fic set on either or both sides of that line), and have read all the canonical material *except* THE BIG MEOW and the second ON ORDEAL compilation (although I hope to have the latter finished by the time reveals roll around).

Prompts:
I chose Carmela and Dairine both because I like them individually and because canon gives us so very little that puts them together with one another -- which I find surprising, even granting the age difference. I would very much like to see how they interact given an excuse and/or opportunity. Additional characters welcome, especially including but not limited to the Alien Study Group.

With "Wizards At Play" in hand, we have many of the answers we've wanted relative to Dairine and Roshaun, so I'm no longer deeply worried about excessive angst arising from that quarter. It does occur to me that Dairine might find it easier to talk to Carmela about Roshaun than to have the same conversations with Nita, perhaps especially now that his situation's been resolved. (Or you could set such a tete-a-tete earlier in canon, while things are still unsettled....)

Other possible tacks: Dairine getting one up on Nita with Carmela’s help, or the girls and the Alien Study Group having an adventure (I’ve seen a fair bit of fic in this line set in the Crossings, not so much here on Earth). I would also be very much on board for quality father-daughter bonding -- no matter which father/mentor figure(s) is/are involved.

Extremely Optional Bonus Points:
If you’ve been reading all my requests in order, you know what’s coming here. (If not, feel free to skip upstream and come back....) Young Wizards is by nature a decidedly crossover-friendly fandom; I’ve done just a bit with that myself, and would totally be on board with a crossover here. There are any number of New York-centric fandoms on which one might draw, from "Gargoyles" (I could totally see either Macbeth or "Anastasia Renard" circling into the girls' orbit) to the MCU (it would explain a whole lot in the Holland Spider-films if Aunt May were a wizard, not to mention providing fix-it potential for the ending of "No Way Home") to "Enchanted" or "Tomorrowland".

The Zeta Project (any character)
Admin:
(1) A story about *any one or more* of the nominated characters will satisfy this request.
(2) Treats are both welcome and encouraged!

DNW:
Explicit sex is neither expected nor required. These prompts are mostly not romance-focused; if included, physical intimacy should be portrayed in a tone and style consistent with canon.

Specifically, No Zeta/Ro as a romantic pairing, please; I far prefer the friendship as it develops in the series proper. I'd also prefer to avoid the hurt/comfort trope here (in either direction). A certain level of bruising and damage is expected in any extended action/pursuit setting, but I'd prefer not to see anyone too severely injured. (Property damage, particularly on the part of some of the enemies, is another thing entirely; that's also a "built into the premise" situation.)

Notes:
This fandom is here because I finally got hold of the second-season DVD release, and I hope I'm not the only one. Zeta Project is among my all-time favorite Saturday morning action series, largely because it did such a good job of being different. This wasn't a superhero show, a "teen sleuth" show in the Scooby-mode, or a "collect plot coupons" quest, and it did an amazingly good job of developing its two leads as individuals.

Prompts:
I find myself inordinately interested in seeing more of Agent Lee, both in circumstances where she's thrown together with Zeta and/or Ro, and when she's interacting with the rest of her NSA team. The thing is, it's not that the team's incompetent (except maybe for West), it's just that with Zeta and Ro, they are both out of their league and operating under mistaken assumptions. That said, I'll be equally happy with Zeta and Ro sharing an action/caper adventure, managing a quiet interlude between clashes with Bennett, or even something far enough post-series that Ro and/or Zeta have settled into new and rather more stable lives. Feel free to bring in additional characters, regular or recurring, as needed for plot purposes. Two notes: (1) Bucky works better for me in small doses, and when treated as genuinely smart as opposed to overly mischievous; (2) if you do make use of second-season material, feel free skip right over/past the running mysteries surrounding Dr. Selig.

Extremely Optional Bonus Points:
Given that the series is a direct spinoff of Batman Beyond (and thereby part of the extended Batman/Justice League series continuity), I'd love to see the Zeta characters run into one or more members of the future Justice League. Alternately - despite what I said a moment ago about Dr. Selig, here's a wildly obscure plot bunny: certain aspects of Selig's history suggest a connection with the mythology of "The Questor Tapes", the Gene Roddenberry/D.C. Fontana project about a disguised android with a mission to safeguard human destiny. (Questor's creator and his sponsors were eventually resurrected and borrowed by several writers of the extended-timeline Star Trek novels, though not acknowledged in any of the main Trek TV shows or films.

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
(will be screened if not validated)
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Style Credit

Page generated Jun. 28th, 2025 05:44 am

Charter

This is a fanfic journal. I'm interested in a wide variety of fandoms as well as in meta- and theoretical discussions; see my interests list for specific fandom categories. Comments, critiques, recs, reviews, and the like are always welcome.

June 2025

S M T W T F S
1234567
8 91011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930     

Subscription Filters

Most Popular Tags

Powered by Dreamwidth Studios