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Yuletide Dear Author letter
Oct. 20th, 2023 08:19 pmHello fantastic Yuletide author!
Thank you so much for making me a thing! I'm sure I'll 100% love it. I am a more-or-less lesbian bibliophile, originally from the Pacific NW and now resident in southern California. Copy/pasting the following from previous letters:
Particular loves of mine include: formidable yet complex women being formidable and complex together; human trainwrecks colliding (either humorously or tragically); sex writing that is emotionally nuanced and/or ratchets up the narrative tension more than it resolves it; unreliable narrators; atmospheric settings; lovely turns of phrase; strong narrative voices, and weird narrative tricks.
Squicks: My huge, body-horror-level squick is pregnancy and babies; please avoid them if at all possible. Also I'd love it if you'd avoid animal cruelty or death. As you might infer from my categories below, my feelings about the institution of marriage are also pretty critical & non-romantic, so feel free to include it but I don't much fancy it as a happy ending. Other than that, I'm up for pretty much whatever, including dub-con or even non-con as long as they're acknowledged as such within the context of the story. I write a ton of porn and I love to read it, but it's in no way required or expected, so just follow your muse!
Feel free to disregard fandom-specific ramblings; but if you're interested, I've gone into a bit more detail below. In previous years I've erred on the side of too few fandoms and they've had a hard time matching me, so this year I'm trying to spread myself a bit more broadly. This means I can't go into great detail about every fandom I'm requesting, but I've tried to do at least a little brainstorming about each one. I've divided the fandoms into three categories for easier reference.
The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson (Theodora, Eleanor)
Eleanor's evolving attachment to Theodora is so sudden, and conflicted, and eerie. I definitely don't want an everyone-lives fix-it of Hill House, but would love a missing scene or expansion of included scene between these two. What happened before or after the scene where they're clutching hands in the dark and cold between their two beds? Was there a moment Eleanor felt weird about the suddenness of romping through the forest two seconds after meeting Theo, then indulging in mutual tender face-touching by the stream? Were there moments Eleanor witnessed after she became the ghost/spirit of Hill House, that shed light for her or the reader on what happened earlier? Since all we get in canon is Eleanor's POV: what was Theodora thinking during one of the scenes narrated in the book?
Carmilla (Carmilla, Carmilla's mother)
The more times I read this novel, the more times I'm puzzled & intrigued by the relationship between Carmilla & her "mother." Are we talking about her human mother? The woman who made her into a vampire? Are these one & the same? If it's her human mother, how the fuck did their relative situation come about? I'd love some kind of Carmilla prequel, sequel, or missing scene exploring their dynamic. NB: I am not squicked by "incest" in this context (are they even actual flesh & blood mother & daughter?) but it's only one way of many interesting ones that I can picture their relationship.
The Waste Land - TS Eliot (Typist)
I first read The Waste Land when I was in middle school (LOL I made my own fun) and I remember reading the section about the typist and thinking "Mmm that sounds so relaxing." Having your own apartment, with a phonograph? Putting clothes to dry on the radiator? Taking a lover, then kicking him out of your place and putting on a record? In many subsequent readings I came to understand that for Eliot the typist and the young man carbuncular are a sort of nightmare visitation from the (to him) inherently mediocre and brainless lower-middle class, whose very existence threatens the ongoing power and quality of Art. But I don't buy into that. Not saying the typist is living her best life, necessarily, but she's doing OK and she can think for herself. Any kind of non-concescending moment of joy or satisfaction for her would be lovely.
The Unknown Ajax (Anthea, Hugo)
Hoo boy, Anthea, you're lucky he's rich and in love with you (I guess), because this man is going to tease you MERCILESSLY until the literal end of your days. Like don't get me wrong, I find him intensely charming to read, and I don't necessarily think they'll be unhappy, but I would not change places with Anthea for any consideration. I'd love a vignette from some years into their marriage, involving Hugo's loving yet infuriatingly unceasing teasing and Anthea's coping strategies.
Jeeves & Wooster (Bertie, Honoria, Jeeves) I am weak for the dynamic of sporty dyke Honoria and effete fop Bertie maturing into a mutually supportive (take your pick): friendship; fake relationship to pacify various aunts; lavender marriage in which Honoria romances an endless string of female tennis players while Bertie and Jeeves chill at home; other similar dynamic that is only now occurring to you. I think Honoria is the threatened suitor with whom (when they're not being forced into matrimony with one another) Bertie is able to have the most fun; they seem equally ill-suited to husbandly and wifely duties, and equally committed to their various flavors of queer existence. I'd love to see any kind of scenario where they help each other out with those existences, and enjoy each others' company. (As a note, I perceive Jeeves & Bertie in some kind of committed long-term emotional relation to one another, but whether or not it's sexual and/or romantic is up in the air. I can definitely see it either way.)
Anne of Green Gables (TV 1985 & 1987) (Katherine Brooke, Marilla Cuthbert)
Several of Anne's emotional conquests throughout the course of these stories are dedicated spinsters, including her adoptive mother Marilla—this is a marked contrast with Anne's own fervid romanticism and socially-sanctioned fertile marriage. I'm curious for more detail on what these various spinsters made of one another. When Katherine Brooke visited Green Gables, was there some kind of recognition between her and Marilla, in which Anne wasn't included or which wasn't accessible to Anne? What did they make of one another?
Thank you so much for making me a thing! I'm sure I'll 100% love it. I am a more-or-less lesbian bibliophile, originally from the Pacific NW and now resident in southern California. Copy/pasting the following from previous letters:
Particular loves of mine include: formidable yet complex women being formidable and complex together; human trainwrecks colliding (either humorously or tragically); sex writing that is emotionally nuanced and/or ratchets up the narrative tension more than it resolves it; unreliable narrators; atmospheric settings; lovely turns of phrase; strong narrative voices, and weird narrative tricks.
Squicks: My huge, body-horror-level squick is pregnancy and babies; please avoid them if at all possible. Also I'd love it if you'd avoid animal cruelty or death. As you might infer from my categories below, my feelings about the institution of marriage are also pretty critical & non-romantic, so feel free to include it but I don't much fancy it as a happy ending. Other than that, I'm up for pretty much whatever, including dub-con or even non-con as long as they're acknowledged as such within the context of the story. I write a ton of porn and I love to read it, but it's in no way required or expected, so just follow your muse!
Feel free to disregard fandom-specific ramblings; but if you're interested, I've gone into a bit more detail below. In previous years I've erred on the side of too few fandoms and they've had a hard time matching me, so this year I'm trying to spread myself a bit more broadly. This means I can't go into great detail about every fandom I'm requesting, but I've tried to do at least a little brainstorming about each one. I've divided the fandoms into three categories for easier reference.
HAUNTINGS; EXORCISMS
The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson (Theodora, Eleanor)
Eleanor's evolving attachment to Theodora is so sudden, and conflicted, and eerie. I definitely don't want an everyone-lives fix-it of Hill House, but would love a missing scene or expansion of included scene between these two. What happened before or after the scene where they're clutching hands in the dark and cold between their two beds? Was there a moment Eleanor felt weird about the suddenness of romping through the forest two seconds after meeting Theo, then indulging in mutual tender face-touching by the stream? Were there moments Eleanor witnessed after she became the ghost/spirit of Hill House, that shed light for her or the reader on what happened earlier? Since all we get in canon is Eleanor's POV: what was Theodora thinking during one of the scenes narrated in the book?
Carmilla (Carmilla, Carmilla's mother)
The more times I read this novel, the more times I'm puzzled & intrigued by the relationship between Carmilla & her "mother." Are we talking about her human mother? The woman who made her into a vampire? Are these one & the same? If it's her human mother, how the fuck did their relative situation come about? I'd love some kind of Carmilla prequel, sequel, or missing scene exploring their dynamic. NB: I am not squicked by "incest" in this context (are they even actual flesh & blood mother & daughter?) but it's only one way of many interesting ones that I can picture their relationship.
The Waste Land - TS Eliot (Typist)
I first read The Waste Land when I was in middle school (LOL I made my own fun) and I remember reading the section about the typist and thinking "Mmm that sounds so relaxing." Having your own apartment, with a phonograph? Putting clothes to dry on the radiator? Taking a lover, then kicking him out of your place and putting on a record? In many subsequent readings I came to understand that for Eliot the typist and the young man carbuncular are a sort of nightmare visitation from the (to him) inherently mediocre and brainless lower-middle class, whose very existence threatens the ongoing power and quality of Art. But I don't buy into that. Not saying the typist is living her best life, necessarily, but she's doing OK and she can think for herself. Any kind of non-concescending moment of joy or satisfaction for her would be lovely.
MARRIAGE, HUH? GOOD LUCK WITH THAT
The Unknown Ajax (Anthea, Hugo)
Hoo boy, Anthea, you're lucky he's rich and in love with you (I guess), because this man is going to tease you MERCILESSLY until the literal end of your days. Like don't get me wrong, I find him intensely charming to read, and I don't necessarily think they'll be unhappy, but I would not change places with Anthea for any consideration. I'd love a vignette from some years into their marriage, involving Hugo's loving yet infuriatingly unceasing teasing and Anthea's coping strategies.
Jeeves & Wooster (Bertie, Honoria, Jeeves) I am weak for the dynamic of sporty dyke Honoria and effete fop Bertie maturing into a mutually supportive (take your pick): friendship; fake relationship to pacify various aunts; lavender marriage in which Honoria romances an endless string of female tennis players while Bertie and Jeeves chill at home; other similar dynamic that is only now occurring to you. I think Honoria is the threatened suitor with whom (when they're not being forced into matrimony with one another) Bertie is able to have the most fun; they seem equally ill-suited to husbandly and wifely duties, and equally committed to their various flavors of queer existence. I'd love to see any kind of scenario where they help each other out with those existences, and enjoy each others' company. (As a note, I perceive Jeeves & Bertie in some kind of committed long-term emotional relation to one another, but whether or not it's sexual and/or romantic is up in the air. I can definitely see it either way.)
Anne of Green Gables (TV 1985 & 1987) (Katherine Brooke, Marilla Cuthbert)
Several of Anne's emotional conquests throughout the course of these stories are dedicated spinsters, including her adoptive mother Marilla—this is a marked contrast with Anne's own fervid romanticism and socially-sanctioned fertile marriage. I'm curious for more detail on what these various spinsters made of one another. When Katherine Brooke visited Green Gables, was there some kind of recognition between her and Marilla, in which Anne wasn't included or which wasn't accessible to Anne? What did they make of one another?
