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Dear Author (Yuletide 2022)
Oct. 20th, 2022 09:54 pmDear Author:
Thanks for checking out my letter! I've included some general notes about my preferences up front, some detailed prompts and thoughts about each of my requested fandoms, and then a big list of "Things I Generally Like in Fic" at the very end. Please note that I'm a regular participant in fanfic exchanges and so I had a lot of this already written up - don't feel you have to read every word or stick closely to the prompts given if you're inspired differently! I am generally very easy to please.
Overall, I am open to fic of any rating, and including any AO3 Archive Warning if appropriate to the story. When prompting for romantic pairings or shippy content I'm happy to receive (but in no way require) sexual content. I permit and welcome treats of any kind.
Enola Holmes (Movies)
Enola Holmes, Sherlock Holmes
I really enjoyed this film, and am eagerly looking forward to the second one coming out in November - please feel free to incorporate content from that film into your work if you wish, but don't feel obliged to do so. I will definitely have watched it by the time works are revealed, though, so I have no concerns about spoilers. Similarly, I have not read the books these are based on, but feel free to incorporate content from the books if you like.
I liked how the first film centered Enola's relationship with her mother, but also complicated her distant admiration for her brother's sleuthing with the realization that Sherlock, for all his skills and talents, wasn't at all sure how to deal with her. I'd really like to see a fic set post-film that looks at that developing relationship. I love Eudoria, Edith, and Tewky and would be pleased if they featured as well, but I would prefer that Mycroft not play a significant role in the fic.
Prompts:
Both Enola and Sherlock continue to look into their mother's mysterious work, and keep running into one another throughout their investigations, to mixed feelings. It seems clear from the film that Eudoria is involved in suffrage movement activism that may very well turn violent - and I suspect that even as proud and fond of his sister as Sherlock is, he would not be particularly supportive of those kinds of actions. (Though, maybe he'd surprise me, I don't know!) Perhaps Enola (learning more about the Cause from Edith) and Sherlock debate about the issue and Enola tries to win him over to supporting their mother's work.
Does this Sherlock have a Watson? What's their relationship like, and how might Enola come to meet them or feel about them if they were to team up to help Sherlock at any point? (Ambiguous pronoun used on purpose, feel free to play fast and loose with the character of Dr. Watson however you like. I'm not invested in any particular variation of a Sherlock/Watson ship but if you're pulled in that direction go for it!).
Potentially riffing off the above prompt - ACD Holmes canonically had a cocaine addiction that Watson helped him overcome. (Obviously various adaptations have played with this more directly, like in Elementary.) Maybe Enola finds out that her Gifted older brother has some demons of his own?
Enola/Tewky is very cute (he's a good boy) and I'm fine with it being included in a fic - Sherlock seemed unbothered by the idea of their relationship, perhaps even a little amused. Whether Enola is really romantically attached to Tewky or just very protective of his helplessness or something in between, fic featuring the three of them could be interesting.
Slice of life stuff is good, too - Sherlock attempting to convince Enola to live with him as his ward more formally (I expect she's not interested, though perhaps tempted, but it would be intriguing to see that discussion), Sherlock and Enola running into one another in an unexpected context, Sherlock and Enola competing for a particular case to the former's consternation and amusement and the latter's increasing determination.
DNW: Incest, death or serious harm to young (under 13) children (but Enola and/or Tewky getting into trouble or peril is good, though!), Mycroft more than mentioned in the fic
Hustler Magazine vs. Falwell RPF
Jerry Falwell, Larry Flynt
In 1983, Larry Flynt's Hustler magazine published a parody ad in which religious leader Jerry Falwell supposedly gave an interview about his "first time" - with his mother, in an outhouse. It was a crude, grotesque, and funny parody of popular suggestive liquor ads at the time, and Falwell was deeply offended. He sued Flynt, and the resulting case made it all the way to the Supreme Court. The resulting decision - Hustler Magazine vs. Falwell (1988) - prohibited public figures from recovering tort damages from emotional distress or harm from a published work so long as a reasonable person would not consider the content factual.
This case is the reason that RPF has stronger legal protections in the United States than most other fanworks! That would be enough, for me, to prompt silly fanfic responses to it, but the reality gets even weirder.
Years after the court case was decided, Jerry Falwell and Larry Flynt met up on a talk show to discuss the case, and went on to become friends. They publicly debated the merits of the case in front of audiences multiple times, and - per Larry Flynt's word - they became close enough to regularly exchange Christmas cards and phone calls.
If this tickles your fancy in any way, I invite you to write fic about it. It can be broad parody, a serious character study, shocking, tender, or anything in between. Let's celebrate the weird relationship between these two men that came out of the case that protects our right to make up really weird stories about celebrities!
Some possible sources of inspiration:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustler_Magazine_v._Falwell - An overview of the court case.
The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) is an Oscar-winning biographic film about Larry Flynt that is primarily about his personal life but, as the title suggests, depicts many of his courtroom antics (he was sued many other times) including a depiction of the Falwell case being heard by the Supreme Court. The film is streaming on Hulu and available elsewhere online.
www.latimes.com/la-op-flynt20may20-story.html - Their friendship in Larry Flynt's own words.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLAOzn9x9Go - a video of one of their "road show" public debates
DNW: death or serious harm to young (under 13) children.
Valdemar series - Mercedes Lackey
Worldbuilding
With the announcement that the Valdemar books are being adapted for television, I've been feeling very nostalgic for this world. Valdemar was my first real fandom - I recieved Mercedes Lackey fan club newsletters in the mid 90s - and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I love the setting, despite (or perhaps because of) all it's melodrama and silliness.
Prompts: I'm mostly interested in stories that poke at expectations and understandings of the world presented in the book without going really grim-dark. Outsider's perspective on Valdemar and the Heralds. I particularly enjoyed Alberich, Kerowyn, and other non-Herald's more clear-eyed view the strengths and weaknesses of Valdemar's systems.
On the flip side, from the inside, what about a story about a member of the Valdemaran royal family who isn't Chosen, either due to a lack of Gift or the Companions deciding that they had some more important purpose in a different role?
The books imply that prospective Monarch's Own sometimes have "unbonded Choosings" and only *really* Bond with the Grove Born Companion when they take office. (When Jisa is a child in the Last Herald-Mage books Vanyel implies this could be her future, and it's not clear if it didn't happen for political (keeping her out of the line of succession) or practical (Randale wouldn't live long, anyway) reasons.) But... what would that be like, and in what circumstances might it happen? How would the "temporary Companion" feel about it?
Similarly, what happens when an adult Herald is tapped as the next Monarch's Own? Was their bond with their existing Companion not real? Would the Companions argue about it?
In general I'm curious about Companion interpersonal interaction. They are definitely implied to have human-like conflicts and prejudices. How does that play out? Do they chastise one another for breaking the rules? How?
For what it's worth, besides Alberich and Kerowyn some of my favorite characters are Talia and Dirk, Kris, Selenay, and Skif. From Vanyel's time, I am fond of him, Savil, as well as Randale, Shavri, and Jisa. But any characters not in my DNWs are fair game, as are OCs both from within and outside of Valdemar.
DNW: death or serious harm to young (under 13) children, works focusing on Mags and his children (I have not read the "Spies" series - referencing events therein is fine but I don't want those characters to be the focus of the work)
The Wheel of Time (TV)
Lan Mandragoran, Nyneave al'Meara
Important note for this fandom: In addition to Lan and/or Nyneave, I am open to works featuring Siuan Sanche, Moiraine Damodred, Alana Mosvani or any combination of these 5 characters! If you would prefer to write a character study of Moiraine, or Moirane/Siuan, or Moiraine & Alana, or Alana/Her Warders, etc, I would be thrilled.
The Wheel of Time books were foundational to my appreciation for fantasy literature, and despite their many flaws, I will always think of them fondly. That said, I think the show is doing an incredible, fun adaptatation of the material and I cannot wait to see what they do with it next. In the books I found Lan interesting but distant, and Nyneave impressive but not my favorite of the main female channelers by any stretch of the imagination. But their show counterparts absolutely floored me with their characterization and chemistry. I am very into anything exploring their at turns tender and antagonistic relationship and how impressed they are by each other. I love that they are so strong and so visibly struggling at the same time. Any exploration of their relationship and interaction - or post S1 speculation about how it might go forward - is welcome.
Prompts:
A world in which Lan and Nyneave are allowed a *llittle* more time in the whirlwind of the finale to talk about...everything.
What would happen if Nyneave were to somehow accidentally bond Lan as a Warder at the same time that he was still bonded to Moiraine, or forged some other connection with The Power that coexisted with it?
I love whenever they do something to meaningfully impress the other - a quiet moment of shared competence in any context would be great.
I'm very open to explicit content for them as well - some fitting themes there might be praise kink, loyalty kink, bondage, dom/sub, or any other kinks that you think might work from my big list of sexy likes below.
I'm also a huge fan of Moiraine, Siuan, Moraine/Siuan, Moraine & Alana, and Alana & her warders.
Moiraine/Siuan - a glimpse at the past, and what their literal years of effort toward seeing the prophecy fulfilled has been like as a couple
Moiraine & Alana - I loved their scene together on the bed, their easy camraderie. What is their friendship like?
Alana & her Warders (or Alana/her warders, I do love a M/M/F threesome) - She's so direct with them, and they speak of her so fondly. I'm curious to see what their relationship is like beyond the few glimpses we got.
DNW: Death or serious harm to young (under 13) children, alternate setting AUs (canon divergence is fine and welcome, however!)
General Likes and Preferences
Setting tropes and AU premises I love
The thing I really like the most about h/c and whump is the intimacy of it all. The caring for another person in h/c, and/or the traumatic headspace/emotional rollercoaster of pain and angst the whumped character goes through are absolutely my personal catnip.
Sex tropes I love
Thanks for checking out my letter! I've included some general notes about my preferences up front, some detailed prompts and thoughts about each of my requested fandoms, and then a big list of "Things I Generally Like in Fic" at the very end. Please note that I'm a regular participant in fanfic exchanges and so I had a lot of this already written up - don't feel you have to read every word or stick closely to the prompts given if you're inspired differently! I am generally very easy to please.
Overall, I am open to fic of any rating, and including any AO3 Archive Warning if appropriate to the story. When prompting for romantic pairings or shippy content I'm happy to receive (but in no way require) sexual content. I permit and welcome treats of any kind.
Enola Holmes (Movies) | Hustler Magazine vs. Falwell RPF | Valdemar series - Mercedes Lackey | The Wheel of Time (TV) | General Likes and Preferences
Enola Holmes (Movies)
Enola Holmes, Sherlock Holmes
I really enjoyed this film, and am eagerly looking forward to the second one coming out in November - please feel free to incorporate content from that film into your work if you wish, but don't feel obliged to do so. I will definitely have watched it by the time works are revealed, though, so I have no concerns about spoilers. Similarly, I have not read the books these are based on, but feel free to incorporate content from the books if you like.
I liked how the first film centered Enola's relationship with her mother, but also complicated her distant admiration for her brother's sleuthing with the realization that Sherlock, for all his skills and talents, wasn't at all sure how to deal with her. I'd really like to see a fic set post-film that looks at that developing relationship. I love Eudoria, Edith, and Tewky and would be pleased if they featured as well, but I would prefer that Mycroft not play a significant role in the fic.
Prompts:
Both Enola and Sherlock continue to look into their mother's mysterious work, and keep running into one another throughout their investigations, to mixed feelings. It seems clear from the film that Eudoria is involved in suffrage movement activism that may very well turn violent - and I suspect that even as proud and fond of his sister as Sherlock is, he would not be particularly supportive of those kinds of actions. (Though, maybe he'd surprise me, I don't know!) Perhaps Enola (learning more about the Cause from Edith) and Sherlock debate about the issue and Enola tries to win him over to supporting their mother's work.
Does this Sherlock have a Watson? What's their relationship like, and how might Enola come to meet them or feel about them if they were to team up to help Sherlock at any point? (Ambiguous pronoun used on purpose, feel free to play fast and loose with the character of Dr. Watson however you like. I'm not invested in any particular variation of a Sherlock/Watson ship but if you're pulled in that direction go for it!).
Potentially riffing off the above prompt - ACD Holmes canonically had a cocaine addiction that Watson helped him overcome. (Obviously various adaptations have played with this more directly, like in Elementary.) Maybe Enola finds out that her Gifted older brother has some demons of his own?
Enola/Tewky is very cute (he's a good boy) and I'm fine with it being included in a fic - Sherlock seemed unbothered by the idea of their relationship, perhaps even a little amused. Whether Enola is really romantically attached to Tewky or just very protective of his helplessness or something in between, fic featuring the three of them could be interesting.
Slice of life stuff is good, too - Sherlock attempting to convince Enola to live with him as his ward more formally (I expect she's not interested, though perhaps tempted, but it would be intriguing to see that discussion), Sherlock and Enola running into one another in an unexpected context, Sherlock and Enola competing for a particular case to the former's consternation and amusement and the latter's increasing determination.
DNW: Incest, death or serious harm to young (under 13) children (but Enola and/or Tewky getting into trouble or peril is good, though!), Mycroft more than mentioned in the fic
Hustler Magazine vs. Falwell RPF
Jerry Falwell, Larry Flynt
In 1983, Larry Flynt's Hustler magazine published a parody ad in which religious leader Jerry Falwell supposedly gave an interview about his "first time" - with his mother, in an outhouse. It was a crude, grotesque, and funny parody of popular suggestive liquor ads at the time, and Falwell was deeply offended. He sued Flynt, and the resulting case made it all the way to the Supreme Court. The resulting decision - Hustler Magazine vs. Falwell (1988) - prohibited public figures from recovering tort damages from emotional distress or harm from a published work so long as a reasonable person would not consider the content factual.
This case is the reason that RPF has stronger legal protections in the United States than most other fanworks! That would be enough, for me, to prompt silly fanfic responses to it, but the reality gets even weirder.
Years after the court case was decided, Jerry Falwell and Larry Flynt met up on a talk show to discuss the case, and went on to become friends. They publicly debated the merits of the case in front of audiences multiple times, and - per Larry Flynt's word - they became close enough to regularly exchange Christmas cards and phone calls.
If this tickles your fancy in any way, I invite you to write fic about it. It can be broad parody, a serious character study, shocking, tender, or anything in between. Let's celebrate the weird relationship between these two men that came out of the case that protects our right to make up really weird stories about celebrities!
Some possible sources of inspiration:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustler_Magazine_v._Falwell - An overview of the court case.
The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) is an Oscar-winning biographic film about Larry Flynt that is primarily about his personal life but, as the title suggests, depicts many of his courtroom antics (he was sued many other times) including a depiction of the Falwell case being heard by the Supreme Court. The film is streaming on Hulu and available elsewhere online.
www.latimes.com/la-op-flynt20may20-story.html - Their friendship in Larry Flynt's own words.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLAOzn9x9Go - a video of one of their "road show" public debates
DNW: death or serious harm to young (under 13) children.
Valdemar series - Mercedes Lackey
Worldbuilding
With the announcement that the Valdemar books are being adapted for television, I've been feeling very nostalgic for this world. Valdemar was my first real fandom - I recieved Mercedes Lackey fan club newsletters in the mid 90s - and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I love the setting, despite (or perhaps because of) all it's melodrama and silliness.
Prompts: I'm mostly interested in stories that poke at expectations and understandings of the world presented in the book without going really grim-dark. Outsider's perspective on Valdemar and the Heralds. I particularly enjoyed Alberich, Kerowyn, and other non-Herald's more clear-eyed view the strengths and weaknesses of Valdemar's systems.
On the flip side, from the inside, what about a story about a member of the Valdemaran royal family who isn't Chosen, either due to a lack of Gift or the Companions deciding that they had some more important purpose in a different role?
The books imply that prospective Monarch's Own sometimes have "unbonded Choosings" and only *really* Bond with the Grove Born Companion when they take office. (When Jisa is a child in the Last Herald-Mage books Vanyel implies this could be her future, and it's not clear if it didn't happen for political (keeping her out of the line of succession) or practical (Randale wouldn't live long, anyway) reasons.) But... what would that be like, and in what circumstances might it happen? How would the "temporary Companion" feel about it?
Similarly, what happens when an adult Herald is tapped as the next Monarch's Own? Was their bond with their existing Companion not real? Would the Companions argue about it?
In general I'm curious about Companion interpersonal interaction. They are definitely implied to have human-like conflicts and prejudices. How does that play out? Do they chastise one another for breaking the rules? How?
For what it's worth, besides Alberich and Kerowyn some of my favorite characters are Talia and Dirk, Kris, Selenay, and Skif. From Vanyel's time, I am fond of him, Savil, as well as Randale, Shavri, and Jisa. But any characters not in my DNWs are fair game, as are OCs both from within and outside of Valdemar.
DNW: death or serious harm to young (under 13) children, works focusing on Mags and his children (I have not read the "Spies" series - referencing events therein is fine but I don't want those characters to be the focus of the work)
The Wheel of Time (TV)
Lan Mandragoran, Nyneave al'Meara
Important note for this fandom: In addition to Lan and/or Nyneave, I am open to works featuring Siuan Sanche, Moiraine Damodred, Alana Mosvani or any combination of these 5 characters! If you would prefer to write a character study of Moiraine, or Moirane/Siuan, or Moiraine & Alana, or Alana/Her Warders, etc, I would be thrilled.
The Wheel of Time books were foundational to my appreciation for fantasy literature, and despite their many flaws, I will always think of them fondly. That said, I think the show is doing an incredible, fun adaptatation of the material and I cannot wait to see what they do with it next. In the books I found Lan interesting but distant, and Nyneave impressive but not my favorite of the main female channelers by any stretch of the imagination. But their show counterparts absolutely floored me with their characterization and chemistry. I am very into anything exploring their at turns tender and antagonistic relationship and how impressed they are by each other. I love that they are so strong and so visibly struggling at the same time. Any exploration of their relationship and interaction - or post S1 speculation about how it might go forward - is welcome.
Prompts:
A world in which Lan and Nyneave are allowed a *llittle* more time in the whirlwind of the finale to talk about...everything.
What would happen if Nyneave were to somehow accidentally bond Lan as a Warder at the same time that he was still bonded to Moiraine, or forged some other connection with The Power that coexisted with it?
I love whenever they do something to meaningfully impress the other - a quiet moment of shared competence in any context would be great.
I'm very open to explicit content for them as well - some fitting themes there might be praise kink, loyalty kink, bondage, dom/sub, or any other kinks that you think might work from my big list of sexy likes below.
I'm also a huge fan of Moiraine, Siuan, Moraine/Siuan, Moraine & Alana, and Alana & her warders.
Moiraine/Siuan - a glimpse at the past, and what their literal years of effort toward seeing the prophecy fulfilled has been like as a couple
Moiraine & Alana - I loved their scene together on the bed, their easy camraderie. What is their friendship like?
Alana & her Warders (or Alana/her warders, I do love a M/M/F threesome) - She's so direct with them, and they speak of her so fondly. I'm curious to see what their relationship is like beyond the few glimpses we got.
DNW: Death or serious harm to young (under 13) children, alternate setting AUs (canon divergence is fine and welcome, however!)
General Likes and Preferences
Setting tropes and AU premises I love
- canon divergence/"what if" AUs - I love butterfly effect, "change one thing" AUs especially!
- soulmates and soul bonds - and soulmate subversion, and soulmates played dark or strange - feel free to play it straight but I also love characters choosing someone(s) other than a soulmate, or the notion of soulmates being as much trouble as they are a joy. The worldbuilding would be wild in a world where soulmates are A Thing - I love exploring the effects of that, and the ambiguous bits of such an AU.
- battle couples/trios - ties neatly into competency kink and loyalty kink sexual likes, but non-sexual love and romance among folks who fight together is A+ also
- magical aus (give non-magical characters/canons magic - telepathy, mind magic, arcane magic, spellcasting. Though many of the canons I tend to like have magic of some kind, feel free to go on a worldbuilding dive into what any of my non-magical canon requests might look like if magic was real.)
- alternate magical system AUs (keep the canon magic, but make it different somehow)
- fairy tale AUs
- daemon AUs (or any other "sentient animal companion" magic settings - Valdemar's Companions, Chronicles of the Cheysuli's lir, the "Animalled" of Beukes' Zoo City, witch familiars, etc)
- time loops/Groundhog Day premise (via magic or weird science or no explanation whatsoever)
- undercover antics and/or identity porn - undercover fake married, partners or lovers undercover as enemies, or characters having overlapping complex arrangements of fake identities are all good
- future fic and "next gen" fic (about children of canonical characters as older teens or adults)
- ghosts, communicating with the dead (via magic or weird science)
- enemies to lovers
- werewolves and other were-creatures/animal shapeshifters - tying into magical AUs, I like "everyone's a werewolf" or some kind of magical critter AUs, or just one particular character being "other". Mixing and matching - werewolf and vampire, or werewolf and magical creature hunter, for example, is also a lot of fun.
- sharing a bed (sexual, romantic, or platonic) - enforced intimacy!
- huddling for warmth - more enforced intimacy!
- trapped in a cabin in a blizzard - are you seeing the trend about enforced intimacy?!
- Hurt/Comfort - see the whole section on this trope below
The thing I really like the most about h/c and whump is the intimacy of it all. The caring for another person in h/c, and/or the traumatic headspace/emotional rollercoaster of pain and angst the whumped character goes through are absolutely my personal catnip.
Hurt and Whump Preferences:
- torture - I'm generally interested in the emotions and sensory elements more than the gore here. Exhaustion, pain, lingering emotional/mental trauma and mild-to-moderate long-term physical effects are my preferences. I'm less interested in super-severe injury, amputation, or mindbreak-levels of torture.
- sleep deprivation/exhaustion
- noble self-sacrifice - risking harm or death (by performing a noble last stand, or being a distraction, or playing the honeypot, or offering yourself up for torture/assault) to spare others punishment or to allow them to escape
- drugging
- hallucinations
- forced to watch others being hurt
Comfort Preferences:
- hair touching/running fingers through hair
- helping others with personal care - hair washing, shaving, injury tending
- small acts of intimacy/care - preparing food, standing guard while the hurt one sleeps, sharpening the hurt one's edged weapons or cleaning their guns
- sex (with some consideration for the seriousness of the hurt, but I do not expect medical accuracy)
Sex tropes I love
- dubcon - specifically in situations when both/all parties are consenting under duress due to outside forces, such as "sex pollen", "bad guys made them do it", or character(s) consenting to spare another character from having to do so. I like all kinds of outcomes from this plot - the somewhat positive outcomes of admitting hidden feelings or strengthening a relationship after such a difficult experience; a more tragic or negative outcome such as the end of a relationship/partnership, or tragedy; or something ambiguously between the two - I'm happy with any direction unless otherwise requested in my DNWs for a particular fandom/character/ship.
- bondage - particularly of stoic or restrained characters getting tied up and absolutely wrecked
- first time sex - both first time sex ever or first time performing a particular sex act for a character if there's a reasonable characterization of said character as inexperienced, and also first time sex with a particular partner
- sex magic
- pegging (both f/m and f/f)
- praise kink - particularly of stoic and/or damaged characters unused to and undone by praise
- casual physical intimacy between partners - falling asleep on partner's shoulder, cuddling, spooning, etc., especially of characters not used to casual physical intimacy becoming comfortable with it - this could include both characters who have lots of casual sex but not much casual cuddling, or characters who are touch starved or anything in between
- begging during sex ("please!")
- sex as an emotional outlet in the wake of tragedy or grief, such as friends grieving the loss of a mutual friend or loved one or getting over a shared bad experience
- Dominance/submission (though I prefer it NOT be formalized BDSM, such as negotiating safewords and "Master/sir" address, etc. Also, if it's f/m I generally prefer the female character be dominant unless otherwise requested. For my various gender composition OT3+ ships I either don't care or will specify in the prompts.)
- sex between platonic friends
- competence kink
- threesomes
- loyalty kink
- oral sex and fingering/handjobs, both as a precursor to vaginal or anal sex, and as its own thing