fleurlb | Dear Yuletide Writer

Hello and welcome. Yuletide is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. I've been participating since 2009, and it's definitely my favorite part of fandom these days.

I'm delighted that we share some fannish interests (and possibly loves) and hope that you enjoy the creation process and have a good time this Yuletide. If prompts and extra information helps you, you've come to the right place. But if Optional Details are Optional is the way you roll, that's cool too.

My hard-and-fast DNWs list is fairly short. I do not want incest, non-con, porn without plot, child death or grievous injury (unless it's canon and even then, no need to dwell on the details), animal cruelty or abuse, scat/watersports/extreme kink, or first-person narration. Yeah, I know that last one is maybe a little weird, but I find first-person difficult to warm up to and it takes me out of the story.

In general, I love fan fiction. I love the way it lets me spend time with beloved characters. I love the way it opens up new adventures and possibilities. I love the way it lets me rethink and reimagine known worlds.

I love, love, love so many tropes. (And I also love stories that subvert tropes.) I love

Fake dating

Using dating/relationships as a cover for a mission/con/job/plan

Secret weddings/marriages

Elopement, and accidental marriages

Unexpected tenderness

Hurt/comfort

Cooking comfort foods

Grand romantic gestures

Repressed feelings

Found families

Slow burning love that develops slowly through mundane activities

Starting a new life

Ghost stories

Spooky settings

Haunted houses

Stupid dares

Camping

Accidental demon summoning

Disasters – natural or manmade

Post-apocalytpic fights to survive

Man vs wilderness

Angst

Unresolved sexual tension

Zombies

Roads not taken in canon

Wacky roadtrips

That's quite a grab bag to choose from, but I would like anything from it. Here are a few starting points for a gift:

So here are some general things I like, not all of which are suitable for drabbles:

A natural or manmade disaster strikes and characters must work together to save themselves and others

AU - The Zombie Apocalypse strikes - what is life like and how do the characters manage?

Character backstories - I love a good backstory!

The road not taken...what happens when a character makes a different decision than in canon. How does the story (and more importantly, the character) change as a result of the decision.

First times - first kisses, first loves, first day of school/prison/the army/whatever

5+1 (As in Five times X happened and 1 time it didn't) is a tried and true format - I'd eat any 5+1 with a spoon. (And it doesn't have to be 5 +1, it could be 3 or 7 or whatever works for you.)

Song fic - I don't even need to know the song. (But if you're a fan of The National, you literally cannot go wrong with any of their songs.)

Crossovers - I love crossovers like Whoa! They are seriously my favourite fandom genre. I would be delighted to see crossovers between any of my requests or with any of these fandoms: Friday Night Lights, Supernatural, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Good Place, The Big C, Stranger Things, Sons of Anarchy, or Leverage.

This letter is basically a gooey letter of all things I love, and it's only going to get worse as I get to my fandoms. I love each of these fandoms deeply and beyond all reason. And I think this love is even worse because I've not found any communities or places that love these shows the way I do.

Atypical – This show is my new discovery of this year. I love the characters. I love their messy relationships and their imperfect but intense love for each other. I would appreciate a story that centers Casey and her feelings about everything. (When she first stuck up for Beth, I got the sense that they were maybe secretly friends and that Casey maybe was a little interested in her and was actually a little disappointed that Beth seemed to just be an excuse to introduce Casey to a potential boyfriend.) My sense is that Casey is pan or bi and is really into both Evan and Izzie and that it's confusing and exciting and a million other feelings that I would love to see hashed out, in great detail, in a story. I enjoy Sam and Zahid and would be delighted if they had a cameo in a story. Also, feel free to not include all requested characters if that works best for your story. *But please don't skip Casey!)

Last Tango in Halifax – This show is my emotional home place. I return to it whenever I feel on the edge of depression because it makes me feel so many things. I ship Kate and Caroline like whoa and would love fix-it fic/AU where the senseless death does not happen. Alternatively, I'd enjoy something in the canon where Gillian helps Caroline pick up the pieces. Basically, I love the people on this show and just want more of them interacting and being messy but loving and just trying to figure out life. Also, feel free to not include all requested characters if that works best for your story.

Happy Valley – Catherine is the kick-ass awesome woman of my dreams. She doesn't always get it right, but she tries so hard. She is the epitome of "be brave and be kind". Her relationship with Clare is so real to me - any slice of life fic there would be much appreciated. And I'd love to see a story where Catherine mentors and mothers Ann - where's the line between trying to make up for Kirsten? I also love the relationship with Joyce - they are clearly old friends who adore each other - stories from back in the day wouldn't go amiss! Back story, front story, contemporary story - I am happy with whatever as long as there is more Catherine. Also, feel free to not include all requested characters if that works best for your story. (But please don't skip Catherine!)

Nailed It! - I love it so much. The tone of this show is just right. I love how the judges always try to find something nice to say. I also love Nicole and her chemistry with Jacques. This show is my fun happy place right now. (This show, to me, begs to be crossed with Leverage. Maybe Wes is Eliot's actual brother. Maybe Parker gets on the show for real. Maybe Eliot gets on the show as part of a job and has to fake being bad at baking. Soooooo many possibilities.) Also, feel free to not include all requested characters if that works best for your story. (But please don't skip Nicole!)