sea_changed | yuletide letter 2021 (Reply)

Thank you very much to my assigned writer--I'm very much looking forward to receiving your fic, and I'm sure it will be wonderful! I've included some basic guidelines as well as some ideas and prompts below, if you might find it helpful as you write.

I didn't include any DNWs in my notes on AO3, so don't feel bound by any; I tend to be less particular about cross-story and -fandom DNWs and more particular about telling stories that feel true to the characters, relationships, and time periods portrayed. That said, vomit and animal death are two things that often upset me, so I'll put them here as soft DNWs. I should also note, as I've exclusively requested historical fandoms with gay or at the very least gay-adjacent characters, that I don't mind if you include period-appropriate homophobia.

I tend to be more into bittersweetness than outright tragedy, or tragedy that might not seem like tragedy to those outside of it. I love complicated characters engaged in complex relationships with one another. I am also of course perfectly all right with happiness, especially complex and sometimes difficult but nonetheless true happiness. I am not much for straight-up fluff. I would also prefer no scenery-changing AUs (space, high school, paranormal, etc.), though canon-divergent AUs would be perfectly all right. I am also a massive history nerd, so if you know something about canon era for any of my requested fandoms and want to flaunt it, I'd be delighted.

Finally, while I assume this is something people who write for Yuletide generally know, I'd like to make clear that Character/Character pairings--with the slash--are meant to be romantic and/or sexual, while Character & Character pairings--with the ampersand--are meant to be platonic. For relationships that I've listed as Character&/Character, I like them as romantic or platonic or in the fuzzy place between the two.

On to individual fandoms:

Society of Gentlemen - K.J. Charles

Characters: Silas Mason, Dominic Frey, Richard Vane

As I clarified in my AO3 notes, you don't have to include all requested characters! Though if you want to include all three, certainly be my guest. I'm happy with ship fic, I'm happy with gen, I'm happy with gen with a shippy background, I'm happy with ship fic with a gen background. I would love Dominic/Silas, Richard & Dominic, Richard/Dominic, Silas & Richard, or any combination thereof. (I've never been able to crack Silas/Dominic/Richard, but if you think you have a way into it that's in-character, go for it!)

I love this series with my whole stupid heart; I love the main characters and the side characters, I love all the complex relationships within the Ricardians and connecting them to all their various other friends and family members. I love the setting and the care Charles takes with it and its complexities, from large political issues to small quirks of language and speech. I love that everyone feels like a real person, and that their happy endings take work and compromise and will clearly continue to do so in the future.

Dominic/Silas is my be-all, end-all ship from the series; I love them in every stage of their relationship, I love when they love each other and when they can't stand each other, I love that they can talk to each other and hear each other and be heard by the other. I love their sharp edges and the places where they will never truly fit together, and I love that they care for each other enough and enjoy being around each other enough that they make it work anyway. I would love either pre- or post-series fic for them (or during the series, if you can find a pocket of canon to slip it into), with whatever ratio of porn you'd like, from 100% to 0%; all I would request is that their characters and relationship stands front and center regardless of the sex to other activities ratio.

And then there's Richard and Dominic. They are, perhaps somewhat regrettably, my second-favorite relationship of the series; I love how attached to each other they are, how much they love each other and how much they manage to hurt each other without even trying (though also, on occasion, when they do try). I would love fic about their complicated post-breakup, pre-series relationship; I'd love pre-series fic when they're still together, either happily or not.

I also love every single one of Silas and Richard's interactions in the series, and I would love fic about them! I don't think they're every going to truly like each other or enjoy the other's company, but I would love to see them interacting when Silas in working for Richard--contentious or trying their best to form a truce, discussing Dominic or other topics. I would love to see them learning more about each other, and, even if it doesn't make them like the other more, it might at least make them see the other with more nuance.

The Bedlam Stacks - Natasha Pulley

Characters: Raphael, Merrick Tremayne

As I said in my AO3 notes, I am more than happy for you to include only one or the other and to introduce other characters as well, though I certainly also care very deeply about Merrick&/Raphael, in whatever form and however you interpret it, and would love fic for them. I also am really interested in Harry&/Raphael, again in its various possible forms. So go to town on ship fic, if that's you're thing; though I'd also be really interested in gen, in fic about Raphael and the people of New Bethlehem (most especially Inti, though also just the town and its people in general), or fic about Merrick and Inti and the other townspeople as he comes back during the time skip, or fic about Merrick and Minna back in England, or fic about Raphael and Martel and the complexity of everything that's going on there. I would also love any combination of the above--a mix of romance and gen, and/or fic about characters over time, etc.

I adore the writing and the feel of this book; it gives such a lovely and specific atmosphere. I also really love the historical-science angle--historical botany, the Wardian cases and greenhouses, taking cuttings and plant nerdery--so including aspects of that in the fic would be lovely. I am most iffy on this book in terms of its treatment of Raphael as an Indigenous character, in that it doesn't, much--so if you have the time and inclination to do research here, I would really love fic that touched in some way on Raphael as Quechua. (The Quechua language is also really fascinating and I love the bits of it that show up in canon, so if you'd like to include some Quechua in the fic I'd be delighted.) I love most the complexities of the characters and the relationships and the way she suggests histories and feelings while also allowing the reader to fill in the blanks.

I would be interested in future fic, in flashback fic, in fic set during canon (if you can find anywhere to slip it in). I love the world Pulley has built with this book, so go wild!