Yuletide Letter 2021

[dye_ann]

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Another year, another Yuletide (the third for me, it keeps getting better). I hope to do honour to that magnificent tagset. This is the year of nerdy books and movies for me, I’m in the mood for atmospheres and ambiguities, but also and more importantly for whatever you had in mind when you offered those wonderful fandoms.

I’ll do my best to give you an idea of what I like in general and what I particularly love about those works, and to give you prompts to use as inspiration if you’re so inclined. Prompting is an exercise I very much enjoy for creativity reasons, and I also do it for my own fun: don’t feel compelled by what I suggest, and please don’t think that if I prompt for one fandom more than another it means I want it more. Sometimes ideas come and sometimes they don’t, and it’s objectively easier to find potential scenarios for a (relatively) straightforward narrative than for, say, Mulholland Drive. My general likes can just as well provide some help if that is needed. But basically, I want you to have fun and create something you love. I’m always a bit awed by the idea of having someone writing for me specifically, and I trust you with basically everything since apparently we like the same things!

Here’s my AO3 account, if you’d like to know me better. Bookmarks will probably give you a hint of what I tend to enjoy.

A note, though I doubt it will apply: I also read French (it’s actually my first language), so I’m happy to receive something either in English or in French if you desperately want to write in that language.

 

General likes

Themes, atmosphere and tropes

Banter, future fics, fix-it, AU of the “what if” kind, backstory, plottiness, world-building, character study, competent female characters, experimental writing, alternative story-telling forms (letters, found manuscripts or records if it works with the fandom, outsider point of view…), found intimacy, intimate body language, found families, queer narratives, conflicting world-views and people having their reasons, sensory notations, lush descriptions of things (also known as __!porn, e.g. architectural porn, landscape porn, whatever), a strong sense of place, literary allusions, elaboration on what the characters like to read/listen to/watch.

Ships-wise: romantic and sexual tension (resolved or unresolved), pinning, slow burn, people falling in love While Trying Not To, things changing gradually so it’s hard to put it into words or name it, friends/enemies to lovers, fake/pretend relationships, angst, accidental proximity, little touches and physical reactions, focusing on characters’ hands, sensual things going on at a slow pace, first kiss/getting together (not a fan of established relationships).

I’m fine with sex scenes for any of those fandoms, if that’s what you want to write (though I’m not a fan of PWP). Things I enjoy if you go there: praise, alternate power dynamics, teasing, repressed character letting go, people having fun during sex, sex in semi-public places, voyeurism and mirrors, overstimulation, phone sex, edging, intimacy issues, clothed sex. I’m fine with dubcon, but no non-con, please.
 

General DNW:

- Major character death: here I mean that I don’t want any of the requested characters to die irremediably in the fic; resurrection plots (e.g. in the context of a time loop) are fine.

- Non-con: when one of the character isn’t described as wanting the sex to happen, explicitly says no and/or isn’t showing any sign of desire for the other character. By contrast, I’m fine with dubcon: i.e. when the characters are ambiguous about whether they want the sex to happen (for various reasons like internalized homophobia, or conflicted feelings) or the sex happens in the context of an imbalanced power dynamic, or when the characters are possibly roleplaying but it’s not explicitly said. To me dubcon implies at least physical signs of desire and no explicit absence of consent (otherwise it falls under non-con).

- Underage: I don’t want any character under 18 to have sexual interaction with an adult; and I don’t want children under 15 to have sexual interactions together. Non-genital sexual acts like kissing or touching (other parts than genitals) between characters in their teens (by which I mean from 15 to 18) is fine.

- Gore: detailed description of body harm and blood. Short mentions of blood, like characters cutting themselves superficially, or using blood to perform a ritual, is fine.

- Sickfic: I don’t want the plot of the fic to revolve around any character falling sick or suffering from any kind of disease.

- Established relationship when the relationship in question isn’t canon: some of my prompts are request for ships that are not canon. What I don’t want is those relationships being presented as already established in the fic without telling first how they got together.

- Non-canonical children and pregnancy: by that I mean I don’t want the characters to get pregnant or have children during the course of the fic. If they canonically have children it’s fine to mention them. It’s also fine to talk about the characters’ childhood.

- Watersports

- Unrequested crossovers

- A/B/O, soulmates and that brand of AU where you change the setting (coffee shop, space, vampires, etc.): canon divergences are fine.

 

Ammonite (Mary Anning; Elizabeth Philpot)

I did a promo post for this fandom, which went ridiculously wrong because I forgot to log in and the pictures were all broken, but it does sum up my deep appreciation for the movie.

I really enjoyed Ammonite, mostly because of its themes and the way they are handled (and also because of the cast, and my undying love for Fiona Shaw who is the most wonderful apparition in this). The subtlety of it all is something I keep thinking about. Sex scenes notwithstanding (not a fan of how those were shot), it’s a very honest queer narrative to me, and perhaps an even more honest take on women’s work and women’s contribution to science in that time period (perhaps even beyond that). And let me say right away that I do enjoy Mary/Charlotte, I just feel like the movie did a good job of showing why that particular story could not entirely work. I felt more invested in Mary/Elizabeth or Mary&Elizabeth because it felt like there was more common ground for them to understand each other through the place work occupies in their life. And again, because of Fiona Shaw (I mean, besides everything else she’s hot as hell in it). So what really makes me want more of those characters is the idea of two women teaching each other about paleontology, discovering amazing things and becoming friends/lovers through that process. In that particular time period and location too! The atmosphere of the movie is amazing, and I’d like more of the cold English shore, more mud and flowers and fossils.

I’m really interested into pre- or post-movie, how the two of them met and got together, how they worked together, or how they reconstruct any sort of relationships after what transpired between Mary and Charlotte. That last scene between the two of them is full of intriguing elements. The sheer love that Elizabeth seems to feel for Mary, but also the idea that she often felt she was “the enemy” when she was with her. I would love anything that explore that. Why would Elizabeth be the enemy? Historically, those women didn’t belong to the same class, much like Mary and Charlotte, but I feel that divide would play differently here, because they have acquired a sort of independence through work (and not only scientific work, but physical tasks too). Money is obviously an issue, and perhaps Mary’s mother is one too. Does that change after her death, when Mary finds herself alone and entirely self-reliant? Is age also an obstacle? If so, how? Or do they just enjoy finding someone who understands them despite all that? While I’d love a love story or anything exploring their friendship in a Gen way, I enjoy the nuances and ambiguities that were alluded at in the movie, and so I’m fine with any degree of hesitation, conflict or misunderstanding in their relationship. But also happy with them drawing ammonites and drying flowers in the sun.

If you go post-canon, feel free to evoke Mary/Charlotte if you want or need to, it’s completely fine by me.

 

Prompts:

- The story of how they first met and fell in love. Ho do they manage to make themselves known to each other, how do they build trust, what role do the various barriers that exist between them play in all that?

- Elizabeth teaching Mary, Mary teaching Elizabeth, them working together, making art together, drawing each others, anything like that. Elizabeth Philpot actually used fossilised ink to paint: how cool is that?

- Reconstructing their relationship after Charlotte, after Mary’s mourning. The vulnerability that comes with allowing love to grow again. Learning to trust each other. The fear of being a second choice. How different is it to be together later in life?

- Were they rivals at first? Or at least looking at each other with a degree of suspicion, taught to be wary of any female rival even in the professional field? Because they needed to sell those fossils and the museums couldn’t handle more than one female paleontologist? How do they overcome that?

 

La Locandiera (Mirandolina; Baron Ripafratta)

I don’t know how I became so involved in an 18th century Italian comedy, but here we are. I guess what got me hooked is how modern a character Mirandolina is, if you look closely. It’s a woman who does whatever she has to in order to survive and gain relative independence. Sure, she exploits her clients. But what choice does she actually have? Rich men will come and harass you, and you still have to eat. I like to think her announcing her marriage to Fabrizio in the end is just another trick: she needs it in the moment, but she wouldn’t actually renounce her freedom. Ripafratta on the other hand, with his absurdly simplistic views on women but otherwise upright character, intrigues me.

I think they both could evolve beyond what we see in the play, and after some growth, learn to communicate and meet in the middle. With potential resentment, banter and flirtation, of course. Or, and there I fall victim of my favourites tropes, maybe Mirandolina did perceive the baron’s good qualities beyond his more obvious flaws, and her act ends up being more sincere than what she intended. Maybe that is why she get rid of him as harshly as she did. I would enjoy all sorts of things, from a romance to a confrontation scene that really let them challenge each other’s faults and opinions. In any case, they would probably be a certain degree of conflict, humiliation or even violence (she did burn him with an iron; he tried to break into her room) involved.

Given the historical context, one of my (very optional) headcanons for this is that one of them, or both of them, could get into philosophy and more specifically into the debates surrounding women education. I could see Mirandolina getting rid of her suitors and welcoming writers and philosophers in her inn, while benefiting from their talks. Or maybe Ripafratta do some reading after his painful experience at the inn? It’s a bit random though, so I’m just putting that here but feel absolutely free to ignore it.
 

Prompts:

- An epistolary narrative could be interesting: maybe they wrote notes to each other when Ripafratta was staying at the inn, or/and maybe they wrote letters after he left (because they still needed to insult each other, and maybe things evolve?)

- Future fic: they meet by chance a few years later and reconsider what happened. Maybe they feel a bit different now?

- Ripafratta confronts Mirandolina about her lies, but something betrays that she isn’t really as indifferent to him as she claims, changing the dynamic of the scene (bonus point if Mirandolina does everything she can to hide that ‘weakness’/still tries to win the fight).

 

 

Mrs Dalloway (Clarissa Dalloway; Doris Killman)

This book is often the one I name when asked for my favourite novel. I didn’t nom this but when I found it in the tagset I was over the moon, because I’ve been meaning to do that for years and never actually dared/managed it. If you were the nominator, thank you! Basically, you can’t go wrong here: write whatever you had in mind when offering! I loved all the nominated characters, but I’m restricting myself here for pragmatic reasons. Feel free to have whoever you want feature as well.

 

There’s something very raw and compelling about Doris Kilman in the book, or should I say about the way Clarissa thinks about her. “Don’t quite forget me” are frightening words in many senses: I’d like to read something that interprets those words in a more compassionate way. The secret war between Clarissa and Miss Kilman is quite violent, but I would love for them to connect even in the midst of it, in unexpected ways. They can continue on hating each other (I feel like they would insist on that), but it’s hard and tiring to feel so strongly about someone all of the time, especially when you do, in fact, have things in common. Them spending more time together, hating it but finding accidental common ground, accidentally sharing memories or anything remotely intimate and immediately regretting it, worrying about the adversary because they come to realise they may not hate her as much as they want to. If Doris could learn to be less angry, Clarissa possibly needs to accept her own anger more openly, so there is that too.

Any sort of exploration of that relationship would delight me, especially if it’s ambiguous and twisty, cruel and sweet at the same time. Reluctant acquaintance, reluctant friendship, reluctant ‘can we call ourselves lovers’, everything goes. I’m very much here for slash, even if it has to come with self-hate and regret (before it gets better? Just a little bit, maybe. Sometimes we can’t fix the world. But I also love happier things, so you’re very free).

 

Prompts (or moods, really):

- The social rules of having tea at one’s house become a latent occasion for war. Despite this, they keep having tea every week. Just the two of them. Perhaps there are “accidents” (I’ll let you decide what those could be).

- A more in-depth and ambiguous exploration of why Doris dislikes Clarissa so much, and how that could easily reverse into kinship or attraction.

- By accident or malice, Doris learns about Clarissa and Sally. That triggers a moral crisis for her, with the result of your choice.

- Trying to preserve Elizabeth, Clarissa throws herself under the wheels of Miss Kilman’s teaching and attention. Maybe she decides to study history too. Maybe they find themselves walking together through parks more often than not. Maybe it’s more radical, and involves inviting Miss Kilman to spend the summer with them (cohabitation of any kind).

 

Mulholland Drive (Any)

You read this and tell yourself: but isn’t it cheating to ask for “Any” in Mulholland Drive? Reader, it very much is. But as the same time, how could I not? How many selves does one have? I mean, that’s it, that’s the whole request (not really, but like...is it?).

I love how beautiful and tragic and pathetic those characters are, and how visceral their relationships, be it Rita’s vulnerability or Diane’s sheer misery and (self-)hate or Betty’s openness. I’m also a big fan of all Lynchean creatures, great and small, like the Burned Woman behind the dinner (burned in my mind), who was asked to play her part as lovingly as possibly and still traumatised rows and rows of viewers, or the Blue Woman who is forever in my heart. I love the heist aspect of the movie, and its dreamy quality, I love every single image (those dancers, those palm trees, even the stones in that wall…). Feel free to go as experimental as you want.

I think for this I would enjoy anything that plays along the movie’s twisted logic, while exploring the echoes, identities and relationships from a different angle. While there’s no canonical understanding of it, I’m more familiar with what I believe (?) is the most common reading: it’s Diane’s fantasy and she ends up dead. I would enjoy any narrative that challenges that.

And while I accept everything the movie showed us as necessary, I’ll admit I would like to read something more authentic regarding its queer themes. I get why it has to feel artificial but still: I think there is space in the narrative for a more honest lesbian story (I mean, it’s about identity, isn’t it?). If you think you can handle that, I would be very interested to read your version.

A note: I’m entirely open to any other character from anything else by Lynch to show up and play a part in this, if you’re so inclined. Could be Twin Peaks (we know that Cooper, like sand, can get everywhere; maybe this Diane calls for another Diane, etc.), Inland Empire (do I really need to go there), Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, etc.

 

Prompts (or something like that):

- What would happen if say, two of those characters went to the movies together? So much of this film being about the fictions you invent for yourself and the others, I’m curious. What do they see on that screen? Is the movie something like Alice in Wonderland, or Gilda, or something else entirely? What goes wrong and what goes right?

- Anything that changes the existential balance between those characters. Perhaps through different interactions with the surreal figures of the movie. For example, who can one learn to speak again after being “Silencio”-ed?

- They find out something new about Betty’s aunt, the one who’s “gone to Canada”, and somehow that changes everything. They get to go on another heist and play dark Junior Detectives.

- Instead of Diane’s, we get to see through Camilla’s eyes, and suddenly things are not quite what they were.

 

 

The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (Mr Stevens; Miss Kenton)

I think what interested me much in the novel (and movie) is the way the tragic and failed romance blends with social themes like service in England from the 30s to 60s, and the whole idea of sacrificing one’s autonomy in one way or another, be it to your job or your family (Miss Kenton’s marriage doesn’t seem to be a very happy one, and yet she cannot really brings herself to leave). I love how restrained the characters and the whole narrative is, even if it drives me completely mad with frustration. And the way Miss Kenton et Mr Steven keep challenging each other, especially when it comes to values. I’m very much here for romance, but if you want to go Gen, that’s fine too!

 

Prompts:

- What if she did come back after he offered her the job at the end of the book/movie? How does one go back to being a servant in the 60s after all this time and everything that happened? When you’re older? Could be Gen or romance. In the latter case: how do you rekindle an old romance, especially when both parts are aware that your return has something to do with it but no one dares mention it at first?

- For something set during canon: Miss Kenton has given up on Mr Stevens, and that’s when he suddenly decides to court her. Is she oblivious, or incredulous, or angry?

- Any “fake/pretend relationship”/forced proximity scenario you can come up with (like their new employer only wants married staff, or they have to pretend for an event, or Reasons).

- For another Gen idea: character study centered on the way they see service, what they put into it (I would imagine they see it sort of differently).