Yuletide Letter
Oct. 19th, 2025 03:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nerakroseDEAR YULETIDE WRITER
Thank you for writing for me! I hope you have fun with your assignment. :D
GENERAL LIKES
- happy endings! no sad endings, please. ambiguous and open endings are generally fine (see fandom-specific exceptions) so long as they end on a positive or hopeful note. so e.g. if you choose to write a fic where it's ambiguous whether a pair are together or platonic, that is fine! just don't make it Sad.
- complicated feelings/relationships and grey areas. some of my favourite characters and relationships are between fucked up people or criminals or people with Pasts and whatnot - I do enjoy a bit of grit - but also people in powerful positions having to navigate hard waters
- Introspective, quiet, thoughtful fic - character explorations or world building-centric fic are all excellent in my book
- comedy/humour - works better with some canons than others (use your best judgement) but absolutely love a bit of snark and/or humour alongside the fluff or grit or angst or whatever you choose to write
- I'm very okay with angst and whump so long as it does resolve into a happy ending and in the case of whump, there's lots of comfort to follow. Love seeing my blorbo hurt and bleeding but also like, patch him up and give him smooches please.
- I feel like it should go without saying, but: queer stuff. I don't need 'issue fic' or something focused on 'queer experiences' (whatever that may mean), but I am here to queer up canons and prefer my fic to be QUEER.
- if writing smut, the kinks I would be comfortable having included without reservation would be: blindfolding, getting tied up, praise kink, competence kink, biting, pegging. anything else I'm unlikely to enjoy without multiple caveats/highly specific circumstances so best to steer clear.
DO NOT WANT
- major character death, excessive violence and gore and torture (canon-typical violence is fine), dark!fic, unhappy endings, infidelity, hardcore kinks
- see fandom specific notes on DNWs below
TREATS
- I am open to treats!
I have included some prompts below for inspiration should you need it, but if inspiration strikes differently rest assured I will still be excited so long as none of my DNWs are present. :D I want you to have fun and enjoy writing!
my requests, in alphabetical order:
AFDELING Q | DEPARTMENT Q (MOVIES)
Assad (Afdeling Q), Carl Mørck (Afdeling Q), Jesper (Afdeling Q), Rose Knudsen (Afdeling Q)
I chose 0 characters which means you can write about any of the above
I would love anything you choose to write for me - be it shippy or platonic. I did choose 'any from tag set' so I would genuinely be thrilled to receive, say, a character study of Rose, or fic focusing on Carl and Jesper's father/son relationship, or something focusing on Assad, or what have you. I would love something centering Carl/Assad or Carl & Assad. a fun little casefic with canon typical interactions, or maybe the team needs to travel somewhere unexpected - I love a good setting, whether in Denmark or abroad - and tropes.
for fics centering Carl and Assad I would love any and all iteration of their relationship - romantic, sexual, bromantic, platonic - just give me their ride-and-die codependent 'I'm all he's got' 'I don't need you/I need you' relationship, please.
DNW any Rose/Assad or Rose/Carl - Rose deserves better tbh. islamophobia or anything that portrays muslims as terrorists or whatever.
ASTREIANT SERIES - MELISSA SCOTT & LISA A. BARNETT
Istre b'Estorr, Nicolas Rathe, Philip Eslingen, Worldbuilding (Astreiant series)
I chose 0 characters which means you can write about any of the above
this series is a huge comfort read for me, I love Nico's and Philip's relationship so much and how they work together so easily (or relatively easily, given how often their positions are politically at odds!), and I love the world building, and everything. I also like Istre and his friendship with Nico (and how Philip is sometimes jealous, even though there is NO reason at all to BE jealous, lol). I picked 0 characters as an additional tag, so feel free to write whatever you want set in this world for me, I would be thrilled!
DNW: on screen smut. book-typical levels of affection between Nico and Rathe would be perfect.
DANCING QUEENS (2021)
Dylan Petterson, Tommy La Diva, Vera (Dancing Queens), Victor (Dancing Queens)
I chose 0 character which means you can write about any of the above
This is a repeat request from last year. I'm going to link to the fandom promo post I wrote for this, here.
I would love and appreciate anything that delves into characters individually or interpersonal relationships. I'm not necessarily looking for ship fic for this - I don't think I really ship anyone? so much of this film is about grief processing and finding joy and healing together, that I'd really just love to see anything that goes a bit deeper into this. Whether it's Dylan and Victor's friendship (and sort of suggested romance? Victor is supposedly gay, and Dylan is a girl, but is she?), Dylan's unexplored gender stuff...I'd love to find out more about who Vera is and what she and Dylan's mum were to each other, and how she's feeling about Dylan being in her life now, so suddenly, and with the dancing - did Vera dance? Tommy's intense focus on the past, manifesting in the dressing room shrine (what does it mean that he lets Dylan use it?) and his insistence on performing that one song?
Whichever character(s) you choose to focus on, I would be delighted. I would especially be delighted to have the fic firmly rooted in Swedish history/culture - I can read Swedish so would welcome fic in Swedish as well, but I understand if that's not possible!
DNW: smut, violence, dark stuff
HAVEMERCY SERIES - JAIDA JONES & DANIELLE BENNETT
Rook, Thom, Caius, Hal, Royston, Anastasia, Antoinette, Alcibiades
I chose 0 character which means you can write about any of the above
I am so pleased to see such a big set of character tags for this fandom this year! I love all of these characters and would be happy to receive anything you choose to write about any of them, whether character studies or shippy fic.
My personal favourite ships are Anastasia/Antoinette and Caius/Al, and I will always always request Anastasia/Antoinette for yuletide because how juicy must their relationship be? Even if isn't romantic, they share a lover (I'm into the throuple dynamic with Niko ngl), and they clearly are on some kind of terms that sees them as allies, or partners, rather than at odds as the wife and mistress respectively. they are both powerful women in their own right - what could they achieve together, with Niko so injured as to be out of the picture? what of their grief? their children?
no DNWs for this, my body is ready, etc. also very happy to see other characters as supporting cast etc etc. fandom of my heart, this one, my AO3 avatar is Raphael from Havemercy, and my tumblr avatar is Balfour from Havemercy and my tumblr url is based on a quote from book 1 from a Thom POV after visiting Rook in the infirmary, I mean, if you have matched with me on this fandom, I'm sure you either already know who I am or can glean just how unhinged I am about these books.
JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL - SUSANNA CLARKE
John Childermass
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags
right, so, this quote from Chapter 67: The Hawthorn Tree, bolding mine:
"He came and stood directly before Childermass. With as little ceremony as a parent who cleans something from a child's face, the man licked his finger and daubed a sort of symbol on each of Childermass's eye-lids, on his lips and over his heart. Then he gave Childermass's left hand a knock, so that the pistol fell to the ground. He drew another symbol on Childermass's palm. He turned and seemed about to depart, but glancing back and apparently as an afterthought, he made a final gesture over the cut in Childermass's face."
in Iceland where I'm from, our folklore regarding the hidden people includes several stories where fairy spit rubbed on a human's eye can bestow or take away fairy sight. There isn't much in the book about what happens with Childermass after Uskglass did this to him - we know he can now read the king's book? but I would really love an exploration of what it means to be bestowed with fairy sight (eyes), fairy speech (lips), fairy ? (heart), and fairy touch? (palm) now - what do the symbols + spit mean here? how have they changed Childermass? he is a magician, we know that. but what else? I would love fic exploring the consequences of above quote.
I am not averse to shipfic - Segundus/Childermass - if you want to work that in there.
OCEAN'S 8 (2018)
Debbie Ocean, Lou Miller
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags
listen I am simple and just want more of Lou and Debbie's relationship. I would love for it to be explicitly romantic (incl. on page smut if you so desire) but I'm also happy to receive something that's more in line with the canon vibes.
obviously they are thieves - I would love a heist fic! but I would also love to see something a little more unconventional for them - not straight up AU, but say, in between jobs - what do they do? does Lou open restaurants left and right? does Debbie think this is a bad idea but she supports her anyway? do they run small cons just for the fun of it - improv at the drop of a hat (like Debbie's department store/hotel thing at the start of the movie?) whatever you come up with, I would love to see it.
I'm happy for any character(s) from the movie + the Ocean's trilogy to feature as supporting cast.
SHETLAND (TV)
Jimmy Perez, Duncan Hunter
I do ship Jimmy/Duncan, but am very OK and happy with receiving non-slashy fic. If you do choose to go slashy, my most important DNW is on-screen smut (and any associated kinks etc.). I prefer fade to black, off page, closed door.
Whether it's canon-levels of platonic bromance or full out romance between Jimmy and Duncan, I'd be thrilled with whatever you write for me. I do love how close they've become over the course of the series and their co-parenting jig and I'm just a huge sucker for it all.
I love domestic scenes and fluff and humour, but I also feel like this pair is inherently angsty in some ways, and not just because Duncan has wound up a suspect more than once, breaking Jimmy's heart in the process (not to mention Duncan's heart, being suspected...) They don't come together *easily*, and once they are together it feels to me like they have to (and do) continually choose each other. so I'd love to see something that leans into that, like prodding a bruise.
Other characters welcome to feature alongside Jimmy and Duncan. I would love for example to have Cassie, Rhona, and/or Tosh to play some kind of important role.
DNW: canon post s6, with regards to Jimmy and Duncan. I am not keen on the prison plotline, nor am I keen on the absolutely lacklustre "romance" between Jimmy and Meg. I haven't seen the latest season with Ruth Calder (no access) but I adore Tosh and baby Louise and Donnie. I'm OK with a story in which Jimmy is retired and Ruth is the new DI, so long as Duncan isn't in jail.
Thank you for writing for me! I hope you have fun with your assignment. :D
GENERAL LIKES
- happy endings! no sad endings, please. ambiguous and open endings are generally fine (see fandom-specific exceptions) so long as they end on a positive or hopeful note. so e.g. if you choose to write a fic where it's ambiguous whether a pair are together or platonic, that is fine! just don't make it Sad.
- complicated feelings/relationships and grey areas. some of my favourite characters and relationships are between fucked up people or criminals or people with Pasts and whatnot - I do enjoy a bit of grit - but also people in powerful positions having to navigate hard waters
- Introspective, quiet, thoughtful fic - character explorations or world building-centric fic are all excellent in my book
- comedy/humour - works better with some canons than others (use your best judgement) but absolutely love a bit of snark and/or humour alongside the fluff or grit or angst or whatever you choose to write
- I'm very okay with angst and whump so long as it does resolve into a happy ending and in the case of whump, there's lots of comfort to follow. Love seeing my blorbo hurt and bleeding but also like, patch him up and give him smooches please.
- I feel like it should go without saying, but: queer stuff. I don't need 'issue fic' or something focused on 'queer experiences' (whatever that may mean), but I am here to queer up canons and prefer my fic to be QUEER.
- if writing smut, the kinks I would be comfortable having included without reservation would be: blindfolding, getting tied up, praise kink, competence kink, biting, pegging. anything else I'm unlikely to enjoy without multiple caveats/highly specific circumstances so best to steer clear.
DO NOT WANT
- major character death, excessive violence and gore and torture (canon-typical violence is fine), dark!fic, unhappy endings, infidelity, hardcore kinks
- see fandom specific notes on DNWs below
TREATS
- I am open to treats!
I have included some prompts below for inspiration should you need it, but if inspiration strikes differently rest assured I will still be excited so long as none of my DNWs are present. :D I want you to have fun and enjoy writing!
my requests, in alphabetical order:
AFDELING Q | DEPARTMENT Q (MOVIES)
Assad (Afdeling Q), Carl Mørck (Afdeling Q), Jesper (Afdeling Q), Rose Knudsen (Afdeling Q)
I chose 0 characters which means you can write about any of the above
I would love anything you choose to write for me - be it shippy or platonic. I did choose 'any from tag set' so I would genuinely be thrilled to receive, say, a character study of Rose, or fic focusing on Carl and Jesper's father/son relationship, or something focusing on Assad, or what have you. I would love something centering Carl/Assad or Carl & Assad. a fun little casefic with canon typical interactions, or maybe the team needs to travel somewhere unexpected - I love a good setting, whether in Denmark or abroad - and tropes.
for fics centering Carl and Assad I would love any and all iteration of their relationship - romantic, sexual, bromantic, platonic - just give me their ride-and-die codependent 'I'm all he's got' 'I don't need you/I need you' relationship, please.
DNW any Rose/Assad or Rose/Carl - Rose deserves better tbh. islamophobia or anything that portrays muslims as terrorists or whatever.
ASTREIANT SERIES - MELISSA SCOTT & LISA A. BARNETT
Istre b'Estorr, Nicolas Rathe, Philip Eslingen, Worldbuilding (Astreiant series)
I chose 0 characters which means you can write about any of the above
this series is a huge comfort read for me, I love Nico's and Philip's relationship so much and how they work together so easily (or relatively easily, given how often their positions are politically at odds!), and I love the world building, and everything. I also like Istre and his friendship with Nico (and how Philip is sometimes jealous, even though there is NO reason at all to BE jealous, lol). I picked 0 characters as an additional tag, so feel free to write whatever you want set in this world for me, I would be thrilled!
DNW: on screen smut. book-typical levels of affection between Nico and Rathe would be perfect.
DANCING QUEENS (2021)
Dylan Petterson, Tommy La Diva, Vera (Dancing Queens), Victor (Dancing Queens)
I chose 0 character which means you can write about any of the above
This is a repeat request from last year. I'm going to link to the fandom promo post I wrote for this, here.
I would love and appreciate anything that delves into characters individually or interpersonal relationships. I'm not necessarily looking for ship fic for this - I don't think I really ship anyone? so much of this film is about grief processing and finding joy and healing together, that I'd really just love to see anything that goes a bit deeper into this. Whether it's Dylan and Victor's friendship (and sort of suggested romance? Victor is supposedly gay, and Dylan is a girl, but is she?), Dylan's unexplored gender stuff...I'd love to find out more about who Vera is and what she and Dylan's mum were to each other, and how she's feeling about Dylan being in her life now, so suddenly, and with the dancing - did Vera dance? Tommy's intense focus on the past, manifesting in the dressing room shrine (what does it mean that he lets Dylan use it?) and his insistence on performing that one song?
Whichever character(s) you choose to focus on, I would be delighted. I would especially be delighted to have the fic firmly rooted in Swedish history/culture - I can read Swedish so would welcome fic in Swedish as well, but I understand if that's not possible!
DNW: smut, violence, dark stuff
HAVEMERCY SERIES - JAIDA JONES & DANIELLE BENNETT
Rook, Thom, Caius, Hal, Royston, Anastasia, Antoinette, Alcibiades
I chose 0 character which means you can write about any of the above
I am so pleased to see such a big set of character tags for this fandom this year! I love all of these characters and would be happy to receive anything you choose to write about any of them, whether character studies or shippy fic.
My personal favourite ships are Anastasia/Antoinette and Caius/Al, and I will always always request Anastasia/Antoinette for yuletide because how juicy must their relationship be? Even if isn't romantic, they share a lover (I'm into the throuple dynamic with Niko ngl), and they clearly are on some kind of terms that sees them as allies, or partners, rather than at odds as the wife and mistress respectively. they are both powerful women in their own right - what could they achieve together, with Niko so injured as to be out of the picture? what of their grief? their children?
no DNWs for this, my body is ready, etc. also very happy to see other characters as supporting cast etc etc. fandom of my heart, this one, my AO3 avatar is Raphael from Havemercy, and my tumblr avatar is Balfour from Havemercy and my tumblr url is based on a quote from book 1 from a Thom POV after visiting Rook in the infirmary, I mean, if you have matched with me on this fandom, I'm sure you either already know who I am or can glean just how unhinged I am about these books.
JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL - SUSANNA CLARKE
John Childermass
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags
right, so, this quote from Chapter 67: The Hawthorn Tree, bolding mine:
"He came and stood directly before Childermass. With as little ceremony as a parent who cleans something from a child's face, the man licked his finger and daubed a sort of symbol on each of Childermass's eye-lids, on his lips and over his heart. Then he gave Childermass's left hand a knock, so that the pistol fell to the ground. He drew another symbol on Childermass's palm. He turned and seemed about to depart, but glancing back and apparently as an afterthought, he made a final gesture over the cut in Childermass's face."
in Iceland where I'm from, our folklore regarding the hidden people includes several stories where fairy spit rubbed on a human's eye can bestow or take away fairy sight. There isn't much in the book about what happens with Childermass after Uskglass did this to him - we know he can now read the king's book? but I would really love an exploration of what it means to be bestowed with fairy sight (eyes), fairy speech (lips), fairy ? (heart), and fairy touch? (palm) now - what do the symbols + spit mean here? how have they changed Childermass? he is a magician, we know that. but what else? I would love fic exploring the consequences of above quote.
I am not averse to shipfic - Segundus/Childermass - if you want to work that in there.
OCEAN'S 8 (2018)
Debbie Ocean, Lou Miller
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags
listen I am simple and just want more of Lou and Debbie's relationship. I would love for it to be explicitly romantic (incl. on page smut if you so desire) but I'm also happy to receive something that's more in line with the canon vibes.
obviously they are thieves - I would love a heist fic! but I would also love to see something a little more unconventional for them - not straight up AU, but say, in between jobs - what do they do? does Lou open restaurants left and right? does Debbie think this is a bad idea but she supports her anyway? do they run small cons just for the fun of it - improv at the drop of a hat (like Debbie's department store/hotel thing at the start of the movie?) whatever you come up with, I would love to see it.
I'm happy for any character(s) from the movie + the Ocean's trilogy to feature as supporting cast.
SHETLAND (TV)
Jimmy Perez, Duncan Hunter
I do ship Jimmy/Duncan, but am very OK and happy with receiving non-slashy fic. If you do choose to go slashy, my most important DNW is on-screen smut (and any associated kinks etc.). I prefer fade to black, off page, closed door.
Whether it's canon-levels of platonic bromance or full out romance between Jimmy and Duncan, I'd be thrilled with whatever you write for me. I do love how close they've become over the course of the series and their co-parenting jig and I'm just a huge sucker for it all.
I love domestic scenes and fluff and humour, but I also feel like this pair is inherently angsty in some ways, and not just because Duncan has wound up a suspect more than once, breaking Jimmy's heart in the process (not to mention Duncan's heart, being suspected...) They don't come together *easily*, and once they are together it feels to me like they have to (and do) continually choose each other. so I'd love to see something that leans into that, like prodding a bruise.
Other characters welcome to feature alongside Jimmy and Duncan. I would love for example to have Cassie, Rhona, and/or Tosh to play some kind of important role.
DNW: canon post s6, with regards to Jimmy and Duncan. I am not keen on the prison plotline, nor am I keen on the absolutely lacklustre "romance" between Jimmy and Meg. I haven't seen the latest season with Ruth Calder (no access) but I adore Tosh and baby Louise and Donnie. I'm OK with a story in which Jimmy is retired and Ruth is the new DI, so long as Duncan isn't in jail.
