Dear author,

First off: Hello and thank you for writing for me! I couldn't do Yuletide last year and i missed it! I'm so glad and excited to be back, Yuletide has become one of my favorite things about the holidays.

I hope you'll forgive me that huge chunks of my letter (*coughs*including this apology*coughs*) are copied from previous years--my preferences and requests are pretty stable.

I have tried to give you multiple options and prompts for each fandom, and my requests are very broad and/or brainstorm-y. Part of that is because I really don't have particularly concrete expectations or must-haves, and the thing I like most about a gift is the surprise. In addition, I want the best you can offer (I'm picky like that ;)), and I want to give you free rein for that. So, seriously: everything I suggested is just that--a suggestion. When I say "any characters" or "any genre", I mean that! Even if I'm talking about specific characters or scenarios in the prompt--that was just what my mind could come up with at the time. Doesn't mean that I won't enjoy another story more, just because I didn't come up with that idea.

In conclusion: Do whatever you feel works best for you and feel free to ignore pretty much everything I'm saying here or in my prompts if that helps you to write a good story.

However, if you'd like some more info about my preferences, here it is.


I generally like:

- Worldbuilding and The Department of Backstory. The main reason I got into fandom was that I wondered about all the details that are never explained in canon. Where do the characters come from? What made them the way they are? Which part of their world have we never seen and how does it function? I also like future fic, for similar reasons.

- Gen fic and character studies. I like romance--in all gender combinations--but I'm picky about my ships. I have listed ship options and preferences for each fandom below. I think the general rule is: if I mention a pairing in my prompt, writing about that pairing is good but not at all required. I love gen fic for the reasons above--it's an opportunity to explore the motives, experiences and personality of a character beyond what's provided in canon.

- Minor characters. I'm a sucker for minor characters, because there's so much room for speculation and experimentation there.

- Character interaction and exploration of relationships. I'm generally fond of fics that explore the relationship dynamics between characters--whether that's romance, friendship, or antagonism. Good, in-character dialogue is awesome. Snarky, witty dialogue and banter is beyond awesome.


About AUs: I like AUs, but I don't have a preference for them. And I'd like the spirit of the original 'verse to be recognizable in an AU.

About crossovers and fusions: I looooove crossovers and fusions! One of my requests was actually based on a fusion artwork. If you have a sudden inspiration for a crossover or fusion between any of my fandom requests, I salute you and I want that fic now! I've written more about crossover/fusion ideas here.

About the general tone: I'm easy here. I'll read dark, angsty stuff as well as teeth-rotting fluff. I've gotten character death fic, established relationship fluff, wacky crossovers, a horror story and introspective character studies for past Yuletides, and loved all of them to bits. If you want to go with fluff, I have a huge kink for established relationships (romantic or platonic).

DNW: I have no hard DNWs, squicks, or triggers. I can be convinced to read anything as long as there's an element in there that interests me (see above). That said, I don't want graphic gore/violence/abuse for the sake of it. No character bashing.




Something about each of my fandoms:

Calvin and Hobbes
- My request: I adore the strip, and I'll take any kind of fic for it! All and any characters are fine! Run wild! If the story doesn't go anywhere, put it in the Transmogrifier and see it turn into something completely different (and possibly covered in radioactive slime). If you want to go in a romantic direction, the following pairings are fine with me: Calvin's parents, Calvin/Susie, anyone else/anyone else.

- Some more info: Calvin and Hobbes is a staple Yuletide request for me. With comic strip fandoms I'm always interested to see how the source material translates to another medium. Seeing a typical Calvin and Hobbes comic strip in prose is often not that interesting (but hey, feel free to prove me wrong!), but I've read some great crossover and fusion fics, explorations of minor characters or POV changes, and Calvin-as-a-teen/grownup in this fandom. So yeah, any of those would be great, especially fusions/crossovers or fic about any of the minor characters. I'd happily read about a day in the life of Miss Wormwood without any appearance by Calvin or Hobbes. Particular minor character favorites would be Susie, Rosalyn, and Calvin's parents. But as I said: All and any characters are welcome!

If you decide to go with Calvin's parents, this note from a past Dear Author letter of mine is still relevant, I think: Calvin's dad always seemed to have much more personality (defined as a recognizable voice and also interests and a life independent from Calvin) than Calvin's mom. I love him, he is great. But I always have mixed feelings about Calvin's mom. I'm not quite sure whether to read her lack of personality (outside of her roles of wife and mother) as a failure of the comic or a very astute observation on the typical room for self-expression that our society grants to mothers and fathers. Because the comic is from Calvin's perspective and because I love it, I tend to give Bill Watterson the benefit of the doubt. But fanfiction means that she can finally be a character in her own right!


Philosophy RPF: Thomas Hobbes and Johannes Calvin
- My request: This request is 100% due to this art and the accompanying tag line: "Few historians know of the heartwarming friendship between French Reformation theologian John Calvin and English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes, the latter of whom may or may not have been real, considering he was not even born yet."

So, this obviously started out from my eternal love for the comic Calvin and Hobbes, but I do actually have a deep interest in philosophy and theology, and ever since I've seen that picture, I've been wondering about what these two would say to each other...

- Some more info: I'm personally faaaar from an expert on either of these men and their philosophy/theology, so don't be afraid that I'll fact-check you on the details! But I've always been very interested in religion (especially the reformation and differences in protestant doctrine; I'm probably the only kid who actually listened when our pastor went on and on about differences between Lutheranism and Calvinism) and philosophy (especially political philosophy -- I did read parts I and II of the Leviathan in full at one point for my political science degree). So this artwork really combines two longstanding interests (plus a fannish one). It's fate!

Story-wise, there's a lot of room to go here, and I'm open to anything. Obviously, they did not exist at the same time or in the same place, their outlook on the world was quite different, and the premise is somewhat absurd. But I've really been thinking about this for years, and so the obvious solution is Yuletide. Make this romantic, platonic, antagonistic, I don't care! Were they predestined to meet in the afterlife? Does Johannes Calvin have an imaginary friend? Does Thomas Hobbes have dreams of a Swiss reformator at night, when he passes out after editing Part III of the Leviathan? Do they exist in an AU where they balance tree trunks and build apocalyptic snowmen while they discuss the separation of church and state? Do they get into an epic philosophical fight only to realize that they have developed ~feelings~ for their opponent? Do they solve crime together? WHO KNOWS!


Finnair Panda Commercial
My one-minute fandom! Watch it here.

- My request: Twelve years after its debut, this commercial is still the cutest thing I've ever seen and I just want to know more about this adorable panda and her? his? their? adventures around the world!

Would prefer fluffy, funny or plotty fic, but if you're watching this commerial and are struck with the sudden urge to write a satire or something serious, I'm not going to say no! Anything goes, as long as no pandas are permanently harmed in the production of your fic.

- Some more info: Personal story time! Back in the day, I used to watch the Tour de France on Eurosport religiously, and they tended to have about five commercials in total that they played all the time. This was one of them. So possibly, it's Stockholm syndrome, but I still think this is one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Sometimes when I need a pick-me-up, I'll google Finnair Panda and listen to the cheesy music and watch this tiny Panda travel the world and smile and coo. (If you want to write a meet-cute story, I think there was chemistry there with that Chinese panda...)


Dixit (Card Game)
- My request: I love surrealism (Magritte may be my favorite painter), and these cards have a lot of it. I really don't have a specific prompt, but I feel like there are two ways to go here: You could write fic about the gameplay itself, or fic that just concentrates on the artwork and disregards the game entirely. I'm good with both! You could tell the story of a group of players that gets stuck in a set of four cards and has to work out which of them really encompasses the feeling of [eternal love/rain/the multiverse/whatever was the prompt]. You could focus on a single card and just try to tell that story, or pick multiple ones, or just something that's not based on any specific cards and just captures the surrealist, ambiguous, often somewhat spooky feeling of the artwork.

- Some more info: Another possible one-minute fandom, since you don't actually need to know or own the game to write fic for the artwork. Dixit is a card game that's based around very surrealist cards. See here and here for examples (or just do a google image search). The rules of the game can be found here, but you don't necessarily need to know them.

I wasn't the one to nominate this, but I salute the person who did! In fact, I was reminded of the game because of the Yuletide nomination, have now bought a copy and have been playing it a lot. I'd really enjoy anything based on these cards, and I could imagine that they also provide a good backdrop as a setting for any of my other requests.


I hope this helps. Most of all, I hope you have fun with this assignment, and that you have a great Yuletide!