letter - yuletide 2020

[teethandstars]

Dear Yuletide Author,

Hi, I'm Mal! You can find me at teethandstars on AO3 and teethandstars on tumblr. Thank you for writing a yuletide story for me. I'm a big believer in optional details are optional, so please know that I mean this letter and these prompts to be inspirational rather than limiting. I want to read the fic of your heart for our matched fandom. 

DNW: trauma to eyes, sexual humiliation, traumatic loss of limb, explicit underage, harm to animals.

I'm not usually a fan of holiday fic, pure fluff, or AUs that are completely divorced from canon (for example, "Harry Potter AU where Hogwarts is a coffeeshop and everyone is a muggle because there is no magic") but it's not a dealbreaker if that's the fic you want to write most.

Rating: I am happy to receive any rating.

Smut likes: bruising, ‘I can’t believe we’re alive’ sex, praise kink, oral fixation, mutual masturbation, public and semi-public sex, competency kink.

These are a few of my Favorite Things:

• Canon AUs, canon divergence, and "for want of a nail" plot lines are my favorites across all fandoms!

• Case fic, for a relative value of the word 'case.'  

• Mysteries, political and/or social maneuverings, instigating conspiracies, unraveling conspiracies, heists and the planning thereof. You can never go wrong with a good ol'-fashioned monster of the week caper.

• Stories about learning to live in the aftermath. Quiet stories about (re)building physically, spiritually, emotionally. 

• Myth and fairy tale elements or retellings. Favorites include Bluebeard, Tam Lin, and all descents into the underworld.

• Angst with a happy ending, dark with a hopeful ending, drama with a peaceful ending. 

• Temporal weirdness: time travel "fix it", time dilation, static time, cosmic time, reincarnation. 

• Magic! Magic that has a Cost, family magic, learning magic, magical rituals, sympathetic magic. Particularly fond of family curses.

• Intense and even unhealthily codependent found families and/or romantic relationships.

• Characters being really passionate about their niche career/hobby/interest. 

• Pining. Slow burn, seemingly unrequited pining, denial, and obliviousness.

• Getting together, navigating a new relationship, discovering and nurturing love.  And I'm always good with first time fic.

Crescent City Series - Sarah J. Maas
Bryce Quinlan & or / Danika Fendyr

The Request: 
Anything that focuses on the relationship between Bryce and Danika! These assholes made me cry on public transportation at least three times. I love them as friends, but I also very much ship them if you wish to writing that.

Notes: 

• I am SO WEAK for the trope of pining, will-they-or-won't-they, blurred lines relationship between Best Friends Forever and True Loves. Especially when it's between the "mean girl queen bees." That's what really suckered me into reading this poorly edited brick of a book.
• Songs that always make me think of these two: Cut Your Bangs (Girlpool) and Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Sleigh Bells) 

Prompts:

• DANIKA LIVES AU
• Pre-canon college shenanigans
• Bryce makes somehow figures out a way to bring Danika back to life? Maybe a deal with the Shadow King or something?? or MAGIC
• Pre-canon divergence in which they grow up as best friends
• If you MUST break my heart, something where Bryce discovers Danika was romantically in love with her during the book via notes/things she left behind
• Danika POV of their interactions in the first part

Scholomance - Naomi Novik
Galadriel "El" Higgins

The Request:
I want El in all her surly, feral linguistics-nerd glory. Gen or ship is great with me.

Notes:

• You know that John Mulaney meme "My wife is a b-tch and I like her SO MUCH" -- yeah, that's me @ El Higgins. 
• I ship El/Orion! I didn't specifically request him for this fandom as well because I'm so smitten with El herself, but I am absolutely happy for an El/Orion fic, I just want El as the focus.
• Having said that, I'm open to any other pairing for El. I'm actually keen to read an El/Chloe fic. 

Prompts:

• El gets a particularly tricky homework assignment, whatever that means ( m a g i c a l   c o n l a n g )
• Canon AU where El insults Orion like, the FIRST DAY and Orion immediately starts following El around like a puppy 
• Fic that continues from where A Deadly Education ended, in which El definitely isn't doing anything so ridiculous as PINING for Orion
• Scenes from the long war between El and The Library 
• El & Liu & Aadhya prepare for graduation and El gets in some practice at being a good friend
• So what does El do after graduation?

That Game We Played During the War - Carrie Vaughn
Calla Belan & or / Valk Larn

The Request:
I would love more Calla and Valk interaction (even if, for them, that means they say nothing at all).

Notes:

• First of all, I know absolutely NOTHING about chess, so please don't worry that I'm going to be precious about gameplay should you choose to include it in the story
• I'm super into the self-conscious voyeurism of this story: how the Gaantish all 'know' how Calla feels but Calla herself cheerfully dances around naming any of her feelings, and Calla thinking about the Gaantish thinking about her thoughts. Would love to see the reactions of others to the odd couple incorporated without it being a straight up outsider POV fic.

Prompts:

• Calla and Valk moving in together and living in something like domestic bliss, whether romantically or as platonic life mates
• Missing scenes from Calla's captivity and/or Valk's dreams from his captivity
• After the war, Calla invites Valk to observe a chess tournament on Enith
• The truce doesn't hold
• Canon AU: Valk wasn't injured/didn't send the telegram -- a different reunion