This is my first year signing up for Yuletide, and I'm feeling very overwhelmed!

I picked a bunch of fandoms because, honestly, I'm just excited to be participating, and I'm less concerned about getting something that exactly fits what I want. I want to be accommodating to my author (hi!) and this felt like a good way to do that.

Likes: I prefer gen stories, but if you want to write a love story I would prefer it to be queer. I've seen so many versions of hetero-normative love stories that I'm tired of them.

DNWs: no rape / sexual assault / mind-control / violation of consent. OK if characters struggle with the aftereffects (ie, PTSD), but it needs to be handled delicately or not at all. No active depictions of self-harm. No abusive relationships (physical or otherwise).

The Magicians - Lev Grossman

Characters: Julia Wicker

I've read the books and watched most of the TV series - the plot differences infuriate me, but I have a clearer vision of the characters from the TV show because it's more recent. I identify with Julia. She's incredibly intelligent, resourceful, and has had some truly awful shit happen to her. I'm pretty sure she's a Slytherin (just like me).

I don't have strong opinions for a story - ideally Julia would be the main character and it would happen before she becomes non-human, but beyond that, I don't have a solid vision. Maybe she's exploring some aspect of magic on her own, or she's brought her hedge witch crew along with. Or maybe we're even in an alternate timeline where she got into Brakebills, or she snuck in, or she founded her own school - really I just want a story where she's being capable.

Sexual assault and self-harm are triggers for me, so watching the show / reading the books was really difficult when these subjects came up. It helped me identify a lot stronger with Julia, but I don't want those things to happen again in this short story. It's OK if she has to struggle with effects of those events, because I struggle with those too, but be delicate please.

Nibelungenlied

OH MY GOSH I read this in college in Old High German. It was the hardest book I've ever had to read (because nobody speaks Old High German anymore), but it really stuck with me - I mean there's a character named Hagen, and Hagen is my last name. I love the legends surrounding Siegfried. I honestly don't remember the plot very clearly, so the story doesn't have to relate to the book at all. Anything mythical would be fine - maybe we explore Siegfried defeating Fafnir, or another monster, or perhaps there's some other epic adventure he went on. Maybe we get a story from Kriemhild's perspective and learn about her life before Siegfried gets involved. Maybe we're in an alternate Earth and the mythology is completely different. It all sounds exciting.

Dwarf Fortress

I am so very entertained by this idea. Even though the dwarves in Dwarf Fortress had names and histories and goals, they still felt like automatons. I like the idea of a dwarf suddenly becoming a character in a story, where you can get to know them and their feelings far more intimately than in an interface.

I think a story starting around a dwarf being taken by a strange mood would be interesting - a strange mood could take us all sorts of places. But it could just as easily be a story about what happens when the dwarves dig too deep and demons flood the base (it's happened to me). There's so little structure to build off of here, I'd be happy with anything!

Stardew Valley (Abigail)

Characters: Abigail

Abigail was by far my favorite character in Stardew Valley. Purple hair? Occult interests? 😍 I'm smitten!

So, any story involving Abigail would be exciting. Maybe she and her friends are playing D&D one night and something spooky happens. Maybe the Wizard decides to take her up as an apprentice and her occult interests turn into actual magic. Maybe she's emboldened by the new character moving into town that she decides to be more independent from her family and moves out on her own. Maybe she has a secret relationship with the fae that comes to light. Maybe she takes Sebastian's motorcycle and rides off to explore her dreams in the big city. It all sounds good!

Untitled Goose Game (Goose)

Characters: Goose

I am tickled by Untitled Goose Game and all the memes surrounding it. The goose appeals to the neutral evil side of me, which is deeply entertained when this goose runs around fucking with people at unexpected moments.

There's a lot of free reign to be had on this story, but if you've signed up to write for this fandom, it's likely you know the game and the memes surrounding it, so you can probably write something in the spirit of the goose. Some rough ideas that I think could turn into amazing stories:

The goose ends up somewhere besides the village. Goose in an airport. Goose at the fairgrounds. Goose in a parade.
The goose cross-over memes are hilarious. Maybe the goose shows up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and honks at some evil demon. Maybe the goose steals the Infinity Gauntlet in the middle of a villainous monologue.
The story actually follows someone else, but the goose shows up randomly to wreck havoc. Maybe it's a romance novel until the goose shows up and steals the champagne. Maybe a kid is being forced to attend a birthday party of his bully at school and is sad until the goose starts stealing presents.

Really, anything where the goose runs around causing mayhem would make for a great story.

Jessica Jones

Characters: Jessica Jones

I loved Jessica Jones. I like how she's dark and depressed and angry at the world. It feels very real and relatable. I love how she's cynical and looking out only for herself. She'd punch a guy for telling her to smile (and I've wanted to do that on several occasions).

I'm not interested in a story that involves Killgrave. I think the story easily becomes about him, and while I can relate to abusive and controlling partners, I'd rather not read about it some more.

"Reluctant good guy" would be interesting. Something bad is happening, Jessica has a legitimate and compelling reason to not get involved, but allows herself to get pulled in anyway. "Good guy turns bad" would also be really interesting - maybe she gets down a dark path (again, for plausible reasons), ends up involved in some shady things, and some good guy comes to fight her and ends up providing emotional support as she unloads on them. That could be really cathartic.

I'm only familiar with the show, and the crossover with Luke Cage. I think they had some seasons dealing with the aftermath of the Avenger movies... but if they did, I didn't watch any of it, so excuse this following naivety!

While the Avengers were doing large-scale save-the-city kind of stuff, seeing how Jessica helps out on a smaller scale could be humbling. Some aliens invade, Jessica punches a couple into orbit, then helps clean up the wreckage of her town.

If Jessica survived the Snap, following her through a dark depression and the events that force her to come out of it would be a heavy but powerful story.

In summary, I think something really dark and gloomy and depressing would work really well. It'd be relatable. I also think something where she overcomes some personal difficulty - alcoholism, depression, self-destructive behaviors - would be compelling, even if it's only a small victory. It's OK (and maybe even encouraged) if this story makes me cry!

Dear Yuletide Writer (2019)