florianschild | Dear Yuletide Author

Hi! I’m thrilled and honored to be matched with you. Obviously, you have great taste. :)

This is my very first ever Yuletide. Hopefully that comforts and maybe even delights you. Think of it this way: no matter what you write, it will still be my very best Yuletide gift ever! And I promise to love and cherish it as such.

Here are some things that I generally enjoy seeing in fic:
Angst
Hurt-Comfort
Selflessness
Sacrifice
Stoicism
Good intentions going awry
Awkward/uncomfortable/humiliating situations
Power dynamics in relationships (romantic or otherwise)
Class dynamics
Committed/established relationships that exist independent of the plot
Epistolary and Diary Fic
Bittersweet moments

Do Not Wants:
Modern AU
Coffeeshop AU
RPF
Crossover
OCs
PWP
second-person narration
A/B/O
Crackfic
Character bashing (especially requested characters, they are my bbs)

And here is a general disclaimer about triggers: There is basically nothing that “triggers” me in the sense that I wouldn’t be ok with reading a fic that contains it. You can include any content you choose that isn’t explicitly mentioned as a DNW. I think it’s safe to assume, based on my fandom requests, that I can handle dark and intense themes, but it’s worth mentioning.

For all of my fandoms, I chose to request just one character. But please don’t feel like you must or should limit yourself to that character only. I’ve tried to mention my ships in the prompts for each fandom, but I’d completely open to other ships, genfic, alternate character POVs, or whatever you like. As long as my requested character is involved, I’m sure I’ll be completely happy.

And now, the prompts!

Carolyn Ives Gilman - Twenty Planets
Tedla Galele

Halfway Human was far and away my favorite book that I read in 2016. Then this year I read Dark Orbit, and realized there is tons of awesome crossover potential with the characters in these two books. That said, you really only need to have read Halfway Human to be completely up-to-date with Tedla’s character. As far as I know, Tedla doesn’t appear in any of the other Twenty Planet works.

Please feel free to include any additional character from the Twenty Planets universe. I tend to see a lot of shipping potential for Tedla and Magister Gossup, but I would also be open to a Tedla/Val/Max relationship, or if you would like to incorporate other characters (Alair Galele, Prosper Tellegen, Laki, Zelly… anyone, really), I’m 100% on board.

Prompts:
There is so much time that passes between Tedla’s arrival on Capella Two and the start of the book. I’d love to see a fic that explores that, especially one that addresses how Tedla coped with integrating into life on C4D as a student. Maybe show some interactions with fellow students. How much do the other students know about Tedla’s origins?

As a subset of that prompt: At the beginning of the book Tedla says: “You know, it never even occurred to me why they took all those scans and samples every time I went to the clinic for some virus I had no immunity to.” I would love to see some light-hearted hurt/comfort fic with a sick Tedla being cared for by a fellow student and maybe opening up to them a bit.

This book goes all-in on the idea of the unreliable narrator. At several times, Val or another character brings Tedla’s accounting of events into question. I would be very interested in a fic that explored Tedla’s recollections from another POV, such as Gossup, Tellegen, Nasatir, or Ovide Hornaday, or whoever you think would provide an interesting angle. Whether this further obfuscates the truth or makes things clearer is totally up to you!

Tedla tells Val that the pronoun “it” is what is used on Gammadis to refer to neuters. Tedla seems to accept this as appropriate, but it’s problematic because Tedla is still displaying the effects of the systematic dehumanization that they endured. It would be great to see a fic where Tedla decides that “it” is no longer their preferred pronoun.

Extrapolate on the ending a bit: where does Tedla go from here? If you’ve read Dark Orbit, you’ll know that Prosper Tellegen’s theories of Sensualism have been exported from Gammadis by then (15-20 years after Halfway Human ends, by my estimation). Did Tedla help to propagate Tellegen’s work? Was there ever a chance for Tedla to return to Gammadis safely?

Dragon’s Winter - Elizabeth A. Lynn
Azil Aumson

Oh boy, I love this book SO much. Azil Aumson is basically everything I love in a literary character: quiet, thoughtful, brave, competent, loyal, and tormented by the past. My OTP for this series is 100% Karadur/Azil. If you haven’t read the sequel, Dragon’s Treasure, you should definitely do it; it’s wonderful. But I’m going to write these prompts based on Dragon’s Winter only, so I won’t include any spoilers and they won’t require knowledge of the events of Dragon’s Treasure. The only thing that I’ll mention is that there is explicit confirmation of Azil and Karadur’s relationship in the second book. It was more subtle in Dragon’s Winter, so I think some people read the book and never saw them as a couple. But it’s stated outright in Dragon’s Treasure, and confirmed multiple times. So yeah, stick with that interpretation please, because I love them together so much.

Prompts:

It’s never fully explained how Azil escaped from the Black Citadel. I’d love to know more about this. Was he let go by Tenjiro so that he could act as a spy? Did he finally manage a successful escape attempt? Was Gorthas involved? How did it happen?

In Chapter 13 Azil and Karadur go together to inform Thea’s family of her and Wolf’s death. Karadur is obviously extremely upset; he loses his temper and throws Rogys into a wall. What happens on the ride? What does the conversation with Thea’s family look like? I think Azil is a great grounding presence for Karadar, and I’d love to see him calming Karadur down from his rage.

Or on a happier note: I would adore a scene of lighthearted sweetness between Karadur and Azil or Azil and his mother. If you want to set it before the events of the book, that would be really cool. I would love to see a younger and more carefree Azil. Or if you wanted to set it after they return from the Citadel that’s cool too. Let Azil have some joy in spite of all that he’s suffered.

Pretty much anything you can come up with will probably blow my mind and thrill me beyond reason.

Doctrine of Labythinths - Sarah Monette
Gideon Thraxios

This is my newest obsession, but certainly not to be overlooked. I plowed through this series as fast as I could find used copies on Amazon (someone needs to get these back in print!) One of the reasons why I couldn’t put it down was that I was absolutely desperate to find out more about Gideon. What a completely fascinating character! He’s basically sold into military slavery as a child, abused in mysterious ways, then finally escapes only to find himself living in another type of captivity in the Mirador. And yet he’s always smiling, and studying, and trying to be helpful to Felix. And he is so beyond good to Felix, but they are so complicated. Ugh… I really love Gideon. :) Please feel 100% free to include any other canon characters. I ship Gideon/Felix, but I wouldn’t mind appearances by Mildmay, Mehitabel, Shannon, or anyone else really.

Prompts:

If you’re up for it, maybe you’d like to tackle the huge elephant in the room of The Mirador: what is the beef between Gideon and Thaddeus. Why is Thaddeus so unflappably convinced that Gideon is a spy? Is it just his homophobia? Did something happen between the two of them before they defected? Or did something happen after Gideon got to Melusine? If you could write a story that sheds light on this feud, I’d be so grateful! This is something that’s been bugging me since I finished the book. (I’d prefer if the backstory didn’t have Gideon/Thaddeus shipping, but I could probably be convinced otherwise if you absolutely think that’s what it was.)

Sex scenes in the books were pretty angst-filled for Felix and Gideon. I would adore a sweet, happy fic that included some positively-depicted sex for these two. Or if you aren't comfortable writing explicit work, a just a sweet romantic scene would be great too!

In my opinion, the recovery period for losing a tongue cannot be easy or fast, but it was totally glossed over (no pun intended) in the books! Of course, Gideon would probably be way too embarrassed to admit to needing help, but maybe Felix or Mildmay realizes that he is losing weight because he can’t eat properly. Or the wound didn’t heal properly and he needs help finding a doctor in Melusine. Maybe there’s a magical solution? Basically, I just want to see Gideon learning to cope.

Fix-it fic: Gideon was a pretty powerful wizard, so I think there could be a convincing AU where he uses some heretical Eusebian magic on Isaac Garamond and saves himself. Gideon survives, but now, having killed Isaac or driven him insane, he is basically in the same place that Felix was at the end of The Mirador. What happens then?

Anything from Melusine/The Virtu in Gideon’s point of view would be fascinating. What does he think about Felix the first time they meet? What happens to him (and Mavortian and Bernard) after they separate from Felix and Mildmay in Yhergod. Quite a lot of time seems to have passed between when they are separated and when Mildmay rescues them in Aiaia. Were they prisoners that whole time, or were they on the run together for a while?