Dear Yuletide Author 2025
Happy Yuletide! I'm so excited to read whatever you write! This is one of my favorite things each year, and I hope you enjoy it too.
Do not wants/dislikes: Please no PWPs, no unhappy endings (with one exception, discussed below), and no pet/child death even in the background (if canon includes pet/child death, it's okay to discuss it or refer to it, but I would prefer it not be a focus of the story). If a character is injured or hospitalized, please tag for it even if it's a minor character and even if it spoils the plot. While plot AUs (i.e. a different series of events happens in your story than in canon) are okay with me, I don't want any setting AUs (e.g. coffee shops, space, etc) for these canons. Keep them in the eras and general locations where they are set!
What I like: Characterization is my favorite part of fic, and I love a deep dive into these people we love so much. What makes them tick? What do they like about each other? I enjoy reading about both romance and friendship, and the way romance and friendship intertwine. I love it when opposites attract and two characters can't resist each other despite seeming totally unalike. Most of all, what I love is when a writer brings their love for and delight in canon into their work - if you focus on what makes the world and the people in it so special, I know I'll love whatever you write! If you'd like to get a sense for my tastes by looking at my past works, bookmarks and gifts, my ao3 handle is the same as my tumblr handle - feel free!
Admiral Croft, Sophia Croft
The Admiral and Sophy are among my favorite married couples in all of literature, and I've always wanted more about them. I'd love fic that expands on their story in some way. Maybe you take us back in time to their courtship, their first meeting, or the early days of their marriage. Maybe you hop us forward to some more of their adventures after the events of the novel and the ways their lives intertwine with the other characters. All I ask is that the fic be primarily focused on the two of them and their relationship - while you can include other characters, and of course the events of the novel can come into play and be part of the story, I don't want a fic that just retells Anne and Captain Wentworth's romance from the Crofts' POV.
Emily of New Moon - L.M. Montgomery
I was discussing this series with a friend recently and was struck by how many "roads not taken" Emily has. What if she had said "yes" when Perry's Aunt Tom demanded she promise to marry Perry? What if she had accepted Miss Royal's offer to go to New York? What if she had married Dean after all? What if she had come the last time Teddy whistled instead of ignoring him? I'd love for you to take one of these potential other paths for Emily - including one I might not have listed here - and explore what might have happened if she had made a different choice. What would be the same, and what would be different? Feel free to bring in as many other characters as you would like, but keep the focus on Emily and her POV. This canon is my exception to the DNW of "no unhappy endings". If Emily chooses poorly, and is less happy, in your scenario, feel free to explore that and make it bittersweet or straight-up sad. It feels in keeping with the series.
The Enchanted April - Elizabeth von Armin
Lotty Wilkins, Lady Caroline Dester, Mrs. Fisher, Rose Arbuthnot
I read this delightful book for the first time this year and was so charmed by the relationship between these ladies and their joy in their Italian adventure, and I'd just love to hear more about them. Maybe you explore what their lives are like when they get back to England - are they able to keep hold of their happiness, or do they fall back into their old habits? Or maybe you take them on another vacation (the south of France? one of Europe's old-world capitals?) Whatever you choose, I'd like more of their relationships and their exploration of their world. This can be a shipfic, if you feel so moved, or gen - I'll be happy either way! And I love all these characters equally, so feel free to choose whichever POV you'd like, or alternate like in canon.
The Last Samurai -Helen Dewitt
This was another book I read for the first time this year and was completely captivated by. The themes of this novel are so rich and the characters are so fascinating, I'd love more of them! In particular, I'd be really interested in some Sibylla POV about portions of her life that the story glosses over (more of her academic experiences, her childhood in the motels) or in some Ludo POV about him getting older and navigating the world. Include whatever characters you want in addition to these two, or make up some of your own (does Ludo need another dad?) Bonus points if you can teach me about a subject you know a lot about using the fic the way Dewitt teaches us all about chess and Japanese and Seven Samurai! I have a couple canon-specific DNWs for this one: please don't center the story on Sibylla's suicidal thoughts or on Red Devlin's suicide (passing references are okay) and if you're going to write Ludo POV, don't make him younger than he is in during the canon POV sections.
Happy writing! Happy Yuletide!
germansingergirl
ellievsbear
prguitarman
tangentwithtanner
pixelskylines
romaincrisis
gracieabrams
