Yuletide letter for 2023

[greenygal]

Dear Yuletide Author: Thank you so much for writing something for me! I'm very much looking forward to reading whatever you come up with.


Some things I like: Emotional interaction, banter, worldbuilding, things that happen around the edges of canon.

Things I don't like: I'd prefer at least a moderately happy ending. Angst and explorations of canon trauma are fine, although I'd prefer no on-screen sexual violence.



Girl Genius (webcomic)
Zeetha Daughter of Chump, Axel "The Unstoppable" Higgs

I just really enjoy the adorable and lethal relationship these two have! Possible prompts:

* The two of them building their relationship during the time skip after Agatha disappeared; I'd love to see some of what happened during that off-panel period.

* Zeetha dealing with Higgs being a secret Jäger, and the possibility that she's going to become one herself.

* Higgs meeting Zeetha's mother! And presumably fighting her.

* Future-fic with the two of them making a life together, either in the period after Agatha takes back Mechanicsburg, or in the far future if Zeetha does become an immortal Jäger.

--or whatever; anything you write me about these two will make me happy!



X-Men: the Animated Series
Rogue, Remy LeBeau

Fandom-specific DNW: Unsympathetic portrayals of Cyclops.

I have a huge soft spot for the Rogue/Gambit relationship, and I've always been intrigued by the parallels in the cartoon's backstories for them (mostly in "X-Ternally Yours" and "A Rogue's Tale"); both have secret pasts with criminal families that they loved but felt betrayed by, and both have permanently cut ties with those pasts: "I am not thief or assassin. I am an X-Man, and I'm never coming back." / "I ain't your daughter, Mystique. Not anymore." I would love something where the two of them interact in some way that deals with those similarities--I love them as a romantic couple but gen or canon-typical flirtiness is fine; +1 for gestures of physical comfort that work around how careful they have to be. I would be happy to see other X-Men (or related characters like Nightcrawler), many of whom have their own complicated experiences of family, as long as the focus stays on Rogue and Gambit.

The DNW is just precautionary--Scott is one of my favorites and I know it's easy (and frequently IC) to write him antagonistically. He totally does not have to be in this story, I just don't want to be mad at him if he is.



Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey
Herald Talia, Herald Dirk, Herald Kris

Fandom-specific DNW: Kris' canon death

I'm basically just looking for some reasonably happy interaction between these three characters (canon conflict is fine, I'd just prefer resolution within the story). I would absolutely love a look at an AU where Kris didn't die in Arrow's Fall, and how their relationships developed after that--I'd like Kris to remain close to the other two, but would be equally happy with a romantic or platonic relationship; I tend to think of him as aromantic myself but also adore OT3s; I am open to all interpretations! Alternately, there could be more time spent together before Talia gets sent off with Kris in Arrow's Flight, or where the three of them have an actual reasonable conversation in Arrow's Fall and make up before the roof falls in. Maybe Talia gets sent off with the two of them on one of their thieving adventures! Maybe they all spend a holiday with Dirk's family! Bend the timeline all you want; all I care about is that they get to spend time together and that Kris doesn't die in the story.



Solar Queen Series - Andre Norton
Any (tagset: Dane Thorson, Rip Shannon, Ali Kamil)

Canon: A series of four books written by Andre Norton in the '50s, followed by three collaborations with other writers in the '90s, about the space adventures of a small crew of merchant Free Traders. While I like the whole series, most relevant to my interests are Plague Ship, which is available on Gutenberg, and Derelict for Trade and A Mind for Trade, which are co-written by Sherwood Smith and available for ebook purchase.

My main interest is the Queen's three apprentices, and I'd just really like to see something about any or all of them. Possible prompts:
--Since the first four books are narrated by Dane, I'd love to see Rip or Ali's thoughts about Dane, or their POV on some of the canon events.
--In A Mind for Trade, Ali mentions that Rip befriended him when he came on board as "an angry, moody apprentice engineer with a very bad record"; I'd love to read about that.
--By the end of the series, the apprentices are working as officers on a secondary ship; how do their new responsibilities affect them and the way they interact with each other?
--Cool aliens that the trio manage to make a trade deal with! They don't get the chance for that often enough in canon.
--In one of the most gloriously fannish plot twists I've ever seen, in A Mind for Trade the boys develop a telepathic link (along with another character I'm less interested in; sorry, Jasper!). Please feel free to make use of this, especially since neither Dane nor Ali is very prone to talking about themselves otherwise.

--or anything you like, really, including slice-of-life conversations while they're making space coffee; I'd be happy with anything for this fandom.