Yuletide 2023

[rhovanel]

Dear Yuletide Author, 

Thank you so much for creating something for me! I’m always thrilled to receive anything that someone has made for me, so don’t worry, I’ll be happy with whatever you come up with. All of my prompts are just possible prompts, and if you have your own idea or plot bunny, you are welcome to chase it. The story is yours. You are also welcome to mix and match prompts - if I've listed something for one fandom that you think might work well for another, go for it. And more than anything, I hope you are well at the end of yet another difficult year, and that this exchange brings you joy.

I am very open to treats and always thrilled if someone takes the time to write me something extra. 

General likes:

• stories that play with form and narrative: epistolary, poetry, time loops, second person etc. 
• stories about storytelling and the power of narratives
• found families
• bittersweet endings
• stories about the power of hope and persevering through difficult times 
• ghost stories (and ghost romances)
• holiday stories - this is Yuletide, after all, and I am a sucker for stories set during the holidays (whether real or invented)
• character studies
• mutual pining-happy ending narratives
• relationships based in communication - talking, challenging and testing one another, wordy declarations/gestures of love
• banter and humour
• moments of quiet intimacy
• stars, trees, and the sea
• relationship tropes I am weak for (in no particular order): banter and bickering; gift giving; one person suddenly realising they’re in love with the other person; there’s only one bed; ‘holy shit they’re hot in that outfit’; fake dating; talking/flirting/falling in love through dancing
  
  

DNWs:

• explicit sex
• A/B/O dynamics or mpreg
• non-con or dub-con
• incest
• de-aging characters beyond canon (flashbacks are fine, just no stories written entirely about the characters as children)
• student/teacher relationships

Best Actress Academy Award Nominees - Julian Sewell - Worldbuilding 

This is a short sketch that originated on TikTok - you can find it here. As soon as I saw it I knew I was nominating it for Yuletide. In just 90 seconds, we have a pitch-perfect parody of the Oscars, from the types of films and performances that are nominated, to the reactions of each nominee. Each of the fake films and the fake performances are completely believable, and there is so much scope for fleshing out and exploring these in more detail.

I’ve only requested Worldbuilding, because all I want is anything that fleshes out this world. Tell me more about the actresses, the films, their backstories, the press campaign, the ceremony - whatever angle you choose, I will adore it. 

Note: Sewell published a sequel (including a winner) which I am treating as non-canonical for the purposes of this request, since the nomination only covers the first sketch. If you want to write the ceremony and winner, I’m much more interested in your own ideas. 

 

Possible prompts:

• The actresses: I’d love to know more about the actresses - who’s the first-time nominee? Who’s the seasoned performer? Do any of them have a rivalry? I’d be happy with a story that focuses on all of them or even just one. 
• The films: Tell me more about what the films are about! We get a bit of a sense from the clips we see, but I’d love to know more. Again, you could do all of them, just some, or even just pick one. 
• The press circuit: I would love to see snippets from the press circuit for these films/performances. How are the actresses promoting themselves and their films? 
• I’m a big fan of alternative format fics (epistolary, fake news stories, fake transcripts, etc), and this would work for any of these prompts. 

Control - Worldbuilding 

 

I picked up this game on a whim earlier this year without knowing much about it, and I adored it. I loved how much it committed to the weird fiction genre, I loved the pitch-perfect parody of office bureaucracy, and I loved the paranormal and spooky elements.

 

I’ve requested Worldbuilding because I’d love anything that fleshes out the world of the FBC and the Oldest House. But I did also love the characters and am more than happy to have any of them feature in the story.

 

I’m also giving you blanket permission to go as weird as you want here, whether in content or narrative structure (or both) - this is a game that really lends itself to alternative formats and playing around with structure. Embrace the weird, take as many risks as you want - I will love whatever you come up with. 

 

Possible prompts:

• Altered items: Every single one was fascinating. Pick an item and give me some more information about it - a story about what happened when someone encountered it, or how it was captured, or what happens if it breaks out of containment at the FBC. If you’d like, you can even make up your own Altered Item.
• One of my favourite parts of the game was getting a sense of what the day to day life at the Bureau was like (pre-Hiss invasion), through the posters and memos. I’d love something that explores this - give me a day in the life of an average FBC worker. Or alternatively, an epistolary style story would be cool here, with more memos and manuals and etc from the desks of the FBC. 
• What else is in the Oldest House? There’s so much to explore here - a different wing in one of the existing levels (Research might be particularly cool here), a whole new department, a hidden room that does something unexpected. 
• It is not a lie to say that I think about the Hiss Incantation at least once a week. It really is a tune you can’t stop humming in a dream. I would adore anything that explores it in more detail. Where did it come from? What does it mean? Pick a line or lines that speak to you and do something with them, or write me more of it. Whatever you do, I will adore it.

 

For All Mankind - Margo Madison

 

I am so grateful to this show for filling the science fiction space in my heart. I love the alternate history, I love the characters, and I cannot get enough of space.

 

Margo Madison is everything to me. Complicated, ambitious, stubborn, dogmatic: she is one of the most fascinating characters on television right now. I would love anything that gives me a glimpse into her character - her interior world, her work, her past, her future. I’m happy with a story set at any point throughout the three seasons - or even season four, which will start airing about halfway through Yuletide. I will 100% be up to date, so if you want to include anything from the new season you are most welcome, but you can also ignore it entirely if that’s better. And I love the whole ensemble and I'm happy for any of the other characters to feature in the story.

Possible prompts:

• Forever fascinated that Margo seems to live in her office. What is going on there? Does she even have a house? Do people know about this, and if not, what happens when they find out?
• I adore science fiction in all its forms and while I love the show’s alternative history science fiction, I would be so interested to see something more fantastical in this universe. Margo is so rational and logical — how would she react to something like aliens, a wormhole, time travel etc?
• I’d love to see more of her interior world throughout season three - when does she decide to go with the Soviets, and why? What are her feelings about this?
• I can never get enough of NASA mission control and all the science/technology/logistics behind space travel, and will be more than happy with a whole story that explores Margo solving problems and being good at her job.
• Margo’s personal life: Margo is so intensely private and so focused on work, and I love the tiny glimpses we get of her personal world - her love for music, the jazz club, her sweet tooth, her talent for maths. Anything that explores any of these elements would be amazing.   

 

Gattaca - Jerome Eugene Morrow, Vincent Freeman, Irene Cassini 

I’ve loved this film for a very long time but I’ve never requested it for Yuletide - it’s time to change that. I love the aesthetic, the music, the bittersweet tone, and of course the themes: humanity, science and religion, perfection, hope.

 

I’ve requested Jerome/Eugene, Vincent and Irene. I’m happy with any combination of characters - you don’t need to write all three. I’m also equally happy with gen or with something shippy, and with any combination of romance between the three. 
 

Possible prompts:

• It’s a classic, but what happens after the end of the film? What does Vincent find in space? What does Irene do next, now that all of her preconceptions have been challenged? If you’d like to keep Jerome alive (which is always welcome), how does he move forward? 
• Any exploration of the other ways in which discrimination works in the world of the film, and what counts as valuable, good, superior, etc. I really liked the scene with the twelve-fingered pianist, and would be interested to see our characters encounter/interact with/discuss more of these examples (art, cinema, literature, politics, science, history, etc).
• This is a little bit of a vague prompt, but I loved the scenes in which the characters test one another and push against each others ideals, and anything else along these lines would be amazing. I’m always here for talky relationships.  
• I love ghost stories and I can envision something really interesting post-Jerome’s death - if he persists on Earth through his DNA, might his soul linger too? 
• Time travel/time loop: this is one of my favourite prompts and I can imagine it working really well within the world of Gattaca - perhaps Vincent’s visit to the stars unlocks some kind of wormhole; perhaps Jerome’s death kick-starts a time loop that he gets stuck in; perhaps Irene’s “just once around the sun” comment reveals more than it seems. Anything that plays with the relationship between time and some of the film’s themes (control, self-determination, hope, etc) would be welcome here.