Dear Yuletide Writer
Oct. 21st, 2022 12:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
goseawardHello Yuletide writer! Some more details behind the cut--
I am open for treats!
As we all know, optional details are optional, so all of these are just some musings on things I might enjoy or reasons I requested the canon. All of my canon requests this year are books with queer protagonists, and I've mostly requested real relationships from the books, but I'd be happy with gen/friendship/preslash stories as well. I also like the supporting characters in all of these works, so feel free to include as large a cast as you like. I'm happy with any rating; if explicit, fine with anything from the fluffiest vanilla fluff to serious kink.
I enjoy lots of genres. Most of my reading these days is historical romance, fantasy/SF, and mystery, but there's always stuff outside those genres I enjoy as well (including bodies of work that don't consider themselves genre, like contemporary literary fiction). It's very easy to make me happy, is what I'm getting at here. :)
In general, I tend to like fics with a lot of one-on-one time between the main pairing. Last time I did the fanfic trope sorter, my top 5 were "seemingly unrequited pining", "enemies to friends to lovers", "snowed-in cabin", "A/B/O", and "daemons" (with friends to lovers at #6). I don't use the AO3 bookmarking function, but I post recs on DW under the recs tag if you'd like to see the kinds of fics I've liked in the past.
DNWs: Major character death, child death, amnesia/memory issues, blood/bodily wastes in sex scenes, non-negotiated infidelity, humiliation, polyamory in the main pairing unless requested (background pairings/moresomes are fine), and kidfic or pregnancy fic (incidental children are fine, just not fic that focuses on parenting or child care).
Smut/kink loves, in no particular order: D/s, bondage, anal sex, lots of kissing, size kink (one partner much bigger than the other), size kink (big dick), stretching/large object penetration, double penetration, fisting, sounding, edging, consensual exhibitionism (other person(s) WANT to watch), stuff with mirrors, morning sex, people being overwhelmed by sex, laughter during sex, people being so desperate for sex they (for example) use bad lube or don't make it all the way to the bed. People being practical; people happily accommodating unexpected needs or requests from their partners. Sex tutoring (let me teach you exactly how to touch me). First times, including virgins, but also established relationships where they know how to do that thing their partner loves already. I have also totally been incepted into new kinks by fic, so this list has room for expansion :)
Smut/kink DNWs: breathplay, tickling, permanent injury, body modification as part of or for the purpose of sex, bound people left alone, watersports or other bodily wastes.
Below, the canons I requested and some ideas for each one. I included a little intro in case we matched on one fandom but the others look interesting.
Canon: Society of Gentlemen - K. J. Charles
Characters: Absalom Lockwood, James Oxley
Society of Gentlemen is a series of three novels and two free short stories by the historical queer romance author K. J. Charles. The novels are only available on ebook/audiobook, no physical media available. They tell a story of a group of high-society queer friends, plus various members of other classes, as they find love & get entangled with real (and disturbing) political events in the late Regency. I really enjoy all of the characters in these novels, and I like how dense the character networks are--it's not just a set of high society friends who are the protagonists and their not-always-upper-class lovers, but those lovers also have their own networks of friends and business partners. I also enjoy the historical detail, particularly around the political situation, and how thorny and important all of that is.
The characters I've requested are Absalom Lockwood, a side character and renowned Whig lawyer, and James Oxley. If you're familiar with this canon but you're thinking "who the heck is James Oxley", he's mentioned in the post-canon epilogue "A Private Miscellany," available at the KJ Charles Free Reads page: https://kjcharleswriter.com/free-reads/ Basically, he works at Millay's, Absalom Lockwood gets him out of legal trouble, they become a couple. And I really wanna know how THAT all went down. Absalom is a little bit of a ridiculous figure in the books--older, portly, infatuated with Ash--and I always felt like he deserved better. He's friends with Richard, he's either been knighted or holds a minor title, and he's a well-respected lawyer. Plus, as a regular at Millay's, it seems like he and Oxley would have a lot of reasons not to fully trust each other. I really like the idea of these two mismatched kids getting together.
Canon: England Series - K. J. Charles
Characters: Archie Curtis, Daniel da Silva
Another KJ Charles series here--two linked novels about the worst Edwardian house parties you can think of. If you haven't read these and you're thinking of picking them up, I will put a warning here that, compared to most KJ Charles novels, this one has a lot of homophobia and xenophobia, and a lot of the slurs (as well as some of the violence) are actually on the page. But I just love the two MCs of Think of England so much: Daniel da Silva, the snarky aesthete who's also smarter than everybody in the room, and Archie Curtis, who just wants to do the decent thing. I'm also interested in stories of queer discovery and Archie has a pretty nice one--and I like that it contrasts with Daniel's security in his identity, too.
I've been rereading some of Cat Sebastian's romances set in the 40s and 50s, and it struck me that Daniel and Archie's dynamic would work well in that kind of historical milieu--or, in fact, a bunch of others. Even to modern day, at least in some locations. So...my first request would be some kind of AU in a different time period, but dealing with some of the same issues they deal with in canon. I'd also be interested in some kind of situation that Archie and Daniel get into after they start working together. Or a time when either Archie or Daniel is challenged by something that happens between them, and how that leads to character growth or a change in their relationship.
Canon: The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison
Characters: Thara Celehar, Iäna Pel-Thenhior
Probably doesn't need a lot of introduction these days, but the Goblin Emperor series is a well-regarded set of secondary world fantasy novels. The society depicted is pretty different from current or historical societies on Earth, and I enjoy how immersive the everyday detail of the worldbuilding is. I liked the first book, but I adore the spinoffs (so far, The Witness for the Dead and The Grief of Stones--I hope we get more). They focus on Thara Celehar, a minor character from The Goblin Emperor, and his work as a witness for the dead--a cleric focused on death and its attendant rituals--as he deals with grief in his past and learns to trust in the friendships he has now. I like the small-scale mysteries, the detail of the everyday life of people outside the palace, the inventiveness of the death customs of the different religions in the city of Amalo where Thara lives. And I also really like the sweet and pretty obvious crushes that Thara and his friend Iäna have on each other.
Basically: Thara needs a hug. SOMEBODY GIVE THARA A HUG. I mean, that's really all I want out of this canon: for Thara to be able to accept that kind of care for someone, and for him to have someone to give it to him.
Canon: Green Men Series - K. J. Charles
Characters: Hugh "Barney" Barnaby, Max Isaacs
Another KJ Charles canon here, this one with magic! And set in the 1920s, a little later than a lot of historicals. I absolutely love the magical system, and the contrast of characters trying to hope in the face of horrors. The books were originally intended to be a trilogy, but so far to date the author has not been able to make progress, so we only have book 1. Barney and Max were the planned couple of book 3. It's another good cross-class romance, another pairing of an intelligent-but-underestimated snarky character with a more straightforward but good-hearted partner. And this one has, you know, eldritch horrors and tentacles!
Basically, I can always use more Barney/Max stories. Not just because of tentacles (though, like, feel free to go wild with the tentacles). But I'm extremely curious how these two got together, given the rather extreme level of Not A Clue that Barney has in canon. I also feel like they would have a different spin on events than Saul and Randolph: really different life experiences, really different experiences of the supernatural in particular, and I'd like to see canon through different eyes. These two might also lend themselves to an unusual AU (space AU? Pirate AU? Still with tentacles, preferably!) if that's your kind of thing!
For this canon, I'd also be okay with only one of the two characters, if you wanted to do some kind of prequel about how they got into the army and into the particular division they were in, before they met each other.
Canon: Page & Sommers - Cat Sebastian
Characters: Leo Page, James Sommers
One last historical queer romance, this one set post-WWII in a small town in England. A spy/assassin-type and a country doctor with PTSD, they fall in love. I really like the small-town feeling of the setting in the first book especially. As a canon, I also love the contrast of the small town with the political intrigues and murders and such--I wouldn't mind that in fic, either--though it's not the only thing I want.
Both books we get about these two are tense mysteries, with at least minor peril and stuff. What I'd really like is...some actually settled domesticity. What does their relationship look like a year from now? Ten years? Forty years? (Not particularly into "their last illness" kind of stories at the moment, but "we're old and still happy" is great!)
I am open for treats!
As we all know, optional details are optional, so all of these are just some musings on things I might enjoy or reasons I requested the canon. All of my canon requests this year are books with queer protagonists, and I've mostly requested real relationships from the books, but I'd be happy with gen/friendship/preslash stories as well. I also like the supporting characters in all of these works, so feel free to include as large a cast as you like. I'm happy with any rating; if explicit, fine with anything from the fluffiest vanilla fluff to serious kink.
I enjoy lots of genres. Most of my reading these days is historical romance, fantasy/SF, and mystery, but there's always stuff outside those genres I enjoy as well (including bodies of work that don't consider themselves genre, like contemporary literary fiction). It's very easy to make me happy, is what I'm getting at here. :)
In general, I tend to like fics with a lot of one-on-one time between the main pairing. Last time I did the fanfic trope sorter, my top 5 were "seemingly unrequited pining", "enemies to friends to lovers", "snowed-in cabin", "A/B/O", and "daemons" (with friends to lovers at #6). I don't use the AO3 bookmarking function, but I post recs on DW under the recs tag if you'd like to see the kinds of fics I've liked in the past.
DNWs: Major character death, child death, amnesia/memory issues, blood/bodily wastes in sex scenes, non-negotiated infidelity, humiliation, polyamory in the main pairing unless requested (background pairings/moresomes are fine), and kidfic or pregnancy fic (incidental children are fine, just not fic that focuses on parenting or child care).
Smut/kink loves, in no particular order: D/s, bondage, anal sex, lots of kissing, size kink (one partner much bigger than the other), size kink (big dick), stretching/large object penetration, double penetration, fisting, sounding, edging, consensual exhibitionism (other person(s) WANT to watch), stuff with mirrors, morning sex, people being overwhelmed by sex, laughter during sex, people being so desperate for sex they (for example) use bad lube or don't make it all the way to the bed. People being practical; people happily accommodating unexpected needs or requests from their partners. Sex tutoring (let me teach you exactly how to touch me). First times, including virgins, but also established relationships where they know how to do that thing their partner loves already. I have also totally been incepted into new kinks by fic, so this list has room for expansion :)
Smut/kink DNWs: breathplay, tickling, permanent injury, body modification as part of or for the purpose of sex, bound people left alone, watersports or other bodily wastes.
Below, the canons I requested and some ideas for each one. I included a little intro in case we matched on one fandom but the others look interesting.
Canon: Society of Gentlemen - K. J. Charles
Characters: Absalom Lockwood, James Oxley
Society of Gentlemen is a series of three novels and two free short stories by the historical queer romance author K. J. Charles. The novels are only available on ebook/audiobook, no physical media available. They tell a story of a group of high-society queer friends, plus various members of other classes, as they find love & get entangled with real (and disturbing) political events in the late Regency. I really enjoy all of the characters in these novels, and I like how dense the character networks are--it's not just a set of high society friends who are the protagonists and their not-always-upper-class lovers, but those lovers also have their own networks of friends and business partners. I also enjoy the historical detail, particularly around the political situation, and how thorny and important all of that is.
The characters I've requested are Absalom Lockwood, a side character and renowned Whig lawyer, and James Oxley. If you're familiar with this canon but you're thinking "who the heck is James Oxley", he's mentioned in the post-canon epilogue "A Private Miscellany," available at the KJ Charles Free Reads page: https://kjcharleswriter.com/free-reads/ Basically, he works at Millay's, Absalom Lockwood gets him out of legal trouble, they become a couple. And I really wanna know how THAT all went down. Absalom is a little bit of a ridiculous figure in the books--older, portly, infatuated with Ash--and I always felt like he deserved better. He's friends with Richard, he's either been knighted or holds a minor title, and he's a well-respected lawyer. Plus, as a regular at Millay's, it seems like he and Oxley would have a lot of reasons not to fully trust each other. I really like the idea of these two mismatched kids getting together.
Canon: England Series - K. J. Charles
Characters: Archie Curtis, Daniel da Silva
Another KJ Charles series here--two linked novels about the worst Edwardian house parties you can think of. If you haven't read these and you're thinking of picking them up, I will put a warning here that, compared to most KJ Charles novels, this one has a lot of homophobia and xenophobia, and a lot of the slurs (as well as some of the violence) are actually on the page. But I just love the two MCs of Think of England so much: Daniel da Silva, the snarky aesthete who's also smarter than everybody in the room, and Archie Curtis, who just wants to do the decent thing. I'm also interested in stories of queer discovery and Archie has a pretty nice one--and I like that it contrasts with Daniel's security in his identity, too.
I've been rereading some of Cat Sebastian's romances set in the 40s and 50s, and it struck me that Daniel and Archie's dynamic would work well in that kind of historical milieu--or, in fact, a bunch of others. Even to modern day, at least in some locations. So...my first request would be some kind of AU in a different time period, but dealing with some of the same issues they deal with in canon. I'd also be interested in some kind of situation that Archie and Daniel get into after they start working together. Or a time when either Archie or Daniel is challenged by something that happens between them, and how that leads to character growth or a change in their relationship.
Canon: The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison
Characters: Thara Celehar, Iäna Pel-Thenhior
Probably doesn't need a lot of introduction these days, but the Goblin Emperor series is a well-regarded set of secondary world fantasy novels. The society depicted is pretty different from current or historical societies on Earth, and I enjoy how immersive the everyday detail of the worldbuilding is. I liked the first book, but I adore the spinoffs (so far, The Witness for the Dead and The Grief of Stones--I hope we get more). They focus on Thara Celehar, a minor character from The Goblin Emperor, and his work as a witness for the dead--a cleric focused on death and its attendant rituals--as he deals with grief in his past and learns to trust in the friendships he has now. I like the small-scale mysteries, the detail of the everyday life of people outside the palace, the inventiveness of the death customs of the different religions in the city of Amalo where Thara lives. And I also really like the sweet and pretty obvious crushes that Thara and his friend Iäna have on each other.
Basically: Thara needs a hug. SOMEBODY GIVE THARA A HUG. I mean, that's really all I want out of this canon: for Thara to be able to accept that kind of care for someone, and for him to have someone to give it to him.
Canon: Green Men Series - K. J. Charles
Characters: Hugh "Barney" Barnaby, Max Isaacs
Another KJ Charles canon here, this one with magic! And set in the 1920s, a little later than a lot of historicals. I absolutely love the magical system, and the contrast of characters trying to hope in the face of horrors. The books were originally intended to be a trilogy, but so far to date the author has not been able to make progress, so we only have book 1. Barney and Max were the planned couple of book 3. It's another good cross-class romance, another pairing of an intelligent-but-underestimated snarky character with a more straightforward but good-hearted partner. And this one has, you know, eldritch horrors and tentacles!
Basically, I can always use more Barney/Max stories. Not just because of tentacles (though, like, feel free to go wild with the tentacles). But I'm extremely curious how these two got together, given the rather extreme level of Not A Clue that Barney has in canon. I also feel like they would have a different spin on events than Saul and Randolph: really different life experiences, really different experiences of the supernatural in particular, and I'd like to see canon through different eyes. These two might also lend themselves to an unusual AU (space AU? Pirate AU? Still with tentacles, preferably!) if that's your kind of thing!
For this canon, I'd also be okay with only one of the two characters, if you wanted to do some kind of prequel about how they got into the army and into the particular division they were in, before they met each other.
Canon: Page & Sommers - Cat Sebastian
Characters: Leo Page, James Sommers
One last historical queer romance, this one set post-WWII in a small town in England. A spy/assassin-type and a country doctor with PTSD, they fall in love. I really like the small-town feeling of the setting in the first book especially. As a canon, I also love the contrast of the small town with the political intrigues and murders and such--I wouldn't mind that in fic, either--though it's not the only thing I want.
Both books we get about these two are tense mysteries, with at least minor peril and stuff. What I'd really like is...some actually settled domesticity. What does their relationship look like a year from now? Ten years? Forty years? (Not particularly into "their last illness" kind of stories at the moment, but "we're old and still happy" is great!)