Dear Yuletide Author 2020...

[betony]

  Thank you so much for writing for me, and/or presumably sharing fannish love for these fandoms! As ever, my chief request is that you have fun with whatever you create; I've found that honestly leads to the best fics. On the other hand, if you'd like a bit more guidance, feel free to read on:

AO3 Name: betony

General likes: humor/snark, plotty fic, ALL THE AUs, and women being awesome in multiple (not just Strong Female Character, to quote Kate Beaton) ways. I also adore backstory or behind-the-scenes fic, and will always, always love outsider POVs and unreliable narrators. I'm a quick reader, so long fic is totally fine, should the question come up, and I have no particular preferences for POV or tense. 

General dislikes: E-rated sex/violence/gore (M or milder is fine), consent issues, fics that hinge solely on hurt/comfort or angst/hopelessness. 

(Of note, I've reused some of these prompts, often because the authors who wrote using them in the past created such wonderful fics for them that I hope that they were helpful and useful! Also, fandoms are all equally beloved.)

Arang and the Magistrate
Arang, Kim Eun-oh, Jade Emperor
Even after all these years, this show always brings a smile to my face with its quirky worldbuilding and prickly characters. Anyway, I would LOVE post-canon fic about Arang and Eun-Oh; my heart initially sank when I saw where things were heading in the finale, but Arang, as always, lifted my spirits once she started chewing Eun-Oh out again. So tell me the story of Arang following Eun-Oh around, earnestly and terrifyingly bent on filling him in on all that he's missed ( Or, tell me the story of him trolling her for YEARS on end, with his pretend amnesia!) How the heck do his parents react when he tells them who he wants to marry? Or fill in the plot hole of when she would have been able to tell him not to drink the water of forgetfulness in the first place - apparently both of them must have met up at some point during the time skip which happened off screen, but was there more to that than just a simple conversation? Was there even a grand adventure in heaven that we never got to see? Which brings me to my second request: if your muse is absolutely not able to cooperate with writing about those two, I adored the mythology in the series and world building about the politics of heaven and hell would be grand. If it's not apparent, tricksy but benevolent gods are....kind of one of my favorite narrative tropes, and the Jade Emperor certainly delivers.

The Mask of Zorro (1998)
Elena de la Vega, Alejandro Murrieta
I would really like something Elena-centric; I always have to wonder why the creators never spend much time, in either this movie or the sequel, on the character who arguably undergoes the most upheavals during the running time. How in the world does Elena react to finding out that her father isn't really her father, the random servant she's been talking to actually is her biological father, the man who's been courting her is a peasant instead of a nobleman (and also, y'know, Zorro.) More intriguingly, she also gets a chance to reevaluate her impression of her mother--what does she find out about Esperanza? How do any or all of these affect her? Judging from the sequel, it seems Alejandro was the one to inherit the de la Vega title; how, why, and how does Elena feel about that?If you're up for plotty adventure fic, Alejandro implies in the sequel that she joined him on his exploits as Zorro, and certainly her behavior implies she's no stranger to self-defense, so Elena being heroic and awesome, either with Zorro or on her own? If you like AUs, a story where Diego isn't identified/imprisoned, Esperanza lives, and Elena (either with or without her parents' blessing) takes up the masked fight for justice, maybe crossing paths along the way with a horse bandit named Alejandro Murrieta? (I think Elena/Alejandro also needs a fair bit of development, in both canon and AUs, to get us to where they are in Legend of Zorro, so dealing with that is also something I'd be interested in!)

The Mirror Visitor Quartet- Christelle Dabos 

Any

I have been utterly charmed—with the quirky worldbuilding, the intricate characterization, Thorn/Ophelia's grumpy romance, and the delicate political and personal struggles in the background—to the point of quite simply craving more. That said, while half-remembered school French might get me through the basic plot of  Book Four, it’s not enough for me to appreciate the intricacies, so my only real request is that familiarity with the yet untranslated novel not be necessary for your fic (If you are lucky enough to have access and understanding of Book Four, however, incorporating spoilers is perfectly fine!) But otherwise: Thorn/Ophelia, and their complicated relationship in a canon-divergence AU of your choice! Any of the above, as well as other characters in a wacky AU of your choice (ie, Hogwarts, soulmark, etc.) Have at it!

The Odyssey - Homer
Odysseus, Penelope
Honestly, largely because of having been lucky enough to receive amazing fic for these two in the past, what I really crave this year is getting-together fic, preferably with a side of snark or political intrigue. Whether you want to have an unexpected meeting when courting Helen (badly)--or a long-standing childhood snarky sweetheart romance, adaptations--when they mention it at all--are inconsistent when it comes to the circumstances that led to Odysseus famously trading the Oath of the Horse for Tyndareus' support of his marriage. Which of course leaves the door open for anything from plotty adventure to pure fluff, and I'D LOVE TO SEE IT ALL. The Spartan princesses having adventures -- or trying to rescue Helen from Theseus, perhaps--and running into a young Odysseus! Odysseus attempting to win over Penelope's cousins/sisters, even scarier than getting Ikarios's blessings! The couple bonding over stealth-mockery of every other guest of Tyndareus--the possibilities are endless!

Vicky Bliss series - Elizabeth Peters 
Vicky Bliss, John Tregarth 
Oh man, these two. It's not even so much the mysteries as much as I love Vicky's horribly deadpan humor, and John's snark, and how incredibly adorable these two are together. As much as I love Amelia Peabody, I'm even more disappointed there won't be another Vicky Bliss adventure out, and as is usually the case when I realize these things, I turn to you, Yuletide, to fill the gap! Which is to say, any Vicky/John adventure would be much appreciated. Or: John and Vicky lend themselves to any number of wacky tropes, such as accidental or faked marriage, heist romp, and something playing with that would be lovely! Or--any AU at all: I was lucky enough to get the Hogwarts AU of my dreams, which has made me crave a Regency/Victorian/historical time period swap AU or or a soulmate/daemon/Pacific Rim fusion AU are also possibilities that strike me as so much fun! Or: Kidfic. Because any offspring of Vicky and John is bound to be terrifying and a trouble magnet, and put on this earth to pay back his or her parents for the misery they caused others. Imagine an oblivious! kid POV, as Vicky and John's past returns for the three of them!
Or: if you love angst, and both of the above options are way too fluffy for you, John's perspective during Night Train to Memphis. Because like most Vicky Bliss fans, I find this the best book of the lot. (Consider this an exception to the no-angst DNW above!)

I apologize for how long this is, and hope this helped somewhat! Again, though, more than anything I hope you find something that you have fun writing, and I'm sure I'll love anything you produce for one of these fandoms. Thank you, once again, and I hope you have a seriously fantastic Yuletide as well!