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Yuletide Letter 2019
Nov. 2nd, 2019 03:55 pmDear Yulegoat!
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - Stephen R Donaldson (books)
Some Velvet Morning - Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra (song)
Stardew Valley (video game)
What I like hasn't changed much from previous years (including this sentence, its time come round again, slouching towards AO3 etc). I like humour that cares about the characters. I like characters who are outsiders in some way, and I love seeing them become part of something larger - a cause, a community. I like food as a way of showing character or worldbuilding. I like bittersweet endings. I like pretty much any style of writing - epistolary, experimental, Dickensian - and although I've previously been unkeen on second person narrators this would be fine as an option for StardewValley or indeed either of the others if it works for the story. If you match on Donaldson you need not feel obliged to match his style (clench, telic, mien, etc) but don’t hold back if it appeals. I like all the characters I have requested and enjoy seeing more of them, and I also love the worlds that they belong to. I like justified angst, pining, weirdness, and invention.
I have no problem with sexual content as long as it fits with the characters, although pages of explicit anatomical detail are unlikely to be my thing. I like stories that make me remember why I love the original inspiration as well as stories that make me think about it differently (and both! both is great). And I do like the canons sources themselves. I like these characters being part of their worlds, even when they struggle against them.
DNWs: child or animal harm &/or death as a major plot point. If you’re looking back through old letters I have previously excluded earthquakes but it’s been nearly ten years and I spent the last month reading disaster fiction, so I’m okay with them but would like them tagged.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R Donaldson
Linden Avery (character)
Linden Avery was hugely important to me in my teens, when there weren't a lot of adult females in sf/fantasy I could see myself in. I still love her as well as what the Second Chronicles do with portal fantasy, which was fascinating and heart-breaking all in one, while Thomas himself is much more of an ambivalent reading experience. I re-read the second chronicles a lot and still think of them fondly; the first trilogy not so much, and I have read only the first two of the third and am not entirely convinced by them.
I would like; more Linden! On Earth or visiting the Land, and I'm happy to ignore the third series or go AU from the second if you have a better idea. What if she’d gone to the Land first, instead of Covenant? What if someone from the Land comes to visit her world? I do like the third chronicles' idea of time-travelling within the Land's history, if you wanted to do that, and would love exploring more of the Land anyway. I also wonder how Linden reconciles her experiences with her everyday life on returning to our world, especially her healthsense given her job, and I'd like to see her finding some peace or happiness there, having healed from her past. I would also be happy with Linden crossing into other fantasy worlds, especially Narnia
I understand Covenant himself isn't everyone's cup of tea, and I haven't nominated him. I don't have strong feelings about him showing up or not; he is important to Linden, but not essential.
Some Velvet Morning, Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra (song)
Phaedra
Male Singer
The first time I heard this I had to stop the car to listen to it. Such an odd song, disturbing and compelling; I really want to know more about it. Who (or what, given that she uses plural pronouns) is Phaedra? What powers does she have, and what did she do to the male narrator? Where is he now, what is the gate he's talking about (literal/metaphorical) and who is he talking to? What happened, and what will happen next?
I think you could go anywhere with this - pick your genre, from sf to noir to magical realism to Greek myth (given Phaedra's name), pick your characters, pick your ending. I would really like something that takes the song somewhere I don't expect, although ideally retaining some of the original’s undertones of brooding horror. I am happy with a sexual and/or dysfunctional relationship between the characters (as well as nonsexual or something else entirely!) but would prefer no outright rape.
Stardew Valley (game)
Abigail
Leah
Maru
Penny
I spent much of July cultivating my farm, offering presents of dubious acceptability to the locals, failing to catch fish, and running out of health in the mines. This is a fabulous game that despite lacking the strong narrative of similarly pixilated art games I’ve fallen for before (early Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger) is bang on in making you feel emotionally connected to your player and all the characters. I have done one full playthrough to the end of two years and have two other half-completed playthroughs; in the full I played a male character and romanced Shane, and I’m currently female and dithering between Leah, Maru, and Abigail. I am here for sweet moments, bizarre explanations of game canon (does Abigail really eat the amythest?), in-jokes, Joja corporation training materials, or basically anything that makes me feel like I’m back in the game. I've picked characters I'd like to hear more from, but I'm happy with anyone from canon showing up.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - Stephen R Donaldson (books)
Some Velvet Morning - Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra (song)
Stardew Valley (video game)
What I like hasn't changed much from previous years (including this sentence, its time come round again, slouching towards AO3 etc). I like humour that cares about the characters. I like characters who are outsiders in some way, and I love seeing them become part of something larger - a cause, a community. I like food as a way of showing character or worldbuilding. I like bittersweet endings. I like pretty much any style of writing - epistolary, experimental, Dickensian - and although I've previously been unkeen on second person narrators this would be fine as an option for StardewValley or indeed either of the others if it works for the story. If you match on Donaldson you need not feel obliged to match his style (clench, telic, mien, etc) but don’t hold back if it appeals. I like all the characters I have requested and enjoy seeing more of them, and I also love the worlds that they belong to. I like justified angst, pining, weirdness, and invention.
I have no problem with sexual content as long as it fits with the characters, although pages of explicit anatomical detail are unlikely to be my thing. I like stories that make me remember why I love the original inspiration as well as stories that make me think about it differently (and both! both is great). And I do like the canons sources themselves. I like these characters being part of their worlds, even when they struggle against them.
DNWs: child or animal harm &/or death as a major plot point. If you’re looking back through old letters I have previously excluded earthquakes but it’s been nearly ten years and I spent the last month reading disaster fiction, so I’m okay with them but would like them tagged.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R Donaldson
Linden Avery (character)
Linden Avery was hugely important to me in my teens, when there weren't a lot of adult females in sf/fantasy I could see myself in. I still love her as well as what the Second Chronicles do with portal fantasy, which was fascinating and heart-breaking all in one, while Thomas himself is much more of an ambivalent reading experience. I re-read the second chronicles a lot and still think of them fondly; the first trilogy not so much, and I have read only the first two of the third and am not entirely convinced by them.
I would like; more Linden! On Earth or visiting the Land, and I'm happy to ignore the third series or go AU from the second if you have a better idea. What if she’d gone to the Land first, instead of Covenant? What if someone from the Land comes to visit her world? I do like the third chronicles' idea of time-travelling within the Land's history, if you wanted to do that, and would love exploring more of the Land anyway. I also wonder how Linden reconciles her experiences with her everyday life on returning to our world, especially her healthsense given her job, and I'd like to see her finding some peace or happiness there, having healed from her past. I would also be happy with Linden crossing into other fantasy worlds, especially Narnia
I understand Covenant himself isn't everyone's cup of tea, and I haven't nominated him. I don't have strong feelings about him showing up or not; he is important to Linden, but not essential.
Some Velvet Morning, Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra (song)
Phaedra
Male Singer
The first time I heard this I had to stop the car to listen to it. Such an odd song, disturbing and compelling; I really want to know more about it. Who (or what, given that she uses plural pronouns) is Phaedra? What powers does she have, and what did she do to the male narrator? Where is he now, what is the gate he's talking about (literal/metaphorical) and who is he talking to? What happened, and what will happen next?
I think you could go anywhere with this - pick your genre, from sf to noir to magical realism to Greek myth (given Phaedra's name), pick your characters, pick your ending. I would really like something that takes the song somewhere I don't expect, although ideally retaining some of the original’s undertones of brooding horror. I am happy with a sexual and/or dysfunctional relationship between the characters (as well as nonsexual or something else entirely!) but would prefer no outright rape.
Stardew Valley (game)
Abigail
Leah
Maru
Penny
I spent much of July cultivating my farm, offering presents of dubious acceptability to the locals, failing to catch fish, and running out of health in the mines. This is a fabulous game that despite lacking the strong narrative of similarly pixilated art games I’ve fallen for before (early Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger) is bang on in making you feel emotionally connected to your player and all the characters. I have done one full playthrough to the end of two years and have two other half-completed playthroughs; in the full I played a male character and romanced Shane, and I’m currently female and dithering between Leah, Maru, and Abigail. I am here for sweet moments, bizarre explanations of game canon (does Abigail really eat the amythest?), in-jokes, Joja corporation training materials, or basically anything that makes me feel like I’m back in the game. I've picked characters I'd like to hear more from, but I'm happy with anyone from canon showing up.
