Dear Author, let me thank you right up front for the story you are going to write—which, sight unseen, I'm sure is one that I will love.

This is my first year doing Yuletide. However, I gather that a lot of people like to know a bit more than can be gleaned from the optional details in the prompt. So, first off, if you want to have a look at some of my own writing, you can find it on my website. Or, if you want to know a bit more about me, you can look up the article about me on Fanlore (though I should warn you that I wrote it myself).

Beyond that, I'll start with a bit generally about likes and dislikes, and then talk about my requests.

What I Like:
* Plot and/or character (both being the ideal, of course!)
* A sense of humour and being able to recognize the ridiculous when it pops up; also wit and wordplay, if the story calls for them. (Having said that, I totally leave it up to you whether you write a serious or comic story—or a serious story with comic interludes.)
* Stories that are true to canon (though I've certainly enjoyed some flat-out AUs)

What I Dislike:
* Poor spelling, bad grammar and punctuation, and blatant Americanisms uttered by British characters (unless they're aware of what they're doing, which is another matter entirely)
* Explicit sex, especially if long and detailed. (No objection to hints, but I'm not into plumbing.)

My Requests

Prehistoric Park

Wikipedia describes this six-part series as a "mockumentary", which is fair enough. It was made by the same people who did Walking with Dinosaurs, and was cancelled (sob!) so that they could do Primeval. The series is about a team of scientists who use a time portal to bring back extinct animals to a huge park where they hope, in time, to breed them. Each episode focuses on a different period, to which they go in search of some particular species, though they do tend to bring back more than they originally intended. Intercut with their trips to the past are scenes in the present: either problems coping with the new arrivals, or follow-ups about animals featured in previous episodes.

Why do I love it? Well, first off, it's got dinosaurs. Need I say more? Well, yes, I guess I do! I'm thrilled that it has other extinct creatures, too: the makers were well aware that prehistory covers multiple eras. In addition, the time travel adventures are fun; the notion of saving these fascinating species from extinction is appealing; and the human touches bring it all to life, especially the scenes back at the park. (Also the animation was brilliant; but that's not exactly relevant to your writing me a story.)

The series is available on DVD as a boxed set, and some episodes seem to be available on YouTube in their entirety. (As usual, this is bound to vary depending on where you live. Google is your friend.)

Obviously, what I'd really like is the resurrection of the series and six more episodes. Realistically, you're writing me a Yuletide fic, so I wouldn't expect more than a time trip plus a bit back at the park. Your choice of time period, of course; but, if you can manage it, I would prefer an era that is as-yet-unvisited.

There doesn't seem to be any fan fic on AO3, but there are a handful of stories on FanFiction.net. Having looked at them, I think I'd better add that I really would prefer it if you felt you could write the story as real prose, rather than attempt to do a screenplay or a transcription of what's on screen.


Stalky & Co.

By the standards of school stories these are most unconventional boys at an unusual school; and I'm sure if I were a teacher I'd find them very hard to handle. Kipling clearly saw this, since he usually included a few scenes from the perspective of the masters, who are much more fully rounded characters than you usually get.

Accessing the book should not be difficult, since the 1899 version is considered a children's classic. It is available from Project Gutenberg; and many public libraries have copies. Having said that, my preferred edition is actually the 1929 one, also known as The Complete Stalky and Co. It is available in paperback. Why preferred? Because Kipling wrote several additional Stalky stories after the original collection was published; and they're only available in the Complete Stalky.

As I said in my optional details, what I'd really like is a story "with the stalkiness and humour of the original", i.e. consistent with canon, in as close an approximation as you can manage to Kipling's style, with the sort of plot and characterization that he himself used. Having said that, of course, optional details are optional. I'm sure whatever you write will be wonderful.


The Charioteer

The Charioteer is the last contemporary book written by Mary Renault before she shifted to writing historicals. The preferred edition is always the 1953 Longman (or its 1973 reprint); but the paperback is a lot more available, being in print. Also, libraries are a good place to look.

What do I like about it? Well, it was one of the first stories I ever read that had explicitly gay characters in it, let alone a gay hero. The characters are eternally fascinating. In addition, it's set in Britain during World War II, which makes it an intriguing period piece.

There's an LJ community, maryrenaultfics, that is devoted to Mary Renault's novels. In fact, I've written a few stories myself. So I decided to ask for something a bit...different.

Alec Deacon and Andrew Raynes never met in canon but...what if maybe they did, either in Bridstow or some time later on in the war, or even afterwards? The story could be slash, given Alec's proclivities (and Andrew's resemblance to Ralph); but this is not necessary given how uptight Andrew is. I'd prefer something canon-compliant. Futurefic is obviously okay; but I'd rather not have an AU.

Or....

If this doesn't grab you, then I'd be perfectly okay with your simply leaving Andrew out and focusing on Alec. Backstory at school? Something about him and Sandy? Anyway, something that explores Alec's character. (I would prefer not to have another Alec/Ralph story, though, since there are quite a few stories along those lines.)


Forever Knight

This seems to be one of my better known fandoms; but, just in case you've never heard of it, the hero is a homicide detective on the Toronto police force who was turned into a vampire in 1228. The series is available on DVD. There's a Forever Knight wiki, if you just want to check details.

I love the cop aspect of the series, both the interplay back at the station, and also the detective story plots. For this reason, in my optional details ("which are optional", of course), I asked for gen. But I think what I really want is casefic, i.e. a mystery plot, if you can manage it.

As someone who's played in a Forever Knight War as a Die-Hard (if that means anything to you), I like all the characters. Okay, some a bit more than others; but I like all the main ones. I've always said that, in order to write a virtual season, I couldn't play favourites. However, inevitably not every character has had the same loving attention; and there are some with very little fanfic about them.

I'm a keen gardener, so I've a soft spot for Feliks Twist, even though I do my planting outdoors and he, being a vampire, has to use grow lights. We know very little about him, though, which gives you a lot of scope!

Capt. Reese is another favourite character about whom we know very little; so I asked for him (as well as Nick, of course). That makes it Season Three, I guess. However, if you absolutely don't feel you can do that, feel free to substitute one of the other captains, and write appropriately. Any other characters you want to include would be fine.