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HOW IS IT ALREADY YULETIDE TIME AGAIN (2022 edition)
Hello lovely Yuletide author! This is all just extra info if that's helpful for you - please feel free to work with only what I provided in my signup if that's your jam. This is somehow my 15th year doing Yuletide; what? is?? time??? Thank you very much for being here and participating -- I love Yuletide and these fandoms, and I'm so excited to read what you write!
Things that I love: Friendships and family (found family and blood-related family alike), teams coming together, romance, domesticity; people being concerned about, caring for, and protecting each other. I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort and people just really liking each other, and companionable/loving squabbling or insults! I love humor, competence, banter, and ridiculous fluffy tropes where appropriate (fake dating/fake married! cuddling for warmth! seasonal or holiday content where appropriate! fic with epistolary elements or that makes use of social media! ok those last few aren't tropes, but I appreciate them anyway). I realize this is a lot of fluffy stuff but I also really enjoy action and drama! I'm usually not a porn without plot person, but I'm absolutely here for sex scenes as long as they're part of the larger context of a story. Same goes for violence. I prefer a hopeful or happy ending but if you want to tug on my heartstrings getting there, I'm okay with that too!
Things that aren't my jam in a Yuletide fic: Incest, rape, infidelity, heavy focus on suicidal ideation (especially if it's not present in canon), killing off canon characters who didn't die in canon, romantic relationships with big age or power imbalances (ie: boss/employee, teacher/student, a/b/o), cancer or COVID-19, the gay-for-you trope. I actually love alternate-setting AU's, but the canons that I've requested have such tiny fandoms that I'd prefer to read straight-up canon fic for them.
In other places on the internet, I'm![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
wakeupnew and ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
wakeupnew.
Big Eden (2000)
Pike Dexter
Optional details: Holy fuck, I love Pike Dexter so much. I want him to get everything that he wants in this world!!! Obviously the 'everything that Pike wants in this world' category includes Henry Hart so if you want to write Pike/Henry, I am absolutely here for that. But I'll be delighted with any fic that tells me more about Pike! How did Frances (BEST DOG) come into his life? How did he feel about getting really into food and cooking; how does his relationship with cooking carry on after the end of the movie? How did he wind up owning a general store that's full of old busybody dudes? Talk to me about his feelings on crowds and people (I can see his reactions as either extreme shyness or as clinical anxiety), his triumphs, his friendships - anything!
Oh man, this movie. It's full of so many things that are my bread and butter in fiction; after I watched it the first time I said "THE COOKING, THE CARETAKING, THE MEDDLING! it was like every found-family au fanfic trope of my heart packed into a movie wtf" and I stand by that!! But most of all, I love Pike, who is so incredibly thoughtful and slyly funny and awkward and SO BRAVE, okay stop, Lexie, time to stop yourself.
One of the things that I found most charming about the movie was the small-town feel, and how much everyone in that town loved and supported Pike (and Henry too, but come on, that scene where they're running around trying to hide the meat Pike was cooking!!). Honestly I've seen the movie [mumble] times now and I still mist up every time at the "I just want things to be nice for him" exchange. Pike is such a fundamentally good person, and seeing other people recognize that is a joy. So if you want to explore Pike's relationships with townspeople, I'd dig that!
I love that the first time we ever see Pike look genuinely comfortable and at-ease in a social setting, it's while telling an Onondaga myth. When the movie came out, Big Eden's writer/director said a lot of words about how Pike being Native American wasn't an essential part of what makes him Pike. I disagree, and if you want to write about Pike's Native heritage and identity, I would absolutely be here for that.
I requested Pike because he is my #1 top priority, but if you want to write shipfic, I enjoyed Pike/Henry and here are some bonus ideas-- Ending the movie where it did made sense for Henry's journey but meant that we missed out on a lot of the relationship stuff that I dig; the happy/awkward/getting-to-know-you stages in a relationship, and also that well-lived-in, 'stop-sticking-your-cold-feet-on-me-in-bed-you-monster' stage. What's life for Pike and Henry like, after the movie ends? There's a significant time jump between the winter scene where Henry doesn't go to the airport and then the very last scene, where they're dancing at the Fourth of July barbeque (my tall nervous son, who Jim said donates but never goes to the BBQ, was at the BBQ!!!) -- how did they get from point A to point B? What was their first kiss like?
Basically I am extremely here for ALL THINGS PIKE DEXTER.
How to Be a Werewolf - webcomic
Vincent Dysangco Walters; Elias Ross
Optional details: I've been lucky enough to receive several HTBAW Yuletide gifts over the years but I'm always hoping for MORE FICS in this tiny fandom! Watching Vincent and Elias circle around each other as Eli flails over Vincent and Vincent slowly starts to realize he might be having Feelings, has been such a joy. Theirs has been the slow-burniest of relationships and if you wanted to do your take on the inevitable eventual get-together, that could be fun! I also really dig their relationship the way that it is, if you wanted to do some slice-of-life stuff set in the current comic timeline; I've been delighted by them bringing each other food and talking about queerness over baseball and making each other blush and Eli walking Vincent to class.
Man, Chapter 9 was A Lot, with Eli collapsing and Vincent cradling him and keeping him safe (which was, in turn, a lovely turnabout from Eli doing the same for Vincent after he got kidnapped and clawed earlier in the comic), and then so-sleepy-he's-basically-drunk Eli telling Vincent how he feels and Vincent's soft face as he pets asleep-Eli's hair. A LOT. You know, you were there! Honestly I don't have a ton of specific prompts for this request; I would be so delighted with any fic about the two of them! Eli working in the cafe and making excuses to flirt with Vincent while Vince does homework and Malaya laughs at them? Something set farther down the line -- Eli figuring his life out? Does he enroll at the university and join the baseball team? Vincent and Eli going on an actualfax date, in which Eli does not accidentally invite along a third party? Vincent dealing with some of the fallout (which I think the comic has hinted at, with Joy's comment about Vincent not liking to be alone) of being kidnapped and almost dying? Eli introducing Vincent to his massive werewolf family??
Vincent's flat faces are fucking hilarious; some of his reaction panels have made me legitimately shout with laughter. I love that while he can be stoic, quiet, and a little grumpy, he also doesn't hesitate to tell his sister he loves her and he makes amazing deadpan puns. I tend to read him as demiromantic and pansexual, mostly based on this page, though he definitely doesn't know either of those words at this point in the narrative. And Eli! He's such a puppy of a person -- I love how well-intentioned and kind, if sometimes foolhardy and foolish, he is, and that while he can be clueless as heck, he tries SO HARD to get things right.
Added info on other characters in case it's helpful: I LOVE Vincent's sibling relationship with Malaya and Eli's friendship with her, and the Dysangco Walters parents are lovely; best fam. I love/ship the heck out of MarMar. Charlene is marvelous. I'm not super invested in Tom's crew of werewolves, but otherwise, I love everyone and the world is your oyster. I know this is a weekly-updating canon and just for the record, I'm not tied to canon here -- if you want to write stuff that's set in the future or that may be contradicted by the comic, go for it; I'm not a stickler for canon like that!
Lilywhite Boys series / Sins of the Cities series by KJ Charles
Justin Lazarus; Susan "Sukey" Lazarus
Optional details: This little grifter fam makes my heart sing! I love how fiercely they love each other and that they built a family all their own. I'd love a story set at any point in time, whether Susan is a kid, a teen, or an adult. Justin and Susan are so meticulous and quick and terrifyingly competent, and I love that they can be vicious and hold grudges and won't hesitate to go low if necessary. I love these books and ship all the canon pairings!
God, I've read An Unnatural Vice so many times and Gilded Cage is rapidly climbing the list as well. I love Justin's sharp sneakiness and coming at everything sideways, and how his ruthlessness (Templeton describes the poker face that Susan learned from Justin as reptilian, in Gilded Cage, which is so very good) and prickliness juxtaposes with how deeply and genuinely he loves the girls. Even if he doesn't always know the best way to take care of or support them (I appreciated that it was made clear in Gilded Cage that he didn't always succeed), he tries so hard for them; that Gilded Cage conversation where Susan says she hasn't needed to stand alone since she was eight years old because she's had Justin was A LOT.
Justin and Susan are delightfully meticulous and snarky and sly and overwhelmingly competent, and I love that they can be vicious and angry and hold grudges and won't hesitate to go low if necessary. They're both so fiercely loyal to the people they love and so funny -- Susan is delightfully dry and Justin is such a shit. I also really appreciate that they're both their own characters, for all their similarities; I loved Susan feeling like it was time to strike out on her own in Gilded Cage.
There are so many possibilities for ideas that I'd love! Justin first meeting the girls or training them up as his helpers, Sukey terrorizing boarding schools or learning with Miss Rawling, Justin teaching/training Sukey (either as a clairvoyant's helper or as a detective), Susan first joining Braglewicz & Lazarus, Justin and/or the family supporting Susan after Cara's death or Justin during one of his depressive spells or Susan founding her own agency after Gilded Cage... Anything! If casefic is more your speed, Mark says that being an enquiry agent is mostly about finding lost dogs and lost letters; Susan and Justin working a case that isn't fog, bigamy, torture, and murder could be fun!
I enjoy Nathaniel and if you want to explore how he became part of the family and became a guvnor to Sukey and Emma (who I also love!), I would be here for that as well! Susan and Justin were just my absolute top priorities. If it's helpful to know my feelings on other characters: I love everyone, especially Justin, Mark, and Susan's detective partnership. I ship everybody with their canon partners, including Justin/Nathaniel, Susan/Cara, Susan/James, Pen/Mark, Clem/Rowley, Alec/Jerry, Stan/Christiana, and Greta/Tim. Basically for anyone you might like to include, there's no losing here!
EDIT: Hello! If you're here in December and you're looking at treat ideas, welcome!! I just read KJ Charles' new holiday novella, Masters in This Hall, and I had a good time but suddenly find myself with a spoilery new DNW for this fandom that I wasn't expecting: please don't include (highlight for white text) Susan's canon pregnancy from after the main Lilywhite Boys novels (discussions of her first pregnancy, as discussed in Gilded Cage, are fine!). I loved the little details that (more spoilers) Susan is still Miss Lazarus at the point of Masters in This Hall, and that she opened her agency in HANGING SWORD ALLEY, THE FEELINGS!! Thank you!
The Turner series by Cat Sebastian
Julian Medlock; Eleanor, Lady Standish
Optional details: Eleanor and Julian's conflict from the book felt unfinished to me; I would love to see what it looks like for them to start mending their relationship afterward. Or as kids in India -- in happy moments together and/or with Ned, or supporting each other in tougher moments like when Julian's sick or they're struggling with their grandfather's expectations. What was it like when they first got to England? I so want to see more of them together!
Honestly, I felt a little sad when it comes to Eleanor and Julian's relationship. This was one of those cases where I found what the narrative told us about them really interesting, but then the two of them didn't actually interact all that much. We heard a lot about how important Eleanor is to Julian (and vice versa), but they didn't spend as much time together as I'd hoped during the book.
Their last actual conversation was their massive dust-up upon the reveal of Julian's relationship with Courtenay. What the book has to say about it: "He and Eleanor had apologized to one another profusely and apologetically." Missed opportunity! Show me what their make-up conversation(s) looked like, and how they got closer again afterward? And post-canon, presumably Julian won't dress Eleanor like Painfully Prim and Proper Barbie anymore; does Eleanor start picking her own dresses? Wearing trousers? Julian was lonely and walled-off, pre-canon, and Eleanor was painfully sad and clearly struggling, and I would happily read happier times for them! I love Eleanor's scientific brilliance and business acumen, and I wished Julian had been more supportive of her work instead of seeing it as a social liability as he did early in the book.
Or I'd love to read about earlier times, with Eleanor taking care of Julian when he suffered from bouts of malaria and keeping him entertained while he convalesced, or what their childhood was like. What did it look like to have a determined teenage boy ruthlessly negotiating his sister's betrothal (oh Julian)? How was it for Eleanor, making that choice to go to England?
Other character knowledges!: I ship all things canon, including Eleanor/Ned and Julian/Courtenay. Eleanor and Courtenay's friendship gives me life! I also love Charlotte and Oliver and their budding friendship with Julian.
Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles
Martin St. Vincent; Theodore Swann
Optional details: I've read this one more times than I can count! I love the progression of Martin's and Theo's relationship and their feelings for each other - Martin's steadiness and innate goodness and Theo's ruthless (squishy marshmallow) cunning, and how they complement each other. Both of them being surprised and touched by the other being angry on their behalf is just [fist clench] so good for me. I could read infinite words about them and I loved the little glimpse of their life together that we get from "Wanted, An Author". What's a slice of life day or week in their lives like? Domesticity and people settling into new relationships and pushing through the tough stuff and finding their way together are all very much my jam, if you'd enjoy any of that too!
Surprise, I just reread this yet again! I was reminded that one of the things I love most about this book is how Martin and Theo are... I wouldn't say 'opposites attract', because that implies a certain level of inevitable connection between two people that I don't think exists for them. They're two people whose personalities are far, far outside the realm of each other's, and whose paths likely never would have crossed, but then one bonkers scenario dropped them square into each other's lives and they both held on and never looked back. Are you kidding me?? Just the best.
I mentioned it in my prompt but I really love how appalled and furious Martin and Theo become on each other's behalf when they learn about the injustice and abuse each of them has suffered, and how surprised each of them is by the other's reaction. I love how deeply they listen to each other and how genuinely they both want to understand the other man and his experiences; how they meet at a point in their lives when they're both feeling weary and angry and Very Fucking Done -- Martin with the Conroys and the deeply complicated feelings he has for them, and Theo with the literal debt he owes and the guilt he carries -- and they bond over that while also understanding that their situations are different. And I love me a good battle couple, don't get me wrong, but another thing I really love about Martin and Theo is that they are normal! people! -- they're not action heroes, Martin finds it next to impossible to hit Theo even in the name of their plotting, and Theo curls up on the floor about it afterward, cursing himself for ever having the idea, instead of sauntering off completely fine.
The eventual tenderness between them is hard-won after a disastrous first impression (at least on Theo's part; he was not nearly as unimpressed with Martin as Martin initially was with him), and so incredibly satisfying! Martin compares Theo to a feral cat and honestly has any description ever been so apt. I really love that Theo as a character is given the space to be selfish and grasping and self-serving (because if he isn't, he wouldn't have survived) -- that he's not judged for that, but he is rightfully judged when he's being an asshole. And I love how much Martin sees and appreciates Theo's cunning and his talents. I come back over and over again to the passage where Martin realizes that Theo is Mrs. Swann, and how astonished and delighted and complimentary he is while Theo rolls around in agony and then surprised prickly pleasure. And MY GOD Martin St. Vincent, has there ever been so romantic a hero?? And not in the way that Mrs. Swann's hilariously dull paperdoll heroes are heroes; he's steady and thoughtful and fundamentally kind and complex.
KJ Charles posted a short epilogue called Wanted, An Author and it's a delight, 10/10 would recommend if you haven't read it, the descriptions of Theo and Martin's hangovers alone have me rolling (it and Wanted, A Gentleman are both so funny, such a delight). I love that little glimpse of their lives together once the chaos of the run to Gretna is said and done -- the two of them waiting with friends at the Stingo for news of the bill to outlaw slavery in Britain; Theo habitually whacking Martin and stealing the covers whenever Martin snores (RIP to Martin's kidneys); Martin's Well-Respected Coal Merchant horror at a whiff of brimstone, contrasted with the way he understands Theo's enthusiasm for John Raven's project and how Theo still can't resist a good commission with money paid up front.
I'd love any kind of a look at their lives together. Martin is a cautious man - how does he make his peace with some of Theo's scrappier life choices? What does Theo do day-to-day now that every spare second doesn't have to be spent frantically trying to make money? What does Peggy make of him? What does their life look like together? I love how the book that Theo writes appears in so many other KJ Charles series, so if you wanted to explore Theo's (and potentially Martin's) friendship with John Raven and the hellfire club set or the radiating effects of Jonathan over time (or on Martin and Theo), I would enjoy that too! The world's your oyster!
Things that I love: Friendships and family (found family and blood-related family alike), teams coming together, romance, domesticity; people being concerned about, caring for, and protecting each other. I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort and people just really liking each other, and companionable/loving squabbling or insults! I love humor, competence, banter, and ridiculous fluffy tropes where appropriate (fake dating/fake married! cuddling for warmth! seasonal or holiday content where appropriate! fic with epistolary elements or that makes use of social media! ok those last few aren't tropes, but I appreciate them anyway). I realize this is a lot of fluffy stuff but I also really enjoy action and drama! I'm usually not a porn without plot person, but I'm absolutely here for sex scenes as long as they're part of the larger context of a story. Same goes for violence. I prefer a hopeful or happy ending but if you want to tug on my heartstrings getting there, I'm okay with that too!
Things that aren't my jam in a Yuletide fic: Incest, rape, infidelity, heavy focus on suicidal ideation (especially if it's not present in canon), killing off canon characters who didn't die in canon, romantic relationships with big age or power imbalances (ie: boss/employee, teacher/student, a/b/o), cancer or COVID-19, the gay-for-you trope. I actually love alternate-setting AU's, but the canons that I've requested have such tiny fandoms that I'd prefer to read straight-up canon fic for them.
In other places on the internet, I'm
Big Eden (2000)
Pike Dexter
Optional details: Holy fuck, I love Pike Dexter so much. I want him to get everything that he wants in this world!!! Obviously the 'everything that Pike wants in this world' category includes Henry Hart so if you want to write Pike/Henry, I am absolutely here for that. But I'll be delighted with any fic that tells me more about Pike! How did Frances (BEST DOG) come into his life? How did he feel about getting really into food and cooking; how does his relationship with cooking carry on after the end of the movie? How did he wind up owning a general store that's full of old busybody dudes? Talk to me about his feelings on crowds and people (I can see his reactions as either extreme shyness or as clinical anxiety), his triumphs, his friendships - anything!
Oh man, this movie. It's full of so many things that are my bread and butter in fiction; after I watched it the first time I said "THE COOKING, THE CARETAKING, THE MEDDLING! it was like every found-family au fanfic trope of my heart packed into a movie wtf" and I stand by that!! But most of all, I love Pike, who is so incredibly thoughtful and slyly funny and awkward and SO BRAVE, okay stop, Lexie, time to stop yourself.
One of the things that I found most charming about the movie was the small-town feel, and how much everyone in that town loved and supported Pike (and Henry too, but come on, that scene where they're running around trying to hide the meat Pike was cooking!!). Honestly I've seen the movie [mumble] times now and I still mist up every time at the "I just want things to be nice for him" exchange. Pike is such a fundamentally good person, and seeing other people recognize that is a joy. So if you want to explore Pike's relationships with townspeople, I'd dig that!
I love that the first time we ever see Pike look genuinely comfortable and at-ease in a social setting, it's while telling an Onondaga myth. When the movie came out, Big Eden's writer/director said a lot of words about how Pike being Native American wasn't an essential part of what makes him Pike. I disagree, and if you want to write about Pike's Native heritage and identity, I would absolutely be here for that.
I requested Pike because he is my #1 top priority, but if you want to write shipfic, I enjoyed Pike/Henry and here are some bonus ideas-- Ending the movie where it did made sense for Henry's journey but meant that we missed out on a lot of the relationship stuff that I dig; the happy/awkward/getting-to-know-you stages in a relationship, and also that well-lived-in, 'stop-sticking-your-cold-feet-on-me-in-bed-you-monster' stage. What's life for Pike and Henry like, after the movie ends? There's a significant time jump between the winter scene where Henry doesn't go to the airport and then the very last scene, where they're dancing at the Fourth of July barbeque (my tall nervous son, who Jim said donates but never goes to the BBQ, was at the BBQ!!!) -- how did they get from point A to point B? What was their first kiss like?
Basically I am extremely here for ALL THINGS PIKE DEXTER.
How to Be a Werewolf - webcomic
Vincent Dysangco Walters; Elias Ross
Optional details: I've been lucky enough to receive several HTBAW Yuletide gifts over the years but I'm always hoping for MORE FICS in this tiny fandom! Watching Vincent and Elias circle around each other as Eli flails over Vincent and Vincent slowly starts to realize he might be having Feelings, has been such a joy. Theirs has been the slow-burniest of relationships and if you wanted to do your take on the inevitable eventual get-together, that could be fun! I also really dig their relationship the way that it is, if you wanted to do some slice-of-life stuff set in the current comic timeline; I've been delighted by them bringing each other food and talking about queerness over baseball and making each other blush and Eli walking Vincent to class.
Man, Chapter 9 was A Lot, with Eli collapsing and Vincent cradling him and keeping him safe (which was, in turn, a lovely turnabout from Eli doing the same for Vincent after he got kidnapped and clawed earlier in the comic), and then so-sleepy-he's-basically-drunk Eli telling Vincent how he feels and Vincent's soft face as he pets asleep-Eli's hair. A LOT. You know, you were there! Honestly I don't have a ton of specific prompts for this request; I would be so delighted with any fic about the two of them! Eli working in the cafe and making excuses to flirt with Vincent while Vince does homework and Malaya laughs at them? Something set farther down the line -- Eli figuring his life out? Does he enroll at the university and join the baseball team? Vincent and Eli going on an actualfax date, in which Eli does not accidentally invite along a third party? Vincent dealing with some of the fallout (which I think the comic has hinted at, with Joy's comment about Vincent not liking to be alone) of being kidnapped and almost dying? Eli introducing Vincent to his massive werewolf family??
Vincent's flat faces are fucking hilarious; some of his reaction panels have made me legitimately shout with laughter. I love that while he can be stoic, quiet, and a little grumpy, he also doesn't hesitate to tell his sister he loves her and he makes amazing deadpan puns. I tend to read him as demiromantic and pansexual, mostly based on this page, though he definitely doesn't know either of those words at this point in the narrative. And Eli! He's such a puppy of a person -- I love how well-intentioned and kind, if sometimes foolhardy and foolish, he is, and that while he can be clueless as heck, he tries SO HARD to get things right.
Added info on other characters in case it's helpful: I LOVE Vincent's sibling relationship with Malaya and Eli's friendship with her, and the Dysangco Walters parents are lovely; best fam. I love/ship the heck out of MarMar. Charlene is marvelous. I'm not super invested in Tom's crew of werewolves, but otherwise, I love everyone and the world is your oyster. I know this is a weekly-updating canon and just for the record, I'm not tied to canon here -- if you want to write stuff that's set in the future or that may be contradicted by the comic, go for it; I'm not a stickler for canon like that!
Lilywhite Boys series / Sins of the Cities series by KJ Charles
Justin Lazarus; Susan "Sukey" Lazarus
Optional details: This little grifter fam makes my heart sing! I love how fiercely they love each other and that they built a family all their own. I'd love a story set at any point in time, whether Susan is a kid, a teen, or an adult. Justin and Susan are so meticulous and quick and terrifyingly competent, and I love that they can be vicious and hold grudges and won't hesitate to go low if necessary. I love these books and ship all the canon pairings!
God, I've read An Unnatural Vice so many times and Gilded Cage is rapidly climbing the list as well. I love Justin's sharp sneakiness and coming at everything sideways, and how his ruthlessness (Templeton describes the poker face that Susan learned from Justin as reptilian, in Gilded Cage, which is so very good) and prickliness juxtaposes with how deeply and genuinely he loves the girls. Even if he doesn't always know the best way to take care of or support them (I appreciated that it was made clear in Gilded Cage that he didn't always succeed), he tries so hard for them; that Gilded Cage conversation where Susan says she hasn't needed to stand alone since she was eight years old because she's had Justin was A LOT.
Justin and Susan are delightfully meticulous and snarky and sly and overwhelmingly competent, and I love that they can be vicious and angry and hold grudges and won't hesitate to go low if necessary. They're both so fiercely loyal to the people they love and so funny -- Susan is delightfully dry and Justin is such a shit. I also really appreciate that they're both their own characters, for all their similarities; I loved Susan feeling like it was time to strike out on her own in Gilded Cage.
There are so many possibilities for ideas that I'd love! Justin first meeting the girls or training them up as his helpers, Sukey terrorizing boarding schools or learning with Miss Rawling, Justin teaching/training Sukey (either as a clairvoyant's helper or as a detective), Susan first joining Braglewicz & Lazarus, Justin and/or the family supporting Susan after Cara's death or Justin during one of his depressive spells or Susan founding her own agency after Gilded Cage... Anything! If casefic is more your speed, Mark says that being an enquiry agent is mostly about finding lost dogs and lost letters; Susan and Justin working a case that isn't fog, bigamy, torture, and murder could be fun!
I enjoy Nathaniel and if you want to explore how he became part of the family and became a guvnor to Sukey and Emma (who I also love!), I would be here for that as well! Susan and Justin were just my absolute top priorities. If it's helpful to know my feelings on other characters: I love everyone, especially Justin, Mark, and Susan's detective partnership. I ship everybody with their canon partners, including Justin/Nathaniel, Susan/Cara, Susan/James, Pen/Mark, Clem/Rowley, Alec/Jerry, Stan/Christiana, and Greta/Tim. Basically for anyone you might like to include, there's no losing here!
EDIT: Hello! If you're here in December and you're looking at treat ideas, welcome!! I just read KJ Charles' new holiday novella, Masters in This Hall, and I had a good time but suddenly find myself with a spoilery new DNW for this fandom that I wasn't expecting: please don't include (highlight for white text) Susan's canon pregnancy from after the main Lilywhite Boys novels (discussions of her first pregnancy, as discussed in Gilded Cage, are fine!). I loved the little details that (more spoilers) Susan is still Miss Lazarus at the point of Masters in This Hall, and that she opened her agency in HANGING SWORD ALLEY, THE FEELINGS!! Thank you!
The Turner series by Cat Sebastian
Julian Medlock; Eleanor, Lady Standish
Optional details: Eleanor and Julian's conflict from the book felt unfinished to me; I would love to see what it looks like for them to start mending their relationship afterward. Or as kids in India -- in happy moments together and/or with Ned, or supporting each other in tougher moments like when Julian's sick or they're struggling with their grandfather's expectations. What was it like when they first got to England? I so want to see more of them together!
Honestly, I felt a little sad when it comes to Eleanor and Julian's relationship. This was one of those cases where I found what the narrative told us about them really interesting, but then the two of them didn't actually interact all that much. We heard a lot about how important Eleanor is to Julian (and vice versa), but they didn't spend as much time together as I'd hoped during the book.
Their last actual conversation was their massive dust-up upon the reveal of Julian's relationship with Courtenay. What the book has to say about it: "He and Eleanor had apologized to one another profusely and apologetically." Missed opportunity! Show me what their make-up conversation(s) looked like, and how they got closer again afterward? And post-canon, presumably Julian won't dress Eleanor like Painfully Prim and Proper Barbie anymore; does Eleanor start picking her own dresses? Wearing trousers? Julian was lonely and walled-off, pre-canon, and Eleanor was painfully sad and clearly struggling, and I would happily read happier times for them! I love Eleanor's scientific brilliance and business acumen, and I wished Julian had been more supportive of her work instead of seeing it as a social liability as he did early in the book.
Or I'd love to read about earlier times, with Eleanor taking care of Julian when he suffered from bouts of malaria and keeping him entertained while he convalesced, or what their childhood was like. What did it look like to have a determined teenage boy ruthlessly negotiating his sister's betrothal (oh Julian)? How was it for Eleanor, making that choice to go to England?
Other character knowledges!: I ship all things canon, including Eleanor/Ned and Julian/Courtenay. Eleanor and Courtenay's friendship gives me life! I also love Charlotte and Oliver and their budding friendship with Julian.
Wanted, A Gentleman by KJ Charles
Martin St. Vincent; Theodore Swann
Optional details: I've read this one more times than I can count! I love the progression of Martin's and Theo's relationship and their feelings for each other - Martin's steadiness and innate goodness and Theo's ruthless (squishy marshmallow) cunning, and how they complement each other. Both of them being surprised and touched by the other being angry on their behalf is just [fist clench] so good for me. I could read infinite words about them and I loved the little glimpse of their life together that we get from "Wanted, An Author". What's a slice of life day or week in their lives like? Domesticity and people settling into new relationships and pushing through the tough stuff and finding their way together are all very much my jam, if you'd enjoy any of that too!
Surprise, I just reread this yet again! I was reminded that one of the things I love most about this book is how Martin and Theo are... I wouldn't say 'opposites attract', because that implies a certain level of inevitable connection between two people that I don't think exists for them. They're two people whose personalities are far, far outside the realm of each other's, and whose paths likely never would have crossed, but then one bonkers scenario dropped them square into each other's lives and they both held on and never looked back. Are you kidding me?? Just the best.
I mentioned it in my prompt but I really love how appalled and furious Martin and Theo become on each other's behalf when they learn about the injustice and abuse each of them has suffered, and how surprised each of them is by the other's reaction. I love how deeply they listen to each other and how genuinely they both want to understand the other man and his experiences; how they meet at a point in their lives when they're both feeling weary and angry and Very Fucking Done -- Martin with the Conroys and the deeply complicated feelings he has for them, and Theo with the literal debt he owes and the guilt he carries -- and they bond over that while also understanding that their situations are different. And I love me a good battle couple, don't get me wrong, but another thing I really love about Martin and Theo is that they are normal! people! -- they're not action heroes, Martin finds it next to impossible to hit Theo even in the name of their plotting, and Theo curls up on the floor about it afterward, cursing himself for ever having the idea, instead of sauntering off completely fine.
The eventual tenderness between them is hard-won after a disastrous first impression (at least on Theo's part; he was not nearly as unimpressed with Martin as Martin initially was with him), and so incredibly satisfying! Martin compares Theo to a feral cat and honestly has any description ever been so apt. I really love that Theo as a character is given the space to be selfish and grasping and self-serving (because if he isn't, he wouldn't have survived) -- that he's not judged for that, but he is rightfully judged when he's being an asshole. And I love how much Martin sees and appreciates Theo's cunning and his talents. I come back over and over again to the passage where Martin realizes that Theo is Mrs. Swann, and how astonished and delighted and complimentary he is while Theo rolls around in agony and then surprised prickly pleasure. And MY GOD Martin St. Vincent, has there ever been so romantic a hero?? And not in the way that Mrs. Swann's hilariously dull paperdoll heroes are heroes; he's steady and thoughtful and fundamentally kind and complex.
KJ Charles posted a short epilogue called Wanted, An Author and it's a delight, 10/10 would recommend if you haven't read it, the descriptions of Theo and Martin's hangovers alone have me rolling (it and Wanted, A Gentleman are both so funny, such a delight). I love that little glimpse of their lives together once the chaos of the run to Gretna is said and done -- the two of them waiting with friends at the Stingo for news of the bill to outlaw slavery in Britain; Theo habitually whacking Martin and stealing the covers whenever Martin snores (RIP to Martin's kidneys); Martin's Well-Respected Coal Merchant horror at a whiff of brimstone, contrasted with the way he understands Theo's enthusiasm for John Raven's project and how Theo still can't resist a good commission with money paid up front.
I'd love any kind of a look at their lives together. Martin is a cautious man - how does he make his peace with some of Theo's scrappier life choices? What does Theo do day-to-day now that every spare second doesn't have to be spent frantically trying to make money? What does Peggy make of him? What does their life look like together? I love how the book that Theo writes appears in so many other KJ Charles series, so if you wanted to explore Theo's (and potentially Martin's) friendship with John Raven and the hellfire club set or the radiating effects of Jonathan over time (or on Martin and Theo), I would enjoy that too! The world's your oyster!