diaphenia

Dear Yuletide author,

I am so excited for yuletide this year! This is my sixth year participating (see still-relevant letters from 2012 and 2013 and 2014 and 2015 and 2016 and 2017) and I am always impressed by the quality of work with these exchanges.

I'm Diaphenia on AO3.

Let’s talk about things I like and dislike, generally.

Love: Getting together stories. Tropes, especially for comedy fandoms (think roadtrips, broken elevators, anything that requires characters to spend time together). Ensemble fic, even more than shippy stuff (with an exception or two). Related, but found families are my thing, and most fandoms I read reflect that love. Spy AUs: a total bulletproof fandom kink. Banter. Flirting. Friends setting up friends. Hijinx. Groundhog's Day AUs.

DNW: Baby/pregnancy fic, or spending much time with canon children. Major OCs— I nominate fandoms because I want to spend time with the characters I love. Kink fic, since I’m extraordinarily picky about kink!fic. Religion. Incest. Rape/Non-con. Character-bashing. Gross-out humor. Miracles.

Additional details: I’m fine with sexytimes, as long as it’s not PWP. Or fading to black is totally cool too. Action scenes make my eyes glaze over. I love fusions.

Prompts: I am throwing down a bunch, but feel free to use your own ideas!

If you want to see what fic I’ve written, click here. If you want to see my tumblr, click here, and if you want to see an occasionally-contradictory list of fic things I love, click here.

Savage Lovecast (podcast)

Podcast available here

Dan’s The Stranger blog/columns

I’ve been reading Dan Savage for lo about two decades now, and I’m a dedicated listener of his podcast. I’d love something that plays with the podcast. This is an opportunity to get weird if you want, or meta.

I’d love fic in the world of the podcast, whether it’s a fake call, a scientist brought on to discuss research on the “What You Got?” segment, or something I haven’t even thought of! I’d also love a story that focused on the “Second Opinion” portion. I’m an advice column junkie, and Dan debating with Dear Abby, Ann Landers, Prudie, etc, etc, could be a lot of fun! Just make sure you link the actual columnist in case I’m not familiar with them.

Maybe some of those kinksters wake up and discover that their giant woman/centaur dreams have come true, and it’s terrible. Maybe Dan realizes that his advice is magically becoming mandatory. Maybe fairy tail characters/historical figures/Disney Princesses/NPR hosts keep calling in.

Obviously, with this fandom, my usual request not to get kink is completely off the table. Let the callers call in with whatever unusual relationship configurations, infidelity, and kinks they want, much as they do on the actual show. It’s also fine if you want to get political (and completely fine if you don’t!) I’m also fine if you’d want to bring in some sort of multimedia component, or add an audio component since this is based on a podcast. Totally optional, obviously, but if that’s something you’re interested in, feel free to play!

What I’m not looking for: straight-up RPF. I’d rather leave his husband, child, and other relatives out of it. I’m looking for something within the context of the show. I’m also not looking to get a story that involves any of the non-famous (or infamous) callers to the podcast- fictionalized callers/listeners only, please! And while I know Dan Savage is at times a divisive figure, I do enjoy him, so I’m not looking for something that’s just a critique of him.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

Peter

Lara Jean

Available on Netflix

Tag on tumblr

I straight-up loved this movie. It’s super precious, peak high school rom-com. The romance is so well done. This is definitely a movie worth the re-watch. I also adore the fashion, and found Lara-Jean incredibly relatable.

I’m open for almost anything here. AUs? Absolutely. Put them on the moon, in a coffee shop, college, Hogwarts, whatever. Get weird. If you’ve always wanted to write a robot fic, or a medieval AU, of Groundhog’s Day fic, this is your opportunity. I also love tropes; maybe they have to share a bed! Maybe they’re playing spin the bottle in high school. Maybe they’re on a road-trip or trapped in a elevator. Seven minutes in heaven?

Five Times would also be amazing. Five times they almost kissed! Five letters Peter wrote Lara Jean! Five times Peter almost confessed his feelings! Five times Lara Jean forgot it was fake dating! Or dating milestones- Peter goes away to college, they go to prom together, first times.

Feel free to set it at any point in canon, too. During the fake dating, after the reveal, after the end of the movie. Angst is fine, but I’d like an ending where they are definitely going to get together, even if that’s off-screen.

Note: I haven’t read the book series this is based on

Trial & Error

Josh

2 season NBC comedy. Season two is available on Hulu. Season one is available to purchase.

Tag on tumblr

This show is delightfully wacky. Season one was pretty good, but season two hit perfection for me. They turned the weirdness up to eleven, and I almost died laughing.

I am requesting Josh because he’s the fulcrum of the show, but I’m pretty open to whatever story you want to write. The third or fourth season we’ll probably never get? Small cases they take in between the murders? Weird holidays they celebrate? A new law gets passed, and everyone ends up in jail together?

I love his working relationship/friendships with Anne and Dwayne. I’d love some case fic, or a party they throw together or attend together. Maybe Josh goes with Anne and Dwayne to their high school reunion? Maybe Anne and/or Dwayne misunderstand directions and think they have to create more crime? They work together on the podcast (maybe Nina comes back?)

I also ship Josh/Carol Anne, so feel free to get shippy. Maybe they get locked in Carol Anne’s office, or there’s some all-night court case where no one can leave until a decision is reached? Yelling as foreplay? Maybe they just go on a date. Maybe a new law requires men over thirty to get married or leave? They end up as contestants in some Peck dating show? I don’t particularly care about the baby, so leave her out or at least off-screen. Or, keep it gen. Write about their court cases, working together on a case or sabotaging each other’s cases. Maybe Carol Anne teaches Josh how to hustle in between gigs?

Bring in any characters we saw on screen, or referenced. The ensemble is delightful. I’m also pretty familiar with true crime, so feel free to riff on any popular cases, podcasts, etc.

Also, they are neither in the tagged requests, but I know the show runners were considering a romance between Lavinia Peck-Foster and Larry Henderson, so if you want to write that, abandon Josh entirely and send them on a murder cruise! Write about their true crime book club they host or the podcast they’re starting. Maybe there are weird Peckian dating rituals they observe no matter where they’re living now. Or, maybe they start dating and keep looping poor Josh into their relationship dramas.

That should be everything! If you need additional clarification, please feel free to reach out to lIoveyouandilikeyou. She may write her answer in all caps, but she gets me, fandom-wise.

-Diaphenia