Amatara

Nothing more squee-inducing than coming home from a weekend trip with husband and parents to find not one, but two Yuletide presents to open! Plus a whole archive full of other goodies still waiting to be discovered! *bounces happily*

My assigned author wrote And the Devil Makes Three for me, a fantastic Twin Peaks fic centering on Albert Rosenfield and his first field mission alongside one Dale Cooper. If you're even slightly interested in Twin Peaks, please, go and read, because it has everything a person (well, me, in any case *g*) could want: great plotting, suspense, foreshadowing, wonderful characterization, as well as healthy portions of Albertesque snark and Cooperish zen, and a resolution that is intense and moving and heartwarming in a marvelously understated way. I love it to pieces. Also, despite my having asked specifically for gen (and very much liking what I got), I am suddenly finding myself craving Cooper/Albert slash like a chocolate-starved hormonal teenager! Alas, once again I seem to be falling for a sadly unpopular pairing: hardly any fic, and not even any icons out there - which is why I went right ahead and made my own. So, dear Yuletide author, please accept this icon (which turned out a bit slashier than I intended, but hey :) ) as a token of my gratitude! Also, if anyone out there can point me to existing fic for this particular pairing, I would be eternally grateful! Until then, I will just read this fic over and over again - which I intended to do anyway! *resumes squeeing and bouncing*

On top of that, I also got a Treat: To Have Him Back is a sweet post-canon Love Actually story dealing with Karen and Harry (portrayed by the ever-exquisite Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman) and their relationship after Harry's fling. Apart from a great take on Karen herself, it also has a gorgeous moment with David, Karen's brother and Prime Minister, who offers to help in a particularly creative way. The story manages to be bittersweet and funny and sad and hopeful all at the same time, and I enjoyed it very much - so thanks a million, dear Treat-writer!

(Only one less joyful bit to report: my plan to get on the Internet during the weekend was sadly ruined by (1) the hotel we stayed in not providing free Internet access despite claims to the contrary, and (2) my laptop's adaptor being stolen in the train station by some guy who calmly snagged my backpack while it was standing right at my feet! *fumes* Well, in truth we got lucky, because the other backpack, which was mercifully still on my back at that time, contained our train tickets and hotel voucher, which would've been a greater loss. Still, getting robbed on Christmas day feels rather sucky.)

First of all, thanks a million – no, strike that: thanks a billion for signing up, and having offered to write in one of those fandoms I so adore! This is my first Yuletide, which means I’m practically dying with squee at the thought of a story being written specially for me. *beams* It also means that whatever you come up with, I will love it with all the wild love of the fic-starved fangirl I am!

That said, there are a few things that I like in particular, a pretty random collection of which I scribbled down in this Cool Bits post I made a little while ago. Feel free to check it out if you think it could be a help to you – but again, you should not feel restricted by it in any way! The full list of things I like is pretty endless, so any story you write involving my requested characters in any of these fandoms, I’m guaranteed to love! The most important is that you enjoy writing this story as much as I look forward to reading it, because gifts made with pleasure are most often the best gifts to receive, no? (phew, that was deep. *g*) So – go you, surprise me!!! *cheers*

As for squicks and things I’m less fond of: please no rape or non-con, character bashing, humiliation, mpreg, or all-too-graphic sex (euphemistic descriptions of sex and/or foreplay are great, though, if you feel like writing them! *g*). I’m also pretty much a canon girl – not the obsessive kind, but I do prefer stories that are consistent with canon or fit into canon in some way; AUs are not really my piece of cake. And finally, while the story can certainly contain humour and/or fluff, I’d prefer it not to be pure comedy or romance. Beyond that any genre would be lovely: angst, or drama, or adventure, whether or not with humor, fluff or romance mixed in... Again: go you! Endings can be happy or sad, whatever you feel like writing at the moment; I love both.

Well, that’s it for generalisms, I guess. Now, on to those requests! Once again (yep, I’m repeating myself here like a broken record, but I really really want you to know I mean this :)), any additional details I’m providing are purely optional. Naturally I'd be happy if any of my prompts made you happy enough to use them, but if for whatever reason that’s not the case, or if it is the case but you have this great big flash of inspiration that doesn’t match my prompts and you think I’ll like it anyway, then please, just go for whatever feels right for you!

( Here they are, my requests! )