💯

Dear yuletide creator,

I'm buries and finnicks.

This is my second year of Yuletide. This letter will give you tl;dr level of detail regarding my likes, dislikes, and prompts. I've included prompts to help you have an idea of what I like, but please take what you like from this and don't feel like you have to take my prompts at face value. As long as it doesn't hit a DNW, I'm going to enjoy it!

If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them via the mods. I welcome treats and am open to receiving art, drabbles and smut (and Crueltide for selected fandoms). (I have likes/dislikes in my letter for these.)

Thank you for creating for me! ♥

( tl;dr )

This is a list of comics I've read. I'm primarily using this for exchanges as a reference to what comic runs and issues I'm familiar with since it's so much easier to keep one post than to try and update several exchange letters. (I also don't know which comics may pique someone's interest as I only list what I think is relevant, so here we go!)

If you want to create something that isn't based on the comics I've listed below, please feel free to do so! All I ask is that you lmk what the comic run/issue is in the author's notes on the gift so I can read it. 👀 (I'm always looking for recs!)

I've listed either the entire book because I've read all the issues in it or the issues and their numbers if I've only read select stories.


( comics )

I participated in battleshipex as a part of the Frost team and ended up writing around 30 fics and drawing one piece of art. This collection is massive and filled with good stuff. I highly recommend browsing the collection and seeing if there's anything that strikes your fancy! (And if there is, please give the creator some love and comment!) I've only linked the main collection because there's four collections and most participants placed their works in the main collection.

This is going to be a huge post covering what I created, what I received, and what I enjoyed in the collection that wasn't created by or for me. Please use your discretion when viewing the AO3 tags if you click through to a work. Some are NSFW and a few cover sensitive topics.

SHORTCUTS: WHAT I CREATED | WHAT I RECEIVED | WORKS I ENJOYED

( what i created + some thoughts )

( my gifts )

( works i enjoyed )

unsent_letters_exchange has successfully delivered its letters and packages (and maybe some bills) for 2022. I had such a blast! This was the first time I participated in the exchange and I am so glad I did. (I've been wanting to ever since I discovered it sometime last year.) Epistolary is something I really enjoyed writing and I can only hope I have more opportunities to do so!

Onto the good stuff:

What I wrote:

in a minute
mcu | bucky/natasha ft. nick fury, yelena belova, steve rogers, clint barton, maria hill | for Ultra
teen, 6.4k
When Bucky goes A.W.O.L after being brought back from the Blip, Fury pulls out all the stops to try and find him, including going through Natasha’s collection of personal letters addressed to "Soldat" and "James".

I initially wasn't going to sign up for this exchange for a few reasons (one being Trying to Be Responsible) but then I saw ultra_fic's request and I couldn't get it out of my head. My weakness is Bucky/Natasha paired with Red Room or Vormir. I tried my hardest to resist, but as I was already thinking of them in the Red Room having sent letters to one another, I was toast. I shared with my flist that a specific request was the sole reason why I signed up for this exchange and this one was The One.

This was so much fun to piece together. I hadn't intended for it to feature an ensemble that revolved around Bucky and Natasha, but when I sat down to write it, I first started with Yelena and Fury's first email and it all spiralled from there. It was so much fun piecing together Bucky and Natasha' Red Room history into the MCU's canon and building on from that. I also tried to layer each interaction so that it built to the climax.

This is probably one of my favourite fics that I've written for an exchange.

EXCLUSIVE!
smallville | lois/clark ft. oliver queen, lex luthor, jimmy olsen and perry white. | for svgurl410
teen, 2.6k
Five articles Lois Lane published about Superman and the one article she didn’t.

I might be a little addicted to writing for svgurl but, hey, I'm okay with that. I write media releases at work and I had been wanting to write something with a little more flair and fun to it, and svgurl's request came up as a pinch hit that I had to have (sorry not sorry).

It was so much fun threading the personal and professional development of Lois, Clark, Lex and (in particular) Jimmy throughout the story. I was going to date each article, but then I didn't feel that was necessary as I felt the events as they unfolded was enough to show that time was progressing forward. I really enjoyed writing a slightly political and biased slant with Lois' articles, and I particularly liked showing Jimmy's professional journey without needing him to be overly present.

This one was a lot of fun to write. I feel like I packed it with a lot of things intentionally and subconsciously. (My favourite articles are the Lex Luthor one and the final one.) I had to stop myself from writing 20+ articles as I was having way too much fun.

my best friend
mcu | kate & clint ft. sam wilson, bucky barnes, yelena belova, thor odinson.| for endlesstwanted
teen, 2.7k
Kate integrates herself into the Avengers and gives Clint a headache in the process.

When I saw this come up as a pinch hit, all I had in my head was Kate on Twitter being a troll. This transformed into an ensemble piece that centred around Kate being obnoxious, overly friendly, and very much the glue tying our Avengers together. This was absolutely ridiculous and I had so much fun showing the progression of time and Kate's relationships, as well as her positive impact on Clint.

The ending is my favourite. Yes, I laughed at it. (I also learned a few things in Photoshop, which was cool!)

My gift:

THIS WEEK IN PANDORA'S POCKET: SCANDAL IN SOUTHAMPTON?
harry potter | hermione/sirus ft. andromeda tonks and teddy lupin | by avocadomoon
teen, 29.8k
Let us report events logically and without bias: on MONDAY AFTERNOON, the future HIGHBORN HEIR was witnessed escorting the temptress Muggleborn along the boardwalk, and with her own eyes, this reporter witnessed HAND HOLDING.

On THURSDAY MORNING, the ladder-climbing lady was spotted at a local pub MAKING EYES at His Most Honorable over PANCAKES!

And SATURDAY EVENING found the two UNACCOMPANIED sharing a meal at a Muggle restaurant (something called… "tie food?" The names those Muggles come up with!) SITTING CLOSELY and SPEAKING INTIMATELY. The licentious lady - for interested parties - was dressed in a dark maroon blouse and matching skirt - Muggle in style, naturally - and a pair of beautiful - as it pains this reporter to admit - Amina Arncliffe Spring '99 kitten heels, in off-white. The generous gentleman - TO MATCH! - was wearing a Muggle-style t-shirt proclaiming PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION WORLD TOUR 1985 (how silly! Why on earth would the Prince be touring the entire world with a revolutionary sect? Those Muggles!) and a pair of denim trousers. And yes - to answer the many, many reader response owls - his hair is VERY SHORT INDEED now! (Miss Granger's influence? No doubt!)

THIS IS SO GOOD. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this. The articles were fantastic—the voices in this were superb. This features one of my favourite Black sisters in a prominent role that fleshes her out and lets her be her own person. It's delicious!

Sirius/Hermione is an old, nostalgic ship for me. I still read it from time to time as I love the stories and the chemistry, and this fic captured the dynamic I love so well with a more matured Sirius and Hermione. I loved the journalism meta that was also involved in this. I loved the friendships Hermione has in this and how each character who shows up is so mature and not a caricature as they were in both the books and movies.

I was so disappointed when it ended because it ended. I wanted it to go on forever.

Here are a few of the fics I enjoyed in the collection:

An exchange that is both monstrous and scrupulously honest
harry potter | bellatrix & andromeda | by vienna_salvatori
teen, 6.1k
On the evening of Beltane 1976, Bellatrix Lestrange née Black stood before the Dark Lord’s court and swore upon her magic to personally cleanse the Black family line of all those she found unworthy of the name.

It was the greatest protection she could offer.

I thought this was so good and so funny. The Bellatrix voice is superb—I love that she's so biting and dry and she also is a little naive at times. Andromeda is morally ambiguous and it's great to see. This is a relationship that I'm fascinated by and it was great to read a more empathetic take on Bellatrix's perception of Andromeda's betrayal. Bellatrix is still "Pureblood strong!" but I appreciated seeing a more family-oriented Bellatrix, too. It added some great complications to the story.

I love the Black family and this was a good look into how fucked up they are.

Hey, Susan
original | lovesick fool & their high school crush's son who was dumped on them | by Casta_X
mature, 1.6k
Hey Susan,
I’ve been meaning to call you since the grad party.

I didn't really know what to expect when I began reading this and it took me by surprise (in a really good way). This is a great exploration of a man's mature growth over the years and how he learns of and unlearns some of his own toxic habits. There is mature themes in this story, particularly about abuse, but it doesn't go into graphic detail about it. It's a fantastic look at empathy and how people can grow without you in their life, but you can still positively impact them.

what i really meant to say
dceu | lois/clark | by svgurl410
teen, 2.6k
After Clark's death, Lois grieves in her own way.

I love stories about grief, and when I saw this in the collection, I was curious to see DCEU's Lois given the spotlight when I feel she's been shoved continuously into the shadows. This was a great look at Lois in the aftermath of Clark's death. I particularly liked how Lois used writing as her outlet of grief and to tell her truth (similarly to how she tells reveals the truth through her journalism). I really liked the characterisation of who Clark is to her throughout this; Lois' perspective on Clark is one of my favourite things, and while grief certainly clouds her perspective, the way Lois loves Clark for the man and hero he is rather than Superman for being Clark is fantastic. One of the reasons why I love Lois and Clark is that he may be some powerful almighty alien superhero, but to Lois, he's just a gentle man made of flesh and bone, and this captured that perfectly.

If you check out the collection, please leave the authors some love!

I ended up pinch hitting (and writing a pinch hitter treat) for fffx! I enjoyed creating for this round because I do love writing longfic and these three stories were fun to write. I didn't expect to write so much, but I guess that's what happens when you're enjoying yourself!

I went through the entire collection and found some great fics that I really enjoyed. I've linked them below.

The fics I wrote:

i'll watch you come undone
the vampire diaries | klaus/elena | for symbioticdeath
explicit, 28,594
When Elena discovers Klaus shares a magical empathy bond with her, she learns more about the big bad wolf than she bargained for.

The prompts were perfect to explore Elena's grief, particularly the ugly side to it. I wanted to explore her self-destructing and shoving her head so deep within the river of denial and even learning that sometimes the best way to overpower the big bad wolf is to show it empathy. I was intending for this to be a lot darker than it was because the last thing I wanted to do was romanticise Klaus/Elena and disregard the trauma he's inflicted upon her, but I really like how this turned out. I think Elena started it off as drowning and then she finally rose to the surface by the end of it.

buried in sunlight
shadow and bone | alina; darkling/alina, inej & alina & nina | for Marenke
mature, 16,731
While Alina tries to settle into her new life in Ketterdam, she finds that Aleksander isn’t willing to let her go. The stag amplifier’s connected them together in a way neither of them had ever bargained for.

I've never written Darklina before but I found the dynamic super interesting, especially in its fucked-up capacity. I wanted to explore Alina in the aftermath of season one and show her coming into her own. She deserved to have closure with how the Darkling treated her, and I think Aleksander deserved to be shown a kind hand, too. I had a lot of fun writing this one and really went in hard on the light/shadow metaphor lmao.

mr & mrs rushman
mcu | steve/natasha; yelena & natasha | for Silvereye
mature, 13,093
When Natasha’s unable to contact Yelena, she and Steve put their plans to break the team out of the Raft on hold to find her.

I love writing Steve/Nat so I couldn't help myself when I saw a request for it on the pinch hitter post. This was meant to be a small one-shot that featured one scene, but it just grew and grew into an aftermath of Black Widow. I've been wanting to explore the trauma of the Red Room and felt like I had a chance to do that, especially since Natasha just took it down. How's she going to feel after that? It turned itself into a mission fic, and I really like how it came together.

Here's what I enjoyed in the collection:

the best fit
gilmore girls | rory/paris | by svgurl410
teen, 10,279
To avoid being set up, Rory blurts out that she's dating Paris. The only problem is that she definitely isn't, and now the whole town thinks she is.

This was a lot of fun and felt like it could seamlessly fit into a later season of the show. Rory's naivety is on full display and Paris' candor and appreciation for Rory is really enjoyable. This fic shows just how Rory and Paris work well together—Paris makes the decisions Rory's too insecure to make and Rory grounds Paris in a way she desperately needs. It's a great exploration of finding yourself. The Lorelai and Rory banter is spot-on. And it was nice to see some guest appearances from the kooky residents of Stars Hollow.

like a house on fire we’re up in flames
harry potter | blaise/cho | by kitsunerei88
teen, 10,655
Blaise Zabini keeps her from simplifying, from drawing easy lines and boundaries of good and bad, right and wrong, and she doesn’t like it. And it doesn’t help that Blaise Zabini is attractive, damn him, and while Cho thinks she doesn’t like him she’s also attracted to him, and Blaise Zabini is a Problem.

This was such a great take on the war and how it impacted two characters we don't know much about. Cho gets the treatment she deserves and is fleshed out and celebrated as a Chinese woman (the author actually goes into her heritage, which is fantastic) who made mistakes as a young girl and is still paying for them. Cho grieving Cedric was a great character choice in this. (She also got to be more than "Cedric Diggory's girlfriend" which was so great!) Blaise's characterisation fit how I love seeing him presented—he defies the Slytherin and Death Eater ways but still falls prey to playing in that circle. He's a great foe for how we usually see Slytherins depicted in canon. This was a great Cho-centric piece that gives her the story and hopeful ending she deserved in canon.

children of the wild ones
mcu | alexei/melina; alexi & melina & natasha & yelena | by Heather
teen, 5,527

This was such a great exploration of Melina as a woman and a Widow and really delved into how her playing house impacted her and gave her a sense of freedom and relief from the Red Room. The budding relationship between Melina and Alexei is brilliant, and I really enjoyed Melina coming into her own as Natasha and Yelena's mother. (Melina isn't characterised by who she is in relation to any of the other three characters—her Red Room trauma is on full display and she is explored as a well-rounded character.)

Fixer Upper
original | teenage heiress/the haunted house she inherited | by schnuffleluv
gen, 5,020
Bea loved the house, even if the house didn't immediately love her back.

The summary and tags on this fic intrigued me so much and I was not disappointed when I read it. It is such a great fic that explores how love and kindness can go such a long way. The characterisation of the house turns the "haunted house" trope on its head in such a lovely way all the while not losing its hauntedness.

The Cottage
bridget jones's diary | ensemble | by Jen_814
teen, 13,849
Bridget’s diary, Friday 20th August, 6:58pm
Why do we force ourselves into experiences which we’ve a) never enjoyed, and are b) never likely to enjoy, just because society slams us into a hodge-podge of picture-perfect expectations of strong winds and ruddy cheeks, and attractively ruffled hairstyles, in manner of royal family on a walk in Balmoral? I do not like the countryside. Jude, similarly, does not like the countryside. Shazzer herself has once referred to a country walk as a ‘shit-strewn misery where it’s odds-on pissing it down’. So why, in the name of arse, are we spending our weekend here?

Sharon’s diary, Friday 20th August, 7:06pm
Why the bloody fuck are we doing this again?

--

Shazzer has a hen do at a cottage in the quiet countryside. Needless to say, shit goes down.

I am canon blind to the books of BJD. I only know the movies and from those movies I only remember Renee, Colin and Hugh. But my lack of familiarity with the book canon did not stop me from enjoying this. This is an epistolary fic written in diary entries and every single bloody diary entry is so perfectly different based on the character who is writing. I was sucked in by the pacing and character voices and found myself enjoying the representation of the friendship amongst our diarists. This was so enjoyable for someone who was canon blind that I can only imagine how enjoyable this is for someone who knows the books inside and out.

There are over 200 works in the collection. Check it out! I can't wait to participate in fffx again for round three.

Dear smut4smut creator,

I'm buries and finnicks.

Thank you for creating something for me! I've written this letter to give you tl;dr level of detail regarding my likes, dislikes, and prompts for fic and art. Take what you like from this—as long as it doesn't hit a DNW, I'm going to enjoy it!

If you find one section smaller than the others, please don't think I want it any less! Sometimes, I have a lot to say, and other times I (thankfully) say it concisely. Some of the sections have been built over time (particularly with prompts).

Since this exchange has freeform tags, please feel free to disregard my additional prompts if you find you've been inspired by the tags I've selected. I've also included some additional freeforms per canon since more than 20 interested me. (I've done my best to prune them and remove any duplicates, but please forgive me if there are any!) Please take whatever you like from the freeforms! If you find yourself straying from them slightly, go for it—as long as it doesn't hit a DNW, I'll be excited to see where your creativity takes you!

My prompts are in no particular order other than the canons have been categorised via their mediums and the canons alphabetised.

If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them via the mods. I'm also open to treats. :)

( smutty letter ahoy )

Hello, Tim Tam Slammer (aka Chocolatier)! Thank you for creating something for me! 🥰

I'm buries and finnicks.

I've written this letter (with the assistance of one of my cats—she's literally sitting in front of me as I type this, so cat lord help me if there's any typos) to give you an idea of my likes, dislikes, prompts, and some things I enjoy (and maybe don't enjoy) in canon. Please don't feel as though you need to include all the prompts in one fic/artwork. I'm hoping this will merely inspire you.

If you find one section is a little shorter than the others, please don't think I want it any less! With some of them, I have a lot to say and with others I am (thankfully) a little more concise. My prompts are in no particular order other than the canons have been alphabetised and categorised.

I have prompted for fic and art. Please be aware that there are spoilers for all fandoms in this letter.

( letter )

I participated in the multifandomtropefest exchange for the first time and had a lot of fun! You can check out the collection if you're interested in potentially finding something that interests you.

I wrote:

a strange delight
wandavision | wanda/agatha.
explicit, 5.4k. | for flipflop_diva
Wanda convinces herself she needs Agnes, not Agatha.

I really wanted to write Dark!Wanda who gives into her power and uses it for manipulation to take what she wants as she wants it. I also had a lot of fun exploring Agnes vs Agatha and what each of those characters means to not only Wanda but Agatha Harkness herself.

---

The gift I received:

I'll Remember You
mcu | bucky/natasha | by Ultra
teen, 3k.
No matter what happens to Bucky or Nat, somehow, some way, they will always remember each other and find their way home.

I had the pleasure of Ultra writing for me in a previous exchange. I loved this fic! It took my prompt of Natasha coming back from the Soul Stone post-Endgame, merged it with my desperation for Red Room history, and explored the emotional ramifications of what Natasha lost and what Bucky regained. I love that their given names—"James" and "Natalia"—were given a lot of power and meaning in this fic while that meaning was woven so subtly throughout the story.