Dear Yuletide Writer:
Oct. 3rd, 2017 10:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gogollescentHello, and thank you so much for writing for me! I'm really looking forward to whatever you come up with; the fact that we have one of these fandoms in common is enough to tell me that I'll adore your gift. I'm on tumblr at ![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
gurguliare, where I spend most of my time talking about the Silmarillion--but I have tags for all my requests this year. ODAO: you're welcome to adopt these prompts or ignore them, whatever suits.
General likes: Interesting setting details/flavor text, plot, porn, nonsexual intimacy, humor, violent and dramatic happenstance, moments of conscious introspection, moments of total obliviousness, character dialogue that touches on weird friction in the relationship (or surprising affinities!), intense or difficult friendships, sustained action sequences, interactive fiction, pastiche
Dislikes: setting AUs (at least for these canons), fluff
1. 7 Seeds: Sugurono Hana
I love 7 Seeds pretty wholeheartedly: it's a mashup of some of my favorite genres, from survival adventure to meat processor bildungsroman to needlessly grimdark yet optimistic futurescape, and it always surprises me how successful it is in occupying timeworn tropes. Hana as protagonist is a totally charming, admirable young woman, but she also just tugs my heartstrings more than characters in her position (wholesome! teen-married! athletic! against injustice!) usually do--or, rather, I usually fall for that kind of character because they have a secret fatal flaw, or they're gay and closeted, or they're really idiotic, but Hana's remarkably self-aware and her courage always moves me, even when--written less carefully--it might seem too formulaic to be earned.
I like almost all her major relationships and am curious about possible dynamics with characters she's only spoken to briefly, like Koruri, the rest of Team Summer A, etc.--also about relationships we've only glimpsed briefly, like to her parents and shrike dude. I'm particularly fond of her friendship with Haru, backup singers Chisa and Fujiko, her fated convergence with Natsu, and her, um, hallucinatory version of Arashi; I'm not as into Hana and Aramaki's dynamic in canon, but I'm actually totally open to "fixit fic" of some kind that lets them talk it out a little more and also maybe shifts the focus off Aramaki's tortured projection and onto Hana's crush: harmless infidelity first-time would be really adorable. This is also a fandom I think sex pollen would make sense for. Basically any ridiculous bio/scifi trope you want to throw in, actually. I implied that I didn't think she was closeted, but fuck that, you can write any random mix-and-match exploratory femslash you want and I'd have fun, as long as it respects the basic logic of the personalities involved (which, given how much Hana likes people and how much people tend to like/be irritated by her--WHO COULD RESIST. irritation is the root of love, or at least of casual sex.) I'd love to see Hana in a situation where she's supporting someone else through a crisis, and stressed out and made resolute by that in a different way, and also something that lets her show off her competence + creativity. At the same time, some of my favorite chapters of the manga are those dealing with her silent, fantastical recovery after Ango's murder attempt, and if you wanted to write a piece that dealt with that almost supernatural, fearless, serene part of Hana that already belongs in the future, I'm very interested.
Speaking of Ango: ...if you want to go there, feel free! I'm not 1000% convinced that there's like, a "relationship" [of any degree, except maybe pragmatic collaboration] that could conceivably spring out of the present situation, I picture it more as... you know, they eventually have houses on opposite sides of the island, or something... but I'd read other scenarios. I'd probably be slightly more interested in her hashing it out with Ryo, actually, given the disturbing gray area of his accompliceship and how much less capable of questioning his own loyalties he seems than even Ango. (I'm also not up to date on the manga, I've only seen scans up through chapter 152, though I've read summaries up to 170; what I'm saying is, spoil me if it's relevant.)
2. Friends at the Table: Aria Joie, Cassander Timaeus Berenice, Orth Godlove
It's been over a year since I got into this podcast and I'm still going strong; C/W is my favorite season, but I love Austin's writing and all the players, and it's one of those things that just reliably makes me happy. I picked this set of characters because I would adore fic about any of them, especially set during the finale-era: we cover so much action so fast, I'd frankly be happy with just a gapfiller, whether that's Aria working out things out with Jacqui, Aria down on the ground with Sister Rust, Cass bringing their own loyalists to heel, or Orth's correspondence with every faction in the sector, or what-have-you. I'm also pretty interested in post-canon stuff---with Cass that might mean an AU, or it might just mean something like, Aria going to a holo-exhibit and wrestling with the reality of Cass's shitty legacy, you know? Aria replaying the final battles recreationally a la the arena in Twilight Mirage. (I also don't think Cass is the only thing she has to be guilty about: if you want, I'd love something dealing with her relationship to Tea, who she sent to her death after learning how badly Tea wanted to be done with wars--or her relationship with Jace, basically ditto. Any repercussions from the Kingdom Game would be cool, actually, for Cass and Orth as well.) And I'm super interested in Aria and Righteousness, Aria and Ibex, and what Orth thinks of Aria inheriting the Vanguard, as far as other relationships between the requested characters go. Orth/Ibex is a guilty pleasure, not so much in any noncanonical allosexual Orth way as just---like, every single aspect of their canon relationship is unhealthy, and Ibex flirting to keep his hand in is just the cherry on the whipped cream on the ridiculous cake. But how does that total mutual incomprehension translate to Orth writing Ibex's biography? And so on.
Other ideas: I feel for Cass and Orth's semi-successful attempts at professionalism, and I remember being struck by Art's post-mortem comment that Orth's fate (as wildly successful and garlanded bureaucrat!) depressed him; not to conflate player and PC, but in hypothetical Cass-survives AUs, I'm curious about what they'd make of Orth's rise to power, especially if by that point they've been deposed. Generally I'm interested in switching up key factors with the ending---could someone else have sacrificed themselves as effectively? Who? A combination of multiple people, or of less complete sacrifices? How would that change/complicate the victory? I'm not as eager for "Rigor wins" scenarios, just because I'm not sure how much there is to write there, but different people dying, different people or Divines ending up corrupted with the leftover shadow of Rigor, all of that I would eat up with a spoon. I love C/W for its high drama and frequent bathos; I crave that mix of life-or-death situations, clocks, the potential to throw the galaxy back into chaos, and duuuumb fucking callbacks.
3. 80 Days: Phileas Fogg, Jean Passepartout
This is my favorite game. Also, I really want Passepartout to get a leg over. I would be very happy with gen casefic in the style of the original, but I'll be thrilled if you can work in an embarrassing realization, a compromising situation, or even just Passepartout getting really exasperated with Monsieur in front of taken-aback witnesses, which for this pairing is the height of romance. (One of my most cherished mini-arcs is the one where Fogg makes him box. Also that one where mutiny sinks the airship, the polar expedition, and the one where Fogg sleepwalks. I have a lot of favorites, and the binding theme is exasperation.) Outsider-POV fic would be awesome, actually, if you have any interest in bringing back some of the side characters from the game; I've played it pretty exhaustively and don't mind Wikipediaing to refresh my memory of anyone you bring in. Otherwise, of course, Passepartout's soothing, multiple-choice voice is a gift and a joy. I would loooooooove interactive fiction for this: I've dabbled a bit in writing parser IF and sustain very faint ambitions of Twine, but IF of any kind is a medium super dear to me. But, to be clear, I also am separately starved for fannish content for this canon, which feels so ripe for endless extrapolation and embroidery; whatever 80 Days story you want to tell, I'm there for it.
General likes: Interesting setting details/flavor text, plot, porn, nonsexual intimacy, humor, violent and dramatic happenstance, moments of conscious introspection, moments of total obliviousness, character dialogue that touches on weird friction in the relationship (or surprising affinities!), intense or difficult friendships, sustained action sequences, interactive fiction, pastiche
Dislikes: setting AUs (at least for these canons), fluff
1. 7 Seeds: Sugurono Hana
I love 7 Seeds pretty wholeheartedly: it's a mashup of some of my favorite genres, from survival adventure to meat processor bildungsroman to needlessly grimdark yet optimistic futurescape, and it always surprises me how successful it is in occupying timeworn tropes. Hana as protagonist is a totally charming, admirable young woman, but she also just tugs my heartstrings more than characters in her position (wholesome! teen-married! athletic! against injustice!) usually do--or, rather, I usually fall for that kind of character because they have a secret fatal flaw, or they're gay and closeted, or they're really idiotic, but Hana's remarkably self-aware and her courage always moves me, even when--written less carefully--it might seem too formulaic to be earned.
I like almost all her major relationships and am curious about possible dynamics with characters she's only spoken to briefly, like Koruri, the rest of Team Summer A, etc.--also about relationships we've only glimpsed briefly, like to her parents and shrike dude. I'm particularly fond of her friendship with Haru, backup singers Chisa and Fujiko, her fated convergence with Natsu, and her, um, hallucinatory version of Arashi; I'm not as into Hana and Aramaki's dynamic in canon, but I'm actually totally open to "fixit fic" of some kind that lets them talk it out a little more and also maybe shifts the focus off Aramaki's tortured projection and onto Hana's crush: harmless infidelity first-time would be really adorable. This is also a fandom I think sex pollen would make sense for. Basically any ridiculous bio/scifi trope you want to throw in, actually. I implied that I didn't think she was closeted, but fuck that, you can write any random mix-and-match exploratory femslash you want and I'd have fun, as long as it respects the basic logic of the personalities involved (which, given how much Hana likes people and how much people tend to like/be irritated by her--WHO COULD RESIST. irritation is the root of love, or at least of casual sex.) I'd love to see Hana in a situation where she's supporting someone else through a crisis, and stressed out and made resolute by that in a different way, and also something that lets her show off her competence + creativity. At the same time, some of my favorite chapters of the manga are those dealing with her silent, fantastical recovery after Ango's murder attempt, and if you wanted to write a piece that dealt with that almost supernatural, fearless, serene part of Hana that already belongs in the future, I'm very interested.
Speaking of Ango: ...if you want to go there, feel free! I'm not 1000% convinced that there's like, a "relationship" [of any degree, except maybe pragmatic collaboration] that could conceivably spring out of the present situation, I picture it more as... you know, they eventually have houses on opposite sides of the island, or something... but I'd read other scenarios. I'd probably be slightly more interested in her hashing it out with Ryo, actually, given the disturbing gray area of his accompliceship and how much less capable of questioning his own loyalties he seems than even Ango. (I'm also not up to date on the manga, I've only seen scans up through chapter 152, though I've read summaries up to 170; what I'm saying is, spoil me if it's relevant.)
2. Friends at the Table: Aria Joie, Cassander Timaeus Berenice, Orth Godlove
It's been over a year since I got into this podcast and I'm still going strong; C/W is my favorite season, but I love Austin's writing and all the players, and it's one of those things that just reliably makes me happy. I picked this set of characters because I would adore fic about any of them, especially set during the finale-era: we cover so much action so fast, I'd frankly be happy with just a gapfiller, whether that's Aria working out things out with Jacqui, Aria down on the ground with Sister Rust, Cass bringing their own loyalists to heel, or Orth's correspondence with every faction in the sector, or what-have-you. I'm also pretty interested in post-canon stuff---with Cass that might mean an AU, or it might just mean something like, Aria going to a holo-exhibit and wrestling with the reality of Cass's shitty legacy, you know? Aria replaying the final battles recreationally a la the arena in Twilight Mirage. (I also don't think Cass is the only thing she has to be guilty about: if you want, I'd love something dealing with her relationship to Tea, who she sent to her death after learning how badly Tea wanted to be done with wars--or her relationship with Jace, basically ditto. Any repercussions from the Kingdom Game would be cool, actually, for Cass and Orth as well.) And I'm super interested in Aria and Righteousness, Aria and Ibex, and what Orth thinks of Aria inheriting the Vanguard, as far as other relationships between the requested characters go. Orth/Ibex is a guilty pleasure, not so much in any noncanonical allosexual Orth way as just---like, every single aspect of their canon relationship is unhealthy, and Ibex flirting to keep his hand in is just the cherry on the whipped cream on the ridiculous cake. But how does that total mutual incomprehension translate to Orth writing Ibex's biography? And so on.
Other ideas: I feel for Cass and Orth's semi-successful attempts at professionalism, and I remember being struck by Art's post-mortem comment that Orth's fate (as wildly successful and garlanded bureaucrat!) depressed him; not to conflate player and PC, but in hypothetical Cass-survives AUs, I'm curious about what they'd make of Orth's rise to power, especially if by that point they've been deposed. Generally I'm interested in switching up key factors with the ending---could someone else have sacrificed themselves as effectively? Who? A combination of multiple people, or of less complete sacrifices? How would that change/complicate the victory? I'm not as eager for "Rigor wins" scenarios, just because I'm not sure how much there is to write there, but different people dying, different people or Divines ending up corrupted with the leftover shadow of Rigor, all of that I would eat up with a spoon. I love C/W for its high drama and frequent bathos; I crave that mix of life-or-death situations, clocks, the potential to throw the galaxy back into chaos, and duuuumb fucking callbacks.
3. 80 Days: Phileas Fogg, Jean Passepartout
This is my favorite game. Also, I really want Passepartout to get a leg over. I would be very happy with gen casefic in the style of the original, but I'll be thrilled if you can work in an embarrassing realization, a compromising situation, or even just Passepartout getting really exasperated with Monsieur in front of taken-aback witnesses, which for this pairing is the height of romance. (One of my most cherished mini-arcs is the one where Fogg makes him box. Also that one where mutiny sinks the airship, the polar expedition, and the one where Fogg sleepwalks. I have a lot of favorites, and the binding theme is exasperation.) Outsider-POV fic would be awesome, actually, if you have any interest in bringing back some of the side characters from the game; I've played it pretty exhaustively and don't mind Wikipediaing to refresh my memory of anyone you bring in. Otherwise, of course, Passepartout's soothing, multiple-choice voice is a gift and a joy. I would loooooooove interactive fiction for this: I've dabbled a bit in writing parser IF and sustain very faint ambitions of Twine, but IF of any kind is a medium super dear to me. But, to be clear, I also am separately starved for fannish content for this canon, which feels so ripe for endless extrapolation and embroidery; whatever 80 Days story you want to tell, I'm there for it.
