Dear Writer: Press_Start 2015

[straightforwardly]

Dear Press_Start Writer,

Hello, it’s great to (kind of) meet you! I’m super excited about this exchange, and am really looking forward to whatever you might write for me!

The most important thing that I should mention before I hit my likes/dislikes and canon-specific details is that I do believe that optional details are optional. I would definitely prefer it if you paid attention to my do-not-wants, but otherwise, I don’t want to restrain you. Any comments, suggestions, or prompts that I leave are simply meant to inspire.

Finally, for anyone who might be looking at this letter: This letter contains major spoilers for all the games I cover in it. So proceed with caution when it comes to the games that you’re not familiar with.

General Likes & Dislikes

Likes	Dislikes
subtle romances character studies friendship happy endings exploring the relationships between characters plot love expressed without saying "I love you"	porn without plot / sex scenes for the sake of sex scenes graphic violence & grotesque imagery characters being humiliated character bashing unhappy endings crack!fic kid!fic complete AUs

Bastion

Requested Characters: The Kid, Zia, & Zulf

I played this game for the first time this year, and was incredibly charmed by it. My favorite character is easily Zulf, but there’s not a single character that I dislike in this game, and I adore all of the characters that I requested. My main focus in this game isn’t pairings (though I do admit to a soft spot for The Kid/Zia— I blame the bit where Rucks mentions that she left the harp in hopes that he’d follow), but I don’t mind if you want to pair these characters up, as long as it doesn’t end up being trope-y romance and/or porn.*

Rucks can, of course, play a role in whatever fic you write— considering the setting / plot, it’d be a bit odd if he completely vanished— but I’d prefer for the focus to remain on Zulf, Zia, and The Kid.

As I mentioned above, Zulf’s my favorite character. I couldn’t explain why— I just immediately fell for him, and only grew to like him more as the game went on. For me, that choice about what to do with him at the end of the game is no choice at all— I could never fathom leaving him behind. One thing that struck me was that he was such an avid advocate for peace before the Calamity; I think it explains quite a bit about his reaction when he discovers the truth behind what happened.

I find his relationships with both Zia and The Kid to be incredibly compelling. I had already been enjoying their relationships before his betrayal, but the way he exhibited concern for both of them even when he’s wrapped up in his bitterness and anger was icing on the cake— it just hit so many of the right buttons for me.

It’s both interesting and rather depressing that Zia’s so adamantly against the Restoration. (You know your life is bad when living in a post-apocalyptic world is the happiest you’ve ever been.) I love the moments where she doesn’t act in a way that’s “usual”, such as when her reaction to her entire world falling apart was to just… sit there and play music, or when she decided that raising a baby Anklegator was a great idea. (Possibly irrelevant side-note: I loved that Anklegator; it was possibly my favorite of the pets.)

Most of my interest in The Kid himself (outside of his relationship with Zulf and Zia, of course) is on a more meta level. He’s the character that the player controls, and is arguably the main character of the game, but… we never really get to know him in his own words. Rucks tells us that he’s not much one for words, and spells out his backstory for us, but we as the player never actually hears him speak for himself. The same is true for Zulf, of course, but it’s not quite the same thing.

There are a few things I’d like to see a fic of. One is the initial bonding that occurs between the characters! In-game, pretty much all the information we get if that they all grew closer over time. Tell me about specific moments that occurred. Show me The Kid practicing with new weapons, Zia playing her music for them, Zulf sharing his knowledge. You can write about a single moment, or show me a series of moments— whichever you’re inspired for!

I’d also like to see something set post-Evacuation Ending! This is clearly the Happy Ending for Zia, but I don’t think it’s quite as clear-cut for Zulf— and who knows what The Kid thinks about it. I’d love to see Zulf starting to heal, and I’d especially love to see how Zia and The Kid facilitate the process.

While I’m generally not too interested in the Restoration Ending, there is at least one idea that I’d love to see. What if, after the Restoration, they start to have vague memories of the Calamity? I’d love to watch these three (or four, if you want Rucks to play a role) trying to figure out what it is that they’re seeing/remembering, and slowly being drawn together by those fragmented memories.

Or write me something else entirely! While the ideas I mentioned are all ones that I know appeal to me, that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t enjoy something else! It could simply be that I just didn’t think of it. What I mostly want from this is Zulf, Zia, and The Kid interacting and having a strong bond; as long as I get that, I’ll be pretty pleased with just about anything.

* (Not to disparage on trope-y romance— I do enjoy it, but it’s just not what I want from this exchange in general and this fandom in particular.)

Bravely Default

Requested Characters: Edea, Ringabel

This game ate me alive in the best possible way this year. I’ve clocked over a hundred hours, and I’m still not tired of it. The characters are probably the biggest draw for me, which made deciding on which ones to request quite difficult— I could honestly do a whole exchange on this game alone, and still not have enough slots for everything I’m interested in seeing.

I chose to request Edea and Ringabel because they’re both my absolute favorite characters (which is no small feat in this game) and because I also ship the hell out of them. That being said, you don’t need to write them as a pairing if you’re not so inclined. I just really like the relationship between them in general; as long as they’re close to one another, I’ll still be super happy.

Edea’s probably the biggest reason why I never got tired of this game, even at its most repetitive. I loved, loved, loved her character arc, and her reactions to fighting most of the bosses never failed to make me wibble. It always struck me that she’s had to killed people she loved (in some cases multiple times!), and I wish that the game had delved more into what effect that had on her. The closest we got was that mini-breakdown she had in front of Tiz after their first battle with Airy, and while I really enjoyed it, I still wished we’d gotten to see more hints of how it must have been affecting her throughout the actual game.

The contrast between Ringabel and Alternis fascinates me, especially in regards to the implications it has about memory and the effect that one’s life experiences has on one’s personality. They’re almost nothing alike— and yet, they’re the same person. On a similar note, I definitely appreciated the way Ringabel melds his two personalities after he gets his memories back, instead of reverting back to Alternis’ personality or remaining exactly the same. (Side-note: I’m not crazy about Ringabel’s more… lecherous side, so I’d prefer it if you didn’t focus overmuch on that.)

There’s so much fic I’d like to see about the two of them. What about Edea’s younger years? Anything about her interacting with Kamiizumi, Einheria, and/or her version of Alternis in the years before the game starts would be lovely. (That being said, I really don’t want fic that stars them as children. Young teenagers at the absolute youngest, please.)

I’d also, of course, love to see something with Ringabel and Edea set during the game itself, whether it’s before or after he gets his memories back. Show me a moment where they grow closer, or where one finds themselves relying on the other for some emotional support. (This could tie in really well with the whole “Edea has to kill the people she loves” thing, though it could also work with the increasing desperation/hopelessness they might feel as they go through world after world, with [presumably] no end in sight.)

I’d also like something set post-game! I felt like the ending was a bit unclear, but it kind of looked like Ringabel went back to the world he came from, instead of the one the rest of the cast were from? This… honestly makes me pretty sad, as it was the Edea and Ringabel that went through all the worlds together whose relationship I fell in love with, and I’m strongly opposed to the idea that alternate versions of a character can replace another version.

So give me a post-game where Ringabel did return to the world where Tiz, Edea, and Agnès came from! How do they heal after their journey, and how does he fit himself into their (and, specifically, Edea’s) lives? Or maybe show me the conversation where the others convince him to come back with them.

What if they made a different choice in chapter six / the third world? I’m referring to the offer that Sage Yulyana made to them, for them to stay. It could be just Edea and Ringabel who stay, or all four of them. How does Edea and Ringabel’s relationship develop? How about their relationships with Braev and Mahzer Lee? If you go this route, I’d really like there to be at least a little dissonance between the people they knew in their original worlds, and the ones here. Like I said above, I don’t think that alternate versions of a character can replace another version, like Yulyana seemed to be suggesting, and I think that there would be moments where it’s clear that these are not the exact same people they knew. With this prompt, I don’t need— or want— it to be an angst-fest, but nor do I want it to be happy-fluffy bunnies all the time. Rather, I’d prefer it to be at least a little bittersweet.

This section got ridiculously long, so I’m going to wrap it up here. Basically, I really love these two, and enjoy the hell out of their relationship with one another. It would be quite difficult for you to write me something about them that I didn’t enjoy.

Final Fantasy IV

Requested Characters: Cecil, Edward, & Rydia

It’s been a couple of years since I played this game, but I knew that I absolutely had to request these three the moment I saw them in the tagset. I love these three both individually and as group, and desperately want more fic that deals with their relationships with one another.

(Before I forget, I should probably note now that I’ve never played The After Years, though I do intend to one day, so I’d greatly appreciate it if you avoided incorporating any details from that game into your fic. Thank you!)

I really love how all three of them are somewhat vulnerable in different ways when they first meet, and how they grow as they travel together. This is probably going to sound terrible, but… I really love that Cecil and Rydia meet when he (accidentally) kills her mother and the rest of her village? Her initial (and completely understandable) distrust of him, and the way she slowly warms up to him hits so many of the right buttons for me.

While I’m not so crazy about Edward’s Dead Girlfriend (well, fiancee— or was it wife? I don’t recall that part clearly) backstory, I do have a soft spot for how he’s not really a fighter / is a bit of a coward, and the ways in which he grows stronger while still retaining the best parts of his personality. And, of course, I love the role that Cecil and Rydia played in that growth, whether it was Rydia scolding him or watching him help Cecil + the others defeat the Dark Elf later in the game. (Have I mentioned how much I loved how essential he was to that boss battle? Because I really, really did.)

I mentioned above that one of the things that I enjoy is that they’re all vulnerable in different ways when they first meet, and I want to expand on that a little bit. I think Rydia and Edward’s cases are somewhat straightforward, but I think that perhaps Cecil’s is the least explicit in the game itself. I do think that there’s a case for it, though, between his having to deal with both accidentally aiding in the death / misery of many people, including the mother of one of his travel companions and with Rosa’s illness— and that’s on top of the general negativity that comes from being a dark knight.

There are two main ideas / settings that I’d really love to receive for this fandom.

The first is anything dealing with the in-game period where they’re all traveling together. I’d certainly prefer it if it was set in that spot of time when they were in the desert together and had no other party members, but ultimately I’d be fine with anything set before they were separated by the Leviathan for this particular request, as long as it focused on the three of them.

With this particular idea, I’d love anything that deals with them bonding. For some reason, I have a huge soft spot for what I think of as “campfire fics” (i.e., something set when / has a scene where they’ve settled down for the night, outside, while travelling) in fantasy RPGs, and this one is no exception. It can be a single moment between the three of them, or a series of moments, or even something with some sort of overarching plot!

For this particular request, I’d prefer that things stayed gen.

On a side-note, I really loved that Cecil was a dark knight, and while that I’ve come to accept that that was not a Good Thing in the in-game universe, I must confess that I was a bit disappointed when he became a paladin. (Though it helped that I was simultaneously amused by how BISHOUNEN he turned out to be.) ANYWAYS. What I mean to say by all this is, I definitely would not mind if you decided to deal with or even just include something about him being a dark knight and what that means.

I’d also really like something set post-game! Two things that really disappointed me in the later portion of the game is that one, Edward never really rejoined the party, and two, we didn’t (as far as I can recall) get any interaction between Edward and Rydia once she returned from the Feymarches. This has an obvious conclusion: show me Edward/Rydia reunions! Heck, show me all three of them (re)uniting post-game. How has their dynamic changed— and how has it stayed the same? What about Rydia now being an adult— how does that affect things? I just really want to see them interacting post-game. If you can entwine this with some sort of active plot, then that’s great! If you just want to write something that focuses primarily on the interactions / emotions between characters, that’s also great!

For this particular request, I’d be perfectly happy with both gen and romance, in pretty much any combination. That being said, one thing I emphatically do not want is for Rydia to be reduced to nothing but a cheerleader for an Edward/Cecil romance. Basically, regardless of pairing, I want the relationships between all of them to be treated with equal weight and importance. So, for example, if you were into Cecil/Rydia and wanted to write that, I’d be all for it, but I also want the Cecil+Edward and Rydia+Edward relationships to be treated with equal importance.

...It occurs to me that this entire request is basically a tl;dr way of saying, “I WANT ALL THREE OF THEM TO INTERACT”. But that’s pretty much just what I want, haha, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Basically, show me these three interacting, and treat both them and their relationships with one another with love and respect, and I should love pretty much anything you write for them.

And that’s that! I think I’ve said everything that needs to be said, so I won’t add too much more to this wall of text. Basically, I just want to reiterate that I am so super excited about this exchange, and am really looking forward to whatever you write me! Hopefully this letter has managed to help you. I know that I’ve certainly enjoyed writing it.