Yuletide 2015 Letter

[straightforwardly]

Dearest Writer,

Hello! Thank you in advance for planning to write a story for me. ♥ I’m super excited about all of the fandoms that I’m requesting, and am really looking forward to whatever you might come up with! Some of these fandoms are new to me, while others are things that I’ve loved for a while now, but all are near to my heart in some way or form.

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.

AO3 Handle: straightforwardly
Previous Letters: 2013, 2014

General Likes & Dislikes

Likes	Dislikes
quiet &/or subtle romances friendship exploring the relationships between characters love expressed without saying "I love you" canon divergences canon settings hand holding huddling for warmth/trapped together scenarios	porn without plot / sex scenes for the sake of sex scenes graphic violence— though canon-typical violence is fine. eye injuries unhappy/hopeless-feeling endings* kid!fic, crack!fic, and complete AUs zombies character bashing characters being humiliated character death (of requested characters)

*I realize that this might seem contradictory with some of my requests, so I’m going to expand on this a little bit. When I say that I dislike unhappy endings, what I mostly mean is that I dislike endings that leave me feeling utterly drained, defeated, and hopeless. Even if bad things happen, I do want there to be a spark of hope left for the characters, and I don’t want to be left feeling exhausted. So if I request a dark scenario, you certainly don’t have to twist the story or otherwise slap on a generically happy ending— just leave me enough room to have that small bit of hope.

That being said, I do generally prefer unambiguously happy endings in exchange fics, so if you’re not writing specifically from one of the darker scenarios that I prompt, then you might want to stick to that.

Cousin Kate - Georgette Heyer

Requested Characters: Philip, Kate, & Torquil
Canon: A gothic regency romance novel by Georgette Heyer.

I read this book for the first time recently, and before I was even halfway through it, I was already thinking, okay, I really need to request this for Yuletide. I found Kate so endearing, Torquil intriguing, and Philip’s relationships with both of them (as well as the relationship between Kate and Torquil) so compelling, that I couldn’t help but want more about these three.

In regards to pairings: I’m equally interested in Philip/Kate+Torquil, Philip/Kate/Torquil, and gen with Philip & Torquil and Kate & Torquil.

I’m particularly interested in canon divergences that take place at the end of the novel, whether it’s a fix-it fic, or a make-it-worse fic disguised as a fix-it fic. What if Kate’s aunt hadn’t died? Or, what if she had, but under different circumstances? (When I first read that scene, I’d initially thought that she’d died of natural causes, since she had just had that stroke, so you can run with that, if you wish.) At one point, Philip’s outlines a plan for what he’s planning to do to look after Torquil once Sir Timothy dies. What if that situation actually came about? Does it go well, and they live happily (or, as happily as is realistically possible, considering the circumstances) together? Or does it devolve into some sort of unhealthy/codependent mess? Both scenarios would make me stupidly happy!

Looking back, I realize that some of these scenarios seem rather broad, so I’d like to state that you don’t have to write about the set-up/divergence if you don’t want to. I’d be absolutely delighted with small moments that occur after those divergences as well.

That being said, there is one thing that I absolutely do not want to see: I’d rather you not write anything where Kate’s aunt succeeds in her plans. Specifically, I don’t want to see Kate being forced to marry Torquil/have his kid, nor do I want Torquil being shuttered off somewhere. I’d also rather not receive something set post-canon, particularly if it lingers on Torquil’s death.

Lady of Quality - Georgette Heyer

Requested Characters: Ninian, Lucilla
Canon: A regency romance novel by Georgette Heyer.

Ninian and Lucilla’s relationship charmed me almost instantly— the moment they started bickering with one another, it was love. I love how well they know each other, and how they’re such an established presence in one another’s lives. I must confess that I do ship them pretty hard, and would love to receive shippy fic for them. If that’s not to your taste, however, then I would also be happy to see gennish shenanigans. As long as their relationship remains the focus, I’ll be happy!

There are a few scenarios that I’d be particularly happy to see. How would a post-canon get-together fic work? I feel like canon does hint at Ninian having some feelings for Lucilla during the novel’s timeframe; is that actually the case, and, if so, is he aware of it? What about Lucilla?

When I was first writing out this prompt, I was thinking about it in terms of them getting together when they're young/not that long after Lucilla comes out, but it occurs to me that a fic where Lucilla takes a more Annis-like path (i.e., rejecting plenty of suitors because they don't feel right until she’s in her late twenties/early thirties), while Ninian's at her side all the while could also really work for me. In this scenario, I can’t decide if a gradual or a sudden realization of their feelings would make me happier, so feel free to go with either!

Or, show me a canon divergence! What if Lucilla never got the chance to run away, or never ran into Annis, and they ended up being unable to avoid their marriage? Show me how their feelings develop— or, if you want to do a gen take, show me how they manage to take a bad situation, and make it better! In either scenario, one thing that I’d particularly like to see is Ninian managing to stand up to his family at some point, like he did in canon.

Finally, I don’t really have any specific prompts for gennish shenanigans, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want it! Feel free to throw them into all sorts of ridiculous situations, though I do ask that you note my humiliation squick. I haven’t read many Heyer novels yet, but I’ve noticed that she’s quite good at FUN ADVENTURES (The Talisman Ring, and the end of A Convenient Marriage come to mind as good examples of this), and I’d love to see Ninian and Lucilla have their own FUN ADVENTURE. (And, for some reason, pirates and THE HIGH SEAS popped into my mind when I was writing that, though that isn’t the type of adventures that I was meaning. Feel free to take that as a prompt and run with it, though!)

You can also throw them into ridiculous shenanigans in a ship!fic too, if you so desire! I really like their canon interactions, and don’t necessarily want that to change just because they fall in love.

Shall We Date? The Niflheim

Requested Characters: TECHNICALLY Sunny and Isabella, but I’d be happy with almost everyone in the tagset. (Specifically, Isabella, Sunny, Philippe, J.J., and Jean)
Canon: A free-to-play visual novel/otome game on the cellphone (yes, I know). A trailer for it can be found here. (I promise that the game has better font choices).

I’m familiar with nearly all of the main routes (though not quite all of the endings), and most of the event stories. If you want to reference something that happened in one of the temporary Grace Point event stories, feel free to do so. I remember the Lovesickness Event and onwards best, though I did read through the Grace Point event that happened before it.

I am stupidly in love with this game, and would love to see almost anything about it. There are so many things that you can go with! A short version of things I’d like to see includes: Canon divergence AUs at almost any point (pre-game, canon routes, and event routes are all game)! A strange diseases (a la Lovesickness, though I’d prefer to not have that particular one being used) appears! A dark take on any of the concepts that appear in the game. Anything that explores the weirdness of Niflhiem (J.J. could be good for this, though Sunny/Isabella+weirdness could also be excellent)!

One thing that I’d love to see is Sunny/Isabella. I think that Sunny is the BEST, and find her relationship with Isabella utterly charming. I especially love how Isabella clearly cares about and thinks well of her. How would a Sunny route work? I’d be up for almost anything about these two, to be honest. Do they get sucked into a novel together a la Philippe’s Halloween event? Anything with Sunny/Isabella+Niflheim would leave me absolutely delighted!

I also really love Philippe— he’s probably my favorite LI, if I’m perfectly honest. The concept of a human being alive in Niflheim really intrigues me, and I’d love to see anything about the time he spent there before Isabella awoke— especially if it involves his relationship with J.J. or Orlando. After all, a thousand years is a really long time. How did he fill it? I’d also like to see what he does on routes where Isabella romances someone else. He seems to handle it really graciously (he supports her in what I’ve seen of Skeletiano’s route, and writes a book of love poems about her & Jean as a gift for her in Jean’s route, despite mentioning in his own route that he found the idea of doing something similar painful), and I’d prefer it if you kept to that interpretation. How is the problem of him being alive resolved in the other routes? I doubt that the ghosts will stay away forever…

I haven’t gotten around to playing J.J.’s route yet (though I do plan to go through it before fics are due), but I’m incredibly charmed by what I’ve seen of him and his relationship with Isabella in the event stories. One thing that I’m fond of in regards to his events is that he seems to explore more of the strangeness of the setting, which is something that I’m particularly interested in. I’m also a big fan of his Does Not Compute reaction to feelings, and how he reacts to new experiences. If you wanted to write a fluffy J.J./Isabella fic, then I am all here for that!

I do have a massive zombie squick (which is the main reason why I initially avoided his route), so I do ask that you please don’t linger on him being a zombie/what that means. If you absolutely must mention it, that’s fine, but please be brief, and don’t give any details.

With Jean, I’m particularly interested in his pre-game life. Show me anything about how he— and Niflheim— have changed over the years, or how he and Leo met (or any of his interactions with Leo, honestly), or any moment during his relationship with Orlando (though I’d rather not get a how-they-met fic for those two). I find his connection with Niflheim itself fascinating, and would love anything that deals with that.

You don’t need to limit yourself to the nominated characters, either— I only had so much space for nominations, and so went with my favorites AND I JUST REALIZED THAT I WASN’T THE ONLY ONE TO NOM THIS, what a miracle ♥— but there are other characters (particularly Orlando— and okay, Black Cherry Diamond too, because CATS) that I’d love to see fic about as well.

I should mention that I’m not a big fan of how the game handles jealousy and possessiveness, and would prefer if any fic that I receive not linger on those details. (Unless you decide to write an Orlando pairing, in which case I am fine with possessiveness, but only if it’s not treated as being fluffy and sweet. That is, the LI can be fine with it, but I’d prefer if the narrative didn’t treat it as uncomplicated fluff, if that makes sense.) (...And now that I wrote that, I realized that I’d be all for darkly possessive and/or co-dependent Orlando/Jean, especially if it’s set and/or starts in pre-game, so feel free to write that if you so desire!)

Some pairings I’d be interested in seeing include Sunny/Isabella, Philippe/Isabella, Jean/Orlando, and Isabella/any LI except for Victor and Skeletiano. In general, I’m pretty open when it comes to pairings in this game— my only hard Do Not Wants are Victor/Sunny, Victor/Isabella, Skeletiano/Isabella, and Philippe/anyone-but-Isabella.

I’d also be incredibly happy with gen! I’m particularly interested in Isabella & Sunny, Philippe & Orlando, Orlando & Jean, and J.J. in general (whether by himself or bouncing off of Philippe or Skeletiano). Basically, I just love these characters, and love this world, and would be incredibly happy to see more about it.

Star Stealing Prince

Requested Characters: Erio, Astra
Canon: An incredibly charming, sometimes dark, and 100% free (and fairly short!) RPG that personally runs me about 10-11 hours of playtime. (An alternate download link can also be found here.)

I did request this game and these characters for the Trick-Or-Treat Exchange this year, but even if I do get fic for that exchange, I’d still love to see more!

I ship Erio/Astra so incredibly hard; I can’t even properly express how much I love them. What draws me to them is the deep bond they share, and how they clearly care immensely about one another. I love the mutual concern that they show for one another. I love Erio’s devotion to her and how he pushes himself for her sake, and I love how she defends him in return. (Context for that last link.) And, okay, I admit that the fact that Erio’s feelings for Astra are canon (and that he & Snowe later even have a lengthy conversation about it!) makes me stupidly, ridiculously happy.

Any of the Erio-and-Astra focused prompts from my Trick-Or-Treat letter (linked above) are still game, but one I’d be particularly interested in seeing for this exchange is a divergence during chapter six, when “paradise” falls. What if Erio hadn’t managed to get help from his sister? I would want him to be able to save Astra, like he planned, but what happens next? What does this outcome it mean for their fate (and that of all of Sabine), since the only person who could take down the stars died? This has the potential of becoming quite dark, which is fine, as long as you don’t kill off Erio or Astra (...or Hiante, though I’m not sure if he can really “die”, so to speak).

Something set post-canon would also be excellent! I’d love fic set during their journey to the mainland, though something written whenever they reach their new home would also be excellent! Get-together fic would make me SO HAPPY, you have no idea. Erio makes it clear in his conversation with Snowe that he doesn’t intend to pursue his feelings, so I’d absolutely adore anything where it’s Astra that pursues the relationship. I’d especially love it if his being a demon doesn’t bother her at all, since I feel like that’ll be the most true to her canon interactions with him. (...And because that scenario hits my id hard. I’LL ADMIT IT.)

I’m also incredibly fond of Hiante’s relationships with Erio and Astra, so I’d be more than happy to see him appear in the fic, if you so desire. That being said, I’d rather he not be super disapproving of a relationship between them, if his feelings about on the subject have to be mentioned at all.

I only recently became aware of the existence of the sequel novels, so I feel like I should mention that I have not read the sequel novels, nor do I intend to. Please don’t include any canon from those, whether it’s the events or canon details. It’s the game that I love, so I’d prefer that any fic I receive be based solely on that.

And that’s that! Hopefully, I’ve managed to inspire you in some way. ♥ Good luck, and happy writing!