Dear Yuletide Writer 2010
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Thank you! Thank you for participating in Yuletide, thank you for writing for me, and thank you for reading this letter. Before we get started, there are two major points I'd like you to keep in mind.
1. None of the fandoms on my list is a gimme/consolation-prize fandom. Two of my fandoms are video-game fandoms, and two of them are book fandoms; I figured the book fandoms would be easier to match, and deliberately chose them to make the overall matching easier, but this doesn't mean I wouldn't be delighted to receive a fic for them! I'll be posting links to sources for my fandoms here, just for informational purposes, but please don't make that think you should feel obligated to switch fandoms to do something I "want more." If you matched me on it, I want it and I'll love it.
2. Above all else, I want you to write something you want to write. One of the great joys in Yuletide is writing in a rare fandom, and I want you to really enjoy the act of writing for me. To that end, please remember that all my optional details are optional! I've listed specific likes and dislikes under the individual fandoms, and I'd appreciate it if you paid attention to that, but at the end of the day, what I really want from my Yuletide story is something crafted with joy and love for our shared rare fandom. If that means writing completely off my prompt, I don't mind at all.
With that out of the way, here are some general notes about my taste in fic:
Likes: Gen, whether plot-based or just slice-of-life; I'm not a huge fan of fluff or angst for their own sake, but low-key pieces that develop characters are great. Similarly, I like stories that develop settings -- tastes of everyday life in fantastic worlds, imaginary histories, that sort of thing. I enjoy fic set all along the time spectrum, from pre-canon events to fill-in-the-holes to post-canon. I enjoy happy endings, and in general notes of hope and optimism are always appreciated.
Dislikes: PWP/excessively mechanical porn; I prefer that porn be used as a tool to develop the characters involved and their relationship with one another, and therefore "$character did $sexact to $othercharacter all night long hooo baby" exercises don't do much for me. For similar reasons, I don't like crack pairings, and in general I'm not fond of crack or excessive AU-ing. ("What if?"s based on canon are great, but "what if they were all in high school/in a band/in a weyr on Pern/generally not actually in their canon" AUs just don't work for me.) I also don't like character-bashing exercises or excessively downbeat endings.
Squicks: Incest, rape (I respect that this can be used as a legitimate plot element and isn't automatically fetish fuel, but I still would rather not read about it, sorry!), hatesex, porn involving excessive or non-sexual bodily byproducts (a bit of spit here and there is fine, but please no bloodplay, watersports, scat, truly ludicrous amounts of sexual fluids, etc.), underage sex (below about 15-16 or so), pairings involving heavy power inequality or abuse of privilege (teacher/student and what have you), heavy BDSM
And here are my individual prompts and notes:
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey / Any Character, Gen
Request: I'm open to anything in this fandom, but I'm most interested in characters other than the Main Character and the three alignment NPCs. The Schwarzwelt is a deeply strange place, both for its human explorers and its demon inhabitants, and I'd love to see more of it from minor characters' perspectives. As of the time of this request, I have only beaten the Neutral path, so please, no spoilers for the Chaos or Law endings.
Like I mentioned in the request, I'm most interested in stuff about minor characters and the setting itself. That doesn't mean I'm opposed to stuff about the MC and the alignment NPCs (Zelenin, Jimenez, and Gore), though; certainly, there are a lot of interesting depths there to be explored. This is a fascinating game with a lot of depths, so explore the part you'd like to.
As the tag implies, I would prefer gen here. If you really burn to write a pairing, though, feel free.
Unfortunately, it's hard to source SMT:SJ, since it's a video game. A quick YouTube search revealed nothing terribly relevant, but there may be gameplay videos out there somewhere.
Metamorphoses - Ovid / Iphis, Any Rating
Request: The story of Iphis and Ianthe has always fascinated me, and I'd really like another perspective on it. What was Iphis's like before his transformation (awkward, fearing for his life, no doubt figuring out his own identity) and afterward? Was Ianthe aware of her beloved's biological sex, and what did she think about it? It's such a broadly-sketched story, but there's so much potential depth there, and I'd love to see it.
The request says it, for the most part. What interests me about the story of Iphis and Ianthe is that it's a surprisingly delicate, character-based story and deals with some very relatable issues to the modern reader. I'd love it if someone could fill in the gaps and take a closer look at the characters.
Iphis himself is obviously the focal character here, and he's also the most complicated. The text itself doesn't seem to be clear on his gender identity, beyond his considering his love for Ianthe unnatural because they're both (biologically) female. It's hard not to conclude that Iphis is genderqueer on some level, but it's pretty open as to whether or not he's a full transman, and it's something I'd like to explore. Besides that, what must his childhood have been like, walking the fine line of male presentation to avoid his father's wrath? It can't have been an easy time growing up, even before the issue of marriage arose.
Unfortunately, Ianthe wasn't an option on the characters list, or I'd have included her too; she's the other half of this love story, and I'm interested to hear things from her perspective, too. Ovid suggests she has no idea about Iphis's biological sex, but they practically grew up together, so maybe she knows more than she lets on. Maybe she cares, and maybe she doesn't. I'd certainly like to see her fleshed out beyond "love interest."
Metamorphoses is in the public domain, so it's pretty easy to source. The full text of the Garth translation is available here, with Iphis and Ianthe's story appearing in the ninth book.
Le città invisibili | Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino / Any Character, Gen
Request: I'd really like a sketch of a city in the style of the novel. It doesn't necessarily have to be from the perspective of Marco Polo (although that's fine), and you don't have to do a perfect stylistic copy of Calvino, but I'd really love something in the spirit of this fascinating work.
I really enjoy explorations of settings, and I enjoy imaginary travelogues, so something in the style of Invisible Cities is right up my alley. Like I said in the prompt, don't feel obliged to perfectly style-match Calvino or use the Marc Polo / Kublai Khan setup. All I really want is a fresh "invisible city."
Obviously, this is going to be a gen prompt more or less by definition.
Mother 3 / Any Character, Any Rating
Request: The only thing I would rather not read in this fandom is underage sex, and the Lucas/Claus pairing is not my cup of tea, but otherwise, any Mother 3 fic would be wonderful! I particularly like Duster and Kumatora (as a couple, as friends, or just individually), Wes, the Magypsies, and the Nowhere Islands plot and setting as a whole.
Last year, I specifically asked for Duster and Kumatora-centric fic; this year, I'm broadening my request a bit, because I'd really love to read anything in the M3 fandom. (As the request mentions, I'm really not into Lucas/Claus as a pairing, but I'm certainly not opposed to the characters themselves -- that said, they get a lot of love in the fandom as stands, and I'd prefer someone else as my focal point.)
When it comes to Mother 3, I really am easy. Obviously, I have a special fondness for Duster and Kumatora (together or separately), but I also love the Tazmily villagers, the Magypsies, the Pig Army... setting/plot explorations and character pieces are all good. Seriously, go nuts.
The obvious online resource for Mother 3 is Starmen.net's portal on the subject, which has a walkthrough and a fair number of useful links. That said, if for some reason you're looking for more insights as to my fanfic preferences, there's also my DYR letter from last year, whose Mother 3 section includes several paragraphs of dissertation about why I like the D/K pairing and why Duster isn't an old man and such.
Anyway. On with it.
In closing, thank you once again, dear Yuletide writer -- for reading through all of my ramblings, and for participating in the exchange. I hope you have a great time writing for Yuletide this year, whether it's for me or for others, and that your generosity is returned with an awesome gift fic of your own. Happy Yuletiding!
Yours in ridiculous seasonal fic exchanges,
Wasuremono
Thank you! Thank you for participating in Yuletide, thank you for writing for me, and thank you for reading this letter. Before we get started, there are two major points I'd like you to keep in mind.
1. None of the fandoms on my list is a gimme/consolation-prize fandom. Two of my fandoms are video-game fandoms, and two of them are book fandoms; I figured the book fandoms would be easier to match, and deliberately chose them to make the overall matching easier, but this doesn't mean I wouldn't be delighted to receive a fic for them! I'll be posting links to sources for my fandoms here, just for informational purposes, but please don't make that think you should feel obligated to switch fandoms to do something I "want more." If you matched me on it, I want it and I'll love it.
2. Above all else, I want you to write something you want to write. One of the great joys in Yuletide is writing in a rare fandom, and I want you to really enjoy the act of writing for me. To that end, please remember that all my optional details are optional! I've listed specific likes and dislikes under the individual fandoms, and I'd appreciate it if you paid attention to that, but at the end of the day, what I really want from my Yuletide story is something crafted with joy and love for our shared rare fandom. If that means writing completely off my prompt, I don't mind at all.
With that out of the way, here are some general notes about my taste in fic:
Likes: Gen, whether plot-based or just slice-of-life; I'm not a huge fan of fluff or angst for their own sake, but low-key pieces that develop characters are great. Similarly, I like stories that develop settings -- tastes of everyday life in fantastic worlds, imaginary histories, that sort of thing. I enjoy fic set all along the time spectrum, from pre-canon events to fill-in-the-holes to post-canon. I enjoy happy endings, and in general notes of hope and optimism are always appreciated.
Dislikes: PWP/excessively mechanical porn; I prefer that porn be used as a tool to develop the characters involved and their relationship with one another, and therefore "$character did $sexact to $othercharacter all night long hooo baby" exercises don't do much for me. For similar reasons, I don't like crack pairings, and in general I'm not fond of crack or excessive AU-ing. ("What if?"s based on canon are great, but "what if they were all in high school/in a band/in a weyr on Pern/generally not actually in their canon" AUs just don't work for me.) I also don't like character-bashing exercises or excessively downbeat endings.
Squicks: Incest, rape (I respect that this can be used as a legitimate plot element and isn't automatically fetish fuel, but I still would rather not read about it, sorry!), hatesex, porn involving excessive or non-sexual bodily byproducts (a bit of spit here and there is fine, but please no bloodplay, watersports, scat, truly ludicrous amounts of sexual fluids, etc.), underage sex (below about 15-16 or so), pairings involving heavy power inequality or abuse of privilege (teacher/student and what have you), heavy BDSM
And here are my individual prompts and notes:
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey / Any Character, Gen
Request: I'm open to anything in this fandom, but I'm most interested in characters other than the Main Character and the three alignment NPCs. The Schwarzwelt is a deeply strange place, both for its human explorers and its demon inhabitants, and I'd love to see more of it from minor characters' perspectives. As of the time of this request, I have only beaten the Neutral path, so please, no spoilers for the Chaos or Law endings.
Like I mentioned in the request, I'm most interested in stuff about minor characters and the setting itself. That doesn't mean I'm opposed to stuff about the MC and the alignment NPCs (Zelenin, Jimenez, and Gore), though; certainly, there are a lot of interesting depths there to be explored. This is a fascinating game with a lot of depths, so explore the part you'd like to.
As the tag implies, I would prefer gen here. If you really burn to write a pairing, though, feel free.
Unfortunately, it's hard to source SMT:SJ, since it's a video game. A quick YouTube search revealed nothing terribly relevant, but there may be gameplay videos out there somewhere.
Metamorphoses - Ovid / Iphis, Any Rating
Request: The story of Iphis and Ianthe has always fascinated me, and I'd really like another perspective on it. What was Iphis's like before his transformation (awkward, fearing for his life, no doubt figuring out his own identity) and afterward? Was Ianthe aware of her beloved's biological sex, and what did she think about it? It's such a broadly-sketched story, but there's so much potential depth there, and I'd love to see it.
The request says it, for the most part. What interests me about the story of Iphis and Ianthe is that it's a surprisingly delicate, character-based story and deals with some very relatable issues to the modern reader. I'd love it if someone could fill in the gaps and take a closer look at the characters.
Iphis himself is obviously the focal character here, and he's also the most complicated. The text itself doesn't seem to be clear on his gender identity, beyond his considering his love for Ianthe unnatural because they're both (biologically) female. It's hard not to conclude that Iphis is genderqueer on some level, but it's pretty open as to whether or not he's a full transman, and it's something I'd like to explore. Besides that, what must his childhood have been like, walking the fine line of male presentation to avoid his father's wrath? It can't have been an easy time growing up, even before the issue of marriage arose.
Unfortunately, Ianthe wasn't an option on the characters list, or I'd have included her too; she's the other half of this love story, and I'm interested to hear things from her perspective, too. Ovid suggests she has no idea about Iphis's biological sex, but they practically grew up together, so maybe she knows more than she lets on. Maybe she cares, and maybe she doesn't. I'd certainly like to see her fleshed out beyond "love interest."
Metamorphoses is in the public domain, so it's pretty easy to source. The full text of the Garth translation is available here, with Iphis and Ianthe's story appearing in the ninth book.
Le città invisibili | Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino / Any Character, Gen
Request: I'd really like a sketch of a city in the style of the novel. It doesn't necessarily have to be from the perspective of Marco Polo (although that's fine), and you don't have to do a perfect stylistic copy of Calvino, but I'd really love something in the spirit of this fascinating work.
I really enjoy explorations of settings, and I enjoy imaginary travelogues, so something in the style of Invisible Cities is right up my alley. Like I said in the prompt, don't feel obliged to perfectly style-match Calvino or use the Marc Polo / Kublai Khan setup. All I really want is a fresh "invisible city."
Obviously, this is going to be a gen prompt more or less by definition.
Mother 3 / Any Character, Any Rating
Request: The only thing I would rather not read in this fandom is underage sex, and the Lucas/Claus pairing is not my cup of tea, but otherwise, any Mother 3 fic would be wonderful! I particularly like Duster and Kumatora (as a couple, as friends, or just individually), Wes, the Magypsies, and the Nowhere Islands plot and setting as a whole.
Last year, I specifically asked for Duster and Kumatora-centric fic; this year, I'm broadening my request a bit, because I'd really love to read anything in the M3 fandom. (As the request mentions, I'm really not into Lucas/Claus as a pairing, but I'm certainly not opposed to the characters themselves -- that said, they get a lot of love in the fandom as stands, and I'd prefer someone else as my focal point.)
When it comes to Mother 3, I really am easy. Obviously, I have a special fondness for Duster and Kumatora (together or separately), but I also love the Tazmily villagers, the Magypsies, the Pig Army... setting/plot explorations and character pieces are all good. Seriously, go nuts.
The obvious online resource for Mother 3 is Starmen.net's portal on the subject, which has a walkthrough and a fair number of useful links. That said, if for some reason you're looking for more insights as to my fanfic preferences, there's also my DYR letter from last year, whose Mother 3 section includes several paragraphs of dissertation about why I like the D/K pairing and why Duster isn't an old man and such.
Anyway. On with it.
In closing, thank you once again, dear Yuletide writer -- for reading through all of my ramblings, and for participating in the exchange. I hope you have a great time writing for Yuletide this year, whether it's for me or for others, and that your generosity is returned with an awesome gift fic of your own. Happy Yuletiding!
Yours in ridiculous seasonal fic exchanges,
Wasuremono