Dear Yuletide Author

[magicasen]

Dear Yuletide Author,

Thank you so much for writing for me! I'm really, really pumped to read whatever you have in mind!

Firstly, please don't feel limited at all by what's in this letter. I've listed why I like these canons/characters/relationships and provided prompts just because I wish I can be at least a little helpful with providing some inspiration for you. If the prompts don't work for you but something else does, take it wherever you want it to go! If you have fun and are satisfied with the end-product, I assure you that is enough to make me happy. I adore all of these canons, so moar fic for one of them is already enough to give me some holiday cheer!

Where to find me: magicasen @ AO3, einheriar @ tumblr. My journal is locked and I don't post on LJ anymore, so that's about the best you can do to stalk me - sorry!

Likes

• Every sort of relationship - romance, friendship, rivals, etc. I do have a super soft spot for a good familial relationship, especially if it's parent-child. Of course, the characters actually being related is secondary in importance.
• Genres: angst, fluff, humor, slice-of-life, action/adventure, pretty much anything excluding what's in my “dislikes” section!
• Some words describing emotions, impressions, or ideas I love in fic: wistfulness, bittersweetness, calm solitude, sharp and cutting, chilling, warm and fuzzy, gentle sweetness, quiet intensity, repression, idealism
• Backstory/missing scenes
• Character-focused stories
• Repression, when it has to do with not admitting very obvious but very shameful or painful things to themselves
• Alternatively, melodrama - tearful weeping! Messy, emotional mental breakdowns!
• On the other extreme, I also love sweet domesticity
• In general, I like when there are intense emotions but they're not said aloud or even necessarily acknowledged by the character themselves
• What the heck, if it's a canon where I state that I ship it, I'm totally up for porn if that's what calls to you.

Dislikes

• Infidelity
• Character death (I realize some of my requests involve dead characters, which is fine, especially with handwavey ghost interactions. I just don't want people dying on-screen, except for Tsukihime.)
• Rape/non-con
• Genres: Crack (silliness is fine! But not so much wtf-inducing humor)
• Alternate universes that are not canon-based (for want of a nail AUs? Awesome! Coffeeshops AUs? Not so much what I'm looking for right now.)
• Humiliation/embarrassment
• Crossovers
• If porn: nothing more kinky than, say, light bondage?

Heads up: spoilers for each of my requested fandoms below.

Fate/stay night (Visual Novel)
Archer, Emiya Kiritsugu

Sign-up details: If you haven't played the VN, Fate/Zero + Fate/stay night UBW anime knowledge should be enough!

I'd love to read about them meeting. I'm not sure if I'd like it more if only Archer knew Kiritsugu, or if both of them knew each other's identity. I'm also not sure if I'd like it more if this Archer was post-UBW or not. I think the answer is that as long as you explore the parallels, regrets, guilt, pain, and love between these two, I will be happy with any take on their possible meeting. With one caveat: please keep this request gen.
I hope you just went "...oh" at this request because Archer and Kiritsugu's relationship is one of the most compelling, fascinating, and downright heartbreaking relationships in the Fate/verse. And woefully unexplored, to boot. Archer only mentions Kiritsugu once in the VN, but us readers know that this is the man he admired and loved so much he followed his ideals straight into hell. And all Kiritsugu wanted was for Archer was to live fully and happily and not meet the same end he had to. The parallels! The idealistic heroes betrayed and shattered by the world itself!  I would say please break my heart, but I would also love some type of happy meeting between them, but then I realized that would be redundant because it'd break my heart regardless. I do ask that their relationship be kept strictly familial.

A few prompts:

• Kiritsugu summons Archer. How does Archer react? How does Archer hide his identity from Kiritsugu, how does he act towards the father he adores, and how does he push Kiritsugu into possibly different actions to save his past-self (or, alternatively, to let his younger self die)?
• Kiritsugu and Archer meet somewhere in the afterlife - maybe in Avalon? How does Kiritsugu figure out or not figure out Archer's identity? How does Kiritsugu react? (I'd say it's probably with crippling guilt.) How do they attempt to interact with each other when the last time they really were together, Archer was an innocent child? Does either of them feel like they failed the other? If in Avalon, maybe Irisviel and Illya are there as well! I'm very invested in the idea of Archer and Irisviel interacting - you know she'd love him, but she loves everyone.

Hajime no Ippo | Fighting Spirit
Miyata Ichirou

Sign-up details: I asked for MIyata alone because what I'd ask for most is for him to interact with almost any of the other boxers, and I couldn't pick which interactions I'd like the most! My favorite romantic ship for him is with Takamura (his little training camp with Takamura before Takamura's title match are some of my most reread chapters in the series!). I also really love him with Ippo, romantically or platonically, and how they mutually inspire each other like all good sports anime rival pairings.

The rest of the interactions I'd love, but with a more gen favor, please. His interactions with Sendo are absolutely hilarious, and I really like how their fighting styles are so different but not so diametically opposed as, say, Ippo and Miyata's. Miyata and Volg didn't interact in the series proper, but my most wanted spar would be between them, since they're both such technical, speedy, and absolutely terrifying to face boxers. Plus their personalities would be so cute to watch, because everything Volg does is adorable. Or what about Miyata and Sawamura, since the series makes a point of comparing their boxing styles so much, and they'd THROW DOWN.

I've read the manga up to chapter...1000 or so? I'm waiting for a good long break before I can read hundreds of chapters in a row, which seems to be the way to go with this series.

Miyata is one of my absolute favorite characters in this series, where I love everyone! I love the outboxer + counters + fragile fighting style he has, it makes for some really great tension in his matches. I love that he's a stubborn, hard-headed Determinator, and how much he wants to prove his fighting style, both for himself and for his father. I really like the series's treatment of his training and especially his issues with weight control. He's a distant person, but everytime he interacts with other boxers he's such gold?

A few prompts:

• MORE TRAINING CAMPS. I love, love, love the chapters with his training camp with Takamura, and how much they care about each other, how Takamura knows exactly how to motivate Miyata, and how Miyata notices things Takamura tries so hard to hide. In general, I really like all the training camp chapters, they're always so funny, and they always reveal something about the characters. I want more with this flavor!
• SPARS. I mean, in the series Ippo and Miyata would refuse to do this due to their promise, but what about with Sendo? Volg? Sawamura (in some AU where he didn't move up a weight class and retire?)
• I'd like to see Miyata go...well, out of the Pacific area and to somewhere else? For training, or an exhibition match? In general, I think the series could stand to move out from Japan since all the main cast are world-class boxers at this point.
• In general, I'd like to see less match-related stuff and more training-related stuff! Especially if they involve all the angst about weight control.

Tsukihime
Kohaku, Tohno Akiha

Sign-up details: I would really like post-canon fic. For the Near Side routes, Kohaku's (and by extension, Akiha's) fate is an unanswered burning question I have about the VN. SHIKI is gone, what now? I'm also interested in the answer for this in a post-Akiha's True End perspective, especially considering what happened to Shiki (please disregard the Kagetsu Tohya sidestory in this scenario). Post-Kohaku's True End, they have reached some understanding with each other, but there are years of things left unspoken between these two that they need to talk about; I would love to read this conversation. I do ship them, but as long their relationship is the main focus in the fic, I'm good!

I kind of wrote a ship manifesto on these two, so please feel free to peruse that. Also, don't feel obligated to have to write shipfic - their dynamic fascinates me regardless of romantic feelings or not. I love how obvious it is they really, truly care for each other, but I also love how painful being with each other is for them. I love how they lie to themselves and to each other about their relationship and how they feel about each other. I love how theoretically a very nice, long chat could have saved them both, but I also love how it would have been impossible for them because they both believed their relationship was broken to begin with. I also love, disregarding the sadness, how fucked up these two are, and how very little they care about themselves in comparison to others.

A few prompts:

• Post-Kohaku's True End: they had to have had a very long, in-depth, emotional conversation about where they stand with each other after the events of Kohaku's route. It was probably really painful and difficult, but it was one they've needed to have for years. I'd love you to show me how it would have played out.
• Post-Arcueid/Ciel's routes: What happened? Does Kohaku carry out her revenge? Kohaku's (and by extension, Akiha's) fate in the Near Side routes is the one burning question I have. Also, how does Hisui play a role here? I'm perfectly fine with unhappy endings, on that note - I wouldn't have requested these two if I wasn't prepared for tragedy.
• Post-Akiha's True End: Again, what happens? Akiha lost the love of her life (I would prefer you disregard the Kagetsu Tohya sidestory here) and SHIKI is gone. What does Kohaku do now? Does she feel too bad to do anything to Akiha at this point? Does she make up excuses to prevent herself, or does she pull through? I'd also love to see what you do with Hisui in this scenario, as well!
• I'd love porn for these two if you wanted to write that. Make it as vanilla or dirtybadwrong/kinky as you like - BDSM, bloodplay, knifeplay, torture - anything on the more violent side of kink except guro would be great!
• Hell, if you wanted to write really darkfic, by all means go ahead. These two have the potential to be incredibly fucked-up, so I actually wouldn't bat an eye at brutal murder or torture, to be honest. No rape though, please.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni | When the Seagulls Cry
Ushiromiya Eva; Ushiromiya Ange

Sign-up details: I'm okay with pretty much any fic, honestly! A more in-depth look at Eva post-Rokkenjima incident? A world where Bernkastel doesn't meddle with these two and they become a loving family? Maybe Ange teaches Eva magic! How about Ange-Beatrice and Eva-Beatrice interaction, maybe in the Sea of Fragments? Or Ange's thoughts on Eva after the events of EP8 (I'm okay if you want to fabricate some meeting between the two - it's Umineko, you can make it work!) Please keep this request gen.

Eva's such an driven character, and this isn't always a good thing for her or for anyone who interacts with. She knows what she wants, and everything she does is done with such intensity it's almost frightening. She admittedly came from a privileged position, but she still had to fight her way to where she is now, and used every resource she had, and learned/acquired ones she didn't. There's just so much to her character that I haven't even touched on, and I love all of it. I appreciate how the narrative doesn't sugarcoat her actions, and that's true in regards to all of Umineko's characters, who are all incredibly flawed but just as sympathetic. She's awful to Natsuhi, cruel to Rosa when they were young and Shannon now, and more. But she's also deeply in love with Hideyoshi (the most healthy relationship in Umineko, I'd say) and fiercely protective of George, but even that backfires on her.

Ange makes me cry. She's a very favorite character archetype of mine - hardened, cynical, bitter, scarily single-minded, driven to frustrating, self-destructive, suicidal levels...but also deeply emotional and brittle. I thought her story was one of the most powerful in the entire series. Anyway, I love her a lot, and am very much invested in her character!

Eva and Ange's relationship makes me weep. It's definitely a relationship of what could have beens - a lot of their suffering after Rokkenjima could have been alleviated so much if they'd had each other as support. *SHAKES FIST AT BERN* I do like how Ange learns more about Eva, and I love how even though Eva didn't love Ange at the end, she still was loyal enough to never disclose the truth of what happened on Rokkenjima for Ange's sake. I'm glad that both of them acknowledge the wrongs they did each other. Their reconciliation scene in EP8? There were so many tears running down my face. I'd be more than happy for you to tear my heart out even more or to try to mend the leftover wounds just a bit. Please keep their relationship gen!

A few prompts:

• Eva character-study post-Rokkenjima incident - her grief and isolation was only ever implied and inferred, so a more direct approach to showing it would probably crush me, but I'd love reading it.
• Eva-Ange cute times in a world without Bernkastel's meddling. Damn you, Bern. This could work particularly well as a Fragment that Bernkastel shows current Ange.
• How about Ange-Beatrice and Eva-Beatrice interaction?
• On that note, I'd love to read anything about Eva-Ange's relationship in the present time (1998). However, I wouldn't want any glossing over of how Eva treated her - it's true that Eva did offer her love to Ange, and it's also true that Ange's rejection crushed Eva, already reeling from losing her family, but that was...well, abuse.