Dear Yuletide Author 2022
Oct. 22nd, 2022 01:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moemachinaDear Yuletide Author,
Hi! Thanks for participating in this exchange! I love Yuletide. This letter has some brief suggestions for possible stories but feel free to disregard them. I am excited to give you free rein to go in any direction.
AO3 Name: moemachina
Treats warmly accepted.
Do Not Want (DNW): Unrequested romantic relationships. (However, it's totally fine to include canonical spouses or partners, such as Rosa or Holloway, as important and sympathetic characters. My prompts often allude to relationships between requested characters and their wider social network; if I mention an unrequested character by name in a prompt, it's okay to put them in a romantic/sexual relationship with a requested character.)
Otherwise: I'm not troubled by any violent or sexual subjects; feel free to go dark or kinky or gross. I'm also fine with radical AUs or canon divergence. Consider me opted-in to everything.
If I've requested more than one character, I'm cool with the characters being in a romantic relationship together. I'm also cool with the characters being in a non-romantic relationship! I like ships; I like gen.
Things I Like: Eccentric families; not-entirely-happy love stories; sardonic work spouses; pragmatic compromises under high duress; villains becoming infinitesimally less villainous; demonstrations of self-control; the arousing qualities of competence and empathy; and fuck-ups and the forgiveness of those fuck-ups.
Past Yuletide Letters:
2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2012 / 2013 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2019 / 2020
Below, I've listed some story ideas for all my prompts, but they are incredibly optional; feel free to ignore them and write me whatever!
Life: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese
I just re-watched the first season of this show, and I was newly struck by how, in the back half of the season, the show goes much harder on Charlie's strangeness and his unsettling demeanor, which is part Zen and part social awkwardness and also part artifice. He deliberately deflects and disorients his conversational opponents with a selective, strategic mask of smiling resistance. His partnership with Dani works, in part, because she immediately clocks him and refuses to engage in his passive-aggressive disguise. As partners, they're also very similar. Both of them keep all of their fury and addictions and trauma uneasily buried under meditative mindfulness (Charlie) or rigid dedication to work (Dani) -- until they inevitably pop their corks and do something self-destructive or obsessive. I love that Charlie trains all of his exhaustingly analytical attention on his stoic, close-mouthed partner, and I love that Dani is so protective and dedicated and loyal to her partner, immediately and intensely, despite her better judgment.
Feel free to focus on the whole series or just the first season, as you prefer. Dealer's choice!
Some possible ideas:
Cops In Cars Getting Coffee: Just a day in the life of two Los Angeles police detectives (or maybe one detective and one FBI agent), driving around and shooting the shit and eating fruit and arguing about the radio station and accidentally revealing their souls to one another.
Ohana Means Family: Charlie & Dani & Rachel & Ted, post-series and trying to pick up the pieces, together. How does their little household and partnership, so battered and stressed, hold together?
Plainclothes Detectives: The leader of an improv troupe has been murdered, and to find his killer, Dani and Charlie must go undercover as [checks hand] students in an improv class. How long does it take Dani to learn the power of "Yes, and..."? What surprising inner truths bubble up when one starts to mime?
It's AU Time, Baby: Dani is the framed cop who gets belatedly exonerated; Charlie is her reluctant and grudging by-the-books partner. Also, maybe they're on Mars or something.
Ogre Battle: Lanselot Tartaros, Lanselot Hamilton
I played Tactics Ogre for the first time this year, and the revelation in Chapter 4 down in the torture pit that LT and LH not only had history together but had real bad, eye-gouging history was like a revelation that reordered my very soul. Bloody Lans H, nearly broken but still spitting defiance at Tartaros, who is contemptuous and superior but also extending his opponent a grudging respect: "They are not the soldiers we are, you know." Plus all the chiming resonance between their philosophical conversation and what's actually happening to LH in a very real, physical sense. (Ah, to "reach beneath the suppurating flesh of this world and wrench out the source of its ailment," indeed!) I would like more about that intimately intense relationship, either before, during, or after the game. I played the PSP edition of the game, but feel free to use the original SNES flavor or whatever is going on in the Reborn remaster, and you're welcome to incorporate material from Knight of Lodis or the CODA stuff. Obviously, all routes and endings are fair game.
Some possible ideas:
Lovers to Enemies: Lans H, respected paladin, just loves hanging out with his new best friend with a suspiciously vague background. Wait, what's that? The kingdom's magic sword is missing??? Oh no!
Enemies to Lovers: It's AU Time, baby! Everyone lives; everyone recovers; everyone rides off into the sunset for (grudging, suspicious) happily ever after. How does that happen?
The Eternal Shriek: Let's all go hang out together in the torture chamber! What's happening down there? Bad things? Yeah, yeah, but WHAT bad things?
Man Versus Man: Hamilton and Tartaros duel one last time. Scores are settled! Choices are made! One man falls, and one man walks away!
The Gray Man: Dani Miranda
Dani Miranda! She punches! She plans! She runs! She has a tough pragmatic exterior and a soft compassionate core! She trusts grudgingly but does not waver in her loyalties! She has a kick-ass floral suit! Tell me what happens to her after the movie ends. I want to see her plan and execute covert ops! Heists! Schemes! Double crosses! Rescues!
Some possible ideas:
Found Family Is Found: Dani reunites with Sierra Six and Claire a couple of months or years down the road. Are they still on the run? Are they living off the grid? What kind of life do they build together?
Just Two Queens Staring at Each Other: Dani and Suzanne conspire and plot against each other (or maybe with each other) in the corridors of the Berlin station and/or out in the field. How do they duel or collaborate?
Submitted and Readable: Carmichael tries to betray Dani, but Dani gets the upper hand. Then she grinds him under her heel (either metaphorically or literally). Do Dani and Carmichael come to a strange new understanding of their relationship?
Saving Six: Once again, Six is in trouble. Once again, Dani swings in to rescue him. How does Six react? What does Dani want in return?
Alien (Prequel Movies): David 8, Elizabeth Shaw
I love David's prickly, unpredictable weirdness. At times, he takes immediate offense at small slights; at other times, he endures oppression with implacable calm. He finds his human crew fascinating and repugnant; he treats Shaw with devotion and contempt. I really like the dissonance of an inhuman entity mimicking humans and seeking self-actualization through a selective embrace of human foibles. I love the contrast with Shaw, who is virtuous and dedicated and noble: a paragon of humanity that captures the fickle, unintelligible interests of an android.
For the purposes of this prompt, you are welcome to include or disregard Covenant as you see fit. (Fix-its or bummers are both a-okay.)
Some possible ideas:
Dorothy and the Tin Man: During the early days on LV-223, Shaw and David have minor adventures together. Maybe they have some laughs, get to know each other, develop an ominous-in-retrospect connection.
Everybody Lives, Nobody Dies: The crew of the Prometheus observes sensible safety protocols on an alien planet and as a result, everyone survives -- which means that the relationship between David and Shaw develops on a much different trajectory. What happens then?
Rom-Com in SPAAAAACE: Frankenstein's monster falls in love. The object of his affection, marooned alongside him, is less than thrilled. At first. Does David slowly grow on Shaw, like a fungus? Or does Shaw have to take measures to protect herself?
Cabin Fever: Things go wrong on the Engineers' ship, at first slowly, and then all at once. Shaw and David influence and change one another, for better or worse. What uncomfortable truths do they discover together? How do they deal with injury, madness, and/or death?
Final Fantasy IV: Cecil Harvey, Rydia
Cecil and Rydia have such a neat, rich relationship. They have a radically changing relationship over the course of the game, and at each point they save each other and transform each other, over and over again. All the ironies and paradoxes of their relationship -- enemies to friends; the hulking knight protecting his even more dangerous ward; the inherent confusions of how to interact with your pseudo-kid-sister now that she's an adult; the frustrations of trying to reassemble a bond after both parties have gone through some life-changing alterations -- just seem so compelling and delightful to me. I would love a story that explored their dynamic, either during or after the original game. Really, you could pick any phase of their travels together, with their ever-mutating bond with one another, and really go deep on all the nooks and crannies of their relationship.
Some possible ideas:
Brother Dear Brother: Rydia and Cecil keep up a correspondence as adults. What do they report to one another about their lives?
Babysitter's Club: After Mist, Cecil and Rydia find themselves unexpectedly taking care of one another. How do they heal together? What do they talk about as they move forward?
Growing Pains: When Cecil meets the adult-Rydia, how does he handle dealing with this altered version of a child he knew so well? How does Rydia react to reuniting with her beloved childhood protector, now they're roughly the same age?
Dark Knight, Dark Lady: Things go differently. Cecil stays a dark knight, and Rydia grows up to be a strange and terrible summoner. What happens when they encounter one another?
Twelfth Night: Maria
In Olivia's household, Maria is the center, connected to everyone who exists under the patronage of her mistress. She is Olivia's protective confidant; she is Toby's conscience and co-conspirator; she minds and nags Feste; she runs rhetorical rings around Sir Andrew; she sees Malvolio with piercing and unerring clarity. I would love a story exploring Maria in relation to the little world over which she presides.
Some possible ideas:
Mistress and Servant: While Olivia grieves, Maria has taken care of her with tenderness, solicitude, and love. How does Maria protect and support Olivia during the mourning period? Does Olivia appreciate what Maria does on her behalf?
Drinking at the Buttery-Bar: Maria flirts with Toby and Sir Andrew; Toby jokes with Maria and Andrew; Andy tries to impress Toby and Maria. What happens to this trio after the end of the play? Do they still live, laugh, love together?
Human Resources: Maria may be Malvolio's inferior, but she has more power and influence in the household. How do they co-exist under the same roof before the events of the play? Or what is their relationship like after the end of the play?
Most Feelingly Personated: Olivia's household pulls off their con against Malvolio because Maria can forge Olivia's handwriting. Does that effort give Maria a taste for more? More impersonation, more writing, more fabrication, more fiction?
Hi! Thanks for participating in this exchange! I love Yuletide. This letter has some brief suggestions for possible stories but feel free to disregard them. I am excited to give you free rein to go in any direction.
AO3 Name: moemachina
Treats warmly accepted.
Do Not Want (DNW): Unrequested romantic relationships. (However, it's totally fine to include canonical spouses or partners, such as Rosa or Holloway, as important and sympathetic characters. My prompts often allude to relationships between requested characters and their wider social network; if I mention an unrequested character by name in a prompt, it's okay to put them in a romantic/sexual relationship with a requested character.)
Otherwise: I'm not troubled by any violent or sexual subjects; feel free to go dark or kinky or gross. I'm also fine with radical AUs or canon divergence. Consider me opted-in to everything.
If I've requested more than one character, I'm cool with the characters being in a romantic relationship together. I'm also cool with the characters being in a non-romantic relationship! I like ships; I like gen.
Things I Like: Eccentric families; not-entirely-happy love stories; sardonic work spouses; pragmatic compromises under high duress; villains becoming infinitesimally less villainous; demonstrations of self-control; the arousing qualities of competence and empathy; and fuck-ups and the forgiveness of those fuck-ups.
Past Yuletide Letters:
2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2012 / 2013 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2019 / 2020
Below, I've listed some story ideas for all my prompts, but they are incredibly optional; feel free to ignore them and write me whatever!
Life: Charlie Crews, Dani Reese
I just re-watched the first season of this show, and I was newly struck by how, in the back half of the season, the show goes much harder on Charlie's strangeness and his unsettling demeanor, which is part Zen and part social awkwardness and also part artifice. He deliberately deflects and disorients his conversational opponents with a selective, strategic mask of smiling resistance. His partnership with Dani works, in part, because she immediately clocks him and refuses to engage in his passive-aggressive disguise. As partners, they're also very similar. Both of them keep all of their fury and addictions and trauma uneasily buried under meditative mindfulness (Charlie) or rigid dedication to work (Dani) -- until they inevitably pop their corks and do something self-destructive or obsessive. I love that Charlie trains all of his exhaustingly analytical attention on his stoic, close-mouthed partner, and I love that Dani is so protective and dedicated and loyal to her partner, immediately and intensely, despite her better judgment.
Feel free to focus on the whole series or just the first season, as you prefer. Dealer's choice!
Some possible ideas:
Ogre Battle: Lanselot Tartaros, Lanselot Hamilton
I played Tactics Ogre for the first time this year, and the revelation in Chapter 4 down in the torture pit that LT and LH not only had history together but had real bad, eye-gouging history was like a revelation that reordered my very soul. Bloody Lans H, nearly broken but still spitting defiance at Tartaros, who is contemptuous and superior but also extending his opponent a grudging respect: "They are not the soldiers we are, you know." Plus all the chiming resonance between their philosophical conversation and what's actually happening to LH in a very real, physical sense. (Ah, to "reach beneath the suppurating flesh of this world and wrench out the source of its ailment," indeed!) I would like more about that intimately intense relationship, either before, during, or after the game. I played the PSP edition of the game, but feel free to use the original SNES flavor or whatever is going on in the Reborn remaster, and you're welcome to incorporate material from Knight of Lodis or the CODA stuff. Obviously, all routes and endings are fair game.
Some possible ideas:
The Gray Man: Dani Miranda
Dani Miranda! She punches! She plans! She runs! She has a tough pragmatic exterior and a soft compassionate core! She trusts grudgingly but does not waver in her loyalties! She has a kick-ass floral suit! Tell me what happens to her after the movie ends. I want to see her plan and execute covert ops! Heists! Schemes! Double crosses! Rescues!
Some possible ideas:
Alien (Prequel Movies): David 8, Elizabeth Shaw
I love David's prickly, unpredictable weirdness. At times, he takes immediate offense at small slights; at other times, he endures oppression with implacable calm. He finds his human crew fascinating and repugnant; he treats Shaw with devotion and contempt. I really like the dissonance of an inhuman entity mimicking humans and seeking self-actualization through a selective embrace of human foibles. I love the contrast with Shaw, who is virtuous and dedicated and noble: a paragon of humanity that captures the fickle, unintelligible interests of an android.
For the purposes of this prompt, you are welcome to include or disregard Covenant as you see fit. (Fix-its or bummers are both a-okay.)
Some possible ideas:
Final Fantasy IV: Cecil Harvey, Rydia
Cecil and Rydia have such a neat, rich relationship. They have a radically changing relationship over the course of the game, and at each point they save each other and transform each other, over and over again. All the ironies and paradoxes of their relationship -- enemies to friends; the hulking knight protecting his even more dangerous ward; the inherent confusions of how to interact with your pseudo-kid-sister now that she's an adult; the frustrations of trying to reassemble a bond after both parties have gone through some life-changing alterations -- just seem so compelling and delightful to me. I would love a story that explored their dynamic, either during or after the original game. Really, you could pick any phase of their travels together, with their ever-mutating bond with one another, and really go deep on all the nooks and crannies of their relationship.
Some possible ideas:
Twelfth Night: Maria
In Olivia's household, Maria is the center, connected to everyone who exists under the patronage of her mistress. She is Olivia's protective confidant; she is Toby's conscience and co-conspirator; she minds and nags Feste; she runs rhetorical rings around Sir Andrew; she sees Malvolio with piercing and unerring clarity. I would love a story exploring Maria in relation to the little world over which she presides.
Some possible ideas:
