Dear Yuletide Author 2025

[moemachina]

Dear Yuletide Author,

Hi! Thanks for participating in this exchange, which I love. This letter has some brief suggestions for possible stories, but feel free to ignore them and follow your own bliss in what you choose to write about my requested characters.

AO3 Name: moemachina.
Treats warmly accepted.

Do Not Want (DNW): Unrequested romantic relationships. However, it's totally fine to include canonical spouses or partners, like Lou's boyfriends, 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 am not troubled by any degree of violence or sex. Feel free to write something dark, kinky, or gross. I am fine with AUs or canon divergence. Consider me opted-in to everything.

If I've requested more than one character, I'm cool with the requested 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.

Past Yuletide Letters:
2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2012 / 2013 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2019 / 2020 / 2022 / 2023 / 2024

Below are some story ideas for my requested characters, but they are obviously optional to the max.



Ogre Battle: Lanselot Hamilton, Lanselot Tartaros

The revelation in Tactics Ogre Chapter 4 down in the torture pit that LT and LH had not only "history together" but had "real bad, eye-gouging history:" what a twist! Bloody Lans H, nearly broken but still spitting defiance at Tartaros, who in turn is contemptuous and superior but also extending his mirrored counterpart 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 tactile and 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 or completely disregard material from Knight of Lodis or the CODA stuff. (I've played Knight of Lodis, but I consider it pretty optional, canon-wise!) Obviously, all routes and endings are fair game.

Some possible story ideas:

Lovers to Enemies: Lans H, respected paladin, just loves hanging out with his new best friend visiting from a suspiciously vague country. Wait, wait, what's that? The kingdom's magic sword is missing??? Oh no! I sure hope my new best friend isn't responsible!

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, um, how does that happen?

Bad Dad Soccer Dad: Denam gets a wholesome and earnest knight-mentor, and Catiua gets...Lanselot Tartaros. Both of the Pavels get to have a quote-unquote "complicated" relationship with both of the Lanselots. Feel free to go whole hog with the mirrors and foils and narrative symmetries; I don't need to have Hamilton and Tartaros interact physically if the story is saturated with their parallels and echoes.

Wheel of Fortune: Time loops, time travel, alternate realities, things of that nature. Lans 1 and/or Lans 2 start jumping across the branching plot. Hijinks ensue.



Hilary Tamar Mysteries: Desmond Ragwort, Michael Cantrip

I love the Hilary Tamar novels for being so funny, acidic, vicious, and queer. Feel free to lean into the series' stock elements (intricate legal references, trips to fancy places, cutting-edge '80s technology, unremarkably revolutionary sexual politics, a first-person POV from someone who reveals almost nothing significant about themselves) or tear off in a new direction: everyone is using smartphones, or one of the barristers jets off to the new Mars colony, or Tamar turns out to be an eldritch god. While I've specifically requested Ragwort and Cantrip, I'm happy to have Julia, Selena, Timothy, and/or Hilary play any kind of role in the story as well. You're also free to arrange the barristers and Hilary in absolutely any romantic or platonic permutations; I have no preferences and will be happy to read any and all groupings.

Some possible story ideas:

Postcards Home: Ragwort goes on a trip to an exotic location (or maybe just a mock-exotic location), and Cantrip receives each installment of his correspondence with increasing alarm and suspicion.

Tables, Turnt: Hilary is discomfited when Cantrip and Ragwort show up in Oxford and start poking their noses into Hilary's affairs.

Quid Bro Quo: Ragwort did Cantrip a favor regarding a case, and now he is demanding recompense. Cantrip's attempts to renegotiate this obligation keep leading back to seemingly indecent invitations, to Ragwort's intrigued consternation.

Nom de Plume: Cantrip and Julia's novel has been published. Ragwort is alarmed to discover that he appears within the novel in a lightly fictionalized form doing some very questionable things. Cantrip doesn't see the problem.



Jeanne d'Arc (Video Game): Jeanne d'Arc, Gilles de Rais

I'm very into Jeanne's toughness and focus and anger, and I'm also into the fact that she's barely aware of the hot loyal nobleman in eyeliner who quietly assists her at every point, finds her when everyone else thinks she is dead, and gives her motivational pep talks whenever necessary. And does it ever occur to Jeanne to wonder about Gilles' ardently selfless service? Nope! Love that for her.

Note: It's up to you if you want to address or ignore the fate of the historical Gilles de Rais. I am perfectly fine with a dark take on Gilles, but it's also okay if you want to ignore his real-life analogue and focus on the fictionalized video-game version who travels with a talking purple frog.

Some possible story ideas:

Makeover Montage: On the road, Gilles tries to help Jeanne prepare to deal with nobility and/or royalty. Jeanne returns the favor by introducing him to the finer points of rustic country life.

One-Sided Pining: Gilles spends a lot of time metaphorically doodling in his journal and drawing little hearts around Jeanne's name. Jeanne spends a lot of time thinking about HOW TO SAVE FRANCE.

Demon Time: Post-game, Gilles has a Dark Passenger who keeps whispering to him. It is bound to complicate his relationship with his former comrades.

Two-Sided Pining: Maybe, as a little treat, Jeanne can take the occasional break from the red-string corkboard entitled HOW TO SAVE FRANCE and develop uncomfortable and inconvenient feelings for her right-hand man.



Good Cop/Bad Cop: Lou Hickman, Henry Hickman

Weird siblings are one of my favorite things in fiction, and Lou and Henry are beautiful examples of the stuff that I enjoy: co-dependence, deep shared history, mutual irritation, unwavering love, and an unerring ability to pluck at one another's core insecurities. Siblings! I think Lou's character is a good take on an older sister (decisive, bossy, protective, excessively organized, manipulative) and Henry is a great comic foil as her young brother, equal parts absurd self-confidence and crumbling anxiety.

Some possible story ideas:

Seasonal Case Fic: The guy who plays Santa at the local town festivities is found murdered under ironic circumstances. (The murder weapon is a candy cane; the primary suspect is his helper elf, his missing girlfriend used to strip at the North Pole club, etc.) Lou and Henry are on the case!

Baby's Day Out: Marci has to attend an out-of-state conference, and Henry is on baby duty for the day. Lou offers to help. The rest of the department lends a hand. Hijinks ensue.

The Skull Changes Everything: The cliffhanger at the end of Episode 8 presumably has some major ramifications for our sibling detectives. What happens next? How do they deal with it together?

Folgers Coffee Incest Time: What wonderful siblings! They spend so much time together; they have so many unresolved issues to work out; they're so co-dependent and intense about their relationship. So maybe they should make out with each other. Maybe that would solve all their problems.



Twelfth Night: Feste

Feste wanders all over Twelfth Night, popping up whenever Shakespeare needs to goose some scene along. He is clearly well-liked by the other characters, who are forever inviting him into their confidences and forgiving him for his mirthful irreverence. He gets to sing a lot. He's a fun dude, albeit with that same light dusting of sadness and grief that touches everything else in the play. I would love any story, either comic or serious, about Feste and his smiling stroll through the world of Twelfth Night.

Some possible story ideas:

Thus The Whirligig of Time Brings In His Revenges: What led Young Feste to end up in the employ of Olivia's father? Is he a local or a latecomer? Has he watched Olivia grow up? Did he know Toby as a young man?

The Better For My Foes and the Worse For My Friends: Feste engineers a heist (or a shenanigan or a prank) involving the members of Olivia's household, Ocean's Eleven style.

⁠Journeys End in Lovers' Meeting: Surprise, Feste is in a romantic relationship with somebody else in the play. (Olivia? Sebastian?? Malvolio???)

Leave Thy Vain Bibble Babble: A troupe of actors is putting on a production of Twelfth Night, and the actor playing Feste seems to be taking an unusual approach to the role...



Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword: Matthew, Hector

I adored Matthew on my first playthrough: a seemingly generic thief who is then revealed to be a snarky spy who is then revealed to be a surprisingly romantic and tragic figure. And then, playing the game a second time via Hector's route, I found the relationship between Hector and Matthew to be really compelling. Matthew is so intensely (and maybe irrationally) protective of his (hulking, armored, axe-wielding) lord but also spends all of his time being sardonically subservient and flippant to Hector (who is eternally impatient with Matthew but also respects and values his advice). As a dynamic, I dig it!

Some possible ideas:

The Start of a Spy: How does Matthew start working for House Ostia in the first place? Under what circumstances does he meet Hector? How do they learn to Respect Each Other's Talents?

Matthew and Hector's Wild Adventure: Before the start of the game, maybe Hector hares off on a wild adventure and Matthew (with his exasperation only faintly disguised) is forced to help extricate him from some dilemma? Or, conversely: maybe Matthew cheerfully talks himself into a tight spot, and Hector, rolling his eyes, has to go rescue him?

Brothers In Trauma: Matthew and Hector both have things to grieve and to process during the course of the game. How do they mutually work through Bad Times together? How does the memory of Leila affect them?

Post-Game: What happens after Matthew and Hector both return home after the end of the game? What kind of extra spycraft does Matthew have to do, now that Hector is marquess of House Ostia?



Final Fantasy Tactics: Tietra Heiral, Zalbaag Beoulve

Now I'm not saying that Tietra and Zalbaag have the most fucked-up relationship in Final Fantasy Tactics (so much steep competition, so little time), but the implication of how Zalbaag perceives Tietra (or, worse, does not perceive her at all) offers a fertile ground for meditating upon the profound dysfunctions of House Beoulve. Feel free to throw in Dycedarg, Ramza, Alma and/or Delita into the story. You can use whatever localization/release of Tactics that you'd like; they all run together for me and I have no preference between them.

Some possible story ideas:

Holidays At Home: It's Ye Olden Childhood Times for House Beoulve, and everyone is together under the same roof. Tietra grows up, possibly in proximity to Zalbaag, and her relationship (or non-relationship) with him exemplifies her relationship with his entire family.

Après moi, le déluge: Tietra is dead, and Zalbaag does not even remember her. Not a little bit. Definitely not having sleepless nights over it. Definitely not haunted by her memory. Nope. He's perfectly fine, perfectly serene, perfectly sane.

Tietra Lives!: Tietra survives that pesky crossbow bolt. And she's coming for you, Zalbaag.

Zombie Revenge: Look, it's very unfair that Tietra gets left out of all the zombification going around. She should get to be a zombie too. As a little treat.



Cat Among The Pigeons (Poirot - Agatha Christie): Julia Upjohn, Adam Goodman

Julia is such a fun character in Cat Among the Pigeons: smart and resourceful and self-reliant. Her escape to find Poirot is an incredible sequence, but I also liked her brief, ironic interaction with undercover-gardener Adam. Let's expand on that! Maybe they have some more adventures during the school year! Or maybe they meet again, years later, after Julia follows her mother into intelligence work. I'm happy to have anything about these two, either as friends or colleagues or something more.

Some possible story ideas:

School Daze: It's early in the school year, relatively few murders have yet occurred, and Julia and Adam encounter each other on the school grounds.

Nod's as Good as a Wink: Julia runs into Adam while he's in disguise at a different gig and has to improvise madly to help him maintain his cover.

Graduation Day: Julia is graduating from Meadowbank. A familiar face has shown up to recruit her to work for queen and country.

Mum's The Word: It's years later, and Julia's mother has gone missing. Again. While searching for her, Julia runs into Adam and teams up with him to solve the mystery.