Dear Yuletide Author

[storms]

Hi there!

I'm mautadite. Thank you so much for writing this fic for me. I hope you have a great time making it. You know the drill: this letter is just a series of guidelines; just try to avoid my do-not-wants and I'm sure I'll love what you write. If my prompts don't get you going, and you want to take the fic in another direction, or mix and match prompts, feel free! I've requested these fandoms and characters because I'm really invested in them all, in one way or another, and I'd be happy to receive fanworks for any of them. Make something that you'd enjoy yourself!

Here are some of my general likes and dislikes.

General likes: (please feel free to include) friendships, friendships that develop into romance, introspection, character studies, domestic fluff, mystery, family relationships, exploration of intense loyalty. I like future fic and modern AUs and canon divergent AUs, in the vein of 'what if so-and-so didn't die, what if this happened instead of that'. Feel free to explore any and all of your trans and/or nonbinary headcanons. I'm really into character interaction, it's often my favourite part of a story, but a good plot can really get me going too! There are a bunch of tropes that I'm quite fond of, like 'separated from the group and surviving on their own', 'undercover as a couple', 'sharing a bed', 'friends to lovers'. I quite like fusion AUs, so if an idea strikes you that you can meld/combine with Pacific Rim or His Dark Materials, go for it, if that's your thing! :)

General dislikes: (please try to avoid) rape/dubcon (discussing or mentioning them is fine, especially in survival/recovery scenarios), character bashing, character death, first person pov, a/b/o, super depressing/sad endings. I don't need out and out fluff, and I do enjoy angst, but I'd definitely prefer something that ends happily or hopefully. If infidelity is a part of the story, I'd prefer that you didn't concentrate on it too much.

Other notes:

» I'm fine with any rating. You certainly don't need to feel obligated to write porn, but if you'd like to, click here!

» I tried to hit a nice balance between just enough prompts to get you going, and not so much info that it constricts you. But if you'd like me to expand upon what I have below, feel free to leave me an anon comment/send me questions through the mods.

» Scrolling through my tumblr and checking the tags for the different fandoms (1, 2, 3) might give you a few more ideas about what I like. But only if you want to/think it would help!

Okay, here are my fandoms! I've included some optional lyrics with each of them, just in case you need/want that dash of extra inspiration.

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The Dark Tower
- Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean

by the grace of the fire and the flame / you're the face of the future, the blood in my veins [x]

For this request, I find myself in a position I don't quite like to be in: requesting a fandom that I'm not completely caught up on. As of writing this, I'm halfway through 'Song of Susannah'. I'll definitely be done with the series by the time Yuletide is due. I don't think my perception of characters/ships will change, but in any case: I really love these characters and I'm dying for fic about them together, in any way. Some general notes: please no magical fix-its for either Susannah's physical disability or her personality disorder. That said, while I don't mind if Detta/Odetta/Mia make appearances, I'd prefer if Susannah was holding the reins for the majority of the fic.

» Roland/Eddie/Susannah - A brief background: I actually didn't care for Roland very much in the first book. I only started liking him, and the series, during 'The Drawing of the Three' because that book introduced Eddie and Susannah/Odetta, and I LOVE them. They make me love Roland. The three of them have the most fascinating relationship; they love and respect Roland, are a little in awe of him, but with each step on their journey they come towards a more equal footing with him. Each side of this triangle is wonderful to me. Eddie and Susannah falling in love was just... gah! I don't think Stephen King is particularly great at writing romance, but he knocked it out of the park with this one. They love each other so much! Then there's Eddie and Roland; I love that the story leans on the fact that Eddie is kinda Cuthbert come again, but but not quite. Eddie saved Roland as much as Roland saved him. I love them with all their cheek-kissing and hand-touching and hand-holding. And nothing thrilled me more than the fact that Susannah's chosen name just happened to be so close to that of Roland's first love; perhaps it means little but it made me heart sing. Roland, in a way, made Susannah, and idk that's romantic as heck to me. Also they kinda ship themselves. All of this just to say: I'd love OT3 fic. That sweet spot right after 'The Drawing of the Three' is one I think of a lot: tell me about how Roland trains them, but they become gunslingers in their own right. Show me some of their time as three weird but effective parents, after Jake's drawing. Show me getting together. They're very matter of fact about how much they love each other, and I think they'd be just as matter of fact about becoming a romantic trio. I feel weird asking for post-series fic as I have no idea how the series end and I'm pretty sure most of them are going to die, but if you have a post-canon story you want to tell about these three, I'd love to read it! Or a 'Song of Susannah' AU. I definitely feel like things ended up for the best with Eddie and Roland in Maine 1977, but what if things had gone the way they'd intended, and they found themselves in New York 1999, on Susannah-Mio's tail after all? What do they do to save their girl? I would ecstatically read any story you want to tell about these three.

» Gen - If the romantic OT3 isn't your thing, their relationship as a family gets me going just as much. I go back and forth on liking Roland, but what I love is how good Eddie and Susannah (and Jake and Oy) are for him. They make him a better person, give him a reason to go on, to live, other than the Tower. Feel free to take any of the above prompts and write it in a platonic way, and definitely feel free to include Jake and Oy and even Callahan. Interpersonal relationships are my bread and butter for fic; or something like snapshots of Roland telling a story, Eddie teaching the gang some trick, Susannah singing for them, Roland teaching them how to dance commala... I'd love it all.

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Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Elisabet Sobeck, GAIA

this stormy sunrise, it will die / and i'll be with you [x]

I loved this game a lot! Aloy and the cast of main characters for sure, but the characters in the past as well. I loved Elisabet for how stubborn, smart and determined she was, and how she literally brought the world back from extinction through sheer will and intelligence. And I found Gaia to be amazing as well, a lot about her is archetypal, mother nature and all that, but she was still a character in her own right. Side-note: background ships are fine, but I ship Aloy with girls (Talanah, Vanasha, Petra) and Varl. I'd prefer not to see any other ships.

» Elisabet/Gaia - Human/AI relationships are like catnip to me. Especially in scenarios like these, where the human has created the AI in question, because it can make for complicated and messy feelings. It's made very clear that Gaia is very much her own person, a fully realised artificial intelligence, so I'd rather steer away from any 'Elisabet made Gaia to love her' scenarios. Otherwise, go wild with it. Show me quiet conversations while at work on Zero Dawn. Early instances where they first come together and become friends. Elisabet feeling guilty for developing feelings for a person she created; Gaia assuring her that the feelings are welcome and returned. Interactions with Margo, Patrick, Samina, Travis. I looooooove get-together fic; I'd love to see them quietly coming to an understanding about how special they are to one another. A story that looks at their relationship from the point of view of the current day would be amazing as well. Maybe there's another batch of metal flowers, or some other type of tribute, that Gaia spread around the world in honour of Elisabet. An AU in which things go miraculously well would also bring me joy. Or maybe not miraculously well, but perhaps Elisabet didn't have to sacrifice herself after all, and was able to live out the rest of her natural life with Gaia, falling even more in love. How does Gaia feel about that, seeing Elisabet grow older right in front of her eyes? A straight up AU would also be interesting; Elisabet creates Gaia to help the world, but the situation isn't nearly as dire. How does that change/affect the relationship they have? (You don't have to go here but if you want to, let the record show that I am 100% cool with robot sex. LOL.)

» Gen - If you'd prefer to write gen, it'd be great if they featured in the story together, but fic about them on their own would be great as well. Fic about Aloy musing on her two mothers would be great; I imagine it's still tough for her to swallow, but I think she'd get a certain amount of comfort from knowing how amazing they were and the things they accomplished. I also think Aloy would definitely be able to get Gaia online some day in the future; what is their first conversation like? What does Aloy ask her of Elisabet? It's also amazing and kind of sad thinking of Gaia being pretty much on her own all those yer, taking care of the re-developing Earth... maybe show me some vignettes of that time? Shots of Elisabet at any point during her accomplished life would also make a great fic; how did she turn into the woman who eventually saved mankind?

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Harlots
- Amelia Scanwell, Violet Cross

honey you're familiar, like my mirror years ago [x]

Historical/Victorian queers may be my favourite thing ever??? So I loved this show for giving them to me. I'm absolutely hungry for more details about both Amelia and Violet, their developing relationship and their lives in general. Feel free to include any and all plotty intrigues you can think of, once the girls are featured!

» Violet/Amelia - We see so little of their relationship in canon, I'd love to see any scenes of that. Moments in between, Violet flirting with Amelia, conversations at the end of a sermon, Violet catching up with Amelia at the side of the road, in a pub. I just want to see more of what attracts them to each other, what initiated the spark of love. What got Violet listening to Amelia in the first place ("Say a prayer for a poor harlot?") This is one couple I'd love to see in an HDM daemon AU. Amelia's mother probably explains away her female daemon by saying her daughter is just that pure; Amelia herself knows the truth. Also I love scenes where daemons talk/touch while their humans are at odds. NGL I'd also love to see a first time fic with them; Violet being gentle and sweet but a little off kilter herself, because she doesn't usually like the people she sleeps with, not like she likes Amelia. Fic set post season would also be a treat; maybe some hurt/comfort due to the ordeal Amelia almost suffered? It'd be cool to see Violet playing Amelia's saviour ("Perhaps you're the one that needs saving.") I'd also love to see them interacting with other characters. How did things work out with Prince Rasselas and his boyfriend? Happily, I hope! Double dates are one of the purest forms of mlm/wlw solidarity. Maybe Amelia and Violet help Rasselas with a bit of spying. Or, after her near miss with Justice Cunliffe, Amelia recruits Violet to help her investigate the dark, seedy organisation she almost fell prey to.

» Gen - For a gen fic, if you don't feel like writing anything shippy, I would still prefer if both ladies featured in the fic. We know so little about Violet; tell me about her dreams, her ambitions, how she came to work for Nancy. Character studies are always good! I'm not looking for coming out fic for Amelia, but I definitely wouldn't say no to a fic in which she comes out, to her mother or another person in her life. Maybe findings a word to describe herself that has nothing to do with sin.

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Thanks again, and have fun writing! ♥