Dear Yuletide Author

[storms]

[Alas, I was too late for sign-ups! Might as well keep this up tho.]

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!

» If I didn't leave any gen prompts it's because I couldn't think of any/would really prefer a shippy fic, but if you don't ship what I ship, please do feel free to just modify one of my shippy prompts.

» Scrolling through my tumblr and checking the tags for the different fandoms (1, 2, 3, 4) 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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Killing Eve
- Eve Polastri, Villanelle

impossibly, they're gunning for me, and now the army's is after you... for loving, too [x]

One of my favourite shows of the year. Boy do I love some fucked up femslash.

» Villanelle/Eve - The draw of this show, and of this ship, for me, is Eve. An ordinary woman in so many ways, and yet her involvement and entanglement with Villanelle is anything but. I'd love anything that revolves around Eve's extremely complicated feelings for Villanelle. I'd love seeing her come to terms that it IS complicated, but she still feels the same way. (Even after the finale.) How about a scenario where they're on the run together; Eve because she's been framed, Villa because... well, take your pick. An AU where Bill never died could be interesting; one because I really liked that dude T_T and two because if Villanelle had never killed him, the lines would be even more blurred for Eve. Tell me about what a first kiss would be like between them, or a last kiss. I'd LOVE to see a HDM AU for this fandom, because daemons are an endless source of fannish fascination, and also I can just imagine how many intimate taboos Villanelle would break. Also does her daemon help her murder? What did it settle as? (Did it EVER settle?) Given the ship and the dynamics, a happy ending may not be possible, and that's fine! Once it's not like super duper dark.

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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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Ex Machina
- Ava, Kyoko

are we really living, or just walking dead now [x]

I was obsessed with this movie when it first came out and I've been thinking about it a lot lately.

» Ava/Kyoko - Oh, where to start... Really any sort of interaction with them would make me happy. (Also, most of these could work for gen prompts!) Alternate endings, of course. Reflections on what it means to be alive. Kyoko POV. Having/finding a voice. Arguments, the joy of being able to disagree. The nature of self sacrifice. Dancing freely, the way they choose. First kisses. Exploration of bodies. (Not necessarily in a sexual way. Ava's moment in her own skin, looking at herself in the mirror, was so awesome.) Finding and repairing other girls. (I'm uninterested in them going back for Caleb and saving him, but also feel free to slot him into the story if you'd like.) I love that final shot of Ava in shadow, and I've always loved the thought of that same shot, except with she and Kyoko holding hands. AIs in an HDM universe. How does it work? Does Nathan manufacture those too? Fit them into his Turing Test? Does he try to bond animals to AIs? Would he even bother?

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Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer
- Jane, Zen

getting lost in the dark is my favourite part [x]

What a wonderful album! What a wonderful story! I love the music, the visuals, the world... Janelle Monáe can do nothing wrong IMO. I didn't request Ché because I'm drunk on Jane/Zen, and you don't need to feel obligated to write him, but I DO ship the triad, whether it's Jane/Zen+Jane/Ché or Jane/Zen/Ché, so if you'd like, pleasepleaseplease feel free to include him!

» Jane/Zen - I'm really interested in what comes before and after. Show me more of them meeting, more of them falling in love. What were their lives like as rebels under a fascist government? I'd love to see more about their daily lives before and right after they met. Was it always like this? How did it escalate? Any kind of world-building would be neat! I'd equally love to see what they do after they escape. Jane strikes me as the type who'd like the strike back. Are there other facilities that they'll try to liberate? Other friends that they'll want to meet up with. Seeing the immediate aftermath would be cool too: a cuddle-pile reunion, happy sappy stuff. Where do they go? How do they cope, and start healing? These are just random ideas, but i'd be happy with anything with these two characters. The video for PYNK in particular makes me so happy: Jane staring into Zen's eyes and crooning 'I don't want to hide my love'. *__* Gah. It's a good song for PWP too ngl, if you want to go that way.

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Thanks again, and have fun writing! ♥