coprime: Marny bouncing (video games)
coprime ([personal profile] coprime) wrote2015-10-25 02:00 pm

Dear Yuletide Author Letter

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Hello! I am so excited you offered to write something for me in a fandom that I love! And I am sure I will love whatever you write. I've included some more information in this letter--some general likes/dislikes and some fandom-related babblings--if you want them, but don't feel obligated to use anything in this letter if you don't want to. I think the best stories are the ones the writer was excited about, so if already know what you want to write, go for it! I will love whatever you write, promise. Also, some sections are noticeably longer than others. I really truly am equally excited for all my requests otherwise I would not have requested them. That being said....

I am a pretty easy going person who likes lots and lots of different things. Here is a list of just some of the things I enjoy reading:
  • slash (m/m and f/f)

  • het

  • gen

  • polyamory

  • friendship

  • friends to lovers

  • families, both of blood and of choice

  • fluff

  • angst

  • humor

  • romance

  • backstory

  • post-canon/future fic

  • fix-it

  • casefic

  • slice of life

  • domesticity

  • adventures

  • pining

  • celebrations

  • capers & shenanigans

  • body swap

  • role reversal

  • pretend couple/arranged marriage

  • didn't realize they were dating

  • getting together/first time

  • established relationships

  • characters working together

  • small gestures of caring and affection

  • grand gestures of caring and affection

  • happy endings

  • hopeful endings

  • any ending where things are at least marginally better for the characters than they were at the beginning

The list of stuff I am less likely to enjoy is much shorter:
  • major character death

  • rape

  • humiliation

  • infidelity

  • casual drug use

  • shovel talks

As far as porn goes, PWPs can be hit or miss for me, so I'd prefer something that wasn't solely sex. On the other hand, if you do want to include some porn, I will happily read just about any kink if the author makes it work in a way that's in character for the characters involved, and I've had a lot of fun reading fics like that. I have been in fandom for long enough that I honestly cannot think of any sort of kink that I have not already read at least once, so I don't really think I have any hard limits. It's really just about works for the characters!

Book of Life (2014) - Joaquín Mondragón, Manolo Sánchez, & María Posada
I would love something post-canon for these three, either Joaquín/Manolo/María or Joaquín + Manolo/María. I just really like how they are all friends, and so I would like to see how the events of the movie have affected their relationships. (María and Manolo's marriage at the end is a significant change, so that at least must have affected things between the three of them!) So I would adore anything about what's new, what's different, what's changed, what's stayed the same, etc. for Joaquín, Manolo, and María.

Please no non-canonical major character death, rape/noncon, or vomit.


This movie! So colorful and pretty! And Joaquín, Manolo, and María stole my heart completely. I think they did so because they are all friends as children, and the romantic feelings that they developed as adults didn't replace that friendship but instead complemented it. Yes, there was that scene towards the beginning where Manolo and Joaquín fought over María, but María let them know how ridiculous they were being and after that I felt like Joaquín and Manolo, while still both interested in María, refrained from treating María like a prize to be won and instead acted more like the friends they all are. And I found this to be a very refreshing take on how love triangles usually go!

I love how Joaquín is so flashy and seems egotistical but really it's just a cover for how much he cares about people's opinions, how Manolo finds strength in being his kind-hearted self, and how María is so sure of herself and doesn't put up with things she dislikes. And best of all is how all three of them tease and joke and care for each other.

So, me being me, I want them all to get a happy ending, whether that be as a polyamorous relationship or just María and Manolo making sure Joaquín still has an important place in their lives. What does Joaquín do with his life post-movie? Does he sometimes feel like a third wheel to María and Manolo? Do he and Manolo tell María about all the antics they got up to while she was in Europe? What do they each do during a typical day? If going the OT3 route, how does that go? Who approached whom? How much does María's father, and the town in general, know? Really, I will love anything with these three being active in each other's lives.

Final Fantasy IV - Cecil Harvey, Kain Highwind, & Rosa Joanna Farrell
So the game ends with Kain on Mount Ordeals unwilling to return to Baron--and Cecil and Rosa--until he thinks himself redeemed enough to do so. However I have always thought that, if Kain really wanted to make amends, the best way for him to do so would be to be *in Baron* working alongside Rosa and Cecil in some capacity as opposed to up a mountain by himself. And so I'd really like something about what Cecil, Kain, and Rosa's lives are like (either Cecil/Kain/Rosa or Kain + Cecil/Rosa) if Kain is in Baron post-game rather than on Mount Ordeals.

Please note that I have not played The After Years and know very little about anything that happens in it. Also, please no non-canonical major character death, rape/noncon, or vomit.


This game! Oh man, this game! I have a lot of love for a lot of different Final Fantasies, but Final Fantasy IV is the one I will never get tired of. (I do get tired of trying to get a rainbow pudding though.) I adore basically everyone, I am always up for listening to the soundtrack, and the story strikes the perfect balance of interesting without being overly complicated for me. That being said, the one thing that has always bothered me about this game is Kain's resolution because I really wish he could get a happy ending or at least be at peace with himself. Everyone else, even Tellah, gets a resolution to their conflicts where things are actually resolved, so Kain angsting away on Mount Ordeals by himself has always made me sad.

Also his final speech. His final speech gave me so many thoughts and feelings.
Cecil...Rosa...I have no right to bear witness to your joy - not like this. I will temper myself here, on Mount Ordeals. And then, when I've become an even finer dragoon than my father - perhaps I can return. Until that day comes, I can but wish you well.
Like, okay, Kain is a giant pot of angst from head to toe and feels like he is unworthy to be around people (and specifically Cecil and Rose) until he has shown himself to be worthy. This is understandable! I totally get why Kain sequesters himself on Mount Ordeals. I also think, if he truly wishes to find redemption, this is the absolutely wrong way to go about it. Being up on Mount Ordeals lets Kain say he is trying to atone--and I am sure he believes that statement--but it also allows him to hide from the people to whom he has caused the most harm. It is hard to be around people you care about you when you also feel that you have seriously wronged them, but that is also how you earn forgiveness: by making what amends you can and showing your contrition through words and deeds.

Now, over the course of the game, Rosa and Cecil don't ever seem to hold a grudge against Kain for his actions, and I feel the same must hold true post-game as well. So any forgiveness or atonement Kain is seeking is something that must come from himself, not anyone else. And the best way to get that, it seems to me, would be to be in Baron where he can do work that directly helps people and where he has people who want him around and care about him. Not up a mountain by himself.

And, all right, that speech of Kain's also convinced me of Cecil/Kain/Rosa. Like, Kain having romantic feelings for Rosa is canon. That speech, to me, makes it sound like Cecil has an equally weighty place in Kain's heart as Rosa. I like to believe that place is romantic. But even if it's simply friendship that Kain feels for Cecil, I can't see him valuing Rosa over Cecil or Cecil over Rosa. And even though Cecil and Rosa are married at the end, I think they care (whether that caring be platonic or romantic) about Kain with a similar weight. Ship it, don't ship it, just let these three care about each other in some fashion.

I have fewer words about Cecil and Rosa, not because I love either of them any less, but because I'm pretty happy with where they end up at the end of the game. Cecil has become a paladin, he knows his origin story, and he's finally ready to lead Baron. I think he'll be a fantastic king, fair and wise and also probably kind. He's at peace with himself, so any conflicts he faces now are ones extrinsic to his being as opposed to the intrinsic ones he struggled with over the game.

Rosa...Rosa is tougher to get a handle on, I feel, because so much of her story is dependent on Cecil. She ends the game as Queen of Baron, wife of Cecil, the culmination of the path she has been on for the entire game. That being said, I like the dichotomy of her being an archer and white mage. I adore her compassion and her determination. I think her style of rule will be an excellent supplement to Cecil's.

I would be delighted with something about Kain leaving Mount Ordeals. Do Cecil and Rosa convince him to come back with them? Does Kain somehow come to the decision on his own? Does he learn of something that he feels he needs to warn Cecil and Rosa about and that's why he leaves? If he comes to the decision on his own, how do Cecil and Rosa react when he strolls into Baron unannounced?

Alternately, anything with Cecil, Rosa, and Kain in Baron would also be wonderful. What opinions do the people of Baron have about these three? If they are all in a relationship, how much do people know? How do they handle any rumors that crop up? What might Kain's position in Baron be? High ranking military officer? Trusted advisor to the King and Queen? What do people from outside of Baron think of its inhabitants and its rulers? Is there any lingering anger over Baron's role in Golbez's plans? How would they deal with that? What might a state dinner be like? If Rosa were to become pregnant, how would Cecil and Kain deal with that? What might Kain's role in the child's life be? If they're in a relationship, does the question of succession create any friction between them? Any aspect about their lives in Baron is something that I would be thrilled to read about.

As for The After Years, it exists. I know a smidgeon of its plot, but I have not played it. Draw from it if you'd like, but please don't make understanding your fic dependent on know TAY.

Resources:
Game Transcript
Game Playthrough using a fan translation

Gunstar Heroes - Blue (Gunstar Heroes), Green (Gunstar Heroes), Red (Gunstar Heroes), & Yellow (Gunstar Heroes)
I have loved everything about this game since it was released, so I am down for pretty much anything involving these four siblings. How did Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow get into the world saving game? What did they do to celebrate after defeating Golden Silver? Why does Green get the fancy ride? What does Yellow do back at the home base? How did Red and Blue feel having to fight Green? What did Yellow think about her brothers fighting? What does Green do after everything is said and done? Or something else that tickles your fancy!

Please no major character death, rape/noncon, or vomit.


Everything about this game fills me with glee. I love the sprites, I love the levels, I love the music, I love all the bosses and minibosses, I love how absolutely everything explodes, I love the frenetic energy you get onscreen while playing, just everything. I would recommend this game to basically anyone because it is some of the most fun I have ever had playing a video game. And I say that as someone who is horrible at run-and-guns. (AM2T-AA4N was a god save as a kid.)

I requested the siblings because reading about families is one of my jams, but I am completely open to any idea you have for a fic with these four. I gave some ideas in my signup, mostly stuff I am curious about that I was able to think up off the top of my head, but really any idea you have would be awesome, I am sure. The only thing I would ask is please don't have Green die because of his actions during the final scene. (Or, uh, have any of the four die in general.) Anything else goes!

Resources:
Game Playthrough
Game TAS
(I find both videos to be enjoyable to watch. The TAS does some neat stuff that person playing can't but also goes through some sections and all of the text very quickly. The playthrough shows more what it's like to actually play the game and goes slow enough for the text to be readable.)

Rosario + Vampire (Anime) - Kurono Kurumu (Rosario + Vampire (Anime)) & Shirayuki Mizore (Rosario + Vampire (Anime))
I adore both Mizore and Kurumu, so anything about them and who they are outside of their interest in Tsukune would be awesome. I really like the idea of them moving on from Tsukune and dating each other, but I also like them as friends. Maybe they could work together to write an article for the school newspaper, or maybe circumstances have them attending a school function without the rest of their friends. Alternately, what do they do after graduation? (Do they keep in contact or maybe they drift apart and reconnect later in life?) Or maybe there is something else that tickles your fancy!

Please no major character death, rape/noncon, or vomit.


So everything I have ever read comparing Rosario + Vampire the anime to Rosario + Vampire the manga says that the manga is hands down better. More character development, more actual plot, less fanservice, and in general less ridiculousness and more serious storytelling. The thing is...I like the ridiculousness of the anime. I like the silliness and the comedy. Every time there's yet another scene where Tsukune and Moka are staring into each other's eyes while saying each other's names over and over only to be interrupted by one of the characters, I laugh. I am delighted by this show all the time. Rosario + Vampire the anime is a mostly light-hearted harem anime set at a school for monsters, and I will sit down and watch that--and enjoy watching that--any day of the week.

I think that Mizore is an absolute sweetheart. Part of it, I admit, is that I think her character design is super pretty. I like her shyness and her sort of quiet sweetness, but I am also amused by how deadpan she is when the rest of the group is reacting to something. I think her ability to silently pop up somewhere, thus startling and confusing everyone one else, is funny. If she were able to have the kid(s) she so desperately wants, I think she'd be a really good mother, devoted but also not easily fazed by whatever her potential child might do.

For Kurumu, I really warmed up to her in episode 11 of the first season, "New Term and a Vampire." It's the one where the Security Committee creates a rival newspaper in order to force the Newspaper Club to form. Out of all of them, it's Kurumu who spearheads the efforts to compete with the other newspaper and drags Yukari along with her. Everyone else just seems to sort of...accept it. They're sad, but they don't really do anything to keep their Club around. When it's time for the copies of their newspaper to be incinerated, Kurumu's the one who refuses to accept what's happening and wants to try doing something more. And I really admired her boldness and her passion and her drive to do something when something important to her is threatened in that episode.

While I am (obviously) not opposed to polyamorous solutions to love triangles, it gets more and more difficult for everybody involved to have their emotional needs met in a satisfactory manner when more and more people are involved. And I feel like the show is pretty clear about the fact that, while Tsukune cares about all of his friends, his romantic feelings are centered on Moka and not really any of the other girls. So I'd really adore something that lets Kurumu and Mizore be happy with their lives and/or relationships and let them remove Tsukune from being the center of their emotional happiness.

Maybe seeing their mothers fight makes them rethink their obsession with Tsukune. Maybe Kurumu reads the writing on the wall and rejects Tsukune before he can reject her. Maybe as Mizore gets to know the rest of the Newspaper Club, her affections turn from Tsukune to another member. Maybe Mizore and Kurumu decide to study together so that they can raise their grades without the having to face the potential judgment of their other friends. Something post-canon would be really fun too. Do they keep in touch after graduation? Does Kurumu go into journalism for a career, inspired by the passion she felt in the Newspaper Club? Does Mizore try the single mother route after somehow getting pregnant? Would they try to live in the human world? Maybe they could be roommates! Really, I would just love anything with these two where Tsukune is not the central figure of their lives.

And having said all that, my very first paragraph still stands: the best story I could get is one you are excited to write, whatever that story is. I promise I will love it.