yuletide~
Dear yuletide writer,
Thanks so much for offering one of these fandoms!
As always, optional details are optional, and this letter even more so.
But if you'd like more details, here goes.
General likes/dislikes:
I'd love fic of any (mix of) mood(s) and length; it doesn't have to keep to the mood of canon. Slice-of-life fic, casefic, character studies, vignettes, plotty fic -- it's all cool. I do enjoy short fic or fic in which nothing much actually happens, if that helps.
For two of the fandoms below, I'm interested mainly in gen, but pairingfic is fine too; for Link Click, I ship the characters requested, but would honestly love genfic too.
Here are some themes that interest me, if it helps, but feel free to ignore this list entirely: freedom versus responsibility; journeying even if (or perhaps precisely) without a destination; detachment as a defence mechanism; obligations as both burden and anchor; having a place where one belongs; the difficulty of determining the 'truth' amid competing perspectives.
---
Individual fandoms
时光代理人 | Link Click
Characters: Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang
Request: I requested Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, and yes, I ship them -- but I'd also be honestly thrilled with non-pairing fic, fic that focuses mostly on just one of them, and/or fic with Qiao Ling! (Please don't pair Cheng Xiaoshi with Qiao Ling, though; I see their dynamic as a sibling one)
I love their trust, their closeness, but also the tensions between them -- how Cheng Xiaoshi can't help feeling for the people whose lives he enters, versus Lu Guang's insistence on detachment (and his questionable tendency to withhold information from Cheng Xiaoshi 'for his own good'). Lu Guang is fascinating, since we don't get access to his thoughts -- did he learn that lesson of non-interference the hard way, too? What must it feel like for him, seeing what Cheng Xiaoshi sees but being unable to help directly? What exactly is is about Cheng Xiaoshi's innocence that attracts him?
I'd love anything from casefic to slice-of-life vignettes to something episode-specific (the fallout from ep5, damn). There are shippy and non-shippy ideas in my letter, if that helps.
More thoughts: So much remains a mystery: how the guys obtained/discovered their powers, Lu Guang's entire backstory, whatever was up with the Cheng parents. Feel free to gloss over all that the way canon does -- or explore it. (Fic about Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang over the years?? Some kind of imagined backstory for Lu Guang??)
Similarly, given that they ended the season on a cliffhanger and season 2 hasn't been released even though it was announced a year ago... please feel free to ignore/handwave this entirely, change the ending of season 1, or even write your own season 2 (although that is probably too epic).
Random pairingfic ideas: What it means to accompany someone in their head for 12 straight hours. Lu Guang being Cheng Xiaoshi's light. Lu Guang shares something about his past. Cheng Xiaoshi enters a photo that Lu Guang took and ends up learning about Lu Guang's feelings for him.
Random gen ideas: Casefic (especially if it reflects societal issues in China, the way canon does). The early days of Lu Guang and Qiao Ling helping Cheng Xiaoshi with the shop. How the three of them worked out the operations of their 'side business'. The respective ways in which Lu Guang and Qiao Ling try to protect Cheng Xiaoshi. A closer look at Lu Guang -- his life before the photo studio, how and why he moved in, what it means to him now. Other ways in which they've used their powers (can be as silly as the special episodes). Any of the pairingfic ideas above, except gen.
If it matters: I understand Chinese, visited China several times just before the pandemic, and am on Wechat/Weibo/Xiaohongshu, but am no expert on everyday life there. I am not a fan of pinyin being used in fic if a sufficient English term exists.
---
モノノ怪 | Mononoke
Character: Medicine Seller
Request: I'd love almost anything for Mononoke, as long as it captures something of canon's atmosphere. The Medicine Seller is really compelling, and I'm happy with however much you'd like to explore him: whether he remains something of a cipher, or if you want to get into his thoughts, his past, his childhood (???), his Other Self.
Casefic would be great, but please don't feel obliged -- I'd love fic of any other form, from slice-of-life or vignettes to, idk, "5 times that the Medicine Seller was tricked by mononoke", or even something that delves into the metaphysics of katachi/makoto/kotowari.
My only do-not-want is a focus on sexual/romantic attraction, though mentions are fine.
More thoughts: While I'd like something that maintains the vibe of canon, it doesn't have to be set in the same era -- feel free to place the Medicine Seller in another time (just like the anime's final arc does) up to and including modern-day Japan. Exploring that could be interesting -- how does everyday life change for someone like him, as Japan modernises? How have mononoke changed (or not)? Also check out this cool visual from the 15th anniversary project (15... years........).
The suggestion that the Medicine Seller sometimes runs into the same 'souls' from the past, reincarnated, is a compelling one; something exploring that would be cool. Do people always make the same mistakes? Does he watch them learn?
If you're keen to take a closer look at the Medicine Seller himself: what is the nature of the relationship between him and his other self? What is life like on the road when he's not vanquishing mononoke, anyway? How does he actually view his... occupation? Duty? Reason for being? How has he changed, or not, through his encounters?
If it matters: I understand Japanese and visited Japan pretty often pre-pandemic, but I'm not an expert in folklore or anything, so no worries.
---
蟲師 | Mushishi
Character: Any
Nominated characters: Ginko, Adashino, Tanyuu, Ginko's mother, Nui
Request: Mushishi is the perennial fandom of my heart. I love the atmosphere and philosophy of canon, but I'm also open to something more light-hearted (feel free to explore any sort of AU or fusion).
For characters, I chose 'Any' very deliberately, and I mean it -- I'd love fic about any one or more of the nominated characters, or even characters who weren't nominated. (Various subsets of the nominated characters suggest intriguing possibilities. Would Adashino be completely star-struck to meet a Karibusa? Is there some AU in which Ginko isn't orphaned and instead is raised by his mother as well as Nui??)
If you offered this hoping to write pairingfic for Adashino and Ginko, or Ginko and Tanyuu, please do -- the only thing I wouldn't like to receive is porn.
More thoughts: Was there a fic you were hoping to write when you offered Mushishi? Casefic? Modern-day AU? Natsume Yuujinchou fusion? Fic written in the form of a thesis by some pre-modern Japanese ecologist? Something from the POV of one of the more human-like mushi? The story of [protagonist of any Mushishi chapter] after the mushi was removed? What happens to mushi and mushishi as Japan develops and moves into the industrial age? Whatever the fic of your heart, please write it -- as long as it's not porn, I'm sure I'll be thrilled to receive it.
If you'd like to write about characters who weren't nominated, I'm especially interested in Isaza and Kumado (separately, though if you wanted to write a fic in which they both appear, that would be fascinating too).
I do request Mushishi very often (it is my One True Fandom) so please feel free to look through my past Yuletide letters for even more ideas.
---
Finally, you might have noticed that I requested two series about mysterious lone travellers with special powers who deal with otherworldly beings that are sometimes hostile to humans... What I'm saying is, if you'd like to write some kind of Mushishi/Mononoke crossover/fusion/AU/canon-swap, whether played serious or completely for laughs, please feel free!!
Thanks so much for offering one of these fandoms!
As always, optional details are optional, and this letter even more so.
But if you'd like more details, here goes.
General likes/dislikes:
I'd love fic of any (mix of) mood(s) and length; it doesn't have to keep to the mood of canon. Slice-of-life fic, casefic, character studies, vignettes, plotty fic -- it's all cool. I do enjoy short fic or fic in which nothing much actually happens, if that helps.
For two of the fandoms below, I'm interested mainly in gen, but pairingfic is fine too; for Link Click, I ship the characters requested, but would honestly love genfic too.
Here are some themes that interest me, if it helps, but feel free to ignore this list entirely: freedom versus responsibility; journeying even if (or perhaps precisely) without a destination; detachment as a defence mechanism; obligations as both burden and anchor; having a place where one belongs; the difficulty of determining the 'truth' amid competing perspectives.
---
Individual fandoms
时光代理人 | Link Click
Characters: Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang
Request: I requested Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, and yes, I ship them -- but I'd also be honestly thrilled with non-pairing fic, fic that focuses mostly on just one of them, and/or fic with Qiao Ling! (Please don't pair Cheng Xiaoshi with Qiao Ling, though; I see their dynamic as a sibling one)
I love their trust, their closeness, but also the tensions between them -- how Cheng Xiaoshi can't help feeling for the people whose lives he enters, versus Lu Guang's insistence on detachment (and his questionable tendency to withhold information from Cheng Xiaoshi 'for his own good'). Lu Guang is fascinating, since we don't get access to his thoughts -- did he learn that lesson of non-interference the hard way, too? What must it feel like for him, seeing what Cheng Xiaoshi sees but being unable to help directly? What exactly is is about Cheng Xiaoshi's innocence that attracts him?
I'd love anything from casefic to slice-of-life vignettes to something episode-specific (the fallout from ep5, damn). There are shippy and non-shippy ideas in my letter, if that helps.
More thoughts: So much remains a mystery: how the guys obtained/discovered their powers, Lu Guang's entire backstory, whatever was up with the Cheng parents. Feel free to gloss over all that the way canon does -- or explore it. (Fic about Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang over the years?? Some kind of imagined backstory for Lu Guang??)
Similarly, given that they ended the season on a cliffhanger and season 2 hasn't been released even though it was announced a year ago... please feel free to ignore/handwave this entirely, change the ending of season 1, or even write your own season 2 (although that is probably too epic).
Random pairingfic ideas: What it means to accompany someone in their head for 12 straight hours. Lu Guang being Cheng Xiaoshi's light. Lu Guang shares something about his past. Cheng Xiaoshi enters a photo that Lu Guang took and ends up learning about Lu Guang's feelings for him.
Random gen ideas: Casefic (especially if it reflects societal issues in China, the way canon does). The early days of Lu Guang and Qiao Ling helping Cheng Xiaoshi with the shop. How the three of them worked out the operations of their 'side business'. The respective ways in which Lu Guang and Qiao Ling try to protect Cheng Xiaoshi. A closer look at Lu Guang -- his life before the photo studio, how and why he moved in, what it means to him now. Other ways in which they've used their powers (can be as silly as the special episodes). Any of the pairingfic ideas above, except gen.
If it matters: I understand Chinese, visited China several times just before the pandemic, and am on Wechat/Weibo/Xiaohongshu, but am no expert on everyday life there. I am not a fan of pinyin being used in fic if a sufficient English term exists.
---
モノノ怪 | Mononoke
Character: Medicine Seller
Request: I'd love almost anything for Mononoke, as long as it captures something of canon's atmosphere. The Medicine Seller is really compelling, and I'm happy with however much you'd like to explore him: whether he remains something of a cipher, or if you want to get into his thoughts, his past, his childhood (???), his Other Self.
Casefic would be great, but please don't feel obliged -- I'd love fic of any other form, from slice-of-life or vignettes to, idk, "5 times that the Medicine Seller was tricked by mononoke", or even something that delves into the metaphysics of katachi/makoto/kotowari.
My only do-not-want is a focus on sexual/romantic attraction, though mentions are fine.
More thoughts: While I'd like something that maintains the vibe of canon, it doesn't have to be set in the same era -- feel free to place the Medicine Seller in another time (just like the anime's final arc does) up to and including modern-day Japan. Exploring that could be interesting -- how does everyday life change for someone like him, as Japan modernises? How have mononoke changed (or not)? Also check out this cool visual from the 15th anniversary project (15... years........).
The suggestion that the Medicine Seller sometimes runs into the same 'souls' from the past, reincarnated, is a compelling one; something exploring that would be cool. Do people always make the same mistakes? Does he watch them learn?
If you're keen to take a closer look at the Medicine Seller himself: what is the nature of the relationship between him and his other self? What is life like on the road when he's not vanquishing mononoke, anyway? How does he actually view his... occupation? Duty? Reason for being? How has he changed, or not, through his encounters?
If it matters: I understand Japanese and visited Japan pretty often pre-pandemic, but I'm not an expert in folklore or anything, so no worries.
---
蟲師 | Mushishi
Character: Any
Nominated characters: Ginko, Adashino, Tanyuu, Ginko's mother, Nui
Request: Mushishi is the perennial fandom of my heart. I love the atmosphere and philosophy of canon, but I'm also open to something more light-hearted (feel free to explore any sort of AU or fusion).
For characters, I chose 'Any' very deliberately, and I mean it -- I'd love fic about any one or more of the nominated characters, or even characters who weren't nominated. (Various subsets of the nominated characters suggest intriguing possibilities. Would Adashino be completely star-struck to meet a Karibusa? Is there some AU in which Ginko isn't orphaned and instead is raised by his mother as well as Nui??)
If you offered this hoping to write pairingfic for Adashino and Ginko, or Ginko and Tanyuu, please do -- the only thing I wouldn't like to receive is porn.
More thoughts: Was there a fic you were hoping to write when you offered Mushishi? Casefic? Modern-day AU? Natsume Yuujinchou fusion? Fic written in the form of a thesis by some pre-modern Japanese ecologist? Something from the POV of one of the more human-like mushi? The story of [protagonist of any Mushishi chapter] after the mushi was removed? What happens to mushi and mushishi as Japan develops and moves into the industrial age? Whatever the fic of your heart, please write it -- as long as it's not porn, I'm sure I'll be thrilled to receive it.
If you'd like to write about characters who weren't nominated, I'm especially interested in Isaza and Kumado (separately, though if you wanted to write a fic in which they both appear, that would be fascinating too).
I do request Mushishi very often (it is my One True Fandom) so please feel free to look through my past Yuletide letters for even more ideas.
---
Finally, you might have noticed that I requested two series about mysterious lone travellers with special powers who deal with otherworldly beings that are sometimes hostile to humans... What I'm saying is, if you'd like to write some kind of Mushishi/Mononoke crossover/fusion/AU/canon-swap, whether played serious or completely for laughs, please feel free!!