Dear Yuletide Writer
Likes : interactions, introspection, world-building, politics, communication and miscommunication (banter, awkwardness, confrontations, body language, confessions, lies). Playing with the format and the narrative - meta and stories-within-stories. Conflicts of ethics - duty, honor, loyalty, love, honesty - and lies and devotion. Characters that are simultaneously self-righteous and hard on themselves - especially female characters. Angst and drama with a non-bleak ending (earn your happy ending - or steal it, I don’t care): I love “the adventure goes on” type of endings, where closure is achieved but the characters will still have to adapt. Outsider PoV. I also like AUs, especially change-the-setting AU that retell the story (though I’m not too fond of modern AUs), if that’s what you want to write. Theatricality is a huge, huge kink of mine, though I’m also fond of understated. A sense of place and atmosphere - waxing lyrical on cities is something I always fall for, even if it’s one short paragraph telling me how it smells, the color and shape of buildings and streets, what kind of people live there, how the city changes between day and night.
Dislikes : A/B/O AUs. I would prefer no PWP for Yuletide. Character bashing. Homophobia/sexism/racism/etc as a set-up for drama; I’m fine with the characters encountering any if it makes sense for canon (ex: while there may be sexism in Baten Kaitos, it’s certainly more subtle than “ladies oughtn’t do this or that”, issues with Laguz/Branded/Beorc integration is completely fine in Fire Emblem), but I don’t want it to be the backdrop for hurt/comfort - and especially not as a way to discredit a villainous OC on a personal level rather than a political one. Christmas fic, wedding fic, pregnancy fic. Domestic fluff. WWII AU. Bleak endings. Casual misogyny/homophobia/transphobia/etc (“don’t be such a girl”, “that’s so gay”, “haha, can’t believe you didn’t see she was a man!”) and slut-shaming of all types.
Tropes I like: groundhog day type fics. The idea that the land is alive, either in a Fisherking-type deal, or that places have their own spirits. Identity Issues. Others I'm forgetting about at the moment.
Ships: are a list of things I ship if you feel like including ships or mentions of relationship of other characters in the fic.
Baten Kaitos
Xelha
My raging idealist who is the most accomplished liar in the party. Tell me more about her doubts, about her thoughts during the game - what she hid from the party, what she knew about Kalas and hid as well, what she hid from Kalas - or tell me about the future she builds. Mid-game angstiness is also a good possibility.
If you favor interactions with another character, please do! I'd love to read a conversation between Lyude and Xelha about countries and duties and ieadls, for instance. Or to Melodia, about the weight of loneliness.
I'm not looking for something that's all introspective, but something about Xelha's contradictions (i.e.: her fantastic propensity for LIES) would be great. I ship Kalas/Xelha a lot.
I love the atmosphere of this game, that each place has a clear identity. I love the myths and the wings of the heart. I love the scenery porn and the creatures. I love the dungeons - the Library! The Garden in Mira!
During the game: How does she feel lying to her friends about her self, about Kalas? Do the others ever confront her after she reveals she’s the Queen of Wazn? Do they forgive her because “it’s not like you ever hid anything from us the way Kalas did”? CUE GUILT. How hard was it, for the queen of an icy land, to pass in places snow only fell in winter? Did she ever slip up in front of Kalas - other than her fateful reference to their first meeting? What are the new traditions of this new world, how does the world react to this new continent? I expect Wazn adapts easily (I have a long-standing headcanon that they’ve always done trade with the other islands, they simply hid where they were from - they’d have to, Wazn can’t be big on agriculture), but how do the others take to this hidden country and its Witch Queen with lies of spun ice? I did mention I really enjoy Xelha’s lies and secrecy, that exist parallel to her being a genuinely good person. Treaties with King Ladekahn or Queen Cordelia would be nice. Maybe she helps Kalas settle in Wazn as they navigate their brand-new relationship and they’re not sure it’s even a real relationship?
Feel free to make up bits of worldbuilding for this fic please, customs and celebrations and children’s stories and food, and sprinkle them over!
ships: Xelha/Kalas is OTP. Also Gibari/Anna/Reblys OT3, if you care for mentioning other ships.
things that may be relevant: Obviously Mizuti is genderqueer, but I also have a headcanon that Xelha is MtF.
Batgirl (Comics)
Brenda Miller
Preferably non52 future-fic (she was out of Bludhaven when it was destroyed, okay?). Interactions with members of the Batfam or other outsiders who have interactions with the Batfam would be awesome, either in or out of masks. Did she move to Gotham or elsewhere? I imagine the Bats are keeping an eye on her, she was a friend of Cass'. Does Cass come back? Does she become Cass' Alfred way in the future when Cass inherited the mantle of the Bat?
I don’t know what I could add to my original request. I’m not interested in tragedy here. I like the idea of Brenda slowly becoming aware of who the people coming through her coffeeshop are, and pretending to stay unaware - plausible deniability being everything. I also like the idea of her and Stephanie Brown’s Nick Gage hanging while their Batgirls/not-girlfriends do heroics. Basically Brenda interacting with the Batfam or their friends and allies would fill me with joy. I like the creepy, loving surveillance the Batfamily puts over the people they like - it’s for security reasons! So maybe Brenda realizing she’s being stalked by costumed people could happen. If you want to send her to another DC city and interact with other heroes, I’m very fond of the Arrow Family.
I like the mix of humor and wince-what-distasters accompanies the Batfamily. It also strikes me that this is the ideal way to write a coffeeshop not!AU. Maybe Cass (or whoever you want) asks Brenda for a job, and suddenly Brenda finds herself in what she realizes are secret identity shenanigans.
ships: I have no Brenda ships, but your heart leads you to Brenda/Cass I’d be completely okay with that! I have vast amounts of ships in the DCU - Steph/Cass, Babs/Dick, Bruce/Jason are OTP, Cass/Steph/Tim, Babs/Dick/Bruce are OT3, Bruce/Dick, Everyone Has A Crush On Dick, Everyone Wants Bruce, Babs Tops Always, The Good OT6 Cass/Steph/Tim/Kon/Cassie/Rose, Bruce/Selina, Robinosexuality Is A Thing.
things that may be relevant: this is not the first time I have requested Brenda fic, in case looking at previous requests may help you. If you include Cass, acknowledging her disability is important - or even if you just mention her, Brenda was very aware of Cass’ illiteracy. (If it somehow comes up, Bruce’s mom was jewish and they once believed Jason was Shiva’s son, so he’s clearly mixed-race. I don’t know how it would unless your Brenda is jewish and they discuss it or Jason cameos in your fic, but they’re things I like so there you are.) Also I tend to headcanon Jason as genderqueer, and sometimes Cass as well.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Micaiah
Give me the future she builds, after the war she's carved out. Give me how her people sees her, and her friends, and the other monarchs. Give me her remorses, the nightmares that haunt her. Give me the proud face she shows others. Give me her relationship with her sister, with those she almost destroyed and who almost destroyed her, with the herons. Give me Sothe, or Pelleas, or Sanaki, Tibarn, Elincia, Soren, Jill, Ike, Naesala. Give me Micaiah from the outside and Micaiah from the inside.
Or, you know, Part III angst. That's always good. I love reading about Micaiah's ethics, and the twisting thereof.
(I ship Micaiah/Sothe and Micaiah/Sothe/Pelleas and I would ship her with Tibarn or Naesala or Reyson or Leanne because bird tribes, but for politics and sex and friendship and not love.)
As I said, I’m most interested in future fic. How far in the future is up to you - the reconstruction fic is good. So is the fic 200 years in the future where new heroes have to convince the Mad Queen of Daein to lend them her help and claim the throne she’s abandoned back (or the one where they have to defeat her) - what are the accounts of the Ashnard and Ashera war by this time. I’d love to see a fic that was both about the myth she’s become and the woman she is. A fic where she deals with what she’s done and what she still has to do with Daein would be great. Maybe a fic where she comes out as Branded to her people - either because she has no choice or because she wants to change Daein’s attitude toward Laguz and Branded. Maybe a fic about the legacy of the war (and her legacy); do they start defining war crimes on Tellius? If you wrote a Micaiah/Pelleas/Sothe get-together fic in the aftermath of the war, with politics and visits between royals and social tensions, I’d love you (the one where they realize Pelleas’ time is running out and they wrestle the spirit for Pelleas’ soul would be awesome). Post-canon fic focused on her relationships with any of Naesala, Elincia, Sanaki, Tibarn, Reyson, Soren, Ike, Jill (especially if Jill betrayed Daein), or conversations with the same, would be really cool.
I could also get behind Part III Micaiah - Part III is what I love best about the game, the guilt, the drama, the tension, Sothe rightfully pointing out they’ve become what they hated and Micaiah finding Daein’s safety a fair exchange for her soul, the hopelessness of their fights, Jill and Zihark’s doubts or betrayal and Edward’s utter trust - or just pre-canon Micaiah leading her Resistance. Micaiah has parallels and contrasts with many other characters - Sanaki, Elincia, Ike, Soren, Naesala mostly; Sanaki for their family links, Begnion’s betrayal of Sanaki vs Daein’s devotion to Micaiah, Sanaki’s fear that Micaiah will want Begnion’s throne despite the fact that Sanaki is more experienced; Ike for charismatically leading a lost royal to reconquer their land; Elincia for the contrast between what they do with their power (Elincia’s sacrifice of Lucia vs the cliff scene with Tibarn and Sothe); Soren for their blood and love and devotion despite their apparently contradictory ethics; Naesala for their blood pact and their remarkably similar attitude toward what must be done to protect their countries.
ships: Micaiah/Sothe, Micaiah/Pelleas/Sothe, but I also ship them open enough that she could totally have a flirtation with [insert non-Rafiel bird royal of your choice here, especially Naesala] while Sothe is Displeased and Pelleas is Woobie. Micaiah/Jarod is my badwrong pairing of hateporn in this canon. I don’t ship f/f where Micaiah is concerned, though I’d have nothing against the Micaiah/Leanne subset of the Bird Tribe Orgy. Ike/Soren, the Crimean Court Is a Hotbed of Romantic Intrigue (Elincia/Lucia/Bastian/Geoffrey in various combinations), Bird Tribe Orgy (Tibarn/Reyson/Naesala/Leanne with Rafiel standing chastely to the side and Nailah protecting his virtue), Tibarn Hits On Herons and Strong Women.
things that may be relevant to stalking purposes: I’ve written cracky AUs of this game and I produced one Micaiah fanmix. Basically if you want to swap the setting, it’s all good so long as it displays Micaiah’s very intense set of ethics and devotion. As long as it’s not anything to do with WWII. For glaring reasons. Or colonialism/imperialism unless you’re being extra-careful in your handling of the subject matter. Again, for obvious reasons.
Malaussene Saga - Daniel Pennac
Anything about Jeremy. His relationship with Therese (which I ADORE!) or a nice scene with Julie or a family friend! Five things Jeremy wrote, from the first essay in elementary school that made the teacher afraid of how he was being raised to his diary entries to his second novel! The one time Jeremy thought he was starring in a YA mystery book! Jeremy's crush on a cute boy or nice girl in his class! Outsider PoV on Jeremy - at school or elsewhere! jeremy looking for mentorship! Jeremy being confrontational!
I adore Jeremy to tiny bits. I love him because he’s the biggest mouth in a family that’s not lacking them, because he’s so very earnest, because he writes, because he’s emotional, and because he’s one half of the Therese-and-Jeremy show. I adore the Malaussene saga because it’s hilarious and gripping and focused on family relationships and friendships and social issues and because it plays with words and with how the story is told.
Here are a few ideas of what I’d like to read with Jeremy: Jeremy looking for mentorship from someone who is part of the family, but who isn’t a sibling, someone like Julie or Loussa. “5 things Jeremy wrote”, from childhood to however old he is now - school essay, note supposedly from their Mom to let le Petit out at 3 one day, love letter, novel drafts from when he was 8 and wanted to be a superhero? Jeremy being fiercely protective of his family - the time his school called Benjamin because he’d fought with another kid and Jeremy says it was because the other kid had said something about Mom, and Benjamin telling him he should fight back with words - and growing to regret that piece of advice over the years… Outsider PoV on Jeremy, either at school, in the street, from a cop friend of the family (or a new cop who doesn’t know yet about the Malaussène family). The one where it's Jeremy's turn to be a suspect to a murder. Jeremy thinking about what he’d like to do with his life. Jeremy in love and freaking out because it’s his turn to have a kid, he knows it’s his turn, first Louna then Clara then Benjamin then Therese, so now it’s his turn (because if it’s not his turn then it’s le Petit and the kid still blushes whenever Clara solemnly puts condoms in his pocket before he goes out) - bonus points if Jeremy is currently in a relationship where pregnancy risks are a non-issue. Or in no relationship at all, really. Jeremy and Therese, over the years, always and forever (in my view, they bicker so much, that means they’re close). The Hogwarts AU of the Malaussene family - I’m guessing Mom is a witch. The Shadowrun AU where he and Therese are shadowrunners (as is Julie!) to poor-corporate-sap!Benjamin's desperate pride and desperate worry and there are Malaussene hijinks in a cyberpunk world.
things that may be relevant: if you chose to make Jeremy queer I would be delighted (fannish reminder here that Hakim is bisexual)! Also fannish reminder that the Malaussene are a bit more mixed than the Movie depicts (what with Dr Bertrand’s one racist tirade that they’re half Arab) and I always read them as somewhat Jewish. I am unfamiliar with Jerome Charyn’s works though I totally buy that le Petit is Isaac Sidel’s son.
A NOTE ON THE MOVIE: please keep it out of the fic.
Oban Star-Racers
I would like 1)interactions 2)that are full of the character's emotions 3)with a dash of worldbuilding.
One thing I love about the canon is how fraught every discussion is. Intreactions are never gratuitous and always touch more than one level: if Don makes a gesture oward Molly, it's good because he's starting to trust her, but it's bad because he's failing Eva. If Molly calls Jordan partner, he'll wish she also called him something more.
Also the worldbuilding and scenery porn is gorgeous and I love the sense of places.
Team Earth shenanigans? Molly/Jordan/Aikka rom-com? The scars left in the relationship between Molly and her father? Mentoring between Rick and Molly, the fraught relationship between Don and Rick? The weight of duty, the different ways words such as loyalty and honor are interpreted, and the strain resulting from it? Don and Molly absolutely get in touch with Rick when they come back down - how does that happen?
During the series = great. After the series, when things are back to the new normal and people are getting used to them again = also great.
Mid-canon: Molly (or someone else) stewing over their issues and exploring Arouas or Oban. Interactions with locals. Jordan and Aikka accidentally rivalkissing and boom OT3.
Have you seen Spirited Away? If you want to write future fic, I have this idea where I tend to see Molly/Eva as I do Chihiro. I can’t abide the thought that she never goes back to the stars. I like the idea of Molly becoming a pilot or a racer or something and participating in a race, and seeing an incarnate Jordan again (come on, he’s the Avatar). Or her attending an intergalactic race with a friend, and meeting someone from the race.
AU ideas: The one where the Krogs won, Don works with them, and Molly joins the Resistance - bonus points if Aikka is a prince in exile looking for help on Earth to save his own planet. Cyberpunk, daemon AUs.
ships: Don/Rick is OTP, Molly/Jordan, Molly/Jordan/Aikka. Ning and Skun are also the least subtextual lesbians in a French cartoon.
things that may be relevant: my previous Oban requests.
The Girl that’s never been (song)
How do they get by?
I ship Alice and Cheshire and I want to know what happens after the song. Or what Cheshire was up to before. Did he look for her? How literally are we to take his answer anyway? Is there another story for them to jump into - or climb out of?
And yes, their relationship. I want that. That questioning, down-the-rabbit-hole, speaking-in-riddles-only-they-can-understand, halfway-out-of-this-world relationship. Like a threat that is also a comfort. Like they only remember they're alive because the other is like the prick of a memory against their skin.
Don't hesitate to play with meta and narratives, I eat that sort of things right up. However, keep in mind that my knowledge of Lewis Carroll's works is tragically lacking.
Things I’m not interested in reading about: drugs, the original canon, the short story the song is based on. I realize this makes me the worst. I’m not asking you to pretend the drugs in the song never happened - just don’t focus on that - or there’s no such thing as the Lewis Carroll canon - but I won’t enjoy guessing at references I don’t know, my knowledge stops pretty much with Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. References to are fine! Just err on the side of the cliché - the Rabbit, the Hatter, the Queen and the Duchess whose baby was a pig are all fine, but don’t delve in the specifics of the text itself. The raven and the desk is about the extent of my knowledge. As for the short story, I’d rather you’d ignore it entirely.
ship: YES. Or if you don’t ship them, I’m still very fond of the tension and ambiguity between them.
This entry was originally posted at http://runespoor.dreamwidth.org/136550.html. There are
comments there.
Dislikes : A/B/O AUs. I would prefer no PWP for Yuletide. Character bashing. Homophobia/sexism/racism/etc as a set-up for drama; I’m fine with the characters encountering any if it makes sense for canon (ex: while there may be sexism in Baten Kaitos, it’s certainly more subtle than “ladies oughtn’t do this or that”, issues with Laguz/Branded/Beorc integration is completely fine in Fire Emblem), but I don’t want it to be the backdrop for hurt/comfort - and especially not as a way to discredit a villainous OC on a personal level rather than a political one. Christmas fic, wedding fic, pregnancy fic. Domestic fluff. WWII AU. Bleak endings. Casual misogyny/homophobia/transphobia/etc (“don’t be such a girl”, “that’s so gay”, “haha, can’t believe you didn’t see she was a man!”) and slut-shaming of all types.
Tropes I like: groundhog day type fics. The idea that the land is alive, either in a Fisherking-type deal, or that places have their own spirits. Identity Issues. Others I'm forgetting about at the moment.
Ships: are a list of things I ship if you feel like including ships or mentions of relationship of other characters in the fic.
Baten Kaitos
Xelha
My raging idealist who is the most accomplished liar in the party. Tell me more about her doubts, about her thoughts during the game - what she hid from the party, what she knew about Kalas and hid as well, what she hid from Kalas - or tell me about the future she builds. Mid-game angstiness is also a good possibility.
If you favor interactions with another character, please do! I'd love to read a conversation between Lyude and Xelha about countries and duties and ieadls, for instance. Or to Melodia, about the weight of loneliness.
I'm not looking for something that's all introspective, but something about Xelha's contradictions (i.e.: her fantastic propensity for LIES) would be great. I ship Kalas/Xelha a lot.
I love the atmosphere of this game, that each place has a clear identity. I love the myths and the wings of the heart. I love the scenery porn and the creatures. I love the dungeons - the Library! The Garden in Mira!
During the game: How does she feel lying to her friends about her self, about Kalas? Do the others ever confront her after she reveals she’s the Queen of Wazn? Do they forgive her because “it’s not like you ever hid anything from us the way Kalas did”? CUE GUILT. How hard was it, for the queen of an icy land, to pass in places snow only fell in winter? Did she ever slip up in front of Kalas - other than her fateful reference to their first meeting? What are the new traditions of this new world, how does the world react to this new continent? I expect Wazn adapts easily (I have a long-standing headcanon that they’ve always done trade with the other islands, they simply hid where they were from - they’d have to, Wazn can’t be big on agriculture), but how do the others take to this hidden country and its Witch Queen with lies of spun ice? I did mention I really enjoy Xelha’s lies and secrecy, that exist parallel to her being a genuinely good person. Treaties with King Ladekahn or Queen Cordelia would be nice. Maybe she helps Kalas settle in Wazn as they navigate their brand-new relationship and they’re not sure it’s even a real relationship?
Feel free to make up bits of worldbuilding for this fic please, customs and celebrations and children’s stories and food, and sprinkle them over!
ships: Xelha/Kalas is OTP. Also Gibari/Anna/Reblys OT3, if you care for mentioning other ships.
things that may be relevant: Obviously Mizuti is genderqueer, but I also have a headcanon that Xelha is MtF.
Batgirl (Comics)
Brenda Miller
Preferably non52 future-fic (she was out of Bludhaven when it was destroyed, okay?). Interactions with members of the Batfam or other outsiders who have interactions with the Batfam would be awesome, either in or out of masks. Did she move to Gotham or elsewhere? I imagine the Bats are keeping an eye on her, she was a friend of Cass'. Does Cass come back? Does she become Cass' Alfred way in the future when Cass inherited the mantle of the Bat?
I don’t know what I could add to my original request. I’m not interested in tragedy here. I like the idea of Brenda slowly becoming aware of who the people coming through her coffeeshop are, and pretending to stay unaware - plausible deniability being everything. I also like the idea of her and Stephanie Brown’s Nick Gage hanging while their Batgirls/not-girlfriends do heroics. Basically Brenda interacting with the Batfam or their friends and allies would fill me with joy. I like the creepy, loving surveillance the Batfamily puts over the people they like - it’s for security reasons! So maybe Brenda realizing she’s being stalked by costumed people could happen. If you want to send her to another DC city and interact with other heroes, I’m very fond of the Arrow Family.
I like the mix of humor and wince-what-distasters accompanies the Batfamily. It also strikes me that this is the ideal way to write a coffeeshop not!AU. Maybe Cass (or whoever you want) asks Brenda for a job, and suddenly Brenda finds herself in what she realizes are secret identity shenanigans.
ships: I have no Brenda ships, but your heart leads you to Brenda/Cass I’d be completely okay with that! I have vast amounts of ships in the DCU - Steph/Cass, Babs/Dick, Bruce/Jason are OTP, Cass/Steph/Tim, Babs/Dick/Bruce are OT3, Bruce/Dick, Everyone Has A Crush On Dick, Everyone Wants Bruce, Babs Tops Always, The Good OT6 Cass/Steph/Tim/Kon/Cassie/Rose, Bruce/Selina, Robinosexuality Is A Thing.
things that may be relevant: this is not the first time I have requested Brenda fic, in case looking at previous requests may help you. If you include Cass, acknowledging her disability is important - or even if you just mention her, Brenda was very aware of Cass’ illiteracy. (If it somehow comes up, Bruce’s mom was jewish and they once believed Jason was Shiva’s son, so he’s clearly mixed-race. I don’t know how it would unless your Brenda is jewish and they discuss it or Jason cameos in your fic, but they’re things I like so there you are.) Also I tend to headcanon Jason as genderqueer, and sometimes Cass as well.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Micaiah
Give me the future she builds, after the war she's carved out. Give me how her people sees her, and her friends, and the other monarchs. Give me her remorses, the nightmares that haunt her. Give me the proud face she shows others. Give me her relationship with her sister, with those she almost destroyed and who almost destroyed her, with the herons. Give me Sothe, or Pelleas, or Sanaki, Tibarn, Elincia, Soren, Jill, Ike, Naesala. Give me Micaiah from the outside and Micaiah from the inside.
Or, you know, Part III angst. That's always good. I love reading about Micaiah's ethics, and the twisting thereof.
(I ship Micaiah/Sothe and Micaiah/Sothe/Pelleas and I would ship her with Tibarn or Naesala or Reyson or Leanne because bird tribes, but for politics and sex and friendship and not love.)
As I said, I’m most interested in future fic. How far in the future is up to you - the reconstruction fic is good. So is the fic 200 years in the future where new heroes have to convince the Mad Queen of Daein to lend them her help and claim the throne she’s abandoned back (or the one where they have to defeat her) - what are the accounts of the Ashnard and Ashera war by this time. I’d love to see a fic that was both about the myth she’s become and the woman she is. A fic where she deals with what she’s done and what she still has to do with Daein would be great. Maybe a fic where she comes out as Branded to her people - either because she has no choice or because she wants to change Daein’s attitude toward Laguz and Branded. Maybe a fic about the legacy of the war (and her legacy); do they start defining war crimes on Tellius? If you wrote a Micaiah/Pelleas/Sothe get-together fic in the aftermath of the war, with politics and visits between royals and social tensions, I’d love you (the one where they realize Pelleas’ time is running out and they wrestle the spirit for Pelleas’ soul would be awesome). Post-canon fic focused on her relationships with any of Naesala, Elincia, Sanaki, Tibarn, Reyson, Soren, Ike, Jill (especially if Jill betrayed Daein), or conversations with the same, would be really cool.
I could also get behind Part III Micaiah - Part III is what I love best about the game, the guilt, the drama, the tension, Sothe rightfully pointing out they’ve become what they hated and Micaiah finding Daein’s safety a fair exchange for her soul, the hopelessness of their fights, Jill and Zihark’s doubts or betrayal and Edward’s utter trust - or just pre-canon Micaiah leading her Resistance. Micaiah has parallels and contrasts with many other characters - Sanaki, Elincia, Ike, Soren, Naesala mostly; Sanaki for their family links, Begnion’s betrayal of Sanaki vs Daein’s devotion to Micaiah, Sanaki’s fear that Micaiah will want Begnion’s throne despite the fact that Sanaki is more experienced; Ike for charismatically leading a lost royal to reconquer their land; Elincia for the contrast between what they do with their power (Elincia’s sacrifice of Lucia vs the cliff scene with Tibarn and Sothe); Soren for their blood and love and devotion despite their apparently contradictory ethics; Naesala for their blood pact and their remarkably similar attitude toward what must be done to protect their countries.
ships: Micaiah/Sothe, Micaiah/Pelleas/Sothe, but I also ship them open enough that she could totally have a flirtation with [insert non-Rafiel bird royal of your choice here, especially Naesala] while Sothe is Displeased and Pelleas is Woobie. Micaiah/Jarod is my badwrong pairing of hateporn in this canon. I don’t ship f/f where Micaiah is concerned, though I’d have nothing against the Micaiah/Leanne subset of the Bird Tribe Orgy. Ike/Soren, the Crimean Court Is a Hotbed of Romantic Intrigue (Elincia/Lucia/Bastian/Geoffrey in various combinations), Bird Tribe Orgy (Tibarn/Reyson/Naesala/Leanne with Rafiel standing chastely to the side and Nailah protecting his virtue), Tibarn Hits On Herons and Strong Women.
things that may be relevant to stalking purposes: I’ve written cracky AUs of this game and I produced one Micaiah fanmix. Basically if you want to swap the setting, it’s all good so long as it displays Micaiah’s very intense set of ethics and devotion. As long as it’s not anything to do with WWII. For glaring reasons. Or colonialism/imperialism unless you’re being extra-careful in your handling of the subject matter. Again, for obvious reasons.
Malaussene Saga - Daniel Pennac
Anything about Jeremy. His relationship with Therese (which I ADORE!) or a nice scene with Julie or a family friend! Five things Jeremy wrote, from the first essay in elementary school that made the teacher afraid of how he was being raised to his diary entries to his second novel! The one time Jeremy thought he was starring in a YA mystery book! Jeremy's crush on a cute boy or nice girl in his class! Outsider PoV on Jeremy - at school or elsewhere! jeremy looking for mentorship! Jeremy being confrontational!
I adore Jeremy to tiny bits. I love him because he’s the biggest mouth in a family that’s not lacking them, because he’s so very earnest, because he writes, because he’s emotional, and because he’s one half of the Therese-and-Jeremy show. I adore the Malaussene saga because it’s hilarious and gripping and focused on family relationships and friendships and social issues and because it plays with words and with how the story is told.
Here are a few ideas of what I’d like to read with Jeremy: Jeremy looking for mentorship from someone who is part of the family, but who isn’t a sibling, someone like Julie or Loussa. “5 things Jeremy wrote”, from childhood to however old he is now - school essay, note supposedly from their Mom to let le Petit out at 3 one day, love letter, novel drafts from when he was 8 and wanted to be a superhero? Jeremy being fiercely protective of his family - the time his school called Benjamin because he’d fought with another kid and Jeremy says it was because the other kid had said something about Mom, and Benjamin telling him he should fight back with words - and growing to regret that piece of advice over the years… Outsider PoV on Jeremy, either at school, in the street, from a cop friend of the family (or a new cop who doesn’t know yet about the Malaussène family). The one where it's Jeremy's turn to be a suspect to a murder. Jeremy thinking about what he’d like to do with his life. Jeremy in love and freaking out because it’s his turn to have a kid, he knows it’s his turn, first Louna then Clara then Benjamin then Therese, so now it’s his turn (because if it’s not his turn then it’s le Petit and the kid still blushes whenever Clara solemnly puts condoms in his pocket before he goes out) - bonus points if Jeremy is currently in a relationship where pregnancy risks are a non-issue. Or in no relationship at all, really. Jeremy and Therese, over the years, always and forever (in my view, they bicker so much, that means they’re close). The Hogwarts AU of the Malaussene family - I’m guessing Mom is a witch. The Shadowrun AU where he and Therese are shadowrunners (as is Julie!) to poor-corporate-sap!Benjamin's desperate pride and desperate worry and there are Malaussene hijinks in a cyberpunk world.
things that may be relevant: if you chose to make Jeremy queer I would be delighted (fannish reminder here that Hakim is bisexual)! Also fannish reminder that the Malaussene are a bit more mixed than the Movie depicts (what with Dr Bertrand’s one racist tirade that they’re half Arab) and I always read them as somewhat Jewish. I am unfamiliar with Jerome Charyn’s works though I totally buy that le Petit is Isaac Sidel’s son.
A NOTE ON THE MOVIE: please keep it out of the fic.
Oban Star-Racers
I would like 1)interactions 2)that are full of the character's emotions 3)with a dash of worldbuilding.
One thing I love about the canon is how fraught every discussion is. Intreactions are never gratuitous and always touch more than one level: if Don makes a gesture oward Molly, it's good because he's starting to trust her, but it's bad because he's failing Eva. If Molly calls Jordan partner, he'll wish she also called him something more.
Also the worldbuilding and scenery porn is gorgeous and I love the sense of places.
Team Earth shenanigans? Molly/Jordan/Aikka rom-com? The scars left in the relationship between Molly and her father? Mentoring between Rick and Molly, the fraught relationship between Don and Rick? The weight of duty, the different ways words such as loyalty and honor are interpreted, and the strain resulting from it? Don and Molly absolutely get in touch with Rick when they come back down - how does that happen?
During the series = great. After the series, when things are back to the new normal and people are getting used to them again = also great.
Mid-canon: Molly (or someone else) stewing over their issues and exploring Arouas or Oban. Interactions with locals. Jordan and Aikka accidentally rivalkissing and boom OT3.
Have you seen Spirited Away? If you want to write future fic, I have this idea where I tend to see Molly/Eva as I do Chihiro. I can’t abide the thought that she never goes back to the stars. I like the idea of Molly becoming a pilot or a racer or something and participating in a race, and seeing an incarnate Jordan again (come on, he’s the Avatar). Or her attending an intergalactic race with a friend, and meeting someone from the race.
AU ideas: The one where the Krogs won, Don works with them, and Molly joins the Resistance - bonus points if Aikka is a prince in exile looking for help on Earth to save his own planet. Cyberpunk, daemon AUs.
ships: Don/Rick is OTP, Molly/Jordan, Molly/Jordan/Aikka. Ning and Skun are also the least subtextual lesbians in a French cartoon.
things that may be relevant: my previous Oban requests.
The Girl that’s never been (song)
How do they get by?
I ship Alice and Cheshire and I want to know what happens after the song. Or what Cheshire was up to before. Did he look for her? How literally are we to take his answer anyway? Is there another story for them to jump into - or climb out of?
And yes, their relationship. I want that. That questioning, down-the-rabbit-hole, speaking-in-riddles-only-they-can-understand, halfway-out-of-this-world relationship. Like a threat that is also a comfort. Like they only remember they're alive because the other is like the prick of a memory against their skin.
Don't hesitate to play with meta and narratives, I eat that sort of things right up. However, keep in mind that my knowledge of Lewis Carroll's works is tragically lacking.
Things I’m not interested in reading about: drugs, the original canon, the short story the song is based on. I realize this makes me the worst. I’m not asking you to pretend the drugs in the song never happened - just don’t focus on that - or there’s no such thing as the Lewis Carroll canon - but I won’t enjoy guessing at references I don’t know, my knowledge stops pretty much with Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. References to are fine! Just err on the side of the cliché - the Rabbit, the Hatter, the Queen and the Duchess whose baby was a pig are all fine, but don’t delve in the specifics of the text itself. The raven and the desk is about the extent of my knowledge. As for the short story, I’d rather you’d ignore it entirely.
ship: YES. Or if you don’t ship them, I’m still very fond of the tension and ambiguity between them.
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