Dear Yuletide Letter 2020

[jaclynhyde]

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you for writing for me! I've loved my past Yuletide fics and I can't wait for yours. A summary of this letter: I ship things and would love shipfic for those relationships, but gen or preship delving into them is great too. I include prompts if you want them, but I’d be just as happy to read your ideas. I will pretty much adore whatever you write. I am ereamijh on Twitter and jaclynhyde on AO3 if you want to stalk. Letter section lengths are based on when I wrote them, not how much I want the fandom. Thank you so much!

Stuff I love:

• Shipping! I am a ridiculous shipper at heart, so my favorite thing would be ship fic for the pairings I request, or gen fic focusing on their relationship that could be pre-ship; getting-together fic with a plot and eventually-resolved sexual tension is ideal. Porn or no porn are both great--it's the ship more than the smut I'm into. I love pining and hurt/comfort and cuddling to avoid hypothermia and all those wonderful fanfic tropes.
• Identity porn! As defined by Fanlore, it's focusing on people who have secret identities which focus on the consequences of using multiple personas". So Character A is in disguise, interacting with Character B, who may or may not know who Character A really is, and there may be kissing. 
• Dramatic reunions! Considering how many of my requests over the years have included at least one character that canonically dies, well... I love seeing characters brought back from the dead (or not actually dead, or whatever plot device works) reunited with someone who's been mourning them. If shippy, I really love if the living person had feelings for the other and regrets never confessing them.
• Bad guys turning good! I love villains who discover that their worldview is wrong, especially by getting to know one of the good guys (cough Tales traitors). I also love villains who aren't entirely bad, and good guys who can learn from them too.
• Lots of story types--adventure, what-ifs, canon continuations, everyone is mysteriously alive somehow, etc. Both happy and bittersweet/sad fics are great, as long as the angst isn't from the pairing's relationship not working out.
• Interactive fiction! I like any format; I don't have specific prompts this year, so use my other prompts or go wild. If you're writing IF with multiple endings, feel free to ignore my major character death DNW for the bad ends. I secretly crave dating sims for every canon--if you do this, feel free to pair off requested characters with everyone (the weirder the better) as long as the couple I requested are at least one of the ends!

Stuff I don't want:

• Non-con; dub-con is great. The non-con line for me is one character forcing another into sex acts; dub-con examples are sex pollen, aliens make them do it, fighting turning into sex (even if they're still trying to kill each other), a villain sexually teasing a hero who is trying not to respond but is into it. Verbal consent is not needed.
• Character bashing, including canon love interests.
• Non-canon major character death. Fractured versions in Xillia and Servant deaths in Fate/ are fine.
• Unrequested crossovers and AUs of the setting instead of plot (mundane AUs, everyone is ponies, etc.).
• Unrequited love. One or both parties incorrectly thinking it's unrequited is fantastic!
• Unrequested ships for my requested characters (canon past relationships are fine). Check the fandom sections for exceptions.
• Established relationship fic. This isn't as a hard DNW like the others, but I prefer getting together, pre-relationship fic, or shippy gen for ships.

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Prompts:

"Though counterfeit, you fight with your own desires. You and I are the same." 

 

Fandom: ロード・エルメロイⅡ世の事件簿 - 三田誠 | Lord El-Melloi II Case Files - Sanda Makoto

Character Requested: Faker

What I Want:

 

I love pretty much any character who could be called Faker, and "Hephaestion" is no exception. I love her rashness and rage, her loyalty to Iskandar and her duty while deeply resenting the Hetairoi she would have had a place in. And I'm fascinated by how she claims the name and role of her brother, when her own relationship to Iskandar was clearly important beyond her usefulness to him. Case Files is such a delightful show, and seeing Waver confront his past through confronting Iskandar's was a great twist.

 

I'd love to see what would happen if she were summoned elsewhere, if she had more time to interact with Waver and Gray within the existing plot, what it was like to have her life dedicated to Iskandar whether she wanted it or not. I listed a few ship prompts below; I don't have an OTP for Faker, so if you have any preferences, feel free to pair her with anyone but Iskandar or Hephaestion!  Same goes for gen; I want to see Faker played off anyone from Case Files (besides the below, Shishigou is a favorite) or Fate/.

 

I've only watched the show and read summaries of the light novels with Faker in them; feel free to include whatever you know. As for historical accuracy, I'd be happy with anything from historically accurate to throwing in history & Renault easter eggs to fuck it, it's Fate/, anything goes. If you include Hephaestion, just keep him male and Iskandar's lover and anything else goes. 

 

Fandom DNWs: Faker/Iskandar (strong feelings are fine, just not explicitly romantic), explicitly ruling out Iskandar/Hephaestion or Iskandar/Waver

 

Prompts: 

• Faker's life with Iskandar, Hephaestion, and the Hetairoi. What kind of curses did she have to deal with? How did her friendship with Iskandar begin? Did she resent Hephaestion at all? Did she share Iskandar's dream at some point? (Is she jealous of Waver that he still can?) I'd love to see them meeting again as Servants, especially if there's some plot reason they're summoned to the same place.
• Faker is summoned in a real Grail War or to Chaldea--what are the circumstances? I kind of love the idea of Waver accidentally summoning her (perhaps because someone else has summoned Iskandar first?). Or does she somehow end up helping Waver and Rin dismantle the Holy Grails?
• Faker/Gray. I love that Faker has a civil conversation with her after their fight, and that she recognizes their similarities but freaks out when Gray gets too close to the truth. What if Faker became a dark mentor to Gray, like Iskandar was for Waver? What if they were trapped together for longer (huddling for warmth! huddling for warmth!). Canon-age underage is fine for this.
• Faker/Waver. I see Waver as gay, buuuut I love the idea of him making Very Bad Choices and rationalizing Faker is as close as he can get to Iskandar right now. Or just having hatesex while she's taunting him about knowing Iskandar for longer than Waver did (or being his lover, if she's still claiming to be Hephaestion).
• Fate/Grand Order crossover (Babylonia spoilers): I want Faker to meet Kingu, because two fake Servants pretending to be the lovers of their kings who they have very complicated feelings about probably have something to talk about. How long does she hold out before getting involved in Chaldea's weird shenanigans? Does she hang out with Yan Qing and Emiya and the other fakers? I'm not familiar with the Case Files event, but throw that in there if it fits. 

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"Consider it revenge for Theodora. I'll be the one who finally puts you out of your misery. But I'll only kill you once you've  stopped being yourself... Only then."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I swear by my full name, Fylk Zahdeya... Zaveid the Oathkeeper."
"Ufemew Wexub... That's my true name."
"I'll remember it."

Fandom: Tales of Berseria
Characters requested: Eizen, Zaveid

What I want:

I shipped this when I played Zestiria ("aww, Zaveid totally wants to bang that dragon"), and then I played Berseria and was blown away by how shippy they were. And Eizen! I love Eizen so much. I love how he looks like this dark and gritty edgelord at first...and then he turns out to be an absolute nerd who will wax poetic about antiques for hours and write beautiful letters to his sister. And Zaveid as a pacifist, still loud and brash but desperately protecting someone he loves, was just heartbreaking. I love the world of both games; I bring up Zestiria a lot, but don't feel obligated to include anything from there. (The basics are that 2k years after Berseria, Eizen is a dragon, Zaveid is still trying to keep his promise, and Edna is Not Happy about it. Eventually, after the new Shepherd and friends take down a dragon, Edna admits her brother isn't coming back and they successfully kill him. Until then, I had thought Berseria was a sequel and Eizen would be fine! It was upsetting!)

I really love the relationship between Eizen and Zaveid, and how much Eizen changed Zaveid. It's great how they go from fighting physically and verbally, thinking their entire outlooks on life are impossible to reconcile, to Zaveid realizing  how personally Eizen knows that killing is an act of mercy. I love that Zaveid's outrageous persona and flirtation is in part hiding his anguish over losing someone he loves, and I can't help but think that eventually that applies to Eizen as well as Theodora. And come on, exchanging true names while making a promise that will last for centuries is romantic as hell.

Like every Tales game, I love the other characters and would love to see them too! Magilou, Van Aifread, Velvet, Dyne, Grimoirh, and Kurogane are my favorites, but anyone except Bienfu is great. And sylphjays and pengyons (secretly human or not) are always a plus! If you're going into Zestiria territory, Edna would be amazing (including her friendship with Zaveid) and I love everyone else too. For background ships, I like Velvet/Magilou, Velvet/Eleanor, Rokuro/Kurogane, Dezel/Rose, and Sorey/Mikleo; also, casual Zaveid/anyone is fine as long as his heart belongs to Eizen.

Prompts:

• Eizen and Zaveid bonding over the years. I love how the Zestiria anime has Zaveid yelling while he's fighting Eizen: "He's forgotten everything. How often we've battled, the dangerous travels we went on, how often we got drunk together...You've forgotten all of it, Eizen!" How did they become close, and how did it feel for Zaveid knowing he was going to lose him? Besides the angst potential, I love Eizen's seriousness in ridiculous situations and this is a great excuse for that (Eizen taking Zaveid to Normin Island or Katz Korner, Zavied taking a shift at that godforsaken restaurant, more fun testing the curse). This would also go really well with Zaveid later bonding with Edna.
• Eizen trying to keep Zaveid away because the more he cares, the more likely it is the curse will destroy Zaveid, too. I'd love to see Zaveid slamming his way past his defenses, especially once his crew can't see him, and if this ends with him convincing Eizen to actually visit his goddamn sister I won't complain. I like the idea of Zaveid just laying on the charm more and more, until he finally realizes that Eizen is trying to protect him and blows up at him for wasting so much time they could have had together.
• Dragon sex and/or romance. Zaveid seems to have a thing for people who turn into dragons and keeps making suggestive comments about monsters, so... With this, I'd like to see an Eizen who can still speak and who's still himself; think xeno instead of bestiality. He could be purified (Zestiria anime-style) or just still be in the process of turning into a dragon. This would also be great with romance or friendship, especially if he's regained himself after centuries of being a mindless dragon.
• Tales of the Rays crossover. I don't actually play Tales of the Rays, so I don't care about canon knowledge; the conceit is Tales characters transported to another dimension(?) where everyone gets to hang out, and the important part is Berseria-era Eizen and Zesteria-era Zaveid get to be together. These videos (with English subtitles) are stupidly romantic: Cherry Trees & The Vagabond of the Wind and An Old Promise (includes Tales of the Abyss spoilers). I love that Zaveid and Eizen get to meet again at a romantic cherry blossom festival, and that Zaveid explicitly wants to be by his side, and that Zaveid will remember his oath for as long as they live. I want to see what Eizen thinks of Zaveid now, and Zaveid finally getting the chance to see his friend again after so many years.

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"I'd watch your back around him. He's just playing with you now, and someday he'll throw you away."
"I'd like to think Alvin knows how I feel." 

Fandom: Tales of Xillia
Characters requested: Alvin, Jude Mathis
What I want:
 

This went from "aw, Alvin's touchy-feely, I can ship this" to "Wow this game is all about Alvin becoming a better person because he fell in love." I tend to love the traitors in Tales, and Alvin is no exception; I love his cool, flirty persona, and how it's hiding how lost he is, and I love that he teases and betrays over and over until he finally breaks. And then he finds his home and finds people who matter to him, and takes the long path to becoming a better person. And Jude! I love how he's kind and brilliant and how he finds his place in the world, and how he goes from near-suicidal depression to taking up Milla's mission whether she's with him or not. The cast and world of Xillia are delightful, and fractured dimensions give even more room to play around. I'm also here for everyone lives AUs!

I absolutely adore Alvin/Jude; I think my favorite part is no matter how exasperating or traitorous Alvin is, Jude is always willing to forgive him and always wants to trust him. And Jude clearly means so much to Alvin, enough that he can leave the people who have been his last trace of home, enough that he could choose someone else over the easy solution for the first time. During Xillia 1, I'd love to see Jude crushing on this charming touchy-feely guy and becoming more attached even when seeing his worst side, and Alvin just realizing how much he cares for this kid who treats him so much better than he deserves. Afterwards, I'd love to see them repairing their relationship, with Alvin learning to let someone in and Jude learning to be happy after Milla. I'm not opposed to canon-age underage, but I still think a 15-year-old med student is ridiculous. Feel free to age Jude up a few years (keeping an age gap) or just keep it as-is.

As for Milla, I'd love any of my prompts with Alvin/Jude/Milla as well; I love her blunt personality and how she comes to care for her humans. If you don't go the OT3 route, either Jude/Milla in an open relationship or Jude and Milla not being together after she leaves to the spirit realm are great. (Alvin being jealous of Jude/Milla without realizing Jude or both are into him too is wonderful!) Past or fractured dimension Alvin/Presa is good too, and I kind of love the idea of Jude being jealous of Presa for meaning so much to Alvin and Presa being jealous of Jude because he changed for Jude like he couldn't for her.

I love a whole lot of the Xillia characters and would love to see them as well. Favorites include Balan (esp. tormenting Alvin and/or hinting to Jude that Alfred has a thing for him), ROLLO, both Millas, Gaius, ROLLO, Ludger, the Chimeriad, etc. For background ships, I especially like Ludger/Gaius, Ludger/anyone, Rowen/anyone, and Balan/anyone, but anything but Gaius/Muzet is cool.

Prompts:

• Linking. How much are they in sync while linking? What if Jude starts getting through Alvin's very strong mental blocks during Xillia 1 and finds out some things Alvin really doesn't want him to know? What if Alvin finds out how much Jude is crushing on him wants to trust him and doesn't understand it?
• Identity porn! I don't have many ideas for this but I would adore it however you could fit it in. Does Jude have a secret Exodus contact that's warning him? Is Jude penpals with some guy named Alfred? Does Jude figure out something's strange with his mana lobe before he knows about Elympios and start investigating?
• Alvin and Jude investigate a fractured dimension where their relationship is very different. Maybe they're together, or Alvin killed Jude and has regretted it ever since, or the fractured versions are in the middle of the Xillia 1 betrayals. Do the prime and fractured characters have to team up, or will they fight to the death to save their dimension and their version of Alvin/Jude? Do one or both of the prime versions have sexual tension with fractured version and/or realize their feelings because of them? Feel free to angst it up for the fractured dimension, or figure out a way for them to survive. Or at least have a threesome/foursome.
•  Alvin and Jude becoming closer after Xillia 1. I love Xillia 2, but I really wish it had a lot more on their relationship; feel free to set your fic as Xillia 2 compliant or not. How does Alvin deal with someone who knows all his faults and secrets and still, incredibly, wants him around? Does Alvin keep Jude from retreating into his work after Milla leaves? Does Alvin show Jude around Elympios, and does Jude take an interest in his world and his past? Does Jude try to put some distance between them because he's convinced Alvin's flirting to needle Jude about his crush? Does Balan matchmake because he loves Alfred (and loves keeping little Alfie on edge)?

 

Thank you again, dear Yuletide writer, and may you get the fic of your heart!

 

Yours,

JH