Yuletide 2023

[nemali]

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Hello, and thank you in advance for writing for me! May your Yuletide be joyful and your words flow easy :)

I’m nemali over on AO3 - feel free to check out either my works and/or my bookmarks.

I’m just gonna be upfront and say that I’m super obsessed with all the fandoms I requested this year, so honestly anything that you write, I’m confident I’ll love. I do have gifts enabled - any treats will be loved and cherished.

If it’s your thing, crossovers between my requested fandoms would be amazing and I would love to read that. All of these prompts are optional, though - if you have another idea in mind, go for it!
No DNWs this year! Go wild!

Likes:

• domestic fluff


• bonding


• angst with a happy ending


• character studies


• introspection


• mutual pining


• found family


• established relationship


• hurt/comfort


• outsider POV


• second person POV


• missing scenes


• love languages


• epistolary formats


• horror


• casual intimacy


• 5 1 formats


• any and all AUs


• unreliable narrators


• ghosts/hauntings (both literal and metaphorical)


• time loops


• soulmates


• not actually unrequited love


• didn’t know they were dating


• casual intimacy


• flower language


• nonlinear narratives


• experimental styles


• identity porn/mistaken identity

Requested fandoms:

 
- Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
- Rouge by Mona Awad
- AI: The Somnium Files
- Subnautica
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- Xenoblade Chronicles

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo:

Requested Characters: Shigima Harue, Tono Ayame

Optional Tags: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

I have not been able to stop thinking about this game since I first played it. I am OBSESSED with the idea of the Rite of Resurrection, of the unspeakable things everyone is willing to do to bring back someone that they loved. I also loved the nonlinear timeline in this game, so if you want to try your hand at writing something like that, I would support you all the way. If you want to go the shipping route, I'm a big fan of Richter/Harue.

Optional Prompts:

• Delving deeper into the specific horror of not knowing whether you've triggered another curse bearer's curse (specifically the showdown between Harue and Ayame)


• An exploration of any of the other 'bad' endings (I'm a big fan of Harue's Legacy and Ayame's Inspiration). Do you think the Rite of Resurrection genuinely works? What do their lives look like when they've managed to resurrect who they've wanted to - or do they? Ayame, in particular, is interesting here: what happens if she does manage to resurrect Hokusai?


• A further look at Ayame's family life. Does she consider herself to have any kind of connection to Fumichika, and does she actually believe that she's the reincarnation of his wife? What did her relationship with Tetsuo look like growing up? The standoff between Ayame and Tetsuo was so emotional, and I think about it all the time.


• Ayame's relationship with Yutaro explored further - what was her take on the car accident that killed Michiyo? What was her perspective on using Yutaro as a means to an end?

Rouge by Mona Awad

Requested Characters: Worldbuilding, Hud Hudson, Mirabelle Nour, Noelle Les Jardins
Optional Tags: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)
This was my most anticipated book of the year, and it definitely did not let me down. I loved every bit of it: the unreliable narration, the weird beauty cult, the relationship between Belle and her mother.
Optional Prompts:

• What did Hud Hudson's relationship with his brother look like before and after his brother got involved with Rouge? What was his POV of seeing Belle fall deeper into the cult's hands?


• The ending with Belle and her mother's jellyfish just about broke my heart. I'd love to see your take on Noelle's POV of her daughter. How did she manage to forgive Belle for nearly killing her? What did it feel like for her to gradually forget Belle in exchange for beauty?


• Worldbuilding - what exactly is the cult? Do you think they actually manage to steal and eat peoples' souls, or is that just something that's been wildly filtered through Belle's unreliable narration?


• What the hell do you think was going on with that weird Tom Cruise dude who can come through mirrors?

AI: The Somnium Files

Requested characters: Boss | Kuranashi Shizue, Sejima Saito

Optional tags: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

For this fandom, DNW anything relating to Nirvana Initiative please! I love love this game so much - another one that I played once and then never stopped thinking about. If you wanna go the shipping route, I'm a big fan of Boss/Date.

Optional prompts:

• Pre-canon: how does Boss deal with Date losing all his memories, including the ones of her? Post-canon, how does Date deal with being back in his ‘real’ body, which is unfamiliar to him? Or, if you prefer, what about the Annihilation Route? When Boss is dead and Date is implied to just be stuck in her body, how does he cope with that? Established relationship would be a great trope for this - how do you deal with being trapped in the body of the woman you love, knowing that she can never return to it?


• What was Saito's childhood like growing up with So Sejima as his father? What would changed if he knew of the existence of his sister Iris?


• Saito POV on being in anyone's body. How did he feel about acting like them? How does he feel about constantly seeing his own body right in front of him and not being able to take it back?


• An exploration of any of the bad endings

Subnautica

Requested Characters: Marguerit Maida, Bart Torgal

Optional Tags: My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Ah, Subnautica my beloved. I love this game so much. Anything you write that mirrors the atmosphere of the game is golden, in my opinion. Format wise, I think it would be really cool to see something told through recordings, like all the Databanks.

Optional prompts:

• I’d love to see your take on the relationship between Bart and Marguerit. Canonically, he says that while his father doesn’t take him that seriously, Marguerit actually listens to him and respects his ideas. Why? How does someone as tough as Marguerit feel about being around a kid like Bart? I’d love to see something about the two of them bonding and just getting to know each other a bit - something that would allow Marguerit to see him as more than just ‘that rich jerk’s son’. The relationship need not necessarily be parental; I tend to see Marguerit more as a cool, violent wine aunt. No shipfic between them please.


• More worldbuilding regarding either Alterra or the Precursors.


• or if you prefer something horrorish, maybe they find some creepy stuff while exploring the planet? Some guest appearances from a leviathan or two, maybe


• Some more information about the crew of the Aurora and their relationships with each other


• AU - what if they manage to survive until Ryley gets to 4546-B?

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Requested Characters: Aryll, Tetra, Link's Grandma, Link

Optional Tags: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

This was one of the first video games I ever played as a kid, and it's very close to my heart. Link/Tetra is a great ship and totally welcome if you'd like to include it.

Optional Prompts:

• Link and Aryll and Grandma all being a family


• Aryll POV of her time on the pirate ship


• Link POV horror on literally anything: controlling the winds; any of the monsters he fights; the general spookiness of any of the dungeons


• King of Red Lions's backstory/history


• Ganondorf POV of his goals/history

Xenoblade Chronicles

Requested Characters: Dunban, Carna | Sharla, Fiorung | Fiora, Reyn

Optional Tags: My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

I adore this game so much. All of the affinity bonds in Xenoblade are literally my lifeblood. Feel free to combine as many of these as you like. Throw in your favorite tropes! Bonding, found family, hurt/comfort, the sky’s the limit! Ships I like: Shulk/Fiora, Sharla/Reyn, Sharla/Gadolt, Sharla/Gadolt/Reyn

Optional Prompts:

• I’d love to see Reyn interacting with Juju. What do their lives look like post-canon, now that Colony 6 is rebuilt? How does Reyn approach building a relationship with Juju? Would he try to be like an older brother? Would he ask permission to start dating Sharla? How does Sharla move on and heal from Gadolt’s death - or does she?


• Your take on the Colony 9 trio - either pre-canon from their days growing up together or something post-canon. How does Shulk feel about the loss of Dickson, of Zanza, of the Monado?


• What did Dunban's life look like, losing his parents and having to essentially raise Fiora? How did he deal with taking up the Monado and losing his arm, knowing that he isn't the hero everyone wants him to be?


• Fiora lends herself so well to Body Horror, with the whole 'literally sharing a body with Meyneth' thing. What was it like for her to be trapped in her own body and not be able to do anything about it? How does she feel in her Mechon body - or post canon, how does she feel about the return to her Homs body? Does it feel like hers, or is she once again trapped in a prison of her own making? How does she feel about not having Meyneth's voice in her head anymore - or does she? Does Meyneth keep haunting her post-canon, either genuinely or through Fiora's own warped perception?

Honestly, as long as you have fun with what you write, I’m sure I’ll adore it! I’m just happy to be here :) Thanks again for reading my letter, and I hope you have a great Yuletide!