Dear Yuletide Writer (2017)
Oct. 8th, 2017 11:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ghostwingsHello, Yuletide Author!
My AO3 username is Eida, and my requests for this year are:
16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds (Video Game) - Lucy
Each to Each - Seanan McGuire - Any
Lady of the Shard (Webcomic) – Acolyte, Radiant Goddess
Here are a few of my general fic likes:
○ Relationship development
○ Hurt/Comfort
○ Seeing characters be competent at what they do (and discovering their niche)
○ Characters who are comfortable with each other, and willing to engage in good-natured banter
○ Missing scenes and perspectives from characters we didn't get to see much of in canon.
○ Fics set pre- and post- canon.
○ Worldbuilding—I love seeing aspects of canon examined more deeply or expanded on in interesting ways.
○ Exploring the viewpoint of non-human characters who might think and behave differently than humans would
○ Fics that include/consist of in-universe documents (i.e. letters, news articles, excerpts from history books, chatlogs, etc.)
Other details:
○ I'm okay with a wide range of tones, from fluff to darker fic. However, I prefer endings that aren't entirely unhappy—bittersweet is fine, though.
○ Also, I'm completely okay with canon divergence AUs, if you have an interesting what-might-have-been you want to pursue.
Fandom-Specific Prompts:
16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds (Lucy)
This Twine game can be played online here.
○ How did Lucy get into vampire hunting in the first place? Did she survive a vampire attack and decided to dedicate herself to helping keep others safe? (Maybe she was rescued by Maggie and Luke, and that's how they first met.) Or did someone she cared about get attacked by a vampire, driving Lucy to take up a career as a vampire hunter?
Or did she just respond to a Craigslist ad: "Freelance Vampire Hunters Wanted!!! Start Today!"
○ Some dialogue options can suggest that Lucy and Maggie are dating; if so, what's their relationship like? What might one of their dates look like? According to Lucy, they share an enjoyment of watching vampire movies and "yell[ing] constructive criticism," so hitting the movies is one option. (And it's possible they'll run into another vampire, much like Lucy did in the game... 16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at the Movie Theater?)
○ In some of the variants of the true ending Claire ends up becoming a vampire hunter (either after Lucy explains things to her in the McDonalds, or, after the fire extinguisher ending, when Claire decides to track Lucy down and get an explanation as to what attacked her. Of course, it may not be an immediate shift in career—Lucy might not be super gung-ho about the idea of a seventeen-year-old jumping into such a dangerous job. Still, it seems likely that Lucy could serve as a mentor, once Claire establishes that she's not going to be turned aside from her goal; what sort of lessons might she help teach Claire about the fine art of vampire hunting?
Each to Each - Seanan McGuire (Any)
This short story can be read here.
○ This is such a fascinating setting overall; I'd love to see pretty much any worldbuilding involving the mermaids. For one thing—I want to know more about the new Atlantis the clownfish mermaid describes towards the end. How are the mermaids working to create it? The clownfish mermaid mentions the use of genetic engineering to create underwater cities—are there scientist mermaids out there with equipment stolen or salvaged from non-modified humans?
○ There are likely multiple mermaid societies being formed in different regions since the U.S. isn't the only nation creating mermaids—are they generally in accord with each other, or is there any conflict between them—either in terms of claiming territory or in clashing ideas of what mermaid society should look like?
○ The mermaids who've left behind their nations of origin are mounting “rescue missions” to free their military kin—and doubtless also those who, like the clownfish mermaid, were modified for “Rich men playing with military toys.” I'd love to see one of these play out, either from the side of rescuers or rescued.
○ As a side note, some species of shark are capable of parthenogenesis, so depending on how deep the genetic modification goes, male merfolk might not be necessary for some of the mermaids to have offspring—there could potentially be second-generation mermaids swimming around before too long, who have only known life under the sea. (Though it's also possible that nations other than the U.S. are willing to create mermaids of either sex.) What if one of these young mermaids was captured by humans? What would they make of the land people—and how would they escape?
Lady of the Shard (Any)
This webcomic can be read here.
○ The comic largely follows the Acolyte's point of view; what does their developing relationship look like through the eyes of the Radiant Goddess (who's caught between her feelings for the Acolyte and her understandable wariness regarding mortal-divine relationships)?
○ The Acolyte has become a High Priestess, as well as being the Phoenix, and is now immortal by virtue of the fragment of divinity in her forehead. What are some of her experiences adjusting to her new role (with the aid of her beloved All-Goddess and the spirit of the previous Phoenix)? (And given that all the stars have been smooshed together into a new planet, there's probably plenty of general cultural changes going on around her, too.)
○ The Old God is... well, not a nice person. At the same time, though, she's something of a tragic figure—her lone divinity made her lonely, and shared loneliness was one thing that drew her to the "legendary temple girl" who became the Radiant Goddess. (Not that this excuses any of her actions, of course, but still, the Old God is an intriguing character.) What was it like, being the first being to exist, creating everything that was, falling in love with a mortal... and then being struck down by that same mortal (who you turned into a goddess in the first place)?
○ At the end of the comic, the Radiant Goddess merges with the Old Goddess to become the All-Goddess, and an image at the end shows that the Old God is still within her, finally having found some ease for her loneliness. Does the All-Goddess feel the Old Goddess “showing through” at all, and how does she feel about it?
My AO3 username is Eida, and my requests for this year are:
16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds (Video Game) - Lucy
Each to Each - Seanan McGuire - Any
Lady of the Shard (Webcomic) – Acolyte, Radiant Goddess
Here are a few of my general fic likes:
○ Relationship development
○ Hurt/Comfort
○ Seeing characters be competent at what they do (and discovering their niche)
○ Characters who are comfortable with each other, and willing to engage in good-natured banter
○ Missing scenes and perspectives from characters we didn't get to see much of in canon.
○ Fics set pre- and post- canon.
○ Worldbuilding—I love seeing aspects of canon examined more deeply or expanded on in interesting ways.
○ Exploring the viewpoint of non-human characters who might think and behave differently than humans would
○ Fics that include/consist of in-universe documents (i.e. letters, news articles, excerpts from history books, chatlogs, etc.)
Other details:
○ I'm okay with a wide range of tones, from fluff to darker fic. However, I prefer endings that aren't entirely unhappy—bittersweet is fine, though.
○ Also, I'm completely okay with canon divergence AUs, if you have an interesting what-might-have-been you want to pursue.
Fandom-Specific Prompts:
16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds (Lucy)
This Twine game can be played online here.
○ How did Lucy get into vampire hunting in the first place? Did she survive a vampire attack and decided to dedicate herself to helping keep others safe? (Maybe she was rescued by Maggie and Luke, and that's how they first met.) Or did someone she cared about get attacked by a vampire, driving Lucy to take up a career as a vampire hunter?
Or did she just respond to a Craigslist ad: "Freelance Vampire Hunters Wanted!!! Start Today!"
○ Some dialogue options can suggest that Lucy and Maggie are dating; if so, what's their relationship like? What might one of their dates look like? According to Lucy, they share an enjoyment of watching vampire movies and "yell[ing] constructive criticism," so hitting the movies is one option. (And it's possible they'll run into another vampire, much like Lucy did in the game... 16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at the Movie Theater?)
○ In some of the variants of the true ending Claire ends up becoming a vampire hunter (either after Lucy explains things to her in the McDonalds, or, after the fire extinguisher ending, when Claire decides to track Lucy down and get an explanation as to what attacked her. Of course, it may not be an immediate shift in career—Lucy might not be super gung-ho about the idea of a seventeen-year-old jumping into such a dangerous job. Still, it seems likely that Lucy could serve as a mentor, once Claire establishes that she's not going to be turned aside from her goal; what sort of lessons might she help teach Claire about the fine art of vampire hunting?
Each to Each - Seanan McGuire (Any)
This short story can be read here.
○ This is such a fascinating setting overall; I'd love to see pretty much any worldbuilding involving the mermaids. For one thing—I want to know more about the new Atlantis the clownfish mermaid describes towards the end. How are the mermaids working to create it? The clownfish mermaid mentions the use of genetic engineering to create underwater cities—are there scientist mermaids out there with equipment stolen or salvaged from non-modified humans?
○ There are likely multiple mermaid societies being formed in different regions since the U.S. isn't the only nation creating mermaids—are they generally in accord with each other, or is there any conflict between them—either in terms of claiming territory or in clashing ideas of what mermaid society should look like?
○ The mermaids who've left behind their nations of origin are mounting “rescue missions” to free their military kin—and doubtless also those who, like the clownfish mermaid, were modified for “Rich men playing with military toys.” I'd love to see one of these play out, either from the side of rescuers or rescued.
○ As a side note, some species of shark are capable of parthenogenesis, so depending on how deep the genetic modification goes, male merfolk might not be necessary for some of the mermaids to have offspring—there could potentially be second-generation mermaids swimming around before too long, who have only known life under the sea. (Though it's also possible that nations other than the U.S. are willing to create mermaids of either sex.) What if one of these young mermaids was captured by humans? What would they make of the land people—and how would they escape?
Lady of the Shard (Any)
This webcomic can be read here.
○ The comic largely follows the Acolyte's point of view; what does their developing relationship look like through the eyes of the Radiant Goddess (who's caught between her feelings for the Acolyte and her understandable wariness regarding mortal-divine relationships)?
○ The Acolyte has become a High Priestess, as well as being the Phoenix, and is now immortal by virtue of the fragment of divinity in her forehead. What are some of her experiences adjusting to her new role (with the aid of her beloved All-Goddess and the spirit of the previous Phoenix)? (And given that all the stars have been smooshed together into a new planet, there's probably plenty of general cultural changes going on around her, too.)
○ The Old God is... well, not a nice person. At the same time, though, she's something of a tragic figure—her lone divinity made her lonely, and shared loneliness was one thing that drew her to the "legendary temple girl" who became the Radiant Goddess. (Not that this excuses any of her actions, of course, but still, the Old God is an intriguing character.) What was it like, being the first being to exist, creating everything that was, falling in love with a mortal... and then being struck down by that same mortal (who you turned into a goddess in the first place)?
○ At the end of the comic, the Radiant Goddess merges with the Old Goddess to become the All-Goddess, and an image at the end shows that the Old God is still within her, finally having found some ease for her loneliness. Does the All-Goddess feel the Old Goddess “showing through” at all, and how does she feel about it?
