Yuletide Letter 2021

[sunrises]

Hi writer,

Thanks so much for participating in Yuletide and for writing for one of my favorite fandoms. I am so excited to see what you'll create – and even more excited to see how much you care for the worlds we share, as well as how that love may manifest in your writing.

In general, I prefer stories about love (platonic, romantic, unconditional, unrequited, etc.) to heavy angst or melodrama; however, I absolutely love stories about rebuilding after tragedy and picking yourself back up once all the dust has settled. That said! If angst or drama moves your spirit, slam it my way anyways. I'm also a sucker for a good star-crossed lovers/friends story, and would never say no to something you worked so hard to create.

I also love narrative devices including but nowhere limited to:

• enemies to lovers,
  
• friends to lovers (so enemies to friends to lovers is especially delightful),
  
• idiots to lovers,
  
• road trips or travel stories,
  
• food/cooking,
  
• food as a metaphor for love,
  
• sibling bonding,
  
• found family / family relationships,
  
• magic realism,
  
• and pretty much anything you'd find in otome games and sitcoms.

Regarding AUs, I adore them if they make sense for the characters involved! For example, a "high school AU" for Archie is literally canon, and "rival gangs" doesn't mesh with the cheerful tone of the original canon, so I'd rather stick to "rival sports teams" or "rival chefs," if you focus on a culinary-obsessed guy like Jughead. If you think you have an alternate world you want me to explore, go for it!

My specific fandom requests are below:

1. Code: Realize

Victor Frankenstein was not only my favorite route but also one of my favorite characters in otomes period, and I would be delighted with anything involving him and/or Cardia! What sorts of dates do they go on? How does their daily life in the laboratory work? Do they still go visit Victor's parents (or do Victor's parents visit, especially after that first visit in the fandisks)? Do they have kids? If so, what kind of parents are they?

If you want to go the AU route, I'm especially fond of college AUs (either with them being lab partners or Victor being her science TA!), as well as any sort of modern-day AU that really thinks through the world and how these two would've adapted to the 21st century.

Writer, I'm working on a fic involving this myself, but your fun fact of the day is that cardia both means heart in Greek (I assume this is how Cardia got her name) and is a part of the stomach, specifically near the esophageal junction where the esophagus opens up into the fundus. Given that Fran is a doctor who absolutely knows these two pieces of info.... Do with this what you will.

If you're less inclined to write about Victor/Cardia, and my broski I cannot blame you, I am also equally weak for any Cardia-centric fic (specifically for Impey/Cardia and Lupin/Cardia)! I would also be delighted with any fic focusing on the sibling bond between Cardia and Finis– give me the good sibling content! What sorts of shenanigans do these two get up to whenever they're visiting Steel London?

tl;dr:

• Victor/Cardia is my number one pipe dream,
  
• Cardia-centric fic is also fantastic;
  
• Finis + Cardia sibling shenanigans would also be a wonderful treat.

2. Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World was a hugely formative show for me, not just because of Shawn Hunter but also because of the deep, lifelong friendship he had with Cory Matthews. As I wrote in 2018, I also loved the friendships between Shawn and Topanga, as well as Shawn/Angela. (I still lament how GMW broke up Shawn/Angela, even to this day - not necessarily that they broke up, but how.)

I would love any story that focuses on Shawn and/or Cory, with three possible paths:

• The boys' lives in NYC after college. How did Shawn get into travel photography? What kinds of places did he travel to? If you're a crossover fan, what kinds of people did he meet (and what kinds of adventures did he get up to when he was say, accidentally meeting the cast of Brooklyn Nine Nine or Parks and Rec)? Alternatively, how did Cory adjust to NYC, especially as a new teacher?
  
• Any Shawn + Cory friendship story, or if you so choose, an OT3 (with Topanga, naturally). How did they make time for each other in college and potentially beyond, if you're thinking of setting the story past BMW? What sorts of college clubs did these two join, and did it pan out at all? Wacky hijinx are more than acceptable here.
  
• Any story focusing on the bond between Shawn and Jack Hunter – we got so little of it in canon that I'd love any sort of elaboration. Any fun sibling traditions they created? Did they still have roommate squabbles (as I'm belatedly remembering pig-Cory)? What about after Shawn moved out - did they have anything unique to them, like brothers brunch?
  
  As Shawn is canonically an alcoholic, and I'm not much for ones with stories mentioning alcohol, my major dnw is substance abuse, alcohol use, and/or underage drinking. Beyond that, anything else is perfectly fine.

3. Collar x Malice

I'm going to be real frank with you, writer: I wanted a Saeki route. I've yet to finish the fandisk, so I know a world of pain awaits me there, but even that won't quite scratch the narrative device I'm really interested in.

I'd love a story that explores the emotional tension between Ichika and Saeki. Sure, they're drinking buddies, but when that collar was around her neck, Ichika chose strangers over her longtime cop friend? What would've happened if she chose him instead (despite the collar telling her to choose the detective agency), and how would Saeki have handled the duality of being both her friend and her worst enemy?

Alternatively, what if Zero didn't collar her? What if Zero's plans never quite came to fruition because - like in Enomoto's route - something happened to him? Like, I don't know, Ichika preventing his plans by accidentally introducing him to couple life and becoming 'we people'?

If a Saeki/Ichika story of any flavor doesn't appeal to you (I truly cannot blame you), I'd really love a sibling story about the Hoshinos. What made Kazuki think that Ichika wouldn't support his dreams? What was their childhood like? Or if you want something more recent, what did their daily life look together pre-game?

Kazuki and Ichika were really special to me, so anything involving their sibling bond would be delightful. They captured the general sibling vibe of 'i want to throw hands with you right now, but also i won't because i love you and no one else is allowed to hurt you, so help me god' so well, and... well, you know what, writer?

I will happily accept any fic involving Kazuki as the protagonist. What was he up to while his sister was investigating crime, anyway? The game tells us he was practicing (and skipping class), but surely that wasn't all he was doing.

Regarding do not wants, I'd like to avoid alcohol abuse/addiction and substance use/addiction. Saeki and Ichika are canonical drinking buddies, so the same amount we saw in canon was fine– and as long as it's played for comedic effect, I'm especially delighted. I'm fine with anything else!

tl;dr

• I'd love a Ichika/Saeki fic (either an AU where he had a route, an AU where Collar x Malice never happens because Ichika confesses to Saeki first, or an AU of your choice)
  
• a Hoshino sibling fic; OR
  
• any fic where Kazuki is our surprise protagonist (... meaning that I'd like to see his daily life, versus any sort of role reversal or ships with the cast. Kazuki is a baby compared to the other boys)

4. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

Wotakoi somehow manages to hit that sweet spot between comedy and emotional heart– and I love this canon so much that almost any story set in this universe would be a real delight.

Some ideas, which absolutely should not be taken as gospel and more as starting off points:

• A college cultural festival fic– do Naoya and Ko participate? What about Narumi and Hirotaka visiting? Do they get up to anything interesting or exciting while they're there? Is romance in the air??
  
• Hirotaka always accompanies Narumi to doujin conventions, so what if she returns the favor by attending a hardcore video game convention? What does that experience look like for her?
  
• An otaku/fandom reversal– Hirotaka likes girls' love (or boys' love, I truly do not care here), while Narumi is the hardcore gamer who racks up those points like no tomorrow. Bonus points if Kabakura is a cosplayer while Koyanagi is the closet otaku.
  
• A workplace AU - hear me out, but what if the main cast worked for a mobile gaming company? Or something more related to their nerdy interests? Would Narumi feel more obligated to hide her nerdy interests (or would she let that big nerdy flag fly)? What about Naoya - what if he worked somewhere else besides a coffee shop (like say, a board game cafe)? Or what if Ko got a part-time job somewhere besides a bookstore?
  
• Honestly, writer, I'll be delighted with shippy fluff between Hirotaka/Narumi or Naoya/Ko. They're all precious beans and even if you, idk, write 20k of them taste-testing coffee across Tokyo, I'm sure I will adore it.
  
  Regarding do not wants, I'd like to avoid alcohol abuse/addiction and substance use/addiction. Canonical levels of alcohol use (like what we see in canon) are totally fine, so don't sweat it if you add a drinking scene and/or bits where sober characters take care of drunken characters. I'm more concerned about a story that would go down the addiction route than anything else.