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Hello Yuletide Author! I apologize for taking so long, but here is my letter. I'm glad it and you are here!
The squicks section (which is the same as my other letters, just so I don't miss anything) will go first. Please no rape or torture, unless it’s just alluded to or mentioned - nothing explicit or the focus of the story, please. I'd also like a limit of "gross-out" elements like gory details and bodily fluids. Or completely grim stories, though these sources do have grim parts and that's part of the appeal. I'd rather the sadness not be relentless and total. Unless it's symbiotic with the story you want to tell! Gen, het, and femslash are all fine, but my preference is that m/m slash not be the focus of the story, since I’m not really interested in it. Please no ship or character bashing. I'm good with AUs or crossovers, or holiday-fic for holidays that are canonical or could plausibly be canonical. Though if it's an AU there would be different rules as to canonical holidays. Any combination of the characters is cool, or even alone.
The Royal Trap
I am okay with fic that explores any variants of these characters’ routes. Or routes that they happen to be on. This is one of my very favorite games because of the storytelling no matter which path you take. I’m so happy it was nominated. It was a pleasant surprise when the tagset came out. Madeleine/Colette is a super adorable odd couple and Nazagi/Madeleine/Cassidy is an interesting balance. I love how Madeleine’s logical, probing attitude bumps up against Colette’s sense of rightness and caring. And how Madeleine is this calm people person to Nazagi’s awkward schemer and Cassidy’s sheltered but also innate generosity and charm. Cassidy and Gaston would probably need Madeleine’s help to offset their sweetness, while Nazagi and Cassidy would need her to smooth things over so they have a greater chance at happiness and fulfillment in their practical arrangement. For Dolores, does she ever get to escape in the other routes or does she stay? Does Cassidy eventually befriend her even in those other paths? Or give me some of their letters in the happy Callum end. Or a meeting, if Dolores can ever bring herself to come back or if Cassidy can take a tour and slip away for a bit maybe. How does the Dolores and Madeleine end go? They’re another odd couple; do they ever regret escaping together or can they stay happy? Does the chaos caused by the Cassidy secret being revealed reach them on their farm? Do they ever have a reason to run into any of their royal connections again, or Madeleine’s family? Speaking of, does Madeleine’s family show up in the future of any routes? How isolated are Oscar and Madeleine after they get their small estate together? I imagine they could be very happy but the awkwardness of their social situation might catch up to them; how do they deal? For Duke Pherod, how about the game from his point of view? Do relations with his family and the royals improve after Oscar’s route? Or any other? With Cassidy in particular?
Cinders
One of my favorite things about this game is the family development and background. It’s so distressing that you can’t help/keep a good relationship with Gloria and Sophia unless you gain Carmosa’s favor, but it makes sense! And Madame Ghede’s relationship with Cinders’ mother leaves so much tantalizingly undiscovered. I would love a story on that, or on how Madame Ghede navigates being Cinders’ mentor at court. Or both, in a story where the past informs their future together! How does Madame Ghede find court compared to moving from town to town? Is it worth the effort? Does she end up leaving, and is it of her own free will? Or, as she respects Carmosa, what about a relationship—of any kind—between them? Could that be something that happens if Cinders wants to reach out to her stepsisters and asks for Madame Ghede’s help? Leaving Madame Ghede behind; how about pre-Cinders family life with Carmosa, Sophia, and Gloria? How do Carmosa and her daughters live after separating in the end where Carmosa comes to court? How satisfied is she with Cinders? Does that in turn affect how Gloria and Sophia relate to Cinders? In the ends where Carmosa takes her daughters into further isolation, is there any hope for a positive change in the status quo, and/or for Sophia and Gloria to meet Cinders again before their mother’s death?
Romeo x Juliet
Juliet and Emilia developing their acting/rhetorical skills? Juliet learned how to get and keep crowd’s attention somehow. I also kind of think Emilia had a crush on Juliet; she was really intent on practicing romance opposite her. How did she deal after knowing Juliet was the secret Capulet girl that Verona’s violence was escalated in pursuit of? Does finding out Juliet is a girl affect her views at all? Cordelia and Juliet had a kind of closeness that doesn’t last for very long in the series. And they both know they aren’t social equals. How does a friendship like that work when they’re both living as commoners versus later? How do they deal with the increasing distance (and in Cordelia’s case, Juliet’s death?) How does Cordelia live when free of her ties to the Capulet family but married into exiled nobility after the end of her masters’ house? Any complicated feelings about this? Do her and Benvolio stay commoners? Hermione lets her anger simmer for a good while until she runs away and into Juliet; what if they’d had to stay together longer? What if they’d both survived? Would Juliet rule the city after all and would they form any kind of relationship then? Given that they bonded over Romeo, would Hermione try to return to the palace during the finale events, and bear witness? I’ve always thought Juliet’s path was interesting—she goes from an idealist masked crusader to an avenger figure because she thinks she has to, that it will make her stronger and more dutiful, but it ends in catastrophe. Her quest works better when it’s actually her quest, and she achieves a kind of balance. She gets her time to recover with Romeo and then she goes back to her group to plan the political/military recovery. It’s her time spent in the theater and gaining trust as the Red Whirlwind (previously treated as childish) which helps inspire people to support her and turn things around, on top of the political/military allies tied to her family. Give me a glimpse into her working it out during the time in the country, or angsting before. Or her early life. Or what if she survived? Would she be ruling, and if so how?
Spellsong Cycle
Over a decade later and I can see some problematic aspects, but this remains one of my favorite childhood book series. I want to see Anna in between the books, training her sorceresses or with Jecks, making her political moves. It’s so interesting that she abhors the death she causes and turns to sneakier, more efficient killing to lessen the violence, deciding that notions of honor and direct violence are crueler and made to support ego, wishing she could use Darksong more to prevent death. How does she work that out and teach it to her sorceresses? Does she ever feel like she’s really settled down? Or give me daughter moments between her and Secca, or the letters/visions of Elizabetta. Moving on to Secca, how does she deal with ruling? It’s what happened with her adopted mother but taken even further; Anna didn’t think she could rule even if she’d wanted to, while Secca accepts the role after killing the heir Anna decided to step down for. Secca has her inferiority issues, thinking Anna would’ve had better solutions but being repulsed by the spells she invented and which Secca then uses. How much does she take after her mother’s reduced/secret violence strategy? Does she have that same wish, that she could use Darksong to prevent violence by controlling people? Does she ever get to be happy and at peace for very long? Then Veria—I’ve always wondered about how she got from exile in war-torn Ebra to a leader there. She clearly suffered; how did she end up processing what had happened, her relationship to her family? Does she never go back even for a little while? What kind of relationships did she form in Ebra, and what kind of support did she get or was given? Anna was mixed up in the situation that led to her exile—how do Veria’s feelings about that and her change? How does that affect how she views Secca, or any of the sorceresses Anna trained? What a fic where Anna and Veria meet? Lastly, Clayre. From devalued daughter to fostered child at the capital to what the Sturinnese call a traditional sorceress after Anna’s training. They call her more solitary. How and why? She’s clever; show me her work and life as Neserea’s sorceress. Or her training and what she takes from Anna, or doesn’t take, that her fellow sorceresses did. Were she and Secca ever close before adult life found them on different paths?
The Chronicles of Morgaine
I want to see how it ends. I loved the mysterious distant woman hero and her loyal follower, so I would be happy with anything exploring their adventures; but for a prompt, I’d love to see what exactly happens if they ever finish Morgaine’s quest, during or after or both. Alternately, Morgaine’s past continues to unfold and they have to deal with it together. Or both! I’ve also always been haunted by Jhirun. She wanted so much to escape but found herself too terrified at the decisive point. How did she grapple with that choice? Did she ever regret it? If so, how much and how often? Did helping the last king of her world do anything to fulfill her? I’m reminded of her at the beginning of the book, dreaming of the old dead kings as she scavenged from their tombs. In the future, was she reminded of this in good ways or bad? What if she had gone into another world after all? Would she have continued with Morgaine and Vanye, taken up with people from her old world, or gone on alone?
W.I.T.C.H. (Comics)
I always missed Orube after she left. I’d be happy for anything on her future; did she ever come back to the Guardians, or to any other world, or did she stay in Kandrakar? Or something exploring her time on Earth. What about the relationships she was starting to make while taking that journalism course in college? The one with the neighboring pianist?
After a while I had this feeling that after Elyon left, Cornelia was the odd one out. All of W.I.T.C.H. were best friends, but they had their closer pairs and Elyon was the other half of Cornelia’s. How does that relationship change over the years, as Elyon has less of the normal life Cornelia gets (and gets Cornelia’s old boyfriend)? Do they just stay distant or do they form a different kind of friendship? Do they meet again as adults for a decently long period at any point? Orube reminded me of Cornelia sometimes; how about an adventure with her and either or both of them?
I’m a fan of Taranee’s evolution from shy girl to enthusiastic expressive dancer. Does she ever sometimes shrink from this in a vulnerable moment (or a series of them)? Does she have times when she grabs life and open possibilities just because she’s afraid of what will happen if she isn’t adventurous? Taranee is also kind of the opposite to Orube when the latter first shows up; how does this match up in the future? Taranee is more willing to criticize people in power openly, in part because of her strict environment; Orube leans toward the opposite, and when her heart is broken she retires to Kandrakar as her safe space. Do these two ever meet again, get stuck on a solo adventure? Or maybe Taranee gets stuck on Kandrakar for a while.
Thank you for offering to write me a story! I appreciate the effort and I'm really excited! I hope you enjoy it and that the letter will help with that.
The squicks section (which is the same as my other letters, just so I don't miss anything) will go first. Please no rape or torture, unless it’s just alluded to or mentioned - nothing explicit or the focus of the story, please. I'd also like a limit of "gross-out" elements like gory details and bodily fluids. Or completely grim stories, though these sources do have grim parts and that's part of the appeal. I'd rather the sadness not be relentless and total. Unless it's symbiotic with the story you want to tell! Gen, het, and femslash are all fine, but my preference is that m/m slash not be the focus of the story, since I’m not really interested in it. Please no ship or character bashing. I'm good with AUs or crossovers, or holiday-fic for holidays that are canonical or could plausibly be canonical. Though if it's an AU there would be different rules as to canonical holidays. Any combination of the characters is cool, or even alone.
The Royal Trap
I am okay with fic that explores any variants of these characters’ routes. Or routes that they happen to be on. This is one of my very favorite games because of the storytelling no matter which path you take. I’m so happy it was nominated. It was a pleasant surprise when the tagset came out. Madeleine/Colette is a super adorable odd couple and Nazagi/Madeleine/Cassidy is an interesting balance. I love how Madeleine’s logical, probing attitude bumps up against Colette’s sense of rightness and caring. And how Madeleine is this calm people person to Nazagi’s awkward schemer and Cassidy’s sheltered but also innate generosity and charm. Cassidy and Gaston would probably need Madeleine’s help to offset their sweetness, while Nazagi and Cassidy would need her to smooth things over so they have a greater chance at happiness and fulfillment in their practical arrangement. For Dolores, does she ever get to escape in the other routes or does she stay? Does Cassidy eventually befriend her even in those other paths? Or give me some of their letters in the happy Callum end. Or a meeting, if Dolores can ever bring herself to come back or if Cassidy can take a tour and slip away for a bit maybe. How does the Dolores and Madeleine end go? They’re another odd couple; do they ever regret escaping together or can they stay happy? Does the chaos caused by the Cassidy secret being revealed reach them on their farm? Do they ever have a reason to run into any of their royal connections again, or Madeleine’s family? Speaking of, does Madeleine’s family show up in the future of any routes? How isolated are Oscar and Madeleine after they get their small estate together? I imagine they could be very happy but the awkwardness of their social situation might catch up to them; how do they deal? For Duke Pherod, how about the game from his point of view? Do relations with his family and the royals improve after Oscar’s route? Or any other? With Cassidy in particular?
Cinders
One of my favorite things about this game is the family development and background. It’s so distressing that you can’t help/keep a good relationship with Gloria and Sophia unless you gain Carmosa’s favor, but it makes sense! And Madame Ghede’s relationship with Cinders’ mother leaves so much tantalizingly undiscovered. I would love a story on that, or on how Madame Ghede navigates being Cinders’ mentor at court. Or both, in a story where the past informs their future together! How does Madame Ghede find court compared to moving from town to town? Is it worth the effort? Does she end up leaving, and is it of her own free will? Or, as she respects Carmosa, what about a relationship—of any kind—between them? Could that be something that happens if Cinders wants to reach out to her stepsisters and asks for Madame Ghede’s help? Leaving Madame Ghede behind; how about pre-Cinders family life with Carmosa, Sophia, and Gloria? How do Carmosa and her daughters live after separating in the end where Carmosa comes to court? How satisfied is she with Cinders? Does that in turn affect how Gloria and Sophia relate to Cinders? In the ends where Carmosa takes her daughters into further isolation, is there any hope for a positive change in the status quo, and/or for Sophia and Gloria to meet Cinders again before their mother’s death?
Romeo x Juliet
Juliet and Emilia developing their acting/rhetorical skills? Juliet learned how to get and keep crowd’s attention somehow. I also kind of think Emilia had a crush on Juliet; she was really intent on practicing romance opposite her. How did she deal after knowing Juliet was the secret Capulet girl that Verona’s violence was escalated in pursuit of? Does finding out Juliet is a girl affect her views at all? Cordelia and Juliet had a kind of closeness that doesn’t last for very long in the series. And they both know they aren’t social equals. How does a friendship like that work when they’re both living as commoners versus later? How do they deal with the increasing distance (and in Cordelia’s case, Juliet’s death?) How does Cordelia live when free of her ties to the Capulet family but married into exiled nobility after the end of her masters’ house? Any complicated feelings about this? Do her and Benvolio stay commoners? Hermione lets her anger simmer for a good while until she runs away and into Juliet; what if they’d had to stay together longer? What if they’d both survived? Would Juliet rule the city after all and would they form any kind of relationship then? Given that they bonded over Romeo, would Hermione try to return to the palace during the finale events, and bear witness? I’ve always thought Juliet’s path was interesting—she goes from an idealist masked crusader to an avenger figure because she thinks she has to, that it will make her stronger and more dutiful, but it ends in catastrophe. Her quest works better when it’s actually her quest, and she achieves a kind of balance. She gets her time to recover with Romeo and then she goes back to her group to plan the political/military recovery. It’s her time spent in the theater and gaining trust as the Red Whirlwind (previously treated as childish) which helps inspire people to support her and turn things around, on top of the political/military allies tied to her family. Give me a glimpse into her working it out during the time in the country, or angsting before. Or her early life. Or what if she survived? Would she be ruling, and if so how?
Spellsong Cycle
Over a decade later and I can see some problematic aspects, but this remains one of my favorite childhood book series. I want to see Anna in between the books, training her sorceresses or with Jecks, making her political moves. It’s so interesting that she abhors the death she causes and turns to sneakier, more efficient killing to lessen the violence, deciding that notions of honor and direct violence are crueler and made to support ego, wishing she could use Darksong more to prevent death. How does she work that out and teach it to her sorceresses? Does she ever feel like she’s really settled down? Or give me daughter moments between her and Secca, or the letters/visions of Elizabetta. Moving on to Secca, how does she deal with ruling? It’s what happened with her adopted mother but taken even further; Anna didn’t think she could rule even if she’d wanted to, while Secca accepts the role after killing the heir Anna decided to step down for. Secca has her inferiority issues, thinking Anna would’ve had better solutions but being repulsed by the spells she invented and which Secca then uses. How much does she take after her mother’s reduced/secret violence strategy? Does she have that same wish, that she could use Darksong to prevent violence by controlling people? Does she ever get to be happy and at peace for very long? Then Veria—I’ve always wondered about how she got from exile in war-torn Ebra to a leader there. She clearly suffered; how did she end up processing what had happened, her relationship to her family? Does she never go back even for a little while? What kind of relationships did she form in Ebra, and what kind of support did she get or was given? Anna was mixed up in the situation that led to her exile—how do Veria’s feelings about that and her change? How does that affect how she views Secca, or any of the sorceresses Anna trained? What a fic where Anna and Veria meet? Lastly, Clayre. From devalued daughter to fostered child at the capital to what the Sturinnese call a traditional sorceress after Anna’s training. They call her more solitary. How and why? She’s clever; show me her work and life as Neserea’s sorceress. Or her training and what she takes from Anna, or doesn’t take, that her fellow sorceresses did. Were she and Secca ever close before adult life found them on different paths?
The Chronicles of Morgaine
I want to see how it ends. I loved the mysterious distant woman hero and her loyal follower, so I would be happy with anything exploring their adventures; but for a prompt, I’d love to see what exactly happens if they ever finish Morgaine’s quest, during or after or both. Alternately, Morgaine’s past continues to unfold and they have to deal with it together. Or both! I’ve also always been haunted by Jhirun. She wanted so much to escape but found herself too terrified at the decisive point. How did she grapple with that choice? Did she ever regret it? If so, how much and how often? Did helping the last king of her world do anything to fulfill her? I’m reminded of her at the beginning of the book, dreaming of the old dead kings as she scavenged from their tombs. In the future, was she reminded of this in good ways or bad? What if she had gone into another world after all? Would she have continued with Morgaine and Vanye, taken up with people from her old world, or gone on alone?
W.I.T.C.H. (Comics)
I always missed Orube after she left. I’d be happy for anything on her future; did she ever come back to the Guardians, or to any other world, or did she stay in Kandrakar? Or something exploring her time on Earth. What about the relationships she was starting to make while taking that journalism course in college? The one with the neighboring pianist?
After a while I had this feeling that after Elyon left, Cornelia was the odd one out. All of W.I.T.C.H. were best friends, but they had their closer pairs and Elyon was the other half of Cornelia’s. How does that relationship change over the years, as Elyon has less of the normal life Cornelia gets (and gets Cornelia’s old boyfriend)? Do they just stay distant or do they form a different kind of friendship? Do they meet again as adults for a decently long period at any point? Orube reminded me of Cornelia sometimes; how about an adventure with her and either or both of them?
I’m a fan of Taranee’s evolution from shy girl to enthusiastic expressive dancer. Does she ever sometimes shrink from this in a vulnerable moment (or a series of them)? Does she have times when she grabs life and open possibilities just because she’s afraid of what will happen if she isn’t adventurous? Taranee is also kind of the opposite to Orube when the latter first shows up; how does this match up in the future? Taranee is more willing to criticize people in power openly, in part because of her strict environment; Orube leans toward the opposite, and when her heart is broken she retires to Kandrakar as her safe space. Do these two ever meet again, get stuck on a solo adventure? Or maybe Taranee gets stuck on Kandrakar for a while.
Thank you for offering to write me a story! I appreciate the effort and I'm really excited! I hope you enjoy it and that the letter will help with that.