Yuletide 2018
Oct. 2nd, 2018 07:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
megkipsDear Yuletide Writer,
Hi! I hope that we have matched on something that you’re genuinely enthusiastic about, and that this letter provides some useful prompt ideas.
In general, I gravitate towards gen that heavily feature world building, politics, close friendships, and mythology. Overcoming obstacles with a combination of smarts and force is one of my favourite things in any piece, and I enjoy playing around with how a fic is told as well. If epistolary, scrapbook stories, and similar formats are your thing? Go for it.
In terms of do not wants here, I'd like to request no smut, no porn, no unrequest AUs and no unrequested pairings. Canonical level violence, sexuality, etc. is perfectly fine.
Flat Escardos (Lord El-Melloi II Case Files), Grey (Lord El-Melloi II Case Files) ,Reines El-Melloi Archisorte (Lord El-Melloi II Case Files), Waver Velvet | Lord El-Melloi II (ロード・エルメロイⅡ世の事件簿 | Lord El-Melloi II Case Files)
NOTE: I’ve requested all the characters in the tagset available, but you’re under no obligation to include everyone.
When I heard about the Lord El-Melloi II Case Files being released at the end of 2014, I was absolutely thrilled. Waver finally having his own series was truly a delight, and hearing that the focus was his time between the Fourth and Fifth War, with his crew of students plus Reines sent me over the moon - especially since it involved more Flat. Now that we have volume 1 translated, I can only say that I’m glad for the series and glad to have a new cast of characters to explore.
What I love about the characters I’ve chosen is their dynamic with Waver. Flat makes life chaotic, oh yes, but Waver endures him for some reason - apparently out of concern for Flat’s safety, if the wiki is anything to go by. Gray is absolutely fascinating as a character because of her lineage, yes, but also because she’s stuck beside Waver and acts as his assistant. I’d love to see more of that, and then, then there’s Reines. I adore the relationship we’ve seen between Reines and Waver so far, with her treating him like a servant or sibling depending on what she needs from him. This particular relationship strikes me as the most unique in the series, as it’s very much a patronage sort of arrangement, with enough close affection for it to be genuine but an unshakeable power dynamic as well.
Honestly, there’s a lot I’d like to see. An exploration of what the above relationships are like beyond what we’re given in canon would be lovely. For example, we know in Fate/apocrypha that Flat sometimes takes VH out to the movies, but that serves to pose more questions like what kind of low-key shenanigans happen on a daily basis? How does the group say, control VH’s terminator outbursts? How have Reines and Waver developed their relationship since he was first given the Lord El-Melloi II title? How does Gray spend her days off when she isn’t around Waver? What challenges faces this group as a whole? Or perhaps there are other cases they’ve gotten into that we haven’t seen.
Then again, there’s also the conclusion of volume one of the Case Files, where Waver agrees that he would take Gray to the next Grail War so she could meet Rider. How might that meeting go? What would Rider think of Gray, and Waver being halfway between her teacher and her parent?
Volume 1 and some of volume 2 is translated here. An official manga is being scanlated here.
Agora
Characters: Hypatia, Orestes
Agora is a movie that I love for many reasons, including but not limited to the film’s focus on early Christianity and the politics thereof, the emphasis on books and the preservation of knowledge, and the way it demonstrates how intense religious conflict was throughout the empire. I also love it because of the relationship that we see between Hypatia and Orestes in the second half of the film featuring Orestes as prefect and Hypatia providing counsel. The smaller things, like Orestes refusing to allow people to insult her in the senate and somehow they still finding time to conduct experiments on boats and talk about philosophy really gets my interest going, and makes me wonder how they went from the first half of the movie to what we see in the second half.
I’d be delighted to see fic that tracks their developing friendship as Orestes rises up the ranks and Hypatia continues to teach in the prevailing political environment. What are the obstacles that they end up dealing with? How are they overcome? How do they maintain, or else advance, their respective positions? How does Hypatia’s research progress? How did their relationship come to be what see in the second half of the film?
Agora is streaming on Amazon and likely available at your local library
Fate/apocrypha
Characters: Shirou Amakusa
Oh Shirou. The anime's depiction is such a fascinating representation of early transmission of Christianity in Japan, and an individual's understanding of matrydom after the fact. It is also such an amazing contrast to other works that encompass the aftermath of the Shimabara rebellion, such as in Shūsaku Endō's novel Silence.
What I am interested in exploring is Shirou's faith if the rebellion was not the end of his life and instead he lived through and experienced the same trials and tribulations that the other early hidden Christians in Japan did. Does his faith waver at all? If it doesn't, how does he deal with the Japanese authorities demanding acts like stepping on fumi-e? Is the end result still his matrydom, or the matrydom of other Christians? There are a million ways it can go. And, after all of that (if you even want to focus on it), how does it change events in Apocrypha? Does it at all?
Fate/apocrypha is streaming on Netflix.
Fate/Grand Order
The request for Doctor Roman contains massive spoilers for those only following the North America release. If you are avoiding spoilers, don't scroll all the way down.
Ishtar: I love the hot Messopotamia that is all of the Babylonians in the Fate/ franchise, and getting Ishtar was the absolute icing on the cake after Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
Speaking of. It goes without saying that the Epic of Gilgamesh makes the relationship between Uruk's patron goddess, it's king, and the king's lifelong bestie is not a great one. How does that fact play out in Chaldea on the day-to-day? How much space must be kept between everyone at all times? Is Roman dead from stress yet? This can go deeply serious with ruminations on the Epic and what it means to be a goddess, or deeply silly given that Chaldea is full of absolute weirdos.
Leonardo DaVinci: Leo's a long time favourite, and I'd love to simply spend more time with her. In particular, I'd love to focus on what goes into her acts of creation around Chaldea and how that has changed since her own time (I'm 200% thinking of that car she just happened to have for driving through the desert), as well as what her relationship is like with her major colleagues like Dr. Roman. She was also one of the few people to meet Marisbilly and be with Chaldea since the (near) beginning, and thus she is in a privilaged position to track how it has changed over the years. What is that change like, and how does she see herself fitting into it?
Dr. Romani Archaman: Spoilers begin here.
Roman. Roman. All his time hiding his identity as Solomon is one of my favorite things about his character and a testament to how good Fate/grand order is. I loved his reveal, and I loved seeing the little dropped hints throughout the singularities as he struggled to just be a normal human person for a single lifetime rather than Solomon.
I'd love to focus on Roman's struggles in maintaining the life he worke so hard to build for himself - especially as it becomes clearer and clearer that this is his fault. What are those moments like? And what was life like before Chaldea was completed? Surely Marisbilly and Roman had a close relationship as Solomon became Dr. Roman - tell me about it. Every part of Roman's character is fascinating, and I'd love to get inside his head more.
Hi! I hope that we have matched on something that you’re genuinely enthusiastic about, and that this letter provides some useful prompt ideas.
In general, I gravitate towards gen that heavily feature world building, politics, close friendships, and mythology. Overcoming obstacles with a combination of smarts and force is one of my favourite things in any piece, and I enjoy playing around with how a fic is told as well. If epistolary, scrapbook stories, and similar formats are your thing? Go for it.
In terms of do not wants here, I'd like to request no smut, no porn, no unrequest AUs and no unrequested pairings. Canonical level violence, sexuality, etc. is perfectly fine.
Flat Escardos (Lord El-Melloi II Case Files), Grey (Lord El-Melloi II Case Files) ,Reines El-Melloi Archisorte (Lord El-Melloi II Case Files), Waver Velvet | Lord El-Melloi II (ロード・エルメロイⅡ世の事件簿 | Lord El-Melloi II Case Files)
NOTE: I’ve requested all the characters in the tagset available, but you’re under no obligation to include everyone.
When I heard about the Lord El-Melloi II Case Files being released at the end of 2014, I was absolutely thrilled. Waver finally having his own series was truly a delight, and hearing that the focus was his time between the Fourth and Fifth War, with his crew of students plus Reines sent me over the moon - especially since it involved more Flat. Now that we have volume 1 translated, I can only say that I’m glad for the series and glad to have a new cast of characters to explore.
What I love about the characters I’ve chosen is their dynamic with Waver. Flat makes life chaotic, oh yes, but Waver endures him for some reason - apparently out of concern for Flat’s safety, if the wiki is anything to go by. Gray is absolutely fascinating as a character because of her lineage, yes, but also because she’s stuck beside Waver and acts as his assistant. I’d love to see more of that, and then, then there’s Reines. I adore the relationship we’ve seen between Reines and Waver so far, with her treating him like a servant or sibling depending on what she needs from him. This particular relationship strikes me as the most unique in the series, as it’s very much a patronage sort of arrangement, with enough close affection for it to be genuine but an unshakeable power dynamic as well.
Honestly, there’s a lot I’d like to see. An exploration of what the above relationships are like beyond what we’re given in canon would be lovely. For example, we know in Fate/apocrypha that Flat sometimes takes VH out to the movies, but that serves to pose more questions like what kind of low-key shenanigans happen on a daily basis? How does the group say, control VH’s terminator outbursts? How have Reines and Waver developed their relationship since he was first given the Lord El-Melloi II title? How does Gray spend her days off when she isn’t around Waver? What challenges faces this group as a whole? Or perhaps there are other cases they’ve gotten into that we haven’t seen.
Then again, there’s also the conclusion of volume one of the Case Files, where Waver agrees that he would take Gray to the next Grail War so she could meet Rider. How might that meeting go? What would Rider think of Gray, and Waver being halfway between her teacher and her parent?
Volume 1 and some of volume 2 is translated here. An official manga is being scanlated here.
Agora
Characters: Hypatia, Orestes
Agora is a movie that I love for many reasons, including but not limited to the film’s focus on early Christianity and the politics thereof, the emphasis on books and the preservation of knowledge, and the way it demonstrates how intense religious conflict was throughout the empire. I also love it because of the relationship that we see between Hypatia and Orestes in the second half of the film featuring Orestes as prefect and Hypatia providing counsel. The smaller things, like Orestes refusing to allow people to insult her in the senate and somehow they still finding time to conduct experiments on boats and talk about philosophy really gets my interest going, and makes me wonder how they went from the first half of the movie to what we see in the second half.
I’d be delighted to see fic that tracks their developing friendship as Orestes rises up the ranks and Hypatia continues to teach in the prevailing political environment. What are the obstacles that they end up dealing with? How are they overcome? How do they maintain, or else advance, their respective positions? How does Hypatia’s research progress? How did their relationship come to be what see in the second half of the film?
Agora is streaming on Amazon and likely available at your local library
Fate/apocrypha
Characters: Shirou Amakusa
Oh Shirou. The anime's depiction is such a fascinating representation of early transmission of Christianity in Japan, and an individual's understanding of matrydom after the fact. It is also such an amazing contrast to other works that encompass the aftermath of the Shimabara rebellion, such as in Shūsaku Endō's novel Silence.
What I am interested in exploring is Shirou's faith if the rebellion was not the end of his life and instead he lived through and experienced the same trials and tribulations that the other early hidden Christians in Japan did. Does his faith waver at all? If it doesn't, how does he deal with the Japanese authorities demanding acts like stepping on fumi-e? Is the end result still his matrydom, or the matrydom of other Christians? There are a million ways it can go. And, after all of that (if you even want to focus on it), how does it change events in Apocrypha? Does it at all?
Fate/apocrypha is streaming on Netflix.
Fate/Grand Order
The request for Doctor Roman contains massive spoilers for those only following the North America release. If you are avoiding spoilers, don't scroll all the way down.
Ishtar: I love the hot Messopotamia that is all of the Babylonians in the Fate/ franchise, and getting Ishtar was the absolute icing on the cake after Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
Speaking of. It goes without saying that the Epic of Gilgamesh makes the relationship between Uruk's patron goddess, it's king, and the king's lifelong bestie is not a great one. How does that fact play out in Chaldea on the day-to-day? How much space must be kept between everyone at all times? Is Roman dead from stress yet? This can go deeply serious with ruminations on the Epic and what it means to be a goddess, or deeply silly given that Chaldea is full of absolute weirdos.
Leonardo DaVinci: Leo's a long time favourite, and I'd love to simply spend more time with her. In particular, I'd love to focus on what goes into her acts of creation around Chaldea and how that has changed since her own time (I'm 200% thinking of that car she just happened to have for driving through the desert), as well as what her relationship is like with her major colleagues like Dr. Roman. She was also one of the few people to meet Marisbilly and be with Chaldea since the (near) beginning, and thus she is in a privilaged position to track how it has changed over the years. What is that change like, and how does she see herself fitting into it?
Dr. Romani Archaman: Spoilers begin here.
Roman. Roman. All his time hiding his identity as Solomon is one of my favorite things about his character and a testament to how good Fate/grand order is. I loved his reveal, and I loved seeing the little dropped hints throughout the singularities as he struggled to just be a normal human person for a single lifetime rather than Solomon.
I'd love to focus on Roman's struggles in maintaining the life he worke so hard to build for himself - especially as it becomes clearer and clearer that this is his fault. What are those moments like? And what was life like before Chaldea was completed? Surely Marisbilly and Roman had a close relationship as Solomon became Dr. Roman - tell me about it. Every part of Roman's character is fascinating, and I'd love to get inside his head more.