Yuletide letter
Oct. 17th, 2025 10:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustDear Yuletide Writer,
Thank you so much for offering to write a story for me! I love all these fandoms, and I'm keen to see what you do in them! I've provided some prompts in case you're looking for inspiration, but I'd also love to see whatever other ideas capture your imagination.
For me, it's about the characters and their interactions. I'm not a stickler about researching canon details, as long as the spirit of the characters and the flavour of their world is there. I want to see adventures that might have been, or missing moments from between scenes, or a slice of their daily lives, or where the future might take them.
LIKES: Some of the things I enjoy in stories are: undying loyalty, personal bravery, risking self to protect others, displaying cool competence, big damn hero moments, special everyday moments, banter, hijinks, confessions exposing emotional vulnerability, conversations loaded with unspoken meaning, tough people showing a soft side, and soft people showing a tough side. Some of my favorite tropes and genres are: amnesia, angst with a happy ending, animal transformation, arranged marriage, bodyswap, cosmic horror, curtainfic, five things fic, getting together, hurt/comfort, marriage of convenience, mystery solving, requited pining, road trips, sex pollen, slice of life, stranded together, and time travel.
DISLIKES: I generally prefer optimistic stories in exchanges, so I'm not keen on anything that is brutally violent or hopelessly bleak. However, I don't mind darkness during the story, as long as there is a glimmer of light at the end. Endings that are bittersweet or ambiguous are also fine.
DO NOT WANT: Noncon, underage, bleak endings, crossovers, setting change AUs like high school, coffee shop, or omegaverse (but canon divergence AUs are fine).
RATING: I am open to gen or ships for these characters. For the latter, I'd enjoy anything ranging from unresolved sexual tension, to getting together, to established relationship. I'm fine with explicit sex, but it's usually not the most important part of the story for me.
STYLE: I'm fine with first, second, or third person. I'm fine with past, present, or future tense. I'm fine with stories of any length, including stories that start in media res or consist of a scene that implies a larger plot.
POV: I'm open to stories from the point of view of a different character from the ones requested, especially if they provide an interesting perspective on the requested characters.
INTERACTIVE FICTION: I like interactive fiction and would welcome it.
AO3: I have gifts enabled and am open to treats.
I've listed more details under each individual request.
I hope this helps. Have fun writing!
Yours sincerely,
meteordust
(AO3 name Serenade)
***
Request 1
Fandom: Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny
Characters: Coral
Details: Coral has curiosity, initiative, and now the Jewel of Judgment. I want to see her come into her own. Let her be a player, not a pawn!
Ideas:
- Coral is yet another of Oberon's long-lost offspring, but she seems to fit in more easily with the next gen than the original royals. I'd love to see her meet the other princes and princesses of Amber, and have some deep and meaningful conversations with her siblings. What's it like to come into this family from the outside?
- Coral makes some bold choices: risking her life to test her bloodline on the Pattern, and asking it to send her where it chooses. What are some other mysteries she might investigate, or assumptions she might overturn?
- Coral has to help one of her many relatives out of trouble, using her wits, diplomacy, combat skills, or Jewel of Judgment powers.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Coral with Merlin, with Luke, or with both. I'm also kind of into the complicated love polygon in the books! (ie including Nayda, Julia, Jurt, ... Pattern Luke?) (Which maybe you could solve with a polycule.) If you drew a diagram of who has tried to kill who, and who used to be lovers, and who are now allies, etc, you would get a lot of arrows pointing in all directions. I like the idea of the next gen having relationship drama, while dealing with cosmic existential threats.
Note: I prefer the main focus to be interactions with canon characters, rather than with original characters or historical figures. My favourite of the books is probably Sign of the Unicorn, for all the familial scheming and snark.
Canon: The First Chronicles of Amber are five books that focus on Corwin, and the Second Chronicles of Amber are another five that focus on his son Merlin. They are often published as omnibus collections. Coral appears in the Second Chronicles.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want graphic descriptions of eye injury or eye surgery. I am fine with mentioning those canon events (ie that Coral's eye was damaged and then replaced with the Jewel of Judgment), but would prefer no heavy focus on the topic.
***
Request 2
Fandom: Foreigner Series - CJ Cherryh
Characters: Cajeiri
Details: I think Cajeiri is one of the most interesting characters, with his unique experiences and his growing map of connections. In a way, he reminds me of Elrond, who unites a lot of bloodlines in his person, and also has a knack for making allies. I wonder about the future world he'll inhabit. I wonder about his future relationship with his sister, who's still a baby and not an active character yet. The world they're growing up in is very different from the world Bren knew. Atevi are in space. The kyo are neighbours. Humans and atevi are associating, and maybe those biologically determined psychological differences aren't an absolute barrier after all.
Ideas:
- Atevi space program! What happens when the atevi starship is completed? What kind of missions would atevi want to do?
- Cajeiri and his Reunioner friends, connecting across cultures. Can they preserve their special bond over the years? Or how might their relationships evolve?
- Cajeiri and Seimiro, growing up and finding their place in the world. How are they different or similar, in their experiences and attitudes?
- Cajeiri trying to solve political or personal problems, using his initiative and surprising people.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I would prefer canon-typical levels of focus on romance.
Canon: There are 22 books in this series. However, I would be perfectly happy with a story based only on some of them. Cajeiri first shows up in the fifth book, Defender, and first gets POV chapters in the ninth book, Deliverer.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: If you decide to write futurefic, it's fine to acknowledge that some characters may have passed away. But I don't want heavy focus on grief or mourning.
***
Request 3
Fandom: Fortress Series - CJ Cherryh
Characters: Tristen Sihhë, Barrakkêth
Additional Tags note: Even though I have requested both these characters, I would be happy with a story just about Tristen or just about Barrakkêth.
Tristen
- I love that Tristen is kind and trusting and loyal, learns to be brave and just, and chooses not to be ruthless like his predecessor. I love when he surprises people with his good qualities and overturns their expectations. I love when he gets to rescue someone with his combat skills, help someone with his magical instincts, or solve a dispute with wisdom and compassion.
- Exploring the relics of the past. What ancient ruins still exist in Amefel? What memories do they unfold for Tristen? Can any of them be rebuilt for use again, like how unwalled Althalen becomes a sanctuary for refugees?
- Enjoying leisure time with his friends and allies, which normally they get precious little chance to do, in between the demands of politics and war. They spend so much of the story split up, I'd love for them to just hang out together for a week.
- Discovering new and marvellous things: traditions, foods, baby animals, etc. I love the wonder with which Tristen sees the world.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Tristen with Crissand, or Cefwyn, or Ninévrisë. No infidelity please (ie before Cefwyn and Ninévrisë get together, or they never got together and the alliance was made differently, or they have a special understanding about Tristen, or the three of them have a relationship). I am also open to shipping Tristen with Barrakkêth.
Barrakkêth
- There's so much mystery around the origins of the Sihhë! Were they born, made, or always existing? Was there friendship between the five of them who came down from the north? Why did they agree to help Mauryl overthrow the Galasieni?
- What was Barrakkêth like as a ruler? What did the fortresses and the cities look like in those days? What was his relationship like with the aetheling who was ancestor to Crissand?
- If all Place is one Place and all Time is one Time, did Barrakkêth know the future? Could he foresee Tristen? Is there anywhere in the gray space they can talk? What was his purpose in writing the Book?
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I don't have any particular preferences for Barrakkêth, so feel free to write whoever you want.
Canon: There are five books in this series. However, I would be perfectly happy with a story based only on the first book, Fortress in the Eye of Time.
***
Request 4
Fandom: Fallen London
Characters: Player, Your Lover Returned
SPOILERS FOR AMBITION: NEMESIS
Additional Tags note: Even though I have requested both these characters, I would be happy with a story just about Your Lover Returned.
Details: I adore the quirky charm of Fallen London, I'm fascinated by the deeper mythology especially the earlier cities, and I'm moved by the sense of connection between all the very different people living here. In particular, the Ambition: Nemesis storyline hit me hard with all the emotions. The Player Character came to the Neath in search of answers about their slain lover, and the conclusion I chose was a rollercoaster ride of vengeance at hand, hope unlooked for, the staggering price, and the bittersweet twist.
Ideas:
- I love the regular interactions between the Player Character and Your Lover Returned, like the weekly walks or afternoon teas. I also love the special opportunities to involve them, like visiting Helicon House together. I love these little glimpses of how they might continue on, and the wistfulness and tentativeness of these not-quite-strangers getting to know each other again. What other places or activities might they explore in the Neath?
- Does Your Lover Returned ever cross paths again with the Master behind all this? Or with any of the other Masters?
- Does Your Lover Returned experience any unusual aftereffects from their resurrection? (Apart from the devastating memory blank of the Player Character.) Are other people interested in this property of Hesperidean Cider? Do the Dilmun Club get involved? Or others seeking the Gates of the Garden?
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. I'm fine with canon characters or original characters. I'm fine with shipping the Player Character and Your Lover Returned, but also for either of them to find or to have found new loves. (What if the Player Character has already acquired a Spouse during their long quest for revenge? Is it awkward? Or does it make things less awkward?)
Canon: Fallen London is a free-to-play text-based browser game. If you're already familiar with playing Fallen London, but just haven't reached particular storylines yet, I'm fine for you to work off wiki research and other resources instead. I'm fine with spoilers for any Fallen London content. (I'm behind with Firmament but hope to catch up soon.)
I haven't played the other Failbetter Games like Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. I'm fine for you to include content and spoilers from them, as long as the story can be understood without having played them. (This is an exception to my crossovers DNW.)
Fallen London
Gameplay wiki
Lore wiki
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want mention of the Liberation of Night. (Mentioning the Revolutionaries otherwise is fine.)
Thank you so much for offering to write a story for me! I love all these fandoms, and I'm keen to see what you do in them! I've provided some prompts in case you're looking for inspiration, but I'd also love to see whatever other ideas capture your imagination.
For me, it's about the characters and their interactions. I'm not a stickler about researching canon details, as long as the spirit of the characters and the flavour of their world is there. I want to see adventures that might have been, or missing moments from between scenes, or a slice of their daily lives, or where the future might take them.
LIKES: Some of the things I enjoy in stories are: undying loyalty, personal bravery, risking self to protect others, displaying cool competence, big damn hero moments, special everyday moments, banter, hijinks, confessions exposing emotional vulnerability, conversations loaded with unspoken meaning, tough people showing a soft side, and soft people showing a tough side. Some of my favorite tropes and genres are: amnesia, angst with a happy ending, animal transformation, arranged marriage, bodyswap, cosmic horror, curtainfic, five things fic, getting together, hurt/comfort, marriage of convenience, mystery solving, requited pining, road trips, sex pollen, slice of life, stranded together, and time travel.
DISLIKES: I generally prefer optimistic stories in exchanges, so I'm not keen on anything that is brutally violent or hopelessly bleak. However, I don't mind darkness during the story, as long as there is a glimmer of light at the end. Endings that are bittersweet or ambiguous are also fine.
DO NOT WANT: Noncon, underage, bleak endings, crossovers, setting change AUs like high school, coffee shop, or omegaverse (but canon divergence AUs are fine).
RATING: I am open to gen or ships for these characters. For the latter, I'd enjoy anything ranging from unresolved sexual tension, to getting together, to established relationship. I'm fine with explicit sex, but it's usually not the most important part of the story for me.
STYLE: I'm fine with first, second, or third person. I'm fine with past, present, or future tense. I'm fine with stories of any length, including stories that start in media res or consist of a scene that implies a larger plot.
POV: I'm open to stories from the point of view of a different character from the ones requested, especially if they provide an interesting perspective on the requested characters.
INTERACTIVE FICTION: I like interactive fiction and would welcome it.
AO3: I have gifts enabled and am open to treats.
I've listed more details under each individual request.
I hope this helps. Have fun writing!
Yours sincerely,
meteordust(AO3 name Serenade)
***
Request 1
Fandom: Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny
Characters: Coral
Details: Coral has curiosity, initiative, and now the Jewel of Judgment. I want to see her come into her own. Let her be a player, not a pawn!
Ideas:
- Coral is yet another of Oberon's long-lost offspring, but she seems to fit in more easily with the next gen than the original royals. I'd love to see her meet the other princes and princesses of Amber, and have some deep and meaningful conversations with her siblings. What's it like to come into this family from the outside?
- Coral makes some bold choices: risking her life to test her bloodline on the Pattern, and asking it to send her where it chooses. What are some other mysteries she might investigate, or assumptions she might overturn?
- Coral has to help one of her many relatives out of trouble, using her wits, diplomacy, combat skills, or Jewel of Judgment powers.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Coral with Merlin, with Luke, or with both. I'm also kind of into the complicated love polygon in the books! (ie including Nayda, Julia, Jurt, ... Pattern Luke?) (Which maybe you could solve with a polycule.) If you drew a diagram of who has tried to kill who, and who used to be lovers, and who are now allies, etc, you would get a lot of arrows pointing in all directions. I like the idea of the next gen having relationship drama, while dealing with cosmic existential threats.
Note: I prefer the main focus to be interactions with canon characters, rather than with original characters or historical figures. My favourite of the books is probably Sign of the Unicorn, for all the familial scheming and snark.
Canon: The First Chronicles of Amber are five books that focus on Corwin, and the Second Chronicles of Amber are another five that focus on his son Merlin. They are often published as omnibus collections. Coral appears in the Second Chronicles.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want graphic descriptions of eye injury or eye surgery. I am fine with mentioning those canon events (ie that Coral's eye was damaged and then replaced with the Jewel of Judgment), but would prefer no heavy focus on the topic.
***
Request 2
Fandom: Foreigner Series - CJ Cherryh
Characters: Cajeiri
Details: I think Cajeiri is one of the most interesting characters, with his unique experiences and his growing map of connections. In a way, he reminds me of Elrond, who unites a lot of bloodlines in his person, and also has a knack for making allies. I wonder about the future world he'll inhabit. I wonder about his future relationship with his sister, who's still a baby and not an active character yet. The world they're growing up in is very different from the world Bren knew. Atevi are in space. The kyo are neighbours. Humans and atevi are associating, and maybe those biologically determined psychological differences aren't an absolute barrier after all.
Ideas:
- Atevi space program! What happens when the atevi starship is completed? What kind of missions would atevi want to do?
- Cajeiri and his Reunioner friends, connecting across cultures. Can they preserve their special bond over the years? Or how might their relationships evolve?
- Cajeiri and Seimiro, growing up and finding their place in the world. How are they different or similar, in their experiences and attitudes?
- Cajeiri trying to solve political or personal problems, using his initiative and surprising people.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I would prefer canon-typical levels of focus on romance.
Canon: There are 22 books in this series. However, I would be perfectly happy with a story based only on some of them. Cajeiri first shows up in the fifth book, Defender, and first gets POV chapters in the ninth book, Deliverer.
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: If you decide to write futurefic, it's fine to acknowledge that some characters may have passed away. But I don't want heavy focus on grief or mourning.
***
Request 3
Fandom: Fortress Series - CJ Cherryh
Characters: Tristen Sihhë, Barrakkêth
Additional Tags note: Even though I have requested both these characters, I would be happy with a story just about Tristen or just about Barrakkêth.
Tristen
- I love that Tristen is kind and trusting and loyal, learns to be brave and just, and chooses not to be ruthless like his predecessor. I love when he surprises people with his good qualities and overturns their expectations. I love when he gets to rescue someone with his combat skills, help someone with his magical instincts, or solve a dispute with wisdom and compassion.
- Exploring the relics of the past. What ancient ruins still exist in Amefel? What memories do they unfold for Tristen? Can any of them be rebuilt for use again, like how unwalled Althalen becomes a sanctuary for refugees?
- Enjoying leisure time with his friends and allies, which normally they get precious little chance to do, in between the demands of politics and war. They spend so much of the story split up, I'd love for them to just hang out together for a week.
- Discovering new and marvellous things: traditions, foods, baby animals, etc. I love the wonder with which Tristen sees the world.
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I ship Tristen with Crissand, or Cefwyn, or Ninévrisë. No infidelity please (ie before Cefwyn and Ninévrisë get together, or they never got together and the alliance was made differently, or they have a special understanding about Tristen, or the three of them have a relationship). I am also open to shipping Tristen with Barrakkêth.
Barrakkêth
- There's so much mystery around the origins of the Sihhë! Were they born, made, or always existing? Was there friendship between the five of them who came down from the north? Why did they agree to help Mauryl overthrow the Galasieni?
- What was Barrakkêth like as a ruler? What did the fortresses and the cities look like in those days? What was his relationship like with the aetheling who was ancestor to Crissand?
- If all Place is one Place and all Time is one Time, did Barrakkêth know the future? Could he foresee Tristen? Is there anywhere in the gray space they can talk? What was his purpose in writing the Book?
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. If you would like to include shipping, I don't have any particular preferences for Barrakkêth, so feel free to write whoever you want.
Canon: There are five books in this series. However, I would be perfectly happy with a story based only on the first book, Fortress in the Eye of Time.
***
Request 4
Fandom: Fallen London
Characters: Player, Your Lover Returned
SPOILERS FOR AMBITION: NEMESIS
Additional Tags note: Even though I have requested both these characters, I would be happy with a story just about Your Lover Returned.
Details: I adore the quirky charm of Fallen London, I'm fascinated by the deeper mythology especially the earlier cities, and I'm moved by the sense of connection between all the very different people living here. In particular, the Ambition: Nemesis storyline hit me hard with all the emotions. The Player Character came to the Neath in search of answers about their slain lover, and the conclusion I chose was a rollercoaster ride of vengeance at hand, hope unlooked for, the staggering price, and the bittersweet twist.
Ideas:
- I love the regular interactions between the Player Character and Your Lover Returned, like the weekly walks or afternoon teas. I also love the special opportunities to involve them, like visiting Helicon House together. I love these little glimpses of how they might continue on, and the wistfulness and tentativeness of these not-quite-strangers getting to know each other again. What other places or activities might they explore in the Neath?
- Does Your Lover Returned ever cross paths again with the Master behind all this? Or with any of the other Masters?
- Does Your Lover Returned experience any unusual aftereffects from their resurrection? (Apart from the devastating memory blank of the Player Character.) Are other people interested in this property of Hesperidean Cider? Do the Dilmun Club get involved? Or others seeking the Gates of the Garden?
- Relationships: I'm fine with gen or ships. I'm fine with canon characters or original characters. I'm fine with shipping the Player Character and Your Lover Returned, but also for either of them to find or to have found new loves. (What if the Player Character has already acquired a Spouse during their long quest for revenge? Is it awkward? Or does it make things less awkward?)
Canon: Fallen London is a free-to-play text-based browser game. If you're already familiar with playing Fallen London, but just haven't reached particular storylines yet, I'm fine for you to work off wiki research and other resources instead. I'm fine with spoilers for any Fallen London content. (I'm behind with Firmament but hope to catch up soon.)
I haven't played the other Failbetter Games like Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. I'm fine for you to include content and spoilers from them, as long as the story can be understood without having played them. (This is an exception to my crossovers DNW.)
Fallen London
Gameplay wiki
Lore wiki
Fandom Specific Do Not Want: I don't want mention of the Liberation of Night. (Mentioning the Revolutionaries otherwise is fine.)
