Yuletide Letter 2023

[themangosity]

Dear Yuletide Writer:

I'm sure I'll love whatever you write for me because I just want to read some amazing stories in these fandoms!

I don't have any triggers or anything I absolutely wouldn't want to see in a story. I like the kinds of stories that take place in universe and match the tone of the original. It's fun to see what's happening in the characters' lives post-series or behind the scenes. Here are a few things I like in general:

-Hurt/Comfort

I like a good Hurt/Comfort story! I like the kind of story where someone gets hurt or sick and the other characters have to take care of them. I like the comfort part better than the hurt part, but that’s not to say I don’t want to know the details of how they got hurt or sick.

-Brotherly Love

I like the kind of dynamic where there’s two guy friends and one of them is older and they’re really close. They have a strong bond and they’re always there for each other, and the older one feels protective of the younger one.

-Adventure and Action

I like when there’s stakes to the story, something vital that drives the characters to go on a journey. If it’s the kind of universe where there would be action, I like a good action scene. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a huge choreographed fight scene. Just a brief clash, or even just the sense that a clash happened.

-Crossovers

If there's anything you think would work well as a crossover with any of these fandoms and prompts, do it! I'm open to crossovers! Honestly, I'm open to any wild ideas, crossover or otherwise.

I'm also open to Interactive Fiction if that's something you're interested in!

And here are the prompts for the different fandoms!:

 

Some of these prompts don’t include all of my requested characters. If I don't mention a character in a prompt, I'm not expecting the other characters if you decide to use that prompt for your story. But if you can think of a way to include the other characters feel free to include them. Also, if any of these prompts inspires you to go in a slightly different direction from what I said, I'm open to any new ideas you want to add to the different premises.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy

I love Dissidia because it's like Kingdom Hearts with all the Final Fantasy characters hanging out together! It's so fun to see them all together when they would normally never meet. I've seen the cutscenes for the two Dissidias on PSP and Dissidia NT (the only one that has Noctis), but I haven't started playing Opera Omnia yet.

I requested Noctis and Ignis because I love FFXV! I love all the FFXV dudes, but Ignis is my favorite dude. What I love about Ignis is that he’s such a caring soul, and he’s so loyal and dedicated to Noctis. What I love about Noctis is that he has a good heart, but he’s so awkward that he can’t really express how he’s feeling. For some reason the Dissidia writers decided to go super hard on this character trait. It’s kind of hilarious.

Here are the prompts I came up with for this one. Some of them only mention Noctis because I felt like the ideas made more sense without Ignis, but if you can think of a reason to include Ignis in those, please do. Feel free to come up with your own ideas, just please include both Noctis and Ignis if you come up with your own idea.

If these prompts inspire you to come up with a different idea, feel free to come up with your own idea . Whatever you do, please include Ignis! He’s my favorite FFXV dude!

o It's so funny to me that Noctis, this modern guy, spends the whole game hanging out with Cecil and the Warrior of Light, these two guys who are dressed in elaborate medieval armor and talk like "Hark thee!" Can they even relate? It's a good thing Noctis has spent his whole life hanging out with Ignis, otherwise he would have no idea what these people are saying.

o There's a part in Dissidia NT where Noctis says, "If the guys were here, they'd totally flip at seeing this." That always made me wonder what they would think once he got back and explained everything that happened. Do they believe him? Do they think he's crazy? Maybe they don't believe him but then they all end up sucked into the Dissidia world and he's like, "I told you so."

o Noctis says that "things were not looking too good" when he left his friends. Explore what he could be talking about. He could be talking about several moments in the story where things weren't looking too good, or maybe he's just talking about a tough battle with the daemons.

o Ignis also gets sucked into the Dissidia world, but he lands somewhere separate from Noctis, so they don't realize they're both there. Where does he end up? Who does he travel with? Do he and Noctis ever meet up?

Suzume

This movie is so beautiful and emotional. The premise is so funny but the movie is so good at drawing you into the stakes of the world that it seems really serious, even though the main character’s companion is a talking chair.

Since I spent the last section gushing about Ignis, it’s probably no shock that I saw the trailer for this movie and thought, “MEGANE BOY! YES!” While he didn’t become my new husbando or anything, I still liked him and thought his parts were really funny. I love his strange, misguided quest to get his money back from Souta and his easy-breezy personality, and I love that Suzume’s aunt thinks she’s trying to run away with him. (As much as I like him it’s been a while since I saw the movie and I can’t remember if they call him by his first or last name, so I’m just going to call him Serizawa for now. Sorry, I can’t find an English clip of this movie where they say his name!)

At some point when they were all driving together in the car, I started to think to think that Serizawa and the aunt were going to get together. I thought they had chemistry and I liked their banter. The longer it went on the more I thought, “Please let this happen it would be so funny.”

Unfortunately that’s not what happens, much to my disappointment. I think they would make a good couple! There would probably be a bit of an age gap, but SHE DESERVES A HOT YOUNG MAN AFTER ALL OF THE NONSENSE THAT HAPPENS TO HER IN THIS MOVIE! I imagine he’s in his twenties while she’s in her thirties, or he’s in his thirties while she’s in her forties. I think either of those works with him being a graduate student and her having a high school aged niece.

I would most love to read a story about Suzume’s aunt and Serizawa getting together after the end of the movie, but I also came up with some other ideas in case you don’t feel up to writing romance. If you do decide to write the romance, feel free to include the other characters as well. Suzume is an important part of her aunt’s life, and I’m sure Souta is important to Serizawa even though he drives him crazy.

o Suzume’s aunt is such a loving person for adopting her niece. It was so powerful to hear her say, “You’re my daughter now.” It’s clear she loves Suzume and doesn’t actually regret taking care of her, and yet we still see that glimpse of her negative thoughts in the middle of the movie. What are her thoughts after that incident?

o How do Souta and Serizawa figure out the situation of who owes who money? Does Serizawa believe it’s actually him who owes Souta money or does he keep trying to get his money back? Who is even telling the truth?

o A story where Suzume and Souta sit down with her aunt and Serizawa and explain all of the supernatural stuff that’s been happening. How do they take it?

o What happens with that guy the aunt was friendzoning the whole movie? This could work as a story by itself, but it could also be an aspect of the story if you decide to ship the aunt and Serizawa.

Paper Mario

I love the original Paper Mario so much and Thousand Year Door is great too. The worlds feel so alive and you meet so many memorable personalities. There’s something interesting happening no matter where you go.

My favorite character is Twink! He’s so cute. I love that he supports Princess Peach and tries to help her however he can even though he’s not that strong. He’s so in over his head but he tries!

My favorite part of Paper Mario is the journey. Both the original and Thousand Year Door do a good job making you feel like you’re on this grand adventure with stakes for the world. The original is especially good at showing how deeply the tragedy at the beginning has affected everyone. The whole world is saddened by the princess’ kidnapping, and so many of the characters mention “these terrible times.” It’s a fun world, but it never lets you forget that underlying sadness.

Here are some ideas I had for Paper Mario. You don’t have to use every single character if I don’t mention them, but go ahead and use the other characters if you think of a way to include them. If you come up with your own idea, please include Twink and Princess Peach. I think they’re best friends.

o When I first saw Goombella on the cover of Thousand Year Door, I truly thought she was Goombaria and Mario was taking her on his journey this time around. When it turned out not to be her, I was so disappointed. Write a story where Mario has another journey ahead of him, so he goes to Goombario for help. He can’t come with him for some reason, so Mario takes Goombaria instead. She seemed so young in the first game, but she has spirit. She’d be a great partner character.

o Bowser or some other villain is causing chaos, and Twink goes to Mario to tell him about the danger. He joins Mario on the journey to take care of the trouble. This journey can take them to places we’ve seen in Paper Mario, Thousand Year Door, or any of the other places from the other Paper Mario games that you like. Or you can make up a place if you want.

o The murder mystery in the first game was so funny, and there was also a mystery on the train in Thousand Year Door. Come up with a new mystery for our heroes to solve. Maybe it takes place in Star Haven. Someone was murdered, which makes no sense since I’m pretty sure the Star Spirits and star kids can’t die, and that’s why it’s a mystery. Feel free to come up with your own mystery and use as many of the characters as you want, just please include Twink.

o One of my favorite parts of the first game was the way Princess Peach escapes her room between the chapters. My favorite one is when you make the cake. What if she’s now addicted to the thrill of sneaking out of her room? So now she’s always trying to sneak out at night to do random stuff.

Majora's Mask

Majora’s Mask is one of the most memorable games from my youth. It’s so creepy yet somehow it didn’t scare me. The world drew me in with its colorful characters and interesting art style. I don’t think I’ve experienced that creepy yet compelling vibe in another game.

I love that you never know who you’re going to run into in the most random places, and you never know what they’re going to ask you to do. Link is constantly helping people, but he really has no time for it. He can’t help or save everyone. That would be so stressful for a person. Here are some ideas:

o The story from Epona’s perspective. What is she thinking during the adventure? How did she end up at the Romani Ranch? Somehow it would make sense to me if Tatl could understand Epona. This is the kind of story that could be really funny if you took it totally serious because the main character is a horse.

o What is up with the aliens at Romani Ranch? Where do they come from and what is their purpose for being there at the ranch? Let Link save Romani from the aliens and the trauma! Maybe Romani’s sister has information that helps them figure out why the aliens are targeting them specifically and no one else in the land.

o Link had a lot of bad things happen to him because of magic, and so did Anju and Kafei. I feel like they would be able to relate to each other. Years later Link returns to Termina and stays at Anju’s inn. Anju and Kafei remember him, and they’re all able to bond over the past. Link probably experienced a lot of horrifying things in Majora’s Mask. Anju and Kafei are able to help him overcome the ghosts and trauma he has from that time.

o I always assumed Kafei turned back into an adult/teenager at the end of the game, but it turns out it’s ambiguous. Come up with something that takes place post game about Anju and Kafei finding a way to turn him back to normal. Maybe the happy mask salesman knows of a solution? The witches in the swamp? I’m sure there’s other people in the game who have knowledge of magic and could try to help.

I hope these prompts help you come up with some great ideas. I’m looking forward to see whatever you choose to write for me! Good luck with writing your story!

Here are some past letters in case it might help you come up with more ideas. I've done some other Zelda and Paper Mario prompts in the past:

 

https://themangosity.dreamwidth.org/2419.html

https://themangosity.dreamwidth.org/2199.html

https://themangosity.dreamwidth.org/1967.html

https://themangosity.dreamwidth.org/1400.html