Dear Yuletide Writer 2024

[estirose]

Dear Yuletide Writer,

It's that time of year again, isn't it? I've got some old fandoms and some new fandoms this year, and hopefully you'll find something you can connect with on my prompts; if not, I am pretty easy to please. I'm estirose on AO3, same as here. Treats are welcome!

First of all, the usual universal things:

Likes: Found family/Team as family; fluff; hurt/comfort with emphasis on the comfort; horror/suspense; domestic interactions; worldbuilding; interactive fiction.

DNWs: Characters going out of their way to harm animals or cause animals to be harmed; deliberate humiliation of another character; noncon; incest between parents and children and opposite-sex siblings; romantic relationships between teachers and students. Gore and violence that exceed that found in canon. Omegaverse. Breaking up established canon couples.

Special notes: I'm happy to receive gen, het, slash, femslash, and poly. I'm not opposed to explicit sexual content, but my tastes run very very vanilla so it might be better to fade to black. For fandoms where I've requested multiple characters, I'm happy with a focus on any of them. I don't mind crossovers, but I prefer ones where I'm familiar with both sources.

ETA: I've also signed up for the MultiLingYule challenge (my signup; I'm requesting Swedish or Esperanto) and the Interactive Fiction challenge (my signup, for all fandoms).

Now, onto the fandoms:

Coral Island: (Betty, Worldbuilding)
(My fic)

I really love the whole setting of Coral Island - the community on the land as well as the community underseas that I feel we only get a glimpse of. It feels alive! While trying to remember which store is closed on which days (really, Ling, did you have to have the lab closed on Saturdays while the Blacksmith is closed on Sundays?) can be a bit annoying - and I'm so glad of the UI that keeps tabs on that - I love the feel and would like to see more of it.

When I started reading fic for this game, I was surprised at the lack of Betty! I adore this retired tavernkeeper with her gaggle of grown kids, not all of which are present in the game (apart from a cutscene or two). In my current game, Noah and my female farmer are working on getting the grandkids she wants. (I may have had my farmer marry him so his overprotective self would focus on someone other than his mother! Though it appears he kind of got it from her?)

I also love the tv programs, though some more than others, and wish they had more episodes. My particular favorites are Coral Stars, Masked Detective, and Duplicitation.

Prompts:
* Betty and Frank Sr. with their kids - what was it like raising such a large brood and running a tavern? There's that whole set of scenes about the unfinished project as well.
* Betty tries to prove to Noah that he doesn't need to worry so much - maybe with the help of his siblings, and maybe by doing some matchmaking with the new farmer.
* Betty just being social with one or more of the other residents of the island. I would love to see her with Eleanor and Sunny, Ling, or Connor. She also seems to enjoy Eva's company based on one of Eva's events.
* More of the fictional/reality TV programs! Not so much the Game of Cones (since that's covered in a NPC's storyline), but I wish there was more content for Masked Detective (which somewhat pays homage to Kamen Rider in terms of costume), Duplicitation (lots of opportunities for telenovela type stuff), or Coral Stars (I'm a fan of making-a-group competitions such as the Youth With You series and have watched a couple of documentaries about k-pop and c-pop groups).

How to acquire/how long to consume: This is a video game in the same general genre as Stardew Valley. My copy is from Steam on PC (note that this needs an actual graphics card and not the built-in graphics that a lot of PCs have), but it's also available on Playstation 5 and Xbox series X/S. How Long To Beat says this game can be finished in 53+ hours; you probably don't need to take as long if you're mostly aiming to befriend NPCs/see various storylines (I suggest Betty's, Frank's, Aaliyah's, Noah's, and Eva's) or watch all the fictional programs (1 episode each, can be done early game) instead of trying to advance your Town Rank.

I Want to Be a Wall: (Yuriko, Gakurouta, Sousuke)
(My fic)

I have no idea how I came across this manga, but I was hooked from the very first page. I have a soft spot for found families, which Yuriko and Gakurouta certainly are, and I love how believable these two are trying to figure out the trivias of life together! I also just love two people working together instead of against each other, and them being able to present a united front. They're reasonable, even in the one on-screen time there's a serious problem in their relationship. Their marriage may not be the typical one - especially for Japan - but it works in a really splendid way.

I just love Yuriko and how she rapidly goes from "Oh *squee* two boys together" to "I'll be there for you when he gets married". I love Gakurouta's devotion to his wife even if he's not sexually attracted to her. And I love Sousuke, who I think flails a bit on who he is and where he's going! I would love to see Yuriko and Gakurouta develop an almost familial bond with Sousuke, making him part of their found family (but still keeping Gakurouta and Yuriko together).

Prompts:
* Yuriko, Gakurouta, and Sousuke after the events of the manga (though before the future fic at the end of the last volume) - how do they deal with Sousuke maybe realizing what Yuriko meant earlier in the volume?
* Domestic fluff. This could be something like the time they tried to cook for each other, or a casual discussion about how to handle telling their families/moving on from having told their families. Or maybe BL.
* Pre-manga fic exploring any of the characters.
* I'm not sure what Sousuke's sexuality/romantic orientation is. Heck, I'm not sure if Sousuke knows what it is. A fic exploring this would be interesting. (I headcanon him as possibly asexual and biromantic, but I'm cool with whatever your headcanon is on this)

How to acquire/how long to consume: This is a three-volume manga (140-180 pages each) that is available at any place that has a decent manga collection for sale. I read the entire series in 3-6 hours.

Starman (TV): (Scott Hayden Jr.)
(My fic)

Everybody has their first fandom; the Starman TV series was mine, way back in the 1980s. Looking back at it some nearly 40 years later, I realize it's not perfect, but I still love it! Even given the societal attitudes of the day that no doubt influenced how some characters were portrayed, pretty much every story was full of hope and love, especially between family members.

Scott has always interested me because of how he deals with what he is and the circumstances that he finds himself in. I have a soft spot for people who don't quite belong in one world or another. Scott was both your typical mid-late 80s teen and a young man who was trying to figure out who he was while life seemed determined to throw a monkey wrench into all his plans.

Prompts:
* Pre-series fic! We only get a tiny bit of Scott's time with his foster parents, back when he didn't know what he was.
* Scott tries to make a life as normal as he can given the circumstances. Maybe he goes to a movie, or hits up an arcade - anything small that he could do (almost) anywhere, but something that reminds him of before his life was turned upside down.
* Starscapes AU where he does get a chance to spend a little bit of time with his mother before everybody has to go on the run again in different directions.
* Futurefic where Scott meets up with one of the many people that he and his father met while on the run - I'd be especially happy to see Dr. Dukow, Antonia Weyburn, or Matteo Gionetti (and family).

How to acquire/how long to consume: 22 episodes of approximately 48 minutes each. Amazon (US) carries a Print-on-Demand DVD for the series; due to the fact it's a fairly old, obscure series it may be hard to find legally streaming, though less-than-legal streams may exist.

Cozy Grove: (Patrice Furbac, Ursula Pine)
(My fic)

I got into Cozy Grove a while back because I love stories where you help spirits move on to their final place (for varying definitions of a final place). The bear spirits of Cozy Grove tell their stories in bits and pieces that you can't really hurry, which can be exasperating but lovely at the same time. Apart from Clyde and Bearos, everybody grew on me - even Ted and Bruin, who aren't the easiest to befriend.

Patrice and Ursula are my favorites of all the bears on the island! Patrice is wracked by guilt for something he had no control over, while kind, sweet Ursula has let go of hers and is seeking to soothe pain... especially one particular pain. Their stories touched me in different ways - Patrice's for his character development, and Ursula's when she finally reveals how she died. (I may have cried for both.)

Note: I haven't played the sequel, Camp Spirit (I'm still really salty about Spry Fox, Cozy Grove's makers, being acquired by Netflix, which I despise). Please do not include any new bears or concepts introduced in that game.

Prompts:
* Patrice after his storyline, meeting his friends and family again. At that point he really has let go, I'd just like to see him with his squadmates (reinforcement about The Incident That Threw Him Into A Guilt Trip) and/or more time with his family.
* Patrice delivering some mail to the other bears of Cozy Grove. Maybe it's when he's alive; maybe it's when he's a spirit. I'd just like to see him interact with any of the others (I do have the New Neighbears DLC so including that bunch is fine as well).
* Ursula mentions many things she grew in the garden. I'd love to hear about them - what did she grow, and what did it do?
* Ursula reunites with at least one of her kids. I'd love to have a chat between her and Charlotte after both of their stories are resolved as some of Charlotte's storyline has to do with Ursula's death. Alternatively, some resolution for her regarding Francesca.

How to acquire/how long to consume: Video game. I know it's available on Steam (PC), Playstations 4 and 5, Xbox One and Switch; it used to be on Apple Arcade but I believe that's not a thing anymore, so it may not be available on any of Apple's platforms. I couldn't get any solid information on that. How Long To Beat says 70.5 hours; however, the game is intended to be played for about 1/2 hour a day - the NPC storylines progress every few real-life days, assuming you've completed the previous quest in their storyline. Patrice is a very early bear but Ursula doesn't appear until about 2/3 of the way through. (Someone on Youtube compiled the storyline of each of the non-DLC bears if you're short on time.)