estirose | Dear Yuletide Writer 2021

Dear Yuletide Writer (and other interested persons),

Hello, and I hope you can find something you'd like to write in this letter. I've been doing Yuletide for years now (this will be my 15th) and always enjoy it. I like gen, het, slash, and femslash (and poly in one fandom) and am happy with any rating - though my prompts don't tend to lend themselves to mature or explicit. I've listed possible ships in each section but most of my prompts are gen. I'm Estirose on AO3.

If you went to this letter before and it cut off above this sentence, there was a glitch and I had to reconstruct my letter. There might be parts that are unformatted and some links that got lost.

Before I get to my fandoms, here is the general stuff.

Likes: Fluff! I'm also good with hurt/comfort and angst with a happy ending. Team bonding/found families is a big love of mine, as is family having a good time together. Interactive Fiction.

DNW: Humiliation for the sake of humiliation. Noncon. This year I don't want A/B/O, incest, or Covid-19 in my stories.

Other things of note: I'm okay with dubcon of the "Consent is given because the person is deceived or magically compelled" type. I am also okay with crossovers, though I'd prefer them to be with fandoms I've written before. Discussing disease (including serious illnesses) is fine as well. I'm not too much into sex scenes (please fade to black) and most of my requests this year are gen. Canon-typical violence is also fine.

If I do not include all requested characters in a prompt, please feel free to write the fic without the non-mentioned characters. (For example, if I'm requesting Slime Rancher with Beatrix and Casey, and my prompt only mentions Beatrix, Casey does not have to appear or even be mentioned.) Also, the prompts are suggestions; I'm happy to get ODAO fic.

For worldbuilding prompts, including canon characters is fine.

I've put requests in the Yulebuilding (Cozy Grove, Fantasy Life, and Expression Amrilato) and Multilingyule (for the main collection: Expression Amrilato in Esperanto; for Madness, any fandom in Esperanto or Swedish), and IF (all fandoms) challenges this year. (If you are curious about writing IF, I wrote about my experience writing IF for last Yuletide.)

Now, for the fandoms:

Cozy Grove (Video Game)

Characters: Ursula Pine, Charlotte Pine, Patrice Furbac

What it is:

A game in the same genre as Animal Crossing. You play as an unnamed Spirit Scout (think a scout whose specialty is dealing with spirits) on their first solo trip. You end up on the wrong island and your boat floats out to sea soon after, but that's okay... there's a ton of work for you to do! After all, "All Those Who Are Lost Deserve Kindness".

What I love about the game and my requested characters:

Cozy Grove, despite dealing with death, is a gentle game. There is no violence. You are a Spirit Scout, with no name and no gender and can present as you want. It's meant to be played in small sessions, and the spirits - all bears - tell you their stories in little bits and pieces as best they can over the course of many days. (This can be a disadvantage if you are picking up this game to write for Yuletide.) There's no hurry to do anything, and you can craft, cook, and carry out quests to your heart's content. There's a canon lesbian character and one of the other characters is questioning their sexuality.

My chosen characters are three of the bears. Ursula is the kind, motherly type who decided to be joyful despite her life not turning out as expected. Her part in the game is to help you help the others move on (and is related to the reason she hasn't moved on yet). She's a sweetheart that I always enjoy talking to when I pass by, even if she doesn't have a quest.

Charlotte, a former Spirit Scout herself, is accurately characterized as a broken bird on the tvtropes website. She's made mistakes. She's had failures. There's a reason she's still hanging around the island. But she's also so helpful when you just can't find an item. I want to hug her. A lot.

Patrice is the island postman. He seems to be so cheerful, but there's sadness and regret in there too that he has to resolve. The packages he sends you out to chase down - both in the story quests and the daily quests - symbolize to me on how lost he is and how much he needs you to find the parts and put him back together. I also hug him a lot.

Shipping:
See my incest DNW above re the related Ursula and Charlotte; I also don't ship Ursula or Charlotte with Patrice (as he was married), but I'm happy to see Patrice with his canon wife!

Prompts:

* Patrice and his family meet up with Ursula and her kids (your choice as to whether Francesca appears; I'm good either way) and they all have a great time together.

* After he ascends, Patrice is reunited with his coworkers (either in the postal service or from the military). What is the reunion like?

* Charlotte's time as a Spirit Scout with her Scoutmaster mom; what was that like?

* Charlotte and Ursula spend time together in the last parts of Ursula's life. What is their time like?

* Ursula's garden and the various things she planted.

* In Charlotte's dialogue, she mentions seeing her sister one last time as a spirit. What was that like?

* Worldbuilding: More about the Spirit Scouts and how they operate! (We get hints and glimpses from Scoutmaster Blake, but I find it absolutely fascinating! Their world is not our own, most definitely.) Or if you fancy a bit of femslash and are far enough along in the storyline, Marie Ann and the new love of her life.

How to get and other notes:

Cozy Grove is available for Apple Arcade, PC, Mac, Switch, Playstation, and XBox. As noted above, it's meant to be played for an hour or less each day, so new players may not get to the storylines I mention above (especially for Ursula, who is a mid-late game character). It's easy to find let's plays for the game. I've also put together some rather spoilery notes about Ursula's storyline for anybody interested.

The Expression Amrilato (Visual Novel)

Characters: None, really; I nominated and am requesting worldbuilding.

What it is:

A yuri isekai educational visual novel! (Say that five times fast.) It's the story of a young Japanese woman named Rin who unexpectedly finds herself in a world where the sun never really sets and people speak a language that Rin's never heard before. Along the way, the player can pick up the basics of the constructed language Esperanto.

What I love about the game:

I came for the Esperanto lessons (I do speak it... though not as much as I'd like) and stayed for the romance between main characters Rin and Ruka. Along the way, I fell in love with the world, where people from other worlds keep showing up and the governments of the world had to figure out how to handle it. (Also, how one lives in a world with no real sunset.) I also like the main characters; they're flawed (especially Rin, the viewpoint character) and the game is not afraid to have the characters make mistakes.

Shipping:
I haven't asked for any canon characters, but I'm fine if the canon Rin/Ruka shows up, or any OC/OC romances that come up. (But please don't break up Rin and Ruka.)

Prompts:

* I'd love to see more of the world. Maybe more into the canon history of how this came about (and how Esperanto became Juliamo), more stories about the visitantoj and their lives and their decisions to stay or leave, or the natives and how they deal with a world where there are a lot of newcomers. If something else inspires you, have at it!

How to get it and other notes:

This is a visual novel that's available on Steam, GOG, and the publisher's website. (It's also available on iOS and Android, but only in Japanese.) I rarely see it discounted for more than 15%, so if you're interested I suggest digging up a let's play. The game is about 10-13 hours long. (If you're speedrunning, I suggest going into the options, setting all the quizzes to "homework" and changing the font to "Esperanto" so you aren't bothered by quizzes and the weird Juliamo font.)

The sequel (Distant Memoraĵo) just came out a month or two back in English; I have not played it yet, don't expect you to, and if your worldbuilding contradicts what we find out there, then that's how it goes.

Fantasy Life (Video Game)

Characters: None/Any (Celestia, Yuelia, Noelia, Player Character)

What it is:

In this Nintendo 3DS RPG, you are a young person living in the city of Castele, and about to start your new career - one of 12 the game has available. You are certainly not expecting to meet a talking butterfly, or find out that you're destined to save the world.

What I love about the game:

This game was the reason I got a 2DS, after a friend recommened it to me. It's an unusual RPG because along with four combat classes, you have three gathering classes and five crafting classes that you can switch among freely. (For example, a mercenary character can pick up the blacksmith and miner classes to make their own armor for cheaper than buying in the shop.) The story itself is fairly short (though the single DLC makes it a bit longer) and the emphasis is taking on sidequests to level up your class skills. It's a fun game and it's sad that there's not a lot of fic for it.

I've requested no characters, because I'd be happy with a story featuring any of the nominated characters! Celestia is fascinating with the hints we get about her storyline and her (limited) interactions with her husband. I love Yuelia's dialogue and storyline and would love to have more of her. Noelia took a while for me to warm up to, but I admire her drive to save the world her mother loved. And of course, the blank slate that is the player character. This character can be anything you want (within reason) and is fun to play around with. (If you're writing a Player Character story, I'd love it if their initial Life is Tailor; that's a fun way to start.)

Shipping: I'm okay with shipping the Player Character with Yuelia or Noelia (and see the prompts below for another possible romance I'm interested in); Celestia not so much as she's married. Celestia, Yuelia, and Noelia are related, so please no incest.

Prompts:

* Celestia's life on Origin Island and/or her adjustment to her new Life.

* Celestia with young Yuelia and Noelia.

* Noelia and the crew that we get to know; how did they meet and what did she do to persuade them.

* Yuelia's met a lot of people - I'd love to see her interact with some of them.

* How did the Player Character choose their initial profession? Was one of their parents a blacksmith or a paladin? Did they always admire Madam Purl or Fern? Was there some other reason they chose to be, say, a woodcutter or a miner?

* If you fancy a bit of romance, I have a soft spot for Player Character/Damien (Damon), but only really when it's Damien or his family that initiates the courtship/romance.

* Maybe the Player Character is from another fandom and is learning about Reveria just as their butterfly companion is.

* On the worldbuilding side, where do all these people live? There are only a few houses in each town, and nobody seems to go home at night. Especially the NPCs for each Life.

How to get it and other notes:

It's a slightly obsure 3DS game by Level-5 (yes, the Professor Layton and Yokai Watch folks). I don't know how easy/hard it is to get via the 3DS store/physical cartridges. There are 2-3 full let's plays I've found, one of which also includes the Origin Island DLC that goes more into Celestia's backstory. (Most of the let's plays and the wiki use European terms; I have the North American version, which has some different dialogue and some different names for people/places/equipment/quests, but I won't be thrown if a character refers to Levitania instead of Terra Nimbus or meets Cherry instead of Poppy.)

Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (TV)

Character: Ikari Gai

What it is:

One of many Japanese Super Sentai series, Gokaiger tells the story of a group of pirates that are searching for the Greatest Treasure in the Universe. They end up on Earth, defending the planet against the threat of the Zangyack Empire. It was one of two series adapted into Power Rangers Megaforce, being the Super Megaforce part of the season.

What I love about the series and my requested character:

Gokaiger was one of the anniversary seasons for Super Sentai, so it was fun to see all the old suits in action again, as well as cameos from various past Super Sentai actors. It was crossover heavy and nostalgic and I loved it. That was helped by an amazing cast of actors and some great characters, especially the Gokai Galleon crew.

Gai is my favorite character of the series. He's passionate about Super Sentai. He's the walking encyclopedia the rest of the crew needs. He wants to save the Earth and he wants to motivate his crewmates to do the same. Yes, sometimes he's annoying; I've rolled my eyes multiple times at him. But he's the only Earth person in the crew and he provides a much-needed human perspective on his human-looking crewmates.

Shipping:
I'm cool with shipping him with his teammates, an OC, or even a member of another Sentai team. This is the fandom where I would be very happy to receive poly OT6 crew.

Prompts:

* I'd love to see Gai meet up with the three from his dream. They're all dead, but they could offer some advice. Maybe they can provide some help/advice, kind of like the relationship between Mondo Misao and his head-Zyumen.

* Gai and his daily life - training, cooking, shopping, hanging around his crewmates. What else does he do?

* Gai meets up (again) with some past Sentai members. Who does he meet and what does he do with them?

* Gai tries to educate his crewmates a bit more on the various past Super Sentai teams.

* Post-series, Gai has an adventure. Maybe he's saving his teammate(s) (and has to nurse one or all of them back to health). Maybe he's getting used to travelling across the universe. Maybe his teammates have to save him!

* Maybe Gai falls in love, either with one of his teammates or someone he meets on an alien planet. He has to figure out how to handle this, especially with Earth not having space travel.

How to get it and other notes:

This was fansubbed a lot (no official English subtitles) but that was quite a few years ago. It may be hard to get a hold of if you don't have it already.

The Tomorrow People (1992 TV)

Character: Lisa

What it is:

A 3-season (though only 5 serials of 5 episodes each) 1990s tv series where a set of young people find that they are telepathic and can teleport, but also can't kill, even to save their lives. It's the same idea as the 1970s series of the same name, but changed for the audience of the time.

What I love about the series and my requested character:

The Tomorrow People has always appealed to me because of the whole premise. That is, it forces the characters to seek another soution besides killing. The 1990s version was the first one I saw and so it holds a place in my heart. Sometimes cheesy, sometimes serious, it was a series where I couldn't wait for the next episode. I loved the main characters, the side characters, and even (most of) the villains. (Please don't get me started on the cereal guy.)

I love all of this series' Tomorrow People, but I have a special spot in my heart for Lisa. Lisa did not ask to be special. She didn't ask for her mom to be abducted. She refused the call! Quite successfully, I might add, given that she never showed up (or was mentioned much, if at all) again. I realize that's for casting/plot reasons, but it's still great. I love her stubborn, somewhat hysterical, somewhat annoyed self. (I also love Jade for the completely opposite reason of jumping at the call, but I really want Lisa this year.)

Shipping:
I don't really ship Lisa with anyone and would prefer gen for this fandom.

Prompts:

* I'd like to see more of Lisa trying to live as normal a life as possible. In my headcanon, General Damon got her and her mom new identities so she could live life as normal as possible.

* On the opposite end, I'd like to see her interact with the other TP again. She'd be an interesting contrast to Jade, for example.

* Lisa gets stuck in an adventure. This may involve the other TP, or it may be something she handles on her own.

How to get it and other notes:

It aired in the 1990s and had a DVD release more than a few years ago, so it could be considered hard to find. However, while researching for this letter, I found two different copies of the one serial Lisa appears in on a user-uploaded streaming site. (I think the official title for the serial is "The Tomorrow People", but it's often just called "Origin Story".) There is also a novelization of the first two stories that is fairly easy to find and not too expensive. (Also, while the character tag says "Lisa Davies", I checked IMDB and the credit for her mother says "Mrs. Davis". I'm presuming here that she has the same surname as her mom.)