This is a thread for a Secret Santa contest, a sort of fic exchange, in which members may anonymously submit ideas or premises, and later receive another's premise in turn to write in exchange. Rather than be scored by a set of judges, instead, all the fics will be posted and the community gets to vote for which of their fics were their favorite. Most of the details remain the same as last time, except this will use pools like the previous two contests. Copy-paste, ho!
For the Santa exchange, there will be no theme, and any genre may be submitted.
A General Summary:
Participants will submit their prompts, three per participant. PM them to me.
Once the deadline's up, participants are then given another user’s prompts to write for. Of the three, you may choose one to write in exchange. You can write more than one, but the idea here is to give more freedom of choice to the receiver, in the case where if they don’t like one prompt, they won’t be stuck with that
Up until the writing deadline is up, participants send their fics to me. Once the deadline's up, all the fics will be posted anonymously into one megathread.
The community (so, not only limited to participants, even non-fic writers may participate) may then vote on their most favorite fics out of all the submission, rather than use formal judging. At the end, points are tallied and a winner is declared.
Rules and Guidelines:
Participants that submit ideas must write an idea in turn. This can't quite be enforced, but don't try to mooch a free fic off this contest and not even bother try write anything in turn. If you find yourself unable to finish in time, a half-done fic is better than no fic at all. If you have previously entered an exchange contest and have not turned anything in on your end, you cannot enter until you do.
On a less harsh note, don't be pressured to make your fics like 20k word epics. Shorter drabbles, like only 1-2k words, will be just fine.
Similarly, try keep your submitted fic pitches flexible. Please don't try request super long fics, and try to keep one-shot or drabble ideas in mind. We don't have much time to write, so please be considerate of others.
TYPE-MOON fics/premises only. Don't request crossovers, even if one side is TYPE-MOON. This is mostly for fairness, so that people won't find themselves writing, say, a Blazblue crossover when they can't be expected to have any Blazblue knowledge.
Not a rule, but it may help to note what parts of the Nasuverse one is familiar with, and what works they've consumed enough to be comfortable writing. It'd be bad for everyone if people got pitches that they know nothing about.
Pitched ideas will be displayed publicly here, so you have time to think before pitches are distributed.
Submitted Prompts
Pool 1
Grand Assassin is angry at the other Hassans! It used to be, only those belonging to the Order of Hassan could hold the rank of Servant Assassin, but now everyone who has even attempted an assassination and botched it, like that Chinese drunkard, can belong to the class! Grand C gives his followers an ultimatum, either bring him those pretenders' heads or he'll have theirs instead! After all, if that X madwoman can go around attempting to kill all Sabers... A comedic story, obviously.
Fate Route, post-ending. The last week of Illyasviel von Einzbern. Obviously a more tragic or bittersweet kind of story. Not much to specify here since I'd prefer leaving the premise as open for personal interpretation as possible.
Medb and Kiara get into a personal discussion, then bet, about who is the best of them at seducing people and bedding them, and they set out to prove it in the practice, with Chaldea as a whole as the hunting grounds. A lemon. It might end up in a sexual scene between them, although that's optional.
Pool 2
A look into the life of a heroic spirit from the point of view of someone extremely close to them. This could be a lover, such as Mercédès or Haydée from The Count of Monte Cristo, or Karna’s wife Vrushali, but it is not restricted as such, and could be a close friend or parent instead. The only requirement is simply that the hero is not allowed a point of view. Guinevere is banned as the choice of character due to being done to death.
The King seeks an heir. But she believes that only from the greatest queen can come the greatest heir. Thus, Artoria Pendragon has set up the Fuyuki Night Cup, with her hand in everlasting marriage - and her body, clad in naught but a bikini and maid frills- as the prize for anyone who can defeat her in the fastest and most violent street race on planet Earth. But as Servants and Magi are defeated left and right, night after night, an unlikely challenger in the form of the 7th Burial Agency member takes to the streets to win the race, all for the sake of being able to sleep at night without the horrible noise of screeching engines!Racing semi-AU, Lemon, use whatever tags you wish but keep it readable to the general degenerate public.
While searching for a solution to her vampirism problem, Sion discovers a peculiar, uncatalogued and ancient text in the deepest parts of the ATLAS archives, not knowing that what she is about to lay eyes on is a segment of King Solomon’s personal diary on his implementation of the Anthropic Preservation Formula: Goetia, and how it spiraled out of control after his death, as evidenced by a sudden change in attitude and writing style by Solomon from when after Goetia took over his body. The feeling of impending doom for the human race that Sion develops as she reads through the document causes her to spiral into madness. Dust of Osiris origin story.
Pool 3
A compare and contrast character piece featuring both Karna and Artoria Pendragon. Background: Karna replaces Gilgamesh in the 4th/5th Holy Grail War. Set the actual content of the story during the 4th HGW, or 5th HGW, or using scenes from both time periods, but Karna must be set up as some sort of endboss who is diametrically opposed to Saber. No limitations on other characters and subplots to support the story, but the focus needs to be on Artoria and Karna and how they become/are enemies.
Shuten Douji corrupts Jeanne onto a path of wanton fornication and depravity. You could make this a non-lemon, but why would you want to? No restrictions on tags, but don't make this vanilla.
Mysterious happenings through the town leave the citizens of Misaki City scared and confused. The only one who can get to the bottom of it all is...Len? A Len story that's a riff on the animal adventure genre. Use her cat form quite a bit. Post-Melty Blood. Other characters as supports acceptable
Pool 4
Holy Grail Wars are the latest fad in the Moonlit World, and while many of them remain storied clashes between heroes of myth and majesty, there are certain exceptions. One of these is the Safari: a specially conducted Grail War that pits a single weakened Servant against any paying magus with the bravery - or reckless temerity - to fight in a sealed biome. Basically, Fate/The Most Dangerous Game. The Servant, magus, and outcome are up to your discretion.
It was supposed to be simple. Get into the casino, grab his missing girlfriend before the boat docked in England, and then get the hell out. So why was that spray-tanned showoff prancing around and taking his drinks shaken, not stirred? And why was that redhead always in the most infuriatingly wrong place at the wrong time? Most importantly, what had he done to deserve being trapped on a far too small boat far too distant from the escape of land with his ex-girlfriend? For Shiki, life is never easy.
While on her journey to become the rightful King of the British Isles, Artoria journeyed far and wide with her brother, Sir Kay, and her loyal magus, Merlin. Write one of the many adventures that they went through on her journey. You can make it fairly serious, or you can make it an episode of Mahou Shoujo ☆ Avalon Lily.
Pool 5
No matter what she tries, 「 」姉さん can't find fulfillment. Movies don't entertain, gambling provides no thrill, and the less said about that depressing ice cream binge, the better. When 「 」姉さん discovers the thin books (borrowed from Dr. Roman) under her Master's bed, however, she finally gets an idea of just what she needs to do. That is, until she starts needing more... (lemon, tags: moral degeneration, hairjob, exhibitionism, netorare, mind break, etc. )
A connection to the root offers many benefits, whether it's returning pesky obstacles to the cycle of reincarnation or achieving unparalleled miracles. It also serves as the repository of the universe's information, and 「 」姉さん's seen some very interesting things; things she's all too eager to practice with her Master... (lemon, I want at least 10 different tags on my desk by December)
It's summer, but instead of the "fun and swimsuits" kind of summer it's the "incinerate your AC like Goetia did human history" summer. Languid from the sweltering sun and alone in a familiar estate, Gudao and 「 」姉さん find themselves desperate to find a way to cool down, or at least, to release the heat that's built up between them... (lemon, tags: swimsuit, ice cream, sweat) Addendum to all prompts: No scat or amputation. Be more imaginative.
Pool 6
The Crusades were gruesome campaigns, full of slaughter and extermination from all sides. But the real horrors of the Crusades were not committed by the hands of men, but by creatures of the night. The Beasts of Chaos, and the field of blood; the monsters who rampaged for three days and three nights; the blood-sucker who forced two rivals to set aside differences. Using context provided by Strange Fake, write something about Dead Apostles and the Crusades. (You can focus on one specific event; you don’t need to do all three)
The vampire princess, May. Once a temporary companion of the immortal April Witch, she too is an existence that will never know what it means to die. Do whatever you want with this: the context and content can be anything, as long as it involves “the vampire princess, May.”
Wandering the halls of Chaldea, the young princess Medea happens across a handsome samurai. As it turns out, this samurai seems to have some sort of problem with her, yet she has no idea why. She sets out on a quest to remedy this so they can become friends.
Pool 7
Incest. It doesn't matter who, as long as they're siblings or cousins. Any genders. They don't even need to be established characters. Random Nanaya would do. OCs acceptable, as long as you remember not to make them bad. Consider a historical setting - just sayin'. NBR is also acceptable but you'll know in your heart of hearts that you're a coward. Ideally something covering a long period of time in a relationship. From inception to termination. Or something like that. Emphasis is strictly on tragedy - the relationship should be grounded in the horizon of its future destruction. Need not be a lemon, and in fact is probably better not being one. Must end in the deaths of one or both partners. This is not negotiable. Suicide preferable but not strictly necessary.
Georges Bataille defines eroticism as "the joy of life pushed to the point of death". The union of eros and thanatos. The conjunction of 'big' and 'little' deaths, so to speak. Take inspiration from this concept and apply it to one of the Nasuverse's many immortal or pseudo-immortal characters. For those removed by whatever means from the conventional order of mortality that characterises humankind as such, there can be no more transgressive pleasure than that of drawing as close as can be to the unthinking nihility - the abyss of death - that is denied them, and for this denial all the more deeply enticing. A character must find excessive, fetishistic pleasure - excessive to the point of being indistinguishable from pain - in the experience of coming close to their own death. The means and method are subject to your discretion. Likewise the scenario. Warfare, lust murder, experimentation. Whatever.
Write a lemon centred on Solomon (Not Dr. Roman. Solomon.) or Goetia. The details are up to you, as is his partner. Anyone will do. Historical/Biblical setting preferred but not strictly necessary. Also, you must write it in the style of the Song of Songs from the Old Testament. Preserve the tone of any Bible translation you care to choose. We are not purists here, we won't tell you "KJV or we riot," but we will think it all the same. This is not even remotely a joke. If you are at a loss here, please consult the sex scene in The Name of the Rose for inspiration.
Pool 8
A day in the life of an authority figure. Any of TM's kings, queens, directors, mafia princesses and others may apply, as long as they're in charge of something in canon. Focus on bureaucracy, interpersonal relationships, the trappings of power, or just make it a cozy cute SoL. Descriptions of plentiful good food and elaborate clothes get extra points.
Chaldea-affiliated historical (and fictional) geniuses meet up for a fireplace-lit nightcap and some enlightened conversation. Dialogue focused. Nerd out about science, art, literature, philosophy, politics, religion, the meaning of life...
Sins, Virtues, seasons, tarot cards, 12 days of Christmas, horoscopes, flowers, the Four Loves, colours of the rainbow, Riders of the Apocalypse...
Use a (common and overdone in fanfics, or one rarely seen) thematic framework to give us snippets on TM characters and events of your choosing. Underrepresented characters and relationships and uncommon perspectives preferable, but not necessary. Write about whatever makes you happy and enjoy the process.
Pool 9
Azaka and Fujino do it in the dorm when Fujino returns to Reien after Remaining Sense of Pain.
Saber/Iri fluff
Ciel fluff. No hetero
Pool 10
After being told 'witches obviously don't exist!', Medea now finds herself having to convince the unsuspecting Issei that they... do, without using magic of course. (Hard mode: What's worse, both Souichirou-sama and that Emiya boy are here at the dinner table listening to them both for some reason).
Write me the fluffiest genderbent Shinji fic. Make me fall in love with her.
Pool 11
AU. Medea realizes Jason is, frankly, a shithead, and at some point makes off with the Argo, heading off into the high seas alone. Of course, being a witch only helps so much with seamanship, and she ends up sailing the oceans for over a thousand years only to wash up in Britain at just the same time it happens that a young knight is beginning her adventures... (Medea/Saber Lily. Lemon/Romance open but not necessary. Seriousness preferred to comedy.
Q: Will Ayako ever have a boyfriend?
A: It seems like she wants to find one, but it also seems like she wants to stay single as long as possible... Miss Mitsuzuri is still fully interested in maidenhood, so she’ll probably be shot down soon after she enters college. By a young man suited to black-rimmed spectacles, harmless to man and beast. ...I think I’ve seen a photo of those two somewhere...
Archetype, Angel Notes setting. Wide discretion into how this works - depowered but still alive, her death along with the world, the last world-bearer, so on so forth. Bonus points for some other non-Notes TM character showing up with reasonable justification. Feel free to go Dullahan on it.
Pool 12
William Shakespeare, the legendary playwright, narrates a day in the life of Trifas/Chaldea/TM-setting-of-your-choice, much to the profound annoyance of those around him. The story can be centred around Christmas or not, that's entirely your preference, but strictly must be written in iambic pentameter narrative verse, from Shakespeare's first person perspective. No, it doesn't need to rhyme, though if you want to go that extra mile you're perfectly free to.
Jeanne d'Arc, Paris, the present day. Christmastime is here, but Jeanne finds that the strange time she's in cannot compromise with her beliefs and ideals, and she suffers a deep crisis of faith trying to understand the modern world. A serious story - either one of redemption and faith, or of a fall from grace and descent into godlessness.
The Princess of the Moon has inflated ideas about what human celebrations of her birthday are actually like, and so Shiki takes her out, trying to give her a memorable Christmas Eve. He soon finds that her misconceptions are in many ways larger than he initially assumed, but he does his best to make the most of it. Cute, romantic, fluffier than a field of bunnies.
Pool 13
The main character (any servant/human of your choice) wakes up in Chaldea to find everyone is missing. All the Servants, all the staff, everyone is just...gone. Obviously, something is not right, but getting down to the bottom of things might be a bit difficult when they are all on their own...
After his death, it's time for EMIYA to honour his side of the contract with Alaya, exactly as he had wished. But as he returns to the world of the living for his first assignment as a Counter Guardian, he is about to find out that he wasn't really prepared for what he had signed up for.
In some bizarre reality-bending twist of fate, Shiki Tohno, SHIKI, and Shiki Ryougi all show up in the same place. How did they get here, and more importantly, will any of them get to go home?
Pool 14
An examination of self-reinvention with Touko as the story's subject- an exploration [though not necessarily through the lens of self-reflection] of both metaphorical and literal crafting of the self. (Suggested thematic jumping points: whether the process of external reinvention creates internal change; the toll, if any, that continual recreation of self takes on the psyche; the extent to which the sanity of an individual can be preserved in the extended dissociation from a permanent body; etc.)
A king married a queen; the queen married a secret. Let's have a story about the revelation of truth to the new member of Artoria's inner circle. Tone can be nuanced and varied but should respect the gravity of entrusting the security of her role to an unknown figure. Foreshadowing to eventual ruin should be kept to a bare minimum, if you must indulge. I want to see a version of Guinevere that's likeable, intelligent, and able to be trusted. Non-lemon, touches of romance okay: the primary goal is friendship-forging.
They say there's no accounting for taste, but Mitsuzuri and Issei are together whether they admit to liking it or not. A shipfic; have some fun with your own plot crafting here, just keep it light, bright, and fluffy. Lemon allowed, just keep it classy.
Pool 15
Touko’s been on many exploits before we see her in the works today. The Mystic Eye train, her encounter with Prelati, her adventures in Bermuda, the works. Make a one-shot out of one of her prior adventures, be it one alluded to in previous works, or a completely original one. No Grail Wars.
A piece focusing on one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, that have yet to have a major appearance. Must be outside the context of a Grail War. As most of these Ancestors have only like three lines of description to them, you are encouraged to extrapolate your own details, writing them how what you think they must be like.
Historical fiction. Take a time period or historical event, like the French Revolution, or Showa or Meiji era Japan, or the War of the Roses, or the Roaring Twenties, and so on, and write about it with a Nasu-setting spin. Draw from what you know of the existing setting, like the magi or the Church or Apostles or demon hunters. Historical figures are fine so long as they appear as themselves, rather than as Heroic Spirits or within the context of a Grail War. OCs are fine too.
Pool 16
Master and servants have been known to share dreams. Yet, when this master enters the dream of a psyche utterly shattered, that of the Hundred Faced Hassan, the dream becomes real. Finding themselves in a city where everyone’s face is obscured, where everyone is hassan and no one is, they must find a way to awaken by finding the true Hassan, or be chased and destroyed by [something]. This fic can star either Kirei, or Gudao/ko, or an OC. What is chasing the dreamer is up to the writer, but it can be anything from a dream monster to a Hassan, and the being itself can be a representation of what keeps the mind shattered, or the mind’s way of exterminating unneeded personalities, or a defense mechanism. The “true hassan” is also up to you. It could be anyone, it could be everyone, it could not even be a person in the dream, but an object, or a concept. Get creative!
In a grail war of one’s choosing, in a place of one’s choosing, a being is summoned not of his choosing. Summoned outside of what would be his usual class for one that would allow his legend to come true, this man, this Ruler, throws the masters and servants of this grail war into what he was most known for: A pirate adventure, on the high seas, in search of the Booty of Captain Edward Teach, Blackbeard himself! Masters may or may not have their own ships. The Treasure does not necessarily have to be found within the fic, aka, the adventure does not necessarily have to end for the fic to end. No FGO allowed! No sense in a race for treasure without rivals!
Herk spending a hot and heavy night with the catty ladies of Fuyuki, Taiga and Neko; Herk stranded in a WINTER DEATHZONE with a wounded master and a very small, combat-weak servant; a DAY IN THE LIFE of Herk, either Chaldea, Fuyuki, or Ancient Greece; Herk and Ilya go on a vacation and fight some of the melty blood crew; Ilya installing Berserker earlier in the story of Prisma, and Herk taking over, being his beloved "batshit insane, but There enough to protect what's important" self; or Herk working a convenience store, just give me some HERACLES. All details up to the author.
The prize, as usual will go to the author of the winning fic, and may be either an illustration of their fic, or of another fic of their choice. Prompt pools submissions are closed. Fics are to be submitted by 12/24, 11:59 PM EST.
Most of the details remain the same as last time, except this will use pools like the previous two contests. Copy-paste, ho!
Care to elaborate on this bit? Or is it exactly what it says on the tin, you're allowed to use your unused prompts from the last 2 Exchanges (Tanabata and Lemon).
September 3rd, 2017, 09:48 PM
Rafflesiac
Kirby's the one copy-pasting.
I mean, you probably could copy-paste prompts, but unless you're swiping someone else's you're blowing your cover, and those prompts might not have been picked for a reason.
September 3rd, 2017, 09:54 PM
ItsaRandomUsername
Oh. Huh. A lemon prompt in each of the three pools so far. :shuten::astolfo::arjuna:
September 3rd, 2017, 09:55 PM
Raylen Cypher
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rafflesiac
Kirby's the one copy-pasting.
I mean, you probably could copy-paste prompts, but unless you're swiping someone else's you're blowing your cover, and those prompts might not have been picked for a reason.
Ohhhhhhhhh. I think I get it?
Yeah, that would be easy to spot unless there's some shuffling.
September 3rd, 2017, 09:59 PM
Kirby
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raylen Cypher
Care to elaborate on this bit? Or is it exactly what it says on the tin, you're allowed to use your unused prompts from the last 2 Exchanges (Tanabata and Lemon).
The copy-paste part was just that I'd just pasted most of the rules on over. Basically, all it means is that it follows the "submit three prompts into a pool" system like last time. Though, you could submit old prompts if you really do feel like it, there's no rule against that.
