lostyesterday

Hello, I’m lostyesterday on AO3. Thank you so much for writing for me! This letter includes my general likes and some thoughts/prompts for everything I’ve requested. If you have a different idea unrelated to any of these prompts, please write it – I’m excited to read whatever you create!

General Likes

Canon divergence AUs
Worldbuilding (especially regarding fictional cultural practices, politics, etc.)
Humor, hijinks, characters participating (willingly or unwillingly) in ridiculous shenanigans
Action/adventure, mission/casefic, other types of plot-heavy stories
Unusual formats and styles (for example epistolary or anything nonlinear, first and second person POV are both great too)
Slice of life, small moments in time
Hurt/comfort (physical or emotional)
Time travel, time loops, temporal and spatial distortions – anything where time and space get weird
Any type of stranded-in-an-enclosed/remote-place story (especially if it forces characters to confront aspects of themselves or their relationship with others)
Dreams and nightmares, dreamscapes, ambiguity between dreams and reality
Ambiguous/open endings where things aren’t entirely resolved and characters are left with some uncertainty
Character studies, introspection, any in-depth look at the inner workings of a particular character
Exploration of trauma, loneliness, self-hatred, and other painful emotions
Feelings realization, getting together, established relationship – I enjoy all of these equally
Friends to lovers, relationships where romantic partners are also best friends with each other
Ambiguous relationships where characters aren’t sure how serious their relationship is/how long it will last/whether it’s romantic
Exes to lovers or exes with lingering feelings
Characters trying to suppress or hide their attraction to other characters
Messy relationships, arguments, fundamental differences in worldview
Committed life-long platonic relationships/friendships
Banter, jokes, witty exchanges
Characters solving problems together and combining their skills in useful ways
Characters doing hobbies together
Characters having philosophical/moral discussions or arguments
Characters having deep emotional connections with each other (healthy or codependent)
Characters being understood in ways they never thought were possible

The Lord of the Rings

Solo Éowyn:

I love Éowyn so much – the depths of her despair and grief, her self-sacrificing bravery in the face of hopeless odds, and her eventual struggle toward hope for the future and a love of the wonderful and beautiful parts of the world.
I really enjoy readings of her character that don’t see her as fully healed after the events of Return of the King. Her hope has returned, but there’s still darkness there, and she’s still going to have periods of unhappiness and memories of the horrible things she experienced.
I’d also be very interested in stories about her pre-canon, including her childhood and her relationships with her family and her home.

Éowyn/Faramir:

I really enjoy the foundation of a relationship these two build in Return of the King, and how they bond through their shared trauma and their desire for genuine connection. Any missing scene fics (like conversations they might have had in the Houses of Healing) are always welcome.
I’d also love post-canon fic – anything from the two of them living their daily lives to some sort of plotty adventure story. Any exploration of the parallels between their traumatic experiences in the war or contrasting thoughts on their relationships with their families would be amazing too.

Arwen/Éowyn:

I’m so intrigued by what kind of relationship these two might have. I’m open to this working a lot of different ways. Any canon divergence AU where they meet earlier in canon or where Arwen never gets together with Aragorn and Éowyn never gets together with Faramir would be super interesting. I’d also be interested in them having some sort of polyamorous relationship post-canon while still being with their canon love interests.
I would be so interested in seeing these two fall in love. What draws them to each other? I’d love to see them connect with each other through their mutual grief for the family members they’ve lost – either through death or through remaining behind in Middle Earth while they leave across the sea.

Merry & Éowyn:

I really like the idea of these two becoming close after what they went through together and I’d love to see more of them interacting. Any conversations in the Houses of Healing are always welcome, or any scenes set between then and when Merry leaves for the Shire.
I like the idea of Merry going to visit Éowyn during one of his post-canon visits to Rohan/Gondor. Maybe Éowyn shows him her new home in Ithilien, or maybe they have some sort of adventure together. Alternatively, I’d love to see Éowyn visit the Shire at some point.

Faramir & Gandalf:

I love the mentions in canon of their close friendship during the various times Gandalf came to Minas Tirith searching for information about the ring before the main plot starts.
Any story exploring what their friendship might have been like would be super welcome – maybe Faramir helping Gandalf find ancient texts he’s looking for and taking the opportunity to ask Gandalf tons of questions that Gandalf gives his typically mysterious answers to. Inclusion of any other Gondor characters like Boromir and Denethor is very welcome.

Merry & Pippin, Frodo & Merry & Sam & Pippin:

I love the hobbits! I love their friendship and loyalty to each other. I love their desire to have fun and be a little silly even when things seem dark, and I also love to see them rise to the occasion when things get actually serious.
Anything about daily life in the Shire either pre- or post-canon would be super fun. I also always enjoy stories about the hobbits involving silliness and hijinks – things like low-stakes wacky adventures, evading danger through sneakiness and/or improbable luck, or being massively overestimated by non-hobbits only for them to discover what a big mistake they’ve made.
I’m also very interested in exploration of these characters’ trauma post-canon – how they respond to it in different ways and relate to each other in relation to it.

The Murderbot Diaries

Solo Mensah:

I love Mensah and think there should be more fic focused on her. What was her job as head of the Preservation council like? I’d love to see a day in her life at work pre-canon, either with something dramatic happening on the council, or just a regular day.
Anything focused on her relationship with any of her family members or about what it was like for her to grow up on Preservation would be very interesting as well.

Murderbot & Mensah:

I adore Murderbot and Mensah’s relationship and always want more of it. The love they have for each other, the deep devotion and inexplicable connection that doesn’t make sense to anyone else – it’s all perfect.
Canon scenes from Mensah’s POV are always good. I love seeing how Mensah views Murderbot and how that differs from how Murderbot views itself.
I love slice of life stories for them, just the two of them hanging out or having a random conversation. But I equally love actiony stories for them (fighting, escaping, hiding from danger etc.).

Murderbot & Ratthi:

I love their bestfriendship. I love how Ratthi is someone Murderbot can easily call its friend and is genuinely comfortable with. I love how much Ratthi trusts it and respects its unique ways of communicating and relating.
I love slice of life fics of the two of them hanging out, or Ratthi’s POV on any canon events.
Fugitive Telemetry also made me think it would be fun to see them as a mystery-solving duo – Murderbot as the detective and Ratthi as the enthusiastic and helpful sidekick.

Murderbot & Three:

I love how different these two are from each other and how they struggle to relate to and understand each other despite both being SecUnits. I like awkward conversations between them, and circumstances forcing them to interact with each other in ways they aren’t comfortable with.
Any situation where either of them protects or defends the other is also excellent, and any type of canon-typical actiony plot would be fun.

Ratthi & Three:

Ratthi feels like an ideal friend for Three in a lot of ways, and I’d love anything about Ratthi exploring how best to deal with Three’s whole uncomfortable relationship with personhood.
It would be great to see Ratthi and Three doing any kind of recreational activity together, or maybe talking about biology (it would be fun if Three took an interest in biology). I’m also interested in the idea of Three coming to live with Ratthi on Preservation for a while.

Farai/Mensah/Tano:

I’d be very interested in any exploration of what Mensah’s relationship with Farai and Tano might be like. How did they meet and get together originally? What is their daily life like, either pre-canon or during the parts of canon where Mensah’s on Preservation?
Since Farai and Tano are both minor characters, there’s a lot of room to develop their personalities in different directions. Maybe the two of them have very different personalities from each other, each bringing different things to the relationship and a different dynamic with Mensah. Any inclusion of their kids would be great too. What are each of them like as parents?

Preservation Alliance culture and history:

I find Preservation to be such a fun and interesting setting. I’m interested in all of it – the planets, the space station, the ships, and the people. I’d love a story following earlier generations of characters founding Preservation Alliance, and I’d also love a story exploring what life in Preservation is like at the time of the series.
If you want to write some sort of in-universe text about any aspect of Preservation culture/history I’d love that too – academic articles, textbooks, tourism information, biographies or memoirs, or anything else text-based.

Piranesi

Solo Piranesi, Piranesi & the House, Piranesi & the Statues:

I love Piranesi and I’d love a story with him set at any time pre-canon, during canon, or post-canon. Random exploration of rooms in the House, ruminations on or conversations with particular statues, or anything else.
Post-canon, I’d be interested in stories about Piranesi (or whatever he chooses to call himself in the future) adjusting to life in the regular world.
I also love the idea of seeing the House’s perspective on Piranesi, whatever that may be. I think it’s really interesting to consider the House as sentient and deeply attached to Piranesi – either in a genuinely well-meaning way or in a way that’s more possessive and creepy (though I’d prefer if the House cared about Piranesi in some way and didn’t have outright evil intentions toward him).

Solo Raphael, Raphael & the House:

I’d love anything focused on what Raphael’s life was like pre-canon. What sort of adventures did she get up to? I’m fascinated by how much of an outsider she seems to be – not really able to connect with most people and seeming to feel apart from much of the world.
Any time during canon or post-canon, I’d also be very curious to see Raphael’s exploration of the House from either her perspective or the House’s. What does she think of the House? What does the House think of her? It would be interesting if she kept her own journal of events.

Piranesi & Raphael:

I love the conversations these two have. How does their friendship develop post-canon? I’d love to see philosophical discussions between them, or just time they spend in meaningful silence watching something beautiful together.
I’d also be interested in a story where Raphael is the one trapped in the House losing or having lost her memories of who she was before, and Piranesi is the one to come find her. This could be interesting either post-canon or as a canon divergence AU of some kind.

Solaris

The planet Solaris:

I’d love anything from the POV of characters exploring the weird temporary structures the planet produces. This could be a regular narrative or an in-universe document or log of some kind. What kinds of bizarre/creepy/beautiful/horrifying things do they witness and how do they react?
I’d also be very interested in anything exploring the more psychological aspects of how humans react to the planet, whether created “people” or something else. It could also be very interesting to see a story from the perspective of a being the planet creates.
Feel free to extrapolate wildly from canon. If you have an idea for something bizarre the planet might manifest that isn’t directly based on the book, go for it!