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Dear Yuletide Writer Letter - 2017
This year for Yuletide I requested 5 fandoms 6 fandoms: Sense8 (TV), Killjoys (TV), Ladyhawke (1985), the Valor series - Tanya Huff, Wonder Woman (2017).
ETA: Added A Taste of Honey - Kai Ashante Wilson.
Optional details are optional, and I know I'll love anything you write me in any of these fandoms, but if you'd like some further information on how to rock my world for Yuletide, here are some ideas.
I'm thrilled about all of my requested fandoms. I threw some story ideas your way, but feel free to ignore them if they don't catch your interest. I'm sure I'll love whatever you write. Here are a few general ideas about my many likes and few dislikes.
General Likes
I'm a fan of plotty stories and case fic. I like it when interesting things happen, characters need to do something or figure something out. Even in a story where the sex or relationship is the main focus, I love having some kind of additional conflict, mystery or action going on, something that shows these characters have lives and outside interests. Characters being smart and competent really pleases me, and if some of those characters are women, queer, trans, or people of color, all the better!
I like tight POV's, where I can really get into the narrator's head. I like magical realism and all kinds of world-building. I can get into past or present tense, 3rd or 1st person POV.
I enjoy it when my science fiction includes actual science, particularly when the POV character is a scientist, engineer or mathematician. I've got enough of a background that I won't get lost in the weeds if your characters start discussing time dilation, wave function collapse or chromosome degradation. If that's not your thing, don't worry about it, but if it is, yay!
I enjoy angst and darkfic, up to and including deathfic, in most of my fandoms. (I've outlined my boundaries for each.) Now, don't feel that you have to go there - I like light, happy stories too! But if your Muse leads you somewhere dark, I'm delighted to go there with you. I like it when a character's dark side and flaws are intimately related to their best qualities. It's not that I enjoy the exploration of evil, per say. More that I'm fascinated by the search for love and redemption in even the darkest of circumstances.
Unreliable narrators are a particular thrill for me. I like original characters and outsider POVs, so feel free. I'm a sucker for fannish tropes like amnesia fic, omegaverse, and soulbonds. Canon-divergence AUs fascinate me. I'm always interested in stories that reveal character backstory, and I love stories about people who know and trust each other working together as a team. If you see potential for an open or poly relationship in canon, I would enjoy reading about it!
General Dislikes
I don't enjoy kid fic, and pregnancy completely squicks me. Plots that depend on characters failing to communicate with each other bug me. Pure romantic fluff with no conflict or other plot doesn't generally work for me, and I'm not a fan of 'These characters are now pirates in the 1700's' alternate setting AUs. I'd rather avoid fics focusing on cheating or infidelity. Gender-bending generally disappoints me, unless there is canonical reason to question or alter the character's gender. I don't want to read about abusive or non-consensual incest this year. No holiday-themed stories, unless you are inventing holidays as part of your world-building, in which case, please carry-on!
Although I admire a well-crafted sentence, I'm not really into poetic or flowery language.
Hot Sex
I read and enjoy lots of G-PG fic, and some of my requests this year are gen. But if you should be in the mood to write porn, yay! I like slash, het, and femme-slash. I'm a fan of intense relationships. People who love each other beyond all reason. Even if you're writing about a hook-up or business transaction, I want it to be in response to some deep need, not just a casual fling. Kink works for me, if you want to go there. You don't have to - one of the hottest stories I ever read never went past a purely vanilla first base. Passionate, nervous first-time kissing. Mmmmm.
My favorite kinks include dirty talk, voyeurism, masturbation, pain, bloodplay, marking, bondage, orgasm denial, and power-imbalances. Mind control can be very, very hot. *licks lips* Most importantly, though, it needs to be in-character, be about these two people, what they want and need. Kinks are all about trust. It doesn't need to be safe or sane, but I want it consensual. That said, the particular flavor of dub-con wherein a character is forced into something they desperately want, but could never reach out and take on their own sets me off like a fire-cracker. (*coughs* omega-verse). I enjoy the build-up and character reveal of kink negotiation, but being thrown right into the middle of an intense scene can be very powerful and arousing. Both work for me, in very different ways.
I'm not into fisting, golden showers, scat-play, clothing-fetishes, DS as a lifestyle, necrophilia, bestiality, or role-playing. But you could probably make me buy into any one of them, if you write it hard and hot enough. One thing that seriously turns me off is fic where the character's kink is because of some childhood trauma, sexual assault, or anything like that. Pregnancy, male or female, is a hard no.
On the subject of mini-challenges: I would be delighted if you wrote me something that fits the Chromatic Yuletide or Misses Clause challenges. I'm a huge fan of porn for Yuletide, so Yuleporn is a go! I've got one Two-for-One prompt for Sense8 that I'm very excited about. If you are an artist and in the mood to treat, I enthusiastically welcome artwork for Killjoys or Ladyhawke. I have art prompts for the Wrapping Paper Challenge here. I'd be interested in Crueltide dark-fic for Wonder Woman (2017), Killjoys, A Taste of Honey or the Valor series, but not Sense8 or Ladyhawke. I'm not sure if there's any kind of microfiction challenge this year, but I cut my fannish teeth on drabbles, snippets, and 221bs. I honestly adore tiny, polished gems of fic 300 words and under, so if you are in a mood to treat with short fic, I would welcome them!
This show brings me so much joy! The hopefulness of it, the sense of humanity, the way it lets me experience other places, cultures, and ways of being. The hot sex, the emotional roller-coaster, the way these people love and support each other through everything. Such a wonderful ensemble.
I requested three of my very favorite characters, but I would be happy with a story that focused on any one of them, or other members of the cluster, in gen or canonical pairings, in any rating of fic. It's an ensemble show, and I love that the rest of the cluster is always there in the background, offering their support. I like Will, Wolfgang, and Riley, but I'd prefer a story focused on other member(s) of the cluster.
DNW: pregnancy, major character death, breaking up canonical relationships, unhappy endings. Also, fics focusing on Whisper, Will's addiction, Wolfgang's imprisonment and torture, homophobia, or transphobia. Mentions of any of those are fine, to flavor the soup. But this is my happy-place fandom, and I'm not up for the stocking full of angst it could deliver in the hands of a dedicated author.
I'll love anything you write me here, but here are a few specific prompts:
* Nomi/Amonita exploring some kink they haven't tried before. (Bonus if other cluster members are watching/participating/enjoying.)
* Show me Amanita finding out about the other people in Nomi's cluster, and how she came to accept that being with Nomi was joining that larger family.
* Lito/Hernando/Daniela reclaiming their sexuality and passion after being outed.
* Lito calling on his cluster for inspiration in prepping for a role or performing.
* Outsider POV as other clusters around the world react to Riley's concert, that thrown gauntlet.
* A day on the job with Kala as the smart, competent scientist she is. She might be isolated by her co-workers, but she is never alone.
* Capheus gets a little help from his friends while pursuing his relationship with Zakia.
* Sun's cell-mates and cluster helping her adjust to life in prison.
* How about a crossover or fusion, with Sun's understanding and acceptance of herself as a sensate being informed by her experience of (insert compatible Korean fandom). Korean mythology? Ghosts of her ancestors? Vampires? Gumiho? I would be tickled pink if you introduced me to some supernatural K-drama or Manhwa source I'm not yet a fan of!
My character requests here are OR, rather than AND; you don't need to include all of them. I love that Killjoys is such an over-the-top, hilarious and fun found family show, while the characters are still deeply fucked up. It can go some pretty dark places - I'm good with that, but in this fandom I need some form of happy ending. This show has canonical knife-play, sex-bots, mind-control, religious masochism, and immortality - whatever mad plot bunny you've got hopping around in your brain, it'll fit right in!
I'm only part-way through season 2 right now, but I'll be caught up by December. So if there's something or someone in later canon I haven't mentioned that you think I'd enjoy, go for it.
DNW: pregnancy, in-team betrayal, major character death, body horror, child abuse, suicide, unhappy endings
I'm very excited about the NC-17 potential of this fandom, so have some porn prompts:
* D'Avin really does decide to 'holster that thing', on his brother's advice, and Pree (my favorite flaming fairy godfather) arranges a sex intervention with Dutch and whoever else you'd like him to invite.
* DirtyBadWrongHot Johnny/D'Avin The Company Made Them Do It incest fic (Dub-con where the boys can't help but be into it despite the taboo, rather than hard non-con, please.)
* Lucy learning about sex and intimacy through voyeurism of various pairings.
* Johnny/Lucy masturbation fic
* Pawter gently informs Johnny that, although she's been having fun with him, she hasn't been getting off. They enlist Pree's professional help.
* Hella kinky Dutch/Alvis. You know he'd be up for anything.
* D'Avin/Dutch banging each other when what they really need is intimacy.
* For gen, I'd like a story where the trust and loyalty between the three of them is tested.
* If you'd like to go dark, force characters face-to-face with their worst fears about themselves, which, to me, is the essence of horror.
* You could also show me any of the crew interacting with Alvis in his role as a monk or spiritual advisor - however reluctantly or ironically. If you are into the Scarback monks, I'd also enjoy world-building around them, with or without any of my requested characters.
This film's emotional resonance makes it unforgettable. I find the interpersonal dynamics between the characters, with Philippe as the sole connection between the two lovers, fascinating. Philippe and Etienne have led such radically different lives, and therefore have completely different ideas of what it means to be a man. It makes me contemplate gender and class in medieval France in a way that the film does not address in any way, shape, or form. If you want to take that on, great! If you'd rather have happy fun times in a version with no resemblance to reality, I am totally on-board.
I remember the scene where Etienne and Philippe are talking, Etienne desperate for any word of his love, and Philippe says, "She looked sad, at first... she cursed the day she met you." The gut punch of that scene has stuck with me since I first watched the movie in '85.
In honor of that, I'm craving something rather specific here, but with enough wiggle-room that I could be satisfied by a variety of fics. I'd like a story that explores a close relationship among the three main characters. I'd be delighted with threesome porn, but the relationship does not necessarily need to be sexual, or even romantic. A deep friendship would absolutely fit the bill. It could be set during or after the movie, as they are beginning to explore a relationship or something more established. Whatever the rating, I'd like a focus on communication, emotion, and intimacy (emotional intimacy, which may or may not be part of a sexual relationship) and at least some version of a happy ending.
DNW: pregnancy, kidfic, unresolved jealousy/cheating/betrayal
I'm struggling a bit with prompts here, since I'm more about the FEELS than plot here, but here's a few ideas:
* Isabeau and Etienne's wedding day. Philippe thought he would be left behind; he was wrong.
* While cursed, Etienne asks Philippe to comfort Isabeau.
* The curse has some unpleasant long-term effect on Etienne and Isabeau. Philippe helps.
* Isabeau retains her sense of self while transformed, and can hear and understand every word they say about her.
* Post-canon, Philippe is a respected page in the grand household, and carries the most private of messages between the lord and lady of the house as they go about their day. (You could go NC-17 with this one, or tease me with genteelly salacious epistolary fic.)
* After decades together, one of the three passes away. The other two have to readjust their relationship to fill in the gaps left behind by their beloved.
* The 'curse' was a metaphor all along. Tell me the version of this tale where a pretty young commoner boy aids a knight on a quest to open his heart. Only then will he be worthy of the lady who, assaulted by a man of the cloth, swore that no man would clip her wings.
I love the realistic way the author portrays life in the military. These books, despite the heavy combat and angst, have brilliant flashes of humor. Huff's aliens really do have distinct cultures, which I can't help but admire. I'm looking for fic that focuses on Staff Sergeant Kerr's unit, but you can hit any genre - comedy, drama, world-building, hard military sci-fi, character-driven porn, etc. It doesn't need to include all of the characters I requested, but I love that team dynamic! Have fun with the source - if you like what you wrote, so will I.
DNW: pregnancy, suicide, non-con between major characters
Prompts:
* Binti and her friends going out drinking. That's normal. What happens next? Not so much.
* Staff Sergeant Kerr raises company morale by 'failing to notice' an escalating prank war during some down-time.
* The new regulations covering sexual relations in and out of combat zones are a pain in the ass. Literally.
* Team members supporting each other after a grim dark combat mission.
* Illegal orders lead to a near-mutiny. (That could get pretty damn dark - but please not irredeemably so!)
* A new species is being integrated into the marines. Their company has one of the first to make it through boot. No one's sure if this particular individual is batshit crazy, or if that's just normal for their species.
I grew up on war movies and stories. The Great Escape, Colditz, the Battle of Britain, ace pilots saluting each other before firing machine guns through their own props at the enemy. Scroungers and morale officers, glory and honor. Those were heroes.
I moved on from those stories a few decades ago, but Wonder Woman brought it all back to me, askew and interrogated. Wonder Woman played with and against my childhood tropes, built tension by fighting against them, quickly lampshaded the problems and contradictions, then gave in with an easy smile, sparing a handful of lives and dancing over the corpses. That's quite the mind-fuck to pull off in the middle of a comic-book action-adventure. Color me intrigued. If it hits you the same way, I can guarantee anything you write will have me riveted.
I'd prefer gen for this fandom. Feel free to go black-dark, if that's what you want, or share some light-hearted fun. Sameer AND Chief would be awesome in any fic together, but I'm perfectly content with Sameer OR Chief as well.
DNW: pregnancy, AUs
Prompts:
* Chief Napi is a Blackfoot trickster demigod. That's not sub-text; it's in the script. Do with it what you will!
* Sameer lies so well because he started young. I'd love to see flashbacks to his childhood growing up in Morocco, trying to find work on the stage, and learning the fine art of the con.
* The whole team relaxing and drinking together, with some of that delightful culture clash between their expectations of women, and the reality that is Diana.
* Steve tries to explain to Diana how it's possible for the Great War to exist, without Ares forcing men to commit these horrors. Sameer, Chief, and Charlie each have their own ideas about good, evil, and the nature of mankind. They may or may not share them.
* Diana, Sameer, Charlie, and Chief Napi gather one last time to remember Steve. They each bring something of their own traditions, and something of their own memories of him.
This is a last-minute addition, since I just read this fabulous novella. I love what we see of Olorum culture; the tremendous divide between men and women of the upper classes, with an emphasis on hyper-masculinity for men, while literacy, mathematics, physics, medicine and psionics are all restricted to women. The 'gods', whether similar to human or very, very different, manipulating these people and cultures from a distance. The Sybil, possibly another human/other hybrid, and her monstrous desires and prophecies. The varied 'magical' abilities of the Cousins. The twist at the ending floored me.
And Aqib - sweet, kind, loving, self-sacrificing Aqib. Brave not because he is fearless, but because his love and compassion are more powerful than his fear. I adore him. This story's emotional arc is strange, swinging between joy with moments of fear, and sorrow with moments of happiness, all with that subtle undercurrent of horror. Feel free to explore any or all of those emotions in your fic.
DNW: pregnancy or birth; a focus on child-rearing, body horror, non-con, or xeno; unhappy endings in this fandom
Possible prompts:
* Aqib growing into a stronger, more confident version of himself, rejecting the views of his home culture and family that shamed him for looking and acting different than a 'real man' should.
* Aqib/Lucrio, as they first return to Daluca. I'm fascinated by this m/m 'adoption' tradition they have. It reminds me of a pirate's matelotage. Show me more!
* Aqib's first time with Lucrio, full of body worship, joy, laughter, and tenderness.
* The monstrous Sybil's fragmented view of the many future possibilities and probabilities as she sends Lucrio to Olorum to meet his love, anticipating his bitter tears. This could take experimental forms, from verse to IF. This prompt (and any other IF or multiple timelines fic) is an exception to my DNW unhappy endings, as some of the potential endings can and should be be dark and unhappy.
* A story with Aqib (either version) exploring and finding joy in his ability to communicate with animals.
* Aqib, along with several women, all threw themselves into the sea, willing to drown to follow their lovers in the Dalucan ship. It seemed like more than an individual impulse - is this a part of their culture? I am curious about the legend or truth behind it.
* Femysade chose Aqib on the strength of watching him dance the sacred dance like only a woman could, and watching him play with Sabah like a child. She wanted a man who was not a man, and it seems the two of them were close friends and occasional lovers for many years. I would enjoy learning more about their relationship from her perspective.
* The Prophet Adonane didn't just come looking for Femysade. She specifically needed LucretiaAqibFemysade - the Femysade who was wife of Aqib and mother of Lucretia. I wonder why. Perhaps your story can show me.
* World-building of any and all kinds, including OC's, epistolary fic, sacred art and scripture, an introduction to the standard text on the ethics of psionics, or an Ashean's scientific overview of the breeding experiment that is the Sacred Cousins of Olorum. (One possible explanation for why homosexuality is so violently rejected in their engineered society.)
In Conclusion
To me, fanfic is all about getting a chance to explore characters in ways that the original source didn't allow. I love these characters, these worlds - show me something I didn't know about them, and that's the best present you can give me.
Your Eager Recipient,
- keerawa
ETA: Added A Taste of Honey - Kai Ashante Wilson.
Optional details are optional, and I know I'll love anything you write me in any of these fandoms, but if you'd like some further information on how to rock my world for Yuletide, here are some ideas.
I'm thrilled about all of my requested fandoms. I threw some story ideas your way, but feel free to ignore them if they don't catch your interest. I'm sure I'll love whatever you write. Here are a few general ideas about my many likes and few dislikes.
General Likes
I'm a fan of plotty stories and case fic. I like it when interesting things happen, characters need to do something or figure something out. Even in a story where the sex or relationship is the main focus, I love having some kind of additional conflict, mystery or action going on, something that shows these characters have lives and outside interests. Characters being smart and competent really pleases me, and if some of those characters are women, queer, trans, or people of color, all the better!
I like tight POV's, where I can really get into the narrator's head. I like magical realism and all kinds of world-building. I can get into past or present tense, 3rd or 1st person POV.
I enjoy it when my science fiction includes actual science, particularly when the POV character is a scientist, engineer or mathematician. I've got enough of a background that I won't get lost in the weeds if your characters start discussing time dilation, wave function collapse or chromosome degradation. If that's not your thing, don't worry about it, but if it is, yay!
I enjoy angst and darkfic, up to and including deathfic, in most of my fandoms. (I've outlined my boundaries for each.) Now, don't feel that you have to go there - I like light, happy stories too! But if your Muse leads you somewhere dark, I'm delighted to go there with you. I like it when a character's dark side and flaws are intimately related to their best qualities. It's not that I enjoy the exploration of evil, per say. More that I'm fascinated by the search for love and redemption in even the darkest of circumstances.
Unreliable narrators are a particular thrill for me. I like original characters and outsider POVs, so feel free. I'm a sucker for fannish tropes like amnesia fic, omegaverse, and soulbonds. Canon-divergence AUs fascinate me. I'm always interested in stories that reveal character backstory, and I love stories about people who know and trust each other working together as a team. If you see potential for an open or poly relationship in canon, I would enjoy reading about it!
General Dislikes
I don't enjoy kid fic, and pregnancy completely squicks me. Plots that depend on characters failing to communicate with each other bug me. Pure romantic fluff with no conflict or other plot doesn't generally work for me, and I'm not a fan of 'These characters are now pirates in the 1700's' alternate setting AUs. I'd rather avoid fics focusing on cheating or infidelity. Gender-bending generally disappoints me, unless there is canonical reason to question or alter the character's gender. I don't want to read about abusive or non-consensual incest this year. No holiday-themed stories, unless you are inventing holidays as part of your world-building, in which case, please carry-on!
Although I admire a well-crafted sentence, I'm not really into poetic or flowery language.
Hot Sex
I read and enjoy lots of G-PG fic, and some of my requests this year are gen. But if you should be in the mood to write porn, yay! I like slash, het, and femme-slash. I'm a fan of intense relationships. People who love each other beyond all reason. Even if you're writing about a hook-up or business transaction, I want it to be in response to some deep need, not just a casual fling. Kink works for me, if you want to go there. You don't have to - one of the hottest stories I ever read never went past a purely vanilla first base. Passionate, nervous first-time kissing. Mmmmm.
My favorite kinks include dirty talk, voyeurism, masturbation, pain, bloodplay, marking, bondage, orgasm denial, and power-imbalances. Mind control can be very, very hot. *licks lips* Most importantly, though, it needs to be in-character, be about these two people, what they want and need. Kinks are all about trust. It doesn't need to be safe or sane, but I want it consensual. That said, the particular flavor of dub-con wherein a character is forced into something they desperately want, but could never reach out and take on their own sets me off like a fire-cracker. (*coughs* omega-verse). I enjoy the build-up and character reveal of kink negotiation, but being thrown right into the middle of an intense scene can be very powerful and arousing. Both work for me, in very different ways.
I'm not into fisting, golden showers, scat-play, clothing-fetishes, DS as a lifestyle, necrophilia, bestiality, or role-playing. But you could probably make me buy into any one of them, if you write it hard and hot enough. One thing that seriously turns me off is fic where the character's kink is because of some childhood trauma, sexual assault, or anything like that. Pregnancy, male or female, is a hard no.
On the subject of mini-challenges: I would be delighted if you wrote me something that fits the Chromatic Yuletide or Misses Clause challenges. I'm a huge fan of porn for Yuletide, so Yuleporn is a go! I've got one Two-for-One prompt for Sense8 that I'm very excited about. If you are an artist and in the mood to treat, I enthusiastically welcome artwork for Killjoys or Ladyhawke. I have art prompts for the Wrapping Paper Challenge here. I'd be interested in Crueltide dark-fic for Wonder Woman (2017), Killjoys, A Taste of Honey or the Valor series, but not Sense8 or Ladyhawke. I'm not sure if there's any kind of microfiction challenge this year, but I cut my fannish teeth on drabbles, snippets, and 221bs. I honestly adore tiny, polished gems of fic 300 words and under, so if you are in a mood to treat with short fic, I would welcome them!
Sense8: Nomi Marks, Sun Bak, Lito Rodriguez
This show brings me so much joy! The hopefulness of it, the sense of humanity, the way it lets me experience other places, cultures, and ways of being. The hot sex, the emotional roller-coaster, the way these people love and support each other through everything. Such a wonderful ensemble.
I requested three of my very favorite characters, but I would be happy with a story that focused on any one of them, or other members of the cluster, in gen or canonical pairings, in any rating of fic. It's an ensemble show, and I love that the rest of the cluster is always there in the background, offering their support. I like Will, Wolfgang, and Riley, but I'd prefer a story focused on other member(s) of the cluster.
DNW: pregnancy, major character death, breaking up canonical relationships, unhappy endings. Also, fics focusing on Whisper, Will's addiction, Wolfgang's imprisonment and torture, homophobia, or transphobia. Mentions of any of those are fine, to flavor the soup. But this is my happy-place fandom, and I'm not up for the stocking full of angst it could deliver in the hands of a dedicated author.
I'll love anything you write me here, but here are a few specific prompts:
* Nomi/Amonita exploring some kink they haven't tried before. (Bonus if other cluster members are watching/participating/enjoying.)
* Show me Amanita finding out about the other people in Nomi's cluster, and how she came to accept that being with Nomi was joining that larger family.
* Lito/Hernando/Daniela reclaiming their sexuality and passion after being outed.
* Lito calling on his cluster for inspiration in prepping for a role or performing.
* Outsider POV as other clusters around the world react to Riley's concert, that thrown gauntlet.
* A day on the job with Kala as the smart, competent scientist she is. She might be isolated by her co-workers, but she is never alone.
* Capheus gets a little help from his friends while pursuing his relationship with Zakia.
* Sun's cell-mates and cluster helping her adjust to life in prison.
* How about a crossover or fusion, with Sun's understanding and acceptance of herself as a sensate being informed by her experience of (insert compatible Korean fandom). Korean mythology? Ghosts of her ancestors? Vampires? Gumiho? I would be tickled pink if you introduced me to some supernatural K-drama or Manhwa source I'm not yet a fan of!
Killjoys (TV): Dutch, D'Avin, Johnny, Alvis
My character requests here are OR, rather than AND; you don't need to include all of them. I love that Killjoys is such an over-the-top, hilarious and fun found family show, while the characters are still deeply fucked up. It can go some pretty dark places - I'm good with that, but in this fandom I need some form of happy ending. This show has canonical knife-play, sex-bots, mind-control, religious masochism, and immortality - whatever mad plot bunny you've got hopping around in your brain, it'll fit right in!
I'm only part-way through season 2 right now, but I'll be caught up by December. So if there's something or someone in later canon I haven't mentioned that you think I'd enjoy, go for it.
DNW: pregnancy, in-team betrayal, major character death, body horror, child abuse, suicide, unhappy endings
I'm very excited about the NC-17 potential of this fandom, so have some porn prompts:
* D'Avin really does decide to 'holster that thing', on his brother's advice, and Pree (my favorite flaming fairy godfather) arranges a sex intervention with Dutch and whoever else you'd like him to invite.
* DirtyBadWrongHot Johnny/D'Avin The Company Made Them Do It incest fic (Dub-con where the boys can't help but be into it despite the taboo, rather than hard non-con, please.)
* Lucy learning about sex and intimacy through voyeurism of various pairings.
* Johnny/Lucy masturbation fic
* Pawter gently informs Johnny that, although she's been having fun with him, she hasn't been getting off. They enlist Pree's professional help.
* Hella kinky Dutch/Alvis. You know he'd be up for anything.
* D'Avin/Dutch banging each other when what they really need is intimacy.
* For gen, I'd like a story where the trust and loyalty between the three of them is tested.
* If you'd like to go dark, force characters face-to-face with their worst fears about themselves, which, to me, is the essence of horror.
* You could also show me any of the crew interacting with Alvis in his role as a monk or spiritual advisor - however reluctantly or ironically. If you are into the Scarback monks, I'd also enjoy world-building around them, with or without any of my requested characters.
Ladyhawke (1985): Philippe Gaston, Isabeau d'Anjoy, Etienne Navarre
This film's emotional resonance makes it unforgettable. I find the interpersonal dynamics between the characters, with Philippe as the sole connection between the two lovers, fascinating. Philippe and Etienne have led such radically different lives, and therefore have completely different ideas of what it means to be a man. It makes me contemplate gender and class in medieval France in a way that the film does not address in any way, shape, or form. If you want to take that on, great! If you'd rather have happy fun times in a version with no resemblance to reality, I am totally on-board.
I remember the scene where Etienne and Philippe are talking, Etienne desperate for any word of his love, and Philippe says, "She looked sad, at first... she cursed the day she met you." The gut punch of that scene has stuck with me since I first watched the movie in '85.
In honor of that, I'm craving something rather specific here, but with enough wiggle-room that I could be satisfied by a variety of fics. I'd like a story that explores a close relationship among the three main characters. I'd be delighted with threesome porn, but the relationship does not necessarily need to be sexual, or even romantic. A deep friendship would absolutely fit the bill. It could be set during or after the movie, as they are beginning to explore a relationship or something more established. Whatever the rating, I'd like a focus on communication, emotion, and intimacy (emotional intimacy, which may or may not be part of a sexual relationship) and at least some version of a happy ending.
DNW: pregnancy, kidfic, unresolved jealousy/cheating/betrayal
I'm struggling a bit with prompts here, since I'm more about the FEELS than plot here, but here's a few ideas:
* Isabeau and Etienne's wedding day. Philippe thought he would be left behind; he was wrong.
* While cursed, Etienne asks Philippe to comfort Isabeau.
* The curse has some unpleasant long-term effect on Etienne and Isabeau. Philippe helps.
* Isabeau retains her sense of self while transformed, and can hear and understand every word they say about her.
* Post-canon, Philippe is a respected page in the grand household, and carries the most private of messages between the lord and lady of the house as they go about their day. (You could go NC-17 with this one, or tease me with genteelly salacious epistolary fic.)
* After decades together, one of the three passes away. The other two have to readjust their relationship to fill in the gaps left behind by their beloved.
* The 'curse' was a metaphor all along. Tell me the version of this tale where a pretty young commoner boy aids a knight on a quest to open his heart. Only then will he be worthy of the lady who, assaulted by a man of the cloth, swore that no man would clip her wings.
Valor Series - Tanya Huff: Binti Mashona, Torin Kerr, di'Stenjic Haysole, Ressk (Valor)
I love the realistic way the author portrays life in the military. These books, despite the heavy combat and angst, have brilliant flashes of humor. Huff's aliens really do have distinct cultures, which I can't help but admire. I'm looking for fic that focuses on Staff Sergeant Kerr's unit, but you can hit any genre - comedy, drama, world-building, hard military sci-fi, character-driven porn, etc. It doesn't need to include all of the characters I requested, but I love that team dynamic! Have fun with the source - if you like what you wrote, so will I.
DNW: pregnancy, suicide, non-con between major characters
Prompts:
* Binti and her friends going out drinking. That's normal. What happens next? Not so much.
* Staff Sergeant Kerr raises company morale by 'failing to notice' an escalating prank war during some down-time.
* The new regulations covering sexual relations in and out of combat zones are a pain in the ass. Literally.
* Team members supporting each other after a grim dark combat mission.
* Illegal orders lead to a near-mutiny. (That could get pretty damn dark - but please not irredeemably so!)
* A new species is being integrated into the marines. Their company has one of the first to make it through boot. No one's sure if this particular individual is batshit crazy, or if that's just normal for their species.
Wonder Woman (2017): Sameer, Chief Napi
I grew up on war movies and stories. The Great Escape, Colditz, the Battle of Britain, ace pilots saluting each other before firing machine guns through their own props at the enemy. Scroungers and morale officers, glory and honor. Those were heroes.
I moved on from those stories a few decades ago, but Wonder Woman brought it all back to me, askew and interrogated. Wonder Woman played with and against my childhood tropes, built tension by fighting against them, quickly lampshaded the problems and contradictions, then gave in with an easy smile, sparing a handful of lives and dancing over the corpses. That's quite the mind-fuck to pull off in the middle of a comic-book action-adventure. Color me intrigued. If it hits you the same way, I can guarantee anything you write will have me riveted.
I'd prefer gen for this fandom. Feel free to go black-dark, if that's what you want, or share some light-hearted fun. Sameer AND Chief would be awesome in any fic together, but I'm perfectly content with Sameer OR Chief as well.
DNW: pregnancy, AUs
Prompts:
* Chief Napi is a Blackfoot trickster demigod. That's not sub-text; it's in the script. Do with it what you will!
* Sameer lies so well because he started young. I'd love to see flashbacks to his childhood growing up in Morocco, trying to find work on the stage, and learning the fine art of the con.
* The whole team relaxing and drinking together, with some of that delightful culture clash between their expectations of women, and the reality that is Diana.
* Steve tries to explain to Diana how it's possible for the Great War to exist, without Ares forcing men to commit these horrors. Sameer, Chief, and Charlie each have their own ideas about good, evil, and the nature of mankind. They may or may not share them.
* Diana, Sameer, Charlie, and Chief Napi gather one last time to remember Steve. They each bring something of their own traditions, and something of their own memories of him.
A Taste of Honey - Kai Ashante Wilson (any)
This is a last-minute addition, since I just read this fabulous novella. I love what we see of Olorum culture; the tremendous divide between men and women of the upper classes, with an emphasis on hyper-masculinity for men, while literacy, mathematics, physics, medicine and psionics are all restricted to women. The 'gods', whether similar to human or very, very different, manipulating these people and cultures from a distance. The Sybil, possibly another human/other hybrid, and her monstrous desires and prophecies. The varied 'magical' abilities of the Cousins. The twist at the ending floored me.
And Aqib - sweet, kind, loving, self-sacrificing Aqib. Brave not because he is fearless, but because his love and compassion are more powerful than his fear. I adore him. This story's emotional arc is strange, swinging between joy with moments of fear, and sorrow with moments of happiness, all with that subtle undercurrent of horror. Feel free to explore any or all of those emotions in your fic.
DNW: pregnancy or birth; a focus on child-rearing, body horror, non-con, or xeno; unhappy endings in this fandom
Possible prompts:
* Aqib growing into a stronger, more confident version of himself, rejecting the views of his home culture and family that shamed him for looking and acting different than a 'real man' should.
* Aqib/Lucrio, as they first return to Daluca. I'm fascinated by this m/m 'adoption' tradition they have. It reminds me of a pirate's matelotage. Show me more!
* Aqib's first time with Lucrio, full of body worship, joy, laughter, and tenderness.
* The monstrous Sybil's fragmented view of the many future possibilities and probabilities as she sends Lucrio to Olorum to meet his love, anticipating his bitter tears. This could take experimental forms, from verse to IF. This prompt (and any other IF or multiple timelines fic) is an exception to my DNW unhappy endings, as some of the potential endings can and should be be dark and unhappy.
* A story with Aqib (either version) exploring and finding joy in his ability to communicate with animals.
* Aqib, along with several women, all threw themselves into the sea, willing to drown to follow their lovers in the Dalucan ship. It seemed like more than an individual impulse - is this a part of their culture? I am curious about the legend or truth behind it.
* Femysade chose Aqib on the strength of watching him dance the sacred dance like only a woman could, and watching him play with Sabah like a child. She wanted a man who was not a man, and it seems the two of them were close friends and occasional lovers for many years. I would enjoy learning more about their relationship from her perspective.
* The Prophet Adonane didn't just come looking for Femysade. She specifically needed LucretiaAqibFemysade - the Femysade who was wife of Aqib and mother of Lucretia. I wonder why. Perhaps your story can show me.
* World-building of any and all kinds, including OC's, epistolary fic, sacred art and scripture, an introduction to the standard text on the ethics of psionics, or an Ashean's scientific overview of the breeding experiment that is the Sacred Cousins of Olorum. (One possible explanation for why homosexuality is so violently rejected in their engineered society.)
In Conclusion
To me, fanfic is all about getting a chance to explore characters in ways that the original source didn't allow. I love these characters, these worlds - show me something I didn't know about them, and that's the best present you can give me.
Your Eager Recipient,
- keerawa