Dear Yuletide author
Dear author,
First, thank you for writing for me! I hope you have fun with this :)
Again, my ao3 name is storiesfortravellers.
I'm not picky, and I'm open-minded about fic, and so if you enjoy writing it, I'm sure I'll enjoy reading it. That said, since "I love everything" is not considered helpful, here are my dislikes and likes, and some ideas I am throwing out just in case they give you ideas of something you want to write. I like giving prompts, and so I just gave lots in the hopes that some might strike your fancy - feel free to use any or none, and obviously I'm not expecting all.
Stuff I like in fic (again, not requesting any one of these specifically, just talking about things that I often enjoy):
-fic about complex relationships (not sexual relationships necessarily -- though that's great too -- but also psychological explorations of relationships between friends, family, enemies, etc.)
-character studies
-humorfic
-mild angst or angst with comfort
-Historical AUs -- pretty much any historical AU except war AUs based on US history.
-Characters who know each other really well, including how the other characters think.
-Characters who are antagonists but who reach a mutual respect or care for each other. Similarly, characters who are in a close relationship but are willing to fight for what they believe in, even with the other person, or characters who argue because one wants to protect the other - some combination of either love or desire and antagonism.
-Characters who are very principled or caring but also sometimes have to struggle with things - either morally gray plots, or the difficulties in building relationships, or getting over their repressed stuff, or living with compromises, or what have you.
-Characters who have conflict in part because of how much they care about each other and their somewhat incompatible ways of expressing it through their actions
-Characters who long for each other, especially if they get together in the end.
-M/m mentor-relationships, especially if there is an age difference, with the older one being protective and wanting to help the younger one, but not wanting to overstep and being careful with the other person and really wanting to live up to the trust the younger one places in him, and the younger one completely looking up to the older one and wanting to please him and not disappoint him.
And if you want to write pairings:
-any rating is fine. Rated G is fine and NC17 is fine too.
-kink/bdsm or psychological explorations of kink/bdsm are great if you like writing that (but totally optional!). I'll be fine with anything except stuff with animals or kids or scat/vomit/watersports, but if you want specifics, I prefer most bdsm stuff (bondage, spanking, submission/obedience, roleplay, sensation play, possessiveness, etc.) but I don't prefer fisting or large objects (not squicked, just don't prefer).
-prefer noncanon pairings. Threesomes are fine too.
-obviously any sexual content at all is completely optional - again only if you like writing it
-For pairings, I prefer either smutfic or fics that explore the relationship and what they provide for each other or how the relationship changes over time or just anything about the psychology of the relationship rather than domestic cuteness (except for Billy/Dime, which can be anything).
Stuff I don't usually prefer to receive for these fandoms:
-Character death (brief references to canon character death are okay, but not fics significantly about grieving or death)
-Serious illness or serious injury or imprisonment (Carlito starting the fic out in prison would be okay since that's canon)
Here is a little more about the specific requests.
Fandom: Graceland
I would love something about their relationship between Johnny and Carlito. This could be really dark, or it could be about the rare vulnerable moments that Carlito has. I do ship Johnny/Carlito (as a non-healthy relationship, not as a perfect couple obviously), but leaving it more as one-sided longing similar to canon is fine too, as is focusing on them having to work together or some other gen premise if that's your preference.
Possible prompts (Warning: some prompts may be triggery):
-Johnny has to sleep with Carlito during the time when he is still ingratiating himself to Carlito. Johnny doesn't want to but he does for the job. But then he really, really enjoys it, which makes Johnny confront or explore some aspect of his sexuality that he wasn't fully aware of, but also Johnny feels guilty since he doesn't want to be attracted to a killer.
-Carlito keeps Johnny locked in a room and visits him often for conversation (and sex or flirtation if not a gen story). It's hard to tell at first if Carlito is visiting because he wants information, wants to mess with Johnny's head, or just likes talking to Johnny, or all three. Could be slash or gen.
-Some psychological exploration of BDSM (possibly not-too-healthy BDSM practice given the pairing). Maybe Carlito likes to be submissive and be punished. Maybe Johnny is uncomfortable with this but he has to make Carlito happy? Or maybe Johnny likes it but feels guilty about liking it? Maybe Carlito likes it but feels that liking it is 'unmanly' and is a jerk about it? Maybe Carlito likes it but is easily triggered during a scene? Maybe Johnny likes submitting but doesn't trust that Carlito won't take it too far. Maybe Johnny does scenes as a submissive just to keep cover at first but over time realizes he really loves being submissive and feels conflicted about enjoying submitting to Carlito.
-AU where Johnny is undercover as Carlito's right hand man for a long time. Carlito grows very protective of Johnny - he knows Johnny doesn't like to kill and he makes sure Johnny doesn't have to. This could be a gen prompt too.
-Carlito is jealous and resentful of what a good person Johnny is but also turned on by it (inspired by Carlito's line about Johnny being pretty on the inside).
-AU where Johnny does fall in love with Carlito but Johnny hates himself for it.
-Post-series where Johnny has to work with Carlito to bring down a bigger baddie. This could also be gen.
-AU where Johnny has to be Carlito's lover in LA for a long time. Maybe Paul doesn't like that Johnny's doing that since Paul sees Johnny's feelings getting complicated - could be past Johnny/Paul but doesn't have to be. Or maybe Mike/Johnny are boyfriends (or Mike/Paul/Johnny) while Johnny is dating Carlito for the case and feelings get complicated.
-Post-series, Johnny is sent to get information from Carlito and does a lot of interviews/interrogations, and so he has to profile Carlito and gets a lot of background information that makes him view Carlito in a slightly more sympathetic light, but Johnny has to not forget how dangerous and manipulative Carlito can be - this could be slash or gen too.
I didn't list these characters but I would also be happy with these pairings: Charlie/Johnny/Mike, post-finale, all of them sticking together and trying to heal and comfort one another;
or, Charlie/Mike/Paul, maybe a kinkfic.
Fandom: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
I would really like something about Billy and Dime's relationship. I personally ship those two, and I would love something that explores either an actual sexual relationship happening or else something with unresolved sexual tension. But I would be just as thrilled to get something about their friendship. It could be set before, during or after the book, it could be from Dime's pov or Billy's. Basically I would be happy for anything about Billy and Dime.
Some possible ideas (again, totally optional):
-Little moments in their relationship/friendship
-their second kiss
-fic where they're both done serving in the military and one visits the other for a while
-Dime's pov of Billy during, before, or after the events of the book
-they have some conflict or disagreement that they have to resolve
-conflicted feelings about their relationship
-them trusting each other more than they trust most people
-Dime giving Billy advice
-Billy comforts Dime after Dime has to make a tough decision
-Billy tries to help Dime feel less burdened by his responsibilities
-kinky sex with dominant!Dime - maybe Billy is new to this and Dime is an experienced dom who wants to show him how it's done safely before Billy goes out into the kinky world? Or maybe they are in an established relationship and Billy reveals he really wants to try this (maybe Billy is the one who is experienced at kink - or maybe they're both new to it) and Dime is scared to do it and kind of scared by how much he (Dime) is turned on by the idea, but he wants to do it for Billy and then is surprised that he loves it just as much as Billy does.
-Billy has sexual fantasies about Dime or a sexual dream, and then is confused by that and tries to act normal around Dime so Dime doesn't figure it out
-AU - historical AU or AU where they are in a totally different line of work - firefighters, coffeeshop, whatever
Tennis RPF: Andy Murray/Nick Kyrgios
So I really enjoy the idea that these two have lots of affection for each other. Friendship, flirtation, sexual relationship, longing -- all are cool, but I'd like the focus to be on their relationship. Nick has called it "love at first sight," for instance. These are some articles and videos that make smile at them/ship them (as friends or more):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-3672746/Andy-Murray-Nick-Kyrgios-share-bromance-rivalry-ahead-crunch-Wimbledon-clash-Australian-jokes-love-sight.html
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/17791662/andy-murray-says-nick-kyrgios-given-more-protection-amid-latest-court-controversy-shanghai-masters
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3361811/Andy-Murray-laughs-hysterically-Nick-Kyrgios-interrupts-interview.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDLgu3BUTm4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rkooo6zLG8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjFWAux_b4Y
This is one where I do think Nick really looks up to Andy, and is happy that Andy seems to respect him and stick up for him to the press and doesn't judge him. I think a lot of the younger players who get criticized for things like inconsistency or being foul tempered on court or having mental blocks or taking a long time to live up to potential (all things Andy has been criticized for) seem to really like Andy - maybe because he's showed that it's possible to overcome a lot of that, but also since he seems to try to be respectful to everyone while off the court and seems non-judgmental since he has said that he doesn't really like to give unsolicited advice to people. So my headcanon, how I imagine them in terms of my shipping them as fictional characters (no claim that I know anything about their real lives of course), is that Nick really looks up to Andy is really happy at how much Andy likes and respects him back - Nick likely grew up looking up to Andy and is pretty excited to be friends with him and hang out with him. At Wimbledon for example, commentators noted that Nick was very subdued in his reactions, and maybe that's because he didn't want to act in a way that would make Andy think less of him -- like in one of the videos above, when he says he's being sincere with the press because Andy's there. I think Nick seems to get upset at what people say about him (I'm not saying he hasn't said things he shouldn't have and made some big mistakes or is ideal by any means, but he gets a lot of bad press, and he also has to put up with xenophobic crap, so it's understandable that he's touchy about how he's portrayed), so it would mean a lot that someone of Andy's stature in the game says to the press that they intentionally provoke Nick. This is another pairing where the mentor-y stuff and age difference would come into play.
Possible ideas:
-Them hanging out and getting closer
-Anything kinky, especially with dominant!Andy
-Nick doesn't listen to anyone usually but he always shows respect to Andy. This translates to the bedroom with Nick liking it when Andy takes control, since Andy is always careful to be safe.
-Nick has a giant crush on Andy, but Andy worries that it's just childhood hero admiration and he doesn't want to take advantage, so Nick has to take control and make it clear that this isn't some childhood crush
-futurefic when Nick is in his early 30s and needs a new coach and so Andy coaches him (slash or gen)
-Nick binge watches Sherlock to impress Andy and/or finds the perfect Sherlock-related activity for them (slash or gen)
-One gives the other a deep massage or helps the other into a hot shower after a long match that leaves him barely able to move.(slash or gen)
-AU where team tennis is the majority of the season and Andy is the head of the team that Nick is on
If you want side pairings as their friends or something, I do like Nadal/Marc Lopez, DelPotro/Djokovic, Nadal/Fed, (Andy/Nadal or Nick/Jack Sock or Andy/Kyle Edmund, only if it's open relationship and nobody is cheating), Bjorn Borg/John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl/any male.
First, thank you for writing for me! I hope you have fun with this :)
Again, my ao3 name is storiesfortravellers.
I'm not picky, and I'm open-minded about fic, and so if you enjoy writing it, I'm sure I'll enjoy reading it. That said, since "I love everything" is not considered helpful, here are my dislikes and likes, and some ideas I am throwing out just in case they give you ideas of something you want to write. I like giving prompts, and so I just gave lots in the hopes that some might strike your fancy - feel free to use any or none, and obviously I'm not expecting all.
Stuff I like in fic (again, not requesting any one of these specifically, just talking about things that I often enjoy):
-fic about complex relationships (not sexual relationships necessarily -- though that's great too -- but also psychological explorations of relationships between friends, family, enemies, etc.)
-character studies
-humorfic
-mild angst or angst with comfort
-Historical AUs -- pretty much any historical AU except war AUs based on US history.
-Characters who know each other really well, including how the other characters think.
-Characters who are antagonists but who reach a mutual respect or care for each other. Similarly, characters who are in a close relationship but are willing to fight for what they believe in, even with the other person, or characters who argue because one wants to protect the other - some combination of either love or desire and antagonism.
-Characters who are very principled or caring but also sometimes have to struggle with things - either morally gray plots, or the difficulties in building relationships, or getting over their repressed stuff, or living with compromises, or what have you.
-Characters who have conflict in part because of how much they care about each other and their somewhat incompatible ways of expressing it through their actions
-Characters who long for each other, especially if they get together in the end.
-M/m mentor-relationships, especially if there is an age difference, with the older one being protective and wanting to help the younger one, but not wanting to overstep and being careful with the other person and really wanting to live up to the trust the younger one places in him, and the younger one completely looking up to the older one and wanting to please him and not disappoint him.
And if you want to write pairings:
-any rating is fine. Rated G is fine and NC17 is fine too.
-kink/bdsm or psychological explorations of kink/bdsm are great if you like writing that (but totally optional!). I'll be fine with anything except stuff with animals or kids or scat/vomit/watersports, but if you want specifics, I prefer most bdsm stuff (bondage, spanking, submission/obedience, roleplay, sensation play, possessiveness, etc.) but I don't prefer fisting or large objects (not squicked, just don't prefer).
-prefer noncanon pairings. Threesomes are fine too.
-obviously any sexual content at all is completely optional - again only if you like writing it
-For pairings, I prefer either smutfic or fics that explore the relationship and what they provide for each other or how the relationship changes over time or just anything about the psychology of the relationship rather than domestic cuteness (except for Billy/Dime, which can be anything).
Stuff I don't usually prefer to receive for these fandoms:
-Character death (brief references to canon character death are okay, but not fics significantly about grieving or death)
-Serious illness or serious injury or imprisonment (Carlito starting the fic out in prison would be okay since that's canon)
Here is a little more about the specific requests.
Fandom: Graceland
I would love something about their relationship between Johnny and Carlito. This could be really dark, or it could be about the rare vulnerable moments that Carlito has. I do ship Johnny/Carlito (as a non-healthy relationship, not as a perfect couple obviously), but leaving it more as one-sided longing similar to canon is fine too, as is focusing on them having to work together or some other gen premise if that's your preference.
Possible prompts (Warning: some prompts may be triggery):
-Johnny has to sleep with Carlito during the time when he is still ingratiating himself to Carlito. Johnny doesn't want to but he does for the job. But then he really, really enjoys it, which makes Johnny confront or explore some aspect of his sexuality that he wasn't fully aware of, but also Johnny feels guilty since he doesn't want to be attracted to a killer.
-Carlito keeps Johnny locked in a room and visits him often for conversation (and sex or flirtation if not a gen story). It's hard to tell at first if Carlito is visiting because he wants information, wants to mess with Johnny's head, or just likes talking to Johnny, or all three. Could be slash or gen.
-Some psychological exploration of BDSM (possibly not-too-healthy BDSM practice given the pairing). Maybe Carlito likes to be submissive and be punished. Maybe Johnny is uncomfortable with this but he has to make Carlito happy? Or maybe Johnny likes it but feels guilty about liking it? Maybe Carlito likes it but feels that liking it is 'unmanly' and is a jerk about it? Maybe Carlito likes it but is easily triggered during a scene? Maybe Johnny likes submitting but doesn't trust that Carlito won't take it too far. Maybe Johnny does scenes as a submissive just to keep cover at first but over time realizes he really loves being submissive and feels conflicted about enjoying submitting to Carlito.
-AU where Johnny is undercover as Carlito's right hand man for a long time. Carlito grows very protective of Johnny - he knows Johnny doesn't like to kill and he makes sure Johnny doesn't have to. This could be a gen prompt too.
-Carlito is jealous and resentful of what a good person Johnny is but also turned on by it (inspired by Carlito's line about Johnny being pretty on the inside).
-AU where Johnny does fall in love with Carlito but Johnny hates himself for it.
-Post-series where Johnny has to work with Carlito to bring down a bigger baddie. This could also be gen.
-AU where Johnny has to be Carlito's lover in LA for a long time. Maybe Paul doesn't like that Johnny's doing that since Paul sees Johnny's feelings getting complicated - could be past Johnny/Paul but doesn't have to be. Or maybe Mike/Johnny are boyfriends (or Mike/Paul/Johnny) while Johnny is dating Carlito for the case and feelings get complicated.
-Post-series, Johnny is sent to get information from Carlito and does a lot of interviews/interrogations, and so he has to profile Carlito and gets a lot of background information that makes him view Carlito in a slightly more sympathetic light, but Johnny has to not forget how dangerous and manipulative Carlito can be - this could be slash or gen too.
I didn't list these characters but I would also be happy with these pairings: Charlie/Johnny/Mike, post-finale, all of them sticking together and trying to heal and comfort one another;
or, Charlie/Mike/Paul, maybe a kinkfic.
Fandom: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
I would really like something about Billy and Dime's relationship. I personally ship those two, and I would love something that explores either an actual sexual relationship happening or else something with unresolved sexual tension. But I would be just as thrilled to get something about their friendship. It could be set before, during or after the book, it could be from Dime's pov or Billy's. Basically I would be happy for anything about Billy and Dime.
Some possible ideas (again, totally optional):
-Little moments in their relationship/friendship
-their second kiss
-fic where they're both done serving in the military and one visits the other for a while
-Dime's pov of Billy during, before, or after the events of the book
-they have some conflict or disagreement that they have to resolve
-conflicted feelings about their relationship
-them trusting each other more than they trust most people
-Dime giving Billy advice
-Billy comforts Dime after Dime has to make a tough decision
-Billy tries to help Dime feel less burdened by his responsibilities
-kinky sex with dominant!Dime - maybe Billy is new to this and Dime is an experienced dom who wants to show him how it's done safely before Billy goes out into the kinky world? Or maybe they are in an established relationship and Billy reveals he really wants to try this (maybe Billy is the one who is experienced at kink - or maybe they're both new to it) and Dime is scared to do it and kind of scared by how much he (Dime) is turned on by the idea, but he wants to do it for Billy and then is surprised that he loves it just as much as Billy does.
-Billy has sexual fantasies about Dime or a sexual dream, and then is confused by that and tries to act normal around Dime so Dime doesn't figure it out
-AU - historical AU or AU where they are in a totally different line of work - firefighters, coffeeshop, whatever
Tennis RPF: Andy Murray/Nick Kyrgios
So I really enjoy the idea that these two have lots of affection for each other. Friendship, flirtation, sexual relationship, longing -- all are cool, but I'd like the focus to be on their relationship. Nick has called it "love at first sight," for instance. These are some articles and videos that make smile at them/ship them (as friends or more):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-3672746/Andy-Murray-Nick-Kyrgios-share-bromance-rivalry-ahead-crunch-Wimbledon-clash-Australian-jokes-love-sight.html
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/17791662/andy-murray-says-nick-kyrgios-given-more-protection-amid-latest-court-controversy-shanghai-masters
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3361811/Andy-Murray-laughs-hysterically-Nick-Kyrgios-interrupts-interview.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDLgu3BUTm4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rkooo6zLG8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjFWAux_b4Y
This is one where I do think Nick really looks up to Andy, and is happy that Andy seems to respect him and stick up for him to the press and doesn't judge him. I think a lot of the younger players who get criticized for things like inconsistency or being foul tempered on court or having mental blocks or taking a long time to live up to potential (all things Andy has been criticized for) seem to really like Andy - maybe because he's showed that it's possible to overcome a lot of that, but also since he seems to try to be respectful to everyone while off the court and seems non-judgmental since he has said that he doesn't really like to give unsolicited advice to people. So my headcanon, how I imagine them in terms of my shipping them as fictional characters (no claim that I know anything about their real lives of course), is that Nick really looks up to Andy is really happy at how much Andy likes and respects him back - Nick likely grew up looking up to Andy and is pretty excited to be friends with him and hang out with him. At Wimbledon for example, commentators noted that Nick was very subdued in his reactions, and maybe that's because he didn't want to act in a way that would make Andy think less of him -- like in one of the videos above, when he says he's being sincere with the press because Andy's there. I think Nick seems to get upset at what people say about him (I'm not saying he hasn't said things he shouldn't have and made some big mistakes or is ideal by any means, but he gets a lot of bad press, and he also has to put up with xenophobic crap, so it's understandable that he's touchy about how he's portrayed), so it would mean a lot that someone of Andy's stature in the game says to the press that they intentionally provoke Nick. This is another pairing where the mentor-y stuff and age difference would come into play.
Possible ideas:
-Them hanging out and getting closer
-Anything kinky, especially with dominant!Andy
-Nick doesn't listen to anyone usually but he always shows respect to Andy. This translates to the bedroom with Nick liking it when Andy takes control, since Andy is always careful to be safe.
-Nick has a giant crush on Andy, but Andy worries that it's just childhood hero admiration and he doesn't want to take advantage, so Nick has to take control and make it clear that this isn't some childhood crush
-futurefic when Nick is in his early 30s and needs a new coach and so Andy coaches him (slash or gen)
-Nick binge watches Sherlock to impress Andy and/or finds the perfect Sherlock-related activity for them (slash or gen)
-One gives the other a deep massage or helps the other into a hot shower after a long match that leaves him barely able to move.(slash or gen)
-AU where team tennis is the majority of the season and Andy is the head of the team that Nick is on
If you want side pairings as their friends or something, I do like Nadal/Marc Lopez, DelPotro/Djokovic, Nadal/Fed, (Andy/Nadal or Nick/Jack Sock or Andy/Kyle Edmund, only if it's open relationship and nobody is cheating), Bjorn Borg/John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl/any male.