Yuletide letter 2016!
Dear Yuletide writer,
Thank you for offering to write for my little fandoms. You have excellent taste! Here I have listed some of my likes and dislikes in fic and gone into some detail about why I like these particular fandoms. Hopefully it will make your task easier! I have also included some ideas for inspiration, but feel free to come up with something else if you'd like. I hope you have a lovely and stress-free Yuletide!
Likes
- Slash of any rating. If you want to go there in any of these fandoms, please do. Gen is absolutely fine too, if that's more your thing.
- Swordfights, violence, action, adventure.
- Prison breaks, last-minute rescues, undercover missions.
- On the other hand, unhurried, mellow description.
- Music, artistry, poetry.
- Good characterisation.
- Context, characters being influenced and shaped by the world around them.
- Period/culture details.
- Characters showing their feelings through action. Not to say they aren't allowed to speechify too, if that is something they would do.
- Equality and switching. Personal preferences are fine and dandy, pre-established (gender)roles not so much.
Dislikes
- Cliched, out-of-character romance. Believable romance, on the other hand, is very much welcome.
- Angst that is completely hopeless. I need that ray of light.
- Non-canon (main) character death, unless you plan to resurrect them promptly.
- Alpha/Omega or BDSM universe. I’ve nothing against D/S elements (on the contrary), it’s the universe I have an issue with.
- Mpreg
- Kidfic
- Bestiality, weirdly shaped penises, knotting. This is mostly relevant to Underworld. I'd rather the characters fucked in human shape. I don't mind some play with shapeshifting, but wolf/human sex is not a kink of mine.
Fandoms
A Land Fit for Heroes - Richard Morgan
Characters: Ringil Eskiath, Egar Dragonbane
Grimdark fantasy is not usually my cup of tea, but this series had me hooked with its punch-to-the-gut style and sense of irony (it's right there in the title, really).
I probably love Gil more than he deserves, but they're all bastards, aren't they? I like his quiet confidence, his dark sense of humour and his awesome fighting skills (and the magic shit later on). I get the feeling he could have been a decent person in another universe, and that just makes everything worse.
I kind of really love the fact that in this totally fucked up, homophopic society their greatest war hero happens to be gay. There's nothing they can do about it, they can't get rid of him. And he can just go on being notoriously gay and trolling everyone. Well, it's a lot more complicated than that, but I still appreciate the irony.
Gil could so easily have been a pile of tropes (”gay warrior punching shit to prove his masculinity” comes to mind). Thankfully, he's not. I liked it that his sex scenes were detailed and varied (and also mostly relevant to plot or character development). Switching is a thing! And it happens a lot in these books! I never got the feeling that Gil thought of topping/bottoming as something that affected his masculinity, and that was extremely refreshing.
I was surprised by how much I ended up liking Egar. I'm tired with the hypermasculine barbarian trope, but I like the way it's handled here. Egar's simple and complicated at the same time, and also something of a romantic. He manages to both fulfill and subvert the barbarian cliches. And he thinks about these things. I like his acceptance of Gil's sexuality - it's not relevant to him so why should it bother him?
I have one rather specific wish for this fandom. I would really like Egar the super hetero barbarian to find out that he's maybe actually not totally straight. I don't want to erase his relationships with women. Obviously they have been meaningful and important to him. But hey, bisexuality is a thing, and it's something that's not really discussed in the books.
I ship Gil and Egar. They obviously share a deep bond, and if Egar were to feel something for a man, it would probably be Gil. I would love a story where there was a sexual aspect to their relationship, romantic or not. If you want to write porn, I have a slight preference for Egar bottoming (in the spirit of discovering new things about himself), and I really like switching and changing power dynamics. Definitely no non-con, please. References to past experiences are all right as long as the fic does not focus on that.
If you don't feel inclined to write slash, I would appreciate a story focusing on their brotherhood and shared experiences. Perhaps something set after the ending? They might meet each other again in some afterlife / magical borderland. Perhaps Gil finds Egar with his awesome magical skills. Or perhaps Egar comes to find him. The end of book three was really disturbing; I was afraid Gil was really going to be stuck as a dark lord for the rest of eternity. What about an alternate ending where that happens? Of course I want someone to come to the rescue (Egar/his ghost/whatever, Arceth…).
The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Characters: Jarlaxle Baenre, Artemis Entreri, Drizzt Do'Urden
I made the mistake of re-reading this series in a fit of nostalgia. Now I'm hooked again. This was supposed to be over! I still like the action (when it's good, it's great fun) and there are good character moments and intriguing relationships, some of which might be accidental. And don't get me started on all the lovely slashy potential! It's so blatant I'm not even sure it should be called subtext anymore.
Please bear in mind that I have only read the books up to the Hunter's Blades trilogy, including the short story collection. I'm not afraid of spoilers so you can refer to things happening later if you want to, as long as it's understandable to someone who hasn't read the newer books.
Jarlaxle is the most delightful character in the entire series. He's just absolutely flaming in every way. He's got a rainbow cloak! And magical everything! Hell, he's got an all-male mercenary band. Need I say more? He also flirts with everything that moves, including dragons.
Artemis Entreri starts off as pretty one-dimensional, but there's actual character growth for him. Jarlaxle brings out the best in him - he's actually starting to resemble a human being. He's got a kind of sense of humour and he's endlessly exasperated by Jarlaxle. He also seems aware that he needs Jarlaxle in some way that is not purely practical.
Their relationship progresses from Entreri's forced stay in Menzoberranzan to an alliance with Jarlaxle in Servant of the Shard and a partnership in Sellswords. They both seem at a loss as to why they want to stick together, but it's clearly important to them. Jarlaxle in particular takes an extraordinary interest in Entreri.
Drizzt is an incredibly frustrating character to me. I really liked him when I first encountered him in the Icewind Dale trilogy. He was fun in a swashbuckling kind of way, mischievous and a bit foolhardy, a little cruel - and of course also an honourable hero, but not to the extent that it would have annoyed me. He didn't spend too much time feeling sorry for himself, overanalysing everything. And I had to check this: there are no diary entries. No wonder he was easier to like. There was a sense of fun in the early books that sort of got lost along the way. His first fights with Entreri are still great; he's actually into it. This is the image of Drizzt I had in my head while reading the books, and somehow it stuck with me, until at some point I realised that the character I imagined had very little to do with the character I was reading about.
I've got some prompts if you need inspiration. All shipping variations are great, and so is gen. You don't have to include all three characters in the fic as long as Jarlaxle and Entreri are there.
Jarlaxle/Entreri: Adventures and swashbuckling fun! Getting in trouble, escaping from dungeons, magical mishaps, angry dragons… Sex is also good. No dwelling on childhood traumas, please. Power play, roughhousing or BDSM elements would be excellent.
Drizzt: I would love it if he was written as the awesome character I wished he was. I always thought there was sexual tension between him and Entreri - they both are quite obsessive. Perhaps Jarlaxle might organise things, as is his habit? Drizzt/Entreri or a threesome with Jarlaxle would be great.
If you want to get serious, I would really like to read a more realistic take on the drow society, because Menzoberranzan as it is written in this series doesn't make a lot of sense. I don't really get a sense of how drow actually live or form relationships or how the city works. What sort of trades do ordinary drow practise? What do they do for fun? It would make sense that in an evil matriarchal society, where men have to fear for their lives every time they have sex with a woman, male/male relationships would be common and accepted.
Maybe something about Jarlaxle's experiences in Menzoberranzan? He seemed to be doing quite well, but we never really hear his thoughts on the way things work there. How did he become what he is now? Why did he decide to stay on the surface? How did he end up the leader of Bregan D'Aerthe? What's the story behind his hairstyle (or lack thereof)? Anything about his history and motivations would be great.
왕의 남자 | The King and the Clown (2005)
Characters: Gong-gil, Jang-saeng
This movie is absolutely beautiful. The ending is gorgeous in its tragedy. I would love to read a fic which would capture something of the spirit of the movie. Beauty, poetry, tragedy, comedy - it all comes together so perfectly.
I would really appreciate a fic about Gong-gil and Jang-saeng's relationship - there was definitely love and caring there. I do see the romantic potential and would really like to read something happy where they discover their feelings for one another and something good comes out of it. They also seem to share a long history which I like to read more about.
I would also like to read your take on the ending. It appears that Gong-gil and Jang-saeng are reunited again with the clown troupe after death. If death is not the end, what happens? What do they become? In your version, do they die?
Underworld (Movies)
Characters: Lucian, Raze
I'm not going to lie. The movie I really care about is Underworld: Rice of the Lycans in all its gothic pseudo-historical madness. For some reason all the lycans are male slaves dressed up in leather and harnesses. The main character is very special and a blacksmith. I've been told this doesn't sound like a good movie. Wrong! Rise of the Lycans is my favourite werewolf movie and the only Underworld movie I keep coming back to.
It's mostly due to Lucian, really. There's something incredibly likable about him. In human form, he's not physically imposing, but I absolutely believed in his quiet confidence. I believed he could could be the sort of charismatic leader who could inspire an uprising. I even believed he could roar wild wolves into obeying him. He's got a sense of humour, too. I even like the doomed romance, mostly because the actor really sells it. (And then there's the whole defiant rebel thing which gets him brutally whipped not once but twice in one movie. That does things to me.)
And then there is Raze. Physically, he's the opposite of Lucian. He immediately acknowledges Lucian's authority, and they develop a believable bond very quickly. I love their dynamic - the scene where Raze admits readily he's scared of Lucian and Lucian responds with ”I don't bite. Much.” is my favourite thing in the entire movie. Also the fact that when they storm the fortress Raze thought ahead and brought Lucian clothes, because in this movie werewolves lose their clothes when they transform. The movie gets things right.
It's got to be no surprise that I ship them. I would love to read something about their relationship. How do things work after they've conquered the fortress? Is there a wild celebration? When and how do Lucian and Raze get together, and what is their relationship like? Obviously Lucian is broken by the death of his love; I wouldn't want to change that. How does he deal with it? Does he throw himself into work or at other people? I could see him inspiring others by sharing his body with them, perhaps as a part of victory celebrations. In my headcanon, the lycans have all been fucking each other anyway, because come on - what would you do in an all-male BSDM werewolf slave society?
Raze is definitely Lucian's right-hand man. What about their personal life? I imagine Lucian is a great leader but not very good at taking care of himself. It would be good for him to have someone who cared about his wellbeing. Do they share personal stories or talk about their families? I assume the lycans are the closest thing to family Lucian's got. It would be interesting to take wolf pack dynamics into account - the way actual wolf packs work, not in an alfa/omega universe sort of way.
Porn is great, if you feel so inclined. Lucian/Raze or Lucian with other people as long as there is an undercurrent of Lucian/Raze. Switching is awesome, and I suppose things might get rough and a bit violent. Still, I imagine there would always be a playful element to it. Mutual caring and respect, even if things get wild in the heat of the moment, are also important to me. I don't care for fixed top/bottom roles. I must admit I would like to see Lucian fucking Raze (well, did he lie? Does he bite much?) as that is something I have not come across often, but I like it the other way around too.