Yuletide Letter 2019

[linndechir]

Dear Yuletide writer,

Thank you for writing for me and having a look at this letter. I've got some general likes and dislikes listed - those are the important parts, really. They're followed by a list of kinks I like, should you feel inclined to write porn, and some fandom-specific prompts. But if those don't work for you - as long as you include a few thingst I like and don't include my DNWs, I'm still happy. :D

As a general rule, I enjoy all ratings; I like darker, angstier fic and more light-hearted stories, although neither completely conflictless fluff nor completely bleak darkfic without a ray of hope are quite my thing. I like shorter fics and plotty longfic. I strongly prefer shipfic to gen, but if you don't want to write my ship, many of my prompts and likes also work for gen - casefic or background stories about characters' past or general exploration of character dynamics are always fun to read. As long as there's some focus on the relationship between the characters I've requested, I'm happy, even if it's not a romantic/sexual relationship in your fic. I only ask that you don't pair off these characters in other ships I didn't request.

I love every single one of the fandoms I'm requesting and would be happy to receive a fic in any of them. Some fandom-specific sections turned out longer than others, but that's only because I had more prompt ideas for some of them, not because I like any one of them better than the others.

I use the same name on AO3 and tumblr as here.


Do Not Wants:

• character death of characters I like (random side characters or antagonists dying is fine)
• serious illnesses, permanent injuries (blood and wounds that will heal again are fine)
• completely tragic/bleak endings
• animal death/cruelty
• genderbend of any kind, mpreg, A/B/O, characters being werewolves/vampires/anything than what they are in canon
• non-canon gender identities/sexual orientations (e.g. writing characters as trans or asexual), except for writing characters as gay or bi
• unrequested ships (including canon ships) *
• unrequested crossovers or fusions
• complete AUs (canon divergence is fine, but no high school AUs, coffee shop AUs, in space AUs, groundhog day AUs etc.)
• permanently unrequited love or permanent breakups for my ships (gen is fine, but please don't go out of your way to tell me how totally not together my ship is)
• unnecessary epithets, please use characters' names/pronouns unless their name isn't known to the POV character (or unless the characters think of each other by e.g. their title rather than their name)
• 1st and 2nd person fic
• for porn: detailed kink negotiation, safewords for scenes that don't involve consent play (and even then I'm not really into safewords); scat, watersports, coming in pants, crossdressing, feminisation, body modification, infantilisation (daddy kink and calling characters "boy/girl" is fine)

* I'm fine with mentions of characters' past relationships with OCs. However, I don't want these ships to play a central role: a character thinking back of how they tried out this kink before with some guy they hooked up with five years ago, or briefly thinking that they used to date this guy who hated it when they did X? Totally fine. A character spending half the fic thinking about or interacting with their ex? Not something I'm interested in. Fandom-specifically, I'm totally fine with mentions of Jim/Neil and Adam/Megan for Deus Ex, but I don't even want mentions of Jonathan/Elizabeth for Vampyr, for example.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things I like to read about:

• first time/getting together: slow burn, pining, UST finally getting resolved, but also antagonistic hate sex or casual hookups that are only later followed by feelings (emotional pining while already having sex is great)
• friends with benefits who think the other one can't possibly be in love with them/want a serious relationship
• developing relationships: relationship conflicts after the characters got together, trying to figure out how to make things work, some things maybe not working at first, temporary breakups, basically anything that doesn't assume that first time sex -> perfect relationship
• porn, especially porn with feelings/porn that says something about their relationship (see list below for kinks I like)
• enemies to lovers, partners to lovers
• reluctant allies grudgingly starting to like each other
• non-verbal expressions of affection, unusual romantic gestures that fit the characters
• familiarity, intimacy, characters getting to know each other better (their habits, their hangups etc.)
• pre-canon/background stories, first meetings/first impressions (especially if we didn't see those in canon)
• post-canon fic
• canon divergence
• casefic
• moral dilemmas, characters having to question/go against their principles, situations in which there is no clear right or wrong
• loyalty, devotion, trust, but also trust/commitment issues
• obsessive, codependent, complicated relationships
• unhealthy relationships that should be a trainwreck, but work for the characters involved
• obsessive/intense family relationships
• us-against-the-world
• villains/sociopaths in love, bad guys who would literally burn down the rest of the world for each other
• jealousy, possessiveness
• age differences
• misunderstandings (as long as there's a good reason for them)
• competence, characters being smart and skilled and good at what they do; characters with different skill sets complementing each other
• hurt/comfort (after injuries/exhaustion, not so much with illness)
• angst: self-doubts, guilt, shame, internalised homophobia, nightmares, fears, self-destructive tendencies, alcohol abuse ...
• period-typical attitudes towards sex, sexuality, class, morality, religion etc. (I obviously don't expect 100% historical accuracy, but I like reading about characters from different societies having different values and principles from our own - this also applies to fictional societies)
• infidelity (not between my requested ships, but one half of my ship cheating on their previous partner with the other half of my ship)
• meaningful name uses (e.g. characters who always call each other by their last name or title switching to using first names)
• outside POVs, different POVs than in canon (more "usual" POVs are great, too)
• sleep-related themes: waking each other from nightmares, falling asleep on each other's shoulder etc.
• soulbonds (but no soulmates, please)
• undercover as enemies (undercover as a couple is fun, too; just as long as it actually fits the setting/characters, like spies or cops)
• I like darker elements (violence, murder, noncon/dubcon, manipulation, depression, whatever fits your plot and isn't on my DNW list), but I'd prefer a happy or semi-happy ending. Feel free to make me bawl my eyes out, but please cheer me up again afterwards.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kinks I like to read about:

• anal, oral, fingering, intercrural, frottage, rimming & felching are all great
• asphyxiation/choking/breathplay (this is my kink holy grail that makes everything else hotter to me; even just throat-touching without choking is great)
• switching
• biting, bruising, marking; possessive sex
• rough/angry sex, hate sex, fighting/sparring leading to sex, adrenaline-fuelled post-battle and "thank fuck we/you're alive" sex
• dressed sex, dressed/naked, clothes kink (suits, uniforms, gloves, boots etc.), neat characters being dishevelled for once, casual characters cleaning up nicely
• D/s (I prefer casually developing kink to minutely negotiated, formalised BDSM; if anything under-negotiated kink is a plus for me)
• kink discovery/exploration
• strength kink; body worship; men's body hair (on chest, arms, thighs, butt; not so much on back and shoulders)
• stubble/beard burn
• hand kink; fisting; finger sucking
• large/thick cocks (not absurdly huge, but bigger than average); size kink
• bondage: leather cuffs, ropes, restraints, chains, collars
• face slapping, spanking, flogging, riding crops
• gun play, knife play, blood play
• consent play
• dirty talk (both the praising and the humiliating/condescending kind), voice/accent kink
• praise kink
• banter, teasing
• hard, desperate kissing with lots of biting
• barebacking (including the ill-advised, unplanned, unnegotiated we-really-shouldn't-have-done-that-but-it-was-so-hot kind - I'm not into serious STD scares, though; if there is an "oh fuck, what did we just do?" aftermath, please have both characters be certain that they're clean)
• come play (licking come off fingers/skin, felching, feeding each other come, kissing after blowjobs/felching ...)
• come as lube, spit as lube (especially the top spitting on the bottom's ass)
• messiness (sweat, come play, dishevelled hair/clothes)
• overstimulation; characters being overwhelmed, begging for more, becoming speechless ...
• shaving (face or body), especially with straight razors/knives
• sex on tables, against walls, on the floor, on a chair, in the shower ... (sex in beds is great, too)
• masturbation/fantasising about the other before getting together
• incest kink (i.e. characters who are related kinking on it)
• competence kink, admiration
• kneeling, hand kissing, physical expressions of loyalty/fealty
• scars and their history
• oral fixation (while smoking, drinking, talking ...)
• sharing cigarettes, clothes, food ...
• shame in sexual desires (whether about being attracted to another man at all, being attracted to this specific person for whatever reason, wanting to bottom, wanting to suck dick, wanting to hurt their partner, wanting to be hurt by their partner ...)

Alex Verus Series - Benedict Jacka
Morden, Onyx, Richard Drakh

Note: 1) I'm okay with receiving fic about only Morden and Onyx or only Morden and Richard - you don't have to include all three if you don't want to (but I'd definitely enjoy fic about all three, just to be clear).
2) I haven't finished the whole series yet, but I will definitely finish reading it before reveals (including the most recent novel), so don't worry about spoilers. I'm currently reading Bound - my apologies if any of my prompts ask questions that are answered in the later books, but I hope there's still enough here for you to work with. I will definitely come back to add a note when I've finished the series (probably within the next two weeks), but obviously I don't expect you to check back if you don't feel like it.

What I like about this canon:

• the magic! I love all the different kinds of magic and abilities, from Verus' divination to Onyx' brute force of destruction or the weirdness of chance magic to Morden's death magic, and wards and relics and artefacts
• the politics! the shortcomings of the Council, the complicated relationship between Light and Dark and independent mages, Morden's scheming, the manipulation, the blackmail, the bureaucracy, the careful weighing of options before anything gets done ...
• Dark mage society and customs and rules: so many things just get hinted at in canon that I'd love to see expanded on
• whatever the fuck it is Richard is and was up to (I'm sure the books I haven't read yet will tell us more about that, but I doubt they'll answer all the questions)

Ships and characters:

I'm mostly interested in the Dark mages, with these three being my favourites. I'd be up for gen about them, but I also ship Morden/Onyx and Morden/Richard (and I'd be open to Morden/Richard/Onyx, while we're at it) - as anything from just sex to something more emotionally intense. I'm also totally fine with any of them nonconning their male or female slaves, up to and including graphic noncon - don't worry about squicking me if you want to include something like that.

I also love Cinder, Garrick, Landis and Caldera a lot. I like Verus himself as well and I'm fine with him appearing, but considering that the novels already focus on him and his point of view, I'd prefer to receive fic that focuses on other characters. Verus and Richard's relationship is very interesting to me (gen or shippy; creepy, unhealthy Richard/Verus is definitely my kind of thing), but if you want to include that, I'd prefer seeing it from another point of view than Verus'. The only character I'd rather not read about is Anne.

What I would like to see in fic:

• the background story of Morden and Richard's partnership: how long have they known each other? how did they meet? how long have they been working together? to what extent are they genuinely working together or are they just using each other? to what extent do they like/trust each other? if you want to go in a shippy direction with this, I'd also enjoy that a lot, but I'd be just as happy with gen
• related: how much does Morden know about what Richard was up to during his ten year absence and at what point did he find out about all that? how did their reunion after Richard's return go?
• did Richard know ahead of time that Morden was going to force Verus to work for him or was that Morden's idea and he basically gave his buddy his old apprentice as a gift-wrapped little favour? I'd love to see some behind the scenes stuff focusing on them during Burned and Bound.
• more about Onyx' background: how he became Morden's apprentice, how he became his Chosen, how he feels about the fact that he and his master are such incredibly different people with very different approaches to problems ... I'd love to see something that gives him a bit more depth than Verus' understandably very negative view of him. He may not be all that smart or subtle, but I doubt he would have survived that long if he was a complete idiot.
• we know what Verus' apprenticeship was like - was Onyx' similar or did Morden approach teaching his apprentices differently than Richard did?
• Morden and Onyx' relationship: villainous loyalty is something I'm super into, as are mentor/mentee relationships - I'm open to a lot of different takes on this, but I'd prefer if there was at least some mutual respect and appreciation (if only for the other's powers and strength; not like Morden has much reason to respect Onyx' brain ;)) - if you want to go shippy, that'd be amazing, and I'm fine with underage and/or dubcon/grooming for that, although I'd prefer if it wasn't straightforward noncon; I want Onyx to be into it.
• for porn about these two: D/s, expressions of fealty (kneeling, hand-kissing, shoe-kissing etc.) , Morden's occasional punishments giving Onyx a masochistic streak over the years, Morden topping him sometimes and sometimes topping from the bottom, sparring leading to sex, creative uses of magic in bed, MAGIC CHOKING :DDDD
• while we're talking about porn: first time fic would be great, whether it's Morden creeping on his ridiculously powerful young apprentice or Onyx being all creepily intense and obsessed with his master - or both (random porn idea: Onyx fucking Morden's slaves right after Morden fucked them, and Morden realising he finds that kind of hot)
• if you want to do something tropey with magical soulbonds or telepathic bonds (maybe it's another old Dark mage custom for masters and their favourite apprentices?), I would totally read that - feel free to make it fucked up and creepy, if you like
• Onyx returning to Morden either after the business with the Fateweaver or after the business with Vitus - both situations in which he technically failed to do what Morden ordered him to do. Presumably he got punished, but Morden also clearly forgave him, since he's still alive - how did that go?
• how does Onyx feel about Morden's alliance with Richard and about Richard in general? do Morden and Richard ever commiserate about their apprentices (y'know, since Onyx has no mind for politics, Deleo is batshit crazy, Verus discovered pesky morals ...)?
• Morden and Levistus' political rivalry and conflicts are fascinating to me - I'd love to see them actually interact, and more generally anything about Council or Dark mage politics would be fantastic
• any other POVs than Verus': I'd love to read fic from any of their three POVs, but I'd also love to see them through the eyes of for example Cinder, or Garrick if he ever ended up working for Morden (what can I say, I love Garrick a lot)

Edit: I've finally finished the series (well, the series so far)! Again, I don't expect you to take this into consideration in any way if you don't feel like it. But if you haven't really started yet, or you're still looking for more ideas or whatever, here are a few more things I realised I wanted over the last few books. I'm very much not interested in Onyx dying, but I'd say that's already covered by my DNWs anyway.

• Onyx talking about Morden in Fallen broke my heart, so please please somebody fix that and have them make up and have Onyx regain Morden's favour after his previous fuckups - bring Morden some powerful item or useful intel or help him kill somebody super powerful, I just need Onyx to earn back his place and Morden to take him back
• related: if you want to write me a version of that fight in which Onyx kicks Verus+Fateweaver's ass and then delivers both plus Verus' dreamstone to Morden and Richard to regain his place ... yes please (it cracked me up that despite the Fateweaver, the author STILL had to go "and Onyx totally slowed down over the past year" because otherwise Onyx realistically would have won that fight, so, please, let him win that fight :D I'm okay with killing Verus off, and equally okay with delivering him gift-wrapped to Richard to do with as he pleases)
• in addition to "what the fuck is Richard up to?", I am now also wondering what the fuck Morden is up to: why did he even bother to get on the Council? why did he decide to sit around in a Council prison for a year? I kept waiting for him to do things that required him to be on the Council and in that prison shadow realm, but he never did, so feel free to do something canon-divergent with that
• my Richard/Morden shipping is going incredibly strong and I'm even more desperate for background fic now; among other things I'm amused that people keep assuming that Morden works FOR Richard when nothing in canon seems to imply this, they seem to be partners - anything about that would be fun, whether an outside POV or Morden and Richard being kind of amused by it all
• I was really looking forward to Richard and Onyx working together while Morden was in prison and felt a bit cheated by canon in that regard, so I'd love fic about that instead of their mutual hissy fit and Onyx getting basically sidelined from the main plot (Richard and Onyx breaking Morden out of prison together instead of Anne doing it would be fantastic)
• post-prison reunion sex, whether for Morden/Onyx or Morden/Richard
• threesome fic would be so good, whether set in a canon divergent verse in which Morden and Onyx didn't have their falling out to begin with, or a verse in which he regained Morden's favour but by then Morden totally rekindled his thing with Richard and eventually they all end up in bed together, or hell, even Richard seducing Onyx while Morden was in prison, or Morden pimping Onyx out to Richard as a bit of a punishment and it turns out they both really enjoyed it, I'm open to a lot of scenarios here

Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Alexios, Brasidas

Note: I'd strongly prefer protagonist!Alexios to Deimos!Alexios.

What I like about this canon:

• everything about Alexios: his sense of humour, how cheerful and arrogant he can be, that he likes to help people but will still tell them they're ridiculous dicks afterwards, his complicated feelings about where he comes from and who he is
• how smart and cunning Brasidas is, how he thinks outside the box while still being a ruthless fighter when the situation calls for it, and how much he genuinely and openly cares about people who are important to him
• the immediate rapport between the two of them, how much they get each other and immediately start trusting each other
• Alexios being ridiculously badass to the point where people around him must think he's a demigod (and I'm 100% here for AUs in which the Isu aren't a thing, but Greek mythology is, and Alexios just happens to be the son of Zeus)
• Alexios' really messed up family, especially his complicated relationship with his father and his sister

Ships and characters:

I'm mostly interested in Alexios/Brasidas. I'm totally fine with any and all mentions of Nikolaos/Stentor, including either ship finding out about the other, and I'm always happy about fic in which Alexios interacts with the rest of his family post-canon.

While I usually DNW unrequested ships, I'm perfectly fine with mentions of 1) Alexios's male canon hookups, 2) Brasidas being married (or widowed) because it's just unlikely that he wouldn't be, although I'd see that more as a practical arrangement than a marriage of love, 3) any erastes/eromenos-style relationships Brasidas might have been in, whether it's him currently having someone under his wing or still being good friends with the guy who, er, "mentored" him years ago. However, I wouldn't want any of those relationships to be more meaningful to them than each other, if that makes sense.

What I would like to see in fic:

• any getting together scenario, set at any point in or after the game, whether it's casual hookups long before they get closer or years of pining before they finally make the first step, or anything in between, though I have a special place in my heart for any kind of friends-with-benefits slowly turning to lovers scenario
• post-fighting/sparring sex, lots of kinking on each other's strength and skill, manhandling each other (wall sex and the like), getting turned on during battles ...
• Alexios and Brasidas working together, whether to hunt down Cultists or serving Sparta in some way - fighting side by side, Brasidas scheming and thinking outside the box, saving each other's life, patching each other up ...
• fix-it fic for Brasidas's death: Alexios saving his life, Alexios thinking he's dead but Brasidas was captured and Alexios comes to save him, Brasidas being badly injured (I'm fine with longer recoveries, but please have him get well and be able to fight again at the end), or even something like Brasidas dying and Alexios saving him from the underworld (though I'd prefer if Brasidas wasn't dead and absent for 90% of the fic)
• post-canon fic about Alexios settling down in Sparta, getting used to having a home, Brasidas teaching him about what it means to be a Spartan, Brasidas interacting with Alexios's family (I just really need Brasidas and Stentor in one room); Brasidas and Alexios having a really hard time finding places to hook up in peace because neither of them lives alone ...
• Alexios seems pretty chill about being into men, but maybe Brasidas isn't? Or maybe they both are chill about it in general, but there were still so many cultural hangups in Ancient Greece about which men you're allowed to be into, and about penetrative sex, and and and, so feel free to write me some angst about any of those things
• jealousy! whether it's while they're pining, or while they're friends with benefits and then they slowly realise they're not really okay with the other one sleeping around anymore
• any AU in which Alexios grows up in Sparta, especially if you go with Brasidas becoming Alexios's erastes and Nikolaos approving very much - I'm totally on board with underage
• Super Specific Scenario I love (I somehow doubt anyone wants to write this for me, but it doesn't hurt to try ;)): post-canon, Alexios lives in Sparta, Brasidas has a son who's 12ish, Alexios - pining for Brasidas and certain he can never have him - starts wooing his son in the hopes of becoming his erastes because hey he's a respectable Spartan citizen now and a badass fighter and Brasidas' friend; instead of approving Brasidas seems absolutely furious about the idea - because he's jealous, but of course Alexios assumes it's because Brasidas doesn't think he's good enough for his son ... TLDR they figure things out and get together and Brasidas' son can get an erastes who isn't using him as a replacement goldfish for his dad
• I'm not super into the whole Isu/artefacts aspect of the game, tbh, so I'd love an AU in which Greek mythology is simply real and the gods like meddling and that's why there's lots of weird magic and creatures and items around (I will admit that a big part of this is because I want to hear the bizarre story of how Zeus got Myrrine pregnant - thunderstorms? a sexy possum? a tree fell on her head? because clearly Alexios is Zeus's son ;)) - this could work well for adventure fic, or for something like the gods or some monster creating a soulbond between them, or for any of the gods giving Alexios some big task and Brasidas trying to help, or for Hades demanding something from Alexios if he wants to get dead!Brasidas back ...

Deus Ex
Adam Jensen, Jim Miller

Note: I've played Human Revolution and Mankind Divided and I've read Black Light. I don't mind spoilers for any of the other games or comics or whatever else there is, but I'd prefer not to get a fic that requires me to be familiar with those parts of canon.

Adam's injuries prior to getting his augs are obviously exempt from my "no permanent injuries" DNW. However, I don't want anyone else to get their limbs ripped off or the like, and I don't want Adam's augs to get permanently disabled or destroyed.

What I like about this canon:

• I love Adam so much: that he's a genuinely good guy who wants to help people, that he's snarky and cheeky and irreverent, that (at least post-augs) he's pretty withdrawn and emotionally unavailable and has all these walls built around himself (and I really want someone to get past them)
• I like angst and suffering and Adam is a well of suffering, and I enjoy it while simultaneously wanting nice things to happen to him (after lots of beautiful suffering)
• as for Miller, I love that he has a temper and is impatient and often isn't particularly nice, but underneath that gruffness he cares about doing the right thing and he cares about his men
• how much they clearly want to trust each other from the start, but it takes them time to get there
• Adam saving Miller's life and just everything about that emotional scene :D
• augs are cool and Adam is extremely hot /shallow

Ships and characters:

I love both Adam and Miller and ship them a lot. I'm always for Mac or Sarif appearing as well (Sarif and Adam have such a weird, complicated relationship and I'm always interested in seeing them talk to each other). Any interactions between the SI and the TF characters could be really interesting, especially Sarif and Miller meeting. I love the idea of one-sided Sarif/Adam, but I'm not into it as a requited thing.

While I didn't request him, I also really adore Pritchard and would definitely be here for him interacting with either one or both of them, if that's something you'd be interested in writing. I also ship Adam/Pritchard as well as Adam/Pritchard/Miller.

What I would like to see in fic:

• the direct aftermath of London: I was disappointed that there wasn't another conversation between them at the end of the game, but that's what fic is for. Miller wanting to know how Adam got the antidote, demanding a justification for disobeying his orders, maybe some desperate you're-not-dead sex or just a sharp increase in UST they're both trying to ignore ...
• generally a lot of things happen in game that aren't talked about that I'd love for them to have a conversation about some day: like the time Adam broke into Miller's place, or how Adam got his augs (to what extent does Miller know what happened and just how involuntary that was?)
• I love there being some tension and arguments and disagreements between them even once they do trust each other, simply because they're not the easiest people to get along with and horribly stubborn
• the aftermath of however and whenever they hook up for the first time (and of course the first time itself!): does Miller try to put a stop to it because he's Adam's boss? does Adam because he thinks he's not good (enough) for Miller? do they hook up regularly after missions and never talk about it? do they slowly fall in love while thinking all they can have is this friends with benefits arrangement?
• casefic, working together either for TF29 or Adam's saving-the-world schemes: making plans, Miller as sniper support while Adam sneaks in somewhere, rescuing each other, patching each other up, stuck in difficult situations together ...
• fun with CASIE! Maybe Miller wants Adam to use it on him so he knows what it feels like (and can stop being paranoid about it, or worrying that another Aug could use it on him without him noticing), and it has some ... side effects. Maybe Miller enjoys getting pheromone-dosed until his brain short-circuits while they have sex.
• touch-starved Adam who thinks nobody could ever want him the way he is (except maybe someone with an Aug fetish, and he doesn't want to be someone's shiny Aug sex toy); Adam just melting when someone touches him; Adam who doesn't enjoy jerking off anymore with his new hands and is very blue-balled
• *handwave* there's totally something about that Sentinel health aug that does away with that pesky refractory period, right?
• give me all the angst, the nightmares, the PTSD, the trust issues - for both of them. All the issues Adam still has with his body and with what was done to him, all the conflicted feelings he has about that and refuses to deal with. The fact that pretty much his entire life from before (friends, job, dog :((, girlfriend etc.) is gone for good. But I'm also here for some angst for Jim: he almost died, he found out there's a big evil conspiracy, he went through a nasty divorce after a decade of marriage, his daughter is very sick ... I like them hurting, and I like them trying in their own, possibly awkward, ways to be there for each other.
• porn! Whether it's an ill-advised hookup early on, or finally fucking after ages of UST and denial, or even trying out something new in an established relationship ... I am incredibly into subby Adam and Miller taking charge. Adam being eager to please, Adam desperately wanting someone to touch his actual skin (and much preferring to blow people than to jerk them off). Maybe Miller expected him to be repressed about guys and is surprised when Adam isn't.
• tropey tropes I like for them: undercover as a couple (whether they're infiltrating some skeevy place for sugar daddies with Aug hookers/sex slaves or a pro-Aug organisation and are posing as a happily married couple) or, hear me out, marriage of convenience (maybe some new anti-Aug law is passed and a non-Aug spouse is one of the only ways to avoid the new rules and harassment, so Miller offers just to keep Adam safe and then they have to live together and it's terribly awkward because they're both in denial about how into each other they are)
• stealing this verbatim from someone else's letter (I really hope that person doesn't mind), but it's perfect and I want it, too: someone being dehumanizing to Adam in front of Miller, either in a situation where Miller can actually do something about it or one where they both just have to take it. People talking about and treating Adam like an object, being objectifying, stuff like that.
• anything involving Miller's family: they talk about his daughter, or Adam somehow meets the kids and/or the ex, or there's a threat to Miller's family and he sends Adam to save/protect them ... I'm very here for Miller trusting Adam with his family
• if you want to include Pritchard (again, totally optional): maybe something post-MD, Adam calls Pritchard for help with something. I'd love to see Pritchard and Miller meet and be kind of wary of each other and wondering why Adam trusts the other guy so much. I think there'd be a lot of initial dislike, but they could grow to respect each other. If you want to go the shippy route, I'd be so here for some kind of jealous V situation in which Adam is into both of them and they're both into him (maybe he's slept with both of them in the past) and it somehow leads to a threesome. Or skip the prelude, I'd be very happy with just threesome porn.

내부자들 | Inside Men
Ahn Sang-goo, Woo Jang-hoon

Note: Sang-goo's hand is exempt from my "no permanent injuries" DNW, by the way, no need to retcon or fix that. But I'd still prefer that nobody lose any further limbs, except maybe their antagonists in prison. ;)

What I like about this canon:
 

• the scheming and plotting and the whole revenge intrigue
• I love characters with very different morals and ideals working together
• the "good guy" of the two, the one who's righteous and principled, is also a rude dick who antagonises people for fun, while the violent, fairly ruthless gangster is pretty amiable and easy-going
• how quickly their relationship goes from completely antagonistic to much friendler, how quickly Sang-goo decides to trust Jang-hoon (despite just finding out that another person he trusted betrayed him), how their initial insults soon turn into friendly banter and teasing

Ships and characters:

I love both main characters more than I can say and I ship them ridiculously hard (I mean, the movie basically ends with them deciding to go on a date together). I also really enjoy Jang-hoon's relationship with his father, so feel free to include him.

What I would like to see in fic:
 

• I could read a hundred different post-canon getting together fics about them: how do things continue between them after that last scene? Do they jump each other's bones that very night because they've been flirting almost since they met? Do they proceed to have months or years of slow-burning UST and pining while they become friends and meet up for dinner all the time and tease each other and banter and neither of them wants to ruin that by making the first move? Does it take some kind of outside element like one of them getting hurt for them to get over each other? Does one of them maybe make the first move, but gets rejected (because the other one is repressed or whatever reason), and they only get together much later?
• if you want to write something plotty: the post-credit scene heavily applies that Lee&co aren't done yet, so what if they are let out of prison a few years later and want to get back at them?
• all the banter and insulting each other, including in bed. Also, how that banter gets friendlier over time, how Jang-hoon's insults slowly turn into endearments (he already says "gangster" in the fondest voice at the end of the movie).
• maybe some conflicts arising out of the whole "lawyer and gangster" thing? Maybe Jang-hoon can live with a certain amount of illegal stuff he knows Sang-goo is up to, but there are lines he won't let him cross (at least not to his knowledge)? Maybe Jang-hoon gets somehow dragged into one of those deals, like someone thinking it'd be a great idea to abduct Sang-goo's BFF/lover to blackmail him? Of course Sang-goo would burn everything down to get him back and Jang-hoon would be fucking furious that was even necessary.
• I love repression and denial in fics, especially for characters like these two. I could see it for either one or both of them: I can see Sang-goo as fairly relaxed about his sexuality because he's a gangster who does what he wants anyway, but I could also see him having a lot of masculinity hangups and being in complete denial about wanting men. I can see Jang-hoon not giving a fuck because he strongly believes all people should be equal (though he'd still be incredibly closeted, of course), but I can also see him being completely repressed because he knows how much anything like that would hurt his career and his dream of a successful, normal life. I could see a total top clash where they're both willing to sleep with a man, but neither is willing to bottom because they'd consider that way "more gay". Additionally, I could see Sang-goo having some issues about anyone staring too much/touching his right arm, and Jang-hoon just not giving a shit because he still wants him more than anyone else.
• I really enjoyed those scenes with Jang-hoon's father, how much those two bitch at each other while still clearly caring a lot, and also how incredibly polite and respectful Sang-goo is to him (because he does have manners, unlike some people ;)). So if you felt like including him, and what he thinks about his prickly asshole of a son befriending the gangster he stashed at his place that one time, that could be great.
• I'm mostly into post-canon fic for these two, but I also wouldn't mind some kind of canon divergence where some part of their revenge/justice plan goes wrong and they have to improvise, although I would prefer a happy ending.
• if you want to write smut: suit porn, rough sex, manhandling, roughness, lots of banter in bed, competitive sex, arguing about who gets to top or maybe convoluted deals ("if you blow me, you get to fuck me") even once they're both enjoying pretty much all of it, lots of body worship (Sang-goo's tattoo and insanely perfect muscles, and maybe also petting the stump of his arm), sauna sex, spanking (maybe Sang-goo gets tired of Jang-hoon being a rude little shit), and really any of the kinks I listed above.
• I could definitely see some fluffier things for them, too, especially once they are together: nice dinners, Sang-goo getting Jang-hoon gifts and Jang-hoon complaining about it, visiting his dad again and hanging out by that lake, actually running off to the Maldives to spend a week doing nothing but sprawling around drinking Mojitos ...

Kraken - China Miéville
Billy Harrow, Dane Parnell

Note: I wasn't a big fan of how the book ended, so my main request is really just "please change the ending". Specifically, I'd like for 1) Dane to live, 2) Billy not to be Billy 2.0 after beaming, but just Billy, 3) people not to forget half the plot of the book because that's one of my least favourite tropes. I don't really care how those things happen or if you just handwave them, and I'm also happy with fic set during canon and canon divergence, but I don't really want fic about the ending such as it is in canon.

What I like about this canon:

• Dane and Billy's relationship: how quickly they start trusting each other, how well they work together despite being such different people, Dane teaching Billy about the world of magic and weird shit, saving each other's life, and of course the size kink is a bonus
• the worldbuilding and the general weirdness, how magic works, the various cults and gangs, the intersection between the supernatural and the criminal world (I'm much less into body horror than Miéville is, though, so I'd appreciate fic that goes less hard on that. Feel free to break out the tentacles for porn, but I don't need detailed descriptions of people being turned into radios or having their teeth slammed into their throats.)
• Dane's kraken faith, his devotion to his church, how much that has dominated his entire life - what it's like for him to lose it now, and what it's like for him to grow so close to someone who has no connection to the church

Ships and characters:

I'm honestly just here for Billy and Dane and Billy/Dane. The villains in this book are excellent and I'm all for using them as antagonists if you like, and I don't dislike any of the other characters, but I'd really prefer to get a fic focused on these two.

What I would like to see in fic:

• getting together fic is always A+, no matter what or when or how
• Dane Not Dying: being krakenbit gave Dane some more serious juice in the fight against Grisamentum, being krakenbit makes him survive what Grisamentum did to him/makes him come back from the dead a few hours/days later, Billy manages to do something to save his life (again), Dane does die but somehow comes back to life (thanks, God Kraken!), Dane comes back but maybe a little wrong ...
• I like the idea of Dane incorporating all that ink from the Kraken library, mostly because I was so sure that's where that scene was going: Dane rebuilding his church, Dane being overwhelmed/changed in some ways by all that knowledge that was suddenly crammed into his brain (but still mostly being himself), Dane getting some snazzy new powers from all that knowledge, Billy being kind of in awe of this new Dane, Billy helping Dane adjust ...
• Dane's faith and upbringing in general fascinate me, so more about that would be great
• ritual sex/sex magic to save the world: tentacles optional but totally okay. Pining afterwards and stupidly assuming the other wouldn't actually want to have sex with them except to save the world is excellent.
• for this fandom, I'm super happy to read various tropey stuff: sex pollen/something made them do it, pretending to be a couple while on the run, accidental/forced soulbond caused by magic or whatever - everything with a heavy dose of pining :D
• I have no good prompts for it, but I'm totally up for freaky magic stuff happening - another end of the world, supernatural bad guys coming after them, some magical problem they have to deal with ...
• Billy getting Dane back from the Kraken-y underworld because he doesn't want to lose him just yet

Vampyr
Jonathan Reid, Geoffrey McCullum

Note: My favourite kind of Jonathan is "generally a good guy but ruthless when the situation calls for it" rather than a completely amoral mass murderer or a completely pacifist saint. I'd also prefer if Swansea didn't show up (unless it's before his possible in-game death, of course) because I have a hard time justifying turning him in-game. I also prefer Jonathan not turning Geoffrey in-game, simply because I find it more interesting if they have some time to get to know each other better while Geoffrey is still human, but I'm totally up for him turning Geoffrey later on.

What I like about this canon:

• the dark and broody atmosphere (including that fantastic soundtrack), how foreboding everything feels
• the sense of history, the marks the war has left on Jonathan and other characters and society in general
• Jonathan being generally a good person who wants to help people, but also on occasion a snarky troll who likes to scare people, and a tough bastard who doesn't take anyone's shit, and a bit of a posh twat at that <3
• McCullum being a Righteous Determinator is of course right up my alley, that he's stubborn and determined and so devoted to his duties
• their angry antagonism, Reid trying to get through to McCullum but also being kind of sick of his bullshit; them working together once they realise they want the same thing but still snarking a lot
• I like vampires and vampire-associated tropes: sexy blood-drinking, telepathic bonds between a vampire and their maker, becoming immortal to spend eternity together, did I mention sexy blood-drinking?

Ships and characters:

Reid/McCullum is such an excellent ship and I love it, and I love them both on their own and interacting in any possible way. I'm fairly indifferent to most other characters in the game - don't mind them showing up, but wouldn't really want to read a fic that focuses on them. I would like to know more about McCullum's friends/colleagues at Priwen, though, and his relationship with Carl if you want to include any pre-canon/flashback stuff. Jonathan meeting friends or acquaintances from before the war could also be interesting.

What I would like to see in fic:

• getting to know each other better post-game: maybe they keep running into each other on their nightly rounds, maybe they have to work together to defeat some big bad evil vampire, maybe one of them saves the other's life ...
• Geoffrey stalking Jonathan post-game because he wants to make sure that he's really the good guy he claims to be, watching him night after night - maybe Jonathan starts growing on him, or maybe he saves his ass one night when Jonathan picks a fight he can't win, or maybe Jonathan does something very suspicious-looking and Geoffrey has to investigate further ...
• antagonistic hate sex! maybe after they worked together on something and argued half the time and were still a decent team and they drive each other crazy ... maybe they make a habit of post-hunting antagonistic hate sex, and over time it turns less and less antagonistic ...
• Jonathan is pretty lonely, and it's hard to meet new people or reconnect with old friends when you have a secret that big and ugly, and Geoffrey is one of the few people he can actually just be himself around - I generally like the idea that, even early on when they don't like each other, they can both offer the other something they can't have with any other people in their lives
• I'd love to know more about Geoffrey's, er, coworkers in the Guard, since they're probably basically his family - we only see him interacting with people he dislikes and distrusts in-game, I'd love to see what he's like with people he cares about; I'd also love to see him explaining his fellow vampire hunters why this one vampire is actually kind of okay
• Geoffrey knows more about vampires than Jonathan does, so when Jonathan needs help with something vampire-related (some new problem with feral skals? some new powers he has trouble controlling? some confusing old artefact he dug up somewhere?), he asks Geoffrey for help
• Jonathan turning Geoffrey eventually, whether it's many years later and Geoffrey actually agreed to it, or spontaneously after Geoffrey gets badly injured and Jonathan refuses to let him die; or alternately Geoffrey getting turned by Arthur's blood - in any case I'd love to see his extremely conflicted feelings about becoming what he hated most his entire life (and if Jonathan is the one to turn him? fun with telepathic bonds yay :D)
• Geoffrey letting Jonathan drink his blood: maybe Jonathan got so badly injured in a fight that he doesn't even heal and the sun will be rising soon and Geoffrey does it to save his life ...
• Catholic guilt and shame! Considering that faith has demonstrable power in this setting, I could definitely see Geoffrey as fairly devout. Between that and it being the 1910s, he might well have a few hangups about being attracted to men - is he trying to be in complete denial? or not in denial, but doing his damnedest not to act on it until that damn leech comes along? does he occasionally fuck rentboys and then hate himself for it afterwards, but he's never actually been with someone he didn't pay?
• class differences: feel free to sprinkle these heavily over whatever you're writing, because I'm sure a posh successful West End doctor and an orphaned not-exactly-rich Irish guy have lived very different lives
• if you're familiar with Rivers of London and so inclined, I'd love to see a crossover: whether it's Jonathan and Geoffrey meeting young Nightingale and his Folly friends in the 20s/30s, maybe working together on a vampire-related case, or there's some ~arrangement~ between the Folly and the Guard of Priwen ... or present-day fic in which Peter meets Jonathan and vampire!Geoffrey and is very surprised that actualfax movie-style vampires DO exist after all (maybe the reason there are so few of them in the RoL verse is because Geoffrey killed most of them over the past decades) ... I feel like Jonathan would get along fairly well with both Nightingale and Peter (nerding out over scientific explanations for supernatural stuff together!); Geoffrey probably less so ...

And that's it! Thank you for writing for me, dear author, and I hope you have a great Yuletide!


linndechir 
This entry was originally posted at https://linndechir.dreamwidth.org/70049.html. Please comment there using OpenID.