yuletide letter 2016
Hello, and welcome to my Yuletide letter! (Finally.)
Thanks for coming, and I'm looking forwards to whatever you come up with out of my sudden jumble of ideas. This is a third year in a row for me and I really should be doing other things this December, but hey, we all need a few fics, don't we? Feel free to look through here for historical context (although some of my old fandom posts might be friends-locked, as Back In The Day I did have some non-fandom people reading this), or here's my Tumblr for contemporary sources.
To start, my Do Not Wants, which I put in a simplified form in my signup. This is mostly copy-pasted from last year, as my tastes haven't changed that much. (My What I Likes are also pretty similar to how they were.) I don't want or like incest, a/b/o (omegaverse) fic, or lifestyle D/s kind of stuff. No rape or non/dub-con either. Those are the hard boundaries for me, and I don't want them in my story. Basically, I don't like heavy power imbalances (teacher/student, coach/athlete, boss/subordinate etc.)- just not my thing, and tends to actively turn be away from stories.
Other DNW: death, dismemberment, or serious injury on anyone that we know (for Transporter, canon-appropriate violence is fine, but don't linger on it). Humiliation. Scat or watersports. Mpreg. I'm also not particularly into hooker AUs or high-school or college AUs (but I like other kinds!) Also, as most of my requests are RPF, and most of these people have actual wives/girlfriends, I don't want any bashing of them. I don't mind if you pretend they don't exist, that's always fine with me (I'm from that era of RPF fandom), but don't make them evil/unsympethetic/what-have-you. I would also like everyone to stay men- no genderswap.
What do I like? Opposites-but-equals attracting, in various forms - rivals, people made to work together for some greater cause, relucant (or not-so-reluctant) allies, etc. Resolving sexual tension. A buttoned-up character becoming less buttoned-up and more comfortable with himself. I like romance stories, and I'd like a slash story because that is what I like, especially with these fandoms. But I also like seeing the character's lives outisde of the relationship- their friends, their interests, even their exes (there's something about knowing that they have exes that I like). I like (non-hooker/HS/college) AUs, but also dealing with the issues in the canon, or diverence from canon (what if this had happened instead of that).
And I'll always appreciate some porn if you're so inclined. Which is a thing now, hi Yuleporn, so things I like: eagerness (in the sense of can't-wait-for-the-bed, got-to-have-you-now, that kind of thing), frottage, lots of touching, teasing one/each other in public/semi-public until they can't take it any more, riding/bottom on top, and sex again the morning after. :D
And now, the requests! In no particular order...
Request One: Arsenal FC, Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Jens Lehmann
Invincibles! I love them, and I particularly love that they've continued to drop in and out of Arsenal since they've stopped playing. I love their history with each other and the team, and I love seeing them continue to interact with each other as the years have gone on.
What I'd like to see out of this is them in the present- how are they adjusting to being the "old men," the managers, the pundits? How do they see themselves, each other, Arsenal? Do the new players remind them of what they were, or are they focused on their new lives? What are their relationships like now? This is one of those prompts where you don't have to include everyone, although that would be nice (alongside any other Invincibles!), as it would be nice to see how they all interact with each other these days. My preferred pairings here are Thierry/Robert and Freddie/Jens, with the latter being a particular old OTP of mine, but if you have a great idea for something else, I'll allow it. :D (A note on Jens: I know he's a bit of a prick and not everyone likes him, but well, I do, so at least make him a loveable prick.)
Basically, "where are they now," Arsenal fanfic edition.
Request Two: Transporter (Movies), Frank Martin/Tarconi
So, you might think that as this is the only non-football prompt, it's an afterthought, but it most definitely is not. In fact, I actually bothered with nomination this year to make sure that this would be an option. I watch a lot of action movies, and Transporter 2 especially is one that I will drop anything to watch when it comes on. It's just a total delight - everything I want in an action movie stylistically, and matched with the very intriguing relationship between Frank and Tarconi. I mean, Tarconi basically shows up, starts baking in Frank's house, and then immediately risks career and life to help him out. Sure, one can call that friendship, but I much prefer a romantic reading. After all, Frank is the first gay action-movie hero.
In classic action-movie style, their relationship is more shown than told, and what I'd love to see is more of the telling. How did Frank and Tarconi's relationship change from 1 to 2? What was Tarconi expecting when he showed up to Miami? Did they see each other more often, did they want to? Basically, how are they as a couple?
What I like about them particularly is that they're pretty much opposites, which is always a bit of catnip for me. Frank, the classic action star, mostly-stonefaced and muscled and punchy, and Tarconi, rumpled and wry and sort of schlubby. What's the appeal? What do they like in each other? Anything that really gets into their relationship and dynamic would be a total delight for me.
I basically consider 3 an attempt to retcon "Frank is the first gay action-movie hero" vibe of 2, so I'd prefer it to be ignored. I have not seen the remake as it has yet to turn up on TV randomly, which is my preferred way to watch action movies, so feel free to ignore that one too.
Request 3: Polish National Football Team RPF, Wojciech Szczesny/Robert Lewandowski
What can I say? I like crazy, asshole goalkeepers, especially ones that are as clever as Wojciech is. I find his blend of bravado and vulnerability compelling, and that he tends to be kind of hilarious, kind of mean, and kind of self-deprecating at the same time. He's such a little shit, and yet it works for him because there is that level of intelligence and drive (and even insecurity) underneath it all.
And he really, really likes Robert Lewandowski. It's kind of adorably hero-worship-crush. (And who can blame him?) You know Lewandowski, plays for Bayern?
Unlike the other prompts, where I am pretty vague about plots (sorry people who get them, my brain just doesn't work that way), I do have an idea for a setup here. Feel free to disregard, of course, but if it helps, the way I've always seen it is that Wojciech has always considered himself straight, despite fooling around with Jack Wilshere (they're experimenting, Jack's a force of nature, what happens at the academy stays at the academy, whatever excuse he needs). And then he meets Robert.
Like I said, feel free to use or not use it - there's certainly plenty of interpretations to take, and really, I'll like any of them.
Request Four: Bayern Munich RPF, Thomas Müller/Xabi Alonso
I'm going to shamelessly steal this from my Last Minute Sub request, because even if I do get this pairing there, I still want more of it. Essentialy, I saw this gifset and fell in love with the promise of it. The confusion and dawning realization on Xabi's face that yes, Thomas is hitting on him and no, he's actually not all that adverse to the idea. Thomas' smugness at a plan coming together. Thomas is, I think, a lot smarter than how he's often percieved or portrayed, and Xabi seems like the type to have maybe underestimated him at first. Xabi's pretty smart himself, so there's a lot of potential here, I think.
Again, one where I talk about how I like the potential of their relationship rather than giving any concrete ideas of how to work with it, so my apologies, but I do think that it's a very fascinating one. After all, how often is Xabi the one not in total control of the situation?
Thanks for coming, and I'm looking forwards to whatever you come up with out of my sudden jumble of ideas. This is a third year in a row for me and I really should be doing other things this December, but hey, we all need a few fics, don't we? Feel free to look through here for historical context (although some of my old fandom posts might be friends-locked, as Back In The Day I did have some non-fandom people reading this), or here's my Tumblr for contemporary sources.
To start, my Do Not Wants, which I put in a simplified form in my signup. This is mostly copy-pasted from last year, as my tastes haven't changed that much. (My What I Likes are also pretty similar to how they were.) I don't want or like incest, a/b/o (omegaverse) fic, or lifestyle D/s kind of stuff. No rape or non/dub-con either. Those are the hard boundaries for me, and I don't want them in my story. Basically, I don't like heavy power imbalances (teacher/student, coach/athlete, boss/subordinate etc.)- just not my thing, and tends to actively turn be away from stories.
Other DNW: death, dismemberment, or serious injury on anyone that we know (for Transporter, canon-appropriate violence is fine, but don't linger on it). Humiliation. Scat or watersports. Mpreg. I'm also not particularly into hooker AUs or high-school or college AUs (but I like other kinds!) Also, as most of my requests are RPF, and most of these people have actual wives/girlfriends, I don't want any bashing of them. I don't mind if you pretend they don't exist, that's always fine with me (I'm from that era of RPF fandom), but don't make them evil/unsympethetic/what-have-you. I would also like everyone to stay men- no genderswap.
What do I like? Opposites-but-equals attracting, in various forms - rivals, people made to work together for some greater cause, relucant (or not-so-reluctant) allies, etc. Resolving sexual tension. A buttoned-up character becoming less buttoned-up and more comfortable with himself. I like romance stories, and I'd like a slash story because that is what I like, especially with these fandoms. But I also like seeing the character's lives outisde of the relationship- their friends, their interests, even their exes (there's something about knowing that they have exes that I like). I like (non-hooker/HS/college) AUs, but also dealing with the issues in the canon, or diverence from canon (what if this had happened instead of that).
And I'll always appreciate some porn if you're so inclined. Which is a thing now, hi Yuleporn, so things I like: eagerness (in the sense of can't-wait-for-the-bed, got-to-have-you-now, that kind of thing), frottage, lots of touching, teasing one/each other in public/semi-public until they can't take it any more, riding/bottom on top, and sex again the morning after. :D
And now, the requests! In no particular order...
Request One: Arsenal FC, Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Jens Lehmann
Invincibles! I love them, and I particularly love that they've continued to drop in and out of Arsenal since they've stopped playing. I love their history with each other and the team, and I love seeing them continue to interact with each other as the years have gone on.
What I'd like to see out of this is them in the present- how are they adjusting to being the "old men," the managers, the pundits? How do they see themselves, each other, Arsenal? Do the new players remind them of what they were, or are they focused on their new lives? What are their relationships like now? This is one of those prompts where you don't have to include everyone, although that would be nice (alongside any other Invincibles!), as it would be nice to see how they all interact with each other these days. My preferred pairings here are Thierry/Robert and Freddie/Jens, with the latter being a particular old OTP of mine, but if you have a great idea for something else, I'll allow it. :D (A note on Jens: I know he's a bit of a prick and not everyone likes him, but well, I do, so at least make him a loveable prick.)
Basically, "where are they now," Arsenal fanfic edition.
Request Two: Transporter (Movies), Frank Martin/Tarconi
So, you might think that as this is the only non-football prompt, it's an afterthought, but it most definitely is not. In fact, I actually bothered with nomination this year to make sure that this would be an option. I watch a lot of action movies, and Transporter 2 especially is one that I will drop anything to watch when it comes on. It's just a total delight - everything I want in an action movie stylistically, and matched with the very intriguing relationship between Frank and Tarconi. I mean, Tarconi basically shows up, starts baking in Frank's house, and then immediately risks career and life to help him out. Sure, one can call that friendship, but I much prefer a romantic reading. After all, Frank is the first gay action-movie hero.
In classic action-movie style, their relationship is more shown than told, and what I'd love to see is more of the telling. How did Frank and Tarconi's relationship change from 1 to 2? What was Tarconi expecting when he showed up to Miami? Did they see each other more often, did they want to? Basically, how are they as a couple?
What I like about them particularly is that they're pretty much opposites, which is always a bit of catnip for me. Frank, the classic action star, mostly-stonefaced and muscled and punchy, and Tarconi, rumpled and wry and sort of schlubby. What's the appeal? What do they like in each other? Anything that really gets into their relationship and dynamic would be a total delight for me.
I basically consider 3 an attempt to retcon "Frank is the first gay action-movie hero" vibe of 2, so I'd prefer it to be ignored. I have not seen the remake as it has yet to turn up on TV randomly, which is my preferred way to watch action movies, so feel free to ignore that one too.
Request 3: Polish National Football Team RPF, Wojciech Szczesny/Robert Lewandowski
What can I say? I like crazy, asshole goalkeepers, especially ones that are as clever as Wojciech is. I find his blend of bravado and vulnerability compelling, and that he tends to be kind of hilarious, kind of mean, and kind of self-deprecating at the same time. He's such a little shit, and yet it works for him because there is that level of intelligence and drive (and even insecurity) underneath it all.
And he really, really likes Robert Lewandowski. It's kind of adorably hero-worship-crush. (And who can blame him?) You know Lewandowski, plays for Bayern?
Unlike the other prompts, where I am pretty vague about plots (sorry people who get them, my brain just doesn't work that way), I do have an idea for a setup here. Feel free to disregard, of course, but if it helps, the way I've always seen it is that Wojciech has always considered himself straight, despite fooling around with Jack Wilshere (they're experimenting, Jack's a force of nature, what happens at the academy stays at the academy, whatever excuse he needs). And then he meets Robert.
Like I said, feel free to use or not use it - there's certainly plenty of interpretations to take, and really, I'll like any of them.
Request Four: Bayern Munich RPF, Thomas Müller/Xabi Alonso
I'm going to shamelessly steal this from my Last Minute Sub request, because even if I do get this pairing there, I still want more of it. Essentialy, I saw this gifset and fell in love with the promise of it. The confusion and dawning realization on Xabi's face that yes, Thomas is hitting on him and no, he's actually not all that adverse to the idea. Thomas' smugness at a plan coming together. Thomas is, I think, a lot smarter than how he's often percieved or portrayed, and Xabi seems like the type to have maybe underestimated him at first. Xabi's pretty smart himself, so there's a lot of potential here, I think.
Again, one where I talk about how I like the potential of their relationship rather than giving any concrete ideas of how to work with it, so my apologies, but I do think that it's a very fascinating one. After all, how often is Xabi the one not in total control of the situation?