Dear Yuletide Author!
If you even know these fandoms, I love you already. :) If you're willing to write for one of them, I adore you. Optional details are optional, and I will love anything you write! Please write where your heart leads you and have fun with the prompt; your enjoyment is the Yuletide gift that will make me happiest.
General Likes: Slashiness (it doesn't have to be slash, but intense bonds between characters are my catnip), banter, heroism, stoicism, affection hidden under a veneer of uncaringness, hurt/comfort, bittersweet endings, happy endings, true feelings being revealed in a crisis. Holiday stories are great (Christmas Eve in the trenches? How do Catholic vampire priests celebrate Christmas? Spenser cooks a holiday meal!)
General Dislikes: Characters being cruel to each other (Vassalord and Ian Rutledge are a bit...odd, but in general senseless cruelty is a turn-off), adultery, character death (Ian Rutledge aside), totally bleak endings, incest, non-con, raunchy sex-for-the-sake-of-sex. AUs and genderbending aren't dislikes, but aren't really my thing with these fandoms.
On to the fandoms!
1. Vassalord is a manga about Rayflo, a playboy vampire, and Charles (AKA Charlie, Chris, or Cherry), his offspring vampire, who happens to be a Catholic priest and a vampire hunter. The two fight a lot (sometimes quite violently), but it's clear they have a very long history and actually care about each other very deeply under a veneer of snark and carelessness. Rayflo allows Charles to drink his blood, for example, so that Charles never has to take a human life. The manga hits all my buttons in its tendency to go from lots of flip banter to incredible intensity. It also isn't the least bit embarrassed about using sucking blood as a metaphor for sex, and that's another of my guilty pleasures.
Optional Details: Charles/Rayflo: I'd love to see something set before the series officially starts. Obviously the story of how Charles became a vampire is tempting, but a story about the loss of his ears/hands/vocal cords could be some great angsty hurt/comfort as well. Or just a day in the life of the two of them, with battles and banter and bloodsucking.
Things that make my heart go pitter-pat:
Hurt/comfort--with these two, often hurt they have inflicted on each other
When Rayflo switches between Cherry, Charlie and Chris depending on the situation.
People referencing/quoting the Bible
Religious imagery
Religious angst
Charles calling Rayflo "master"
Charles drinking Rayflo's blood; more generally the whole vampire relationship being a metaphor for intimacy (Charles insisting he only drinks from Rayflo, or being jealous at the idea of someone else biting Rayflo)
Things I can live without:
Barry and Rayfell--they're fascinating, but they muddy the OTP waters a little much for full enjoyment.
2. Robert Parker, Spenser Series is a book series and a television show about a private detective in Boston, Spenser. Hawk is his mercenary and sort-of-friend: they disagree about methods (Hawk kills without compunction) but always have each others' backs. The series does not exist on DVD (*shakes fist at the uncaring sky*) but you can see Robert Urich and Avery Brooke (who inhabits Hawk completely) in clips here.
Optional Details: I really just want more of canon here. Maybe Hawk shows up at Spenser's place and Spenser cooks him a meal. Or they go undercover at a gay bar. Or they hang out on a stakeout (if you want a specific, the sequence in Judas Goat where they spend days sitting around a fancy hotel and ordering room service was where I fell in love with their dynamic). Canon-style gen with slashy undertones is great, maybe with the UST ramped up just a bit. To be honest, I have a hard time imagining these two getting actively sexual, but as long as it's not mushy-romantic and had bite you could probably sell me on it.
Things that make my heart go pitter-pat:
Hawk calling Spenser "babe"
Hawk dressing sharp
Spenser cooking, of course
This is a tough one, but I love Hawk's fiercely ironic race-baiting of Spenser, all those moments where he plays servile and fawning, while it is perfectly clear he means exactly the opposite by it. I can understand if you'd rather not try to write that kind of interaction, but it strikes me as very emblematic of their whole relationship--and only works when Spenser absolutely does not play along.
Hawk and Spenser being macho
Hawk and Spenser being ridiculously competent with guns
Spenser trusting Hawk to have his back
Hurt/comfort, although it would probably be pretty stoic and muted with these two
Hawk and Spenser having a conversation with/in front of someone who has no idea how dangerous they are
Things I can do without:
If you go for slash, please don't dis Susan. That's actually true for gen as well. :)
3. Charles Todd, the Ian Rutledge series is a detective series set just post-WWI in England, following the cases of Ian Rutledge, a shell-shocked veteran who is haunted by the "ghost" of the man he sentenced to death for cowardice.
Optional Details: This is my long shot request, and if you even know this series I love you already! This is my Doomed WWI OTP of angstiness. I haven't read all of this series (just up to Watchers of Time, so no spoilers please!) but I am firmly convinced that Ian's mental Hamish is not much like the real thing, at least when it comes to his evaluation of Ian. I'd love to see a story set in the trenches of France with a hero-worshiping Hamish, or to see that long night before the firing squad from Hamish's point of view. Slashy gen is great, more is also great. If you want to go a very different direction, dark fic with Hamish's "ghost" having a sexual and voyeuristic streak could be fascinating (consent could get murky here, I understand that). I don't want Hamish to survive (though see below for more details and a possible exception), so bring on the angst!
Things That Make My Heart Go Pitter Pat:
Comradely love
Unrequited, even almost Platonic (in the sense of transcending sex rather than being sexless, if that makes sense) love
That said, some fleeting moments of passion snatched from the horror of the trenches would be great too
I guess what I'm saying is that their relationship makes my heart go pitter pat and as long as you're writing about that I'll be happy.
Angsty foreshadowing, or sheer angst if you set it in the present of the books
Things I Can Do Without:
Mostly I don't need a happy ending with these two. Certainly I don't want a story where Hamish's life is saved. However, if you want a happy ending, I could definitely enjoy a plot where Hamish somehow manages to survive in the chaos without Ian knowing (amnesia?) and shows back up one day. If you want to have fun with a fluke of naming, go for a Highlander-fusion and have him be "Hamish Macleod of the Clan Macleod"!
Note: People often (rightfully) tell writers not to play up dialects, but I can't imagine Hamish's voice without the Scots accent he has in the books, so go for it.
4. I almost fell over when I saw that Demon Knights had been nominated--and then almost fell over again when I realized there were five characters on the signup sheets, because that means not one but TWO people out there nominated it! I didn't nominate it this year, but seeing it there inspired me to ask for it again, because I love it so much.
Optional Details: I asked for Exoristos, Horsewoman, and Shining Knight: I just want to see the team together--fighting dragons, toasting marshmallows, exploring Alba Sarum, it's all good. Pick one or more of the above characters for a POV and I will adore anything you write. There's so much possibility for interesting conflicts and alliances with this team, I just want MORE than 24 pages a month, darn it! And I don't want Cornell to leave it!
Things that make my heart go pitter-pat:
Team dynamics
Arguing about religion
Exoristos and Shining Knight trying to outdo each other
I kind of ship Ex/Shining Knight, but just watching them argue and/or slay things would be awesome as well
I love all the women (and Shining Knight) and I find it fascinating that they all have such different ways of approaching gender in a medieval and patriarchal world. Their thoughts on their differences would be fantastic to see.
Things I can Do Without:
With this fandom, just the general ones above are enough. It's probably obvious from my character choices, but I'd rather the focus remain on the non-male characters, although I love Jason, Vandal and Al Jabr as well and would be thrilled to see them in a story.
General Likes: Slashiness (it doesn't have to be slash, but intense bonds between characters are my catnip), banter, heroism, stoicism, affection hidden under a veneer of uncaringness, hurt/comfort, bittersweet endings, happy endings, true feelings being revealed in a crisis. Holiday stories are great (Christmas Eve in the trenches? How do Catholic vampire priests celebrate Christmas? Spenser cooks a holiday meal!)
General Dislikes: Characters being cruel to each other (Vassalord and Ian Rutledge are a bit...odd, but in general senseless cruelty is a turn-off), adultery, character death (Ian Rutledge aside), totally bleak endings, incest, non-con, raunchy sex-for-the-sake-of-sex. AUs and genderbending aren't dislikes, but aren't really my thing with these fandoms.
On to the fandoms!
1. Vassalord is a manga about Rayflo, a playboy vampire, and Charles (AKA Charlie, Chris, or Cherry), his offspring vampire, who happens to be a Catholic priest and a vampire hunter. The two fight a lot (sometimes quite violently), but it's clear they have a very long history and actually care about each other very deeply under a veneer of snark and carelessness. Rayflo allows Charles to drink his blood, for example, so that Charles never has to take a human life. The manga hits all my buttons in its tendency to go from lots of flip banter to incredible intensity. It also isn't the least bit embarrassed about using sucking blood as a metaphor for sex, and that's another of my guilty pleasures.
Optional Details: Charles/Rayflo: I'd love to see something set before the series officially starts. Obviously the story of how Charles became a vampire is tempting, but a story about the loss of his ears/hands/vocal cords could be some great angsty hurt/comfort as well. Or just a day in the life of the two of them, with battles and banter and bloodsucking.
Things that make my heart go pitter-pat:
Hurt/comfort--with these two, often hurt they have inflicted on each other
When Rayflo switches between Cherry, Charlie and Chris depending on the situation.
People referencing/quoting the Bible
Religious imagery
Religious angst
Charles calling Rayflo "master"
Charles drinking Rayflo's blood; more generally the whole vampire relationship being a metaphor for intimacy (Charles insisting he only drinks from Rayflo, or being jealous at the idea of someone else biting Rayflo)
Things I can live without:
Barry and Rayfell--they're fascinating, but they muddy the OTP waters a little much for full enjoyment.
2. Robert Parker, Spenser Series is a book series and a television show about a private detective in Boston, Spenser. Hawk is his mercenary and sort-of-friend: they disagree about methods (Hawk kills without compunction) but always have each others' backs. The series does not exist on DVD (*shakes fist at the uncaring sky*) but you can see Robert Urich and Avery Brooke (who inhabits Hawk completely) in clips here.
Optional Details: I really just want more of canon here. Maybe Hawk shows up at Spenser's place and Spenser cooks him a meal. Or they go undercover at a gay bar. Or they hang out on a stakeout (if you want a specific, the sequence in Judas Goat where they spend days sitting around a fancy hotel and ordering room service was where I fell in love with their dynamic). Canon-style gen with slashy undertones is great, maybe with the UST ramped up just a bit. To be honest, I have a hard time imagining these two getting actively sexual, but as long as it's not mushy-romantic and had bite you could probably sell me on it.
Things that make my heart go pitter-pat:
Hawk calling Spenser "babe"
Hawk dressing sharp
Spenser cooking, of course
This is a tough one, but I love Hawk's fiercely ironic race-baiting of Spenser, all those moments where he plays servile and fawning, while it is perfectly clear he means exactly the opposite by it. I can understand if you'd rather not try to write that kind of interaction, but it strikes me as very emblematic of their whole relationship--and only works when Spenser absolutely does not play along.
Hawk and Spenser being macho
Hawk and Spenser being ridiculously competent with guns
Spenser trusting Hawk to have his back
Hurt/comfort, although it would probably be pretty stoic and muted with these two
Hawk and Spenser having a conversation with/in front of someone who has no idea how dangerous they are
Things I can do without:
If you go for slash, please don't dis Susan. That's actually true for gen as well. :)
3. Charles Todd, the Ian Rutledge series is a detective series set just post-WWI in England, following the cases of Ian Rutledge, a shell-shocked veteran who is haunted by the "ghost" of the man he sentenced to death for cowardice.
Optional Details: This is my long shot request, and if you even know this series I love you already! This is my Doomed WWI OTP of angstiness. I haven't read all of this series (just up to Watchers of Time, so no spoilers please!) but I am firmly convinced that Ian's mental Hamish is not much like the real thing, at least when it comes to his evaluation of Ian. I'd love to see a story set in the trenches of France with a hero-worshiping Hamish, or to see that long night before the firing squad from Hamish's point of view. Slashy gen is great, more is also great. If you want to go a very different direction, dark fic with Hamish's "ghost" having a sexual and voyeuristic streak could be fascinating (consent could get murky here, I understand that). I don't want Hamish to survive (though see below for more details and a possible exception), so bring on the angst!
Things That Make My Heart Go Pitter Pat:
Comradely love
Unrequited, even almost Platonic (in the sense of transcending sex rather than being sexless, if that makes sense) love
That said, some fleeting moments of passion snatched from the horror of the trenches would be great too
I guess what I'm saying is that their relationship makes my heart go pitter pat and as long as you're writing about that I'll be happy.
Angsty foreshadowing, or sheer angst if you set it in the present of the books
Things I Can Do Without:
Mostly I don't need a happy ending with these two. Certainly I don't want a story where Hamish's life is saved. However, if you want a happy ending, I could definitely enjoy a plot where Hamish somehow manages to survive in the chaos without Ian knowing (amnesia?) and shows back up one day. If you want to have fun with a fluke of naming, go for a Highlander-fusion and have him be "Hamish Macleod of the Clan Macleod"!
Note: People often (rightfully) tell writers not to play up dialects, but I can't imagine Hamish's voice without the Scots accent he has in the books, so go for it.
4. I almost fell over when I saw that Demon Knights had been nominated--and then almost fell over again when I realized there were five characters on the signup sheets, because that means not one but TWO people out there nominated it! I didn't nominate it this year, but seeing it there inspired me to ask for it again, because I love it so much.
Optional Details: I asked for Exoristos, Horsewoman, and Shining Knight: I just want to see the team together--fighting dragons, toasting marshmallows, exploring Alba Sarum, it's all good. Pick one or more of the above characters for a POV and I will adore anything you write. There's so much possibility for interesting conflicts and alliances with this team, I just want MORE than 24 pages a month, darn it! And I don't want Cornell to leave it!
Things that make my heart go pitter-pat:
Team dynamics
Arguing about religion
Exoristos and Shining Knight trying to outdo each other
I kind of ship Ex/Shining Knight, but just watching them argue and/or slay things would be awesome as well
I love all the women (and Shining Knight) and I find it fascinating that they all have such different ways of approaching gender in a medieval and patriarchal world. Their thoughts on their differences would be fantastic to see.
Things I can Do Without:
With this fandom, just the general ones above are enough. It's probably obvious from my character choices, but I'd rather the focus remain on the non-male characters, although I love Jason, Vandal and Al Jabr as well and would be thrilled to see them in a story.