Yuletide, yay!

[alyse]

Dear Yuletide Writer

The fandoms (and characters) of my heart I've requested
Blade (Movie Series) - Abigail Whistler, Hannibal King
Rat Queens - Betty, Dee, Hannah, Violet
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters - Hansel, Gretel
Rivers of London: Peter Grant, Lesley May, Thomas Nightingale, Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina

First of all, thank you for writing for me! Just having someone write fic for one of the tiny fandoms of my heart is enough to make me happy so I am sure that I will love whatever you write.

I tend to be fairly small fandom orientated anyway, and I tend to stay with fandoms for a while, so please don't be put off by the fact that I've requested some of these fandoms before. It doesn't mean that I haven't loved the fics I've had in the past - it's just that in many cases, these are the fandoms I've been writing in all year around and Yuletide is my once-a-year chance to get to read some fic that I haven't written myself!

So, on that note I thought it would be helpful to give my likes and dislikes upfront, just to give you an idea of what makes me happy and what might not :) These tend to be pan-fandom things, but if there's anything specific to a fandom I'll put it there.

Likes:

I love female characters, and I especially love female characters who are competent at what they do, regardless of what that is. I have a competency kink in general, but it's just so much more satisfying for me when it involves women, and that's largely reflected in the fandoms I've requested. I also have a soft-spot for capable women and the still capable but slightly broken men who pretty much worship the ground they walk on.

I love found families, and those that are small and broken, but still good. I love stoic characters who hide so much beneath the surface (especially when they're women), and I especially love relationships that are all about the unspoken bonds, where a quiet touch or a simple exchange means as much as the most ardent declaration. I adore relationships (romantic or not) where people aren't afraid to call each other on their shit, and it just makes me wriggle with glee when male characters actually trust their female counterparts to know their limits, where they don't feel the need to rush in and 'save' them - where the men are just as likely to need saving, or where it's that they save each other, over and over again without having to keep score.

Give me faith and trust, characters who have each other's backs, who will go to the end of the line for each other. The ones who will walk through fire for the people they love, whether that's familial or romantic, who will fight to the death for someone even if they occasionally drive each other nuts. Smart characters who might occasionally do stupid things for the right reasons. Broken characters who just keep on going out of sheer stubbornness because they just can't quit. Partners who rely on each other, and friends who will always be there. I don't mind if it's casefic or shipfic, plot or porn or a combination of all of them, but I'm largely in fandom for the characters and what they mean to each other so I would love anything that explores that in any of the fandoms I've requested.

I like happy endings, but I don't mind if they're bitter sweet, and hurt-comfort or injury is fine as long as it's not permanent and doesn't result in death. And if you want to go the porn route, I have a particular fondness for threesomes, cunning linguists :D and pegging.

Dislikes:

I have a massive second hand embarrassment squick, so please, no humiliating characters or having them embarrass themselves. No non-con or death fic, please, although I'm okay with a story dealing with the aftermath if it happened in canon. I'd prefer fic set in the canon universe rather than outright AUs, although I don't mind 'what ifs' if you want to explore what would happen if canon went in a slightly different direction. And please no fic with men dominating women in the bedroom, although it has to be said that I'm perfectly happy with it the other way around :D (as long as no humiliation or significant pain is involved).

Phew. Hopefully that's not too offputting! Now to the fandoms, all alphabetical like.

Blade (Movie Series)

Characters I've requested: Abigail Whistler, Hannibal King

Background info: There are three movies making up this series, all of them about a half-blood vampire hunter, Eric Blade, who generally goes around being sullen and staking vampires, while also suffering some existential angst and looking cool in black leather and sunglasses.

Me, I like the sidekicks.

What it is that I love: Did I mention the sidekicks? I love Abigail and King. Their relationship - whether you see it as romantic or best friends/partners - hits so many of my happy buttons. She's the stoic, kick-ass, competent woman with the odd crack in her facade that lets the human shine through. He's the snarky, crude, rude guy with a vulnerable side who worships the ground she walks on.

Together they fight vampires!

I will be honest here and state that I ship them like burning. But even if you don't, this is one of the fandoms where I really would be happy with a story that has them as partners/friends because they also have the whole 'found family' thing with the Nightstalkers and particularly Zoe in the aftermath of the movie.

If you want to include any other of the Nightstalkers in the fic, please feel free - I didn't include them in the sign up simply to make the matching easier, and Abigail and King are my favourite characters, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't love something more team-related as well. And even Karen Jenson - I know she doesn't appear after the original movie, but again if you offered her and would like to write her interacting with the Nightstalkers, please feel free to include her :)

Prompts/Optional Details: If you like prompts (if not, feel free to skip), I'm always fascinated by the wider world of the Blade movies, particularly the third one. So, how does Abigail and King's cell fit in with the wider Nightstalkers' network? Are they the only cell active? Also, what about the feds? Was there any blowback after the Talos Clan were wiped out?

What happens after the movie? Do Abby and King raise Zoe, or do they find an alternative? What about the future? Are they still fighting vampires or are they all wiped out? Do they go after werewolves next, as in the movie coda?

Or even before the movie - how does the first cell get set up? How does King end up fitting in with the Nightstalkers? What kind of logistic nightmares does Abby have to deal with?

Other things you might want to know: This is one of the fandoms where there is in canon character death and non-con (I'm convinced that Danica/King wasn't consentual), so I don't mind if the story explores those. If you're more comfortable with gen, that's absolutely fine! You don't have to try and stick some ship in just to make me happy :)

The only thing I would ask is no Drake/King, please. Definitely not my cuppa.



Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Characters I've requested: Hansel, Gretel

Background info: Completely bonkers and over the top 'Hansel and Gretel grow up into Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner and proceed to kick witch ass while dressed in black leather and carrying anachronistic weaponry' movie.

You may have noticed a theme with the things I love :D

What it is that I love: Gemma Arterton in tight black leather. Jeremy Renner with a face like a kicked puppy. Witches. Ass kicking. Ludicrous plots and over the top magic. Women taking names and then crossing them off their list because they've killed the bastards. That kind of thing.

Seriously, it's just one of my (many) ridiculous happy places.

I love the relationship between Gretel and her brother, and the fact that - again - she leads and he follows. He trusts her to have his back, and she does. The rest of the world can go hang - they have each other, as messed up and dysfunctional as they seem sometimes.

I admit it - I ship them. I think it's one of the few incest ships I have - but again I'm just as happy with the families, you and me against the world, tightly knit and slightly offputting to outsiders sibling relationship they have.

Prompts/Optional Details: I would love something about them kicking ass and taking names. What did they go before they got to Augsberg? Do they even bother to keep a count of the witches they kill any more? What was their worst fight? Their best? Are they tired? Does the thrill of the hunt still get to them, racing in their blood? How do they cope with Hansel's sugar sickness? When was the first time it struck? Have there been other occasions when it's almost caused them to lose a fight?

Or afterwards? How do they adapt to Gretel's new found powers? How does the rest of the world react? How many fires does Hansel have to put out, or how many towns does he burn to the ground to keep his sister safe? How does their dynamic change with the addition of Ben and Edward to what was previously just Hansel-and-Gretel?

Or, you know. Porn. Porn is always good :D (As long as that is your thing - if it's not your thing, killing witches? Just as good!)

Other things you might want to know: I may... possibly play the soundtrack on repeat.



Rat Queens

Characters I've requested: Betty, Dee, Hannah, Violet

Background info: Rat Queens is a comic published by Image Comics about a group of adventurers in a D&D like universe who are totally and utterly awesome. Currently it's up to 9 issues, the first 6 of which are available as a trade paperback, and even if comics aren't your thing (they aren't usually mine, because I'm more narratively orientated than visual) and have no intention of Yuletiding it, I would still encourage you to check it out because it is love and because I wave the first paperback at anyone who stands still for more than five minutes! Sometimes only three!

What it is that I love: Found families! Competency! You and me against the world! Banter! Snark! Female characters who are all individuals and none of them are stereotypes! Who love each other fiercely, even when they fight. And woe betide anyone who picks a fight with them!

Hannah, the rockabilly dark mage with a sardonic outlook on life.
Dee, the cleric, whose parents worship a giant flying squid! (Dee's an atheist, but figures she's enough of a goddess for her spells to work)
Betty, the smidgen who's all about the balanced diet - candy and drugs for dinner!
Violet, the hipster dwarf, who shaved her beard off before it was cool.

And the art work is just gorgeous.

Prompts/Optional Details: ALL THE THINGS!

No, seriously. There is not a single Rat Queens fanfiction anywhere that I can find on the entire internet, and this makes me an extremely sad panda. It is a travesty that must be corrected!

I would love anything about these characters, whether it's slice of life, them going on another adventure together, how they met and formed their group, why they chose 'Rat Queens' as their name, how they interact with other people, their backgrounds (why is Dee an atheist? What future do Betty and Faeyri have? What is Hannah's relationship with her parents really like? Will Violet ever go home?). This is honestly a fandom where I would just like anything, even a bar brawl or two :D

Other things you might want to know: I am okay with het or femslash or threesomes or no-somes or gen or anything you can think of! And then some :D



Rivers of London

Characters I've requested: Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale, Lesley May, Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina

Background info: Rivers of London is a series of books by Ben Aaronovitch about a young police constable, called Peter Grant, who while out on the beat one night finds himself taking a statement from what turns out to be a ghost. That brings him to the attention of Inspector Thomas Nightingale, England's last wizard, and Peter is now a Detective Constable in an unusual division, and an apprentice wizard to boot.

What it is that I love: I love the world that this series of books is set in, the vibrancy of London but a London that is slightly askew from the norm. I love the way that even the Rivers have characters of their own, with their own dangerous agendas, and the way that there's so much going on beneath the surface.

I love Peter, who just keeps on going, growing and learning about this new world. I love the inscrutable unknowability of Nightingale, Lesley's sarcasm and brittleness, Varvara's phlegmatic practicality. I love the cases that Peter undertakes - so satisfying to have a crime (or three) to solve while at the same time having that slightly off-kilter not-quite-reality. It's not as in your face as some urban fantasy, but that just makes it more 'real', and I love the way that London is as much a character as everyone else.

What intrigues me is that there is just still so much to explore in this world and I've loved every minute of it so far.

Prompts/Optional Details: I would love anything set in this world. I want to know about Varava's past and Peter's future. I want to know about the choices that Lesley has made and the consequences of them. I want to know more about Nightingale and the weight he carries. I want Peter, in all his smart, tenacious glory. I want to know more about the Folly and Molly. More about the Night Witches and the war, the sacrifices and the cost and what it means for the present. More about the Rivers, about the non-human denizens of London. More about the mythology, and where the myths become real. I just want more about this whole, wonderful, sprawling, glorious world.

Other things you might want to know: I have preordered Foxglove Summer so the chances are I will have read it by Christmas :D

Also, while I love the characters, I'd prefer not to read Peter/Nightingale slash - the whole mentor/student thing doesn't work for me, I'm afraid.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, I was curious if there were any other kinks you like and your thoughts on dubcon since it's a gray area for a lot of people?

[alyse]

My feelings about dub-con tend to depend on the characters and the fandom. It's not something I kink on generally, but I do think that it's pretty much canon for Blade: Trinity, given the whole King/Danica thing (and I've written it that way, probably because it is a kink for me when King's the subject of it. I have thoughts about King. Lots of thoughts about him on his knees that I tend not to have as frequently about other characters :D)

I'm much better with it if it's a guy being dub-conned and it has that dynamic - smart assed man reduced to silence. I think it's partly it's because it's an offshoot of hurt comfort for me, and I do have a fondness for hurt comfort - like I said, I have a thing for the smart-mouthed, slightly broken guy who worships the ground the female character walks on, and breaking him [ETA: him being 'the guy', not a specific character] a little more, including dub-con, would make me happy :).

However, I have to admit that I don't really enjoy dub-con with a woman in the coerced position. It's a little too close to home, you know?

In terms of kinks, I like the woman to be in control, not necessarily in a dom way, but in a 'definitely knows what she wants and isn't afraid to say so/get the guy (or girl) to do it, calling the shots' way. Again, it sort of depends on the characters, but given the characters I've picked, I can definitely see it for most of the fandoms/pairings/characters I've requested (except possibly Rivers of London, which tends to be more gen driven for me - although Peter/Varvara with that dynamic could be fun :D).

I also have a fondness for m/m/f threesomes, where the woman is the centre of attention and it's about reducing her to incoherent pleasure. In fact, I kind of like the idea of female characters being reduced to mindless sensation, especially if they're the strong, stoic type who doesn't let their guard down easily. I suppose it's a trust kink as well as anything else.

If you're my writer (and I'm assuming you are :)), then I would be perfectly happy with you writing what you think is hot. Chances are, if you think it's hot, then you'll convince me. The only exceptions that I know I wouldn't like are things involving the infliction of a lot of pain (a little can be nice); that hit my embarrassment/humiliation squick (which would include anything that makes me think 'hygiene!').

Who knows, I might find other things I didn't even know I liked :)

[alyse]

Oh, and I just realised that there are shades of dubcon!

Sex pollen, drunken (but conscious) sex etc - perfectly A-Okay with either gender being dubconned.

Blackmail, sex slave etc - okay with guys, but not as okay with women.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you! I am not the person assigned to you, but I read you letter and was inspired, then the story went off in a direction that I thought it would be best if I asked about first.