libraralien (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
libraralien) wrote2021-10-21 11:06 am
libraralien) wrote2021-10-21 11:06 am
Entry tags:
Yuletide 2021: Dear Author Letter
Dear Yuletide Author,
Thank you so much for writing for me!
First of all, I want to say that I generally feel like people write best when they are writing things they love! I have some likes and dislikes here, but just know, in general I have very broad tastes. If you have certain kinks and tropes that are especially close to your heart or you are inspired to write and you are nervous about writing them for me, unless I listed them as something I specifically DNW, you have my full blessing. If I didn't list something as a DNW, it isn't a squick for me, even if it's something that is often squicky or triggery for many people. Inversely, just because something isn't on my likes list doesn't mean I won't like it. If you think something is a little out there, just trust me: I will probably love it.
Everything here is just ideas, things I usually like, and starting points, so hopefully something in here inspires you. If you have other ideas or are inspired to go in a different direction, follow your heart. I leave myself in your capable hands.
General Likes: historical research and detail, shippy stuff of all varieties (het/slash/femslash), humor, characters of all levels of morals, complicated relationships, happy endings, un-happy endings, small moments, backstory, getting-together, intense feelings and relationships, forced proximity (only one bed, huddling for warmth, etc.), hurt/comfort, pastiche, unusual formats and storytelling, epistolary fic
Smutty and shippy likes: dry-humping, non-penetrative sex, oral sex, clothed or mostly clothed sex, masturbation, first times, hand-jobs and fingering, femdom, theesomes and moresome, shame/embarrassment, dubcon and noncon. More details about smutty likes can be found here
General DNWs: soulmates, wingfic, unrequested alternate setting AUs (i.e. Coffee shop AUs, Regency AUs) (Canon-divergence/fix-its/alternate endings are all fine), asexual/aromantic headcanons, kidfic, tooth-rotting fluff, reader-insert
Smut DNWs: scat, sounding, underage below age 15, maledom/femsub in m/f pairings
1. Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh
Curtis Craig
Trevor Barnes
Phantasmagoria 2 takes on a lot of big topics, like queerness, kink, mental health, and abuse. How successfully it deals with any of these varies, but I think there is a lot of interesting stuff there, and I would love a fic that digs into any of the ideas the game was engaging with, while also being a schlocky FMV game in 1996. I would be happy for a fic that is serious in tone, but would be equally happy to get a fic leaning into the cheesiness of the game.
The tastes of Curtis/Trevor we got in the game left me wanting more. I am pretty ok with whatever direction you want to go with in this one. I would be into a happy-ending fix-it fic, where Curtis and Trevor decide to get out of there before they get in too deep and where Trevor lives. I would also be really into a variety of not-so-happy endings. Or things that are not fix-its or endings at all, but just a moment in the course of the game (or some point that diverges from the game) where they….kiss/hook up/Curtis confessed his feelings/etc.
I would love smut for this pairing and I would be thrilled to see any of the kinks brought up in canon: bondage, whipping, piercing, cross-dressing (I know this one isn’t a kink in game, but I would be happy to see it as one here). How would it be for Curtis to explore these things with somebody other than Therese? How does Trevor feel about it? I would also be into smut that takes advantage of Curtis’s alien-ness: weird biology, transformation, tentacles, that sort of thing. Get as wild as you want in this regard. Maybe as post-canon fic where Trevor lives and helps Curtis accept his monstrosity (via freaky alien sex)? And if there is a kink you want to include that I don’t mention here or isn’t present in canon, as long as it’s not a DNW, feel free to go with it. Curtis is always learning new things about himself. I am also totally happy if you want to lean into the darker and horror aspects of the canon, in conjunction with smut or not.
I really liked Curtis’s scenes with Dr. Harburg, if you wanted to incorporate those or maybe use them as a framing device. It might also be interesting to see something from Trevor’s perspective, since the game is so in Curtis’s head. Also, while my main request is Curtis/Trevor, I think Jocilyn and Therese are both interesting characters and I don’t mind at all if they are in the fic.
2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
Raoul Duke
I am really into the idea of crossovers with this one. I love Thompson's writing, as seen through his alter-ego Raoul Duke, and just want to hear Duke tell me about what wild experience he is having in the way that only he can. Fear and Loathing in [location of your choice]. I would love a crossover with any canon that you want to really show me the setting of, through the drug-added eyes of our favorite doctor of journalism. There is no need to explain how Duke has ended up where he is, if you don't want to, he rarely does anyway. Drop him wherever you want. He is on a space station/in Middle Earth/transported to the Age of Sail, and it is not even the weirdest thing that has happened to him this year. He is here on a journalistic assignment, he is on many drugs, and he is rolling with it, perhaps with his companion Dr. Gonzo.
Some particular settings that I am familiar with and would be happy to see crossed-over: Deep Space Nine (or literally any Star Trek setting), Sunnydale, Middle Earth.
However, it is fine if I am not familiar with your crossover canon. If I’m not familiar, it’ll be a zany tour of a new setting. Sci-fi/fantasy settings seem particularly well-suited, but are by no means necessary. If you have a historical bent, let's explore the historical time and place of your choosing! Even a tropey AU would be fun, so I am fine with alternate setting AUs for this prompt.
Also if you want to write something shippy, by all means, I would be absolutely delighted to see what Raoul Duke/Dr. Gozo slash is like, crossover or not. I do not have any specific prompts, besides a confidence that drugs are involved, that Duke would have some wild things to say about it all, and that I would have fun reading it.
3. Peep Show
Jeremy Usbourne
Mark Corrigan
Peep Show is one of my comfort shows and I return to it over and over. My main desire in a fic is that it takes advantage of the show’s gimmick so the reader is “hearing” Mark and Jez’s thoughts.
I am totally down for Mark/Jez. I would love to see classic fic tropes played out as misadventures for these two: Pretend dating? (A lie one of them makes for some reason that they then must play along with?) Only one bed? Accidentally married/marriage of convenience? (Some kind of scheme on Jez’s part that Mark is forced into playing along with?) Huddling for warmth? (Camping? Outdoor hijinks?) I would suggest trapped together, but that already happened. I am also down for wackier tropes, like body-swap or sex pollen.
What kind of circumstances would lead to Mark and Jez hooking up, or Mark resigning himself that they are dating, or them ending up married, or something else along those lines? I was delighted by the show going for it with Jez being queer in the last season, and I could see Mark just eventually agreeing to give it a shot if Jez wore him down. I am down for any rating, and if you want to include sex scenes, I am fine if they have a funny, sex-comedy vibe, rather than being “hot”, exactly. I am not looking for a perfect romance here, and I’m totally happy if they, for instance, hook up but don’t enjoy it, or date but don’t stay together permanently (well, any more than they are already stuck together forever as roommates), or some other ambivalently slashy scenario. I like the tone of the show and whatever they get up to can be as successful as anything they ever get up to.
Also, I only requested Mark and Jez, but there aren’t any Peep Show characters I dislike, so if there is one that is your favorite, feel free to include them. My favorite is probably Super Hans, but again, happy for anyone to show up!
Thank you so much for writing for me!
First of all, I want to say that I generally feel like people write best when they are writing things they love! I have some likes and dislikes here, but just know, in general I have very broad tastes. If you have certain kinks and tropes that are especially close to your heart or you are inspired to write and you are nervous about writing them for me, unless I listed them as something I specifically DNW, you have my full blessing. If I didn't list something as a DNW, it isn't a squick for me, even if it's something that is often squicky or triggery for many people. Inversely, just because something isn't on my likes list doesn't mean I won't like it. If you think something is a little out there, just trust me: I will probably love it.
Everything here is just ideas, things I usually like, and starting points, so hopefully something in here inspires you. If you have other ideas or are inspired to go in a different direction, follow your heart. I leave myself in your capable hands.
General Likes: historical research and detail, shippy stuff of all varieties (het/slash/femslash), humor, characters of all levels of morals, complicated relationships, happy endings, un-happy endings, small moments, backstory, getting-together, intense feelings and relationships, forced proximity (only one bed, huddling for warmth, etc.), hurt/comfort, pastiche, unusual formats and storytelling, epistolary fic
Smutty and shippy likes: dry-humping, non-penetrative sex, oral sex, clothed or mostly clothed sex, masturbation, first times, hand-jobs and fingering, femdom, theesomes and moresome, shame/embarrassment, dubcon and noncon. More details about smutty likes can be found here
General DNWs: soulmates, wingfic, unrequested alternate setting AUs (i.e. Coffee shop AUs, Regency AUs) (Canon-divergence/fix-its/alternate endings are all fine), asexual/aromantic headcanons, kidfic, tooth-rotting fluff, reader-insert
Smut DNWs: scat, sounding, underage below age 15, maledom/femsub in m/f pairings
1. Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh
Curtis Craig
Trevor Barnes
Phantasmagoria 2 takes on a lot of big topics, like queerness, kink, mental health, and abuse. How successfully it deals with any of these varies, but I think there is a lot of interesting stuff there, and I would love a fic that digs into any of the ideas the game was engaging with, while also being a schlocky FMV game in 1996. I would be happy for a fic that is serious in tone, but would be equally happy to get a fic leaning into the cheesiness of the game.
The tastes of Curtis/Trevor we got in the game left me wanting more. I am pretty ok with whatever direction you want to go with in this one. I would be into a happy-ending fix-it fic, where Curtis and Trevor decide to get out of there before they get in too deep and where Trevor lives. I would also be really into a variety of not-so-happy endings. Or things that are not fix-its or endings at all, but just a moment in the course of the game (or some point that diverges from the game) where they….kiss/hook up/Curtis confessed his feelings/etc.
I would love smut for this pairing and I would be thrilled to see any of the kinks brought up in canon: bondage, whipping, piercing, cross-dressing (I know this one isn’t a kink in game, but I would be happy to see it as one here). How would it be for Curtis to explore these things with somebody other than Therese? How does Trevor feel about it? I would also be into smut that takes advantage of Curtis’s alien-ness: weird biology, transformation, tentacles, that sort of thing. Get as wild as you want in this regard. Maybe as post-canon fic where Trevor lives and helps Curtis accept his monstrosity (via freaky alien sex)? And if there is a kink you want to include that I don’t mention here or isn’t present in canon, as long as it’s not a DNW, feel free to go with it. Curtis is always learning new things about himself. I am also totally happy if you want to lean into the darker and horror aspects of the canon, in conjunction with smut or not.
I really liked Curtis’s scenes with Dr. Harburg, if you wanted to incorporate those or maybe use them as a framing device. It might also be interesting to see something from Trevor’s perspective, since the game is so in Curtis’s head. Also, while my main request is Curtis/Trevor, I think Jocilyn and Therese are both interesting characters and I don’t mind at all if they are in the fic.
2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
Raoul Duke
I am really into the idea of crossovers with this one. I love Thompson's writing, as seen through his alter-ego Raoul Duke, and just want to hear Duke tell me about what wild experience he is having in the way that only he can. Fear and Loathing in [location of your choice]. I would love a crossover with any canon that you want to really show me the setting of, through the drug-added eyes of our favorite doctor of journalism. There is no need to explain how Duke has ended up where he is, if you don't want to, he rarely does anyway. Drop him wherever you want. He is on a space station/in Middle Earth/transported to the Age of Sail, and it is not even the weirdest thing that has happened to him this year. He is here on a journalistic assignment, he is on many drugs, and he is rolling with it, perhaps with his companion Dr. Gonzo.
Some particular settings that I am familiar with and would be happy to see crossed-over: Deep Space Nine (or literally any Star Trek setting), Sunnydale, Middle Earth.
However, it is fine if I am not familiar with your crossover canon. If I’m not familiar, it’ll be a zany tour of a new setting. Sci-fi/fantasy settings seem particularly well-suited, but are by no means necessary. If you have a historical bent, let's explore the historical time and place of your choosing! Even a tropey AU would be fun, so I am fine with alternate setting AUs for this prompt.
Also if you want to write something shippy, by all means, I would be absolutely delighted to see what Raoul Duke/Dr. Gozo slash is like, crossover or not. I do not have any specific prompts, besides a confidence that drugs are involved, that Duke would have some wild things to say about it all, and that I would have fun reading it.
3. Peep Show
Jeremy Usbourne
Mark Corrigan
Peep Show is one of my comfort shows and I return to it over and over. My main desire in a fic is that it takes advantage of the show’s gimmick so the reader is “hearing” Mark and Jez’s thoughts.
I am totally down for Mark/Jez. I would love to see classic fic tropes played out as misadventures for these two: Pretend dating? (A lie one of them makes for some reason that they then must play along with?) Only one bed? Accidentally married/marriage of convenience? (Some kind of scheme on Jez’s part that Mark is forced into playing along with?) Huddling for warmth? (Camping? Outdoor hijinks?) I would suggest trapped together, but that already happened. I am also down for wackier tropes, like body-swap or sex pollen.
What kind of circumstances would lead to Mark and Jez hooking up, or Mark resigning himself that they are dating, or them ending up married, or something else along those lines? I was delighted by the show going for it with Jez being queer in the last season, and I could see Mark just eventually agreeing to give it a shot if Jez wore him down. I am down for any rating, and if you want to include sex scenes, I am fine if they have a funny, sex-comedy vibe, rather than being “hot”, exactly. I am not looking for a perfect romance here, and I’m totally happy if they, for instance, hook up but don’t enjoy it, or date but don’t stay together permanently (well, any more than they are already stuck together forever as roommates), or some other ambivalently slashy scenario. I like the tone of the show and whatever they get up to can be as successful as anything they ever get up to.
Also, I only requested Mark and Jez, but there aren’t any Peep Show characters I dislike, so if there is one that is your favorite, feel free to include them. My favorite is probably Super Hans, but again, happy for anyone to show up!