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, that's fine of course, and 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've decided to go full-on tiny book fandom only this year, instead of maxing out my requests like I usually do (unless I change my mind in the next week and add more fandoms because I couldn't resist). Meaning that I would be extra stoked to get fic for ANY of these fandoms because I've never or almost never received fic for them. Whichever one you matched on, I'm very excited to see what you write for it. :D

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

Do Not Wants:

character death of requested characters (random side characters or antagonists dying is fine)
serious illnesses, permanent injuries (blood and wounds that will heal again are fine)
completely tragic 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 (unless canon is in 1st person, then it's fine)
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; characters behaving or being treated like children is not my thing)

* I'm obviously fine with mentioning characters' parents or random OC couples that might show up in casefic or that sort of thing. I'm also 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 fine with mentions of past Frey/Eugenia as long as he's well over her (except for his wounded pride).

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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 (or undercover as a couple; just as long as it actually fits the setting/characters)
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.

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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: I'm very okay with receiving fic about only two of them - 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).

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 and Morden were and are up to

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 pretty much any combination between them - 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 (though I would be up for a fic in which Verus gets a closer look at how exactly Richard, Morden and Onyx work together). Verus and Richard's relationship is also very interesting to me (gen or shippy; creepy, unhealthy Richard/Verus is definitely my kind of thing). The only character I'd rather not read about is Anne, unless she's just around to be Richard's convenient djinn host.

What I would like to see in fic:

the background story of Morden and Richard's partnership: how long have they known each other (are they even the same age)? 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?
in addition to "what the fuck is Richard up to?", I am 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
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 (hell, maybe the reason Onyx isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer is because it turns out spending years with your master poking at your brain through a telepathic bond is not great for your intellectual development)
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)
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)
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) - maybe Richard can be a good influence on Onyx. Maybe they can bond over killing people together (and then fuck afterwards, optionally).
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

Frey & McGray series - Oscar de Muriel
Ian Frey/Adolphus "Nine-Nails" McGray

Note: Should you write porn, feel free to ignore my feminisation DNW because McGray calling Frey "lassie" in bed is the hottest thing ever and I'm very happy to see that expanded on. But please still no crossdressing.

What I like about this canon:

the fact that both Frey and McGray are such dicks in their own ways who absolutely deserve each other
the genuine antagonism and dislike between them; and the very sloooow burn of them growing closer; the bickering and the insults and what a good team they are despite that
the cases, the scientific explanation for apparently supernatural happenings, but also the potential for actual supernatural stuff
the setting/time period, the social/cultural/class differences between them; all those Victorian attitudes Frey has (and Edinburgh is possibly my favourite city in the world, so if you just want to write a love letter to Edinburgh, I'll read it)
Frey's hilariously stuck-up, arrogant POV

Ships and characters:

I'm mostly here for Frey/McGray! But I'd also love to see more of Frey's family (both Elgie and Maurice, whom I actually like, and the more obnoxious members of his family). McGray and Pansy are also very sweet together. Feel free to include whichever side characters you like in smaller appearances, though, I don't dislike anyone in this canon all that much. :)

What I would like to see in fic:

getting together fic! I'd imagine it'd take some time until Frey trusts McGray not to mock him mercilessly for this, but really, come up with any scenario you like :D
one thing I'd specifically like: Frey sleeping with McGray when he's at his lowest after book 4 and already planning to run off to England anyway ... and then when they're reunited, McGray is kind of hurt Frey wanted to leave for good, and Frey hates that he has to actually see him again after the things they did
angst and internalised homophobia - I see Frey as incredibly repressed, to the point where he can probably barely admit to himself what he wants - and realising he's into McGray of all people is just humiliating (I imagine that McGray is more chill about it all, even if he understands the need to keep that sort of thing secret); cue mind-blowing first time sex that is way better than anything Frey ever imagined
Frey grudgingly making heart eyes every time McGray dresses up is a delight and I want more of it - making out in dark rooms after parties, Frey getting distracted by McGray shaved and wearing a nice suit ...
related, because it's a crime that canon hasn't provided this yet: McGray in a kilt (Frey wants to find it barbaric and ridiculous, but he's so into it)
something about that bathtub scene in book 4 - maybe they can talk some more while Frey is bathing, maybe McGray can help him scrub his back? maybe he can just hit on Frey and have a lot more success (but really, anything about that scene would make me happy)
casefic, mutual life-saving, both of them actually being impressed by the other ...
casefic in which magic is actually, undeniably real (whether it's ghosts, demons, wizards, supernatural creatures, curses ...) - I'd love to see Frey having to deal with the realisation that there are things he can't explain rationally, and McGray being smug about being right
related to that: tropey stuff like magic soulbonds, magic fuck-or-die, ritual sex required to save the world ...
I'm a sap and would love fic in which Pansy gets better somehow (possibly through magical means); I just want McGray to be happy, okay
I also find Frey's terrible family entertaining and would love for them to show up and be terrible (or adorable, in Elgie's case) - including AUs in which Maurice doesn't die, partly because I want to see him find out about Frey/McGray, partly because Frey losing him is heartbreaking
if you want to write something seasonal, I'd love that! cold winters, being snowed in together, sitting by a fireplace, giving each other surprisingly thoughtful gifts ... even Christmas fic could be fun! Frey inviting McGray to Maurice's estate for Christmas (and maybe there's a murder at the Christmas party Maurice throws and they have to solve it), Frey and McGray being stuck in Edinburgh over Christmas because of a case and trying to make the best of it, Christmas featuring Frey's awful family and McGray suddenly not being the person in the room that annoys him most ...
if you're familiar with either Rivers of London or Vampyr, I'd love a crossover with either canon - really just throw any of them together for some supernatural shenanigans with a side of class issues and I'll be happy (for Vampyr: not sure if "vampires are real" was the confirmation of the supernatural McGray was looking for, but here they are - McGray and McCullum would probably get along great, and Reid will never seem snobby and foppish again to McCullum after meeting Frey; Frey meanwhile has probably some dreadful opinions about the Irish, and he might actually know Reid quite well; for Rivers of London: just fudge the timelines to have Nightingale (with or without Peter) around in the 1880s, I'd love to see Frey being shocked that a respectable gentleman like that believes in all this supernatural nonsense (at least until he sees him do actual magic), and I'd love to see them all work together on a case; I'd also be up for a fusion-style fic in which Frey & McGray run into some genius locus or another member of the Folly, without Nightingale or Peter being involved)

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 - just handwave as much as you like. 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

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

linndechir