Dear Yuletide

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you for creating for me! Yuletide is my favorite winter holiday tradition by far, and I can't wait to read your take on these beloved characters! ♥ My thoughts below are for inspiration only - if none of my prompts spark joy, then please disregard my ramblings and write whatever you are most excited about. I would much rather read something you're enthusiastic about than something you feel obligated to write.

This year, I've requested specific duos from beloved childhood canons that I would love to see more fannish work for. While I do ship each of the requested duos as romantic pairs, I am down for more platonic or ambiguous reads of these relationships as well! I love reading about intense and significant relationships that are undefined, where attraction is ambiguous and their dynamics resist categorization. What matters most to me is the unequivocal strength of their bond, regardless of what form that bond takes. I want to read about how well these characters know and understand each other, and how important this relationship is to each of them. 

Please know that I would be equally enthusiastic about receiving fan work for any of my requested fandoms! Although I've written more about Tortall than I have about Shurato or Guru Guru, that is only because the English fandoms for those two canons are virtually non-existent, to the point where I will take anything I can get. 

I am very open to treats of all lengths and mediums, from drabbles to art to soundtracks. Thank you again for thinking of me, and I can't wait to unwrap your gift! :) 

General Like's & Do Not Want's

General Likes: post-canon, happy endings, getting together, domestic/slice of life, loyalty kink, banter, absurd hijinks, dark humor, case fics, mutual pining, acts of service as a primary love language (nonverbal I love you's), sharing a bed (and other contrived scenarios to drive sexual tension), fucked up dark violent us-against-the-world raze-the-ground-and-salt-the-earth-for-you attachments, possessiveness, conflict in relationships, moving through conflict and coming out stronger for it, complicated feelings, ambiguous relationships, character studies, outsider point of views, dogs, nature and outdoors, subverting heterosexual tropes, queer themes, handwave-y 'everyone is poly & attracted to all genders'

Art Likes: characters touching | kissing! | physical affection | visual contrasts | color contrasts | bright colors | watercolor & pastels | color pop effects | deliberate color palettes | ink | crisp line art | negative space | canon-style art | pixel art | digital art | tattoos and tattoo designs | fun outfits! | art nouveau | tarot | pin-up | comics | animanga | CLAMP (particular works like X/1999 and Rayearth) | floral, nature, outdoors

Smut Likes: begging | teasing & dirty talk | humiliation over obvious arousal (both overtly shameful and light-hearted teasing) | exhibitionism without voyeurism (covert public sex, sex in public settings without witnesses such as in the woods or empty parking lot; trying not to get caught having sex somewhere inappropriate; things of that nature) | multiple orgasms | begging for orgasms | breast-groping | nipple play | women on top | face-riding | PIV sex | big dicks | very tiny woman stuffed with very large cock | bondage & restraints | sexual tension building until it finally explodes | spanking | pining down and manhandling | wrestling for dominance | tantalizing glimpses of nipples under clothing | cross-dressing | lingerie | face slapping | breeding kink as dirty talk with any risk | implicit (but not formalized) d/s dynamics

Do Not Want: Insecurity as a major theme/issue | pregnancy | kid fics | torture/abuse beyond what's canon-typical | requested character deaths | unhappy/unresolved endings | requested couple not together at the end | characters having traumatic backgrounds that are beyond the scope of what's explicitly canon (eg, no CSA backstories) | the phrase "little one" | mundane AUs (canon divergence is loved!) | settings/AUs that are darker/more dystopian than canon | medical/physical gender transition | discussions of sexual identities/labels | characters with identity labels not explicitly named in the canon | (references to) requested characters being sexually assaulted | character bashing | issue fic | PWP (fic where more than 50% of the wordcount is smut)

Art Do Not Want's: graphic depictions of physical injuries, organs, or other gore | visible genitals (nudity okay tho!) | red as the dominant/primary color (but I love pink!) | charcoal as a medium | voxel or isometric style art | chibi or bean head style | anything that could trigger trypophobia (fear of holes) | maggots, insects, bugs (visual depictions of decay is awesome, but no creepy crawlies please!) | body horror, especially of the spores & infections variety

Smut Do Not Want's: scat, vomit, piss, feces, vore, gore; intergenerational biological incest; pregnancy; mommy kink; ageplay; raceplay; beastiality/furry sex; involving food in sex; dry penetration; public humiliation (but light humiliation in private just between the couple is delicious!); reference to diseases or illnesses (including using condoms/barriers or other safer sex practices); non-consensual voyeurism; on-screen kink negotiations or safeword discussions; characters needing to safeword

Song of the Lioness - Tamora Pierce

Characters Requested: Jonathan of Conté, Alanna of Trebond [My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags]

Canon-Specific Likes: I've received some stellar Jon/Alanna fics set during the first two books recently, so I'd especially love to read something that takes place after Alanna receives her shield. (That said, the first two books are my favorites for a reason, so receiving more fic set during Alanna's teen years will never be a cause for complaint.)

Canon-Specific Do Not Want's: Any references to (or implications of) ongoing or future Alanna/George unless in the context of an Alanna/George/Jon(/Thayet) poly relationship. Past or broken-up Alanna/George, however, is okay. 

Jon/Alanna is the ship I will never get over. While Thayet and George are objectively the best partners for Jon and Alanna respectively, I just love the sparkling chemistry and dynamic between our king and his champion so much. Everything they've been through together! Their banter is sheer delight, leading to some of my favorite verbal sparring in a series with a notoriously sharp-tongued protagonist. I especially love the relationship they have as the King and the King's Champion, which sets off all of my loyalty kink buttons! 

Their canon adventures hit all my favorite (hurt/comfort) tropes: bedside vigil, predestined relationship, mutual protectiveness, battle couple, post-battle hurt/comfort, sworn fealty, silent communication from across the room, holding hair back hurt/comfort, big damn rescue with comfort, male handler/female fighter...they're literally legendary heroes together! 

I will be forever disappointed that all of the complex tension between duty and desire that stood in the way between them got reduced to communication breakdowns. How Jonathan behaved in the desert runs extremely contrary to how he behaved in the previous books, and I'd love to see how things could have played out differently, or how they could've learned how to communicate better. Anything explores the pain/resentment that still lingers from their break-up and why their relationship failed the first time around, especially if there's a sense of "what's different this time around?" I think that Jon and Alanna hurting each other is inevitable (the way conflict is unavoidable in all relationships), but I'd love to see how they come back from that hurt. 

Tortall is my perennial fandom, and I've requested this fandom in exchanges so often that I now have a separate brain dump post dedicated to my favorite ships. All of my Jon/Alanna prompts can be found there, and I would be beyond stoked to receive fic about anything I've prompted for in the past. While those prompts were written with romance in mind, I'm very down for ambiguous/gen takes as well, as long as the fic highlights the inseverable strength of Jon & Alanna's relationship. What matters most to me is the intensity of their connection and the significance of dedication to each other, regardless of what form that bond takes. What I most want to read about is how well these characters know and understand each other, and how important the relationship is to each of them. 

I'd also love to see more explorations of Alanna's gender, especially in the context of their relationship! Jon accusing Alanna of being unfeminine contributed to their break-up, but I mean...when was that ever a previously a problem in their relationship? (Not going to lie, I would be over the moon to receive anything about Jon experiencing Gay Panic over his feelings for Alanna, and the gender fuckery that involves!)

If you're interested in writing some worldbuilding, this fandom is a particularly fun request to make for Yuletide given that SOTL has been separated out from the other Tortall series, which allows more room to really dig at and play with the worldbuilding inconsistencies between SOTL and future Tortall series. Tell me about Ysandirs, the Old Ones, and demon magic! Are there any other Bazhir legends about Jon and/or Alanna? How does the "Sorcerer's Sleep" work, and what was up with the magic behind Lightning the sword? 

As feral as I am about the Jon/Alanna ship, I love them with their canon partners as well, so I'm more than happy for a Jon/Alanna fic that takes place within the context of a greater poly relationship that involves George and/or Thayet. (As long as the focus remains on Jon & Alanna themselves.)

天空戦記 シュラト| Tenkuu Senki Shurato | Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato (Anime)

Characters Requested: Kuroki Gai, Hidaka Shurato  [My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags]

Decades before Naruto chased Sasuke across the earth to rescue him from evil clutches of Orochimaru, there was Shurato, desperately trying to get his lifelong best friend back from Shiva, whose brainwashing turned Gai from a calm, cool, intelligent pacifist to a dark, sadistic warrior hellbent on murdering Shurato. Confused as to why Gai suddenly hates him, our poor protagonist spends the entire series trying to get his Gai back, with intermittent moments of success that only make it all the more painful when Shiva re-tightens his grasp on Gai.

In accordance to the laws of anime and narrative storytelling, Shurato is only able to get Gai back at the very end of the series, when Gai returns to him for a few, brief, moments before SACRIFICING HIMSELF TO SAVE SHURATO!!! AHHHH!!

It's been 30+ years since Gai died, and I am still waiting for my fix-it! Please give me any sort of Gai-lives canon divergence, where Shurato gets Gai back and they're able to live happily ever after in Tenkukai!

I love the other Hachibushu too, so if you want to include other pairings on the side, I'd be VERY down for that! I like Renge/Hyuga, Reiga/Kuya, Hyuga/Ryoma, Renge/Marichi, and Dan/Laksh, but I'm honestly open to any pairings that don't split up Shurato/Gai.

If you want more specific prompts:

1. The classic: how do Shurato and Gai get together?
2. First kiss! How does it happen? Is it when Gai is still brainwashed? Is it followed by enemies-to-lovers make-outs?
3. Fix it and bring Gai back to life please! Show me Shurato's face lighting up with joy when he realizes that Gai is alive!
4. Oh my god, please give me an adorable Tenkukai wedding between them! And all the hijinks the Hachibushu get into surrounding said wedding!
5. How does Gai feel about the period when he was brainwashed? How does he feel about how he acted toward Shurato?
6. How do the rest of the Hachibushu feel about Gai's redemption? Do they welcome him to their fold with open arms, or are they a little more hesitant? How do they feel about Shurato and Gai's romance?
7. Reiga is such a trickster flirt, and I'd love to see Reiga as a foil for Gai when it comes to Shurato's affections! Does Gai get jealous of Reiga's flirting with Shurato, or is he completely nonchalant? Is Shurato pouty that Gai is so nonchalant? Or maybe the flirting helps Gai realize his feelings about Shurato!

Note that these are VERY optional prompts. Again, I'm truly not expecting anyone to even know about this series, let alone have seen it, so truly, anything you create would automatically lead to instant keyboard-smashing happiness!

魔法陣グルグル | Mahōjin Guru Guru | Magical Circle Guru Guru (Anime 1994 & 2000)

Characters Requested: Nike, Juju [My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags]

Canon-Specific Likes: I've seen the 1994, 2000, and 2017 versions of the anime, and while they're all great, I do have a strong preference for the 1994 version, especially since that has the most extended Nike/Juju interactions during the Dohgma arc.

Canon-Specific Do Not Want's: Nike and Kukuri in a romantic relationship, Nike returning Kukuri's feelings

Is this a case of me just crack-smashing my two favorite characters together? Maybe!! But I genuinely am interested in how their dynamic would play out! While the series is literally about Nike and Kukuri's relationship, Juju is written to be Kukuri's foil, so it's interesting to think about how Nike/Kukuri and Juju/Nike represent two very different hetero-ship archetypes. I love how assertive and independent Juju is, and I'm curious what it'd be like for NIke to team up with someone who is more assertive about taking charge, and has a more realistic assessment of his abilities. (Nike/Juju also plays into my love of the female fighter/male handler trope, with the way he can make her fall asleep when she releases her more...volatile side.) 

Honestly, I just love Juju so much. She is literally the best part of every single scene she's in, and I love the how Nike is scared of her when she shifts into psycho-priestress mode. (Is my thing "powerful women and the men who are scaroused by them"? Maybe.) While I do ship these two, I'm very down for a queerplatonic or romantic friendship as well. 

I'm fine with however you want to handle Kukuri: keeping her feelings unrequited, leaving Kukuri at the training house, canon divergence where Kukuri couldn't be with Nike anymore because of the Migu Migu tribe, not addressing her at all, etc, is all fine by me. 

If you want more specific prompts:

1. The classic: how do Nike and Juju get together?
2. First kiss! How does it happen? Does Juju initiate? How does Nike react?
3. How does Kukuri react to Nike and Juju's relationship?
4. All of their friends are furious that Nike doesn't return Kukuri's feelings, and now Nike needs somewhere to lay low! Cue Juju to the rescue? 
5. Canon divergence: what if Nike and Juju couldn't save Dohgma, and they had no choice but to run away? What happens from there?
6. The thief and the monk go on any sort of magical adventure together! What happens? Does it end in kissing? (Yes, please and thank you)
7. Similar to the previous prompt: what if it was Juju that Nike had to team up with, at the beginning of the series? How would their adventures have played out?

Note that these are VERY optional prompts. There's literally nothing for this fandom on ao3, so anything you create would automatically lead to instant keyboard-smashing happiness!