touchofstrange

Dear Yuletide Writer/Yulegoat/Santa,

*Waves*

Hello! Welcome to my oft-recycled, slightly repackaged, and probably far-too-wordy letter! (Apologies in advance for the wordiness...)

First and foremost, I know it's cliché, but I'm just thrilled that you'll be writing for one of my chosen fandoms. That in itself is fabulous, and I'm appreciative and excited and I certainly hope your assignment is something that you enjoy!

Second and uh, secondmost?, I love all of my fandoms equally, so I’ll love whichever one you end up writing for. I’m just excited to get fic in any of these fandoms!

If it helps you at all - I'm on tumblr as touchofstrange and have anon turned on. I'm on AO3 as skitz_phenom (DV-Skitz) and I have an LJ that hasn't been updated in about 7 years, also as skitz_phenom - if you're someone who really likes to get to know your recipient. :)

I'll start off with more of a general description of my likes and dislikes/DNWs in fandom and fic, and then I'll move on to more specifics for each of my selections. Please be assured though, that I'm open to almost anything and I want you to have fun writing this. If, upon reading the fandom/characters you were matched on, an idea sparked in your mind: run with it (just please keep the 'not fond of/DNW' list in mind)! Also please note that my details and/or prompts may contain spoilers.

General ‘Stuff I like’:

• Slow-build/burn, first-time is one of my absolute favorite relationship tropes. Friends-to-lovers, or enemies-to-lovers or anything in-between.

• I’m also a total sucker for lots of the really tropey plots & scenarios so please don't be afraid of using them (or lampshading/subverting them). Here are a few that are awesome:

· Bed-sharing/Huddling for warmth/forced closeness

· Magic gone awry

· Stranded together/Crashed on a desert island

· Pretend couple/marriage of convenience

• I love friendships, found-family and romance.

• I also really enjoy action/adventure, plotty case-fic, and humor.

• Angst & Hurt/comfort is terrifically dandy as well, and considering a couple of my fandoms, violence could be expected. I'll admit it though: I'm a sucker for a happy ending.

• Crossovers might be okay, but I'd have to know the other fandom (although, feel free to crossover ANY of Tanya Huff's works/universes). And Canon-adjacent AU is welcome.

• Length of story doesn’t matter to me – but I’m not afraid of long fic. I will love anything from 1000-100,000 words!

• I'm signed-up for both Yuleporn (all my fandoms) & Crueltide (Damien)

• If you do run into questions/concerns, please don't hesitate to have a mod ask me (or send me an anon ask on tumblr)!

The ‘Stuff I like Ratings/Sex-wise’:

• I’m entirely open when it comes to Gen, Het, Slash, Femslash, Threesomes/ Moresomes (it's always fun to include a fandom where 'moresomes' are a possibility) as they suit the fandom & characters.

• I'll enjoy everything from gen to explicit and everything in between.

• Porn is great. I love porn. But it’s definitely not a must. (I’m including some PWP type prompts – though I think any of the other prompts could lend themselves to porn happening.)

• If things get do porny - plain ol' vanilla sex is great, but I enjoy kinky stuff as well.

• I like top/bottom switching. I'm not picky on who does what to who and the more variety the better.

• A couple of kinks/things I’m particularly fond of (in any/all gender combinations):

· A character face-forward against a wall/door/bulkhead being sexed-up from behind.

· Frottage

· Rimming

· Fingering

· Biting/Marking.

· Pegging.

· Dual penetration.

· Intercural.

· Xeno or tentacles (where applicable to the fandom).

The ‘What I’m Not So Fond of’ aka DNWs:

So that being said, there are a few other things that aren’t really my cup of tea:

• I’d prefer not to see certain extreme kinks: underage, watesports, scat, vore, bestiality, age-play, daddy-kink, infantilism, emetophilia, inflation, feeding, lactation/pregnancy, amputation.

• Please no animal cruelty. (Hunting/fishing is fine as they fit the fandom)

• Please no character bashing. Even if I didn’t request the characters, I pretty much like them all.

• I’m as much a fan of the universes I’m requesting as the characters, so I’d prefer not to see much in the way of non-canon AU (i.e coffee shop, tattoo parlor, etc...)

• Not a huge fan of 1^st or 2^nd person POV, or of epithets.

• No permanent character death or suicide. I don’t mind if you go darkside, and temporary death for plot purposes is fine, but I appreciate avoiding killing anyone off. **

• Partner betrayal makes me uncomfortable, as does incest (unless it’s canon) and humiliation. **

• Sorry to say I’m not fond of vampire/werewolf AU, slave AU, seme/uke dynamics, disability fic, issue-fic, trans or ace headcanons, A/B/O type verse, Mpreg, always-a-girl/boy, or D/s lifestyle 24/7.

• Lastly, I’d prefer to avoid noncon, and steer away from dubcon w/out feelings and/or consequences. **

• All this with the caveat that I do expect some of this could be applicable in the canons I’ve selected - e.g. consent with regard to the di’Taykan (Valor series) could easily be dubious.

** The Damien caveat: Not to complicate things, but for Damien I’m open to ignoring anything noted with ** in the above list. Dark & twisted is encouraged here. He's the Antichrist after all! I’d still prefer to avoid the first bullet point – but other kinks are welcome and encouraged (ex: knife/blood-play, somnophilia, bondage, domination, pain-play, etc…)

All righty, I realize all of that is pretty general - if it's enough to get you started, great! But if you'd like more fandom-specific thoughts, keep on reading! I’ll also provide a bit more about what I love about each fandom, some general things I’d be interested in, as well as a couple of specific prompts (which are complete suggestions! Like I said, if you've got an idea already, go for it! Or feel free to mix & match prompts, or use a prompt for a different fandom!)

Valor Series - Tanya Huff (Ressk, Werst, Torin Kerr, Binti Mashona)

From my Sign-up Details: "I simply adore these books. I’ve read all the books multiple times - including the newest - so any setting/time-frame that fits with the characters nominated would be great; but I particularly love the idea of Torin's new team working for the Wardens being kick-ass and going on awesome ex-space marine adventures. But post-series isn’t a must; I'd pretty much love anything to do with any of these folks or even the different alien species/societies or worldbuilding. Fun action/adventure, mystery, intrigue, 'day in the life', smutty di'Taykan fun... it's all good. I'm also extremely partial to Ressk/Werst and their relationship.”

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/tanya-huff/ (There’s a summary for each book here!)

The reason I love this fandom: I feel a bit ‘broken record here’ but it’s definitely Huff’s characters that drew me into the Valor books in the first place, and they’re the reason I reread them so often. I love Space Marines and the team/found-family vibe of Torin’s crew. I love the sprawling space-opera aspect of these books and the various alien species we’ve been introduced to and the even the politics of the war with the Primacy and the issues of the Elder races and the whatever-the-hell is up with the Plastic aliens. There are lots of tropes in these books, but I love that so often they’re subverted/averted/lampshaded. Oh, and the Taykan… cuz how can you not adore a race of sexually indiscriminate space elves with matching pastel hair and eyes…

It bears repeating that I adore everything about these books. I'll be honest: Ressk/Werst is my Valor OTP (Bonded! <3) So basically if you write something with the two of them involved, I'll adore it. But honestly, focusing on any requested character is equally wonderful. Binti is so kick-ass and we know so little about her! I've also grown to love fucked-up woobie Alamber and while he's got some growing up to do, he's really become a part of the family (how adorable is the idea of him cuddling up at night with Torin and Craig, or Ressk and Werst?) I requested four characters, so my prompts will focus on them, but Torin and Craig are so integral to the rest of their crew, so don’t be afraid to include them, or to just give me worldbuilding/PWP.

So, whether they're fighting pirates, or running into new and weird aliens, or stranded in space in the Promise and forced to live in each other’s pockets (and have wild orgies)... just have fun with 'em! I’ll include prompts for each nominated character, and worldbuilding, but a focus on one/any/all of them is great.

Specific Prompts:

• Tell me about how things came together for Ressk and Werst. In the books we get hints of it starting… but I wanna know that backstory! Who propositioned who? When did it happen. Was it just a couple of lonely, battle worn soldiers seeking comfort at first, or was there more to it? (Mention of their class differences is a big plus!).

• Binti competes in some intergalactic games and while she’s focusing on trying to win the sharpshooting events, the rest of the team are behind-the-scenes trying to prevent something bad from happening. Or perhaps Binti gets to know one of the competitors a bit better.

• Alamber’s lonely and Torin's right: they need another Taykan on board! Tell me about who that is, and how things change with Alamber with finally having another of his species on board. Alamber's got issues out the wazoo (how could you not want to hug the poor guy after his little 'experiment' with the Thun) and maybe it takes another mixed-up di'Taykan to help him work through them.

• Worldbuilding: There have been so many fascinating alien species described or even just briefly mentioned throughout the series. Introduce me to one (or more) in more detail! The Dornigan and their awesome mouthful names, the Mictok and their beautiful art, the H’san and cheese!

• PWP: Orgy aboard the Promise! Di’Taykan pheromone fun and games where everyone wants to play. Mix & Match! Binti and Torin get some quality lady-time, while Ressk and Werst engage in some weird Krai antics that involve all those opposable digits, and Craig finally puts poor Alamber out of his misery. (Seriously, any and all combos - threesome, foursome, moresome... new alien species with tentacles?!! - Go for it!)

• PWP Worldbuilding (is there such a thing?): A Di’Taykan (one we know or someone new) is dead-set on sexing-up every sex-receptive species in the galaxy. He/she/zhe keeps a journal of these encounters… uh, for science.

Damien (TV) - (Damien Thorne, Amani Golkar, James Shay, Ann Rutledge)

From my Sign-up Details: This show… I just loved it so much. *sigh* I decided to give Damien a chance because I both adore Bradley James, and also love the original Omen movie. And to me, the show did not disappoint. The story, the setting, the characters… they were all great. It had such ridiculous potential for ongoing seasons and I was rather gutted that it got cancelled. I’d absolutely love to read something that focuses on Damien, either during the show, or delves into what happens after or explores his relationship with any of the other requested characters (or any combination thereof – you needn’t include all 4 requested characters, however) would also be awesome. There is so much potential for fucked-up dynamics.

The reason I love this fandom: As I mentioned, I came for the Bradley James & the classic horror I love, and stayed for a show that really ended up far better than I expected. I just rewatched the entire thing again and found it even better the second time around. What really got to me was how morally grey everyone was, and even when you were pretty sure someone was evil for evil’s sake, they were shown as having humanity. And I pretty much wanted to get inside Damien’s head through every single scene. I got delightful fic in this fandom last year, but selfishly, I want more!

Specific Prompts:

• So, Damien has – however reluctantly - accepted who he is. What does that mean for him going forward? We know he’s tried to be ‘good’ but also that he has a dark side. Will he be able to maintain this balance now that he’s come to terms with being the Antichrist?

• Photographing a war vet while he committed suicide obviously had a huge impact on Damien. Tell me about Damien’s thoughts throughout, and what prompted his own attempt.

• There’s a really awesome antagonism between Damien and Detective James Shay. Damien’s been pretty cocky and Shay was going a bit mad with it all. What does it mean that he took a knee for Damien at the end? Is he truly hopping on the Antichrist bandwagon? And what does Damien think of the good detective’s sudden change of heart. How does he take advantage? (Totally open to PWP, or really dark, fucked-up dynamics here).

• Speaking of awesome dynamics, Damien’s relationship with Ann Rutledge is just so twisted. Does she want to be his mother, his lover, his keeper, his servant, his protector, or all of the above? What does she want from Damien? What does Damien want from her now that he’s acknowledged who he is? Will he continue to push against her, or will he give in and be what she wants? (Totally open to PWP, or really dark, fucked-up dynamics here).

• Throughout all of the shit Damien’s been through, Amani has been there to support him. Even when Damien pushed him away, Amani came back. He’s loyal and true-hearted and brave as hell. (And not dead, btw… Cuz that was totally his hand, right?) But, now that Damien’s come into his power, what will that mean for Amani? Will Damien be able to keep from letting his power change his relationship with Amani? (Totally open to PWP, or really dark, fucked-up dynamics here).

• PWP: Drunk on his new power, and wanting to take back his own control, Damien puts his influence to the test with one/more of the people in his life (any of the requested characters). How dark and depraved will he get?

Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game) (Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Vernon Roche)

From my Sign-up Details: I’ve played everything, all the way through Witcher III: Blood & Wine. This game series was just fantastic, but Witcher III was absolutely one of my favorite games of all time. I loved the world, and the gameplay and the rich and detailed storylines. It was just so immersive. I absolutely loved playing as Geralt and everything about being a Witcher. And, maybe it’s because of my previous decisions through Witcher II, but I just love Vernon Roche as well. He’s not necessarily a good guy, but he’s loyal and protective and makes some hard choices. And yeah, I kind of unapologetically ship Geralt/Roche. I don’t absolutely need ship-fic by any means, but would definitely enjoy more adventures involving these two. There’s so much room in the canon to explore new adventures, monsters or even revisit old friends/enemies. Heck, even just Vernon and Geralt hanging out in his villa in Toussaint would be great!

The reason I love this fandom: Witcher III pretty much stole my soul for a ridiculous amount of time. I’d not played any of the Witcher games before but RPGs & MMORPGs are my jam, so I bought all 3 bundled, played through I & II fairly quickly so that I could immerse myself in III; and boy howdy, did I! I’ve not read the books, so my knowledge is purely from the Video Game series. I love Geralt because he’s got an emotional depth buried beneath such a hard façade. When I played him, I most often choose solutions or scenarios that tended towards kinder outcomes and/or were greyer in morality – and he definitely didn’t always choose to slay the monster. Sometimes he tried to understand and help them. I don’t know how much – if any- of a role Roche plays anywhere other than the games, but I kind of adore him. His history is so dark and desperate. I feel like he tries to do what’s right for his country, above all else, even when it ends up backfiring for him terribly. (In my playthrough of Witcher II, he totally assassinated Henselt. Oh, and I also killed Letho. And we killed Djikstra together.)

I think he and Geralt could be wonderfully broken together, bonding over their failed relationships, and poor decisions in trying to eventually do the right thing. I do utterly ship them, and obviously would love ship fic, but I would also totally love action adventure or plotty, ‘buddy-cop’ antics. Any mention of video-game canon characters is totally fine as well! In my play-through, Geralt ended up alone, though I don’t dismiss his relationships with Triss & Yennifer. Then again, he also had flings with Kiera, Shari and Syrana (and pretty much every prostitute … I just liked getting Geralt ‘naked’). I esp. loved Ciri, Dandelion, Regis, Zoltan and Ves. So, please don’t feel like you can’t include any of them, but I’d like the focus to be on Geralt and Roche.

Specific Prompts:

• Geralt is tasked to complete a mission (maybe something associated to Witcher-school lore) that will require him to venture into some kind of spirit/other realm, leaving his body behind. He needs someone he trusts to watch over him while he does this, and asks Roche. Naturally things don’t go as planned and Roche needs to follow him into this other realm/Geralt’s mind/etc... to rescue him.

• Roche is at his wits end with Ves, and he contacts Geralt once more to ask his advice. Cue them bonding over difficult ‘daughter-figures’.

• PWP: Geralt encounters Roche while on a mission to dispatch an incubus. Inhibitions lowered, Geralt and Roche give in to their desires and lots of hot, sweaty sex ensues. They try to blame it on the incubus… only to find out it wasn’t an incubus after all.

• Roche shows up at Geralt’s villa needing a place to lay low. Though he’s close-mouthed about it at first, Geralt convinces him to talk about his troubles, and the two work together to get Roche out of his latest political conundrum.

• Roche enlists Geralt's help after some men under his command disappear and he fears some kind of beast/monster. Together they dispatch the creature, but Roche is horribly injured, forcing Geralt to make the decision to try to use Witcher decoctions to try to save his life. Hurt/comfort to the max!

The Pilgrimage (The Mute (Pilgrimage), Brother Diarmuid, Brother Ciarán)

From my Sign-up Details: This movie was one of those surprises that I'd never even heard of before finding in available on-demand. I watched because the cast list looked amazing (and it was!), and was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie. Whether you'd want to explore more slice-of-life at the monastery, or the various relationships between the brothers prior to the events of the movie, or focus on some events of their journey with the relic, or delve into the past of the Mute, or even play around with a possible 'fix-it' for the end, I'd welcome it all. I admit, I was quite interested in the bond between Brother Diarmuid and The Mute, so shipfic for those two would also be great.

The reason I love this fandom: This is such a character driven movie, and I feel like there’s a lot of depth into those characters left to be plumbed. Who were each of these men before they got to the Monastery? I was especially fascinated by the relationship between The Mute and Brother Diarmuid (forehead touching is such an insta-love button for me), and how protective the Mute was, but I also really enjoyed the interactions between all of the Brothers. The sort of father-son bond that seemed to exist between Brother Ciarán and Diarmuid especially tugged at my heartstrings. As I mentioned, I do utterly ship the Mute & Diarmuid, so please don’t be afraid to go there! I have a special fondness for the whole warrior/priest forbidden relationship thing. And, the ending left just enough hope in there that maybe Diarmuid wasn’t the only one to survive, right?

Specific Prompts:

• Obviously, there’s a very deep backstory for The Mute. Explore that to your heart’s content! What made him this silent protector who can go into complete berserker mode? Exploring his relationship with Diarmuid – especially why he’s so protective of him – would be great here! Whether that’s sexual or not is up to you!

• We learned a little bit of what brought Diarmuid to the Monastery, but his is also a backstory that would be fascinating to delve into. Does he ever feel trapped in his life, since it’s not necessarily one of his choosing? How has meeting the Mute changed how he feels about becoming a Monk?

• Has the relic ever impacted the Brothers at the Monastery in some special way? Perhaps they’d experienced its power in some sort of upheaval or conflict?

• Brother Ciarán is an herbalist and it’d be fascinating to see how his skills have impacted his fellows at the Monastery.

• Fix-it! The Mute survives his battle at the end, and Diarmuid returns to shore to save him. Shippy h/c is totally welcome here!

Happy Yuletide!!