2019 Fandom 5k Letter

[touchofstrange]

Dear Fandom5k Writer,

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'll try to prompt equally, but sometimes my brain is all 'any fic for these characters, omg' and fails hard at the prompt thing - so, regardless of prompt quantity/quality, I’m honestly just excited to get fic in any of these fandoms! Oh, and if - by chance - you've written for me before and recognize prompts, it's not recycled because I didn't love what you wrote - I'm just greedy and want more!

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.

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 love scenarios that push characters into physical and emotional extremes where their vulnerability comes to the fore/gives them a reason to admit to feelings and act on them.

•         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.

•         Characters who go to BAMFy extremes for the other - to save them, or get vengeance on someone who hurt them - is pure catnip. 

•         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. And Canon-adjacent AU is welcome.

•         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 requested.

•         I'll absolutely enjoy everything from gen to explicit and everything in between. With matching being character and/or pairing based, yeah, I'm definitely in it for the relationship between the characters and most/(almost all) of the time I'm interested in their relationship being romantic/sexual in nature, but I'm totally cool if that doesn't include sex. 

•         That said, Porn is great. I love porn. (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:

My 'hardstop, probably won't read' DNWs are in my sign-up (and copied below). That being said, there are a few other things that aren’t really my cup of tea:

From my letter - DNWs include: certain extreme kinks (ex: underage, watesports, scat, vore, bestiality, age-play, daddy-kink, infantilism, emetophilia, inflation, feeding, lactation/pregnancy, amputation), noncon btwn requested characters, partner betrayal, permanent char. death, suicide, 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.

•         Regarding the 'extreme kinks', I think I've covered most of the broad categories that fall under the YKINMKATO setting, but I know sometimes those boundaries can blur, so if you have any questions about other kinks, please feel free to ask!

•         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.

•         Lastly,  I’d prefer to avoid noncon (esp. between the nominated characters), and steer away from dubcon w/out feelings and/or consequences (i.e. Okay would be Sex Pollen w/ 'OMG what did I/You/We do?!').

•         All this with the caveat that I do expect some of this could be applicable in the canons I’ve selected.

Canon specific details & prompts!

Warcraft (2016)  

Group: Anduin Lothar/Khadgar

Why I love this fandom: The first time I saw this movie I did enjoy it, but I wasn’t hooked… I think it was difficult to divorce myself from my WoW gameplay experiences and see it as its own thing. But then I watched it again…and again and again. Honestly, it has become like my #1 guilty pleasure movie. Any every time I see it, I love Lothar and Khadgar more even more. From that first moment of desk-slamming, to the ‘let me see your eyes’…I adore every moment they spend together in scenes. (I know it’s a pretty desperate hope – but I’m still crossing my fingers for a sequel) I enjoy all the other characters as well! Also, I’ve played WoW since pretty much launch, but I’m not that obsessed with canon, so I don’t mind if you’d like to take inspiration from game canon. Or to go AU from the movie.
 
Specific Prompts:

• Rumors of a great, magical relic begin to circulate and Taria sends her two best champions to investigate and seek out this powerful artifact. Khadgar tries to teleport them there, but this item interferes and it redirects his magic, stranding he and Lothar somewhere unknown.

• PWP: Magic spell gone awry! Investigating reports of something strange in a nearby land, Lothar accidentally triggers some kind of spell that has unusual consequences. Khadgar is sent for to try to ‘cure’ him.  They discover it requires admission of feelings… and sex, obviously.
  

• Khadgar’s sudden elevation in status means he becomes a target for enemies of the crown. Lothar is charged with protecting him, and he takes his duty just a bit too seriously. It’s starting to get in the way of Khadgar’s opportunity to meet new people…  After Lothar ends up interrupting yet another potential ‘date’, Khadgar decides that Anduin needs to explain himself.

• Reports come in that the Fel is resurfacing and the Orcs are organized once again. Khadgar thinks he discovers a way to make the fel leave Azeroth one and for all, but to attempt it could result in his death. Lothar, who would sacrifice himself for the Kingdom and his Queen in a heartbeat, doesn’t understand why he’s unwilling to let Khadgar take that risk.

• More magical hijinks! For the purposes of a mission, Khadgar and Lothar agree to a magical bodyswap. To keep the mission a secret, no one but the Queen can know. Obviously… they learn quite a bit about each other while living each other’s lives.

 

Blood Ties (TV) 

Group: Henry Fitzroy/Mike Celluci

Why I love this fandom: As I mentioned in my sign-up, I'm a huge fan of these books and have been since I read Blood Price back in '91. Book!Mike and Book!Henry are completely different in my head than the TV show, but I ended up adoring them equally as played by Dylan Neal & Kyle Schmid. I kinda shipped it in the books (though I was more into Mike/Vicki and Henry/Tony) but the TV Versions became eminently shippable! They have a chemistry that's so vibrant! Plus, where the show ended, I don't think either of them deserve Vicki, LOL - She's too badass on her own. But I'm cool with mention of Henry/Vicki or Mike/Vicki (or Vicki/Coreen).

Specific Prompts:

• Henry's latest graphic novel focuses on a police officer, and as it's still a sore subject with Vicki, Henry reluctantly reaches out to Mike to be his resource on the force. Of course this means they'll need to spend quite a bit of time together...
  
  
• Mike's latest case has him stumped. He doesn't want to admit that he could use the help of a private detective - or especially, a private detective's vampire associate. But, there are lives at risk and Mike's going to have to put aside his personal (and very confused) feelings for Henry to solve this one.
  
  
• A cursed object falls into the wrong hands; namely Mike and Henry's. They find themselves drawn to each other or unable to be apart, and have to work quite closely together to get themselves out of this situation.
  
  
• There's no reason he should be so hung up on it; Mike had already confirmed that there's no mystical 'bond' or other weirdness caused by being used as vampire take out. But he just can't stop thinking about what it felt like to have Henry's hands on his body and teeth in his throat.
  
  
• Dealing with an inheritance from an uncle he'd not seen since he was a boy, Mike discovers that the man was heavily into the mystical/otherworldly and knew plenty about vampires. Among his uncle's possessions he finds an ancient item that's said to have the power to grant vampires the ability to face the sun for a day.
   

Doctor Who (1963) 

Group: Seventh Doctor/Ace McShane

Why I love this fandom: Everyone has ‘their’ Doctor, and though I’ve been a Whovian since I was a wee child and started watching in the early Baker years, Sylvester is absolutely ‘my’ Doctor.  And Ace will always be my favorite companion.  I think if she’d been any different, the whole ‘modern rebellious teen’ thing wouldn’t have worked for me… but Ace was perfect. Completely brill! And she and the Doctor had such a layered and convoluted and epic relationship.  I truly think that if some of the best Seven/Ace episodes had been recreated now… they’d be too much to handle!  And I firmly believe that they both love each other beyond just the bonds of friendship.  Though I think they both end up retreating from that… and it colored some of their subsequent adventures.

I'm not completely versed on all the books/radio plays that deal with what happened to Ace & Seven after the series went on its 'long hiatus' but I know enough that setting a story during that timeframe would be totally fine. Including pretty much any other companion or any other regeneration is totally cool as well - just as long as the focus is on Seven/Ace.

Specific Prompts:
 

• How do things change for Ace and the Doctor after the end of Survival? The unseen fallout from Ace’s time with the Cheetah People. Ace has opened herself up to her more primal nature and wants to explore it. The Doctor still has trouble seeing Ace as a grown woman with wants and needs.
  
• The Doctor takes Ace to a planet for a bit of R&R (perhaps post Fenris?) but naturally things get out of control quickly.  Ace and the Doctor have to play ‘happy couple’ to keep the natives from sacrificing them to an angry god.
  
• The Doctor left Ace on Gallifrey to study with the Time Lords.  It’s been some years since they’ve last seen each other.  Neither one is prepared for just how much things have changed between them when they finally meet up again.
  
  
• Ace is kidnapped by a primitive alien sect and when the Doctor learns what happens to their prisoners, he'll move the heavens - or the planets themselves - to save her.
  
  
• Once again the Doctor's curiosity has gotten him into a heap of trouble. With his lives on the line, Ace is going to need more than her trusty nitro nine to get him out of this one (not that a few cans wouldn't come in handy!)

Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)  

Group: Geralt of Rivia/Vernon Roche

Why I love this fandom: The best RPG I've ever played, in part because of how much I loved the characters. Vernon was my immediate fav, and I think that he and Geralt could be wonderfully broken together, bonding over their failed relationships, and poor decisions in trying to eventually do the right thing. Any mention of video-game canon characters is totally fine as well - except Emhyr. Please do not include him (except in mention if you refer to Ciri).

I hesitate to mention 'headcanons' as I know that they're quite a personal thing - but if it helps (and it's NOT necessary to include any of this!!) I see Geralt as pretty sexually flexible. Attracted to strong personalities and different kinds of power.  Roche, I read as gay but the type to abstain from sex - not out of a lack of desire, but because it leads to fewer complications in his life and less risk. I also suspect he's got a dark childhood. Again - purely speculation on my part and NOT required!

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.
  

• 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 in Toussaint 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!

• Roche aids Geralt on a contract where a devious sorceress traps them in a dangerous underground lair. Between the monsters and the dangerous spells and traps, their emotions may be the trickiest thing to navigate and it's going to be a challenge to get out of it alive.

The Firebringer Trilogy - Meredith Ann Pierce

Group: Aljan 'Jan'/Tek, Group: Lell/Illishar, Group: Dagg/Ryhenna, Group: Tek, Dagg, Aljan 'Jan', Teki

Why I love this fandom: I discovered the first book Birth of the Firebringer back when I was in the 5th grade through one of those Schoolastic book order forms. I saw unicorns on the cover and had to have it.  And I fell in love with that world of bad ass, colorful, dramatic equines. I didn't even know there were sequels until... some 10-12 years later (and tracking them down was nearly impossible! I didn't get my hands on all 3 until a plucky little web-based bookshop called Amazon came to my attention back in '94.) I love this world and all the characters and am open to anything in this world.

I'm going to prompt for each pairing & group - but please feel free to mix & match!
 
Specific Prompts:

• Aljan "Jan"/Tek: Their courting trek to the Summer Sea didn't go quite as planned. A few seasons after the Hallow Hills are won back, Jan endeavors to make the journey with his beloved once again, and this time to ensure things go exactly as planned. So naturally... they don't.

• Dagg/Ryhenna: The customs of the Ringdancers are completely new to her and Ryhenna finds herself struggling to fit in or even understand her distant, two-toed kin. Dagg becomes a fast friend to her, helping her to integrate, but the feelings she develops for her just confuse her even more.
  

• Lell/Illishar: The whole of the Hallow Hills is thrown into a tizzy when Lell and Illishar come back from the shores of the Summer Sea mated under Alma's Eyes. Some are disgusted, others confused, and some wholly unsurprised. I can't imagine Lell Darkamber would tolerate any judging stares for very long!
  
• Tek, Dagg, Aljan "Jan", Teki: Teki may not be a Seer, but he's well-versed in the singer's arts. When an old lay shared during ringdance sparks a memory of an even older tale he'd learned as a colt, it sends three old, dear friends on a unique quest.

Crossover Fandom 

Group: Ace McShane (Doctor Who 1963)/Jack Harkness (Torchwood)

Why I love this fandom: As I said in my sign-up, this was one of those 'out of left field' pairings that just kind of showed up in my head. I mean, I guess it's not that out of left field... as they're both part of Doctor Who canon, but still...  I just have very strong feelings about these two former companions who were both likely quite in love with their respective Doctors and also both kinda screwed over by them. I like a strong-willed, tough-as-nails Ace, and a Jack Harkness who's a charmer on the surface, but a man who's suffered underneath.

Specific Prompts:

• Jack finds himself in some dingy dive-bar on some random, backwater planet and sits down for a drink. There's a woman a few stools over eyeing everyone with barely concealed suspicion, so naturally Jack's drawn to her. Even more so when he recognizes that she's using a Dalek eyestalk as a keychain.
  
• Strange anomalies catch the attention of Torchwood and Jack sets out to investigate. At the same time, Ace - using her time hopper - is also alerted to some strange happenings back on earth. Can these two work together to save the earth without their past (or their burgeoning attraction) getting in the way?

• Unknowingly, Ace is set in Jack's path by the Doctor. He thinks he's doing her a favor because he knows she could use some... tension relief and who better for a no-strings fling than Captain Jack. But Ace may just find a kindred spirit instead of a one-night-stand.

• Daleks... why is it always Daleks? Jack could live another thousand lifetimes without ever running into them again. But obviously, he's going to help the innocent people on this planet. And who the hell is that amazing woman taking them down with just a baseball bat?