that's what first base is in croatia: staring contests

[sailor]

Dear Yuletide Author,

Hello and thank you so much for writing for me!! ♥ You're a gem, and I'm so excited to read what you end up writing.

My AO3 is strickerbacks (formerly brampersandon), where you can see what I've written/received in past Yuletides or peruse my bookmarks for more of an idea of what I read on the regular.

In general, I'm not picky at all and am super easy to please, so no need to stress over anything. I do have my general likes/dislikes which are applicable across the board, and I've included potential prompts for each fandom, but please don't feel like you need to adhere to those prompts if they don't spark anything for you. I'm much happier reading a story that you wanted to write and enjoyed writing. If you're having fun, I'm having fun!

Things I Love

• Found families and team dynamics — especially in a group of unlikely characters who may not always get along but absolutely do love each other


• Intense relationships — you and me against the world (even in small, mundane ways — two characters finding an understanding in each other that they can't find in anyone else), mentor/mentee relationships (platonic or shippy), codependency/loyalty kink, the friends to lovers trope, pining (seemingly unrequited or actually unrequited)


• Character studies — whether it's introspection or a study of how the character relates to their world/the other characters around them, anything that delves deeper into what makes a character tick is my jam


• Reunions — possibly my biggest weakness in any narrative, I love characters coming back together, realizing what they missed (or didn't) about one another, distance being forced between them OR deliberately chosen by one or both, reunions that don’t go well, everything about it really


• AUs of almost all kinds (exceptions below) — I have a special fondness for anything involving robots, ghosts, reincarnation, soulmates (including identifying marks/soulbonds/etc.), telepathy (touch or otherwise), space, theatre/film, mundane professions, etc.


• Banter/lots of dialogue, 5 things fics, non-linear narratives, starting fic in medias res, exposition and world-building


• Domesticity — more in terms of the concept of home than in the minutiae of actual home-making, I love characters working to settle in and feel at home in unfamiliar environments, missing home, finding homes in unconventional places (or people!), etc.


• Porn with plot — some things I enjoy reading are age difference, breathplay, dubcon, edging, over-stimulation, begging, praise kink, lots of talking, frottage, size difference, voyeurism, role reversals, rough sex, light (not overly-negotiated) bondage, characters discovering things they didn't know they were into

Do Not Wants

• Kidfic — characters being aged down into children or adult characters somehow acquiring children


• Issuefic


• Scenes of rape or self-harm


• A/B/O, hard kink (lifestyle BDSM/scat/guro/watersports/etc.)


• PWP — I love porn, but I prefer for it to be part of the bigger picture rather than the sole focus


• Some AUs — genderswap, werewolves/vampires/other mythical creatures, royalty/regency

Club de Cuervos
Potro, Moisés Suárez

HERE THERE BE SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3, WHICH JUST CAME OUT THE DAY BEFORE SIGN-UPS, HOO BOY

I think my favorite thing about Club de Cuervos is that it's as straight up ridiculous as football itself. I love that even though at its core it's about the Iglesias family power struggle, it very much fits into the world of football. I love that Cuervos FC (...Cuervos Negros Salvajes de Nuevo Toledo en Puebla, SORRY) isn't just a backdrop for a telenovela — everything about the show is perfectly woven into the intricacies and dramatics of running a football club. I love how much heart the show has! Every character has their own private world they're navigating through, and a lot of the relationships ended up becoming really special to me.

Basically, this show is everything I've ever wanted and more fic for it in general would make me the happiest Cuervo in the world. Picking who to request is like picking favorite children, but in the end I requested Moi and Potro because I have a deep abiding love for the fine line between best friends and more than friends. I can't get enough of the borderline codependency of teammates who spend all their time together on and off the field.

Obviously Moi wasn't in season two, and Potro was barely in season three, but somehow that only fueled my need for fic even more? ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER I GUESS. I just want to see expansion on their dynamic on the Cuervos so badly. I love even-keeled captain Moi who got burned bad and threw caution to the wind to move to Greece, I love Potro the cocky but insecure artist-turned-striker who's a hopeless romantic ruled by his dick, and I love the two of them together. There's so much unexplored history from their years together on the team! I think it would be super interesting to delve into all that.

One of the main things that interests me about Moi and Potro, separately and together, is the underlying tension of their situation. The Cuervos have never been a great team, and with the events that kick the show off, the entire makeup of their club rapidly becomes unstable. I'm really interested in how characters deal with terse and uncertain environments like that — how their personalities deal with it (or don't deal with it, as the case may be!), how they try to lean on each other, how adversity can help them grow together. The Cuervos are scrappy, and I love the idea of the two of them desperately trying to claw their way to glory together despite the limits placed on them.

Club de Cuervos is an exception to the yes gimme all the AUs rule. I'm so enamored with the universe of the show, I would prefer no AU fic for Moi and Potro. I just really like them as footballers in Nuevo Toledo!

Potential Prompts:

• Did I mention reunions? God, I love reunions. Moi finally returning to Nuevo Toledo in S3 didn't go... quite how I thought it would, seeing as Potro was sold at the same time. But if you wanted to write anything about their short-lived reunion upon Moi's return, I would love and adore that. Did they lose touch while Moi was in Greece or did they try to stay involved in each other's lives? Moi's clearly angry having to be back in Nuevo Toledo at first — does he take that out on Potro, or does Potro try to smooth it over? Do they continue to hook up even while Potro is at Pachuca? What happens when they play against each other? If you want to go even further into the future, what if the Cuervos opt to buy back Potro after S3? Moi and Potro reunited as co-captains and leaders of the team would be so great to read as well! Basically, anything having to do with their separation and reunion is like candy for me.


• I'll admit to being a total sucker for end-of-S2 hurt/comfort here. My original dream return for Moi was him coming back when he heard Potro got shot — obviously that didn't happen, but I still want it!! Moi coming back because he's worried about Potro and/or sticking around to help him during his recovery, that being the catalyst for having to face some real feelings — all of that hits a major H/C button for me! (Bonus, god knows injury isn't gonna stop Potro from trying to get laid, so the two of them fumbling their way through recovery sex would be awesome too!)


• My running joke in Club de Cuervos is that Aitor's appearance in S1 was Potro's Big Bisexual Awakening, but... What if it happened long before that? What if it was Moi instead? Anything that delves into their relationship pre-series would be so wonderful to read. How does their friendship grow into something more? How do they navigate that while being on the Cuervos? Does one of them have their first time with a dude with the other — or do they both? I love a good slow burn get-together fic so anything in the vein of their relationship pre-series would delight me.


• If you feel like getting smutty with it, I'm all for that! Aforementioned first time is a go of course, but I'm also super fond of football as a backdrop for smut — rooming together on team trips, locker room shower sex, clandestine hookups in the training center, goal celebration sex, commiseration sex post-loss, captain kink, I love alllllll of it! :> Also, I'm super into the dynamic where Potro is his usual salacious showoff self around Moi but actually gets flustered when Moi reciprocates and pays attention to him. Remember the part in S2 where Potro helps Julieta practice her bondage scene? Secret sub Potro is life, that's all I'm saying.


• If you don't ship them, something about their friendship pre/during/post-show would make me equally happy! How did they first become friends? When did it evolve outside the team? How many raucous vacations have they gone on together? Did Potro ever go see Moi play for Mexico? Really, there is so little Club de Cuervos fic that I'm thrilled to read absolutely anything about them. With either friendship gen or shippy/smutty fic, you have free license to include any of the other characters as much/little as you want. The show is such an ensemble and I love all of the characters so much, you can go hog wild with it and I'll be pleased as punch!

Juventus F.C. RPF
Gianluigi Buffon, Paulo Dybala

This is my most far-fetched message in a bottle, hoping anyone out there in the teeny tiny Juventus fandom is reading, because holy shit we have been blessed with a narrative this season.

Juve, more than any other team I've ever supported, feels like a family to me. There's such an emphasis on it in their media, and from the way a lot of the players talk about the club, I do feel like it's sincere. It's a team where everyone looks out for each other and where new players get folded in very quickly. I have a special place in my heart for older players helping newer ones fit in, and Juve is just rife with that.

And of course, nobody is a more ideal example of everything Juve is about than Gigi himself. Legendary keeper-captain of club and country, Gigi is such a stalwart presence between the sticks, in the dressing room, everywhere. I love that he's charming and enigmatic and magnetic, but also a total dork — he's funny and he knows it and he totally hams it up, but he's also distressingly earnest. I've never gotten over the fact that he wrote a love letter to the goal he defends and I doubt I ever will.

Then there's Paulo, local wonderkid, who's in his third season with the club and is already so attached to it and so integral to the team. It still amazes me just how quickly he slotted in. Everyone on Juve loves Paulo, and for good reason — he's a bright ray of sunshine, he's young and energetic while still being responsible and level-headed. He's the perfect boy, basically. I cry over how mature he is for his age on the regular. He's also prodigiously talented, so much so that Juventus has bestowed him with the legendary #10 this season.

There's also a massive age difference here. Sixteen years!! Paulo openly admits to being a huge fan of Gigi since he was a kid — he talks about how he used to choose him as his goalkeeper in video games, and when he was with Palermo he sought him out to get his jersey. Also, this interview snippet. And Gigi talks him up all the time, compliments him in interviews and talks about how important he is to Juventus. Their relationship is just open season on hero worship, captain kink, praise kink, all of it. IT'S A LOT.

Also? The narrative. THE NARRATIVE. Even Allegri is pointing it out plain as day! I love Gigi being in his twilight years and Paulo being this brilliant new dawn, I love how Paulo has grown into a leadership role at Juve in just a few seasons and how Gigi has helped him into that, I love that whole mentor/mentee/heir apparent thing so much. They're perfect bookends for Juve. I am totally happy with wherever you want to take their relationship — if it's them being platonic buddies and Gigi being an older mentor figure to Paulo, that's perfect. If it's shippy, I am all about that too. There's so little Juve fic in existence that I truly will be happy with anything having to do with them. It's an itch that desperately needs scratching for me.

Potential Prompts:

• Paulo fit in pretty easily and immediately at Juve, but if you want to rewind the clock to his early days at the club and explore how captain Gigi welcomed the shiny new kid, I'd love that! Alternately, if you'd like to take it to current day and explore both of them dealing with the shifting makeup of Juve (Paulo lost a bunch of friends before last season, and uhhhh Gigi lost Leo this summer SO THERE'S THAT) that would be amazing too. I can handle a certain amount of transfer angst here so long as the focus of the story is actually on the two of them navigating it together and not about, like, the particulars of the Pogba or Leo sagas. Really, anything about Gigi imparting his older and wiser advice on Paulo would be aces (or, subvert the trope and have Paulo lift Gigi out of his post-Leo leaving funk, that's rad too!)


• Aaaanything about Paulo taking the #10 would make my day. All the rumblings about him becoming an iconic, legendary Juventus player totally fuel me (and also scare the shit out of me because he could so easily transfer out and break all our hearts, but shh, let's not get into that). With how much Gigi has been through with Juve and how iconic he is himself, there's just so much potential for Paulo taking the #10 deepening their relationship. I'd love any exploration of that. (Or even just kit kink, seriously, I am not picky here.)


• Smut is happily accepted! Feel free to go as in depth as you want with the age difference — I'm super fond of Gigi being exasperated as hell with himself over being into a guy sixteen years his junior but not being able to talk himself out of it. Also, I love trope subversion when it comes to this! I love the younger character being the pushy one and the older one being baffled by it. It's so multi-layered too — he's admired Gigi for so long, Gigi is the most senior member on the team and his captain, Paulo does so much for the team that should be recognized and rewarded... Seriously, just go wild with it.


• You could shove Gigi and Paulo into just about any AU and I would be pleased as punch. Whether it's a straight-up AU like teacher/student or other authority figure/apprentice, ghosts or robots or reincarnation or whatever, or AU elements in the footballing world like soulbonds or superpowers or one not being a footballer, I am super super super down. Like, as long as their dynamic is preserved, I honestly just want to see them in any context.

Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City RPF
Arman Bitaraf, Hikaru Ota

Terrace House is a reality show with a simple premise: Three guys and three girls live in a house together in Tokyo. They still go about the regular lives — they keep up their normal jobs or schooling, they hang out with friends and family, they shop and go on dates and travel — but they all return to the same house at the end of the day. They choose when their time in Terrace House is done, at which point they leave and are replaced by a new member of the same sex to keep the ratio. That's it!

If it sounds boring, I promise it isn't. Terrace House is a super calming show, great to just chill out to, but it's also got a ton of heart to it. The housemates are funny, they're heart-wrenching, they're endearing, they're annoying, they're clueless, they're wise beyond their years, they argue, they support each other, they try their best, they fall short — they're human. Even in episodes where "nothing happens," the simple joy is in getting to know the people living in Terrace House, even in quiet and mundane ways.

Throughout the season they cycled through seventeen cast members, but in case you don't want to (re)watch all of it, the two I'm requesting are Arman (episodes 11 - 46 — he was the guy there the longest BY FAR) and Hikaru (episodes 19 - 32).

Arman was the first replacement cast member to take a vacated spot, and then he just... never left. There is something entirely charming about Arman. He was born in Japan but grew up in Hawaii, he's an "aspiring firefighter" but doesn't really know how to go about that, he's incredibly laid back and a little... aimless? Everyone has their own reasons for being in Terrace House, and they all come to their natural conclusions, but throughout the series you get the idea that Arman is there because there's not really anywhere else he needs to be. He wants to stay in Japan, and Terrace House is a convenient way to do that. He eventually picks up a gardening job and gains a little more focus, but even still, he remains this stable pillar in the midst of the rotating cast of Terrace House members. He's a gentle, affable guy who easily makes friends with everyone else who comes through the house and really wants to find his way. (A running joke for a while among fans was that when asked your dream Terrace House cast, you'd say six Armans. He's that popular.)

When Hikaru joined, it was right after Arman got let down by the girl he was pursuing. Hikaru is eighteen years old, a construction worker and part-time model/actor who grew up playing football in Brazil. He's relentlessly driven in pursuing modeling and acting, dedicated to his construction job, and all around a laser-focused spark plug in the house. Despite being much more ambitious than Arman, the two get on like fire right away and form a really natural, beautiful friendship during Hikaru's tenure on the show.

How close did they get? Well, when Hikaru left the show, this happened. Aside from Hansan's departure (which wrecked everyone, including me) this was by far the most emotional goodbye in the show, all because Arman and Hikaru had grown so close in such a short amount of time. And, like— Arman was there for the lion's share of the show, he watched so many people come and go! Hikaru was the only one who wrenched this reaction out of him!! I came out of it shipping this HARD, but also so inordinately charmed by Terrace House that I was desperate for any kind of fic at all. So here we are!

Potential Prompts:

• At the risk of sounding like a broken record, separations and reunions, oh my god. Their goodbye was rough, but it gets sweeter when you find out that they continued to hang out after the show, even when Arman moved back to Hawaii! Here are some of my favorite photos from their reunions: boys being ridiculous, partying way too hard, posing like dingdongs, and their most recent reunion guest starring HANSAN!! I just love that they've kept up their friendship despite the distance (and despite Hikaru's new trashboy aesthetic). Anything about Hikaru visiting him in Hawaii or Arman visiting him in Japan (or wherever Hikaru's modeling escapades are taking him this week) would be amazing. But also, long distance pining! Dumb adventures together when they're reunited! Hikaru holding Arman to his word on there's so much more I wanted to do with you!


• As with everything else, smut is a go if you would like to write it! Trying to keep quiet while fooling around in Terrace House, FaceTime/phone sex while separated, stereotypical bros drunkenly fumbling in semi-public, I'm here for all of it. Hikaru openly admits to preferring older partners — is he actually more experienced than Arman, despite his age? Does he help Arman discover something he didn't know he was into?


• I love the idea of like... AU elements within the Terrace House world, if that makes sense. A soulmate AU within the universe of the show would be super interesting, and work really well for Hikaru and Arman. A Groundhog's Day AU where they're stuck in a time loop of a particular day in the house? Reincarnation AU where this isn't the first life they've met in, but it is the one where they get as much time together as they do? Do they find they have touch telepathy? IS HIKARU A CYBORG ACTUALLY?? I'm only semi-kidding about that last one, but anything like that where the universe isn't entirely altered would totally make my day.


• If you aren't into shipping it: Any gen friendship fic would make me just as happy! I love the entire concept of Terrace House — this shared space between strangers amidst their daily lives, how the forced proximity brings them together or drives them apart — and gen fic within the universe of the show would delight me. I have a mighty need for slice of life, filling in the gaps scenes of Arman and Hikaru's blossoming friendship during the show. A lazy night in while everyone else is out and about? A day trip somewhere to get away? Too many beers and deep talks by the pool? Because I'm totally football-obsessed, Hikaru teaching him how to play so they can have a casual one-on-one? I love all of it! And it goes without saying, but I love all of the Terrace House cast members (yes, even Nacchan — she was actually my favorite girl, which is the most unpopular opinion there is) and any cameos would make my day. BASICALLY I AM JUST DESPERATE FOR TERRACE HOUSE FIC IN GENERAL.

The Time of the Singing - Louise Blaydon
Nate Mulligan, Israfel Vacek

Fair warning ahead of time, in case you are thinking of picking up this book: It definitely isn't for everyone! The story centers around a priest (presumed to be in his mid-20s) and a 17 year old boy (who turns 18 mid-story, though the book goes to great lengths to mention it takes place somewhere where the age of consent is 17). If that age difference or the religious theme squicks you, I don't recommend it.

I love this book. I picked it up on a whim as a recommendation from a friend because I enjoy aforementioned age difference and religious themes, expected it to be a fun and pulpy but ultimately forgettable ride, and instead fell head over heels for it. The writing is gorgeous, the smut is hot, the internal struggle for the main character Israfel (Raf) isn't the usual contrived Catholic guilt narrative. It's really nuanced in its execution and beautifully handled.

While Raf's conflicting desires are absolutely the central theme of the story, it's also about love blossoming out of something that seems untenable. That whole idea really appeals to me, probably because I'm secretly a huge sap! I love the way their relationship moves from Nate teasing Raf and causing him consternation to the two of them genuinely appreciating one another. Any extra scenes of that in-between stage where their relationship slowly grew together would be absolutely fantastic, because I can't get enough of that. Their mutual pining (and their wildly different reactions to it) turning into real feelings is my jaaaam.

I also loved that this book leaned hard into the Catholic ideology. Obviously you don't have to go as in depth as Blaydon did if you don't want to (that's so much research oh my god) — rather, I want you to know that if you do end up writing this, don't feel like you need to shy away from the Catholic aspect of it in any way. That's what appeals to me in the book, so you can't squick me with religious imagery, or Raf's repression and guilt and visions, or fucking in a church, or whatever. Feel free to lean into that as much or as little as you'd like in your writing, it's all good on my end!

The Time of the Singing is my other exception to the AU rule. I'm into this book because Raf is a priest and Nate is a teen, with all the dirtybadwrong that comes with that, and I'd prefer to read canon-compliant fic because of that.

Potential Prompts:

• The book is from Raf's POV, and I love his POV — but I think it would be interesting to explore the story from Nate's perspective too. What keeps drawing him to Raf? What were his experiences pre-Raf like? How did he get so independent and headstrong? WHEN DID HE COME UP WITH THE PLAN TO JERK OFF DURING CONFESSION? Ugh I just. I love Nate, I love that Raf comes to this realization that he isn't just a sexual deviant put on earth to make his life hell but a kind boy who loves his brother — and I love that Nate stands up to him and tells him that he's nothing to be ashamed of, he's worth being with. Nate is just such a fun character to me and I'd love anything from his POV!


• Like I said, the whole priest thing was one of my main draws. I have a weakness for religious narratives, and I love the way Raf's delicate tug-of-war between self-loathing and self-indulgence was handled. Anything that delves deeper into that would be amazing. Obviously that's already like, a large chunk of the book, but! I just love all of Raf's grappling with the conflicting parts of himself. Expanding on that would make me so happy. Especially if it involves his complicated relationship with his brother Michael, which I adored and which informs a lot of the unattainable standards Raf holds himself to while he's still giving a fuck what anyone else thinks of him.


• Given the nature of the book, smut is welcome here too! I love Raf getting super reverent about Nate any time, but especially during sex — the line living evidence of the fineness of god's work, the multifaceted glory of his perfect creation has stuck with me since I first read it. Like yes, it's super over the top, BUT I LOVE THAT. The more spiritual the experience for Raf, the better! Also, the sex scenes in the book are fairly vanilla — I'm all for Raf and Nate, after they've moved out, exploring other things they dig together (see anything from my general smut likes list in the beginning, all of that is fair game!)


• Good old-fashioned post-book continuation would be great as well! Nate and Raf carved out an idyllic little life for themselves — which, honestly, despite my general meh attitude toward fluffy happy endings, I was 100% happy with this. Sometimes I want a gay romance that doesn't end in tragedy! So any scene of their life together once they move out to San Diego would just be an extra bonus to that sweet, soothing ending the book gave us.

And that about wraps it up! Again, thank you so much. I can't wait to read what you write and inevitably gush all over it.

Have a wonderful Yuletide season!!

♥ Caitlin