Dear Yuletide Person
I've recently had to put my personal journal under total lockdown, so this is my writing journal. Sorry about having to cut you out of that source of information, but you should be able to get a good sense of my likes/dislikes from my writing. Hope I've given you enough to work from, and have fun!
Here are some general things I like:
(by no means an obligation or a checklist)
I like humor.
I love plots.
I'm a sucker for Wild West or Film Noir AUs. Futuristic dystopias are also kind of neat. Steampunk is gorgeous.
I love folklore and working off of mythologies and urban legends.
I love examining the relationships between people (though I'm not generally a fan of romance or porn, except where explicitly noted)
I like math and science, especially when taken to the brink of implausibility
I have a weakness for puns.
I like politicking and murder mysteries and conspiracies and complicated plots, but these are hard and would be totally beyond the call of duty.
Did I mention I like humor? Because a touch of humor in any story is awesome, even if it's a tragedy.
I like a little grain of discomfort/unease mixed into otherwise pleasant stories.
I like a strong sense of setting or culture
I like a sense of impending disaster.
I like it when an author's love for the characters and story really shows.
Here are some things I'm not really into:
Porn and most romance. I'm a genfan, what can I say? This isn't an absolute, but I'd like to keep the romance near the same sort of level it is in canon (ex: Fujimoto being clearly head-over-heels for Granmamare, Smitty letting Parley push him around, Reynardine pining after Surma, Raz and Lili dating, etc.)
Characters being unpleasant to each other all of the time (fine in small amounts and fine if it's in character, but too much of it starts to get me down)
Character bashing. Believe it or not, there are very few characters in these series that I don't like. (And if you don't like a character, it's okay for you to not write them! Seriously, I understand! Do what you love, not what you hate!)
Copy of my signup details:
Ponyo
Fujimoto
I love the visuals of the movie, all the bright colors and ancient sea creatures contrasting with the normal coastal life. I like Fujimoto with all his grumpiness and protectiveness and how utterly out of touch he is with being human, yet he still cares about his daughter and Granmamare (even though he's miserable about showing it). I think his relationship with Granmamare is particularly interesting, and I would love to read more about that, as well. Really, anything that feels like the bits and pieces we see of him in the film would be great for me.
Note: Ponyo is a movie, so this would be one of those requests that's easy to quickly get all the canon for. It's not out on DVD yet, so you may have to download it.
Psychonauts
Razputin Aquato aka Raz
I have a real urge to see some superagent shenanigans in Raz's future. I love how enthusiastic he is about everything, even in the face of rampant preteen apathy. Milla, Sasha, Lili, and Dogen are all favorites of mine, too, if you feel like expanding the cast. I love the twisted humor and imaginative settings of the game. The mental worlds are fascinating to me, and blatant abuse of psychic powers is always a plus in my book.
Gunnerkrigg Court
This is truly one of those "any" means "any" requests. I'd be hard-pressed to find a character in Gunnerkrigg Court I didn't adore. That said, if you need direction, I'm quite fond of the medium-in-training trio, Reynardine and Surma's relationship intrigues me, the psychopomps and other supernatural/mythological creatures are interesting, Jack is creeping me out in a good way, and Boxbot is a perpetual favorite.
Note: this is the other request that's easy to get the canon for. Gunnerkrigg Court is a webcomic, and all of the canon is online at that link. Be warned: it may take you half a day to go through all the archives, but it's definitely worth it.
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha
Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV
What isn't there to like about a devil summoning detective teenager in Taisho Japan? The setting, clothing, music, slang of the era are all fun to play with, and I really like how the game presses the urge for moderization/westernization against the need to hang onto one's traditional roots. I would love to read some casefic for this series, but a cute tale about Raidou and his demons would also be very nice (love the CAPSLOCK DEMONS!) so really, pretty much anything set in this series would be nice. (My one limit: I'm not a big fan of Narumi/Raidou, so no romance between them, please.)