Yuletide 2021 Letter

[tranquiliteal]

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you for creating for me! This is my 2021 signup for Yuletide, and I'm excited to see your gift! Below are my preferences, likes, and dislikes. My prompts are starting points which you are free to springboard from, or you may mix-and-match from my general likes. My requests are all fandoms and characters with very few works for which I am craving any content!

I have also signed up for the Mini Challenges Crueltide, Yuleporn, Wrapping Paper, and Interactive Fiction.

Tiiru

Quick links: Judgment | Kurohyou | Shenmue

GENERAL LIKES

▸ I am a huge fan of character-driven stories, ie, characters struggling, undergoing trials of will, failures, growth and development.
▸ Dynamics between characters of all manners: friendships, family bonds, frenemies, romance, complicated relationships, enemies, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, and so forth. I love seeing canon relationships further explored as well as between two characters who haven't met in canon but who could have potential together.
▸ I equally enjoy plotty fic, especially that which fills in the gaps between canon, pre-canon, or post-canon. I enjoy works that make sense of any loose ends in canon. As my requests are all for video game canons, I enjoy works that could feel they belong there as a side story or alternate ending that could have happened if the character had another option available.
▸ I enjoy the worlds of these canons and would love to see more worldbuilding, be it delving more into the backstory of a place or artifact, visiting new shops or cities, or expanding on any piece that already exists in canon.
▸ Tonal and genre-wise, I enjoy more somber and dark tones, drama, angst, noir, whump, and hurt/comfort (especially when the hurt is physical) but I also do appreciate canon typical humor.
▸ Unconventional formats, especially when letters, newspaper clippings, text messages, tabloids, emails, and the like are featured within a fic.
▸ Age gaps, especially wide gaps, being noted, especially in romantic/sexual relationships but it could apply to platonic relationships as well. Generational differences between two or more characters and how it impacts their worldview, and whether that leads to the two characters clashing.
▸ All of the details, from worldbuilding (the setting, the place they're staying in, what sort of people are around them) to what the character is eating. I enjoy being immersed in the world and having all of my five senses invoked by words on the screen.
▸ Loyalty, and when that loyalty is tested
▸ Incorporating game mechanics, minigames, side content, and so forth into a work. Catching little details from a beloved canon in a fic, even if it is just a passing joke, is always delightful.

NSFW LIKES

▸ Comeplay, come eating, coming inside partner, character is fucked while full of come inside, facials
▸ Porn With Feelings. Sex with intense feelings, no matter the sort, and lots of it.
▸ Locations playing a role: desk sex, up against a wall, dungeons, soundproofed walls, and so forth
▸ Orgasms, multiple orgasms, complicated feelings over orgasms
▸ Face to face sex.
▸ For consensual smut, I have no preference on who tops. For dubcon and noncon, I prefer the aggressor being the one who tops.
▸ Standard sex acts [oral, anal, and so forth]
▸ Voice kink: describing a character's voice against partner's ear, voice having an effect on a character.
▸ Double penetration
▸ Overstimulation
▸ Vulnerability
▸ Impact play, face slapping, spanking, show of dominance
▸ Bathing or shower sex
▸ Finger-sucking, fingerfucking
▸ Pinned by the wrists
▸ Power dynamics
▸ Sex as unhealthy coping mechanism
▸ Intoxication, drugged sex, consensual or otherwise
▸ Masturbation, being forced to masturbate in front of someone
▸ Praise kink, especially a more dominant character getting off on their partner praising them

DARK & NONCON LIKES

▸ Illnesses and injuries, and all the gory and nasty details therein. I enjoy reading about characters suffering
▸ Relationships and feelings more complicated and tangled up than your earphones
▸ Fellating a gun, or gun used to fuck a victim
▸ Fucked with the hilt of a weapon
▸ Asshole character getting arousal at hurting their partner or victim
▸ Arousal at another's pain
▸ Unconventional morality
▸ Painful anal sex
▸ Condescending attitude and words from aggressor
▸ Blood play
▸ Knife play
▸ Fear play
▸ Imprisonment, hostage situations, captivity, character who is bound and gagged, betrayals
▸ Tied up and well used over a long period of time
▸ Mindfuck and manipulation, PTSD, psychological horror, repeated trauma
▸ Aggressor treats victim like a lover
▸ Victim crying or trying to not to cry
▸ Breaking fingers, torture involving hands
▸ Bites, bruising
▸ Intimacy without love, unhealthy relationships, conflicted feelings by both parties
▸ Power imbalance, invasion of privacy, coercion, blackmail
▸ Being held down/bondage
▸ Tentacles and tentacle rape
▸ Characters wetting themselves out of fear or overstimulation
▸ Torture in all manner of ways
▸ Fuck or Die
▸ Wounds, wound fucking by way of tongue, fingers, cock, tentacles, objects, weapons, and so forth.

ART LIKES

▸ Drawn in your style or more similar to canon
▸ Any art movements styles such as art deco, art nouveau, ukiyo-e, and so forth. You can create the piece with as much realism or make it cartoony
▸ Colors. I love lots of colors, and especially when there’s one color that stands out in an artwork. Alternatively, use of high contrasting black/white with one color or tone really makes eye-popping artwork that I also enjoy.
▸ Expressive faces and poses
▸ Characters interacting and getting a sense of the sort of relationship the characters have just from the art
▸ Locations and sceneries. I love all of the places we visit in my requested canons and would love to see more of them with my requested characters. I enjoy cityscapes, sceneries with rain, night time, night skies, winter when everything is frosted over, autumn with its burst of color, and springtime when everything is in bloom.
▸ Snapshot moments from any of my above prompts or likes
▸ Focus on their clothing, if they are wearing any clothes. Clothes could be what they wear in canon or something new that they would look fantastic in.
▸ Any rating art in terms of sexual content or violence
▸ Mood: hurt/comfort or whump, tears or character crying, interacting with their surroundings especially if it is raining or snowing, relaxing, after a battle looking worse for wear, character(s) reflecting, character(s) studying an object or in their element
▸ Sequential art, as in two or more panels that tell a story, not necessarily a comic.
▸ Art that could be taken as in-universe materials: newspaper clippings, magazine pages, photographs, advertisements, and so forth.
▸ For comics, my likes are similar to that of fic.
▸ For NSFW and dark/noncon art, my likes are similar to that of fic
▸ Art of scenes that fills in moments between canon that are only ever referenced but we never get to see
▸ Likewise, inspired by canon moments that take the scene a different path.

DNWS

▸ Underage [here defined as any character under the age of 16 written/drawn in an explicit sex scene. Teenage characters kissing/groping one another/or engaged in referenced sex or fade-to-black do not fall under this DNW.]
▸ Animal harm, animal death
▸ Issuefic, unrequested identity headcanons
▸ Non-canon permanent major character death unless requested
▸ Scat
▸ On-page eye or teeth trauma/gore [references to past trauma does not fall under this DNW. Threat of losing an eye or threat of having it gouged out does not fall under this DNW. Knocking a character's tooth/teeth out in a fight does not fall under this DNW.]
▸ Omegaverse AU
▸ Setting change AUs. [Canon AUs (spin offs, side stories, or alternate endings) do not fall under this DNW.]

ART DNWS

▸ Ahego face
▸ Inflation kink
▸ Overly exaggerated body parts of characters of any gender (breasts, muscles, and so forth)
▸ Overt feminization of male characters where it would be OOC
▸ Huge eyes on human characters.

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JUDGE EYES | JUDGMENT (VIDEO GAMES)

▸ Hamura Kyohei (Judgment)
▸ Higashi Toru (Judgment)

Judgment and Lost Judgment are spinoffs of the larger Yakuza game series set during roughly the same time period (2018 in JE, 2021 in LJ), same locations, and even involve the same yakuza clan, but you hardly ever see the same characters in both canons. I enjoy the darker stories of the Judgment series, the gameplay and various activities you perform as lawyer-turned-detective Yagami Takayuki. The stories involve mysteries, which I enjoy as someone who grew up reading mystery novels. The games are set up differently than the Yakuza games in that Yagami, while he is capable of holding his own in battle, does not use weapons, but utilizes tailing techniques, searching for clues, taking photos, and so forth.

There's endless amounts of side content and activities, everything from side cases with recurring characters which help to keep the town feeling alive, minigames, arcades, and even toy capsule machines which invoke memories of playing Shenmue. Of course, Judgment isn't scarce on lovable characters either. There is plenty here, and I am drawn to many, their dynamics with one another, and the uniqueness of each. There's also a little trophy you can earn involving cats.

Judgment is available on PS4 and the Remastered version is available on PS5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X/S. The primary difference between the Remastered and first Judgment game, from what I've read, is that they removed the playable pinball machine in Yagami's office. Lost Judgment is available on PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

I've already mentioned that this gem of a game series has a lot of characters that I love, but I have decided to focus my requests on Hamura and Higashi. They stood out to me both individually as characters and together with their complicated relationship that I would love to see explored further. The following will contain some big spoilers for the ending of Judgment and some of Lost Judgment.

Hamura is endlessly fascinating and complex as an antagonist. We begin Judgment hating him, trying to chase down his whereabouts, fight him a few times, only for Hamura to end up turning the tables in a surprising yet very human twist, grieved by the death of his patriarch. He continues to surprise us when he delivers the incrementing piece of evidence Yagami needed for the court trial at the very end, and even testifies in court, thus turning himself in to the police. While Hamura was easy to dislike from the beginning, especially given the animosity between him and Yagami/Kaito, and knowing what he did to Higashi, the ending showed another side to him that made me actually root for him.

Higashi is also another deep character. Our first introduction was this hard, cold yakuza, but it's not long before the tough guy act drops and we see Higashi's true colors when we learn more of what he endured one year prior to the start of the story. While he puts the mask back on throughout the series, and his hostility and jealousy towards Yagami can be amusing to witness, his softer side is undeniably there.

His relationship with Hamura instantly ensnared me in Chapter 3 with That Scene in the sewers. When playing with Japanese audio and English subs, Hamura says: "You scream like a woman, you know. Kinda gets me going." When playing in the English audio, Hamura says: "You scream like a fucking whore. Kind of a turn on to be honest." This wasn't their last interaction, as we see Higashi answer to Hamura on the regular, and get beaten up by either him or his subordinates. Hamura is only the Captain of the Matsugane Family, but due to accumulating so much money, he’s able to hold more power within the family, more so than the patriarch Matsugane Mitsugu. Higashi has little else where to hide from Hamura's abuse. The scars from his time with Hamura can be seen even in Lost Judgment when he was running towards Soma, ready to strike, only to freeze at the sight of the gun. For an instant we see the past Higashi back at the sewers.

Prompts:
▹ Exploration of the time between the sewer scene and when we first meet Higashi in Chapter 3, and what hand Hamura had in shaping Higashi to the person he is now, down to his fighting style. Hamura utilizes a boxing-based style, and while Higashi's movesets are primarily Taekwondo, it includes some Muay Thai style boxing (as evident in his fighting stance), and I would love to read a fic where he learned Muay Thai from Hamura.
▹ I do ship one-sided Higashi/Kaito with Higashi pining secretly, as it would explain his bitter and jealous feelings towards Yagami and Yagami’s bond with Kaito. I would love to see Hamura use Kaito as a weapon to manipulate, mock, and taunt Higashi.
▹ The age gap of Hamura and Higashi coming into play, and especially the stark contrast with their characters, in which the younger Higashi embodies the more traditional romantic yakuza ideals of protecting his patriarch and defending his aniki’s honor, while it is the older Hamura who is the more modern yakuza obsessed with money and power.
▹ I would love to see more of their dynamics with the rest of the Matsugane Family: Patriarch Matsugane Mitsugu, Suzuki (Cane Man), Tashiro, Kengo, Ozaki, and so forth. Set before Kaito left the family or after. If Yagami appears, I would love to see Higashi’s growing jealousy as he watches a young man who never sworn in being handed opportunities he can only dream of.
▹ The sewer scene taking a turn for the worse for Higashi. When Hamura tells him that his cries turned him on, he really meant it. Hamura fucking Higashi next to the pool of blood, or Higashi being forced to deepthroat the very same gun they used to kill Red Nose. But as Hamura is his captain, Higashi feels compelled to do as his boss tells him. Thus begins a messy, complicated abusive relationship between them.
▹ Fans speculate Hamura may have received a lighter sentence for turning himself in. I would love to see what happens after Hamura has served his time. I am interested in seeing him and Higashi meet again, especially given their grim history and how the time apart may have changed them both.
▹ Bouncing off the above, perhaps Hamura in jail had some more time to think back to all he had done in the past and starts to have heavy regrets on what he had done to Higashi. He writes a letter to him. He does not think Higashi would ever forgive him, nor does he think he deserves it after all the pain he's caused. What if Higashi writes back? What's in his response?
▹ Another jail prompt. There's a new case that Yagami and his friends get involved in, and this time it involves another person who Hamura had connections to, either a subordinate back at the Matsugane Family or an associate from elsewhere. Higashi is tasked with visiting Hamura alongside Yagami.
▹ Some spoilers from Lost Judgment ahead: What I love about the Judgment games are the friendships. Yagami has two main friend circles. There is Kaito, Sugiura, Tsukumo, and Higashi from the main story. In the first game you can befriend dozens of other people around in Kamurocho as part of the side content; but he also acquires a secondary circle of friends who aid him in random encounters: Tashiro, Ryo/Suzuki, Ryan, and Tanago. Despite the heavy overlap with Yagami's main friendship circle, we never get to see the two work together. There is one amusing mention of how Higashi and Tashiro differ, and now that we know more about Ryo/Suzuki, I am curious whether Hamura was aware of his DID. For this prompt I would enjoy a fic, through the perspective of Higashi and/or Hamura, that involves the two groups having to work together. Are the (Neo) Keihin Gang giving them grief again? The RK rearing its ugly head again? Or a new gang altogether upsetting Kamurocho and/or Yokohama.

Art prompts:
▹ Sewer scene, Higashi on his knees either giving Hamura oral or fellating the same gun used to kill Red Nose
▹ Hamura and Higashi boxing
▹ Higashi sitting on Hamura's lap, sporting a bloodied lip and bruises while Hamura cradles him like a lover. Higashi may be clothed, at numerous stages of undress, nude. Bondage optional
▹ Hamura and Higashi looking out a window to a nighttime Kamurocho
▹ Higashi visiting Hamura in jail. Higashi could be visiting along with Yagami, presumably for a matter related to a new case, or he's alone, but I just want to see them on either side of the glass partition
▹ Set between the sewer scene and main story, Higashi trying on new suits as Hamura and he check his reflection in the mirror. One nice detail I've noticed is that Hamura likes to lean into the shorter individual and have his hand on their shoulder. I would love to see that here.

クロヒョウ龍が如く新章 | KUROHYOU RYŪ GA GOTOKU SHINSHŌ | BLACK PANTHER: LIKE A DRAGON NEW CHAPTER (VIDEO GAME)

▸ Amamiya Taizan (Kurohyou)
▸ Kudo Saki (Kurohyou)
▸ Sakaki Tenma (Kurohyou)
▸ Ukyo Tatsuya (Kurohyou)

Kurohyou is another spinoff of the larger Yakuza series, first released on the PSP in 2010. This game has never gotten a Western localization although you can download an English patch to play on your PSP via firmware or through an emulator. Only the first story has been localized, and then there are a few instances where you don’t get full translations. Alternatively you can watch KHH's fan translation walkthrough on their YouTube channel. Kurohyou also saw a sequel for which there will be a more completed fan English patch coming out in January. KHH is also currently releasing their own fan translations of Kurohyou 2, and as of this writing only the first chapter is out, so my requests will focus on what we have access to in English.

The game is currently only available to play on the PSP or a PSP emulator.

Despite the scarcity of Kurohyou in the West, the canon enjoys a bit of popularity in Japan, as it earned itself a sequel, a television series, a short three-volume manga chronicling the first four chapters of Kurohyou 1, and at one point you could even purchase protagonist’s Tatsuya's tracksuit. Each game is ten chapters long and utilizes the boxing ring which will be familiar to longtime Yakuza fans, here known as Dragon Heat. The story itself contains some stellar twists, a dark story involving the Tojo Clan, and a neatly-contained plot. Like Judgment, this game also includes a side quest involving cats.

The story follows Ukyo Tatsuya, a hotheaded and battle-happy teen who gets himself caught up in a mess with the yakuza after he accidentally murders the family patriarch. He's forced to compete in Dragon Heat where he must win ten consecutive fights to regain his freedom or be handed over to the police. But as this is a RGG property, there is always more to the story. As the story progresses and the plot unfolds, Tatsuya discovers he may not exactly be guilty of murder, and while trying to find a means to prove his innocence, he unravels more about his past and how it may be connected to a conspiracy within the Tojo Clan itself.

I loved watching Tatsuya grow from the hotheaded punk who just wanted to knock teeth out from anyone who crossed his path, to someone wiser and who carried a personal philosophy on fighting. His relationship with each of the characters is different and equally important. Even out of the ring he develops a relationship with nearly each opponent.

I loved Tenma and how the friendship between him and Tatsuya stood steady throughout all of Tatsuya's earlier bullshit and Tenma's betrayal at one point. One couldn't ask for a better mentor to Tatsuya than Saki, and it does pain me that (spoilers for K2 just in case) she doesn't appear in Kurohyou 2, although considering how Kurohyou 1 ends, I can understand why. I could go on forever about Taizan, but that would get into spoiler territory. Like Saki, he was a great mentor figure throughout Tatsuya’s journey.

All four characters do not have to be featured in the work. Additionally, you are free to feature any additional characters we meet from this canon.

Prompts:
▹ I would love to see further exploration of Tatsuya and Saki's relationship, the budding romance, and how the news of Taizan's true identity shifts everything. We never got to see Saki's reaction and I would like some resolution.
▹ Tatsuya does reportedly reunite with Tenma in KH2, but I would like him to also reunite with Saki, perhaps as post-canon to KH2. Where was she during the two year gap of the two installments and what has she been doing during this time?
▹ Some good traditional whump or hurt/comfort involving Saki, Taizan, and a Tatsuya post match requiring medical attention. Tenma can definitely feature too.
▹ I ship Tatsuya with Saki and Tenma equally. Making them work as a threesome, or some sort of unconventional love triangle where it's an open relationship all around.
▹ I would equally love something with just Saki and Tenma getting a chance to get to know one another, either as a gapfiller of Kurohyou or during the time between Kurohyou and Kurohyou 2, or during one of Tatsuya’s matches.
▹ Saki accidentally reveals her feelings for Taizan to him, and the two discuss her feelings for Tatsuya as a way for Taizan to turn Saki’s attention away from him.
▹ The story though Taizan's perspective, especially in light of what we learn at the end.
▹ Encounter with Naoki Toda goes much differently, with Tatsuya getting a good beating of his own, if not also gangbanged
▹ Tatsuya being punished by his sponsors for any slip ups during a match, even if he did win, by means of blackmail, noncon, torture. Aftercare by his friends is welcome.

Art prompts:
▹ Saki and Tatsuya sparring. Sexy sparring is also welcome
▹ Tenma riding his motorcycle with Tatsuya behind him
▹ Tatsuya looking worse for wear after a fight as Saki and Taizan patch him up
▹ Saki and Tautsya's many shopping trips, with Tatsuya just barely able to carry all those bags. Bonus if it also features Tenma helping out
▹ The gang at Tenma's family's restaurant in a rare moment where they can all relax and enjoy their time.

SHENMUE (VIDEO GAMES)

▸ "Rantei" Chou Ryuuson | "Lan Di" Zhao Longsun (Shenmue)
▸ Hazuki Ryou (Shenmue)
▸ Rei Shenhua | Ling Shenhua (Shenmue)
▸ Ren Wuying (Shenmue)

Shenmue was first released on the Dreamcast in 1999, and it is credited for pioneering many of today's video game technologies as it was among the very first to feature open-world 3D environments where NPCs and shops rans on their own internal schedules, quick time events, and brawler battles. In many ways it was a spiritual predecessor to the Yakuza series, and even shared a couple of gameplay elements with the Judgment series. It's a nostalgia game series for me, and although Shenmue III was criticized for being outdated, I still enjoyed it and am eagerly awaiting to see more of the story unfold. There is an anime adaption coming out in 2022, and I am very excited for that as well.

You can play Shenmue I & II on Dreamcast, Xbox, Xbox One, and PS4. Shenmue III is available on PS4 (playable on PS5). All of the games are available on Steam. If you are unable to purchase the games but wish to familiarize yourself with the story, there are a number of game movies on YouTube.

As its successors, the game offers full immersion into its world. In Shenmue this entails Yokosuka, Japan, Hong Kong, and China during the mid 1980s. You can pick up objects to inspect closer, speak with NPCs around to gather intel on your main quest, spend time at the arcade, and so forth while the hours literally tick by on an analogue clock mounted on the upper right corner. There are even a few cats you may interact with. As time does pass as you play, Ryo will require heading back home or a hotel to rest for the night. While this allows for a more laid back gaming experience, there is still a time limit on how many days you can play, as the developers have installed a Bad Ending to every Shenmue game if you end up taking too long without progressing through the main story.

I love all of the characters we meet across the series; for this Yuletide I am requesting Lan Di, Ryo, Ren, and Shenhua. You are not required to include them all in your fic or art. Additionally, you are more than free to feature other characters from the series.

There's hardly any screentime between Lan Di and Ryo yet their histories and fates are tied. Ryo Hazuki is on a quest for vengeance after witnessing Lan Di murder his father and steal the Dragon Mirror, one of two mysterious artifacts. A little later on in the story you learn that Lan Di himself may have been acting similarly as Ryo, avenging his own father. You also have polar opposite demeanors, with Lan Di being the older, cold and calculating villain who can command a room with just a wave of his hand; meanwhile Ryo is the more blunt and emotional young adult, prone to rage and just barely holding on to control in his life. Ryo and Shenhua share an undeniable bond which I am curious to see explored. In some of the Bad Ending alternate endings, it's implied that she holds a special power that Lan Di could take from her in addition to the Phoenix Mirror from Ryo. Ryo's relationship with Ren was entertaining to see throughout Shenmue II and III, and I sensed there was a faint hint of jealousy from Ren when he first met Shenhua.

Prompts:
▹ Shenmue 3 leaves us with a final scene of Ryo and his friends traveling along the Great Wall of China. Game producer Yu Suzuki was seen taking photographs around Shanghai for research, presumably for the next game installment. I would love to read your take on Ryo's adventure from this point forward, where they are headed, what danger awaits, and when and where they will clash with Lan Di again.
▹ Exploration of Ryo's relationship with his friends and Lan Di's relationship with his allies. Shenmue III implied Niao Sun may not be warm towards him, so it would be interesting to see whether the Chi You Men may end up crumbling within, as Ryo’s own bonds grow stronger.
▹ Ren did not seem to like Shenhua very much, and I would be interested in seeing that explored more. Was it jealousy over her bond with Ryo over a short period of time? Or is he not used to someone with a demeanor and upbringing like Shenhua? I ship Ryo with both Ren and Shenhua equally as well as with both as a threesome or triad.
▹ Exploration on any of the Bad Endings, especially if leads to not Ryo dying but instead falling as a sort of slave for Lan Di. I am curious to also know what taking Shenhua's powers exactly entails.
▹ Shenhua or Ryo become a hostage under Lan Di, and Ren plus Ryo or Shenhua have to team up to save them.
▹ I love the bantering and clash in personalities between Ren and Ryo and would love to see more of that. They do work well as a team, and I would like a fic that further explores this
▹ Anything that digs deeper into the character of Lan Di and how his parallels to Ryo.
▹ As we don't get to have Lan Di and Ryo interact frequently in the games, I would love anything. Perhaps something that shows what will change Ryo and no longer wish to have revenge on Lan Di? Likewise, what if Lan Di ends up dying while protecting Ryo?
▹ One of the theories as to why Lan Di was after the mirrors was the promise of treasure, which interested Ren, and a few fan theorise that Shenhua is the last remaining Qing Dynasty treasure who Ryo is destined to be the guardian of. The other was the mirrors would awaken a legendary monster named Chi You who will be resurrected on Earth and devour the world. I would love to read a fic that plays around with these concepts.

Art prompts:
▹ Exploration of Lan Di and Ryo with images of the Dragon and Phoenix behind them respectively
▹ Ryo, Shenhua, and Ren upon reaching their new destination.
▹ Ren relaxing, laying sprawled on Ryo's lap or Shenhua's lap
▹ Ryo sharing a kiss with either Ren or Shenhua, or both
▹ Ryo and Lan Di in dramatic battle pose reminiscent of Yakuza final boss fights [Example, spoiler for Yakuza 6]