Dear Yuletide Santa 2024

Dear Yuletide Letter 2024

AO3 Username: Croik
Fandoms:

The Last Case of Benedict Fox (video game)
Darkest Dungeon (video games)
Kane and Feels (podcast)
Lies of P (video game)

Hi writer, and thank you for being my Santa! I've been doing Yuletide for years and years now (this is year 20 for me!), I love my small fandoms and I'm stoked to get something for any of them. I'm going to leave some details and prompts below if you need them, but to be honest I'm just as happy being surprised. Please feel free to use whatever inspires you, and have some fun with it.

General

In general I like fics that are on the serious side. I like characters that are conflicted, romances that have to be worked for, settings that are scary or mysterious. Sadfics that range anywhere from bittersweet to soul-crushing are welcome. Action, adventure, thriller, horror, dark comedy, all good. Porn is also awesome. I love plot-oriented fics and casefic, but I'm just as happy with characters talking/fighting with each other as they try to work out their relationships, or exploring different aspects of canon. It doesn't have to be dark, I just prefer some sense of drama to fluff. You can never go wrong with canon-typical.

I'm cool with a rating level anywhere from general to explicit, in terms of violence or sex. I'm open to drabble collections, IF, and treats.

Things I like
Here are some specific tropes I'm into in case you want to work them in:

-First times. Not just in reference to sex, but characters having revelations, doing things they've never done before, exploring sides of themselves they didn't want to admit, things of that nature. And yes first time sex, too, whether it's with a specific person or ever.

-Whump and hurt/comfort in all forms. I enjoy characters being pushed to their physical limits, injured, needing to be held or helped up by each other, especially if danger is still present. Wounded characters getting tended to, comforted after a nightmare. Or characters left alone to tend to themselves.

-Shipfic, though I also like gen. I like threesomes and more. I have a section for porn below, but having it or not isn't a deal breaker for me. In general I like intense relationships with a physical component, so even if it doesn't get to a romantic or porny level, characters touching, lifting each other up, close-quarters fighting, at each other's throats, all that is fantastic.

Porn Likes

I am always happy to receive porn! I especially like complicated situations and when desire overrides inhibition. Here're some of my porn-specific likes:

-Solo, pairings, threesomes or more
-Dub-con and Non-con
-Breathplay
-Sex while still mostly or partially clothed
-Voyeurism
-Tentacles and oviposition
-Xeno/demons/Eldritch abominations
-Bondage
-Mind control/psychic sex
-Anonymous sex, like one character blindfolded or in a mask, glory holes etc
-Aphrodisiacs and sex pollen
-Transforming during or via sex
-In video game canons, upgrade mechanics treated as aphrodisiacs/euphoric

Characters getting off on things they didn't think they would ever get off on is SUPER awesome.

Things I Do Not Want

-2nd person POV or reader-insert.

-Watersports/scat

-Alternate Universe. I am very invested in these canon settings and am not interested in taking the characters anywhere else, particularly mundane settings. Canon-divergence stories that keep the setting mostly intact are cool, though. Crossovers and fusions between my requested canons are also cool.

-Multiverse/alternate timelines, MCU style. I'd rather not read about characters meeting alternate versions of themselves in a "this is who I could have been if I'd made different choices" vein. Kane and Feels' canon timeloop shenanigans are totally fine though. 

-Omegaverse: I'm open to bizarre pregnancies, "drugs/hormones/magic made me do it," xeno and bestiality--a lot of the things that Omegaverse has, actually--but I'm not interested in Omegaverse-specific world-building and gender configurations.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox
Harry Houdini
Watch a full game walkthrough (4 hours)

I really enjoyed this indie game when it came out last year, so much so that I bought it again on PS5 when the definitive edition came out. Last year I requested Ben and the Companion and I'm still totally into them, but this replay especially I found myself with a whole new appreciation for Harry. THE Harry Houdini!? I'm so baffled and tickled by the inclusion, and I'd love to see more of his role in this strange, supernatural soap opera. We know he has been a figure in Ben's life and the two are close (the Companion himself says Harry knows Ben better than Ben knows himself). He saunters into the house of the man he's blackmailing and helps himself to his liquor, haha. What a little shit. But I do think he honestly cares for Ben, even if he has mercenary tendencies.

I don't know a whole lot about him as a real person so feel free to treat him entirely fictional for the fandom.

Prompts:

-How did Harry meet Ben? We only get a glimpse of it in the game. I'd love to see more of young Ben, desperate and confused, finding warmth and at least some sense of security from the first person in his life not an uptight ORG stooge. How Harry takes to the role of surrogate father figure, what kind of trouble they get into. Harry was definitely taking advantage of Ben's abilities in limbo for profit — did he grow to appreciate him on a more personal, friendly level later? Did he resist being a role model at first? Has Ben had his image of Harry marred more than what we see in the game? And how does the Companion fit in? He seems mostly fond of Harry, too, and can sense human emotion, so he must assume Harry has Ben's best interests at heart, at least most of the time. Knowing his ability to read memories from objects, would Harry try to trick or endear the Companion to him by giving him certain things? Maybe try to hide something he knows would get a bad reaction from him?

I ship Harry/Ben and am happy for you to lean into the potential dub-con elements of their age gap (or not if you prefer 100% con). I'd rather Ben not be underage for any sex, but I like the idea of him as an older teen (17+) still settling into himself, daddy issues at play, susceptible to Harry's teasing. Maybe having a bi awakening, while Harry feels bad because he is not a good man and this kid deserves better?

-Harry/Tomas. What did they get up to while Ben was in limbo the whole game? Maybe Harry tries to get some information out of Tomas about why he's there (and not arresting everyone) and gets more than he bargained for.

-Harry post game. How does he find out about Ben? Does he blame himself? If he had come clean about James and the blackmail sooner, Ben might have been able to meet his father while he was still alive. Harry must feel awful! What if Ben then shows up on his doorstep? What happens after the credits anyway??

-I think there's potential for Harry/the Weaponsmith, too, if you felt like tossing him in there.

Darkest Dungeon
The Protégé, The Academic
Watch a breakdown of the second game's plot: Squatch Gaming (35 min)
Or listen to the narrator's full in-game explanation by: Radazex (23 min)

I absolutely loved Darkest Dungeon, and the sequel may be very different but I was really drawn in to the meta plot more so than than that of the Ancestor/Heir. The gloomy atmosphere, the way the characters trudge on through horror after horror in spite of it. I'm so in love with the aesthetic and would love anything that reaches toward that tone.

The plot of the second is a little less straight forward than the first. There's so much about it that is surreal and dreamlike, with characters' memories and motivations just as powerful as the monsters they're fighting. I love the struggle, the metaphor of having to defeat monsters born from your own fears and regrets, and the courage the characters take to confront them.

So I'm asking for the Protégé and the Academic. Feel free to give them names/backstories. We learn through the in-game narration that they spent basically all their time together and I'd like to see some of that. I don't have any particular headcanons myself, so feel free to invent your own take on them and their relationship.

Prompts:

-The pair meeting and studying together for the first time. Even if things turned sour later, they were good friends at one point, plying open the secrets of the universe together. I'd love to see some of that passion for discovery between the pair of them, that sweet Dark Academia vibe. Maybe even fooling around amidst the books? Comforting each other after horrible revelations?

-That moment the Academic realized it was Too Much. How did their relationship deteriorate? Was there something in the Protégé's backstory that drove him deeper into the madness, into wanting to continue the work? Did he and the Academic fight over it? Would love to see their relationship unravel just as much as coming together in the first place. Maybe even some kind of physical fight between them (pathetic nerd slap fight lol).

-Their time with the Ancestor. The intrigue turning to anxiety to terror. What kind of messed up shit did they encounter there? Any cool necromancers and wizards they got to meet? Sexy fancy parties they attended, completely out of their league? Eldritchian tentacle orgies? Or maybe they just had some nasty run-ins with pig monsters before the end.

-The moment the Protégé took his crown and doomed his mentor and the world.

-The redemption! Feel free to count the Protégé's mental recreation of the Academic as fulfilling the character requirement. Is it really the Academic's soul come to kick down his door and get him absolved, or is it some phantom of his own creation? Is the Protégé in the cart with the heroes, talking to "himself" as they make their way to each of the mountains? What happens after the Body of Work is defeated?

Feel free to include the heroes if you're doing a game timeline set story, particularly Alhazred. I feel like he of all of them can appreciate what the Protégé was willing to sacrifice for the sake of knowledge and power.

Kane and Feels
Lucifer Kane, Brutus Feels
Listen on Spotify (10 hours-ish)

Kane & Feels is a delightfully strange supernatural buddy comedy/drama, and one of my favorite podcasts. The fantasy and horror elements are unique, fun, and snappy, and it sure isn't afraid to do something new and take risks. But the heart and soul is obviously the two leads, and their odd couple relationship. What's not to love about a neurotic asshole and his 6'8" easy-going punch-machine?? They're partners, they're accidental soulmates, they barely fit together. Would really love to read any of their adventures with or without a shipping angle.

-Case fic! I love that the show takes an "anything goes!" approach to the various creatures they encounter, from fae to demons to ghosts (no ghost cases!!) Please chuck the boys at whatever classic or fictional inhuman mishap. They hinted that if there is a season 4 it will feature "the divine." What if the boys met an angel!?

Bonus points if Feels gets to save Kane by punching something <3

-Ship fic! The whole Twomy season was a real trip, and it seemed to bring the two closer together by the end. Literally, in that Brutus was not able to leave Kane behind, and relationship wise, with the little notes about Kane taking his hand before they set out on the boat. Would love to see some of the fallout from that, how they fit their lives to each other again, accepting that they are inexorably drawn together. Or maybe they just get really high and fool around.

-More body swap shenanigans! I know it was short-lived for a sensible reason, but I sure wouldn't mind the two of them occasionally swapping bodies again, and how either takes advantage. Maybe one or the other tries to jerk off in the other's body without the other knowing??

-On that note it's canon that Kane sometimes sleeps in Feels' bed, who knows what that could lead to!

-Pre-canon, either how the pair met in this lifetime, or in one of their previous lifetimes. They've been doing this for a few thousand years, after all. Some glimpse of them through the ages could be very cool. Maybe a fun place for a five times fic?

-Long shot, but if you so happen to also be familiar with the podcast Ghost Wax, I'm really amused by the thought that if these canons existed on the same Earth, Voncid could know The Shaman and the Rock in their first inception. I think that would be a neat crossover.

Lies of P
Lorenzini Venigni
Watch Marz's Let's Play on Youtube (25 hours)

I'm a big Bloodborne fan, and I'll admit I was very skeptical when "Pinocchio-borne" was announced. But damn, I was blown away. Not only is it beautifully made, but the gameplay is slick and challenging, and it was super refreshing to have a "souls" game with a clearer and engaging story. It went deeper on story and plot than I was expecting, and there's a lot to love about it.

But my favorite character to come out of the game was Venigni! I'm a huge sucker for any character who uses foppish confidence and good humor to cover up their insecurities. I found myself really fascinated by his backstory, his combo Tony Stark/Bruce Wayne history of "man who watches his parents killed by puppet grows up to mass produce puppets." It's really fascinating, especially considering the implied details, like the fact that Venigni continuously asked for the case to be re-opened to expose the truth, while being friends with Geppetto, who was likely one of the people keeping it sealed? Who may have made Arlecchino in the first place!? Then the Frenzy happens and he has to see his worst childhood horror played out over the entire city, through the puppets he made? It broke my heart watching him slowly lose hope over the course of the game. And that doesn't even touch on Pulcinella!

I'd love to see anything more with Venigni, before, during, or after the events of the game, particularly if you upset him >:)

-What was Venigni's life in Krat like before the Frenzy? He was a rich flake, we know, but with a traumatic history. It's hinted he was friends with Medoro, the Hound, and maybe even Sofia herself — what might they have gotten up to back then? I'm also partial to the idea that he knew/had an affair with Adelina the opera singer, or even Medoro. What does Krat's rich, debaucherous underbelly look like? 

-Venigni tries to get answers out of Geppetto regarding Arlecchino and his parents, pre-game. It seems like Venigni respected Geppetto a lot, whereas Geppetto may have tried to get him killed (locking the gates behind Venigni when he went to the factory, and then running off with the key). Would love to see Geppetto be creepy and gas-lighty toward a younger Venigni.

-Venigni getting some confrontation with Geppetto mid-game. I wanted more out of the reveal! His mentor has betrayed and murdered an entire city! Let him freak out about it!

-Post-game. How does Venigni move on from the disaster? He certainly won't be making puppets anymore, his factory is kaput and Krat is basically empty and destroyed. Where does he go, what does he do? Who goes with him?

-Venigni/P shipfic! Without Geppetto, P is gonna need some kind of engineer to help maintain him, no? Would be interested in Venigni taking him apart to learn what makes him ticks, so to speak, with a body horror/sexual angle. Or Venigni trying to smuggle P into the next city over after they escape Krat, teaching him to be more human so he can fit in now that the world is aware of how dangerous puppets can be. Or maybe some hurt/comfort, where Venigni was injured at the factory where P rescued him? I'm totally open for weird dub-con between them, as long as P's personality isn't treated as child-like. I like to think that Carlo was at least 16 or 17 when he died and that P has at least that level of maturity, even if he isn't always able to portray that.

-If you're nasty like me, there's always Venigni getting scooped up by the tentacle kroud as it infests the city >:D  Given Venigni's proximity to puppets and the mines it's kinda surprising he doesn't have the petrification disease already. Or does he??? The man has spent his whole life making robots, he could stand to experience some body horror.

And that's it! Thanks again for being my writer <3 I hope some of these prompts help and/or inspire you. Have fun and happy Yuletiding!