#because I love shipping and will be throwing lots of weird shippy stuff at others if ship is happening C:

[peppy-jester]

@murderous-rodeo-imp666 continued from here Still unexpected for Blitz to go with it actually. Fizz stood there awkwardly for a moment, looking away, time to step up the game. Something tells him Blitz was not actually fully buying it, but since he started he wouldn't back out right away. The jester let out an amused chuckle at the comment Blitz made. "Oh I'm sure many have said that, no doubt at all" he tried not to sound too sarcastic, he has no actual idea if people think that or not.

"So date night it is. I expect a ride, full course meal in fanciest restaurant. And oh Blitz, I do point out peoples flaws so better be one hell of a kisser" Fizz made an eyebrow wiggle at the end of the sentence. But no he would never point out anyones flaws unless it's someone he doesn't like and NO he didn't want anything fancy. For Fizz a perfect date night is walk in a park or order some pizza and watch some corny ass movies before making out.

"Sounds fair?"

[variousqueerthings]

some thoughts on queerness in narrative (using cobra kai as a main point)

1. intro

It’s interesting getting to engage with pop culture right now versus even five years ago, where there was something kinda sordid and undercover about queer reads of text and even just talking about being into stuff very passionately while being queer in spaces that included creators was considered somehow icky (supernatural is always a good example, but definitely was just the most visible of these types of interactions between fans and cast/creators). Obviously that’s where a lot of modern definitions about queerbaiting and bury your gays comes from.

A lot of this kind of drama centred on queer ships rather than queer characters in their own right (dean/castiel, merlin/arthur, derek/styles and maaaan just a lot of white brunette/blond pairings, which is another post and I acknowledge that Lawrusso is also literally that... the irony)

But also this isn’t so much about “shipping.”

2.

There’s a danger of flattening out the ways in which we create a dialogue with text when it becomes just about whether or not our ships become canon (in general the way fandom discourse revolves around ships can be incredibly unhelpful for engaging critically with text) – for context I am queer and I’m queer through my transness and aromanticness and asexuality, and I also write a fair bit of shippy fanfiction and analysis, but personally am not (always) thaaat bothered about how the connections with queer-coded people are realised in text, as long as those connections are acknowledged in a queer way. How that works varies from text to text.  There is no one-size fits all proper queer representation.

An example: SE Hinton (because I just read The Outsiders/watched the movie) being really dismissive of people reading her characters as gay on twitter (why do we ever try to do this sort of deep textual analysis on twitter, why do creators – like Hinton – think that they ought to espouse opinions on twitter, why twitter folx?)

I wrote – kinda for the void, because I write a lot and I like posting some of that on tumblr, but I don’t expect people to engage necessarily – about how The Outsiders is absolutely a queer text, whether or not the creator intended for it to be. Long story short, queerness has been – and often still is – illegal and/or frowned upon in canon text, so a semiotics was created to make something queer if you knew how to read it. The fact that cis-straight creators play with and use those semiotics without knowing doesn’t negate the fact that that language is there and was deliberately created for that purpose.

That also doesn’t make it queerbaiting. Maybe cis-straight dumbassery, idk (wouldn’t be if you just went “huh, didn’t think about that, cool read”)

Intentionally playing with and acknowledging those semiotics also isn’t necessarily queerbaiting.

Definitely queercoding though.

3.

Anyway this is all a bit murky territory, so let’s talk about Cobra Kai, my current little obsession, and about Star Trek, my always-obsession. Time-was you could get sued for your Star Trek fanfiction. Nowadays that fanfiction can get turned into a for-fun zoom play and read out loud by the two actors who played the original characters (Alexander Siddig and Andy Robinson). This is very fun, new territory for a lot of us.

Meanwhile Hayden Schlossberg and the other writers of Cobra Kai are openly aware of the fact that lots of people read their lead characters – Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence - as probably bisexual (and probably as in love) and are on good terms with several active members of fandom and fic-writing. This is… so fucking fun. And it doesn’t have that weird overtone of shit like Teen Wolf (“We’re on a ship” winky-face, followed by that about heel-turn “just think it’s weird and strange” or however tf it was described later on - that shit: definitely queerbaiting).

In Star Trek there’s a slim-to-none chance that these characters will ever become canonically queer in the main text, but the acknowledgement and the light-hearted open engagement with it makes such a massive difference (not that Siddig and Robinson weren’t talking openly about it as far back as the 90s).

In Cobra Kai there is no obligation to make Johnny or Daniel canonically bi because there’s been no promise to do so – there is, in my opinion, an obligation to create a world in which queerness exists and not just on the sidelines. In the same way as there’s an obligation to generally create a world that accurately depicts what LA looks like in multiple other ways (cough, not mainly white, cough). If a part of that were through exploring how 80s era toxic heteronormative masculinity could throw people deep into the closet for most of their lives, hey, that’d be a neat storyline (such a neat fucking storyline), but it’s not the only way to do it.

While I do like canonically queer couples in stories, I also think it’d really limit what queerness can do for a text if that were the only way it was represented - sure I ship Lawrusso, but I find the above-mentioned analysis of toxic masculinity’s effects on the characters-as-queer-coded to go much deeper than whether or not they get together. 

I also would love trans and/or other-gender characters - we all know Johnny needs his “gender-what?” ignorance challenged and the potential for characters like that to fit into a narrative around trauma, loneliness, and misfit-families is kinda perfect (and when I say characters, I mean that plural, we’re not a one-size fits all).

Lastly I think there is also an obligation to do exactly what the showrunners are doing - what didn’t happen with Hinton or SPN or Teen Wolf or Star Trek of yore or so much other popular fiction: say, oh yeah, that language is absolutely there, we recognise it, we can read it and it’s not weird or sordid or something to be judged. So that’s already a massive thumbs up/promising start.

4. some final thoughts:

Idk where all this’ll go. I’m still missing a lot of canonically queer representation - and when I say representation I mean more than just shoving in a queer character into a scene and not thinking about how that affects the world that’s been established. But I’m feeling a lot better about queerness and story than I used to.

I’m hoping that whatever comes moving forwards in culture in general it’ll have some thought put into it. I’m hoping that queerness and queer allegory and coding will be recognised more and more as important reads of text and will go into informing how something is made (Hannibal, Black Sails, Sense8, Pose). I’m just hoping this’ll mean some interesting, intelligent, wildly varied narratives.

Just very excited.

[experiment-000]

My Top 10 Ships of 2020

It's been a weird year but I've seen other people doing this. Plus this year I've been way more into gen fics (love a bit of found family especially in clone wars and marvel) than anything shippy. So I genuinely don't know what imma put on here aside from two ships for sure. Sorry this post is super long idk how to do the below the cut thing and I've had this app for 5 years...

10) Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki - Yuri!!! On Ice

It was a real toss up between this, supercorp, kanera and wolfstar cos they're all very integral ships to my fan heart but this son because of the Yuri on Ice fandom's rebirth this year. I've never stopped shipping this, never stopped reading fanfic of them for any extended period of time, they're still my most bookmarked ship on ao3 (although I think now star wars - all media types may have overtaken them for fandom). They were one of the first things I watched where the queer ship I loved became canon and I can't wait for the film (and hopefully someday a season 2). Heck I even made my mum watch Yuri on Ice with me so I think that says it all.

9) Edelgard Von Hresvelg and female Byleth - Fire Emblem: Three Houses

My first fire emblem game was fates when I was like 14 (and finally gay awake lol). I was so disappointed that I had to be with a guy character because the only female option was kinda creepy and also I wouldn't get the character of kana. So when three houses came out I was so happy because finally there were beautiful incredible female characters my female byleth could romance (I'm so sorry mlm you deserved so much more than you got). I got the game as soon as it came out (had to search a lot of shops let me tell you) and started on black eagles. I was actually kinda disappointed back in 2019. I didn't like the explore the monastery bit (still find it kinda tedious) and the battle mechanics weren't quite the same as fates (no pairing up?! Aka my main battle technique for protecting the weaker units). So I got like 20 hours in and put it down. Came back to it in lockdown and finally finished it! I'm so proud of myself I virtually never finish games. And I fully fell in love with the useless lesbian edelgard in the process. When I started back playing in 2020 I was like eh I wish I'd picked a different character to romance (like shes an emperor that's morally very shady) but then the romance stuff started with edelgard and I fell the heck in love.

8) Cory Matthews and Shawn Hunter (and Topanga Lawrence) - Boy Meets World

Disney+ was released in the UK this year and I finally got the opportunity to watch boy meets world in its best quality (aka not on YouTube). I watched it back when I was like 12 or 13 and it's such a nostalgic show for me. Watching it again I still absolutely adore it (and my bi ass was low-key crushing on Shawn especially in chick like me - I'm 18 btw and I got so scared for a sec but rider strong was 18 when chick like me came out so it's fine woah). And of course now I see the possibilities of the beautiful Cory and Shawn relationship like they were so bromance it was basically romance and throw in topanga it's the perfect ot3 (but I'm also fine with just Cory and Shawn or just Cory and Topanga). Read some good fanfic for them this year. My favourite was one about Shawn stealing makeup and stuff and exploring gender (need more fics like this I'm biiii).

7) Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes - Marvel Cinematic Universe

I rewatched all the MCU films this year too. And got really into Peter parker whump and irondad. Plus my eternal obsession with identity and relationship reveals of course led me from Spiderman identity reveals (and found family cuteness) to stucky coming out. Especially when it involves the internet and social media. Not my favourite ship but it's been significant to my year due to the sheer amount of marvel stuff I've read.

6) Satine Kryze and Obi Wan Kenobi - Star Wars

I rewatched clone wars in prep for season 7 and wow Satine's death was sad and sudden. She first appeared in S2 E13 I think and just the sheer sexual tension of their bickering. "The sarcasm of a soldier. The delusion of a dreamer." Just ugnnhhh my bi ass can't take much more of this. And Anakin just sipping his wine in the background grinning. And I fully believe korkie is a Kenobi.

5) Commander Cody and Obi Wan Kenobi - Star Wars

I am very much an Obi wan multishipper. I don't really have a favourite but I fully believe he was with satine and Quinlan in his life. I don't think be would've actually done anything with Cody because of the whole superior officer thing. And this probably isn't even my favourite Obi wan ship - that honour probably goes to quinobi or obitine. However the most popular ships in the fandom are codywan, quiobi and obikin. No offence to anyone who ships these they're just personally not to my taste, but I can't stand quiobi, and obikin I find only slightly more tolerable and I think that's just because there's so much obikin content so if I like the concept of a fic that happens to be obikin I'll read it. I'm just not a fan of the mentor/student relationships. So I generally favoured the codywan fics when there was shipping involved meaning I read a lot of them this year. Needed that nice fix it content post season 7.

4) Zuko and Katara - Avatar: the Last Airbender

Again I am a multishipper I have nothing against zukka it's cute. But I'm a zutara shipper first and foremost because when I first watched avatar I was like 13 and denying my gayness and gayness in general so I shipped the straight things and the straight things only. Most of these ships I stopped shipping - dramione, spuffy, some my little pony ones which we don't talk about. Zutara stayed. (I have nothing against any of the things I used to ship I just stopped shipping them so much/shipped new things more). I've continuously shipped zutara since I first watched avatar even if I didn't necessarily spend that much time on it it has always been here as one of my favourite ships. It has such good fanfic I swear including my favourite ever fanfic from any fandom - love thy enemy. Plus like the black games (reread this for the millionth time this year), a delicate subterfuge (which I read for the first time this year and damn it's so good) and so many more. With the avatar resurgence this year I haven't actually rewatched avatar aside from my normal random episode every now and then when I feel like it. But there's been a lot of avatar on my dash from people I follow getting into it and people I followed for avatar returning so naturally I returned to the fandom and read quite a lot of fanfic. I also read just a lot of avatar gen fics which were great at the whole found family thing I've been so obsessed with this year.

3) Catra and Adora - She Ra and the Princesses of Power

Catradora is canon! They kissed! What more is there to say. Arguably they should've been top but I never shipped them that much since I was always very much a multishipper when it came to she ra so yes I was very happy it became canon because we actually won for once but also I've never read much fanfic for them etc. But they are very much a dynamic I love and watching she ra all again in prep for season 5 I really enjoyed the build up of their relationship. The other two only go above because Buffy is my favourite show ever and damn there's some good fuffy fanfic and Aphra and Tolvan is both fresh in my mind and star wars owns me. Would love some catradora fic recs btw if anyone has them tho.

2) Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I didn't realise it was last year that I got super into them but according to my ao3 bookmarks it was lol. 2020 I swear it's lasted an eternity. I got into them about a month before lockdown (which feels like another lifetime). I've loved Buffy since I first watched it when I was 13. It's arguably still my favourite TV show. I've been through a lot of ships for Buffy - bangel to spuffy and now fuffy. I still think angel and her were a beautiful ship back in season 2 and especially in the angel episode I will remember you. But faith and Buffy had so much chemistry in season 3 - she would've been a fresh start for Buffy and the amount of fix it fics I read I swear. My favourite has to be one where they met in LA during Anne and how that changed everything feat Buffy's internal homophobia.

1) Cheili Lona Aphra and Magna Tolvan - Star Wars

I read Darth Vader (2015) and Doctor Aphra (2016) for the first time at the end of 2020 (got a comic subscription which has served me very well already I've nearly finished the star wars canon comics). Just to see canon queer ladies in star wars was so magical for me as a queer lady. I didn't think star wars would be so overt yet as to have a queer kiss in canon (even if it's in the comics) and especially not with the main character of arguably their main comic series. Now we just gotta hope that we'll get it in live action someday soon. They weren't the ship I consumed the most content of in 2020 but they were the highlight of my 2020 because star wars did that and I finally found out about it

Honourable mentions: Vivian and Elle - Legally Blonde, Candace and Vanessa - Phineas and Ferb, Stevie and Alex - Wizards of Waverly Place, Xander and Spike - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I actually don't ship this but damn some authors are good - this was the ship that made me realise I don't need to like a ship if the author is good enough to write it well), Eli Vanto and Mitth'raw'nuruodo - Star Wars (started reading the books last year but finished this year and only started with fanfic this year), Villanelle and Eve - Killing Eve, Kanan and Hera - Star Wars, Barriss and Ahsoka - Star Wars, Remus and Sirius - Harry Potter, Kara and Lena - Supergirl (let's hope this becomes canon next year!) (Those last four are ones I've shipped forever some of my og ships but nothing particularly big has happened for me this year with them so)

I got Disney+ this year so rewatched a fair few things from my youth and though hey my obsession with that character may have been a little gay.

[salamoonder]

caddy did specifically say he isn't into sex though? it's not true for every ace, but it is for him & i guess i don't get why someone would (after this episode) write smut with him

alright anon, you clearly sent this in good faith and i’m going to try my best to give you a reasonable explanation. apologies if it gets rambly or tmi, i’m going to insert tws.

let me give you some perspective on where i’m coming from.

hi, i’m thane. i was raised in an extremely isolated religious homeschool community in the literal woods with a lot of siblings .i thought i was never going to leave this tiny little town. i think death is fascinating, i love mushrooms and i adore tea. i consider myself to be, among other things, asexual. i’m possibly romance repulsed. (still figuring that out.) when i get upset i throw myself into taking care of other people and ignoring my own feelings as hard as possible. i project onto caduceus hard.

for the past six months or so, i’ve been working on a fjord/caduceus smut fic in which i also project very hard onto fjord, who i also believe falls somewhere on the aroace scale. it deals with the discomfort of realizing that other people may be attracted to you in a way that you can’t reciprocate, the frustration of having a high libido and nothing to “do” with it, having a connection with someone that isn’t quite sexual or romantic or platonic that is difficult to explain to anyone else, and the pressure of outside expectations and rude questions/assumptions on a private relationship that people don’t “get”--are you ace or aren’t you? if you have sex with someone when you’re not particularly into it, doesn’t that mean they forced you? why don’t you just kiss already? qprs are just friendships, haven’t you ever had a friend before? how can you be kinky and dislike sex at the same time? that kind of thing. this fic is my baby and i’ve poured a lot of my own experiences and thoughts and feelings into it. i’m not sure if i will ever actually publish it. it might be too personal. anyway. there is one reason for you that people may still write cad smut after this.

i understand the frustration of watching allo people go “buuuut ace people have sex too so i can just keep shipping him!”. i’ve dealt with a lot of that--fortunately not in this fandom (yet :P) but i’m in another fandom where it’s frustratingly prevalent, and quite frankly, i can’t stand it. so i get it. i really do. and the posts that i made were out of frustration and anger at the idea that now that we have canon confirmation, that would mean that i would now possibly have to contend with “excuse me caduceus is ace wtf” in my shippy cad posts or fics when quite frankly i’ve considered him canon ace for months and was feeling very well represented and happy that i had someone who is somewhat like me to insert into these relationships, especially in qprs or in “yeah we’re dating but it’s not really a Relationship relationship we just kind of do our own thing, attraction and lack thereof is weird and nebulous and we just do what makes us comfortable”.

[dubcon tw, sex, “virginity” talk] another reason someone may have, from a reader’s perspective? there’s a fic on the kink meme which i can link to if anyone wants it where the nein encounter a dragon who says that he can trade nott’s true halfling form back to her in exchange for a sexual favor from the nein, so long as it’s from a virgin. jester starts to volunteer but caduceus insists, reasoning that sex isn’t really a big deal to him since he’s not into it and doesn’t matter all that much. he basically dissociates during the act itself and later feels empty/weird/”broken” without really knowing why and has some trouble processing the encounter, especially as, he reasons, he consented, right? it ends in a lot of comfort and validation from the rest of the nein.

without going too deep into details of my own trauma, this was a fic that i was able to point to and say me yes me this makes sense oh my god other people experience or at least understand this. it was an incredibly validating read. so there’s another reason. [end tw]

one last thing i would just like to clarify/point out: while i don’t have to like it (and i seriously do not like it), a lot of people in that other fandom i talked about will tag fics with “i know [character] is aroace, but i’m ignoring that in this fic”. it’s kind of shitty of me to read that, and then complain that “hey, [character] isn’t aroace in this fic”. they warned me. (it is also worth noting that a lot of this stuff is just people continuing fics that they’d started before this character’s identity was confirmed.) and i don’t have to like or agree with them, but they have made it extremely easy for me to open that fic, see the warning, and go “oh, nope, not for me”, and click out. we can debate till we’re blue in the face if this is the same as, say, if i tagged my fic with “human!molly” and someone went “oh, nope, not for me” and clicked out, because “tiefling” is not a real life marginalized identity, but they do have one thing in common, and that is that they are both not canon. they can’t change canon and they never will. that’s the magical best-and-worst part about fanfiction, in my opinion. if someone is going around saying “caduceus isn’t aroace because i said so” well then not only is that asshole behavior, it’s just a straight up lie. but i don’t want people to be punished for warning me exactly what i’m getting into precisely because i may not like it.

so there’s my reasoning for writing ace cad smut, and also my reasoning for why i don’t think we should be harassing people for writing clearly marked cad smut, ace or otherwise. if you’d like clarification or more explanations, please don’t hesitate to ask. it feels like i barely brushed the surface of my thoughts on this.

[recurring-polynya]

A lot of people complain about not understanding the tagging system on AO3. I feel like I have it down pretty well, but one thing I always waffle on is side ships.

There are two major purposes to tags-- finding stuff you like and filtering out stuff you don’t like. Even this is a teensy bit difficult, because I write the slowest of slow burns, so sometimes things are shippy to me that you would need a Geiger counter of some sort to detect the actual romance. However, as Certified RenRuki Trash, I feel pretty comfortable that people who are looking for Renji/Rukia are gonna be happy to find my fics and people who don’t want to see it are not gonna be reading my stuff anyway.

There is not a lot  kind of a lot of peripheral romantic relationships in my fics (I started to say there wasn’t and then I made a list and realized I was A Liar) and I rarely, if ever tag it. I did tag Rikichi/Hanatarou in my latest fic, because, even though it was minor, it was a plot point, and there were numerous scenes about it, and they kissed onscreen. Also, there are only 4 Rikichi/Hanatorou fics on AO3, so I might as well throw a bone to anyone wallowing in pasty sidekick4sidekick hell.

Byakuya/Hisana is also a thing that is obviously both canon and relevant to my work, but the only time I’ve tagged it was when I had actual flashbacks to them interacting.

I guess here’s the thing: I, to my shame, will read almost anything that is tagged Renji/Rukia, as long as it isn’t preceded by one of my Big NoTPs. I am so thirsty, I will take the smallest crumb anyone will throw me. For the most part, I come away fairly disappointed, but there are a few times I have found really great fics these way. I would love it if someone read my fic and felt the same way, but I would hate it if someone read something of mine and felt like they had been falsely advertised to. Obviously, I would like it if more people read my fic, but that isn’t my driving motivation here. I just want people who would enjoy them to read my fanfics.

I don’t think any of my sideships are the ones that people get worked up about, so I worry less that someone would read one of my fics and halfway thru, get super pissed because Shuuhei is flirting with Izuru, but... maybe? I don’t know! The last thing I want is anyone to read my fics and be mad about it.

I wish AO3 had, like, a minor/major tag modifier, I feel like that would solve a lot of my problems. I don’t use those much, though, because they cause work for the tag wranglers and/or they don’t work in the filters anyway. Sometimes, I try to just add extra descriptive tags, like the classic “everyone has crushes on everyone else because teens.” I do my best, but if you have any opinions, I’d be interested in hearing them.

Bonus, because I love talking about my fanfic, under the cut are all the side ships that are more or less explicit in my mainline fic.

Ikkaku and Yumichika are effectively married, except that aren’t into institutions. They are extremely low-key about it for the most part, unless they take you into their inner circle and then it’s too much information all the time, RIP Abarai Renji.

Ukitake and Kyouraku are soulbound, a thing I have defined as part of my personal World-Building. They are together on a level that transcends friendship and romance. They have been together for going-on one thousand years, and I feel like they go through phases of being more or less romancey and being close to each other and going off and doing their own things. Their relationship is a source of comfort and power and healing to them. They have a bunch of extremely sweet combo attacks and they can do gonzo stuff like cast kidou together. It’s basically the Old Married People Power-up because I am an old married person and I do what I want.

Urahara and Tessai are as married as two dead gay dudes living in Japan in 2002 can be. Probably Shinji got ordained online and they had a big party. Maybe when they get un-banished, they can make it official and Yoruichi is going to be a giant runny mascara disaster.

IchiHime is gonna happen, as per WDKALY. Rukia and Renji both ship it hard. This is the one relationship that I know people might take issue at, but I’ve only ever referred to it in the most passing of ways, it’s canon and I’ve already marked the fic as canon-compliant, and also, I feel like the intersection of people who are pro-RenRuki and anti-IchiHime is pretty small, but maybe I’m wrong.

Back at the Academy, Momo had a crush on Renji. She is very, very over it. Izuru had crushes on both Momo and Renji. He is... mostly... over both of them.

Renji and Shuuhei used to date around the time Shuuhei became a lieutenant and Renji was still in Squad 11. It was a surprisingly healthy relationship between two himbos who were Going Through A Lot Right Now. It ran its course and Renji broke it off, claiming that he needed to knuckle down on passing the Lieutenant’s exam, but it was really because they’d started hanging out with Kira again, and he could tell that Kira and Hisagi really wanted to hook up.

Kira, Hisagi and Matsumoto are not really in a relationship, but they end up having sex with each other a lot. About once a year, Hisagi and Kira will Forget What Happened Last Time and try to have a relationship. It will last approximately 24 hours, the Izuru-Renji-Momo group text will blow up, and they’ll get banned from the Seireitei Waffle House, again.

I am never going to write Hitsugaya with anyone. There’s not even a tag for this, and it would be overkill to tag this, but if anyone is reading my stuff in hopes that he’s gonna get some action eventually, it’s not gonna happen. It’s not that I think he’s ace or anything (and there are some characters that I think are), and I love this weird, neurotic babyman a lot, but I just got nothing for him, romance-wise, even aged up. He does develop a deeply strange BroTP with Byakuya and I tag it every time because Hitsugaya & Byakuya is the most important relationship in Bleach and I don’t want anyone to miss out.

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Chocolate Box 2021 Author

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but mods can contact me with any questions.

Elsinore | Fullmetal Alchemist | The Locked Tomb | Motherland: Fort Salem | Simoun

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity.

Requesting fic; open to art treats!

—

Fandom: Elsinore

Relationship(s): Hamlet & Ophelia; Hamlet & Horatio & Ophelia; Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia

I found the friendships in this game, and the different ways that characters can reconcile or try to find a way forward together, to be really sweet and moving, and I'd love to read something that focused on those relationships of trust and support. I like how important Ophelia and Horatio's counsel and friendship is in timelines where Hamlet becomes king; I like Hamlet regretting how he behaved towards Ophelia and striving to live through his depression and find out what it is that he wants, not what everyone else wants of him; I like seeing childhood friends Bernardo and Laertes and Ophelia and Hamlet, whose growing-up has stretched them so far apart, taking time to catch up and enjoy each other's company a little.

So, futurefic in one of the timelines where everything doesn't go to shit? A timeline that we don't see? (There is something narratively interesting to me in Permanence/Passion in that the entire plot of Hamlet ends up as a distant backstory to someone's full life; I don't know how compatible that idea is with these requests, but if you want to write any of these groups fucking off to Italy or Constantinople or London and living until the Elsinore pressure-cooker is a distant memory, I'd be just as happy with that as with fic about them building some kind of future together still in Denmark, trying to make it better for its people and to hold on to who they are as individuals, and friends, beyond their roles.) If you want to write Hamlet/Ophelia, Hamlet/Horatio, or for that matter Horatio/Bernardo as shippy, I'm fine with that, but I don't want a focus on the romantic aspects of their relationship.

Fandom-Specific DNW: death of requested characters within the timeline being explored, or focus on death of requested characters. These characters die in this game a lot and I don't need you to pretend entirely that it's not a time loop game, but I would like them to be happy. If you write the Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia request, I'm fine with either or both names/pronouns for Bernardo|Katherine, but I don't want to read a story focused on their gender or coming-out. Please don't include Peter Quince as a character (you do not need to retcon, you know, the existence of the time loop).

—

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Relationship(s): Maria Ross/Olivier Mira Armstrong

I'll admit: I am a shallow, shallow person who loves the heartwarming and id-satisfying Briggs loyalty-kink complex (The watch! Buccaneer handing Olivier a clean pair of gloves after she kills Raven! Constant and deeply sincere saluting! Olivier’s explanation of why she wants Miles around and her lack of patience for anyone’s shit) but would like an f/f manifestation of it for actual shipping. Post-canon or AU where Maria is assigned to Briggs, or works for Olivier in Central? Does Maria foil a plot against Olivier, or Olivier save Maria's life in battle? Does Olivier order Maria into a firefight? Hit me.

Fandom-Specific DNW: Olivier/men, even mentioned.

—

Fandom: The Locked Tomb

Relationship(s): Abigail Pent & Dulcinea Septimus; Gideon the First & Matthias Nonius

Dulcie and Nonius were two of my favorite additions to the cast in Harrow the Ninth (and Dulcie in "Doctor Sex" via letter). I loved everything we learned about Dulcie - her wit, her quick thinking in a pinch when confronted by Cytherea and her secret to Harrow. I found her "The only thing preventing me from being exactly who I wanted..." speech both genuinely moving and very funny, and I love her thirst for revenge. What else might she and Abigail Pent, "independent research? it isn't even my birthday!" daredevil spirit-talker par excellence who has just conjured up a ghost out of an epic poem, get up to after Harrow's bubble collapses? Or what were they up to when they weren't on screen in Harrow's dream, putting together this whole, well, play?

Nonius's arrival, entire scene, and departure to fight the Beast made me very, very happy on levels I have trouble explaining. It was so heartwarming?! Because it was impossible, and because poetry won, and because they went off to do the best they could...I don't know, exactly. I'd love to read either more about his mysterious past with Gideon the First, or about their second encounter as allies (throw in Marta, Ortus and Pro if you like as well!)

Fandom-Specific Exception: to my unrequested ships DNW, Dulcie/Cam & Dulcie/Pal. I love their three strand thing.

—

Fandom: Motherland: Fort Salem

Relationship(s): Abigail Bellweather/Raelle Collar

I fell hard for this show and Abigail/Raelle is the ship I’m most excited about - they get off to a bad start for all kinds of personal history reasons and have problems with each other, but when it gets down to the wire Abigail would do anything for Raelle and is very gung-ho about having Raelle’s unconventional but extremely powerful magic under her leadership, regardless of Raelle being a loose cannon. She told her she loved her!! <3 And by the end, Raelle also clearly knows what Abigail's going through (like when she talks her down in "Citydrop"), respects her leadership, and cares deeply about her and wants to protect her in return. I love that loyalty dynamic, and their competence as fighters/witches.

Physical combat, strength in general, magical strength, ability to work magic together, knowledge of the magical canon vs. out-of-the-box techniques...what parts of their skills and their bond could be challenged in the weird dimension that the end of season 1 leaves them in? Or when they get back home and new challenges await? (In my head, the decision not to send them to War College is not revoked; the unit becomes some kind of special-forces secret strike team rather than cannon fodder.) Maybe something where Raelle goes/has gone into a fight as a berserker-type for Abigail and then comes back to her, or where Abigail protects/has protected her soldier (her girl!! I love her protectiveness of Raelle towards the other cadets, imagine it in a battle!)? Or an arranged marriage AU where it's usual for witch soldiers to marry to combine their magic power or something...

I would also be up for smut for them, especially something d/s-y where the loyalty-kinky dynamic of Raelle being Abigail's weapon, at her command, is echoed in sex!

Fandom-Specific DNW: sex solely for magical purposes without an emotional connection (sex for magical purposes is fine), focus on Raylla (I don't need you to retcon it, but please don't dwell either on Raelle still having feelings for Scylla or on her getting over Scylla for Abigail), Scylla bashing, Abigail/Adil (I would prefer to imagine, if he is mentioned in the fic, that they’re just friends).

—

Fandom: Simoun

Relationship(s): Aer/Neviril; Aer/Neviril & Neviril/Paraietta; Aer/Neviril/Paraietta; Aer & Floef & Neviril & Paraietta & Rodoreamon & Vyuraf

Aer, and Aer/Neviril, really grew on me on my recent rewatch. I appreciated her more as the determined bit-of-a-loose-cannon, who grows into a respected role in the choir, than the manic pixie this time, and noted Neviril's comments about how she was drawn to Aer's determination. (I've written a lot more about what I love and am interested in about Neviril and the show in general, her journey of figuring out what it means to her exactly to lead an air force, here.) I'd love to know what happens to them post-canon - what is the "new world" and their travel in it like? It's an escape for them, sure, but what are they escaping to, not just from? Are there problems there, too?

I'd also be up for a poly situation where Neviril is involved with both Aer and Paraietta, her long-loyal second-in-command whom she's blessed and forgiven, as a V where they're friends or as a triangle where Aer and Paraietta are also involved (I don't quite know what that leg of the triangle would look like but I do like how they work together in battle even when they're shown as having personal issues.)

If Neviril and Aer make it back to the main world when war is brewing again, as at the end of the series, but their old cohort can't fly anymore, what do they see their role as being? Does Neviril see herself as a leader for peace, for war, for something else? How do they interact with their former squadmates, whether as part of a more plotty piece or not?

I could be interested in explicit fic for this canon, as an option - the series is, on some level, about the contrast between the reality and physicality of their bodies and the general perception of what they do (which even in its non-spiritual military capacity is removed from a connection to their bodies via the Simoun aircraft), about becoming an adult, and of course about gender.

Fandom-Specific DNW: I'm not really interested in Kaim and Alty and would prefer for them not to appear or for their backstory to come up. I would also not like to see pre-timeskip Dominuura/Limone.

[stagcharmed-a]

there’s a post going around about shipping and I was gonna rb it but then I thought I’d just make my own because then I can save/edit and reblog so

ON SHIPPING;

even though doecharmed is my exclusive lily and my main verses are pretty set because james do be,, extremely Taken in the later school/war years I am still open to shipping with people with other muses outside those time periods it just needs some plotting

especially in my alt verses or crossover verses those really are fair game and I would like to write in them more in GENERAL

the only thing I rlly don’t ship and basically never will is james/sirius I just see their relationship as too close to brothers even in the alt verses bc like,, their relationship being what it is makes up a large part of james’ character always

I am a ,, slow burn shipper ALWAYS idk im bad at throwing two characters together and just being like ‘we’ll make it work’ i prefer plotting/writing together first and letting it develop but also it depends bc like.... sometimes it just clicks

like THAT SAID, if u come to me with an idea like ‘what if our muses xyz’ shippy plot I will always be down for those because I like writing them and if worst comes to worst and for some reason I’m RLLY not feeling it we can just not end it shippy

I also really like messy and unproductive romance arcs so like,, I am always down for ships that aren’t necessarily ‘happy ever after’ ships 

I like shipping with people I know ooc SO much more mostly because I truly do not do Casual shipping like I get so invested in them and want to talk about it always without feeling awkward but that said if we don’t talk heaps it’s OKAY still feel free to approach me just know I won’t ever be casual about anything i ship aodks

with that said as much as I like shipping I do like having a variety of relationships which is why I say I dislike casual shipping like,, if we’re shipping I am going IN DEPTH WITH IT also because james isn’t a casual person anyway so it kinda doesn’t work to have like,, surface level ships

if u throw headcanons at me I swear to god I’ll get to excited and invested like ‘imagine them blah blah’ I love it

so I’m generally pretty terrible at asking people if they wanna ship and taking the PLUNGE so,, maybe u will have to work w me though ofc I am always trying to be a better communicator and stuff but yeah

also! shipping does not have to be romantic but if you hit me up with anything though mostly I’m referring to romantic bc I think people find them the hardest to navigate

right this is so long for no reason but there is my basic run down of shipping here idk I am not TRYING to be annoying I just am kinda weird w shipping sometimes not for any reason its just that I get so DEEPLY invested in them so I care about them a lot and making sure everyone is comfortable. 

honestly feel free to always hit me up though even if we don’t write much like ‘I could see the potential of x thread and x relationship’ admittedly I cannot guarantee I will always agree but I’m willing to discuss and I have been SURPRISED BEFORE (like sometimes I say I don’t see a ship and then I’ll write more between those characters and start shipping it so) but yeah! plus honestly right now I would like more ship dynamics of lots of different kinds cos I feel I am missing that

also check out my wishlist tag I post dynamics I want there (I know its empty as atm I intend to fill it once I switch my old tags over here is my old wishlist tag too)

[laughingpinecone]

Trick or Treat 2020 letter!

I am laughingpineapple on AO3  

Hello dear author! I hope you’ll have fun with our match. Feel free to draw from general or fandom-specific likes, past letters, and/or follow your heart.

All requests are art or fic - for art, the stuff I like is the kind that depicts the characters doing something. I’ll always be happier with a very simple drawing of two characters walking together or sharing a cup of coffee than with an ambitious composition that looks like an Avengers poster. I also enjoy seeing them wear different clothes, getting a feel of what their fashion sense is like beyond their canon outfit(s).

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (especially if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, canon-adjacent tropey plots, outsider POV, UST, resolved UST, exploration of secondary bits of canon, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, maps, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played straight, sensory details, sickfic, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night, emphasis on non-human traits of non-human characters (gen-wise, but also a hearty yes xeno for applicable ships), emphasis on inhuman traits of characters who were human once and have sort of shed it all behind

Cool with: any tense, any pov, any rating, plotty, not plotty, IF, nerdy canon references, unrequested characters popping up.

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents are okay!), canon retellings, consent issues

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Hurdy

I love the game’s world and all the little stories and legends that fill it. Great atmosphere, great lore, so if you feel like getting a little worldbuildy and indulging in the scenery and its story, please do! A focus on the sense of camaraderie in a caravan would also be great (like people could do on Gamecube.....). Hurdy’s a bit of an odd duck for that theme, but maybe he hitched a ride at some point? With whom? Amidatty or De Nam maybe, among the nominated characters? I love the whole cast so anyone goes. Do they travel together enough for them to cotton onto the weirdness of the whole Gurdy situation? Got any run-in with Lady Mio? Or what’s his status after the miasma is lifted, can he go back to Tipa, can he/they begin to heal? What does healing even look like for him and Gurdy?

Ghost Trick: Cabanela

You know.. him. Dazzlingly OTT, untiring, rock-solid self-esteem, loyal to a fault, following a rhythm of his own, flawless intuition until it fails and it all burns down... him. I just want to see more of him doing stuff! The way he’s chill and open toward new people (like Sissel and Missile in ch15) makes him perfect to throw at most other characters and see how they react to the sparkles... I’d love some focus on how ridiculous his aesthetic is, half Saturday Night Fever half hardboiled detective half bubbly preteen (for a total of 150%) and yet he makes it work. Or how ruthless he can be, possibly for the sake of the people he cares for. The quote “The intimacy of big parties”. Him and Alma in the new timeline bonding over knowing (once Jowd has spilled the beans) but not remembering that terrible timeline. Some tropey scenario on the job. Snark-offs with Pigeon Man, by which I mean PM snarks and it bounces off him like water off a spotless white goose’s back. Dreaming Sissel but he’s strange... and wrong?

Ship-wise it’s only Cabanela/Jowd whenever it’s not infidelity, Cabanela/Alma in what-ifs and Cabanela/Alma/Jowd for me (and Lynne/Memry and Yomiel/fianSissel on the side). There are a bunch of shippy prompts in all my past letters - I would however reiterate here that Jowd. is. the worst tease. always.

Conversely, Cabanela/Lynne and Cabanela/Yomiel are NOTPs especially from Cabanela’s side. So while I appreciate the thick tension of a good Yomiel VS Cabanela confrontation like everyone and their cat, and also really appreciate a roughed-up Cabanela, and I do love Yomiel in his own right... I don’t want Cabanela being into it. Adrenaline junkie he may be but this hurts and his coat’s a mess and there’s no perfect winning scenario so he hates every second of it. (JOWD being into it is another matter altogether and he should probably mind his own business)

Kentucky Route Zero: Carrington, Cate

Act after act, intermission after intermission, I somehow didn’t see the arts rising to such a dominant theme in KRZ and it’s stuck with me since the ending finally hit. It’s great and moving. So! Who better than good ol’ antler man to linger in those feels! Carrington’s playwright adventures or Carrington&anyone you fancy, either way I’d listen to him ramble for a week and I would like to know more about his big dramatic plans. Or maybe him helping someone, more or less accidentally, by offering his unique takes? Overriding my “no canon retellings” DNW for a hot second, did he ever figure out what was going down in the Death of the Hired Man (or Nap of the Hired Man as the case may be) interlude?

For Cate, I’m mostly interested in two things: life on the river and mushrooms. Maybe both! The Echo river ecosystem is intensely fascinating to me as opposed to life on the surface and life on the Zero, and yet all these environments are permeable. So what’s a moment in her daily life that encapsulates the river? Someone they picked up on the Mammoth, a strange island that popped up at some point? Cate&Will bonding extremely welcome, I’m love Will. And then there’s the mushroom hunting. I don’t know much about mushrooms, but I do know that they’re cool. Cate seems to agree, so if you’ve got a story or pic in you about her and them mushrooms, I’d love to see it.

Pyre: Volfred Sandalwood

This is a Volfred solo, Volfred&literally anyone or Volfred/Tariq, /Oralech or /Tariq/Oralech request. If &Manley or &Brighton, I am not interested in more lenient takes on their characters than canon’s. fwiw I also enjoy Jodi/Celeste and Bertrude/Pamitha a lot!

I feel deeply for all of Pyre’s main themes - literacy, degrees of freedom, the fragile time that is the end of a historical cycle, nobodies rising up to the occasion, building a better society, and of course found family, “distance cannot separate our spirits” and all that jazz, and Volfred is squarely rooted at the center of all of them. Just please tell me things about my fave. His relationship to the Scribes (as a historian, a some kind of vision, via *ae or once he’s a star himself)? A ‘forced vacay’ Downside ending where he looks at the Union from afar and keeps living in this strange transformational place? Life in a cramped Blackwagon that was meant for like 5 people tops and is currently eight Nightwings, a herald and an orb? Since he picked him for the job to begin with, does he respect and cherish Hedwyn as he dang well should? What does it feel like to try and Read a herald? Was he ever in danger, in the Commonwealth or in the Downside? Does he puff up as prime minister because he’s nervous, and who can see past his hyper-professionalism and lend a hand? Please roast him big time about the votes he assigns to the various Nightwings in his planner? What’s his attitude toward the flame’s purification (what with being a tree but mostly like, as a general concept. He did nothing wrong!) (well he definitely said some things wrong and sometimes oftentimes the ego jumps out, but his intentions did nothing wrong)? When did his calculating approach fail him? Something with Pamitha along the lines of that edit that goes “Can we talk, one ten to another?"/"I am an eleven, my girl, but continue."? btw that ‘emphatically yes xeno’ from my general likes is only applicable here I guess so: emphatically yes xeno to both shippy interactions at all ratings and to gen explorations of what a Sap is like...

Shenmue: Qiu Hsu, Xianzi Bei

Cormorants... kung fu... cormorant kung fu. They turned out to be my faves in a very likeable cast and I’d love to see either or both of them slice-of-life-ing it up in Niaowu, or anywhere up or down the river. The rest of the cast is welcome to join! Did Ren end up at Liu He Hall for whatever reason, or did Shenhua chat up a cormorant, as she does? Id love to see a spookier mood too! Ghost story time in Liu Jiao shrine maybe?

The Silver Case: Catherine, Kodai Sumio, Kuroyanagi Shinko, Kusabi Tetsugorou, Macalister Edo, Morishima Tokio

I‘m all for the surrealism, big things being introduced and never picked up again, Rashomon’ing it up with six explanations for the same thing where no single one can be true, people dying and then popping up again like nbd...  maybe the thing I like the most is characters transcending their humanity and looming over the dystopian world like ominous avatars. Correctness’ first ending had me swooning, that kind of mood is unparalleled. I have played TSC, FSR and 25W so far and have vague memories of K7. I’m aware of the “everything’s connected” readings but that’s not my main interest in these games. Mainly I see Lospass as a real island but also a metaphysical  place of transformation first and foremost, where strange things happen that don’t make sense elsewhere, but I’m good with anything that works for your story! There are a few & prompts for these fine folks in my Press Start letter [here].

For Catherine, I’d love to see something along the lines of her YAMI appearance, on Lospass on her own or hanging out with another character of your choice (or Tokio again). Sumio leaves me at a loss for words... if you’ve played 25W, maybe an expansion of his [intense ethereal whooshing] moment? He’s a gust away from vanishing from existence altogether... &Sakura and/or &/Tetsu if you want. Or his time in prison or a return to Lospass or whatever’s going on with that one, really. For Shinko I’m itching for different team-ups! Throw her at anyone you like and see what happens! FSR-era Tetsu could be cool, or off-the-grid Tetsu, or Tetsu&anyone... as for Edo, I’d be curious to see his pov on anyone and anything! WAS the Flower Sun and Rain the friends we met along the way? And Tokio... oh Tokio. Something about older Tokio and his gaggle of tulpas (Slash and whatshisface from YUKI who looks suspiciously like YAMI Tokio himself?)? Any...thing...about any part of his life from Lifecut onwards? Any portentous encounters?

[hxwk-eyes]

Shipping interview!

Multi, single, or fewship?  

Multiship! I like writing ships in general, and different dynamics with muses. Doesn’t even have to be romantic,  I like building relationships with other muses and just building their entire world with others with my muse and theirs. It’s probably my favorite thing about writing on tumblr. 

What are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

I’m fairly flexible about things, but I really don’t like to write anything to do with cheating or the ‘R’ word. At most I will write themes involving manipulation, because that kind of thing does fit my muse ( this does not mean I condone that stuff but my muse is not a morally straight muse ). 

How large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?  

Ten is a pretty solid number I think? To be honest, age gaps are a weird thing for me to tackle in general, and really I feel like it depends on the age of the younger one? Like if they’re straight up 18, I feel like ten would be too much if that makes sense? But if they’re 30, I could see pushing more than 10? I don’t know if that makes sense at all.  ( But for minor muses I will never say over 2 years ever. Just to make this clear ). 

Are you selective when shipping?

I ship with chemistry generally, so I suppose I’m fairly selective in a way. I have to know the ship isn’t entirely focused on one single muse - if it only ever revolves on one end 99 percent of the time in terms of issues and stuff it’s a lot harder for me to write. Especially with a muse like Hawks. He is a unique muse who doesn’t really show himself a majority of the time, so a lot of times people tend to fall for that trap. Muses fall in love with the persona, and get comfortable with that instead of trying to push for the real personality. So with Hawks, I think I tend to be fairly selective. If I don’t think they’ll try to make a genuine push for the real bits of him, it’ll be harder for me to write. 

How far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered nsfw?

Once the clothes start flying off I consider it NSFW as a general rule, but if they start doing some. Close. Contact. with clothes then yeah that’s NSFW. 

Does one have to ask to ship with you?

I’d prefer it. If I don’t know what the intentions are it’ll throw me for a loop. I prefer to discuss about ships prior first ( but I also prefer writing with platonic stuff first before going romantic as well ). 

How often do you like to ship? non romantic ships?

I write a lot of shippy stuff actually, mostly off of tumblr though! Tumblr tends to be a little more difficult because RPing isn’t as quick usually ( especially since I’m super slow ). I absolutely love platonic ship type of things too!!! It’s fun for Hawks to have just friends to talk to and tease about things. 

What is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

Really torn between Dabi/Hawks , Fuyumi/Hawks, Miruko/Hawks, and Natsuo/Hawks. Also really enjoying Fatgum/Hawks I’ve been writing lately so I think that’s up there ( rare pair though cries in no content ). 

Tagged by: Snagged. 

Tagging: Come and take it from me I dare you. 

[miss-m-calling]

Rare Pairs 2020 letter

Canons requested: American Gods (TV), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Starred Up, Witchblade (TV),  킹덤 Kingdom (Netflix)

Dear writer,

Hello and thank you for writing for me. I’m very excited to read whatever you come up with.

Without further ado…

Requests:

American Gods (TV)

Laura Moon/Mad Sweeney

I ship it. Yes I do. They had me at “gimme-my-coin-dead-wife”-flicks-him-into-wall. The snarky road trip was the best thing I never knew I wanted until it happened, and I adored every second of it, not to mention the upped shippiness in S2. They’re both such assholes and so fascinating, even if they start to mellow toward each other a bit, and all the gods/magic/resurrection stuff swirling around them begs to be explored further. Also I love love love how their dynamic is about equal parts spikiness, pathos, and humor (they’re funny! and the canon doesn’t shy away from putting them in ludicrous situations), and it weaves seamlessly between those three. Plus she’s half his size yet can and does beat him up with literally one finger, and then there’s the angst of he having killed her, feeling really guilty about it, and then bringing her back. And the way that their New Orleans adventure makes clear they have feelings for each other (S1 was more one-sided Sweeney -> Laura) but neither wants to admit it. And and and… yeah, I just love them. Canon-specific DNWs: Sweeney dying/staying dead (at least permanently), Laura as Essie’s reincarnation/descendant or a reincarnation/whatever of Sweeney’s wife from back when he was a king in old Ireland (or a lot of focus on those relationships), either Laura or Sweeney as an inanimate corpse in a smut scenario

My prompts are a combo of prompts I had after I binged S1 and others I added throughout S2. Even if some of this is addressed or hinted at in canon, feel free to diverge – canon divergences and canon-adjacent stories are my jam!

-Please give me either missing scenes from the road trip (if you can work in a divergence, that’s great - for example, I like Salim, but if you want to have him boot Sweeney and Laura to the curb and go off on his own, or Sweeney to boost his taxi before Salim catches them, or whatever else to have those two alone, go for it!), or a divergence from either season (instead of going to Ostara, they go where? to see whom? about getting Laura resurrected. Or things go down differently in New Orleans, or Cairo, or anywhere else) or something about these two post-canon.

-Laura discovers (how? you decide!) that Sweeney gave her back the coin after their accident – whatever happens next, some punching may be involved. (If nothing else, Mama-Ji mentions that the coin is now in Laura’s heart, and we saw Sweeney place it on her ribcage after the accident, whereas it was originally in her gut like she’d swallowed it. Laura might ask herself how the hell it moved.)

-Wednesday’s big war finally comes, and “don’t you dare die on me [again], you asshole” is a line either Sweeney or Laura (or both) might say to each other.

-Laura asked “What does Wednesday have to lose?” and the answer is…? (Yes, give me that sweet poetic justice. One possibility, though not remotely the only one, but as of S2E3 Laura is technically a god-killer...) Or later when she straight-up says she’s going to kill Wednesday, but is warned to bring power with her when she does, how does that work? How else might she damage Wednesday or ruin his plans, just in case she can’t actually kill him?

-At the end of S2, Laura hoists Sweeney’s dead body over her shoulders and strides off, seemingly leaving Cairo, Shadow, and all of it behind. Tell me what happens then – does she use Baron Samedi’s potion to bring him back, and whose is the blood filled with love she uses (does she still bleed? You could get creative here, worldbuilding is also my jam)? Does her/his coin play a part – and how come the coin still “powers” Laura despite Sweeney’s death? Does she bring him back another way, maybe figuring out how to keep herself around and be able to give Sweeney back his coin? Does he come back like she did, more undead than alive, or does his godhead, however depleted, help with that? That still leaves Laura to be fully resurrected too… Or does something completely out of left field happen – surprise me!

-Possible divergences from “Treasure of the Sun”: Sweeney manages to kill Wednesday, and then Laura rolls up, and then…? Or Laura rolls up and makes like Mama-Ji told her – destroys some motherfuckers? Or Sweeney gets killed temporarily but Laura brings him back, or brings herself back, or does something else with the Baron’s potion, and is Sweeney’s blood the one filled with love, or can we interpret voodoo spells in a non-literal way? Or what happens with Gungnir hidden in Sweeney’s hoard? And definitely how do they deal with each other once they meet up in Cairo, given how they parted in New Orleans (I don’t know what hurt more to watch: Laura deflecting at the diner, or Sweeney rambling drunkenly about her when Shadow finds him, or later on telling Shadow with such desperate sincerity to keep her away from Wednesday)?

-Or how about a wild divergence from the last several episodes? Sweeney and Laura manage to settle their differences (ahem, more fucking, on this plane of reality, might help) and don’t part ways before leaving NOLA. Or they roll up in Cairo separately but at the same time, and confront Wednesday together, and neither of them die (or die more, in her case). Or they’re there together when the police nearly raid the house. Or they have Wednesday (the ultimate cause of Laura’s death) and Ibis (a death deity) and Bilquis (a love/death/life deity) on hand, surely they can concoct some kind of resurrection thingamajig for Laura, and if they have to twist some divine arms then so be it. Or or or…?

-Wednesday told that luckless cop that Sweeney had been against the big gods’ war from the start, and while Wednesday lies, what if Sweeney decided much sooner to say to hell with Grimnir and his war and his having Sweeney kill random people? I’m guessing Sweeney too drank three glasses of mead so he can’t back out without dire consequence – but he does have a fierce, dead woman in his corner.

-They go to some as-yet-unnamed old god (feel free to bring in whatever mythology you want) in order to bring Laura back to life. Between Sweeney’s mouth and temper, and Laura’s mouth and temper, it doesn’t go well. Now one or both of them are in big magical trouble with a pissed-off deity and have to get themselves/each other out of it. Speaking of other deities, I really enjoyed their brief canon interactions with Ostara, Anansi, and Mama-Ji, and I’d like to see more of that, especially Ostara’s polite yet over-it attitude, Anansi very obvious over-it attitude and his dramatic flair, or Mama-Ji being one of the few capable of giving Laura pause.

-All the petty, ridiculous ways in which Sweeney’s bad luck manifests itself make me laugh (can’t help it, won’t even try), and I’m down for more variations on that theme.

-Sweeney and Laura fighting together, like they did on Mr. Town’s train of torture. Whether it’s a bar fight of their own making, or the big gods’ war they find themselves embroiled in, or something else entirely.

-Things happen and Laura finds herself in the position to throw Sweeney under the bus but also help/save him, and while he knows it’s only karma (he did kill her way back when), he can still be pissed off about it – how do they navigate this?

-Related to that, the Baron said: “In death is her true love, but she betrays him also.” If that meant Sweeney, or can mean Sweeney in the future (I don’t like destiny-wills-it stories, and they’re definitely not there yet, but they could maybe get there at some future point, and even then It Would Be Complicated), was the betrayal Laura rejecting him after the loa ‘fuck them,’ or is it something that hasn’t happened yet, and if so, what?

-Laura gets fully alive again, but traces of her (un)dead state remain – what are they, how does she cope, what price did she/he/they have to pay for her resurrection, and how does their relationship change? I’d especially be curious how it would work if they’re already a sorta-maybe-item and then she’s alive again and it’s weird in a new way.

-For reasons I’ll leave up to you, Sweeney and Laura have to stay put in a single place for a while and end up essentially cohabiting, regardless of what their relationship is at that point. Take “cohabiting” as literally or as creatively as you want – in any case, I’m sure it will be marvelously disastrous and amazing. If the place they have to stay happens to be NOLA, all the better, I find everything about that city fascinating. Or, if you wanted to use book canon, Laura and Sweeney (rather than Shadow) are the ones who have to spend time living in Lakeside and deal with its creepy Norman Rockwell-ness and with Hinzelmann.

-Slight or major AU from the opening of “The Ways of the Dead”: Laura has hitchhiked with Sweeney instead of going off in a huff with Wednesday, or she otherwise gets to New Orleans sooner, and she and Sweeney tear up the town together. Gimme bar fights, carnival shenanigans, all the food and drink porn, backstage craziness with the Christian rock band (Sweeney seems to have a backstage pass on a lanyard around his neck when Laura finds him)… Maybe they even cross the paths of some loa and it doesn’t get all angsty (for what it’s worth, I think the reason the sex magic didn’t bring Laura back to life was because she couldn’t accept the truth(s) revealed during the astral-plane sex and just ask Sweeney to prick his finger for the potion – instead she defaults straight to “this is all Wednesday’s evil plan” the morning after – not because the loa fucked them over). They were actually getting along nicely in those first couple of scenes in NOLA, only ribbing each other a little while still being their grouchy selves, before they got to Le Coq Noir. I wouldn’t have minded seeing some more of that.

-AU from the end of “The Ways of the Dead”: they still have their big fight (which was amazing as well as painful) or some variation thereof, but they don’t split up. (Maybe the reason is as mundane as Sweeney refusing to get left behind or they have a shared ride out of town, or maybe the more time passes the less Sweeney can afford to be far from his coin – or maybe the coin needs him close by to work at full capacity.) And then what?

-All the old gods hide their true appearance to an extent. A situation arises in which Laura sees Sweeney’s true, or at least old, self (I’m thinking of his surprise!poignant monologue about when he used to be a king, and him in full Celtic warrior mode in the S2 flashbacks). Or Wednesday’s war ends in victory, meaning the old gods again get belief, worship, and sacrifices. How does Laura, the ultimate skeptic even when she’s on the other side of the mirror, react? How does this new knowledge and new reality change her opinion of/attitude to Sweeney? Or to flip that around, if Sweeney were again relevant and believed-in, would that actually change his bad attitude and fix his issues (my guess is it would be complicated)? On that note, Sweeney’s decline from Lugh to king to leprechaun was more sketched in than really explored in canon, ditto I didn’t really get why he couldn’t seem to remember his own history except in snatches (the curse that made him a bird/madman of the woods?) – I’d love to see more about it and his (not) dealing with it, or with a reversal of that decline. Eorann told him long ago to adapt and change with the times – but what does that mean after humpteen centuries in a rut and becoming used to always feeling angry and unappreciated?

-The power of names, since they never use each other’s in canon: for all his “dead wifeing,” there comes a time when Sweeney (has to) call her by her actual name, and that’s a tricky moment for them to navigate. Or, Mad Sweeney is not his actual name, and true names have great magical power and so must be kept secret; Laura discovers or learns his name, from someone else or from himself; what does she do with that knowledge? Or, Sweeney gets to say “cunt” in a situation (sexual or otherwise) where, not only does Laura not peel his lips from his gums, but she finds that she can’t object, even though she knows that he knows that he’s getting away with it.

-So far in canon, it’s pretty clear that Sweeney has a lot of complicated but sincere feelings for Laura. Laura is still pretty focused on Shadow (or rather her idealized vision of Shadow and what their relationship might yet be), whom she seems to equate with her own lost-maybe-to-be-regained life, although that’s starting to change at the end of S2. For one thing, she’s starting to soften toward Sweeney as she realizes he’s doing things for her that are not all about getting his coin back (and her sparring match with Wednesday in “Muninn” as well as Shadow refusing to be called puppy anymore in “Moon Shadow” may finally force her to accept that her relationship with Shadow died alongside her and Robbie on that road in Indiana). Not to mention the shared truth revealed in “The Ways of the Dead” (bullshit was that just Laura’s truth!) and how Laura flips out rather than deal with it and Sweeney can’t spit out that it mattered to him either, or how obviously cut up she is about Sweeney’s death despite refusing to admit it. Tell me the story of how Laura stumbles her way to feeling – and acknowledging that she feels – more complex, maybe kinder or softer, really annoying for her blunt-force-trauma-personality things about Sweeney and about the notion that her dynamic with him is different from the way she tended to use men for her convenience without really letting them in in the past. Also I’m pretty sure that even if they can admit they feel the same – or sorta in the same ballpark – about each other, their relationship would still run on a lot of conflict, and I would so be here for it.

-On that note: in “Munnin” it also becomes clear that Laura has, without realizing it herself, started to rely on Sweeney. The “I trusted you” line made me think, whoa she’s too furious to catch herself doing it but this is huge for Laura, and the fact that she goes off with Wednesday (!) basically because she’s mad at Sweeney because she thinks he’s prioritizing his debt to Wednesday over her… Yeah, I would like to see that explored some more and/or to see Laura and Sweeney get to a point where they trust each other and rely on each other, and know it and accept it, however difficult the getting there and being there may be for them.

-Sweeney has this intense need to see himself as a brave person and someone worthy of the world’s respect – but his past and his long experience as just a leprechaun have chipped away at that. Add the guilt of having been the instrument of Laura’s death and then all the pesky feelings he develops for her, and it’s a lot. Obviously his final actions in S2 are his trying to reclaim that courage and nobility of old (also to spite Wednesday, who’s messed both him and Laura up), but I would love to read about his character development under different circumstances, where Laura is there all the way, as opposed to them parting ways and meeting up again multiple times like in canon.

-And since I’m on the subject of Laura, you know how she’s not actually an abrasive bitch all the time to everyone? And when she is, the people on the receiving end of it sometimes richly deserve it, or very occasionally they push back (ILU, Mama-Ji!), and anyway it’s refreshing to see a female character who defaults to confrontational and doesn’t bother flirting and accommodating others for the sake of social harmony? As much as I enjoy watching her rip into people (ahem, Sweeney), I also love it when she acts differently, like her genuine interest in getting to know Salim and her joy in seeing him again in S2, or her running passive-aggressive battle of wills with Wednesday. Her beginning to feel sympathy for Sweeney and her anger and disappointment when she feels let down by him are a part of that, and I’d love to see all that explored more. Nuance! Give me all the nuance and seeming contradictions in both Laura and Sweeney’s characters!

-Sweeney and Laura get drunk and wake up married. Or some sex and/or blood resurrection spell results in basically an unbreakable marriage bond, whether it also secures resurrection or not. Or marrying the dead keeps them (sorta) alive. Or being married makes it possible for them to share magical/supernatural abilities. They’re both pissed about it, but secretly having to make it work may not be the worst thing that’s ever happened...

-My perfect AG spinoff would basically be Sweeney and Laura tooling around America, looking to get her resurrected (whether they succeed or not is up to you), stealing ever more ridiculous vehicles, arguing/fighting and having those pesky moments where vulnerability and genuineness creep in – and fucking. So yessiree I’d be down for porn, including “it’s technically necrophilia/zombiesex” porn, including a canon-divergent first time, or their second time, or all the later times after they had their first time in NOLA in canon.

-If you wanted to throw in some worldbuilding, maybe something exploring living death. Magical bargains. What kind of favor did Sweeney do for Ostara that would be worth her bringing someone back to life as repayment? What other powers might Sweeney have – or have left from when he was Lugh? How long can a dead wife keep going before she’s “soup”? What other superhuman abilities might dead!Laura have? Can the dead do magic? What even are the rules governing and the limits of different beings’ magical abilities? For example, why can’t Sweeney just take his coin back, or why does Laura gain super-strength as part of her undead package deal? Is the hoard in the same space as the behind-the-scenes accessed through the merry-go-round, or it’s a different place? Why does the coin seem to start to “run down” the longer Laura has it? Why did Wednesday need Laura to kill Argus when he killed Vulcan himself just fine? What happens with Gungnir now it’s in the hoard – can only Sweeney get to it, has it been transformed somehow (it’s now the treasure of the sun), etc.?

If it helps your inspiration, you can find some of my meta and lots of tag-burbling about these two here. I have read the book though I remember it only in bits and pieces, and while I prefer the show characters and the fact that they get thrown together, you can use or riff on book material if you want, though I’d prefer a story that isn’t just a retread of the book. With reference to one of my DNWs, for this canon, describing Laura’s physical decay is totally fine. Also, Shadow/Laura don’t interest me except as a part of Laura’s backstory (so if your story wants to include Laura figuring out or having already figured out that pinning all her hopes on Shadow to make everything right is unrealistic, unfair, and not how it works – by all means, go for it!), and Shadow/Sweeney interest me not at all.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (TV)

Lenny Bruce/Miriam “Midge” Maisel/Susie Myerson

Lenny Bruce/Miriam “Midge” Maisel & Miriam “Midge” Maisel/Susie Myerson

I’m here for Midge’s adventures in the intoxicating, foul-mouthed, and often-frustrating world of comedy, so her dynamic with Susie and Lenny is where it’s at. I just love the interactions between these three, and between every pair combination among them: Midge and Susie bantering and swearing and tits-upping even when they irritate each other, Midge and Lenny bringing the pathos as well as the humor, and Lenny and Susie both being hardened old pros with still a little glimmer of starry eyes. I am good with either V-shaped triad/poly or hey, Susie (whom I absolutely read as gay) might find a way to be good with a full-on triangle… And as much as I like the comedy inherent in the characters, I also love that they’re all three, each in their own way, messed up people and dysfunctional to various degrees. So yeah, I just want Midge to hand the kids over to her parents, ditch Joel once and for all, marry (interpret that as literally or as loosely as you want) both Susie and Lenny, and for the three of them to ride off into the sunset to make comedy history. Canon-specific DNWs: anything above M rating, pairing any two as a / couple with the third as a & hanger-on, and while Lenny can still be his RL messed-up, drugged-up self – albeit the gentler version the show gives us – it would be good if he didn’t kick the bucket a handful of years down the line.

Most of these prompts are from before S3 dropped – feel free to work with canon or diverge however you see fit, I am all caught up now:

-Does Susie manage them both? Does Midge open for Lenny on tour? Does he open for her??? Or they become equal stars on the comedy circuit?

-Maybe Lenny joins Shy Baldwin’s tour, or they run into him while touring Europe or the US, or after Shy fires Midge, Midge and Susie cobble together a Midge-only tour of America and keep crossing Lenny’s own touring path, and they all tool around, and yes I would love as much period detail and geography porn as you can throw at me. And while Lenny and Midge have seen the world, Susie hasn’t – her reaction to different foods, languages, customs, landscapes would be spectacular to witness. Especially if “different” is someplace as close to New York as Jersey or Connecticut, or someplace as far away and different as, say, Japan.

-If they do go to Europe, somehow or other they also tour the Soviet Bloc. Cue culture clashes, getting followed (or thinking they’re being followed) by the secret police, getting hammered on vodka and herring and pickles, and then when they get back to the States, the Feds grill them. It’s all dead serious, and Midge and Lenny refuse to take it as seriously as they should, while Susie is trying but the whole thing is really pissing her off…

-Lenny’s burned out, and Midge is just getting started. This dissonance may or may not find some sort of resolution. One thing’s for sure: Susie has limited patience for both Lenny’s depression and Midge’s need to make everything pretty.

-Instead of going to Joel for a no-way-is-that-closure fling after the Steve Allen Show taping, Midge goes to have a drink or seven with the two people who have, in their own ways, always been there for her and never let her down.

-Midge goes on TV again, this time as the star: longer set, prime time slot, dressing room, the works. She’s dying of nerves. Lenny and Susie coach her through it.

-More radio work to make ends meet in between gigs: hilaribad period ads, hilaribad radio drama, running all over town to be on time, getting paid in all kinds of dubious merch…

-Midge and Susie head out west to make it big and stay with Lenny once they’re in Los Angeles, and it’s marvelous (ha ha) and disastrous in equal measure.

-More of Susie being the hypercompetent manager we saw especially in S3! (And please don’t dwell on her gambling problem, I was not a fan.)

-They all three get drunk, maybe with a hint of sadness if it’s the holidays (you can ignore my DNW about holidays, but please let that be just the background, not the lynchpin of the story) or someone’s birthday, and there’s a bar fight, running from the cops, eating greasy food at ass o’clock, and possibly kissing, not necessarily in that order.

-One or two or all three of them get arrested/have court appearances all over America and have to bail each other out, or find someone to bail them all out, or secure legal counsel – you get the drift. Or all three of them are trying to explain to a single lawyer what happened, talking over each other, the two pros not being able to resist landing zingers and Susie not being far behind, and the lawyer just getting more and more confused.

-They get in trouble some other way – offended patrons, surly management, shitty hotels, tour bus breaks down in the middle of Wyoming – and have to have each other’s backs because no one else will.

-Three-person road trip or tour, and only Susie knows how to drive. So Midge decides to learn, right then and there. And Lenny… Lenny may or may not be too lazy/hungover/lying about not knowing how. There’s supposed to be a rotation so everyone gets to stretch out on the back seat for equal lengths of time, but you know the system doesn’t work too well in practice. Also, they play games in the car to while away the time, and they do it their own way of course: I spy, cows on my side, yellow car, never have I ever, 20 questions, or riffing on whatever’s playing on the radio…

-They sit down to watch the moon landing (you can move it up a bit so it’s not happening a whole decade after S2) – by which I mean, Midge is all gung-ho about the moon landing, and Lenny and Susie are like whatever – and things don’t quite go to plan, but a good time is eventually had by all.

-It’s Yom Kippur again, and Midge wants to do the whole production: synagogue, breaking fast, the lot. Lenny and Susie would rather eat glass. Midge gets her way, of course. Does she decide to bring Susie and Lenny home to meet – or meet properly – her parents??? I bet Abe and Rose’s reactions would be something to see. (This too is an exception to my DNW about holiday settings – I just want stuff to get as crazy as it did the two times we saw Yom Kippur celebrated on the show, and for everything to still somehow turn out relatively OK.)

-Midge and Lenny have cheered each other up when the going got extra rough. I want for Susie to be especially down in the dumps – maybe her boozehound of a mother died and Susie took it worse than she does in canon, maybe some asshole told her she’s a shit manager and got her right in her insecurities – and Midge to rope Lenny into trying to cheer her up. And for Susie to fight them every step of the way but still be glad they care enough to try.

-Inspired by Susie’s brother looking just like her, by which I mean she and he and their sister look nothing alike, and by Lenny’s “she’s my mother” quip about Midge at the TV studio and then his “let me introduce my wife or maybe my sister” in Miami – Midge, Susie, and Lenny pretend to all be blood relatives, or mafiosi, or spies, or something else they’re not, while out in public, say in a restaurant. Just to be assholes and see how long they can keep it going before they break character or people figure them out, or call the cops, or something. There’s totally a bet on who corpses and breaks character first. Or, nice hotels ca. 1960 weren’t very big on letting unmarried couples, let alone threesomes stay in rooms together – pretending to be family might make that easier; forgetting what they’re meant to be to each other, or mixing up their backstories might make it harder. Or they’re just trying to save money by only getting one room, there’s only one free room in the hotel, or any other screwball reason you can invent.

-Lenny and Midge do a (comeback) tour of the Borscht Belt, and all the Steiner Mountain Resort guests (especially the gossipy old hens from the beauty salon) and staff go to see them – and heckle.

-Stuff happens and they end up performing at some hole in the wall place where no one knows who they are (or no one believes it’s really those people they’ve seen on TV) – tough crowd, but a good workout for the two comics, and if Susie gets to threaten to rip off someone’s head, all the better.

-Lenny and Midge honing their routines – and maybe developing a double act – and Susie being all “oh my fucking god, what the fuck!!! … They’re actually good. I’m so proud.”

-Sharing a bed with two other people is an ongoing project: who sleeps (or refuses to sleep) in the middle? Who gets up during the night and why? Who starfishes across most of the bed? Who snores, and how does this get handled? If alcohol or pot have happened, how does that affect the sleeping arrangements? Also, Susie and Lenny witness and react to Midge’s beauty routine, ‘nuff said. Or, for various reasons one person after another ends up decamping to another room/bed/couch, but it doesn’t help them get much sleep or even stay there very long (this is inspired by my love of Shirley Jackson and her short story/humorous essay “The Night We All Had Grippe”).

Starred Up (2013 movie)

Oliver Baumer/Eric Love

Yes I do ship it, I do, I do!

Ahem. Don’t get me wrong, I liked what the movie did with the father-son relationship and its influence on both men’s character development – but I really wish they hadn’t got Oliver out of the action before the story’s climax (not like that!). The final denouement with Love father and Love son was great, as was the hint at the end that Eric learned something in anger-management group and has a support network that will help him a lot. But. I would have wanted to see more of the intriguing dynamic between Eric the intelligent, semi-feral, yet not-incorrigible, young thug and Oliver the educated, dedicated, kind yet aware of his own potential for violence (what was he on about with “I need to be here”?), slightly older counselor. They had me at Oliver’s “I want him” and Eric later telling his father that Oliver’s a better man than Love Sr. Also the not-flirting and the push-pull in the scene when Oliver picks up Eric from his cell - yowza!

For this canon, my dubcon DNW does not apply.

Prompts:

-I would love to see Oliver return to holding his group in prison, so the two of them can interact more, either in the movie’s immediate aftermath or years down the line, as it’s implied that Eric will be serving a long sentence. Give me more scenes from anger management or the ribald, honest, free-flowing conversations in group, either with the other men present (I liked Hassan and Tyrone especially, among the group members) or a one-on-one session.

-An oblique or open-but-undramatic admission/declaration that they both know there’s something there, even if they don’t know what to do with it. Or, one or both of them knows exactly what to do with it, and the push-pull that would result from that.

-Dirty talk: used for arousal, as a defense mechanism, as a form of flirtation. Eric using slurs to assert dominance, and Oliver not letting him hide behind profanity, when he can use colorful language to express emotion and/or sexual interest. There could definitely be some verbal taunting/flirting about who wants/is eager to do what or is good at doing something. There may be some sniping comments about logistics and (lack of) condoms and barebacking and what men get up to in prison. There probably wouldn’t be deep discussions about sexual identity.

-An emergency in the prison requires a lock-down, so Oliver gets temporarily stuck in Eric’s cell or another room with only Eric for company. Things get porny and/or emotional.

-Eric is eventually released (you can handwave this so it happens soon after the movie or have it happen years later) and crashes with Oliver while he adjusts to the outside world. You guessed it: things get porny and/or emotional.

-How do they get to the point where both can cross that line from friends/whatever the hell they are and become, to lovers? (There’s Eric’s personal history and general discomfort with vulnerability, plus all the ways prison sex can be or make things complicated, and if it helps, I headcanon Oliver as either gay or bi and at least somewhat closeted, at work especially.) Who initiates and “directs traffic”? How does their always-contentious dynamic shift during and after sex? Is the sex an isolated (series of) occasion(s), or a progression/escalation over multiple encounters (how would I love especially an escalating series of encounters, let me count the ways)? Eric might seem like the logical initiator and/or dominant partner as well as using the possibility of sex to manipulate and exert control, but then Oliver might (or might not!) surprise him and is definitely the one more in touch with himself as well as aware of his custodial duty toward the men in the group.

-At some point in their intimate relationship (probably not right at the start, and probably not in prison, though if you can make it happen in prison, more power to you!), Oliver decides he’s going to take his sweet time and make Eric fall absolutely apart with pleasure, while using dirty talk to both arouse and empower Eric to own his desires – by that point, Eric is in a place where he can let that happen and enjoy it, even if he still talks tough.

-Role reversal: Oliver as the con (jittery, shut off, sticking out like a sore thumb in prison with all his fancy learning, yet no pushover) and Eric as the newbie counselor (kid from the wrong side of the tracks made good? Youthful hoodlum turned around his life, now trying to help others via tough love and lots of swearing and maybe a bit of manipulation when called for?)

Witchblade (TV) Sara Pezzini/Danny Woo

I used to love this show back in the day, and loved it again in all its hokey gloriousness when I rewatched it recently. Sara figuring things out and being a principled badass, but maybe out of her depth with the Witchblade, and her dynamic with Danny, whether he's a ghost or alive, it’s all catnip to me. Sara is not extremely quippy, she has a job to do dammit! and don’t look at her vulnerable side, just don’t look at it!, and I love that about her (she’s much harsher in S1, after Danny’s death, than in S2); ditto that Danny is somewhat softer than she is, but still can hold his own thanksverymuch (well, when the plot doesn’t require him to get nabbed by bad guys) and has a bit of a deadpan snarker side too. I’d love something that plays around with their canon dynamic from either season, or uses canon as just a starting point. Some of my prompts lean dark or horror-y, so don’t be shy about going there; I’d also enjoy a story in which the Witchblade itself ends up not being very significant (say, they start to investigate a possibly mystical case and then nope, plain murder). Canon-specific DNW: Irons and any version of Nottingham appearing (you can mention them if you need to).

Prompts:

-The Witchblade is more parasitic than symbiotic, and instead of Sara learning to control it, its feeding on Sara affects her more and more over time. Or, the visions and dreams ramp up into full-blown paranoia and/or disassociation. The Witchblade's POV, maybe (it is sentient)? Asking for help is the hardest thing for someone like Sara, but what are (more than) friends for? I’d also enjoy a dubcon scenario (exception to blanket DNW) where Sara really shouldn’t be having sex when her head is all messed up by the Witchblade’s influence, but... well... they do. The Witchblade canonically enjoys violence and bloodshed perpetrated by its wearers, so it stands to reason that it might lower other inhibitions too.

-Witchblade v. mythological monsters. In S1, even with everything else that's going on, Sara absolutely scoffs at the possibility of vampires. So of course I want: Witchblade v. vampires! The scarier and more feral, the better. Or, it's implied that the Witchblade was forged from a meteorite, so it's basically an eldritch artefact from outer space. Yes, please lean all the way into the Lovecraftian tropes! (The moon is turning red, the Old Ones are back, it’s the end of the world as we know it, but Sara’s got her partner by her side.) Or something from Chinese mythology, so Danny can kick extra ass. Or, for a silly take on Chinese culture: Sara and Danny in the world of Big Trouble in Little China, another old fave of mine, the entire plot of which revolves around… a woman with green eyes and an unwanted connection to the supernatural.

-The Witchblade has a reputation for abandoning its wearers just when they need it the most. True to form, it slips off of Sara’s fist, leaving her and Danny to save themselves with good old-fashioned guns, fisticuffs, martial arts, and of course having each other’s back.

-More of the psychedelic-ness in many of Sara’s fight scenes, where now she’s a woman in a leather jacket with a gauntlet on her arm, now she’s a knight in armor! Now her opponent is human, now he’s a wolf-shaped spirit of evil and hatred! Playing around with the characters’ senses and perceptions – yes!

-Instead of seeing only Danny and needing him to play intermediary for Sara to talk to other ghosts, the Witchblade makes Sara see ghosts all over the place, and it's getting to her. Ghost!Danny may or may not help with that. Or, ghost!Danny is basically always around, whether Sara can see him or not. He manifests when Sara is masturbating, and you can't really feel guilty if the ghost of your dead partner whom you’ve always had a thing for helps you out, and anyway you’re probably going crazy and none of this is real, so it doesn’t count anyway... right?

-Case fic/stakeouts and banter. Flirting to pass the long and stressful days at work. Quick and guilty sex because Danny's married. Slow and intense sex if handwave he's not married but “oh noes we’re partners, we shouldn’t be doing this, but somehow we keep doing it anyway.” Hooking up in the car. I've always headcanoned that they had a thing pre-canon which ended for Reasons, but they both kinda wish it hadn't, hence the hand kissing, and the “I can’t even touch you,” and the coffee bringing/stealing, etc. So feel free to play around with that.

-Undercover as married, undercover as a gangster and his moll (LOL at Sara as a moll, or have Sara as the gangster and Danny as her lieutenant/enforcer/arm candy), undercover as “they think we’re fucking, better fake it real good for the people listening in, oops shit got real fast, careful don’t say each other’s real name or you’ll blow your cover.”

-More timey-wimey shenanigans with the Witchblade. Maybe it allows Sara to manipulate time more than once. Maybe she starts doing it way too often, throwing the continuum out of whack (something non-linear would be very interesting). Maybe she and/or Danny remember some or all of what happened in S1. Something about all the multiverse versions of them, possibly splitting off from a dramatic moment. Time loops and feelings are a combustible mix.

-Apart from the super obvious shippiness, what I like about S1 especially is how Sara rolls with the weirdness the Witchblade has brought into her life, instead of reaching for rational explanations. More of that (I can't think of a better way to put it), and double extra brownie points if alive!Danny figures out at least some of what's going on with Sara's bracelet and somehow gets in on the action. Maybe a Danny saves the day divergence? Or how about a loophole that allows a man close to the Witchblade's wearer to wield it temporarily, but There Is a Price to Pay.

킹덤 Kingdom (Netflix)

Prince Lee Chang/Seo-bi

I fell so hard for this show. So hard! The beautiful production values, the wonderful cast, how the characters develop, how the show slowly but surely unfolds one reveal after another and packs so much into two short seasons, all the period detail, the genuinely tense action scenes, the moments of humor and intense emotion, the intertwining of political intrigue and zomg! really scary zombies, how the zombie outbreak works on multiple levels both literal and metaphorical…

I love the brave, kind-hearted, but sheltered prince, whose whole life has been so privileged yet shadowed by the possibility of death if he loses his position as heir, learning what it means to actually rule and lead people, to protect them and be protected by them in turn. And I love Seo-bi the fearless, dedicated, selfless physician, who notices things and figures things out regardless of whether this annoys the people in power. I love how instantly and fiercely loyal she is to him (not just because he’s the crown prince, but because she’s seen how brave and altruistic he can be) and how he immediately takes her advice and experience seriously despite her being a woman and a commoner in this super-hierarchical setting. Also, I love most of the cast (not a huge fan of Chancellor Cho, but he is an effective antagonist), and would be delighted to see any of them in fic too. Especially the loyal and funny and badass Mu-yeong (he was loyal, despite the Haewon Cho clan’s blackmail, and if you want to diverge from canon so he lives, I would not mind that at all), the even more badass and wounded and snarky Yeong-sin (or is that “Yeong-sin”???), Chang’s sparky, exiled uncle several times removed, and the terrifying and frankly unhinged young queen are my favorites. I even have a soft spot for that mostly-useless coward Cho Beom-pal, but really, they’re all great and I would love reading about them too, or just about the prince and the lady physician – whatever works!

Finally, before I get to prompts, I know a bit about the Joseon period, but we’re talking the bits and pieces I remember from a college class, and what I’ve read on Wikipedia and picked up from this and other Korean movies and shows. I know a bit more about some of the cultural background, like the Confucian values, the social stratification and feudal system, the gender segregation among the aristocracy, the wars with Japan, but again – my knowledge is limited. So if you want to teach me stuff about Joseon, go for it! If you want to invent or handwave stuff, as long as it fits the canon’s mood and broad cultural parameters, go for it! And if you want to treat me to some worldbuilding, period detail of any kind, and/or costume porn, definitely go for it. Canon-specific DNW: anything above M rating for sex (violence is fine).

Prompts:

Zombie fighting anything! Learning to survive in a society that’s rapidly breaking down, having to transcend their habitual social roles and challenging each other, anything! Maybe one of them teaches the other to hunt, or to make herbal medicines, or to fight with a sword, or heck, to cook or clean dirty clothes. (FYI I wrote most of these prompts before I was quite done with S2, and the time-skip took me totally by surprise. So while my prompts ignore Chang renouncing the throne, I’d also be down for the untold adventures of the former prince and his traveling companions, as Chang learns how to be just regular folks and they pursue clues about the resurrection flower, or for your take on what happens in S3. Use whatever works for you in my prompts in any way you want!)

Figuring out how the zombie infection continues to evolve and/or working together to find a cure beyond dunking the infected in water – whether that means to destroy large numbers of the undead, or to develop an antidote, or to cure and bring back those afflicted. One plot detail that really struck me: more experimenting with zombies, like Chancellor Cho started to do, might also hold the key to a cure?

Political intrigue anything! Having to fight zombies and/or factions at court with both friends and unexpected allies (not gonna lie, I would have loved to have seen the young queen unleashed on some zombies, even if that did not make her the prince and Seo-bi’s ally).

More road trip/survival/battle goodness – maybe Seo-bi offers Lee Chang some advice while they’re navigating their new situation, or she witnesses him developing his leadership muscles, and it brings them closer together than before. Or maybe a moment of humor, relaxation, or quiet affection on the road or in between zombie-slaying, especially if it catches them both a bit by surprise. Or one of them gets a non-zombifying injury (nothing too gruesome or life-threatening, please!) and the other one has to care for them – extra points if Seo-bi is injured and the prince kind of bumbles through the most basic things so she has to talk him through her own treatment. Or nightmares/being triggered by something, like we saw both Chang and Seo-bi react at the sounds of zombies growling and people screaming in S2E5.

We have seen Seo-bi insist on staying loyal to the prince, and Lee Chang rely on her repeatedly to the exclusion of all his other people – give me a situation in which he has to make clear his own loyalty to her, as a part of both his becoming a better leader and as a step in advancing their relationship. Or, there comes a time when Seo-bi really pushes against the rules of what someone like she can and cannot say or do to/around a crown prince – we’ve seen Lee Chang refuse to stand on his dignity to the point where so many of his interactions with commoners would end in the commoners’ death, but I imagine even he has his limits, and that kind of clash can only drive this dynamic forward!

Canon divergence in which Seo-bi gets sent to the capital and assigned to be the personal physician to the petulant, frustrated prince we meet at the start of the show (handwave the gender segregation and impropriety). She knows her place, but she also does not suffer fools or male nonsense. Sparks fly, social conventions get tested, zombies may or may not happen, and a new mutual understanding is born.

Canon divergence from the scene in S2E2 when Seo-bi finagles her way to being allowed to see the prince and he instructs her to resurrect Ahn Hyeon – what if instead of that, they came up with another plan of escape? Or maybe Lee Chang sending Seo-bi to spy on the queen goes a different way than in canon? And really, anything that requires those two to pass secret messages while grabbing each other’s hands and staring intently into each other’s eyes is A++ with me!

One theme which emerges gradually, and I really loved, is people having to compromise their principles to survive and ensure the safety of those they feel loyal and/or obliged to: Ahn Hyeon agreeing to turn the sick villagers into zombies, dear Mu-yeong having been a spy but also protecting the prince all along, Seo-bi resurrecting Ahn Hyeon, Lee Chang instructing her to do it as well as his thousand-yard-stare after having to finish off what’s left of his father… I’d love to see more such compromises, how their consequences ripple out, and the emotional fallout.

In addition to zombies, other magical and/or supernatural events and creatures start to appear in Joseon. If you want to bring in something from Buddhist mythology or Korean folklore, please do, and any and all worldbuilding would be awesome.

Post-canon something in which Lee Chang is king, possibly of only a part of the country (maybe a zombie-free enclave, or a part he won in a civil war against the Cho clan or a cadet branch of his family), and Seo-bi is there as his advisor, physician, and unofficial chancellor. Gimme policymaking to deal with the lingering zombie issue, and assassination plots, and servants/guards/ladies in waiting gossiping like it’s their real job, and all the palace intrigue!

Kind of related to the previous: even as a “spare” prince, Lee Chang can’t marry a commoner. Would he ever think to offer Seo-bi to become his concubine? I don’t think she’d go for it, and he might realize it, but maybe I’m wrong! Or maybe being intensely platonic/sublimating at each other is as good as it gets for them, and they’re kind of okay with that. Or they get married in secret and have to be very careful not to let slip anything by word on gesture in public, or not to let Seo-bi get pregnant. Or, y’know, one day or night on the road or in a fortified town, in between scavenging for supplies and fighting zombies, they decide to bone just because their lives are weird enough now to forget about propriety and all that jazz for an hour.

Role reversal: Seo-bi is the sheltered, willful princess fearful for her position (especially since she’s a woman as well as the daughter of a concubine only) and Lee Chang is the proper yet willful provincial physician. Do they meet as in canon, or under different circumstances (maybe she must flee the court to escape assassins, accusations of treason, or an arranged marriage, with or without bonus zombies)? How would their dynamic be complicated (and made awesome of course!) by the gender reversal? Also, burning question: does Princess Seo-bi already know how to fight (because she forced Mu-yeong to teach her back at court, of course), or does she have to learn once zombies/brigands/insurrection/whatever happen? And does Physician Lee Chang know one end of a musket or sword from another, or does he need rescuing at some point?

I realize that some of these prompts could work as well (better?) as a no-zombies AU, and that’s fine if you want to take it in that direction. Just so we’re clear. :-)

Likes:

I love pre-canon, canon, post-canon, canon-divergent, and missing-scene stories. I love character-driven and plot-driven stories equally, and I love fics which mix humor and angst/serious business when appropriate for the canon.

I love stories about characters at work and play, group dynamics, family dynamics (including constructed families), professional partnerships, friendships, alliances, rivalries, intimate couples (new lovers/first times as well as long-term/established couples), UST-ridden couples who are not just UST-ridden but connected in other ways too, etc.

I love irony, snark, humor as well as angst arising from the characters rather than the plot crowbaring it in, linear, non-linear, and 5+1 stories, hopeful endings, happy endings, bittersweet endings, worldbuilding, competence, spiky characters who keep their jagged edges and spikiness in adversity as well as when their lives are going well, square-peg-in-round-hole characters, characters who are their own worst enemies as well as those who can get over themselves when the occasion calls for it, characters with conflicting values which may or may not be reconciled/resolved, characters who treat each other with respect and as equals even if they hate/annoy/can’t stand/love to dislike each other.

I especially love workplace stories (this can mean anything from an actual workplace/casefic/procedural setting to anything that revolves around the canon world in which the characters live) in which the characters are competent and dedicated to the job, and while they may not be exactly friends and they may well irritate one another, they still manage to rub along to get the job done and maybe even grow to care about one another (much to their surprise and sometimes reluctance/discomfort). Or, if they can’t get along, show me why not and what’s preventing them from finding common ground.

In terms of ship dynamics, I love (where it fits the characters) banter, competitiveness or antagonism shading into attraction (this tension need not be resolved), oh-god-why-did-it-have-to-be-you-what-did-I-do-to-deserve-this, bickering yet loving couples, characters who are serious about their romantic interests, characters who think they are much better at flirtation than they actually are, characters forced to work together only to prove much more compatible than they initially assumed, fics which mix an exploration of characters’ professional and everyday lives with shipping. A dynamic I cannot resist is shipping a couple who are incompatible in some important way (they are ideological enemies, cop and criminal, spies from opposite sides, one betrayed the other or they betrayed each other), and while they love and want each other they’re also not willing to change sides or surrender/compromise their identity for the other’s benefit, and how they might (or not) make their relationship work anyway.

I don’t have any very specific likes for smut, other than smut fitting the characters – show me how their canon dynamics spill over into the bedroom (or other place of congress). I also like sexual scenarios that subvert expectations a little and surprise the characters themselves (e.g., the person who’s usually quiet or more passive taking charge, the more aggressive person goes with it possibly snarking or commenting on it as long as they can). And I like sexual scenarios that contain an element of competition, antagonism, oh-god-this-is-a-bad-idea-but-we’re-going-for-it-hammer-and-tongs, not wanting to admit feelings or show vulnerability except oops it happens anyway, whether the characters acknowledge it or not, or just people getting way more into it or being more affected by it than they thought they would. When it fits the characters and their canon dynamic, you also can’t go wrong with we-both-wanted-this-for-forever-and-now-we-both-know-it-so-here-we-go-diving-in-headfirst. For het and/or slash, oral, vaginal, anal incl. pegging, manual (ifyouknowwhatImean) – it’s all good. You can go as veiled or as explicit as you like, but please avoid excessive medical jargon – I don’t find a lot of mention of “penis” or “clit” sexy.

 DNWs:

MPREG, A/B/O, knotting, D/s, kinks, incest, underage, genderswap/genderbent characters, xeno, non-/dub-con, torture and abuse (this and non-/dub-con can be mentioned if the story needs it, but please don’t dwell on it in loving detail or subject any of my requested characters to it), dwelling on bodily fluids (mentions of gore/blood and come are fine), toilet humor, character bashing, issuefic, gender/sexuality/race/ethnicity/religion/ability/identity headcanons, unrequested ships, soulmates and soul marks, major character death (meaning my requested characters being or staying dead by story’s end - Laura Moon can remain undead), serious illness or injury, pregnancy and children, holiday or wedding setting/theme, secondary characters shipping the main pair like it’s their job, reference to RL current events, 1st/2nd person POV, unrequested crossovers or fusions, AUs which have nothing to do with canon

[moscarific]

Yuletide Letter 2019!

Dear Holiday Hero,

It's Yuletide time again, and I'm happy you're here on this journey with me, you beautiful stranger! I’m a gold star Yuletide participant: I’ve signed up every year, and written at least one story every year, since the challenge began. That’s great news for you, because over the years, I’ve learned that the best Yuletide gifts are the ones that weren’t quite what I had expected, and also that gifts are satisfying and joyful for me as long as it’s clear that the author put effort and care into them. Basically, as long as you avoid my Do Not Wants and run spellcheck, I’m going to be over the moon with excitement at whatever you write for me.

My biggest non-obvious DNW is babyfic. No pregnancy, no babies, no little kids. I’m also a grumpy Jew, so I’d prefer not to receive stories with strong Christmas themes. The “five things” format is not my favorite. Please don't center your story around ships that I did not ask for.

But I like a lot more things than I dislike! Unless the Yulegoat arrives late, I’ll be reading this on the train to Chinatown for my traditional family dim sum, so please do make me laugh out loud on the L. Or make me uncomfortably aroused on the L. (Porn is optional, obviously, but: oral sex, eroticized hands, exhibitionism, shower sex, gender play.) I like experimental structures and styles, as well as more standard ones, and I am fine with whatever POV and tense you choose. If you are the kind of person who does multimedia or interactive fiction, or just clever footnotes, I am all for that. All of my requests this year have strong and distinct voices, and I would love to receive a story that embraces their sound and feel. I like stories that stick close to canon or present interesting "what if" canon divergences, and I also like superhero and In Space AUs. When I've provided gen options, I promise I want those just as much as the ships - they're not just "gen outs," but stories I very much want to read.

I tend to write the fic I want to see in the world, so you’ll get a good sense of me by browsing my AO3 account. My AO3 bookmarks are a recs list, and therefore a great way to see what kinds of fic appeal to me and make me happy.

Here are the individual requests from my sign-up, with a little more detail added here and there. I've divided each request into three sections: things I do not want, things I very much want, and ideas for things I'd love to read in the fandom.

Wayfarers Series - Becky Chambers: Rosemary Harper, Sissix Seshkethet, Dr. Chef

Do not want:

Shipping Rosemary or Sissix with people other than each other, death of characters who are not dead in canon.

Very much want: To read fic set in this universe! I ship Rosemary/Sissix very hard and would love some hot cross-species femslash porn. Canon-consistent depictions of humans as weird aliens. Worldbuilding.

Ideas: I will be equally happy with sexy shippy fic about Rosemary and Sissix (with a line or two for Dr. Chef), or with fic centered around Dr. Chef that puts the other two requested characters in smaller roles. Or a story with all three of them having an adventure or solving a problem together! I love the xenophilia aspects of Rosemary and Sissix's relationship, so explore Sissix's affection for, or exasperation with, Rosemary's alienness. Show Rosemary bringing Sissix into an aspect of human culture that Sissix hadn’t encountered before - perhaps something uniquely Martian - or take us on a more in-depth tour of Aandrisk culture. Alternatively, write me a story focused on Dr. Chef: give me more insight into his earlier life, or send him on a culinary adventure. I’ve read all three novels, so references or character cameos are fine. This is a fandom where it's okay to make me sad, and where I'd prefer a touch of angst, hardship, or grief to lighthearted fluff.

Delicious World (Video Game): Frank Truffaut, Felix "Monet" Wilson

Do not want:

Fic centered around Emily/Patrick or Emily/Jean-Paul (background mentions are okay if you must). AUs outside the general setting or premise of canon (so, like, no In Space for this one).

Very much want: Sappy, shippy, porny Frank/Monet fic. Competence kink. Loving and detailed descriptions of food and cooking. For people who do not play this kind of game to watch the cut scenes on YouTube - you can pick up the canon in a couple of hours.

Ideas: Is there anything more Yuletide than nominating the casual time-management game I play on my phone? Especially since this one blew my mind with its sweet, believable m/m romance. Please give me the AU where they stay together and make their relationship work while the contest continues, or the one where they encounter each other again after the contest ends and get back together. Mostly, I am sad that the game narrative has split them up and want them to be together making crepes forever. I'd be more than content with domestic fluff, just to spend more time with Frank and Monet's relationship. Or go the other direction and give them more plot than canon would: send them on the run from an underground restaurant crime cabal, or have Frank save Monet from deranged paparazzi. Send them to parts of the world that the game hasn’t traveled to yet - it’s mostly been North America and Europe so far.  I very much enjoy the best friendship between Frank and Emily, and would be happy to see her play sidekick to Frank for once. 

For the People (TV 2018): Jay Simmons, Seth Oliver, Tina Krissman

Do not want:

If you write Jay/Seth, then I DNW fic set before Jay and Seth were roommates, or focus on their prior romantic relationships. For RL/job related reasons, court cases related to the US education system, both because they will make me sad and because I will not be able to turn off my nitpick brain.

Very much want: Romantic and/or angsty roommates-to-lovers Jay/Seth. A fun role for Tina, whether she's the protagonist or just gets a few choice lines in. Well-researched, plausible legal scenarios as plot. Love letters to New York City.

Ideas: There are two ways to go with this that would make me equally happy. The first is Tina character building, because she is one of my television heroes and never had enough to do on the show. "This Is America" is my favorite episode of the series, and anything in that vein, with Tina as the hero, would please me to no end. I'm an angry American progressive, so feel free to engage with my politics (or not, if that's uncomfortable/unfamiliar). Backstory would also be great, especially if it's Young Tina Saves the World. Talk about race, gender, and immigration. Let her be the soothing, fearless mouthpiece about the scary stuff. Or just send her on a relaxing vacation, "Captain's Holiday" style.

The other way to go is to give me Jay/Seth romance and/or porn. They're roommates and adversaries who are clearly also boyfriends. And now the show is canceled, so we can pretend that's where the showrunners were going with it! Jay's parents canonically love Seth, and I would enjoy a sweet story about Seth's growing relationship with them, and Jay's mixed feelings about it. Or give me a court case where they're directly opposing each other, especially one they're both passionate and both kind of right about. If you want, tell some or all of the story from Tina's POV, or do an epistolary/"found documents" structure.

Crooked Media RPF: Ira Madison III, Louis Virtel

Do not want:

For RL/job related reasons, centering stories around political discussion related to the US education system. Major roles for Crooked-Media-adjacent people, such as spouses, who are not public figures (mentions are fine). Stories formatted as a script or transcript of a podcast.

Very much want: Silly, sexy Ira/Louis with a friends-to-lovers or frenemies-to-lovers vibe. Canon-consistent engagement with progressive US politics.

Ideas: Oh, just write me something fun, and I'll love it. Tell about the wacky or apocalyptic event that makes these two cross the line into sex/romance. Or show them in a secret long-term relationship and tell about the wacky or apocalyptic event that makes them go public. Show how they're adjusting to Aida, or tell it from her POV and show how she's adjusting to their relationship (or non-relationship that turns into a relationship, or long history of FWB hookups). Show what happens when they land the Beyonce interview of their dreams. Or throw them into a fandom trope (sharing a bed? sex pollen? aliens made them do it?) and have them respond with their signature wit.

[occultsleutha]

SHIPPING INFO: Answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

What’s your OTP for your Muse?

The Hellblazer canon ones, of course. But out of those, I’m just gonna say JohnZee since the other characters are not reoccuring DC characters that anyone would even think to RP, lol. My rarepair is JohnClark, but don’t get me started because I will literally never shutup about why this ship is Poetic Cinema.

What are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

One Night Stands: John is a horny fool. Bonus points if your character does the walk of shame the morning after. It’s okay, he won’t tell, he likes dirty little secrets. ; )

Fluff: Naturally, John takes a long time to open up but once he does, he’s somewhat of a  ( purposeful ) cornball. This is the hardest level to Unlock(TM).

Sexual Tension Denial: John’s doesn’t have the worst reputation. I’m sure there’s still a lot of superheroes that wanna smash but tell themselves they don’t because they’re trying to upkeep their sense of morals. But John knows the truth. >: )

Angst: John’s a hard person to love, not just because he has commitment issues and 7 suitcases of unresolved trauma, but everyone he loves gets killed because of him, so. Sorry in advanced.

Dating Experiments: Dating period that doesn’t really work out for whatever reason. Could turn out awkward, or neutral, or whatever you want.

Crash and Burn: The “We loved each other but it still didn’t work. We tried, though, we really did.” trope fucks me up.

Toxic Relationships: The nature of John’s past trauma, the traumatizing job he has right now, and his coping mechanisms are a recipe for disaster. John has a lot of anger, and outbursts, and shuts down a lot. One of his defense mechanisms is crossing the line and pissing you off so you’ll leave him and as a result, have a safer life. Relationship could flop depending on how the other person responds to him, or it could struggle along until the other person finally realizes John isn’t going to help himself.

Bitter Ex: Dump him, he’s trash. Throw his clothes out the window, try to smash his head with a beer bottle. Be bitter about it and have snarky banter whenever you cross paths!

Selfless Breakup: John breaks up with your muse because he wants to keep you safe. John admitting this is optional. 

Breakups: Break up with John, break his heart. He will probably let you because he thinks he deserves it. But maybe one day he’ll get really drunk and knock on your door at 3AM crying about it. :’ )

 Booty Calls: John is down for any kind of sex, threesomes, non-humans, etc. I don’t really RP smut though, but you’re more than welcome to. Or make implications if the time comes for it.

Unrequited: Honestly, you could do better, please don’t pine over this fool.

Really anything. Weird shit happens all the time. Shoot me your ideas.

How large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

John is anywhere from 35 - 60 on this blog. John won’t really be interested being in a committed relationship with someone significantly younger than him. I’d say 10 years younger is the absolute max. If your muse is 35+, he won’t care that much. 

Are you selective when shipping?

John’s compatibility is hard to match. He doesn’t really seek out committed relationships, and if he does, he does it on the basis that he doesn’t expect it to be long term. 

He is sociable and flirty when he has good drinking days, but he’s not that willing to get vulnerable for other people. Especially since he gets everyone killed when they become part of his life. 

John also doesn’t think he deserves love, among other issues related to trauma.

If anyone is interested in John they’re going to need to be really patient and actually TRY to understand who he is instead of making assumptions on his reputation. He lives a VERY different life than normal people, the rules that apply to the occult and everything associated do not always match with the real world. He has to make difficult choices daily and he’s not always proud of them. Your muse has to understand that they’re not entirely in a place to judge, and may not entirely ever understand.

PATIENCE.

Also be ready to take on a lot of emotional baggage.

 Are you attracted to habitual smoking and drinking? 

If your muse is not a Good Character a long-term committed relationship will probably not last. John can be terrible on his bad days, but at his core he needs someone that fosters positive emotions and will push him to be better. He always reaches out to people that carry the kind of light he wishes he had. John regresses very easily, he can’t last long in environments where negativity festers. He’s not strong enough to commit to people that are as broken as him; he’s much better giving them help and sending them on their way. But even the “bad” ships are still ships, so.

How far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

anything involving genital mention i guess??

Who are other muses you ship your muse with?

@hraunwyf because loki, an immortal goddess, falling in love with someone like john constantine is nothing short of dramatic and spicy

@cardshcrp two idiots and maybe future exes ; )

[ FREE SPACE FOR ANY AND ALL CLARKS WINKWONK, ]

There are other blogs I’m mutuals with where John flirts w/ them, and has had some spicy stuff but im probably not active enough for them to have gotten far in development nfkndg

Does one have to ask to ship with you?

Up to you.

How often do you like to ship?

John isn’t the “shippy” type, so I never really prioritize it.

Are you multiship?

Sure, there’s enough trash man Johnny to go around if you’re really that eager to ruin your life,

Are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

Ship-less.

What is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

JohnClark. I’m the captain of the ship and I will go down with it honorably,

Finally, how does one ship with you?

Flirt with John and see where it goes. 

Message me about it if you want to explore a ‘what-if,’ those conversations are fun.

Tagged by:   @pathtotruth Tagging:   anyone.

[voltron-queen-140]

We'll. With season 7 finished, I'm going to give a review in as much detail as I can in case anyone wants to hear my opinion.

I'm going to try my hardest to be respectful when I talk about this season so please hear me out before you yell at me, and if you disagree please be respectful in explaining why. I am open to debate but not an argument or aggression.

First off, I would like to commend this season for actually making me tear up or scream into a pillow once again. Lance's reunion with his family? Sobbing. The "the Paladins are dead" fake-out? I genuinely fell for it. Thinking it was a way to bump off the old Paladins and replace them, perhaps with the MFEs. It would make sence, you have the smart one, the reckless one, the leader, and the other guy who's personality I just don't get. Combine that with Veronica and you suddenly have 5 capable pilots. Just something to think about.

Now. On to the rest of my opinion. There are a mix of good and bad points in this so please bare with me, I'm not full of hate for this season.

I'm am, however, angry about the "idk how it happened don't question it" excuse about the Atlas, but, it might be addressed in season 8, so we'll pop that to the side and hope for the best.

Secondly, everything seemed... rushed and unexplained. With the entire season. They had 13 episodes to play with but they still treated it like two half seasons (note the 2 part episode in the middle of the season and the resolute ending for the second of those two episodes) Of course this may have been because it was planned to be a half season but their scheduling was messed around. In which case, I get it, but they've had half seasons before and they executed them much better. I feel like this may have been down to the fact that they realised they were running out of episodes to complete everything they were hoping to get in. I'm hoping season 8 feels a little less rushed and a little more fleshed out.

Colleen Holt is a badass, let me just throw that out there. Can we all agree that the Holt family is a family of badass super geniuses? Because they are. As a side note, has Sam Holt's voice actor changed? Genuine question. He sounds like Bing Bong from Inside Out and the entire time I was struggling to take him seriously.

The Feud? Seemed forced. "We have to have a chill episode! Quick, throw out ideas!" "An all knowing being drags the Paladins into a game show!" "Great! Let's do it!" I thought it was going to be a "hey universe, we're not dead!" Publicity stunt, but no, they made it weird. And they called Lance "the dumb one" lol no thanks. But, we got to see Pidge be a badass, Keith be an artist, Family Drama from the Zarkon family, and there is enough shipping fuel for Keith x Allura, Lance x Keith and Pidge x Hunk to keep them all floating for a while.

Now, onto shipping stuff. I'm not an anti so please don't expect my opinions to be showing hate to any ship, I'm simply going to express my opinion in a polite a way as possible. If you're an anti or you're looking to stir up shit, go ahead and block me right now. I don't want to be seeing any of your content and you'd be doing me a favour.

Anyway; no hate directed at Allurance shippers, or the ship itself, you guys are great and the ship has potential to be to, but in my personal opinion the emotions from Allura are coming out of nowhere. Feel free to provide evidence on why that is not the case by the way, so long as you are respectful. But personally, it feels like her feelings sprouted pretty much from nothing since Lotor left. I'm also not the biggest fan of the "if you pester the person enough they'll come around" trope so perhaps I'm looking at it from that angle so not seeing it for what it is.

Introducing Adam and having the fandom hype over him before promptly killing him off? Dick move Voltron. Dick move. But, at least there is LGBTQ+ rep right? That's something guys!

Keith and Acxa (or however it's spelled)?? I'm??? I don't personally see it, maybe because they've only interacted a handful of times and most of them were during a fight? I'm not sure. But personally, I'm not a fan. I don't understand where her feelings came from, I always saw her actions as a "a life for a life" kind of thing, but hey, what do I know. The show writers probably have stuff planned that may change my mind of the ship.

Punk? Well, I'm not sure what Bex was talking about with all this:

Because the only shipping fule I'm seeing is from The Feud. Maybe season 8 will bring surprises!

Laith? Sorry guys, I'm a Laith shipper, but, it's dead in canon. The Feud gave us content and we had a couple of moments but it seems like Allurance and Keith x Acxa are the ships they're going with. But that's okay! Show respect to those ships and don't start wars over it! We still have fanfictions and fanart!

The same goes for Sheith shippers! If they do go for Keith and Acxa then you guys can still keep shipping Sheith! Go for gold! Keep your heads up and don't lose hope!

Hunay? Living for it! We had barely any interaction but we got a cute reunion so I'M LIVING! We better see more of Shay in season 8!

Ezor x Zethrid? YES PLEASE!!

Okay, it's safe to start reading again if you wanted to skip over the shippy part!

We got Matt! Well, 30 seconds or so of him, but we got him!

Which brings me to the thing that is really rubbing me the wrong way. The time skip. I'm sorry? What? Was that properly addressed? Like at all? We got a rushed explanation that frankly was more of a "this happened, get over it" kind of thing but other then that? We didn't really hear from it again? Other then Lance's family saying "you're the same" it wasn't really... fleshed out as well as it could have been. I'm still hazy on how it happened but hey ho, maybe if I rewatch the season I'll understand better.

Did anyone else call that Veronica was Lance's sister before it was announced?

James Griffin. James blooming Griffin. His character was not well introduced in my eyes. One second he's glaring at Keith and yelling that Voltron doesn't understand the chain of command or whatever, the next he's helping those very people disobey orders. The very thing he was telling them not to do! Was his reasoning behind that explained? Like? At all? Was it just because he didn’t want to see them get hurt?

Seriously, did anyone else get fooled by the “the paladins are dead” thing or was that just me? I wasn’t fooled at first but the more Shiro went on the more I was like “Uh... is this for real now?”

How in Alfor’s name did Shiro survive that crash on the galra ship?! HOW?! I NEED ACTUAL ANSWERS! He was outside the ship, he should have burned up! At the very least the impact would have killed him surely! HE WAS OUTSIDE OF THE SHIP!

We didn’t see a Hunk family reunion, which is actually upsetting, but at least we know more about his past.

“I was trying to save earth” -_- of course you were Admiral Sanda. But that was a super naive move. Like. Really. How on earth (insert drum and cymbal sounds here) did you think that would work? “Lets ignore all the info we got from the people who have been fighting this war on the front lines and go with a plan that I, the person who has only heard about this second hand, have come up with. That will work.”

I’m not hating Iverson anymore so THAT’S SOMETHING!

Romelle is such a relatable character.

COSMO I WAS HOPING THAT WAS HIS NAME!

Coran Coran the gorgeous man doesn’t get enough credit.

Was I the only one that forgot Allura wore a crown and wondered what the hell the thing that dropped to the floor was until I saw her put the gem in Shiro’s arm?

Shiro’s new arm? Awesome! I seriously love it! And the fight with Sendek? I live for it!

Kroila in season 5: I’ll never leave you again.

Kroila now: I’m sorry I have to go.

I’ll just leave that there. I get why she left, she wanted to find and fix the blade and all, but like? That probably hurt Keith a heck of a lot.

I felt like there were less edge-of-your-seat moments this season though, it felt a lot like “oh okay, so they got hit by a ray that kills planets and survived? Okay then, they can survive anything now.” and that sort of stopped me feeling worried about them for the rest of the season, right up until the memorial part.

I really feel like Hunk’s daydream about passing on the yellow lion is foreshadowing. Be it at the start of next season, be it at the end or be it a spin off series, I really feel like the lions are going to get passed to the MFEs. They have the personalities for it. The smart one (Leifsdottir) in green, the reckless girl (Rizavi) in red, the silent one (Kinkade) in yellow, the leader (James) in black and Veronica in blue. It would fit.

The animation quality was amazing though and I’m seriously loving where the plot is heading! I’m just hoping that this will come to a satisfying close in season 8 because I feel like there is a lot for them to do in just 13 more episodes.

All in all I personally didn’t find this season to be the best season, that’s still season 6 hands down, but it was a solid season plot line wise. I like where we ended up. I’m not 100% sure I like how we got there, with all the questions that this season raised and barely any answers, but it got there. I feel like it could have been more fleshed out but hey, they have time restraints and a limited number of episodes, and this is a show designed for kids.

Now, we wait for the last season.

[tren-fraszka]

Parallels 2018 letter

Dear creator,

Thank you for taking your time to check my requests. I know my requests can sound a bit tricky, but please don’t be discouraged. I wish you will have good time writing first and foremost!

I like humor and tropes, which is probably the only thing you really need to know about my general likes.

I’m very picky about sex tropes, so generally I would be grateful for no graphic sex (unless specified otherwise). Also, if you go for a shippy fic, I don’t want any stuff happening without consent. I like consent a lot. Other dislikes include ABO, mpreg, soulmates, and situations where stuff is happening because destiny said so and nobody questions it.

Also, I included what ships I’m okay with in each fandom. Please do not include any ships that aren’t canon or I have not mentioned in those sections.

REQUESTS

FATE/APOCRYPHA

While I will be first person to admit that this series really could have had a better plot I loved the characters and would enjoy seeing more of them.

Mordred | Saber of Red (Fate/Apocrypha)

I love angry girls with gender issues, so I knew I would love Mordred and boy do I. There’s just something refreshing in seeing characters like her having a healthy amount of anger at the bullshit the world throws at her.

I really enjoyed her interactions with Shishigou, but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing her interact with other cast members. Her specific circumstances make her a good foil for a lot of characters.

Additional info

I would be very okay with AUs, both Plot Divergences and complete setting changes, since as I mentioned I’m not overly attached to Apocrypha’s plot. So feel free to play with the idea of Mordred being Shishigo’s actual adopted daughter in a modern AU or some interesting what if scenario. Maybe Mordred getting her wish upon the grail, only to discover how terrible the life of a king is.

I’m okay with pretty much any pairing except Sieg/Jeanne (but if you went for an AU where Jeanne and Leticia are not sharing the body I would be pretty okay with Sieg/Leticia). Also, no shipping Shishigou and Mordred, because I much prefer them as a found family. 

Out of things I actually do ship I have a very soft spot for Shirou/Semiramis.

TALES OF BERSERIA

I played Zestiria, so you are free to throw some references to it if you want.

You don’t have to include all the characters I requested, please feel free to concentrate on just one of them.

Eleanor Hume

I really like how much Eleanor changes during the course of the game. And how sincerely she approaches everything. It’s refreshing to see a character who is willing to judge things on her own. Sure, she’s slightly stubborn at first, but Eleanor had really grown on me over the course of the game.

I would probably be happiest with a fic that tracks just how much her attitude changed. It can be about her general attitude or about her relation with someone else in the party. I’m not picky. I just want to see Eleanor discovering that the world is bigger and much less black and white than she thought. But at the same time, even if there are cruelties she was not aware of, there is also kindness she had not seen before.

For some other random ideas: Eleanor helps Laphicet make a present for Velvet (or they outright collaborate on it), or Eleanor has a moment when she realizes just how much the whole party grew on her and how much she enjoys being with them..

Rokurou Rangetsu

I would love any look at Rokuro’s life. I love how it is slowly revealed that he was a very terrible human being, that it is no wonder that he turned into a deamon as a result. The pre-canon look at his life in Rangetsu family and how he turned into a daemon would be great (bonus points for including his mom if you decide on this). As would be his perspective on canon events with some more interactions with any party members. Or post-canon and Rokuro’s journey in search of stronger and stronger foes, during which he meets lots of colorful foes.

Velvet Crowe

Velvet Crowe is one of the most enjoyable Tales protagonist I have witnessed yet. She’s a complicated mess of emotions and trauma, barely held together by her drive for vengeance. Seeing her struggle with all the tragedy, while desperately pushing forward, and waiting to see whether she cracks under the pressure of it all or not was much more interesting than standard Tales hero journey.

I would enjoy an introspective piece for her, since she hides so much of her emotions. That being said, Velvet interacting with other party members is fun too! Whether it be her being demonic bros with Rokuro, butting heads with Eleanor or not having patience for Magilou’s antics, Velvet has an interesting relationship with all of them and I would be happy to see any of those connections explored.

Additional info

I would be pretty okay with the AUs, both Canon Divergence and setting changes. In case of canon divergence, please, just don’t save Velvet with deus ex machina. I’m not opposed to her being saved, but please build that plotline properly. The game sets her demise very strongly throughout the whole game and I need to be properly convinced that there is a chance for her to live through this without becoming a miserable malevolence factory. This is not a problem in different setting AUs.

As for the ships. I do ship Elanor and Velvet, so if that’s you jam I would be happy to see them getting together or just enjoying being together. They have very interesting dynamics throughout the game and I would love to see some more romance in it. I would also be okay with more risque content for this ship.

TALES OF XILLIA

Who loves Tales series more with each new game they play, this gal over here. Also, I’m currently playing Xillia 2 and while I’ve gone through most of the game, I may not be able to finish it before this exchange ends due to the real world responsibilities. So while referencing Xillia 2 would be okay with me, please avoid endgame spoilers for it.

As previously you don’t have to include all of the requested characters.

Jude Mathis

Jude is one of my favourite protagonist for being just plain relatable. I love how he develops through the story and how much his issues rule over his decision before he gets his act together.

I would really love a look at Jude’s life before the game. I find his relationship with his parents very interesting and would love to see it explored more deeply. How did he go about applying to Talim and how his parents reacted? What about Leia? How did Jude manage in Talim?

I’m also very okay with a more indepth look at his journey. What were his feelings at the beginning? How did he feel revisiting his hometown and having to face his parents to be able to help Milla? Any and all snippets from this time are fine by me.

Elize Lutus

The best child character in video games I’ve seen in a long time. I would love to see more of her adventures and how she learns to open up to other people.

I probably would love a post-canon story the most with Elize trying to fit into a normal school. I would love to get a glimps at her attempts to make new friends and not appear to be too weird. I would especially love if Elize and her friends ended up getting into some sort of trouble. Maybe they decided to investigate some rumours and run into a monster or bandits and Elize saves the day with things she learned while travelling with the team. Bonus points if the knowledge from her travels is very questionable.

Just like with Jude, I would also be very open to some insights into her feelings during the plot of the game. Especially, how she slowly starts opening up to others after joining the party.

Additional info

I’m okay with AUs, both canon divergence and setting changes. Given that Xillia 2 enables any and all divergences you really, really shouldn’t hold back in that regard. On that note I would be very partial to any member of Chimeriad surviving, because they all deserved better. For setting changes I don’t have any specific.

I’m okay with ships: Jude/Alvin, Jude/Milla, an OT3 involving all of them, Leia/Agria and Gaius/Wingul.

FATE/EXTELLA

I will be honest. I have a lot of complaints about the characterization of some of the characters and the plot of this game, it gave me one thing I really love and damn do I want it.

Jeanne d'arc | Ruler (Fate/Extella) & Gilgamesh (Fate/Extella)

The interactions between Jeanne and Gilgamesh gave me life, watered my crops and made me laugh a lot. Those two get along in that they reinterpret each other’s words completely whenever they interact. It’s incredible.

I love the grudging respect they have for each other, because while they both heavily don’t approve of each other’s worldview and lifestyles, they can’t dismiss the will and dedication the other has.

Additional info

I’m okay with AUs and canon divergences. The subscenarios for both of them were painfully short in the game, so I would definitely be up if you expanded on them or just had some wacky adventures involving both of them. Just please don’t include Titan!Altera, Charlot!Tamamo or Elizabeth acting like she did in that game. I still have trauma from their characterization. Servant!Altera, and Elizabeth&Tamamo with characterization from Extra or Grand Order will be very okay. If you really need one of those characters with the characterization from this game, then I understand, but please, don’t linger on the scene where that happens. Just get it done quickly.

As I said, I’m not a big fan of Extella’s plot, so if you want to throw it all away and just have fun with the characters I will definitely approve. Gilgamesh and Jeanne meeting during a Grail War could be interesting. As well as, some Grand Order shenanigans if you played that game.

If you want to just have fun with their characters without the whole Servant stuff then, I’m also very open to it. The idea of Jeanne and Gilgamesh as childhood friends who are now forced to share a flat as students is an idea that I absolutely love, because they would find those arrangements very challenging and definitely have a lot of complaints about each others’ lifestyles.

I will limit myself to the ships involving the people I requested, which means absolutely no ships for Jeanne. For Gilgamesh I’m okay with shipping him with both Enkidu and Kirei, but well, we all know how he is, so feel free to have him sleeping around if it fits your fic.

MAHOU SHOUJO ORE

Yamo Konami

I found Konami’s misadventures very amusing. I love how completely mismatched his position and goals are. I would love to see more of his shenanigans, whether it be him making terrible management decision during the canon or him “repenting” after the canon. Maybe he attempts to become a mascot, because what better way is there to express his passion for magical girls? I also wouldn’t mind a pre-canon look on how he came to love magical girls as much as does.

All ships are crazy in this series so I’m okay with whatever direction you want to spin them, as long as you acknowledge the canon crushes the characters have. By which I mean, if the character has a canon crush make sure to do some build up so that it doesn’t feel strange if they find a new object of affection.

[andsundrymuses]

The Rules

This blog is 18+ (please do not follow or interact if you’re underage). Mun is 30+. Please be honest about your age.

No godmodding. There is always some grey area, of course. I’ll tell you if you cross my line, and please do the same for me. If it continues to be a problem after that, I will drop our threads.

Respect. It goes both ways. I try to be nice and approachable, and expect the same. Ooc homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, ableism, and the like will get you unfollowed and possibly blocked. Any of those things IC will be evaluated case by case.

Following: I only RP with mutuals, and I am selective about following because I like a clean dash. If I’ve followed you, I want to rp with you. I can be shy, though, and sometimes I may not have a clear idea how to start stuff with your character. If we haven’t interacted at all after a while, though, I will likely unfollow for my own sanity. I will not follow any rp blogs that do not have their age listed somehow (21+, “of age”, etc.). 

Unfollowing: I reserve the right to unfollow whoever I want at any time, and you are free to do the same. I only ask that if you unfollow me and we were mutuals, please also soft block me too.

Duplicates: Feel free to follow me! Come cry and scream with me about our muses. Let’s do weird ass same muse AUs. I probably won’t follow first (exceptions might be made for multimuse blogs featuring same muses that clearly state they’re okay with duplicates), because I know it stresses some people out, but if you follow me first, I’ll probably follow back. :D

I tend to write para/multi-para rp. 2-4 paragraphs is the sweet spot for me, but sometimes I get on a roll and write novels for people. Sorry? Short stuff, one liners, texting posts, and crack often get dropped without notice if they don’t develop into more. You don’t have to match my lengths, but at least put in the effort to give me something to respond to. And if you’re consistently replying to my multi para replies with a few sentences, I will probably drop our thread.

If you are not roleplaying with me on a given thread, please don’t reblog it! Do not reblog personal/ooc posts or graphics I’ve made specifically for this blog’s use.

Feel free to send me asks and memes and spam my inbox whether we’re mutuals or not! I love it! I will usually delete asks if they stay in my inbox over a week, but if you send something and I don’t answer, it just means I didn’t have muse or an answer for it right then. It doesn’t mean I’m ignoring you or that I never want to hear from you again. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t, but if you keep throwing things at me, eventually something will.

Discord is available for MUTUALS for both ooc chat and ic rp @ weaponizedembrace#6384. Please tell me who you are, if it’s not obvious. 

I don’t require formatting or icons for interaction. It’s all about the writing at the end of the day. I use standard text and sometimes I use icons, though sometimes I don’t.

No OOC hate/drama on the dash. Repeated negative vagueing will likely get you unfollowed/softblocked. My anon is turned off because people couldn’t be nice, and I am a ball of anxiety and depression a lot of the time. For anyone “brave” enough to send hate to me under their actual urls, know that most of it will be deleted (and the sender will probably be blocked). If I ever feel I need to respond to hate/drama sent directly to me in my ask box, it will be tagged “wank”. Please blacklist accordingly, if you wish.

Shipping: 1) I ship chemistry. I will likely want to write at least a little with you before fully committing to shipping, no matter who your muse is. 2) Respect my muses listed sexuality, even if it means we can’t ship. 3) If you send me a shippy/smutty meme and we’ve never even discussed shipping, be prepared for my muses to respond in a way that might not be positive (or for me to delete your ask). 4) If you want to ship, talk to me. Chances are, I want to ship too, but please don’t just throw shipping at me out of the blue.

Smut: I like writing smut, but only once muses are muns are comfortable with each other. How long that takes will vary. Do not expect my muses to be DTF in our first thread, though it may occasionally happen.

I try to cut posts. Exceptions to this: if the thread involves three or more muses (for ease of rereading later, all replies after my last one will be reblogged with my new reply, if possible). Sometimes I reblog asks for ease of rereading later as well. I will always cut it the next reply, if you don’t first. (If this is really an issue for you, tell me and I won’t do it on the threads I have with you.)

Triggers: 1) Canon-typical violence/blood/etc. will not be tagged in most cases. I will try to remember to tag nsfw (my tag is “metal arm kink || nsfw”, if you need to block it), and for triggers. “tw: death”, “tw: drugs”, etc. If I forget one or there’s one I’m not tagging that you think I should be, please message me! And if you guys could, please tag for “cancer” for me. I may not always need this, but it’s appreciated for now. 

Other tags you may want to blacklist: I tag very long posts as “longpost”. Also, I tend not to use large gifs except in responses to ooc asks, but if I ever use more than one per post, or one that’s especially huge-esque, I will tag “largegifs”.

Please know that the things my muses say and do do not reflect the mun’s personal feelings.

Unless otherwise credited, graphics/gifs/icons used here are mine. Please do not use.

I do not ask for a password to be sent, nor will I send one to you. If I followed you, I have read your rules, and will probably reread them again before interacting. If I break one of your rules, it’s probably because I’ve read 900 rules pages and they’ve run together. Please tell me if that happens, and I will correct my mistake.

I know my rules are long because I’m a wordy fuck (who curses a lot, you’ve been warned), but if you have read this far, thank you very much for taking the time. Know that I appreciate you. :) 

Any time I change or update these rules (or any other info page), I will re-link to them in a new post.

[jays1n]

here's the original thing i wrote, i forgot i still had it and found it after i already rewrote stuff but it's still good: 

gtav campaign au where steven and cib go way back, back up in canada and had a little crew together robbing tiny banks out in small towns. some shit goes down, and one of their original members (honestly maybe like gizzygazza, only one i remember from their combined pasts) dies horribly but their never tell cib like they didn't tell trevor. fast forward in time (i'll say maybe 5 years rather than ten), cib's living out in the grand senora for one reason or another and steven's actually like. 1%er, or 1%-adjacent and reminiscing. then his car's stolen by some asshole (read: james) that brings him back into the old life when he remembers the fun (and the money) of doing jobs like that. and then cib comes back and it goes about as well as you'd think

and i love the idea of a trevor-like cib, unstable as hell because all of his impulse control got buried 6 feet deep 5 years ago or left to live in the city, but now back with steven and james it's his chance to make stuff happen again that isn't just mutilating dudes out in the desert or making drugs in an old building. steven, knowing the truth of what happened 5 years ago (they never told cib gizzy died, said he got locked up so cib's been obsessed with breaking in ever since. getting back with steven is his chance to break his friend out, get it back to how things used to be!) is extremely afraid. cib is... he's dangerous at best, unthinkable at worst, and so there's a lot of light stepping around the subject

also, devin is lamar and fuckin, elliot as their FIB contact

-

talked about this before i left/deleted them, but i'd really like a GTA V story au; i dunno how many people on here have played it or care about gtav's plot but i do so 

like before, steven as michael; the tired and now rich los santos businessman in witness protection because of the shit that went down years ago. cib as trevor; the dangerous guy from steven's past currently living out in the grand senora desert making money on drug trade and murder (but doing so in a fun, happy way. it's all good. for him, i mean). then, james as franklin; kid doing odd jobs with his buddy (devin as lamar) gets roped into the life by steven after he tried to repo his car and it ended badly. they become 'friends' and work together, though extremely begrudgingly and only for the money.

it's.. been a while since i've fully played the campaign (played it mainly 2015-2016, pc's too shit to play for more than 10 mins now so rip) but i remember most of the stuff near the end as i did it more recently

steven and cib used to run jobs together in their early 20s, maybe really late teens. up in ludendorf north yankton, a cold as shit border town half in canada half in the states, they steal and kill and run drugs, yknow, like all young adults do. their final job as that crew ends up being at an old bank on the farside of ludendorf. shit went wrong on the way out, someone snitched and the cops were already their; gizzy (brad) and steven both got shot by a sniper, cib getting run out of the area by the cops closing in. cib thought steven died and gizzy got arrested (the only body that got buried was steven's, so it was a natural assumption).

what really happened though, was the FIB (elliot as davey) take a chance and save steven. steven got a chance to live out in los santos under witness protection, while elliot gets the glory of having taken down their crew and has steven under him to do any jobs elliot needs done. gizzy died and was the body lowered in steven's grave, but cib doesn't know that

five years go by. now i'll probably divert canon just a bit; idk if i want steven to have a family, but i like to imagine maybe living with parker (or, hey, if you wanna throw ships in then steven/parker as the unhappy married couple only staying together because they've been through it all together. he moved with steven to los santos). they fight a lot but it somehow works. maybe andrew's there too, idk

i dunno. just really into the idea of it, especially the confrontation scene near the end of the game where they go back up to north yankton. cib's angry because he's finally realized who is really in the grave, flies back up there (followed by steven) and digs the body back up. when the body's brought up and cib gets confirmation its who he thought it was, there's a standoff and neither really want to shoot (cib does and will, but) then they get interrupted by a gang (idk, mayb funhaus or smthn. idk who to compare the chengs to) who kidnap steven after cib runs away (cib and them have beef, and he told them that steven was his boyfriend so they capture him as a hostage. threaten to kill steven but cibs like oh no.... aw man thatd suck....... lmao jk bye and hangs up on the gang). james won't stand for it though, gets pissed and kicks cib's ass into gear and they save him from i think getting thrown into a meat grinder? something weird like that

ALSO. farid as that one FIB douchebag working with elliot who later gives james the ultimatum that someone will die and he has a choice to make. steven, cib, or james himself will die and he has to do it. the best end (the 'kill yourself' that ends up just being 'fuck everyone else we're all besties' end) is great because they all work together and become kinda a family again, locking the FIB dude up and throwing him over a cliff in a messed up car. the other endings, though, are sad as fuck? 

you've got either james going to kill steven (who, as he pulls up to the spot, gets really good news (and idk how id translate that into this au because ig michael gets a call that his daughter just got into a nice college after her struggling so much) and is so happy to see james because he thinks of him like a brother (or u could be shippy either way)). steven and james have an intense chase scene and james doesn't fully wanna do this. steven slips while they're at the top of a really tall water tower-type of thing, james grabs his arm and tries to pull him up but one of them lets go and steven drops to the concrete and it's... not pretty

or, there's steven going 'no.. no you're right cib's too dangerous to live in this world he's a liability' and being sad but thinking it's the right thing after james convinces him it is. they team up to go take him down and, understandably cib isn't having it. leads to a long car chase, ends in cib crashing into a gas tank. he doesn't die in the crash but steven shoots a bullet and ignites the gas and there's a long, loud death scene and steven and james go their separate ways. but that happy ending tho, hell yeah

additionally i want jeremy to be lester because hes fuckin Weird and maybe autumn works with him, split the role of lester with autumn as the tech side and jeremy as the weird dude with jobs and skills side