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trisshawkeye · 7 months

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Yuletide 2023

Dear Yuletide Writer...

It's that time of year again! Hello, and thank you in advance for writing for me—I am super-excited to see more fic in any of these fandoms! In this letter I’m including general things I like to read, and then some specific likes and prompts for each fandom, but I will be genuinely delighted by anything for my requested characters, so if you have your own ideas, please be my guest to write what your heart desires. And if you’re looking to treat, I am always keen for multiple cakes!

AO3: Triss_Hawkeye

I Do Not Want: non-con, incest, porn without plot*, omegaverse, pregnancy, mommy/daddy kink, underage, soulmate AUs, mundane/modern-day AUs for non-modern-day settings

*I’m not opposed to characters having sex, but I don’t want it to be the focus of the fic and would prefer it non-explicit.

I enjoy: friendships and familial relationships, deep platonic and it’s-complicated partnerships, weird power dynamics, antagonistic friendships, friendly rivalries, strange intersections of violence and intimacy, navigating mixed-orientation relationships, mentor&protégé dynamics, established couples, polyamory, asexual characters, complicated gender feels. World-building, case-fic, adventurous romps, backstory, character development, atmospheric writing, nonlinear storytelling, all kinds of tenses and POVs, epistolary or experimental formats, unreliable narrators, bittersweet endings, inevitable tragedies. Moral dilemmas, angst, pining, misunderstandings, trust and loyalty, mutual head-over-heels-in-love, interesting social dynamics, culture clashes, friendly arguments. Science fiction, stories set in space, stories about music, horror, religious themes.

My nominated fandoms: Space Brothers, Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures, Ya Boy Kongming!, Transistor, Wu Ming | Hidden Blade

Space Brothers

Nominated characters: Nanba Mutta, Nanba Hibito, Brian Jay

Relationships I like: Mutta & Hibito brotherhood, Brian & Hibito mentorship, Mutta &/ Serika, friendships all round

Space Brothers is a 99-episode anime about a man who becomes an astronaut in the footsteps of his younger brother—the anime can be found on Crunchyroll (the manga is on-going and published by Kodansha, but is generally less accessible, so while I am up-to-date with the manga, I'm only requesting the anime—but feel free to write as up-to-date as you like). I love sibling relationships, and I love space! I especially love Space Brothers’ in-depth exploration of the long process of becoming an astronaut, dealing with and overcoming trauma, and how people can help each other through difficulties. I adore the storytelling style of flashbacks to a past event informing the emotional journey happening in the present. I’ve nominated both Nanba brothers and also Brian Jay, but if you’d rather write a story that focuses on just one of those characters, that’s fine! And feel free to include any other wider cast members you like. No shipping Hibito with Olga beyond a one-sided crush on her part, please, but otherwise anything goes!

Prompts:

Mutta and Hibito finally meet on the Moon! I’m always interested in takes on how that meeting might go down, and what day-to-day life is like for them up there.

An incident during Hibito’s training as Brian’s backup, that once again becomes relevant as Hibito is training in Russia to return to the Moon. Maybe a strange scenario that Brian and Hibito train together that comes back up when he trains with the Soyuz module. Or maybe Hibito imagines what it would be like if Brian were training with him in Russia?

Missing scenes from Brian’s time on the Moon, and ways in which Hibito is unknowingly retracing his steps - or doing things differently! Could be how they interact with the Moonbase, something small that Brian changed or left behind and that Hibito encounters later.

Mutta’s canonically a trumpet player - I’d love a fic about music while training together, making improvised instruments in downtime in the simulation habitats, or the brothers (or other characters) sending each other playlists for encouragement.

The story arc with Hibito’s accident on the Moon is still my favourite - anything set in that time or the aftermath, from the perspective of either brother (or maybe Brian Jay, looking on from the afterlife - or the perspective of the oxygen generator!)

The Nanba brothers (and whoever else you might want to include with them) go on a road trip or camping or some other adventure. Hijinks ensue!

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Nominated characters: Motoko Kusanagi, Batou, Togusa, Hideo Kuze

Relationships I like: Hideo Kuze &/ Motoko Kusanagi, Batou &/ Motoko Kusanagi, Batou &/ Togusa (I like all of these as either platonic or romantic relationships)

Stand Alone Complex (which you can apparently watch for free on Adult Swim?? amazing!) is my favourite iteration of the Ghost in the Shell franchise—I love the convoluted mind-bending plots, examinations of collective human behaviour in the context of an ever more connected society, heroes grappling with being agents of a flawed and corrupt system and anti-villains with noble motives, and the deep, complicated closeness of many of the characters. Given Kuze’s on the list, I’d particularly love a 2nd Gig-based story, but don’t feel that you need to stay in that season if you have other ideas, and I'm happy with any subset of the nominated characters. I’m not as big a fan of SAC:2045 as I am the rest of it, but I’ve seen it and it’s in the continuity, so I’d be happy to receive something set in that part of the timeline too if you like.

Prompts:

Post-2nd Gig, the Major goes searching for Kuze in the net - did he succeed in going on ahead and uploading his consciousness? Did he maintain his individuality, or become something other than human?

A canon-divergent AU in which the Major encounters Kuze under different circumstances that sees them being able to work together to achieve justice for the refugees.

A look into Togusa’s family life outside of his Section 9 work. Does Batou ever interact with them? What is his partnership with his wife like compared to his partnership with Batou?

Motoko, Batou, and Kuze, all being full-prosthetic and ex-military, have similar circumstances yet different attitudes to what it means to be human and embodied, and I’d love to see some philosophical exploration of that. What does having a body, having a face, actually mean to them? Do you have gender thinky-thoughts about any of these characters? I would love to read them!

Section 9 case-fic that explores more of the setting. I’d particularly be interested in something that explores how religion has adapted to the reality of cyberization (be it Shinto, Japanese Buddhism, or something else).

There’s something very unsettling about your very perceptions being vulnerable to hacking, and not being able to trust your own senses any more—the potential for losing track of reality, places that seem both less real and more real, like the shop where the Major encountered her and Kuze’s old bodies. Would love something that leans into more of the potential for psychological horror in this setting.

The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures

Nominated characters: Any (Hermux Tantamoq, Linka Perflinger, Mirrin Stentrill, Tucka Mertslin)

Relationships I like: Hermux/Linka, Hermux & Mirrin, Mirrin/Birch, Tucka/increasingly inadvisable villainous love interests, Hermux & Tucka as best nemeses

The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures are a series of four children’s novels (beginning with Time Stops For No Mouse) featuring watchmaker turned amateur detective Hermux Tantamoq, an everymouse in the eccentric rodent high society of Pinchester, solving mysteries and getting embroiled in adventures, trying to figure out how to confess his feelings for the dashing aviatrix and adventuress Linka Perflinger, and clumsily navigating the world of high fashion, scandalous art, and unscrupulous academia that he is surrounded in by his friends and neighbours. I love how vibrant and bizarre Pinchester life is, and the way the stories weave between the city and various escapades in jungles or ancient tombs or snooty seaside towns. If writing for Tucka, I think part of her charm is that she keeps getting away with the most heinous of things, and I would rather that she does not get any kind of comeuppance, but lives on to endlessly frustrate our protagonists in the future!

Prompts:

I’d love some case-fic with Hermux and friends solving a new mystery—maybe something related to the film industry. Old-timey Hollywood meets some kind of conspiracy and scandal (with Linka flying plane stunts!) Or at long last Hermux gets the dream commission of giving the Choo-Choo Cheesery model trains a tune-up, only to find that they’ve been used to pass around hidden messages between members of a shady organisation.

Linka is a professional adventuress and daredevil! I’d love to see more of her own adventures pre-canon, or taking Hermux along with her for a mission (with Hermux joyfully supporting his terrifyingly competent crush/fiancee/wife).

The second book brings up a lot of interesting worldbuilding related to how mice cemented their place as the most civilised of rodents through the underhanded actions of a particular dynasty. I would love more exploration of the place in society held by other species, and the work to undo the legacy of mouse supremacy. Also, whatever happened to the cats after they were overthrown? Did they really all die out, or are there still some out there to be found by intrepid adventurers?

More on the history between Mirrin Stentrill and Tucka Mertslin. Was there ever a time that Tucka really was the bright and hopeful student that Mirrin thought she was? How did their relationships with art develop up to the point at which they fell out? Maybe they do a reluctant arty team-up for publicity reasons and have to figure out how to work together without going completely mad?

Gosh, I love Tucka so much. The ultimate girlboss. She is completely unhinged and always steals whatever scene she’s in with her eye-gouging fashion and awful personality. I would love more from her perspective, on her ruthless pursuit of success and the horrible little man who keeps getting in her way.

Ya Boy Kongming!

Nominated characters: Zhuge Kongming

Relationships I like: Kongming & Eiko platonic devotion, Kongming &/ Kobayashi, Eiko/Nanami, Eiko and Kabe besties

This is a delightfully bonkers on-going manga published by Kodansha and 12-episode anime available on HIDIVE (I'm more-or-less up to date on the manga, but don't mind if you just want to write in what's been covered by the anime so far). I love the absolutely outlandish premise of legendary ancient Chinese military strategist reincarnated into the party life of modern-day Shibuya and becoming personal tactician to an aspiring singer… actually played in a heartwarmingly sincere fashion, with Eiko gaining self-confidence and a team of supporters, and Kongming getting to enjoy the life without war he always wished for while still putting his strategic mind to good use. I love that while Kongming is a fish out of temporal water, his smarts and experience mean that he adapts to modern day life well (if eccentrically to outside observers), and while there’s some lovely angst and grief over the past, he’s also very happy to throw himself heart and soul into the modern-day music industry and embraces this time period as his own. It’s wonderful and bizarre and utterly delightful. I just want more of this guy, with whoever you like from the rest of the ensemble thrown in.

Prompts:

Having started out as a military strategist, Kongming doesn’t shy away from strategies that are somewhat ruthless and ethically dubious, and always seems to have contingencies to hand, some of which may be far more brutal still. It’s mostly played for laughs, but also I want to see Kongming with the gloves off if Eiko is seriously threatened in some way.

I love the idea of Kongming becoming such a known quantity in Shibuya, and generally regarded as a cool guy who’s fun to party with, that everyone just kinda rolls with it and there’s a sort of reverse kayfabe going on. Oh that guy? Oh yeah, he’s the legendary strategist Kongming, he lives here now. I’d love this getting explained to an outsider POV, or Kongming’s own feelings on being almost-but-not-quite seen for who he is.

Kongming/Kobayashi - I ship these two an unreasonable amount. I love how much Kobayashi admires Kongming (even when he’s usually the one to fully comprehend just how shady some of Kongming’s schemes are), and how he’s the one who most fully knows him (or at least has the potential to), and gets closest to accepting his true identity. And for Kongming’s part, I think he appreciates someone he can talk to about the past, and who is as equally invested in seeing Eiko succeed as he is. Also they both live at the club OH MY GOD THEY WERE ROOMMATES

Since last year I have been through an entire Romance of the Three Kingdoms hyperfixation so if you want to incorporate historical flashbacks, parallels to other 3K stories, other transmigrators, or whatever else you like from it, please do! Particular favourite characters are Zhao Yun, Zhou Yu, and Lady Huang.

Three Kingdoms tale-telling: here’s how Kabetaijin or Kobayashi or Sekitoba tells it (everyone knows this (Eiko: I don’t????)), here’s how Kongming tells it (I was literally there), here’s what really happened (no one here is a reliable narrator).

Transistor

Nominated characters: Red

Relationships I like: Red/Mr Nobody, Red/Sybil, Asher/Grant

Transistor is the second game from Supergiant Games, and can be played on a variety of platforms. I love the initial setting of this game, this beautiful yet ephemeral, dream-like semi-virtual world, ever changing to the whim of its inhabitants, who have this almost religious reverence of the city they inhabit. I love the character of Red, and the game’s playing around with her agency, in which the voiceless character is the one ultimately making the decisions of what to do, despite the advice of the narrator (and/or the will of the player!) I love the well-intentioned-extremism-gone-horribly-wrong of the antagonists as well, and I’d love to explore more the problems they were trying to solve in an awful way that ultimately backfired in enormous tragedy.

Prompts:

It’s clear from Red’s songs that while she loves Cloudbank, she also has her own complicated feelings about its society. I’d love a story exploring her life before the game and her own frustrations with the city. What is it like to live somewhere where everything changes at the whim of the majority? If you want to lean into the worldbuilding, please do so!

Villain AU in which Red, instead of being a target for the Transistor, becomes a member of the Camerata inner circle. What is her dynamic with the rest of the group? Could she find a better way to achieve their goals?

What the heck is the Country? It’s euphemistic, yet seems to indicate less of a death and more like a permanent retirement or logging out. But what does that mean for Red, who sings about it like maybe it’s something she’d like to do?

What if Red had stayed and rebuilt Cloudbank? Could she have restored the city? If given the power, could she have fixed its problems? Or would it inevitably end the same way, when it came down to it?

One of Red’s concerts, or an encounter with her, from the perspective of a Cloudbank resident or one of the minor characters. How is she seen by her fans? How does she interact with them, and with the people of Cloudbank?

Wu Ming | Hidden Blade

Nominated characters: Secretary Ye

Relationships I like: Director He &/ Secretary Ye, Director He/Ms Chen/Secretary Ye, Officer Watanabe & Secretary Ye fucked up mentorship, Secretary Ye & Captain Wang fucked up friendship

Wu Ming (Hidden Blade), starring the stunning combination of Tony Leung and Wang Yibo, is an intense, visually gorgeous, somewhat non-linear film about Communist party spies working to undermine the Wang Jingwei regime, the Japanese puppet government during WWII. While Director He is secretly passing messages in pastry boxes, his vicious and moody underling Secretary Ye is doing bloody work and ingratiating himself with Officer Watanabe, the Japanese overseer of their department. When Director He's spying is discovered, Ye is sent after him, culminating in a mesmerising, no-holds-barred, knock-down-drag-out fight between the two of them, landing He in prison and Ye as Watanabe's trusted confidante. I love the glimpses we get into the intense trust and suspicion between different sets of characters, and the moments when the masks come off. If you're interested in writing for this, go watch the movie before reading my prompts to get the full effect of the twists and turns of the story.

Prompts:

Ye is such an interesting little chameleon. We see him interact closely with a number of different characters, in different languages, with different dynamics in play. Only right at the end does it seem like the real man is allowed into the light, so I'm really interested in his interiority through the story, how he compartmentalises and justifies everything he does.

We find out late in the film that Director He and Secretary Ye are on the same side, and maybe the only other one in their entire situation that they can trust and who truly knows them. I'd love to see what kind of relationship develops out of that proximity, whether it's a fucked-up kind of co-dependence or pining for something they can't have because the danger is too great. Especially a relationship with the kind of trust that allows them to get into the kind of no-holds-barred fight that they do, really messing each other up but stopping short of killing the other.

Ms Chen is really interesting here because she and Director He have been married and working together all this time yet never coming into contact to preserve his cover. Secretary Ye doesn't seem to be aware of who she is during the fight, but then that could be part of the act. It's an interesting moment when he buys her coffee at the end—an apology, perhaps, or an invitation into a friendship? Did they meet or know each other before everyone went undercover? Wang Yibo's managed to be in couple of short films with interesting chemistry with Zhou Xun now, so it's almost a shame they didn't directly interact in this movie, but I'd love to see her looped in to whatever Ye and He have going on.

I also love what almost amounts to a seduction of Watanabe on Secretary Ye's part, only for more of a mentorship or even pseudo-parental role. Ye makes himself into the last person that Watanabe can truly trust, and only turns on him right at the end when he has lost everything, in a darkly satisfying way. I'd love a closer look into that relationship.

Thanks again, dear writer! I very much look forward to seeing what you come up with.

-Triss_Hawkeye

#yuletide #yuletide 2023 #space brothers #ghost in the shell #hermux tantamoq #ya boy kongming #wu ming #hidden blade #transistor

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gaygoetia · 1 year

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I wanna get back into writing fanfiction but I have zero inspiration. With that in mind:

Please send me fanfic prompts for The Raven Cycle/Dreamer Trilogy*

Particularly for these ships

Ronan/Gansey

Ronan/Kavinsky

Ronan/Adam

Declan/Gansey

Declan/Adam

Adam/Blue/Gansey/Ronan

Or these platonic groups/pairings

Any Lynch brother combo

Declan & Anyone tbh

Any combination of Ronan, Declan, Matthew, Jordan, Carmen and Hennessey

The Gangsey

Though prompts that fall outside of any of the above will still be considered.

I like to write:

Dark/Angsty/Emotional stuff

Sexual tension

Mutual pining

Friends to Lovers

Unhealthy or unrequited relationships

Sibling relationships (NOT in an incestuous way for the love of God)

AU's (whether it's just canon divergence, modern au or a complete genre change I simply like to be freed from the shackles of canon)

I don't like to write:

Action scenes

Romantic Fluff (unless it's balanced out by angst)

Non-con

Incest

Established relationships (unless they're particularly messy, complex or toxic)

*Major disclaimer that this is by no means a guarantee that I will write all or even any of the prompts I receive. I am chronically unreliable and all sorts of stars have to align for me to actually write something. That said, inspiration (e.g. prompts) is a good way to get them to do that so please don't let this put you off!

#trc #the raven cycle #the dreamer trilogy #trc prompts #trc fanfic #pynch #rovinski #ronsey #declansey #decladam

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atlabeth · 3 years

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transferred part twelve - atla smau

masterlist | part eleven | part thirteen

this takes place about 2 weeks after the last chapter

summary: trying to run from your past is hard, but falling for your brother’s roommate is even harder. little do you know that he’s falling for you as well.

wc: 3.6k

a/n: i’ve been writing bits and pieces of this since the start of this series so. enjoy. that’s all im gonna say lmao

warning(s): cursing, mentions of familial death, mentions of abuse, some angst but also some fluff. this is kind of a heavy chapter because both zuko and y/n talk about their past, but there is fluff at the end.

~~~~~~~~

You pushed your hair out of your face and tried to blink the sleep out of your eyes, catching a glimpse of the time on the corner of your laptop.

3:23 AM.

You should’ve been asleep a long time ago, but all of your professors had decided to schedule tests in the same week so it was one of many, many late nights you had had lately. You thought that they would cool down because midterms were coming up, but BSSU professors kept proving you wrong. Late nights like these were becoming a regular occasion, and right now you just needed a break.

The tea dates with Zuko were the only things keeping you sane. But could you even call them dates?

It was the two of you, together, sitting and talking over tea for hours, and they were happening multiple times a week. In fact, you and him had gotten tea together exactly 9 times in the past two weeks — and that wasn’t even counting all the talking during your shared shifts.

Katara, Suki, and Toph told you that they were dates, you wanted them to be dates, but there was a part of you that was so incredibly scared that you were wrong — that moving past that bridge would ruin the friendship that you cherished so much with Zuko — that you kept things solely platonic. No matter how much you wanted to kiss him every time he gave you that smile.

But thinking about the complicated relationship you had found yourself entangled in with Zuko wasn’t a break, no matter how many times you had pondered over it before falling asleep in the wee hours of the night.

You closed your laptop and grabbed your jacket that had been carelessly tossed on a stool at the kitchen island, making sure to sneak out of the apartment as quietly as you could. You opted to work in the living room, choosing to camp out on the sofa whenever you had to stay up as late as this, just so you wouldn’t wake up Sokka. Your brother had no idea how much you did for him.

The cool breeze hitting your face and the shining stars in the sky were a welcome change of scenery from the lifelessness that was your apartment at night and your computer screen that you were sure was going to cause you eye issues later in life with how bright it was.

You took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling the crisp night air, and started to walk. You were sure you looked like a mess. You were wearing some flannel pajama pants, a BSSU tank top, tennis shoes, and Zuko’s jacket. He had never asked for it back after that night at the party, and when you had showed up to one of your hangouts wearing it, he told you that you could keep it — “it looks better on you anyways” — so you did.

There was something calming about the atmosphere. You knew that a lot of women were anxious about going out at night, especially alone, but that was why you had taken self defense classes. Being friends with Suki was a self defense class in its own, and it was very much appreciated. You allowed yourself to get lost in your thoughts, trying to give yourself the break that you deserved, when the hairs on the back of your neck stood up.

“You know, it’s not safe to be out alone at this hour.”

You let out a scream at the unexpected voice and whirled around, your fists already up to defend yourself. When you saw who it was, you laughed, completely shocked, and hit your hands against your legs, trying to calm your rapidly beating heart.

“Holy shit, Zuko, you can’t just sneak up on someone like that!” you wheezed. You had no doubt that he only had good intentions, but for a second you thought someone was going to try and kill you. You had to admit, the scare was worth it to see the mix of horror and embarrassment on Zuko’s face.

“I’m so sorry!” His hands were held up placatingly in front of him and he let out a nervous laugh as well, but it did nothing to cover up the wide eyes he stared at you with. “I am so sorry, I didn’t even think about that. I- I was just up studying too, and I heard you leaving so I thought you could use some company- I swear, I wasn’t trying to scare you or anything!”

You shook your head but couldn’t stop the smile on your lips, gesturing for him to come closer while you caught your breath. “It’s fine. Come on, walk with me.”

He fell into step beside you and the two of you walked in silence for a while, the only disruptions being the occasional car that drove by. It was eerily quiet, but with Zuko, it was nice.

“So-”

Both of you laughed when you each interrupted the other, and when you motioned for Zuko to go first he shook his head. You paused for a moment, the question on the tip of your tongue, before you decided to take the plunge.

“I’ve been wondering since I got here; how did you end up as friends with—” You gestured around with your hands. “—this whole crew? It’s kind of a weird combination of people, so I guess I just wanna know how you became a part of it.”

Zuko sighed and ran a hand through his hair, causing your eyes to widen a little bit as a stammered apology came out. “You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to-” He gave you a tight smile and shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. You should know about my life if— if we’re going to keep living together.” He knew the moment he met you, the moment he agreed to let you live with all of them, that he would have to explain his past to you. Hell, your siblings might have already told you some of it — he could only hope you’d still want to be his friend after he was done.

“”I.. I wasn’t the best person in the past. I was a horrible person actually, and I consider myself extremely lucky that I was given so many chances to change. I hurt people. Bullied people. Got into fights just because I could. I was just- horrible is the only way to describe it. But your siblings, Toph, Aang? They were all people that decided to give me one of those chances, and they’re a huge reason that I am who I am today.” Zuko spoke slowly, and you could tell that this was something he didn’t open up to many people about. You smiled softly at him and nodded, letting him know that he could go on.

“I don’t know how much you know about my father, but he’s the CEO of our family company. He’s been this huge presence in the business world for as long as I can remember, and he’s responsible for all the wealth and fame that our family has today. And when I was younger, I idolized him. I thought he was the greatest man in the world, that he could do no wrong, and I just followed him blindly. He was the most important person in my life, but.. I was nothing to him.”

“He didn’t care about his friends, or- or his family, he only cared about power. My mother left when I was young, we haven’t heard a word from her since, and- and I don’t even know if he cared. My father would do whatever it took to become as powerful as he could, and that meant—” Zuko’s voice was getting louder and he cleared his throat, trying to keep his cool. There was a certain hollowness behind his eyes, and it tore you to pieces. “That meant hurting anyone that went against him. Including his children.”

“I have a sister, Azula. She’s a prodigy in every sense of the word, and my father used it, used her. She was clearly his favorite, and it drove me insane. I mean, I did everything for his approval, but he only cared about Azula. We had a good relationship when we were younger, but my father molded her into the kind of person he wanted her to be, and— and I was jealous of her. He used that against us, purposefully staked the fire of our competition, one that I thought I could somehow win. But we had both already lost the second we started fighting against each other.”

“It took me a long time to realize that.. that he was abusing us. I mean, he gave me this scar all because I spoke out of turn, and— and I still thought that I could earn his favor, that he deserved to earn my favor! He threw me out of the house when I was thirteen, and I went to live with my uncle. It took an even longer time, but with his help, and the support of your siblings and their friends, I was able to break the cycle. I was horrible to them at first, all of them, and I hated my father for what he did, but it was probably the thing that saved me.” “And Azula.. leaving her will always be my biggest regret. My biggest mistake. I should’ve forced her to come with me when I was kicked out, I should’ve done something sooner, because maybe she wouldn’t have turned out the way she did.” He swallowed hard, his voice strained. “I came back for her once I was stable, and I helped her get out. I helped her get a therapist. It’s been a long process, but she’s getting better every day. But not a day goes by where I don’t think about what I could’ve done to help her more.”

You instinctively reached out for Zuko’s hand, and to your surprise, he took it without question. You gave his hand a small squeeze and led him over to a nearby bench — without realizing it, the two of you had entered a public park that was near the complex. When you sat down together, you moved so that one of your legs was crossed in front of you and the other was hanging down so you could face him.

“Zuko.. I am so, so sorry. I don’t think any amount of apologies will be able to get how I feel across, but.. you didn’t deserve to go through that. No one deserves to go through that.” You took both of his hands, thankful for the warmth they provided. “Listen to me. Are you listening to me?”

He gave a pained smile and nodded. “Yes, Y/N. I’m listening to you.”

“You are not who you were in middle school. You are not who you were in high school. Okay? Your father is a horrible man, and you wouldn’t have done any of those things if it wasn’t for him. What you did when you were younger wasn’t okay, but the fact that you have so much remorse for it today proves that you’re a good person. Zuko, you are a good person, one of the best men that I’ve ever met in my life, and I’ve only known you for a few months.”

You were subconsciously rubbing calming circles into the back of his hands — hands that were still holding yours — while you talked, but it was all Zuko could think about. “I know you feel guilty about leaving your sister, but you did what you had to do to get out. You came back for her, and you’ve helped her get better. She’s grateful for it, Zuko, I know that much.”

“Everyone else has forgiven you,” you murmured, staring deep into the fire he held in his eyes. “You deserve to forgive yourself.”

The silence that passed while you gazed into each other’s eyes felt like it lasted an eternity, when really it was only about a minute. Zuko was the first to break it, clearing his throat and looking everywhere but at you as his words tumbled out. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to dump all of this on you at once.”

“It’s okay, Zuko, really. I understand; sometimes you just need to talk to somebody. You don’t know how much it means to me that you trusted me with all of that. And.. if we’re still baring our souls to each other, then I guess I have some things that you should know as well.”

You bit the inside of your cheek; were you really about to tell Zuko about what happened? Most people knew that your mother was dead — killed in a drunk driving accident when you were ten — but you had never told anyone, not even your father or your siblings, about the full effect it had on you. But his eyes told you more than he ever could, and in that moment you knew it would be okay. You could trust him with something you had never trusted anyone else with.

“I’m sure you know that my mother died when I was young.” He nodded and you swallowed, trying to get rid of the sudden dryness in your throat. “It was.. hard. Really hard, on all of us. It was just so unexpected that we didn’t know what to do. We didn’t really have any money to spare, so my dad had to keep working, and I had to take care of Sokka and Katara. I was only eleven, but I basically had to take over the ‘mom’ role. Our grandmother came down to take care of us so we wouldn’t just be a bunch of kids living on our own, but even with her and Katara’s help, it was still hard. Sokka and Katara had to grow up much faster than they should’ve, even though I tried to shield them as much as I could.”

“It was.. a lot. I won’t lie to you, it was a lot. Maybe too much.” A mirthless laugh hung in the air and you had to blink back the tears threatening to spring. “My mother was.. amazing. She was the only one who truly got me, you know? She was just this— this beautiful spirit in the world, and she brought light wherever she went. And when she died, it left this.. huge, gaping hole in my heart, one that I’m still trying to fill. I- I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fill it. I thought as I got older it would be easier, but i-it’s not. The three of us joke around by calling Katara mom because of how she is, and they sometimes do it to me, and I know that’s all they are, jokes, but some part of it still hurts.”

You were rambling now, spilling your soul to Zuko, going into the most mundane details that you had never told anyone. You had taken away the dam that had been holding back the waters of your emotions for so long, and now Zuko was going to drown in them. But you couldn’t stop.

“It’s the reason why I didn’t drive for so long. I didn’t want to, I was terrified of it because of what happened to my mother, but someone needed to be able to take Sokka and Katara around. And- and as I got older, and I started going to parties and people started drinking, I never did. I couldn’t, I was always the designated driver, because I couldn’t leave that in someone else’s hands. I had to be in control, because if I let someone go, then it was like I was killing my mother all over again, and it’s the reason why I always have to be the one driving—”

You paused to take a deep breath, and as you looked down at your hands, you realized they were shaking. Not just your hands, but your entire body. What the hell were you doing? You let out a tearful laugh, covering your mouth with one hand and shaking your head. “God, I am so sorry, I— I don’t know what got into me.”

Zuko’s eyes never left yours, his own glassy, and he shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize. Like you said, it helps to tell someone. A-and— I know how you feel, what it’s like feeling like you have to give up the world for your siblings. But you have to take care of yourself too. You’re not just what you can give to other people. You are your own person.”

He was thankful that you trusted him enough to tell you something like this about yourself, something that your own blood didn’t even know, but it also made him realize that you had always trusted him.

Your point about driving. You liked to be in control so that if something did go wrong, there wouldn’t be any thoughts of what you could’ve done. If something happened, it was because of you and only you. And on your first day of classes, and many trips since, you had let him drive. It was something so small, so insignificant to anyone, but to you it was a sign of trust.

You trusted him.

“You’re shivering.” Your voice snapped Zuko back to reality and he shrugged, the smallest smile playing on his lips.

“I wouldn’t be if someone had given me my jacket back,” he joked. You elbowed him in the chest and stood up, holding out your hand for him to take to help him up as well. Zuko took it and you ignored the butterflies that erupted, setting a steady pace as the two of you walked.

“We should get back to the apartment. It’s late, and you need to sleep,” you chided.

“You have bags the size of baseballs under your eyes. I think you need sleep just as much as I do.”

“I’m special,” you shot back with a grin.

Yeah, you are, Zuko thought.

The walk back to the apartment was shrouded in comfortable silence and intertwined hands, something that neither of you made any move to change.

~~~~~~~~

Soon enough you had gotten back to your rooms — such a small apartment meant that they were right next to each other — and as you turned on your heel to face him, a shy smile played on your lips. “Thank you. For, uh- coming after me. For listening to me.”

“Of course,” he nodded. The two of you stood in silence for a while, and then Zuko reached out his hand. Your breath caught in your throat as he brushed a loose strand of hair behind your ear, and the close proximity combined with the surprisingly intimate act caused your cheeks to heat up once more. It was like you were caught in a trance.

Your gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips for just a moment, and you could’ve sworn that he did the same. The air between the two of you was crackling with unseen electricity, and before you could question yourself you were leaning forward.

You felt him lean in as well as your eyes fluttered shut, and his lips ghosted over yours. Your eyes snapped open and you stared at him, your lips slightly parted in disbelief — he just kissed you. Zuko just kissed you. It was like time had stopped — and then it all came crashing down. His lips came back to yours with an intense fervor, cupping your face in his hands to get as close to you as possible.

It was bliss in the purest sense. You reciprocated immediately, tangling a hand in his dark hair, letting out a soft gasp as your back hit the wall. Despite how many times you had imagined this moment, nothing could compare to the real thing. It was passionate but gentle all the same, and the warmth that spread through your whole body was familiar — it was Zuko.

Your mind was a jumbled mess. It was split a million different ways; one part suddenly very worried about how your hair looked, one hoping that Sokka and Aang couldn’t hear you, another that didn’t care, but most of them were just screaming about how oh my god you were kissing Zuko.

You knew your whole face was flushed when you finally pulled away, and the warmth of his lips lingered as the two of you stared at each other, breathing slightly labored. You tentatively reached out your hand and softly, carefully traced your finger over a part of his scar. He flinched at the contact instinctively, but you felt him relax and even lean into your touch. It meant more than you could ever say, especially knowing what you knew now.

“You’re so beautiful,” you murmured, your touch impossibly soft against the cracked skin of his scar. “And you’re stronger than anyone knows. Than you know.”

You kissed him again, shorter and sweeter than the first but just as tender, trying to memorize the feeling of his lips against yours as he returned it. You smiled at him and pushed your door open behind you, equal parts nervous and exhilarated about what just happened. “Goodnight, Zuko,” you whispered, shining eyes never leaving his until you closed the door.

As soon as you were in your room you turned around and leaned against the door, smiling to yourself like an idiot. Your hand ghosted over your cheek, the spot where his hands had been, and you sighed dreamily. You had no idea how you were going to be able to finish studying.

This was definitely more than a small crush.

~~~~~~~~~~

perm taglist: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin

taglist: @ourbestfriend-mishacollins @lil-lex1 @xxshad0wxb1rdxx @zuko-is-the-sun @akiris @irohs-teapot @thatarthistorynerd @charlenasaxen @minninugget @marvel-ousnesss @count-thotticus @what-ye-egg @furblrwurblr @thesstuff @mariachiii @ietss @dizzy-miss-lizzieeeeee @xbarrjallenx @tommy-braccoli @dreamsluvrr @floofybread @thelovelylolly @lin-biefong-is-my-life @tiffanyy-21 @sistheselenophile @theincredibledeadlyviper @bakugouswh0r3

send an ask, a dm, or reply if you want to be added to the taglist!

also i am so sorry i suck at writing kiss scenes dont roast me please

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #zuko #atla smau #social media au #zuko smau #zuko x reader #smau #atla fic #zuko fic #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #avatar fic #avatar the last airbender fic

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lavaridgecookie · 2 years

Text

Hullo, and welcome to my little imagines, HCs, and, occasionally, ask meme blog <3 I’ve noticed very little love for nonhuman F/Os and S/Is, for platonic selfshipping, and for familial stuff, and I’m here to fix that :D I do mostly sfw stuff, but am not adverse to trying my hand at nsfw.

I take requests! I'm open unless I say I'm closed, but I'm really really slow, sorry.

My specialties include:

Nonhuman S/Is of any type, in romantic OR platonic/familial scenarios! Ranging from human-adjacent (vampires, werewolves, anthro animals) to as wild as you can get (eldritch beings, non-bipedal aliens, S/Is that are The Thing-esque) and anything in between (robots, kobolds, dragons) any way you wanna be, I’ve got you covered!

Nonhuman F/Os! Not only do I, personally, romantically ship with multiple characters in varying states of nonhumanity, but I familially ship with like. more than 10 robots who are ALSO in varying stages of nonhumanity. Robots CAN be your baby brothers and sisters, if you believe <3

Familial stuff! Siblings, parents, children, aunts and uncles, that really cool older cousin you love talking to, whatever! I got you. Sometimes a family is you, your six children, your eldest son’s alien boyfriend, and your extended family who are all mostly murderers.

Platonic stuff! Sometimes you want to jazzercise with your besties, and sometimes your besties are a group of elite alien mercenary soldiers.

Poly relationships! Any kind!

Please Note:

I have not seen every movie, or read every book, or consumed every piece of media. If you need something more specific than ‘my f/o or s/i has wings // can shapeshift // is an eldritch creature’ please give me more background information! Like I know what a Yautja is in a technical sense, but I’ve never actually seen Predator so I don’t have any context for their society or behaviour! I’ll list what I’m familiar enough with to need no context at the bottom of the post <3 That being said, feel free to infodump all day every day about your favourite species, bc I’m a lore hound and loooooooove hearing about fantasy cultures and biology.

I work a full-time job, have ADHD and am suffering from burnout. Posts may be sporadic! I will answer asks out-of-order! Please be patient with me

THIS BLOG IS INCLUSIVE. I WILL NOT EVER EVER EVER DISCRIMINATE BASED ON GENDER/ORIENTATION/ETC. I’m genderqueer, bi, poly, and an alterhuman! Panphobes, TERFS, and ace exclusionists can fuck right off! That being said, any and all hate will not get acknowledged. This shouldn’t even be an issue but I want to make my stance crystal-fucking-clear: your identity, whatever it may be, is valid.

I am an adult! Any nsfw will be properly tagged as NSFT + minors DNI, and I ask that minors not interact with those posts. That said, minors are welcome on this blog, welcome to submit sfw asks, etc.

I write both fluff AND angst! I like both! They’ll be tagged as such~ I’m especially very, very fond of lifespan difference stuff. I know this can be triggering for some people, and the tag for it is ‘Mayfly-December’

I knowwwwwww my URL has ‘cookie’ in it, but this is a reference to a Pokemon thing. I luv gen III <3 I’m willing to do cookie run stuff but I know next to nothing about cr other than Vamp(?) looks genderqueer as hell

Sources I am familiar with

Gregor the Overlander

Silverwing (including Duskwing)

The Sight

The Thing

ALIEN (first 2 movies)

Homestuck (I’ve read some of ^2 but am NOT caught up)(can also do Petstuck of any flavour)

Wolves of the Beyond (up through Frost Wolf)

a few more xenofiction novels, feel free to ask

Any and all Zelda species, from any game

Pokemon (I’ve played up to B/W)

Digimon, to an extent.*

Chobits (anime)

Beastars (manga)+ Beast Complex

Astro Boy

Sonic the Hedgehog (game canon from Forces and earlier, I have a working knowledge of Boom as well)

Brand New Animal

Doctor Who (mostly NuWho)

Transformers (mostly G1 and TFA)

DBZ + GT (I haven’t seen Super, but I could probably get Whis and Beerus down well)

MLP: FiM (including ALL idw comics!)

MegaMan (classic and some of X)**

CATS the Musical (I haven’t yet seen the 2019 movie, but I’m familiar with the revival and the 1998 movie)

Thomas and Friends (in a general sense, if you want to request a specific character I'll need personality traits)

probably some others, but these are all ones I can do without needing for you to explain anything

* I can do any individual Digimon, but haven’t seen every anime, so if you are looking for a character-specific Digimon, please specify!

**I can do all mainline classic characters, including any desired robot master. However, please be aware that I’ve been in this fandom for over a decade, so my HCs for certain robot masters may differ from current popular consensus! If you want a specific personality trait, please specify. For X, I really only know X, Zero, Vile, Axl, and Sigma well enough to do HCs with no further prompting.

#Notice to all residents #<that's my talk tag IG #sorry I have a headache oops #ALSO feel free to gush! always up for gushing #NO DISCOURSE. NONE. NU-UH

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misssakurapetal28 · 4 years

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9 Reasons Why People Might (and CAN) Ship Apritello in Rise!

1). It kind of follows the "childhood friends to lovers" trope. Usually from all the anime (and occasionally cartoons and other types of media) that I've watched, there's a "friends to lovers" trope and/or "childhood friends to lovers" trope. It's usually when...welll...when friends start to feel romantic feelings towards each other, become a couple or start to date. Usually when that's the case, the friends usually have good interactions or/and know each other more personally than anyone else does. Usually those main things are enough to make a relationship. 2). Even if they do start dating, I don't think things will change THAT much. Maybe some sweet and cute couple moments every now and then, but besides that, does Donnie and April HAVE to be lovey-dovey like every couple media tends to portray pairings these days? Donnie and April can just watch Netflix and chill. Have fun and hang out like they normally do? I see them as just teens who do what they want and don't follow couple clichés. They might date or be a couple, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still friends. 3). Interspecies relationships have happened before in shows. Though I haven't personally watched shows that did have interspecies relationships, I know they exist. So why Rise should be an exception? And NO. Apritello is NOT bestiality. In 2012, April is half-muntant/kraang and there’s a possibly that Donnie MIGHT have human DNA too from Splinter. In Rise, Donnie does have human DNA inside him from Splinter.

And EVEN IF one or both of them weren’t half mutant/human, it STILL isn’t bestiality. Bestiality is when a human is in a relationship with an animal basically (just look up the real definition if you want to know). Donnie is a mutant turtle (a mutant with human DNA in Rise). He also has a consenting mind. So at best, it’s a interspecies relationship. Now if you personally still don’t like the pair because you personally don’t like interspecies relationships neither, then that’s your preference and I respect that. However, I still think interspecies is LEAUGES better than bestiality in my opinion. 4). Their adorable babies and they generally look cute together. Nuff said ^^ Donnie and April reminds me of the famous "opposites attract" trope too. April, the feisty, headstrong tomboy with the cleaver, sass master Donnie is just interesting dynamic to me. Their personalities compliment each other. Their flaws and virtues compliment each other. I just belive they work well together. Also, angst possibilities. LOTS of angst possibilities. Just saying...

5). Most Apritello (or April x Turtles) haters/T///cest shippers are total shallow hypocrites. Like I’ve mentioned before, It really baffles me and annoys me that TMNT fans look down on others for shipping Apritello (or any other April x Turtles pairing) just because they personally see (or always saw) April being a big sister to the guys when the same kind of people are perfectly fine with shipping T///cest, pairings that involve the turtles together. At least people who don’t ship neither have the excuse that they see all the teens as siblings and it’s wrong to see them as anything else, but AT LEAST April and the turtles aren’t REALLY related. Like I said, sometimes people who grew up together/childhood friends DO and CAN get together.

Now...People who ship t///cest...that’s THEIR business (I personally despise it). They can stay in their corner and I can stay in mine. Heck, people even have the right to dislike Apritello from any incarnation (especially by 2012 Apritello’s track record), but don’t you dare criticize or looked down on others who do like it when t///cest in that logic isn’t that much better. Now, I personally like 2012 Apritello (or at least mostly the fandom version of it) and I honestly take some interest in the Rise version of it too (however, this one has less attention and love), but if someone else just personally doesn’t like it, that’s perfectly fine too. However, the point that I’m making is that I wish that people don’t be so shallow when it comes to the very little people who does ship Apritello in this incarnation. People liking Apritello isn’t a bad thing. It’s just the way it has to be handled.

BTW: I can also get people disliking Apritello in the 80’s series and the 2003 series because April was in her 20’s, but in the 2012 and 2018/Rise series she isn’t! She’s 16.

6). You can ship what the hell you want.

I know Rise! Apritello mostly comes from that fact that it was a thing in 2012, but so? People still have the right to ship it. Also, it seems like they have at least some kind of development or chemistry. Now, I’m not going to lie. The chances of them being a couple or even having ANY KIND of romantic feelings in this series is slim because:

1. It’s a kids show. It’s more of a silly/comedy kid show than any of the other previous TMNT incarnations ever were. So this incarnation of TMNT might not be suitable for actaul romantic themes. I mean, there’s the “romantic”/complicated relationship between Splinter and Big Mama, but that’s about it.

2. Again, it’s a kids show....about kids and their (mis)adventures. April is 16 and Donnie is 14. I doubt that romance is a big thing for them right now at this point in their lives. Not to say crushes can’t happen, but...yeah.

3. April most likely sees Donnie as a brother and vise versa. In fact, it WAS confirmed that April sees all the turtles that way. Also, most Rise fans sees them as such, even before Rise began.

4. I know some don’t find a problem with this (including myself), but Donnie is a mutant turtle while April is a human girl. So people might find that weird or claim it is bestiality (even though it’s not). Hence part of the reason why I think one of the creators/writers said this. Speaking of...

5. Seems like they don’t ship it romantically. Heck, they even claim that others (or 2012 Donnie’s crush on April, it’s really unclear) as “pervy” for it (which I disagree, but I digress).

HOWEVER, despite all this said, who’s to say that anyone still CAN’T ship it? HECK, who even says that the possibility is COMPETELY off the table? You see that I said the possibility of them happening or having any romantic feelings for each other are SLIM, not INPOSSIBLE. Like I said above, I’m one of the those people who watched TMNT 2012 who actaully shipped Apritello.

Now, I’m not going to sit up here and say that Donnie’s crush (and in my opinion, later love) for April was the healthiest thing in the world. I’m also not going to say that Donnie and April’s characters where the best here. Because it wasn’t, it was a result of bad writting from the writers part. But...Apritello in TMNT 2012 in canon wasn’t that bad sometimes per say. I personally love Apritello for what it could’ve been more than anything, but canon Apritello? It wasn’t THAT bad. Again, it was just how it was written. If it was given more of proper writting, I really think Apritello could of been like, one of the most amazing and complex ships in media history??? But Alas...

However, unlike 2012 Apritello (unfortunately), I do think Rise “Apritello” is being handled A LOT better, healthier and more natural this time around. Even if it’s not the creators/writers intentions this time around to make any kind of romance for the two, they still have great development together, but I belive that they are close. Now, in MY personal headcanons, I headcanon that Donnie didn’t initially romantically like April from the start. I even made a headcanon that when they first met, they disliked each other (but that’s a different story for maybe another day). So things basically just went the same as it is in canon.

However, ever since the snow day episode (which I kind of headcanon in a scene that wasn’t shown like this), Donnie gain a tiny crush on her (which grew little by little). Now by NO MEANS that it’s as big and crazy as 2012 Donnie’s crush, but a crush no less. Now, do or will they get together in my headcanon? Well, I don’t know yet. Because my feelings for this pair tend to go back and forth.

The point is, people ARE allowed to ship Apritello if they want to. People shouldn’t have to feel hesitant or bad to ship them just because others see them as siblings (which again, they are not even related) or because people don’t personally like it or see it as right. I also don’t feel like people have to stop shipping it just because of the common headcanon that April is a Lesbian.

And that’s another thing. Look, I have NOTHING against the popular headcanon of April being a lesbian (and I also understand why people would think that). That’s cool. You can have ANY KIND of headcanon for ANY character you want. However, in my personal headcanons, I see April as Bi (but maybe a little more interested in girls). It’s not only because I ship her with Donnie though, but it’s because it’s never been confirmed that she’s not interested in guys too though.

Just because she’s bit of a tomboy and has no interested in Dale (a character that BARLEY made ANY appearances and the fandom seems to already hate him for SOME REASON), that doesn’t automatically mean that she’s ONLY into girls. I mean, you can headcanon ANYONE the way that you want, but her being Bi is MY opinion and MY headcanon.

My point: Ship what you want and don’t give dam what ANYONE says, even if it is Apritello.

7). They make a pretty good duo. Shown in episodes like “The Purple Jacket” and “Donnie v.s. Witch Town”, the two make a prefect duo! They also seem to have a better understanding of each other and care about one another a lot. They love each other and kick butt together! ^^ 8). This is my personal taste, but they are like the sun and moon :) This also plays into my “opposites attract” theory when it comes to them. Also, read more up about the concept of “yin and yang”. It will make A LOT of sense when it comes to these two! 9). It can work out platonically AND romantically. Like I’ve mentioned above, it means they are dating/are in a relationship, that doesn’t mean that they can’t also be friends. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t work out just as good as friends. That’s just how much understanding that they have for each other and how good they work out together :)

---

Wow, I wrote a lot! lol If I took any of this all out of context, I’m sorry for that? lol But I just wanted to make the point that shipping Apritello in this incarnation isn’t bad like some people make it out be. It’s just as fun as shipping any of the other popular pairs in in this incarnation. I like Apritello, both 2012 and Rise. If you do too, then you should be allowed to without feeling bad about it. Just remember that!

Let’s enjoy these two dorks together, ok? :)

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agentrouka-blog · 4 years

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How do you think Jon & Sansa's relationship play out in the books ? Will it be platonic or there could be some restricted or worse 1 sided romantic feelings ?

I’m pretty vocal about being a jonsa, I think, so I don’t think it will surprise you that I think there will be a romantic angle to their relationship.

I mean, really, where can he go with them? Enemies? Both are comitted to Winterfell, and miss their family and childhood. They think fondly of each other and have similar values. There is no basis for meaningful enmity unless one of them turns villainous out of nowhere. Highly unlikely. I’m not saying there won’t be conflict, but if it’s supposed to be meaningful, it’s not set up for much drama. “They were not very close siblings and now they clash over their differences. Shocking.”

Happy platonic sibling-friends? Jon already has that dynamic with Arya and Bran. While it would be sweet to see these two finally interact and get along as siblings, too, there’s not much added to the story by it. “Oh, it turns out, they don’t hate each other, like the text already suggested. Surprise.” If they had set up age-old hate between them, and their traumatic journeys have rendered that null, maybe. But GRRM specifically has not set it up that way.

Romance? That’d make a lot of things click. The weight of romance and songs in Sansa’s arc requires a character of some weight to carry it, if it’s supposed to have a meaning beyond either a hasty treat or a cynical denial. Jon’s own longing for home and family and children is so deeply connected to Winterfell and the Starks that it also feels a lot more satisfying to see those themes connected to Sansa all tied together, rather than narrowing connection and conflict between them to one of rulership and sibling affection, especially when the latter doesn’t carry near the same weight as his connection to Arya and Bran.

Basically, if the conflict was supposed to be Stark Family v. Dany Romance, you wouldn’t need Sansa. He could have kept a blend between Arya and Sansa in one character. As far as family dynamics go, two Stark sisters work brilliantly in connection to each other, but become redundant in terms of Jon - unless their relationships are very different. And if romance was never going to be part of it, then GRRM has wasted five books drenching Sansa’s chapters in a reflection of the concept. A romantic connection between Jon and Sansa mirrors the Lannisters and the Tully-Petyr mess, pays off some loose ends, creates new tension in the existing sibling dynamics and ties up Sansa and Jon’s mirroring dreams. Plus, the pay-off for RLJ. Plus all the foreshadowing.

I certainly don’t think it would be one-sided. They both fit each other’s romantic profile too well. And by that I don’t mean “Jon has a thing for redheads” but the things they value, like softness, attention, protective honor, and gallant heroics.

Considering there was no five-year-gap, I don’t think we will see some kind of fully-fleshed out adult relationship between them to rival the broiling complexity of Jaime and Cersei. I think it’s likely to be very reflective of the romantic songs associated with Sansa. Florian and Jonquil, Aemon and Naerys, Jenny and Duncan. I think there will be drama and angst surrounding the fact that unlike less responsible characters, they will take the struggle between personal desires and political responsibilities very seriously. Plus communication issues.

Considering it’s only two books to go, it’ll probably be a not-so-slow burn, private anguish, unspoken words, moments of drama, promises made and broken, perceived betrayal, sad-song-level broken hearts and resignation (think Swanlake or The Little Mermaid) that will seem to end in a well of sadness, but will find its happy ending in a very satisfying twist.

Something that I am absolutely befuddled by is how GRRM will handle the whole child foreshadowing. Lyanna, Dany, Gilly, Robb’s prevented heir, Roslyn Frey, Sansa’s plentiful child references… The lack of the five-year-gap again makes that an extremely wonky proposition. Sansa is like thirteen-and-a-half right now. Even if GRRM is very scrupulous about the passage of time, Sansa won’t exactly be very grown-up even by the ending. And GRRM has been unsubtle about the dangers of childbirth: Lyanna, Elia, Lysa, Dalla, Dany, Minisa, etc. Dany marrying at 13, Lyanna being abducted at 15 and dying at 16 weren’t supposed to be happy scenarios.

I’m a bit concerned about how important Stark progeny will be to the plot, and whether it will make GRRM go down murky paths.

Something like this is making me narrow my eyes a little in concern and suspicion:

A few of the oldest gowns had been made for young Lysa Tully of Riverrun, however, and others Gretchel had been able to alter to fit Alayne, who was almost as long of leg at three-and-ten as her aunt had been at twenty. (...)

And at Winterfell, Sansa was a little girl with auburn hair. My daughter is a maiden tall and fair, and her hair is chestnut." (AFFC, Alayne I)

If GRRM somehow decided to move things beyond emotionally romantic, he’d have to be extremely careful not to drift off into something creepy and irresponsible. Romeo and Juliet had the age constellation of Jon and Sansa, but that doesn’t mean it was great that they got married and shared a bed that young. Even if GRRM allows time to pass.

So I think unless a child is somehow relevant to the plot, they may well never be physically together on the page beyond age appropriate kissing.

Which would be perfectly fine by me.

#asoiaf #jonsa #jon snow #sansa stark #asks

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bestworstcase · 4 years

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Cassandra!

How I feel about this character

fave!! she’s a fascinating, emotionally complex character with a lot of layers. i’ve joked before on the cassunzel server that cass might as well have been custom engineered to appeal to me, personally, as a protagonist, because she hits like, every single one of my favorite protagonist tropes. i adore her and she’s one of my favorite characters not just of rta but of all time.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

i really like cassunzel, but i actually am not… all that invested in it happening in canon? i tend to think that rapunzel’s feelings for her fall somewhere in the vague confused zone between romantic and platonic and that it could happen, but i’m not sold on the idea that it will, in either the ot3 or the raps leaving eugene for cass sense. partly i think this is my personal liking for unrequited angst and shit talking, and partly it’s that a) i have a hard time seeing raps leaving eugene under any circumstance, and b) i don’t personally see cass as the kind of person who could thrive in a polyam relationship, so i think she deserves better than the ot3. so i like unrequited cassunzel a lot, and in aus where i think it makes sense (eg the popular “cass rescues rapunzel from the tower” au) i like requited cassunzel a lot. it’s a really fascinating dynamic anyway you slice it though.

i like the idea of casselsa a lot too, even though it’s a crossover. i think they could be really good together and good for each other.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

it didn’t really get developed in canon (because lance got almost zero character development in general) but i really like the idea of a cass-lance friendship. it’s sort of funny because he has a lot of the traits that drive her nuts in eugene (ego, self-aggrandizement, laziness), but he’s so much more mellow in how he expresses those traits that it doesn’t generate the same conflict and i think they could be really good buddies. wlw/mlm solidarity.

My unpopular opinion(s) about this character

okay i have two actually

1) in s1 and s2, cassandra was a much better friend to rapunzel than rapunzel was to her. cass had her moments of not being a great friend, but for the most part? she was a good friend. she cared about rapunzel and tried hard to be there for her. but rapunzel consistently Did Not Listen To Cass At All, consistently ran roughshod over her boundaries even when cass directly stated them, and in the end she didn’t even know cass that well.

i think a lot about goodbye and goodwill, and the way rapunzel reacted when cass suddenly was better liked and more successful than her. or like in RDO, where rapunzel openly blamed cass for cass getting hurt in the great tree and then was like “i don’t get why she’s so mad about it.” or all of season three, which rapunzel spent pining for a version of cass that just… wasn’t quite accurate, a version of cass that was content as rapunzel’s lady in waiting, a version of cass that we first saw in the rapunzeltopia lotus dream. i truly don’t think rapunzel even grasped that cass hated being a servant until the very very end.

and this is not to say that rapunzel is a Bad Person (indeed i think one of the greatest triumphs of the show is that it does not pull punches with examining how rapunzel’s upbringing and gothel’s abuse shaped her into the kind of person who isn’t good at boundaries, who doesn’t deal with it well when she’s pushed aside or disliked, who is sometimes selfish and self-absorbed. it’s very realistic and it’s good character writing). just that she… really wasn’t ever a good friend to cass. and this was exacerbated by rapunzel never, like, acknowledging the huge amount of privilege and power she had over cass, and how that altered the dynamic between them.

2) i don’t think eugene and cass have a strong friendship. eugene states that he sees cass as like a sibling to him, but he doesn’t really act on it in any material way. they banter like siblings, sure, and they do have moments where they clearly have each others’ backs. but… at the end of s2 he jumps to the conclusion that she’s the traitor, never really questions that assumption, and then in s3 he’s… lukewarm at best on the matter of cass coming back or being “saved.” which again, isn’t to say that he’s a Bad Person, i just… they’re not close. i don’t think they were ever close. rapunzel is the glue that holds their friendship together imo, not any deeper connection. (this is another reason i’m not big on the ot3).

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

SAPORIAN. CASS. shfsdhfsldkf god i’m never going to be over the gothel twist. i was so convinced she was saporian there just seemed to be so much foreshadowing pointing in that direction and then it was like… nope, gothel is her mom. what.

#rta #cassandra #Anonymous

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austennerdita2533 · 4 years

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ooh can you do those same top three questions but for suits and tvd :)

Sure can, nonnie! xx

*Just as a general disclaimer for anyone else who happens to read this: my ship preferences are what they are. I’m simply stating my opinion/preference and am in no way encouraging hate or fights. Discussion is always welcome, of course, but happy vibes here only!

*2020 sucks enough as it is without bringing ship drama into it, you know?

TVD

Top 3 seasons:

-1, 2, and 3 without an ounce of hesitation. This was when the show was at its peak in storytelling, characterization, ship development, magic/mythology etc.

Top 3 romantic ships:

-Klaroline. One of my highest echelon ships for reasons I do not need to enumerate; however, I will say what I love about them most is they challenge as well as complement each other in beautifully rich, convoluted ways. Their back and forth is ridiculously entertaining, too!

-Kalijah. They have spice, and angst, and forbidden love, and 500+ years of cat-and-mouse chasing and I will be over here bitter about them for eternity!

-Forwood. *excuse me while I cry over “until we find a way” for a few hours* These two went through so much to be together! Their progressive arc in s2-s3 is still one of my favorites.

*I’m Swiss neutral when it comes to Stelena and Delena, I vacillate between both ships at different times so they’re not included in my top 3. I’m an anomalous TVD shipper, a true outlier, what can I say?

Top 3 platonic ships:

-Klelijah. Klaus and Elijah have an incredibly dense, fraught brotherly dynamic. Something about their ancient ties and 1,000-year bond is gripping. There’s so much spoken and unspoken subtext between them. So many unresolved “somethings.” Plus, it’s no secret that I adore the Originals and all they add to the TVD-verse.

-Klebekah. Klaus and Rebekah sparkle, they sizzle, any time they’re on-screen together. Just the sheer depth of feeling and betrayal and angst they emanate is so entertaining to watch. Don’t get me started on the whole “I loved you more than anyone and you didn’t even care” scene because I get emotional.

-Defan. Stefan and Damon are another complex sibling relationship on the show. Throw into the mix that they find themselves in love with same woman, not once, but twice, and whew! I love the flashbacks we get of them throughout history as well.

*Gotta give shoutouts to my other favorite, though moderately less well-developed, brotps here: Carenzo, Katholine, Rebekoline, and Baroline. *chef’s kiss*

Top 3 characters:

-Caroline Forbes

-Klaus Mikaelson

-Katherine Pierce

Top 3 plotlines you’d change/erase if you could:

-THE BABY PLOTS ! ! ! BOTH OF THEM!!!!!!!!! (I’m talking Klaus/Haley and their tribrid baby and Caroline’s surrogacy/pregnancy with the Gemini twins.) I apologize for my overemphasized caps + exclamation points here, but I loathe these storylines with every fiber of my being. I can’t help it. More often than not, I like to pretend they don’t exist lololol.

-How they handled the beginning of Stefan and Caroline’s romantic relationship was...icky. Like, while Liz was dying? Really? Then she turns off her humanity because he “rejects” her. Again, REALLY? I have major issues with the overall portrayal of them as a couple - particularly with the relationship imbalances as well as the insecurities they heightened instead of tamped out in each other - but the inception of it all is what kills me. Especially because I am a huge proponent of friends-to-lovers ships...and the writers really dropped the ball with them, imo. I’m a multishipper at heart so the disappointment I harbor is PALATABLE.

-The Cure storyline and the Travelers storyline. Didn’t like either of them. They have equal “could’ve been loads better” billing.

Top 3 episodes you’d take to a deserted island:

-3x14, Dangerous Liaisons. LISTEN. This is my favorite episode of the entire series. There’s a ball, there’s blood-tinged champagne, there’s duplicity and romance and drama. All the Mikaelsons are under the same roof, for crying out loud! It’s gold!

-2x07, Masquerade. This one because of my girl, Katherine Pierce, the biggest, baddest bitch of all. She’s a saucy little minx the entire masquerade only to end up locked in the tomb. I just...love it.

-The Klaroliner in me is screaming 4x23, Graduation because being on a deserted island without having access to Klaus’s iconic “however long it takes” declaration would be insupportable. However, a case could be made for either 3x20, Do Not Go Gentle because I am trash for the decade dances, and that one’s my favorite, OR 3x22, The Departed because that is one hell of a season finale!

Suits

Top 3 seasons:

-Season 2. Mike’s secret out of the bag? Them all working together to fight against the merger? Donna shredding evidence to protect Harvey? Daniel fucking Hardman? *thumbs up*

-Season 5. FIREWORKS. Donna’s working for Louis, Harvey’s in therapy, Mike gets arrested/goes on trial, Zane family drama. Exquisite stuff

-Season 3 or Season 1. Don’t make me choose between them, please. 🙏🏻

Top 3 romantic ships:

-Darvey. I mean, OBVIOUSLY. These two idiots had me from the pilot. I knew the moment Donna said “I also took care of that. we’ve been married for the last 7 years” that I was on the precipice of falling into another long, beautiful, up-to-their-chins-in-pining, slow sloooooow burn ships. Granted, I didn’t think it’d take 8 seasons for them to get together lololol but I don’t regret a damn thing!

-Mike and Rachel. They’re adorable together, they truly love each other. Also, can we talk about how they’re a steady couple for most-ish of the show? They have drama, sure, but they work through most of it together. As a unit. THAT’S A BIG DEAL. It’s like going through the canon drive thru and actually getting (most) of what you ordered.

-Louis and Sheila. This is a couple who makes me laugh uproariously AND feel all the emotions. I mean, will I ever forget Louis dropping to one knee in the hospital with his ass cheeks hanging out? NO. Will I ever get over Shelia’s pregnant feet being too fat to fit into her Cinderella glass slippers? NOT ON YOUR LIFE. Will I blubber like an emo sap whenever they finally reconcile/get their happy ending? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT.

Top 3 platonic ships:

-Mike and Harvey. They have a connection from the beginning but I love seeing how much they rub off on one another, how much deeper their bond grows over the course of the show. Their movie references are always a delight, too. *cries: it’s so beautiful*

-Donna and Louis. Their relationship is so important to me. Like?!?!?!? They have so many fantastic one-on-one moments together - some that make your sides ache with laughter, others that prick your eyes with emotion and tears. Even though it kills me when Donna leaves Harvey to work for Louis, I can’t help but love it too because he fanboys all over her. GIVE DONNA ALL THE LOVE AND APPRECIATION SHE DESERVES.

-Harvey and Louis because they have a formative and/or impactful dynamic. They mostly respect each other but there’s a lot of animosity between them. Makes for such good TV!

Top 3 characters:

-Donna Paulsen aka Fashion Goddess of NYC (can I have all of her outfits? for real) and the Reigning Queen of Sass (who also happens to be the reigning queen of my heart as well). The entire firm would have fallen into collapse without her, FULL STOP.

-Harvey Specter. I have a penchant for stoic, inscrutable, emotionally constipated, on-the-borderline-of-asshole characters and boy did I hit the jackpot with this one!

-This one was hard, but I’m going to go with Louis Litt because his character evolution is amazing! He’s so unlikable at times, what with his competitive streak and anger/jealousy issues, but then there’s this whole other side to him that’s sensitive and vulnerable and sweet. You can’t help but root for him, you know? (Even when you want to punch him right in the nose lol.)

Top 3 plotlines you’d change/erase if you could:

-Harvey giving Paula the credit for why he reconciled with his mother, when it was actually because of Donna. They retcon/fix this in the narrative in s9 but it still bugs me in the moment. I can’t let it go. So sue me.

-Pearson Hardman’s “Harvard Only” hiring law. Not only is it ridiculous and discriminatory but no way in hell would you even be able to implement such a thing in today’s world. Nor should you be able to do so. Diversity is important!

-I wasn’t crazy about the Mike prison storyline but, at the same time, he had to serve out penance for the whole fraud business??? So yeah.

Top 3 episodes you’d take to a deserted island:

-2x07, Sucker Punch. THE MOCK TRIAL, AHHHHHHH. Louis grills Donna about Harvey within an inch of her life. I can hear his inflection during his stream of “do you love Harvey Specter, do you love Harvey Specter” in my head. It is so effing tense in that conference room, I DIE.

3x06, The Other Time. I am all about this flashback episode, okay? It opens Pandora’s box on all things past!Darvey and also shows us how Mike gets thrown out of school.

-8x16, Harvey. If you think I’d willingly retreat to a deserted island without having access to that Darvey love epiphany/love actualization scene then you are kidding yourself! I still blast “Love is Mystical” on full volume just to daydream about that swooping-through-the-apartment-door smooch sometimes. *fans self*

#anonymous #replies #the loveliest of lovely people #ashlee bree talks tvd and suits #i officially want to rewatch suits now anon #so thank you for that #long post #i didn't mean to blab this much #whoops

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kageonna · 3 years

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Five and romance

“Five is a 58-year-old adult in a child’s body, he should be treated like an adult.”

This is the justification some people use to pair Five with an adult love interest. While I don’t think that these people are wrong and they should be free to ship Five with whomever they want, I can’t help but feel like the justification is a little... off.

Five is not a child, but an argument could be made that Five never actually grew up, something I’m pretty sure a lot of people feel the same about. Yes, he had aged physically, but between the total isolation of the apocalypse and the cruelty of the commission, he never had a chance to mature as an individual.

Consider this: He hasn’t formed any meaningful relationships since he was 13 years old. Every interaction he’s had after finally leaving the apocalypse and getting to meet people is either confrontation, negotiation, extortion, supplication, or any combination of the above. Everything he’s done since he was 13 was to survive and to save his family. He doesn’t know what to do without an apocalypse dogging his heels and he’s admitted as much.

Despite Five’s intelligence and the way he carries himself, deep down I think he is still the boy who ran away from home and got lost 45 years ago. It makes me uncomfortable to think how horribly easy it is to take advantage of him in such a vulnerable state, not just inexperienced but also stunted, traumatized, and starving for human affection.

There is no easy way to write Five romance because it feels wrong regardless of whether he’s in the body of an old man or a preteen boy. At this point I think Five is simply not ready to consent to a romantic or sexual relationship and it has nothing to do with his age.

Imagine Five fresh out of the apocalypse having an affair with the Handler. That cannot be in any way a consensual relationship even if you take blackmail out of the equation. (So much angst potential though.)

Right now what Five needs is lots of platonic love and therapy. He needs to unpack all those years of trauma and adapt to a life that isn’t a constant battle for survival. He needs to reconnect with his siblings, form new connections with other people and learn relationship dynamics. He needs to have a chance to grow up again and learn how to be himself before venturing into more intimate relationships because it wouldn’t be healthy otherwise.

He needs to be treated like an adult by other people as well, not just by one person. That would be an imbalanced relationship, one that opens him up to exploitation of his biggest insecurity. How easily Five could be led to believe that the love interest is the only one who treats him like an adult, the only one who understands him, and then Five would become entirely dependent on that person for validation.

(I feel like this is the crux of a lot of self-inserts but that’s a can of worms I’m not touching with a 10-foot pole.)

Five is not a child, but he isn’t just an adult in a child’s body either. He’s neither here nor there, a boy lost in time and a man who lost a lifetime, simultaneously too old and half-grown.

He doesn’t need to be treated with kid gloves, but he should be allowed to mature properly and develop an identity of his own, so that he is better equipped to handle more complex relationships. If it takes years for him to get there, in enough time for his body to reach adulthood again, well, that’s not a bad thing either. I mean, what’s the rush?

#five hargreeves #the umbrella academy #consent is not just age #codependent relationships #yikes #five needs friends #five needs hobbies #five needs therapy #i can't believe i wrote this

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trisshawkeye · 2 years

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Yuletide 2022

Dear Yuletide Writer...

Hello, and thank you in advance for writing for me, I’m super stoked for getting to see more fic in any of these fandoms! In this letter I’m including things I like to read and some specific likes and prompts for each fandom, but I will be genuinely delighted by anything for my requested characters, so if you have your own ideas, please be my guest to write what your heart desires! And if you’re looking to treat, I am always keen for multiple cakes!

AO3: Triss_Hawkeye

I Do Not Want: non-con, incest, porn without plot*, A/B/O, pregnancy, mommy/daddy kink, underage, soulmate AUs, mundane/modern-day AUs for non-modern-day settings

*I’m not opposed to characters having sex, but I don’t want it to be the focus of the fic and would prefer it non-explicit.

I enjoy: friendships and familial relationships, deep platonic and it’s-complicated partnerships, weird power dynamics, antagonistic friendships, friendly rivalries, strange intersections of violence and intimacy, navigating mixed-orientation relationships, mentor&protégé dynamics, established couples, polyamory, asexual characters, complicated gender feels. World-building, case-fic, adventurous romps, backstory, character development, atmospheric writing, nonlinear storytelling, unreliable narrators, bittersweet endings, inevitable tragedies. Moral dilemmas, angst, pining, misunderstandings, trust and loyalty, mutual head-over-heels-in-love, interesting social dynamics, culture clashes, friendly arguments. Science fiction, stories set in space, stories about music, horror, religious themes.

My nominated fandoms: Space Brothers, High Noon Over Camelot, Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures, Ya Boy Kongming!

Space Brothers

Nominated characters: Nanba Mutta, Nanba Hibito, Brian Jay

Relationships I like: Mutta & Hibito siblings, Brian & Hibito mentorship, Mutta &/ Serika, friendships all round

This is becoming a perennial Yuletide request for me! Space Brothers is a 99-episode anime and on-going manga about a man who becomes an astronaut in the footsteps of his younger brother—both can be found on Crunchyroll. I love sibling relationships, and I love space! I especially love Space Brothers’ in-depth exploration of the long process of becoming an astronaut, the effect of trauma and overcoming it, and how people can help each other through difficulties. I adore the storytelling style of flashbacks to a past event informing the emotional journey happening in the present. I follow the manga, so feel free to write as up to date as you like. I’ve nominated both Nanba brothers and also Brian Jay, but if you’d rather write a story that focuses on just one of those characters, that’s fine! And feel free to include any other wider cast members you like. No shipping Hibito with Olga beyond a one-sided crush on her part, please, but otherwise anything goes!

Prompts:

Mutta and Hibito finally meet on the Moon! Yes, this has happened in the manga, but I’m always interested in alternate takes on how that meeting might go down, and what day-to-day life is like for them up there.

A story that contrasts Mutta and Hibito’s relationship with one of the other sibling or family relationships (e.g. the Jay brothers). How do the brothers work together, and what do they notice about the relationship between the other characters?

The Nanba brothers (and whoever else you might want to include with them) go on a road trip or camping or some other adventure. Hijinks ensue!

High Noon Over Camelot

Nominated characters: Gawain

Relationships I like: Gawain & Mordred, Gawain & Arthur, Gawain &/ The Green Knight (who is he in this setting?)

High Noon Over Camelot is the third full-length story album by The Mechanisms, a take on Arthurian legend as a space western set on a dying space station, and can be found on Bandcamp or Spotify, or wherever you get your music. I love the setting and atmosphere, with the rising oppressive heat amidst rust and decay, the effort to rebuild society ultimately failed by its ingrained violence and prejudice, the promise of hope dangled in front your face and cruelly snatched away. I love its take on one of my favourite things in Arthurian stories, which is Arthur/Camelot’s failure to live up to his/its own legend, even in its own time—like it was meant to be a golden age, but everyone was too flawed and human to make it so. Gawain in this setting is a late Gawain, a violent and angry one, but I’m really interested in how he got there, and what he was changed from. Who could he have been, if he did not hate the Saxons?

Prompts:

Gawain before he found the caravan dead. A bright, promising young warrior, what did Arthur see in him? How did he gain his role in Arthur’s posse? (Is he still Arthur’s nephew?) What did Arthur lose when Gawain came back, alone and hate-filled?

How did the story of the Green Knight play out in this setting? I wrote a drabble positing that the Green Knight was a holographic projection of a hydroponics AI assistant, so you can take that concept and run with it, or come up with something different!

Or you could write a HNOC version of some other Gawain stories, like the Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell, or whichever is your favourite. How does it manifest in this setting, with this version of Gawain? Or send him on a quest, any quest, through the wastes of the space station, exploring the worldbuilding and deepening his enmity with the Saxons.

Gawain and his beloved motorbike Gringolet. Gimme.

The last we see of Gawain is descending into savage joy during the gunfight. What happens to him afterwards? Does he ever come back to himself? Or maybe this is an ideal point for mechanisation to happen to him—I find it interesting that he’s played by Gunpowder Tim, famous for his own crazed bloody rampage of vengeance. Lean into those parallels, where do they take him?

What would it have taken to change Gawain’s mind about the Saxons? What if he’d listened to Merlin? What if he was kidnapped by them at one point, and spent time living with them like Mordred did? Or maybe Mordred makes a bet with him to see whether he could last a year living among them—could he learn to see them as human again?

HNOC is an album of filk—if you want to write more songs in the same setting (a la Pellinore and the Beast from Tales To Be Told), I would love that!

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Nominated characters: Any (Hideo Kuze, Motoko Kusanagi, Batou, Togusa)

Relationships I like: Hideo Kuze &/ Motoko Kusanagi, Batou &/ Motoko Kusanagi, Batou &/ Togusa (I like all of these as either platonic or romantic relationships)

Stand Alone Complex (and particularly 2nd Gig) is my favourite iteration of the Ghost in the Shell franchise - I love the convoluted mind-bending plots, examinations of collective human behaviour in the context of an ever more connected society, heroes grappling with being agents of a flawed and corrupt system and anti-villains with noble motives, and the deep, complicated closeness of many of the characters. Given Kuze’s on the list, I’d particularly love a 2nd Gig-based story, but don’t feel that you need to stay in that season if you have other ideas. I’m not as big a fan of SAC:2045 as I am the rest of it, but I’ve seen it and it’s in the continuity, so I’d be happy to receive something set in that part of the timeline too if you like.

Prompts:

Post-2nd Gig, the Major goes searching for Kuze in the net - did he succeed in going on ahead and uploading his consciousness? Did he maintain his individuality, or become something other than human?

A canon-divergent AU in which the Major encounters Kuze under different circumstances that sees them being able to work together to achieve justice for the refugees.

A look into Togusa’s family life outside of his Section 9 work. Does Batou ever interact with them? What is his partnership with his wife like compared to his partnership with Batou?

There’s something very unsettling about your very perceptions being vulnerable to hacking, and not being able to trust your own senses any more—the potential for losing track of reality, places that seem both less real and more real, like where the Major encountered her and Kuze’s old bodies. Would love something that leans into more of the potential for psychological horror in this setting.

The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures

Nominated characters: Any (Hermux Tantamoq, Linka Perflinger, Mirrin Stentrill, Tucka Mertslin)

Relationships I like: Hermux/Linka, Hermux & Mirrin, Mirrin/Birch, Tucka/increasingly inadvisable villainous love interests, Hermux & Tucka as best nemeses

The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures are a series of four children’s novels (beginning with Time Stops For No Mouse) featuring watchmaker turned amateur detective Hermux Tantamoq, an everymouse in the eccentric high society of Pinchester, solving mysteries and getting embroiled in adventures, trying to figure out how to confess his feelings for the dashing aviatrix and adventuress Linka Perflinger, and clumsily navigating the world of high fashion, scandalous art, and unscrupulous academia that he is surrounded in by his friends and neighbours. I love how vibrant and bizarre Pinchester life is, and the way the stories weave between the city and various escapades in jungles or ancient tombs or snooty seaside towns. If writing for Tucka, I think part of her charm is that she keeps getting away with the most heinous of things, and I would rather that she does not get any kind of comeuppance, but lives on to endlessly frustrate our protagonists in the future!

Prompts:

I’d love some case-fic with Hermux and friends solving a new mystery - maybe something related to the film industry. Old-timey Hollywood meets some kind of conspiracy and scandal (with Linka flying plane stunts!) Or at long last, Hermux gets the dream commission of giving the Choo-Choo Cheesery model trains a tune-up, only to find that they’ve been used to pass around hidden messages between members of a shady organisation.

Ya Boy Kongming!

Nominated characters: Zhuge Kongming

Relationships I like: Kongming & Eiko platonic devotion, Kongming &/ Kobayashi, Eiko/Nanami, Eiko and Kabe besties

Oh gosh, this anime came from nowhere and absolutely got its claws into me - currently 12 episodes and available on HIDIVE. I love the absolutely outlandish premise of legendary ancient Chinese military strategist reincarnated into the party life of modern-day Shibuya and becoming personal tactician to an aspiring singer... actually played in a heartwarmingly sincere fashion, with Eiko gaining self-confidence and a team of supporters, and Kongming getting to enjoy the life without war he always wished for while still putting his strategic mind to good use. I love that while Kongming is a fish out of temporal water, his smarts and experience mean that he adapts to modern day life well (if eccentrically to outside observers), and while there’s some lovely angst and grief over the past, he’s also very happy to throw himself heart and soul into the modern-day music industry and embraces this time period as his own. It’s wonderful and bizarre and I’m obsessed. I just want more of this guy, with whoever you like from the rest of the ensemble thrown in.

Prompts:

Kongming and Kobayashi’s super secret stratagem for helping Eiko and Nanami to date under Key Time’s nose.

While I’m not directly familiar with Three Kingdoms lore, having picked up most stuff via osmosis, if you want to incorporate flashbacks, parallels, other transmigrators, and other tidbits from it, please do! I’m falling down a bit of a Three Kingdoms hole at the moment and I’m always eager to learn more about it.

#yuletide #yuletide 2022 #yuletide letter

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