Yuletide 2020 Letter
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izayoi_no_mikoto
Hello, Yuletide author, and thank you for writing for me!
This letter has been cannibalized from previous exchange letters; feel free to take a gander at those if you want more insight into the sorts of things I like (the masterlist is here, organized by exchange and fandom).
The structure of this letter is as follows:
··Shipping and relationships
··General likes
··A note on AUs
··DNWs
··Opt-ins
··Fandom specifics
······Hanakisou
······Koori no Mamono no Monogatari | The Ice-Cold Demon's Tale
······Na mo Naki Tori no Tobu Yoake | Innocent Bird
······Silver Diamond
······Shirogane no Ou
······Shuuten Unknown
I hope you'll use this letter in the spirit it is intended: I don't want to be pushy or demanding, I just hope to give you some idea of the sorts of things I like and hopefully spark some inspiration. If it doesn't work for you, remember that optional details are optional. The prompts are ideas, not demands! Please feel free to take what works for you, discard the rest, and write something that you have fun with. The best fic is one that the author enjoyed writing!
I hope you have a good exchange, and again, thanks for writing for me!
SHIPPING AND RELATIONSHIPS
First off: I LOVE gen. I would be 110% happy to receive gen. I've listed my ships, but if, for whatever reason, shipfic is not working for you, please rest assured that I would be thrilled to receive gen of those same characters.
That said, if I mention a ship, I don't want to see any other ships involving those characters (either instead of or in addition to each other). I tend to OTP pretty hard, and unless stated otherwise, I'm not interested in seeing unrequested ships involving requested characters. In other words, if I request A/B, I'd rather not receive A/C, A→C, or A/B/C, etc. (If you want to include background ships involving non-requested characters, feel free to ask via the mods! I'm much more likely to be amenable to that.)
In addition, my ships do not have to be straightforward romance. For example, I absolutely LOVE one-sided relationships--unrequited pining is my jam. I also really like relationships that muddy the waters and toe the line between romantic and platonic. If you agonize over whether to tag it A/B or A&B, that is excellent, I eat that stuff up with a spoon.
Lastly, I'm not much interested in sexual content. I have zero problems with canon sexual content being referenced or discussed, but I usually skip over smut, and even when it's not explicit, I typically hold to a less-is-more policy. Fade to black? No worries, that's fine! Stops at kissing? Great! Just some hand-holding? Yessss excellent. Nothing but gazing meaningfully at each other from across the room? Hold me, I'm going weak at the knees.
GENERAL LIKES
As far as character relationships are concerned, I love super-intense relationships and all related topics and tropes. Show me just how dedicated to and invested in each other these people are--be the relationship romantic or platonic, healthy or otherwise--and I will be there with bells on. I particularly like:
··Loyalty above and beyond the call of duty
··Us against the world
··I would know you anywhere
··You are my most important person
··I would do terrible things for you
··I'll face any scandal for you
··I'm so in love with you I might be slightly crazy
··little things causing big feelings
More generally, I also like:
··Pining (mutual or unrequited, both are good!), especially when it's intense but unspoken
··Angst (I like tragic/downer endings just as much as happy ones!)
··Understated/low-key signs of affection
··Non-sexual physical intimacy (hugging, holding hands, bumping foreheads, leaning on each other, etc.)
··Sudden realization of feelings (one's own or someone else's)
··Reunions/coming home (to someone)
··Self-sacrifice (for someone else or for a greater cause)
··Eye trauma
··Between the scenes/missing scenes
··Outsider POV
··A somber, dark, or bittersweet tone
··Wordplay
A NOTE ON AUS
I generally prefer fics to be more or less canon-compliant (be it set pre-, during, or post-canon). However, I do very much like the following types of AUs and fusionfics for all fandoms:
··canon divergence/for want of a nail
··time loops and Peggy Sue (time travel back to an earlier point in life)
··Loveless AUs
··daemon/His Dark Materials AUs
··hanahaki
··soulmates (including--but certainly not limited to--soulmarks, red string of fate, etc.)
I do prefer these to remain--aside from the obvious AU aspect--within the context of the canon universe. For example, if canon is about a high school baseball team, I'm totally on board with characters suddenly having virgin kitty ears, or daemons, or soulmarks... but I prefer it if they're still high school students who play baseball.
For any and all of these AUs, please feel free to play it straight, add a new twist, or subvert it however you'd like--I love it all!
DNWs
I would rather not see any of the following:
··AUs/crossovers/fusions, including mundane, genderswap, ageswap, etc., EXCEPT those mentioned above
··Explicit sexual content
··Unrequested ships involving requested characters, including infidelity, threesomes/moresomes, and open or poly relationships
··Anything involving pregnancy, childbirth, or young children
··Non-canonical nicknames or pet names/terms of endearment
·· First-person POV (epistolary is OK)
··Crackfic
OPT-INS
I wholeheartedly welcome the following:
··Character death
··Bad/tragic/downer endings
··Horror
··Violence/gore
··References to/discussion of canon sexual content and canon prior relationships
··A requested character not technically appearing in the fic (they can be out of the room/missing/dead/whatever, as long as they're still important to the story in some way)
··Second-person POV
··Epistolary (broadly defined, any type of in-universe document--letters, emails, newspaper articles, social media, etc.)
FANDOMS
Prompts are just possible jumping-off points. If you've got another idea, absolutely go with it!
I've written different amounts for different fandoms and relationships, but please do not think that if I've written more, it must mean I want it more. If I've listed it here, it's because I really want to see it!
Hanakisou
Any (Kuroto, Hanashiro, Kurotaka, Shirofukurou)
My ships: Hanashiro/Kuroto, Kurotaka???Shirofukurou
I am also extremely happy with any gen combination whatsoever!
How do I love Hanakisou, let me count the ways. Angsty tragic worldbuilding with a gorgeous winter aesthetic, check. Angsty tragic endings of basically every stripe, check. Existential angst all over the place, check. Beautiful soundtrack, check. But mostly, I'm here for the characters and all their traumas and tragedies.
Things I like about the characters include: Kuroto being such a bleeding heart that he genuinely wants to save the awful, crapsack world that has doomed him. Hanashiro getting teary-eyed over Kuroto at the drop of the hat, but also being capable of stone-cold ruthlessness (and also being kind of a little punk sometimes). Kurotaka's irreverent, sometimes jokey demeanor over a sincere (but, on occasion, scary) core. Shirofukurou's honestly terrifying determination to do What Must Be Done for the garden, regardless of anyone else.
Things I like about the character relationships include: Kuroto and Hanashiro being simultaneously drawn together and pushed apart by the fact that they both care so much (and disagree) about what's most important and what is right. Kurotaka and Shirofukurou and their (seemingly? actually?) irreconcilable differences, but also being the only ones capable of really understanding each other. Kurotaka's protectiveness of Kuroto, but also his refusal to shield Kuroto from the truth of what his life means. Hanashiro and his love/hate relationship with Shirofukurou (because hating is easier than loving). Kurotaka teasing Hanashiro, Hanashiro kind of jealous of Kurotaka, both of them being prickly because they're not supposed to be on the same side but Kuroto.
Some prompts:
··pre-canon, Hanashiro and Kuroto spending time together like "let's just pretend this is normal and it isn't going to blow up in our faces someday, yep, no problem here"
··why is Kurotaka cool with Kuroto hanging out with the Savior? how many desks did Shirofukurou flip upon discovering where Hanashiro has been running off to?
··Kuroto can't possibly stay sane when he's stuck outside the garden for all eternity... can he? (SPOILER: NOPE)
··bb Hanashiro and bb Kuroto becoming friends (optional: before everything turns horrible)
··Kuroto and Hanashiro, "we got our happy ending, now what"
··time loop! Hanashiro loops because it's better than losing Kuroto. The birds go to war via time loops.
··where it goes (or doesn't go) from "hey there, beautiful, nice to meet you"; or, Kurotaka's life is divided into Before Shirofukurou and After Shirofukurou
··all those years when Kurotaka and Shirofukurou didn't see each other, but you know out of sight =/= out of mind
··there have to be times when Hanashiro & Kurotaka interact without Kuroto around
I have both played the game and read the manga, so feel free to use either one. For the game, I'm happy with any route, including bad ends. Or feel free to diverge from canon into new endings, if that's your bag! All other characters also welcome. Since canon + guidebook deliberately avoid addressing the question, I am fine with any treatment for Shirofukurou's gender.
Koori no Mamono no Monogatari | The Ice-Cold Demon's Tale
Any (Ishuca, Blood, Wild, Rapunzel, Sellghi)
My ships: Ishuca/Blood, Wild/Rapunzel
I would also be extremely happy with any gen combination whatsoever!
I first read this manga a loooong time ago, but I still love it just as much as I ever did. For me, it's all about the characters. I love the main four so, so much, all of them. I love how genuinely good Ishuca is--his strength of character, his ability to see and believe the best in anyone, how he's sometimes a bit of a clueless ditz but sees and understands the most important things and aspects of a person's character. I love Blood's determination to be the kind of person Ishuca believes he can be, his endearing lack of knowledge about human life, and how he's absolutely unwavering and unyielding and unapologetic about the depth of his feelings for Ishuca (even if he starts out embarrassed by it). I love how much they love each other, how they stick with each other through thick and thin, how protective they are of each other and how much they're willing to sacrifice for each other. Blood saying, "I'll live with you and I'll die with you," I love it, shoot me through the heart why don't you.
I love Wild's craftiness and cowardice, his book smarts and his rock-bottom emotional IQ, and how he's often scathing and snarky because it's easier than showing genuine emotion. I live for the fact that he's desperate to do right by Rapunzel while simultaneously being absolutely certain that he's utterly incapable of it. I love Rapunzel's wiliness, his soft appearance that belies a core of pure steel, and his occasionally scathing politeness. He seems docile, but give him enough reason and he can and absolutely will fight you on his own terms, and I super dig that. I love how desperately in love they are, how they're perfectly willing to lie and steal and cheat for each other, their communication fails and their deceptions of each other and themselves, and how they'll do anything--anything--to stay together.
Sellghi is an unexpected but very welcome addition to the tagset! I love his transformation from Blindly Bloviating Temple Adherent to someone who's willing to turn against the institution that basically was his entire life in order to fight for what he believes is right, even though doing so is 0% personal advantage and 100% personal risk. The way he overcomes having his entire worldview turned upside-down is admirable. You raised him well, Legal <3
Some prompts:
··post-canon travel adventures and/or Temple shenanigans
··Ishuca and Blood being sappy at each other
··Wild and Rapunzel being sappy at each other
··Ishuca and Rapunzel being fluffy smiley friends in the front, Blood and Wild being snide prickly friends in the back
··What did Kaerichi-era Blood think of Wild/Rapunzel, anyway?
··post-canon visit with Sellghi/Nachte et al./whoever
··all the Sellghi & Legal interactions, be it serious discussions of Temple morality or Legal being teasing and obnoxious gramps
··Ishuca: "Blood can I braid your hair one more time, just one more time plz"
··living with post-canon scars
I've read the entire manga (and gaiden), so go wild! Feel free to include any other characters you'd like (I'm also fond of Legal).
Na mo Naki Tori no Tobu Yoake | Innocent Bird
Any (Shirasagi, Karasu, Koumori)
My ships: Shirasagi/Karasu, Koumori/Jesus
Come for the pretty angel and demon wings, stay for the angst and heresy. What can I say, this manga appeals to my little heathen heart. "God is not actually God, Heaven is corrupt, and Jesus is a cockatoo," yes please. I love how differentcharacters present different angles on the concepts of religion and faith: Shirasagi's struggle to earn God's love, Karasu's increasingly existential doubt about the worth and goodness of God, Koumori's suffering and love being one and the same. I love how Shirasagi and Karasu find something holy in each other even when the world gives them ever more cause to doubt, and I love how Koumori, despite his love being the source of so much pain, finds something worth fighting for in the love Shirasagi and Karasu share, and that in the end, his love is not for nothing.
Some prompts:
··Shirasagi and Karasu building a simple, happy life together, going to church, doing good
··they meet Koumori post-canon!
··or they don't, but Koumori watches them from afar and is grateful, they got their happy ending, he has done something good
··backstory! The first time Shirasagi set foot inside a church, the first time Karasu heard someone doubting God and wondered what if, the first time Koumori saw a certain cockatoo and realized--
··Koumori suffering alone for centuries, it's enough to drive a man to madness
··Koumori having one-sided conversations with Jesus
··or general worldbuilding about the new Heaven? Shirasagi and Karasu got their happy ending, but what on earth/Heaven/Hell is going on with everyone else?!
I'm aware that Shirasagi and Karasu no doubt engage in all sorts of sweet, sweet lovemaking, I'm fine with that being a fact of their life, but please nothing explicit on the page. Similarly, I'm also aware that all sorts of sexybad things probably happened to Shirasagi in Hell, and I'm okay with it being mentioned/referenced, but please don't get too explicit and please don't make it the focus.
Silver Diamond
Sawa Rakan, Senrou Chigusa
My ships: Rakan/Chigusa
Silver Diamond is awesome. The art, the worldbuilding, the wordplay! But mostly the characters. So many awesome characters, but I love Rakan and Chigusa to bits and pieces. Rakan is so down-to-earth in a lot of ways (breakfast is the most important meal of the day!), but he's headstrong and occasionally reckless in a way that doesn't come out until it really, really does. I love his bravery--when he leaps in, he leaps in feet-first and with no hesitation. But he also cares so, so much. And I adore Chigusa to an unspeakable degree, from his original inability to human to his naïveté and cluelessness to the way he starts to care about Rakan and then, by extension, everything else. He alternately cracks me up and breaks my heart. And, of course, their relationship. The ends they'll go to for each other, the way they trust each other and fight for each other--they've basically agreed to spend the rest of their lives together, come on.
Some prompts:
··Chigusa learning HOW TO HUMAN and also HOW TO TECHNOLOGY
··Post-canon, Chigusa and Rakan go back to visit their friends
··Rakan's high school friends: "You say he's your cousin? Okay, uh-huh, yeah, sure, we'll go with that"
··"I held his heart in my hand" is not only literal
··there's no need for love confessions when you're TELEPATHICALLY CONNECTED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES
··they deserve a bit of quiet domesticity after all they've been through, and it might be nothing but making breakfast and hanging laundry but it is sweet and lovely and beautiful
··Chigusa's thousand years of suffering was worth it for this
··1k of nothing but Chigusa wooing Rakan with a completely straight face and Rakan being embarrassed but also secretly warmfuzzyfond
I've read the whole series and the gaiden, so go crazy. Feel free to include whatever other characters you'd like (I love Narushige (and Kou!) and Touji, too!).
Shirogane no Ou
Any (King Quatredina, Right-Eye, Lord Shirogane Fenrir)
My ships: King/Right-Eye
I love the main trio so, so much and I will take any and every combination of them. I love King's crass, arrogant exterior and his equally crass, arrogant but intensely caring interior (buried deep down), and how he doesn't act like a king "should" but still takes his position seriously in his own way. I love how Right-Eye started out being kind of brusque and not particularly polite to King, but the moment he becomes Right-Eye he's 150% gung-ho loyal and dedicated. I cannot get enough of their relationship--how they constantly try to protect each other from other people and also from themselves, how they'll do basically anything for each other, how they are unwavering and unyielding in their loyalty to each other, and also how utterly fail they are at communication.
I abso-freaking-lutely adore Shirogane, too. I love his ability to be snarky or silly one moment and dead serious the next--I especially like how he's willing to knock King down a peg and how he so very obviously has a soft spot for Right-Eye. I also like the contrast between "immensely destructive weapon capabilities, sole prerogative over who sits on the throne, holds all the real power in the country" and "a floppy wolf pelt who could be stolen away by apursepelt-snatcher at any given point in time."
I can totally get on board with King/Right-Eye, because I love how they're slashy as all get-out and I'm pretty convinced there's no one they care about more than each other. But I so utterly adore the perfection that is their canon relationship that I'm also 10000% happy with gen. (Tiptoeing the line between is also excellent.)
Some prompts:
··all the loyalty kink, all of it, seriously just give me them being loyal at each other for 1k words and I will be happy
··someone gets abducted, someone else mounts a roaring rampage of rescue
··I will take a zillion versions of "Zoe returns and reclaims his crown, now what" literally a zillion
··Shirogane's origin story, or monarchs he's chosen in the past
··King arguing with his aides and advisorsabout Right-Eye
··political shenanigans--a spy in the palace, a brewing coup, Zephil declares war?
··how did Right-Eye get from Zephil to Quatredina in the first place?
Shuuten Unknown
Yoruma, Sayatoki
My ships: Yoruma/Sayatoki
Yes, Sugiura Shiho has a line straight into my id. So sue me.
I love Yoruma's slick-talking ways and how his charisma and charm are basically a defensive shield against a world he doesn't trust. I love Sayatoki's angst and self-recrimination about his past and also how he absolutely has no idea how to deal with people in general. I love how they both have slightly twisted views of morality and people and the world (they're doing their best, okay). But mostly, I love the slow burn of their relationship from "I do not trust this guy, I need to use him and then get rid of him" to "I literally cannot imagine living the rest of my life without him." Oh, man. The way they're thrown into their us-against-the-world circumstances, the way they discover there's so much out there in the world than they ever really knew, the way they unwittingly and unwillingly find themselves starting to care about each other until, at the end, their entire world views have shifted. I kind of love the awkwardness of their relationship, how they have no idea how to communicate or interact with people or even really cope with the fact that there's someone they genuinely care about in a meaningful way. They never wanted to get stuck together, but they go through so much with each other (and for each other) that when it's all over, they've changed each other for good.
Some prompts:
··a moment between the scenes during their journey (they stop in a nearby town and stumble upon a flea market/a wedding/a [insert local specialty here] competition....)
··they find an inn to stay at for the night, but THERE IS ONLY ONE BED
··(speaking of beds) post-canon living together, they did get two beds, but they wind up falling asleep on the same bed half the time anyway, it just feels weird to sleep far apart now
··Yoruma still puts on his glasses on occasion, Sayatoki is sad
··Yoruma finally realizes that the Air Old Man voice in his head actually has a point
··they go out shopping or something stupidly domestic like that and don't realize how stupidly domestic they're being
··everyone realizes they're dating except for them. Actually everyone. Granny Medora et al. Their landlord. The butcher. The random person walking down the street. Everyone.
Hello, Yuletide author, and thank you for writing for me!
This letter has been cannibalized from previous exchange letters; feel free to take a gander at those if you want more insight into the sorts of things I like (the masterlist is here, organized by exchange and fandom).
The structure of this letter is as follows:
··Shipping and relationships
··General likes
··A note on AUs
··DNWs
··Opt-ins
··Fandom specifics
······Hanakisou
······Koori no Mamono no Monogatari | The Ice-Cold Demon's Tale
······Na mo Naki Tori no Tobu Yoake | Innocent Bird
······Silver Diamond
······Shirogane no Ou
······Shuuten Unknown
I hope you'll use this letter in the spirit it is intended: I don't want to be pushy or demanding, I just hope to give you some idea of the sorts of things I like and hopefully spark some inspiration. If it doesn't work for you, remember that optional details are optional. The prompts are ideas, not demands! Please feel free to take what works for you, discard the rest, and write something that you have fun with. The best fic is one that the author enjoyed writing!
I hope you have a good exchange, and again, thanks for writing for me!
SHIPPING AND RELATIONSHIPS
First off: I LOVE gen. I would be 110% happy to receive gen. I've listed my ships, but if, for whatever reason, shipfic is not working for you, please rest assured that I would be thrilled to receive gen of those same characters.
That said, if I mention a ship, I don't want to see any other ships involving those characters (either instead of or in addition to each other). I tend to OTP pretty hard, and unless stated otherwise, I'm not interested in seeing unrequested ships involving requested characters. In other words, if I request A/B, I'd rather not receive A/C, A→C, or A/B/C, etc. (If you want to include background ships involving non-requested characters, feel free to ask via the mods! I'm much more likely to be amenable to that.)
In addition, my ships do not have to be straightforward romance. For example, I absolutely LOVE one-sided relationships--unrequited pining is my jam. I also really like relationships that muddy the waters and toe the line between romantic and platonic. If you agonize over whether to tag it A/B or A&B, that is excellent, I eat that stuff up with a spoon.
Lastly, I'm not much interested in sexual content. I have zero problems with canon sexual content being referenced or discussed, but I usually skip over smut, and even when it's not explicit, I typically hold to a less-is-more policy. Fade to black? No worries, that's fine! Stops at kissing? Great! Just some hand-holding? Yessss excellent. Nothing but gazing meaningfully at each other from across the room? Hold me, I'm going weak at the knees.
GENERAL LIKES
As far as character relationships are concerned, I love super-intense relationships and all related topics and tropes. Show me just how dedicated to and invested in each other these people are--be the relationship romantic or platonic, healthy or otherwise--and I will be there with bells on. I particularly like:
··Loyalty above and beyond the call of duty
··Us against the world
··I would know you anywhere
··You are my most important person
··I would do terrible things for you
··I'll face any scandal for you
··I'm so in love with you I might be slightly crazy
··little things causing big feelings
More generally, I also like:
··Pining (mutual or unrequited, both are good!), especially when it's intense but unspoken
··Angst (I like tragic/downer endings just as much as happy ones!)
··Understated/low-key signs of affection
··Non-sexual physical intimacy (hugging, holding hands, bumping foreheads, leaning on each other, etc.)
··Sudden realization of feelings (one's own or someone else's)
··Reunions/coming home (to someone)
··Self-sacrifice (for someone else or for a greater cause)
··Eye trauma
··Between the scenes/missing scenes
··Outsider POV
··A somber, dark, or bittersweet tone
··Wordplay
A NOTE ON AUS
I generally prefer fics to be more or less canon-compliant (be it set pre-, during, or post-canon). However, I do very much like the following types of AUs and fusionfics for all fandoms:
··canon divergence/for want of a nail
··time loops and Peggy Sue (time travel back to an earlier point in life)
··Loveless AUs
··daemon/His Dark Materials AUs
··hanahaki
··soulmates (including--but certainly not limited to--soulmarks, red string of fate, etc.)
I do prefer these to remain--aside from the obvious AU aspect--within the context of the canon universe. For example, if canon is about a high school baseball team, I'm totally on board with characters suddenly having virgin kitty ears, or daemons, or soulmarks... but I prefer it if they're still high school students who play baseball.
For any and all of these AUs, please feel free to play it straight, add a new twist, or subvert it however you'd like--I love it all!
DNWs
I would rather not see any of the following:
··AUs/crossovers/fusions, including mundane, genderswap, ageswap, etc., EXCEPT those mentioned above
··Explicit sexual content
··Unrequested ships involving requested characters, including infidelity, threesomes/moresomes, and open or poly relationships
··Anything involving pregnancy, childbirth, or young children
··Non-canonical nicknames or pet names/terms of endearment
·· First-person POV (epistolary is OK)
··Crackfic
OPT-INS
I wholeheartedly welcome the following:
··Character death
··Bad/tragic/downer endings
··Horror
··Violence/gore
··References to/discussion of canon sexual content and canon prior relationships
··A requested character not technically appearing in the fic (they can be out of the room/missing/dead/whatever, as long as they're still important to the story in some way)
··Second-person POV
··Epistolary (broadly defined, any type of in-universe document--letters, emails, newspaper articles, social media, etc.)
FANDOMS
Prompts are just possible jumping-off points. If you've got another idea, absolutely go with it!
I've written different amounts for different fandoms and relationships, but please do not think that if I've written more, it must mean I want it more. If I've listed it here, it's because I really want to see it!
Hanakisou
Any (Kuroto, Hanashiro, Kurotaka, Shirofukurou)
My ships: Hanashiro/Kuroto, Kurotaka???Shirofukurou
I am also extremely happy with any gen combination whatsoever!
How do I love Hanakisou, let me count the ways. Angsty tragic worldbuilding with a gorgeous winter aesthetic, check. Angsty tragic endings of basically every stripe, check. Existential angst all over the place, check. Beautiful soundtrack, check. But mostly, I'm here for the characters and all their traumas and tragedies.
Things I like about the characters include: Kuroto being such a bleeding heart that he genuinely wants to save the awful, crapsack world that has doomed him. Hanashiro getting teary-eyed over Kuroto at the drop of the hat, but also being capable of stone-cold ruthlessness (and also being kind of a little punk sometimes). Kurotaka's irreverent, sometimes jokey demeanor over a sincere (but, on occasion, scary) core. Shirofukurou's honestly terrifying determination to do What Must Be Done for the garden, regardless of anyone else.
Things I like about the character relationships include: Kuroto and Hanashiro being simultaneously drawn together and pushed apart by the fact that they both care so much (and disagree) about what's most important and what is right. Kurotaka and Shirofukurou and their (seemingly? actually?) irreconcilable differences, but also being the only ones capable of really understanding each other. Kurotaka's protectiveness of Kuroto, but also his refusal to shield Kuroto from the truth of what his life means. Hanashiro and his love/hate relationship with Shirofukurou (because hating is easier than loving). Kurotaka teasing Hanashiro, Hanashiro kind of jealous of Kurotaka, both of them being prickly because they're not supposed to be on the same side but Kuroto.
Some prompts:
··pre-canon, Hanashiro and Kuroto spending time together like "let's just pretend this is normal and it isn't going to blow up in our faces someday, yep, no problem here"
··why is Kurotaka cool with Kuroto hanging out with the Savior? how many desks did Shirofukurou flip upon discovering where Hanashiro has been running off to?
··Kuroto can't possibly stay sane when he's stuck outside the garden for all eternity... can he? (SPOILER: NOPE)
··bb Hanashiro and bb Kuroto becoming friends (optional: before everything turns horrible)
··Kuroto and Hanashiro, "we got our happy ending, now what"
··time loop! Hanashiro loops because it's better than losing Kuroto. The birds go to war via time loops.
··where it goes (or doesn't go) from "hey there, beautiful, nice to meet you"; or, Kurotaka's life is divided into Before Shirofukurou and After Shirofukurou
··all those years when Kurotaka and Shirofukurou didn't see each other, but you know out of sight =/= out of mind
··there have to be times when Hanashiro & Kurotaka interact without Kuroto around
I have both played the game and read the manga, so feel free to use either one. For the game, I'm happy with any route, including bad ends. Or feel free to diverge from canon into new endings, if that's your bag! All other characters also welcome. Since canon + guidebook deliberately avoid addressing the question, I am fine with any treatment for Shirofukurou's gender.
Koori no Mamono no Monogatari | The Ice-Cold Demon's Tale
Any (Ishuca, Blood, Wild, Rapunzel, Sellghi)
My ships: Ishuca/Blood, Wild/Rapunzel
I would also be extremely happy with any gen combination whatsoever!
I first read this manga a loooong time ago, but I still love it just as much as I ever did. For me, it's all about the characters. I love the main four so, so much, all of them. I love how genuinely good Ishuca is--his strength of character, his ability to see and believe the best in anyone, how he's sometimes a bit of a clueless ditz but sees and understands the most important things and aspects of a person's character. I love Blood's determination to be the kind of person Ishuca believes he can be, his endearing lack of knowledge about human life, and how he's absolutely unwavering and unyielding and unapologetic about the depth of his feelings for Ishuca (even if he starts out embarrassed by it). I love how much they love each other, how they stick with each other through thick and thin, how protective they are of each other and how much they're willing to sacrifice for each other. Blood saying, "I'll live with you and I'll die with you," I love it, shoot me through the heart why don't you.
I love Wild's craftiness and cowardice, his book smarts and his rock-bottom emotional IQ, and how he's often scathing and snarky because it's easier than showing genuine emotion. I live for the fact that he's desperate to do right by Rapunzel while simultaneously being absolutely certain that he's utterly incapable of it. I love Rapunzel's wiliness, his soft appearance that belies a core of pure steel, and his occasionally scathing politeness. He seems docile, but give him enough reason and he can and absolutely will fight you on his own terms, and I super dig that. I love how desperately in love they are, how they're perfectly willing to lie and steal and cheat for each other, their communication fails and their deceptions of each other and themselves, and how they'll do anything--anything--to stay together.
Sellghi is an unexpected but very welcome addition to the tagset! I love his transformation from Blindly Bloviating Temple Adherent to someone who's willing to turn against the institution that basically was his entire life in order to fight for what he believes is right, even though doing so is 0% personal advantage and 100% personal risk. The way he overcomes having his entire worldview turned upside-down is admirable. You raised him well, Legal <3
Some prompts:
··post-canon travel adventures and/or Temple shenanigans
··Ishuca and Blood being sappy at each other
··Wild and Rapunzel being sappy at each other
··Ishuca and Rapunzel being fluffy smiley friends in the front, Blood and Wild being snide prickly friends in the back
··What did Kaerichi-era Blood think of Wild/Rapunzel, anyway?
··post-canon visit with Sellghi/Nachte et al./whoever
··all the Sellghi & Legal interactions, be it serious discussions of Temple morality or Legal being teasing and obnoxious gramps
··Ishuca: "Blood can I braid your hair one more time, just one more time plz"
··living with post-canon scars
I've read the entire manga (and gaiden), so go wild! Feel free to include any other characters you'd like (I'm also fond of Legal).
Na mo Naki Tori no Tobu Yoake | Innocent Bird
Any (Shirasagi, Karasu, Koumori)
My ships: Shirasagi/Karasu, Koumori/Jesus
Come for the pretty angel and demon wings, stay for the angst and heresy. What can I say, this manga appeals to my little heathen heart. "God is not actually God, Heaven is corrupt, and Jesus is a cockatoo," yes please. I love how differentcharacters present different angles on the concepts of religion and faith: Shirasagi's struggle to earn God's love, Karasu's increasingly existential doubt about the worth and goodness of God, Koumori's suffering and love being one and the same. I love how Shirasagi and Karasu find something holy in each other even when the world gives them ever more cause to doubt, and I love how Koumori, despite his love being the source of so much pain, finds something worth fighting for in the love Shirasagi and Karasu share, and that in the end, his love is not for nothing.
Some prompts:
··Shirasagi and Karasu building a simple, happy life together, going to church, doing good
··they meet Koumori post-canon!
··or they don't, but Koumori watches them from afar and is grateful, they got their happy ending, he has done something good
··backstory! The first time Shirasagi set foot inside a church, the first time Karasu heard someone doubting God and wondered what if, the first time Koumori saw a certain cockatoo and realized--
··Koumori suffering alone for centuries, it's enough to drive a man to madness
··Koumori having one-sided conversations with Jesus
··or general worldbuilding about the new Heaven? Shirasagi and Karasu got their happy ending, but what on earth/Heaven/Hell is going on with everyone else?!
I'm aware that Shirasagi and Karasu no doubt engage in all sorts of sweet, sweet lovemaking, I'm fine with that being a fact of their life, but please nothing explicit on the page. Similarly, I'm also aware that all sorts of sexybad things probably happened to Shirasagi in Hell, and I'm okay with it being mentioned/referenced, but please don't get too explicit and please don't make it the focus.
Silver Diamond
Sawa Rakan, Senrou Chigusa
My ships: Rakan/Chigusa
Silver Diamond is awesome. The art, the worldbuilding, the wordplay! But mostly the characters. So many awesome characters, but I love Rakan and Chigusa to bits and pieces. Rakan is so down-to-earth in a lot of ways (breakfast is the most important meal of the day!), but he's headstrong and occasionally reckless in a way that doesn't come out until it really, really does. I love his bravery--when he leaps in, he leaps in feet-first and with no hesitation. But he also cares so, so much. And I adore Chigusa to an unspeakable degree, from his original inability to human to his naïveté and cluelessness to the way he starts to care about Rakan and then, by extension, everything else. He alternately cracks me up and breaks my heart. And, of course, their relationship. The ends they'll go to for each other, the way they trust each other and fight for each other--they've basically agreed to spend the rest of their lives together, come on.
Some prompts:
··Chigusa learning HOW TO HUMAN and also HOW TO TECHNOLOGY
··Post-canon, Chigusa and Rakan go back to visit their friends
··Rakan's high school friends: "You say he's your cousin? Okay, uh-huh, yeah, sure, we'll go with that"
··"I held his heart in my hand" is not only literal
··there's no need for love confessions when you're TELEPATHICALLY CONNECTED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES
··they deserve a bit of quiet domesticity after all they've been through, and it might be nothing but making breakfast and hanging laundry but it is sweet and lovely and beautiful
··Chigusa's thousand years of suffering was worth it for this
··1k of nothing but Chigusa wooing Rakan with a completely straight face and Rakan being embarrassed but also secretly warmfuzzyfond
I've read the whole series and the gaiden, so go crazy. Feel free to include whatever other characters you'd like (I love Narushige (and Kou!) and Touji, too!).
Shirogane no Ou
Any (King Quatredina, Right-Eye, Lord Shirogane Fenrir)
My ships: King/Right-Eye
I love the main trio so, so much and I will take any and every combination of them. I love King's crass, arrogant exterior and his equally crass, arrogant but intensely caring interior (buried deep down), and how he doesn't act like a king "should" but still takes his position seriously in his own way. I love how Right-Eye started out being kind of brusque and not particularly polite to King, but the moment he becomes Right-Eye he's 150% gung-ho loyal and dedicated. I cannot get enough of their relationship--how they constantly try to protect each other from other people and also from themselves, how they'll do basically anything for each other, how they are unwavering and unyielding in their loyalty to each other, and also how utterly fail they are at communication.
I abso-freaking-lutely adore Shirogane, too. I love his ability to be snarky or silly one moment and dead serious the next--I especially like how he's willing to knock King down a peg and how he so very obviously has a soft spot for Right-Eye. I also like the contrast between "immensely destructive weapon capabilities, sole prerogative over who sits on the throne, holds all the real power in the country" and "a floppy wolf pelt who could be stolen away by a
I can totally get on board with King/Right-Eye, because I love how they're slashy as all get-out and I'm pretty convinced there's no one they care about more than each other. But I so utterly adore the perfection that is their canon relationship that I'm also 10000% happy with gen. (Tiptoeing the line between is also excellent.)
Some prompts:
··all the loyalty kink, all of it, seriously just give me them being loyal at each other for 1k words and I will be happy
··someone gets abducted, someone else mounts a roaring rampage of rescue
··I will take a zillion versions of "Zoe returns and reclaims his crown, now what" literally a zillion
··Shirogane's origin story, or monarchs he's chosen in the past
··King arguing with his aides and advisors
··political shenanigans--a spy in the palace, a brewing coup, Zephil declares war?
··how did Right-Eye get from Zephil to Quatredina in the first place?
Shuuten Unknown
Yoruma, Sayatoki
My ships: Yoruma/Sayatoki
Yes, Sugiura Shiho has a line straight into my id. So sue me.
I love Yoruma's slick-talking ways and how his charisma and charm are basically a defensive shield against a world he doesn't trust. I love Sayatoki's angst and self-recrimination about his past and also how he absolutely has no idea how to deal with people in general. I love how they both have slightly twisted views of morality and people and the world (they're doing their best, okay). But mostly, I love the slow burn of their relationship from "I do not trust this guy, I need to use him and then get rid of him" to "I literally cannot imagine living the rest of my life without him." Oh, man. The way they're thrown into their us-against-the-world circumstances, the way they discover there's so much out there in the world than they ever really knew, the way they unwittingly and unwillingly find themselves starting to care about each other until, at the end, their entire world views have shifted. I kind of love the awkwardness of their relationship, how they have no idea how to communicate or interact with people or even really cope with the fact that there's someone they genuinely care about in a meaningful way. They never wanted to get stuck together, but they go through so much with each other (and for each other) that when it's all over, they've changed each other for good.
Some prompts:
··a moment between the scenes during their journey (they stop in a nearby town and stumble upon a flea market/a wedding/a [insert local specialty here] competition....)
··they find an inn to stay at for the night, but THERE IS ONLY ONE BED
··(speaking of beds) post-canon living together, they did get two beds, but they wind up falling asleep on the same bed half the time anyway, it just feels weird to sleep far apart now
··Yoruma still puts on his glasses on occasion, Sayatoki is sad
··Yoruma finally realizes that the Air Old Man voice in his head actually has a point
··they go out shopping or something stupidly domestic like that and don't realize how stupidly domestic they're being
··everyone realizes they're dating except for them. Actually everyone. Granny Medora et al. Their landlord. The butcher. The random person walking down the street. Everyone.
