Rare Pairs Exchange 2019

[izayoi_no_mikoto]

AO3: izayoi_no_mikoto
Tumblr: izayoi_no_mikoto

Hello, Rare Pairs 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 (here) if you want more insight into the sorts of thing I like.

The structure of this letter is as follows:
··Shipping and relationships
··General likes
··A note on AUs
··DNWs
··Opt-ins
··Fandom specifics
······Kill la Kill
······Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-
······Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
······Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

I hope you'll use this letter in the spirit it is intended: I don't want to be pushy or demanding, I just want 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'd be 100% happy to receive gen. If, for whatever reason, you don't want to write shipfic, I would be thrilled to receive gen of the same characters, even if I have not requested the gen version.

As for the ships I have requested, I don't mind in the slightest if you write them gen, but please don't ship those characters with someone else, either in addition to or instead of each other. I tend to OTP pretty hard, and I'm not interested in seeing unrequested ships involving requested characters. (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.)

I'll also note that my ships do not have to be straightforward romance. For example, I absolutely LOVE one-sided relationships--unrequited pining is my jam. I'll mention specifically if I especially like A→B (but really, just assume I like it). I also really like relationships that muddy the waters and toe the line between romantic and platonic. If you agonize about 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 usually skip over smut, and even when it's not explicit, I typically hold to a less-is-more policy. Fade to black? 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

When it comes to fic, these are a few of my favorite things:

··Intense relationships, as well as all related topics and tropes. "You are my most important person," codependency, us against the world, self-sacrifice, obsession, "I would do terrible things for you," found families, all of it. 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.
··Loyalty, especially mutual loyalty
··Angst (I like tragic/downer endings just as much as happy ones!)
··Pining (mutual or unrequited), especially when it's intense but unspoken
··I'm so desperately in love with you I might be slightly crazy
··Reunions
··Coming home (to someone)
··I would know you anywhere
··I'll face any scandal for you
··Between the scenes/missing scenes
··Outsider POV
··Understated/low-key signs of affection
··Non-sexual physicality (hugging, holding hands, bumping foreheads, leaning on each other, etc.)
··Friends to lovers
··Sudden realization of feelings (one's own or someone else's)
··A somber, dark, or bittersweet tone


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:

··Loveless!AUs
··daemon!AUs
··canon divergence/for want of a nail
··time loops/Peggy Sue
··hanahaki
··soulmates/soulbonds (including soulmarks, red string of fate, etc.)

However, please note that I 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 do hope they're still high school students playing baseball.

As a side note: For all of these AUs, please feel free to play them straight, add a new twist, or subvert them however you'd like. I love all of it.


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/pet names/terms of endearment
·· First-person POV (epistolary is OK)
··Crackfic
··DNW for Kill la Kill: Human!Senketsu
··DNW for Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: a focus on Crow (brief mentions are OK)


OPT-INS

Assuming it's appropriate to the story being told, I wholeheartedly welcome the following:

··Character death
··Bad/tragic/downer endings
··Horror
··Violence, gore, adult themes, etc.
··References to/discussion of canon sexual content
··A requested character not technically appearing in the fic (as long as they're still important to the story)
··Second-person POV
··Epistolary fic (letters, texting, newspaper articles, social media, etc.)


FANDOMS

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!

Please note that all requests are for fic.


Kill la Kill
Matoi Ryuuko/Mankanshoku Mako
Matoi Ryuuko/Senketsu

I have to admit, when I first started this anime, I did not think I would enjoy it as much as I did.  But Ryuuko won me over immediately.  She smiles like she's baring her teeth, she's tough as nails, she's a hot-headed punk, and she's also a total sweetheart somewhere deep, deep down underneath it all.  I love the way she never backs down and won't take BS from anyone, and she's that way because she genuinely cares.  Mako is kind of an airhead--okay, totally an airhead--but I love her dedication and goodness, and also how she is completely and utterly unfazed by anything.  She just keeps on being her loyal, kooky self, and that makes her the best friend Ryuuko could ask for.  And Senketsu?  I adore Senketsu.  Mostly, I love how deeply he cares for Ryuuko.  His earnestness just kills me. They found each other when they needed each other most, and I adore that about them.

For Ryuuko/Senketsu, I'd love to read anything that goes into the depth of their affection for and dedication to each other.  Senketsu's joy at the first time Ryuuko decides to wear him just because?  Ryuuko taking some time to iron him just because he likes it?  Or, for something more serious, planning battle tactics together (there's no one else they'd rather go to war with, no one they trust more with their lives), or either (or both!) of them being totally torn up about their temporary separation.  I'd also be perfectly happy to see post-canon fic, with Ryuuko mourning and gradually learing to move on but still being a little bit heartbroken whenever she thinks of him.  For Ryuuko/Mako, I'd love to see them post-canon--do they ever go on that date?  Clothes shopping together!  Mako would definitely have forceful, slightly bizarre opinions on clothes.  Alternatively, canon-era best buds who develop into something more somewhere amidst all the craziness.  Is Mako completely oblivious about her feelings, or does she just up and say it because she's a straight shooter who sees no reason to hide anything?  Or maybe they're just hanging out at Mako's place and Ryuuko wonders if this is what it means to have a friend (spoiler: nope, this is what it means to be in love).  Appearances by the rest of the Mankanshoku clan also welcome.

While I enjoy both of these ships, I like them as completely separate ships with zero overlap; I'm not interested in seeing a love triangle of any sort, or in Mako/Ryuuko/Senketsu.  However, I'm quite happy to have both of them in the same fic as long as they don't overlap, i.e. Senketsu during canon and Mako post-canon (I mean, Mako would be okay with Ryuuko marking the anniversary of Senketsu's death, because she understands how important Senketsu was).  Please also note that I'm not interested in seeing Senketsu as anything but an alien school uniform.  He might have some human DNA somewhere in there, but please don't make him actually human!


Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-
Konoe/Asato
Konoe/Rai

Lamento is probably my favorite visual novel. I love the worldbuilding, I love the soundtrack, and I love the characters. I think Konoe is a pretty fantastic protagonist. I love how he goes from a scared country boy fleeing for his life to someone who can face down some pretty horrific things and, oh yeah, basically save the world. I love how he can be gritty and determined to press on, even when afraid or feels cornered.  Asato is probably my favorite character of the lot; he's a supremely awkward but genuinely good-hearted guy, with a naïveté that's simultaneously kind of charming and kind of sad, and I love how fond and protective he is of Konoe. And Rai, I like how he's no-nonsense and serious and kind of seriously damaged, and I like how his icy personality doesn't stop him from being honest and principled, or from having a core of pure fire. Mostly, I love how all of them are lonely cats who have been given a terrible lot in life and are just doing their best to get by when they happen to fall in together and find something bigger to fight for.

I'd love to see a snippet of their post-canon lives, something beyond the epilogue.  Maybe something brings Konoe back to (what's left of) Karou?  Or perhaps a quiet moment in the inn, or Konoe honing his abilities as a Sanga.  For both Asato and Rai, I love angst about their pasts and fear that they might one day hurt Konoe.  I love that Asato and Rai each has his own way of showing affection for Konoe, so I'd love to see more of that--Asato bringing him flowers (omg hanahaki plzkthnx), Rai acting gruff and aloof until Konoe's in danger?  I also like Kaltz, if you'd like to include him in a Konoe/Asato fic.  I'm also really into the shaman cat, so I'd also love to see his POV on Konoe's journey, or for him to reappear with mysterious prophecies in a post-canon adventure. Whatever you write, I'd love to see little mentions about their more catlike qualities!

I ship both Konoe/Rai and Konoe/Asato, and I'd be equally happy to receive either.  However, I like them as completely separate ships with zero overlap; I'm not interested in seeing a love triangle of any sort, or in Rai/Konoe/Asato. Feel free to use either the visual novel or the manga, and if you go with the visual novel, I'm okay with all routes, including bad ends.


Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Bruno/Fudou Yuusei

I'm a sucker for characters who are instantly great friends, so I was charmed by Bruno and Yuusei's relationship from the very beginning. I love that Yuusei and the gang basically take Bruno in and accept him as one of their own, and that Bruno slides into Team 5D's so seamlessly. I love that even after the Antimony reveal, Yuusei refuses to believe that their friendship was a lie; I love that his faith was rewarded in Bruno's final moments. And that tragic ending hurts soooo good.

Relationship-wise, I'd be super happy to see any variation--one-sided from either side, mutual pining that doesn't go anywhere, a full-on romantic relationship, anything.  I'm game for any time period, from amnesiac Bruno era to post-canon mourning on Yuusei's part.  Speaking of which, I love the tragedy of their relationship, so I'm not interested in fix-it fic where Bruno survives.  That said, I would be interested in seeing angst about what could have been, in another world/another lifetime, but wasn't.  Did I mention pining, I will take all the pining for them.  I am kind of desperate for a time loop fic of these two, with either (or both?) of them looping to try to save each other, only to discover that no matter how many times they loop, there is no happy ending.  If you'd rather not go all gloom and doom, I'd also love to see them sharing a moment together before it all goes wrong.  Just little moments that are precious in retrospect--laughing over a meal, working together in the garage, whatever.

Please note that I like Crow best in small doses. I don't mind him appearing along with the rest of Team 5D's, but please don't make him the focus of the fic.


Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Yuuki Juudai/Johan Andersen

Juudai is quite possibly my favorite shounen protagonist of all time. I love his optimistic, genki, hot-blooded gung-ho attitude at the beginning of the series; I love his descent into darkness; I love the character growth and development he exhibits and how, by the end of the series, he's matured and been jaded and lost some of his blind idealism, but is ultimately still a good person who still believes in goodness. I also adore Johan, for a lot of the same reasons that I love Juudai. He's positive, bright, brave, determined and true. And I love how he and Juudai are kindred spirits--they hit it off from the first moment they meet, like they were destined to become friends.

I ship them like whoa, but ultimately, what I really love about them is how they're friends who go above and beyond the call of duty for each other. I love that Juudai and Johan put themselves on the line for each other, that their faith in each other is unshakeable, and how they went through terrible things with each other, and for each other. How could you not fall in love, at least a little bit?  So really, I'd love to see anything focusing on that.  The two of them hanging out, just having a casual duel.  Their first reunion post-canon, after Juudai starts roaming the earth. Or what it's like when they first meet each other and realize that hey, there's someone else who understands them. Or what it's like to maintain a long-distance friendship or relationship.  Alternatively, pining while in a long-distance friendship.  Or pining at any point, really.

Feel free to include whatever other characters you'd like (especially Winged Kuriboh and the Gem Beasts!). If push comes to shove, I would rather see Yubel acknowledged than ignored. Please note that I watched the anime in the original Japanese, and so I'd prefer to see fic about Juudai and Johan, not Jaden and Jesse.