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Dear Yuletide Writer Letter 2024
Hey! Back for Yuletide yet again after a year off. I'm ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
Marks on AO3, nonnegative on bsky and tumblr, and nonnonnegative on twitter, if you want to find me anywhere. I hope you have fun writing for me.
All ratings are good. More than fine with explicit content. Treats are welcome and I have gifts enabled on AO3!
DNW: the traffic light system, non-canonical nicknames (terms of endearment like "baby" are fine), explicit works featuring characters younger than 16, hopeless endings, pregnancy, lactation, gore, major character death
Likes: canon-divergent AUs, dystopian AUs, reincarnation AUs, loyal knight and their liege AUs, holiday themes, mutual pining, confessions, praise, vulnerability, descriptions of kissing, loyalty to the point of it being a detriment, hurt/comfort, smoking, alcohol and drug use, road trips, motorcycles, shaving, haircuts, memory issues ranging anywhere from amnesia to that thing where a person had minor surgery and realizes their long-term partner is hot as they're coming out of it.
Explicit likes: sex pollen, aliens/captors/other outside forces made them do it, sloppy makeout sessions with fully or partially clothed frotting, rimming, barebacking, praise kink, grumpy characters getting railed, touch-starved characters getting touched and losing their minds over it, oral fixations, sexting, phone sex, sex over zoom/facetime or whatever, arranged marriages that have to be consummated immediately
Sasaki to Miyano
Miyano Yoshikazu, Sasaki Shuumei
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags.
Sasaki and Miyano are my two favorite weirdos in love. I love that their slow burn actually led to something canonical, and I love how careful Miyano was as he considered Sasaki's confession, even though making him wait six months for an answer almost killed me. I nominated and requested the manga because I'm all caught up with everything, but if you're anime-only or haven't read the last couple of manga volumes, I don't mind you branching off from another point. I love canon-divergence anyway. I'm very much into the ship, though if you want to write something non-romance focused like Miyano getting used to his first weeks at university, that would be great!
Prompts:
- Sasaki and Miyano moving in together either once Miyano is in university or afterward. That's a pretty big step for people so young, even if it's a logical one. How do they navigate that?
- In volume 10, there's a whole canon-divergent extra where Sasaki doesn't seek Miyano out after Kuresawa gets beaten up, but later, as adults, they wind up being introduced and sharing an apartment due to circumstances. I would love more of this AU, especially since the extra stops short of them getting together. If you haven't read it, any AU where they meet later, become roommates, and get together would be so, so appreciated.
- At Sasaki's class's graduation, Hanzawa was already planning a reunion for the following March. I'd love to know how that goes. Are significant others invited so Miyano can see how the class ahead of him is doing, or does Sasaki come find him afterward to decompress and kiss? I'd love future fic that's just a little leap forward.
- Speaking of future fic, anything that takes a big leap forward in time. Them taking an international trip together. Them having a major disagreement that leads to them taking a break— or breaking up completely, only to get back together later. Them getting married! Them at 50 with Sasaki still in love, even if Miyano looks different from way back when they first met.
- Their first time getting off together. It's definitely more of a when than an if for them, so how does it go? I wouldn't mind something a little awkward and not perfect that makes them both feel unsure, and how they work through that afterward. A round two that's more relaxed could also be good.
- Miyano getting over his whole 'not a uke' thing because he trusts Sasaki so much and he's worked though his internalized whatever. YMMV, but to me, whenever he says that it always comes off more as him not wanting other people to think something expected of him, rather than just a personal hard preference. Miyano really seems to hate being predictable. I also think that conversation would be sweet and funny, and the aftermath adorable. Also, his boyfriend is big and strong and cute and would take great care of him, and Miyano seems pretty into that.
Kaiju No. 8
Furuhashi Iharu, Hibino Kafka, Hoshina Soushirou, Ichikawa Reno
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form.
I'm all caught up with the manga, so no worries about spoilers. I'm fine with including all four characters I've requested in one fic, but I'm also fine with the following two-person groupings without the other requested characters appearing: Kafka/Hoshina, Kafka/Reno, Iharu/Reno. Those are also the romantic ships I'm most interested in, if you're doing something incorporating all the characters. I'm also fine with Kafka/Hoshina and Kafka/Reno and/or Kafka/Reno and Iharu/Reno showing up in the same fic, though I would prefer no poly ending. In other words, something like one pairing being exes or FWB and the other being endgame is good, but I don't want a threesome.
Kaiju No. 8 has become one of my favorite series running, which I really wouldn't have predicted when I started it, but the character-driven bits mixed with the big monster fights have been both effective and lots of fun. I'd love nearly anything set in the canon universe, including an AU that shifts the characters to the past, either in a time-travel thing or something where they're just from that time, because the revelation that the world's been fighting kaiju for hundreds of years was just so cool!
Prompts:
- A slice of life missing scene from back when the recruits were all still at third division with Hoshina. There was a little of that in the series, but in general I feel like they didn't spend enough time there.
- Future fic where they're all more established than they are now. Maybe Hoshina is the head of his own division! Also, I wouldn't mind Iharu getting a kaiju suit to match his weird explosive time-limited growth thing, especially since the other three all have kaiju-related things now.
- For Kafka/Hoshina, I would like them having a knock-down drag-out fight, mostly because Hoshina wants one badly and Kafka respects Hoshina so much that he would 100% agree. Something where they're more evenly matched, even if Kafka isn't a kaiju at the time. Or maybe something where Kafka is transformed, but Hoshina's in the #10 suit. That would be cool. #10 providing running commentary would also be great. I certainly wouldn't complain if that turned into something romantic or sexy or both. Or another idea might be something with Kafka interacting with Hoshina's estranged family, since that whole can of worms seems ripe for opening.
- For Kafka/Reno, they're such great partners! Reno has worked so hard to be useful to Kafka, so I'd love something where Kafka emphasizes how much that's been true all along. I also wouldn't mind having their age and size gaps stressed because, well, I'm into both of those. Reno also seems to have some family issues to work through, though more of the 'almost everyone I've ever loved is dead' kind; maybe he can introduce Kafka to his grandmother and she can be happy that someone is looking out for him.
- Iharu/Reno sort of snuck up on me, but I'm really a sucker for that "one character feels inferior to another character, but turns out the other one really relies on them" thing, so they definitely got their hooks into me. I feel like they'd be a fun pairing for one of those sneaking around and trying not to get caught hooking up fics. Or I definitely could go for just good old-fashioned get-together. Iharu is one of those loud, flashy guys, but he's got such an undercurrent of insecurity. I bet he'd be pretty shy if he had a crush and got embarrassed if Reno earnestly told him how much he means to him.
- Listen, Kafka is slowly turning into a kaiju full-time. We know this. First, his name is Kafka. Second, part of his hand already won't change back. And maybe the series will find a way to reverse that, but maybe it won't. And maybe that means I'm suggesting either Kafka/Hoshina or Kafka/Reno monsterfucking would be a great idea for a Yuletide fic. That's up to you.
Saiyuki Gaiden
Kenren Taishou, Tenpou Gensui
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags.
The overall Saiyuki story is a forever fandom for me, which means I sometimes think about Tenpou and Kenren's last moments at completely random times and then I'm useless for a day. You can give me anything. I very much ship them and think they're basically canon-confirmed, so I'd love a romantic story, but something where they've gone into battle together, the aftermath of a fight, or just quiet moments where they're hanging out with Konzen and Goku would be wonderful.
Prompts:
- A little more of Kenren getting mad at Tenpou doing everything himself and putting himself in danger. I love that bit in the series and wouldn't mind seeing Kenren doing more pampering, even though he does so much of that already.
- Tenpou and Kenren have been on the reincarnation wheel for a long time now, as we know. What I'd love is a turn where they've reincarnated with all of their memories of heaven intact. Are they born that way, do they find each other easily, what happens once they find each other? Are they afraid of what happens after this life is over, or are they happy to have found each other again, even for a brief mortal life?
- I'd love an alcohol-soaked hookup. Maybe even their very first hookup! Maybe this is an exploration of the morning after! I can see Kenren freaking out over this, or maybe he's the calm one and Tenpou is freaking out over sleeping with a subordinate. This could be sexy fun or sort of angsty! The possibilities are endless.
- Canon-divergence where they meet in heaven in another way. Maybe Kenren seduced the wife of one of Tenpou's subordinates. Maybe the eastern and western armies clash over a miscommunication about who's supposed to be fighting somewhere, and Tenpou notices an eastern army soldier who's setting himself apart from the rest, even if he's not exactly following orders. Hell, maybe they ran into each other randomly in the halls of heaven and Kenren had a panicked, "Oh no, he's hot" moment, even though he didn't think he was into guys before.
- Something that shows Kenren and Tenpou's relationship from the point-of-view of one of the Ants. I know there's an extra in both the manga and anime that shows this, but I'm more thinking about something where the third-party is noticing how romantic their Field Marshal and General are together. There are a lot of fun personalities in the Western Army. I'd also enjoy this from Konzen's POV!
- Minekura (Saiyuki Gaiden's mangaka) has a fairly extensive AU where all of the characters in her series live and work in a bathhouse together. Kenren's family owns the house and Tenpou is a boarder and a writer. Kenren is also a photographer off on adventures all the time, but most importantly, he and Tenpou are "best friends." If you're familiar with it, I'd love something set in this universe. I know this one's a wild request, but there's almost no fic set in this AU and I'm starving! Tenpou tagging along for writing ideas, or Kenren coming home for good and trying to reconnect with his family and actually settle down would both make for amazing stories.
Wind Breaker - Nii Satoru
Nirei Akihiko, Suo Hayato, Togame Jo, Tomiyama Choji
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form.
I'm all caught up to current with the manga and I read it as it releases, so don't worry about spoilers, even for developments that happen after assignments are out. If you want to figure out a way to have all four of these characters requested in one fic, that sounds like a ton of fun, but I'm also fine with only including either Nirei/Suo or Togame/Choji. I also ship both of these, so go for it if you want to write something romantic for either of these.
Wind Breaker is such a fun series and, yes, I do adore Sakura, as does every character in the series, but for Yuletide, I wanted something that focuses on other aspects. I love everything about the series— the fighting, the camaraderie, the absolutely no focus on anything logical. No teachers in a school? Who cares? Most other authority figures missing-in-action? Who cares? Anyone unrelated to gang wars not showing up during brawls involving dozens or even hundreds of teenagers? WHO CARES! It's extremely refreshing.
Prompts:
- Something where everyone runs into each other somewhere, like the movies or at a restaurant. Maybe they have to team up to fight one of the apparently thousands of roaming street gangs to protect wherever they are.
- An AU where the two Shishitoren guys go to Furin instead. Choji and Jo are both older than Nirei and Suo, so maybe it would be a mentor thing?
- I love, love, love Nirei and Suo's dynamic. I'm always a sucker for seeing the two guys who back up the leader fall in love, and the canon thing where Suo's teaching Nirei how to fight properly makes me swoon. I'd love a training session between them that turns romantic or sexy, and then the aftermath of that. Does Nirei freak out, or does his logical side win out, but Suo freaks out instead? Also, something that gives Suo an actual backstory would be appreciated.
- Future Nirei and Suo where they meet up for the first time after a long time. This can just be a fun friend reunion, or it can be angsty exes who still have feelings for each other, or it can be the start of a relationship where one or both of them experience "oh no he's hot" feelings for the first time. I get the feeling that Nirei will be such a confident and sweet adult, and it would be fun to see Suo disarmed by that.
- For Choji and Tojima, I'm dying to see the immediate aftermath of their fight with Furin. What can I say? If you show me one guy gently petting the other's face, while apologizing for making him look so sad, I'm going to want some follow-up. Whatever feelings are between them, there certainly are a lot of them.
- Jo/Choji AU where instead of pummeling people with fists, they play sports! I don't care what sport, it just would be fun to see their emotional constipation applied to something like track and field. I'd also be down for future fic for them. Based on how Choji was in that last manga fight where Shishitoren came to Furin's rescue, he's going to be even more of a dynamo in five years. Togame, too, for that matter. They're both so great when they're happy.
Bang Brave Bang Bravern (Anime)
Ao Isami, Bravern, Lewis Smith
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form.
For anyone scrolling by, major spoilers for the series here! Bravern absolutely rewrote my brain when it aired earlier this year. It gave me everything I've always wanted in a mecha anime, and several things I had no idea that I wanted. I'm okay with including all three of my requested characters in whatever way you think that makes sense, like timeline shenanigans or just Isami realizing while in Bravern that Bravern's also Lewis, but I'm also fine with Isami/Bravern and Isami/Smith alone. I think Isami and Smith had one of the best canonical love stories I've watched possibly ever, and that applies to Isami and Bravern as well, so I'd love a story where they make those feelings obvious and consummated. If you really just want to write about them fighting aliens or boxing or chilling with Lulu, that's all cool, too. Gen stories involving Lulu and Superbia or any of Isami and Smith's coworkers would also be fun as hell! For explicit fic, I have a preference for Smith topping, but it's not a particularly strong one, so if your story is taking you elsewhere, don't sweat it.
Prompts:
- I'd just like more explanation on the ending, maybe a re-examination of the canon events from Smith's POV now that we know that he's also Bravern. How much of Smith's humanity was in Bravern while uhhhh Isami was inside Bravern? Was it all him? Did he have all his memories the whole time?
- I'm sorry, but those Isami and Smith body pillows decorating the Bravern suite in some hotel with the giant Bravern sticker made to look like he's peering through the windows just came out, and I'm losing my mind?? So, yeah, something that involves a hotel and a voyeuristic Bravern, pretty please. They can be fighting beforehand. There can be only one bed. Everything can be desperate and they can both have feelings and doubts the next morning. Bravern can shout encouragement. It's all good.
- The Halloween costume official art with Smith as a vampire also just came out, so might as well admit that Smith as a vampire with a single-minded focus on Isami would absolutely kill me.
- This is pretty angsty, but man, I'd like more of that scene where Isami is face-down in Smith's shirt after he thinks Smith is dead. Whatever was going on inside Isami's head had to be a big old mess. I wouldn't mind it if it implies that he and Smith hooked up before that happened, too.
- Give me that beach scene with Bravern and Isami without Lulu interrupting. That was so romantic that I almost forgot it was some dude about to make out with his giant mech.
- I'll just say it: Bravern/Isami robofucking. I don't really care about the logistics here— something science-y like Bravern tapping into Isami's synapses while he's in the mech and getting him off would be super-fun and cool, but so would completely out there things like Isami just being magically able to get screwed by a robot and love it. The series wants us to want this, and I'm nothing if not agreeable.
Tasogare Outfocus / Twilight Out of Focus (Anime)
Ichikawa Giichi, Inaba Rei, Kikuchihara Jin, Yoshino Shion
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form.
I've read the manga, too, so no big deal if you include things that didn't make the anime. This series was so sweet and romantic, and I loved the focus on filmmaking, so including that would be wonderful.
I think it would be a blast to see all four of these guys in one fic, but if you do decide to go for that, I'd prefer the canon pairings, so Jin/Ichikawa and Rei/Shion. However! You also have my permission to write the following without including the other requested characters: Jin/Ichikawa, Rei/Shion, Jin/Rei, and, even though Kujou Kirito (Shion's cute and earnest goth roommate) wasn't nominated, Shion/Kujou. I'm fine with any of these being shippy or gen. You also have my permission to write the overlapping pairings together in one fic. For example, if you want to write Jin/Rei experimenting together when they were younger, but then later on Jin/Ichikawa and Rei/Shion happens, that's fine. So is something like Rei and Shion breaking up because Rei graduated, and later Shion hooks up with Kujou. Background Hisashi/Mao is also fine! I'd definitely appreciate higher-rated works here, especially given the source material! I prefer no romantic threesomes or polyamory for this fandom.
Prompts:
- All four characters on a double date. I just think that would be hilarious. Another idea for all four characters would be Jin and Rei coming back after graduation to watch Ichikawa's third year film and maybe attend the school cultural festival, and Ichikawa getting fully critiqued by Rei after the viewing.
- IMO, Ichikawa and Jin seemed to have the most realistic relationship of the three canon pairings, so I would love to see a continuation of that. How do they stay in contact after Jin graduates? Are they able to get any alone time together, especially since Ichikawa isn't in the dorms anymore? Does Jin introduce Ichikawa to his rich family, and do they approve of their relationship? lol does Ichikawa dedicate his directing Oscar to Jin in fifteen years? I do want these crazy kids to work out, but I can see the road ahead of them is tough.
- Another Ichikawa/Jin idea: In Ichikawa's third year project, I want him to realize that there's a character that really only Jin can play, and being exasperated that he can't even escape from Jin and making a film at school, even after Jin graduated. This can feature copious makeouts in school hallways, classrooms, and filming locations, driving poor Director Ichikawa to such distraction that his crew can't help teasing him constantly.
- For Rei/Shion, I think they're so cute together in the series. I love how Shion got Rei to care about things, and Rei got Shion to chill the hell out. They seem ripe for future fic, like where are they in ten years? I definitely can see them as a couple that breaks up and gets back together once they've both done some maturing, but really I just want to see how they both turn out as adults, whatever that means.
- Jin/Rei, my most controversial Tasogare Outfocus pairing! I'm sorry, I see childhood friends, I want to see them as more than friends. It's a whole thing. Rei seems so unfazed by Shion wanting a boyfriend, outright saying he does all right, which made me wonder who he'd been doing all right with before. And we all know Jin is super popular with basically everyone. I'd love to see them in a FWB situation, maybe in their second year, calling it practice while stuffing down every feeling they might have because they don't want to ruin their friendship. Or something way down the line where they find themselves both single and realize that the comfort they find with each other has turned into something more.
- Then my other controversial ship, Shion/Kujou. Obviously ignore this if you have no interest in writing Kujou, he wasn't even nominated. But if you're interested, I'd love to see Kujou develop a big old crush on Shion in their second year and have no idea how to deal with it, especially after rolling his eyes throughout all of Shion's desperate get-a-boyfriend schemes in first year. Especially since it worked in getting Shion a boyfriend— one who's not him! This can be unrequited, or something where things between Shion and Rei haven't worked out for whatever reason.
That's it from me! Happy Yuletide!
All ratings are good. More than fine with explicit content. Treats are welcome and I have gifts enabled on AO3!
DNW: the traffic light system, non-canonical nicknames (terms of endearment like "baby" are fine), explicit works featuring characters younger than 16, hopeless endings, pregnancy, lactation, gore, major character death
Likes: canon-divergent AUs, dystopian AUs, reincarnation AUs, loyal knight and their liege AUs, holiday themes, mutual pining, confessions, praise, vulnerability, descriptions of kissing, loyalty to the point of it being a detriment, hurt/comfort, smoking, alcohol and drug use, road trips, motorcycles, shaving, haircuts, memory issues ranging anywhere from amnesia to that thing where a person had minor surgery and realizes their long-term partner is hot as they're coming out of it.
Explicit likes: sex pollen, aliens/captors/other outside forces made them do it, sloppy makeout sessions with fully or partially clothed frotting, rimming, barebacking, praise kink, grumpy characters getting railed, touch-starved characters getting touched and losing their minds over it, oral fixations, sexting, phone sex, sex over zoom/facetime or whatever, arranged marriages that have to be consummated immediately
Sasaki to Miyano
Miyano Yoshikazu, Sasaki Shuumei
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags.
Sasaki and Miyano are my two favorite weirdos in love. I love that their slow burn actually led to something canonical, and I love how careful Miyano was as he considered Sasaki's confession, even though making him wait six months for an answer almost killed me. I nominated and requested the manga because I'm all caught up with everything, but if you're anime-only or haven't read the last couple of manga volumes, I don't mind you branching off from another point. I love canon-divergence anyway. I'm very much into the ship, though if you want to write something non-romance focused like Miyano getting used to his first weeks at university, that would be great!
Prompts:
- Sasaki and Miyano moving in together either once Miyano is in university or afterward. That's a pretty big step for people so young, even if it's a logical one. How do they navigate that?
- In volume 10, there's a whole canon-divergent extra where Sasaki doesn't seek Miyano out after Kuresawa gets beaten up, but later, as adults, they wind up being introduced and sharing an apartment due to circumstances. I would love more of this AU, especially since the extra stops short of them getting together. If you haven't read it, any AU where they meet later, become roommates, and get together would be so, so appreciated.
- At Sasaki's class's graduation, Hanzawa was already planning a reunion for the following March. I'd love to know how that goes. Are significant others invited so Miyano can see how the class ahead of him is doing, or does Sasaki come find him afterward to decompress and kiss? I'd love future fic that's just a little leap forward.
- Speaking of future fic, anything that takes a big leap forward in time. Them taking an international trip together. Them having a major disagreement that leads to them taking a break— or breaking up completely, only to get back together later. Them getting married! Them at 50 with Sasaki still in love, even if Miyano looks different from way back when they first met.
- Their first time getting off together. It's definitely more of a when than an if for them, so how does it go? I wouldn't mind something a little awkward and not perfect that makes them both feel unsure, and how they work through that afterward. A round two that's more relaxed could also be good.
- Miyano getting over his whole 'not a uke' thing because he trusts Sasaki so much and he's worked though his internalized whatever. YMMV, but to me, whenever he says that it always comes off more as him not wanting other people to think something expected of him, rather than just a personal hard preference. Miyano really seems to hate being predictable. I also think that conversation would be sweet and funny, and the aftermath adorable. Also, his boyfriend is big and strong and cute and would take great care of him, and Miyano seems pretty into that.
Kaiju No. 8
Furuhashi Iharu, Hibino Kafka, Hoshina Soushirou, Ichikawa Reno
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form.
I'm all caught up with the manga, so no worries about spoilers. I'm fine with including all four characters I've requested in one fic, but I'm also fine with the following two-person groupings without the other requested characters appearing: Kafka/Hoshina, Kafka/Reno, Iharu/Reno. Those are also the romantic ships I'm most interested in, if you're doing something incorporating all the characters. I'm also fine with Kafka/Hoshina and Kafka/Reno and/or Kafka/Reno and Iharu/Reno showing up in the same fic, though I would prefer no poly ending. In other words, something like one pairing being exes or FWB and the other being endgame is good, but I don't want a threesome.
Kaiju No. 8 has become one of my favorite series running, which I really wouldn't have predicted when I started it, but the character-driven bits mixed with the big monster fights have been both effective and lots of fun. I'd love nearly anything set in the canon universe, including an AU that shifts the characters to the past, either in a time-travel thing or something where they're just from that time, because the revelation that the world's been fighting kaiju for hundreds of years was just so cool!
Prompts:
- A slice of life missing scene from back when the recruits were all still at third division with Hoshina. There was a little of that in the series, but in general I feel like they didn't spend enough time there.
- Future fic where they're all more established than they are now. Maybe Hoshina is the head of his own division! Also, I wouldn't mind Iharu getting a kaiju suit to match his weird explosive time-limited growth thing, especially since the other three all have kaiju-related things now.
- For Kafka/Hoshina, I would like them having a knock-down drag-out fight, mostly because Hoshina wants one badly and Kafka respects Hoshina so much that he would 100% agree. Something where they're more evenly matched, even if Kafka isn't a kaiju at the time. Or maybe something where Kafka is transformed, but Hoshina's in the #10 suit. That would be cool. #10 providing running commentary would also be great. I certainly wouldn't complain if that turned into something romantic or sexy or both. Or another idea might be something with Kafka interacting with Hoshina's estranged family, since that whole can of worms seems ripe for opening.
- For Kafka/Reno, they're such great partners! Reno has worked so hard to be useful to Kafka, so I'd love something where Kafka emphasizes how much that's been true all along. I also wouldn't mind having their age and size gaps stressed because, well, I'm into both of those. Reno also seems to have some family issues to work through, though more of the 'almost everyone I've ever loved is dead' kind; maybe he can introduce Kafka to his grandmother and she can be happy that someone is looking out for him.
- Iharu/Reno sort of snuck up on me, but I'm really a sucker for that "one character feels inferior to another character, but turns out the other one really relies on them" thing, so they definitely got their hooks into me. I feel like they'd be a fun pairing for one of those sneaking around and trying not to get caught hooking up fics. Or I definitely could go for just good old-fashioned get-together. Iharu is one of those loud, flashy guys, but he's got such an undercurrent of insecurity. I bet he'd be pretty shy if he had a crush and got embarrassed if Reno earnestly told him how much he means to him.
- Listen, Kafka is slowly turning into a kaiju full-time. We know this. First, his name is Kafka. Second, part of his hand already won't change back. And maybe the series will find a way to reverse that, but maybe it won't. And maybe that means I'm suggesting either Kafka/Hoshina or Kafka/Reno monsterfucking would be a great idea for a Yuletide fic. That's up to you.
Saiyuki Gaiden
Kenren Taishou, Tenpou Gensui
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags.
The overall Saiyuki story is a forever fandom for me, which means I sometimes think about Tenpou and Kenren's last moments at completely random times and then I'm useless for a day. You can give me anything. I very much ship them and think they're basically canon-confirmed, so I'd love a romantic story, but something where they've gone into battle together, the aftermath of a fight, or just quiet moments where they're hanging out with Konzen and Goku would be wonderful.
Prompts:
- A little more of Kenren getting mad at Tenpou doing everything himself and putting himself in danger. I love that bit in the series and wouldn't mind seeing Kenren doing more pampering, even though he does so much of that already.
- Tenpou and Kenren have been on the reincarnation wheel for a long time now, as we know. What I'd love is a turn where they've reincarnated with all of their memories of heaven intact. Are they born that way, do they find each other easily, what happens once they find each other? Are they afraid of what happens after this life is over, or are they happy to have found each other again, even for a brief mortal life?
- I'd love an alcohol-soaked hookup. Maybe even their very first hookup! Maybe this is an exploration of the morning after! I can see Kenren freaking out over this, or maybe he's the calm one and Tenpou is freaking out over sleeping with a subordinate. This could be sexy fun or sort of angsty! The possibilities are endless.
- Canon-divergence where they meet in heaven in another way. Maybe Kenren seduced the wife of one of Tenpou's subordinates. Maybe the eastern and western armies clash over a miscommunication about who's supposed to be fighting somewhere, and Tenpou notices an eastern army soldier who's setting himself apart from the rest, even if he's not exactly following orders. Hell, maybe they ran into each other randomly in the halls of heaven and Kenren had a panicked, "Oh no, he's hot" moment, even though he didn't think he was into guys before.
- Something that shows Kenren and Tenpou's relationship from the point-of-view of one of the Ants. I know there's an extra in both the manga and anime that shows this, but I'm more thinking about something where the third-party is noticing how romantic their Field Marshal and General are together. There are a lot of fun personalities in the Western Army. I'd also enjoy this from Konzen's POV!
- Minekura (Saiyuki Gaiden's mangaka) has a fairly extensive AU where all of the characters in her series live and work in a bathhouse together. Kenren's family owns the house and Tenpou is a boarder and a writer. Kenren is also a photographer off on adventures all the time, but most importantly, he and Tenpou are "best friends." If you're familiar with it, I'd love something set in this universe. I know this one's a wild request, but there's almost no fic set in this AU and I'm starving! Tenpou tagging along for writing ideas, or Kenren coming home for good and trying to reconnect with his family and actually settle down would both make for amazing stories.
Wind Breaker - Nii Satoru
Nirei Akihiko, Suo Hayato, Togame Jo, Tomiyama Choji
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form.
I'm all caught up to current with the manga and I read it as it releases, so don't worry about spoilers, even for developments that happen after assignments are out. If you want to figure out a way to have all four of these characters requested in one fic, that sounds like a ton of fun, but I'm also fine with only including either Nirei/Suo or Togame/Choji. I also ship both of these, so go for it if you want to write something romantic for either of these.
Wind Breaker is such a fun series and, yes, I do adore Sakura, as does every character in the series, but for Yuletide, I wanted something that focuses on other aspects. I love everything about the series— the fighting, the camaraderie, the absolutely no focus on anything logical. No teachers in a school? Who cares? Most other authority figures missing-in-action? Who cares? Anyone unrelated to gang wars not showing up during brawls involving dozens or even hundreds of teenagers? WHO CARES! It's extremely refreshing.
Prompts:
- Something where everyone runs into each other somewhere, like the movies or at a restaurant. Maybe they have to team up to fight one of the apparently thousands of roaming street gangs to protect wherever they are.
- An AU where the two Shishitoren guys go to Furin instead. Choji and Jo are both older than Nirei and Suo, so maybe it would be a mentor thing?
- I love, love, love Nirei and Suo's dynamic. I'm always a sucker for seeing the two guys who back up the leader fall in love, and the canon thing where Suo's teaching Nirei how to fight properly makes me swoon. I'd love a training session between them that turns romantic or sexy, and then the aftermath of that. Does Nirei freak out, or does his logical side win out, but Suo freaks out instead? Also, something that gives Suo an actual backstory would be appreciated.
- Future Nirei and Suo where they meet up for the first time after a long time. This can just be a fun friend reunion, or it can be angsty exes who still have feelings for each other, or it can be the start of a relationship where one or both of them experience "oh no he's hot" feelings for the first time. I get the feeling that Nirei will be such a confident and sweet adult, and it would be fun to see Suo disarmed by that.
- For Choji and Tojima, I'm dying to see the immediate aftermath of their fight with Furin. What can I say? If you show me one guy gently petting the other's face, while apologizing for making him look so sad, I'm going to want some follow-up. Whatever feelings are between them, there certainly are a lot of them.
- Jo/Choji AU where instead of pummeling people with fists, they play sports! I don't care what sport, it just would be fun to see their emotional constipation applied to something like track and field. I'd also be down for future fic for them. Based on how Choji was in that last manga fight where Shishitoren came to Furin's rescue, he's going to be even more of a dynamo in five years. Togame, too, for that matter. They're both so great when they're happy.
Bang Brave Bang Bravern (Anime)
Ao Isami, Bravern, Lewis Smith
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form.
For anyone scrolling by, major spoilers for the series here! Bravern absolutely rewrote my brain when it aired earlier this year. It gave me everything I've always wanted in a mecha anime, and several things I had no idea that I wanted. I'm okay with including all three of my requested characters in whatever way you think that makes sense, like timeline shenanigans or just Isami realizing while in Bravern that Bravern's also Lewis, but I'm also fine with Isami/Bravern and Isami/Smith alone. I think Isami and Smith had one of the best canonical love stories I've watched possibly ever, and that applies to Isami and Bravern as well, so I'd love a story where they make those feelings obvious and consummated. If you really just want to write about them fighting aliens or boxing or chilling with Lulu, that's all cool, too. Gen stories involving Lulu and Superbia or any of Isami and Smith's coworkers would also be fun as hell! For explicit fic, I have a preference for Smith topping, but it's not a particularly strong one, so if your story is taking you elsewhere, don't sweat it.
Prompts:
- I'd just like more explanation on the ending, maybe a re-examination of the canon events from Smith's POV now that we know that he's also Bravern. How much of Smith's humanity was in Bravern while uhhhh Isami was inside Bravern? Was it all him? Did he have all his memories the whole time?
- I'm sorry, but those Isami and Smith body pillows decorating the Bravern suite in some hotel with the giant Bravern sticker made to look like he's peering through the windows just came out, and I'm losing my mind?? So, yeah, something that involves a hotel and a voyeuristic Bravern, pretty please. They can be fighting beforehand. There can be only one bed. Everything can be desperate and they can both have feelings and doubts the next morning. Bravern can shout encouragement. It's all good.
- The Halloween costume official art with Smith as a vampire also just came out, so might as well admit that Smith as a vampire with a single-minded focus on Isami would absolutely kill me.
- This is pretty angsty, but man, I'd like more of that scene where Isami is face-down in Smith's shirt after he thinks Smith is dead. Whatever was going on inside Isami's head had to be a big old mess. I wouldn't mind it if it implies that he and Smith hooked up before that happened, too.
- Give me that beach scene with Bravern and Isami without Lulu interrupting. That was so romantic that I almost forgot it was some dude about to make out with his giant mech.
- I'll just say it: Bravern/Isami robofucking. I don't really care about the logistics here— something science-y like Bravern tapping into Isami's synapses while he's in the mech and getting him off would be super-fun and cool, but so would completely out there things like Isami just being magically able to get screwed by a robot and love it. The series wants us to want this, and I'm nothing if not agreeable.
Tasogare Outfocus / Twilight Out of Focus (Anime)
Ichikawa Giichi, Inaba Rei, Kikuchihara Jin, Yoshino Shion
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form.
I've read the manga, too, so no big deal if you include things that didn't make the anime. This series was so sweet and romantic, and I loved the focus on filmmaking, so including that would be wonderful.
I think it would be a blast to see all four of these guys in one fic, but if you do decide to go for that, I'd prefer the canon pairings, so Jin/Ichikawa and Rei/Shion. However! You also have my permission to write the following without including the other requested characters: Jin/Ichikawa, Rei/Shion, Jin/Rei, and, even though Kujou Kirito (Shion's cute and earnest goth roommate) wasn't nominated, Shion/Kujou. I'm fine with any of these being shippy or gen. You also have my permission to write the overlapping pairings together in one fic. For example, if you want to write Jin/Rei experimenting together when they were younger, but then later on Jin/Ichikawa and Rei/Shion happens, that's fine. So is something like Rei and Shion breaking up because Rei graduated, and later Shion hooks up with Kujou. Background Hisashi/Mao is also fine! I'd definitely appreciate higher-rated works here, especially given the source material! I prefer no romantic threesomes or polyamory for this fandom.
Prompts:
- All four characters on a double date. I just think that would be hilarious. Another idea for all four characters would be Jin and Rei coming back after graduation to watch Ichikawa's third year film and maybe attend the school cultural festival, and Ichikawa getting fully critiqued by Rei after the viewing.
- IMO, Ichikawa and Jin seemed to have the most realistic relationship of the three canon pairings, so I would love to see a continuation of that. How do they stay in contact after Jin graduates? Are they able to get any alone time together, especially since Ichikawa isn't in the dorms anymore? Does Jin introduce Ichikawa to his rich family, and do they approve of their relationship? lol does Ichikawa dedicate his directing Oscar to Jin in fifteen years? I do want these crazy kids to work out, but I can see the road ahead of them is tough.
- Another Ichikawa/Jin idea: In Ichikawa's third year project, I want him to realize that there's a character that really only Jin can play, and being exasperated that he can't even escape from Jin and making a film at school, even after Jin graduated. This can feature copious makeouts in school hallways, classrooms, and filming locations, driving poor Director Ichikawa to such distraction that his crew can't help teasing him constantly.
- For Rei/Shion, I think they're so cute together in the series. I love how Shion got Rei to care about things, and Rei got Shion to chill the hell out. They seem ripe for future fic, like where are they in ten years? I definitely can see them as a couple that breaks up and gets back together once they've both done some maturing, but really I just want to see how they both turn out as adults, whatever that means.
- Jin/Rei, my most controversial Tasogare Outfocus pairing! I'm sorry, I see childhood friends, I want to see them as more than friends. It's a whole thing. Rei seems so unfazed by Shion wanting a boyfriend, outright saying he does all right, which made me wonder who he'd been doing all right with before. And we all know Jin is super popular with basically everyone. I'd love to see them in a FWB situation, maybe in their second year, calling it practice while stuffing down every feeling they might have because they don't want to ruin their friendship. Or something way down the line where they find themselves both single and realize that the comfort they find with each other has turned into something more.
- Then my other controversial ship, Shion/Kujou. Obviously ignore this if you have no interest in writing Kujou, he wasn't even nominated. But if you're interested, I'd love to see Kujou develop a big old crush on Shion in their second year and have no idea how to deal with it, especially after rolling his eyes throughout all of Shion's desperate get-a-boyfriend schemes in first year. Especially since it worked in getting Shion a boyfriend— one who's not him! This can be unrequited, or something where things between Shion and Rei haven't worked out for whatever reason.
That's it from me! Happy Yuletide!