fandom growth 2017

[alectorine]

Hi! This is AO3 user pyrophane, and first of all, thank you so much for participating! I’ll love your fic no matter what you write, so please don’t feel pressured ❤️ I’ve written some prompts, and a list of tropes/narrative devices I enjoy, but by no means do you have to include all or any of them – if you have a particular idea you’re burning to write, go for it! Also, I've grouped ships together for ease of discussion, but you definitely don't have to include all of them in the same work.

 

I'm on tumblr here and on twitter here. You can find my own fic here and here, and some of the fics I’ve liked here.
 

General likes:

• unusual/experimental prose style and structure
• worldbuilding, histories (canonical or invented), strong sense of setting
• mentorships
• girls
• pining and repressed feelings, repressed characters finally admitting what it is that they want
• power dynamics
• unhealthy relationships
• relationship dynamics that are difficult to define but deeply felt
• sparring
• physicality and nonverbal communication
• clashing worldviews
• leader/second-in-command dynamics, loyalty kink
• references to backstory events or other canons (I love crossover cameos!)
• rarepairs, minor characters, multishipping, friendships, ensemble casts, characters having relationships beyond the central ship
• legacies
• wound care
• polyamory negotiations
• light imagery
• dreams

Tropes/AUs I love:

• pre-canon and futurefic
• missing-scene fic
• post-apocalyptic roadtrips
• canon divergence
• enemies to friends where there's still some form of legitimate rivalry or resentment (to lovers optional)
• friends who could have been lovers to enemies (to lovers optional)
• espionage AU, casefic, fakeout makeouts, undercover as a couple
• lotus-eater machines
• magical realism, urban fantasy, general magic/fantasy/witchcraft AU
• time loops

NSFW likes (see here for more details):

• breathplay/choking
• consensual violence
• D/s undertones, undernegotiated or non-negotiated D/s
• focus on hands/wrists/throats/collarbones
• pretty much just throats in general
• authority kink and power dynamics
• multiple partners
• edging
• basically, if it involves the combination of violence and tenderness/intimacy, I'm in!

Things I have no preference on:

• content rating
• implied and background pairings, unless specifically mentioned (you can find a complete list of my ships here!)
• multishipping, polyshipping
• genre
• plot/lack thereof and endings
• presence of other characters, nominated or not, unless specifically mentioned

General dislikes:

• plotless fluff
• scat, watersports, etc
• graphic medical experimentation
• romance-related jealousy, infidelity
• noncon
• formal BDSM
• pwp -- porn is great but I'd prefer if it wasn't the only thing in the fic (... unless it involves breathplay)
• public humiliation
• fic centred on kids/pregnancy/marriage
• graphic descriptions of unsanitary situations

1. 7 Seeds

I'm primarily looking for gen fic focusing on worldbuilding here! I love this massive ensemble cast and all the weird offshoot dynamics both within the teams and across teams; the specific brand of off-key post-apocalyptic slice-of-life in 7 Seeds is my favourite thing. I love the way that things like heritage and legacy and tradition take on new significance in a world where history only means as much as you let it, so it becomes a conscious choice what parts of the past you carry forward and what parts you leave behind. In this vein, I'd love to see your take on how they rebuild society from such a deceptively blank slate! Which customs do they adapt or readopt? How do they balance so many opposing motives and worldviews? What do they do for fun (talent quest encore! beach episode except with more dinosaurs! improvised ice-skating competition! Haru drags everyone into a makeshift orchestral rendition of the top 90s Japanese hits! etc)? Feel free to focus on whichever character or group of characters you like!

I'm also really interested in exploration of Summer A's childhood years in the institute as this isolated, insular group of hypercompetent kids raised for such a terrible purpose. What kind of group traditions do they have? Do they try to adopt any ridiculously misinterpreted civilian customs? What's dorm life like? Tell me about how they collaborated and competed and did each other favours and sabotaged each other, how everything they went through, whether joyful or horrific, becomes an inextricable part of their shared history--and, of course, the trauma of their final exam and coming to the future where their ease of familiarity with each other becomes an obstacle to communication. How do they reconnect and rediscover the certainty and happiness of their childhood years? How do they reaffirm their trust in each other and in their own abilities, and begin to trust the other teams?

Ships-wise, I love any combination of the Summer A girls, Mayu/Ryo, Aramaki/Ayu, Ayu/Hana, Nijiko/Ran, Haru/Koruri, Hana/Ran, Chisa/Fujiko, and Aramaki/Fubuki/Mitsuru (Team Winter fixit more than welcome!). I am not keen on Ango and would be very grateful if you could keep his presence in the fic to a minimum, thank you!

2. Birdmen

Robin Howard/Miguel Antonio Batista, Karasuma Eishi/Robin Howard/Takayama Sou

The speed at which I fell for Robin/Bat in Chapter 40 was frankly... embarrassing. I'm very interested in the burgeoning leader/second-in-command dynamic between them in the context of their past… not friendship, but rather mutual connection with Arthur. I love Robin demanding Bat's allegiance by force, and all the potential of a bellwether-berserker teamup! Her promise to him of allowing him to fully unleash his power without fear of not being able to control it because she'll rein him in if necessary was so incredibly tailored to my interests, as well as her admission that she isn't the one he was waiting for, and Bat's acquiescence anyway. Anything where they're acting as head-and-hands in planning out and executing attacks/raids/however Robin's decided to free the seraphs, transitioning from loyalty out of survival and necessity to genuine if grudging trust, would be amazing! I have this image of Bat taking a blow meant for Robin without thinking and Robin decimating the attacker in anger and both of them being surprised and a little shaken by how strongly they reacted to the other being hurt.

Also, I'm so excited by the prospect of the Eden seraphs and the Bird Club meeting in the near future! I love the undefinable intensity of connection between Takayama and Eishi, veering so close towards understanding each other but gradually becoming more and more foreign to one another. I think Takayama and Robin would have some great tension over the friction between what methods they deem acceptable in trying to achieve similar goals, and I'm also extremely interested in Robin and Eishi being bellwethers and literally having the superpower of leadership, both in terms of control over others and enhancing others' strengths. I'd love to see the hostility of negotiations and standoffs, and Robin trying to sway them over to her mission of creating a world for seraphs even if it's at the expense of the human world. Another idea that could be fun is an AU where Takayama and/or Eishi are also Eden seraphs!

I couldn't think of enough prompts to request Arthur/Robin, but I think it was very sweet and obviously a huge influence on Robin since she chose to shoulder his dream of freeing the seraphs at whatever cost, and am happy for you to reference it if you like. Her pause before telling Bat not to talk about Arthur broke my heart; maybe she could find out about his last words from Takayama? I'm just very emotional over Robin's idealism-turned-dark as she intentionally models herself into a leader capable of carrying out such a mission and leaves her kinder past self behind for the sake of a future for the seraphs.





 3. Tower of God

Eurasia Enne Zahard/Garam Zahard, Anak Zahard Sr./Garam Zahard, Ha Yuri Zahard/Koon Maschenny Zahard, Eurasia Enne Zahard/Koon Maschenny Zahard, Adori Zahard/Eurasia Enne Zahard

I'd love to see something focusing on Zahard princess politics -- head-over-heels for everything we see about Zahard princess interactions in canon, and more of that would be amazing: navigating the minefield of other princesses looking to gain ranks/power/13 MS, figuring out allegiances and trust, how they first approach one another. I love the complicated mentorships and alliances and rivalries that form and break among a group as elite and competitive as the Zahard princesses. Give me all the passive-aggressive and straight-up aggressive power plays, the media manoeuvring, the hand-to-hand sparring and grand 13 MS battles, the admiration and resentment.

I think a fictional history/multimedia/epistolary format could also be really interesting for the Zahard princesses, especially the ones who fell out of favour like Enne and Garam! What is recorded about them in the official, Zahard-approved history books? What about the versions created by FUG or Wolhaiksong? What kind of legends or folk tales have sprung up amongst the Regulars or the other princesses (the ones who knew them personally and/or the ones who didn't!)? What did the media reports of the time say? Essentially, how are they remembered by the various factions within the Tower?

In terms of individual dynamics, here are a few ideas, which are totally optional since most of this is wild speculation -- feel free to take or leave these:

• Yuri/Maschenny -- I love their edged banter, with Maschenny's finesse and technique set against Yuri's raw strength and the background of their family rivalry. Dying to know about the history implied in the '"this bitch has got an attitude"/"I learned from the best" exchange, and how easily Yuri gets a rise out of ice queen Maschenny! I like the concept of Maschenny seeing a young Yuri's bravado and power and immediately wanting to crush it, and inadvertently mentoring Yuri in political mindgames along the way.
• Enne/Garam -- canon-wise, anything that touches on Garam's line about 'yearning' for Enne and her admiration and respect for Enne; in terms of a canon divergence I'd love to see something where they knew each other more personally and maybe had Bonnie-and-Clyde-esque exploits as they climbed the Tower together.
• Enne/Maschenny -- Enne being Maschenny's mentor and teaching her hand-to-hand combat, Maschenny growing to resent Enne and eventually delivering the final blow in capturing her. Anything that explores an inferiority complex on Maschenny's part and her insecurities regarding people who are indisputably stronger than her (eg Yuri) would be great.
• Garam/Anak Sr -- doomed and unrequited on Garam's part, consider Garam risking her life to shelter and protect and teach Anak Jr. I like the idea of Garam and Anak Sr being close friends when they were younger and maybe climbing the Tower together, before everything fell apart.
• Enne/Adori -- passive-aggressive tension about sharing a rank, or maybe a surprising lack of rivalry? As captain of the Zahard Royal Guard, was Adori involved in Enne's capture in any way?

I'm happy for you to preserve canonical hets like Anak Sr/the palace cook and Yuri's interest in Baam if you like, but would prefer no romantic Urek/Garam (friendship is fine!).

Ha Jinsung/Koon Aguero Agnis, Ha Jinsung/Twenty-Fifth Baam

For this request feel free to ignore pwp being on my DNW list, since this is pretty much just my mentorship kink talking. I… love how Jinsung is overwhelmingly stronger than both of them (or at least until Baam gets a better handle on the thorn) and has centuries of experience on them too, but is so casual about it. He's obviously emotionally invested in Baam without feeling much regret over the whole FUG hostage manipulation situation, which is really interesting to me! I'm fascinated by the extent to which FUG, and by extension Jinsung, controls Baam and their constant threat of killing his friends to get him to do what they want, in contrast with Jinsung's affection, almost kindness, towards his 'cute pupil', and doing nice things like not murdering all of Team Tangsooyook out of respect for Baam's attachment to them. I'd love to see more about what he teaches Baam -- hand-to-hand, shinsoo techniques, how to survive in the Tower, history, fashion (Baam's shift to Jinsung-approved outfits from s2 onwards made me feel many things)...

For Jinsung/Koon, I love that there's none of the fondness that Jinsung feels for Baam, so it's just tension and threat restrained by their temporarily aligned goals, and maybe Jinsung seeing a little bit of himself reflected in this upstart kid who's also turned his back on his 10 Families heritage. 'I was never educated' is constantly running through my head at all times, so how about… Jinsung educates Koon, if you know what I mean. Hit me with that consensual violence content. 

Please no Koon/Baam in either case, thank you!

4. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's:

Jack Atlas/Crow Hogan/Fudou Yuusei, Jack Atlas/Crow Hogan, Fudou Yuusei/Crow Hogan, Jack Atlas/Crow Hogan/Fudou Yuusei/Kiryuu Kyousuke, Jack Atlas/Crow Hogan/Fudou Yuusei/Izayoi Aki

Kizuna is my endgame otp in this series and I adore every combination of them! Feel free to mix and match the prompts here with any of the listed ships:

• tag duels of any sort -- feel free to go as heavy or light on the TCG detail as you like
• the process of figuring out how to share a space after so long in s3 when they all move in together, or postcanon domesticity, or how their lives intersect again after they move off into their different career paths -- the idea of high-school-reunion-esque Signer reunions is really charming to me
• Jack, Crow and Yusei making room for Aki in their lives, the differences between their shared history and their destiny/battle-forged connection with her, teaching her fancy d-wheel techniques, something that touches on Aki's s1 sadism again, Jack and Aki being dramatic zero-chemistry best friends
• something set during the Team Satisfaction years with all that idealism and hope and drive thanks to the purpose and direction Kiryu gave them, the gradual erosion of trust as Kiryu spins out of control and Jack and Crow decide to leave, tentative reconnection after Crash Town where they work through the remnants of guilt and regret and betrayal
• my thoughts on NSFW basically boil down to: please give Jack the praise and attention he wants but won't admit to wanting, and also not to sound like a broken record but I'm a big fan of breathplay

I'm also a big fan of the canon hets in this show, so I'm happy for you to preserve Carly/Jack and/or Yusei/Aki in romantic or platonic form, if you like!

Jack Atlas/Stardust Dragon, Fudou Yuusei/Stardust Dragon

I've always loved the relationship between a duellist and their ace monster, and the parallel that's drawn between their monster and their soul! Stardust's effect, which allows it to be tributed to protect another card, feels very fitting for Yusei's massive martyr complex and total disregard for his own wellbeing if it means he can shoulder someone else's pain for them. I love the destiny soulbond aspect of Yusei's relationship with Stardust Dragon -- something that could be interesting is an exploration of that bond from Stardust's perspective considering all of the Crimson Dragon lore and how ancient Stardust must be.

As for Jack/Stardust, I love all the betrayal inherent in Jack taking Yusei's destiny soulbond ace monster and then using it against him. Does he keep Stardust with his own deck and Red Dragon Archfiend? Has he duelled with Stardust before, or was the duel against Yusei the first time he could bring himself to summon Stardust? Does he ever communicate with Stardust (in dreams, during duels, etc), and how would that affect his massive inferiority complex and yearning/resentment deal regarding Yusei and the way things used to be? Also, it would be really cool to see something where Stardust is literally a representation of Yusei's soul or heart!

Also rescinding the 'no pwp' part of my letter for this prompt, if you feel inclined to write dragonfucking! No real preference regarding Stardust's gender; I like dragon dicks better than cloacas etc but usually refer to Stardust as a girl, so do whatever you like in that aspect.




 

5. Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V

Kurosaki Shun/Serena, Kurosaki Shun/Serena/Akaba Reiji

For Shun/Serena, I love that Serena's immediate instinct upon meeting Shun is to protect him and that he does the same for her -- it's just so incongruously gentle. They have a lot in common and I think that's what draws them to each other and makes them trust each other in the heat of battle, and I'm also very fond of their setup as enemies on opposite sides of a war who are brought together under a shared goal. In terms of specific prompts, I would love something wound care-related (potentially on a mission/road trip? Feel free to mess around with the timeline to facilitate this) where their brands of stubborn volatility clash but are softened by the way they recognise themselves in the other, despite everything about who they are and what they're fighting for. Pretty much anything that highlights their similarities underscored by their clashing worldviews, Serena's secondhand guilt and Shun's grief over Ruri would be amazing!

For Shun/Serena/Reiji, I'm… pretty sure that if you offered them you've seen my 60+ page manifesto and know exactly what I want out of this ship, but in summary: I love the ideological tension and how they still manage to reconcile their motives and grow loyal to each other. This ship is basically a combination of enemies to lovers and leader/second in command dynamics, which are two of my favourite things. I'm interested in the mind games aspect with Reiji's machinations and treatment of Shun and Serena as assets and the clenched-jaw enemy-of-my-enemy cooperation and possible literal mind control via the memory wipe technology LDS possesses, as well as the softer, kinder aspect where they're able to let each other in and articulate what they want, potentially in a postcanon AU where Serena is still around in corporeal form and they move in together. Also would love to see an AU where Serena arrives earlier and ends up in a similar situation to Shun with Reiji, and they end up functioning as Reiji's left and right hands, entering the Maiami Championships under LDS. Alternatively, you could just write me choking porn. Anything at all for these three would make me so happy!

Kurosaki Ruri & Kurosaki Shun & Yuto

Pre-canon, tell me about life in Heartland City, with or without foreshadowing the tragedy about to happen -- deckbuilding, friendships and mentorships with other duellists, school life, festivals, competitions, anything at all. Or how about the time they spent with the Resistance -- wound care, foraging for supplies, sharing a bed for warmth, the tragedy of losing familiarity as their methods and mindsets gradually diverged? I'd also love to hear about the interim months Shun and Yuuto spent in Standard after Ruri was taken, drifting in and out of each other's paths. Dying to know the kind of conversations they had whenever they came across each other -- did they fall back on their old intimacy, did they talk about Ruri, did they try to convince the other of their way of doing things, did they even talk at all?

Other canon divergences you might be interested in: roleswap AU where Yuuto is the one who's kidnapped, AU where Ruri is the older sibling, Zexal AU where Shun and Ruri are Kaito and Haruto (I'm partial to Ruri as Kaito in this scenario, but it's up to you!).

Also, feel free to play fast and loose with the & versus /, I have no particular preference either way, though if you choose to have just two of them in a romantic relationship, please keep the third person an important part of their lives.

Kurosaki Ruri/Serena

I see Ruri and Serena as the most similar in personality to one another among the bracelet girls and I'd love to see anything where they recognise that strength and rebellion in one another! An AU where Serena comes across Ruri in Academia and breaks her out, and then they rejoin the Resistance or find their way to Standard and become Lancers together, could be really interesting. I'd love anything with a sort of roadtrip vibe as they grow closer and work through the tension of their initially conflicting worldviews. Also interested in a canon divergence future fic where they haven't been written out of existence and are figuring out how to rebuild their lives and dimensions! I'm down for bracelet girls poly of any sort, as well as any identity tropes you want to touch on considering that they're alternate versions of each other and yet fiercely individual people.





6. Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal

Droite/Gauche, Droite/Tenjou Kaito

I'm very interested in the time Droite, Gauche and Kaito spent together under Heartland's charge and the tense, cautious understanding, if not camaraderie, that might have grown between them. Droite's unrequited crush on Kaito is tragic because she's so careful about curating distance between them and ultimately never tries to approach him through Haruto or really understands him. Since both of them are incredibly duty-oriented and repress everything that isn't necessary to the task at hand, I'd prefer for you to keep things unrequited or just very ambiguous instead of any actual romance. What I'm really looking for is closeness without intimacy, complicated loyalty, recognition of their similarities, Kaito admiring Droite for some aspect in the same way she admires him. I think a wound care scenario would be interesting with these two in the aftermath of their duel endurance training, or really any small, simple and practical act of kindness.

As for Droite/Gauche, I love their familiarity and devotion to each other, and how they've protected each other since childhood. I'd love to see casefic set during their time as Heartland's left and right hands, searching for Numbers. Also interested in an AU where Droite also eventually goes into professional duelling -- I love that they're still working together, but I don't buy that she just leaves duelling behind to manage for Gauche. Maybe her stint as manager could be her taking a temporary step back to evaluate how she really feels about duelling, before she joins him as a professional tag team? She must have loved duelling as a child, but considering the torture Heartland put her through and the way she built her deck around Kaito's, does she still enjoy duelling? How does she reconnect with duelling the way Gauche loves it so wholeheartedly?

Overall, I just really want Droite to get closure between the events of Zexal I and Zexal II about her feelings for duelling and her feelings for Kaito! A lot of soul-searching must have happened offscreen in order for her to become so much happier and warmer in Zexal II, and I'd love to see how she comes to terms with all of it.

 

 

Again, these are all just suggestions – use them or leave them as you wish! Thank you so much, and see you on the other side!