![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Fic In A Box 2021 Letter
AO3 username: ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
laurus_nobilis
GENERAL LIKES
Casefic and missionfic; backstory and missing scenes; hurt/comfort; slice of life; adventure; humor; dramatic irony; silly/humorous premises; competence and teamwork; friendship; sibling and sibling-like relationships; characters finding common ground.
GENERAL DNWs
Graphic violence; non-con/dub-con; non canonical character death; non canonical incest; unrequested non-canon ships; AUs that change the setting (unless requested); D/s dynamics; spanking.
The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Solo: Harry Dresden (Dresden Files - Butcher)
Solo: Molly Carpenter (Dresden Files - Butcher)
Harry Dresden & Molly Carpenter (Dresden Files - Butcher)
My favorite thing about Harry is how stubborn he is about doing the right thing and not giving up, even when the world keeps facing him with harder and harder choices. He's always doing the best he can, and never loses his ridiculous sense of humor. In contrast, Molly is a shadier type of character - her heart is in the right place but she's closer to the "ends justify the means" end of the spectrum. Together, they sometimes literally fight crime! They complement each other really well, even though they clash at times.
Harry prompts:
- This is a great canon for casefic. There is a lot of room for Harry to have adventures and solve mysteries in between books.
- Harry has a lot of friends and allies, even though he sometimes doesn't realize it. The contrast between his expectations about that and the reality where people actually care a lot about him can make for interesting fic.
Molly prompts:
- I'm really interested in Molly as Winter Lady. We see relatively little about that due to Harry's point of view, so what's going on there? How is she dealing with her new-ish position?
- Her pre-Proven Guilty backstory is interesting too: her first steps in magic, and how she ended up with those friends and boyfriend.
Harry & Molly prompts:
- I'd love anything about how they deal with being part of the Winter Court now. There are so many hints about them gradually becoming more inhuman, and I think that's fascinating.
- Molly's first real magic lessons from the period between Proven Guilty and White Night that we didn't get to see.
Harry Dresden & Thomas Raith (Dresden Files - Butcher)
I love Thomas because he tries so, so hard to not be a monster. I love that Harry knows this, but he also knows that Thomas can become a monster, no matter how hard he tries. They care so much about each other, they're really protective, and having to keep their real relationship a secret from most people gives it yet another interesting layer.
Prompts:
- I would love some platonic hurt/comfort for them! They're both very whump-able characters and I'm into scenarios where either of them needs to take care of the other, especially if they're still being their snarky selves.
- Anything where Thomas ends up almost or not-so-almost giving in to the Hunger and Harry needs to stop him would be great.
- For a lighter tone, I'd love casefic and adventures with them too. They make a good team, and seeing them get in and out of trouble is fun!
天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tian Guan Ci Fu - Moxiang Tongxiu
Fēng Xìn/Mù Qíng (TGCF)
These two hit me right in the "constant bickering turned into UST" trope, but there is also a serious undercurrent behind the humor that helps make them rounded characters. They've spent centuries stuck in the same dynamic, without either becoming friends again or avoiding each other. Their original falling out (with each other and with Xie Lian) was complex and very human: they both had good points, they both screwed up, and given their circumstances it makes sense why they couldn't see eye-to-eye. They're very funny, but they also have emotional depth.
Prompts:
- Getting together fic! After 800 years, and with their shining personalities, how does that even look like?
- One of my favorite things about these two is how the book kept putting them in ridiculous, tropey peril, so more of that would be great.
- For a less silly take, it'd be interesting to see them forced to work together for some case/mission so they can show off their more competent sides.
Ling Wen & Shi Wudu & Pei Ming (TGCF)
Líng Wén/Péi Míng/Shī Wúdù (TGCF)
I love how in spite of each of them having their own personal drama, they're actually very chill together. I think the idea of these people who nobody else seems to like because they're dicks even by TGCF!Heaven's standards becoming friends (and/or lovers) is very interesting, and I wish we had seen more about them together.
Prompts:
- Anything about the backstory about how they met and became friends/lovers, or about what they're doing off-page, since we know so little about it.
- Some kind of casefic would be fun too. Do they help each other with their work? Do they accidentally cause more trouble?
- The post-canon fix-it where Ling Wen and Pei Ming somehow revive Shi Wudu.
魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Modao Zushi - Moxiang Tongxiu
Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén/Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo/Niè Míngjué (MDSZ)
Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén/Niè Míngjué (MDSZ)
Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo/Niè Míngjué (MDSZ)
Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén/Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo (MDZS)
I love the tragedy of 3zun (and of each of the pairings involved) because they had so much potential. These are people who could've brought out the best in each other, but their circumstances and their own flaws doomed them to be a disaster. Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue are both good people trying to do the right thing, and yet Nie Mingjue is all action while Lan Xichen is all thought. Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao respect each other at first but become incapable of seeing things from the other's perspective, even before Jin Guangyao goes full villain. Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen care deeply for each other and see the best in each other, but their relationship also hinges on Jin Guangyao hiding terrible secrets for years. And when you put all three of them together, of course it all goes up in flames.
NieYao prompts:
- Sunshot era adventures! Not a lot of time passes since they first meet until Nie Mingjue writes Meng Yao a recommendation letter, so those early good impressions must have been pretty intense. I'd love to see fic about that short amount of time when they made a good team.
- The "can't get over your ex" situation where they already had their falling out, they know getting involved is a bad idea, but they can't help themselves.
- Post-canon fic about them as fierce corpses stuck in a coffin, as serious or cracky as you'd like.
XiYao prompts:
- Fic set when Meng Yao was hiding Lan Xichen from the Wen sect. That time has so much hurt/comfort potential, and it'd be interesting to get to actually see their first impressions about each other.
- A mutual pining, courtly love type of thing where they're in love with each other and know it, but they also know they can't act on it.
- Any kind of canon divergence where Jin Guangyao doesn't spiral into digging himself an ever-deeper hole; I'd love for them to have nice things.
NieLan prompts:
- These two are made for "battle couple" kind of stuff, so I'd love to see them go on adventures and be competent together: going on night hunts, fighting during Sunshot, anything like that.
- When and how did Lan Xichen first find out about the Nie sect's qi deviation problem? How did he try to help? I can see this going in a canonically angsty direction, or in a fix-it direction where his help works; I'd enjoy either of those.
- Again with the pining/courtly love thing: how do two Sect Leaders make a relationship work?
3zun prompts:
- I'd love to read about them navigating getting together, especially if it's happening at around the same time as their sworn brotherhood and they already have all the fallout from Sunshot to deal with.
- Post-sworn brotherhood casefic, with them having to solve problems while dealing with their interpersonal mess.
- Fix-it fic! There are so many points where a canon divergence might improve things for them. I love their tragedy, as I said, but I'd be up for some happiness too.
陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Baoshan Sanren/Lan Yi (The Untamed)
So little canon, so many feelings. What little we learn about them is very intriguing! Lan Yi's story hits so many of my favorite tropes: misplaced good intentions, hubris, falling out with a (more than?) friend, said friend trying to stop her, locking herself up to "fix" it… it's wonderful.
Prompts:
- It's very tempting to say "literally anything", but I think there are three big scenarios here that'd be interesting to see in fic: her relationship with Baoshan Sanren before the Yin Iron mess, fic about their falling out itself, and the way each of them moved on (or didn't!) with her life after Lan Yi stuck herself in her cave.
Solo: Nie Huaisang (The Untamed)
Nie Huaisang & Nie Mingjue (The Untamed)
Niè Huáisāng & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn (The Untamed)
I love Nie Huaisang's secrets, his ruthlessness, and his contrasts. The drama shows us a lot of his friendly, carefree side in his youth, and it's really interesting (and heartbreaking) to see him end up as a lonely manipulator, and how he really was a rage-filled, stubborn Nie after all. The contrasts are a big part of what I like about his relationship with Nie Mingjue, too: they're very different, at least superficially, but they love each other deeply in spite of their arguments and would do anything for each other. And of course their bond is what drives the present-day plot! Meanwhile, with Wei Wuxian, what I find interesting is how similar they are - they even acknowledge it themselves - and yet they end up going in very different paths. I like that the drama gave their friendship so much screentime, too, and we've seen them genuinely have fun with each other.
(I've watched and liked Fatal Journey; I don't *expect* fic that uses it as a canon source, since it's just a tie-in, but feel free to use it if you want!)
Nie Huaisang prompts:
- His point of view on what's happened between Nie Mingjue's death and the present would be really interesting to see. What was his headspace like?
- Post-canon fic about whatever he decides to do after it's all over. Does he mean what he says to Wei Wuxian about not getting involved anymore? Does he get in trouble anyway?
Nie Huaisang & Nie Mingjue prompts:
- Backstory fic! Anything about their chilhood/youth, including the timeskip years, would make me very happy. With them what I find most interesting is their relationship itself, regardless of plot.
- That said, some kind of time travel fix-it would be really fun too.
Nie Huaisang & Wei Wuxian prompts:
- Post-canon fic where they're forced to awkwardly work together. Maybe they go on an adventure, maybe they have to solve a mystery - I think it'd be fun to see them stuck with each other and hopefully start rebuilding their friendship.
- For a lighter tone, Gusu era fic would be great. What other nonsense did they get into that we didn't see?
Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn & Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín (The Untamed)
I love their friendship, and their deep, mutual loyalty, and how they are in fact pretty damn dangerous. For both of them, being good people is an active choice. Wen Ning is a sweetheart with a hidden backbone of steel, Wei Wuxian can be very kind under all his bluster, and the combination makes for a really interesting mix.
Prompts:
- There's a lot of unexplored time while they're in the Burial Mounds. It'd be interesting to see them build their little community and try to have some semblance of peace in the middle of everything that's going on.
- Post-canon fic with the newly evolved, self-assured Wen Ning after he's done some of his own traveling. How does their relationship change? Are they more of a team of equals, now? Even more fun if they end up going in some kind of adventure together.
- These two have a lot of canon-divergence potential, too. What happens if Wei Wuxian manages to rescue Wen Ning earlier? Or if they meet in a different way in the present day?
Gravity Falls
Candy Chiu & Grenda & Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)
Mabel and her friends are a delight! Most of all I love how much fun they have all the time. They like each other so much, even with their occasional fight, and all three of them are so weird in different ways that the combination is hilarious.
Prompts:
- Having adventures and fighting monsters, in their own unique way! I loved the unicorn episode and I'd gladly read a lot more of that.
- What's it like when they all meet each other again the next summer? Does Mabel feel like the odd one out at first? I feel like that'd easily lead to sitcom-style misunderstandings.
- Honestly, given that this is Gravity Falls, I'm sure I'd enjoy any out there, silly premise you might come up with.
Mabel Pines & Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls)
The way these two care for each other and just enjoy doing things together warms my heart. They're really different and argue a lot, but they love each other, and I like that this comes up not only in the big "would do anything for each other" moments but also in how much fun they have together and how silly they are.
Prompts:
- It'd be really interesting to see them readjust to their usual life after the summer. How do they deal with just going back to school after all they've been through? Do they end up encountering some kind of weirdness anyway?
- Any regular Gravity Falls-style adventure would be great, whether it's something that happened off-screen during canon or a new one next summer.
- Future-fic could also be interesting for them. What are they like as teenagers, or even adults?
Doctor Who (1963)
Fourth Doctor/Romana (Doctor Who 1963)
I think it's great how Romana first arrives thinking she's here to be a voice of reason, and then the more time she spends with the Doctor the more like him she becomes, until by the end she doesn't even want to return to Gallifrey. They're also hilarious together, of course, and they clearly enjoy their constant banter.
Prompts:
- Doctor Who is a great canon for casefic, and in the case of these two, ridiculous Adams-esque premises are a plus. I love them when they're solving serious problems and saving people, and I love them when they're just frolicking around and getting involved in people's business because they just happened to be there.
- Getting together fic would be fun! When I rewatch their episodes I always get this "oh yes, they're an item now" feeling, but how did it actually happen?
Third Doctor/The Master (Delgado) (Doctor Who 1963)
The funny thing about this incarnation of Doctor/Master is that they're almost low-key. The Master is pretty much the Doctor's embarrassing ex, but that doesn't stop the Doctor from visiting him in jail! And the Master does try to kill the Doctor, except not really. They're fun when they're enemies, and they're fun when they're forced to team up.
Prompts:
- Again, silly premises are a feature for this era. I'm all for reading about the Master's increasingly ridiculous plans to get the Doctor's attention, and the Doctor's exasperated reactions.
- Since I mentioned teaming up: fic about them having to work together against a bigger bad would be great.
Doctor Who (2005)
Solo: Clara Oswin Oswald (Doctor Who 2005)
Ashildr | Lady Me & Clara Oswin Oswald (Doctor Who 2005)
I find Clara's character arc really compelling. She starts out travelling with the Doctor as a casual thing, then she wants to keep that and also her normal life with her normal boyfriend, and it just can't be. I also love how she starts embracing her more ruthless side as time goes by! She can be pretty cold, and she's proud of being a brilliant liar. But she still wants to be Doctor-like, after all, and I like that she ends up with her own TARDIS and everything. I think there's a lot of potential in her relationship with Lady Me: they're both functionally immortal, although Me is much, much older, and it's great that they get to travel together instead of each being alone.
Clara prompts:
- Season 7 or 8 fic where she's still trying to find a balance between her regular life and her life with the Doctor.
- It'd be interesting to see fic where the adventures she goes on lead to her leaning more on her colder, harder side, whether she's started to realize it or not.
Clara & Lady Me prompts:
- So much potential for casefic! They have literally all of time and space to see. It'd be fun to see them get into trouble in weird planets. How do they take advantage of their immortality? Does post-canon Clara keep her "oh I'm absolutely the Doctor" schtick?
- There's potential for bittersweetness, too, and the undercurrent of everything they've lost. Do they ever open up and talk about that, or is it forever an unsaid thing in the background?
Eleventh Doctor & Amy Pond & Rory Williams (Doctor Who 2005)
I love this Team TARDIS a lot. Amy and Rory love each other so much, and Eleven seems to be so happy with them around - always with the Doctor's ever present bittersweetness, of course. I really like how bold and adventurous Amy is, Rory's much more "just roll with anything" attitude, and how Eleven likes to poke mysteries with a stick.
Prompts:
- As always with Who, casefic is very appreciated. My favorite adventures in this era are the ones where Amy and Rory get to be very over-the-top about their universe-changing love.
- These characters have a lot of canon alternate versions - it'd be interesting to see a canon divergence with old!Amy or plastic!Rory in the TARDIS instead, for example.
Solo: Bill Potts (Doctor Who 2005)
Bill is such a great character. She's fun, and kind, and curious, and doesn't give up even when she's in over her head. She also gets several tropes I always enjoy (having her memories almost rewritten! waiting for years! becoming non-human!). I love her sense of wonder, and I'm glad that she ended up travelling around with her space girlfriend after all.
Prompts:
- Anything post-canon. She gets a happy ending, but it must have been weird at first: she was a Cyberman for a while, she died, and then she woke up and chose to not be human anymore. How does she deal with that?
- Bill as a Cyberman is really interesting to me, too, as is all her time in the hospital in the colony ship with "Razor".
- As usual, any adventure during her time with the Doctor would be great!
Twelfth Doctor/Missy (Doctor Who (2005))
I love Missy when she's at her most Evil Mary Poppins, and I also love her when she's learning to change. I love that Twelve is in so deep that he decides that yes, he'll keep her in a vault and watch her for a thousand years. They cover all the range from hilarious to heartbreaking.
Prompts:
- Fic set while the Doctor's watching the Vault. There's a lot of potential for bittersweetness and character development in that era.
- Twelve and Missy end up doing a lot of working together, both in the seasons with Clara and with Bill, and I'd love to see more of that kind of adventures.
- The canon divergence where Missy doesn't die and they go off to have ridiculous adventures through time and space together.
Star Trek: Discovery
Hugh Culber/Paul Stamets (ST: Discovery)
I really enjoy all aspects of their relationship: from their grounded, domestic cuteness to the whole epic "bringing your husband back from the dead" thing. I love them individually, too: Paul's curiosity and grumpiness and his earnest love for science, Hugh's kindness in spite of his sometimes harsh demeanor and his snarkier sense of humor.
Prompts:
- I would love to see backstory fic for them. We get several interesting glimpses about how they met and their early relationship, and it'd be nice to see that expanded upon.
- Fallout from Hugh dying and coming back! We do see some of it in season 2, of course, but they're mostly in the background. How do they rebuild this new, slightly different relationship?
- Anything about their daily life in the future, especially post-canon when Adira's also into the mix.
Keyla Detmer/Joann Owosekun (ST: Discovery)
Season 3 made me ship them so, so hard. They clearly understand and respect each other so much, and they're so supportive! And their joy at seeing each other still alive in the season finale was amazing. I loved seeing more of Keyla's hotshot pilot side, and of Joann's kindness that extends even to those cute little robots.
Prompts:
- They really should have kissed in the season 3 finale! Post-canon fic where they get together would be great.
- That said, I'd completely buy it if they've been together all along, so established relationship is fine by me too. Star Trek is yet another canon where I love missionfic and "girlfriends having adventures in the future" is a very enjoyable kind of fic.
- We know even less about their backstory than for Paul and Hugh, so what was that like? How did they first become friends? When did they learn they made such a good team?
Michael Burnham & Crew of the Starship Discovery (ST: Discovery)
Disco is one of those shows where I love everybody and Michael's relationship with the crew is a big reason why. She goes from being (understandably!) distrusted to being the captain, and it genuinely feels earned. I love how much she gets to open up as the series progresses. I also always enjoy it when friendship saves the day and this show is great for that.
Prompts:
- Fic about those early days when most of the crew was still getting to know Michael. We've seen the big important plot points, but how did her daily life begin to settle?
- Conversely, post-canon fic about Michael and the crew settling into the future together.
- And, as always, I love missionfic and adventures!
山河令 | Word of Honor (TV 2021)
Cao Weining/Gu Xiang (WOH TV 21)
These two are so adorable, and then they break my heart. Cao Weining starts out looking very naive and silly, but he has a backbone and real principles. Gu Xiang has a lot of baggage but she's still a cheerful young woman who's a much better person than she thinks. Their love is so sweet and earnest, and my favorite thing about them is that they do see each other for who they are, and still choose to be together.
Prompts:
- Fic about their time in the Gentle Wind Sword Sect and/or their eloping. It's a really interesting point in their relationship, since Cao Weining has only recently found out the whole truth.
- A canon divergence fix-it where they don't die is always welcome, of course. Maybe they finally get to open that sweets shop.
- These two are the reason for the "unless requested" caveat in my DNWs: reincarnation AUs! I want to believe the bracelets work and they do in fact meet each other again across their many lives.
Gu Xiang & Wen Kexing (WOH TV 21)
Their sibling-like relationship is fascinating to me. They had such a terrible, intense backstory together, and they came out of it caring about each other very deeply. I love how weird they get to be when they're alone, just being themselves: these aren't regular people! And they also share a will to see the human world and love people freely. They make me very sad, and also very happy.
Prompts:
- Once again, canon divergence is great. Gu Xiang is alive and well and her annoying brother comes down from the mountain to visit her way too often.
- Anything about Gu Xiang growing up in the Ghost Valley under Wen Kexing's protection.
Liu Qianqiao/Luo Fumeng (WOH TV 21)
My favorite thing about them is how loyal they are to each other. They're both very self-aware, too; they know perfectly well why their sad backstories are what they are, and they have no illusions about the world they're living in either. They're very pragmatic, compared to a lot of the other characters; I think that's really interesting.
Prompts:
- Fic set while Liu Qianqiao is taking care of the not-quite-rescued Luo Fumeng, or right after Luo Fumeng remembers her past. We see only glimpses of what they're going through at the time and it'd be interesting to explore it further.
- Anything about their past in the Ghost Valley together. They clearly have a history already when the show starts. How did they grow close?
- And, of course, canon divergence where they survive and get to have a happy life together.
Wen Kexing & Ye Baiyi (WOH TV 21)
These two are really interesting to me. They dislike each other, they enjoy being purposefully annoying, and yet they understand one another surprisingly well. I love that dynamic, and how Ye Baiyi eventually softens enough that he ends up helping Wen Kexing in many ways.
Prompts:
- The time they spend together in canon is limited, but I'd love any kind of expansion on that. Especially the parts we didn't get to see in detail or were told about later, like Ye Baiyi teaching Wen Kexing about the Combined Six Cultivation Method.
- Canon divergence where Wen Kexing does successfully go on with the plan to close off Ghost Valley, and Ye Baiyi shows up every once in a while with the excuse of seeing if they're all keeping their word.
GENERAL LIKES
Casefic and missionfic; backstory and missing scenes; hurt/comfort; slice of life; adventure; humor; dramatic irony; silly/humorous premises; competence and teamwork; friendship; sibling and sibling-like relationships; characters finding common ground.
GENERAL DNWs
Graphic violence; non-con/dub-con; non canonical character death; non canonical incest; unrequested non-canon ships; AUs that change the setting (unless requested); D/s dynamics; spanking.
The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Solo: Harry Dresden (Dresden Files - Butcher)
Solo: Molly Carpenter (Dresden Files - Butcher)
Harry Dresden & Molly Carpenter (Dresden Files - Butcher)
My favorite thing about Harry is how stubborn he is about doing the right thing and not giving up, even when the world keeps facing him with harder and harder choices. He's always doing the best he can, and never loses his ridiculous sense of humor. In contrast, Molly is a shadier type of character - her heart is in the right place but she's closer to the "ends justify the means" end of the spectrum. Together, they sometimes literally fight crime! They complement each other really well, even though they clash at times.
Harry prompts:
- This is a great canon for casefic. There is a lot of room for Harry to have adventures and solve mysteries in between books.
- Harry has a lot of friends and allies, even though he sometimes doesn't realize it. The contrast between his expectations about that and the reality where people actually care a lot about him can make for interesting fic.
Molly prompts:
- I'm really interested in Molly as Winter Lady. We see relatively little about that due to Harry's point of view, so what's going on there? How is she dealing with her new-ish position?
- Her pre-Proven Guilty backstory is interesting too: her first steps in magic, and how she ended up with those friends and boyfriend.
Harry & Molly prompts:
- I'd love anything about how they deal with being part of the Winter Court now. There are so many hints about them gradually becoming more inhuman, and I think that's fascinating.
- Molly's first real magic lessons from the period between Proven Guilty and White Night that we didn't get to see.
Harry Dresden & Thomas Raith (Dresden Files - Butcher)
I love Thomas because he tries so, so hard to not be a monster. I love that Harry knows this, but he also knows that Thomas can become a monster, no matter how hard he tries. They care so much about each other, they're really protective, and having to keep their real relationship a secret from most people gives it yet another interesting layer.
Prompts:
- I would love some platonic hurt/comfort for them! They're both very whump-able characters and I'm into scenarios where either of them needs to take care of the other, especially if they're still being their snarky selves.
- Anything where Thomas ends up almost or not-so-almost giving in to the Hunger and Harry needs to stop him would be great.
- For a lighter tone, I'd love casefic and adventures with them too. They make a good team, and seeing them get in and out of trouble is fun!
天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tian Guan Ci Fu - Moxiang Tongxiu
Fēng Xìn/Mù Qíng (TGCF)
These two hit me right in the "constant bickering turned into UST" trope, but there is also a serious undercurrent behind the humor that helps make them rounded characters. They've spent centuries stuck in the same dynamic, without either becoming friends again or avoiding each other. Their original falling out (with each other and with Xie Lian) was complex and very human: they both had good points, they both screwed up, and given their circumstances it makes sense why they couldn't see eye-to-eye. They're very funny, but they also have emotional depth.
Prompts:
- Getting together fic! After 800 years, and with their shining personalities, how does that even look like?
- One of my favorite things about these two is how the book kept putting them in ridiculous, tropey peril, so more of that would be great.
- For a less silly take, it'd be interesting to see them forced to work together for some case/mission so they can show off their more competent sides.
Ling Wen & Shi Wudu & Pei Ming (TGCF)
Líng Wén/Péi Míng/Shī Wúdù (TGCF)
I love how in spite of each of them having their own personal drama, they're actually very chill together. I think the idea of these people who nobody else seems to like because they're dicks even by TGCF!Heaven's standards becoming friends (and/or lovers) is very interesting, and I wish we had seen more about them together.
Prompts:
- Anything about the backstory about how they met and became friends/lovers, or about what they're doing off-page, since we know so little about it.
- Some kind of casefic would be fun too. Do they help each other with their work? Do they accidentally cause more trouble?
- The post-canon fix-it where Ling Wen and Pei Ming somehow revive Shi Wudu.
魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Modao Zushi - Moxiang Tongxiu
Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén/Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo/Niè Míngjué (MDSZ)
Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén/Niè Míngjué (MDSZ)
Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo/Niè Míngjué (MDSZ)
Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén/Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo (MDZS)
I love the tragedy of 3zun (and of each of the pairings involved) because they had so much potential. These are people who could've brought out the best in each other, but their circumstances and their own flaws doomed them to be a disaster. Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue are both good people trying to do the right thing, and yet Nie Mingjue is all action while Lan Xichen is all thought. Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao respect each other at first but become incapable of seeing things from the other's perspective, even before Jin Guangyao goes full villain. Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen care deeply for each other and see the best in each other, but their relationship also hinges on Jin Guangyao hiding terrible secrets for years. And when you put all three of them together, of course it all goes up in flames.
NieYao prompts:
- Sunshot era adventures! Not a lot of time passes since they first meet until Nie Mingjue writes Meng Yao a recommendation letter, so those early good impressions must have been pretty intense. I'd love to see fic about that short amount of time when they made a good team.
- The "can't get over your ex" situation where they already had their falling out, they know getting involved is a bad idea, but they can't help themselves.
- Post-canon fic about them as fierce corpses stuck in a coffin, as serious or cracky as you'd like.
XiYao prompts:
- Fic set when Meng Yao was hiding Lan Xichen from the Wen sect. That time has so much hurt/comfort potential, and it'd be interesting to get to actually see their first impressions about each other.
- A mutual pining, courtly love type of thing where they're in love with each other and know it, but they also know they can't act on it.
- Any kind of canon divergence where Jin Guangyao doesn't spiral into digging himself an ever-deeper hole; I'd love for them to have nice things.
NieLan prompts:
- These two are made for "battle couple" kind of stuff, so I'd love to see them go on adventures and be competent together: going on night hunts, fighting during Sunshot, anything like that.
- When and how did Lan Xichen first find out about the Nie sect's qi deviation problem? How did he try to help? I can see this going in a canonically angsty direction, or in a fix-it direction where his help works; I'd enjoy either of those.
- Again with the pining/courtly love thing: how do two Sect Leaders make a relationship work?
3zun prompts:
- I'd love to read about them navigating getting together, especially if it's happening at around the same time as their sworn brotherhood and they already have all the fallout from Sunshot to deal with.
- Post-sworn brotherhood casefic, with them having to solve problems while dealing with their interpersonal mess.
- Fix-it fic! There are so many points where a canon divergence might improve things for them. I love their tragedy, as I said, but I'd be up for some happiness too.
陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Baoshan Sanren/Lan Yi (The Untamed)
So little canon, so many feelings. What little we learn about them is very intriguing! Lan Yi's story hits so many of my favorite tropes: misplaced good intentions, hubris, falling out with a (more than?) friend, said friend trying to stop her, locking herself up to "fix" it… it's wonderful.
Prompts:
- It's very tempting to say "literally anything", but I think there are three big scenarios here that'd be interesting to see in fic: her relationship with Baoshan Sanren before the Yin Iron mess, fic about their falling out itself, and the way each of them moved on (or didn't!) with her life after Lan Yi stuck herself in her cave.
Solo: Nie Huaisang (The Untamed)
Nie Huaisang & Nie Mingjue (The Untamed)
Niè Huáisāng & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn (The Untamed)
I love Nie Huaisang's secrets, his ruthlessness, and his contrasts. The drama shows us a lot of his friendly, carefree side in his youth, and it's really interesting (and heartbreaking) to see him end up as a lonely manipulator, and how he really was a rage-filled, stubborn Nie after all. The contrasts are a big part of what I like about his relationship with Nie Mingjue, too: they're very different, at least superficially, but they love each other deeply in spite of their arguments and would do anything for each other. And of course their bond is what drives the present-day plot! Meanwhile, with Wei Wuxian, what I find interesting is how similar they are - they even acknowledge it themselves - and yet they end up going in very different paths. I like that the drama gave their friendship so much screentime, too, and we've seen them genuinely have fun with each other.
(I've watched and liked Fatal Journey; I don't *expect* fic that uses it as a canon source, since it's just a tie-in, but feel free to use it if you want!)
Nie Huaisang prompts:
- His point of view on what's happened between Nie Mingjue's death and the present would be really interesting to see. What was his headspace like?
- Post-canon fic about whatever he decides to do after it's all over. Does he mean what he says to Wei Wuxian about not getting involved anymore? Does he get in trouble anyway?
Nie Huaisang & Nie Mingjue prompts:
- Backstory fic! Anything about their chilhood/youth, including the timeskip years, would make me very happy. With them what I find most interesting is their relationship itself, regardless of plot.
- That said, some kind of time travel fix-it would be really fun too.
Nie Huaisang & Wei Wuxian prompts:
- Post-canon fic where they're forced to awkwardly work together. Maybe they go on an adventure, maybe they have to solve a mystery - I think it'd be fun to see them stuck with each other and hopefully start rebuilding their friendship.
- For a lighter tone, Gusu era fic would be great. What other nonsense did they get into that we didn't see?
Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn & Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín (The Untamed)
I love their friendship, and their deep, mutual loyalty, and how they are in fact pretty damn dangerous. For both of them, being good people is an active choice. Wen Ning is a sweetheart with a hidden backbone of steel, Wei Wuxian can be very kind under all his bluster, and the combination makes for a really interesting mix.
Prompts:
- There's a lot of unexplored time while they're in the Burial Mounds. It'd be interesting to see them build their little community and try to have some semblance of peace in the middle of everything that's going on.
- Post-canon fic with the newly evolved, self-assured Wen Ning after he's done some of his own traveling. How does their relationship change? Are they more of a team of equals, now? Even more fun if they end up going in some kind of adventure together.
- These two have a lot of canon-divergence potential, too. What happens if Wei Wuxian manages to rescue Wen Ning earlier? Or if they meet in a different way in the present day?
Gravity Falls
Candy Chiu & Grenda & Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)
Mabel and her friends are a delight! Most of all I love how much fun they have all the time. They like each other so much, even with their occasional fight, and all three of them are so weird in different ways that the combination is hilarious.
Prompts:
- Having adventures and fighting monsters, in their own unique way! I loved the unicorn episode and I'd gladly read a lot more of that.
- What's it like when they all meet each other again the next summer? Does Mabel feel like the odd one out at first? I feel like that'd easily lead to sitcom-style misunderstandings.
- Honestly, given that this is Gravity Falls, I'm sure I'd enjoy any out there, silly premise you might come up with.
Mabel Pines & Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls)
The way these two care for each other and just enjoy doing things together warms my heart. They're really different and argue a lot, but they love each other, and I like that this comes up not only in the big "would do anything for each other" moments but also in how much fun they have together and how silly they are.
Prompts:
- It'd be really interesting to see them readjust to their usual life after the summer. How do they deal with just going back to school after all they've been through? Do they end up encountering some kind of weirdness anyway?
- Any regular Gravity Falls-style adventure would be great, whether it's something that happened off-screen during canon or a new one next summer.
- Future-fic could also be interesting for them. What are they like as teenagers, or even adults?
Doctor Who (1963)
Fourth Doctor/Romana (Doctor Who 1963)
I think it's great how Romana first arrives thinking she's here to be a voice of reason, and then the more time she spends with the Doctor the more like him she becomes, until by the end she doesn't even want to return to Gallifrey. They're also hilarious together, of course, and they clearly enjoy their constant banter.
Prompts:
- Doctor Who is a great canon for casefic, and in the case of these two, ridiculous Adams-esque premises are a plus. I love them when they're solving serious problems and saving people, and I love them when they're just frolicking around and getting involved in people's business because they just happened to be there.
- Getting together fic would be fun! When I rewatch their episodes I always get this "oh yes, they're an item now" feeling, but how did it actually happen?
Third Doctor/The Master (Delgado) (Doctor Who 1963)
The funny thing about this incarnation of Doctor/Master is that they're almost low-key. The Master is pretty much the Doctor's embarrassing ex, but that doesn't stop the Doctor from visiting him in jail! And the Master does try to kill the Doctor, except not really. They're fun when they're enemies, and they're fun when they're forced to team up.
Prompts:
- Again, silly premises are a feature for this era. I'm all for reading about the Master's increasingly ridiculous plans to get the Doctor's attention, and the Doctor's exasperated reactions.
- Since I mentioned teaming up: fic about them having to work together against a bigger bad would be great.
Doctor Who (2005)
Solo: Clara Oswin Oswald (Doctor Who 2005)
Ashildr | Lady Me & Clara Oswin Oswald (Doctor Who 2005)
I find Clara's character arc really compelling. She starts out travelling with the Doctor as a casual thing, then she wants to keep that and also her normal life with her normal boyfriend, and it just can't be. I also love how she starts embracing her more ruthless side as time goes by! She can be pretty cold, and she's proud of being a brilliant liar. But she still wants to be Doctor-like, after all, and I like that she ends up with her own TARDIS and everything. I think there's a lot of potential in her relationship with Lady Me: they're both functionally immortal, although Me is much, much older, and it's great that they get to travel together instead of each being alone.
Clara prompts:
- Season 7 or 8 fic where she's still trying to find a balance between her regular life and her life with the Doctor.
- It'd be interesting to see fic where the adventures she goes on lead to her leaning more on her colder, harder side, whether she's started to realize it or not.
Clara & Lady Me prompts:
- So much potential for casefic! They have literally all of time and space to see. It'd be fun to see them get into trouble in weird planets. How do they take advantage of their immortality? Does post-canon Clara keep her "oh I'm absolutely the Doctor" schtick?
- There's potential for bittersweetness, too, and the undercurrent of everything they've lost. Do they ever open up and talk about that, or is it forever an unsaid thing in the background?
Eleventh Doctor & Amy Pond & Rory Williams (Doctor Who 2005)
I love this Team TARDIS a lot. Amy and Rory love each other so much, and Eleven seems to be so happy with them around - always with the Doctor's ever present bittersweetness, of course. I really like how bold and adventurous Amy is, Rory's much more "just roll with anything" attitude, and how Eleven likes to poke mysteries with a stick.
Prompts:
- As always with Who, casefic is very appreciated. My favorite adventures in this era are the ones where Amy and Rory get to be very over-the-top about their universe-changing love.
- These characters have a lot of canon alternate versions - it'd be interesting to see a canon divergence with old!Amy or plastic!Rory in the TARDIS instead, for example.
Solo: Bill Potts (Doctor Who 2005)
Bill is such a great character. She's fun, and kind, and curious, and doesn't give up even when she's in over her head. She also gets several tropes I always enjoy (having her memories almost rewritten! waiting for years! becoming non-human!). I love her sense of wonder, and I'm glad that she ended up travelling around with her space girlfriend after all.
Prompts:
- Anything post-canon. She gets a happy ending, but it must have been weird at first: she was a Cyberman for a while, she died, and then she woke up and chose to not be human anymore. How does she deal with that?
- Bill as a Cyberman is really interesting to me, too, as is all her time in the hospital in the colony ship with "Razor".
- As usual, any adventure during her time with the Doctor would be great!
Twelfth Doctor/Missy (Doctor Who (2005))
I love Missy when she's at her most Evil Mary Poppins, and I also love her when she's learning to change. I love that Twelve is in so deep that he decides that yes, he'll keep her in a vault and watch her for a thousand years. They cover all the range from hilarious to heartbreaking.
Prompts:
- Fic set while the Doctor's watching the Vault. There's a lot of potential for bittersweetness and character development in that era.
- Twelve and Missy end up doing a lot of working together, both in the seasons with Clara and with Bill, and I'd love to see more of that kind of adventures.
- The canon divergence where Missy doesn't die and they go off to have ridiculous adventures through time and space together.
Star Trek: Discovery
Hugh Culber/Paul Stamets (ST: Discovery)
I really enjoy all aspects of their relationship: from their grounded, domestic cuteness to the whole epic "bringing your husband back from the dead" thing. I love them individually, too: Paul's curiosity and grumpiness and his earnest love for science, Hugh's kindness in spite of his sometimes harsh demeanor and his snarkier sense of humor.
Prompts:
- I would love to see backstory fic for them. We get several interesting glimpses about how they met and their early relationship, and it'd be nice to see that expanded upon.
- Fallout from Hugh dying and coming back! We do see some of it in season 2, of course, but they're mostly in the background. How do they rebuild this new, slightly different relationship?
- Anything about their daily life in the future, especially post-canon when Adira's also into the mix.
Keyla Detmer/Joann Owosekun (ST: Discovery)
Season 3 made me ship them so, so hard. They clearly understand and respect each other so much, and they're so supportive! And their joy at seeing each other still alive in the season finale was amazing. I loved seeing more of Keyla's hotshot pilot side, and of Joann's kindness that extends even to those cute little robots.
Prompts:
- They really should have kissed in the season 3 finale! Post-canon fic where they get together would be great.
- That said, I'd completely buy it if they've been together all along, so established relationship is fine by me too. Star Trek is yet another canon where I love missionfic and "girlfriends having adventures in the future" is a very enjoyable kind of fic.
- We know even less about their backstory than for Paul and Hugh, so what was that like? How did they first become friends? When did they learn they made such a good team?
Michael Burnham & Crew of the Starship Discovery (ST: Discovery)
Disco is one of those shows where I love everybody and Michael's relationship with the crew is a big reason why. She goes from being (understandably!) distrusted to being the captain, and it genuinely feels earned. I love how much she gets to open up as the series progresses. I also always enjoy it when friendship saves the day and this show is great for that.
Prompts:
- Fic about those early days when most of the crew was still getting to know Michael. We've seen the big important plot points, but how did her daily life begin to settle?
- Conversely, post-canon fic about Michael and the crew settling into the future together.
- And, as always, I love missionfic and adventures!
山河令 | Word of Honor (TV 2021)
Cao Weining/Gu Xiang (WOH TV 21)
These two are so adorable, and then they break my heart. Cao Weining starts out looking very naive and silly, but he has a backbone and real principles. Gu Xiang has a lot of baggage but she's still a cheerful young woman who's a much better person than she thinks. Their love is so sweet and earnest, and my favorite thing about them is that they do see each other for who they are, and still choose to be together.
Prompts:
- Fic about their time in the Gentle Wind Sword Sect and/or their eloping. It's a really interesting point in their relationship, since Cao Weining has only recently found out the whole truth.
- A canon divergence fix-it where they don't die is always welcome, of course. Maybe they finally get to open that sweets shop.
- These two are the reason for the "unless requested" caveat in my DNWs: reincarnation AUs! I want to believe the bracelets work and they do in fact meet each other again across their many lives.
Gu Xiang & Wen Kexing (WOH TV 21)
Their sibling-like relationship is fascinating to me. They had such a terrible, intense backstory together, and they came out of it caring about each other very deeply. I love how weird they get to be when they're alone, just being themselves: these aren't regular people! And they also share a will to see the human world and love people freely. They make me very sad, and also very happy.
Prompts:
- Once again, canon divergence is great. Gu Xiang is alive and well and her annoying brother comes down from the mountain to visit her way too often.
- Anything about Gu Xiang growing up in the Ghost Valley under Wen Kexing's protection.
Liu Qianqiao/Luo Fumeng (WOH TV 21)
My favorite thing about them is how loyal they are to each other. They're both very self-aware, too; they know perfectly well why their sad backstories are what they are, and they have no illusions about the world they're living in either. They're very pragmatic, compared to a lot of the other characters; I think that's really interesting.
Prompts:
- Fic set while Liu Qianqiao is taking care of the not-quite-rescued Luo Fumeng, or right after Luo Fumeng remembers her past. We see only glimpses of what they're going through at the time and it'd be interesting to explore it further.
- Anything about their past in the Ghost Valley together. They clearly have a history already when the show starts. How did they grow close?
- And, of course, canon divergence where they survive and get to have a happy life together.
Wen Kexing & Ye Baiyi (WOH TV 21)
These two are really interesting to me. They dislike each other, they enjoy being purposefully annoying, and yet they understand one another surprisingly well. I love that dynamic, and how Ye Baiyi eventually softens enough that he ends up helping Wen Kexing in many ways.
Prompts:
- The time they spend together in canon is limited, but I'd love any kind of expansion on that. Especially the parts we didn't get to see in detail or were told about later, like Ye Baiyi teaching Wen Kexing about the Combined Six Cultivation Method.
- Canon divergence where Wen Kexing does successfully go on with the plan to close off Ghost Valley, and Ye Baiyi shows up every once in a while with the excuse of seeing if they're all keeping their word.