Dear Author (Rare Male Slash 2018)
May. 23rd, 2018 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pannyGeneral Likes: Tropey shenanigans, taken as seriously or as silly as you like. Protectiveness. Loyalty. Conflict. Hurt/comfort. Messy, complicated relationships where no one person is necessarily "better" than the other. Characters who are normally in control very much not being that. Canon divergence/for want of a nail AUs. Role swaps. Dragons and/or robots. Hair ruffling.
General DNWs: Porn. Non-canonical (permanent) major character death. Torture or mutilation. Issue fic. Mundane AUs (e.g. coffee shop, no powers, etc.). Non-con, even off screen.
Crossover Fandoms
Dorian Gray/Henry Jekyll
Okay, so this is the weird Gothic Horror crossover pair of my heart. Like, it just makes sense to me. I was lucky enough to receive a wonderful fill for it in Chocolate Box this year, but this is something I'm always going to want more of.
I have a certain fascination with Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and with the Hyde archetype in general. I can go on for hours about how interesting it is that the idea of the id made manifest has transformed from a purely cautionary tale to a source of strength and frequently an outright super power in modern pop culture. I have consumed so many reinterpretations of the Jekyll and Hyde story and more than half of them are terrible, but I did it anyway because it was a labour of love.
I don't always see eye to eye with Oscar Wilde, but I have a deep fondness for his writing. The Picture of Dorian Gray was a bright spot in more than one otherwise dreary course (The Importance of Being Earnest got to be in the fun course). The character of Dorian has stuck with me over the years. Of course, as with most things, I took the gayest possible reading of the book I could manage (not that that was difficult).
So, here we have two men. One who desires more than anything to cleanse himself of any perceived impurities, one who is initially naive if self-centered, but is seduced by the allure of a hedonistic life style. Through some sort of vaguely supernatural means, they both find a way to seemingly escape consequence for their actions (consequences that they fear deeply in ordinary circumstances) and inevitably can't resist the opportunity to throw their inhibitions out the window. In both cases, things escalate to the point of murder and both men are stricken with guilt. Both men at some point in their respective novels attempt to turn a new leaf and fail. Both men are ultimately undone by the very thing that had been protecting them from the consequences of their indulgence and die as a result.
Pretty much anything you want to do here would be a delight for me. You could set your work within the context of their struggles within the novels or focus on AU versions that somehow survived and had to learn to live with themselves and what they had turned into. You can make them villainous, if you'd like. Or, sure, why not play with these concepts as superpowers (I liked the concept of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, even if the execution didn't quite hit the right notes for me).
I am prompting for the characters as they appear in the original novels, but if you want to play fast and loose with what's established in canon, that's fine by me. I'm not super married to things like the minute details of how the serum or the painting work if you have a particular direction in which you want to take those things and you're more than welcome to mess with the worldbuilding.
The Adventure Zone
Edmund "Ned" Chicane/Duck Newton
I'm a real sucker for shared histories and odd friendships, so these two were already half way to charming me when they were introduced. I was 100% for the combination of park ranger-who-has-spent-his-life-avoiding-weird-stuff Duck and conman-who-makes-weird-stuff-his-business Ned being buddies and I fell for the Amnesty crew very quickly once the mini arc got rolling.
Clint dove into the role of Ned so quickly and gave him so much charm and character. I can't help but love the concept of a conman who came into possession of real supernatural artifacts while thinking the whole thing is bogus (and I haven't even watched Gravity Falls). Justin's characters are always a hit with me in general, but I'm also really into chosen-ones-who-avoid-the-call and Duck's combination of straight man delivery and familiar rural charm are pitch perfect. I also like that these are explicitly older dudes with some life experience under their belts.
Since it's obviously early days in season 2 and these characters are still being developed, I'm not at all worried about anything potentially being jossed later. The new reveals that we're slowly getting are fun (high school burnout!Duck!), but wherever you feel makes sense to take these characters is fine. The rest of the Amnesty crew is totally welcome to put in an appearance as well, especially Beacon (oh god, Beacon) and Aubrey.
There's already been some interesting stuff to play off of recently, particularly how each of them reacted when the other was in mortal danger. Duck freezing up because he couldn't figure out how to deal with someone he cares about being in danger and that being his worst fear is great. Ned diving in with some creative heroics and then backing out as soon as he was in danger himself, only to have to apologize afterward is also great.
I would be super into anything set during a hunt (for any sort of cryptid your heart desires) because I have always been a fan of the whole Monster of the Week genre formula and I think a case provides great opportunity for tension and character interaction. I am also up for weird, general supernatural tropey shenanigans like Groundhog Day loops and tangentially related general tropey fun that could come about from being monster hunters like "oh no, we are now trapped in this cave together". That being said, I am also totally down for backstory stuff revolving around how these two men met and became (more than) friends.
The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde (Comic)
Thomas Adye/Edward Hyde
The dynamic between these two pretty much made the comic for me. It's so good. The general back and forth and learning to work together and Tom discovering things about himself that maybe he would have preferred not to. And then that genuine moment of returned friendship just before Tom shot Hyde in the chest followed by Tom tearing up in relief over having confirmation that Hyde's still alive and then using his serial killer best buddy to threaten people. Right up my alley.
I really like all the development and internal conflict that Tom went through over the course of the comic and would be totally stoked to see further development and potential fallout related to that. Whatever reason you can cook up for Hyde making a return and the two of them having to team up again is totally fine with me. (Has someone come after Hyde? Is Hyde keeping tabs on his good mate Tom? Did Tom finally decide to track Hyde down himself? Does the newest villain have something Hyde's interested in?)
I know the original comic has a lot of violence against women because, well...Jack the Ripper and I'm fine with there being some female murder victims in fic for it, but I'd also prefer that the fic not...dwell on it. If possible.
I would be totally head over heels for something set after the original comic dealing with some other famous literary monsters/villains, especially those drawn from Gothic horror. The sequel hook at the end of the comic teased the Invisible Man as Tom's next case and the cover for the planned sequel comic (which sadly never materialized) confirmed that Dorian Gray exists in this universe and would come into contact with Tom. Either of those options would be fabulous, but don't feel restricted by them - bring in whoever you want.
Mob Psycho 100
Fandom Specific Likes:
-Reigen being almost alarmingly competent when he's in his element. And occasionally whipping out surprisingly useful skills even when he's out of it. Or else simply bluffing his way through a problem and pulling it off with style.
-On the other hand, Reigen getting in over his head and other characters having to intervene.
-Reigen whump is totally cool with me too. As are protective!Serizawa and/or protective!Dimple.
-All of Reigen's weirdness and eccentricities and hang ups and his peculiar moral code.
-Espers being badass.
-Solving mundane situations through supernatural means and solving supernatural situations through mundane means.
-Reigen making excuses to hang out with dogs.
Fandom Specific Dislikes:
-Reigen gaining powers in any permanent capacity. Possession and/or temporary power transfer is totally cool , though.
-Explicitly referring to Reigen (or Dimple or Serizawa) as Mob's "dad".
General Prompt Ideas:
-How fun was that urban legends arc in the manga? Seriously, every time it's even briefly referenced, it brings an instant smile to my face. I'd absolutely be here for a fic about Spirits and Such dealing with a case based on another well-known legend or ghost story or even creepy pasta or a horror movie. Whether the danger really is supernatural in nature or it's a classic Scooby Doo reveal of "old man Jenkins in a rubber mask" is up to you. It's just fun to point and go "oh, oh, I get that reference!"
-Any sort of scenario where the characters solve a problem in a really unexpected way. The more off-the-wall, the better. Again, I love it when major supernatural problems have a really mundane solution and when everyday problems end up being handled through more complicated, supernatural means.
-Any cases that we may not have seen or that may happen in the future.
Reigen Arataka/Serizawa Katsuya
I was so delighted when Serizawa became a permanent addition to the cast and he hasn't disappointed. It's also nice to see Reigen get to interact with another adult on the regular, even if Serizawa's life experience is a little...unique (I also generally enjoy getting to spend time with characters closer to my own age when it happens in the genres I like).
I find it really interesting that while Reigen has a lot more experience being a (relatively) functioning member of society than Serizawa and is probably better at reading people (and when that fails and he makes a wrong assumption, he can be counted on to make up the difference through sheer overwhelming perseverance), Serizawa seems to have an easier time actually making real connections with other people. I mean, Serizawa has friends to hang out with, whereas Reigen...is Reigen. Serizawa, for all his lack of experience with other people, is also really good at reading Reigen. He picks up on enough that he seems to realize that Reigen is bluffing when he complains about having to "babysit" Mob and the telepathy club on New Year's Eve.
SeriRei is a really adorable ship that opens a lot of fun possibilities to play off of both characters' quirks and I would be delighted with anything featuring the two of them.
Reigen Arataka/Dimple
I was talking about MP100 with some friends (who I am still steadily coaxing toward giving it a shot) recently and they asked incredulously if anyone actually shipped the little green fart. Boy howdy, they were not ready for when they got a dissertation in response.
Dimple and Reigen are simply wonderful foils for each other and their dynamic is so fun. I feel like they get to be honest with each other in ways that they can't always be with the other characters in the series because they're so aware of each other's flaws and so willing to poke at each other over them. I like the sense of (initially reluctant) camaraderie they develop over the course of the series and the banter they engage in. I like how often they're actually willing to team up when it comes to Mob and that they're both pretty willing to throw themselves into danger when the chips are down. I like that they're both kind of assholes sometimes, but they're also both kind of lonely guys who aren't very good at the whole making friends thing.
Anything for the two of them would be delightful. Like I am happy just seeing them interact while farting around the office or Dimple following Reigen home one day or something like that. Of course, I am absolutely down for them tackling a case together (with or without assistance from any other characters) . Possession shenanigans are 100% okay, but I do like to see them interacting as themselves too.
General DNWs: Porn. Non-canonical (permanent) major character death. Torture or mutilation. Issue fic. Mundane AUs (e.g. coffee shop, no powers, etc.). Non-con, even off screen.
Crossover Fandoms
Dorian Gray/Henry Jekyll
Okay, so this is the weird Gothic Horror crossover pair of my heart. Like, it just makes sense to me. I was lucky enough to receive a wonderful fill for it in Chocolate Box this year, but this is something I'm always going to want more of.
I have a certain fascination with Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and with the Hyde archetype in general. I can go on for hours about how interesting it is that the idea of the id made manifest has transformed from a purely cautionary tale to a source of strength and frequently an outright super power in modern pop culture. I have consumed so many reinterpretations of the Jekyll and Hyde story and more than half of them are terrible, but I did it anyway because it was a labour of love.
I don't always see eye to eye with Oscar Wilde, but I have a deep fondness for his writing. The Picture of Dorian Gray was a bright spot in more than one otherwise dreary course (The Importance of Being Earnest got to be in the fun course). The character of Dorian has stuck with me over the years. Of course, as with most things, I took the gayest possible reading of the book I could manage (not that that was difficult).
So, here we have two men. One who desires more than anything to cleanse himself of any perceived impurities, one who is initially naive if self-centered, but is seduced by the allure of a hedonistic life style. Through some sort of vaguely supernatural means, they both find a way to seemingly escape consequence for their actions (consequences that they fear deeply in ordinary circumstances) and inevitably can't resist the opportunity to throw their inhibitions out the window. In both cases, things escalate to the point of murder and both men are stricken with guilt. Both men at some point in their respective novels attempt to turn a new leaf and fail. Both men are ultimately undone by the very thing that had been protecting them from the consequences of their indulgence and die as a result.
Pretty much anything you want to do here would be a delight for me. You could set your work within the context of their struggles within the novels or focus on AU versions that somehow survived and had to learn to live with themselves and what they had turned into. You can make them villainous, if you'd like. Or, sure, why not play with these concepts as superpowers (I liked the concept of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, even if the execution didn't quite hit the right notes for me).
I am prompting for the characters as they appear in the original novels, but if you want to play fast and loose with what's established in canon, that's fine by me. I'm not super married to things like the minute details of how the serum or the painting work if you have a particular direction in which you want to take those things and you're more than welcome to mess with the worldbuilding.
The Adventure Zone
Edmund "Ned" Chicane/Duck Newton
I'm a real sucker for shared histories and odd friendships, so these two were already half way to charming me when they were introduced. I was 100% for the combination of park ranger-who-has-spent-his-life-avoiding-weird-stuff Duck and conman-who-makes-weird-stuff-his-business Ned being buddies and I fell for the Amnesty crew very quickly once the mini arc got rolling.
Clint dove into the role of Ned so quickly and gave him so much charm and character. I can't help but love the concept of a conman who came into possession of real supernatural artifacts while thinking the whole thing is bogus (and I haven't even watched Gravity Falls). Justin's characters are always a hit with me in general, but I'm also really into chosen-ones-who-avoid-the-call and Duck's combination of straight man delivery and familiar rural charm are pitch perfect. I also like that these are explicitly older dudes with some life experience under their belts.
Since it's obviously early days in season 2 and these characters are still being developed, I'm not at all worried about anything potentially being jossed later. The new reveals that we're slowly getting are fun (high school burnout!Duck!), but wherever you feel makes sense to take these characters is fine. The rest of the Amnesty crew is totally welcome to put in an appearance as well, especially Beacon (oh god, Beacon) and Aubrey.
There's already been some interesting stuff to play off of recently, particularly how each of them reacted when the other was in mortal danger. Duck freezing up because he couldn't figure out how to deal with someone he cares about being in danger and that being his worst fear is great. Ned diving in with some creative heroics and then backing out as soon as he was in danger himself, only to have to apologize afterward is also great.
I would be super into anything set during a hunt (for any sort of cryptid your heart desires) because I have always been a fan of the whole Monster of the Week genre formula and I think a case provides great opportunity for tension and character interaction. I am also up for weird, general supernatural tropey shenanigans like Groundhog Day loops and tangentially related general tropey fun that could come about from being monster hunters like "oh no, we are now trapped in this cave together". That being said, I am also totally down for backstory stuff revolving around how these two men met and became (more than) friends.
The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde (Comic)
Thomas Adye/Edward Hyde
The dynamic between these two pretty much made the comic for me. It's so good. The general back and forth and learning to work together and Tom discovering things about himself that maybe he would have preferred not to. And then that genuine moment of returned friendship just before Tom shot Hyde in the chest followed by Tom tearing up in relief over having confirmation that Hyde's still alive and then using his serial killer best buddy to threaten people. Right up my alley.
I really like all the development and internal conflict that Tom went through over the course of the comic and would be totally stoked to see further development and potential fallout related to that. Whatever reason you can cook up for Hyde making a return and the two of them having to team up again is totally fine with me. (Has someone come after Hyde? Is Hyde keeping tabs on his good mate Tom? Did Tom finally decide to track Hyde down himself? Does the newest villain have something Hyde's interested in?)
I know the original comic has a lot of violence against women because, well...Jack the Ripper and I'm fine with there being some female murder victims in fic for it, but I'd also prefer that the fic not...dwell on it. If possible.
I would be totally head over heels for something set after the original comic dealing with some other famous literary monsters/villains, especially those drawn from Gothic horror. The sequel hook at the end of the comic teased the Invisible Man as Tom's next case and the cover for the planned sequel comic (which sadly never materialized) confirmed that Dorian Gray exists in this universe and would come into contact with Tom. Either of those options would be fabulous, but don't feel restricted by them - bring in whoever you want.
Mob Psycho 100
Fandom Specific Likes:
-Reigen being almost alarmingly competent when he's in his element. And occasionally whipping out surprisingly useful skills even when he's out of it. Or else simply bluffing his way through a problem and pulling it off with style.
-On the other hand, Reigen getting in over his head and other characters having to intervene.
-Reigen whump is totally cool with me too. As are protective!Serizawa and/or protective!Dimple.
-All of Reigen's weirdness and eccentricities and hang ups and his peculiar moral code.
-Espers being badass.
-Solving mundane situations through supernatural means and solving supernatural situations through mundane means.
-Reigen making excuses to hang out with dogs.
Fandom Specific Dislikes:
-Reigen gaining powers in any permanent capacity. Possession and/or temporary power transfer is totally cool , though.
-Explicitly referring to Reigen (or Dimple or Serizawa) as Mob's "dad".
General Prompt Ideas:
-How fun was that urban legends arc in the manga? Seriously, every time it's even briefly referenced, it brings an instant smile to my face. I'd absolutely be here for a fic about Spirits and Such dealing with a case based on another well-known legend or ghost story or even creepy pasta or a horror movie. Whether the danger really is supernatural in nature or it's a classic Scooby Doo reveal of "old man Jenkins in a rubber mask" is up to you. It's just fun to point and go "oh, oh, I get that reference!"
-Any sort of scenario where the characters solve a problem in a really unexpected way. The more off-the-wall, the better. Again, I love it when major supernatural problems have a really mundane solution and when everyday problems end up being handled through more complicated, supernatural means.
-Any cases that we may not have seen or that may happen in the future.
Reigen Arataka/Serizawa Katsuya
I was so delighted when Serizawa became a permanent addition to the cast and he hasn't disappointed. It's also nice to see Reigen get to interact with another adult on the regular, even if Serizawa's life experience is a little...unique (I also generally enjoy getting to spend time with characters closer to my own age when it happens in the genres I like).
I find it really interesting that while Reigen has a lot more experience being a (relatively) functioning member of society than Serizawa and is probably better at reading people (and when that fails and he makes a wrong assumption, he can be counted on to make up the difference through sheer overwhelming perseverance), Serizawa seems to have an easier time actually making real connections with other people. I mean, Serizawa has friends to hang out with, whereas Reigen...is Reigen. Serizawa, for all his lack of experience with other people, is also really good at reading Reigen. He picks up on enough that he seems to realize that Reigen is bluffing when he complains about having to "babysit" Mob and the telepathy club on New Year's Eve.
SeriRei is a really adorable ship that opens a lot of fun possibilities to play off of both characters' quirks and I would be delighted with anything featuring the two of them.
Reigen Arataka/Dimple
I was talking about MP100 with some friends (who I am still steadily coaxing toward giving it a shot) recently and they asked incredulously if anyone actually shipped the little green fart. Boy howdy, they were not ready for when they got a dissertation in response.
Dimple and Reigen are simply wonderful foils for each other and their dynamic is so fun. I feel like they get to be honest with each other in ways that they can't always be with the other characters in the series because they're so aware of each other's flaws and so willing to poke at each other over them. I like the sense of (initially reluctant) camaraderie they develop over the course of the series and the banter they engage in. I like how often they're actually willing to team up when it comes to Mob and that they're both pretty willing to throw themselves into danger when the chips are down. I like that they're both kind of assholes sometimes, but they're also both kind of lonely guys who aren't very good at the whole making friends thing.
Anything for the two of them would be delightful. Like I am happy just seeing them interact while farting around the office or Dimple following Reigen home one day or something like that. Of course, I am absolutely down for them tackling a case together (with or without assistance from any other characters) . Possession shenanigans are 100% okay, but I do like to see them interacting as themselves too.
