Dear Yuletide Author,
(Note: This letter is complete, but I may come back and add additional Yuleporn and Crueltide prompts to it later.)
First and foremost, I'd like to offer up a huge "Thank You!!" to you for writing a story for me. I know how difficult it can be to put any part of your creative process into the hands of another individual, so I will do my best to treat that trust with the care and respect it deserves. ^_^
AO3: eirenical (chibi1723)
tumblr: eirenical
Rating and kink:
Any rating can fly. Really. Any rating. And for shipfic, my general preferences tend towards slash or femslash and/or polyamory, but I'll specify preferred ships in the individual fandoms.
As for kink, if you'd like to write something on the higher end of the rating scale, I'll specify within specific fandoms if there are any particular kinks I might be interested in. (If you'd like to include a kink and you aren't sure I'll be OK with it, please ask the mods to contact me and ask. I'm pretty approachable and I really won't mind being spoiled with something like that. If anything, it will only heighten my gleeful anticipation. ^_^)
General likes and dislikes:
Likes:
I like fluff. I like angst. I like hurt/comfort (emotional or physical) and sick!fic. I like found family stories. I like shipfic. I like plotty fic. I like long fic. I like short fic. I like character studies. I like AUs of the canon divergence or "What if?" variety (i.e. what if character A had made a different decision here; what if character B hadn't died). I like explorations of things beyond canon (i.e. continuations of canon, deeper explorations of things only mentioned in passing in canon, expanding on the stories of minor characters, backstories, etc.).
I like a whole lot more than that, but in the interest of not writing a 50,000 word letter, here's the punch line to all of this babbling: what draws me to fandom is the characters and the interactions between them. So, if you keep the story focused on the characters, I'll generally be happy with whatever other plot trappings fall around them. ^_^
DNWs (do not wants):
- AUs, particularly mundane AUs (i.e. coffeehouse AUs, high school AUs, etc.), unless specified. As mentioned above, AUs of the canon divergence/"What if?" variety (i.e. what if character A had made a different decision here; what if character B hadn't died) are fine.
- Infidelity/cheating/going behind someone's back/etc.
- Embarrassment/secondhand embarrassment/humiliation
- Animal abuse or pet death. Referring to animals with the pronoun “it.”
- The following kinks: Age play/infantalism, scat, watersports, a/b/o dynamics/omegaverse. (... basically, if I haven't listed it as something I'd like for a particular story, please err on the side of caution and just don't include it. Thanks!)
Specific Requests:
You are free to utilize any prompt I toss out there or none of them. If reading what I like about the characters/worlds sparks a fic idea in your head, feel free to ignore the prompts and run with it. ^_^
Also, length of babble in no way indicates my fandom preferences. (i.e., one, in particular, is a very new fandom to me, and I have very few people to talk to about it, so I ended up having a LOT more to say about that canon than some of the others, but it in no way means that I care less about the others.) I promise I'm equally excited about the possibility of all of these requests. ^_^ Some of these are also cribbed from earlier letters because I just honestly can never get enough of them, so here we are. ^_^
All Seeing Eye - Rob Thurman
Characters: Jackson Lee Eye, Hector Allgood, Meleah Guerrera, Abigail "Abby" (All Seeing Eye)
One of the most compelling parts of the book to me is the enemies-to-friends(-to-lovers? ^_~) thing going on between Jackson and Hector. I absolutely love the entire arc of their developing friendship from angry and antagonistic to deep-seated trust and practical co-dependency. Anything that looks at that friendship (or romance, if you want to look at it that way!) through that lens is something I'd really enjoy. The other most compelling part of the book to me is how Jackson thinks he is this surly, antisocial hermit... and yet many times when he meets someone new, they end up being friend-shaped somehow. This happens with Charlie, with Abby, with Hector (eventually), with Meleah... honestly, for someone who's so antisocial, he's done a pretty good job of building himself a family, and I am a sucker for found family tropes. ^_~
Specific prompts:
- I mentioned in my likes that hurt/comfort is one of my favorite tropes? Jackson is practically made for it if that's something you're into writing. ^_^ (I mean... at least half the book is Hector/Jackson hurt/comfort. ;D) So, something where Jackson's powers get him into trouble (i.e., coming into contact with something someone died on violently) and one of the others having to take care of him while he puts himself back together would be right up my alley. ^____^
- And again, if you're slash minded, we know that Jackson and Hector once had a really awkward conversation about why Jackson doesn't have sex. Do they ever try it? What do they do to try to get around the whole overly enforced intimacy? Do they end up in a relationship where they're platonically intimate but not having sex? Hell, do they ever even manage to sleep in the same bed, for that matter? Inquiring minds want to know!
- The other thing that I really love about this book is the way it ends. I love that Jackson has started to open himself up to other people. I love that he has a second chance to do right by Tess. I love that he's built this family for himself out of nothing and completely against the odds. And I would love to see what happens from there. The adventures of Jackson raising Tess, for instance. What's it like for him and his powers living with another person? What's it like for someone who didn't have ANY kind of a healthy childhood to try to raise a child? How involved is Abby in the rearing of little Tess? Where do Meleah and Hector fit in to this happily ever after? They were there the night Tess arrived; what do they think of him trying to be any kind of father? Maybe they become honorary (or actual) godparents, or something? The punch line is that I'd love to see a little more of everyone's found-family-happily-ever-after. ^_^
- Honestly, I love the canon ships and would be perfectly happy with them written/included exactly as they are. I think Hector and Meleah are awkward and adorable and I would love to see her managing him with that quietly competent way she has. And I am so on board for Jackson's asexual-by-default situation that he's landed in thanks to his powers.
- I also ship Hector and Jackson and would be thrilled to see how that might or might not work out, giving the restrictions of Jackson's powers. How do they get around that? Do they get around that? What would a relationship between them look like? And if you choose to go that route, since we know that Abby is canonically bi/pan... maybe she and Meleah find some happiness with each other, too? ^_~ I'd love to see what a relationship between the two of them would look like!
- As mentioned above, Jackson and Hector once had a really awkward conversation about why Jackson doesn't have sex (he's a very powerful touch-postcognitive; so that much skin on skin contact generally gives him way too much information about his partner). So, I wonder... do Hector and Jackson ever try it? What do they do to try to get around the whole overly enforced intimacy of Jackson's gift? ...or not? How does that play out in bed? Do they end up in a relationship where they're platonically intimate but not having sex?
- For that matter... what might they do instead, if Jackson can't stand to be in physical contact during sex? Maybe some toys and voyeurism are involved? Maybe Hector invests in lots of latex gloves so that fingering and/or fisting can be options? All of these are fair game! ;D
Jeremiah (TV)
Characters: Markus Alexander, Jeremiah (Jeremiah)
(At this point, this is a perennial request, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of it, so this is pretty much cribbed from my last letter. ^_^)
Oh... Jeremiah. ^_^ Your dystopian, disaster-ridden, well-intentioned, mommy/daddy-issued, fucked up plottiness gets me every time. I am always a sucker for the idea of an entire world full of people who grew up from childhood with no guiding parental force and how that affects the society that emerges. I love how there is a range in attitude from those old enough to remember the days before the Big Death (and thus endlessly angst and wish after those lost technologies and the easy lives they had) and those who were so young at the time that this screwed up remnant of a world is all they know and they embrace it. I love how there are pockets of people trying to reclaim civilization and others that embrace the utter lawlessness of a world with no rules. Most of all I love how every single person in this world has a touch of the sulky and rebellious teenager in them and how, ironically, it's the oldest ones who cling to each other most desperately to assuage their fears of abandonment.
... and that brings us to my requested characters. ;D
Jeremiah & Markus
- I don't know what it is about those two that I love so. By all rights a relationship between them should not work, hell, even a friendship between them shouldn't work, but somehow it does. There are moments between them when you see that Jeremiah is the only one that Markus lets his guard down around -- the time he gets drunk and Jeremiah is the one to find and take care of him, the way that Jeremiah is the only one he's comfortable enough around to show his rage and frustration, the way that Jeremiah doesn't believe in anyone... yet he believes in Markus. I love that. Everything about it.
- The truth is, I have a fealty/loyalty kink a mild wide, and Jeremiah and Markus exemplify that trope in a very unique way. Jeremiah is loyal to Markus and, more importantly, to the ideals that Markus is almost too afraid to have in the beginning but wantsto have. And Markus recognizes early on that the only way to keep Jeremiah's loyalty is to give him complete freedom and autonomy, to deny him even the trappings of that fealty. It's the epitome of "if you love something let it free," and it's fascinating watching that play out and watching Jeremiah slowly but surely accept a more traditional form of loyalty -- even when that means protecting Markus from himself.
- I'd love to see something exploring that relationship and how it changes, even just looking at a snapshot of it along the way. Markus carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and has always acted far older than his age. Jeremiah is the only one who consistently gets him to drop that, even if only for a moment, and act like he's no older than the rest of them. Markus accepts things from Jeremiah in a way he doesn't from anyone else -- if he's not Jeremiah's leader, he doesn't have to stay strong, after all -- and maybe that allows him to accept comfort from Jeremiah after Meghan's death.
- What was going through Jeremiah's head when Markus got shot?
- Maybe you want to look at what happens after the finale. Does Markus stay in charge? What does he do if he doesn't?
- Slice of life at Thunder Mountain
- Markus overworks himself/gets sick/gets injured/has a major hangover from that drinking binge/etc. and Jeremiah has to be the one to sit on him and get him to rest?
- This one is a little specific, but I've always wondered what it would be like to have these two dropped into an alternate future-i.e., one where the Big Death didn't happen-and have to find each other there and decide whether or not they even want to try to get home to the other people they care about, or if they just want to take the blessing for what it is and live out their lives in this new world.
Tir Alainn Trilogy - Anne Bishop
Characters: Morag (Tir Alainn Trilogy), Padrick (Tir Alainn Trilogy), Ashk (Tir Alainn Trilogy)
(Another perennial request, pretty much cribbed from last year's letter. ^_^)
I love these three. I just really, really do. I love Ashk and Morag's friendship, how well they understand each other, how, in each other, they've finally found someone else who can match their strength, someone who wouldn't be afraid of them just because of who they are. I love Padrick and Ashk's relationship, how Padrick not only accepts, but revels, in Ashk's strength but still looks for opportunities to pamper her and show her a little softness, how he loves the Green Lady and respects and follows the Hunter and everything in between. And I love Padrick and Morag's friendship, how he treats her to that same blend of tough love and kindness that he does Ashk, how he revels in the fact that he gets to stand by her side and see that she's taken care of, not just because Ashk would want it, but because, in his own way, he loves her, too. I love how he sees so easily that Morag has been starved for simple things like friendship and affection from all but her sister and is eager to coddle her and take of her but is equally easy with stepping aside and accepting her lead, how he just lets her be who she is, like he does for Ashk. I just love the entire dynamic between these three. ^___________^
Prompts:
- FIX IT, OMG, PLEASE FIX IT. I mean, the ending where Morag ends up getting to grow up as Ari's beloved wiccanfae daughter is great. It really is. But I'd be even happier if they'd found a way to cure her or if she'd never been turned to begin with. So what happens? How does that get fixed? How do they deal with the close call/might-have-been? Is Morag even happy to be saved?
- Or maybe we just want to skip the how and go straight to what happens next? I would love some happy threesome fic for these three. I really would. ^_^ Whether that's an Ashk/Padrick + Morag situation or it's a full-on Ashk/Morag/Padrick situation, I just want more of the three of them and that dynamic I described above. ^_^ For example:
- The war is over and Morag returns to Bretonwood with Ashk and Padrick. Does one of them have to talk the other into wooing Morag or are they already on the same page? How does Morag react? It seems like she, at least, would need some convincing. She's had too many years of thinking herself a freak and completely undesirable. (I mean, she's shocked as all get out by Padrick's appreciation of her beauty on the journey.) Has she ever even been intimate with anyone? Is she afraid she'll ruin things? Or do they just click into place like they belong together?
- If we are in happy threesome territory already (either romantically or platonically), what is that like? Some happy slice-of-life fic for them would be lovely. A Harvest Fair, maybe? Helping Ari celebrate the Solstice? A quiet evening at home tucked in by the fire while it snows outside? (We know that Padrick loves petting shadowhounds and Morag has a brand new shadowhound-mix puppy to cuddle, so maybe we have a literal puppy pile by the fire? ;D) Padrick and Ashk trying to introduce Morag to the finer points of human life?
- I'd also just love honestly ANYTHING about Ashk and Morag's friendship. They've both been so starved for someone who understands them and doesn't fear them. Ashk at least has the second in Padrick, and Morag with Morphia, but having someone who understands them is a different thing entirely. I love those moments when they work in such perfect gestalt that neither even needs to speak because they just GET IT. And I love that. I love their friendship. I love that deep level of understanding. I love that recognition in them both, that feeling of “I KNOW you. I get you. Yessssss,” and how as wary as everyone is of each of them alone, the two of them together are just Not To Be Trifled With Ever. I just love them, OK? ^_^ (And I'm OK with this prompt being just the two of them; the only thing I ask is that if you take this down a romantic road that it's understood that Padrick is included, as well, even if he isn't explicitly present in the fic.)
许你浮生若梦 | Xǔ Nǐ Fú Shēng Ruò Mèng | Granting You a Dreamlike Life (TV)
Characters: Luo Fusheng
Right. So. I'll own up to this one: I fell into this fandom out of Guardian in pursuit of more Zhu Yilong content. And... he's very, very pretty when he cries, and this series delivers on Luo Fusheng angst in SPADES, so I've been living here happily ever since. ^_^ (You could pretty much give me anything for this fandom, and I'd be over the moon that I'm not the only one writing for it. ;D)
But, in particular, what I love about Luo Fusheng is that he is just SUCH A GOOD. He may be the King of Hell on the outside, but on the inside, he is the softest, squishiest person on the show. His entire motivation throughout the show is to keep as many of his loved ones as happy as he can for as long as he can. And when he can't, you can see that it just kills him. He will forgive any and every slight against him, no matter how badly he's been hurt, as long as it will make the other person happy. And no matter how much he's suffering, he still manages to find a smile for everyone he cares about and I just... I go absolutely FERAL for characters like that. If you had picked out my every favorite character trait and stuck it in a character... you'd get Luo Fusheng. So, essentially, anything about him and this series would be wonderful.
- (Side note: If you are the type of person who likes to browse your recipient's AO3, please don't let the fic I've written for this fandom scare you off of it. There is dub/noncon abounding in what I've written, and while I am (clearly) into that for this series, it's not the only thing I'm into and I mean... it was for Whumptober. ^_^ *shrugs*)
Solo prompts:
- Anything to do with Luo Fusheng and Mei Gao Mei would be wonderful. Was that his baby; did he create it? Or did it exist before he came along, and he just took it over? What kind of relationship does he have with the people who work there? The entertainers and the serving staff? Did they take him in as a wide-eyed youngster and teach him how their world works? I just love the idea of Luo Fusheng and the Mei Gao Mei people as a little network of found family. ^_^
- Fusheng's nightmares. OMG, there's so much potential there. Some hurt/comfort maybe? Someone catching him mid-nightmare and helping him through it? We got a little of that with Tianying in canon, did it ever happen with anyone else? (I'd be OK with pretty much any other named character in the tagset for this idea.) Just the thought that he tries so hard to fend them off with Mei Gao Mei's bright lights and music and then with Tianying's voice, even going so far as to never sleep in his own bed, even when no one else is around. (Really, the only time we see him sleeping in his own bed, undisturbed by nightmares of his father's death is when he's unconscious from injury or illness... or when he's with Xingcheng. There's CERTAINLY a story there!)
- Fusheng has built quite a reputation for himself in Dongjiang. He is feared by all other gangs (and many of the average citizens). He's taken on scores of men, alone, more than once, and beaten them all. Where did he even learn to fight like that? What was that training like?
- (Or, hey, if you want an absolutely wild crossover idea... maybe it's inborn talent. Maybe he's secretly Shen Wei. Maybe he doesn't even KNOW he's Shen Wei. I COULD BE DOWN FOR THAT. Just saying. ^_^)
- I'm also a bit obsessed with Fusheng's walking wounded self at the end of episode 15, right after that horrific movie confession that Hong Lan dragged him to. The look on his face... FUCK. He's just bleeding inside. What was that like for him? What happened when he went back to Mei Gao Mei? It was the first time he'd been back since before he was injured, and he slunk back there like he was desperately looking for a place to hide and lick his wounds. And I'D LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT.
- And ANY kind of fix-it for the end would be WONDERFUL. How about an everybody lives fix-it? Please?
- A pet headcanon I'd love to see played out: I am obsessed with mixed reincarnation/immortality/etc. modern day stories. And the framing for this whole show always felt to me like it SHOULD have been a reincarnation story, but somehow wasn't. What if Chen Musheng IS Fusheng somehow? Immortality, reincarnation, whatever you want to play with. And he remembers everything, and encounters any of the others in the present day, as his broken, bitter, angry alcoholic self? Do they remember too? Do they get a chance to help put him to rights? Would he even LET them? Anything like that could be fun with any of the other characters in the tagset. ^_^
- (And I have to put this in here for crack's sake, but that AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL olive green polyester suit. DID HE LOSE A BET???? *shudders* HOW did that end up in his wardrobe? Seriously, that outfit is so hideous, there almost HAS to be a story behind it. XD)
Note: The spoiler-cuts are only there to shorten up this part of the letter, because it was getting a bit unwieldy...
- Xu Xingcheng:
- ... I ship them. I ship them A LOT. Give them to me in any configuration and I will be over the moon. Honestly, you can take these two as fluffy or as dark as you like, and I am HERE FOR IT. I love them at their fluffy xiongdi best and I love them at their twisted, sadistic dominance games worst. I am here for fluffy awkward first times, and I am here for Xingcheng abusing his power over Fusheng in dub/noncon ways. Whatever you're into writing for them, I AM HERE FOR IT. ^_^
- Youthful adventures?
- Stumbling first kisses or first times?
- The infamous night after their reunion in episode 2/3 when they wake up in Fusheng's bed all tangled up around each other?
- How would they navigate the introduction of Tianying into their lives?
- What about when things finally turn absolutely and thoroughly toxic for them? Is there still some fucked up hate-sex going on, on the side? Or is Fusheng so desperate that he'd agree to that hate-sex just so he can do something to try to make Xingcheng smile at him again or even forgive him? (Because I could absolutely see that.)
- For that matter, after Tianying moves out of the apartment she and Fusheng shared, did Xingcheng ever visit for... hm... conjugal reasons? ^_^
- Duan Tianying:
- I love that they just genuinely enjoy each other's company, long before they're “together.” They are snarky little shits to each other, even once they've worked out their differences, and I LOVE IT.
- I love, love, LOVE how respectful Fusheng is of Tianying's boundaries. Even down to: when every instinct he has must be SCREAMING at him to stay with her after Tianci's attack, he still backs away. He knows that she needs to be away from any men more than she needs him close, so he puts himself outside to protect her from a distance.
- Honestly, they're so adorable I can't even STAND IT. My favorite part of the show with them is the Fusheng and Tianying show in Shikumen. They're RIDICULOUS and neither of them has really ever had to be a proper adult on their own and it SHOWS. But they somehow fumble through and figure it out together, and I LOVE that. Any curtain fic or slice-of-life from that era would be adorable. ^_^
- Threesome variation: Luo Fusheng x Xu Xingcheng x Duan Tianying
- Holy HELL did this show miss an incredible threesome opportunity. *_* Honestly, I love every side of this triangle. I love that when his father tried to make Xu Xingcheng pick between Fusheng and Tianying, he couldn't. I love that Tianying has an outlet for her wistful, girlish side in Xingcheng's courtly gallantry and an outlet for her wild, independent tomboy side in her battling with Fusheng. And I love how Fusheng just truly, genuinely wants the two people he loves the most to be happy. And if that means they're happy with each other without him? He's willing to step back. And the restaurant meeting after that disastrous night at Mei Gao Mei's reopening would have been a PERFECT opportunity for Tianying and Xingcheng to invite him into a threesome. WHY DIDN'T THAT HAPPEN? TT^TT
- Anyway, for the three of them, I'd honestly just love to see them get a happy ending together. Fluff where they work out the threesome thing before things go so wrong? Fix-it fic for the end where they have to figure out how to even be around each other with all that water under the bridge, much less be anything more to each other? I'm here for ALL OF IT, as long as they somehow get a happy ending. ^_^
- Shuang-jie:
- I. Love. Shuang-jie. SO MUCH. I love her sense of propriety. I love her cool competence. I love her willingness to play along with a joke. I love her ability to see right through to the heart of a problem and say exactly the right thing at the right time to bring things to a solution. And I love, love, LOVE her big-sister-little-brother relationship with Fusheng.
- What's her story? She seems to be Hong Zhengbao's constant companion, how does she fit into the Hong family hierarchy? How did she end up so close to Fusheng in the first place? Did they meet when Fusheng took over Mei Gao Mei or did know each other when they were younger? He says she's closer to him than his mother ever was, but she then refutes that she's not that old-how much older than him is she really? Did they grow up together? Anything about their backstory would be wonderful. ^_^
- Or just give me their day-to-day interactions. What's a day-in-the-life like for them? A young Fusheng getting into a fight going to her for kisses and cuddles? An older Fusheng going to her with a problem because he knows she won't judge him and she'll always listen? I just love her and I wish we'd gotten more than that little snapshot of how close she and Fusheng are.
- Luo Cheng
- GREMLIN DIDI. ^_____________^
- OK, so I canNOT for the life of me figure out if they are supposed to be actual brothers (though their EVERY. SINGLE. INTERACTION. as well as Fusheng's particular brand of concerned overprotectiveness and their shared last name seem to indicate they are) or if Luo Cheng is just supposed to be a particularly close subordinate who took Luo Fusheng's last name or just coincidentally had the same one? I have no idea and since people call their good friends ‘ge' and ‘da-ge' all the time, that's no help, either. HOWEVER, for the purposes of fic, I like to think they are actually biologically brothers. And I love EVERYTHING about their interactions. I love how Luo Cheng is 1000% supportive of every move Fusheng makes, and yet he is still such an absolute pure little SHIT to him. The entire scene in the hospital when Luo Cheng is eating Fusheng's food right in front of him when he knows Fusheng can't eat and is teasing the hell out of him? PURE KID BROTHER VIBES. And Fusheng insisting Luo Cheng go with him later on to the bakery and then leaving him there because he needs the seat for the cake? XD I LOVE THEM. They are SUCH shits to each other, but they clearly love each other a LOT. But I have SO many questions.
- What was their childhood like? Fusheng is at some point acknowledged as Hong Zhengbao's heir, and Luo Cheng is much lower down on the hierarchy. And that could just be age (he's like... 18/19 to Fusheng's 24, but still... ), but there's also the issue of Fusheng clearly can read while Luo Cheng said he never learned. Why treat one son of your beloved friend like your own son and heir and never make sure the other got a full education? Fusheng does mention at one point that his mother died in childbirth. Maybe it was Luo Cheng's birth, or maybe it was his own and Luo Cheng was... a by-blow, let's say? Either way, another unanswered question. So, any of their history would be fun to explore. ^_^
- I'd also just love any look at their relationship now. They love each other SO MUCH and they are SUCH brothers and any more of them being their snarky yet loving selves to each other would be wonderful. ^_^ And honestly, Luo Cheng's take on like... ANY of the canon awfulness, or him trying to take care of Fusheng when he's had his heart broken by someone he cares about would be lovely, too. ^_^
- Hong Zhengbao & Hong Lan
- I'm going to lump them in together, because what I am most fascinated by is how the two of them and Fusheng function as one SUPER fucked up family.
- Again, any backstory about Fusheng growing up in that household would be wonderful. How did he find his footing? How did Hong Lan react to no longer being an “only” child? (You can't tell me she wouldn't have been jealous at first.) When did that change? What was it like for Fusheng to try to find his place in that house? He was the son of Hong Zhengbao's second-in-command, and now he's the heir apparent? That must have been one hell of a seismic shift in his world.
- And when did Fusheng figure out that Hong Lan was in love with him (because he clearly knew long before she confessed)? Did he ever try to love her back, just because he knew it would make her happy if he could? How did he navigate that relationship once it became a landmine field of potential hurt feelings? And what about that AWFUL movie date/confession? How did he feel about her after that went down? He's definitely bleeding inside from the second the lights go up in the movie house and we see him, and for the first (and last) time in the entire show we see him actively ignore Hong Lan. What was going through his mind there?
- And Hong Zhengbao. WOW. Yeah. That's a complicated mess. On some level (maybe because they're identical? ;D), Hong Zhengbao almost treats Fusheng as though he's Qingeng come back to him. He puts a LOT on Fusheng's shoulders. And Fusheng has a MASSIVE fealty thing going on with Hong Zhengbao. It's far more than the respect he would have even for a foster father. It's very much a King and Lionheart trope. And he understands Hong Zhengbao like few other people do. It's why he didn't fight it when he got kicked out of the family. It's why he was so unbelievably torn when Hong Zhengbao asked him to kill Ruomeng. He wasn't going to do it, but the fact that Hong Zhengbao had asked him to do something and HE COULDN'T was so anathema to his being that he literally made himself sick.
- What was it like for him coming up through the ranks of the Hong family? He calls Hong Zhengbao his adopted father, and by the time of the show, he's the heir apparent to the Hong family, but how did he get there? Did he have to work his way up the ranks? Or was he always destined to be the heir once Hong Zhengbao took him in? Basically, I'd love to see any piece of this relationship explored at any point in canon. ^_^
- And last but DEFINITELY not least... Lin Qikai
- OMG, Lin-dage. I love him SO much and he deserved exactly NONE of what happened to him in canon. I love how he tries so hard to mediate between Fusheng and Xingcheng, even when everything goes fully to hell. I love how he does his best to take care of Fusheng, especially because Fusheng would be the last person to ask him to, so he has to find ways to do it sneakily. Like showing up to celebrate Fusheng's birthday the night before, so he doesn't break Fusheng's non-tradition, but he's still there for him on the eve of the most painful day of his year.
- And I love, love, LOVE him showing up at Tianying and Fusheng's apartment the morning after Fusheng is kicked out of the Hong family. Did Fusheng actually ever reach out to him for help?
- For that matter, did Fusheng EVER reach out to Lin Qikai for help? Where was Lin-dage after Tianying and Xingcheng ripped Fusheng's heart out? I'd love to see him stepping in at that point, maybe when Fusheng got back to Mei Gao Mei after the movie, belatedly realizing that he'd unknowingly had a hand in breaking his friend's heart and trying to do what he could to set it right.
- We also know that Lin-dage WILL directly confront Xingcheng on Hong Lan's behalf. What if he were willing to do it for Fusheng? What if he'd called Xingcheng out on his shitty behavior when they were younger? Might things have worked out differently?
- But yeah, I love these two and how absolutely close they are, and how they close ranks to protect and care for Ruomeng at the end. IF ONLY THAT COULD HAVE ENDED HAPPILY. I NEVER mind a fix-it. ^_~
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Holy cow, as usual, that's a really long letter. Hopefully the spoiler-cuts made it easier to navigate. ;D Hopefully you found something at least a little bit helpful in there, somewhere. If you didn't, however, they really were just thoughts and suggestions. So, if any of the details I provided don't work for you, feel free to toss them out the window and write what's most comfortable for you. If you are happy and excited about what you're writing, I'm sure I will love it. Passion comes across and I do not in any way want to dampen yours. ^_^ Go with your gut. The fact that you're writing something for me in one of these tiny fandoms is plenty enough to have me thrilled and excited and looking forward to reading it. ^_^
Happy writing! ^_^
A grateful recipient
(This entry was originally posted on DW @ https://rchan.dreamwidth.org/261308.html)