It's Pinch Hit Time!
Hello all. It is now August 2nd pretty much everywhere, so that means it's time for pinch hits! This year, we have five lovely options for you to snap up. Leave me a comment on the Dreamwidth or Livejournal posts, send me a PM, or e-mail me (fdickson@ix.netcom.com) to claim. Don't forget to tell me your AO3 name.
I will assign pinch hits on a first come first served basis, but you are welcome to make extra treats for these recipients or anybody else. (Just fill in the recipient's name and make sure your fanwork is posted to the Parallels 2013 collection on AO3.) Pinch hits are due by August 14th.
Pinch hit #1:
Fandom: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Characters: Natsume Takashi, Tanuma Kaname, Taki Tooru, Madara "Nyanko-sensei", Hinoe (Natsume Yuujinchou), Natsume Reiko, Fujiwara Touko, Fujiwara Shigeru
Media: Fanfiction
Details: I really like any combination of ships with Taki, Tanuma, and Natsume, including OT3. Friendshipy stuff is also good.
My other main ship is Hinoe/Reiko. I always love finding more fic about Reiko in general. She's very mysterious and her actions are hard to understand. There's a lot of parallel between what she and Natsume have been through, and I like how the series shows they arriving at times opposite ends on things and at others at similar (albeit not as obvious on the surface) feelings on things.
Natsume's interactions with the Fujiwara's is also something I'd really love to read about. Family stuff, Natsume opening up more over time, etc.
Anyway, go with whatever sparks your interest the most!
Fandom: Little Witch Academia
Characters: Any Character
Media: Fanfiction
Details: I absolutely loved this short. Really, you could write about anything and I'd be pretty happy. What was Akko's life like before she got into the academy? What happened to Shining Chariot? Has Diana and Akko's interactions with each other changed after the incident in the anime? The questions are really endless.
Fandom: Red Garden
Characters: Claire Forrest, Rachel Benning, Paula Sinclair, Lula (Red Garden), Kate Ashley, Rose Sheedy
Media: Fanfiction
Details: Anything focusing on how the four girls grow closer over time. The anime did a pretty good job, but I'd love to read more.
Another idea--I've always been interested in Lula and her role behind the scenes. We get glimpses here and there, but I'd love to see her character more fleshed out. This applies to Paula as well.
Shipwise, I like any combination of the four together and OT4. I'm also big on Paula/Kate, and desperately wish the anime had done more with that.
I'm not really big on the Dead Girls OVA, so I'd prefer if any fic was mostly within or pre-series.
Fandom: ICO (Video Game)
Characters: Ico (ICO), Yorda (ICO)
Media: Fanfiction
Details: Pretty much anything, really. There is a lot of post-game fic out there, so maybe something in-game or pre-game? (Though I'd still love post-game fic too.) Most of the little pre-game fic out there tends to focus on Ico as well, so if you go that route, maybe do it with Yorda instead? (Haha, again though, I'll be happy with whatever.)
I really like the hand-holding aspect of the game and the way Ico and Yorda have to communicate with each other mostly by calls and hand motions. And maybe some internal dialogue on what Ico and Yorda are thinking during this whole thing? Maybe a little of Ico's mental process on trying to figure out all those massive puzzles?
Also, scenery porn.
Fandom: Shadow of the Colossus
Characters: Any Character
Media: Fanfiction
Details: Basically anything. The game leaves so many things open. What was Mono and Wander's past like? What were the Forbidden Lands like before Dormin was sealed away? How was Dormin sealed away to begin with? How did Mono and Agro get by after the end of the game? Anything on Wander's thoughts on this whole thing, anything with the Colossi, scenery porn.
Fandom: Uta no Prince-sama
Characters: Any Character
Media: Fanfiction
Details: I really like the humor in the series, and I'd prefer fic that's on the lighter side.
I ship Haruka with everyone in Starish, everyone in Quartet Night, and with Tomochika. I really like Tomo, so I'd love it if you could work her in somehow even if she's not the focus of the fic. I also like the boys shipped together. Any combination of the boys from Starish and Quartet Night together would be cool with me. And with m/m ships, I'd still want Haruka in the fic. I really love her character.
Other than that, go whatever direction you want!
Pinch hit #2:
Fandom: Dangan Ronpa
Characters: Kirigiri Kyouko, Ikusaba Mukuro
Media: Fanfiction
Details: I love everyone in DR, but Kirigiri and Mukuro are my favorites, and if you can swing it I would love a Kirigiri/Mukuro fic. So many things I'd love to see! Just getting to know each other pre-mindwipe (or in a non-despair AU), living relatively normal school lives and being awkward teenage communication failures? IF-related AU where Junko goes through with her threat to mindwipe Mukuro and they bond over having giant scary chunks of their memories missing? Post-IF fic where they fall in love trying to help the group survive in the blighted world they've emerged into? No-despair AU where after graduating (like, legitimately) Mukuro gets in trouble and comes to Detective Kirigiri for help? Or maybe they team up as a brains + brawn detective duo?
If you don't want to ship them I'd be happy with any of the above as friendship fic, and I also ship them both with a bunch of other people (here's my rarepairfest letter if you feel in need of more ideas: http: //miss-prince.tumblr.com/post/53419007698/rarepairfest-letter), so feel free to consider those, instead!
Fandom: Fresh Pretty Cure!
Characters: Momozono Love | Cure Peach, Eas | Higashi Setsuna | Cure Passion
Media: Fanfiction
Details: Love/Setsuna! I would adore anything about this ship, from h/c involving Setsuna's life in Labyrinth, to domestic fluff (the scene where Love makes her breakfast is so damn cute), to heartfelt confessions in the middle of epic Precure battles, to trying to make a relationship work post-series, to just about anything else you could imagine them doing together, as long as they are adorable and get a happy ending!
If you're really averse to shipping them, I would take any of the above done in a gen, epic friendship way, and I also really really love the relationship between Setsuna and Love's mom, so if you wanted to write about that it would also make me very happy!
Fandom: Rune Factory (Video Games)
Characters: Marian (Rune Factory), Colette (Rune Factory)
Media: Fanfiction
Details: Marian/Colette! They have such a cute, strong - if a little dysfunctional due to the whole nonconsensual medical experimentation thing - relationship, the other characters comment on how close they are, and I ship it a lot. I'd love to see some sort of hurt/comfort with the two of them. Maybe Marian goes too far once and accidentally really badly poisons Colette or something, and has to frantically try to cure her. Or maybe Colette accidentally poisons herself by eating something she shouldn't, or maybe Marian poisons HERSELF and Colette has to do the healing this time! Alternatively, it'd be really cool to see Marian and Colette from the other townspeople's points of view as they get together.
If you don't want to ship them, I'd still enjoy the hurt/comfort tropes from a friendship angle, or maybe a cute story about the two of them as kids!
Fandom: Azumanga Daioh
Characters: Tanizaki Yukari,Kurosawa "Nyamo" Minamo
Media: Fanfiction
Details: AzuDai is an old fandom of mine that I've recently felt a new surge of affection for. I always shipped Yukari/Nyamo, because even though Yukari is a terrible person and even though they fight like an old married couple, Nyamo's still there. I'd like anything where Yukari manages to express some affection for Nyamo even while still being her immature kind of assholish self (it sounds like I'm ragging on her but I honestly love Yukari for being an unrepentant jerk who never learns her lesson), or something where Nyamo takes a stand and admits she wouldn't rather be with anyone but Yukari. Accidental outing to the girls could be entertaining, or Yukari repeatedly sabotaging Nyamo's love life until she sees the light. If you don't want to ship them, I'm happy with any of these premises with a friendship slant instead!
Alternatively, I also really really love wacky Azumanga Daioh AUs and fusions. Azumanga in space? YES. Azumanga magical girls? YES. Azumanga fused with completely incongruous canons? GIVE IT TO ME. I particularly enjoy seeing them thrown into dark canons or AU ideas and completely ruining the darkness by refusing to stop being hilarious goofballs. I'd be happy with fusions with any of the other canons I've requested, or really anything I'm familiar with if you can make it funny! In this case I'd like it if Yukari and Nyamo had reasonably significant roles, but they don't have to be the main characters; it could be more of an ensemble fic. Now, if you wanted to write some wacky AU/fusion shenanigans WITH Yukari/Nyamo, I'd probably love you forever!
Pinch hit #3:
Fandom: Captain Future - All Media Types
Characters: Any Character
Media: Fanfiction
Details: Captain Future an old favorite of mine. The first time I saw the series, in German, I was blown away, I hadn‘t known cartoons with people drawn like people and telling series stories existed.
Many times the Earth as finished her path around the sun since then. I got wiser and now can jokingly question why the heck the whole crew hasn‘t died of radiation sickness yet, given how they play fast and lose with x-rays.
Still, Captain Future captivates me, whether it be in the original written form or the anime (both uncut and German hacked up). There is just something so full of life and adventure in them. The early stories which got used for the anime are so light-hearted with the technology use, the characters so refreshingly adventurous, and the latter stories so melancholy and jaded while still retaining a certain sense of wonder.
I‘ll be happy about about anything you write for this fandom if you are so inclined.
Whether it be a grand adventure across the universe, whether it be an introspective after many years, or the crew simply having a relaxed coffee after polishing the Comet. Or maybe a focus on Grag and the difficulty on raising a genius intended to become a space hero. Or the Captain and Joan getting raunchy. Or Joan and Grag getting raunchy - he certainly sometimes seemed to care more for her than the Captain did. The ideas here are entirely optional and just there to serve as a springboard if one is needed.
Do want: Happy End
Do like: friendship, romance or more, cultures clashing, light bondage
Don't want: excessive violence, non-consensual sex, extreme kinks
Fandom: Drag-On Dragoon | Drakengard
Characters: Any Character
Media: Fanfiction
Details: My favorite is the first game, it had more Caim and Red Dragon and was less depressing, at least as far as these two were concerned. To me the greatest moment in the game is that first ending, with Red Dragon telling Caim her name and Caim being there for her.
So some totally optional possibilities for inspiration:
Maybe there's a little episode on how they got closer, he hated dragons and she didn't like humans at the beginning after all and in the end - the first anyway - there's talk about love.
Maybe some commiserating and healing after Inuart's attack.
Maybe they managed to dodge in the fifth ending.
Or maybe just a fluffy Happy End for these two - Happy End for the rest of the world not required.
And last but not least, Nowe. My favorite scene of him was during the final story path when he leaves the crater his way. So gentle and steely and sparkly. Given his ancestry, I'd have liked to see more about that or some more time with Red Dragon and Caim in a world where the Goddess didn't have to be killed, so maybe she didn't need to stay a Goddess either.
Sorry, for being a bit wishwashy about him. I think this is the first time I have requested him.
Do want: Happy End
Do like: friendship, romance or more, cultures clashing, light bondage
Don't want: excessive violence, non-consensual sex, extreme kinks
Fandom: Lodoss-tou Senki | Record of Lodoss War
Characters: Any Character
Media: Fanfiction
Details: I'm definitely a fan of the two contrasting romantic pairs.
If it's only one pair or both or even only character, I' be happy with anything, a training session in the woods, encountering the wonders of Lodoss, a relaxing evening, chasing ones arch-nemesis/romantic interest.
Or maybe something set after Crystania, Pirotess was certainly waiting a long time. Or something Parn and Deedlit got up to after the war.
I'm familiar with the OVA, the TV series and the manga of Lodoss and the OVA of Crystania.
I already got a Parallels story in a previous year which I was very happy about. Yet I still hunger for more.
Do want: Happy End
Do like: friendship, romance or more, cultures clashing, light bondage
Don't want: excessive violence, non-consensual sex, extreme kinks
Fandom: Tokkei Winspector | Special Rescue Police Winspector
Characters: Any Character
Media: Fanfiction
Details: Oh, yes, Winspector, another series indulging my childhood memories. After seeing the series again last year, I still like Fire working till he’s more than less fried by his suit, Junko being all awesome hunting down criminals without a suit and the two robots enthusiastically partaking in humanity in between fighting evil scientists, evil aliens and other evil people.
It was rather refreshing and eye-opening to see the robots as, well, just normal “humans”. They were somehow accepted and cheered on by the humans, especially the children. And Winspector never giving up and continuing to fight for the good in the people and the responsible use of science for the good of humanity. And so sparkly while still-being so down to Earth and real-life, for a given value of real-life.
So, maybe Fire will get to save the day again, needing some saving of himself afterwards. Or maybe Junko gets to try on the suit. Would that even work? There’s also that ending suspiciously looking like a happy day off for the team. What did Junko get up to while the others rode bicycles and broke flippers? She’s there on the beach, with the flowers finally blooming.
Do want: Happy End
Do like: friendship, romance or more, cultures clashing, light bondage
Don't want: excessive violence, non-consensual sex, extreme kinks
Fandom: Nu Wa Chuan Shuo Zhi Ling Zhu | The Holy Pearl
Characters: Any Character
Media: Fanfiction
Details: I have to confess to, I was suckered in by Wen Tian's horns. I love his horns, I love Wu Dao as a dragon and I totally expected a dragon to appear in the present times. It was interesting to see the aplomb with which the present time people took the idea of real dragons and magic.
I also like the resolution of the love triangle and how Mu Lian gracefully bowed out while still keeping her "sister". Brave Ding Yao, who went back in time after she had the chance to return to her own, to help restore the vase she'd accidentally broken. And last but not least quirky Yu Die, who knew what she wanted and set out to get it, no matter the adversity she faced.
Do want: Happy End
Do like: friendship, romance or more, cultures clashing, light bondage
Don't want: excessive violence, non-consensual sex, extreme kinks
Pinch hit #4:
Fandom: Tales Of Graces
Characters: Malik Caesar, Hubert Oswell, Sophie (Tales of Graces), Richard Windor
Media: Fanart, Fanfiction
Details: I like these characters individually, together, and apart!
http: //shinsengumi.dreamwidth.org/29620.html
Fandom: Radiant Historia
Characters: Stocke Rosch (Radiant Historia), Sonja (Radiant Historia)
Media: Fanart, Fanfiction
Details: A threesome I am fond of.
Fandom: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
Characters: Any Character
Media: Fanart, Fanfiction
Details: Can we get some appreciation for the ladies?
Fandom: Fate/Zero
Characters: Matou Kariya
Media: Fanart, Fanfiction
Details: I would like horrible filthy violence smut, oops.
Pinch hit #5:
Fandom: Chrono Trigger
Characters: Lucca Ashtear, Marle (Chrono Trigger)
Media: Fanfiction
Details: I love the friendship between these two and the way their personalities bounce off each other, and I would be delighted by anything about them being pals--adventuring together, comforting each other, re-adjusting to everyday life post-game, dealing with an invention gone wrong, sharing a quiet moment, whatever. (Shipping them together also makes me very happy, so feel free to go for the femslash here if you'd like!)
Fandom: Persona 3
Characters: Yoshino Chidori
Media: Fanfiction
Details: Anything that explores Chidori's many issues would be wonderful, particularly if it delves into her backstory and/or her relationship with Medea. If you'd like to write the rest of Strega, I think slice-of-life Strega fic would be fascinating (what DO they get up to when they're not busy being plot-relevant?). If you'd like to focus on her relationship with Junpei, I'd be into that, too, particularly if it involves sweet/sad/awkward hospital visits.
Fandom: Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Characters: Zelda
Media: Fanfiction
Details: I am really into Zelda's time as Sheik and how spending seven years under that identity has complicated/enriched/shifted her sense of self. What's it like to the make the transition from princess to male Sheikah, or (post-game) vice-versa? I am open to absolutely anything you'd like to do with Zelda's gender identity and the specifics of how the Sheik disguise works; I'd just really like to see it all explored! If that's not your cup of tea, I would also be very happy with a story in which Zelda gets to be an adventuring badass.
Fandom: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound
Characters: Mani Mani
Media: Fanfiction
Details: The Mani Mani Statue changes hands quite a bit during the game. I'd love to see anything exploring the effect it has on any of the people who possess it (including anyone you'd like to speculate might have come in contact with it!), or anything about the statue's origins and its connection to Giygas.