karmicdragonfly

Dear Care and Feeding,

I’m 19 and in university. I recently broke up with my boyfriend, “Jason.” He’d been acting weird for a few weeks, but when I ended things, he completely flipped out.

It escalated to the point where he slipped into my family’s home, stole our cat, “Flibble,” and tried to hold him for ransom. We did get Flibble back, and Jason is now facing charges. I just want to put this all behind me.

My parents, however, are furious. They keep telling me I should “have better judgment” and promise I’m going to get an earful this Thanksgiving about “choosing appropriate partners.” I get it, this got bad. But Jason wasn’t showing signs of being unhinged when we first started dating, and I did break up with him as soon as he started acting erratically. Still, my parents chew me out every time we talk and have started calling two or three times a week specifically to lecture me.

It’s driving me crazy. I don’t want to block them or cut them out of my life, but I also don’t want to deal with this anymore. What can I do to get them to lay off?

—Stepped In It

( Read more... )

conuly in

agonyaunt

Dear Meghan: I have an 8-year-old daughter. She does not have a mother (my husband and I are both men). She doesn’t particularly like shopping for clothes, but she has a relative who keeps her very well stocked with jumpsuits, dresses and girly outfits of all kinds, which is the type of clothing she typically likes. In general, I let her decide for herself how to mix and match the various clothes she has each morning and will only step in if something is really inappropriate.

My mother, however, feels the need to criticize her clothing choices nearly every time she sees her. “Oh dear, you should never mix prints!” or “Why didn’t you wear a different shirt under that jumpsuit — it really doesn’t match at all!” My mother blames me for what she sees as my inability to teach a girl about girls’ fashion.

I told her that I had indeed talked about some of these rules, but I thought my daughter should also be able to make her own choices about how to dress. She then accused me of being a bad parent and suggested that I would also “give up” if faced with a child who stole or cheated on a test. Is it really so wrong to refuse to have a daily struggle because my daughter went to school with shorts that lightly clashed with her shirt?

— Grandma’s Criticisms

( Read more... )

conuly in

agonyaunt

Dear Meghan: My sons (5 and 6 years old, both mildly autistic) tend to wake up in the morning and as fast as they can dive into my husband’s and my bed for cuddles. They seem to get a lot of sensory satisfaction and a lot of comfort from this ritual. Their preference would be to cuddle with me or both of us for about 15 minutes until they’re all the way awake, then run off and do their own thing. I don’t mind this at all — I enjoy it somewhat, and I find that (as primary caretaker) their days and thus mine go much smoother if they have this cuddle in bed to start the day.

The problem is that my husband says it ruins his day to have his kids in his bed at all.

I have tried to be a physical barrier between him and them — doesn’t work. I’ve tried to not let them in until he’s already up and showering — doesn’t work. I’ve tried to go to their beds and cuddle them there — doesn’t work. I’m out of ideas.

What should I do?

( Read more... )

merricatb in

smallfandomfest

Title: Guten Morgen
Author: MerricatB
Fandom: Sense8
Pairing/Characters: Rajan/Wolfgang/Kala
Rating/Category: Teen & Up
Prompt: thanks to Wolfgang and Rajan, mornings became Kala’s favourite part of the day
Spoilers: Whole series
Summary: Kala experiences a delightful disruption to her morning routine.
Notes/Warnings: Read on AO3

author_by_night in

fan_writers

Let's talk about crossovers and crossover AUs . For example, "Sam and Dean from Supernatural hang out with Buffy and Dawn from Buffy the Vampire Slayer"* and "Buffy and Dawn are Hunters, like Sam and Dean." Two different things, but similar concepts.

ETA: I used "fusion", but I don't think that's quite the right term.

With crossover AUs, how do you make it its own story, as opposed to just Buffy and Dawn speaking Sam and Dean's lines? Do you include other character parallels?

What do you count as a crossover, versus a cameo? Do you consider it crossover if Sam and Dean show up briefly, or would that be more of a cameo?

When it comes to tagging, you tag the fandoms, or just the characters? For that matter, how closely do you prefer crossover AUs follow the original canon?

spikedluv in

smallfandomfest

Is everyone ready?!! Prompts are now available for claiming! Please read the following rules before you claim a prompt.

( Rules for Claiming Prompts and Posting Submissions )

That’s it for the rules! Now for something fun: if you submit three or more fanfic and/or fanart, in any combination, you will receive a lovely button acknowledging your contribution to

smallfandomfest!

Complete List of Prompts

(If you notice that your prompt is incorrect, please comment here and let me know immediately so I can correct it. Once the prompt has been claimed I won’t be able to change it.

Also, if you notice typos, pairings not being listed uniformly, or large fandoms that slipped through, please let me know so I can fix/make a note of them for the next round. Thank you.)

Please reserve this post for claims and questions about the current round.

If you have questions about the fest in general, please ask them here.

If you have questions about what fandoms qualify, please ask them here.

modzilla in

fffx

Hello! The kaiju awake from their slumber! It is check-in week. If you have any open or incomplete assignments [see exceptions at end of post], please consider which of the three scenarios below describes you, and check in accordingly.

1. Things aren't great. You don't think you can complete your assignment(s) by 24 January 2026.
Please go to AO3 and press 'default' on your assignment(s). You don't need to comment here, or contact me with a reason; whatever reason you have is good enough, and I wish you well. If you default on your assignment(s) before the end of the check-in period, you are welcome to sign up to all future rounds, as long as you also comment on any gifts you've received.

2. Your situation is complicated and you want to ask a question.
Sure! Please contact me at mod.modzilla@gmail.com. Please include your AO3 name and your recipient's name(s).

3. You expect to complete your assignment(s).
Great! Please comment below with the following information:

You don't need a Dreamwidth account to comment, but if you're commenting without logging in on Dreamwidth, and you want me to email you to confirm the check-in, please say so. (If you comment while logged in, you'll get a notification when I reply.)

You do NOT need to give me any details of your progress or any samples of your work as part of your check-in. I don't need to know where you're up to right now (though it's interesting!) as long as you have a plan that works for you. If you want to, because it would amuse me/yourself, consider including a line from your fic or telling me about something that happens in your fic or comic. Or a thing you've researched, or a thing that you've had to cut. Any notes you add are entirely optional.

Or just fill out the first four questions. That's fine.

If you have more than one recipient on the go (thanks and good luck), please give check-in information for each recipient. They can be in the same comment.

If you're planning to post two half-length works to fulfil your assignment, please let me know, and I'll send you a second assignment so you can fulfil both through AO3's interface. This is easier for me to keep track of than one assignment and one treat. It's okay if you change your mind closer to the deadline.

Comments are screened. I will not start replying immediately, but I'll reply to comments from logged-in DW users, and if you ask me to reply by email, I will do that.

New this year: I will also, in the next couple of days, email all participants who need to check in to alert you to this post.

Please leave your comment by 11:59pm EST, 30 November (see countdown).

If you do not comment confirming that you are still an active participant in the exchange, I will default you and send recipients to pinch hit by approx December 2-3.

Participants who don't need to check in
-People who have already posted in full (congrats!!)
-People who have pressed or who are now pressing the default button
-People who have previously participated and who have confirmed with me they don't need to check in (f, G)
-People who recently picked up pinch hits for ...

recipients:

CousinShelley

conuly in

agonyaunt

1. When I say goodbye to my mother-in-law, she frequently traps me in extended hugs. They often last longer than 15 seconds! During these hugs, she rattles off compliments that are probably well-meaning, but which I take as insults: She’s grateful that I’m a good cook for my husband, for instance, and that I keep our house so clean. My husband and I are both working professionals. We split the housework evenly, and I’m proud of that. My husband says that his mother’s comments are just her way of trying to connect with me. But is there a way to dodge her hugs? That’s when the so-called compliments begin.

DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

( Read more... )

****

2. Dear Carolyn: We are a very small family — just me, my older sister and my parents. Five years ago, my sister married into a very large family, and her in-laws host all the holidays. We’re always invited, but it’s never any fun for us. There are 20 of them together, talking and laughing, and me and my parents in the corner by ourselves.

I’ve honestly tried to join in, but they’re always talking among themselves about people I don’t know. I ask them about their lives, and they go on and on, but when it’s time for me to talk, I get either cut off or ignored. They try to be nice, but after the third or fourth attempt to answer a question, you can tell they don’t care about the answer.

So I’ve decided I’m not going for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year. On Thanksgiving, some of my friends are meeting up for a hike in the morning, and then there’s a pub crawl later in the evening, and that’s enough holiday for me. I can order a pizza for dinner. For Christmas, I plan to have breakfast with my parents, open gifts and then kick back for the rest of the day while they go off to my sister’s in-laws’ house.

Even though my parents agree about the in-laws, they are telling me to suck it up and go for their sake. They and my sister are really upset with me, saying I’m going to ruin their holidays, hurt my brother-in-law’s feelings and not see my niece. I say there will be so many people around that my brother-in-law and niece won’t miss me, and I’ll see them both on Black Friday and then again on Christmas Eve, so it’s not like I’m missing out entirely.

Am I being selfish like they say? Don’t I have a right to enjoy my holidays, or do I have to suffer in silence?
— Anonymous

( Read more... )

*************

3. Dear Annie: My son got married about eight months ago, and while I truly do love his new wife, I admit I'm scratching my head over a few things. Maybe it's the times changing, or maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but it feels like I got a fourth child instead of a daughter-in-law.

When they come over for dinner, I do what I've always done: make a nice meal, fix everyone a plate and pass the rolls. I'll serve my husband, my boys and even the dog if he looks hungry enough. But my new daughter-in-law? She piles food on her own plate, sits down and tells my son to get it himself. My jaw nearly hit the mashed potatoes. He works all day to provide for her, and the least she could do is hand him a pork chop! Instead, I find myself jumping up to fix his plate while she's scrolling through her phone.

And the laundry, don't even get me started. Because they don't have a washer and dryer, she brings her clothes over, and somehow, I end up doing them. It's like my son got married, and I gained another load of towels.

Should I speak up, or just keep folding her laundry and praying she buys a washing machine? -- Lost For Words in Georgia

( Read more... )

**********

4. Dear Annie: Hoping you can offer some advice! My son has been married for six years to a beautiful girl who rarely speaks to us and acts as though we don't exist. Her distance has gotten much worse over time, and we have no idea why. We love her and are just as kind to her as we are to our other kids and their wives. My husband and I are so sad. This has broken our hearts.

We haven't said anything because we don't want to upset our son, but lately even he appears unhappy with her attitude toward us. When we've referred to her as our daughter -- as we do our other daughter-in-law, who loves the title -- she'll say, "No, thank you. I already have a mom and dad." We've always felt as parents ourselves that you can NEVER have too many people to love your child, so we were quite hurt by that.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. She's so cold and distant toward us that even our friends and family have noticed and commented. We are good people, we stay out of our kids' business and we keep our opinions to ourselves. Our motto is, "If you want our thoughts, you'll have to ask for them." We don't meddle or cause waves ever, yet she continues to find ways to fault us for things. It's completely unsubstantiated, but it persists!

It's to the point I have so much anxiety that I've considered seeking out a therapist. This DIL is so unapproachable, so to avoid conflict, we just sweep EVERYTHING under the rug to avoid causing our sweet son any grief.

Please let us know if you have any advice. Our hearts are broken! -- Boy Momma

( Read more... )

conuly in

agonyaunt

My mother-in-law is always on a diet. Her house also happens to be where the family gathers monthly for meals. Lately, she has been serving lighter fare and no dessert so that she can eat more healthfully. We are fine with the lighter meals, but when we pushed back on dessert, she got upset and said we weren’t being supportive of her. These meals represent a tiny fraction of what she eats in a year, and I am frustrated that I have to compromise on dessert. (It doesn’t help that her diets are usually fads and not based in science.) Advice?

( Read more... )

conuly in

agonyaunt

Dear Carolyn: My boyfriend is still in regular contact with his ex-girlfriend. He is her confidant, and she admits she still loves him. He keeps her posted on our relationship, which is rocky because I am jealous of their relationship. I am not allowed to set any boundaries about this.

I want to ask him to stop being her confidant and to stop telling her about our relationship. They can remain friends, just not with such intimate conversations. He absolutely refuses any boundaries because “I am not going to let you pick my friends.”

Should I just exit this situation? For context, he and I are on and off because of this, and he usually dates her again when we are off.

— Jealous

( Read more... )

yuletidemods in

yuletide_pinch_hits

We have eight new pinch hits, numbered #57-64. These pinch hits are due at the main assignment deadline of Wednesday 17 December at 9pm UTC.

Comments are turned off for this community. To claim a pinch hit, please email the mods at yuletideadmin@gmail.com and:

Include the pinch hit number in the subject line
Include the recipient’s AO3 name in the subject line
Include your AO3 username in the body of the email

For example, if your AO3 username is yuletidehippo and you want to claim Pinch Hit #42 for AwsomRecip, you might email us with the subject line “PH 42 for AwsomRecip” and “I’m yuletidehippo on AO3” in the body of the email. As was the case previously, if you don’t receive a reply you did not get the pinch hit.

CLAIMED - PH #57: The Sting (1973), Father Brown (2013), Born With Teeth - Adams, Two Loves - Lord Alfred Douglas (Poem)

This pinch hit is claimed, but treats are welcome!

Request 1 by Tosie
The Sting (1973)
Characters: Henry Gondorff, Johnny Hooker (The Sting)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

DNW: rape/noncon, underage (mentions of past consensual underage relationships are fine), PWP (smut is great, but I’d like some feelings too please), sad ending, unrequited love, established relationship, AUs other than canon divergence (an alternate first meeting would be fine, for example; a high school AU would not)
Optional details: I do ship them and would welcome romance and/or smut—but really what I like is the intimacy of their relationship, so as long as that’s there I’m good. Feel free to include other characters from the movie, or OCs, but I would like the focus on Johnny and Henry. Similarly a plot-heavy or con-based fic is welcome as long as it still highlights that relationship.
Shippy tropes I like with these characters:
- MUTUAL PINING. Give me all of it.
- Feelings realizations
- Experienced x inexperienced romantically and/or sexually (including previous relationships all being hetero)
- Bisexual awakening/realization
- Pretend relationship (playing gay chicken ~for the con~? Yes please)
- Only one bed/otherwise being forced into close quarters
Gen tropes:
- Hurt/comfort (especially wound tending, ESPECIALLY if said wounds were obtained in defense of the wound tender)
- Thinking the other is dead
- One turns up on the other’s doorstep out of the blue, badly injured and/or on the run
- Witty banter
- Humor
More specific prompts in my letter!

Letter:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1553LdFtZvhjZyYZaRdsos7_rh18Lg2qyJzujNdx_jVM/edit?usp=sharing

Request 2 by Tosie
Father Brown (2013)
Characters: M. Hercule Flambeau (Father Brown TV 2013), Father Brown (Father Brown TV 2013)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

DNW: rape/noncon, underage (mentions of past consensual underage relationships are fine), “explicit” sex (“mature” is fine, but focusing on the feelings involved rather than the squelchy details), sad ending, unrequited love, Father Brown leaving the priesthood, established relationship, AUs other than canon divergence (an alternate first meeting would be fine, for example; a high school AU would not)
Optional details: I do ship them, but anything exploring their fascinating journey from enemies to friends (and/or lovers) would be great! Other cast members and casefic welcome as long as these two get to do some philosophical bonding along the way.
Stuff I like:
- Flambeau being vulnerable with Father Brown, intentionally or not.
- Getting trapped together for an extended period
- Either one compromising their morals for the other (especially if they do something out of character in the heat of the moment, and only subsequently realize that it was a big deal/signifies a shift in their relationship)
- If it is shippy, I really enjoy Father Brown explaining why he feels morally okay breaking his vows of celibacy (that can be the whole fic if you want!). But I also realize that’s a difficult question, so feel free to just not address it. I’d rather the issue be ignored altogether than brought up and handwaved away, if that makes sense.
- Hurt/comfort (especially wound tending, ESPECIALLY if said wounds were obtained in defense of the wound tender)
- One turns up on the other’s doorstep out of the blue, badly injured and/or on the run
- Shaving fic. As in, one has to shave the other, ideally with a straight razor. The vulnerability and intimacy of it really gets me.
- Kinky Catholicism. Flambeau wanting to worship and be absolved by Father Brown, rather than God. This doesn’t have to be sexual.

Letter:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1553LdFtZvhjZyYZaRdsos7_rh18Lg2qyJzujNdx_jVM/edit?usp=sharing

Request 3 by Tosie
Born With Teeth - Adams
Characters: Christopher Marlowe (Born With Teeth Adams), William Shakespeare (Born With Teeth Adams)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

DNW: rape/noncon, underage (mentions of past consensual underage relationships are fine), sad ending*, AUs other than canon divergence (an alternate first meeting would be fine, for example; a high school AU would not)
Optional details: I got to see the 2025 production with Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel, which was excellent. 90 minutes of intense, sweaty homoeroticism. A+ no notes
Things I enjoyed in the play and would love to see more of: witty flirtatious banter, humor, philosophical musings
I’d love a fixit for the downer ending, particularly one exploring the (vaguely credible?) theory that Marlowe faked his own death.
* I realize that the play has a sad ending. I’m not saying I need you to change the canon ending, if you don’t want to disturb canon I’d be very happy to read a missing scene inserted in the middle. But if you’re going past 1593 I would prefer for things to diverge in a happier direction.

Letter:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1553LdFtZvhjZyYZaRdsos7_rh18Lg2qyJzujNdx_jVM/edit?usp=sharing

Request 4 by Tosie
Two Loves - Lord Alfred Douglas (Poem)
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

DNW: rape/noncon, AUs, pederasty*, PWP
Optional details: This is a weird one! This poem is famous for coming up in Oscar Wilde’s trial, when he eloquently but unwisely described the nature of “the love that dare not speak its name.” I read the poem and thought “I wanna see them kiss.” Cause let’s be honest, despite one of them being heterosexuality personified, they’re both pretty gay.
They don’t have to kiss, but that’s what inspired me to request this. Also, you can refer to them however you want, I struggled with coming up with the tags. I was thinking Joyous Love/Sighing Love, if you like that, or you can give them real names or just avoid referring to them by name at all. Feel free to tag them differently.
* So, Oscar Wilde’s famous definition of the second Love (available here: https://www.famous-trials.com/wilde/342-wildetestimony) is love between an older man and a younger man (exact ages unspecified). I don’t think there’s anything in the poem itself that implies it means that, as opposed to regular old gayness. It’s cool if you want to reference Wilde’s testimony, but I’d like it clear that the Love that dare not speak its name is homosexuality in general, and not specifically pederasty.
Prompts/stuff I’d be interested to see:
- Their journey (before the events of the poem) from friends (to lovers?) to enemies
- Exploration of Joyous Love’s own shame and why he projects it onto Sighing Love
- Them making up after the poem’s events
- Some explanation of how bisexuality fits into this, lol. Threesome? Maybe they’re all actually bi? Idk.
- Other sexualities? By Wilde’s definition it seems like you might need a separate entity for lesbian love.
- Further expanding of the world. I didn’t add Worldbuilding as a character because I’d like the focus on the two Loves, but I’d definitely be interested in seeing the mythology fleshed out a bit more around them!
- Nonstandard fic structure (e.g. epistolary, poetry, etc)
- Something that blends the real world with the dream garden, like one or both of them being called to testify at Wilde’s trial or something???
- Honestly feel free to play with this, if you feel inspired. I just like the idea of seeing more of them/their relationship and I think I’ll be thrilled with anything that does that.

Letter:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1553LdFtZvhjZyYZaRdsos7_rh18Lg2qyJzujNdx_jVM/edit?usp=sharing

CLAIMED - PH #58: British Airways ""May We Haveth One's Attention"" Safety Video, The Fractured Europe Sequence - Dave Hutchinson, Il Gattopardo | The Leopard (2025), Warrior (TV 2019), Matthew Shardlake Series - C. J. Sansom

This pinch hit is claimed, but treats are welcome!

Request 1 by Isis
British Airways ""May We Haveth One's Attention"" Safety Video
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

I watched this homage to British costume drama (and airline safety video!) and was instantly charmed. Feel free to take it anywhere along the crack continuum that you like: is this a strange alternate world in which airplanes were invented much, much earlier? Did the historical characters time-travel forward, or the flight attendants time-travel in reverse? Did a real queen isekai into the filming of an airline safety video and just deal with it with royal aplomb? Why are Anne and George sitting in airline seats in the parlor? (Do they invite the flight attendants to their wedding?) And, the most provoking question of all: how did the Scots get seatbelts on their horses?
Additional DNW for this fandom: don't break up Anne and George! However, any other relationships here are fair game, and I'd be intrigued by something like Scot/flight attendant or Queen/pilot.
DNW: I do not want fic focusing on pregnancy or children (mentions of either are fine), A/B/O or BSDM dynamics, mundane modern AUs, or major character death (other than canon deaths). I do not want anything that contradicts the characters being cisgender as presented in canon, unless they are canonically not cisgender. I do not want fic that uses neopronouns (e.g. 'xie') – please use 'they' for nonbinary or agender characters, or whatever these characters use in canon. I do not want nonstandard capitalization or punctuation other than in the title. I very strongly prefer past tense; if you feel your story really needs to be in present tense for stylistic reasons that's fine, but I want it to be a conscious choice, not a default.
I do not want unrequested noncanon ships involving canon characters even in the background, other than those I've specifically mentioned I'm okay with. Canon ships, mentioned past relationships with OCs, and implicitly canon ships (such as people’s parents) are fine, as are OC/OC relationships. Please don't break up any specified relationships or put my requested characters in relationships other than the ones I've mentioned I like.

Letter:
https://isis.dreamwidth.org/349078.html

Request 2 by Isis
The Fractured Europe Sequence - Dave Hutchinson
Characters: Worldbuilding (Fractured Europe Sequence)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

The Fractured Europe Sequence - Dave Hutchinson: Worldbuilding
I first read Europe in Autumn and Europe at Midnight nearly 10 years ago, when the ""Xian Flu"" was a far-fetched SF imagining and the ""Global War on Terror"" was not nearly so global. I'm re-reading these books now in preparation for reading the rest of the series, and let me just say it's landing rather differently.
The worldbuilding in this series delights and enthralls me! I would love anything about the splinter polities, about the Line, about the Campus or the Community or the Coureurs, on scales small (the discovery of an entrance to the Community) to large (a seemingly-stable country splitting into pieces). Past, present, or future; Europe, or beyond - what happened in Asia? In North America? while all this is happening in Europe? There are intriguing hints that the US has had a civil war, and that Texas has become its own country! The little bits of story with secondary characters hint at lots of things outside the scope of the novels that could be filled in. Or - and I don't know yet if these get answered in the books, but if it doesn't - how does mapping an alternate dimension make it spring into being? What was Mundt's ""trick of topology""?
(Please note that as I write this letter, I've only read the first two books and about half of the third, but I will have read the entire series by Yuletime.)
DNW: I do not want fic focusing on pregnancy or children (mentions of either are fine), A/B/O or BSDM dynamics, mundane modern AUs, or major character death (other than canon deaths). I do not want anything that contradicts the characters being cisgender as presented in canon, unless they are canonically not cisgender. I do not want fic that uses neopronouns (e.g. 'xie') – please use 'they' for nonbinary or agender characters, or whatever these characters use in canon. I do not want nonstandard capitalization or punctuation other than in the title. I very strongly prefer past tense; if you feel your story really needs to be in present tense for stylistic reasons that's fine, but I want it to be a conscious choice, not a default.
I do not want unrequested noncanon ships involving canon characters even in the background, other than those I've specifically mentioned I'm okay with. Canon ships, mentioned past relationships with OCs, and implicitly canon ships (such as people’s parents) are fine, as are OC/OC relationships. Please don't break up any specified relationships or put my requested characters in relationships other than the ones I've mentioned I like.

Letter:
https://isis.dreamwidth.org/349078.html

Request 3 by Isis
Il Gattopardo | The Leopard (2025)
Characters: Concetta Corbera di Salina (Il Gattopardo 2025)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

I enjoyed this costume drama set in the waning days of the Sicilian nobility and the rise of the Kingdom of Italy. I'm specifically looking for a canon-divergence AU here: please give Concetta a happy future. Maybe she runs off with Tancredi to America; maybe she runs off to Paris with Angelica! Maybe she gets married to Bombello after all, and it works out. Or perhaps she finds joy in her stewardship of the Salina estate, somehow, if you want to keep things closer to canon. I'd be intrigued with a crossover with historical RPF of the period, or any appropriate fandom I'm familiar with.
DNW a romantic relationship between Concetta and any of her siblings or parents, or Calogero, but I'm fine with her finding love with an OC, male or female, or a minor character ditto.
DNW: I do not want fic focusing on pregnancy or children (mentions of either are fine), A/B/O or BSDM dynamics, mundane modern AUs, or major character death (other than canon deaths). I do not want anything that contradicts the characters being cisgender as presented in canon, unless they are canonically not cisgender. I do not want fic that uses neopronouns (e.g. 'xie') – please use 'they' for nonbinary or agender characters, or whatever these characters use in canon. I do not want nonstandard capitalization or punctuation other than in the title. I very strongly prefer past tense; if you feel your story really needs to be in present tense for stylistic reasons that's fine, but I want it to be a conscious choice, not a default.
I do not want unrequested noncanon ships involving canon characters even in the background, other than those I've specifically mentioned I'm okay with. Canon ships, mentioned past relationships with OCs, and implicitly canon ships (such as people’s parents) are fine, as are OC/OC relationships. Please don't break up any specified relationships or put my requested characters in relationships other than the ones I've mentioned I like.

Letter:
https://isis.dreamwidth.org/349078.html

Request 4 by Isis
Warrior (TV 2019)
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

This show gave me vibes of Peaky Blinders set in the late 19th C San Francisco Chinatown Tong Wars, with a generous helping of Game of Thrones. I'd love a story about any of the nominated characters, particularly their backstory or an imagined future after the show (you are welcome to canon-divergence away canon deaths). Some specific things that interest me:
- How Ah Toy and Nellie navigate their romantic relationship (forbidden in multiple ways!)
- Lai's hero-worship of Ah Toy, her silent steadfastness, the way she blossomed at the vineyard
- Hong's ridiculous cheery attitude in the face of a thousand insults and injuries, his matter-of-fact approach to his sexuality
- Wang Chao's careful balancing act at the fulcrum of the warring tongs and the police
- The fraught father-son relationship of Father Jun and Young Jun
Please don't break up canon relationships. General DNW of unrequested noncanon ships involving canon characters applies here except for the following: I vaguely ship Wang Chao with Richard Lee (growing out of their developing understanding during their forced road-trip); Lai might be interesting with Penelope or Mai Ling, if you could figure out how to get them together, or an OC (male or female) or any other non-nominated character; Hong with an OMC or any non-nominated male character, before or after his time with Marcel. However, please feel completely free to write gen!
DNW: I do not want fic focusing on pregnancy or children (mentions of either are fine), A/B/O or BSDM dynamics, mundane modern AUs, or major character death (other than canon deaths). I do not want anything that contradicts the characters being cisgender as presented in canon, unless they are canonically not cisgender. I do not want fic that uses neopronouns (e.g. 'xie') – please use 'they' for nonbinary or agender characters, or whatever these characters use in canon. I do not want nonstandard capitalization or punctuation other than in the title. I very strongly prefer past tense; if you feel your story really needs to be in present tense for stylistic reasons that's fine, but I want it to be a conscious choice, not a default.
I do not want unrequested noncanon ships involving canon characters even in the background, other than those I've specifically mentioned I'm okay with. Canon ships, mentioned past relationships with OCs, and implicitly canon ships (such as people’s parents) are fine, as are OC/OC relationships. Please don't break up any specified relationships or put my requested characters in relationships other than the ones I've mentioned I like.

Letter:
https://isis.dreamwidth.org/349078.html

Request 5 by Isis
Matthew Shardlake Series - C. J. Sansom
Characters: Hugh Curteys
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

I read the first few Shardlake books a few years ago, and then read the rest of them in one fell swoop this summer. I feel like they just got better and better! Heartstone, where we meet Hugh Curteys, was possibly my favorite, because it contains one of my favorite tropes. Which is unfortunately a major spoiler, so I won't talk about it here, but if you've matched on this fandom you can find additional details in my letter.
I'd really love a story about Hugh's new life in Antwerp working in the cloth trade, and I'm fine with it being set with him back in England talking to Shardlake, or epistolary, or just completely about Hugh with no involvement from Shardlake and the other characters. I'm fine with gen, or with him attempting a romance either with a man or a woman (original character) - it's up to you whether it goes well or disastrously, considering his secret and the setting. But please keep things firmly set within the historical context of these books.
Additional DNW for this fandom: No Hugh/Jack or Hugh/Matthew. I'm cautiously open to Hugh/Nicholas, and although there are not a lot of appropriate female characters in these books, if you can think of one, that's fine. Original characters are of course fine here.
DNW: I do not want fic focusing on pregnancy or children (mentions of either are fine), A/B/O or BSDM dynamics, mundane modern AUs, or major character death (other than canon deaths). I do not want anything that contradicts the characters being cisgender as presented in canon, unless they are canonically not cisgender. I do not want fic that uses neopronouns (e.g. 'xie') – please use 'they' for nonbinary or agender characters, or whatever these characters use in canon. I do not want nonstandard capitalization or punctuation other than in the title. I very strongly prefer past tense; if you feel your story really needs to be in present tense for stylistic reasons that's fine, but I want it to be a conscious choice, not a default.
I do not want unrequested noncanon ships involving canon characters even in the background, other than those I've specifically mentioned I'm okay with. Canon ships, mentioned past relationships with OCs, and implicitly canon ships (such as people’s parents) are fine, as are OC/OC relationships. Please don't break up any specified relationships or put my requested characters in relationships other than the ones I've mentioned I like.

Letter:
https://isis.dreamwidth.org/349078.html

CLAIMED - PH #59: Cowboy Bebop (Anime), Piranesi - Susanna Clarke, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Old Kingdom - Garth Nix, 커피프린스 1호점 | Coffee Prince, Bee and PuppyCat, Sakeru Gummy ""Long Long Man"" Commercials, Futurama

This pinch hit is claimed, but treats are welcome!

Request 1 by apricityinthecity (apricitydays)
Cowboy Bebop (Anime)
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Treats welcome!
Likes: getting together, farce, only one bed, UST, fighting to fucking, unexpected hobbies, fake dating, poetry/experimental writing, surrealism, cuddling/sensual touching/horny non-sexual intimacy, bi panic, thinking something is probably a bad idea and doing it anyways, slice of life, trope subversion
Optional Prompt ideas:
- Faye having her own adventure while Spike and Jet are working a job
- Spike/Jet getting together, mutual pining or slice of life. It probably gets kind of lonely out there in space
- someone takes up a new hobby. Chaos ensues
- someone has an introspective think about their past choices
- exploring a new city (either leisurely or for a job)
DNWs: Rape, MCD, degredation, terminal illness, de-aging/ageplay, self harm, nuclear fallout

No letter

Request 2 by apricityinthecity (apricitydays)
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
Characters: The House (Piranesi), Worldbuilding (Piranesi)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

Treats welcome!
Likes: I just really want more of the house, the worldbuilding and the lore

No letter

Request 3 by apricityinthecity (apricitydays)
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Treats welcome!
Likes: getting together, farce, fake dating, poetry/experimental writing, surrealism, thinking something is probably a bad idea and doing it anyways, slice of life, trope subversion, case fic, pining, time loops
Optional Prompt ideas:
- Cabenela/Jowd
- Sissel and Missile have an adventure
- Lynne discovers her own superpowers (and it's not dying)
- Memry's various part time jobs
- Pigeon Professor's backstory
DNWs: Rape, MCD, degredation, terminal illness, de-aging/ageplay, self harm, nuclear fallout

No letter

Request 4 by apricityinthecity (apricitydays)
Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Treats welcome!
Likes: worldbuilding, exploration, adventure
Optional Prompts:
- Lirael's adventures in the library.
- A stay in the Abhorsen's house
- retrieving something from deep in death
- anything with paperwings
DNWs: Rape, MCD, degredation, terminal illness, de-aging/ageplay, self harm, nuclear fallout

No letter

Request 5 by apricityinthecity (apricitydays)
커피프린스 1호점 | Coffee Prince
Characters: Go Eunchan, Choi Hangyeol (Coffee Prince), Choi Hanseong
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

Treats Welcome!
Optional Prompts:
- The adventures of Eunchan, part-timer
- rock band or flower shop AU
- Eunchan and Hangyeol post-canon slice of life
- date night
- the lengths Eunchan will go to to hide that she's a girl
DNWs: Rape, MCD, degredation, terminal illness, de-aging/ageplay, self harm, nuclear fallout

No letter

Request 6 by apricityinthecity (apricitydays)
Bee and PuppyCat
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Optional Prompts:
- Bee and PuppyCat take a temp job
- Bee's awkward date
- holiday party at the Wizards'
- Bee and Deckard cooking together
- Bee goes to Cas's wrestling match
- Crispin repairs Bee (and maybe their relationship)
DNWs: Rape, MCD, degredation, terminal illness, de-aging/ageplay, self harm, nuclear fallout
No letter

Request 7 by apricityinthecity (apricitydays)
Sakeru Gummy ""Long Long Man"" Commercials
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Optional Prompts:
- long long man and tooru's sakeru gummy sponsored wedding and/or honeymoon
- Slice of life: horribly balanced throuple
- POV long long man
- Chi on candy version of bachelorette
DNWs: Rape, MCD, degredation, terminal illness, de-aging/ageplay, self harm, nuclear fallout
No letter

Request 8 by apricityinthecity (apricitydays)
Futurama
Characters: Any
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Likes: getting together, farce, only one bed, UST, coffee shop, fighting to fucking, unexpected hobbies, fake dating, poetry/experimental writing, surrealism, cuddling/sensual touching/horny non-sexual intimacy, bi panic, music au, thinking something is probably a bad idea and doing it anyways, case fic, slice of life, trope subversion
Optional Prompts:
- Amy and Leela have a fling
- a delivery goes wrong (as usual)
- holophoner band AU
- Bender becomes a tiktok influencer
DNWs: Rape, MCD, degredation, terminal illness, de-aging/ageplay, self harm, nuclear fallout
No letter

CLAIMED - PH #60: Alan Wake (Video Games), Exordia - Seth Dickinson, Mugen Kouro | Infinite Space

This pinch hit is claimed, but treats are welcome!

Request 1 by cadmean
Alan Wake (Video Games)
Characters: Thomas Zane (Alan Wake)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Tom the Poet-Diver-Director -- what IS going on with the guy? Love the various roles he ends up playing across both games, and I'd be super interested in anything that digs a bit deeper into the guy and his history with Bright Falls and the Dark Place.
Please see my letter for more details :D
DNW: mundane AUs, unrequested crossovers, kidfic, vore, scat, rimming, pregnancy/mpreg/oviposition, omegaverse

Letter:
https://teumesia.dreamwidth.org/9376.html

Request 2 by cadmean
Exordia - Seth Dickinson
Characters: Ssenenet (Exordia), Ssrinsahautha-ku-Ssraaa | Ssrin (Exordia), Iruvage (Exordia)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

Snek aliens damned to literal actual Hell, my beloved. I love what we get to see of them in canon (gory and hammy and at the end of the day just utterly alien), and I'm super interested in exploring their various dynamics further! Ssrin and Ssenenet with their doomed sister-relation, the revelation that Iruvage was doing everything against Ssrin on Ssenenet's orders...it's beautiful.
Please see my letter for more details :D
DNW: mundane AUs, unrequested crossovers, kidfic, vore, scat, rimming, pregnancy/mpreg/oviposition, omegaverse

Letter:
https://teumesia.dreamwidth.org/9376.html

Request 3 by cadmean
Mugen Kouro | Infinite Space
Characters: Valantin the Pirate (Infinite Space), Emperor Taranis Lugovalos (Infinite Space)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

Love me a pair of people who see that the universe is damned to destruction by its (and their own!) creators and just go, ""no, actually, we're going to fight those things."" Valantin and Taranis are already super intriguing to me on their own, but the fact that they're actually a Tracker-Observer pair is just *chef's kiss* to me and I'd be super interested in anything exploring that dynamic further.
Please see my letter for more details :D
DNW: mundane AUs, unrequested crossovers, kidfic, vore, scat, rimming, pregnancy/mpreg/oviposition, omegaverse

Letter:
https://teumesia.dreamwidth.org/9376.html

CLAIMED - PH #61: Lymond Chronicles - Dorothy Dunnett, Jennifer's Body (2009), Dark Winds (TV), Suspiria (1977)

This pinch hit is claimed, but treats are welcome!

Request 1 by word_docs_and_willowboughs
Lymond Chronicles - Dorothy Dunnett
Characters: Francis Crawford of Lymond and Sevigny, Philippa Somerville, Marthe (Lymond Chronicles), Oonagh O'Dwyer
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

DNW (except canon refs): AUs outside canon era/setting; women being 'broken'; Pregnancy; childbirth; child harm/death onscreen; ableism-centric; torture working; modern medical/psychiatric whump Sex:Rape turning romantic/consensual; non-sexual fluids/unsanitary kinks; fantasy sex (omegaverse, sex pollen etc); pregnancy/breeding; non-canon CDA, incest, underage; sex/rape changing one's sexual orientation; transfem, butch or masc female attacker in noncon; marital rape; comphet sex; gnc women called men/boys in bed
Likes: Whump, H/C, fewer women die; F/F; Lymond with OCD or chronic pain; Disability rep; R63 - f!Lymond (any prompt) especially butch/masc bi girl Lymond who's a as rakish and 'weird' genderwise like Francis in canon is 'effette'

Christian Lives
Prompts: Chris survives her fall with injuries, even permanently-disabling ones; I just want her to live and get some agency back. I don't think she HAS done everything she wanted to before dying.
Likes: Lesbian Christian; recovery/rehab fic; Margaret Fleming as friend/caretaker/love interest; F/F
DNW: ""Better dead than (more) disabled"" trope; M/F; Lymond-centric (him being there is fine)

Oonagh/Marthe
Prompts: AUs where they meet & Oonagh lives: the PiF rescue works out; her and Marthe traveling together after that as a setup; Oonagh settling in France post-PiF then Oonagh/Marthe during RC or CM; canon-divergence where they meet in QP somehow
Likes: Lesbian!Marthe; Marthe and Oonagh supporting/protecting each other as they both reckon with past abuse and extending kindness to each other; gay sex
DNW: Noncon; Marthe/Jerott centric

Margaret Douglas/Philippa (CW dub/noncon)
Prompts:
- RC era where Philippa is stuck at Margaret's house. Margaret attempts seduction to break Lymond and Philippa up, or just takes the opportunity like she did with Lymond after Solway, or thinks she's ""stealing"" ""Lymond's"" woman
- CM era: Margaret holding Lymond hostage but she's demanding sexual favors from Philippa as well as payment/ransom to get him back
Likes: Margaret being creepy with a sweet veneer; Philippa being shrewder than Margaret thinks but playing innovent; Margaret ignoring boundaries
Shippy: Margaret easing/tricking Philippa into things she can't get out of; sex; Margaret is Philippa's first time and she's relishing it; dub/noncon and coercion OK (as dark as you want); battle of wits that Margaret thinks is one-sided seduction; Philippa suffering emotionally (eg getting off and being ashamed/confused/upset)
DNW: Overtly-violent noncon; failing the Bechdel test

Lymond/Margaret Douglas (CW dub/noncon)
Prompts: Prompts: Post-Solway Moss or post-galleys, where Lymond is in the Douglases' and Lennoxes' respective clutches, or when Lymond is Margaret's hostage in CM
- Margaret indulging in all of the manipulation and gaslighting and seduction she wants, and how Lymond reacts to it. Anything with digging into Lymond's weak spots, sussing out things like the child abuse.
-Post galleys - hurt Lymond recovering from the whipping scars (could involve nerve pain/mobility restriction from the new scar tissue); Margaret gaslighting about how getting sold out to the French was totally an accident and she was sooo worried; her trying to work out what new trauma Lymond got from the galleys (physical/sexual/psychological)
-Pressured/coerced sex (or implication that it's heading there if you don't want to write that)
-Lymond both clocking the bullshit and being too emotionally exhausted to really push back and just going along with it as a result; alternately, trying to work out how to mask the trauma caused by all this in real time.
DNW: Physically-violent noncon; E-rated underage sex (E is fine post galleys when Lymond is 18+). Talking about the psychological impacts or non-graphically mentioning what Margaret does physically is fine if set when Lymond is under

Lymond H/C or Rescue with Philippa and/or Richard
Prompts: Lymond-rescue fic. Due to spying/war/political shenanigans or otherwise, Lymond being captured/trapped (and either injured in the process or afterwards (torture, re-injuring old wounds, migraine/chronic illness flare.)
-Philippa or Richard or both as rescuer/comfort-er is ideal. They could work together, or have a romantic highly-competent Philippa on her own or throwbacks to Richard saving Lymond from peril.

Letter:
https://write.ellipsus.com/edit/627cbc32-0083-4734-82cd-b699753678fc

Request 2 by word_docs_and_willowboughs
Jennifer's Body (2009)
Characters: Jennifer Check, Anita ""Needy"" Lesnicki
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

DNW (except canon ref):AUs outside canon era/setting; Women bieng 'broken'; Pregnancy; childbirth; Child harm/death onscreen; ableism-centric; torture working; modern med/psychiatric whump SexRape turning romantic/consensual; Non-sexual fluids/unsanitary kinks; Fantasy sex (omegaverse, sex pollen, etc); pregnancy/breeding; non-canonical CSA, incest or underage; sex/rape “changing” sexual orientation; transfem, butch or masc queer woman attacker in F/F noncon; marital rape; comphet sex; GNC women called men/boys
General Likes:
It will Not shock you that I am a huge Needy/Jennifer shipper. I love a good mix of teenage toxicity and ""sandbox love"", like in canon that balance of mean and sweet and just plain confused moments is soooo teenage-sapphic. To me.
I know ""God, you're butch"" was a joke but. What if. What if she actually got butch in future though.
Needy/Jennifer (Maybe Fix-It)
Prompts:
Needy working her ass off to find some solution to Jennifer's demon issues - to reverse the curse, to stave off the hunger, something - even if it doesn't fix the situation exactly, but the key thing here is, getting Jennifer in on helping Jennifer instead of trying to essentially go over her head. Maybe Jennifer's initial post-death vulnerability putting her in a place where Needy can convince her to listen to her and that gets a crack in the impenetrable killing-boys armor?
Or a Needy corruption arc where she's so pissed off about the murder shit that she decides she's willing to sacrifice someone (other than her boyfriend, RIP) to save Jennifer
Needy failing to stab Jennifer and getting bitten-and-turned instead; they're now Stuck Together because they're both functionally undead
Alternately, I would LOVE for Jennifer to get resurrected somehow post-stabbing (maybe by demon!Needy) - like reversing the Devil's Kettle ritual basically - and have them go on sapphic murder-demon adventures together
Likes:
Consummating (literally or figuratively) the Needy/Jennifer relationship
Bi4Bi Jennifer/Needy
Psychological horror as much as body horror; maybe addressing the mental damage that dying/seeing all that death does to Jennifer and Needy respectively as well as the horror of the sacrifice itself having more explored aftermath vs. just happening in the moment
DNW: M/F centric fic; psych hospital setting

Letter:
https://write.ellipsus.com/edit/627cbc32-0083-4734-82cd-b699753678fc

Request 3 by word_docs_and_willowboughs
Dark Winds (TV)
Characters: Bernadette ""Bernie"" Manuelito
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

DNW (except canon ref):AUs outside canon era/setting; Women bieng 'broken'; Pregnancy; childbirth; Child harm/death onscreen; ableism-centric; torture working; modern med/psychiatric whump; E-rated/sex scenes for this fandom
General Likes: If Bernadette was bi it would make me so happy. IDK man I just… she's so pretty and my brain has been going ""what if she was gnc/masc presenting sometimes in culturally-specific ways though…"" Anyone want to research queer Diné culture/vibes in the 1970s? Pretty please?
I love equal-opportunity whump, where men and women both can get hurt and rescued/cared for/helped in similar ways instead of ""girl ways"" and ""boy ways""—I actually like whump with women BECAUSE it's a great place to highlight both resiliency/persistence and vulnerability, and not make female characters either ""weaker"" or by default ""better"" at caregiving.
On my genderbend bullshit again - I think genderbent Chee (ie always a woman) with all of the pop-culture immersion and swaggery would be hilarious and iconic, if that's a thing that moves you PLEASE do it… Especially if Chee's still copying a lot of the masculine affectations etc from canon, but it would also be awesome to see a take on like, what's the womenswear equivalent of the super-cool popped collar, etc… On that note, if you do do that, making Chee a disaster lesbian/bisexual and Chee/Bern F/F would add years to my life I think.
Bernadette Backstory
Prompts:
I would love fic about how Bern got to where she is career-wise, and maybe something about her obviously longstanding relationship with the Leaphorns (especially Emma! I love the women and their relationships in this show so much)
Bern and/or Chee Whump or Hurt/Comfort
Prompts:
This show is soooo good at hurt/comfort potential and banging up the characters emotionally and physically only to put them back together again. I would love to see this especially with Bern (who got a bit less of it compared to Chee and Joe Sr.) but Chee is always great too!
In terms of comfort or caretaking, Emma's obviously a great choice too - she's an absolute rock who can handle Bern's no-nonsense needs or Chee's… nonsense lol, and she has the skills needed!
Likes:
Bern and Chee in particular are on such an even keel with each other that I trust their characterization with each other in a H/C situation—that Chee wouldn't be infantilizing hurt!Bern and Bern wouldn't randomly transform into some kind of nursemaid with hurt!Chee (look, I like her a lil gruff even though she's got a lot of heart). So highlighting that canon balance they come to in the course of their work would be great in this context.
DNW: High focus on racist, gendered or queerphobic violence in whump specifically. It's fine if those things come up in the fic, but if you do go with H/C I'd rather the hurt part not be a hate crime or something

Career Fix-It Fic
Prompts:
I don't have a ton of specific prompts here but Lord Almighty can someone PLEASE remove Bern from the Border Patrol and put her in any other job… I was dying inside at that ending, even if I do like the idea of her doing something for herself that's moving up ladder-wise… help…
Giving her a different job that fulfills the same goals and needs she had taking the one she did in canon is obviously ideal, don't feel obligated to write about her circling back unless you want to—just please don't have her join that particular organization.
DNW: Border Patrol positivity :/

Letter:
https://write.ellipsus.com/edit/627cbc32-0083-4734-82cd-b699753678fc

Request 4 by word_docs_and_willowboughs
Suspiria (1977)
Characters: Worldbuilding (Suspiria 1977)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

DNW (except canon ref):AUs outside canon era/setting; Women bieng 'broken'; Pregnancy; childbirth; Child harm/death onscreen; ableism-centric; torture working; modern med/psychiatric whump; E-rated/sex scenes for this fandom
Prompts: Tell me about the witches' magic system! Mother Markos's origins! The founding of the school! Where the coven came from! There's so much territory to explore here.
Likes: Historical accuracy/details; Potential real-world issues that play into this (the gender politics of running a school with no men involved in earlier time periods eg)
DNW (except canon ref):AUs outside canon era/setting; Women bieng 'broken'; Pregnancy; childbirth; Child harm/death onscreen; ableism-centric; torture working; modern med/psychiatric whump; E-rated/sex scenes for this fandom; Markos being demonized or exoticized for being an immigrant. I can't with that; witchcraft tropes related to blood libel (there aren't any in the film, but please look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about - a lot of witchcraft mythos from Europe unfortunately has antisemitic roots)

No letter

CLAIMED - PH #62: Mr. Robot (TV), Respire | Breathe (2014), Burnt (2015)

This pinch hit is claimed, but treats are welcome!

Request 1 by ictus
Mr. Robot (TV)
Characters: Elliot Alderson
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

This show is such a mindfuck, it left me reeling. I'd love to get inside Elliot's head and see the world from his perspective, whether he's orchestrating a hack, or just trying to survive in a post-5/9 world. Please feel free to lean into darker themes, like his mental health struggles and delusions. An expansion on his traumatic past is likewise welcome, starting with his destruction of the server room pre-season, or even going back to his childhood with his father. Feel free to pull in other characters, such as Darlene (their relationship is so special, I'd love to see more), Krista (I'd love her take on him; maybe Elliot hacks her to read her notes on him?), Mr. Robot or other alters, or any other characters! Post-series fic with the 'real' Elliot is also something I'd love to see.
For more details, see my letter! Treats are enabled and very much welcome.
Do Not Wants:
• scat, watersports, pregnancy, kidfic
• AUs set outside of canon
• sexuality angst, internalised homophobia
• requested characters in het relationships (references to canon M/F ships are okay)

Letter:
https://scansionictus.dreamwidth.org/4265.html

Request 2 by ictus
Respire | Breathe (2014)
Characters: Charlie (Respire), Sarah (Respire)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

This film was so subtly sinister, and the role of Sarah was played superbly. I loved how she had a seductive quality that drew people to her like a moth to a flame, but when she was done with them, her cold indifference was absolutely brutal. I would love to see more of her toying with Charlie, not even for any particular gain, but just because she enjoys it. On a shippy note, there were so many moments in this film where the sexual tension between Charlie and Sarah was almost palpable, and I would love any kind of smut with these two, especially if Sarah's mean about it (e.g. bossing Charlie around, teasing her for being a virgin). I'd also be interested in Sarah spending time with other girls to make Charlie jealous, and this could be in a platonic or a romantic way. I'm interested in receiving French fic for this canon, but English fic is welcome too.
For more details, see my letter! Treats are enabled and very much welcome.
Do Not Wants:
• scat, watersports, pregnancy, kidfic
• 1st person POV, AUs set outside of canon
• sexuality angst, internalised homophobia
• requested characters in het relationships (references to canon M/F ships are okay)

Letter:
https://scansionictus.dreamwidth.org/4265.html

Request 3 by ictus
Burnt (2015)
Characters: Tony Balerdi
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

This film is a surprising delight, and it gave me almost everything I wanted—that is, everything except for a romantic arc for Tony. I'd love to see a version of events where he and Adam become partners in every sense of the word, or perhaps a pre-canon fic that expands on his history with Reece. Some sort of convoluted V-shaped love triangle with Tony at the centre would be next-level. If shipfic isn't your jam, I'd love insight into the day-to-day life of running one of the most highly-regarded restaurants in the world; food porn is very much welcome here, as is the minutiae of working in a kitchen. Pre-canon fic that details how Tony came to know Adam and Reece in Paris would be great, as would post-canon fic about life after securing the elusive Michelin Star.
For more details, see my letter! Treats are enabled and very much welcome.
Do Not Wants:
• scat, watersports, pregnancy, kidfic
• 1st person POV, AUs set outside of canon
• sexuality angst, internalised homophobia
• requested characters in het relationships (references to canon M/F ships are okay)

Letter:
https://scansionictus.dreamwidth.org/4265.html

CLAIMED - PH #63: Tuyo Series- Rachel Neumeier, The Chronicles of Morgaine - C. J. Cherryh, Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin, Old Kingdom - Garth Nix

This pinch hit is claimed, but treats are welcome!

Request 1 by oldernowiser
Tuyo Series- Rachel Neumeier
Characters: Gedes (Tuyo Series), Kelleos (Tuyo Series), Aras Eren Samaura, Ryo inGara
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

I would love a Gedes and Kelleos story, but if you’d rather not then I’m quite happy with Aras and/or Ryo in whatever situation you might like to put them.

Generally, I like humour and fluff, missing scenes, AUs, epistolary, slice-of-life and competency fics, hurt/comfort and angst (not absolute tragedy).
DNW:
nothing extremely E-rated (mild smut is fine)
No Aras/Ryo

No letter

Request 2 by oldernowiser
The Chronicles of Morgaine - C. J. Cherryh
Characters: Nhi Vanye i Chya, Morgaine kri Chya, Worldbuilding (Morgaine)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

I’d love a bit of Morgaine backstory, or a Morgaine and Vanye story, or something about the gates themselves
Generally, I like humour and fluff, missing scenes, AUs, epistolary, slice-of-life and competency fics, hurt/comfort and angst (not absolute tragedy).
DNW: nothing extremely E-rated (mild smut is fine)

No letter

Request 3 by oldernowiser
Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
Characters: Ged (Earthsea), Tenar (Earthsea)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

A Ged and Tenar story please! Maybe something about Tenar settling into her new life post-Tombs, but I’d be happy with whatever you choose to write.

Generally, I like humour and fluff, missing scenes, AUs, epistolary, slice-of-life and competency fics, hurt/comfort and angst (not absolute tragedy).
DNW: nothing extremely E-rated (mild smut is fine)

No letter

Request 4 by oldernowiser
Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Characters: Lirael (Old Kingdom), The Disreputable Dog | Kibeth
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags; or it may use exceptions I explain in the form

I would love a story about Lirael’s years in the Clayr library.
If you’d rather not, then anything about Lirael and the Dog in any situation you choose!

Generally, I like humour and fluff, missing scenes, AUs, epistolary, slice-of-life and competency fics, hurt/comfort and angst (not absolute tragedy).

No letter

CLAIMED - PH #64: Sex Education (TV), For All Mankind (TV 2019), The Lone Gunmen (TV)

This pinch hit is claimed, but treats are welcome!

Request 1 by greycoupon
Sex Education (TV)
Characters: Isaac (Sex Education), Maeve Wiley, Aimee Gibbs
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

I would love an Isaac story. He's such an interesting character & and as a disabled person myself, it is so refreshing to see a character with a physical disability who has sex. I would love to know what happens to him after the conclusion of the show.
I love Maeve and Aimee. Maeve/Aimee would be awesome. So would a friendship fic. More details in my letter.
Totally cool with any other characters in the story except Jakob. I know Jean isn't in the tagset so just a mild a suggestion but more Maeve and Jean interaction would be cool.
DNW: non-canon sexual assault, incest, suicide. Talking about Aimee's assault is fine.Anyone dying from cancer. Human feet, especially toes. (weird phobia, I know!)

Letter:
https://greycoupon.livejournal.com/561666.html

Request 2 by greycoupon
For All Mankind (TV 2019)
Characters: Margo Madison, Aleida Rosales, Molly Cobb (For All Mankind)
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

Love women being badasses. More details in letter.
DNW: non-canon sexual assault, incest, suicide.Anyone dying from cancer. Human feet, especially toes. (weird phobia, I know!)

Letter:
https://greycoupon.livejournal.com/561666.html

Request 3 by greycoupon
The Lone Gunmen (TV)
Characters: Richard ""Ringo"" Langly (The Lone Gunmen), Melvin Frohike (The Lone Gunmen), John Fitzgerald Byers (The Lone Gunmen), Dana Scully (The Lone Gunmen)
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags (if 0: any from tag set)

AU welcome and encouraged. See letter for complete details.
DNW: non-canon sexual assault, incest, suicide.Anyone dying from cancer. Human feet, especially toes. (weird phobia, I know!)

Letter:
https://greycoupon.livejournal.com/561666.html

modzilla in

fffx

This is the beta post for the 2025-2026 round of fffx.

Please comment below if you can offer brainstorming, critique, canon-checking, fact-checking, or tips on structure, perspective, or visual effects for art or stories in this exchange! Thank you to all volunteers.

Sign-up summary of requested fandoms
Requests in the app
Tag set

Please include a way to contact you. Here is an optional template to fill out:

Again, thank you!!

We also have outstanding pinch hits available.

Check-in week for this exchange is November 23-30.

modzilla in

fffx

FFFX stands for Five Figure Fanwork Exchange. It is a multifandom gift exchange for fanfic of 10,000+ words, and for comics of least 10 pages or at least 40 panels. FFFX is part of the Triple Crown multi-event challenge (

triplecrownofexchanges)

AO3 collection | Tag set | Browser app | Canon promo post | Beta post

Current Phase: Check-in week is upon us! Please read the check-in post, and either affirm that you're working on your assignment and expect to complete it, or default.

Schedule

Nominations start: 18 August 2025
Nominations close: 27 August (11:59pm EDT)
Sign-ups start: 2 September
Sign-ups close: 11 September
Assignments out by: 13 September
Assignment Swaps / FINAL Letter Completion Deadline*: 21 September
Check-in Week**: 23-30 November
Assignments due: 24 January 2026 (11:59pm EST)
Works revealed: 28 February (5pm EST)
Creators revealed: 14 March (5pm EST)

Click/expand this details tag to see more explanations, covering assignment swaps, check-in week, and other topics

*How do assignment swaps work? This exchange allows you to trade in your current assignment for a different one. This is intended as a safety net. Maybe you tried a new fandom to match a request and it didn't work out. Maybe you matched on something safe, but fell in love with something else after assignments went out. Whether you can swap to the new assignment of your choice will depend on several factors, including whether several other people are already creating for it. You can ask for any other assignment before September 21. Between September 21, 2025, and the main deadline of January 24, 2026, you can still trade in the assignment you hold for another one, but only if the one you want is listed as a pinch hit.

If you're writing a letter, I recommend you finish it during sign-ups so that your assigned creator can use it right away, but that doesn't always happen. So there's a hard deadline: please complete any linked letters by September 21; if you are matched to a recipient whose letter is incomplete after September 21, you are welcome to ask to swap to any other recipient throughout the exchange.

**What is Check-In Week? This is when you contact the mod on a check-in post at this community to confirm that you are committed to fulfilling your assignment(s). If you do not check in, you will be defaulted.

FFFX follows the pattern of many other Archive-of-Our-Own-based multifandom exchanges. The pool of available fandoms is created by nominations (eight fandoms, with six characters or relationships each, per person, with selective additions possible during sign-ups). When signing up, you can offer and request as few as four fandoms (one for offers), with one character or relationship in each, or as many as ten fandoms, with ten relationships in each. You will match on one of those characters or relationships (OR matching). FFFX allows original works prompts. FFFX does not match on freeform tags or rating.

Because this is an exchange for long works and many creators like to have something to go on, you must fill out your AO3 requests with your choice of the following: prompts, or notes on what appeals to you about a fandom, or general likes, or some combination of these.

Fandom promotion posts and guides to where your canon can be found are encouraged.

The mod can be reached at mod.modzilla@gmail.com as well as through this Dreamwidth community.

Previous sticky posts

conuly in

agonyaunt

Dear Annie: I've always had a complicated relationship with my older sister, "Beth." She's the golden child -- successful, pretty, everyone's favorite. I'm more of the quiet one. I've never resented her accomplishments, but I've spent years feeling like I'm living in her shadow.

Recently, something strange happened. I got offered a promotion at work that would put me in a leadership role over a project Beth's company is contracted on. It's a huge opportunity. When I told my parents, they were polite but not enthusiastic. My mom actually said, "Well, let's hope that doesn't make things awkward for Beth."

Beth hasn't said much, just a text that said "Congrats," with a period. Not even an exclamation point.

Part of me wants to let it go and focus on the win. But another part of me feels really, really sad, like I'm still chasing approval I'll never get. I don't want this old family dynamic to steal the joy from something I worked hard for.

How do I celebrate myself without needing my family to do it with me? And is it worth trying to fix something that maybe they don't even think is broken? -- Out of the Shadow

( Read more... )

spikedluv in

smallfandomfest

Today, Friday, November 21, is the last day to get your prompts in for this round! If you've got more prompts to submit, or you've been putting it off, head on over to the Prompt Submission Post and prompt away!

conuly in

agonyaunt

Dear Carolyn: My stepdad died suddenly of a heart attack two years ago, and my mom let me move in with her. Her place is huge, so she doesn’t want to live there alone. She can’t sell the house because she didn’t really inherit it; she can live there until she dies, then it goes to my stepbrother. My mom doesn’t charge me rent; she said I should save and invest the money instead, so it’ll be there when I do get a place. She doesn’t try to run my life, and I have plenty of room, plus there’s a pool, sauna, tennis court, etc., so it’s a great deal and we both benefit.

This arrangement makes my dad and stepmom crazy. They keep telling me it’s hurting me since I’m not living in the “real world.” And they complain that they can’t visit me at my home. My parents are okay with each other but haven’t been in the same room since my college graduation six years ago. My mom and stepmom don’t get along. But I go over to their house all the time, so it’s not interfering with our relationship.

My dad and stepmom even made my little sister ask why I’m living still with my mom — because no way a 15-year-old is asking that on her own.

I am banking money, I cook for myself a lot of the time and do my own laundry. With work, dating, getting enough exercise and sleep, life is hard enough. Why should I deliberately make it harder on myself just to prove a point? How do I shut them down while staying on good terms?

( Read more... )

mxcatmoon in

smallfandomfest

Diversity, social commentary, beauty, angst, and major shipping. I think this show has something for everyone.

( Read more... )

landofnowhere

Ariadne in Mantua, Vernon Lee (1903). Readaloud. This play sets itself up as being in the Extended Shakespeare Universe: "The action takes place in the Palace of Mantua through a period of a year, during the reign of Prospero I, of Milan, and shortly before the Venetian expedition to Cyprus under Othello." However it's an odd, sad play, and not one that Shakespeare would have told. One of the laws of the Shakespeare Universe, as I interpret it, is that nobody dies of unrequited love; you can't die of a broken heart unless somebody else dies first to break your heart. (Ophelia is arguably an exception, but still her father dies first.)

Mona Maclean, Medical Student, Graham Travers (a pseudonym for Margaret Todd). I enjoyed this, though the romantic happy ending dragged out a bit. I feel that the title does it a disservice, as it is not a school story; there are a few scenes in the medical school setting, but that's not the main focus of the story. It is however enjoyable as a late Victorian novel with an introspective and intellectual protagonist, feminist themes, and strong female friendships. Also, the love interest recites the poem Stradivarius by George Eliot, which I was glad to be introduced to.

The Life of Sophia Jex-Blake, Margaret Todd (writing under her own name this time, even though Gutenberg uses the name Graham Travers). Sophia Jex-Blake was one of the first women doctors in Great Britain, and founded the medical school that Margaret Todd attended; the two of them became life partners. So far I've only covered Sophia's youth and education; she was a gifted child who chafed at the Victorian education system that wanted to shape her into a well-behaved young lady, but fortunately manages to get onto a path to a real education. The biography has just covered her brief romantic relationship and unhappy breakup with Octavia Hill, who went on to be equally awesome.

The Strength of the Few, James Islington. Sequel to The Will of the Many, and a change of pace from all these old books by and about women. Not as good as the first book, mostly for structural reasons, but still very readable. I'm about 80% in and it's getting to be a bloodbath, but hopefully there will be interesting plots twists in what's left.

lebateleur

Last week's comparatively busy social calendar meant I read far less than my recent norm, but I still managed to finish one book and make serious dents in two more.

What I Finished Reading This Week

Swiz – Shawn Brown et al.
Swiz reads like the best band zine you've ever picked up: 256 pages of lyrics, illustrations, photos, and interviews and reflections, some contemporaneous, some written decades after the fact, with warts, contradictions, and acknowledged errors on full display. It's a compelling glimpse back into the heyday of DC punk and HC generally, and the development and dissolution of the volume's eponymous band in particular, and it's good stuff. ( Read more... )

What I Am Currently Reading

Ruin and Rising - Leigh Bardugo
I was in the mood for something entertaining and fanficcy after the past few months' nonfiction tear, and Bardugo continues to deliver.

Shield Maiden - Sharon Emmerichs
Ooh boy has Emmerichs doubled down on those really dubious narrative choices.

What I'm Reading Next

This week I acquired Companion Planting for Beginners by Brian Lowell.

これで以上です。

cahn

Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth (and five sequels); Gina -- The Girl Who Broke the World (and two sequels)

Outstanding! (As Hilo would say.) I do not know how with two children I have hitherto been unaware of the Hilo graphic novels, but indeed I did not know about them at all until a friend who was cleaning out her older kids' book collection offered them to A., and then I forgot about them until A. told me I needed to read them.

I don't know, y'all, these are graphic novels aimed towards the Dog Man demographic, I guess 8-year-old kids or so? they are definitely written on an 8-year-old level (complete with the old "let's erase everyone's memory" trick used a couple of times)... and somehow they were also a shot straight at my id. Maybe it's that I was getting over a cold when I read them and so my mental state was that of an 8-year-old. Or that the author was apparently influenced by Calvin and Hobbes and that went into some deep places in my brain. But I plowed through all 6 of the first set of books, and 3 of the next set, without being very aware that I was not absolutely the target audience. And indeed, what it shares so poignantly with C&H is that sense of deep joy. Hilo's very being just emanates joy. He has other kinds of emotions, too, but joy is the one that just radiates from the page.

But also all the characters are The Best and I have a lot of feelings about them! DJ and his large family that is so busy that they don't sit down to eat, but always have room for a few more, why not? Lisa, my fave, the little sister who starts getting suspicious about all the suspicious things going on that the other family members are too busy to pay attention to! Gina who wants to do STEM-y things and not do cheerleading, and her cheerleading-crazy family! Hilo and the ones who make up Hilo's backstory! Polly, who shows up in the second book and basically steals every scene!

The other thing about these books is that they are so wildly inventive. I read book one and thought, wow, that was good, but there's no way the author can pull that off for more than one book. Nope, he pulls it off for the five more in the series. It reminded me a little of how in The Good Place, I thought I knew what was coming in the second season, and then everything I thought was going to happen in the entire season happened in one episode. Loved these books madly, loved all the crazy hijinks madly, loved the deep compassion for all the characters madly.

The Gina books slow down a bit; they are still wildly inventive and with the same awesome characters, but by the nature of the series they have to be a tiny bit more serious, and so the set doesn't have quite the same exuberance that made me love the first six Hilo books so very much (which also do get more serious as they go along, but since it's all part of the same arc it's a little more gradual). But they are still great.

Spoilers

IZZY. Izzy was absolutely my favorite, no one will be surprised to hear. ALL THE PIECES FIT. I legit cried over her.

It's interesting -- some books I have a lot to say about, and I don't have very much to say about these; they're not the kind of books that I feel the need to chew over. (And, I mean. They're written for 8-year-olds.) They're just so joyous that I loved them very much.

HAZZAH!

profile

karmicdragonfly

November 2025

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30

summary

...

"O seguro morreu de velho, mas o desconfiado ainda está vivo." -- "The safe one died of old age, but the suspicious one is still living."

Karmic-Dragonfly

Queer, (mostly) vegetarian, Buddhist-Pagan who lives with a very old Mulberry

network

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

Fanfic, Sense8 (tv), Rajan/Wolfgang/Kala, mornings became Kala's favourite part of the day

(no subject)

SFFest38: Rules Reminder & Claiming Post

Check-in Post for Round 6 - Now through 30 November

Inlaws....

(no subject)

(no subject)

PHs #57-64 - ALL CLAIMED

Beta Post for Round 6

Round 6 Schedule and Description

Schedule

(no subject)

SFFest38: Prompt Submission Reminder

(no subject)

Pimp: Miami Vice (TV) by Mxcatmoon

wednesday books under a male name

Monday Media - November 19 Edition

Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth (Winick)

profile

November 2025

links

summary

...