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Dear Darkest Night Author
Dear Darkest Night Author,
I hope you're enjoying the exchange so far! I dearly love all of these canons, so I'm thrilled we matched on one of them. I have some ideas and squee to share, but if you don't see anything you'd be interested in creating, feel free to ignore all of that and write what your gut tells you. In any case, thank you for making something for me, and for taking the time to read this!
First off, though, there are a few things I DON'T want for this exchange: Noncon, incest, A/B/O, mundane AUs, M/F ships. That's about it, I think!
Now for some things I enjoy in darkfic:
* Horror
* Loyalty, codependency, and us-against-the-world relationships
* Characters with troubled pasts
* Major, unfixable mistakes by protagonists
* Major/permanent injury
* Relationships of all kinds where both parties have a TON of baggage, especially when the characters have similar issues
* Characters who have trouble articulating their intense emotions and instead bottle things up
* Characters who live in crapsack worlds and optimistically try to make the best of the hand they're dealt (whether or not they are successful is up to you)
* Characters who live in crapsack worlds and have lost hope, but keep going for one reason or another
* Catastrophic emotional breakdowns / rage issues
* For Dark Souls and Madoka Magica, character death is also good.
* Specific types of violence I'm particularly intrigued by: impalement (I can't believe I forgot to nominate this one!), disembowelment, hand injuries, amputation, body horror in general.
I'm going to talk a bit about each canon I requested as well.
DARK SOULS III
Dark Sun Gwyndolin; Company Captain Yorshka; Anri of Astora and Horace the Hushed
Gen
tags: Divine punishment, Enduring Pain to Protect Another, Codependency, Not Human, Dysfunctional Family, Guilt, mind/body/spirit breaking, Body Horror, Outliving Friends and Family, Self-Sacrifice, Transformation
Anri and Horace's relationship was heartbreaking to me; I was really moved by how they depended on each other and how being separated ultimately led them both to a bad end. I would love fic that explores their bond and how they keep each other going despite their inevitable hollowing. What horrors have they endured together? To what lengths will they go for each other? What goes through their minds as they finally succumb to hollowing?
Gwyndolin's sacrifice for Yorshka was also very moving to me, and I would love to read something about it from either of their points of view. All of Gwyn's children seem uniquely fucked up, which fascinates me, so I'd love to read your take on these characters' shared family history and its influence on their psyches. Gwyndolin is a great candidate for physical and emotional whump, whereas Yorshka's isolation and naïveté might be fun to play with in a more introspective context.
(Note: I know there's some fandom disagreement about Gwyndolin's gender and pronouns, so for the sake of clarity, I believe Gwyndolin is a trans man -- er, god.)
Ashen One and Fire Keeper
F/F
tags: Bad Ending, Loss of Identity, Obsolescence, Parallel Universes, Self-Hatred, Spell Failure, Time Loop, Shame in Sexual Desires, Mirror Universe, Mercy Killing, Sex in the Blood of their Enemies, Time Travel Fix-It Gone Wrong, Unavoidable fate
I shipped this pairing from almost the moment my player character walked into the Firelink Shrine. I love how the Ashen One relies on the Fire Keeper to give her strength, I love how Fire Keeper is the Ashen One's steadfast ally even when it makes her doubt herself and her purpose, I love the ash-fire symbolism that colors their dynamic.
I'd really enjoy a fic that plays with the time-loop aspect of the game, and/or a fic about the End of Fire ending. Does the Ashen One's repeated failure to make the world better wear on her sanity, and does she confide in the Fire Keeper about it? I'd love to read about the Fire Keeper's conflicting feelings about the Ashen One and the implications and aftermath of their shared quest. How do the Ashen One and the Fire Keeper's opinions of each other evolve over time? What about their opinions of themselves? Does their relationship stay at the level of doomed loyalty and pining, or do they eventually become something more? What's the worst possible timeline or outcome for the two of them?
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (2003)
Lust, Sloth
Gen or F/F
tags: Not Human, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Amnesia, Alternate Universe - Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Body Horror, Monster Girl, Alternate Universe - Dark Fantasy, Transformation, Things no one talks about, Fridge Horror, Necromancy
The homunculi in the 2003 series are such amazing characters, and these two are my favorites. AU prompts aren't my strong suit, but if you feel inspired to write one of the freeform AU ideas I listed I would love that! As far as canon-compliant fic goes, I'd be thrilled with a fic that really gets inside their minds and plays around with what it means to be a homunculus, created through sin and struggling to make sense of their fractured personalities after being manipulated by Dante. Fic that shows them villain-ing it up would also be appreciated; the creepier the better! I'd love to see missing scenes, especially ones with the Elrics.
Edward Elric & Roy Mustang
Gen or M/M
tags: Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, War, Self-Hatred, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ethical Dilemmas, Suicidal Thoughts, Parallel Universes, Scars, Major Character Injury, Aftermath of Violence
(I'll be equally happy with gen or with shipfic, but if you do write something shippy please don't write Ed younger than 15.)
These two have so much in common and are SO VERY BAD at actually finding that common ground. I think they both care about each other (and Mustang especially cares for Ed, judging by his reaction to Ed's death in the Conqueror of Shamballa script), even if they don't always like each other -- but their ongoing power struggle and massive communication issues makes the relationship...stunted, at best. In any case there's potential for it to be massively unhealthy if it ever goes beyond office-acquaintances into closer friendship or something more. Mustang hides things from Ed in a misguided attempt to protect him, and then gets angry when Ed (rightfully!) doesn’t trust him; meanwhile Ed gets angry and rebels because he doesn't want to be protected in the first place, he wants to be treated as an equal. It'd be interesting to see them have a more direct confrontation (which may or may not involve an alchemy fight) about what they want for and from each other, and how those things conflict.
Other potential ideas: "box episode" fic where one (or both!) of them are injured and has to rely on the other for help; fic where one of them is injured BY the other; fic where one of them has a PTSD episode and the other one recognizes it. I'm also definitely interested in fic set during/after Conqueror of Shamballa. Since they're in separate universes for almost the entire movie, a two-sided character study might work better than actual interaction, but if you want to write an AU where Ed stays in Amestris I certainly wouldn't object!
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD
Riza Hawkeye; Riza Hawkeye and Edward Elric; Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric
Gen
tags: Chronic Pain, Daddy Issues, Forced Body Cohabitation, Enduring Pain to Protect Another, Alternate Universe - Dark Fantasy, Post-Suicide Mission, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Major Character Injury, Aftermath of Violence
For an action-adventure series that has a fandom reputation for being overall positive and optimistic, there's an awful lot of potential for darkness here!
I think Riza is fascinating, so I would love to read something where she's developed as a leading character instead of a sidekick for Mustang who runs the office with an iron fist. I'd adore something that focuses on her backstory and how it impacts her personality and decisions, but please don't try to justify or excuse her actions during the war.
I won't lie -- Edward is my favorite character. I love seeing all the turmoil he hides under his prickly exterior. His hotheadedness is a stark contrast to Al and Riza's more even-keeled demeanors, but underneath that I think there's a lot of common ground to be found in their less-than-awesome family histories and the guilt they feel about their pasts.
I'd like to see characterization of Al that goes beyond "gentle cinnamon roll woobie" and gets into some of the more serious aspects of his personality. He's just as stubborn as Ed, after all, and perhaps even more motivated to protect people. The loyalty between the Elric brothers is fascinating to me, but I wouldn't mind seeing them clash! Both of them have a tendency for self-sacrifice and self-denial, so that seems like a natural place for conflict to occur.
Missing scenes, post-Lab 5 or -Promised Day fic, and fic otherwise set in canon would be great, but canon-divergent AUs are very much appreciated too. What if Ed and Al were forced to share a body, either in the original attempt at soul-binding or at some point later in the series? What if, instead of Mustang, Riza had been the one to take on the study of her father's alchemy? I'm also interested in AUs that play around with FMA's fantasy elements. Something that delves into the more mystical aspects of alchemy, Father and the homunculi, and equivalent exchange would be deeply appreciated. I wouldn't mind if you moved the setting to something more typical of swords-and-sorcery-type fantasy than canon's steampunk, but that's certainly not a requirement.
PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA
Miki Sayaka; Sakura Kyouko; Akemi Homura; Kaname Madoka; Akemi Homura and Miki Sayaka; Miki Sayaka and Sakura Kyouko
Gen or F/F
tags: 24 Hours Left To Live, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Abandonment, Disembowelment, Soulmates Gone Wrong, Forced Body Cohabitation, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, Spell Failure, Post-Suicide Mission, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Divine punishment, mind/body/spirit breaking, Aftermath of Violence, Major Character Injury, Amputation, Body Horror
Note: I know a lot of what happens in Rebellion but I haven't actually seen the movie yet, so I'd prefer if you kept the fic set in either the anime or the Different Story manga. Also, feel free to include Mami even though I didn't request her! The only reason I didn't ask for her is that I would rather one of the other girls be the main focus of the fic; I would still love to read Mami as a side character.
Madoka Magica is basically my ideal canon, and I crave a lot of the canon-typical darkness. The feeling of dread caused by the looming deadline of Walpurgisnacht, the seemingly insurmountable odds facing the characters, the soul-harvestry, the tension that builds to breaking point....I eat all that up with a spoon. I loved the affirmation of hope at the ending of the anime, but don't feel like you can't end things on a bleak note! This is one of those series where the more whump, the better, so feel free to really put the characters through the wringer -- physically and emotionally. Magical girl resilience and healing powers means they can undergo a lot of violence and eventually make it out the other side physically whole (though perhaps a bit emotionally messed-up). I'm all for seeing a brutal fight (up to you whether you want to write the girls fighting each other or fighting witches) and the aftermath of it, especially if it results in one girl having to care for another.
If you don't want to write violence, I'll be just as happy with angst. Something that explores the characters' grief and trauma would be lovely. The Soulmates Gone Wrong and Forced Body Cohabitation freeforms might be fun to play around with if you don't feel like sticking with canon-typical angst. What if Sayaka and Homura had to share a body and a magical style? What if Sayaka's body was destroyed but her soul gem was left intact, and Kyuubey had her share Kyouko's body while he used incubator tech to manufacture a replica of Sayaka's body? How would that affect Sayaka's already-fraught feelings about being a soul-puppet? How would Kyouko react to being forced to be so intimate with someone after years of keeping everyone at arms' length?
I hope you're enjoying the exchange so far! I dearly love all of these canons, so I'm thrilled we matched on one of them. I have some ideas and squee to share, but if you don't see anything you'd be interested in creating, feel free to ignore all of that and write what your gut tells you. In any case, thank you for making something for me, and for taking the time to read this!
First off, though, there are a few things I DON'T want for this exchange: Noncon, incest, A/B/O, mundane AUs, M/F ships. That's about it, I think!
Now for some things I enjoy in darkfic:
* Horror
* Loyalty, codependency, and us-against-the-world relationships
* Characters with troubled pasts
* Major, unfixable mistakes by protagonists
* Major/permanent injury
* Relationships of all kinds where both parties have a TON of baggage, especially when the characters have similar issues
* Characters who have trouble articulating their intense emotions and instead bottle things up
* Characters who live in crapsack worlds and optimistically try to make the best of the hand they're dealt (whether or not they are successful is up to you)
* Characters who live in crapsack worlds and have lost hope, but keep going for one reason or another
* Catastrophic emotional breakdowns / rage issues
* For Dark Souls and Madoka Magica, character death is also good.
* Specific types of violence I'm particularly intrigued by: impalement (I can't believe I forgot to nominate this one!), disembowelment, hand injuries, amputation, body horror in general.
I'm going to talk a bit about each canon I requested as well.
DARK SOULS III
Dark Sun Gwyndolin; Company Captain Yorshka; Anri of Astora and Horace the Hushed
Gen
tags: Divine punishment, Enduring Pain to Protect Another, Codependency, Not Human, Dysfunctional Family, Guilt, mind/body/spirit breaking, Body Horror, Outliving Friends and Family, Self-Sacrifice, Transformation
Anri and Horace's relationship was heartbreaking to me; I was really moved by how they depended on each other and how being separated ultimately led them both to a bad end. I would love fic that explores their bond and how they keep each other going despite their inevitable hollowing. What horrors have they endured together? To what lengths will they go for each other? What goes through their minds as they finally succumb to hollowing?
Gwyndolin's sacrifice for Yorshka was also very moving to me, and I would love to read something about it from either of their points of view. All of Gwyn's children seem uniquely fucked up, which fascinates me, so I'd love to read your take on these characters' shared family history and its influence on their psyches. Gwyndolin is a great candidate for physical and emotional whump, whereas Yorshka's isolation and naïveté might be fun to play with in a more introspective context.
(Note: I know there's some fandom disagreement about Gwyndolin's gender and pronouns, so for the sake of clarity, I believe Gwyndolin is a trans man -- er, god.)
Ashen One and Fire Keeper
F/F
tags: Bad Ending, Loss of Identity, Obsolescence, Parallel Universes, Self-Hatred, Spell Failure, Time Loop, Shame in Sexual Desires, Mirror Universe, Mercy Killing, Sex in the Blood of their Enemies, Time Travel Fix-It Gone Wrong, Unavoidable fate
I shipped this pairing from almost the moment my player character walked into the Firelink Shrine. I love how the Ashen One relies on the Fire Keeper to give her strength, I love how Fire Keeper is the Ashen One's steadfast ally even when it makes her doubt herself and her purpose, I love the ash-fire symbolism that colors their dynamic.
I'd really enjoy a fic that plays with the time-loop aspect of the game, and/or a fic about the End of Fire ending. Does the Ashen One's repeated failure to make the world better wear on her sanity, and does she confide in the Fire Keeper about it? I'd love to read about the Fire Keeper's conflicting feelings about the Ashen One and the implications and aftermath of their shared quest. How do the Ashen One and the Fire Keeper's opinions of each other evolve over time? What about their opinions of themselves? Does their relationship stay at the level of doomed loyalty and pining, or do they eventually become something more? What's the worst possible timeline or outcome for the two of them?
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (2003)
Lust, Sloth
Gen or F/F
tags: Not Human, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Amnesia, Alternate Universe - Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Body Horror, Monster Girl, Alternate Universe - Dark Fantasy, Transformation, Things no one talks about, Fridge Horror, Necromancy
The homunculi in the 2003 series are such amazing characters, and these two are my favorites. AU prompts aren't my strong suit, but if you feel inspired to write one of the freeform AU ideas I listed I would love that! As far as canon-compliant fic goes, I'd be thrilled with a fic that really gets inside their minds and plays around with what it means to be a homunculus, created through sin and struggling to make sense of their fractured personalities after being manipulated by Dante. Fic that shows them villain-ing it up would also be appreciated; the creepier the better! I'd love to see missing scenes, especially ones with the Elrics.
Edward Elric & Roy Mustang
Gen or M/M
tags: Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, War, Self-Hatred, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ethical Dilemmas, Suicidal Thoughts, Parallel Universes, Scars, Major Character Injury, Aftermath of Violence
(I'll be equally happy with gen or with shipfic, but if you do write something shippy please don't write Ed younger than 15.)
These two have so much in common and are SO VERY BAD at actually finding that common ground. I think they both care about each other (and Mustang especially cares for Ed, judging by his reaction to Ed's death in the Conqueror of Shamballa script), even if they don't always like each other -- but their ongoing power struggle and massive communication issues makes the relationship...stunted, at best. In any case there's potential for it to be massively unhealthy if it ever goes beyond office-acquaintances into closer friendship or something more. Mustang hides things from Ed in a misguided attempt to protect him, and then gets angry when Ed (rightfully!) doesn’t trust him; meanwhile Ed gets angry and rebels because he doesn't want to be protected in the first place, he wants to be treated as an equal. It'd be interesting to see them have a more direct confrontation (which may or may not involve an alchemy fight) about what they want for and from each other, and how those things conflict.
Other potential ideas: "box episode" fic where one (or both!) of them are injured and has to rely on the other for help; fic where one of them is injured BY the other; fic where one of them has a PTSD episode and the other one recognizes it. I'm also definitely interested in fic set during/after Conqueror of Shamballa. Since they're in separate universes for almost the entire movie, a two-sided character study might work better than actual interaction, but if you want to write an AU where Ed stays in Amestris I certainly wouldn't object!
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD
Riza Hawkeye; Riza Hawkeye and Edward Elric; Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric
Gen
tags: Chronic Pain, Daddy Issues, Forced Body Cohabitation, Enduring Pain to Protect Another, Alternate Universe - Dark Fantasy, Post-Suicide Mission, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Major Character Injury, Aftermath of Violence
For an action-adventure series that has a fandom reputation for being overall positive and optimistic, there's an awful lot of potential for darkness here!
I think Riza is fascinating, so I would love to read something where she's developed as a leading character instead of a sidekick for Mustang who runs the office with an iron fist. I'd adore something that focuses on her backstory and how it impacts her personality and decisions, but please don't try to justify or excuse her actions during the war.
I won't lie -- Edward is my favorite character. I love seeing all the turmoil he hides under his prickly exterior. His hotheadedness is a stark contrast to Al and Riza's more even-keeled demeanors, but underneath that I think there's a lot of common ground to be found in their less-than-awesome family histories and the guilt they feel about their pasts.
I'd like to see characterization of Al that goes beyond "gentle cinnamon roll woobie" and gets into some of the more serious aspects of his personality. He's just as stubborn as Ed, after all, and perhaps even more motivated to protect people. The loyalty between the Elric brothers is fascinating to me, but I wouldn't mind seeing them clash! Both of them have a tendency for self-sacrifice and self-denial, so that seems like a natural place for conflict to occur.
Missing scenes, post-Lab 5 or -Promised Day fic, and fic otherwise set in canon would be great, but canon-divergent AUs are very much appreciated too. What if Ed and Al were forced to share a body, either in the original attempt at soul-binding or at some point later in the series? What if, instead of Mustang, Riza had been the one to take on the study of her father's alchemy? I'm also interested in AUs that play around with FMA's fantasy elements. Something that delves into the more mystical aspects of alchemy, Father and the homunculi, and equivalent exchange would be deeply appreciated. I wouldn't mind if you moved the setting to something more typical of swords-and-sorcery-type fantasy than canon's steampunk, but that's certainly not a requirement.
PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA
Miki Sayaka; Sakura Kyouko; Akemi Homura; Kaname Madoka; Akemi Homura and Miki Sayaka; Miki Sayaka and Sakura Kyouko
Gen or F/F
tags: 24 Hours Left To Live, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Abandonment, Disembowelment, Soulmates Gone Wrong, Forced Body Cohabitation, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, Spell Failure, Post-Suicide Mission, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Divine punishment, mind/body/spirit breaking, Aftermath of Violence, Major Character Injury, Amputation, Body Horror
Note: I know a lot of what happens in Rebellion but I haven't actually seen the movie yet, so I'd prefer if you kept the fic set in either the anime or the Different Story manga. Also, feel free to include Mami even though I didn't request her! The only reason I didn't ask for her is that I would rather one of the other girls be the main focus of the fic; I would still love to read Mami as a side character.
Madoka Magica is basically my ideal canon, and I crave a lot of the canon-typical darkness. The feeling of dread caused by the looming deadline of Walpurgisnacht, the seemingly insurmountable odds facing the characters, the soul-harvestry, the tension that builds to breaking point....I eat all that up with a spoon. I loved the affirmation of hope at the ending of the anime, but don't feel like you can't end things on a bleak note! This is one of those series where the more whump, the better, so feel free to really put the characters through the wringer -- physically and emotionally. Magical girl resilience and healing powers means they can undergo a lot of violence and eventually make it out the other side physically whole (though perhaps a bit emotionally messed-up). I'm all for seeing a brutal fight (up to you whether you want to write the girls fighting each other or fighting witches) and the aftermath of it, especially if it results in one girl having to care for another.
If you don't want to write violence, I'll be just as happy with angst. Something that explores the characters' grief and trauma would be lovely. The Soulmates Gone Wrong and Forced Body Cohabitation freeforms might be fun to play around with if you don't feel like sticking with canon-typical angst. What if Sayaka and Homura had to share a body and a magical style? What if Sayaka's body was destroyed but her soul gem was left intact, and Kyuubey had her share Kyouko's body while he used incubator tech to manufacture a replica of Sayaka's body? How would that affect Sayaka's already-fraught feelings about being a soul-puppet? How would Kyouko react to being forced to be so intimate with someone after years of keeping everyone at arms' length?