Fandom Growth Exchange 2021 Letter
Thursday, July 15th, 2021 23:45![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
staylooseHi! Thank you for writing for me, or just for looking at this letter! My AO3 username is ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
hisen.
This letter got very, very long because of the nature of the exchange. Let me tell you about my tiny fandoms and pairings! Differing lengths between sections is not a reflection of how badly I want anything, just of how much I had to say about a fandom or pairing.
The estimate for hours are roughly based on how long it took me to read them. For longer canons, it might vary depending on how fast/slow you decide to read them! The only certainty is the GSNK anime, which is 6 hours long. The mangaupdate links I've provided with each canon gives further information and also where the canons can be found.
Table of Contents:
Likes
DNWs
For Your Love
Form of Sympathy
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Mr Mini Mart
No Touching at All
Ore no Aoharu wa Watasanai
Unripe Expression
*Getting together
*Canon divergence AUs, 'for want of a nail'
*Angst
*Miscommunication, mixed messages, reasonable misunderstandings
*Accidental physical contact, hands touching unexpectedly
*Communication without using words
*Characters who are very good at what they do with their powers, smarts etc., but bad at social interaction/emotional stuff
*Time loops/time travel
*Bed sharing
*Slow burn
*Nature
*Changes in seasons, weather and the passing of time
*Sharing an umbrella
*Kabedon, particularly when played for laughs because of genre savvy characters, character is not actually cool enough to make it work, the other character immediately reverses it and does it much better etc.
*Tsunderes
*Characters forced to work together in difficult circumstances
*Hurt/comfort
*Canon smokers smoking
*Taking comfort together in desperate situations
*Nightmares, unusual dreams, visions
*Death of canon characters
*Unrequested non-canon pairings
*Current events
*Serious injuries/violence/sickness
*Torture
*Body horror
*Cannibalism/vore
*Bodily fluids apart from sexual fluids and blood
*Sexual content with characters under 16 (aging up requested younger characters to be over 16 is okay)
*Violence in sex
*Non-con
*Age play
*D/s
*Omegaverse
*Breath play/choking
Medium: webtoon
Length: 85 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 40 hours.
Further information: For Your Love
It starts out simply enough: Yohan, who saw his older brother get rejected by another man as a child, thinks unrequited love is pointless. When he sees his club senior, Park Moogyeong, has a crush on Lee Junseo, the only other member of the club, he decides to step in and help him avoid the same fate.
Naturally, none of this goes to plan.
I love this series for its slow burn romance (and it really is a slow burn), how heavily character focused it is, the excellent pining and longing, the central relationship having difficulties and false starts without spilling over into ridiculous melodrama, and for the character development of its two leads. There's also Yuri, Yohan's best friend, whose entertaining rudeness, shit-stirring and foul mouth makes Yohan look like a fine, outstanding citizen. (He's also got his own issues but that's for the spin-off...)
The art is really great too, it's simple and the flat colouring gives a different atmosphere to a lot of other webtoons. While it's not 'shiny', it's very expressive, and also has drawn backgrounds – no 3D backgrounds here! Yohan also has hilarious facial expressions. So do the other characters (particularly Yuri) but nobody can beat Yohan.
I love how these two struggle to get to the point they are at the end, where they are properly together and starting to really understand each other, from their deeply inauspicious start. They both grow so much as people over the course of the series and it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't met each other. Like Yohan says at the end, if he had to do it over, he'd still tactlessly out Moogyeong and take that punch so they'd end up together again. I am an absolute sucker for that.
Yohan goes from a tactless, rude brat for who everything's too hard work to bother with, to valuing and putting in an effort with others (and also with his schoolwork) and while not as fearless as he thought he'd be, still brave. Moogyeong also grows, if not as radically as Yohan. He has so much more courage than he did at the start, he learns what it's like to have his love returned and to have something he wants beyond just studying and fulfilling the expectations everyone else has for him. As the author states in the final notes, Yohan is the physically strongest character by far, but Moogyeong is by far the strongest in the cast in terms of being a good person. It's a super charming contrast.
*Yohan gets extra motivation for his college entrance exam by getting Moogyeong to agree to do something special if he passes. Maybe a sex thing, or maybe something really minor that's still kind of difficult for him to do. (Okay, but. Yohan asking him if he can call Yohan hyung in bed and he's just. Why. And possibly does it anyway because he's weak to his pleading.)
*Finally moving in together! It's maybe a little awkward but it's really nice to be staying together like this again. Plus Moogyeong did miss his cooking.
*'I am going to text you for three hours straight, hyung, please stop ignoring me because you're doing an assignment.'
*They take another trip together. Maybe it's more successful than their previous ones, or maybe some new, exciting disaster happens on it.
*Double date with Leo Junseo and his girlfriend. Maybe Yohan spends the whole time pulling faces, Junseo spends the time trying to sell Moogyeong on Yohan's charms because he hasn't yet realised that they're in a relationship, while Moogyeong is trying not to die of embarrassment. It is maybe a miracle that Junseo doesn't get dumped afterwards.
*Yohan crying (I fully respect Park Nodeok’s goal of ‘I want to write a story with a crying man’ aka Yohan), either about something serious or something completely ridiculous.
*I'm so curious about why Yohan decided to pick out architecture as his college major.
*Moogyeong has to soothe the bad vibes he accidentally causes when he says that Jung Joohan is attractive again and Yohan is a little pissed off that he keeps thinking his older brother is hot.
*Yohan does the spontaneous "marriage proposal while just lying in bed together one day" thing and then immediately freaks out. Orrrr….Moogyeong does it and everyone is very surprised, especially the man himself.
*The two of them just doing things together, particularly if set during Form of Sympathy.
Medium: webtoon
Length: 47 chapters (ongoing)
Estimated reading time: 18 hours.
Further information: Form of Sympathy
While Form of Sympathy is a spin-off and can be read without reading For Your Love, I would really recommend reading it first. I actually tried reading Form of Sympathy before reading it and found it didn't work for me. It was only after reading For Your Love I devoured it. The character motivations make a lot more sense after reading For Your Love, even thought they're not the main characters in it. This makes it, in effect, the longest canon I've requested. I am staying up to date with this canon as it's released, so if anything happens after sign-ups close that you want to use in your fic, please do!
Form of Sympathy is a spin-off of For Your Love, set three years later. It's darker in tone, focusing on two characters who can be summed up with the words "not doing very well right now": Kwon Yuri and his former teacher, Lee Seonwoo. Meeting Seonwoo again at the wedding of his cousin/adopted sister who he's had a crush on for years, he discovers that he's just as unhappy about the marriage...because Seonwoo's in love with Yuri's new brother-in-law. Neither of them are handling their unrequited love well. Seonwoo's life is falling apart as he sinks under depression and a developing drinking problem, while Yuri's being even more of an asshole than usual and is isolated from the people who care about him. They might also be the only people who understand each other.
Content warnings: Yuri is in love with his cousin/adopted sister, thought she doesn't return his feelings, so there is (unrequited) incest. Lee Seonwoo has a drinking problem and serious depression with occasional suicide idealisation.
So I would like their dynamic being as messy as it is in canon, and also be interested in how it develops when the two of them start to recover. I would also like distant future fic, if you're interested in writing that! The only dynamic I'm not interested in is their romantic relationship starting when Yuri was a high school student – while they were friendly when he was, I don't get the feeling they were interested in each other romantically/sexually then.
*Conversely, they attempt to have a proper conversation and it turns into a mess where someone's feelings get really hurt this time. Yuri is very good at casually being emotionally devastating, but Seonwoo is very observant and can hit someone's weak points effectively when pushed to it.
*One of them realises that they've caught serious feelings for the other and isn't sure what to do about it. I think Yuri would be the most at a loss for this – he's been in love with her since he was a kid, and now suddenly it's changed.
*That moment where one of them meets their previous object of affection and realises, suddenly and intensely, that they are no longer in love with them and they're in love with someone else instead.
*Seonwoo feeling guilty. He has a lot to feel guilty about.
*Yuri feels guilty and doesn't know what to do with that feeling.
*New and unusual bad decisions to make while drunk! Or the same bad decisions as before, just with more gusto.
*I like the roughness of the sex between them in canon, so more of that. Or maybe it starts out like that, and it gets unexpectedly gentle halfway through and neither of them are sure what to make of it.
*A recent chapter has Seonwoo say he wants to leave everything behind, and Yuri points out that he can. I am very curious what he would do if he did leave. He became a teacher straight out of college, so he's not really done anything else. What would Seonwoo do? Maybe he'd even decide to try living in a different country and have to decide what to do about his developing relationship with Yuri.
*Future fic where they've finally recovered and have settled down together. What are they both up to? Where are they? Have they decide to go live somewhere else together, or are they still making it work in Seoul together? I don't think it'd be completely smooth sailing but I'd like to think they could be happy together in the long term.
*Jung Yohan attempting to give Yuri relationship advice. I cannot imagine a thing that would make Yuri more pissed, apart from if it turned out to be good advice that worked.
*The red suit Seonwoo wore being so controversial in the Korean fandom cracks me up, so something related to that would be funny.
Medium: manga/anime
Length: 118 manga chapters (in English) (ongoing), 12 anime episodes (complete).
Estimated reading/watching time: 40 hours for all of the manga, 6 hours for the anime. The anime is on Crunchyroll.
Further information: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun in English) is a 4koma manga about a male high schooler who writes and draws shojo manga under a female pen name, and the whacky people around him. There is an anime adaption that covers the first five volumes. There's lots of fun characters and relationships in this canon, a lot of whom I like a lot, but for this I am requesting the truest pairing of them all, the pure love between an editor who's a normal person and his mangaka who loves him for a) being cool and b) not being his previous nightmare editor.
So what if that ends up developing into a more romantic interest? Or it's already there and Nozaki is oblivious because, well, it's Nozaki. He's oblivious to love. What triggers him realising it's more? The threat of a new editor? Ken accidentally revealing more details about his personal life? Ken being keen to see him (maybe to fix something that's wrong with his latest drafts that he should have caught before and he needs to do it ASAP before anyone realises)? Does Nozaki end up being really cool and impressing Ken enough that his own feelings start to change?
This could be comic, but a serious take could be really interesting too. Nozaki comes across as never having had a serious romantic interest in anyone, despite writing a shoujo manga. It could really throw him for a loop, and angst about it would be right up my street.
You can write this pairing after just watching the anime. The manga adds more to their relationship but the anime has the essentials of it.
*The latest chapter is turning out to be a complete disaster, maybe due to ill health or losing his notes about what he was going to do about that cliffhanger and can't remember it, and they have to work out how to salvage it.
*Manga. Research. I request this every time I request this series but it works SO well with Nozaki. This cute (seasonal?) date idea is for the good of the manga! Please, Ken, go out with me!
*Ken vanishes from existence and only Nozaki remembers him. Even if he loves him, Nozaki would still realise that this would make Maeno his editor again and fight through space and time to find this legendary editor who will save him from that, as well as his feelings towards Ken.
*Nozaki only realizes feelings for Ken when he starts dating someone else. I'd prefer this to be an OC, not another member of the cast and definitely not Maeno.
*Nozaki introduces a new character who is blatantly based off Ken.
*Trapped in a haunted house together. There could be a real ghost, there might not be.
*Ken's apartment is (possibly) haunted. He accidentally tells Nozaki this, and either attempted ghost-busting occurs or Nozaki insisting that he stays over at his place. Or both! This could definitely lead to bed sharing, if you wanted to go there.
Medium: manga
Length: 6 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 1-2 hours.
Further information: Mr Mini Mart
Some of the fan translations translated 'Endou Nakaba' as 'Endou Hiroshi', probably because it's a more common reading of those kanji. Nakaba is the correct reading of his first name, however, (which is why the official translation uses it) so please use Nakaba.
This manga is one I go to if I need a quick shot of cuteness. It's a NEET trying to rebuild his life falls for an apparent delinquent who's actually a nice guy and rescues kittens from getting run over in the rain. I enjoy how Nakaba rebuilds his confidence over the course of the manga, manages to get, and that Kohei is very chill and accepting as a love interest, if occasionally foolishly hot tempered. It's lovely! I would be open to some angst too, but as long as it's resolved by the end like it is in canon.
*Kohei has that delinquent vibe but doesn't really behave much like one in canon (that scene with the bullies doesn't count, he was doing the right thing). Has he grown out of a previous delinquent past? What triggered that? Was it, by any chance, a cute animal? Perhaps his dog? I'd also be interested if it's something more serious.
*Kohei 's delinquent past shows up in the present unexpectedly and Kohei has to try to mediate it, possibly while keeping it from Nakaba so he doesn't get caught up in the mess he's trying to fix. Maybe Nakaba ends up coming up with the solution that Kohei's too close to the situation to see.
*Nakaba and Kohei living together as adults, trying to work out how sharing a space works, cooking together, all that cute domestic stuff. And possibly having a ridiculous amount of pets.
*Christmas Eve is a very romantic day for couples in Japan, so the pressure is on to get it right! Maybe it works out, maybe one of them is needed to work Christmas Eve in the store at the last minute and can't refuse the shift. It'd be cute if they ended up doing something smaller but meaningful afterwards.
*Working a shift together. I've worked retail, so if you've also worked retail and want them to share in your most nightmare or weirdest experiences, please throw that in.
*Visiting a shrine for New Years together, doing all the traditional things like pulling fortunes etc.
*Sharing an umbrella together, either when they're together, or before where Nakaba is freaking out about the meaning of it, but not so much that he actually relents when Kohei is a tough guy and refuses to join him at first.
Medium: manga
Length: 6.5 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 1-2 hours.
Further information: No Touching at All
There is a spin-off called 'Even So, I Will Love You Tenderly', which is also one volume and about the same length, and focuses on Onoda Ryou and his canon relationship which I haven't requested here. You don't need to read it but I have, so feel free to use it as you wish. The movie is merged with the manga on AO3 but I'm exclusively requesting the manga.
Shima, a shy guy with a lot of emotional baggage, starts his new job and finds his new boss, Togawa, completely obnoxious. Despite his rough exterior, however, Togawa is actually quite a thoughtful guy and starts to breach his defences. A relationship develops between them, but can they (both) put their pasts aside and let it grow?
I love this manga. It is a roller-coaster of emotion for me, and even though I've read it probably more times than I'd care to admit, it still gets me every single time. The angst, the communication problems, Shima's refusal to admit to anything as a form of self-protection that Togawa repeatedly smashes through.
I would like episodes in their relationship not seen during the manga, or afterwards. I'd prefer to keep them together if you'd writing this pairing, and a happy ending would be great even if there's angst and misunderstandings before then.
*Right at the end, Togawa says he wants Shima to come to Hokkaido with him and meet his family. I would love to read about how this trip goes. Does Shima find it difficult with Togawa's family? Does Togawa's family history knock him back again, when he's actually there? Scenery porn would be a plus too. I love snowy scenes. And Togawa would definitely throw snowballs at Shima if he got the chance to get him to lighten up.
*Shima's family! We don't find out anything about them in canon apart from they're in Kanagawa. What are they like? How does Togawa manage when he meets them? Does he get off on completely the wrong foot but end up charming them in the end anyway?
*Togawa takes Shima to do cliche tourist activities in Kyoto while he's visiting. Maybe Shima thinks he doesn't want to, but ends up enjoying it anyway. Maybe he doesn't.
*Togawa really wanted kids. Maybe Togawa and Shima reach a point when they decide to consider it, and realise that in fact, it could happen. Adoption, surrogacy, maybe there's a technological advance that makes it possible.
*Related to the above, accidental MPreg happens with Togawa/Shima (I'd prefer this is by magical/technological means rather than because of PiV sex, and definitely not by A/B/O which I've put as a DNW). This puts their relationship in a very strange state of flux, and maybe forces some decisions earlier than they expected. I'd like it to work out in the end, but pregnancy can be bumpy.
*One half of the pairing (seemly?) vanishes from existence and the other is the only one who remembers them.
It's a contrast from the dynamic of both their canon relationships, and I'm curious about how it could have developed into more. What if Shima hadn't worked up to go to Kyoto to see Togawa again? What next? Perhaps Onoda might have found his crush less unrequited, over time.
I'm happy for major canon divergence here, and also for Shima/Togawa to be mentioned/play a major role. Angst is very welcomed, and I don't necessarily need a happy ending.
*Pining from Onoda, one-sided or returned. Maybe even before he realised he had a crush on Shima. This is all normal and fine! He just wants to help his teammate out. There is nothing else going on, and it's normal to think Shima is incredible cute. Who wouldn't want to kiss him? Nothing else here. Denial is very powerful.
*For some reason, they end up having to share a bed together. Before Onoda realises his feelings, and spends the whole time in denial, or after he does and spends the whole time sweating. It could be the push they need.
*Onoda accidentally steps into Togawa's shoes outside of work too. Onoda wonders if Shima is projecting, once they get to together. Is he imagining he's Togawa? I would like this to be true, or not. Maybe Shima himself isn't entirely sure. Or he calls Onoda "Togawa" in an intimate moment.
*Alternatively, it's not like that at all, but when someone else at work finds out about them, it certainly looks like it.
*Alternate timeline where Togawa ends up being as off-putting to Shima as he'd appear on paper. Instead, Shima silently falls for Onoda. Is it easier? Harder? Onoda is much less savvy about other people's emotions when they like him, after all. Does it end up being mutual pining, or a proper relationship?
Medium: manga
Length: 6.5 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 1-2 hours.
Further information: Ore no Aoharu wa Watasanai
Subaru is the cool prince character in his high school with popular friends, but is actually a huge shojou nerd in private who models his behaviour after the male characters in his favourite manga. This all goes to plan until his old friend from middle school, Jinnai, who knows that he loves shojou manga, transfers to his class during his second year
It's a fun read. I like the characters, the reveal that to some extent everyone is faking their roles (minus Jinnai), the riffing on shoujo tropes and the main pairing.
*It might indeed suck every day, but what if Subaru did gain a love rival for Jinnai post-canon? Jinnai would be completely uninterested, but I can see Subaru being sufficiently insecure enough for this to cause trouble.
*Any sort of shojou cliche you'd like to use, basically. Misunderstandings, ahoy!
*The way Jinnai reversed the kabedon was a favourite scene of mine, so Subaru asking him to teach him his ways and he's reluctant but tries to anyway because it's Subaru asking.
*Subaru trying to switch from last name to first name basis with Jinnai. Maybe he manages it fine and Jinnai is trying not to die from how cute it is, or he tries a little too hard to be cool and it gets weird.
*What's the worst (non-shota) BL series you could use for guidance, and why is Subaru now trying to use that as a guide for the first time they have penerative sex?
*Their first time but played more seriously would be interesting too.
*It's their final year at high school and they're both having to make serious decisions about their future. I can see Subaru struggling with this much more than Jinnai, but maybe Jinnai is more phased by trying to decide what next than he initially appears.
Medium: webtoon
Length: 70 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 40 hours.
Further information: Unripe Expression
Unripe Expression is a story about a guy whose face tends to give everything away, asking the Korean equivalent of Yahoo! Answers for advice about his developing feelings for his classmate and how it leads to him making a best friend who helps him on his journey of discovery. He also gains a (male) harem, including the rude, self-absorbed jerk who rejected him back when they were kids (who I actually like a lot but is definitely a jerk).
I am very fond of Ha Junseo. He's blunt, just a little rude and can come across as intimidating, but he's also got a really kind heart, is smart, more forgiving than he looks and capable of serious self-sacrifice.
The ending left Junseo at a really dark point, particularly after his previous experiences in middle school. If you wrote something set post-canon, I would really like to see him getting out of that space and getting to enjoy life again, with or without Lee Jaewon coming back into his life. Maybe something set at college? I'm also interested in canon divergence where events play out differently from how they did in-series.
If you are writing this tag and wanted to include Junseo dating OMCs, I am absolutely up for that!
*Junseo getting over his rejection and ends up making new friends, even in the pressurised environment that is 3rd year of high school. Maybe he ends up meeting a new best friend via random chance, or cram school, or somewhere else, and this time it ends up going a lot better.
*Junseo finally gets his romantic feelings requited fully and sincerely.
*Junseo being a good older brother to his younger sister. Their dynamic was really sweet from what we saw in canon, and I'd love to see more of their relationship!
I won't lie, I was holding out for this pairing to come out the winner in that love triangle but alas, it wasn't to be (in canon). I really liked their relationship dynamic, where both of them mistakenly think the other is a jerk at first but after some identity shenanigans, realise that actually, the other is a nice guy and not like they thought, and how they share so much with each other that they've both been keeping inside for too long. Also, their good natured arguing is fun. I'd like to see them make the distance.
For this pairing, I'm fine with mentioned Karam/Jaewon because it's such a big part of the plot, but I'd like it to stay one-sided on Jaewon's side. I don't hate Karam, so please don't bash him, I just don't want him to be the focus. His presence can loom large for the angst, however.
*"Once again I am asking the internet to help me with my personal problems".
*Incredible amounts of pining occurring, which eventually get requited.
*Yoonsung tries to knock Junseo out of the running by telling him that Jaewon has fallen for him, but is hiding it because he's afraid of his reaction, and he should confess immediately. It's a ploy but Jaewon's behaviour is sufficient to make Junseo rethink his initial suspicion of it and start a charm offensive...which is what actually wins Jaewon over.
*Yoonsung is a jerk and tries to mess up their relationship, maybe it completely backfires and it actually leads to Jaewon realise he's fallen for Junseo.
*Chapter 40 AU where nobody gets hiccups and Junseo just kisses him instead.
*Post high school, future fic where Karam and Jaewon eventually broke up, and Junseo and Jaewon end up running into each other again. Maybe this time it has the potential to develop into something more?
*Alternatively, they break up in the final year of high school and despite knowing that he should absolutely not, Junseo ends up comforting him again.
*Junseo's cat kigurumi turns out to be cuter than Jaewon imagined Karam's rabbit one and Jaewon is very confused...yet intrigued.
*That chapter with everyone drinking at Choi Yoonsung's goes very differently, Karam does not manage to spit it out.
*When Karam rejects Jaewon's initial confession, it leads to Jaewon deciding to try getting over his crush instead of holding out, hoping he'll change his mind. Junseo helps him through it, and Jaewon realises his feelings have shifted towards his best friend.
This letter got very, very long because of the nature of the exchange. Let me tell you about my tiny fandoms and pairings! Differing lengths between sections is not a reflection of how badly I want anything, just of how much I had to say about a fandom or pairing.
The estimate for hours are roughly based on how long it took me to read them. For longer canons, it might vary depending on how fast/slow you decide to read them! The only certainty is the GSNK anime, which is 6 hours long. The mangaupdate links I've provided with each canon gives further information and also where the canons can be found.
Table of Contents:
Likes
DNWs
For Your Love
Form of Sympathy
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Mr Mini Mart
No Touching at All
Ore no Aoharu wa Watasanai
Unripe Expression
Likes:
*Pining. Denial of feelings, pining*Getting together
*Canon divergence AUs, 'for want of a nail'
*Angst
*Miscommunication, mixed messages, reasonable misunderstandings
*Accidental physical contact, hands touching unexpectedly
*Communication without using words
*Characters who are very good at what they do with their powers, smarts etc., but bad at social interaction/emotional stuff
*Time loops/time travel
*Bed sharing
*Slow burn
*Nature
*Changes in seasons, weather and the passing of time
*Sharing an umbrella
*Kabedon, particularly when played for laughs because of genre savvy characters, character is not actually cool enough to make it work, the other character immediately reverses it and does it much better etc.
*Tsunderes
*Characters forced to work together in difficult circumstances
*Hurt/comfort
*Canon smokers smoking
*Taking comfort together in desperate situations
*Nightmares, unusual dreams, visions
DNWs:
*Unrequested AUs (canon divergence AUs and canon AUs are requested)*Death of canon characters
*Unrequested non-canon pairings
*Current events
*Serious injuries/violence/sickness
*Torture
*Body horror
*Cannibalism/vore
*Bodily fluids apart from sexual fluids and blood
*Sexual content with characters under 16 (aging up requested younger characters to be over 16 is okay)
*Violence in sex
*Non-con
*Age play
*D/s
*Omegaverse
*Breath play/choking
Fandom: 너의 사랑에 대하여 | For Your Love (Webcomic)
Medium: webtoon
Length: 85 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 40 hours.
Further information: For Your Love
It starts out simply enough: Yohan, who saw his older brother get rejected by another man as a child, thinks unrequited love is pointless. When he sees his club senior, Park Moogyeong, has a crush on Lee Junseo, the only other member of the club, he decides to step in and help him avoid the same fate.
Naturally, none of this goes to plan.
I love this series for its slow burn romance (and it really is a slow burn), how heavily character focused it is, the excellent pining and longing, the central relationship having difficulties and false starts without spilling over into ridiculous melodrama, and for the character development of its two leads. There's also Yuri, Yohan's best friend, whose entertaining rudeness, shit-stirring and foul mouth makes Yohan look like a fine, outstanding citizen. (He's also got his own issues but that's for the spin-off...)
The art is really great too, it's simple and the flat colouring gives a different atmosphere to a lot of other webtoons. While it's not 'shiny', it's very expressive, and also has drawn backgrounds – no 3D backgrounds here! Yohan also has hilarious facial expressions. So do the other characters (particularly Yuri) but nobody can beat Yohan.
Pairing: Jung Yohan/Park Moogyeong
I love how these two struggle to get to the point they are at the end, where they are properly together and starting to really understand each other, from their deeply inauspicious start. They both grow so much as people over the course of the series and it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't met each other. Like Yohan says at the end, if he had to do it over, he'd still tactlessly out Moogyeong and take that punch so they'd end up together again. I am an absolute sucker for that.
Yohan goes from a tactless, rude brat for who everything's too hard work to bother with, to valuing and putting in an effort with others (and also with his schoolwork) and while not as fearless as he thought he'd be, still brave. Moogyeong also grows, if not as radically as Yohan. He has so much more courage than he did at the start, he learns what it's like to have his love returned and to have something he wants beyond just studying and fulfilling the expectations everyone else has for him. As the author states in the final notes, Yohan is the physically strongest character by far, but Moogyeong is by far the strongest in the cast in terms of being a good person. It's a super charming contrast.
Prompts:
*How they manage that year when Moogyeong is at college and Yohan is supposed to be studying for his college entrance exam. I feel that there might be some jealousy and insecurity again but it works out okay in the end.*Yohan gets extra motivation for his college entrance exam by getting Moogyeong to agree to do something special if he passes. Maybe a sex thing, or maybe something really minor that's still kind of difficult for him to do. (Okay, but. Yohan asking him if he can call Yohan hyung in bed and he's just. Why. And possibly does it anyway because he's weak to his pleading.)
*Finally moving in together! It's maybe a little awkward but it's really nice to be staying together like this again. Plus Moogyeong did miss his cooking.
*'I am going to text you for three hours straight, hyung, please stop ignoring me because you're doing an assignment.'
*They take another trip together. Maybe it's more successful than their previous ones, or maybe some new, exciting disaster happens on it.
*Double date with Leo Junseo and his girlfriend. Maybe Yohan spends the whole time pulling faces, Junseo spends the time trying to sell Moogyeong on Yohan's charms because he hasn't yet realised that they're in a relationship, while Moogyeong is trying not to die of embarrassment. It is maybe a miracle that Junseo doesn't get dumped afterwards.
*Yohan crying (I fully respect Park Nodeok’s goal of ‘I want to write a story with a crying man’ aka Yohan), either about something serious or something completely ridiculous.
*I'm so curious about why Yohan decided to pick out architecture as his college major.
*Moogyeong has to soothe the bad vibes he accidentally causes when he says that Jung Joohan is attractive again and Yohan is a little pissed off that he keeps thinking his older brother is hot.
*Yohan does the spontaneous "marriage proposal while just lying in bed together one day" thing and then immediately freaks out. Orrrr….Moogyeong does it and everyone is very surprised, especially the man himself.
*The two of them just doing things together, particularly if set during Form of Sympathy.
Fandom: 동정의 형태 | Form of Sympathy (Webcomic)
Medium: webtoon
Length: 47 chapters (ongoing)
Estimated reading time: 18 hours.
Further information: Form of Sympathy
While Form of Sympathy is a spin-off and can be read without reading For Your Love, I would really recommend reading it first. I actually tried reading Form of Sympathy before reading it and found it didn't work for me. It was only after reading For Your Love I devoured it. The character motivations make a lot more sense after reading For Your Love, even thought they're not the main characters in it. This makes it, in effect, the longest canon I've requested. I am staying up to date with this canon as it's released, so if anything happens after sign-ups close that you want to use in your fic, please do!
Form of Sympathy is a spin-off of For Your Love, set three years later. It's darker in tone, focusing on two characters who can be summed up with the words "not doing very well right now": Kwon Yuri and his former teacher, Lee Seonwoo. Meeting Seonwoo again at the wedding of his cousin/adopted sister who he's had a crush on for years, he discovers that he's just as unhappy about the marriage...because Seonwoo's in love with Yuri's new brother-in-law. Neither of them are handling their unrequited love well. Seonwoo's life is falling apart as he sinks under depression and a developing drinking problem, while Yuri's being even more of an asshole than usual and is isolated from the people who care about him. They might also be the only people who understand each other.
Content warnings: Yuri is in love with his cousin/adopted sister, thought she doesn't return his feelings, so there is (unrequited) incest. Lee Seonwoo has a drinking problem and serious depression with occasional suicide idealisation.
Pairing: Kwon Yuri/Lee Seonwoo
This pairing is a mess. An absolute mess. Two people in unrequited love with people they really shouldn't be in love with, baiting each other but also being possibly the only people who understand each other and are willing to call each other out on their shit. They also fuck sometimes. I am hoping the story arc sees them start to recover from this low point in their lives, but I am also enjoying the messiness of it.So I would like their dynamic being as messy as it is in canon, and also be interested in how it develops when the two of them start to recover. I would also like distant future fic, if you're interested in writing that! The only dynamic I'm not interested in is their romantic relationship starting when Yuri was a high school student – while they were friendly when he was, I don't get the feeling they were interested in each other romantically/sexually then.
Prompts:
*A proper conversation between them? Where nobody is drunk and/or crying? I am sure they can do it if they try hard enough. Surely they can.*Conversely, they attempt to have a proper conversation and it turns into a mess where someone's feelings get really hurt this time. Yuri is very good at casually being emotionally devastating, but Seonwoo is very observant and can hit someone's weak points effectively when pushed to it.
*One of them realises that they've caught serious feelings for the other and isn't sure what to do about it. I think Yuri would be the most at a loss for this – he's been in love with her since he was a kid, and now suddenly it's changed.
*That moment where one of them meets their previous object of affection and realises, suddenly and intensely, that they are no longer in love with them and they're in love with someone else instead.
*Seonwoo feeling guilty. He has a lot to feel guilty about.
*Yuri feels guilty and doesn't know what to do with that feeling.
*New and unusual bad decisions to make while drunk! Or the same bad decisions as before, just with more gusto.
*I like the roughness of the sex between them in canon, so more of that. Or maybe it starts out like that, and it gets unexpectedly gentle halfway through and neither of them are sure what to make of it.
*A recent chapter has Seonwoo say he wants to leave everything behind, and Yuri points out that he can. I am very curious what he would do if he did leave. He became a teacher straight out of college, so he's not really done anything else. What would Seonwoo do? Maybe he'd even decide to try living in a different country and have to decide what to do about his developing relationship with Yuri.
*Future fic where they've finally recovered and have settled down together. What are they both up to? Where are they? Have they decide to go live somewhere else together, or are they still making it work in Seoul together? I don't think it'd be completely smooth sailing but I'd like to think they could be happy together in the long term.
*Jung Yohan attempting to give Yuri relationship advice. I cannot imagine a thing that would make Yuri more pissed, apart from if it turned out to be good advice that worked.
*The red suit Seonwoo wore being so controversial in the Korean fandom cracks me up, so something related to that would be funny.
Fandom: 月刊少女野崎くん | Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Medium: manga/anime
Length: 118 manga chapters (in English) (ongoing), 12 anime episodes (complete).
Estimated reading/watching time: 40 hours for all of the manga, 6 hours for the anime. The anime is on Crunchyroll.
Further information: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun in English) is a 4koma manga about a male high schooler who writes and draws shojo manga under a female pen name, and the whacky people around him. There is an anime adaption that covers the first five volumes. There's lots of fun characters and relationships in this canon, a lot of whom I like a lot, but for this I am requesting the truest pairing of them all, the pure love between an editor who's a normal person and his mangaka who loves him for a) being cool and b) not being his previous nightmare editor.
Pairing: Nozaki Umetarou/Ken Miyamae
Oh, Nozaki's feelings towards Ken. He gushes about him all the time! Ken is amazing! He's the best guy ever. He's just so interesting, and brilliant, and Nozaki wants to impress him and keep him around forever. Nozaki saves all his texts even when they're just one word replies. It's completely understandable after having the horror show of Maeno as his editor and Maeno being replaced by a decent human being like Ken, but it's still a lot. Nozaki really wants a closer relationship between them. He's by far Chiyo's most serious love rival for Nozaki's heart.So what if that ends up developing into a more romantic interest? Or it's already there and Nozaki is oblivious because, well, it's Nozaki. He's oblivious to love. What triggers him realising it's more? The threat of a new editor? Ken accidentally revealing more details about his personal life? Ken being keen to see him (maybe to fix something that's wrong with his latest drafts that he should have caught before and he needs to do it ASAP before anyone realises)? Does Nozaki end up being really cool and impressing Ken enough that his own feelings start to change?
This could be comic, but a serious take could be really interesting too. Nozaki comes across as never having had a serious romantic interest in anyone, despite writing a shoujo manga. It could really throw him for a loop, and angst about it would be right up my street.
You can write this pairing after just watching the anime. The manga adds more to their relationship but the anime has the essentials of it.
Prompts:
*Pining, requited or unrequited.*The latest chapter is turning out to be a complete disaster, maybe due to ill health or losing his notes about what he was going to do about that cliffhanger and can't remember it, and they have to work out how to salvage it.
*Manga. Research. I request this every time I request this series but it works SO well with Nozaki. This cute (seasonal?) date idea is for the good of the manga! Please, Ken, go out with me!
*Ken vanishes from existence and only Nozaki remembers him. Even if he loves him, Nozaki would still realise that this would make Maeno his editor again and fight through space and time to find this legendary editor who will save him from that, as well as his feelings towards Ken.
*Nozaki only realizes feelings for Ken when he starts dating someone else. I'd prefer this to be an OC, not another member of the cast and definitely not Maeno.
*Nozaki introduces a new character who is blatantly based off Ken.
*Trapped in a haunted house together. There could be a real ghost, there might not be.
*Ken's apartment is (possibly) haunted. He accidentally tells Nozaki this, and either attempted ghost-busting occurs or Nozaki insisting that he stays over at his place. Or both! This could definitely lead to bed sharing, if you wanted to go there.
Fandom: コンビニくん | Mr Mini Mart
Medium: manga
Length: 6 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 1-2 hours.
Further information: Mr Mini Mart
Some of the fan translations translated 'Endou Nakaba' as 'Endou Hiroshi', probably because it's a more common reading of those kanji. Nakaba is the correct reading of his first name, however, (which is why the official translation uses it) so please use Nakaba.
This manga is one I go to if I need a quick shot of cuteness. It's a NEET trying to rebuild his life falls for an apparent delinquent who's actually a nice guy and rescues kittens from getting run over in the rain. I enjoy how Nakaba rebuilds his confidence over the course of the manga, manages to get, and that Kohei is very chill and accepting as a love interest, if occasionally foolishly hot tempered. It's lovely! I would be open to some angst too, but as long as it's resolved by the end like it is in canon.
Pairing: Endou Nakaba/Yamai Kohei
Prompts:
*Nakaba to a point where he decides that yes, he'd like to go back to high school and feels confident enough to. Maybe he needs some talking into it, or maybe he gets rather bold, right until the day arrives and his uniform is there and oh no, he's not prepared for this and Yamai has to save the day. Or something focuses on how their relationship changes as they get used to being at the same school.*Kohei has that delinquent vibe but doesn't really behave much like one in canon (that scene with the bullies doesn't count, he was doing the right thing). Has he grown out of a previous delinquent past? What triggered that? Was it, by any chance, a cute animal? Perhaps his dog? I'd also be interested if it's something more serious.
*Kohei 's delinquent past shows up in the present unexpectedly and Kohei has to try to mediate it, possibly while keeping it from Nakaba so he doesn't get caught up in the mess he's trying to fix. Maybe Nakaba ends up coming up with the solution that Kohei's too close to the situation to see.
*Nakaba and Kohei living together as adults, trying to work out how sharing a space works, cooking together, all that cute domestic stuff. And possibly having a ridiculous amount of pets.
*Christmas Eve is a very romantic day for couples in Japan, so the pressure is on to get it right! Maybe it works out, maybe one of them is needed to work Christmas Eve in the store at the last minute and can't refuse the shift. It'd be cute if they ended up doing something smaller but meaningful afterwards.
*Working a shift together. I've worked retail, so if you've also worked retail and want them to share in your most nightmare or weirdest experiences, please throw that in.
*Visiting a shrine for New Years together, doing all the traditional things like pulling fortunes etc.
*Sharing an umbrella together, either when they're together, or before where Nakaba is freaking out about the meaning of it, but not so much that he actually relents when Kohei is a tough guy and refuses to join him at first.
Fandom: どうしても触れたくない - ヨネダコウ | Doushitemo Furetakunai | No Touching at All - Yoneda Kou
Medium: manga
Length: 6.5 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 1-2 hours.
Further information: No Touching at All
There is a spin-off called 'Even So, I Will Love You Tenderly', which is also one volume and about the same length, and focuses on Onoda Ryou and his canon relationship which I haven't requested here. You don't need to read it but I have, so feel free to use it as you wish. The movie is merged with the manga on AO3 but I'm exclusively requesting the manga.
Shima, a shy guy with a lot of emotional baggage, starts his new job and finds his new boss, Togawa, completely obnoxious. Despite his rough exterior, however, Togawa is actually quite a thoughtful guy and starts to breach his defences. A relationship develops between them, but can they (both) put their pasts aside and let it grow?
I love this manga. It is a roller-coaster of emotion for me, and even though I've read it probably more times than I'd care to admit, it still gets me every single time. The angst, the communication problems, Shima's refusal to admit to anything as a form of self-protection that Togawa repeatedly smashes through.
Pairing: Shima Toshiaki/Togawa Yousuke
I really like this pairing in canon. What I'd like is more! The odd couple dynamics, the contrast between their approaches to life. How they do love each other, despite the understandable misunderstandings that punctured the start of their relationship. The fact they finish in a long distance relationship that does have problems but is surviving. The weird silent arguments they have because Shima still can't spit it out.I would like episodes in their relationship not seen during the manga, or afterwards. I'd prefer to keep them together if you'd writing this pairing, and a happy ending would be great even if there's angst and misunderstandings before then.
Prompts:
*Togawa canonically is obsessed with Shima's beauty mark, so feel free to throw that in about anywhere you want.*Right at the end, Togawa says he wants Shima to come to Hokkaido with him and meet his family. I would love to read about how this trip goes. Does Shima find it difficult with Togawa's family? Does Togawa's family history knock him back again, when he's actually there? Scenery porn would be a plus too. I love snowy scenes. And Togawa would definitely throw snowballs at Shima if he got the chance to get him to lighten up.
*Shima's family! We don't find out anything about them in canon apart from they're in Kanagawa. What are they like? How does Togawa manage when he meets them? Does he get off on completely the wrong foot but end up charming them in the end anyway?
*Togawa takes Shima to do cliche tourist activities in Kyoto while he's visiting. Maybe Shima thinks he doesn't want to, but ends up enjoying it anyway. Maybe he doesn't.
*Togawa really wanted kids. Maybe Togawa and Shima reach a point when they decide to consider it, and realise that in fact, it could happen. Adoption, surrogacy, maybe there's a technological advance that makes it possible.
*Related to the above, accidental MPreg happens with Togawa/Shima (I'd prefer this is by magical/technological means rather than because of PiV sex, and definitely not by A/B/O which I've put as a DNW). This puts their relationship in a very strange state of flux, and maybe forces some decisions earlier than they expected. I'd like it to work out in the end, but pregnancy can be bumpy.
*One half of the pairing (seemly?) vanishes from existence and the other is the only one who remembers them.
Pairing: Onoda Ryo/Shima Toshiaki
The way their relationship develops in the manga really interests me. Onoda never quite fully breaches Shima's defences, doesn't get to the same point of ease as Togawa does because he's not willing to stomp over Shima's boundaries. From the start however, he takes an interest in Shima's well-being, tries to get him adjusted to the team and looks out for him, long before he realises he has a crush on him. By the end, they're definitely friends, and not because Onoda bothered him into it.It's a contrast from the dynamic of both their canon relationships, and I'm curious about how it could have developed into more. What if Shima hadn't worked up to go to Kyoto to see Togawa again? What next? Perhaps Onoda might have found his crush less unrequited, over time.
I'm happy for major canon divergence here, and also for Shima/Togawa to be mentioned/play a major role. Angst is very welcomed, and I don't necessarily need a happy ending.
Prompts:
*Shima doesn't go to Kyoto to see Togawa. Instead he carries on, trying to get over him. Maybe he ends up crying again. Maybe this time Onoda comforts him more directly, starting to make Shima think of the future instead of just the past.*Pining from Onoda, one-sided or returned. Maybe even before he realised he had a crush on Shima. This is all normal and fine! He just wants to help his teammate out. There is nothing else going on, and it's normal to think Shima is incredible cute. Who wouldn't want to kiss him? Nothing else here. Denial is very powerful.
*For some reason, they end up having to share a bed together. Before Onoda realises his feelings, and spends the whole time in denial, or after he does and spends the whole time sweating. It could be the push they need.
*Onoda accidentally steps into Togawa's shoes outside of work too. Onoda wonders if Shima is projecting, once they get to together. Is he imagining he's Togawa? I would like this to be true, or not. Maybe Shima himself isn't entirely sure. Or he calls Onoda "Togawa" in an intimate moment.
*Alternatively, it's not like that at all, but when someone else at work finds out about them, it certainly looks like it.
*Alternate timeline where Togawa ends up being as off-putting to Shima as he'd appear on paper. Instead, Shima silently falls for Onoda. Is it easier? Harder? Onoda is much less savvy about other people's emotions when they like him, after all. Does it end up being mutual pining, or a proper relationship?
Fandom: 俺のアオハルは渡さない | Ore no Aoharu wa Watasanai (Manga)
Medium: manga
Length: 6.5 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 1-2 hours.
Further information: Ore no Aoharu wa Watasanai
Subaru is the cool prince character in his high school with popular friends, but is actually a huge shojou nerd in private who models his behaviour after the male characters in his favourite manga. This all goes to plan until his old friend from middle school, Jinnai, who knows that he loves shojou manga, transfers to his class during his second year
It's a fun read. I like the characters, the reveal that to some extent everyone is faking their roles (minus Jinnai), the riffing on shoujo tropes and the main pairing.
Pairing: Ichinose Subaru/Jinnai Hiroshi
A pairing that can be summed up with "when you thought you were the love interest but you were actually the heroine". Subaru's earnestness is really charming, and I like how his true nature when he's not trying to be cool is what everyone ends up liking about him. He's really cute! Jinnai provides a good counterpoint by being the laconic, deadpan guy who feels a lot more strongly than initially shown, and who's actually cool but only to Subaru (to everyone else he just seems lazy, unphased guy).Prompts:
*What happened on the proposed trip together that they're both thinking about at the end of canon? It could be shenanigans all the way down, it could be Jinnai keeps it all under control.*It might indeed suck every day, but what if Subaru did gain a love rival for Jinnai post-canon? Jinnai would be completely uninterested, but I can see Subaru being sufficiently insecure enough for this to cause trouble.
*Any sort of shojou cliche you'd like to use, basically. Misunderstandings, ahoy!
*The way Jinnai reversed the kabedon was a favourite scene of mine, so Subaru asking him to teach him his ways and he's reluctant but tries to anyway because it's Subaru asking.
*Subaru trying to switch from last name to first name basis with Jinnai. Maybe he manages it fine and Jinnai is trying not to die from how cute it is, or he tries a little too hard to be cool and it gets weird.
*What's the worst (non-shota) BL series you could use for guidance, and why is Subaru now trying to use that as a guide for the first time they have penerative sex?
*Their first time but played more seriously would be interesting too.
*It's their final year at high school and they're both having to make serious decisions about their future. I can see Subaru struggling with this much more than Jinnai, but maybe Jinnai is more phased by trying to decide what next than he initially appears.
Fandom: 미숙한 표현 | Unripe Expression
Medium: webtoon
Length: 70 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 40 hours.
Further information: Unripe Expression
Unripe Expression is a story about a guy whose face tends to give everything away, asking the Korean equivalent of Yahoo! Answers for advice about his developing feelings for his classmate and how it leads to him making a best friend who helps him on his journey of discovery. He also gains a (male) harem, including the rude, self-absorbed jerk who rejected him back when they were kids (who I actually like a lot but is definitely a jerk).
I am very fond of Ha Junseo. He's blunt, just a little rude and can come across as intimidating, but he's also got a really kind heart, is smart, more forgiving than he looks and capable of serious self-sacrifice.
The ending left Junseo at a really dark point, particularly after his previous experiences in middle school. If you wrote something set post-canon, I would really like to see him getting out of that space and getting to enjoy life again, with or without Lee Jaewon coming back into his life. Maybe something set at college? I'm also interested in canon divergence where events play out differently from how they did in-series.
Pairing: Ha Junseo & None
If you are writing this tag and wanted to include Junseo dating OMCs, I am absolutely up for that!
Prompts:
*College turns out to be a really good environment for Junseo and he ends up being really happy at it, even if the workload is a lot. I'd love it if he was able to come out and make LGBT+ friends, he's been out on his own with that for far too long.*Junseo getting over his rejection and ends up making new friends, even in the pressurised environment that is 3rd year of high school. Maybe he ends up meeting a new best friend via random chance, or cram school, or somewhere else, and this time it ends up going a lot better.
*Junseo finally gets his romantic feelings requited fully and sincerely.
*Junseo being a good older brother to his younger sister. Their dynamic was really sweet from what we saw in canon, and I'd love to see more of their relationship!
Pairing: Ha Junseo/Lee Jaewon
I won't lie, I was holding out for this pairing to come out the winner in that love triangle but alas, it wasn't to be (in canon). I really liked their relationship dynamic, where both of them mistakenly think the other is a jerk at first but after some identity shenanigans, realise that actually, the other is a nice guy and not like they thought, and how they share so much with each other that they've both been keeping inside for too long. Also, their good natured arguing is fun. I'd like to see them make the distance.
For this pairing, I'm fine with mentioned Karam/Jaewon because it's such a big part of the plot, but I'd like it to stay one-sided on Jaewon's side. I don't hate Karam, so please don't bash him, I just don't want him to be the focus. His presence can loom large for the angst, however.
Prompts:
*A canon divergent AU which is basically this panel come to life.*"Once again I am asking the internet to help me with my personal problems".
*Incredible amounts of pining occurring, which eventually get requited.
*Yoonsung tries to knock Junseo out of the running by telling him that Jaewon has fallen for him, but is hiding it because he's afraid of his reaction, and he should confess immediately. It's a ploy but Jaewon's behaviour is sufficient to make Junseo rethink his initial suspicion of it and start a charm offensive...which is what actually wins Jaewon over.
*Yoonsung is a jerk and tries to mess up their relationship, maybe it completely backfires and it actually leads to Jaewon realise he's fallen for Junseo.
*Chapter 40 AU where nobody gets hiccups and Junseo just kisses him instead.
*Post high school, future fic where Karam and Jaewon eventually broke up, and Junseo and Jaewon end up running into each other again. Maybe this time it has the potential to develop into something more?
*Alternatively, they break up in the final year of high school and despite knowing that he should absolutely not, Junseo ends up comforting him again.
*Junseo's cat kigurumi turns out to be cuter than Jaewon imagined Karam's rabbit one and Jaewon is very confused...yet intrigued.
*That chapter with everyone drinking at Choi Yoonsung's goes very differently, Karam does not manage to spit it out.
*When Karam rejects Jaewon's initial confession, it leads to Jaewon deciding to try getting over his crush instead of holding out, hoping he'll change his mind. Junseo helps him through it, and Jaewon realises his feelings have shifted towards his best friend.
