Sakura Exchange 2022 letter

[stayloose]

Hi! Thank you for creating for me, or just for looking at my letter! My AO3 username is hisen. I am requesting fic and art, and I have treats enabled.

General likes:

• Pining
• Denial of feelings
• Getting together
• Canon divergence AUs
• Missing scenes from canon
• Angst
• Miscommunication, mixed messages, reasonable misunderstandings
• First impressions that turn out to be wrong or misleading (positively), e.g. someone comes across as very cold but actually feels deeply, they just doesn't express their emotions much.
• Accidental physical contact, hands touching unexpectedly
• Fixing a canon typical problem/situation while falling in love.
• Fixing a canon typical problem/situation while already being in a relationship!
• 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 etc.
• Time loops/time travel
• Accidentally fucking up reality somehow and needing to fix it.
• They thought nobody was coming but they were.
• On-screen switch from a formal name basis to informal basis, possibly in a meaningful moment but also just casually happening too.
• Fake-out make-outs
• Bed sharing
• Slow burn
• Hot Springs episode (if canon has one: why not more? If it doesn't, it should have one!)
• 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 being forced to work together in difficult circumstances
• Hurt/comfort
• Canon smokers smoking
• Taking comfort together in desperate situations
• Nightmares, unusual dreams, visions

Smut likes:

• Desperation
• Unintentionally turning their partner on
• Sex so enthusiastic that it's kind of clumsy and messy
• Dirty talk
• Praise kink
• Bickering during sex (with couples who already bicker all the time)
• Semi-public sex
• Semi or fully clothed sex, or just one piece of clothing stays on
• Solo masturbation
• Mutual masturbation
• Denial of feelings even in the middle of sex
• Fingering
• Frottage
• Oral sex
• Anal sex
• Come play
• Sexting/phone sex
• Reading dirty books (or outright porn) that leads to sex (either out loud to their partner or by themselves and it gets them in the mood)
• Sharing a bed together turns into sex (doesn't have to be penetrative!)

Art likes:

I'm open to a lot of different art styles! As I'm requesting exclusively anime/manga, I am very happy to receive art in that style, either like canon's art style or a different anime-type style. I also like western cartoon style art, and other western styled art that isn't aiming for photo-realism.

I really enjoy varied facial and body expressions, particularly if you are drawing a comic. A lot of the canons I've requested go for very expressive facial expressions, so I think it would fit in for them.

I don't like highly realistic art, photorealistic art or art that focuses on trying to make fictional characters look like real people.

A lot of my ideas are probably more fic orientated, so I would be happy for anyone making art for me to pick out one or two key details and using them.

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DNWs:

• Unrequested AUs (canon-divergence and canon AUs requested for all canons, and for any prompts for other types of AUs)
• Non-canon permament death of canon characters (for Love in Limbo, I do not consider reincarnation to be permanent death)
• For Candy Color Paradox: death of canon characters
• Unrequested non-canon pairings
• For Naruto: Boruto content (Kakashi being Sixth Hokage/general post-canon setting is okay)
• Highly realistic art/photo realism
• Current events
• Any reference to COVID-19
• Graphic description of serious injuries, violence, sickness or torture
• Body horror
• Cannibalism/vore
• Bodily fluids apart from sexual fluids and blood (including canon-typical bodily fluids)
• Sexual content with characters under 16
• Intentional violence in sex (rough sex is okay)
• Non-con
• Age play
• D/s
• Omegaverse
• Breath play/choking

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Fandom: 飴色パラドックス | Ameiro Paradox | Candy Color Paradox (Manga)

Medium: manga
Length: 5 volumes in English (on-going)
Estimated reading time: 9-10 hours.
Sources: The manga is licensed in English by Viz in its SuBLime imprint, it's available digitally and in print.
Further information: Candy Color Paradox

At a weekly magazine, eager beaver journalist Onoe gets unexpectedly thrown onto the stake-outs team and paired up with photographer Kaburagi, who Onoe considers his rival and also happened to steal his girlfriend away the previous week. Sparks immediately fly as they bicker and drive each other up the wall, before finding a grudging respect and perhaps...love?

It's a BL manga, of course it's love. It doesn't stop the bickering through.

I enjoy how this manga has romance but also, the characters' jobs are really important to the plot. Onoe being a bit naive in a profession that's prone to pessisism is quite fascinating!

Pairing: Kaburagi Motoharu/Onoe Satoshi

I'm a big fan of 'two people who appear to have nothing in common actually share common ground' and also 'I love you but we are destined to bicker a lot too', and these two deliver on that. I also appreciate how over the course of the series, they both increasingly appreciate each other's qualities and value them a lot (especially Kaburagi of Onoe's less obvious qualities!). Even if they still argue a lot because that's just how they are and they're both equally stubborn in their own ways.

So! These two are very different people, particularly in their outlook in life with Onoe's being relentlessness optimistic (and just a little naive) and Kaburagi's real self being an apathetic realist (although he starts to change, just a little, over time in the series). I also like how people usually end up telling Kaburagi he's the lucky one once they get to know Onoe, and that he agrees too. The contrast between Kaburagi being superficially charming (on purpose) and Onoe being charming once you get to know him is something I enjoy a lot. The gap between first impressions and what's actually going on is something I find fascinating in general, which is a big theme throughout this manga and also with the characters.

I'm happy with fic set at any point of the manga, from when they're both still getting used to each other and fighting a lot, to when they've mellowed out a little later on (okay, Kaburagi has. Onoe's actually an inmovable object of optimism but I like that about him). If you'd like to include any of the supporting cast, please do! I like all of them.

Ideas:

• Case fic. I lik how dedicated they are to their jobs, even if they started out for different reasons, and how it's an important part of their relationship that they're journalists. The hunting down of scoops is always fun! I would be interested in the silly, gossip rag style ones and also in more serious scoops as well. They don't have to work out, either, not every lead does for them.

• Having to go undercover as a couple, while being an actual couple already. The potential here! Onoe would be so terrible at it, somehow, despite the fact they are actually dating. Kaburagi could be so weirdly out of character (for Onoe) that it actually creeps him out and ruins their chance of being convincing. Or perhaps it turns out to be the best undercover operation they've done together (unless Onoe blows it at the last minute).

• Two words: fake-out make-out. This FINALLY happened in one of the extra chapters for Volume 5, but it is a classic and I would like to see more. As a feint on a real stake-out? In a situation where there was a clearly better alternative? Or perhaps, they get caught when they are just getting handsy together in semi-public (again) and the person who catches them thinks it's a distraction and they end up in trouble for it? Wherever you think, I am interested.

• Related, the two of them have a thing for semi-public sex in canon and I would be happy to see more of it. They still haven't done it in Kaburagi's car on-screen in canon, by the way. You could correct this oversight.

• Anything dealing with the fact that sometimes they do good in their jobs, but they also spent a lot of time following people around purely because they have a new partner and they're famous. It's ethically questionable stuff, and I like that canon doesn't shy away from that.

• I love Kaburagi going "I'm tired so I'm crashing at your place (and have a key)", and Onoe going to see him when he's feeling vulnerable too so, more, more!!!

• Usually it's Onoe getting into trouble and Kaburagi has to pull him out of it, so a situation where that's reversed would be fun. Either with Onoe being unexpectedly competent, or just making it significantly worse than it was before.

• The two of them end up trapped in a dangerous situation, and someone gets hurt. It could be Kaburagi going ape-shit because Onoe got hurt (it's happened in canon!) or Onoe protecting and doing his mostest for a hurt Kaburagi. Or maybe they're both hurt but they're both trying to put a brave face on it because they're so worried about the other. I eat this stuff up. Go for it, as long as they do eventually get out at the end.

• Onoe's family and background. We know a bit about Kaburagi's past (Vol. 2 and 5), including a high school flashback, but we've seen none of Onoe's. I'd be really interested in finding out about him too! I feel that he probably grew up in a loving envirnoment, with how open and optimistic he is, but I could see it not being the 'normal' nuclear family of two parents and their kid(s). Maybe he was raised by a single parent, or his grandparents raised him, or other relatives, or maybe a family friend? I'd be really interested in your take!

• They finally move into a place together. I really enjoyed the bonus chapter about moving in together in Volume 4, and seeing that finally happen would be great! Moving is one of those things that can test a couple who don't fight normally, so I imagine these two would inevitably end up arguing a lot. I could see it starting over something stupid, too, like Kaburagi laughing at Onoe's basic tastes in A/Vs again.

• They finally switch to being on a first name basis! It's supposed to be only at home and then Onoe calls him Motoharu at work and everyone goes 👀.

• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!

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Fandom: Gintama

Medium: manga/anime
Length: 704 chapters (manga), 367 episodes and a final movie (anime) (both complete).
Estimated reading/watching time: A couple of days at least for watching/reading them in full.
Sources: The anime is on Crunchyroll, and the manga was published by Viz in English but finshed at Volume 23. Alternate translations may be available!
Further information: Gintama

Gintama is about a samurai with naturally wavy hair and a cast of hundreds, in an alternative version of Japan where instead of the Black Fleet, it was aliens who forcibly opened the country up. Despite running in Shounen Jump, and having some really cool fight scenes, it is not a battle shounen. Nor is the protaganist an optimist, bouncy kid. Gintoki is a loser, as is most of the cast, and that's why I love it. It's a character driven comedy and also can make you cry, often within moments of that comedy.

I've only watched the anime, but since it sticks pretty closely to the manga I don't think this should be a serious issue. I would be happy with fic set early on during any point of the series, I would just ask for no spoilers for the final movie because I haven't watched it yet. Otherwise, set it whenever you'd like to!

Pairing: Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki

Ah, rivals with occasional grudging respect for each other. I love the constant bickering, baiting each other, and how they both wind each other up but are also much more similar to each other than they'd ever willingly admit, particularly in how devoted they are, if to very different causes. Both of them have their softer sides they don't like to admit to, as well.

The mixture of comedy and heartfelt moments, and how it's so character-driven, is one of my favourite things about Gintama, so feel free to lean into that!

I've requested this pairing in other exchanges and the letters are available under the Gintama tag. I would like any idea I've requested for them in a previous exchange, even if I've not listed it in this letter!

Ideas:

•The two of them wake up in bed together after a drunken night out, and have to piece together what happened. This could be the two of them working together, while swearing they definitely didn't have sex (but they did? Possibly), maybe they have to get some assistance from other cast members (which they really won't enjoy). It could be fun if it anyone asked gives their own, self-serving and contradictory version of events. Or just straight up lies (cough Okita).

•I would enjoy the two of them getting handcuffed together again. Seriously, what's the likelihood of the same damn thing happening again? This time there's no tainted mayo and they end up in a series of increasingly improbable romantic situations which they refuse to back out of because no way are they losing to this guy.

•Gintoki working undercover as Paako for an extended period of time. Perhaps it's a (very well) paying mission from the Shinsengumi, and Hijikata is his contact so he has to keep visiting him as his client. There is absolutely no other reason why he would do this. Maybe it's on one of these visits it all kicks off, finally, and it doesn't go to plan so it ends up a weird, sexy struggle for survival that leads to sex afterwards?

•Gintoki as Pakko generally. It doesn't need to be the focus of the story, I just really like it. Particularly Hijikata finding him really hot like that (and generally).

•Participating on a TV show where both of them have to forge the best romantic relationship possible in a set number of days to win an insane amount of money that they both really, really need and are willing to sacrifice their pride for. All the romantic stuff? Only for the show, there are absolutely no feelings going on here and they are not falling for each other for real. I'm happy with them either winning or losing at the end, or losing on a technicality at the last second.

• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!

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Fandom: 辺獄のカレンデュラ| Hengoku no Calendula | Love in Limbo (Manga)

Medium: manga
Length: 2 volumes (complete).
Estimated reading/watching time: 2-3 hours.
Sources: The manga is licensed by SuBLime in English, and is available through their website as well as through Amazon and other retailers.
Further information: 辺獄のカレンデュラ| Hengoku no Calendula | Love in Limbo

Love in Limbo is about a soldier called Calen waking up in the afterlife with no memories, after narrowing avoiding getting sent to Hell and ending up in Limbo instead, and being appointed as a reaper. To atone for his previous sins, Calen has to protect the souls of Limbo, which he does with the help of his helper Makoto.

I read this manga and went 'how on earth did someone manage to make the very story I wanted to write when I was 14?' Then I read the author note which said 'the volume one cover is very Chuunibyou' and I laughed because, yes, it is. That is in a very complimentary way, I really enjoyed reading it. She did it much better than my attempt at it and it just hits so many of those buttons. Dramatic relationships! Everyone is dead and in the afterlife! There's supernatural world-building and lots of regrets for things done while they're alive, and they're atoning for it while they wait. Apart from Makoto who is a relative innocent compared to everyone else.

I really enjoyed the setting and world-building for this manga, and because it's only two volumes, a lot of it got set-up and then didn't get explored much further. I went 'wait, where's Calen's backstory' when I finished it, as well as other stuff. So I would love to see more! Most of my ideas are post-canon but if you wanted to write something set during canon, I'd be interested!

I love the long-ears so, so much, please include them as much as you want to. I love the weird bunnies who have important plot powers.

Pairing: Calen/Onodera Makoto

The lead pairing! Calen is a dead soldier with an eyepatch and missing memories turned into a Reaper to protect Limbo. Makoto is a soul trapped in a clay body, thanks to his dad's inability to let him go when he died, who works as a helper to serve a Reaper (who in this case is Calen). Together, they fight crime defend Limbo from invaders who want to eat the souls. I enjoy their dynamic of Makoto being so eager and big-hearted, even with his impending death looming, and Calen being more reserved and stoic but who cares deeply, too.

Ideas:

• Post-canon adventures in general is what I'm hankering for with this fandom. More exploration on what's going on elsewhere in the rest of the after life, perhaps new trouble arrives with new souls coming in. What other weird duties do reapers have that Calen hasn't done yet? Maybe they're particularly difficult, or morally questionable?

• Calen starts to regain his memories – either naturally or due to a more supernatural cause. From what we saw in-series, his life was one of fighting through numerous, brutal wars as a soldier, so I'd be interested on how all that coming back to him impacts when he's living in the relative peace of Limbo. There's also a big contrast between what we saw of his personality when he was alive and in Limbo, so Calen struggling with who he used to be and who he is now would be really interesting. I think it could be a big struggle for Makoto as well if he starts to change from the Calen he fell in love with, and I would find conflict between them interesting, as long as it gets resolved.

• Particular details about Calen's past I'm interested in, though my interest is by no means limited to these questions:
◦ What was his life growing up, before he joined the military? What about the early days of his career?
◦ How exactly did he lose his eye?
◦ What kind of world did he live in?
◦ Is there a lot of pain there that he'd much rather forget?

• Calen and Makoto decide to do something about all those souls trapped between Limbo and Hell. Maybe Heaven goes 'ah, good point' or perhaps God has their own reasons for not wanting to do it, that are just a little hard to parse from their level.

• Getting sent on a mission to Earth for some reason, like not enough angels to cover it, or only a reaper can do an important task. Perhaps there's a time limit on how long they can go before they're permanently stuck, wandering Earth forever that really adds pressure to the situation? Maybe they run into Makoto's reincarnated dad as well. There's lots of potential here!

• Makoto learning to adjust to having a real body again after having the clay one for so long. Perhaps it feels very strange and he has to learn to adapt to it all over again? Maybe he's still reckless with it like he used to be, and has to start unlearning that behaviour after getting hurt, along with some comfort to go with it.

• Hurt/Comfort, perhaps emotional hurt or physical hurt after defending Limbo? Or something else entirely!

• It's finally time for one (or both) of them to reincarnate. Maybe they try to fight it like Makoto's dad did, maybe they accept it, maybe both following after each other! Since I'm asking for this, angst and despair is absolutely welcome, and I would like the hope that they will both meet again in their next lives.

• Post-reincarnation, one of them is living a normal life (for wherever they are, I'm fine with mundane settings for this prompt and also for anything more unusual or fantasy based too!) but keeps having weird dreams about the past, and then run into someone who seems familiar, how mysterious. What's up with that? I'd prefer if there's some level of similarity between their previous life's appearances and the next one, but I'm otherwise pretty open. Go as cheesy, angsty and dramatic as you want, I like that in this kind of story!

• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!

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Fandom: Naruto

Medium: manga/anime
Length: 700 chapters (manga), 500 episodes (anime) (both complete).
Estimated reading/watching time: a couple of days to read the whole manga.
Sources: The manga is published by Viz and available on the Shounen Jump app. The anime is on Crunchyroll.
Further information: Naruto

It's a series about a big-mouthed ninja who eventually grows up to save the world. There's also this guy called Kakashi in it. It has its flaws but it's one of my oldest fandoms and I'm very fond of the characters and also the worldbuilding. It's such a cool setting!

I am a manga-only reader. I've watched the Kakashi ANBU arc in the anime but I'm not familiar with anything else that's exclusive to the anime. For this pairing, you could write after doing a very limited canon review. I'm happy with fic set before canon, during canon and afterwards.

Pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Tenzou | Yamato

I love their relationship. I love how close they are, how constantly Kakashi teases him and Tenzo respects him so deeply him anyway, and how much they trust each other. They have a very good understanding of each other, especially in battle and on missions. I like how they're both stoic, and shouldering large burdens, both in their pasts and by being able to use powers that aren't really theirs. However their attitudes towards their pasts and general demeanour are quite different, which is part of what I love about it. In terms of their relationship becoming romantic, I think they could probably do with a bit of an external push, particularly with Kakashi's fear of losing people he loves, but once they get there? It's a good starting place for success!

I've requested this pairing in other exchanges and the letters are available under the Naruto tag. I would like any idea I've requested for them in a previous exchange, even if I've not listed it in this letter!

Ideas:

• Pining! I love pining for these two (I say that like I don't like it for all my pairings). Just absolute, no way they could ever feel the same way about me, or in Kakashi's case, they will end up dead if I let myself have them.

• The loyalty between these two, perhaps taken to a level that might not be completely reasonable. Maybe to the extent that they might consider opposing the village for the sake of each other, and all the trouble that could cause.

• They are in a casual friends-with-benefits situation, and both of them are catching serious feelings but struggling because surely, the other doesn't feel the same way! Lots of pining and angst follows.

• Hurt/Comfort. You can whump these two hard, I'm down for it. Freeforms from h/c exchange I found particularly inspiring, for either of them as A or B:
◦ A's unrequited pining found to be requited while B helps them recover from serious injury
◦ Accidental arousal while cuddling for comfort
◦ Character A abandons plans in order to rescue Character B
◦ Character A falls asleep on B's shoulder; B gently moves A to rest on lap instead
◦ Character Cradling Sick Character's Head In Their Lap
◦ Character gets injured or sick and expects to be left behind now that they're no longer useful
(I feel like this only works for Tenzo during his early days in ANBU after Root but oh man, does it work.)
◦ Character resigned to their death survives; doesn't know how to cope
◦ Character takes blame for someone's bad decision because consequences for them are worse
◦ Characters live together while one recovers from hurt
◦ Character with injured hands requires assistance (which turns sexual)
◦ Comfort after a mission gone sideways
◦ Fighting to protect someone while injured yourself
◦ Kidnapped and used as leverage against the other character
◦ Pining Character Throws Themselves Between Crush and Lethal Danger
◦ A presumed dead; B refuses to believe A died
◦ Refusing to Leave Other Character's Side
◦ Sex to forget horrible situation for a short time
◦ Touch-Starved - Stoic Character Falls Apart When Someone Touches Them

• One of them thinks they're about to die and voices their feelings for the other; but oops they survive and it's completely awkward afterwards.

• Undercover missions together. This could be while they're in ANBU, maybe once Kakashi has left or even during Shippuden (or post-canon). Maybe it goes well, or maybe it goes so horribly wrong that they are left solely relying on each other for survival.

• One of them got caught by enemy forces, brainwashed into believing they were part of enemy forces and then gets rescued. Time for the deprogramming! The sheer amount of angst this would cause is just incredible. The unintentional betrayal! The distrust! I think if it was Kakashi, it'd probably be worse for both of them, but if it was Tenzo, it would hurt a lot to see him lose everything again and not even realise. I'm interested in both 'the power of love manages to break through' and 'they don't remember their past but they're able to build a new future together anyway'.

• Time travel. I'd prefer accidental over intentional time travel, but I'd be interested in intentional time travel going wrong and ending up in the wrong time period. I'd really enjoy this going backwards into their own past history for these two, considering their dramatic pasts and how much they've probably never discussed that with each other, ever. Perhaps they end up helping younger versions of themselves, or of the other? Maybe they just give the kid versions a hug because damn do they need it (Kakashi would hate it but so what).

• I'd also love if they ended up back during the Second War and Sakumo showed up. A lot of mixed feelings to navigate there. If you wanted to send them back to the warring states era and they have to navigate that while both of them have powers they're not supposed to have as they don't belong to the clans, however, I would be interested in that too!

• A time loop where they're forced to watch the other to die repeatedly until they break the loop succeeding in rescuing them.

• Dimension Travel - Just Friends Find Out They're Married In An Alternate Universe.

• Marriage contest. As the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi is expected to get married (Tsunade was old enough to get out of it but Kakashi isn't) but he's really not keen on the idea. So he agrees, with the terms being he gets to set up a marriage tournament/contest of his own devising, and he'll marry the winner. Of course, the plan is to make it unwinnable so he can go 'oh, shucks, well I tried' but there's a lot of serious contenders...and Yamato is one of them. I'm really open to whatever ideas you have for the contest – I like the idea of it not being physical prowess alone, but other things too, like loyalty and smarts.

• Mokuton. Not as body horror 'it's taking over me' but more 'this is very difficult to control and I've experienced so much already'. Seasonal changes in using Mokuton would be interesting too! Basically, just anything about it. It's one of my favourite jutsus.

• The Fourth War arc was very frustrating for me to read in real time because Yamato spent all of it stuck in a tree. If you would like to make his war arc more interesting, I would be interested. Especially if Kakashi ended up rescuing him. Or maybe he didn't, and he feels guilty about it.

• I am also interested in recovery fic for Yamato set after canon. From his war experience? Maybe that's enough by itself, or maybe it's the straw that broke the camel's back, and Kakashi helps him through it. Or just Yamato coming to terms with his past more generally. Canon skims over that, so more exploration would be interesting!

• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!

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Fandom: さんかく窓の外側は夜 | Sankaku Mado no Sotogawa wa Yoru | The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window (Manga)

Medium: manga
Length: 10 volumes (complete).
Estimated reading time: 9-10 hours.
Sources: The manga is licensed in English by Viz in its SuBLime imprint, it's only available digitally. The final volume was published last month so it's now complete in English!
Further information: The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window

Local nerd who's traumatised by a lifetime of seeing ghosts gets soul-fisted by a complete stranger who says he's his fate and goes "uhhh that was weird but felt really good, guess I'll work with him now".

As much as it's about curses and creepy, scary stuff, this manga is about relationships between people and how they can help you change and no longer live in fear. While I'm requesting Hiyakawa/Mikado, I find all the different relationships in this series interesting and I really like the whole cast.

Like Mikado I am a complete scaredy-cat but I really like this series. I can handle canon level of horror but nothing beyond canon, please. I'm requesting the manga and since I haven't watched the anime, please stick to the manga. I haven't read the sequel to this (my Japanese is very, very basic and I don't think there's an English translation), so if any of my ideas are covered there...well, I didn't know. You can do your own thing!

Pairing: Hiyakawa Rihito/Mikado Kosuke

I came for the weird dub-con soul-touching, and stayed for the old married couple vibes and Mikado refusing to give up on him despite everything.

I enjoy both the weird dub-con start of their relationship, including the VERY dub-con bonding and how it eventually develops into a more equal relationship as Mikado starts to come out of his restrictive, afraid shell. Although I get the feeling there's still going to be a bit of that weird, intense dependency between them, which ah, yes, that's good.

Both characters have a real journey and I grew to really like both of them. Mikado is a push over at the start, and so focused on trying to be normal and deny what he's seeing, and he grows so much over the course of the manga. He might be naive but that's also his power! I love that. Hiyakawa is fascinating and I seem to have a thing for characters who've had traumatic childhoods and are broken by it but just trying to carry on, particularly when they're bad with emotions (and oh boy, is he bad at understanding emotions, especially his own).

I am also an absolute sucker for 'rescued through the power of love' and that is exactly what happens here. Even if that room inside Hiyakawa was empty by then, he still needed Mikado to come rescue him from that curse. And Mikado promising him he won't be scared anymore, just like Hiyakawa promised him

The manga ends at an interesting point, as in there's been the damn big hero moment with Mikado rescuing him and promising to stay with him, but what that staying with looks like isn't yet clear. I think it's a good end point for the manga, but I also want more. Where are they going? What happens next?

Ideas:

• Navigating what exactly Mikado staying with Hiyakawa is going to be like. Since it looks like Mikado is letting Hiyakawa drive the pace of their relationship, it might be a slow development.

• Firsts! First kiss, first time, first time Mikado calls Hiyakawa his boyfriend instead of someone else doing it for him, the works.

• The sexy soul touching sold me on this pairing and I always want more, in any context. Maybe exploring it when they're not on a case? Maybe post-canon and Hiyakawa is trying to learn to do it more gently than he's being doing it previously? I'm open to Mikado liking that or discovering he prefers it being more pushy and demanding.

• Case fic. During canon, or post-canon, since they're continuing to run their cleaning business. I'm interested in both 'uh, this situation is weirdly horny considering the circumstances' and more mundane ones.

• Accidentally undercover as a couple. As in, they weren't actually trying to look like a couple on a case but they do and it turns out that's how they can succeed.

• Hiyakawa decides to search the internet about dating and finds that the internet is not as reliable for that kind of advice as it is for exorcism.

• After that first case together, when Hiyakawa suggests they give each other handjobs to ease all that sexual tension they built up, Mikado impulsely says 'yes' instead.

• Bad end where Hiyakawa ends up possessing Mikado just like an object, just like the Professor offered. Either for real, or in the context of an illusion.

• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!

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Fandom: サムライフラメンコ | Samurai Flamenco

Medium: anime and a spin-off, not entirely canon manga
Length: 22 episodes, 11 chapters (both complete)
Estimated watching/reading time: the anime is 11 hours, and the manga is 1-2 hours.
Sources: The anime might be available on Crunchyroll again? I've lost track (and actually, yes, own the Blu-Rays for this one! You know, the things nobody in Japan brought for the show). The manga was never officially licensed in English but fan translations are available.
Further information: Samurai Flamenco - Another Days (manga)

Samurai Flamenco is about Hazama Masayoshi, a guy who's watched too much tokusatsu and wants to be a hero for real, while having no special abilities or physical talents. After a fateful (naked) encounter with an off-duty cop, Gotou, Masayoshi starts to work towards making his dream come true, within what appears to be the bounds of reality and while working/competing against an idol singer who wants to be a magical girl to kick guys in the nuts.

And then the last ten minutes of episode 7 happen, and nothing is the same afterwards.

A show summed up by 'I want to get off Samurai Flamenco's Wild Ride', it's a mess of twists, turns, some pacing issues and an overall vibe of 'what the fuck am I watching'. It's glorious and I geninuely love it for its sheer vision and just going for it, even if it's kind of a mess. For me, the heart of it is a love of tonkusatsu and how Masayoshi grows and develops over the course of the series. And a big part of that growth is from his growing relationship with Gotou.

Pairing: Gotou Hidenori/Hazama Masayoshi

I like how these two are oblivious to their own feelings and their attraction to each other for the majority of the series. I like how they are, without doubt, the most important people to each other, and deeply care about each other even if Gotou would rather die than admit it most of the time. Both of them grow during the course of the series, thanks to their relationship, even if Gotou's growth is less drastic than Masayoshi's.

I also find the final scene a little more ambiguous than some, in that they still might be edging their way into a proper relationship. If you want to involve Gotou/his girlfriend in your story, I am definitely up for that!

I've requested this pairing in other exchanges and the letters are available under the Samurai Flamenco tag. I would like any idea I've requested for them in a previous exchange, even if I've not listed it in this letter!

Ideas:

• "What are we to each other?" after the show-down with Haiji. I can see them just avoiding talking about it initially, because well, a lot happened and they both need to think about what to do next. I'd really like it if Masayoshi ended up redoing his marriage proposal in less hectic circumstances, too. Or it's meant to be less hectic, anyway...

• Pining. I love pining, so give me all the pining.

• Making up a romantic partner who turns out to be real, either via magic or by chance. This could be Masayoshi making another Flamwenco wish, but honestly Gotou making up a fake partner, while being in a different fake relationship, who turns out to be a real person is a LOT. I would like both the humour of it (seriously, what are you doing man?) and the tragedy lying under it (seriously, what are you doing?). Maybe he has to go back home and facing questions about if he's got over his girlfriend, already, and makes up a fake partner who just happens to fit Masayoshi's profile, despite not meeting him yet. And then he shows up.

• Hurt/Comfort. You can whump these two hard, I'm down for it. I'd like anything from minor hurt to aliens have them captive and one of them is alarmingly close to death. Gotou insisting that he's fine when he's most definitely not.

• Getting married! I could see them ending up with a very big, fancy wedding despite not really wanting it because Masayoshi's future president of the world status. Disastrous wedding planning? Unhelpful 'helpful' suggestions from MMM? Deciding to eventually elope because they can't cope with the strain of a big fancy wedding? Going through with it regardless because of a sense of duty and it's kind of a disaster, but they make it through the day with each other's support?

• One of them appears to have vanished from existence and the other is the only person who remembers him. Maybe aliens did it, maybe someone else got their wish granted by saying ‘flamwenco’ enough, maybe reality just warped weirdly again. Ideally I'd like the other to return. If it's Gotou, he might even end up believing the whole thing was just his imagination. I feel like Masayoshi would not quit, despite all odds and everyone else being convinced he imagined Gotou.

• Masayoshi is terrified he's accidentally forced Gotou to fall in love with him because he loves him enough to warp reality to make it happen. Either treated seriously or more lightly.

• Trapped in a fake, perfect world. I'd be really interested in Gotou's girlfriend still being present in that world and how that affects his decision to resist or not, torn between wanting to stay to save her or protecting Masayoshi in the real world.

• Gotou being haunted by his missing girlfriend, possibly like he is in canon, or much more literally. Is she really a ghost? A hallucination caused by his guilt increasing as he gets closer to other people again despite himself? Or something else entirely? Something much more sinister...

• Undercover as a couple. It was probably not Gotou's idea, he did not want this, but now they're undercover together as a couple and Masayoshi is enjoying it more than he probably should.

• AU where Masayoshi has a different obsession and that ends up making him warp reality differently. This could be something with a similar vibe (Actual samurai? Medieval knights? Science fiction? JRPGs!) or something very different (Dating games! Cryptozoology! 19th Century Paris??? Maybe even your own personal favourite topic!). I'd like to see them coping with a very different set of challenges, particularly if he accidentally shifts the city into a completely different country or time period.

• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!