Dear Yuletide Writer letter 2022
Wednesday, October 19th, 2022 18:46![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
staylooseDear Yuletide Writer,
Thank you for writing for me, or for looking at my letter. My AO3 account is![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
hisen, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you create! All the prompts and ideas I've listed are just suggestions and you can use them or not as you wish.
I also have gifts enabled, if you're reading this and you felt like treating me :)
• 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
• 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!)
• For Samurai Flamenco: Non-canon permament death of canon characters
• For Candy Colored Paradox and Unripe Expression: Death of canon characters
• Unrequested non-canon pairings
• Current events
• Any reference to COVID-19
• Graphic description of serious injuries, violence, sickness or torture
• For Unripe Expression: serious injuries, violence, sickness and 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
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!
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 get 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.
• 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!
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.
In terms of what I like about them as a ship, 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. While a lot of my ideas below are ship focused, I'd also be happy with gen fic as long as their friendship is still important to them in it.
If you want to involve Gotou/his girlfriend in your story, I am definitely up for that! I'm also happy to see other characters showing up too, like MMM.
I've requested these characters 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!
• 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!
Medium: webtoon
Length: 70 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 40 hours.
Sources: It's not been officially licensed in English, a completed fan translation is available.
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).
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 wanted to include Junseo dating OMCs, I am very interested in this and am requesting it. I really want to see the boy (eventually) end up happy. I haven't requested Lee Jaewon, because I'm interested in fics where Jaewon isn't there too. However, if you want to include him, either as an eventual romantic partner or just eventually friends again, I'm also interested in that, both in either canon divergence or post-canon fic! I have provided a couple of ideas about that too.
• 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!
• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!
(Below are ideas that feature Jaewon)
• 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 could be at the (inevitable) high school reunion, or maybe in a very different set of circumstances – they're both out so they end up going to the same places to hang out? They have overlapping friends but don't realise until they run into each other at a social event? Maybe they end up working at the same place and it is so, so awkward.
• I'd really like them awkwardly navigating how badly their friendship ended and trying to slowly rebuild it. It'd be great if Jaewon was the one to fall first this time around, and deal with the consequences of having rejected Junseo previously.
• Maybe they start up a FWB arrangement but it starts to get heavy and both sides are left pining but reluctant to quit, despite the pain it causes. I'd like to be eventually a happy ending, but with a lot of misunderstandings and regrets along the way to get there.
• Alternatively, Junseo and Jaewon become friends again after college, but this time Junseo is over his feelings and stays over them. It'd be interesting to see them navigating their past and rebuilding in a context where neither of them have romantic feelings for each other.
• Karam and Jaewon break up in the final year of high school and despite knowing that he should absolutely not, Junseo ends up comforting him again and helping him pick up the pieces again. This time, it leads to Jaewon falling for Junseo and it causes a lot of misunderstandings but it all works out in the end, somehow.
• This is a ridiculous AU idea but here goes: AU where it's the mid 2000s and forums are still popular, so Jaewon joins a forum to get advice there instead and Junseo is a regular poster. Maybe this time it takes longer for them to realise they go to the same school, so their relationship develops differently because it's exclusively online (more honestly, perhaps?). Friendships that start online can have a very different dynamic to ones that start in-person, and it switches early enough in canon that I feel like it's more the latter. I'd like it if Junseo comes across far too blunt in his posting and Jaewon initially thinks he's a jerk but no, just a blunt guy who does actually care a lot. Basically, I have very fond memories of this kind of online environment, even if there's drama (I would find in-forum fighting really funny if you wanted to go there, btw) particularly for those who didn't fit in great irl, and I'd love to see an AU playing on that.
• Chapter 40 AU where nobody gets hiccups and Junseo just kisses him instead.
• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!
Thank you for writing for me, or for looking at my letter. My AO3 account is
I also have gifts enabled, if you're reading this and you felt like treating me :)
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!)
DNWs:
• Unrequested AUs (canon-divergence and canon AUs requested for all canons)• For Samurai Flamenco: Non-canon permament death of canon characters
• For Candy Colored Paradox and Unripe Expression: Death of canon characters
• Unrequested non-canon pairings
• Current events
• Any reference to COVID-19
• Graphic description of serious injuries, violence, sickness or torture
• For Unripe Expression: serious injuries, violence, sickness and 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
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!
Characters: 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 get 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!
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.
Characters: Gotou Hidenori, Hazama Masayoshi
I like how these two look like complete opposites at the start but by the end of the show, it turns out they have way more in common than it initially appeared. Their relationship is right at the heart of the show, from the very first episode. They're super important to each other and I love that. It's only when Haiji threatens Gotou that Masayoshi actually loses his cool, after all.In terms of what I like about them as a ship, 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. While a lot of my ideas below are ship focused, I'd also be happy with gen fic as long as their friendship is still important to them in it.
If you want to involve Gotou/his girlfriend in your story, I am definitely up for that! I'm also happy to see other characters showing up too, like MMM.
I've requested these characters 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!
Fandom: 미숙한 표현 | Unripe Expression
Medium: webtoon
Length: 70 chapters (complete)
Estimated reading time: 40 hours.
Sources: It's not been officially licensed in English, a completed fan translation is available.
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).
Character: Ha Junseo
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 wanted to include Junseo dating OMCs, I am very interested in this and am requesting it. I really want to see the boy (eventually) end up happy. I haven't requested Lee Jaewon, because I'm interested in fics where Jaewon isn't there too. However, if you want to include him, either as an eventual romantic partner or just eventually friends again, I'm also interested in that, both in either canon divergence or post-canon fic! I have provided a couple of ideas about that too.
Ideas:
• 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!
• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!
(Below are ideas that feature Jaewon)
• 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 could be at the (inevitable) high school reunion, or maybe in a very different set of circumstances – they're both out so they end up going to the same places to hang out? They have overlapping friends but don't realise until they run into each other at a social event? Maybe they end up working at the same place and it is so, so awkward.
• I'd really like them awkwardly navigating how badly their friendship ended and trying to slowly rebuild it. It'd be great if Jaewon was the one to fall first this time around, and deal with the consequences of having rejected Junseo previously.
• Maybe they start up a FWB arrangement but it starts to get heavy and both sides are left pining but reluctant to quit, despite the pain it causes. I'd like to be eventually a happy ending, but with a lot of misunderstandings and regrets along the way to get there.
• Alternatively, Junseo and Jaewon become friends again after college, but this time Junseo is over his feelings and stays over them. It'd be interesting to see them navigating their past and rebuilding in a context where neither of them have romantic feelings for each other.
• Karam and Jaewon break up in the final year of high school and despite knowing that he should absolutely not, Junseo ends up comforting him again and helping him pick up the pieces again. This time, it leads to Jaewon falling for Junseo and it causes a lot of misunderstandings but it all works out in the end, somehow.
• This is a ridiculous AU idea but here goes: AU where it's the mid 2000s and forums are still popular, so Jaewon joins a forum to get advice there instead and Junseo is a regular poster. Maybe this time it takes longer for them to realise they go to the same school, so their relationship develops differently because it's exclusively online (more honestly, perhaps?). Friendships that start online can have a very different dynamic to ones that start in-person, and it switches early enough in canon that I feel like it's more the latter. I'd like it if Junseo comes across far too blunt in his posting and Jaewon initially thinks he's a jerk but no, just a blunt guy who does actually care a lot. Basically, I have very fond memories of this kind of online environment, even if there's drama (I would find in-forum fighting really funny if you wanted to go there, btw) particularly for those who didn't fit in great irl, and I'd love to see an AU playing on that.
• Chapter 40 AU where nobody gets hiccups and Junseo just kisses him instead.
• Anything based on my general and/or smut likes is great too!
