Fandom 5k Letter (2020)

[tentacledicks]

Hey there! I'm tentacledicks over on AO3 as well.

DNWs -
- Major Character Death in main pairings
- Unrequited feelings
- On-screen rape/noncon
- Memory loss/memory wipes
- Suicide
- Unhappy ending
- Incest
- Underage


Likes-
- Anything that involves D/s kink, especially things like submission as a way to process trauma (exceptions: no caregiver/little, daddy anything is an instant nope for me)
- Serious injuries treated as realistically as possible; long recovery times, focus on the pain a character is experiencing, issues with drug complications or infection issues, etc.
- Chronic conditions (mental or physical) focused on as a grind that wears people down until they can't go it alone anymore
- Alternate universes of basically every variety
- Political intrigue, either on the macro nation to nation scale or on the micro office politics scale
- Worldbuilding! Delving into the depths of existing canon! Constructing new worlds entirely!
- Slice of life domesticity, all those little in-between moments when major world events aren't happening

Detroit: Become Human
Genres-
AU - Genre Shift, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery/Procedural, Science Fiction

Characters -
Connor: Broadly, Connor's sections of D:BH were some of my favorites because of the crime scene investigations, so seeing more of that with him as the focus would be incredible. Canon-verse is good, with whatever ending you prefer—I like the peaceful revolution ending the best, but a Connor that's trying to stay afloat in the timeline where the revolution failed could be very interesting too. Would he be decommissioned immediately? Would he try to run? Even in a good timeline, Connor working (either alone or with Hank) on crime scenes is just, so fucking interesting, I goddamn love police procedurals.

On that note, I'm fine with basically any variation of 'mystery', but I do love the idea of Connor having to hunt down serial killers, android or otherwise. He's got a unique ability to put together details, even outside his unique knowledge and access to other androids, so seeing that explored in the context of him playing cat/mouse with a serial killer would be fun.

Pairings -
Hank Anderson/Connor: Most of the same stuff from above (I REALLY GODDAMN LOVE POLICE PROCEDURALS) but also! AUs! Hank as the burned out, worn down, cynical mentor to bright eyed, bushy tailed, incredibly clever Connor works in so many scenarios. I like it when Connor can hold his own against Hank's cynicism too, not because he's unrealistically naive, but because he truly believe that both of them can be the best versions of themselves, and he's willing to put forth the work and effort to make that happen.

For some potential specific AU scenarios:

- Medieval fantasy where Hank is a jaded as fuck Guard Captain with a shitload of cases stacking up on his desk and Connor is the magical construct that is supposedly going to be a test run to replace the rest of them.
- Bladerunner AU where Connor is a replicant, that's literally as far as my brain has gotten but I cannot stop thinking about it. Man! Imagine!
- Spacefuture AU with Connor as a sentient spaceship and Hank a demoted military officer being given a last chance to redeem himself. Spy shenanigans? Alien shenanigans? Who knows! I just think Connor would make a very good, if very weird, spaceship.

I'm open to basically any kind of AU, honestly, including monster AUs and the like too; I'd prefer Connor stay the inhuman one in anything where it's a human/nonhuman scenario, but I'd be alright with the reverse if it fits the plot better (Hank as the Beast in a Beauty and the Beast AU, for instance.)


Watch Dogs
Genres -
AU - Genre Shift, Hurt/Comfort, Canon Style Plot, Action/Adventure, Smut

Characters -
Jordi Chin: So, barring shipping, there's a couple different kinds of stories I'd love to see with Jordi.

Something that tries to fill out his backstory, or figure out how he became so well known and connected in the fixer community, how he kept his profile in ctOS completely clear... I'm starving for Jordi backstory of any kind, anything that can give a hint of how he ended up the man he is today. He's kind of an enigma! Clearly well connected enough that he has a reputation, and he's worked with so many people on a variety of jobs, he's spread out... I want to see that explored!

Alternatively, following him after the events of WD1/WD2. Jordi's Murder Adventures would be great, either played for drama or for comedy, but I'd just love to see him planning out hits and executing them, maybe teaming up with people and maybe not, just being him the whole while. I think there's a lot of room to figure stuff out there—why he was hunting a Bratva man, what his connections with the Chicago South Club used to be, whether he seeks out organized crime families to contract with or whether he just takes the jobs as them come.

Pairings -
Marcus Holloway/Wrench: Canon-compliant stuff I'd love to see between these two is the aftermath of the W4tched mission or the aftermath of the No Compromise mission—both of them end up kidnapped and I'm betting both of them have some serious trauma around that. That's something I'd love to see explored more, especially with a more romantic overtone to it (though, lbr, canon was pretty goddamn romantic on its own.)

Possible AU scenarios I'd love to see are:
- Urban fantasy AUs of any shape or size, with any possible monster/magic assignments to either of them. Vampire Wrench is great, but Werewolf Wrench is hilarious and Fae Wrench is a really interesting way to look at his approach towards names and identity. Witch Marcus works, but Vampire Marcus is such a tasty concept with how easygoing he is, and something like Selkie Marcus who's coat is being held by Blume could have delicious angst behind it. Any way you want to play it, I think they'd have a really good set of personalities for urban fantasy stuff.
- Superhero AUs! Either with both of them as heroes, Marcus as a hero and Wrench as a terrifying but inept villain, or them as an underground resistance to a corrupt hero organization. I'm good with any variation! Especially if it's a scenario where Wrench has destructive powers he can't quite control, and that terrifies him.
- A/B/O AUs, either rolled into something else (Victorian era, werewolves, whatvever) or played straight with canon. I'm actually super interested in any combination too: alpha!Marcus/omega!Wrench, alpha!Wrench/omega!Marcus, omega!Marcus/beta!Wrench, both omegas, both betas and struggling with that in a 'verse where all the focus is on alphas and omegas... The only one I'm not as keen on is alpha/alpha, but I think it could be done well too.

Jordi Chin/Aiden Pearce: Post-canon situations where they meet up again are my jam, but I'd also love to see bits and pieces between WD1's missions too. They've got such an interesting relationship in canon, so I'm all about having more of it. Especially if it's Aiden calling on Jordi for help, either with hunting down a trafficker or trying to find his sister after all these years.

Possible AU scenarios I'd be interested in:
- Mob boss AU where Jordi's running a family and Aiden is a dirty cop covering for him. A lot of focus on the fucked up power dynamics, and maybe how much Aiden is risking for this setup but he just can't stay away?
- A/B/O again, both because I can't get enough of it and because I think it plays into their relationship in really interesting ways. No strong preference on what Aiden is, but I'd prefer Jordi stay an alpha in any situation. As above, canon 'verse or combined with some other AU could be really cool!
- High fantasy AU where Jordi is something like an Evil King (tm) and Aiden is (supposedly) the hero chosen to slay him. Slaying him... doesn't happen. Slaying him is the literal opposite of what happens.

Most pairings I am perfectly fine with any arrangement of dom/sub, top/bottom, but for Jordi and Aiden specifically, I tend to view Jordi as exclusively a top and exclusively a dom, while Aiden is a vers who subs. If kink isn't brought into it, Aiden being subby doesn't matter as much, but it is the dynamic I vastly prefer.

Marcus Holloway & Wrench & Sitara Dhawan & Josh Sauchak: Hacking missions! I fucking love the vibe of the missions in WD2, and I love all those little moments between characters throughout the missions themselves. So I'd love to see more of that, DedSec taking on challenges and everyone doing their part to make the magic happen. Smart devices, revenge porn, social media doxxing, the Experian hacks... there's a lot of IRL scenarios that can be tweaked for DedSec stuff, and I think it would be really interesting to see some of it played out.

I'm also fine with slightly sillier missions too—Wrench steals an Amazon drone and the rest of DedSec helps him break into its code, or the epic four-way showdown, no holds barred, all upgrades allowed, take no prisoners go kart race where all four of them are competing for the right to pick a movie on movie night. Silly is good too! And it definitely fits the tone of the game, which is really want I want out of this group.


Black Jewels
Genres -
Fluff, Smut, Slice of Life, Fix-it fic, Getting Together, Fantasy, Character Development

Characters -
Karla: Karla's got a really interesting position, basically the only other Queen in the Dark Court, other than Jaenelle, who has an upfront and personal experience with the insidious spread of Dorothea/Hekatah's taint. I'd love to see fic that deals with that—the early days, right after she formed her own court and started rooting out the lingering members of the male council and their supporters, the days during the war where she was fighting her own quiet battle against poison up until the last second, the long slog of recovery in the devastation left behind...

Or things that focus on her and Morton growing up together, maybe her time spent with the Black Widow coven that kept her safe before she had to live with her uncle, maybe some of those moments where staying with Jaenelle and Saetan made her feel safe again. I just want Karla fic!

Rainier: Like Karla, I'd take him at any point in canon—first being hired as the dance tutor and then later joining Jaenelle's court, living with Surreal and working with her in Terreille when all is said and done, maybe bits in between where he was making his way as his own man in that period of time just after the Dark Court dissolved but before Daemon formally hired him.

I'd also be happy with anything that focuses on his romantic life, with OCs or otherwise! He's always been kind of a lonely figure, and I can't help but wonder about his comment in Tangled Webs about rut—what must that be like, for a Warlord Prince that doesn't want women? What kind of struggles did he have to work through before he came to some level of security with himself?

Wilhelmina Benedict: Post-canon stuff! Wilhelmina building her life up again, first with Jaenelle's help and then later on her own two feet. She's got a pretty dark jewel but she's never seemed comfortable with court life, and certainly not very comfortable with power (either her own or the power of those around her.) I've always felt like a softer, gentler life would do her good.

Also: scelties!!! If anyone deserves to have a sceltie witch hang around and ask for help raising puppies, it's Wilhelmina. I just want her to have all the kindred adventures. Let Wilhelmina be a horse girl.

Pairings -
Lucivar Yaslana/Morton: I kind of love the idea of Lucivar simultaneously being the most experienced (both in life and in sex) male that's approachable to the rest of the males in Jaenelle's friendgroup and also being a flavor of queer himself. Him fooling around with Morton before Marian ever came into his life is really appealing, especially if it's one of those relationships that started as puppy love and eventually grew into comfortable friendship and gently petered off around the time the Dark Court really got its feet under it.

Rainier/Morton: Honestly, I just want to see them kiss. Rainier not being sure if he's allowed to pursue Morton because he's supposed to be a teacher and he doesn't feel like it's appropriate, Morton confused because he's never been interested in women like that but now Rainier is the first person to offer a different option, both of them dancing around the question while the rest of Jaenelle's family and friends look on in a combination of amusement and concern... I think a lowkey, very quiet relationship would suit them well, and they're both the same rank even if they aren't the same caste.

Karla/Surreal: MAN, I JUST WANT TO SEE THEM KISS.

Okay, okay. But. Surreal gives as good as she gets, and Karla is the cattiest of the coven. Surreal's kind of sick of men after all the bullshit with Falonar and everything else, while Karla's never had any interest to begin with. Even if she's helping rebuild Terreille, Surreal isn't staying there for long and... well! Sometimes she wants to give Daemon and Jaenelle some privacy, sometimes being at Ebon Rih grates, sometimes she and Rainier need a break from each other and Karla is right there, with enough spice and sass to keep things interesting and an open invitation to visit.

I want them to kiss. I want them to kiss a lot.


Original Works
Genres -
Scifi, Fantasy, Worldbuilding, Interpersonal Drama, Getting Together, Character Development

Pairings -
Hacker with cybernetic limbs/Back-alley augment doctor: I love the idea of these two people who keep meeting in the worst circumstances slowly getting closer despite that all. Is the hacker getting more augments and upgrades to their limbs because they need them, or is it just an aspect of their identity now? Is the doctor working under the table because they've been blacklisted, or is there a more generous (or nefarious) reason why they mostly serve an off-the-grid population?

Gritty cyberpunk or dark scifi would be great for setting tone, mostly because that corporate overreach aspect to augmentations and cybernetics is one I find really interesting. M/M or F/F preferred.

Single father/Old flame who doesn't realize they had a kid: I just! Love! Couples that drifted apart meeting up again and sparking the fire! It can be that Single Dad tried to let Old Flame know and simply couldn't get in touch, it could be that he never realized the kid was Old Flame's until years later, it could be that circumstances beyond their control (natural disaster, sudden accident, abrupt change of life circumstances) simply meant the information never passed on—whatever it is, I want Single Father to agonize over whether he should try and reconnect at all, since he is a father now and he doesn't know if Old Flame is into that. Meanwhile, Old Flame is just wishing he'd been there for their kid in those early years, and now wants to make up for it all.

I am willing to go along with just mpregnant handwavey nonsense, but I think the whole scenario would work better with a trans MC or an a/b/o setup where the single father is an omega. Would very much prefer the pregnancy be an accident rather than by design, too!

Cyber Hacker/Cyborg: Two sides of a conflict, where they're just barely keeping ahead of each other. The hacker keeps upgrading their rig to make sure they can use the cyborg's implants against them, while the cyborg beefs up their security and plans to narrow in on the kill faster next time, but they never quite commit to a permanent solution, not when their enemy is so much closer than their friends.

Or! A cyberpunk future where the two work together, either against the corporate conglomerates or for them, supporting each other against all comers and showing immense amounts of trust—trust that the hacker won't use the cyborg's implants against them, trust that the cyborg won't ever decide the hacker is redundant and leave them behind. Two people against the rest of the world, for whatever given metric that may be.

M/M or F/F preferred, and I generally prefer this as a darker setting too.

Male Dragon Rider/Male Dragon Riding Apprentice: Just... take every daydream about being swept up by dragon riders and given a Destiny and then distill that into overwhelming UST between the apprentice and their assigned mentor. The dragon riders can pick their new riders through magical selection, or it could be something that new riders compete for in tests and evaluations, or maybe it's something that the dragons pick themselves, refusing to hatch for anyone but their chosen—I'll take any variation.

Same with the mentor/mentee relationship; a jaded mentor worn out by their bright-eyed new apprentice, a snarky but still deeply believing rider who has to babysit the clever but skeptical new recruit, the firm and honorable flight captain who inspires the newest apprentice who's never believed in anything before... there's a dozen different ways to do it, and I think all of them are pretty cool.

Older little-known male rock singer/His younger #1 fan who is a famous male actor: Man, I just love this trope conceptually; either the actor discovering the band recently and getting so hype about it that he throws himself into bandom completely, or the actor being a long-time fan whose own fame skyrocketed out of nowhere and he still doesn't quite believe that he's cool enough to meet his idol. And then, of course, the older rock singer's given up on getting the spotlight, he's just here to keep doing his thing and staying true to himself while making sure the bills get paid, and suddenly he's got this attractive young thing that is just desperately in love with in on his hands.

Something that goes from that initial infatuation into a deeper, more meaningful relationship would be wonderful, especially if it stays behind the scenes for a long time because Singer thinks this is a flashfire romance while Actor wants to make sure the paparazzi can't ruin this for him too.

Tough Military Guy/Best Friend's Younger Brother: A longterm soldier returning from a tour overseas, or maybe a recent enlistee who's just now realizing that it fucking sucks to be all alone in the dorms, or a veteran who's been out for almost a year now and his buddy is the only thing keeping him afloat until he realizes that the dude he's messaging on grindr is his buddy's younger brother aw fuck aw shit fuck is this actually cool or nah??

The younger brother should be over 18, but otherwise it's fair game—a reluctant, secretive romance because the military guy feels ashamed, a relationship that happens outside of their hometown because younger brother and military guy meet outside of their usual stomping grounds and hit it off, an online date that gets waaaay too real when military guy recognizes the bedroom he's seeing in a video call together... I'd prefer Military Guy gets accepted into the family if they ever find out about it, but the family doesn't have to find out.


Dragon Age
Genres-
AU - Genre Shift, AU - Modern, Hurt/Comfort, Interpersonal Drama, Smut, Fluff, Character Development

Pairings -
Josephine Montilyet/Cassandra Pentaghast: Between Cassandra's bleeding heart for romance and chivalry and Josephine's pragmatism but still wistful dreaming, I actually really love the whole idea of them realizing that they're perfect for each other. I want Cassandra to sweep Josephine up in her arms and be a knight in shining armor. I want Josephine to verbally murder a nobleman in front of Cassandra and send her into flustered heart palpitations from the sheer competence of it all. Cassandra is technically in line for the Nevarran throne, she's a perfect match for the Montilyet family!

For AUs, some ways to go could be:
- Arranged marriage AU where Cassandra's brother was originally the one meant for Josephine, but a last minute shuffle occurred and no one quite realized until it was too late to call of the wedding. Josephine is more than okay with this turn of events, once she's over the momentary disruption of her careful plans.
- Political intrigue AU! Modern day, set in Thedas, or some alternate medieval fantasy, but Josephine is the rising star of her merchant family and secretly enlisted into the ranks of spies for a beleaguered royal/diplomat, and Cassandra is the distrusting bodyguard that doesn't suspect Josephine in the slightest until events conspire to reveal Josephine isn't a purely innocent third party.
- Fairytale AU where Josephine is, technically, a kidnapped princess, except she's quite happy where she is and managing her family's affairs from afar, but while every other knight has failed to clear the trials in front of them, Cassandra just. Breezes right through them. And then stubbornly sticks around, trying to rescue her, while Josephine falls madly in love and cannot believe this happened.

Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford: I love the concept of the Iron Bull and Dorian being an established couple that invites Cullen in as a third, either during the events of Inquisition or in that period before Trespasser, when Dorian is in and out of Tevinter for a bit. Especially if it happens as the Inquisition is making that transition from a mostly military organization to an almost purely political one, which is bound to cause some stress and headaches in need of comfort for all three of them.

Dorian and Bull being established as a couple is good in AUs too, so something like:
- Modern AU where they find Cullen on a dating site and he actually seems interested, and he's got a good personality mesh for both of them online. Cullen's deciding to try this whole 'online dating' thing on hardmode.
- Spacefuture AU where Bull is the captain of a mercenary/pseudo-pirate ship and Dorian is his resident pretty diplomat, and Cullen is a burnt out veteran of the losing side in a colony war looking for a new start.
- Post-apocalypse AU where the Chargers are a roving band that helps escort people between settlements (for a fee) and Dorian's their current charge (and Bull's current bedmate). Cullen is a lone survivor who didn't realize a small, thriving community has built up around these trade routes, and these are the first people he's met in years.

Dorian Pavus/Cullen Rutherford): They play chess together! Dorian should be an example of everything Cullen can't trust in mages, but he just keeps being so damn dependable! Cullen really needs to address that underlying trauma that makes him so wary! Somehow Dorian has enough fire in him to keep Cullen warm at night, and Cullen is a solid brick of dependable when so much of Dorian's life is up in the air right now!

I kind of like the damaged people finding each other aspect even in AUs, so some ideas could be:
- Modern AU where Dorian and Cullen meet through a support group for addiction, between Cullen's [lyrium or analogue for it] and Dorian's alcoholism. Though I'd rather not have an unhappy ending, I don't object to one where the two of them are together for a while before realizing they need to stand on their own feet apart.
- Modern-with-magic AU where Cullen is in physical therapy for injuries sustained while a Templar and Dorian is the best damn physiotherapist at the clinic... and also uses magic to help ease a lot of the aches and pains that make it harder for him to do his job right.
- Dark fantasy AU where Dorian's something of the wicked witch to Cullen's supposedly shining knight—except that Cullen's been jaded by the excesses of his kingdom and Dorian isn't actually hurting anyone even if the necromancy makes his neighbors uncomfortable. Let Cullen retire to a magic tower somewhere!

Iron Bull/Dorian Pavus: In canon, I'll take either their relationship over the course of Inquisition, because I do like to see how they transition from uneasy companions to romantically entangled, or post-Trespasser shenanigans. I've always wanted to see more of Bull's time on the border, waiting for Dorian to contact him and vice versa, both of them playing their roles but still finding time to sneak out when circumstances allow.

In AUs, some scenarios I think would be cool are:
- Modern-with-magic AU where Dorian is down on his luck and looking for employment in a bar the Chargers frequent. Whether he gets the job and ends up appreciating Bull giving him pointers or fails to secure it but gets some help finding secondary employment through Bull's contacts, I just think it would be a fun way for them to meet.
- Spy games AU where Dorian and Bull are forced to work together to survive when both their covers are blown while on assignment, despite their loyalties belonging to two very different countries. Enemies to reluctant allies to lovers!
- Modern AU where Bull is a veteran returning to college for the first time in over a decade and Dorian is the rather smug, somewhat haunted international student who really doesn't want to return home and has the kind of damage Bull can't seem to resist.

Vanilla or kinky, I'm fine with either interpretation of their relationship—personally, I can't see Bull as anything but kinky, but a Dorian who's a little more vanilla than he might like to admit can be really fun too.

Male Hawke/Fenris: Okay, time to admit it: I fucking love modern AUs for fenhawke. I know coffeeshop AUs have been done a million times before, but I will continue to eat up every variation of them, especially whenever it means Fenris gets to be a weird hipster with a tragic past and Hawke's family is alive and negging him for his taste in men.

Outside of the typical coffeeshop AU, some other ideas could be:
- Idiot neighbors AU, where everyone in the Kirkwall crew happens to live in the same apartment building and Fenris is the new guy renting after the last tenant left. He shares a bedroom wall with Hawke and it's the most amazing/terrible thing ever.
- Noir detective AU where Fenris hires PI Hawke to find information on his family (whom he can barely remember) and most of the focus becomes the two of them getting closer together as they slowly work their way through Fenris's demons.
- Cyberpunk AU where Danarius was the CEO of an augment company and Fenris was his finest work before he ran away; Hawke is the biohacker that he asks for help, and the two of them figure out how to make Fenris's body his own again (even if it will never be what it once was before Danarius.)

In terms of Hawke personality, I generally prefer Purple or Blue Hawke; totally competent or kind of a dork, I just like him to be kind above all. Default Hawke or your own personal Hawke are fine for both names and appearances.

Further information

As long as it doesn't have a downer ending, whump, high stakes, and serious tension are all fair game! I just need my faves to be alive, aware, and hopefully on the mend by the end of things, lol.

Things with 'smut' as the freeform are totally fair game for PWP, but even things without it can have smut in them, it's just not something I specifically wanted to game for. I don't have strong top/bottom preferences unless otherwise noted in a ship prompt, same for D/s or sadist/masochist roles.

Kinks I enjoy: Choking & breathplay, bondage, D/s, sadomasochism, rough sex, bloodplay, toys, flogging, impact play in general, aftercare, waxplay, and basically anything I've written before if I've forgotten to list it here.