Gen Freeform Exchange 2020

[fencesit]

Hi! Thanks for creating for me, or for otherwise taking a look at my letter. I’m @fencesit.ao3 on AO3! I'm requesting all fic for this exchange except for Gravity Falls, where I am requesting both fic and art.

You may notice that I have less details or prompts for some fandoms/ships/mediums than others. Please don't take this as an indication that I want those things any less than other things! I very much desperately want everything I've requested, I've just had more time to request some things than others.

And: please don't feel like you need to follow one of my prompts to keep from disappointing me. I've provided all the information below in an attempt to help my writer feel confident in producing a gift for me, but if prompts and extra details don't work for you then feel free to ignore them.

I'm up for recursive fic of my own fic or recursive of gifts I've received in the past (assuming you have the author's permission). I'd be open to art treats if you want!

• Do Not Wants
• Likes
• Naruto
• SVSSS
• Leverage
• Crossover Fandom (Leverage/Animorphs)
• Gravity Falls

DNW:

• unrequested AUs (canon divergence is okay)
• cannibalism or vore
• bodily waste
• suicide/suicidal ideation
• vehicle accidents
• detailed or graphic descriptions/depictions of wounds, medical procedures, torture, etc.
• dissociation, which includes:
  • derealization — An alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems unreal.
  • depersonalization — The persistent feeling of observing oneself from outside one’s body or having a sense that one’s surroundings/body aren't real.
  • If you're writing a character who's literally having an out of body experience (like, because they're a ghost and something else has taken over their body) or dealing with a, actual fake world (like, because they're trapped in a magical illusion) then that's okay as long as the situation is clear to the reader, even if the character doesn't know.
• Permanent non-canonical character death
  • anyone can die as many times as you want if it's going to be fixed via time travel or other means.
• the rotting undead/zombies
  • magically preserved non-rotting undead like vampires or skeletons are fine
  • Special SVSSS note: TLJ vaguely falls under this umbrella I guess? Please gently skip over too many details about that whole situation if he appears in your fic.
• Boruto content

Likes

Fic likes:

• Canon divergence
• slice of life, canon-compliant fic, missing scenes from canon
• time travel
  • especially peggy sue/with a fix-it focus
  • time loops
  • see my Past Imperfect letter!
• dimension travel (eg from the canon timeline to a divergent timeline)
• worldbuilding —
  • fake/fantasy politics/science and explorations of systems/relationships (eg magic systems, fictional governments or economies, the local gossip network)
  • character backstory, noodle incidents, references to past canon or noncanon events, a sense of history between two (or more) characters
  • vivid/specific details that relate to things like where a character is, what that location is used for, why, and how the character feels about it
• plot
  • casefic/missionfic
  • investigations/mysteries
  • characters with specific goals or problems to solve (finding some treasure, getting a glass of water, murdering their nemesis)
  • monster/murder/crime-of-the-week type plots
• friendship and loyalty
  • the enemy of my enemy is my friend
  • making friends under unusual circumstances
  • A being uncertain of or surprised by how deep B's loyalty runs
  • found family
  • friends reconnecting after being out of contact for a long time
  • signs of familiarity/intimacy, like knowing each other's habits really well or feeling comfortable touching them/being touched in a society where that's notable
• hurt/comfort & angst
  • huddling for warmth and hypothermia fic!
  • character convinced no one would help even if they asked (but someone does help!)
  • character convinced there will be no rescue (but there is a rescue!)
  • usually powerful character is helpless due to drugs (and at the mercy of someone they don't trust? :D)
  • cynical/pessimistic/distrustful characters being proven wrong by things turning out better than they could have hoped for — for example: "I could never be loved!" -> Is absolutely loved, "We could never have peace." -> Peace is had
  • aftermath of captivity, torture, rape, isolation, etc.
  • injured character can't complete rescue mission without help from unlikely source
  • lying so that the other will accept comfort or help
  • hands too shaky to complete task
  • forcing exhausted character to get some sleep
• forced (non-sexual) intimacy
  • characters who have to work hard to function in the same space and also characters who don't like each other — see my Hate Exchange letter!
  • handcuffed together
  • sharing a bed because they're safer together than apart
  • captured together, working together in enemy territory
• unconventional formats/POVs
  • 5+1
  • drabble series
  • outsider POV
  • second person POV, especially if it's thematically relevant
  • I'm not really into letters or social media fics, but articles, essays, textbooks, mission/case records, and wikipedia entries are all great.
  • I've never received interactive fiction/CYOA before but I'm down to try it!
  • I'm open to a mix of text and images and I view works with the creator's skin enabled. I do sometimes download my gifts or read them on mobile, however, so I appreciate when unconventional works use tricks like display:none (explained in this tutorial in the "What do I do if the Creator's Style is hidden?" section) which also makes works with HTML/embedded pictures more accessible!
• magic (in already-fantastic settings)
  • curses
  • garbage-tier magical items
  • extra senses
  • worldbuilding around learning/doing magic

Art likes

• soft colors, and also specifically moss green and all shades of purple, especially for slice-of-life and domestic pictures
• lineless art and thick lines and messy lines!
• dramatic lighting, especially if the moment is tense or dangerous
• cartoony styles
• realistic styles
• movement and foreshortening
• crosshatching, stippling, visible brushstrokes, and other techniques that let me see what the artist physically did with their pencil/brush/digital equivalent
• that thing where it's all back and white or greyscale except for one (1) color
• art that explores the minutiae of a character's life, like what exactly is on their bookshelf or in their bag

Naruto

AO3 matching tag: Naruto

Fandom note: As a quick reminder, references to Boruto are in my DNWs — I haven't seen it, so that content would be wasted on me. On a related note, the end of Naruto, with Kaguya and stuff, didn't really do much for me, so I'm happy to pretend Madara was the final villain; the worldbuilding I'm interested in is unrelated to Kaguya anyway.

Requested medium: fanfiction

Senju Tobirama & Uchiha Izuna (Naruto)

Freeforms:

• Case Fic, Characters Team Up To Investigate Something Paranormal/Supernatural — I would love a spooky or nonspooky fic where the characters go on a mission and have to figure out a mystery, find a killer, track down drug traffickers, investigate the recent rise in littering and jaywalking...you know, whatever! As far as paranormal/supernatural things go I would love a ghost but a spirit or demon or whatever would be cool too. The more they dislike each other at the start the better but I'm not opposed to them eventually getting along.
• Conflict Between the Named Characters — something set before Izuna's canonical death or exploring his and Tobirama's conflicts across their lifetimes would be cool! Equally cool: Izuna doesn't die, peace still happens, Izuna never ever stops trying to genuinely sabotage it.
• Undercover - Character is undercover and their enemy unexpectedly plays along, Undercover - Enemies have to corroborate each other's cover — these two freeforms are two very delicious flavors of the same basic thing and I love them both. For the first one, I think Tobirama is slightly more likely to confirm Izuna's backstory out of the blue but the other way around would be very interesting too. For the second one, I'd love to see what both clans could need to investigate.
• Dimension travel to a significantly diverged timeline — Tobirama visits a universe where he died instead of Izuna? Izuna visits a universe where he died from something non-Senju related, peace happened, and it's going great?
• Enemies Forced To Work Together — Handcuffed together or something would be a classic, but I'm not picky.
• Exciting People You Meet In Prison — A literal different first meeting where they meet while imprisoned would be interesting, but I'd also be into them being frustrated to Of Course find that their new cellmate is their nemesis.
• Injured Character Can't Complete Rescue Mission Without Help From Unlikely Source, Unexpected Mercy, Usually Powerful Character is Rendered Powerless — I think Tobirama is slightly more likely to help or give mercy to Izuna than the other way around, but either would be fine! I really like thinking about the absolute shock of one of them being helped by the other, either way.
• Naruto: Character Rescues Other From Bad Mean Evil Bloodline Thieves — Bloodline thieves are just such good villains!
• Two Character Who Don't Like Each Other Grudgingly Do Something Together, Two Characters Who Don't Like Each Other Grudgingly Save Each Other From Horrific Fates, Two Characters Who Don't Like Each Other Grudgingly Solve A Problem Together — the more grudging the better.

Senju Tobirama & Uchiha Madara (Naruto)
Senju Hashirama & Uchiha Izuna (Naruto)

Freeforms:

• Case Fic, Characters Team Up To Investigate Something Paranormal/Supernatural — I would love a spooky or nonspooky fic where the characters go on a mission and have to figure out a mystery, find a killer, track down drug traffickers, investigate the recent rise in littering and jaywalking...you know, whatever! As far as paranormal/supernatural things go I would love a ghost but a spirit or demon or whatever would be cool too. I'm really into the idea of A) Izuna and Tobirama being 300% more suspicious of Hashirama and Madara, respectively, than Hashirama and Madara are of them and B) Hashirama and Madara being extremely focused on not letting the other's last brother die.
• Undercover - Character is undercover and their enemy unexpectedly plays along — I kind of can't imagine Madara or Hashirama successfully going undercover alone and anyway I feel like it's another case where Hashirama and Madara's friendship would influence things in a really interesting way!
• Alternate Universe - Different People Survive, Dimension travel to a significantly diverged timeline — A verse where Tobirama died and Izuna lived? A verse where peace never happened? A verse where the Senju formed the village but the Uchiha joined?
• Enemies Forced To Work Together, Enemies to Allies - Character From Future Tries To Convince Current Enemy To Work Together, Exciting People You Meet In Prison, Former Enemies Stranded Far From Home Become Friends — I'm sure you see a theme here! No real preferences for who's doing what for these, I just love what it says on the tin.
• Enemies to Friends - working together to save somebody they both care about — Izuna & Hashirama trying to save Madara, or Madara & Tobirama trying to save Hashirama! I don't know what they'd have to save either of them from. Bloodline thieves? Ghosts?
• Injured Character Can't Complete Rescue Mission Without Help From Unlikely Source, Unexpected Mercy — I love the idea of things getting turned on their head before the peace ends! I'd also enjoy something set after the village is founded, though.
• learning to trust each other — speaking of after the village is founded! Clans full of child soldiers trying to form a new society of fellow child soldiers with whom they've been in a bloody war as long as anyone can remember is a GREAT way to explore how/if ninja ever really trust each other. I mean, or set it before the village and have them need to trust each other to get through a join mission. Anything along these lines would be so delicious.
• Naruto: Character Rescues Other From Bad Mean Evil Bloodline Thieves — Honestly this is just a free space, practically. I'll love anything that matches this freeform.

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System

AO3 matching tag: 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù

Fandom note: I'm pretty sure I've read all the available extras, so no worries about spoilers.

Requested medium: fanfiction

Original Shen Qingqiu & Liu Qingge

Freeforms:

• Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting — Okay, we don't exactly know what LQG and SQQ's first meeting was, but I imagine it was after YQY convinced SQQ to come with him back to the sect. But what if it were before then! Or what if SQQ never joined the sect! I just love early canon divergence AUs.
• Awkward Conversations With Someone You Wronged In The Past — I think LQG is probably the one who would A) think he wronged someone and B) feel awkward about it. Maybe SQH lets slip that SQQ saved LQG's life?
• Case Fic, Characters Team Up To Investigate Something Paranormal/Supernatural — They hunt a monster or a ghost or a demon together! Or maybe in true Scooby Doo fashion something that the locals think is a spooky scary call-the-cultivators situation and then, whoops, no, it's just human trafficking or something.
• Character expects to be thrown to the wolves; is defended, Character Forced To Reveal Their Secrets — You can definitely take this in another direction (I would be interested and excited to see that!) but I was thinking about things maybe going differently for SQQ in Jinlan City.
• Conflict Between the Named Characters — although I would love to see them struggle towards becoming friends I will also absolutely take 1.5k of canon compliant fic exploring what them hating each other looked like. Conflict is delicious! No need to resolve it.
• Dimension travel to a significantly diverged timeline — SVSSS!LQG & PIDW!SQQ, maybe? Or some other timeline?
• Enemies to Allies - Begrudgingly Recognizing Other Character's Competence — This could go either way and it would be wonderful. Also maybe "enemies" is a bit of a stretch but idk LQG thinks SQQ tried to kill him sooooo....
• Enemies to Allies - Character From Future Tries To Convince Current Enemy To Work Together — This would be really great from both angles! SQQ trying to convince LQG to work together and it's so hard because LQG hates him....or LQG trying to convince SQQ to work with him even though LQG is still under the impression that SQQ tried to kill him.
• Enemies to Friends - Accidental soulbond between enemies, Handcuffed Together (non-romantic) — PIDW must be stuffed to the gills with accidental soulbond stuff and magical handcuff-esque curses. No preference on what kind of soulbond it is, whatever you think would be most interesting! I'm in this for forced proximity/intimacy between two people who hate each other.
• Enemies to Friends - Forced to rely on the enemy, Hurt/Comfort - grudgingly taking care of someone you don't get along with, Usually Powerful Character is Rendered Powerless — Maybe it's while they're handcuffed together, maybe it's while stranded in the wilderness or something, maybe it's because one of them is poisoned, whatever! I just want A) one of them to have to suck up their pride and depend on the other and B) maybe be surprised that the other IS actually dependable and helps them.
• Heist — The idea of them being put in a situation where they HAVE to perform and elaborate theft full of misdirection is wonderful. I have no idea what they could need to steal or why they'd be in that situation, I just think it would be fun and funny.
• learning to trust each other, Learning to Work Together — Imagine if they could get along! My heart would be so full. The rockier and angstier the better, though.
• Team Up to Rescue Another Character — It could be uhhh NYY? Young LBH? ...LBH who's fallen into the abyss?
• Two Characters Who Don't Like Each Other Grudgingly Save Each Other From Horrific Fates, Two Characters Who Don't Like Each Other Grudgingly Solve A Problem Together, Two Character Who Don't Like Each Other Grudgingly Do Something Together — ...yeah I'm not picky about what they get up to as long as they're pissed off that they have to do it with each other yet unwilling to just give up and go home/leave the other to die/leave the problem unsolved.

Leverage

AO3 matching tag: Leverage

Fandom note: This is my favorite TV show of all time and I really deeply love all the characters. Especially the minor characters! But really really all of them. I like that the show is so hopeful and the characters are so competent and the found family vibes can't be beat.

Requested medium: fanfiction

Solo: Maggie

Freeforms:

• Leverage: Nate dies because IYS won't pay out and Maggie becomes Mastermind — There's so much I would love to see from this AU it's hard to even start to list them. Maggie keeps working with IYS in canon because Nate hides what the company did from her and I could really go either way with this AU: maybe Nate still hides it, or maybe he doesn't? Either way, I love the idea of single mom Maggie slowly coming around to the idea that she could work with some of Nate's old contacts to take IYS down. Her connecting with Sophie and/or Sterling over shared grief and anger would be especially great. So any exploration of how differently she'd treat Hardison, Parker, and Eliot. Something like a pilot episode/origin story would be nice, but something set farther into the AU would be interesting too!
• Case Fic — I love Maggie showing up to help with the team's cases! I also wonder if she ever gets involved in stuff on her own and has to call in help, or if she ever works with Sterling. Okay, I just want to see Maggie sleuth or con someone! I love casefic so much.
• Crimes & Criminals, Heist — Basically what I said above but specifically focused on Maggie doing Thrilling Crime Things.

Crossover Fandom (Animorphs/Leverage)

AO3 matching tag: Crossover Fandom

Fandom note: I talked about Leverage above, of course. For Animorphs: I love these books! They're fun and horrifying at the same time, my favorite. If you want to write something set during or after the last few books then that's fine with me and you can ignore or not ignore canonical deaths as you see fit, although all the prompts below are going to be assuming it's set while the Yeerk invasion is still secret. I'm more interested in the two universes coexisting than in dimensional travel. I am not fussed with the timeline differences between the two canons, so you can handwave that if you want.

Also, when it comes to prompts in this section, feel free to use different characters than the ones I suggest. I would love to be surprised!

Requested medium: fanfiction

Any Canon Character(s) (Leverage) & Any Canon Animorph(s) (Animorphs - Applegate)

Freeforms:

• Leverage/Animorphs: I.Y.S. Insurance is run by Yeerks — Yeerks getting into the insurance business is really funny to me for some reason. I'd love to see the First David job derailed because Hardison and Parker accidentally find a Yeerk pool under the IYS building. Or maybe Nate already knows and he has to talk his team into believing in aliens? I'm just saying, it'd be just like Nate to steal and then ruin an entire alien invasion as revenge for some Sub-Visser let his son die. Also, you know, the added complication of running into one or more teenagers who can turn into a whole zoo.
• Case Fic, Canon typical missionfic — ...but I'm not married to the IYS thing! The Leverage team could investigate the Sharing, or the Animorphs could crash the corporate headquarters of the Leverage team's latest target. I'm absolutely not picky. Maybe Sterling or Maggie instead? Go wild!
• Character Forced To Reveal Their Secrets, learning to trust each other — I think both groups have an undeniable tendency to close ranks against outsiders even when they don't really have to and I'd love to see them gradually open up to each other, or for the pressure of a situation to make one of the Leverage characters reveal that there's a con afoot or one of the Animorphs to reveal the whole aliens thing. Also, you know, I phrased this freeform for ANY canon Leverage character so something like Sterling thinking he's 100% in control of this situation right up until the teenage girl he's talking to turns into an Elephant and starts murdering alien slugs would be perfect.
• Crimes & Criminals, Heist — I love crime and I would love to see the Animorphs have to do heist things at Nate's direction or deliberately seek out the criminal underworld in some way and run into some Leverage characters.
• Injured Character Can't Complete Rescue Mission Without Help From Unlikely Source — I just love the idea of a character looking at a rescue mission and knowing it's hopeless...until they get help from their friendly neighborhood theif or from their local escaped exotic wildlife!

Gravity Falls

AO3 matching tag: Gravity Falls

Fandom note: I think I've seen/read most of the extra content for Gravity Falls, so if you want to write something that incorporates things from the web shorts or something that's fine! If you end up basing your work on something it turns out I haven't seen, I'm fine with that too.

Requested medium: fanfiction, fanart

Hand Witch & Multi-Bear

Freeforms:

• First Meetings, Mutually Suspicious Acquaintances to Friends — I really love to imagine these two as friends, because they seem to live on the same mountain! They're at least neighbors. In terms of fic I would love any kind of exploration of their first meeting and know if you think it was kind of a rocky start or what. In terms of art, I'd love to see their first meeting! Was it several decades ago and Hand Witch was still an old crone but dressed for the era? Was Multi-Bear a cub? Were the Manotaurs giving him a hard time?
• Gradually Deepening Friendship, Slice of Life — Maybe you don't like writing about characters meeting for the first time or establishing a new friendship, though! (Or, maybe you're an artist who really wants to draw their canon designs!) In that case, I'd love something set mid-friendship. Like an established relationship fic, but for pals! Multibear could help Hand Witch run her swapmeet stall! Hand Witch could get them BABBA tickets! They could trash-talk the Manotaurs together! They could have HOA disagreements with fellow neighbors! In terms of art I would be over the moon with literally any drawing of them in the same place doing anything.
• Worldbuilding — I'm very easy to please on the fic front here. Maybe you don't think they're friends (maybe you'd prefer, I don't know, terse neighbors? Complete strangers?) and I'd be into that, too. Explore the mountain and the forest around it! Tell me more about Multi-Bear (was he once several single bears?) or about how Hand Witch's powers work (can she only curse hands?) or whatever else comes to mind! In terms of art, ah, gosh, I'm not sure. Maybe a landscape painting or diagram or map showing where their caves are in relation to each other, with other Gravity Falls landmarks as seems appropriate?

Finally, an extremely optional prompt for artists! I mean, I want to really stress that I am not expecting this, I just want to give you the option:

I requested both Hand Witch and Multi-Bear in Trick Or Treat in October and made reference to them maybe being neighbors in that letter. I received a WONDERFUL gift from cookinguptales, The Difference Between Us! If you like illustrating scenes from fics, I would love something based on cookinguptales' fic. They said it was alright for me to request this here. Specifically, they said:

I'm okay with it as long as I'm credited (and the fic is linked) in both your prompt and where any resulting fanart is posted, especially if any of my words are used.</blockquote>

I would love to see Multi-Bear and Hand Witch having tea together, Hand Witch being comforted by Multi-Bear after one of Hand Witch's love interests has run off again, them dancing together to girly Icelandic pop sensation BABBA, you know... pretty much anything from the fic!