FFFX 2024 Letter

[miss_ingno]

Dear Creator,

thank you for creating for me! I hope this letter helps inspire you, whether it's a specific prompt or a mix of likes - I love to see where people take these ideas!

I'm open to treats!

DNWs & Likes

General DNWs: breaking up requested ships, genderswap, anything related to cannibalism, body horror, graphic gore, zombies/undead, hanahaki, sickfic, permanent character death for requested characters (Deja Vu excepted), mundane AUs, setting change AUs, de-aging, incest, breastfeeding of anyone 1+ years old;
nsfw DNWs: underage-under 16, watersports, scat, vore, sounding, enemas, fisting, ageplay, crossdressing, injured sex

General Likes:

• what ifs/canon divergences, alternate identity reveal, time travel (fix-it), canon aus where the canon setting remains,
• fluff, domesticity, banter, found family, family dynamics, friendship, developing & established relationships, intimacy,
• UST, misunderstandings, miscommunication, character conflict, conflict-rich dialogue, (emotional) hurt/comfort, secret identity, secrets and the slow reveals thereof,
• fealty & loyalty, devotion, protectiveness, protective possessiveness, mutual possessiveness, (public) claiming of some sort (jewelry, bitemarks, verbal, etc.)
• characters being competent at their jobs, Battle Couple, teamwork, nonverbal strategy communication,
• casefic, canon-style plots, mystery, action/adventure,
• outsider PoV, first/second PoV, epistolary, multimedia and experimental formats (fictional socmed, letters, snippets from history books, text books, mission reports, etc.) that fit the canon setting
• The intimacy of your lover being able to kill you but choosing not to: knife to the throat (for shaving or during a fight enemies-to-lovers style), human!partner being vulnerable in monster!partner's grasp, strong person who trusts no one being vulnerable with their partner, etc.

NSFW Likes: D/s, bondage, begging, enthusiastic consent, undernegotiated kink, kink negotiations, dirty talk, praise kink, happy sex/banter during sex, clothed sex, foreplay, aftercare, plot-relevant sex

Art Likes:

• monochrome, b&w with pop of colour, high contrast with few colours, (but really, any art style is welcome!)
• jewelry & flowers, swords! (and other character-appropriate weapons), fancy clothes,
• character poses that tell a story/embody the dynamic between characters, small intimacies (hand to cheek! fingers brushing! eyes meeting! back-to-back!), height difference where appropriate (or otherwise through environment)
• And I'm really, really into the styles of stained glass (so pretty! I love the mosaic colours and religious symbology of it), tarot cards (the levels of choosing a card meaning to fit the character, the pose, the details!), and tapestry (just, the historical vibes? Usually some sort of major event or conflict, depicting a story between characters? *_*)

Assassin’s Creed

Fandom-specific DNWs: Clay/Subject 16 being involved as more than a potential device for time travel

Desmond Miles

I like Desmond as an algamation of his ancestors's skills and instinctual behaviours, struggling with remembering who he is without them, or perhaps leaening who he can be with those memories, but still his own distinct personality. I see him as someone who is stubborn and strong to escape his upbringing, wanting to indulge in normality which got him caught but is entirely reasonable for someone in his circumstances. Who could know it's actually real? He's someone who rolls with the punches because when you're raised on an Assassins Vs Templars conspiracy, might as well? He's got entire memories of the past in his triple-helix DNA and ancient tech frying his brain, there's not a lot that can shock him anymore. Why *shouldn't* time travel be possible? I feel like he's become more malleable while struggling to adjust to the Bleeding Effect, and I am fascinated by him being the only person that seems to come out on the other side not entirely broken (thanks to Clay's intervention, granted, but.)

For the record, I don't mind Desmond being superficially or at a distance mistaken for his ancestors especially if he travelled back in time and is channelling their skils/behaviour, but I prefer there to be differences in height/build/aesthetics past a passing resemblance, for those who know the ancestor (especially if it's Claudia or Federico as the love interest).

Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad

From teacher's pet genius who didn't quite know how to connect emotionally with his peers and was groomed not to question his orders, to the man who outgrows his master and learns to see the Nuance in people, to the point that his wife was originally a Templar, I love Altair to bits. He was a naive and arrogant youth, but he learned from his mistakes and chose to make the world a better place, recreating the Order as a better organisation and passing on the Creed. Imo Malik is an important friend and advisor who helped him find his path and make the assassins who they become under his guidance.

In regards to Maria, I'm happy for Altair and her to be a Thing in the background or past, a poly arrangement between Altair, Desmond, and Maria, whether as a throuple or a v relationship—or maybe she just stays a friend/offers to bear their children and nothing more.

Ezio Auditore

I like that Ezio is a bit of a playboy, seeking and priding himself in bringing pleasure. He's cocky, especially in his younger years, and very aware of his good looks. He's talented in the assassin arts, but lacks a support system in the beginning and lacks experience when dealing with cunning opponents. I like to see him as a very unconventional assassin in that he learned from thieves and courtesans who are allied to, but not skilled assassins in and of themselves.

Federico Auditore

Federico is an interesting character with a lot of potential but whom we know very little of. He's the heir of the family, shadoing their father during day business and night business. An initiated Novice still learning the trade, but still taking the time to play with Ezio or check in on his siblings and their various woes. I don't think he's got the Eagle Eyes to the same degree as Ezio, and he might not be as talented as his younger brother, but he still has a lot of potential and a somewhat more even temper even at that young an age... Possibly due to the responsibility he shoulders as the eldest, what with being in the know of their family secret.

Claudia Auditore

In my eyes, Claudia is a very headstrong character. Even before her father's and brothers' death she was stubborn and temperamental. She knows how to handle a household and uses those skills for unconventional tasks like the logistics of hiding an Assassin organisation smackdab in a mercenary town or Templar city. Or running a brothel. In that, Claudia grows to be very practical, abandoning the notions of nobility she grew up with. She wants to be in the middle of the action and won't take no for an answer.

Generally, I enjoy Desmond trying to blend in but having weird modern quirks that get dismissed as him being foreign. I love people coming to wrong conclusions that seem plausible since they can't exactly think "time travel" as their first option - I'm ambivalent on who Desmond ends up telling, or if he keeps filtering his experiences as "where I came from" tales. I don't think he would just tell everyone, but his love interest and/or his respective ancestor(s) are potential options there. I would love to see what the local assassins make of Desmond and his mixed, diverse skills and unconventional approach to solving problems. And if he finds a way to save people who died (Malik's brother, the Auditores, etc.) that would be cool! I just really want to see him interact with the assassins and close allies/friends while being a bit of an enigma to them.

Prompts:

• Desmond trying to fix his ancestor's mistakes and ending up crossing paths with them repeatedly in a cat and mouse game


• Ezio being mostly unaware of Desmond in the background while his sibling slowly falls in love with Desmond with every interaction they have


• saving Monterigionni or recovering it after the attack in some shape or form


• Desmond trying to live a normal life in the past to the best of his ability but he keeps being pulled into assassin plots (either by assassins or the templars visiting his establishment). Possible occupations as a doctor or barkeep or similar job where his future knowledge helps him and Desmond's forced to interact with people


• Altair and Desmond both being thrown into Ezio's timeline and having to deal with each other + trying to hide what happened from the assassins and templars both

Crossover Fandom: Assassin’s Creed x Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

I love the parallels between these two fandoms with the Pieces of Eden and Millennium Items, the orderly Grey being the opposite of the chaotic Shadow Realm (maybe this is where all the chaos went when Those That Came Before ran the Calculations. Maybe it's the bits in the universe that cannot be accounted for. Or perhaps Akhnadin accidentally ripped the Grey open when he created the Millennium Items, unravelling some of the Calculations that lead to a ripple effect down the line where Desmond ends up in the Shadow Realm instead of dying to the Eye? Alternatively, could the Shadows be used to contain Juno or shield Earth from the Solar Flare? Does Yugi find Desmond in the Shadow Realm while comatose?

Desmond Miles
I like Desmond as an algamation of his ancestors's skills and instinctual behaviours, struggling with remembering who he is without them, or perhaps leaening who he can be with those memories, but still his own distinct personality. I see him as someone who is stubborn and strong to escape his upbringing, wanting to indulge in normality which got him caught but is entirely reasonable for someone in his circumstances. Who could know it's actually real? He's someone who rolls with the punches because when you're raised on an Assassins Vs Templars conspiracy, might as well? He's got entire memories of the past in his triple-helix DNA and ancient tech frying his brain, why should Shadow Games be out of the realm of possibility? I feel like he's become more malleable while struggling to adjust to the Bleeding Effect, and I am fascinated by him being the only person that seems to come out on the other side not entirely broken (thanks to Clay's intervention, granted, but.)

Mutou Yugi is similarly a fascinating character to me. I love how he grows from this silly, shy nerd into the leader of his friend group, confident in his own place and power. He's compassionate, willing to sacrifice himself for the innocent, and in that he would relate well to Desmond I think. He's also drawn to mysterious, and I love crossovers where Yugi just randomly shows up where he's not supposed to (the Grey, unnerving Minerva? does he project a Shadow of himself to where Minerva and Juno are fighting as holograms?). He's so unassuming and yet, there's so much strength packed into that tiny package. Not a danger to everyone, only to those who would abuse their own power to hurt.

Thief King Bakura
I can't help but wonder how much Desmond is reminded of a hurt and lashing out Altair when he meets Bakura in Ancient Egypt. Bakura's been wronged as a kid, and so have his people, and now he's seeking vengeance. To achieve that goal, he's willing to sell his own soul to the darkness. I think Desmond, through the wisdom of having seen Altair struggle similarly, would be able to guide him into healthier coping mechanism - but also wouldn't be opposed to taking out the right power players that don't deserve to live; he would go after Akhnadin and his followers rather than Pharaoh Atem, though, and in that there would be tension between TKB and Desmond.

Prompts:

• Desmond being thrown back in time during the moment of his death and landing in Ancient Egypt where he runs into Thief King Bakura on his revenge tour
  
• the Millenium Items being bastardized, human-made versions of the Pieces of Eden
  
• Desmond & crew in modern day hunting down Yugi Mutou & associates with a PoE radar on which the Millenium Items ping
  
• Desmond using the Eye somehow syncing up with the Millenium Items all going into the sacrophagus, causing some sort of chain reaction

Castlevania (Cartoon)

Fandom-specific DNWs: focus on what the night creatures are and how they are created
Requested Ships: Alucard | Adrian Tepes/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades, Alucard | Adrian Tepes/Trevor Belmont

I really like the dynamic between these three, whether it's platonic or shippy. Their banter is fun, the way they tease each other and yet fall back in sync in battle, perfectly supporting each other and complimenting each other's fighting style is just gorgeous and gives me all the found family vibes.

As you can perhaps tell from my prompts, I have a fascination with how these three are perceived from the outside. Whether that's a random villager's perspective or someone who is supposed to be close to one of them, yet still isn't in on some crucial details (or learns them during the story) and the misunderstandings and mystery that arises from these circumstances are hilarious to me. Especially in the irony of a vampire and a vampire hunter being friends/lovers, and how outsiders would react to learning this with disbelief and shock :D

Alucard

What I love about Adrian is how his whole nature is a contradiction. He's an impossibility - a dhampir, Dracula's son and Dracula's vanquisher. He's neither entirely human nor vampire and doesn't quite fit into either world. He's powerful and full of arcane and future knowledge thanks to his father's library and his upbringing, yet he's still unbelievably young, too, having grown up faster than usual, appearing older than he is. He seems worldly and experienced, yet Sypha and Trevor are his first real friends.

His story is tragic, too, in that he loses his mother and father at the same time, and then is forced to fight his father to the death to stop him from destroying the world in his own grief. His entire world broke within that one event, and he didn't even have time to process that. I love how he's a snobby nerd when he gets to be himself, but also immature and vulnerable with his new partners.

And I'm a sucker (heh! pun intended) for the vulnerability in baring your neck to a vampire willingly, knowing what it means to surrender like that, and I think it would mean a lot to Adrian too, especially if it's Trevor baring his neck. Similarly, I love worldbuilding that shows some different vampiric mannerisms that Alucard shows around Trevor and Sypha but which they don't understand because it's alien to them (but he knows. He knows he's giving away how important they are to him, but it doesn't matter, because no one who would understand sees).

Trevor

I love how Trevor is a terrible Hero in the beginning, just a down-on-his-luck, foul-mouthed and filthy drunk. He's refused the call because fuck everything, he's lost everything including his will to live so what does it matter? Except it does bother him, actually, which is why he lets Alucard and Sypha convince him to fight after all. He's just a tangle of bad coping mechanisms and the world doesn't really offer him great incentives to get healthier ones.

I do like to think that he finds ways to process his own grief and sad backstory with Sypha and Adrian in different ways. With Alucard, it's easy because their story is one of parallels - they don't have to talk about it, or give it a name, it can be the implications between words and silences, a quiet understanding of late night watches and a silence that stretches for hours only to end with a semi-ironic "...good talk." Sypha, on the other hand, forces him to put his pain into words that makes it more real... but also naming his grief and tragedy and pain chips away at the power they hold over him, allows him to process bit by bit and cope just a little better in the morning. Just her presence and optimism makes Trevor want to be better, do better, and I love that about their dynamic. And I love that Trevor, ultimately, *wants* to get better, wants to save the world, even if he's grumpy about it.

Sypha

I love how much faith Sypha has in the prophecy that led her to Alucard and Trevor, that she's the optimist of the group. She's in many ways the moral center of the group. Where Trevor sees the worst of humanity, and Alucard wants to see the best but is just a little to predatory in his view, Sypha wants and sees the best in people. It can make her seem a bit naive, but I don't think it's quite that - she *chooses* to believe in good faith until proven otherwise, and she's been proven otherwise often enough, in the speaker caravans and her travels with her boys both. And yet, she refuses to let that leave her jaded.

Plus she's such a *nerd*, and I love how she geeks out with Alucard about history and the library and everything they know in various languages and the sources. The seeker traditions about passing knowledge on orally are such a delightful contradiction to her love for books and hunger for knowledge, and it gives her a good excuse for having a great memory and recall, being trained in the art.

I also love her temper, how she's truly a firebrand and runs hot and cold with those being her two elements. She's such a badass and genius with magic too (she grounded Dracula's castle!!) She's insanely powerful and skilled, and I love how a lot of time travel fics default to her somehow managing a spell or destroying a spell that keeps them trapped somewhere with the itsy bitsy side effect that they end up in the past. Whoops.

I'm open to fics in which Sypha is pregnant or Trephacard already has kids. Sypha and Trevor ~somehow (stasis spell? Time jump? Not turning them into vampires tho pls) surviving to Nocturne era and helping Alucard meddle with their descendants could also be fun, especially if oral tradition didn't pass on Alucard being part of their relationship.

Prompts:

• Any variant of wolf!Alucard accompanying hunter!Trevor with an identity and/or relationship reveal, especially if they run into other hunters/vampires
• Time or dimensional travel that puts an established Trephacard face to face with a Dracula who still loves his son. I love the comedy and irony of Alucard and a Belmont being in love, and Dracula being forced to grapple with that. Plus I love Alucard getting protective, stepping between his father and his lovers. Ideally with a side of Sypha and Trevor being just as protective of Alucard('s feelings) and calling Dracula out on his bullshit.
• Similarly, time travelling!Trephacard running into Trevor's family in the past and having to hide that Alucard is a vampire (until he gets found out, then they're busy protecting him from knives and stakes and consecrated whips). Whether it's on the road where they share a camp or them stopping by the family home to warn them of the church's conspiracy to kill the Belmonts off
• AU where Lisa doesn't die and Alucard meets Sypha and Trevor during his travels. Getting together with a side of vampire politics, human "pets" and how Trevor being a Belmont vampire hunter plays into those dynamics
• AU where through future knowledge (Seekers?) the Belmonts get convinced they need to ally with Dracula for the survival of their family somehow (or maybe the survival of the human race by guaranteeing Dracula's family's safety?) and Trevor ends up Alucard's personal bodyguard turned lover.
• Trephacard travelling together fighting demons and vampires, either on their way to Dracula's castle or post-season 2. Having to hide from noisy villagers that they are a vampire/Belmont/speaker, and never quite knowing which of these identities will spark the villagers' anger (or worship, which can be even worse).

DC Comics

Fandom-specific DNWs: for Jay/Tim to be turned on by the idea of their relationship being incestuous (jokes about it are fine, but I'd prefer for them to be grossed out by the idea), exclusively bottom!Jason, Dark!Bruce or Really Bad Parent Bruce (I prefer him as Good Dad With Flaws or Flawed But Trying), Court of Owls, All-Caste/All-Blades

I utterly adore the dynamic between Jason and Tim, whether it be platonic as would-be brothers or in a romantic relationship. Whichever version you pick, I'll be more than happy to receive Jason-and-Tim-centric fanworks <3

For art specifically: I love Jason being a shit brickhouse, while Tim is slimmer and lithe but still muscled in the way a freestyle parcour runner or martial artist would be. I love the way Jason towers over Tim by being taller, and I love Jason's leather jacket bad boy look to bits. For shippy art, Tim wearing Jason's oversized red hoodie and/or Jason tracing the scar he left on Tim's neck/grabbing him by the throat joke-threateningly or possessively is very iddy to me.

Jason and Tim

It's just so lovely complicated! On the one hand, Jason died and came back "wrong" with Pit-enhanced anger management issues, and then he goes and violently takes his jealousy out on Tim, who is anything between the ages of 14 and 17 at this point in the timeline, depending on how you wanna play it. Meanwhile, Tim goes from hero-worshipping Robin II to getting almost killed (multiple times) by said hero, accused of the crime of not living up to his idol's legacy. They both are each other's triggers in many ways, reminding them about the parts of themselves they dislike and the flaws they try so hard to hide. No matter where you wanna start with their relationship status on the enemies-to-brothers or -lovers range, I'm here for it!

I love whumping on these two, but I especially love the flavour of Tim whump with Jason whump (and his guilt about making Tim's life worse when he's forcefully confronted with the consequences of his actions) as the sprinkles on top. I love Jason's claustrophobia or Pit Rage being triggered, especially if this leads to then Tim getting triggered because he thinks Jason losing control will lead to the man attacking him again (or that even being the case, with little chance of escape for Tim due to circumstances) and now both of them have to deal with flashbacks while trying to scrape enough braincells together to escape their situation.

I also love how competent they both are in their own areas of expertise. Jason is a tank who mows down his enemies, fusing sheer brutal strength with the skill of the League of Assassins to be an incredibly dangerous opponent. He's also clever enough to set up traps and manipulate his enemies into triggering them, see his entire set-up of tricking Black Mask into springing Joker to have his confrontation with Batman. Meanwhile, Tim is crazy smart and can plan twenty steps ahead. He's slippery and manipulative and constantly has something to prove. Between their complimentary fighting styles and the fact that they both run an empire of sorts (Crime Lord!Jason and CEO!Tim), they are the perfect puzzle pieces to fit together. They're also both snarky/sassy and stubborn af and really well matched in personality imo.

Re: The Pit Rage: I prefer for it to be some sort of enhancement on emotions and urges that Jason already feels, a more frayed temper and an influence that makes it easier to lose control, but not something that intrinsically changes him as a person. While I'm more than happy with other Batfam members deciding to blame Jason's early bad deeds on Pit Madness, I would prefer if Jason at least is honest with himself and actually has to work on those impulses and the emotions that lay at the root of them. And I think even if they're clinging to blaming the Pit Madness to reconcile their own desire to have a relationship with Jason later, after he's calmed down some, most Batfam members know deep down that it's not just the Pit that made Jason who he is now. Especially Tim and Bruce, I think, would have plenty of incentive to insist on blaming the Pit but knowing better inside their own heads.

I would love if Jason never stopped being a Crime Lord, even if he works with the Bats now. I'm fascinated by his little Crime Alley empire, and the idea of the people there looking to him as a protector. I love Jason enforcing his Rules and using gang-related business as a front to help the people most in need. I love all of the prostitutes in the Alley considering Jason their pimp, who would loudly reject the idea if asked but he does check in with them regularly and makes sure they're all safe and clearly cares. I love the idea of the villain henchmen having clear opinions on working for Red Hood, to the point where Red Hood's hired guns are incredibly loyal to him (while those who disagree with him think he's crazy for trying to change the way crime works). I love the idea of Jason setting up shelters for homeless kids and addicts, making sure the families of his people are taken care of, maybe even giving away drug money to sponsor business start-ups or offering secret scholarships to the kids.

And I really like the idea of Tim somehow getting involved in Jason's crime empire and helping him with stuff Jason didn't even know he'd need, just randomly showing up and fixing tech or setting up charities. At some point all of Red Hood's men just greet Tim as if he's a part of their gang, so used to seeing him show up randomly. It's even funnier to me to imagine (Red) Robin being the only/first Bat allowed back into Crime Alley during reconciliation with the family, either in an AU that diverges during the Titan's Tower attack or as part of Jason trying to make amends with Tim (maybe after realizing Tim's a self-sacrificing idiot with terrible parents who needs more looking after than he gets?) Similarly, Red Hood showing up at WE's offices to "kidnap" or "threaten" CEO Drake-Wayne sounds hilarious to me, especially if it's a smokescreen for something else (like part of a case they're working, or Jason making sure Timmy gets enough sleep after a team-up).

Another thing I adore is Jason and Tim teaming up on cases or running into each other during undercover work. Especially if this happens while they still "hate" each other or think they do, with Red Hood crashing the meeting (Red) Robin is staking out or vice versa, or somehow or other giving themselves away when they run into each other with their bickering and then blaming the other. Working the same case from a different angle and then grudgingly piling intel together because destroying a human trafficking ring is (slightly) more important than their egos. Alternately, Tim going in with an undercover identity and wig as Hood's air-headed arm candy? (I'm partial to Alvin, Caroline, or Thea, but I'm open to you making up a new identity too.)

If you're going for enemies-to-brothers Jay & Tim, I'm more than happy with it ending before they get to acknowledging each other as brothers, as long as there's development towards reconciliation happening (and possibly out loud denying it but action speaking louder than words re: protectiveness and caretaking).

Smutty details

Ngl, I prefer to envision Jason topping between the two of them, unless in very specific scenarios (e.g. where CEO!Tim dominates Jason and similar power fantasies, or virgin!Tim's first time and Jason surprises him by letting him top). I could see their relationship go either way, tbqh, and I'm open to them switching. I like the idea of Tim being into Jason's bulk and strength advantage and liking being manhandled by him while Tim puts his flexibility training to good use. Jason going down on Tim before he fucks him and being a mix of "gentlemanly" but also roughly fucking him through the mattress (or bending him over an A/C unit on a rooftop) is one of my favourite JayTim smut flavours. I love Jason running his mouth during sex until he's too turned on to think straight, and I love Tim intentionally provoking Jason into being rough with him or getting what he wants.

I love the idea of Jason being Tim's first crush before he died, and absolutely being his type when he returns, which only complicates their already messy relationship what with the Titan's Tower attack. I love both of them being into each other and having wet dreams about the other, but suppressing that until plot happens and they're pushing each other over the edge into having sex.

More than happy with sex pollen/fuck or die scenarios/bad guys made them do it, especially if it gets juicily complicated with mutual unacknowledged pining, Jason's Rule about rapists making him conflicted about wanting to save Tim from a more gruesome fate (either death or being raped by multiple bad guys if he doesn't or threats along those lines), Tim being scared of rejection from his crush, etc.

Another thing I love is sex as an act of care: Jason taking Tim apart until he stops thinking because he's been overworked as WE's CEO or stuck in a case, or vice versa Tim making sure Jason gets a break when dealing with gangs gets to be too much, providing a safe outlet for each other's frustrations. Possibly also spars turning to fun wrestling match turning to sex, or alternately tying the other up so he can stop protesting having stuff to do.

I'm open to trans!Jason and/or trans or nonbinary!Tim as long as they stay masc-presenting, but cis!Jaytim is fine, too.

Notes on other characters

Bruce: I like that Bruce is a complicated and flawed human being who is terrible at admitting certain mistakes and overreacts when he feels things are slipping from his control. I think he has the necessary chops to be a decent father figure to all his batkids, and I like when that's emphasised in his actions (if not in how the other characters who them, I love all their relationships being complicated and messy). I think losing Jason made him spiral, and he met Tim at a terrible point in time and is likely overprotective to an unhealthy degree of his new kid, which Tim registers as not being good enough and needing to train more. Similarly, I like to think of Bruce's fights with Dick over his independence is learning to be able to let your kid go once they're grown and let them make their own mistakes, and his fight with Jason before Jason's death to be a misunderstanding that Jason took in the worst light, taking it as proof that this adoption would never work out and he was just a dirty street kid trying to reach far above his station, etc. Generally, I prefer the father-son relationships in the Batfam to be sincere and loving but filled with miscommunication and misunderstandings left unadressed (though I'm down for them being adressed during the fic if you wanna go there!)

Dick: While I'm fine with their relationships being complicated, I prefer Jason and Dick having bonding time and slowly developing a better brotherly relationship, which was then cut short with Jason's death, over Jason and Dick never having a chance to be brothers before his resurrection. Similarly with Tim, if this is set post-Battle for the Cowl, while I'm fine with Tim being pissed at Dick and more distant than before, I don't think they'd be actively fighting. Imo, Tim understands that Damian had to be Dick's priority and that Dick didn't intend it to hit Tim in the insecurities as it did, but the damage is still done. And Dick acknowledges that he's made a mistake and is doing his best to make amends.

Talia: I'm happy with a range of characterisations of her, from genuinely caring about Jason and wanting him happy to trying to use him for her own agenda of getting rid of the other Robins to pave the way for Damian. I do think that even if Talia has plans and motivations outside of Jason's happiness, she does genuinely come to care for him while he's under her care.

Jack and Janet Drake: Same as with Talia, I'm more than happy with the entire range of potential Drake parents. From good parents who care and do their best to spend as much time with their son whenever work allows, taking him with them during summer holidays whenever possible and staying in contact via phone and email, to abusive Drake parents (with Janet being ice-cold bitch with too high expectations, and Jack being the impulsively abusive type, especially if he had something to drink, lashing out at Tim as a "safe" outlet for venting their frustrations), or anything on the spectrum in between. If it *is* abusive Drake parents, I would love for Jason to find out and rescue Tim, or (if post their death) feel even more shitty for his assumptions about Rich Kid Replacement.

Prompts:

• Titan Towers AU where something interrupts the fight and jerks Jason out of his Pit Mad-rage long enough to be confronted by what he's doing (beating up a teenager)
  
  
• Shifter AU with pack dynamics! Jason's shifter recognizing Tim as pack despite his better judgment, Tim's shifter form being surprisingly tiny and adorable or more baby than it should be (due to abuse/lack of shifting/etc), Jason's shifter form having changed post-Lazarus Pit, Jason and Tim's shifter forms being the same or especially compatible, etc.
  
  
• omegaverse with alpha!Jason and omega!Tim, especially if Jason is convinced Tim is an alpha, too, until he rips of the scent blockers and realizes the truth. Tim as the pack omega being the one who needs to invite Jason into the pack and being hesitant to do so post-Titan Towers attack but feeling pressured to because clearly his pack wants Jason back? Alternately, alpha!Jason finishing his "challenge" by biting Tim, accidentally creating a mating bond and the fall-out of that trauma
  
  
• Red Hood saving (Red) Robin's & his team's asses during a Titans mission OR Tim interferring helpfully in some Outlaws mission. Bonus points if their respective teams are angry-confused and wary of the intrusion, but Tim shrugs it off (outwardly at least) and Jason accepts the help surprisingly easy after a lot of grumbling and swearing and shouting
  
  
• JayTim going from hatefucking to in love but not telling each other because Oh No Emotional Vulnerability until a situation happens that forces them to confront their changed relationship
  
  
• working a case together and being confronted with their assumptions of each other being skewed by perspective (Tim's former hero worship of Robin II and the glorification of Jason post-mortem, Jason's pit- and Talia-fuelled assumptions based on the surface facts of Rich Kid Tim Drake twisted by jealousy), realizing they have a lot more in common (especially their sense of humour. Love Tim being one of the few people who will encourage Jason's death jokes or share them with him)
  
  
• stuck together: buried alive together under an exploded building or forced to hide during recon in a tiny closet and then getting locked in, or captured by bad guys and thrown into the same cell, or similar, being forced into close proximity while both their traumas are triggered (claustrophobia for Jason, Jason's Pit Rage reaction + being at his mercy while injured for Tim) leading to some form of revelations and reconciliation


• crime lord!Red Hood buying (Red) Robin at an auction/being gifted (Red) Robin because everyone knows his vendetta against the bats. Alternately, Jack and/or Janet Drake selling their son off to the mafia/Red Hood because he's not the right kind of heir (especially in an omegaverse with omega!Tim, D/s au with sub!Tim, shifter au with prey!Tim, etc)

Granting You A Dreamlike Life

Fandom-specific DNWs: The spy plot towards the end of the series, please pretend none if it happened. Also, the (imo unearned) canon redemption of Xu Xingcheng, Hong dad, Lin dad, Duan Tianci, and Hong Family's 3iC
Requested Genres: AU - Canon Divergence, Fix-it fic, Mystery/Procedural, Slice of Life, Interpersonal Drama, Established Relationship, Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort
Requested Ships: Duan Tianying | Lin Ruomeng/Luo Fusheng, Duan Tianying | Lin Ruomeng & Hong Lan, Lin Qikai & Luo Fusheng & Xu Xingcheng, Hong Lan & Luo Fusheng

Prompts:

• Canon divergence where Luo Fusheng stays the Hong family's top enforcer or returns to that position once Hong Lan becomes head of the family. How do Luo Fusheng and Tianying deal with the tension between his sense of duty and her sense of what is right and wrong? Can she learn to see the grey areas and recognize that LFS is trying to do the right thing in his own way? How do Tianying and Hong Lan handle being important to Luo Fusheng with their on-going rivalry? How does Lin Qikai handle feeling protective of his little sister, his crush on Hong Lan, and the tense situation between those two and his best friend and blood brother? How do all of them deal with the corrupt police being led by their former friend, Xu Xingcheng?
• Hong Lan and Tianying growing from rivals to friendship (although I see Hong Lan as the bitchy, snippy friend while Tianying is tolerantly amused by her poisonous barbs because she's learned to see the truth behind them)
• Hong Lan growing out of her crush and into her responsibilities of head of the Hong family, making alliances with the Lin family and learning to use her starlet reputation to obfuscate her family's dealings. Luo Fusheng being her 2iC and supporting her, unquestionably loyal, protecting her from usurpers and assassins
• Tianying getting to use her martial arts skills to kick ass. Maybe she gets kidnapped as leverage against Luo Fusheng and/or the Hong family, some sort of plot trying to drive a wedge between LFS and Hong Lan (who is very public in her rivalry with Tianying). While LFS and Lin Qikai prepare to rescue her, she rescues herself by being clever and all her stage skills.

Duan Tianying/Luo Fusheng

I enjoy Luo Fusheng and Duan Tianying’s developing relationship, how they grow from the early misunderstandings and mistakes into each other’s greatest support. Having to work through the early mistakes and assumptions they made leads to a sturdier basis for their subsequent romantic relationship, imo. Tianying starts with understandable misgivings about Luo Fusheng and his job as a mafia enforcer, she takes him at the mask he presents to the world and has to learn how to peel those layers back. Luo Fusheng, meanwhile, is someone who will put everyone he cares about before himself, he will give everything he has and more to make the people in his life happy, but hides this behind a cavalier mask. Tianying is good for him, imo, because she sees beyond his pretense and can take care of the injured soul behind the mask, and Luo Fusheng can support her loyally and unequivocally without ever worrying about her letting him fall (unlike everyone else in his life :/) I love that her voice can bring him enough peace to fall asleep without nightmares, and that he's always willing to protect her.

And let's not kid ourselves, Luo Fusheng is a service sub and Duan Tianying would rise perfectly to the occasion of being his kind mistress. I love how Luo Fusheng/Tianying's relationship is one of mutual care and respect and protectiveness, especially in contrast to their relationship with other characters (especially for LFS, who is always there for everyone else in his life, but none of them are there for him, especially Lin Qikai and Xu Xingcheng).

Hong Lan & Luo Fusheng

I like the complicated relationship between these two. Having grown up as childhood friends, but with the inherent power imbalance of Luo Fusheng being slightly older, yet subserviant to the Hong family, while Hong Lan is the precious daughter of the family head... nevermind Hong Lan's crush on Luo Fusheng and her selfish desire to own him, disregarding his feelings on the matter entirely, even as she is engaged to his then-best friend. Luo Fusheng never considers her as more than a sister he loves to spoil during canon, and this clearly frustrates her when she wants to be seen as a grown-up woman in her own right. All the more frustrating when she figures out that Luo Fusheng is crushing on Duan Tianying, a nobody (or so everybody thinks at first) who also has her fiancé wrapped around her little finger (not that Hong Lan minds about that, she has zero interest in marrying Xu Xingcheng).

I would love for the relationship between LFS und Hong Lan, whether platonic or romantic, to develop further from where the show left off. Hong Lan growing up, taking responsibility for her family after her father's death and learning to lead, learning to consider other people's needs - and Luo Fusheng, loyal Luo Fusheng, respecting her as the family head and helping her keep the family afloat and through these new dynamic realizing she's grown up from the little girl she once was (probably helped by the fact that she's no longer focussed day-in day-out in convincing him to date her).

Hong Lan & Duan Tianying

I like the rivalry between Hong Lan and Tianying. I would love for them to develop a friendship from there, or at least an appreciation and understanding. I like how condescending Hong Lan is, how much she abuses her power over Tianying, especially when she’s later forced to acknowledge Tianying after the Lin Ruomeng reveal as an equal. Anything that forces them into rival roles in their careers as actresses or puts Tianying in a technically dicey position due to Hong Lan being the heiress of the Hong mafia family is great fun to explore, especially since Tianying doesn't let Hong Lan's tantrums impress her and forces Hong Lan to treat her as an equal.

I would love any fic that focusses on Hong Lan growing into and taking responsibility as the head of the Hong family after her father’s death, and how that affects her relationship to Tianying/Luo Fusheng. E.g. taking LFS back in as second-in-command and giving her blessing for him to marry Lin Ruomeng – what would lead her to something like that?

Luo Fusheng and his Brotherhood friendships with Lin Qikai & Xu Xingcheng

I love how mismatched the friendship between LFS and XXC is. Especially XXC's obliviousness to LFS’s unquestioning loyalty to his friends (including XXCI) and the tragedy of his accusations that LFS betrays him when the opposite is true: XXC always puts himself first, and LFS does everything in his power to put his loved ones first. I like how selfish and spoilt XXC is as an antagonist, and I would love for the narrative to highlight the contrast of their selfish vs selfless actions. Despite "competing" for Tianying's affection, LFS surrenders when Tianying chooses because he wants XXC to be happy (and if you go with the headcanon that they are ex-boyfriends or at least fooled around before, with LFS's heart maybe more in it than XXC... well. That hurts extra good, imo).

Meanwhile XXC insists on blaming LFS for the consequences of his own actions and "stealing" Tianying from him, when he drove Tianying off by stepping all over her boundaries and not respecting her. He never acknowledges all the sacrifices LFS makes for him (even helping him out to escape from Commissioner Xu who leads the corrupt police and could easily punish LFS for these infractions). He doesn't even *thank* LFS for all the risks he takes, to the point of taking those risks lightly. I will never forgive XXC for not going straight home after the doctor exams which LFS risked his neck for to get him there, instead running off to fool around and leaving LFS to face his dad's temper, then turning around and blaming LFS for getting caught.

And Lin Qikai does the same! He constantly blames the entire conflict on LFS, when it's XXC who is acting the spoilt brat and throwing a tantrum. Lin Qikai is supposed to be the eldest and wisest of these three sworn borthers, but noooo. I would love for him to apologize to LFS for putting the onus of saving their brotherhood and friendships all on him and acknowledge that it's XXC's obsessiveness that got them into these tensions. (A fact he funnily enough only acknowledges in canon when Tianying turns out to be his missing little sister, and it's suddenly not just "some girl" these two are fighting over - and suddenly Tianying's opinions carry weight. Like her insistence that she doesn't want nothing from XXC and is choosing LFS because she loves him. Ahem.)

LFS would probably forgive both of them way too easily because he also blames himself first, self-sacrificial idiot that he is *grumbles*

镇魂 | Guardian

Fandom-specific DNWs: Shen Wei being naive/unaware of politics, Shen Wei giving up his role as HPS or Professor Shen
Requested Genres: AU - Canon Divergence, Fantasy, Canon-Style Plot, Established Relationship, Getting Together, Mystery/Procedural, Interpersonal Drama, Character Development, Fix-it fic, Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Action/Adventure
Requested Ships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan & Zhu Hong, Shen Wei & SID Team, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan & Dragon University students

Prompts:

• Pre-identity reveal (or pre-episode 20 where ZYL knows but SID doesn't), Shen Wei gets injured and has to rely on CSZ and/or CSZ and ZYL get stuck and have to work together to free themselves
• CSZ getting confirmation Shen Wei is a Dixingren pre-HPS-reveal and feeling very conflicted about it
• Zhu Hong dealing with her unrequited crush by focussing on work, training to kick ass (and totally not to impress Zhao Yunlan), learning to move on
• Zhu Hong growing into her role as High Chief of the Yashou, possibly using her connection to Weilan to help establish herself
• Casefic in which the SID comes together to protect one of their own (e.g. keeping an injured Professor Shen from being handed over to Haixing Labs, hiding CSZ from the Regent, standing up for Zhao Yunlan to another Haixing inspector a la episode 16/17, etc.) Would love if Lin Jing's and Chu Shuzhi's potential conflict in loyalties is adressed :D!
• Casefic set at the university where the students try to protect their favourite professor and/or argue with each other if Shen Wei "did it". Either early in canon where Zhao Yunlan is suspicious of Shen Wei or later in canon/in a post-canon AU where they survived and ZYL knows Shen Wei is innocent

Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan & Zhu Hong

I very much liked how canon handled Zhu Hong's one-sided crush on Zhao Yunlan. He was gentle and self-effacing, trying to buffer her feelings, especially her self-worth, despite the inevitable rejection. He clearly knew about her crush, but also tried to put her off, a hint she noticed but couldn't quite kill her hope that maybe some day they could be together. I find the personality switch episode especially enlightening re: Zhu Hong's character here because she starts chasing Zhao Yunlan actively, using cutesy names and acting like a cutesy female lead stereotype. It shows that Zhu Hong usually /isn't/ that. Despite her crush she's feisty, proud and hides her feelings.

Her rivalry yet understanding with Shen Wei is imo under explored, their conversation about love in the park, while primarily serving to highlight both their romantic feelings towards Zhao Yunlan, drew interesting parallels between their characters. In a lot of ways Shen Wei is the sort of gentleman Zhu Hong is supposed to fall in love with, but at his core he is similar to Zhao Yunlan, especially re: justice and duty and responsibility, once the outer layers of bad boy vs polite professor genteel are peeled away. And vice versa, I think Shen Wei would find several of Zhao Yunlan's more brash and reckless traits reflected in Zhu Hong.

Shen Wei & Zhu Hong

I find their interactions endlessly fascinating. From the early episodes where Shen Wei takes something of a dismissive, provocative approach (the interrogation scene), testing Zhu Hong’s reactions and probing for her weak spots, to the whole snake hypnosis sub plot where he reflects her powers back at her but makes her forget – almost taking on something of a mentor role for her developing abilities. I would love something that explored those vibes more deeply, that had Shen Wei help Zhu Hong develop her special abilities and confidence.

Zhu Hong is also the one that accompanies Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan a lot during the blindness arc, from being the first to learn about the Heipaoshi reveal to being there to very vulnerable and intimate Weilan moments. And then later, she has that conversation with Shen Wei about true love (which… Shen Wei talking about not having experienced love is such a lie lol Zhu Hong should totally call his ass out).

I would also love anything with these two being able to become friends once Zhu Hong is officially rejected by Zhao Yunlan and trying to move on. Maybe she even ends up talking about her difficulties with that and her jealousy with Shen Wei of all people, both being very aware of the irony but somehow having fallen into these roles regardless.

Zhao Yunlan & Zhu Hong

I love how Zhu Hong’s crush on Zhao Yunlan is canonically unrequited. The way the show handles him letting her down gently, talking her up and complimenting her and making it a “him” issue why he won’t date her is imo well done. It’s realistic too imo that she didn’t give up earlier, despite seeing how clearly Zhao Yunlan was falling for Shen Wei, unwilling to let go of the dream of eventually catching Zhao Yunlan’s romantic attention. I would love to see these two work together during the crush or after the rejection, with lingering effects on their work relationship. In my head, Zhu Hong would try to move on and put on a strong face, but things would be awkward for a while until they find a new rhythm and come out of it with a stronger friendship by the end.

Shen Wei & SID Team

My favourites within the SID are Zhu Hong and Chu Shuzhi, I love their sass and competence (though I do love GCC’s adorkableness and optimism, too). Especially Zhu Hong's interactions with Lin Jing, Chu Shuzhi, and Wang Zheng fascinate me. Clearly, they like to tease and prank each other, and they seem to be close. Generally, I enjoy team as family and team-bonding, casefic, characters being competent, the team working together, the team being protective of each other, team members having a conflict and growing to understand each other better through adversity

What's their perspective on Zhao Yunlan's courtship of Professor Shen? The Heipaoshi reveal? Working as a team and having each other's back, possibly when the regent shows back up to pester Chu Shuzhi or another inspector pokes their nose in? Working with Professor Shen in an official capacity as consultant without Zhao Yunlan hovering?

Shen Wei & his students

I love the idea that Shen Wei is one of the favourite professors at DCU, and that his students, similar to Jiajia, are fiercely protective of him. I love stories in which they are distrustful of Zhao Yunlan because he looks disreputable and/or because he’s police that keeps poking around Professor Shen’s office when he’s clearly innocent. Is the government trying to frame him? How are they supposed to get through Genetics lectures if they vanish Professor Shen suddenly!? And I love how clearly Shen Wei cares for each student and tries to do his best by them, even if he has to always keep a facade around and pretend to be just a normal, average human. I would love anything where that charade is maintained, or even a reveal scenario where his students rally around Professor Shen to keep him on staff despite being a foreign diplomat.

Grimm (TV)

Fandom-specific DNWs: re zombies/undead: please keep descriptions/depictions of the Hexen-/Zauberbiest Woge non-graphic/-detailed (see: body horror/gore DNW)
Requested Genres: Canon-Style Plot, AU - Canon Divergence, Fix-it fic, Worldbuilding, Character Development, Interpersonal Drama, Established Relationship, Getting Together, Mystery/Procedural, Action/Adventure, Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Humor
Requested Ships: Nick Burkhardt/Sean Renard/Juliette Silverton, Rosalee Calvert & Juliette Silverton, Adalind Schade & Juliette Silverton, Elizabeth Lascelles & Catherine Schade & Henrietta, Character: Juliette Silverton

Prompts:

• Juliette finding out about the Wesen world during the Seltenvogel case: I love how invested she was and how well she worked together with Nick to protect the Seltenvogel, even without being in the know. What if she followed him earlier? What if the Seltenvogel gave too much away for Nick to brush off? What if she saw something she shouldn't have and Nick is forced to tell her?
• Canon AU in which Nick and Renard have/had a fling pre-canon, before Renard becomes Nick's boss. I would love for some Unresolved Emotional Tension between Renard's emotional unavailability due to trust issues and Nick trying to 'forget' about his crush, mutual pining, "it was just sex" but actually there were feelings involved denial. Maybe they agreed to end it when Renard was promoted to captain?
• Any and all getting together romances, especially for Nick/Sean/Juliette as a triad after having had relations between the three in pairs. Working through their issues and learning to communicate and trust and working together as a power triad of Prince, Grimm and artificial Hexenbiest.
• Casefic! I'm especially fascinated by the misunderstood predator Wesen types where everyone assumes they're the perp, when it's a supposedly harmless prey Wesen using them as a scapegoat, or Nick & co having to face their prejudices when it turns out the predator Wesen is dating the prey Wesen for entirely harmless, normal reasons instead of being an abusive asshole to them.
• Casefic where Renard's hand is forced and Nick gets suspended (possibly for being suspected as the murderer in a vigilante style case?) and no one is happy about it and everyone works together to clear his name and save the day
• Wesen politics and how the characters fit into it, especially Renard as Prince of Portland but also a bastard and Zauberbiest, Nick as the friendly Grimm not working for a Royal exactly (or is he?), the Blutbaden working for a Grimm, the Kehrseite-Schlich-Kennen (Hank) who is so involved with a world he can't see or know, Juliette as either the Grimm's Kehrseite girlfriend or the artificial and overpowered Hexenbiest, etc.
• For OT3 in particular: I love plots where an Outsider mistakes a happy poly situation for cheating (catching Sean/Juliette or Nick/Renard at it) and then struggles with the dilemma of how to tell the third party about it :3
• Renard teaching Juliette how to handle her Hexenbiest instincts and teaching Nick what is natural to a Hexen-/Zauberbiest, which leads to Nick facing some uncomfortable truths about his captain and assumptions, but also becoming curious and growing closer to him (and Juliette again). Juliette writing notes in Nick's Grimmoires or writing a guideline to How To Hexenbiest for future generations?
• How do Hexenbiests learn and teach? Do they form covens? Henrietta and Elizabeth are known friends, and Catherine is an ally of Sean's but she's someone he slept with and not a friend of his mother - how do they think of each other? Is Catherine the youngest of the three older Hexenbiests, despite looking the oldest? Do more powerful Hexenbiests simply age more slowly?

Nick Burkhardt

I really like how Nick is a Good Guy with Morals, someone who takes the oath of protecting the innocent seriously and believes in the judicial process and justice of the system—and I love how all of it gets challenged by the existence of Wesen and how they can't always be prosecuted like normal criminals. Nick's development is fascinating as he tries to balance his morals against these new limitations, as he tries to be different than his ancestors. Sometimes he still slips up, lets himself be guided by assumptions and prejudice. He has the potential to go dark, especially when he stops thinking, when he's hurting, when it's personal. It's his connections, his friends who pull him back from that brink. Nick handles himself best when he's part of a team, yet he tends towards trying to lone wolf it again and again.

A tendency Juliette could really help with, if only he told her earlier. What does it take for Nick to tell Juliette? Monroe constantly reinforces the secret-keeping and his Aunt suggested he should break up with her, which he clearly doesn't want. But Juliette is right to reject him for said secret-keeping too when he proposes marriage. When he finally tells her, he's an emotional, incoherent mess, panicking because he knows Adalind did something, and tells her in the worst way possible—and then learns the wrong lesson from it and decides to keep it from her /again/.

Other then that, I live for the times a new Wesen realizes Nick is a Grimm, both when Nick leans into the intimidation factor to find out important clues or when Nick reassures the Wesen that he's Not Like That. The Eisbiber clan and their acceptance of Nick as an ally was one of the highlights of the early seasons for me.

Juliette Silverton

Juliette is my blorbo! I love how she gets dragged into the Wesen world and how she tries to figure things out despite Nick doing his best to keep her in the dark. Her analysis of Big Foot's hair was the perfect moment for him to come clean, and yet. Juliette is suspicious and scientific and empathic, and I love the few moments she works with Nick (e.g. during the Seltenvogel case). They make for a great team when they're on the same page, and it's a shame the show didn't explore that more. I'm convinced that if Nick told her earlier, during one of those moments were Juliette's suspicions were high and she was already thinking along the lines of the unnatural, the reveal would have gone over more smoothly than as Nick was panicking and being extra weird about a simple cat scratch.

Her interactions with their Wesen neighbours while she's not in the know are hilarious, and I love how she immediately starts investigating when Nick doesn't provide satisfying answers. The dynamics of the Wesen interacting with Juliette, the girlfriend of the infamous Grimm, when she’s not in the know but *they* don’t know that are frankly hilarious to me.

I want canon divergences in which Juliette copes better with her transformation into a Hexenbiest, where she learns control and how to navigate the complicated politics of the Wesen world. There's a lot of worldbuilding opportunities there, in how Hexenbiests are feared by other Wesen. I would an exploration of how the Wesen neighbourhood reacts to her new power and how Juliette deals with this shift in perception - she's already gone through the "everyone fears Nick for some weird reason" phase, but now it's directed at her? And Outsider PoV on a Grimm dating/engaged to a Hexenbiest would also be fascinating!

Alternatively, what if she'd been a natural Hexenbiest who had her power suppressed? Or she travels back in time and stays a Hexenbiest while Nick is still new to being a Grimm and hasn't the associated trauma that complicates his acceptance of her new status? Can she learn to forgive him for how the other Nick reacted to her transformation?

Sean Renard

Renard is a /fascinating/ character. We're introduced to him as an antagonist, and he never quite shakes off that label. He works to protect Nick, but keeps him in the dark about a lot of stuff. He wants, needs Nick's support, but with his upbringing he doesn't trust enough to just ask. He actively works against Nick's interests, too, ordering Aunt Marie killed and having Adalind seduce Hank.

Having grown up an unwanted Royal bastard, but also not a full Zauberbiest must have been difficult for Sean. He had to learn at a young age to control himself, and that restraint is so absolute he even manages to resist the compulsion towards Juliette. The loss of control in that arc was something that clearly worried him and he fought against as well as he could. Renard doesn't trust easy (does he even trust anyone, truly?), another interesting side effect of his upbringing and place in the world. Even when he takes lovers he's always ready for them to betray him.

How does his reign as Prince work? I'd love to see him juggling handling traitors, strongarming Wesen into his service or into owing him favours, calling in favours, working against his brother's schemes, keeping Portland seperate and independant from the Royalty over in Europe. Especially interested in how a Grimm figures into his plans! Or an unexpectedly powerful Hexenbiest ;)

Nick/Sean/Juliette

All of their dynamics are sooo good!

Nick and Juliette have a really solid relationship at the start of the show. Every moment of domesticity is a great moment - I love their banter, and how Juliette knows when she needs to push Nick, and that Nick tells her details like that a case is getting to him. Juliette is the most supportive girlfriend ever, and when she's doing research is some of the best moments. Like when she offers to look into Nick's parents' deaths for him, because Nick is too busy/emotionally compromised to do it himself. But she's also clever and curious in her own right, see how she takes the Big Foot's hair into the lab. Really, if Nick had told her then, things might've gone very different. She's not a push-over either, calling Nick out on his secret-keeping during his proposal and when she's amnesiac and Nick *still* isn't telling her the truth about Wesen. She knows her worth.

Juliette and Renard have incredible chemistry on screen. The entire obsession arc was such a highlight for me, the way they fought the compulsion and desire. I like to think that the attraction lingers after the curse is broken, too. And the fact that Juliette seeks Renard out for help when she's turned into a Hexenbiest is *chefs kiss*. I mean, she calls him Sean! This is so important to me, y'all *heart eyes*

Nick and Renard then have this interesting tension. Renard protects Nick as best as he can when he's still fumbling in the dark of this new world, trying to take care of Reapers and the like using police resources, but not warning him. At the same time, Renard is the one who put a hit out on Aunt Marie and who ordered Adalind to seduce Hank to get to Nick. They don't trust each other, not exactly, but they work great together regardless. Renard goes through a Whole Process to purify himself so he can wake up Juliette, just because he wants to keep Nick on his side, but he doesn't tell him until he's forced to. The confrontation at the cabin was amazing and summarizes a lot of this tension. I'd love to see them at this point where neither is quite sure what the other will do or having overcome this phase and having found a common ground they agree on, some sort of understanding between them.

The three of them create a fascinating triangle with those facets. It could work out well with Renard more willing to tell Juliette the answers she seeks and a calming, restraining presence on Nick's worse impulses (as long as Nick allows this). Adding Renard would smooth the issues of the Nick/Juliette relationship out to a point where they could communicate better; while what's keeping Juliette/Renard apart is the monogamy commitment between Nick/Juliette in early seasons (and a lot of preoccupation with the relevant plot in later seasons). For Nick/Renard to work, Nick needs to decide to trust Renard, and Renard needs to be able to trust Nick to be more vulnerable and honest with him - this is true regardless of Juliette's involvement, but I think Juliette would ease that tension for them.

Adalind & Juliette:

I love how these two are set up as rivals. At first Adalind had the advantage, having powers and being in the know. But Juliette, even Kehrseite! Juliette is far from helpless. Over the course of the show these two keep hurting each other, Juliette having a grudge for all Adalind did to her (the coma & memory loss curse, raping Nick pretending to be her, which eventually leads to Juliette becoming a Hexenbiest) and being justifiably pissed. Similarly, Juliette was part of the conspiracy to keep Diana from Adalind, so Adalind starting from then has good reasons to be angry, too. I think if all that history wasn't between them, they would get along at least somewhat—neither of them would put up with the other's bullshit and they'd be too blunt and catty with each other. I can't quite see them as friends, but maybe somewhat friendly rivals? Rival acquaintances? I think if they were forced into close quarters (e.g. by Nick sharing custody over Kelly but staying with Juliette, or maybe sharing an enemy/goal) their dynamic and tension would be fun. They also seem to have the same taste in men, having both slept with Nick and Renard respectively.

Crossover Fandom: Guardian x Grimm

Nick Burkhardt & Weilan: I think the parallels between Shen Wei and Nick as powerful but lonely figures in their communities who walk off the beaten path would be fun to explore, but also ZYL as the dutiful but rebellious cop and how that somewhat mirrors Nick's vigilante justice. I think these three would have a lot to talk about re: justice and duty and what is right vs wrong. Maybe Weilan can nudge Nick back on the right path after he starts losing sight of it slowly around season 3-4. Questions of morality and who deserves to be punished and how to deal with those that are not easy to capture and hold by the justice system feel natural for this exploration.

With Hexenbiest!Juliette, I could see Shen Wei being able to restrain her and help her find herself again as she's lashing out in pain, maybe even giving her a powerful opponent to lash out at to vent her anger until she breaks down. He'd offer her a way to put herself together again, but it's up to her to actual do the hard work required. Nick who is still freaking out about her transformation wouldn't be able to stay hands-off, he'd investigate Shen Wei and try to get Juliette back, while unable to accept that she has changed - I could very well see Zhao Yunlan taking him aside and scolding him for his prejudice and inability to see it's still Juliette even if she's different now (maybe relating to ZYL's early canon prejudice against Dixingren).

Prompts:

• Professor Shen is invited to Portland as a dark energy biology expert to solve a case
  
• Wesen are offspring of YOHE Haixingren/Dixingren couples
  
• the SID find dark energy readings in Portland and go to check it out
  
• ZYL social-engineers the Grimm crew into spilling the beans on Wesen
  
• Renard calls Shen Wei in as an expert to solve a case