I hope you find something that inspires you in this letter. If you enjoy a less-is-more prompting style, please feel free to only use my AO3 signup details! This letter is meant to give you a jumping off point if you’d like one; reading it is 100% optional.
The medium spotlights are opt-ins that I have a lot to say about--likes, ideas, and tutorial links if those are of interest to you. They aren’t the only mediums I’m requesting. All of my medium opt-ins can be found in the left-hand column of each fandom request. (Note: If you’re on mobile, medium opt-ins will be found before the prompts.)
+ Shenanigans. I love when characters have bright ideas and then get up to No Good. I am thrilled to read about the fallout of these shenanigans. Please give me as wild a shenanigan as you want to go. Second-hand embarrassment is amazing. I love the feeling of reading through my fingers, or gently saying "oh no" when characters make Very Bad decisions.
+ Slow (Emotional) Burns. Characters taking a while to learn/figure out that someone else also likes them in my jam. This in no way precludes characters from having sex. In fact, I love characters who have sex--repeatedly!--and then have the emotional awareness to genuinely wonder, “do you think they could possibly like me back?”
+ Canons, but with sex. If I request a ship in a canon, I am 100% down to read a version of that canon’s missions, adventures, cases, or problems...but also with sex.
+ First times. Get-Togethers. For requested ships, I love when I get to see characters fall in love, or tumble into bed for the first time, or experience that first moment that makes them seek each other out. I am far more excited about get-togethers than established relationship fics.
+ Original Works that are plotty. I really enjoy when original works come with a heaping side of whatever kind of problem you want to throw at the ship or character.
+ Case fic (or mission fic). If you’re interested, you could write mysteries for any of the requests in this letter. I love mysteries so much. From the simple-to-solve rather mundane cases (“who ate the last of the cheese?”) to the conspiracy-spanning ones (“unicorns are actually a plot to invade this reality.”)
I consider everything on this list extremely optional.If you're interested in writing smut for the pairings I've requested, please feel free to write what you think works best. If you'd prefer just to write a kiss and then a fade-to-black, or a curtain falls, I'm very okay with that too. Most of the pairings I've requested are rare. I'd be thrilled just to read a fic where they share the same air and maybe look at each other. If you'd like some guidance on what I enjoy, please read on!
+ A variety of different sex acts. Frottage, Intercrural, Blowjobs, Handjobs, Fingering, Rimming, Anal Sex. Masturbation. Mutual Masturbation.
+ Fucking in odd semi-public places! Sex on rooftops, stairwells, bathroom stalls, abandoned buildings, vaults, dungeons, crypts, monuments, weird technological remnants of ancient civilizations are all fabulous. Characters pushed up against walls. Characters having sex in moving vehicles.
+ Kinks that play with the border between fear & desire. Fights that become fucking. Characters that are trying to kill each other… and decide to resolve their differences by fucking instead. Anonymous sex. Identity play. Non-negotiated Kink. Kink that isn’t safe or sane.
+ Orgasm Denial. Edging. Ruined Orgasms. Shitty, Awful Sex. Interrupted Sex. One character falling asleep after sex. Only one character getting off.
+ Dubious Consent. I enjoy dubcon where both requested characters are coerced by external events/people/situations like fuck-or-die, or precursors-made-them-do-it, etc. Sex where characters aren't into it at first, but are fully onboard by the end.
+ Voyeurism. Sex in Semi-Public Places. One half of a ship watching the other with a third party, or by themselves.
- Sexual situations involving anyone younger than 16.
- Mpreg, pregnancy, or A/B/O.
- Genderswaps or gender changes to requested characters.
- Noncon.
- Fic that mainly focuses on characters' encounters with prejudice. This includes fic that is mainly about characters experiencing or reacting to bi-, homo-, ace- or transphobia; racism, sexism, misogyny, etc.
Ancient Greek Religion & Lore-Specific DNWs: For this fandom, I have only two DNWs: Teucer dying & sexual situations involving anyone younger than 16. Otherwise, none of my other general DNWs apply. Go wild!
Arthurian-Specific DNWs: For this fandom, I have only two DNWs: crossovers and sexual situations where Galahad is younger than 16. Otherwise, none of my other general DNWs apply. Go wild!
His Greatest Adversary Yet-Specific DNWs: requested characters dying permanently, downer endings, no powers AUs
Original Work Ships-Specific DNWs: sad/unhappy endings; requested character death; miscommunication plots leading to accusations of cheating/infidelity/breakups between requested characters
Ruscha pastiche • pop art that combines text & imagery • slice-of-life descriptions & illustrations • abstract & conceptual art • cans of spam getting up to shenanigans • puns • surreal, and geometric art • meta-commentary on art movements of the 20th century • art forgery & art heists • art crimes & the people who perpetrate them
The Actual Size-Specific DNWs
Sexual content
Prompts • • •
+ What is the rogue can of spam escaping from? I would love to see what the spam is escaping towards/escaping from. Can it free itself from the painting? Is it, in fact, actually-sized to a regular can of spam? What would it discover about this world it's escaped into.
+ Rogue Can of Spam Getting Up To Its Daily Life Still lifes, domestic scenes, interiors, landscapes...anything that just also happens to have a rogue can of spam in it as well would delight me basically forever.
+ Rogue Can of Spam, in a specific genre. A noir mystery, a hardboiled thriller, a soppy feel-good heartwarming story of friendship and forgiveness. Spam but medieval. Spam but in space.
+ I love crossovers for this fandom. A rogue can of spam gets loose in Among Us. The horrible goose from Untitled Goose Game encounters the spam. The spam in Monument Valley, or Journey, or Gris.
+ Casefic, with Actual Size as the stolen painting! I love art forgery and art heists. Instead of taking this painting as the canon, what if a forgery was found hanging in LACMA, and Ruscha's real Actual Size was nowhere to be found? The art thief/forger would obviously need to be caught! I’d love to read anything about this. (For example, a crossover with The Kiss would be amazing.)
+ Who is Edward Ruscha anyway? Actual Size is a self-portrait painted by the rogue can of spam. If you'd like to offer up any amount of wordcount of the Rogue Can of Spam narrating the artistic career it has had, I would be so thrilled.
Art Likes • • •
+ Many of the big 20th century art movements. Especially big favorites are cubism, Constructivism, De Stijl, Light and Space,
+ Pastiches of Edward Ruscha's other paintings, but now with a rogue can of spam on it.
+ Art that use text/typography in unusual ways.
+ Esoteric, geometric, and/or occult imagery, bonus points for artwork done in a limited palette! I love black, white (off-white or light beige), and gold artworks SO MUCH. It can be a hard style to describe, but you can find a bunch of it if you search for "geometric tattoo design". And for the visually inclined, here are some examples of this style: 1, 2, 3, 4
+ Artwork that uses surreal imagery to depict emotional states.
+ Shin Hanga-inspired scenes of domestic quietude.
+ A painting of a painter painting a painting! Go as meta as you’d like!
+ One of my fic prompts, but art. I love any and all styles that people can draw in, so don't worry if you don't want to concern yourself too much with stylistic experiments! I promise that I will love anything you might decide to art. :D
+ Comics. Something silly, or something serious; something experimental in style, or simple geometric shapes. I would love to see the Rogue Can of Spam going on a journey or a quest; or interacting with other artwork at a museum; or with the painter; or as a painter painting itself.
+ Warning Label or Sticker. Some art needs to come with a warning label! I love stickers that look like road signs, and dangerous/hazardous materials, and other kinds of iconic warning labels.
+ List of things (character) is not allowed to do. Rogue Cans of Spam often get themselves very banned from public places and museums alike!
+ Meta Infographic of made-up facts are one of my favorite things. Give a presentation on Actual Size and/or the Rogue Can of Spam with completely farcical facts? Yes, please! Tell me about how many crimes that can be attributed to the Rogue Can of Spam; how many attempts to escape that have been foiled; or give me a yarn about how the painting was stolen & recovered; totally fake stats for the number of people who leave actual cans of spam by the painting; or how many people hold up their hands next to the painting to pretend to be holding the can; or other kinds of (fake) data that tell me a little more about how you view the painting, or your reactions to it. What I'm not looking for are real facts...do not feel like you have to do ANY amount of research on this painting...unless that tickles you as well, and you think they'd make for a good story!
The War at Troy is a terrible place to discover love; it’s a much better place to discover dirtybadwrong sex.
General Likes
Homeric similes • The Battle at Troy • slice-of-life descriptions & illustrations • Red Figure Pottery • Badass Archery • Spoils of War • Competitions between the Acheans because you can’t always be fighting Troy • Teucer “canonical bastard” son of Telamon also being a bastard in the interpersonal sense too
Ancient Greek Religion & Lore-Specific DNWs
For this fandom, I have only two DNWs: Teucer dying & sexual situations involving anyone younger than 16. Otherwise, none of my other general DNWs apply. Go wild!
Prompts • • •
+ Archery competitions!. A fic that focuses on Teucer's archery, or some really cool feat that he pulled off… whether canon or completely made up, I’d love either!
+ Downtime during the Trojan war. Teucer and Ajax, or Teucer and Odysseus, or Teucer and (insert your Iliad fave here) just hanging out talking about the exploits.
Ship & Character-Specific Prompts • • • (click a box to expand!)
+ Ajax the Greater/Teucer Ajax and Teucer were both sons of Telamon, though Teucer was a bastard and illegitimate son. You could write any kind of backstory for them that you find plausible. Were they raised together? Separately? Did they know about each other when they were children, or did they only meet during the war. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for "they only met when they were both in Troy" narrative, because that makes for some juicy angst. But I leave those choices in your capable hands!
Prompts, if you'd like some!
+ Ajax/Teucer First time(s). I would love to see a fanwork that tackles Ajax and Teucer only becoming close/intimate while they are fighting together at Troy. Teucer uses Ajax’s great shield as protection during battle, and the other fighters, when they’re in need, think of Ajax and Teucer as a unit. You can’t have one without the other.
+ Any shippy tropes you can think of! Healing cock. Soulbonds. Fake relationship(s). Heats. Time travel. Journeying to the afterlife to save your lover.
+ Plot that is basically just porn setups! What if: Ajax got captured by Trojan soldiers who were outside of the city gates, and he was being held in a temple in a neighboring forest. Teucer having to come rescue him! Oh no, Ajax is blindfolded and tied up. What if Teucer decided to take advantage of this. I love masks, blindfolds, blind masks, bondage, identity play, deception, dubcon, and characters having sex under duress (that they come to enjoy as they are having it). I especially love it if Ajax is ashamed of/humiliated by his arousal. :D
+ Smut, as kinky as you’d like to go. Teucer’s had a close brush with death on the battlefield, and now Ajax is worked up. PWP is absolutely awesome. :D Smut likes: fight sex, rough sex, angry sex, destroying things during sex, anal sex, odd things being used as lube, frottage, handjobs, intercrural, all of the emotional baggage that Ancient Greek societies put on top/bottom roles, body worship, possessiveness, jealousy, Ajax attempting to humiliate Teucer for being a bastard, dirty talk, orgasm denial, impact play, knife play, breathplay/choking.
+ Sex Pollen, either dubcon or noncon. What doesn’t get fucked up when one of the Greek gods has a vendetta? Did Ajax accidentally violate a temple, or disrespect a god while he’s sacking Troy? Result: Ajax is sex pollen’d, and he’ll die if he doesn’t fuck someone. If you take this prompt in a noncon direction, I’d love the heck out of dubcon/noncon happening between Teucer and Ajax, rather than other characters.
+ Teucer son of Telamon Teucer being a badass archer during the Trojan War is one of my single favorite things in all of Western literature. I love anything to do with his archery, during battle, or when he's repairing his bow, or fletching arrorws, or as above: competing for prizes! I love all of the contests of strength versus skill to win a prize captured from Troy narratives that happen during the Iliad! I would love to have a series of events that are devised to go to the strongest, and then Teucer outsmarts his half-brother using Archery™.
Other prompt ideas:
+ Teucer returning home after the Trojan War, only to be banished for his half-brother’s death. A fic that focuses on Teucer’s life after Troy would be amazing. How does he deal with his grief over Ajax’s death, when he’s blamed for it?
+ Canon Divergence with a side-order of Major Character Death! What if: Ajax didn’t kill himself after he lost his mind and slaughtered the cattle? What if Agamemnon (or the Gods) tasked Teucer with killing his half-brother? BRING ON THE ANGST.
+ Any AU where Teucer is still an archer Seriously, as long as Teucer still shoots things with a bow, I’m golden.
Poetry Likes • • •
+ Alliteration. I love alliterative long line poetry from middle English.
+ Homeric similes.
+ If you enjoy the challenge of writing in meter, I enjoy epic meter (dactylic hexameter).
+ However, neither alliterative, nor epic meter is strictly required if you want to tackle poetry for me. I'm open to a range of poetic forms, as long as they capture narrative movement of some sort!
+ If you'd like to get a sense of what kind of poetry I like, The Shield of Achilles by W.H. Auden is one of my favorite poems.
Art Likes • • •
+ Red figure pottery. Black Figure Pottery is also rad!
+ Artwork that uses surreal imagery to depict emotional states.
+ E-rated art. Stylized pubic hair.
+ Tile mosaics.
+ Greek & Roman ornaments/border decorations.
+ Pillars! Crumbling or otherwise!
+ Kisses. Scenes of high emotion.
+ Hangin’ out with dick(s) out.
+ ARCHERY. Teucer with his bow. Teucer shooting his bow..
+ Teucer hiding behind Ajax’s shield during battle.
Temporary Character Death • dubcon • Fics with any rating from G to E • Art with any rating from G to E • halos & occult imagery • medieval art pastiche • illuminated manuscripts • black/white/gold color schemes • scheming & political backstabbing • friends to lovers • Arranged Marriages For Reasons Pertaining To Kingdom Stability • Fake/pretend relationships (that accidentally become real) • Everyone Lives AUs • canon divergence • hurt/comfort • characters trapped together in a cave, forest, icy plane, or other remote location separated from Arthur's courtt
Arthurian Mythology-Specific DNWs
For this fandom, I have only two DNWs: crossovers, and sexual situations where Galahad is younger than 16. Otherwise, none of my other general DNWs apply. Go wild!
Prompts • • •
+ Galahad is tormented by visions of the Grail. Galahad sees the Grail. Galahad really wants the Grail. In a religious way, he tells himself. He goes on a whole quest about it. Oh whoops, it's not in a religious way after all. Dream imagery, shared dreams, visions, hallucinations, altered states of consciousness, and allegorical explanations by hermits who are TRYING THEIR HARDEST to explain away that very horny dream Galahad had last night are all great.
+ Casefic. Ever since I read Idylls of the Queen by Phyllis Ann Karr, I've been absolutely thrilled by the idea of casefic, but in an Arthurian setting. Solving cases when you don't even know what fingerprints are?? Having to construct a murder investigation from first principles? Sign me the heck up. Having to consult Merlin for his knowledge about truth/guilt? Any one of those numerous Arthurian artifacts being used to determine truth? The Holy Grail being sought because Gawain thinks it can solve the crime of [someone's murder], and Galahad is like "sounds fake but okay"??
Basically anything would go for this! If you're into noirs, Galahad could be recast as the hard bitten detective, or the ingenue, or the homme fatal. If you like cozy mysteries, Galahad could make a great amateur sleuth or one of those party guests that ends up solving the murder by accident (because he was in the crucial place at the right time)! I love detective fiction/detective shows, and if you'd like to draw inspiration for your casefic from your fave show, I'd be excited to know what inspired you!!
The only two requests I have for this prompt is that it sticks to a quasi-historical/quasi-fantasy space that Arthuriana uses, and that, if you are drawing inspiration from another murder mystery canon, that you don't crossover with that canon (e.g. using bits of a Law & Order case for structure is great, but please don't have Detective Brisco show up in the fic).
+ Galahad finds the grail by accident, and now has to keep it hidden from other knights! Galahad is pretty sure that the Knights of the Round Table want the grail as some kind of token of their worthiness, but he's pretty sure the Grail is going to end up upsetting the balance of power. (The Grail quest is often located in a kind of squishy time between other well-known Arthurian events. If you want to set the Grail quest during Lancelot's break with the Court, or the war that Arthur and Gawain wage against Lancelot, that would be pretty interesting!!)
+ Smut. If you'd just like to write smut for these two (either for canon, or for recursive/remix), that would be incredible. Click the box below to read more.
More smut likes for this pairing, if you'd like some inspiration! In general, I'm down for anything that occurs in these canons and I always enjoy characters experiencing a complicated emotional journey DURING smut, but they're on-board with everything by the end.
🞑 Any form you might want the Grail to take
🞑 Possession (consenual or not) leading to sex (or masturbation, if the Grail is possessing Galahad)
🞑 Dream or allegorical vision sex
🞑 Virgin/more experienced partner
🞑 Fight for characters' lives turns into frantic sex
🞑 Honor bondage, armor being used to restrain a character during sex
🞑 Blind masks or blindfolds
🞑 Anonymous sex with a partner whose identity they don't know
🞑 Identity reveal during sex (e.g. one character discovers who the other is WHILE they're having sex with them and being pretty fucked up about it :D :D :D)
🞑 Semi-public sex, ritual sex (on altars or in churches/temples)
🞑 Characters using their powers during sex
🞑 Frottage, handjobs, intercrural
🞑 Under or non-negotiated kink
Art Likes • • •
+ Gettin’ smooches. Galahad smooching the Grail. The Grail smooching Galahad. Galahad on his knees before the Grail.
+ Rota Fortunae. Depiction of Galahad & the Grail's fortunes on the wheel. Galahad in his various states of pining and/or finally achieving the Grail. (There are some lovely examples of classic wheels of fortune on Wikipedia. Also while they're not, strictly speaking, related, I love the semi-circular calendars in Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Those rich blues, my god. ;-;)
+ Klimt pastiches of all kinds! Art Nouveau and Symbolist touches and flourishes are amazing!
+ The Holy Grail as an odalisque. This could be fun for the canonical Holy Grail, or the Grail from Uncrowned.
+ Clinches. Characters being embraced from behind dramatically :O!
+ Shin Hanga-inspired scenes of domestic quietude.
+ Gold. Gold foil. Gold leaf. Interference gold. Gold of all types. Yellows, oranges, golds, are a favorite, especially when combined with violets & magentas! White/black/gold color palettes are RAD.
+ Jewelry. JEWELRY, gems, other bejeweled objects.
+ Religious, occult, or tarot-inspired imagery. I really love imagery like wings, halos, invictus crowns, symbolic haloes of daggers, glow-y things, drippy gold or drippy black details. Chonky gold halos, those incredibly thin floating da Vinci-esque halos, and spiky baroque halos are equally lovely!!! ❤
Some Opt-In Prompts & Likes • • •
+ Coat of Arms. Galahad has a canonical set of arms, a red cross on a white shield. What if Galahad received a new coat of arms upon achieving the Grail/becoming The Grail Knight? Matching coat of arms :D?
+ Fanmix. Mixes that are ship-focused, or story-focused are equally neat! My musical tastes lean towards ebm, industrial metal, synthpop, darkwave, orchestral soundtracks (esp. for fantasy & sci-fi films), new wave, new romantic, indie rock, pagan rock, underground hip hip, trip hop and all of the different musical styles that sometimes get classed under "alternative" or "electronic". I enjoy a good WUB WUB WUB song with a driving rhythm or a catchy hook.
Some fave artists include Starcadian, Torul, Jesper Kyd, Dead Can Dance, Nine Inch Nails, Saint Mesa, Joywave, The Fjords. I also love discovering new groups, genres, and songs. The genre that I'm pickiest about is country; there's just a lot in there that's not to my taste.
If you'd like to scope out my past playlists to get a feel for what I might like, you can find Uncrowned on Kryptontease and a few older playlists on my main (TKodami).
+ Recursive/Remix Fic or Art. I've created one work for this pairing, Uncrowned, and I'd love to see recursive fic or art, or a fic remix of this playlist+liner notes. Click on the box below to expand more prompts!
Some prompts & ideas for Uncrowned!
+ The smut that is elided in Uncrowned thanks to the modesty of the narrating knight, what if it...wasn't? :D :D :D
+ The Holy Grail having sexy visions of him/Galahad before they ever meet? :D
+ A zoom in on one of the shippy scenes between The Holy Grail/Galahad. An extended hurt/comfort scene where Galahad is being tended to by the Pale Knight would be incredible.
+ What if Galahad HAD seen the Grail (the shiny cup version) in Arthur's court, and was tormented by sexy visions as one does in Arthurian fiction and had to be the one who wandered through the forest blindfolded instead of Perceval?
+ Something inspired by any of my likes! I'm a fan of plotty works, as well as slice-of-life, and PWP.
+ Even More Likes: religious imagery; characters grappling with their faith/religion/sense of morality or lack thereof esp. vis-a-vis with whom they've chosen to lay their affections; churches and temples; religious allegory; dream allegory; seduction; thievery/shenanigans as seduction; pre-slash; get-togethers; established relationship fic; discovering the limits of fate/free will; characters having prophesies about them, and not reacting well to it; quiet moments between lovers; mild/light body horror
+ Isometric Rooms/Cityscapes. Isometric Camelot? Castle Corbenic? A little isometric glade, where Galahad finds the Grail? The Seige Perilous?? There are so many lovely locations to pick from, and I'd dig them all. ❤
+ Mandala. ROUND ARTS ROUND ARTS ROUND ARTS Using the medieval wheel calendar for inspiration, or a TO-map or anything that can be inscribed into a wheel. I'd love to see a medieval manuscript inspired mandala!! But I basically love eeeeverything about mandalas and art with radial symmetry, so feel free to follow your own ideas!!
+ Tarot Card. Cards for Galahad and the Grail. Galahad undergoing the Fool's Journey? Or Galahad as the Magician? Galahad looking FOINE as a cup bearer. >:Dc. The Grail in the suit of Cups, or as The Hermit. Them together as the Lovers, or on the Wheel of Fortune?? There are so many fun directions to take these tarot ideas!
The Rider-Waite-Smith deck is a wonderful source for tarot imagery, and I've recently come to love Labyrinthos's deck designs. I love new takes on familiar tarot imagery. And I also love minimal tarot decks (like this one!).
More tarot likes include Dragon Age-inspired Tarot artwork, geometric and esoteric symbols. Artwork that uses surreal imagery to depict emotional states. If you have other decks that inspire you, please feel free to use them!
+ TTRPG rules. One (or two) page RPG of the Grail quest? Or Galahad trying to prove his worthiness to the Grail? Or the Grail trying to locate Galahad?? YES PLEASE! If you make one, I will adore it!! I enjoy single player and two player games the most, since they're the quickest to pick up and play!
If you're looking for inspiration for quick game mechanics, Dungeons and Business Cards is wonderful for a location-based quest game. Bookstore has a really fun mechanic for "I'm trying to quest here" and then you keep getting derailed by other concerns!! I'm also a huge sucker for shippy RPGs, like Gay For the Pirate King.
If "so this is where I've chosen to lay my affection" was a canon
General Likes
Uniforms • heists & mission fic • slice-of-life descriptions & illustrations • drawings & descriptions of rooms, labs, towers, and other locations • Max's past crimes • Hexbeat's past crimes • the social side of being a supervillain • identity porn, identity play and identity reveals • get-together fic • Happy or at least hopeful endings • Babbage • Warden Tower
His Greatest Adversary Yet-Specific DNWs
Requested characters dying permanently, downer endings, no powers AUs
Prompts • • •
+ Coffee Date! How will Joseph conceal his identity from EVERYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET (or at least from this rooftop bar) so he can have a casual date with Max? What the heck is Joseph going to say to Max once he confronts him, knowing he's Doctor Nowhere?
+ Casefic. How I love nothing more than cases or crimes and the supervillains that cause them and the superheroes that try to solve them. I'd adore some casefic or mission fic for this canon, possibly set before His Greatest Adversary Yet. I love characters crossing paths before they officially "meet" in canon, even if they don't come face-to-face. What if one of Hexbeast & Max's early heists had been of sensitive scientific equipment that got the Wardens on their case? What if Joseph thought he was going to solve an easy case during some of his downtime, only to end up stumped at the end? (I enjoy canon divergence and AUs in addition to canon-compliant fic, so if want to have Max and Joseph meet, that would be amazing.)
+ Any idea that you have for this canon. If there are other tantalizing details that you'd like to pull out of the story, I'd be thrilled to know more about them/see art of them! Like we get all of these mentions of stuff happening in space, but it seems so far-off and remote to the average citizen. And then, bam, a space ship shows up to steal the Pacific Ocean. I'd love to see snippets, scenes, comics, or artworks of Joseph and/or Max reacting to these crises and/or saving the day, as the case may be!
Character & Ship-Specific Prompts • • • (click a box to expand!)
+ Maxwell Missing/Joseph Nayar.
Yes, hello, I would like to introduce you to Maxwell Missing/Joseph Nayar. Joseph Nayar is the Beacon, a retired superhero who has left the whole world guessing what happened to him when he suddenly disappears. He's like Captain America and Superman all rolled up into one. He can project barriers and walls in various shapes, and so far, has never met a match for his powers. Maxwell Missing is the bank robber who can walk through walls and almost bested the Beacon, one time. They're not nemeses. Max is pretty clear on that. Except for the part where he built a gun just to kill the Beacon, should they ever meet again.
Except they DO meet again. And it goes wildly different than Max could have ever expected.
I love this ship, and want the best things for them. I would enjoy shipfic or gen fic for Joseph and Max. I'd love to read basically anything you'd like to write about them and any and all art you might like to make of them.
I've given some specific prompts up above with accord with canon, but I'm also 100% down for tropey superhero nonsense. Fake dating! Joseph returns to the Wardens and now has to keep his relationship with Doctor Nowhere a secret! Supervillains saving their favorite superheroes! Maxwell Missing going to a welcome-back soiree thrown in honor of The Beacon and them running off to neck in the closet! Maxwell Missing infiltrating the Wardens? Or DEXA?
If you want to give me a remix on canon, that would be lovely too. What if Max and Joseph had met under different circumstances? What if they'd met earlier in their careers? WHAT IF TIME TRAVEL?? I'm here for all of it.
Possible Prompts:
+ Conspiracy Boards. What if, when Max was snooping around Joseph's house, he found a conspiracy board that was trying to track down Doctor Nowhere's identity? How would that have played out? Would Max have tried to plant false leads? Or perhaps be incensed if Joseph was attributing crimes to him that he didn't commit/overlooking the ones that he did?
+ Canon divergence What if Joseph and Max's first confrontation had ended--not in a maze to a sleeping-gas grenade--but to Joseph himself? What if Joseph had decided to retire because he had an inadvisable hookup with a supervillain who's face he never saw?
+ Coffee date but with an Identity Porn swerve! Joseph does NOT know that Max is Doctor Nowhere when he offers to see him at the Watchtower. What the hell happens if Joseph finds out when they're literally out on the town together, and a minor supervillain crashes their fun?
+ Maxwell Missing. So we get to see Max's crisis of (sexuality, supervillainness?, his own ability to hold a conversation??) in canon, but we don't get to see much of his history prior to this revelation. What drove Max to crime? Why did he choose crime over literally anything else? I'd love to hear more about his thoughts on The Deep, or what he'd like to do when he's there. Dream narratives are amazing.
I'm also a huge sucker for crafting. Wanna just show us what Max is making in his underground lair? I'm all for it. I love schematics, drawings of item collections, drawings of a workbench, plans or sketches or fully rendered interiors. You name it. I'd love to see more of Max's world!
+ Joseph Nayar. Give me any and/or all of those little vignettes about his life. His big save from the tsunami. Character studies of him with his adoptive brother & sister. A mission of him leading the Wardens. What made him so goddamn successful for 30ish years? I want to see more of that. Or, heck, something much more domestic! Joseph Nayar was a quasi-military man for three decades of his life. Max saw all of the tell-tale signs of a man who doesn't know what to do with his life now that he's "retired". So tell me all about it, if you want! I love slice of life domestic fic. I'd also just love to see where Joseph is living. I'm such a fan of modern architecture. I'd love to get a glimpse inside of his cabin. See the things on his desk(s) or lack thereof. See his pottery experiments.
The very unsuccessful identity stuff that Joseph is attempting...I'd love to see him try to meet up with a pottery group. It would probably have to be a VERY murky setting. Or maybe, some really thick sunglasses. xD
And if you want to serve me up Joseph riled up from his meeting with Max, I'd love to see what the heck he got up to before he received Max's call. Sad/angry/frustrated masturbating? Yes please. :D :D :D
Possible Prompts:
+ Temporary De-powering! What if Joseph's retirement had been caused by a temporary loss of his powers? How would his six months in solitude have looked differently? I love narratives about superheroes trying to regain their powers, especially if they don't quite understand the source of where their power comes from.
+ Hexbeast doesn't get the hugest amount of screentime in canon (okay, we only get a couple mentions of her), but she has such an outsized influence on my enjoyment of His Greatest Adversary Yet. She's one of those tantalizing characters that exists mostly as worldbuilding. I'd love to have her backstory explored, if you're down for it!
Possible Prompts:
+ Pre-canon heist(s). Hexbeast and Max and Mercury Man got up to some shit prior to canon, of that I am sure. Anything about their pre-canon crimes would be great!.
+ Attending crime soirees. One of my favorite things about superhero media is those ever-present parties, charity balls, soirees, dos, dedications and all of the other kinds of parties that get thrown. So what if those, but for the supervillain world? What would a supervillain social calendar even look like? Does Hexbeast score the invites to a supervillain showing off their latest Warden-thwarting piece of technology? Please, write me anything about this.
Art Likes • • •
+ Tarot or Oracle Card-inspired artworks. This is such a fun trend in Dragon Age: Inquisition art, and this would be RAD AS HELL here.
+ Faves in knitwear. Sweaters. Ugly sweaters. Cozy Sweaters. Christmas Sweaters. Fair Isle Sweaters. Yeah, idk, I just love characters in knitted or crocheted items. If you're familiar with any of the images that were being shared in the #cursed channel on the We Die Like Fen Discord, that's exactly my jam. If you weren't there, here is a sampling: 1, 2, 3, 4.
+ E-rated artwork. Anything involving any of my smut likes would be amazing.
+ Princess carry poses. Joseph rescuing Max? Max rescuing Joseph??
+ Joseph's blue glowing barriers.
+ the DEEP :D
+ TRAINING MONTAGE. Max doing parkour! Hexbeast slapping things with her tentacles! How does Joseph get in shape?? Superhero/supervillain training montages are awesome.
+ Hexbeast's scribbly neon eyes that float around her. Seriously, she is so cool. I'd love to see some character art of Hexbeast (tentacles visible or not is up to you!)
+ Isometric interiors of canon locations (drawn, voxels, 3D--however you'd like to make 'em!) I would love to see the interior of Joseph's cabin in the woods; or Max's fancy abandoned subway hideout. Maybe a section of Warden Tower? It's described as being very art-deco-y, and I'd love to see more of it!
Some Opt-In Ideas • • •
+ Any In-Universe Documents That Fit The Setting. I'm so hungry for worldbuilding details. Want to make mission reports, or complaint forms for the Wardens? In-universe magazine spreads during the frenzy of speculation about what happened to the Blue Beacon? Tabloid stories about the Beacon and what he's been up to? Please feel free to go wild!
+ Conspiracy Board. Joseph's conspiracy board about Doctor Nowhere's identity or crimes? Max's conspiracy board about what DEXA is doing with its Joseph-replacements. Some other fan's conspiracy board about Hexbeast's & Max's heists. An in-universe celeb watcher who TOTALLY knows what's happened to Joseph that none of the other networks would report??? There are so many possibilities in this setting. A superhero universe practically begs for weird, pet theories! Feel free to get as bizarre as you'd like.
+ Costume Design. A labcoat-inspired costume for Max, perhaps? Or a very trim tunic-like costume for Joseph? We get some descriptions about what they look like in canon, but I'd love to see the villain and/or hero aesthetic realized on the page!
+ In-Universe Infographic. Infographics about Joseph's superheroing career, or infographics about the crimes/disasters that the Wardens have averted during and after Joseph's leadership of the Wardens. Infographics about crime committed in the city? Where DOES all of Max's money end up. I'm not saying that Max would be vain enough to make infographics about his own crimes, but, well, he sure does have a lot of free time. xD
+ Maps that characters might have drawn at various points in canon. Maps to Joseph's "grave"; Map to or of Echo Lake, with helpful annotations. Maps from one of Hexbeast's heists. Max drawing a map of how he commits a crime. Serious, funny, silly maps are all welcome.
+ Playing Card. Warden themed playing cards? Villains and Superheroes as suits? I adore playing card design, so I'd be curious to see which cards you see each character as.
+ TTRPG rules. There are SO many options for a one or two-paged TTRPG set in His Greatest Adversary Yet. A heist-based game for Max & Hexbeast. What are they trying to heist? Money? Scientific equipment? Exotic matter?? Or, perhaps, Max breaking into Warden Tower.
For a shippy RPGs, maybe a duelling brunch based RPG where Max and Joseph are both trying to prepare for brunch, and stuff just keeps cropping up. Or an encounter-based RPG about their first meeting (the fight where Joseph traps Max in his maze) or their second meeting (Max lying very poorly outside of Joseph's cabin). Little turn-based map games geared towards easy combat or deception mechanics would be great. Oh no, what happens when they're brunching and Joseph catches Max out in his lies?? :D
NOTE ABOUT DNWs: for TTRPGs, I don't consider bad or sad possible endings in a game a "downer ending" if I can ultimately arrive at a happy one through multiple plays! Please feel free to pile on bad/sad possible outcomes if it makes for a fun game!
+ Weapon Schematics. Schematics to Max's phase educer. He sure went through a lot of trouble to make a weapon to kill the Beacon. I wonder what the annotations would look like on the schematics, before Max understood just how thirsty he was for him.
If you simply put your eyebrows together, you can solve any murder.
General Likes
crime solving • puzzles • slice-of-life descriptions & illustrations • gentle sunsets • pixel, voxel, hexel & isometric artworks • characters sitting together watching the sky • phases of the moon • Sunday dates • tarot & sacred geometry
Murdle-Specific DNWs
requested characters dying permanently
Prompts • • •
+ Duelling/Tandem case-solving. Logico doesn't seem to like to solve murders with a partner, but what if Irratino and Logico were solving a crime at the same time in their own particular style? I love alternating POV stories; and I also love when one character's POV challenges what we just learned from a different character.
+ Turning up in the oddest places. Irratino was (at least on one occasion) found under the cushion of a velvet seat. What is this dude up to. I'd love to see him popping out of the weirdest places.
+ Notebook feels. Before the update that put a notebook on the front page, Logico couldn't seem to look at clues AND use his notebook at the same time. Art/fic/other mediums that explore Logico's fraught relationship with his notebook would crack me up a ton. (Especially an artwork of Logico just jamming that notebook right up into his face while he's at a crime scene.)
+ Casefic! Any of the cases expanded into fic-form. Possibly with Logico having to hit up Irratino for hints? Or a quickie in some out-of-the-way location.
+ Irratino really died this time. Oh no. What happens when Logico encounters Irratino's ghost/resurrected person? Feel free to go angsty, or cracky, or somewhere between the two. but please keep in mind that I DNW Logico or Irratino dying permanently.
+ Sketching the moon. Logico returns from an emotional day of solving his friend, antagonist and rival's murder, only to find him alive and sketching the moon on his doorstep. Is Irratino sketching on a sketchbook?? A pocket journal?? Logico's actual door?? How much of a feral occultist is Irratino, exactly???
+ Get togethers. How did they get together the first time? What tipped them over from rivals to lovers?
+ Established (?) relationship. An occultist fakes his death once a week to hit on a detective. What could be more romantic than that :D? (Does Logico ever start dressing up for these fake murder dates? Does he expect them? Is he broken up about them? What the heck is going through his mind about them. Seeing Logico kind of holding back his sadness, yes, good, 100%.)
+ Good ole fashioned rival sex. The more peeved with each other, the better. :D
Art Likes • • •
+ All kinds of art styles, from sharpies on napkins to oils on canvas. I'd especially love to see these characters in your style!
(If you want to draw Irratino and Logico without having to make a lot of decisions about what they look like, I enjoy all manner of abstract art; art where the character's faces never appear; art where the characters are using emojis as face masks; characters whose faces are always in shadow; art where characters are only seen in silhouette; art where the characters are kind of abstract person-shaped blobs or stick figures.)
+ Art that use text/typography in unusual ways. I also just dig the type design of the banner, and the design of the Murdle site. The character portraits are wonderful! Incorporating text into an artwork would be amazing.
+ Abstract art. My tastes run towards canon-typical abstract art for this fandom, but please feel free to explore other kinds of abstract art like De Stijl and color field pieces.
+ Characters staring into a beautiful sunset.
+ Color palettes from the character portraits & the Attic; limited color palettes.
+ Small character moments from the Sunday murdle endings.
+ Artworks where you play around with time/space/viewer expectations. Where's Waldo, Murdle edition? I'm into it!
+ Marot inspired art.
+ Art styles reminiscent of Monument Valley, Land's End, Gris. If you want to try out these styles, I'd be so thrilled to receive something like this!
+ Notebooks and sketchbooks. Logico solving the Case Of The Stolen Heart (it's his heart that's been stolen, oh no! :D) Heart Doodles in his notebook as he's puzzling out a crime?
Some Opt-In Prompts & Likes • • •
Note for opt-ins: please don't worry about making opt-ins shippy enough, I've got my shipping goggles firmly welded to my face for this pairing.
+ Coat of Arms. Maybe Logico and Irratino get knighted for their tireless work solving crimes. What would their crests look like? I love armorials, where the crest is presented with the person's name (or other information) in a book. Other possibilities: what about that secret society that Logico appears to be a part of? Irratino may or may not belong to any occult societies, but it would be fun if he was a part of one! Do Logico and Irratino have SECRET SOCIETY coats of arms for their SECRET MEMBERSHIP? (What if they get a combined set of arms post-uh-marriage, which is definitely a statue somewhere. After the 100th faking-your-death incident, them's the rules.
+ Isometric Rooms/Cityscapes and Location Interior Design. New murder locations & Reinterpretations of canon murder locations are equally amazing!! Have you ever wanted to try drawing a murder location like an actualfax game level? I'd love to see it!
+ Emojis. Murdle uses colored out emojis for its weapons/locations/suspects, and some of the emojis end up having really odd silhouettes. I'd love to see your take on emojis for your canon faves, or for Logico & Irratino. Limited palette emojis are great, and using colors drawn from the game are great (for suspects). I'm also super-into Logico and Irratino emojis of their important emotions (eyebrows, being dead every weekend, crime, crime-solving, clue-searching, card-drawing, etc).
+ Maps. What do Murdle locations look like from a bird’s eye view? Any style of map would be amazing. World maps. Isometric maps. Super Mario World pastiche maps. Explorer Maps. Allegorical Maps. Treasure Maps. An in-universe style map.
+ Infographics. Irratino always fakes his death at the high-end international rich people prison on Sundays. In essence, he frames people for his fake death to flirt (?) with Logico. What is even going on in his head? I've love to see his mental flowcharts/maps about how this is supposed to work.
+ Tarot Cards, Lenormand or Oracle Card-inspired artworks. This is such a fun trend in Dragon Age: Inquisition art, and this would be RAD AS HELL here. I love Labyrinthos's decks and how they spark off Murdle's minimal/abstract aesthetic. Minimal or maximal art would be amazing, as would recasting different murder locations (or murder weapons!) as different Tarot cards. (The Waters of the Nile as The Tower????)
+ TTRPG rules. One (or two) page RPG of Murdle? That would be incredible! Solving crimes with RPG rules sounds like fun; playing as Logico or Irratino trying to solve a case before the other cracks it would be tremendous! If you wanted to recreate Clue in miniature, and Murdle-themed, that would be boss as hell. If you have other thoughts, I love so many one page RPGs--I know I will love whatever you make. If you're looking for inspiration for quick game mechanics, Lasers and Feelings has a nice balance of worldbuilding and mechanics. I'm also a huge sucker for shippy RPGs, like Gay For the Pirate King
+ Typeface Design. A font like murdle's banner :D?
You challenge every expectation I had about the world...
General Likes
Adventures & quests • Slice-of-life descriptions & illustrations • Rivalries (professional, personal, and religious) • Identity play • Badass Archery • Enemies-to-lovers • Quick Sexual Intimacy contrasted with Slow Emotional Intimacy • Spoils of War • (friendly-ish) Competitions between characters • Solving Supernatural Cases
Original Work Ships-Specific DNWs
sad/unhappy endings; requested characters dying permanently; miscommunication plots leading to accusations of cheating/infidelity/breakups between requested characters.
General Prompts • • •
+ Confronting an enemy/rival! Someone gets stranded out-of-time, and they have to find their way back home. I enjoy quests to return home, adventures in far-away times or places, and general wonderment (and fear) that such a journey might create.
+ Wainscot Fantasy! The world is more magical and unusual that the one that we come from, and all of this information is kept as secret as possible. No one actually expects to encounter the supernatural/divine/magic creatures until they actually do. That’s when the trouble starts… What I enjoy the most about wainscot settings is when one character thinks they know what the world is like, and then get proven that the world is infinitely more complex, weird, frightening and amazing than they’d thought.
+ Trapped in an castle/magic forest/cave/whatever location is most appropriate for the pairing. I love “trapped in an x” types of fics. Whether the area they’re trapped in is small (like an elevator or cave) or it’s magical (magic forest), or it’s being trapped by obligation (the castle, or a peace talk for a new king)... I like when one half of the ship is forced to contend with the other half, and their relationship maybe grows faster or quicker or more intense than it otherwise would have.
+ Pining! Pining narratives are fantastic, especially when it’s mutual. (And especially when it seems to the perspective character that their affection could never be returned for a host of very good, and very detailed reasons… that are pretty much not true, because the other half of the ship is pining right back.)
+ Miscommunications. I enjoy miscommunications plotlines! I enjoy plotlines when a five minute conversation would clear up a whole host of issues, but characters are too embarrassed/politically compromised/their jobs are too important/their worldview depends on them not asking or saying what they need. Generally the type of miscommunications that I’m into are bad assumptions made about the other person’s emotional state, e.g. “we had sex, and I’m sure he didn’t enjoy it!” I’m here for the full gamut of miscommunication-type foibles, but please avoid the miscommunication DNW I have.
+ Bestiary. So many of these requested pairings have supernatural origins/creatures in them. I love compendiums of creatures, with or without pictures. And I'd love to see a shippy take on the bestiary. The Fallen Angel sending the Knight a document of the denizens of hell, because he keeps rescuing assholes that try to kill him? The Ronin spends his days in the forest making sketches & classifying the tengu, to try to find the one that he remembers from years ago? The Fake Psychic is scribbling down the cosmic horrors that the supernatural being in the tarot desk in showing them? Feel free to include marginalia where the characters talk to each other, if you wish!
Ship-Specific Prompts • • • (click a ship to expand!)
+ Devout Knight/Fallen Angel He Accidentally Rescues. A knight is returning to his home after time away fighting in another realm. He rescues someone who he sees stuck in a fairly mundane problem, and thinks nothing of it… until he sees the enormous incorporeal wings yawning behind them.
Or a more Arthurian twist: a knight prays for salvation (and his soul) on the way to achieve the grail. Before he reaches the grail castle, he comes across a strange tableau of an angel in chains-- which he assumes is a hallucination or a heavenly trial. He unchains the angel … only to discover that whoops, no, that wasn’t a trial. That was a fallen angel he just rescued.
What I love about this pairing is a believer meeting things that they believed was evil, forbidden, wrong… and then having to contend with his worldview being incongruent with what he meets. I also love cosmic entities/angels that are confined in physical bodies that they might not completely understand or like.
I don’t have any expectations about whether the fallen angel is good, bad, evil, chaotic, cranky, a bastard, scheming, friendly, whatever! I have loved all permutations of fallen angels that I’ve encountered. Some fallen angels I’ve enjoyed have been those in Constantine, Supernatural, Lucifer, Gabriel (2007), The Prophecy.
If you’d like tropey prompts, consider:
+ A knight rescues a fallen angel. By angelic custom, they’re now married.
+ The knight is trying to prove himself worthy. He rescues everyone who asks his help. Someone bids for his help, and he agrees before he knows what he’s agreed to. Next thing he knows, he’s in hell/a fantasy realm, having to fight his way to free his charge.
+ Accidental soulbond. After rescuing the fallen angel, the angel departs--only to discover that they now know whenever the knight is in danger, and feel the pull to go rescue him before it's too late.
+ Questing Knight/King Cursed to Be Made of Glass A new king takes the throne, and he’s immediately cursed by a rival (another ruler who he'd offended in his youth? a jealous rival for the throne? a brother who wants the new king's reign to be short?). The king's advisors urge him to respond, but how bad can one little curse be, really?
The dynamic that I'm excited for in this prompt is the knight and the king not being able to touch each other. Whether the king is glass all of the time, some of the time, or progressively becoming glass is up to you. I'd be excited by the king being untouchable, or that the glass curse will kill him when it reaches his heart/head or any number of body horror permutations that you can think up.
I’d love to see a tropey take on this pairing, if you’re game for it!
Some possible prompts:
+ Questing knight arrives at the court, and everyone celebrates because they think he's there to break the curse. The knight already has another quest! He has no such plans to de-curse the king.
+ The king has to set out on a quest to rid himself of the curse. While he's in disguise on the road, he encounters the questing knight. Identity play, Enemies(or rivals)-to-lovers, sharing a bed, touch-starved, or other kinds of dynamics where the knight and king can't touch would be amazing.
+ Exchanging gifts. I love if you borrowed the gift-swapping game from Gawain and the Green Knight. The knight and the king promise to swap gifts for whatever they receive during the day. Does the game go well? Or are the gifts so insulting, it results in weird fallout, and the knight has to marry the new king to compensate for his actions.
+ A slow burn direction would be fantastic too! The questing knight traveling far and wide to break the curse, only to return with the turn of the seasons...before he sets out again. Maybe he only sees the king at major tournaments, or festival days, and the relationship between them grows as the king recognizes that the knight will never give up hope of lifting the curse.
+ A quest but metaphorical. I've been positing the kinds of quests that involve the knight traveling to far-flung places, but what if the curse-breaking (and the questing) are mental? Or on a dreamscape? Or confined to the library? Or other kinds of journies that are more metaphorical and literal. I'd love to have the king and knight under the same roof, and watching their romance spark.
Historical settings, fantasy settings, secondary world settings are all pretty great. A medieval/Arthurian flavor is always appreciated, if you have similar tastes, but I also equally love Renaissance & Early Modern settings. Victorian settings. Fantasy settings that encapsulate what you enjoy about fantasy, and gets rid of that pesky problem of historical research are also very appreciated. For this prompt, I'm not so keen about space/sci-fi settings, but I suppose I could be talked around if there's a lot of flowing robes and pomp & circumstance!
If you have entirely different ideas for why the king is cursed, I'd love to hear your take on this prompt. Please draw from your own interests if you've already gotten some clever ideas.
+ Horny Artwork in a Haunted Church/Male Exorcist
I really, really love exorcists. And I'm extremely down for the Horny Artwork to get some.
I'm thrilled by any backstory you'd like to invent for the horny artwork. Did someone commission the horny artwork in the church, or did the artwork itself become horny having to spend so many years hanging around celibate priests? What kind of shape is the exorcist’s faith in, given these goings on – has he ever dealt with the supernatural (and/or a real demon before)? What's causing the haunting? Is it a ghost, a demon, or is the artwork itself cursed? What are the manifestations of this haunting?
(If the horny artwork is being haunted by a ghost or demon, I wouldn't mind you making this a backdoor into another exorcist/demon ship. I just want any entanglement that happens between the horny artwork (or the being haunting it) to eventually be consensual, even if it starts out rather dubiously so.)
I love all permutations of how this ship could happen: initially fearful/hostile interactions that become respect/affection/sex. Or, the exorcist and the demon don't like or understand each other but have to work together anyway, because they both agree that the demon needs to get back to hell.
I enjoy scenes where something Obviously Supernatural is going down (and the exorcist can tell that something that isn't right is happening), but the person they're reading for is completely obvious to the Supernatural Things happening.
Temporary character death/resurrection is a big YES from me for this prompt, if you want to head in that direction. Here are some short ideas that I'd like to throw out there as prompts:
+ Horny artwork starts sending dire warnings to the exorcist while he is reviewing the church. They've maybe never seen a real haunting before, so usually they barely pay attention to what "supernatural" things are going on. But...it starts to get unsettling enough that the exorcist is paying attention. (Bonus points if it's a priest or paritioner that notices the warnings first!)
+ The exorcist is gung-ho about destroying haunted church because it's HOPELESS and EVIL, and then has no idea what to when he realizes that the horny artwork just seems like him, except its demonic instead of heavenly.
+ The exorcist struggles with an attraction to the entity possessing the horny artwork, after he realizes that the ghost/demon saved him once before.
Some Extra Likes for this pairing:
Sympathetic monsters/villains
Death wishes or otherwise reckless behaviour
Suppression of emotion & shame
Characters being assholes because they don't know how to process their own trauma/emotions/feelings
Characters that have a great chemistry, whether it's romantic or antagonistic or friendly, so long as they get under each other's skin
Bondage; consensual sexual violence and pain; fight-fucking. Fighting that was supposed to be fighting and then became fucking. Choking. Breathplay.
Religious kinks about wrestling with desire vs. a vow of chastity that come into play if the exorcist is a priest.
The horny artwork manifests physically to the fake psychic as a character from the artwork.
The horny artwork manifests physically to the fake psychic as a character from the painting to warn the psychic of another, hostile entity also manifesting. The psychic is worried. (Also, horny artwork, how is this helping if you're just going to be incredibly hot and distracting??)
+ Ronin/Bored Tengu.
I love this pairing mainly based on this woodblock print of Kintaro being thwarted by some Tengu who are hidden up a tree. Tengu are demons that have all kinds of guises. I love the large, monstrous bird version of tengu, but I'm here for any ideas that you may have about their appearance. I am interested in any kind of tengu, or you to borrow any details from popular folk tales. I am most delighted by tengu that are overcome by their curiosity and are easily deceived by people.
In certain folkloric practice, there's a distinction between good vs. bad tengu. I leave it in your hands to decide which to write about. My favorite kinds of characters tend to be anti-heroes, or characters that defy easy classification as good or bad (usually because they do "bad" things towards a good or neutral or selfish purpose). I greatly enjoy redemption arcs. So if you wanted to write about a "bad" tengu who comes around to being less of an asshole, or to trying to be good over the course of your fic, I'd be delighted! I also enjoy arcs where a "good" character is seduced to break their vows, so I'd love to see a "bad" tengu in a plotline where a ronin is being tempted to give up his code of honor.
I'd be delighted if you wanted to set your fic in a historical era of Japan, but I'm also open to modern settings, and fantasy/sci-fi settings that are vaguely inflected by Japanese culture & customs.
Here are some prompts, which you're free to take all or only part of:
+ A tengu decides to (or gets tricked into a barter where he has to) seduce a ronin passing through a nearby village. To win the bet, and thus win an object it desires, a tengu has to do its level best to seduce a ronin into bed. The tengu is really not great at mimicking human courtship rituals, but he'll keep trying until the ronin has passed through the area and out of the tengu's sphere of influence. It would be amazing if the tengu, after being rebuffed, forgets the bet and is now focused on FUCKING THE RONIN. How many different ways does a tengu have to plead to get laid around here?
+ A ronin has been hired to defend a remote village against a tengu's shenanigans. The villagers importune the ronin--and manage to scrape together the money to hire him. The ronin arrives, ready to defending the village from an earthly foe...only to find out that the village's problems are supernatural. The ronin is stumped, but he was hired to do a job and he's not going to go back on his word.
+ In disguise as a priest. A caravan of pilgrims and priests hires a ronin to escort them to a holy site. The ronin agrees... and discovers that night after night, new troubles befall the caravan. The ronin lays a trap, only to discover one night that he's captured one of the priests in it. How much should he trust this priest? If he discovers the priest is a tengu, will the ronin keep his secret? Why does the tengu want to go to this holy site anyway?
+ Possession. Some tengu can possess human bodies, toward what end, remains up to the tengu's knowledge. A nobleman has been possessed, and his worried family has summoned a priest on the sly to try to rid him of this bad influence. A ronin is escorting a buddhist monk to the nobleman's estate...he is there to protect the priest, and nothing more. Except when he arrives at the estate, he finds himself immediately drawn into intrigues with the possessed nobleman. The ronin is torn between leaving (and violating his oath to the priest) and the strange attraction he feels to the tengu.
+ Church Painter Who May Be the Devil/Village Priest
This pairing seems to me to be all about a holy man being tempted either by his own desires or by an external force. I love the idea of a painter being hired by someone (someone in the parish? The Archbishop? The patron of the church?) to create something for the priest's church. Is the work the painter makes so lovely/disturbing/haunting that it leads the priest into sin? For this prompt, I'd enjoy reading about a religious man struggling to reconcile his desire with his faith. He can blame the desire on outside forces (the devil, his own mortal weakness, original sin, the object of his desire) but it's probably not actually the devil whose forcing him to be aroused.
...Or is it? I'm perfectly happy to read your take on this prompt where the church painter clearly isn't the devil but the lust-clouded priest just thinks of him that way--all the way through unreliable narration where we can't be sure the painter isn't the devil, and up to "The Devil vacations from Hell by painting churches into beautiful edifices." We've all got to have hobbies, right?
I'd also be really fascinating by reading the version of this story that's seen from the church painter's perspective! Is he just just a painter who's here to do his job, and finding himself drawn deeper into a strange attraction with the priest? Is the painter the actual!facts Devil that's here for [reasons], and the priest falling for him happens to be a weird, unintended consequence? Is the painter an angel, who's on earth for other reasons, trying to reach out to godliness while he's away from heaven?
There are many different directions to go with this prompt, from light to pretty dark...I'm really curious to see what you'd like to explore!
Specific Likes for this Prompt:
Pining, UST, and RST are all fantastic. One-sided pining while the other character is oblivious. Mutual pining because of chastity vows/seeming disinterest
Slow burns!
Renaissance Italy settings, and historical settings from 1400 onward. I love historical description, and if you'd like to do historical research, awesome! But I'm really just here for you to have fun with my prompts. No extra research is necessary.
Temptation narratives (and angst)
Chiaroscuro. Tenebrism. Baroque.
Technical discussions about art, if you're into the material side of painting/fresco.
Surreal, supernatural, and miraculous events. If you want the painter to create a supernatural painting, I am here for that.
If the painter really is the devil, I have a lot positive feelings about a version of the devil/Lucifer that isn't unrepentantly evil. Versions of the Devil that don't line up with Christian orthodoxy are some of my favorite takes on the character. The Devil being selfish or hurt/angry about his Fall: awesome! I'm also cool with versions of Lucifer where he's been various other underworld gods in other religions' pantheons and thus has traits or history specific to those deities. Or depictions where the Devil isn't responsible for mortals' sins; he's just their keeper in the afterlife.
Smut Likes for this pairing: Wet dreams; dream/surreal sex; dubcon; religious-based shame, guilt, & humiliation; blasphemy during sex; characters getting off on a the sensuousness of a painting; masturbation; trying to reconcile sin with desire and then just giving in to lust; mutual masturbation; frottage; oral sex; anal sex; rimming; fingering; pain play; impact play; face-slapping; being so overcome with desire that either one or both characters in the ship masturbates in confessionals; sex in confessionals; reading penitentials for sexual inspiration; semi-public sex; sex on altars; ritual sex; crying during sex; interrupted sex; violent/hate sex; gentle sex is also good too!; clothed/unclothed; kinking on priest robes or other holy vestments
+ Surreal or emotional journeys depicted in artwork.
+ Kisses. Clinches! Do your best romance-cover-quality artwork or book cover! Passionate, dreamy, very cheating-to-the-camera poses! Shirtless love interests! Everyone shirtless! Streaming tresses. More fabric than a person should probably wear! Someone looking off into the distance in Deep Thought. I am a sucker for all of these things.
+ Characters staring forlornly at each other/in diptychs, separated by time or space.
+ Limited color palettes. Some favs are: gold, black and white; red, white, black. I also love palettes pulled from Julie Dillon paintings.
+ Characters staring into a beautiful sunset.
+ If I’ve put in an art like or request from another prompt that speaks to you, but you’d like to do it for an original work ship instead, I’m here for it!
Some Opt-in Prompts & Likes • • •
+ Card Game Reskin. I'd love to see card game reskins! They'd be lovely for any of my requested ships, especially if there's a strong visual element to the ship (like Ronin/Tengu or Church Painter/Village Priest). Card games that I'm familiar with: Coin Age, Love Letter, Fluxx, Werewolf (and One-Night Ultimate Werewolf), Sushi Go!, Gloom, Selfish, How to Human, Point Salad, Snake Oil.
For this medium, I don't consider bad or sad possible endings in a base card game to violate my DNW for "sad/unhappy endings" if I can ultimately arrive at a (reasonably) happy one through multiple plays. Some games revel in bad endings, like Gloom, and that's a-okay by me!
+ Conspiracy Board. Most of my requested ships have some (potential) supernatural angle to them, and a lot of my prompts focus on some kind of supernatural goings-on that needs to be investigated, or a character that has a secret identity. I love identity shenanigans. I'd love to see a conspiracy board that explores one half of the ship "????" their way towards discovering the other's secret identity. Maybe that church painter IS the devil! I CAN PROVE IT WITH ALL OF THESE WEIRD GOINGS-ON that I have documented meticulously on my corkboard. What? I'm sure this isn't unhinged behavior.
NB: conspiracy boards are invited for any ship, even if the idea of a conspiracy board hadn't been invented yet. Conspiracy codexes/rooms are welcome, as are completely ahistorical/4th-wall breaking conspiracy boards.
+ Interactive Fiction - web based. I'd love to see an interactive fic that features multiple possible endings/paths the ship could take! For this medium, I don't consider bad or sad possible endings in a game to violate my DNW for "sad/unhappy endings" if I can ultimately arrive at a happy one through multiple plays. Please feel free to pile on the bad/sad possible outcomes if it makes for a fun IF!
+ Isometric Rooms/Cityscapes. For my ship requests, you don't have to make these little rooms shippy, if you don't know how to manage both the ship tag & the artwork. I just would love to see some of the rooms that these characters might have. Is it where they live? A place they might stay during their adventuring? A lonely inn room on the road? A snowed-in manor or remote temple? The church or ruins at the end of a long quest? The vestibule where the horny artwork is hung? If you could imagine the scene from a fic you might read about these two, and then make a tiny room about it, I will love it 100% guarenteed. Other things I love: little slices/glimpses of characters' lives, acutaways of historical buildings, imagining what their furnishings and rooms might look like. (NB: I don't expect historical accuracy, if you're concerned about that!)
+ Narrative maps. I’d love a map that details a ship’s development, whether allegorical, or a map of their world, with notes scribbled with the margins. Where do the characters meet? Where do they fall in love? Where do they battle the forces of unimaginable evil?
Hello, and welcome to the medium spotlights! These spotlights are on media that I have a lot to say about, so I decided to put all of that stuff in one place. These media are not the be-all, end-all of what I’m requesting. Spotlights include likes, ideas, and tutorial links. If you are interested in picking up a new medium for this exchange, I hope you will find the tutorial links useful! If you've never made a map, or a crest, or an emoji before, I'm absolutely thrilled by the prospect of you making one for me. :D
Reading these are completely optional! If you already know what you want to make me, feel free to jump right in.
Bestiary
Make tiny monsters come alive in book-format! Collecting all of the things!
I love the bestiary as a way to “collect” things. Just have a bunch of different things, as though they were assembled together in a book (like Medieval Bestiaries), or someone’s journal (like those monster-hunter manuals that would pop up whenever we got a gander at The Diary in Supernatural). I also love the kinds of bestiary where it’s clear that someone is collecting these creatures, whether they’re taking notes about them, Actually Collecting Them, just drawing them as they spot them, or taking snapshots of the Cool Critters They Have Seen.
While I’ve listed a bunch of bestiaries that are mainly drawn, I enjoy them just as much if they’re written compendiums of creatures, critters, beasts, or EGGS.
Things that I like from bestiaries:
Fantastical or surreal creatures. Cute critters!
A blatant disregard for anatomy & structure.
Medieval or medieval-pastiche book pages.
Pastiches of other genres/aesthetics. Ikea furniture manual meets bestiary?
EGGS. How I hunger for different colored and textured and styled eggs. Bird eggs. Monster eggs. Supernatural element eggs. Stone eggs. Jeweled eggs.
Coat of arms showcase a character, a house, a corporation, a city or a nation.
I enjoy coat of arms that take inspiration from the historical rules of heraldry, and then adapt them new, fun ways for modern use. Rules of heraldry may vary a bit from tradition to tradition, and I’m not overly fussed about whether you might want to adhere to them or not. Familiarizing yourself with heraldry might give you some ideas about why certain things are done in certain ways, such as shield divisions. Many free guides are available! And some coat of arms generators can give you some ideas, if you’re stuck. But please feel free to ignore all of this historical detail, and to follow your creativity wherever it takes you.
+ Any of the art movements I've gushed about would be amazing as a coloring page. (Including but not limited to: Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Priarie Style, Symbolist-inspired Designs, De Stijl.
I love designs that I can print out and color to unwind.
I’m a huge fan of small details from patterns, details, and abstract shapes. I’m also a fan of designs with big wide open spaces where I can choose to create my own details. Designs that borrow from abstract styles, geometric tattoos, and other kinds of art that blends realistic details with simple geometric shapes are my jam. So are stars, night skies, and solar system elements. And I will never say no to cute, silly, humorous designs. :D
I'd like to encourage anyone to make inforgraphics, even if they've never done it before. I love data visualization, charts, and data that tells a story. I will be thrilled to see what you create!
I've requested Meta Infographics for some fandoms, In-Universe Infographics for others, and just plain ole infographics in certain cases.
There are many types of infographics out there, and you might not know where to start. The Data Viz Project has a huge source of types of data visualization that might spark ideas for the kinds of data that could help create your infographic(s). And you don't have to go nuts about it either! I love simple types of visualizations as well as complex ones.
My favorite thing about infographics is a strong narrative element. For example, an infographic about the number of people that Blue Beacon has saved over his superheroing career--we only realize halfway through the visualization that it's Maxwell Missing disgruntled recitation of facts, and suddenly you realize that the data being presented in the inforgraphic is WAY more suspect than when we first started looking at it. That kind of thing is awesome! The unreliable narrator, but infographics is such a fun trope to play around with.
Because it's legitimately hard for me to pick out a favorite infographic, instead let me just point you to some potential inspiration:
Isometric rooms are one of my favorite types of art. They're little dioramas of still lifes & interior design all wrapped up in one. You can see some beautiful examples of isometric rooms here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. And here are some wonderful isometric cityscapes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. I'm also not too fussed about how literally you take the "cityscape" part. Single buildings are rad. As are natural landscapes done in this style: 1, 2, 3, 4.
I honestly don't care about perfect isometric perspective; if you like to draw in a loose style, don't feel like you have to nail the exact perspective. I love the small frames that create a sense of intimacy. I love all of the little details that evoke a sense of place. Any mood or tone that you want to give them is brilliant: cozy, friendly, mystical, mysterious, haunting.
I also love isometric rooms, cities, land and seascapes that are contained inside of a different kind of a frame (drink containers & terrariums are faves).
While I normally love lineart, for this style of art, adding tones or even flat color is greatly appreciated. They help me understand placement & separate individual objects from each other.
I love mandala designs that I can enjoy on their own merits, as well as mandala that are meant to be print out and colored.
Black & white mandalas, full colored mandalas. Gold and white on black backgrounds. Yes, yes, and yes.
I’m a huge fan of designs that blend the aesthetic of mandala & other meditative arts with the aesthetics from my requested canons & their aesthetics. I enjoy poring over designs and delighting in their small details. Patterns, intricate shading, and abstract shapes are all wonderful. I’m also a fan of designs with big wide open spaces where I can choose to create my own details. Designs that borrow from abstract styles, geometric tattoos, and other kinds of art that blends realistic details with simple geometric shapes are my jam. So are stars, night skies, and solar system elements. And I will never say no to cute, silly, humorous designs. :D
+ Maps that are based on any art styles from requested canons or Art movements that I love (e.g. Art Nouveau, Art Deco, De Stijl)
Exploration & A Sense of Place That's Been Lost.
Are you thinking of creating a map? Let me count the ways that I love thee! I would like to encourage you in your mappish-thoughts! The fandoms that I am requesting maps in share an element of exploration or a sense of place that’s been lost. What I’d love to see out of a map, even if that fandom already has a canonical map:
Things that struck YOU as being important (that maybe canon did not)
Maps that chart a character’s or ship’s journey
Colors, palettes, styles, and designs that evokes something from the canon
Maps that subvert my expectations. E.g. a tense and moody D & D style map for a canon character’s otherwise warm and welcoming home.
Allegorical maps about the [dangers of that canon]. Maps about the pitfalls of pining? Places where You Can Go Wrong when you are an author trapped in an allegory for procrastination.
Maps that you wish characters had. E.g. Map of Ancient Greece for Teucer where gods would like to Fuck You (Personally) Over, Pls Avoid.
If you are creating humorous maps, please lean into the joke. Don’t feel like you need to be constrained by reality, or the canonical places of things. Geographic accuracy not needed for maps set on Earth!
If you’re an old hand at creating typefaces, or you’ve never designed a font before in your life, I promise you that I will be excited to see what you create! I enjoy fonts that capture the aesthetic of the fandom that I’ve requested. Many of the fandoms I’ve requested have fonts embedded in their gameplay. Taking those as a starting point is a wonderful way to explore an aesthetic. I also love everything on my list above, and more beyond that. I deeply enjoy seeing font sketches & fonts in their final presentation form. I fully do not expect finished typefaces. Those take an enormous amount of work. Just some caps or a few letterforms or the lettering of a title is what I’m hoping for! :D
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