CaptiveAudience Dear Writer Letter
Jul. 3rd, 2017 09:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
somethingdarkerSorry. Time got away from me. If we matched on something that I haven't written any details for, it's not that I don't want it as much. It's just that I got distracted by writing things with deadlines and kept thinking I had more than enough time with this.
Oops. This had a deadline, too. I think that the only things I didn't comment on were original fic groupings. I will try to get to that after I finish the story I need to post today.
Thanks!
ETA: As of now, I think everything's there.
If the characters involved in capturing/being captured have a history with each other, particularly if it's emotionally complicated, I'm likely to be particularly interested. If they don't have history, I'd like them to have compelling reasons for resisting emotional entanglement with each other even while the captor has some compelling reason to want to keep the captive both prisoner and alive (I'm fine with the prisoner thinking that death is possible and fine with the threat of it. I'd just rather not see it become an immediate threat unless the captor is trying to stop it).
I'm almost entirely here for the psychological push and pull and will read long, long scenes of the characters trying to get into each other's heads or one trying to do it while the other's trying to do something else with the conversation. Interrogations can be fun, too. If it's easier, go ahead and put the characters into some sort of bottle setting. I'm fine with that because I don't so much care about what's happening outside, not unless it changes things inside in some major way.
If the captor is able to manipulate the environment in terms of temperature, noise level, light, etc., I consider that fair game and potentially interesting as a less directly violent way of making the captive bend.
What will the prisoner do or give up to stay alive? What are their hard sticking points? What lines is the captor willing to or unwilling to cross?
I like both characters in shades of gray. That's harder to do with some of what I've requested, but I'd still rather not have one entirely right and the other entirely wrong. Or one entirely good and the other entirely evil.
I'm not big on graphic violence or gore. That is, I don't need a blow by blow of a beating or loving descriptions of mutilation or whatever, and I'd really prefer no permanent damage. A brief reference/summary of whatever happened, if torture and/or physical punishment makes sense for the scenario, will generally be okay. I want to know how the characters react and how they try to play each other because that's the part that interests me.
I strongly prefer that both characters/groups be trying to gain advantages over the other. The captor has a number of advantages, but, in cases of Stockholm Syndrome, I don't want the captive to fall into it without some efforts to escape it or to turn it into Lima Syndrome. I do want the captor to be aware of their advantages. I don't insist that they be particularly skilled at using those advantages, not if it's not in character, but not being aware of the power differential seems... unlikely.
I'm good with the captor trying to be pleasant or choosing to be awful. I'm just not keen on indifference because it's dull.
In most cases (I'll specify when not), I'm okay with sex, noncon or dubcon. I put it into dubcon in these situations if the prisoner is trying to be seductive in hopes of gaining an advantage. I don't think, no matter how far the Stockholm Syndrome/Lima Syndrome goes, that this can be consensual.
My general assumption in most canons is that, for fic writing purposes, almost all characters are bi or pansexual (not keen on changing the status of those who have stated that they're gay or asexual, however. Not that that's a thing in any of these canons, but...) unless I have a strong reason to decide otherwise for a specific story.
DNW: child harm of any sort; cancer; snuff; suicide; completely tragic endings; embarrassment/humiliation; mutilation; forcible physical transformation, incest (except in Amber); isms not native to the setting (and they don't have to be for most original fic); bestiality (xeno with intelligent beings is fine); setting change AUs; mundane AUs; mpreg; A/B/O; soulbonds; RPF involving modern characters; disrespect for real world religions
Weiss Kreuz
I'm mainly a fan of Kapital. I've watched Gluhen and like some parts and not others (as with most things). I think most of these character groupings fit better into the Kapital period than anything Gluhen or later, but if later appeals to you, please do convince me. Canon divergent AUs are fine, and I assume that Kritiker is a heck of a lot nastier than canon seems to believe.
I'm tagging for underage on this fandom because I'm generally okay with Omi and sex. I'm less okay with Nagi and explicit sex. Exceptions will be mentioned in prompts.
Omi captures Hirofumi - I could see this either as Omi and Persia agreeing just to imprison Hirofumi and keeping him in some sort of Kritiker facility or as something Omi does on his own, without official sanction (but maybe with help from part of or all of the rest of Weiss?). The main thing the latter needs is for Omi to have access to a place where he could keep Hirofumi. I'm not convinced that anybody would be expecting the arrangement to be temporary. I really do not want any Omi/Hirofumi or Omi/Persia or Persia/Hirofumi sex. Sex between any of those three and someone they're not related to is fine (but not necessary). I'm open to the possibility that Hirofumi is Persia's son or that Persia thinks he might be.
Manx captures Brad Crawford - At some points in the timeline, this could be an official Kritiker thing-- I'm pretty sure Kritiker would love to have a psychic or two for research purposes-- or something very personal/private between the two of them. After Persia's death, I could definitely see Manx doing some fairly extreme things. I'm also dubious that, before Persia's death, she had any limits on what she was willing to do for him. I don't actually need a reason why Crawford didn't see it coming, but I do need a reason why, if he saw it coming, he didn't manage to avoid it.
Schwarz captures Hidaka Ken - Holy Children kind of takes the canonical timeline and warps it beyond reasonable explanation, at least as far as Nagi's age and how long Weiss has been together and all of that. The repetition of plot elements also makes Ken seem beyond gullible in terms of not believing that anyone he likes could be a villain, but I kind of like the idea of there being a backstory/history for Ken with some part of Schwarz. Noncon/dubcon sex with Nagi as aggressor is one of my few exceptions to 'no sex with fifteen year old Nagi.' I'm open to any sort of inter-Schwarz pairings (or none at all) as long as Nagi's not involved. Farfarello is not a character I entirely understand, but I'm ready to be convinced. As long as there are no blenders involved.
Schwarz captures Kudoh Youji - I'm very fond of Yohji as a character but don't mind seeing unpleasant things happen to him. I'd prefer not to see him utterly broken or crazy (avoiding his Gluhen fate somehow would be excellent!). Noncon/dubcon sex with Nagi as aggressor is one of my few exceptions to 'no sex with fifteen year old Nagi.' I'm open to any sort of inter-Schwarz pairings (or none at all) as long as Nagi's not involved. Farfarello is not a character I entirely understand, but I'm ready to be convinced. As long as there are no blenders involved.
Weiss captures Schuldig - I don't really think this is likely to be Kritiker sanctioned, but I'm quite willing to be convinced. If it's after Ouka's death, then it's apt to be very personal and get very nasty. Up to you whether or not there's a block on Schuldig's powers and what he can do if there isn't or if the block isn't complete.
Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny
I'm of the opinion that the Corwin books generally work better as a coherent story, but I like some of the supporting characters introduced in the Merlin books quite a bit. I just have to assume that Merlin lies pretty constantly because, really, he can't be quite as naive as he presents himself as being. If you use Dara or Mandor, please play with the shapeshifting as much or as little as appeals to you. I find it intriguing, but I'll be plenty happy without it. I like the sense that Oberon's children have a long and complicated history with each other, complete with shifting alliances and secrets.
I'm open to incest in this fandom. I'm also open to characters being more or less powerful than Corwin or Merlin thought they were. Canon divergent AUs are great here. I'm also okay with supporting OCs related to the nominated characters. All of these characters can be interpreted in multiple ways because, bar Corwin, we only saw small bits of them.
Because of canonical healing abilities, I'm less against mutilation in this fandom, but I'd still prefer not to have graphic detail about it or to have it treated as a kink.
I've played a lot of Amber diceless over the decades and am fine with elements drawn from the game for things like how powers actually work. I'm also fine with ignoring all of that completely.
Benedict (Chronicles of Amber) captures Dara (Chronicles of Amber) - This could happen as a canon divergence before Dara meets Corwin. It could also happen after Corwin's disappearance. Maybe Benedict suspects Dara's responsible, maybe he doesn't but worries about what she might do otherwise, maybe she tried to manipulate/control him and it blew up in her face. I would prefer that Benedict not hate her any more than he would any other random relative and am open to him being conflicted based her being his descendant.
Brand (Chronicles of Amber) captures Corwin (Chronicles of Amber) - Pre-canon would work for this. A Brand survives AU or a Brand wins AU could be interesting, too. Or, perhaps, instead of trying to murder amnesiac Corwin, Brand kidnaps him.
Caine (Chronicles of Amber) captures Luke | Rinaldo (Chronicles of Amber) - This could involve Caine finding out about Luke before Luke tries to kill him or Caine somehow surviving the assassination attempt. If the latter, it might be interesting to add Merlin's imprisonment in the blue cave to the mix just as something to add urgency. If Caine finds Luke before Luke tries to kill him, he might even find Luke as a child or a teenager. Luke claims to have walked the Pattern before his father died, but if he did, I can't figure out why he wasn't with his father at Patternfall. Caine has shown willingness to kill relatives, but it still seems to have been something he did as a last resort.
Corwin (Chronicles of Amber) captures Eric (Chronicles of Amber) - Pre-canon or a canon divergent AU are both fine. If it's a canon divergence, I'd be very interested in the two of them slowly discovering that neither is the brother they remember. I could see this one starting off very nasty because of the long standing hatred between them.
Dara (Chronicles of Amber) captures Corwin (Chronicles of Amber) - Dara capturing Corwin happened in canon, but we know pretty much nothing about what happened between them. If you want to write that grouping, the canon situation is fine, and so is a completely different scenario.
Eric (Chronicles of Amber) captures Corwin (Chronicles of Amber) - Eric capturing Corwin also happened in canon, and we got a lot of detail about it. I would strongly prefer something different in a story. Canon divergence, something from their backstory, whatever.
Eric (Chronicles of Amber) captures Deirdre (Chronicles of Amber) - We only know Corwin's view of this relationship. Certainly, when Corwin and Random met Deirdre, she seemed to be running from Eric's hospitality, but all we actually know for sure is what she said. Anything goes here as long as Deirdre gets to be a person.
Eric (Chronicles of Amber) captures Random (Chronicles of Amber) - Another thing that happened in canon. I'm curious as to how it might have gone either in canon (since we know very little) or in some sort of divergence. If you go with the canonical timeline, I'm fond of Vialle. A possible divergence might be Eric refusing to let her join Random or using her to extract promises of good behavior from Random. Eric coming back after his canon death somehow could be interesting, too-- Random might be a way to get information or a lever on Corwin or, even later on, Eric might not trust Random as king of Amber and want to evaluate him.
Fiona (Chronicles of Amber) captures Mandor (Chronicles of Amber) - I could see the two of them playing some sort of utterly fucked up game in terms of kidnapping each other just to see if they can and then doing whatever they can get away with when the other is prisoner. I can also see Fiona sizing Mandor up, either after meeting him in the Merlin books or at some time when she's investigating the Courts, as a potential threat and simply deciding to take him out of play, either temporarily or permanently. She might also just think that he'd be a good source of information about something or another. Or maybe he has someone she values trapped in one of his hells.
Flora | Florimel (Chronicles of Amber) captures Bleys (Chronicles of Amber) - I just kind of want to see Flora as a competent person here. None of her siblings think she is, and I think she plays that as protective camoflage. I don't have any particular scenarios for why or how she might capture Bleys or why she might want to. I just think it could be fascinating.
The Pretender
Please stick with the TV canon, movies optional. I tried to read the first novel and didn't get beyond the first two chapters. More graphic sex and graphic violence doesn't actually make things more interesting. I loved the characters and the episodic writing up until the end, but I got very frustrated with the story arc around the Centre from about Thomas's death onward. I found Ethan interesting enough as a story element, but I wasn't particularly sold on his origin story making any sort of sense at all. There were other interesting arc elements, too, but overall I think that the arc was starting to collapse under the weight of all the stuff piled onto it in order to keep it going.
I'm agnostic on Jarod/Miss Parker shipping, not against it but not particularly invested in it. Nobody else quite understands what they've been through, but that doesn't mean they're Meant For Each Other and In Love. I do want their relationship to be emotionally complicated, though.
I tend to think that Jarod has some serious nastiness in him that the show simply never let us see. Jarod, after all, learned ethics/morality from that paragon of both, Sydney. Yeah. Jarod likes going after people who he thinks deserve it, but I think it may be more about him enjoying that than it is about justice. Not that it's not about justice... People are complicated.
For most of these groupings, the what happens when Jarod finds out factor definitely needs to be there for the characters involved.
Brigitte (The Pretender) captures Jarod (The Pretender) - Brigitte never quite got to be a person in canon, so I'd like to see her with a solid, personal agenda. She can be as nasty as you like. I'd prefer that she have a reason not to return Jarod to the Centre just because that's not the dynamic I'm interested in. I'd be interested if Jarod has incomplete or inaccurate information about her. Maybe she wants to build her own empire? Maybe she has secrets that in some way go AU from canon? Maybe Jarod wants to get caught by her because he thinks it will get him something?
Broots (The Pretender) captures Gemini (The Pretender) - Again, I want Broots to have a reason not to take Gemini back to the Centre immediately (or ever) while still feeling like he needs to hold him prisoner. I think this dynamic could be interesting because part of Broots' definition of himself is as a good father. How would he react to holding a kid prisoner? Bringing Debbie in somehow would be fine. Please no explicit underage sex and absolutely no Broots/Gemini.
Kyle (The Pretender) captures Miss Parker - Miss Parker would have some protection from Kyle because of her ties to Jarod, but Kyle might also resent them, either because she's between him and his brother or because she represents something his brother had that he didn't. I'm open to Kyle not having died when he did canonically or to this being before that point in canon. I like Miss Parker's sharp edges and would like seeing her scheme the way she never quite seems to in canon. I could see her and Kyle being really and truly terrifying if they came to a point where they had a common goal.
Miss Parker captures Emily (The Pretender) - Again, I like Miss Parker's sharp edges and don't want to lose them. By the time she's likely to encounter Emily, Miss Parker has every reason to be really and truly pissed off at almost everyone around her, so maybe she's looking for a partner but can't think of how else to start except with kidnapping. Or maybe she just happened to catch Emily and is dithering a bit about whether or not to turn her in. She might think that Emily knows more about Catherine Parker or about something else important to her.
Miss Parker captures Mr Raines - Maybe Miss Parker managed to stage a coup in the Centre? Or she decided that she needed to get Raines isolated somewhere so that she could squeeze answers out of him about her mother, about Thomas, and about what the hell the Centre actually wants with her and with Jarod. This could be post-Island of the Haunted or could ignore that bit of canon.
The Flash (TV 2014)
These two groups interest me for similar reasons. The captor has his mind set on a very specific outcome that really isn't as absolute as he thinks. The captor also has psychological levers to use on the captive against which the captive doesn't have a lot of defenses. I'd like, though, to see the captives connecting with their captors enough that there's some tension as to whether we'll end up with Lima or Stockholm syndrome. That is, both sides will be trying for control/influence.
Eobard Thawne captures Eddie Thawne - I prefer Eobard Thawne in the guise of Harrison Wells, but I won't get upset if he's just plain Eobard Thawne. I find it interesting that Eobard as Wells keeps telling Barry that changing the past always, always makes things worse even as Eobard has every intention of mucking about in the timeline in major ways.
I like Eddie and Eddie/Iris, so please don't bash him or make him immediately decide to kill Barry or anything like that.
Eobard is a pretty horrible person when he's letting everything out. Please don't ignore that.
I can see this ending in death for one or the other and would be okay with that, mostly (I like hopeful endings most of the time, so I'd want the death to buy something). I'm not convinced that rape/sexual violence is something Eobard would bother with. His tendency is to manipulate in other ways and just to kill when those things fail. Then again, he can't kill Eddie... So who knows?
Savitar captures Iris West - I actually rather expected that, if Savitar was Barry, kidnapping Iris would make more sense as an end game for him. If the other Barry thought she was dead, he wouldn't come looking for her. Kidnapping her earlier in the season and going AU from there also makes sense.
I could certainly see dubcon here with Iris trying to seduce Savitar (and probably being very conflicted about it). If Savitar isn't willing to kill Iris, I don't think he'd go for out and out rape, but he might convince himself that she was really willing if she gave him the slightest indication that she might be.
I'm less comfortable with character death for this group. I'd be more comfortable with Savitar dying, either saving Iris or actually killed by her, than with Iris dying.
I'd also be good with Iris getting powers (or technology) and going on a rampage through time and space and universes at Savitar's side.
Princess Tutu
Princess Tutu
Ahiru | Duck captures Rue
Mytho captures Fakir
Rue captures Ahiru | Duck
Rue captures Fakir
I'm not sure exactly how any of these would work, but the possibilities appeal to me. I think that these would all make more sense in the second half of the series with each captor trying to get the captive out of the way and thereby change the dynamics of what's going on. At that point, Mytho is the only one who's really and truly dark/vicious. Rue wants to be and thinks she should be but isn't quite. At any rate, Mytho capturing Fakir is the option that's most likely to be overtly unpleasant.
And Ahiru trying to keep anyone at all prisoner should have some humor to it.
Original Fic
I'm not generally keen on vampires, zombies, unicorns, werewolves, that sort of thing, so please don't. I like more versatile/flexible shapeshifters, though. I don't mind supernatural and/or eldritch beings, generally, either. I just want them not to be things I've seen enough to parody or satirize.
My tastes skew heavily to SF and fantasy settings, but I'm not big on standard horror tropes.
I prefer that all characters involved in these groupings be adults. I'm open to child or teen supporting characters but don't want to see them directly in the Stockholm/Lima Syndrome situations as either captor or captive.
I'm a cis-woman, so I really don't comprehend the nuances of being trans or genderqueer, but, please, if you write a trans or genderqueer character in one of these, please don't make that aspect an issue between captor and captive. It can be unexpected if they didn't know each other before, but please don't have one attack the other on that ground or despise the other on that ground or anything negative like that. Just let it be a thing that some people are. I don't want that sort of nastiness smeared all over something that I want to have be fun.
Queen captures Prince - Is it a war between two (or more) kingdoms? Is he the last survivor of the previous royal family? Or the oldest son of the usurper? A rebellious younger brother or nephew who thinks women shouldn't rule? A rebellious son who doesn't want to wait for his mother to die naturally? A step-son who ought to be king now that he's an adult? Might he have been intended to marry someone the Queen doesn't want him to? I prefer a Queen Regnant to a Queen Consort. Please, no incest.
Male Military Character Captures Male Former Friend - I'd be quite happy if this was a 'Well, I ought to kill you, but I still love you, so I can't,' whether it's platonic love or romantic love. I'd like them to have a disagreement where neither is completely unjustified so that it's not a case of one coming around to the true 'right side.'
Powerful mage captures equally powerful friend who is working for the other side - I'm interested in the same sorts of things here as in the Male Military Character captures Male Former Friend. Pretty much exactly. Except that I'd be happy with two men, two women, a man and a woman, a couple of genderqueer folks, pretty much any combination of gender identities. This is also one in which the motivation for being on opposite sides could be more a matter of personal honor in terms of loyalty to an employer.
Male Supervillain captures Male Superhero - I'm more interested in shades of gray here than in either side being entirely good or evil. For the villain, give me someone more like Magneto or even Poison Ivy, someone who has an agenda for making the world a better place. From a certain point of view, of course. Or a villain who is amoral and greedy but who will go out of their way not to kill people or even to stop someone trying to be out and out evil. I'd like to be able to like both the superhero and the supervillain.
Disaffected secret agent(s) captures loyal secret agent - This one works fine with the captured agent know their captor(s) personally, by reputation, or not at all. I'd like to see the loyal agent having information/knowledge that the captors need rather than it being some sort of revenge thing. Or perhaps the loyal agent has some sort of value as a hostage or some sort of special power or, well, anything that makes them valuable alive. I'd like the captors to have some qualms about going after former colleagues. Whether or not the captive is actually connected to whatever made the disaffected agents break with their organization is up to you as is whether or not the captors know if the captive is or not. Open to any gender configuration here.
Deity captures Human - I very, very strongly prefer a completely invented deity for this. Maybe the deity is curious about how humans work or how they react to things. Maybe the human tried to steal something from the deity or from the deity's worshippers. Maybe the deity has little power left or is just starting to come into existence and needs a worshipper. Maybe the deity is just an asshole who likes playing games with people. Open to any gender configuration here.
Medusa captures Blind Woman - I see this one as potentially happier in outcome than most. I'd prefer no noncon and no major violence. I'm open to Medusa being quite alien or quite human, but in either case, I suspect she'd be very, very lonely. The blind woman as Medusa's prisoner represents something Medusa thought she'd never have again.
Male military commander captures male enemy junior officer - For some reason I like the idea of adding the difference in rank to the power differential implied by the captor and captive dynamic. I'd be interested in noncon/dubcon here, possibly with the captor offering rewards such as freeing other prisoners (or just treating them better) and punishments that affect other prisoners, possibly with other dynamics. I'm open to other motives for the commander to keep a junior officer as his prisoner, though.
Male Secret Agent from Enemy Country captures Male Secret Agent - My first question is where they are; whose home ground it is. If they're both in enemy territory, for example, that changes the dynamic. I'd be interested in just about any option that way. I'm open weird gadgets and conveniently useful drugs even if this isn't an SF thing.
Guerrilla leader during magical war captures enemy mage - Any gender configuration will be fine. I'm curious as to how one keeps a mage from escaping with magic. Part of the appeal here is the other challenges of holding a prisoner when one doesn't have a prison or even, necessarily, a room with a door that can be locked. There needs to be a reason not to just kill the mage. Maybe killing mages is dangerous? Maybe mages have some sort of religious significance? Maybe this mage is politically important, quite apart from being a mage?
Mob Boss captures Rival's Heir - Any gender configuration will be fine. The heir should be an adult; college age is fine but not younger. I prefer an SF or fantasy setting for this one. It might be interesting if the Mob Boss isn't sure about their prisoner's level of loyalty/dedication to the rival boss. I'm also open to the rival not being a mob boss but being a rival in some other way. Maybe the Mob Boss hasn't thought about the prisoner as an actual person as opposed to just the role they fill.
Male Soldier Captures Male Enemy Prince - Does the soldier even know who he's caught? Does he have ambitions for advancement by ransoming the prince or turning him over to someone specific? Does he have a personal reason to dislike the prince? How much does the prince know about all of that? Is he sheltered or a warrior or what? Which side is currently winning? Maybe the prince’s side has already lost? Or won?
Warrior Prince captures Enemy Female Sorcerer - A DNW here: I have a very strong preference that magical ability not be linked to sexual (in)activity. I've seen too many 'virgin witches who lose their magic when raped' stories, and they tend to make me angry.
Beyond that, a number of the things about the Guerrilla Leader and Enemy Mage apply. A Warrior Prince probably has a better set up for holding a prisoner, but apart from that... Are sorcerers rare and therefore worth trying to recruit? Is there some other potential benefit to holding the woman?
Queen captures Beautiful Peasant - Peasant can be any gender. This could be sexual or not. Maybe the Queen decorates by having attractive people around. Maybe she steals other people's beauty or youth or something or needs an appropriate gift for her deity or... Maybe the beautiful peasant was a would be assassin or rebel.
Alien visitor to Earth captures human specimen/trophy - Human can be any gender. This could go many ways, from the alien picking up a 'pet’ without realizing humans are intelligent to the alien trying to gather information for invasion to the alien being a scientist wanting a research specimen or, really, anything else you can come up with. This could be modem Earth or some time farther back in history.
Oops. This had a deadline, too. I think that the only things I didn't comment on were original fic groupings. I will try to get to that after I finish the story I need to post today.
Thanks!
ETA: As of now, I think everything's there.
If the characters involved in capturing/being captured have a history with each other, particularly if it's emotionally complicated, I'm likely to be particularly interested. If they don't have history, I'd like them to have compelling reasons for resisting emotional entanglement with each other even while the captor has some compelling reason to want to keep the captive both prisoner and alive (I'm fine with the prisoner thinking that death is possible and fine with the threat of it. I'd just rather not see it become an immediate threat unless the captor is trying to stop it).
I'm almost entirely here for the psychological push and pull and will read long, long scenes of the characters trying to get into each other's heads or one trying to do it while the other's trying to do something else with the conversation. Interrogations can be fun, too. If it's easier, go ahead and put the characters into some sort of bottle setting. I'm fine with that because I don't so much care about what's happening outside, not unless it changes things inside in some major way.
If the captor is able to manipulate the environment in terms of temperature, noise level, light, etc., I consider that fair game and potentially interesting as a less directly violent way of making the captive bend.
What will the prisoner do or give up to stay alive? What are their hard sticking points? What lines is the captor willing to or unwilling to cross?
I like both characters in shades of gray. That's harder to do with some of what I've requested, but I'd still rather not have one entirely right and the other entirely wrong. Or one entirely good and the other entirely evil.
I'm not big on graphic violence or gore. That is, I don't need a blow by blow of a beating or loving descriptions of mutilation or whatever, and I'd really prefer no permanent damage. A brief reference/summary of whatever happened, if torture and/or physical punishment makes sense for the scenario, will generally be okay. I want to know how the characters react and how they try to play each other because that's the part that interests me.
I strongly prefer that both characters/groups be trying to gain advantages over the other. The captor has a number of advantages, but, in cases of Stockholm Syndrome, I don't want the captive to fall into it without some efforts to escape it or to turn it into Lima Syndrome. I do want the captor to be aware of their advantages. I don't insist that they be particularly skilled at using those advantages, not if it's not in character, but not being aware of the power differential seems... unlikely.
I'm good with the captor trying to be pleasant or choosing to be awful. I'm just not keen on indifference because it's dull.
In most cases (I'll specify when not), I'm okay with sex, noncon or dubcon. I put it into dubcon in these situations if the prisoner is trying to be seductive in hopes of gaining an advantage. I don't think, no matter how far the Stockholm Syndrome/Lima Syndrome goes, that this can be consensual.
My general assumption in most canons is that, for fic writing purposes, almost all characters are bi or pansexual (not keen on changing the status of those who have stated that they're gay or asexual, however. Not that that's a thing in any of these canons, but...) unless I have a strong reason to decide otherwise for a specific story.
DNW: child harm of any sort; cancer; snuff; suicide; completely tragic endings; embarrassment/humiliation; mutilation; forcible physical transformation, incest (except in Amber); isms not native to the setting (and they don't have to be for most original fic); bestiality (xeno with intelligent beings is fine); setting change AUs; mundane AUs; mpreg; A/B/O; soulbonds; RPF involving modern characters; disrespect for real world religions
Weiss Kreuz
I'm mainly a fan of Kapital. I've watched Gluhen and like some parts and not others (as with most things). I think most of these character groupings fit better into the Kapital period than anything Gluhen or later, but if later appeals to you, please do convince me. Canon divergent AUs are fine, and I assume that Kritiker is a heck of a lot nastier than canon seems to believe.
I'm tagging for underage on this fandom because I'm generally okay with Omi and sex. I'm less okay with Nagi and explicit sex. Exceptions will be mentioned in prompts.
Omi captures Hirofumi - I could see this either as Omi and Persia agreeing just to imprison Hirofumi and keeping him in some sort of Kritiker facility or as something Omi does on his own, without official sanction (but maybe with help from part of or all of the rest of Weiss?). The main thing the latter needs is for Omi to have access to a place where he could keep Hirofumi. I'm not convinced that anybody would be expecting the arrangement to be temporary. I really do not want any Omi/Hirofumi or Omi/Persia or Persia/Hirofumi sex. Sex between any of those three and someone they're not related to is fine (but not necessary). I'm open to the possibility that Hirofumi is Persia's son or that Persia thinks he might be.
Manx captures Brad Crawford - At some points in the timeline, this could be an official Kritiker thing-- I'm pretty sure Kritiker would love to have a psychic or two for research purposes-- or something very personal/private between the two of them. After Persia's death, I could definitely see Manx doing some fairly extreme things. I'm also dubious that, before Persia's death, she had any limits on what she was willing to do for him. I don't actually need a reason why Crawford didn't see it coming, but I do need a reason why, if he saw it coming, he didn't manage to avoid it.
Schwarz captures Hidaka Ken - Holy Children kind of takes the canonical timeline and warps it beyond reasonable explanation, at least as far as Nagi's age and how long Weiss has been together and all of that. The repetition of plot elements also makes Ken seem beyond gullible in terms of not believing that anyone he likes could be a villain, but I kind of like the idea of there being a backstory/history for Ken with some part of Schwarz. Noncon/dubcon sex with Nagi as aggressor is one of my few exceptions to 'no sex with fifteen year old Nagi.' I'm open to any sort of inter-Schwarz pairings (or none at all) as long as Nagi's not involved. Farfarello is not a character I entirely understand, but I'm ready to be convinced. As long as there are no blenders involved.
Schwarz captures Kudoh Youji - I'm very fond of Yohji as a character but don't mind seeing unpleasant things happen to him. I'd prefer not to see him utterly broken or crazy (avoiding his Gluhen fate somehow would be excellent!). Noncon/dubcon sex with Nagi as aggressor is one of my few exceptions to 'no sex with fifteen year old Nagi.' I'm open to any sort of inter-Schwarz pairings (or none at all) as long as Nagi's not involved. Farfarello is not a character I entirely understand, but I'm ready to be convinced. As long as there are no blenders involved.
Weiss captures Schuldig - I don't really think this is likely to be Kritiker sanctioned, but I'm quite willing to be convinced. If it's after Ouka's death, then it's apt to be very personal and get very nasty. Up to you whether or not there's a block on Schuldig's powers and what he can do if there isn't or if the block isn't complete.
Chronicles of Amber - Roger Zelazny
I'm of the opinion that the Corwin books generally work better as a coherent story, but I like some of the supporting characters introduced in the Merlin books quite a bit. I just have to assume that Merlin lies pretty constantly because, really, he can't be quite as naive as he presents himself as being. If you use Dara or Mandor, please play with the shapeshifting as much or as little as appeals to you. I find it intriguing, but I'll be plenty happy without it. I like the sense that Oberon's children have a long and complicated history with each other, complete with shifting alliances and secrets.
I'm open to incest in this fandom. I'm also open to characters being more or less powerful than Corwin or Merlin thought they were. Canon divergent AUs are great here. I'm also okay with supporting OCs related to the nominated characters. All of these characters can be interpreted in multiple ways because, bar Corwin, we only saw small bits of them.
Because of canonical healing abilities, I'm less against mutilation in this fandom, but I'd still prefer not to have graphic detail about it or to have it treated as a kink.
I've played a lot of Amber diceless over the decades and am fine with elements drawn from the game for things like how powers actually work. I'm also fine with ignoring all of that completely.
Benedict (Chronicles of Amber) captures Dara (Chronicles of Amber) - This could happen as a canon divergence before Dara meets Corwin. It could also happen after Corwin's disappearance. Maybe Benedict suspects Dara's responsible, maybe he doesn't but worries about what she might do otherwise, maybe she tried to manipulate/control him and it blew up in her face. I would prefer that Benedict not hate her any more than he would any other random relative and am open to him being conflicted based her being his descendant.
Brand (Chronicles of Amber) captures Corwin (Chronicles of Amber) - Pre-canon would work for this. A Brand survives AU or a Brand wins AU could be interesting, too. Or, perhaps, instead of trying to murder amnesiac Corwin, Brand kidnaps him.
Caine (Chronicles of Amber) captures Luke | Rinaldo (Chronicles of Amber) - This could involve Caine finding out about Luke before Luke tries to kill him or Caine somehow surviving the assassination attempt. If the latter, it might be interesting to add Merlin's imprisonment in the blue cave to the mix just as something to add urgency. If Caine finds Luke before Luke tries to kill him, he might even find Luke as a child or a teenager. Luke claims to have walked the Pattern before his father died, but if he did, I can't figure out why he wasn't with his father at Patternfall. Caine has shown willingness to kill relatives, but it still seems to have been something he did as a last resort.
Corwin (Chronicles of Amber) captures Eric (Chronicles of Amber) - Pre-canon or a canon divergent AU are both fine. If it's a canon divergence, I'd be very interested in the two of them slowly discovering that neither is the brother they remember. I could see this one starting off very nasty because of the long standing hatred between them.
Dara (Chronicles of Amber) captures Corwin (Chronicles of Amber) - Dara capturing Corwin happened in canon, but we know pretty much nothing about what happened between them. If you want to write that grouping, the canon situation is fine, and so is a completely different scenario.
Eric (Chronicles of Amber) captures Corwin (Chronicles of Amber) - Eric capturing Corwin also happened in canon, and we got a lot of detail about it. I would strongly prefer something different in a story. Canon divergence, something from their backstory, whatever.
Eric (Chronicles of Amber) captures Deirdre (Chronicles of Amber) - We only know Corwin's view of this relationship. Certainly, when Corwin and Random met Deirdre, she seemed to be running from Eric's hospitality, but all we actually know for sure is what she said. Anything goes here as long as Deirdre gets to be a person.
Eric (Chronicles of Amber) captures Random (Chronicles of Amber) - Another thing that happened in canon. I'm curious as to how it might have gone either in canon (since we know very little) or in some sort of divergence. If you go with the canonical timeline, I'm fond of Vialle. A possible divergence might be Eric refusing to let her join Random or using her to extract promises of good behavior from Random. Eric coming back after his canon death somehow could be interesting, too-- Random might be a way to get information or a lever on Corwin or, even later on, Eric might not trust Random as king of Amber and want to evaluate him.
Fiona (Chronicles of Amber) captures Mandor (Chronicles of Amber) - I could see the two of them playing some sort of utterly fucked up game in terms of kidnapping each other just to see if they can and then doing whatever they can get away with when the other is prisoner. I can also see Fiona sizing Mandor up, either after meeting him in the Merlin books or at some time when she's investigating the Courts, as a potential threat and simply deciding to take him out of play, either temporarily or permanently. She might also just think that he'd be a good source of information about something or another. Or maybe he has someone she values trapped in one of his hells.
Flora | Florimel (Chronicles of Amber) captures Bleys (Chronicles of Amber) - I just kind of want to see Flora as a competent person here. None of her siblings think she is, and I think she plays that as protective camoflage. I don't have any particular scenarios for why or how she might capture Bleys or why she might want to. I just think it could be fascinating.
The Pretender
Please stick with the TV canon, movies optional. I tried to read the first novel and didn't get beyond the first two chapters. More graphic sex and graphic violence doesn't actually make things more interesting. I loved the characters and the episodic writing up until the end, but I got very frustrated with the story arc around the Centre from about Thomas's death onward. I found Ethan interesting enough as a story element, but I wasn't particularly sold on his origin story making any sort of sense at all. There were other interesting arc elements, too, but overall I think that the arc was starting to collapse under the weight of all the stuff piled onto it in order to keep it going.
I'm agnostic on Jarod/Miss Parker shipping, not against it but not particularly invested in it. Nobody else quite understands what they've been through, but that doesn't mean they're Meant For Each Other and In Love. I do want their relationship to be emotionally complicated, though.
I tend to think that Jarod has some serious nastiness in him that the show simply never let us see. Jarod, after all, learned ethics/morality from that paragon of both, Sydney. Yeah. Jarod likes going after people who he thinks deserve it, but I think it may be more about him enjoying that than it is about justice. Not that it's not about justice... People are complicated.
For most of these groupings, the what happens when Jarod finds out factor definitely needs to be there for the characters involved.
Brigitte (The Pretender) captures Jarod (The Pretender) - Brigitte never quite got to be a person in canon, so I'd like to see her with a solid, personal agenda. She can be as nasty as you like. I'd prefer that she have a reason not to return Jarod to the Centre just because that's not the dynamic I'm interested in. I'd be interested if Jarod has incomplete or inaccurate information about her. Maybe she wants to build her own empire? Maybe she has secrets that in some way go AU from canon? Maybe Jarod wants to get caught by her because he thinks it will get him something?
Broots (The Pretender) captures Gemini (The Pretender) - Again, I want Broots to have a reason not to take Gemini back to the Centre immediately (or ever) while still feeling like he needs to hold him prisoner. I think this dynamic could be interesting because part of Broots' definition of himself is as a good father. How would he react to holding a kid prisoner? Bringing Debbie in somehow would be fine. Please no explicit underage sex and absolutely no Broots/Gemini.
Kyle (The Pretender) captures Miss Parker - Miss Parker would have some protection from Kyle because of her ties to Jarod, but Kyle might also resent them, either because she's between him and his brother or because she represents something his brother had that he didn't. I'm open to Kyle not having died when he did canonically or to this being before that point in canon. I like Miss Parker's sharp edges and would like seeing her scheme the way she never quite seems to in canon. I could see her and Kyle being really and truly terrifying if they came to a point where they had a common goal.
Miss Parker captures Emily (The Pretender) - Again, I like Miss Parker's sharp edges and don't want to lose them. By the time she's likely to encounter Emily, Miss Parker has every reason to be really and truly pissed off at almost everyone around her, so maybe she's looking for a partner but can't think of how else to start except with kidnapping. Or maybe she just happened to catch Emily and is dithering a bit about whether or not to turn her in. She might think that Emily knows more about Catherine Parker or about something else important to her.
Miss Parker captures Mr Raines - Maybe Miss Parker managed to stage a coup in the Centre? Or she decided that she needed to get Raines isolated somewhere so that she could squeeze answers out of him about her mother, about Thomas, and about what the hell the Centre actually wants with her and with Jarod. This could be post-Island of the Haunted or could ignore that bit of canon.
The Flash (TV 2014)
These two groups interest me for similar reasons. The captor has his mind set on a very specific outcome that really isn't as absolute as he thinks. The captor also has psychological levers to use on the captive against which the captive doesn't have a lot of defenses. I'd like, though, to see the captives connecting with their captors enough that there's some tension as to whether we'll end up with Lima or Stockholm syndrome. That is, both sides will be trying for control/influence.
Eobard Thawne captures Eddie Thawne - I prefer Eobard Thawne in the guise of Harrison Wells, but I won't get upset if he's just plain Eobard Thawne. I find it interesting that Eobard as Wells keeps telling Barry that changing the past always, always makes things worse even as Eobard has every intention of mucking about in the timeline in major ways.
I like Eddie and Eddie/Iris, so please don't bash him or make him immediately decide to kill Barry or anything like that.
Eobard is a pretty horrible person when he's letting everything out. Please don't ignore that.
I can see this ending in death for one or the other and would be okay with that, mostly (I like hopeful endings most of the time, so I'd want the death to buy something). I'm not convinced that rape/sexual violence is something Eobard would bother with. His tendency is to manipulate in other ways and just to kill when those things fail. Then again, he can't kill Eddie... So who knows?
Savitar captures Iris West - I actually rather expected that, if Savitar was Barry, kidnapping Iris would make more sense as an end game for him. If the other Barry thought she was dead, he wouldn't come looking for her. Kidnapping her earlier in the season and going AU from there also makes sense.
I could certainly see dubcon here with Iris trying to seduce Savitar (and probably being very conflicted about it). If Savitar isn't willing to kill Iris, I don't think he'd go for out and out rape, but he might convince himself that she was really willing if she gave him the slightest indication that she might be.
I'm less comfortable with character death for this group. I'd be more comfortable with Savitar dying, either saving Iris or actually killed by her, than with Iris dying.
I'd also be good with Iris getting powers (or technology) and going on a rampage through time and space and universes at Savitar's side.
Princess Tutu
Princess Tutu
Ahiru | Duck captures Rue
Mytho captures Fakir
Rue captures Ahiru | Duck
Rue captures Fakir
I'm not sure exactly how any of these would work, but the possibilities appeal to me. I think that these would all make more sense in the second half of the series with each captor trying to get the captive out of the way and thereby change the dynamics of what's going on. At that point, Mytho is the only one who's really and truly dark/vicious. Rue wants to be and thinks she should be but isn't quite. At any rate, Mytho capturing Fakir is the option that's most likely to be overtly unpleasant.
And Ahiru trying to keep anyone at all prisoner should have some humor to it.
Original Fic
I'm not generally keen on vampires, zombies, unicorns, werewolves, that sort of thing, so please don't. I like more versatile/flexible shapeshifters, though. I don't mind supernatural and/or eldritch beings, generally, either. I just want them not to be things I've seen enough to parody or satirize.
My tastes skew heavily to SF and fantasy settings, but I'm not big on standard horror tropes.
I prefer that all characters involved in these groupings be adults. I'm open to child or teen supporting characters but don't want to see them directly in the Stockholm/Lima Syndrome situations as either captor or captive.
I'm a cis-woman, so I really don't comprehend the nuances of being trans or genderqueer, but, please, if you write a trans or genderqueer character in one of these, please don't make that aspect an issue between captor and captive. It can be unexpected if they didn't know each other before, but please don't have one attack the other on that ground or despise the other on that ground or anything negative like that. Just let it be a thing that some people are. I don't want that sort of nastiness smeared all over something that I want to have be fun.
Queen captures Prince - Is it a war between two (or more) kingdoms? Is he the last survivor of the previous royal family? Or the oldest son of the usurper? A rebellious younger brother or nephew who thinks women shouldn't rule? A rebellious son who doesn't want to wait for his mother to die naturally? A step-son who ought to be king now that he's an adult? Might he have been intended to marry someone the Queen doesn't want him to? I prefer a Queen Regnant to a Queen Consort. Please, no incest.
Male Military Character Captures Male Former Friend - I'd be quite happy if this was a 'Well, I ought to kill you, but I still love you, so I can't,' whether it's platonic love or romantic love. I'd like them to have a disagreement where neither is completely unjustified so that it's not a case of one coming around to the true 'right side.'
Powerful mage captures equally powerful friend who is working for the other side - I'm interested in the same sorts of things here as in the Male Military Character captures Male Former Friend. Pretty much exactly. Except that I'd be happy with two men, two women, a man and a woman, a couple of genderqueer folks, pretty much any combination of gender identities. This is also one in which the motivation for being on opposite sides could be more a matter of personal honor in terms of loyalty to an employer.
Male Supervillain captures Male Superhero - I'm more interested in shades of gray here than in either side being entirely good or evil. For the villain, give me someone more like Magneto or even Poison Ivy, someone who has an agenda for making the world a better place. From a certain point of view, of course. Or a villain who is amoral and greedy but who will go out of their way not to kill people or even to stop someone trying to be out and out evil. I'd like to be able to like both the superhero and the supervillain.
Disaffected secret agent(s) captures loyal secret agent - This one works fine with the captured agent know their captor(s) personally, by reputation, or not at all. I'd like to see the loyal agent having information/knowledge that the captors need rather than it being some sort of revenge thing. Or perhaps the loyal agent has some sort of value as a hostage or some sort of special power or, well, anything that makes them valuable alive. I'd like the captors to have some qualms about going after former colleagues. Whether or not the captive is actually connected to whatever made the disaffected agents break with their organization is up to you as is whether or not the captors know if the captive is or not. Open to any gender configuration here.
Deity captures Human - I very, very strongly prefer a completely invented deity for this. Maybe the deity is curious about how humans work or how they react to things. Maybe the human tried to steal something from the deity or from the deity's worshippers. Maybe the deity has little power left or is just starting to come into existence and needs a worshipper. Maybe the deity is just an asshole who likes playing games with people. Open to any gender configuration here.
Medusa captures Blind Woman - I see this one as potentially happier in outcome than most. I'd prefer no noncon and no major violence. I'm open to Medusa being quite alien or quite human, but in either case, I suspect she'd be very, very lonely. The blind woman as Medusa's prisoner represents something Medusa thought she'd never have again.
Male military commander captures male enemy junior officer - For some reason I like the idea of adding the difference in rank to the power differential implied by the captor and captive dynamic. I'd be interested in noncon/dubcon here, possibly with the captor offering rewards such as freeing other prisoners (or just treating them better) and punishments that affect other prisoners, possibly with other dynamics. I'm open to other motives for the commander to keep a junior officer as his prisoner, though.
Male Secret Agent from Enemy Country captures Male Secret Agent - My first question is where they are; whose home ground it is. If they're both in enemy territory, for example, that changes the dynamic. I'd be interested in just about any option that way. I'm open weird gadgets and conveniently useful drugs even if this isn't an SF thing.
Guerrilla leader during magical war captures enemy mage - Any gender configuration will be fine. I'm curious as to how one keeps a mage from escaping with magic. Part of the appeal here is the other challenges of holding a prisoner when one doesn't have a prison or even, necessarily, a room with a door that can be locked. There needs to be a reason not to just kill the mage. Maybe killing mages is dangerous? Maybe mages have some sort of religious significance? Maybe this mage is politically important, quite apart from being a mage?
Mob Boss captures Rival's Heir - Any gender configuration will be fine. The heir should be an adult; college age is fine but not younger. I prefer an SF or fantasy setting for this one. It might be interesting if the Mob Boss isn't sure about their prisoner's level of loyalty/dedication to the rival boss. I'm also open to the rival not being a mob boss but being a rival in some other way. Maybe the Mob Boss hasn't thought about the prisoner as an actual person as opposed to just the role they fill.
Male Soldier Captures Male Enemy Prince - Does the soldier even know who he's caught? Does he have ambitions for advancement by ransoming the prince or turning him over to someone specific? Does he have a personal reason to dislike the prince? How much does the prince know about all of that? Is he sheltered or a warrior or what? Which side is currently winning? Maybe the prince’s side has already lost? Or won?
Warrior Prince captures Enemy Female Sorcerer - A DNW here: I have a very strong preference that magical ability not be linked to sexual (in)activity. I've seen too many 'virgin witches who lose their magic when raped' stories, and they tend to make me angry.
Beyond that, a number of the things about the Guerrilla Leader and Enemy Mage apply. A Warrior Prince probably has a better set up for holding a prisoner, but apart from that... Are sorcerers rare and therefore worth trying to recruit? Is there some other potential benefit to holding the woman?
Queen captures Beautiful Peasant - Peasant can be any gender. This could be sexual or not. Maybe the Queen decorates by having attractive people around. Maybe she steals other people's beauty or youth or something or needs an appropriate gift for her deity or... Maybe the beautiful peasant was a would be assassin or rebel.
Alien visitor to Earth captures human specimen/trophy - Human can be any gender. This could go many ways, from the alien picking up a 'pet’ without realizing humans are intelligent to the alien trying to gather information for invasion to the alien being a scientist wanting a research specimen or, really, anything else you can come up with. This could be modem Earth or some time farther back in history.
