Dear Gen Swap Writer

[aerielpembroke]

Thank you so much for signing up for this exchange and one of my fandoms! I really love gen and am so pleased to be part of the first round of this exchange and I hope you feel the same way. Since people define gen in some slightly different ways, I thought you might like to know my definition, which is fic that is primarily focused on something besides romance, whether that be friendship, plot, the main character's development as a person or other platonic relationships. I am not of the school that gen cannot feature any romance at all, so a background couple or reference to somebody being in a relationship or even a kiss is fine so long as it isn't the focus of the story. But if your definition includes no romance or you just don't plain feel like having any in the story, please go with your gut and don't write what you don't want to!

My gen DNWs are pretty brief- no violence towards animals, no hopeless endings, no gross out humor, no character bashing and I'm thinking specifically for this fest and the fandoms I requested, no setting changing AUs (canon divergence is fine).

Free!- Hazuki Nagisa, Tachibana Makoto, Matsuoka Gou
Nagisa has some new idea that he insists on dragging Gou and Makoto into specifically. Totally fine if Rei, Haru, Rin, Sousuke etc are also involved but I'd like either Nagisa, Gou or Makoto to be the focal point. Friendship fic would be awesome, silliness would be awesome, minor adventures would be awesome, character studies would be awesome. Part of why I like this show is how mellow and pleasant it always seems to be so I'd like it if nobody strongly disliked anybody or was super angsty or anything deeply dramatic. Conflict is fine so long as it is resolved reasonably by the end- no conflict is also fine.
Should you be contemplating background/referenced romance: I am okay with most pairings but I'm not super fond of Rei/Nagisa and I'd ask for no Rin/Gou not so much because I dislike it as because I feel like you really can't just casually mention incest without it becoming a major force in the story.

Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening- Any Character
To what extent was the game the Wind Fish's dream, and to what extent was it Link's? Did the Wind Fish use Link's memories in his dream? I love the surreal slow creepiness of this game and would love something exploring that or Link's realization that his surroundings aren't exactly just some island. Also in the perfect ending Link sees a seagull with the implication that it's Marin. Is that just wishful thinking, or was Marin in some way real, or did Link make Marin real?
Should you be contemplating background/referenced romance: I'm fine with tragic Link/Marin and/or Link/Zelda but I can't really see anything else for this particular game.

Ouran High School Host Club- Fujioka Haruhi, Haninozuka Mitsukuni
Haruhi and Honey-sempai go shopping, or try to organize a party, or are partners on a scavenger hunt, or have tea or something. I am totally fine with Mori and/or the rest of the Host Club showing up (and/or Renge and/or the Zuka Club) but I am only familiar with the anime's canon as of now. I always love Haruhi as the straight man to the others' weirdness but I also have a soft spot for Haruhi doing things that the others find inexplicable and/or weird.
Should you be contemplating background/referenced romance: I don't really like Tamaki/Haruhi most of the time but I'm okay with Kyoya/Tamaki, Kyoya/Haruhi, Hikaru/Haruhi, Renge/Haruhi and certainly fine with various Ouran girls/Haruhi in the context of the Host Club (or if you want to mention her dating an OC).

Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series- Florence Bakura, Malik (Marik?) Ishtar
Terrible, terrible roommates attempting terrible, terrible plots. Or extremely mundane things done poorly. Basically I think these two are delightfully wacky and I would love to see some evil plans of Marik's that were rejected by Bakura, or plans of Bakura's that were rejected by Marik (because they made too much sense? Or because Bakura makes much less sense than he thinks he does?) Please feel free to use gags and/or anything relevant from Marik Plays Bloodlines though I am also totally fine with sticking directly to only what's in the TAS episodes as canon.
Should you be contemplating background/referenced romance: I greatly enjoy Bakura's canon crush on Marik, but I find it generally more entertaining if it stays unrequited or neither of them act on their feelings. And basically all the other canon crushes/relationships are fine but I think I'd find it sort of jarring if, say, Yugi and Mai were suddenly together, unless it was supposed to be jarring and everyone thought it was weird.

Yu Yu Hakusho- Minamino Shuuichi | Kurama, Minamino Shiori
Kurama growing up as a human or putting on a normal facade to keep Shiori from worrying about him. I am always always down for more Kurama backstory and past, but I'm particularly interested in how he balances remembering being an adult while he's still a kid. And I'm curious to what extent Shiori notices that her son's a bit... unusual, and whether she makes excuses for him in her head or likes him better for it than if he'd been normal or is actually a little scared of him sometimes.
Should you be contemplating background/referenced romance: I'm totally fine with past Youko/Kuronue having happened but I'm generally sort of ehhh about Kurama being in an actual relationship at this point unless it's delving into how that would change him. Obviously Shiori/new husband whose name I forget is fine, and Yusuke/Keiko is fine, but aside from that I'd prefer that Kurama not requite anyone's feelings for the purposes of this fest.

And I guess that's everything! Kind of amused that my requests shook out to be all Japanese media.