Mali (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
malachiical) wrote2023-03-15 07:49 pm
malachiical) wrote2023-03-15 07:49 pm
Entry tags:
Hurt/Comfort Exchange 2023
Hello, H/C Exchange creator! Thank you for writing for me! I'm Mal or Mali (and ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
malachiical as well); I'll try to keep each individual section of this letter brief, and you should be able to skip to wherever you like with anchor links and/or just expand the parts relevant to you via cut. I hope our ids align and you have a blast writing, because I'm definitely looking forward to whatever you come up with!
Note: While I don't explain each and every tag I requested individually, I do provide examples of H/C I might like for the characters and list some of the tags that caught my eye to go along with each. Don't feel like you have to use any of those examples as an exact prompt, or even any of the exact tags; they're just there to provide some ideas if you might want any!
General DNWs
General Likes
Porn Likes
Crossover Fandom - Dororo (Keroro Gunsou)/Prowl (Transformers Animated)
Keroro Gunsou | Sgt. Frog - Dororo/Kururu
Keroro Gunsou | Sgt. Frog - Kururu/Saburo Mutsumi
The Last Halloween (Webcomic) - Dr. Fugue/Robert; Dr. Fugue/Robert & Mona; Dr. Fugue/Robert & Shirley
Vampire Cleanup Department (2017) - Yip Chi Chau/Yeung Chung
General DNWs
General Likes
Porn Likes
Crossover Fandom
Dororo (Keroro Gunsou)/Prowl (Transformers Animated)
(Dororo hurt, Prowl hurt, or both hurt)
[Where you can find both series: Keroro Gunsou here or here; Transfomers Animated here or here!
Dororo's Most Pertinent Episodes:
S1 E13 - introducing Dororo; the Platoon rescuing him and all working together!
S1 E14 - the Platoon works on a plan for the first time with Dororo
S1 E51 - the Platoon "leaves forever" (only not)
S2 E64B - Keroro's been a dick to Dororo since childhood :|
S2 E68B - Dororo re-meets a dog!
S2 E98B - flashback to Dororo's past meeting and living with Koyuki in the ninja village
S2 E101 - the Garuru Platoon invades; this episode and the next two are a three-parter, plotty and actually kinda serious
S2 E102 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S2 E103 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S4 E189 - Dororo has to face his old assassin teacher in what seems to be a fight to the death!
MOVIE 3 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel - again plotty and kinda serious
MOVIE 4 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 4: Gekishin Dragon Warriors - again, plotty and kinda serious, has some nice scenes, especially good if you want to see Dororo turn into a dragon for a bit
S6 E259 - Dororo and Koyuki (and some of the others) revisit their old ninja village
S6 E260 - flashback to the Platoon's first time meeting and working together!
S6 E284 - the Platoon gets taken over by an asshole, they turn on Dororo, Dororo ends up having to save all their asses
MOVIE 5 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 5: Creation! Ultimate Keroro, Wonder Space-Time Island - again, plotty and kinda serious; has a cool fight and some cute moments
S7 E312A - Dororo vs. Zeroro (his own past self!)
S7 E318A - no one's ever seen Dororo's mouth (he eats, drinks, sleeps, etc. with it on and always has) and it seems to be a bit embarrassing and very personal for him!
S7 E319A - there's a hacker in the base and it leads to some fun moments
S7 E320A - literally just the Platoon using bishounen robots to invade if you want to see them as those (Dororo looks like Trowa)
S7 E336A - Dororo vs. Zoruru rematch!
S7 E356A - the Platoon turns into dragons again to save Keron; has at least one or two neat moments
S7 E357 - fun situation where Keron decides to take over the invasion, and it shows how attached all the Platoon's gotten to Earth
Prowl's Most Pertinent Episodes:
S1 E01 - first of the three-parter showing how the crew got on Earth and the overall plot
S1 E02 - second of the three-parter...
S1 E03 - and finale of the three-parter!
S1 E04 - some good Prowl moments establishing his character further
S1 E06 - Dinobots episode; Prowl values life
S1 E12 - Prowl, Bulkhead, and Fanzone work together to save Sari; some good Prowl moments!
S1 E14 - Prowl, Bumblebee, and Sari go camping :D
S1 E15 - plotty and serious two-parter as Megatron revives
S1 E16 - end of the two-parter as Megatron revives
S2 E07 - Prowl vs. Lockdown vs. Starscream!
S3 E06 - Prowl vs. Lockdown again, this time with flashbacks to his ninja training!
S3 E08 - somewhat plotty two-parter where the Autobots are trapped in a simulation experiencing the world as humans
S3 E09 - second half of the two-parter!
S3 E12 - first of the very serious end-game two-parter
S3 E13 - second half of that; Prowl sacrifices himself
Watch just whichever ones you feel like, tbh!]
This ship really has my heart and has for like a decade. I'm not even kidding, either! If I had to explain the appeal of them, to me, it would be that... Okay, they're not even close to being the same person. But they have so much in common that I think it would actually surprise both of them when they start to really realize just how much.
Both of them come from heavily militarized planets. While Cybertron seems to have plenty of civilians, Ultra Magnus is the Magnus and Supreme Commander of the Autobots, leader of the Cybertron Elite Guard, and seemingly in charge on Cybertron as chairman of the Autobot High Council until grievously injured, and Sentinel Prime was upgraded to Sentinel Magnus to take over all of those roles; Keron on the other hand seems like it might be a fully militarized society with even elementary schoolers going to military-led academies and most if not all of the civilians we see being children or former soldiers. Cybertron had the draft and a military that has done some bad shit; Keron has obligatory enlistment and a military system that experiments on, clones, and mindwipes its own soldiers. Cybertronians are likely known as invaders and dangerous warmongers due at least to the Decepticons, while Keronians are actually invaders.
And it's not just their planets and militaries, but aspects of their personal characters as well. Both Prowl and Dororo are somewhat removed from their teams, preferring calmer things and their own ways, while still caring deeply for their friends. Both of them changed a lot after coming to Earth, quickly falling in love with the planet and its nature and striving to be more peaceable and centered and zen. Both seem to adore and deeply respect Earth's animals and have come to value and want to protect life in general. Neither are the most tech-inclined, with Prowl opposing Bumblebee's tech obsession outright and Dororo both disliking humans' dependence on cell phones (anime) and having a wooden computer somehow (manga). Both became close friends, practically family, with an Earth girl (though in Sari's case she wound up not being human). Both are incredibly impressive, well-trained ninja who have a deep respect for their ninja teachings!
Of course, they have some major differences as well that I find equally fascinating. Dororo can be easy to rope into the outright insanity of the Keroro Platoon's plans, while Prowl is often more aloof. Prowl only recently became friends with the others, while Dororo was childhood friends with Keroro and Giroro (and Pururu). Prowl can be more outright immature and irritable, and was a bit of a punk before; Dororo was sickly and was outright traumatized by his childhood friendship with Keroro specifically, and can be ridiculous and a bit cartoonishly violent (given that his series has elements of slapstick comedy). Prowl was a ninja back on Cybertron, while Dororo became a ninja after coming to Earth and used to be an assassin. And of course, Prowl came with Optimus and company to Earth by total accident and humanity knows they're there, while Dororo came with the Keroro Platoon to invade "Pekopon" and only select humans are allowed to know they exist.
Basically, they have some neat differences that could provide interesting elements to their interactions while also having so many unique things in common that I can easily seeing them click surprisingly well -- maybe even surprising to themselves. And I really love the idea of them warming to one another quickly and finding someone who's a lot like them. (And I also like the idea of Prowl getting to bond some with Koyuki if you'd like to include her, but obviously you don't need to!)
Actually Requested Tags
As a note, any crossover stuff with these two could take place in Japan (Musashi, Inner Tokyo, or elsewhere if the characters are on vacation or something), in Detroit, or in some third place that both groups are at for whatever reason. I am also always happy to have Koyuki involved in some way (also hurt or helping facilitate the comfort or helping comfort depending on the situation, or just bonding some with Prowl as well!), but it's not necessary to include her, of course.
H/C when they've only recently met! This could come along with some very interesting setups; it could be just these two meeting, or Optimus's group and the Keroro Platoon making peace/an alliance (however easily or uneasily), or the two groups assuming they're enemies/that the other group is a threat to Earth (and/or rival invaders) at first instead! Caring for someone who should be your enemy and Character taken prisoner; expects torture/humiliation; gets kind & honorable treatment fit especially well with that last one, of course, and could maybe even be the catalyst for both groups realizing they'd made a mistake -- or perhaps it's simply Prowl and/or Dororo who made the mistake, themselves. They thought no one was coming; got rescued by unexpected person and Unexpected rescue followed by tenderly patching up wounds could also be early on in their acquaintance if the rescue is that unexpected; maybe it's unexpected because they're a complete stranger, because they don't know yet that the other is a ninja, or because, again, they thought they were an enemy? Character A is surprised when Character B wants their help and not someone else's could also work for something like this, as the surprise might come from them being early in knowing one another, being uncertain about peace or alliance, or not knowing exactly how much they have in common yet (maybe only one of them has heard that the other is a ninja?). Finally (or almost finally), the tag Character resigned to loneliness finds unexpected intimacy with other(s) could really work for this no matter how "intimacy" is defined! Is it falling in love, physical intimacy, or even just realizing how much they actually have in common with someone when they've maybe felt not understood for a while (either or both of them)?
As a minor swerve from that, but still on the same topic: H/C when they've only recently met, but slight AU versions! Enemies find out they are soulmates is a great tag for something like this and there's a lot that could be played with here. If they're from different universes, do both universes even have soulmates normally, and even if they do, are the soulmate indicators something different between universes? If they're from the same universe, maybe only Cybertronians or only Keronians have usually soulmates, or maybe they both do but again their indicators are something different? (One having first words and the other only seeing in color upon meeting their soulmate, for example, or for more specific canon examples, maybe a significant symbol is lightly carved on a Cybertronian's spark casing while Keronians find their soulmates by resonating together and somehow Just Know It by sound?) The assumption that Cybertronians/Keronians are bad and dangerous and the two need to be enemies could be fun to play with here; would the assumption persist even after realizing the soulmate thing, or would that make everyone pause and go "wait, wait, maybe not?" And the other tag that really got to me for this one was Forced marriage - character receives unexpected comfort from new spouse -- maybe it's normal among various alien species to solidify an alliance or peace treaty via arranged marriage? Is it an attempt to make sure that both groups' presence on Earth together stays peacable?
Known each other for at least a bit, but the feelings are new or just coming to a head (after some pining or not)? Character A shows up on Character B's doorstep because they didn't know where else to go could work for this with either being Character A; maybe they've known each other just long enough to know they can turn to the other, especially if they can't go to their own teams for whatever reason. Maybe their teams are even in danger and that's what they need help with! Or maybe they're just hurt or in trouble somehow and their teams can't help or can't know for whatever reason. Maybe Koyuki even carries an unconscious Dororo to Prowl? For Characters never expected to cross paths again but now hurt A needs B’s help, maybe the two groups (or just these two) met before while in Japan or Detroit or the other's universe for whatever reason, then went back home and didn't know each other quite well enough to make an effort to keep in touch or meet again, but they unexpectedly cross paths just when Dororo or Prowl needs it most? Seeing character hurting prompts unexpected feelings could also work as the start of things, of course (and could even work for them not knowing each other well at all), as could Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings, while Unexpected Heart to Heart While Comforting could be the start of the two really getting closer when before they'd been a bit more distant. And of course Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B is a great tag for pining!
Battles, battle couples, and rescues! Big Damn Rescue (with comfort) is a perfect tag for this, of course, as is A is surprised at how much they're willing to risk to protect/save hurt character B, with either one working as the rescuer or the one in trouble. Mutually patching up injuries after battle is a great tag for figuring out how to even help someone so different from themselves (organic vs cybernetic; big vs tiny), and while Character A Doesn’t Know How To Help Hurt B Because Of Their Nonhuman Biology could be more of an emergency situation with one more badly hurt, this could also be a more mutual thing where they're both trying to figure out how to help each other! (Though of course it's "non-Cybertronian/non-Keronian" rather than non-human in their cases.) And while a lot of tags could work well for either or both character being hurt, Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety and Character is carried while barely conscious jumped out at me for Dororo being sick/injured specifically, as he's very much smaller; even if he were in a human form he'd be a lot smaller than Prowl in his Cybertronian form, though if you did go for both in human forms, either could be carrying the other! Finally, the tag Searching for injured partner/friend who was left behind could be REALLY fun, and either character could have been left behind in a lot of situations for a lot of reasons, but you could also choose to play with Dororo being easily forgotten for this one!
Past injuries and trauma! Dororo is an especially rich vein for this if you choose to take his trauma switch and often hurtful (sometimes literally) friendship with Keroro a bit more seriously, or delve into his insecurities and somewhat darker past. However, Prowl's own insecurities, regrets, and mourning of Yoketron could also easily be used! Character ground down by emotional abuse builds up self-esteem and happiness and Unresolved childhood trauma catches up to adult character are especially good tags for Dororo, as is Character is betrayed by good friend; while Keroro's betrayals are not always super serious, he can absolutely be callous in ways that are painful to Dororo and sometimes even be pretty cutthroat, and he wasn't the only one! Character Volunteering for Trauma Because They're Used to It, Character's Past Trauma Is Revealed Against Their Will, and Third Party Casually Reveals Serious Hurt in Character A's Past to Character B might also work especially literally with Dororo, but could easily be Prowl as well, and the first two could even easily be both of them. Emotional/mental scars manifesting as physical wounds could work for either or both as well. Gently touching a character's scar(s) and other similar tags could also easily work for either or both of them, as I can imagine Cybertronians having their own metal equivalent to scarring and the two of them have both done a lot of combat.
Finally, a few more tags that jumped out at me but that don't fit neatly into a specific theme! Character's Past Comes Back to Haunt Them (in a really bad way) could be surprisingly literal; Keroro Gunsou, specifically, is a series in which things such as de-aging, cloning, and shadow versions of one's past self are just straight-up canon, and Dororo specifically has actually had to fight his past self before! One of those things could happen to either of them? Or Dororo could actually wind up haunted by his past trauma in a literal or somehow harmful way, potentially. However, there is also obviously the more metaphorical interpretation, where a decision or enemy they made in their past comes back -- maybe Lockdown or someone pretending to be the ghost of Yoketron, or Zoruru? The tag Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them is great because I just love the intimacy of really knowing and understanding another person that much, and in their cases maybe it's even a surprise to be known that well? Quiet comfort after stressful hurt is a tag that reminds me of how alike they are, how they do seem to like the more quiet and zen things and might realize that could help the other (or both of them!) recover/recharge, while Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best is just sweet (though I do feel like Prowl is probably more likely the awkward one, maybe especially if the hurt is a bit on the weirder side for his own canon or expressed in an unusual way). Taken Off Guard By Small Displays Of Affection could work well in a lot of ways, whether pining or just displays of that kind of casual intimacy that speaks of comfort with the other person, feeling close to them and knowing them well. Finally, maybe the Bathing together as comfort tag could even work, due to Keronian physiology being benefitted by humidity and water?
Links to Previous Letters
Unfortunately, I have not requested this ship in exchanges before!
Canon-Specific DNWs
Keroro Gunsou | Sgt. Frog
Dororo/Kururu
(Dororo hurt, Kururu hurt, or both hurt)
[Where you can find the series: Here or here!
Most Pertinent Episodes:
S1 E9A - introducing Kururu
S1 E13 - introducing Dororo, rescuing him, and working together!
S1 E14 - the Platoon works on a plan for the first time with Dororo... dammit Kururu
S1 E28B - shows Kururu's personality + how he's "allergic" to cute/sweet/pure things (and people); Dororo only has a smallish part
S1 E40 - this just shows how chaotic the Platoon as a whole can get, Dororo being forgotten, and Kururu actually not liking being unpopular
S1 E47A - "Kururuko" helps the rest of the Platoon (including Dororo, this time! bad idea) make Hinamatsuri "more interesting"
S1 E49A - Dororo's not in this one, but Kururu shocks everyone by not being a jerk... for a bit, maybe
S1 E51 - the Platoon "leaves forever" (only not)
S2 E64B - Keroro's been a dick to Dororo since childhood, also Kururu's a genius
S2 E68B - Kururu's not really in this one; Dororo re-meets a dog, though!
S2 E82A - Dororo's not in this one; "Kururuko" enters a competition to "meet 623"
S2 E83B - Kururu accidentally gets turned into a baby!
S2 E98B - Kururu's not in this one; Dororo first meeting Koyuki
S2 E101 - the Garuru Platoon invades; this episode and the next two are a three-parter, plotty and actually kinda serious
S2 E102 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S2 E103 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S3 E134B - Dororo's not in this one, but Kururu and Fuyuki go to Akihabara and it has some fun stuff in it
S3 E135B - Dororo and Kururu work together in this one to fuck with Keroro and it's great
S3 E153 - first of a more serious two-parter; the Platoon disappears
S3 E154 - second of the more serious two-parter; Dororo helps save the day
S4 E155 - this just shows the Platoon including both them being. ridiculous. songs and also resonance.
S4 E161 - the Platoon is attacked by an outside group; Kururu and Dororo (and Mutsumi) help stop them
S4 165A - Kururu's just great in this one; Dororo's minor but they interact?
S4 171B - Dororo's not in this one, but it shows a bit more of Kururu's personality and way of doing things!
S4 E189 - Kururu's not really in this one, but Dororo has to face his old assassin teacher in what seems to be a fight to the death!
S4 E199 - Dororo's minor in this one, but Kururuko becomes an idol!
MOVIE 3 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel - again plotty and kinda serious
S5 E214 - Dororo's not in this one much, but Kururu quits temporarily for the dumbest reason and it's great
S5 E229 - B story focuses on Kururu (and Mutsumi) but A story sets up context; plotty and kinda serious when it gets to that point, has Dororo jump in to help Kururu a bit and more firmly establishes their friendship than most episodes
MOVIE 4 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 4: Gekishin Dragon Warriors - again, plotty and kinda serious, has some nice scenes with both and a cute moment at the end
S6 E259 - Kururu's not in this one, but we get to see Dororo and Koyuki revisit their old ninja village
S6 E260 - flashback to the Platoon's first time meeting and working together!
S6 E284 - the Platoon gets taken over by an asshole, they turn on Dororo, Dororo ends up having to save all their asses, also Kururu's a genius
S6 E307 - has some cute moments for the characters separately and shows that they'll all be together in the future
MOVIE 5 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 5: Creation! Ultimate Keroro, Wonder Space-Time Island - again, plotty and kinda serious; has some cute moments with both of them
S7 E312A - Dororo vs. Zeroro (his own past self!) with some good moments from Kururu
S7 E318A - no one's ever seen Dororo's mouth (he eats, drinks, sleeps, etc. with it on and always has) and it seems to be a bit embarrassing and very personal for him!
S7 E319 - there's a hacker in the base and this part has great moments with both of them; Dororo's not in the second half but Kururu is bright and also has a soft spot!
S7 E320A - literally just the Platoon using bishounen robots to invade if you want to see them as those (Dororo looks like Trowa and Kururu looks like Zechs)
S7 E336A - Kururu's barely in this one but it has Dororo vs. Zoruru again!
S7 E356A - the Platoon turns into dragons again to save Keron; has at least one or two neat moments for them both
S7 E357 - fun situation where Keron decides to take over the invasion, and it shows how attached all the Platoon's gotten to Earth
Watch just whichever ones you feel like, tbh!]
(I've watched most of Keroro Gunso, and I think I've seen every episode that has a focus on either of these two, or at least most of them; I don't mind spoilers at all for any episodes I haven't seen, so feel free to refer to anything. I've also seen all the movies. As for the manga, I've read up through Volume 19, and I'm spoiled for stuff from later volumes! I prefer the characterizations in the anime on the whole, but feel free to incorporate details from the manga to spice things up because I do love it too!)
My love for this ship isn't 100% about their canon interactions, honestly; those are fairly few, somewhat far between, and the two don't seem all that close necessarily. However, they do have some interactions and little details about them that make me feel like they have the potential to grow closer or could have done so in the background of the series! From the start, Dororo being in actual legit trouble did seem to worry the entire Keroro Platoon, including Kururu, and whenever any of the Platoon are in real trouble Dororo often abruptly swoops in to save the day. But more than that...
Even all the way back in Season 3, in the second half of Episode 135, Dororo and Kururu unexpectedly bond a bit over Keroro not valuing a single grain of rice (weirdos) and team up to fuck with him over it to teach him a lesson! Near the end of Season 5, Episode 229, Dororo realizes something's wrong and knocks Keroro and Giroro the fuck out so that Kururu can help/save Mutsumi, and his little speech about how sometimes someone gets caught up in something they can't explain but you try your best to do everything you can to help them as a friend applies to him and Kururu in that moment as much as Kururu and Mutsumi! (Who I also ship, so that got me.) At the end of the fourth movie, when Kururu gets knocked over it's Dororo who tries to help him up, and in the fifth movie it's shown that Kururu and Mutsumi are playing shogi on a rooftop when it's usually Dororo and Mutsumi doing that (so they apparently all three have that in common, or Kururu learned!). In the first part of Episode 312 in Season 7, Kururu seems to become concerned and realize something's wrong at the same moment as Giroro, who's known Dororo a lot longer, and twigs onto what's really happening at the same time as Koyuki, who's the closest person to him. And by the second-to-last episode (and what feels like more of a series finale than the actual finale, honestly), Episode 357 of Season 7, the entire Platoon devotes themselves to being the Earth Defense Force -- actually calling it "Earth" as well, rather than Pekopon, which only Dororo had ever done before -- all of them, including Kururu, catching up to Dororo's devotion in that regard. And honestly, just the little detail that Kururu is the only person in the entire series Dororo has ever said the name of without any honorific attached fascinates me a little by itself!
So there are some neat moments every so often, even if they're few and far between, and ones that can even be read as a progression of either regard or closeness or both if one wants to! But I also really like them in a more general sense for the possibilities on top of their actual interactions. They could have a very interesting dynamic if they did get closer! Kururu is "the biggest jerk in the universe" who cares about other people more than he seems to want to and definitely more than he likes to let on, while Dororo is a sweetheart dedicated to peace and protection, with a soft heart, who can be ruthless at times and used to be the Keron Army's top assassin. Kururu goes out of his way to be a jerk seemingly more for the sake of it than anything else, while Dororo is dedicated to being fair, honorable, and (usually) kind. Dororo is traumatized by being forgotten and mistreated, while in the early episodes the closest thing to a "trauma switch" Kururu seems to have (despite his purposeful jerkishness!) is being called out as unpopular and actually disliked. Kururu seems outright allergic to sweet and cute things and people, especially Mois, but seems unbothered by Dororo as well as Mutsumi. For their own very different reasons, they're the two Platoon members most likely to go "nah, not interested" and just peace out of participating in a mission, or to decide they want to do their own thing. And just for more minor things, Kururu's eyes are always covered up by his glasses and Dororo's never seen without his mask, and Dororo is the nature-oriented while Kururu is more tech-oriented (though Dororo seems to appreciate Kururu's skills despite that). Basically, I could actually see them coming to appreciate each other, especially if Dororo saw under Kururu's jerk exterior and decided he was worth being patient and trying for closeness.
Actually Requested Tags
First I want to bring up some ideas that definitely work best if Dororo is the one hurt! (Though some of them also work the other way around quite well.)
The thing that comes immediately to mind for me for this is the fact that Dororo is easily forgotten, and there are some potential tags that could really lean into this. Absence of Team Loner/Odd Person Out/Black Sheep Noticed Too Late - Bad Thing Happens to Absentee and Searching for injured partner/friend who was left behind are the two most obvious, as Dororo not being noticed or remembered by the rest of the Platoon (including Kururu or not, if he was backing them up from his lab or just not interested in the situation at first) is obviously very common and could easily be played for both emotional and physical hurt, or emotional hurt and physical danger! They thought no one was coming; got rescued by unexpected person could also play into this very easily. All of these tags work for Kururu as well, however; he is somewhat of a black sheep that the Platoon occasionally purposefully tries not to involve, and if he had to be left behind in a situation for some reason it makes sense for Dororo the ninja to be the extraction or the one to swoop in and save him, just for two examples.
Then there's stuff that has to do with Dororo's past, either trauma-wise or as an assassin! It would be easy to lean into that for hurt/comfort; several episodes canonically sort of went there with the latter (episodes 189, versus Jirara; 312A, versus a shadow version of his past self; and 336A, versus Zoruru), and while his trauma switch is played for laughs it obviously does affect and upset him. Character ground down by emotional abuse builds up self-esteem and happiness is a great tag for recovering from trauma, while Character Volunteering for Trauma Because They're Used to It is a possibly darker possibility and Emotional/mental scars manifesting as physical wounds could be even darker (but could also potentially be done with Kururu instead/as well!); Character is betrayed by good friend unfortunately works well for fuckery from Keroro, who does that a lot, and it could be played as either more serious or more ridiculous in tone like in the show! Unresolved childhood trauma catches up to adult character is just generally what happens repeatedly in the show and again could be done in the show's tone (irreverent) or taken more seriously, and maybe works best for Dororo but could also be done with Kururu if you preferred! Character's Past Comes Back to Haunt Them (in a really bad way) could easily go beyond trauma switch stuff and straight into something like in those episodes, where someone from Dororo's assassin past or even a version of his past self shows up to cause trouble! Maybe even haunting from an actual ghost of someone Dororo actually assassinated back when he was Zeroro? (Or something/someone pretending to be that?) But maybe instead Kururu "gets to" take a turn with this one, having someone he made upset return (Tororo or someone else entirely? someone he supplanted when he became the Keron Army's youngest Major before being demoted again?) or being haunted by his own past self for some reason this time?
Then there's other possibilities that work really well with a hurt Dororo specifically... or work really well with Kururu as comforter, specifically! The tag Character A insists they doesn't care about Character B; also insists on providing comfort jumps out as being quite fitting for that, and on the other side of things, Character being their usual awful self is strangely comforting and Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting would both work very well for, well, Kururu as a comforter! Comforter Becomes Unusually Demonstrative with Hurt Character could work for either, honestly, but Dororo is the more demonstrative of the two generally so it again might fit Kururu as comforter more. Gently touching a character's scar(s) could be played with if you think that Dororo might have scars from his childhood, assassin training, or something during the war (maybe even a scar at his mouth that's usually hidden by his mask?). Protectiveness - Character A still tries to protect Character B despite A being injured feels like it especially fits Dororo as Character A, being sort of a Determinator and perfectly willing to push through things/used to it due to training and childhood. Finally, the tag Strong A skilled in combat is injured; weaker B must protect them both could work well for Dororo being A (even if it's mutual comfort), as Kururu is brilliant at what he does but not a front-line fighter at all.
Then there's some ideas that came to mind for Kururu being the hurt one specifically! Some ideas don't work physiologically quite as well the other way around. The first thing that came to mind looking at the tags was a situation where Dororo has to carry Kururu: Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety and Character is carried while barely conscious were the tags that jumped out at me for that, but feel free to go with anything! There's also a bunch of tags about huddling for warmth/sharing body heat, and Dororo's training allowing him to ignore and not actually be affected by extreme temperatures combined with Keronians' usual weakness to cold makes that kind of thing work well if Kururu's the one in trouble but Dororo can actually help! Character A shares body heat with Character b to keep them alive and warm is the most obvious tag for this, but even just more character needs help staying warm or Huddling For Warmth while pining (with either or both pining!) work really well!
And there are also ideas that work best with Kururu being the one hurt due to characterization reasons... You could really lean into Kururu's jerkishness from the hurt side of things as well, which makes tags like Character is an awful patient and/or Character is prickly and bad-tempered while recovering from hurt; comforter is chill about it very fitting; Character being their usual awful self is strangely comforting could actually even work here as well, with Kururu acting like himself despite injury or sickness being reassuring. Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection could really be both of them, honestly, but Kururu seems outright the least used to it! Something like A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk with Kururu as A also works really well, as does Sick/hurt character doesn't often show vulnerability (so it's a big deal when they do) as Dororo is much more open to showing vulnerability and Kururu is... not so much. Finally, I'm a sucker for things like Taking Off Sick/Hurt Character's Glasses and would love something like that with Kururu, too!
Then there are the things that work with either or both of them being hurt; I like a lot of the more general tags (wound bandaging and patching up, bedsharing and bedside vigils and refusing to leave the other's side, seeing someone hurt or nearly losing them or taking care of them causing feelings or a realization of feelings...) and Big Damn Rescue (with comfort) and Unexpected rescue followed by tenderly patching up wounds are also just great tags, so you could do a lot just with any of those! While, as mentioned, Dororo is great with the cold, if the temperature is actually extreme enough that both are in some danger, Characters have to share body heat to avoid hypothermia could work as a tag. Wounded Characters Try To Care For One Another could easily be physical wounds that they're trying to patch up, but could instead (or also?) be emotional/psychological wounds and the two trying to care about each other anyway!
I also love some more specific scenarios suggested by some of the tags, too: Bathing together as comfort works really well for a species that likes water and humidity so much, and Character with injured hands requires assistance (which turns sexual) could work well for either of them (though Kururu jumps to mind given his work needing a lot of typing and detail work with his hands, Dororo is probably more likely to have his injured, so it works both ways) and is very appealing! Both characters can be really vital to missions in different ways, so either would work in a scenario like the one presented by the Sick/hurt character indispensable on case/mission; team looks after them while they get things done tag. The tag A protects B from injury with their own body; B is deeply affected by A being hurt could easily be either of them, actually, given that while it's very rare Kururu has pulled this shit before (with Mutsumi) and I could absolutely see Dororo doing it too. And both of them have come to the other's rescue before in a professional capacity, so seeing Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe in a ship capacity with either as Character A could be great!
Finally, there are three somewhat vaguer H/C scenario ideas that I always love that I think could work well for these two, that you could do a lot of different things with and I'd adore it! Feelings being unintentionally given away due to extreme situations is great; the tags Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, and Delirious character unintentionally reveals their regard for their comforter work well for that but there are a lot of other things you can do with it. I also love moments of sort of... quiet intimacy in H/C; Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, works well there, too, as do the tags Character resigned to loneliness finds unexpected intimacy with other(s), Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges (with the "low key" part making it feel like maybe the other only notices because they've come to know each other well), Quiet comfort after stressful hurt, and Taken Off Guard By Small Displays Of Affection. That last one also works really well for my final H/C love, which is feelings or revelation of some coming as a big shock: something like Character A is surprised when Character B wants their help and not someone else's could work well with either of them as either character, and could even come along with Comforter stunned by how much comfortee trusts them, and there's also A is surprised at how much they're willing to risk to protect/save hurt character B on the other side of things!
Links to Previous Letters
Unfortunately, I have not requested this ship in exchanges before!
Canon-Specific DNWs
Keroro Gunsou | Sgt. Frog
Kururu/Saburo Mutsumi
(Kururu hurt, Mutsumi hurt, or both hurt)
[Where you can find the series: Here or here!
Most Pertinent Episodes:
S1 E9A - introducing both characters
S1 E28B - Mutsumi's not in this one, but shows Kururu's personality + how he's "allergic" to cute/sweet/pure things (and people)
S1 E47A - Mutsumi's not in this one, but "Kururuko" helps the rest of the platoon make Hinamatsuri "more interesting"
S1 E49A - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururu shocks everyone by not being a jerk... for a bit, maybe
S1 E51 - the Platoon "leaves forever" (only not)
S2 E82A - 623 hosts a competition to let one fan meet him face-to-face; "Kururuko" enters
S2 E83B - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururu accidentally gets turned into a baby!
S2 E101 - the Garuru Platoon invades; this episode and the next two are a three-parter, plotty and actually kinda serious
S2 E102 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S2 E103 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S3 E112 - Kururu and Mutsumi first meet, and Mutsumi winds up with Kururu's reality pen
S3 E134B - Mutsumi's not really in this one, but Kururu and Fuyuki go to Akihabara and it has some fun stuff in it
S4 E161 - the Platoon is attacked by an outside group; Mutsumi shows up to help
S4 165A - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururu is just great in it
S4 171B - Mutsumi's not in this one, but it shows a bit more of Kururu's personality and way of doing things!
S4 E199 - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururuko becomes an idol!
MOVIE 3 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel - again plotty and kinda serious, some fun shippy scenes
S5 E214 - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururu quits the Platoon temporarily for the dumbest reason and it's great
S5 E229 - B story focuses on them but A story sets up context; plotty and kinda serious when it gets to that point and VERY SHIPPY including the credits
MOVIE 4 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 4: Gekishin Dragon Warriors - again, plotty and kinda serious, has some nice scenes with both
S5 E237 - part of a story arc with the Platoon on another world; Kururu encourages the version of Mutsumi of that world
S5 E240A - this one's convoluted and dumb (complimentary) but there's a sauna sequence and the two of them working together on something... interesting
S6 E298B - Kururu's not in it; Mutsumi regularly uses the reality pen to check in on himself in alternate dimensions
S6 E307 - has some cute moments for the characters separately and shows that they'll all be together in the future
MOVIE 5 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 5: Creation! Ultimate Keroro, Wonder Space-Time Island - plotty and kinda serious; has a cute scene near the beginning with both of them
S7 E320A - Mutsumi's not in it; literally just the Platoon using bishounen robots to invade if you want to see Kururu as one of those (he looks like Zechs)
S7 E354B - Kururu helps Mutsumi fake being a Venusian and keep broadcasting as 623 without risking his identity
S7 E357 - fun situation where Kururu invites Mutsumi to visit Keron, things go bad, and it shows how attached all the Platoon's gotten to Earth
Watch just whichever ones you feel like, tbh!]
(I've watched most of Keroro Gunso, and I think I've seen every episode Mutsumi is in; I don't mind spoilers at all for any episodes I haven't seen, so feel free to refer to anything. I've also seen all the movies. As for the manga, I've read up through Volume 19, and I'm spoiled for stuff from later volumes! I prefer Kururu's personality in the anime and prefer anime Saburo Mutsumi to manga Hojo Mutsumi, but feel free to incorporate details from the manga to spice things up because I do love it too! I especially love the spoilers about Mutsumi from later volumes...)
I fucking love these two assholes! I love how they don't seem like they'd click at all, except they're canonically on the same wavelength and are so obviously best friends, and care about each other in ways that are absolutely uncharacteristic for both of them. Mutsumi is friendly as hell but doesn't really get that close to anyone, keeping a mysterious distance most of the time and even not being that close to Fuyuki or Natsumi even when he gets closer to them as friends. He also seems to find a lot fairly boring, and is just so stoked by everything the aliens are doing, even (especially!) when that's invasion-of-Earth stuff; he always seems delighted to get involved in their antics! And Kururu is "the most unlikeable guy," likes to make it well known he doesn't give a shit about most things, wants to put people off, hates sweetness and light to the point that it physically injures him... and yet this upbeat, bright-eyed, adorable, kinda cool but kinda dorky teen is his BFF.
When they first meet, Mutsumi spends the whole time metaphorically pulling pigtails because he's decided he 100% wants this alien in his life; he blushes when Kururu gives him the Reality Pen! When the Keronians are all dimension hopping and they meet an alternate universe version of Mutsumi, Kururu pep talks him. Whenever Kururu's in trouble, he seems to know exactly how to get Mutsumi to come help. When Mutsumi's life is in danger in Episode 229, Kururu blows the entire budget on making him another reality pen, shows the clearest concern he's maybe shown in his entire life racing to the rescue, and puts himself right between a deadly blast and Mutsumi in order to toss him the pen. When given the opportunity to invite the humans they care about to visit Keron, Kururu immediately does, Keroro knows he has without being told, and Kururu's the one who investigates the whole invitation and sounds the alarms on it being a trap. At one point, Mutsumi and Kururu go to a sauna together and Mutsumi agrees to make a steamy video for him, because why not? Mutsumi asked Kururu to teach him how to resonate, which is something Platoons do together but can also canonically be romantic!
These two do not seem like they would work, and yet they absolutely do, know they do, and embrace it. It's wonderful. I don't even have more to say, I just love how all-in they are on each other... not even "despite themselves," per se, because they don't seem to resist it at all after Kururu's reluctance on that first day!
Actually Requested Tags
First, I'd just like to note that I really like some very general H/C scenarios for these two: ones suggested by tags like Bandaging wounds, Bedsharing while one of the characters is injured, Bedside Vigils, Big Damn Rescue (with comfort), Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured, Mutually patching up injuries after battle, Refusing to Leave Hurt Character's Side, and Wounded Characters Try To Care For One Another are all somewhat more general and great scenarios that I'd be happy with either/both hurt!
There's also somewhat less general scenarios, ones to do with rescue and recovery and realization of feelings. Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them, A is surprised at how much they're willing to risk to protect/save hurt character B, and Nearly losing someone reveals deeper feelings are all great examples of a scenario where one of them being hurt/in danger leads to the other realizing their own feelings, which is catnip to me! There's also a bunch of tags where someone's feelings form or come to light during the recovery period, sometimes with pining, all of which I also love and could be used as prompt inspiration: A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Comforter Becomes Unusually Demonstrative with Hurt Character, Delirious character unintentionally reveals their regard for their comforter, and Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings are great examples of this! Alternately, there's the scenario that the tag Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe suggests, where feelings aren't only just coming to light or forming necessarily (though they could be!) but one pushes themself hard to help the other. And finally there's soft, maybe intimate moments of comfort, like the ones implied in tags like Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges and Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable, where they also obviously have to know each other well and quietly care about each other.
I'm also really into scenarios that feel more specific to the two of them in some way, at least a bit. Things like Awkward Comforter and Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best are intriguing to me with these two, with either of them as the comforter, since Mutsumi doesn't seem like he's especially close to people before and besides Kururu, and Mutsumi might also be the only person Kururu would actually attempt to actually comfort; for similar reasons, things like Character resigned to loneliness finds unexpected intimacy with other(s) could work well for either or both of them as well! Since they're on the same wavelength (or rather, "radio wave buddies," which feels potentially even deeper than that!), scenarios like the ones presented with Character A hides illness/injury perfectly; Character B can still tell, Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them, and even The one person you trust to be weak in front of work really well for these two, and Character A shows up on Character B's doorstep because they didn't know where else to go also shows how close they are (and either could be either character; Kururu might actually know where Mutsumi lives and Mutsumi could always go to Kururu's lab!). Character has a history of pretending to feel better than they do seems to be true for both of them in different ways, but maybe especially Mutsumi; Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection seems to be true for both of them in different ways, but maybe especially Kururu; Sick/hurt character doesn't often show vulnerability (so it's a big deal when they do) just in general seems to be true of both of them, and maybe they wouldn't even express it in front of anyone else the way they do with each other! Comforter stunned by how much comfortee trusts them could work especially well in their early days, potentially, but could also take even them aback later...
There are also two tags that really jumped out at me, that could be read as more general but feel surprisingly specific when it comes to these two! Identity Issues is a slightly more vague tag that I feel could be really interesting when applied to one or both of these two. Especially taking his manga past into account, Mutsumi didn't seem to care much about Earth, humanity, or people in general before meeting Kururu and didn't really have friends before him, only becoming more friendly with Dororo, Natsumi, and Fuyuki afterwards; he may actually be changing as a person a lot. You could also potentially play with the fact that he regularly observes other universe's versions of himself! And Kururu has a very strong sense of identity as a jerk, but sometimes he tempers that (a bit) play-acting as as Kururuko and he in general seems to be a lot less of a jerk with Mutsumi as a rule, and even alternate universe versions of Mutsumi... So he's compromising that aspect of himself, and is he changing at all? And then there's A protects B from injury with their own body; B is deeply affected by A being hurt, which really stood out to me because we kind of did see it in Episode 229 in a more minor way! Kururu got in the way of a deadly blast for Mutsumi, and it was a form of trust fall and they were both unharmed, but it definitely shows that Kururu at least would definitely pull that kind of shit for Mutsumi and Mutsumi definitely looked horrified for a moment. I'd love to see him pull some shit like that again, or to see Mutsumi actually do that for him instead. (It WOULD be easier for Mutsumi to shield Kururu with his body to be fair, and I love both ideas equally!)
Some scenarios and the tags that made me think of them work especially well if Kururu is the one injured: Bathing together as comfort could have to do with Keronians doing well with water and humidity, though it could also work for a "both hurt" scenario, and could work for physical or emotional/psychological hurt; tags like Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety and Character is carried while barely conscious work better if Mutsumi is carrying Kururu, but Kururu could also carry Mutsumi if using a robot or other invention (or even as Kururuko!). Something like Character A Doesn’t Know How To Help Hurt B Because Of Their Nonhuman Biology also works especially well with Kururu as Character B, of course, but it could also be a scenario where Kururu finds out Mutsumi's not entirely human anymore via his physiology being different during dangerous situation/while Mutsumi's hurt! Character A shares body heat with Character b to keep them alive and warm and other similar scenarios work best with Kururu being the one in danger, since Keronians are more threatened by the cold and are also smaller, though I'm also a sucker for things like Huddling For Warmth while pining as maybe mutual danger with either or both of them pining. And situations like Character is an awful patient and Character is prickly and bad-tempered while recovering from hurt; comforter is chill about it certainly work well with Kururu being the one recovering! Something like A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk could also work really well with Kururu as A, and of course while I'm a sucker for things like Taking Off Sick/Hurt Character's Glasses it only really works with Kururu! Finally, I'm a sucker for things like Character A drops the lighthearted facade when Character B is in danger, and Mutsumi definitely works better as Character A (though this could be mutual hurt as well!).
And some others work better with Mutsumi as the one hurt, or I somewhat prefer them that way! Kururu is the one who has solid plans more often, it seems, so something like Character A abandons plans in order to rescue Character B works well with Mutsumi as Character B. Character being their usual awful self is strangely comforting could work with Kururu being awful even while hurt or sick and that being comforting, but using it with him as the actual comforter also makes a lot of sense, kinda like the tag Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting! A scenario like Character is trapped in another dimension and communicates through dreams is a really unique one, and works well with Mutsumi being trapped given his jaunts into other dimensions using his reality pen; he might be emotionally/psychologically hurt, in actual danger, or even physically injured depending on the dimension, but it could also be a mutual hurt situation with focus also on Kururu's worry and/or getting hurt to get him back! While I'm super happy for a scenario like Character with injured hands requires assistance (which turns sexual) to apply to either (since they both do a lot of work with their hands including in actively dangerous situations), tags like Impaled through the hand or impaled through the wrist I REALLY like applied to Mutsumi -- maybe while he was trying to use the Reality Pen? I also really like things like A doesn't know how to help shaken-up B after B nearly dies with Mutsumi as B, though that's maybe more mutual hurt with focus on both of their psychological/emotional pain? Finally, after Episode 229 especially and some of Mutsumi's other carelessness, a scenario like the one implied in A fails to sacrifice self for greater good; LI becomes conscious of A’s broken/suicidal state really appeals to me with Mutsumi as A; it could even be in response to the events of 229, though it could also be something totally different/new!
I'd also be interested in certain AU situations for these two! Character goes through psychological hell in Silent Hill AU is such a fascinating tag to me; I love characters being stuck in Silent Hill and having to deal with the strange and horrifying things there that are geared specifically to their own psychology and history... For that tag it being mutual would work well but if Silent Hill is mostly focused on one of them I think it'd make sense if it were Mutsumi, who was at least born on Earth (maybe one of his parents was born in Silent Hill and/or part of its cult, and/or he was born there for some reason?). Character taken prisoner; expects torture/humiliation; gets kind & honorable treatment could be an interesting scenario for a universe in which the Keroro Platoon or the Keron Army actually proceeded with the invasion from the start, but it could also be in a situation where Mutsumi stayed with the N326ans and maybe they and the Keronians were at war? Either could capture the other, really! I am also totally into soulmate AUs with these two; the tags Soulmark AU - Culturally Inappropriate Soulmate and Soulmates - Everyone has soulmarks; A & B don't immediately jumped out at me as promising, but anything could be fun! Maybe for the first, it's culturally inappropriate for Keronians to have non-Keronian soulmates, or soulmates from a planet they're meant to be invading? For the second, would Kururu and Mutsumi not having soulmarks be explained by them having alien soulmates, if Keronians and humans (or N326ans!) have different soulmate indicators? For the first tag, or any other variation of a soulmate AU you do, I want to also mention that I in general love the idea of different species having different soulmate indicators, as well as loving the idea of Keronians being able to identify their soulmates by resonating together! And while wingfic can be done in ways that aren't AU -- Mutsumi being able to manifest tiny little wing things in the manga, and seeming like maybe he automatically does so when he floats or uses N326an powers? -- I'd also love an AU where he actually has legit wings or can pull them out or suddenly forms them, maybe also due to N326an influence, or one where they're maybe a part of the Keronian life cycle, with feathers or without! 54. Wingfic - bandaging damaged wings, Wingfic - Wing injuries, and Wingfic - grooming neglected wings were the three that immediately jumped out at me; maybe for the first two the wings come out or grow during an emergency situation, and maybe for the last Mutsumi usually keeps them hidden or Kururu just doesn't bother taking care of them much?
Finally... this is the one ship where I would actually like noncon/dubcon, but specifically noncon/dubcon where it's being forced on one or both of them by an outside force! Tags like Aftermath - Character doesn't tell anyone they were tortured/raped; is found out anyway, A doesn't know how to help shaken-up B after B is nearly raped or A doesn't know how to help shaken-up B after B is raped where Mutsumi is the character in question/Character B are great. Mutual Bad Guys Made Them Do It is great, especially with a tag like Comforting each other during forced mutual noncon by bad guys or Forced mutual noncon by another but nonetheless tries to comfort the other, and Comfort after Fuck Or Die scenario would also work well whether any part of the actual scene is written or not! Finally, Captivity - Hurt!A begs/flirts to draw captor away from molesting B (succeeds) would be great as well with either in either role, but I admit I immediately pictured Mutsumi as A. (All/any of these are also another situation where I'd be interested in a crossover/AU, particularly Togainu no Chi, but it would also work great with any enemy including other invading aliens or even other Keronians!)
Links to Previous Letters
If you want more ideas for prompts, I've asked for them in exchanges a couple times before!
Canon-Specific DNWs
The Last Halloween (Webcomic)
Dr. Fugue/Robert
Dr. Fugue/Robert & Mona
Dr. Fugue/Robert & Shirley
(Fugue hurt, Robert hurt, both hurt, Mona hurt, or Shirley hurt)
[Where you can find the comic: Here!
Book 1 is by far the most pertinent; that's 7 chapters/about 114 pages.]
For Dr. Fugue/Robert, this takes a little bit of explaining, since their interactions are minor and not particularly significant. But the more I thought about them individually, I liked what their slight interplay does say about them and how the shapes of their arcs kinda work together.
Doctor Fugue is undead, a doctor and supernatural (mad) scientist, a Victorian-ish ghost. One who haunts the church and can't leave. He employs what he thinks of as a little group of undead children to help him graverob bodies for his raising-the-dead experiments (as well as upgrading/replacing Jangles's various bits). He's a big faker: Robert flat-out says he's not a good doctor, which is proven very correct when Mona comes back; he not only hands a ten year old a magic weapon he knows nothing about and sends her and the other "kids" out with completely incorrect information, he's apparently sent multiple "group[s] of untrained misfits to their deaths without actually nowing what was going on," to the point that Charon's chewed him out about it at least once before. His whole arc seems to involve him getting a huge dose of guilt for once in his unlife, realizing just how badly he fucked this little group up, seeming to have a change of heart about the "playing Dr. Frankenstein" thing and trying in some small ways to start to make amends.
Robert, on the other hand, is posing as an undead, a doll cursed to life by voodoo. Until he tells Mona and Shirley, literally no one in the group including Fugue knows that he's a monster, not undead at all, and is also immortal (or what they call immortal) due to killing his human several decades prior; he claims to be an undead to avoid the attention of the Phagocyte. He's around 117 years old, if not a bit older, and he's often the closest thing the group has to a straight-man; he keeps his own secrets, even when it would be really helpful to share, because he rarely feels invested in others, and he doesn't tend to personally lend much of a hand, especially not to save people. He's calm and soft-spoken, good with normal human adults, and very calmly makes threats when called for as well (and sometimes even commits violence against his undead "friends," such as sewing Ringley's mouth shut, though they don't seem to mind). His own arc involves him actually becoming attached to the situation and its people for once, to the point of purposefully sacrificing his life to give Mona a chance to survive and succeed (on what is, unbeknownst to them, a fool's errand), even admitting his own origins and past and coming face-to-face with the fact, for the first time, that maybe his nature as a monster is something he can choose to act counter to.
...So Fugue sends Mona, Robert, and the others off on a pointless quest that gets one of them killed and nearly kills two more of them, and is having to live with that fuck-up (figuratively speaking). And by the end of Book One he still hasn't even been made aware that Robert was a monster the whole time and has sort of... fused with the magic sickle that's supernaturally bonded to Mona.
And then of course, for this relationship, there's also a lot of potential in adding Mona and/or Shirley to the mix! Mona is ten years old during the events of Book One, and incredibly aware that she is ten and should not be involved in this shit. Fugue shoves a magic sickle in her hands and pushes her out the door with a few undead "child" chaperones during the Apocalypse, including Robert and Shirley, so she can go take care of it; this is a whole bunch of terrible decisions all in a clump, made worse by him not understanding the situation and actually sending them on a wild goose chase in the end. Mona has to chop up and even kill multiple monsters, nearly dying more than once and actually losing an arm to the ordeal, something she makes clear to Fugue that she'll never forgive him for (which he finds fair). Shirley is a ghoul who doesn't seem to really have time for what's going on, glued to her phone all night... which she reveals is because the Internet is going nuts due to the Apocalypse, with humans, undead, and monsters all recording everything, and her Intenret savvy and connections prove vital when it turns out the Heir they're after to save the world is actually an Internet friend of hers.
Robert, for his part, goes along to keep everyone on track and give them even a tiny chance, but he saves Mona's life once and tells her he'll never do it again so she'd better learn to save herself. Mona does learn, however, despite him keeping a lot of information back and outright lying at times, and he becomes more attached to her and Shirley both and invested in the outcome of their mission. It even gets to the point that he eventually fully opens up, becomes somewhat more reassuring (and even open to affectionate touch, which was Not a thing for him at first), sort of steps into a mentor role to Mona, and promptly sacrifices his own life to give her a fighting chance. Shirley is obviously shaken and sympathetic when she finds out he was a monster the whole time; Mona and Fugue are obviously both hit by his death, and Fugue definitely comes to regret his choices and the results they had on Robert, Mona, and Shirley (who herself almost died, and the Dr. Frankensteinian Dr. Fugue actually swears off using corpses to make more undead for a while as he decides to use one of the fresh corpses to save Shirley's life instead). It's just a very interesting set of characters and relationships, imo, who are all affected and shaken badly by the general situation but also by the lies told and secrets kept, primarily by Fugue but also arguably by Robert.
Actually Requested Tags
Unlike in the other sections of this letter, I think it will be clearest if I simply split this up by: prompts that work for Fugue hurt, prompts that work for Robert hurt, prompts that work for Mona or Shirley hurt, and finally all the prompts that work for more than just one of the above.
First, the prompts that work especially well for Dr. Fugue being the one who's hurt, or with a focus on his hurt! Given that Robert sacrifices himself near the end of Book 1 and Fugue obviously feels responsible for that, one of the first H/C scenarios that popped into my mind for them was Fugue helping bring Robert back somehow: as a ghost, and/or by finding his remains in the Shadow Dimension and being able to bring him back somehow with those, and/or with some revelation that he's still sort of alive somehow in Mona's sickle and can be brought back somehow because of that. The tags bringing someone back from the dead with magic and feeling responsible for them and Feeling responsible for someone's death; bringing them back to life fit really well for that concept specifically! Guilt over Other Character's Sacrifice is another tag that works for Fugue's guilt over that in general, whether or not he helps bring Robert back himself. Scenarios focusing on forgiveness and/or trust also work really well for Fugue, and there are some tags that work great as prompts for that! "I Already Forgave You" - Character w/ Redemption Arc Injured Protecting Ally they Previously Hurt could work no matter who Fugue gets hurt for, but I feel like Robert would be very matter-of-fact about it; character presumes themself hated/disowned might be true just kinda in general, I think Fugue actually knows he fucked up and isn't necessarily expecting to be forgiven by anyone at this point; Past wrongs result in not quite forgiveness and not quite not forgiveness either could be a really interesting dynamic with him and a lot of other characters in general, and I love complicated relationships so this could be really fun with Fugue/Robert, and given Robert's own lies it could even apply to him as well (maybe they're both in that circumstance by Mona and bond a bit over it? or are both wary of but increasingly drawn to each other?). Finally, Fugue seems to be a more... historical ghost (Victorian?) as well as probably being less well-socialized/more shut up in his own place since becoming as ghost than he even had been before, and also shows no interest in any grown woman around him (admittedly only Jangles and Marta) while showing negative interest in women in general. He seems to still have definite Victorian hangups, so tags like Character is helped with internal queerphobia provide an interesting sort of prompt, IMO! Whether Robert is written as actually male or more like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ gender, undead and monsters both have little reason to care about human (enforced) norms and hangups and so it could be nice to see Fugue be able to work past something like that.
Then there are the prompts that work well for Robert being hurt specifically! As I said with Fugue, one of the first H/C scenarios that popped into my mind for them was Fugue helping bring Robert back somehow: as a ghost, and/or by finding his remains in the Shadow Dimension and being able to bring him back somehow with those, and/or with some revelation that he's still sort of alive somehow in Mona's sickle and can be brought back somehow because of that, and several tags work as prompts that would work for that on Robert's side as well! (And of course that means the scenario could also work for "both hurt.") Aftermath of Resurrection, Aftermath of Temporary Character Death, Character comes back from the dead, dying ... and then waking up, Recovering from traumatic resurrection, and Resurrection after violent death all suggest similar things with varying levels of trauma, being shaken up, and the exact source for same (the death, the actual resurrection?) and some with potential simply for him still being injured somehow. There are also the somewhat more specific tags Character expected to die but didn't and has no idea how to live anymore. Other helps & comforts., Character resigned to their death survives; doesn't know how to cope, and Character Who Expected To Die But Didn't Is Unsure How To Live that could be played with for a scenario in which Robert is brought back and hadn't been expecting to even if he likely empowered the sickle on purpose -- where the fact that he brought up immortality being more of a curse than a blessing could be leaned into as he readjusts to not being dead again even if he's not actively seeking to die. I am also totally up for AUs where Robert survives the situation with Ba'al outright somehow; Alternate Universe - Character Lives but is still badly hurt is a more specific tag for this than something like Fix-it - Character survives canonical death but anything similar to either could work! A tag like Soulbonding is the only way for A to save severely injured B's life suggests an even more specific and intriguing scenario, where either Robert barely survives or Fugue has to bring him back and this is the only way to do it properly -- what is the result of a monster being soulbonded to ANY-one or anyone being soulbonded to a ghost? Does this get rid of Robert's immortality entirely (maybe shunting it fully into Mona and/or the sickle), as if he'd never killed his human because he's attached to Fugue now, but someone would still need to be able to kill a ghost for Robert to actually die? Does Robert himself come back as some sort of spirit, being saved via ghost soulbond? And/or does being soulbonded to a monster start messing with Fugue? (That could make for mutual hurt if it's disorienting or alarming enough!) Then there's the tag Searching for injured partner/friend who was left behind which has interesting implications for multiple possible scenarios... By which I mean, Fugue can't leave the church he haunts, it seems. What would make that possible to do -- an "exorcism" or some other kind of spell, the church being destroyed, the land itself being fucked with somehow (with magic or just desecrated)? Who would he ask for help if he does want to leave and find -- probably (most of) Robert's pieces for reparation or resurrection? Marta, Charon, Shirley, Ringley's dad? Would he even tell them that's what he wants to do? Character A Doesn’t Know How To Help Hurt B Because Of Their Nonhuman Biology could be interesting, and COULD have to do with Fugue trying to help his injuries or bring him back from his canon sacrifice, but it could also just be general injuries that Fugue doesn't really now how to deal with because... seeming doll but also monster? Is Robert any more vulnerable if his immortality is being shared with the sickle (and potentially Mona)? Finally, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk is just a cute tag and I kind of love Robert maybe not initially being the most clearly communicative despite his straight man/realtalk impression, not being used to asking for tenderness or touch AT ALL, and he and Fugue have known each other long enough that Fugue might at least suspect that Robert doesn't actually sleep so that could lead to fun banter!
Now we get to the prompts that came to my mind due to tags that only work for either Mona or Shirley being the hurt one. There aren't that many but I love the general scenario of one of them being hurt and one or both of the others awkwardly trying to help with it somehow! So always feel like you can go with just something with that. The tags non consensually made immortal and Unwilling immortality immediately jumped out at me, because I LOVE the idea that while Robert's sacrifice was meant to confer his immortality to the sickle... he also at least strongly suspected that the blade's mystical connection with Mona would mean that it would be conferred over to HER as well. Is it just that she can't die now (maybe that's why she actually survived being overdosed with the painkillers?), or does she realize at some point that she's no longer aging and realize what Robert actually did? I'd prefer she didn't fully hate him over it, but anger and/or some really mixed feelings would certainly make sense! And finally, of course, there's the tag Past wrongs result in not quite forgiveness and not quite not forgiveness either which is a sort of dynamic I LOVE, these complex feelings even among people who care about each other! Again, this could work for either Mona or Shirley, and it could work with either what Fugue did, Robert's own culpability, and/or Robert making Mona immortal without asking or even telling her. Do the two maybe become closer, even, due to both being in the same awkward "we fucked up and we're sssort of but not really forgiven" situation?
Finally, there's ideas and tags that work with multiple of the requested characters being hurt, either individually or all at once! First, for ones that work for Fugue/Robert with either or both being injured but Mona or Shirley not necessarily being hurt/involved at all. First there's the past and guilt-related stuff that focuses more on past wrongs than current injuries, and focuses more on the pain of those who fucked up than the ones who suffered for it. Comforting character who feels extremely guilty over past misdeeds and character A tries to work character B through their guilt could be Robert helping Fugue, or even Fugue helping Robert or both, through the other's guilt and regrets, maybe specifically since neither of them particularly feels any strong negativity towards the other. Regretting a Lie is less outright about comfort but could also fit in with those two tags/prompts! Finally, I would like to specifically re-mention Past wrongs result in not quite forgiveness and not quite not forgiveness either for Fugue/Robert as well, because again, I really like the kinda complicated relationship this entails; I don't mind if there's full forgiveness by the end but a sort of "yeah that was a BIG mistake but I'm not particularly upset about it," maybe with some lingering trust issues, or maybe without the trust issues but still not quite letting it go? That could be really fun. Then there's the tag Character's Past Comes Back to Haunt Them (in a really bad way) which really jumped out at me to suggest a FUN prompt: what if "haunt them" is straight up literal, or very close to it? Did Fugue make enemies back when he was still alive that might show up as ghosts or other undead now? Fugue is also implied to have sent people carelessly out to their deaths before; does one or more of them show up, still alive or as a ghost or as another undead (or maybe they were already undead...) and vengeful? Did Fugue's monster actually kill him, and do they run into it again and it's still dangerous somehow/for some reason? And as the Robert alternative... Well, a big point was made of how he killed Gene. Does Gene come back to haunt him as a literal ghost? Does someone who loved Gene, family or friend, as a ghost or other undead? Then there are the tags that made me go "this doesn't seem to be possible in canon but I'd love it" -- Time Loop where A repeatedly dies makes B realize feelings for A and Time Travel - Character changes the past to prevent traumatic events and succeeds could SO EASILY work for Fugue wanting to make his mistakes right and prevent what went down with Mona and company! Does Robert find out about the time travel somehow... or even abou the time loop while it's happening? Finally, there's the tag wanting to change oneself, which is a kind of general prompt but could be very fun with either or both of these two... Fugue seems to be legitimately improving as a person after the end of Book 1, and seems to be both trying to do so (actively working to save Mona and Shirley and not make any more Frankensteins for a while) and also just inherently doing so (how strongly everything hits him when he's actually forced to see the consequences). Robert, for his part, seemed to be growing and changing as well, opening up with more honesty, being more comfortable with touch and giving reassurance, and seeming like he was really having to square for the first time with the things he did re: Gene NOT solely being "in his nature," that being something he can actually decide to change. Either would be fun to focus on, and maybe if it's both their efforts to change quietly bring them closer to each other in understanding?
Then there are some tags that suggest prompts that could work for various combinations of Fugue, Robert, Mona, and/or Shirley being hurt. Identity Issues kind of ties in with the wanting to change oneself prompt and could be used in a similar way, but what about the changes that happen when one isn't actively trying for them? When Fugue's been the same for ages, who is he when he changes? If Robert has a lot more choice in how he behaves even with his monstrous urges, who is he really and who might he become? Mona is just a child but has become a warrior, a monster slayer, a savior of humanity, off to kill the Phagocyte... she's lost her childhood abruptly so who is she growing to be? And if she's immortal now, how might that change her? Finally, Shirley's got an entirely new body now that isn't hers, that belonged to a former friend and said friend's mother is still grieving him, which I'm sure could cause some issues itself! Tags like Awkward Comforter, Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best, and Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting could definitely work as prompts for Fugue, Robert, or both, as neither really seem used to or good at being comforting, no matter who's hurt. Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured and Guilt Felt Over Another's Injury could work in a general sense for both Mona or Shirley, either for the injuries they experienced in canon or new ones if they run into trouble; for the former it'd certainly make sense for Fugue to feel guilty, but might Robert as well, for not telling them the truth and outright helping earlier? And it could also work for Robert being injured post-Book 1 and Fugue feeling guilty over that, or a scenario where either one of them gets hurt and the other feels like they're at least partly responsible for some reason! Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety and Character is carried while barely conscious could work with Fugue carrying any of the other three, frankly. If it's Mona or Shirley, is Robert helping hold anything off while he retreats with them? If it's Robert, what could put him in that state? (I would also take Fugue being the one being carried if Robert having the help of Suzannah or something like that would count!)
A scenario having to do with trust and someone having thought they'd lost trust or not earned it could also be great; no matter who's wanting help, Character A is surprised when Character B wants their help and not someone else's could work with either Fugue or Robert as Character A, but it might especially work for Fugue -- and maybe especially if Mona needs his help (with figuring out why she's not aging and/or resurrecting Robert?), but either of the others really work too. And honestly, Comforter stunned by how much comfortee trusts them could work for either of them no matter who needs comfort as well, if they both know they crossed some lines or haven't been fully trustworthy in the past. Some of the tags that really jumped out at me are ones that could really lead to scenarios with mild, surprisingly soft moments, quiet understanding, and quiet support: Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges could honestly work for any of them trying to hold it together (maybe not Shirley as much as the other three, but maybe!); Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable is a tag I love for how it's an attempt to help with something huge in small and maybe even actually comforting ways; Sick/hurt character doesn't often show vulnerability (so it's a big deal when they do) probably doesn't work as well for Mona, but it could work with Shirley and honestly works REALLY well with both Fugue and Robert. Little simple moments suggested by the tags Bandaging wounds and Wounded Characters Try To Care For One Another could work no matter who's injured, or with multiple, and with the latter it could even be a situation where the wounds aren't physical... And finally, I'd love anything that falls into Exploring canon injuries in more detail with ANY of them! Robert had his head crushed (and lost his arm) and died; Mona's arm was horrifically broken and she ended up losing it, Shirley was ripped apart and had to have her head put on an entirely new body, and even Fugue seemingly got kinda torn up by a monster (how does that even work with a ghost???). Exploring any of those or any combination of those would be great!
Links to Previous Letters
If you want more ideas for prompts, I've asked for this ship a few times now, including a couple times with Mona, though not with Shirley yet:
Vampire Cleanup Department (2017)
Yip Chi Chau/Yeung Chung
(Chau hurt, Chung hurt, or both hurt)
[Where you can find the movie: Here!
(turn on the English closed captions in the bottom right if you need them; it's also available in Spanish!)
Or for free on Youtube with hard-coded English subtitles!
Also, enjoy these gifs as an enticement to get into this canon (with some spoilery moments) :D]
Vampire Cleanup Department is a Hong Kong comedy-horror-romance movie that came out four years ago and short version: The titular VCD is a secret government-created agency that disguises themselves as cleaners but really go around using talismans and other magical items to hunt down and destroy vampires, specifically jiangshi (which means they hop around with their arms outstretched, and this is by turns played as creepy, funny, and cute). But when the main character Tim Cheung joins up after being bitten by a vampire and not turning, he finds out that his dead parents used to work for the VCD until a mission went terribly wrong, and accidentally winds up bonding with a vampire named Summer who starts changing and gaining more human emotions and mentality after biting him. He trains with the VCD while keeping the fact that he didn't actually destroy her when he was supposed to a secret.
I am here for different characters, however! And oh man I am so into them. Yip Chi Chau is Tim's "master," the early-50s-ish combat expert of the VCD who trains Tim in how to fight vampires; he knew Tim's parents and was close friends with his father, Yat Lung Cheung, and promised them that he'd take care of Tim as they were dying. Yeung Chung, or "Uncle Chung," is an older man in his 70s who's the director of the VCD and their "technical support" and a more openly kindly figure.
Where Chau is an incredibly skilled fighter and trainer, Chung is definitely not a combatant... but he is still brave enough to go into the field, and to step in to help people when they're in trouble, and he's great at directing the others during a fight. Where Chau is closed-off and hot-headed, Chung is calm, amiable, and understanding, good at being diplomatic when it's needed (and at distracting people so the others can work)... and also good at calming Chau down and redirecting him. They've worked together for decades, and despite what Chung says multiple times to Chau about training new blood so that they can eventually retire, neither of them seems to be willing to just quit. They know each other incredibly well ("Have I ever misjudged anyone? And you... never mean what you say."), Chau saved Chung and a rookie police officer in the very first scene (while Chung called for his help), when Tim was in trouble Chung called Chau back from a chase...
And in a moment that really got me, when Tim's "final test" went wrong and Chung tried to step in to help him against the vampire that was trying to kill him. Summer showed up to help as well and accidentally flung both the vampire and Chung through a table, and Chau reacted with such immediate alarm to kill the vampire before it could attack Chung! Chung was hurt and needed medical attention, and with Chung hurt and also not around to calm him down, Chau was furious with Tim. (I will also say that during that final test, Chau was acting like a nervous parent... while Chung sat on the couch and video taped everything, also like a parent, haha.)
Even when Tim is the one training the new recruits at the end of the movie, it's Chau and Chung standing on the walkway above watching and obviously still involved despite any talk of retirement, chatting and comfortable with one another. I just really love their shared history, how obvious it is that Chau cares deeply about certain people -- Chung, Tim, and Tim's father in the past -- despite him not saying it or being touchy-feely, and how comfortable with one another they are and how well they work together and know one another as people.
Actually Requested Tags
I love, like, basically casefic for this canon and this ship, and rescue- and protection-based H/C can work especially well for dangerous missions, whether they go drastically wrong or not! Very basic tags can work for this, like Big Damn Rescue (with comfort), but some other tags jumped out as interesting scenarios for these two specifically. Given that Chung seems to be the planner and tactician (the "director" of the VCD), Character A abandons plans in order to rescue Character B is interesting to me no matter which of them is Character A -- is it Chau abandoning the plan to rescue Chung, or is Chung abandoning his own plan? Protectiveness - Character A still tries to protect Character B despite A being injured works especially well with Chau as Character A, since he's the fighter and has probably pushed himself to get up and keep fighting in the past; a scenario like Strong A skilled in combat is injured; weaker B must protect them both works especially well with Chung as "weaker B," not the swordfighter at all, figuring out a way to keep them both alive. A tag like Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe might then seem to suggest a scenario where Chau is definitely Character A, and he very easily could be! But Chung could be instead, pushing himself especially into exhaustion to make sure Chau makes it out of a situation alive; similarly, I would love A protects B from injury with their own body; B is deeply affected by A being hurt as a scenario with either one of them as Character A! Chau is the protective one who gets in there with his sword and protects others, but I can easily imagine Chung not wanting Chau to die and maybe even reasoning that he's old anyway. Since I also really love Chung pining, one-sided at least at first, for years before Chau catches on, both ways also work really well for that reason too! And saying that, I really like the tag A is surprised at how much they're willing to risk to protect/save hurt character B as a little prompt with Chau as Character A -- maybe starting to realize or acknowledge his own feelings? Finally, the tag Sick/hurt character A takes shelter in/under stationary vehicle; rescued by B when danger is past could be interesting for either of them, having to hide maybe from jiangshi or maybe something else until the coast is clearer and/or the others can get to him, and Sick/hurt character indispensable on case/mission; team looks after them while they get things done could work really well for either of them as well -- with Chung as the indispensable tactition and Chau contributing by physically keeping him safe, or with Chau as the indispensible fighter and Chung helpeing look after him tactically.
There's also a LOT of potential for post-mission H/C focusing on recovery. It can be really great for realizing one's feelings; I especially love A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury and Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B with Chung as A, and Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them and Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings with Chung as the hurt one. As said, I love Chung being the one pining/the one pining for longer, so tags like Comforter accidentally brushes hands with sick/injured character (who they're pining for) and Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for with Chung as the one pining work really well for me, while Delirious character unintentionally reveals their regard for their comforter could work for either and Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury could be really enjoyable as well! (Maybe it's even newer to Chau, but maybe he's had feelings too for longer than Chung things?) Tags like BAMF character A is hurt/sick and is still a BAMF; character B provides comfort anyway and Character is prickly and bad-tempered while recovering from hurt; comforter is chill about it suggest scenarios where Chau is the one hurt. Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured makes me think of either Chau blaming himself for not protecting Chung better (as he seems protective of the entire VCD as well as quite attached to Chung) or Chung blaming himself for not having a better handle on the situation if Chau got hurt, as the one in charge. Comforter Becomes Unusually Demonstrative with Hurt Character could honestly work with either as the comforter, maybe with Chung's feelings not so easily hidden for once or Chau being softer than with most people/most of the time? And Nearly losing someone reveals deeper feelings could be a revelation of feelings to oneself, one realizing how he himself feels, or could be the impetus for someone to say how he feels! Characters live together while one recovers from hurt could be any scenario with either (or both) hurt, but it could also follow immediately after the events near the end of the movie before the little time-skip, with Chung having to still recover some from his head injury, Chau having to recover from his near-jiangshi-transformation (or wait for the cure?), or just generally one or both of them basically living at the department. Finally, more general tags like Bandaging wounds, Bedsharing while one of the characters is injured, Bedside Vigils, and/or Refusing to Leave Hurt Character's Side make for great scenarios for either being injured (or both)!
Since I brought up the injuries at the end of the movie, I also want to quickly touch on a category of prompts/tags that I can't really pin down into any of the other categories as neatly! Exploring canon injuries in more detail is a great tag and I'd love a fic that focuses on the recovery from the jiangshi attack during Tim's test or the Vampire King's attack on Chau. I feel like Chau could be interpreted as not particularly skilled at comfort, so tags like Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best or Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting could be used as inspiration. Wounded Characters Try To Care For One Another could mean physically wounded, either after a mission or while actively in a dangerous situation, or it could mean emotional or psychological wounds; does the weight of losing people, not being able to save everyone, facing monsters with such regularity, and/or not being able to live normal lives weigh on either of them? Seeing character hurting prompts unexpected feelings could work with either of them first coming to have feelings for the other, and could be physical, psychological, or emotional hurt! And finally, the tag Sick/hurt character sleeping in the back seat of a car jumped out at me; both have acted as the driver for the VCD/at least one of the other members before, so either could be sick/hurt and either could be driving in this scenario, or the non-sick/hurt one could be keeping him company in the back, even?
I also absolutely adore hurt/comfort that contains an element of quiet intimacy and/or knowing the other person really, really well. Checking For Fever With A Gentle Touch That Lingers and Taking Off Sick/Hurt Character's Glasses imply small physical intimacies, at least one of which that really strikes the other ("that lingers"!) while Character A hides illness/injury perfectly; Character B can still tell and Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them suggest scenarios where the characters know one another in a deep way that maybe never even gets talked about or clearly acknowledged. In some ways, so do the tags Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges (it says "clearly" but the "low-key" could easily mean that others might not even notice) and Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable (knowing the other enough to know not to touch on the big hurt, at least not just yet, but knowing each other well enough that the focus on the little hurt maybe helps some anyway?). The one person you trust to be weak in front of suggests a definite closeness to one another above anyone else; they do seem to be quite close among the VCD and it's likely that those outside the department can't really understand; Quiet comfort after stressful hurt maybe suggests quietly intimate moments and knowing that smaller softer things would help after something bigger. Finally, the tag Taken Off Guard By Small Displays Of Affection really caught my attention as someone who loves how well these two seem to know each other; having "taken off guard" implies that there are still unexpected things there! Did they miss something about one another or is one (or both) trying not to notice or think about certain things?
I am also super into an AU that changes the ending of the movie so that, instead of being cured, Chau remains a good/"human" jiangshi like Summer was, learns how to function as one (and relearn things like how to walk normally, how to fight, maybe even how to speak in time?), and stays on with the VCD that way! Some tags work really, REALLY well as prompts for that: dying ... and then waking up is obvious, as is becoming less human / becoming something Else. character A has gone feral and character B tries to bring them back to themselves and Forced to restrain character who is violent due to an altered mental state could work for a scenario where Chau maybe loses control temporarily at some point. Character expected to die but didn't and has no idea how to live anymore. Other helps & comforts. and Character Who Expected To Die But Didn't Is Unsure How To Live are similar tags that suggest a scenario where as soon as Chau was bit he knew what his fate would be but was WRONG and is having a hard time adjusting to being a jiangshi instead; Identity Issues and Mourning one's past self also make a lot of sense with that, especially since he hated all jiangshi for the longest time and it was only at the end that he even started coming around on Summer. Finally, Pining for vampire who might only want your blood fits the idea of Chung having been in love with Chau for a while, and the similar Character A is a reluctant vampire who is disgusted by urge to drink from B suggests the interesting scenario of, well... If Chau finds himself drawn to Chung, is it just the desire to drink blood? But if he wants to drink Chung's blood specifically at certain points, is that a sublimated desire from something else? Are the two things mixed up for him? (Also, I keep imagining a moment where Chau almost does bite Chung/strongly seems tempted or about to, and Chung almost lets him, and he DOESN'T but both of them are kind of shaken up in more than one way by both that Chau almost did and that Chung wasn't going to resist it.)
Finally, I am also into scenarios that add in different supernatural things for the VCD to face with! I love things from Hong Kong folklore and mythology being used, here, but anything could be fun really! Ghosts specifically and possessions suggest some really fun options: Forced to restrain character who is violent due to an altered mental state from the above section could work for someone being possessed or under the influence of a spirit or curse, maybe, and the similar Possession - Possessed Character Forced To Hurt Their Loved Ones could also work well! Recovery after ghost possession is a more general variation on the general idea, and Aftermath Of Finding Out Character A Was Possessed And No One Noticed but B could be great for these two characters who seem to know each other actually incredibly well; Possession - Character A Is/Was Possessed And Character B Is/Was The Only One To Notice is very similar to the previous tag but could include scenes of the actual possession itself! And while these could be totally natural things and I'd be completely open to Chung and Chau just huddling for warmth from the cold in a mostly normal scenario (or in the middle of a mission gone wrong but it's just, like, cold), the tags Character A shares body heat with Character b to keep them alive and warm and character needs help staying warm jumped out at me for being phrased in ways that they could be used for one of the two being at risk of freezing for some supernatural reason. (There's also the shui gui, the ghosts of people who've drowned who lurk in the waters where they died and attempt to drown others and then possess their bodies; maybe Chau or Chung saved the other from actually being successfully drowned but the water was way too cold?) Huddling For Warmth while pining can work with these as well, obviously!
Links to Previous Letters
If you want more ideas for prompts, I've done several freeform exchanges!
Canon-Specific DNWs
Note: While I don't explain each and every tag I requested individually, I do provide examples of H/C I might like for the characters and list some of the tags that caught my eye to go along with each. Don't feel like you have to use any of those examples as an exact prompt, or even any of the exact tags; they're just there to provide some ideas if you might want any!
General DNWs
General Likes
Porn Likes
Crossover Fandom - Dororo (Keroro Gunsou)/Prowl (Transformers Animated)
Keroro Gunsou | Sgt. Frog - Dororo/Kururu
Keroro Gunsou | Sgt. Frog - Kururu/Saburo Mutsumi
The Last Halloween (Webcomic) - Dr. Fugue/Robert; Dr. Fugue/Robert & Mona; Dr. Fugue/Robert & Shirley
Vampire Cleanup Department (2017) - Yip Chi Chau/Yeung Chung
General DNWs
- noncon/dubcon (unless otherwise requested!)
- smut with characters under 16
- gore or permanent injury (unless otherwise stated)
- permanent character death (unless otherwise stated)
- infidelity
- halves of a ship feeling like they really just don't like or care about each other at all (even with more complicated stuff I am a BIG SOPPY ROMANTIC)
- a ship having sexualities that mean they aren't attracted to one another
- being ashamed of or hating one's body (even for trans stuff, if you write it; just no focus on dysphoria please)
- requested characters being permanently separated in any way, or at risk of it, by the end of the story (unless otherwise stated)
- unhappy endings
- unrequested AUs (canon divergence is fine)
- unrequested identity headcanons (mentions for OCs are fine)
- unrequested noncanon ships (background canon ships that don't break up the requested pairing are fine; mentions of OCs being in relationships with one another is fine)
- unrequested poly (mentions of OCs being in poly relationships with one another is fine)
- unnecessary use of safewords or stoplight symbols (if the characters are kinking on it that's a fine reason)
- feederism, weight gain, inflation, pregnancy (mentions of OCs being pregnant are fine; breeding kink without any possibility of pregnancy is great!)
- scat, watersports, vomit kink (someone throwing up not in a kink context is fine)
- vore, bestiality, somnophilia, mommy- or daddykink, 24/7 D/S
- canon-specific DNWs and exceptions in the fandom sections!
General Likes
- HURT/COMFORT though that goes without saying for this one
- fics with a balance or both or ones that lean towards more comfort than hurt; feel free to get deep in the hurt but I love a sizeable focus on the comfort!
- fic rated from G through E!
- pining and culmination of pining: getting together, kissing, romantic tension/UST being resolved, mutual pining or initially one-sided pining, pining that lasts for weeks or even years
- fluff, snapshot moments of what's going on in their lives
- romantic tension, UST that eventually becomes resolved
- flirting, confident or awkward or just fuckin disastrous
- extreme loyalty
- redemption arcs, gray morality, general complexity, lighter takes on villains & villain redemption both
- hurt/comfort
- happy or at least hopeful/somewhat upbeat endings
- first times and milestones (sexual or non, doesn’t even have to be overly romantic, stuff like taking a photo for the first time together or and the like is also good!)
- I really do love age gaps tbh and find older characters hot & also love when the other characters do... for Kururu/Mutsumi if you lean into it I prefer a focus on Kururu being older rather than Mutsumi being younger, but even if you age Mutsumi up they have a real difference of thousands of years and a practical difference of probably about a decade; in Vampire Cleanup Department, Chau is probably meant to be in his 50s with Chung in his 70s!
- descriptions of making out tbh
- trans headcanons where it’s not A Thing in the fic, no coming out or explanations necessary, or it's just accepted and not super dwelled on unless the prompt is about self-exploration. no Having To Deal With Bigotry or issuefic or anything, just character(s) happen(s) to be trans (both same gender/pronouns as in canon and different gender/pronouns are fine)
- canon divergent AUs, change one thing about a canon and maybe other things happen differently
- I like longfic if you want to write it!
- more canon-specific likes in the fandom sections!
- fic and art treats are both more than welcome!
Porn Likes
- first times and milestones
- frot, scissoring, intercrural, grinding against ass, basically all that stuff
- handjobs, fingering, oral
- romantic smut, lots of touching, focus on touching/wanting to touch and sensations and body parts, loving descriptions of partner's body (description of both stereotypically attractive and not stereotypically attractive features welcome so long as they're INTO it!), kissing during sex, hand-holding during sex, eye contact during sex, all that stuff!
- clothed sex, partially clothed sex, and clothing kink!
- inexperience, awkward, clumsy but eager and enjoyable sex
- XENO. xeno xeno xeno I am so into xeno, play around with alien genitalia and I am here for it, tentacles, cloacas, characters having both sets of genitalia, ovipositors, genitals resembling flowers or wet pinecone dick, Mouths Down There, legit whatever you can think of just g o f o r i t
- BDSM tones, mild or more formal
- praise kink and instructions/requests/begging flavors of dirty talk
- breeding kink is welcome when pregnancy is outright impossible, even if it's handwaved impossible (PIV but they know it can't happen is fine; neither has a womb and obviously it can't happen is fine; this type of sex can't even result in pregnancy but we'll talk about it anyway is fine; species are incompatible is fine)
- even without breeding kink, kinking on coming inside is also hot, but so is kinking on come/cum-play and messier sex like that
- mutually enjoyed/kinked-on breeding kink dirty talk when actual pregnancy is outright impossible and does not happen
- manhandling, hair pulling, love bites and scratches, rough but not outright painful (or only pleasantly painful) sex
- orgasm delay (though not total denial), edging
- alternately, multiple orgasms, "forced" orgasms that are still enjoyable
- e n t h u s i a s m and detailed descriptions of sex, just go for it
- in general, prefer the terms: penis, cock, dick, length; nipples, ass, and testicles/balls can just be called those things; vagina, vulva, cunt, or pussy if that comes up; come or cum are both fine spellings
- piv in trans smut is fine; oral and pia sex super welcome; alternatives are also loved; prefer for vagina to be called vagina, cunt, or pussy, or to be referred to vaguely, not "hole"; prefer for ass NOT to be called a vagina/cunt/pussy, but referred to vaguely & implied to be one is fine, or just called ass; fine with clit being called clit or penis/cock/dick, fine with penis being called penis/cock/dick or hen or clit
- porn is always welcome!
Crossover Fandom
Dororo (Keroro Gunsou)/Prowl (Transformers Animated)
(Dororo hurt, Prowl hurt, or both hurt)
[Where you can find both series: Keroro Gunsou here or here; Transfomers Animated here or here!
Dororo's Most Pertinent Episodes:
S1 E13 - introducing Dororo; the Platoon rescuing him and all working together!
S1 E14 - the Platoon works on a plan for the first time with Dororo
S1 E51 - the Platoon "leaves forever" (only not)
S2 E64B - Keroro's been a dick to Dororo since childhood :|
S2 E68B - Dororo re-meets a dog!
S2 E98B - flashback to Dororo's past meeting and living with Koyuki in the ninja village
S2 E101 - the Garuru Platoon invades; this episode and the next two are a three-parter, plotty and actually kinda serious
S2 E102 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S2 E103 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S4 E189 - Dororo has to face his old assassin teacher in what seems to be a fight to the death!
MOVIE 3 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel - again plotty and kinda serious
MOVIE 4 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 4: Gekishin Dragon Warriors - again, plotty and kinda serious, has some nice scenes, especially good if you want to see Dororo turn into a dragon for a bit
S6 E259 - Dororo and Koyuki (and some of the others) revisit their old ninja village
S6 E260 - flashback to the Platoon's first time meeting and working together!
S6 E284 - the Platoon gets taken over by an asshole, they turn on Dororo, Dororo ends up having to save all their asses
MOVIE 5 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 5: Creation! Ultimate Keroro, Wonder Space-Time Island - again, plotty and kinda serious; has a cool fight and some cute moments
S7 E312A - Dororo vs. Zeroro (his own past self!)
S7 E318A - no one's ever seen Dororo's mouth (he eats, drinks, sleeps, etc. with it on and always has) and it seems to be a bit embarrassing and very personal for him!
S7 E319A - there's a hacker in the base and it leads to some fun moments
S7 E320A - literally just the Platoon using bishounen robots to invade if you want to see them as those (Dororo looks like Trowa)
S7 E336A - Dororo vs. Zoruru rematch!
S7 E356A - the Platoon turns into dragons again to save Keron; has at least one or two neat moments
S7 E357 - fun situation where Keron decides to take over the invasion, and it shows how attached all the Platoon's gotten to Earth
Prowl's Most Pertinent Episodes:
S1 E01 - first of the three-parter showing how the crew got on Earth and the overall plot
S1 E02 - second of the three-parter...
S1 E03 - and finale of the three-parter!
S1 E04 - some good Prowl moments establishing his character further
S1 E06 - Dinobots episode; Prowl values life
S1 E12 - Prowl, Bulkhead, and Fanzone work together to save Sari; some good Prowl moments!
S1 E14 - Prowl, Bumblebee, and Sari go camping :D
S1 E15 - plotty and serious two-parter as Megatron revives
S1 E16 - end of the two-parter as Megatron revives
S2 E07 - Prowl vs. Lockdown vs. Starscream!
S3 E06 - Prowl vs. Lockdown again, this time with flashbacks to his ninja training!
S3 E08 - somewhat plotty two-parter where the Autobots are trapped in a simulation experiencing the world as humans
S3 E09 - second half of the two-parter!
S3 E12 - first of the very serious end-game two-parter
S3 E13 - second half of that; Prowl sacrifices himself
Watch just whichever ones you feel like, tbh!]
This ship really has my heart and has for like a decade. I'm not even kidding, either! If I had to explain the appeal of them, to me, it would be that... Okay, they're not even close to being the same person. But they have so much in common that I think it would actually surprise both of them when they start to really realize just how much.
Both of them come from heavily militarized planets. While Cybertron seems to have plenty of civilians, Ultra Magnus is the Magnus and Supreme Commander of the Autobots, leader of the Cybertron Elite Guard, and seemingly in charge on Cybertron as chairman of the Autobot High Council until grievously injured, and Sentinel Prime was upgraded to Sentinel Magnus to take over all of those roles; Keron on the other hand seems like it might be a fully militarized society with even elementary schoolers going to military-led academies and most if not all of the civilians we see being children or former soldiers. Cybertron had the draft and a military that has done some bad shit; Keron has obligatory enlistment and a military system that experiments on, clones, and mindwipes its own soldiers. Cybertronians are likely known as invaders and dangerous warmongers due at least to the Decepticons, while Keronians are actually invaders.
And it's not just their planets and militaries, but aspects of their personal characters as well. Both Prowl and Dororo are somewhat removed from their teams, preferring calmer things and their own ways, while still caring deeply for their friends. Both of them changed a lot after coming to Earth, quickly falling in love with the planet and its nature and striving to be more peaceable and centered and zen. Both seem to adore and deeply respect Earth's animals and have come to value and want to protect life in general. Neither are the most tech-inclined, with Prowl opposing Bumblebee's tech obsession outright and Dororo both disliking humans' dependence on cell phones (anime) and having a wooden computer somehow (manga). Both became close friends, practically family, with an Earth girl (though in Sari's case she wound up not being human). Both are incredibly impressive, well-trained ninja who have a deep respect for their ninja teachings!
Of course, they have some major differences as well that I find equally fascinating. Dororo can be easy to rope into the outright insanity of the Keroro Platoon's plans, while Prowl is often more aloof. Prowl only recently became friends with the others, while Dororo was childhood friends with Keroro and Giroro (and Pururu). Prowl can be more outright immature and irritable, and was a bit of a punk before; Dororo was sickly and was outright traumatized by his childhood friendship with Keroro specifically, and can be ridiculous and a bit cartoonishly violent (given that his series has elements of slapstick comedy). Prowl was a ninja back on Cybertron, while Dororo became a ninja after coming to Earth and used to be an assassin. And of course, Prowl came with Optimus and company to Earth by total accident and humanity knows they're there, while Dororo came with the Keroro Platoon to invade "Pekopon" and only select humans are allowed to know they exist.
Basically, they have some neat differences that could provide interesting elements to their interactions while also having so many unique things in common that I can easily seeing them click surprisingly well -- maybe even surprising to themselves. And I really love the idea of them warming to one another quickly and finding someone who's a lot like them. (And I also like the idea of Prowl getting to bond some with Koyuki if you'd like to include her, but obviously you don't need to!)
Actually Requested Tags
- This fandom is small; I consent to any hurt/comfort scenario you think I'd like
- Caring for someone who should be your enemy
- Characters never expected to cross paths again but now hurt A needs B’s help
- Mutually patching up injuries after battle
- Quiet comfort after stressful hurt
- Seeing character hurting prompts unexpected feelings
- Taken Off Guard By Small Displays Of Affection
- Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings
- They thought no one was coming; got rescued by unexpected person
- Unexpected Heart to Heart While Comforting
As a note, any crossover stuff with these two could take place in Japan (Musashi, Inner Tokyo, or elsewhere if the characters are on vacation or something), in Detroit, or in some third place that both groups are at for whatever reason. I am also always happy to have Koyuki involved in some way (also hurt or helping facilitate the comfort or helping comfort depending on the situation, or just bonding some with Prowl as well!), but it's not necessary to include her, of course.
H/C when they've only recently met! This could come along with some very interesting setups; it could be just these two meeting, or Optimus's group and the Keroro Platoon making peace/an alliance (however easily or uneasily), or the two groups assuming they're enemies/that the other group is a threat to Earth (and/or rival invaders) at first instead! Caring for someone who should be your enemy and Character taken prisoner; expects torture/humiliation; gets kind & honorable treatment fit especially well with that last one, of course, and could maybe even be the catalyst for both groups realizing they'd made a mistake -- or perhaps it's simply Prowl and/or Dororo who made the mistake, themselves. They thought no one was coming; got rescued by unexpected person and Unexpected rescue followed by tenderly patching up wounds could also be early on in their acquaintance if the rescue is that unexpected; maybe it's unexpected because they're a complete stranger, because they don't know yet that the other is a ninja, or because, again, they thought they were an enemy? Character A is surprised when Character B wants their help and not someone else's could also work for something like this, as the surprise might come from them being early in knowing one another, being uncertain about peace or alliance, or not knowing exactly how much they have in common yet (maybe only one of them has heard that the other is a ninja?). Finally (or almost finally), the tag Character resigned to loneliness finds unexpected intimacy with other(s) could really work for this no matter how "intimacy" is defined! Is it falling in love, physical intimacy, or even just realizing how much they actually have in common with someone when they've maybe felt not understood for a while (either or both of them)?
As a minor swerve from that, but still on the same topic: H/C when they've only recently met, but slight AU versions! Enemies find out they are soulmates is a great tag for something like this and there's a lot that could be played with here. If they're from different universes, do both universes even have soulmates normally, and even if they do, are the soulmate indicators something different between universes? If they're from the same universe, maybe only Cybertronians or only Keronians have usually soulmates, or maybe they both do but again their indicators are something different? (One having first words and the other only seeing in color upon meeting their soulmate, for example, or for more specific canon examples, maybe a significant symbol is lightly carved on a Cybertronian's spark casing while Keronians find their soulmates by resonating together and somehow Just Know It by sound?) The assumption that Cybertronians/Keronians are bad and dangerous and the two need to be enemies could be fun to play with here; would the assumption persist even after realizing the soulmate thing, or would that make everyone pause and go "wait, wait, maybe not?" And the other tag that really got to me for this one was Forced marriage - character receives unexpected comfort from new spouse -- maybe it's normal among various alien species to solidify an alliance or peace treaty via arranged marriage? Is it an attempt to make sure that both groups' presence on Earth together stays peacable?
Known each other for at least a bit, but the feelings are new or just coming to a head (after some pining or not)? Character A shows up on Character B's doorstep because they didn't know where else to go could work for this with either being Character A; maybe they've known each other just long enough to know they can turn to the other, especially if they can't go to their own teams for whatever reason. Maybe their teams are even in danger and that's what they need help with! Or maybe they're just hurt or in trouble somehow and their teams can't help or can't know for whatever reason. Maybe Koyuki even carries an unconscious Dororo to Prowl? For Characters never expected to cross paths again but now hurt A needs B’s help, maybe the two groups (or just these two) met before while in Japan or Detroit or the other's universe for whatever reason, then went back home and didn't know each other quite well enough to make an effort to keep in touch or meet again, but they unexpectedly cross paths just when Dororo or Prowl needs it most? Seeing character hurting prompts unexpected feelings could also work as the start of things, of course (and could even work for them not knowing each other well at all), as could Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings, while Unexpected Heart to Heart While Comforting could be the start of the two really getting closer when before they'd been a bit more distant. And of course Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B is a great tag for pining!
Battles, battle couples, and rescues! Big Damn Rescue (with comfort) is a perfect tag for this, of course, as is A is surprised at how much they're willing to risk to protect/save hurt character B, with either one working as the rescuer or the one in trouble. Mutually patching up injuries after battle is a great tag for figuring out how to even help someone so different from themselves (organic vs cybernetic; big vs tiny), and while Character A Doesn’t Know How To Help Hurt B Because Of Their Nonhuman Biology could be more of an emergency situation with one more badly hurt, this could also be a more mutual thing where they're both trying to figure out how to help each other! (Though of course it's "non-Cybertronian/non-Keronian" rather than non-human in their cases.) And while a lot of tags could work well for either or both character being hurt, Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety and Character is carried while barely conscious jumped out at me for Dororo being sick/injured specifically, as he's very much smaller; even if he were in a human form he'd be a lot smaller than Prowl in his Cybertronian form, though if you did go for both in human forms, either could be carrying the other! Finally, the tag Searching for injured partner/friend who was left behind could be REALLY fun, and either character could have been left behind in a lot of situations for a lot of reasons, but you could also choose to play with Dororo being easily forgotten for this one!
Past injuries and trauma! Dororo is an especially rich vein for this if you choose to take his trauma switch and often hurtful (sometimes literally) friendship with Keroro a bit more seriously, or delve into his insecurities and somewhat darker past. However, Prowl's own insecurities, regrets, and mourning of Yoketron could also easily be used! Character ground down by emotional abuse builds up self-esteem and happiness and Unresolved childhood trauma catches up to adult character are especially good tags for Dororo, as is Character is betrayed by good friend; while Keroro's betrayals are not always super serious, he can absolutely be callous in ways that are painful to Dororo and sometimes even be pretty cutthroat, and he wasn't the only one! Character Volunteering for Trauma Because They're Used to It, Character's Past Trauma Is Revealed Against Their Will, and Third Party Casually Reveals Serious Hurt in Character A's Past to Character B might also work especially literally with Dororo, but could easily be Prowl as well, and the first two could even easily be both of them. Emotional/mental scars manifesting as physical wounds could work for either or both as well. Gently touching a character's scar(s) and other similar tags could also easily work for either or both of them, as I can imagine Cybertronians having their own metal equivalent to scarring and the two of them have both done a lot of combat.
Finally, a few more tags that jumped out at me but that don't fit neatly into a specific theme! Character's Past Comes Back to Haunt Them (in a really bad way) could be surprisingly literal; Keroro Gunsou, specifically, is a series in which things such as de-aging, cloning, and shadow versions of one's past self are just straight-up canon, and Dororo specifically has actually had to fight his past self before! One of those things could happen to either of them? Or Dororo could actually wind up haunted by his past trauma in a literal or somehow harmful way, potentially. However, there is also obviously the more metaphorical interpretation, where a decision or enemy they made in their past comes back -- maybe Lockdown or someone pretending to be the ghost of Yoketron, or Zoruru? The tag Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them is great because I just love the intimacy of really knowing and understanding another person that much, and in their cases maybe it's even a surprise to be known that well? Quiet comfort after stressful hurt is a tag that reminds me of how alike they are, how they do seem to like the more quiet and zen things and might realize that could help the other (or both of them!) recover/recharge, while Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best is just sweet (though I do feel like Prowl is probably more likely the awkward one, maybe especially if the hurt is a bit on the weirder side for his own canon or expressed in an unusual way). Taken Off Guard By Small Displays Of Affection could work well in a lot of ways, whether pining or just displays of that kind of casual intimacy that speaks of comfort with the other person, feeling close to them and knowing them well. Finally, maybe the Bathing together as comfort tag could even work, due to Keronian physiology being benefitted by humidity and water?
Links to Previous Letters
Unfortunately, I have not requested this ship in exchanges before!
Canon-Specific DNWs
- N/A, really!
- the two canons just taking place in the same universe and playing around with what that might mean
- slight canon AUs to make crossovers work
- two universes colliding or one group ending up in the other group's universe (if they can visit each other after it's fixed; I just don't want them cut off from each other or everyone they know)
- the idea that if they're both canon in the same universe maybe Cybertronians and Keronians are uneasy about each other (or even outright enemies) because they've just heard the worst stories about each other...
- both teams mostly getting along after a false start or two anyway!
- meeting somewhere in the middle on canon-typical humor as well as more serious situations; either or both are good!
- how much these two specifically have in common! mostly peaceful, trying-to-zen, nature-loving ninjas that fell in love with Earth early on and all things considered would rather stay... they're also both a bit more distant from their teams but care about them, as well as caring about life in general. it's just neat to me and I really think they'd click.
- I really like the idea of remembering Dororo either coming easily to Prowl like it seems to for Koyuki, or for him making an active effort to remember him
- Koyuki being family to Dororo now, whether like a daughter to him, like a younger sister, or something neither of them could put a specific name on but that doesn't matter
- some bonding between Prowl and Koyuki too if you wanted to include that!
- non-canon background ships I'm good with are Kururu/Mutsumi, Koyuki/Natsumi, Fuyuki/Momoka, Alisa/Fuyuki, Chiruyo/Momoka, Asami/Mois, Garuru/Pururu, Tororo/Zoruru, Mekeke/Putata, Bulkhead/Bumblebee, Bumblebee/Sari, Lockdown/Swindle, Blitzwing/Lugnut, Jetfire/Jetstorm, and/or Sari/any of the non-adult girls from Keroro Gunsou, if any of them show up
- I'm fine with keeping both of them in their canon bodies, or having one or both of them humanized (specifically them winding up in human bodies somehow rather than always being human-like... maybe a Kururu and/or even Sumdac invention?), or even putting Dororo in a human-looking robot body to blend in! whichever you'd rather go with!
- NAMING CONVENTIONS! nicknames and endearments and honorifics! honestly, whether they're in Japan/speaking Japanese or not, I'm amused by the idea of the Keroro Platoon specifically still using honorifics and maybe even their usual sentence enders (like Dororo's "de gozaru"); Dororo seems to default to calling most people -dono, so him going from Prowl-dono to Prowl-kun or even simply Prowl could be meaningful! Prowl seems to simply call people by name, but if they are speaking Japanese, would he use any honorifics? which ones? would he call Dororo by his rank (Heichou or Lance Corporal) often, or at all?
- genderswaps and genderswap AUs! m/m, f/f, and m/f are all fine!
- if you're interested, I like trans headcanons for either/both of these characters! I like the idea of Dororo as a trans woman or nonbinary, but trans man is also good; I also have a soft spot for Prowl as nonbinary or a trans man, but trans woman is also good! trans headcanons for any other characters that show up are also 100% good (though I'd prefer you leave Koyuki and Natsumi as girls, whether cis or trans!). and of course trans headcanons aren't obligatory!
Keroro Gunsou | Sgt. Frog
Dororo/Kururu
(Dororo hurt, Kururu hurt, or both hurt)
[Where you can find the series: Here or here!
Most Pertinent Episodes:
S1 E9A - introducing Kururu
S1 E13 - introducing Dororo, rescuing him, and working together!
S1 E14 - the Platoon works on a plan for the first time with Dororo... dammit Kururu
S1 E28B - shows Kururu's personality + how he's "allergic" to cute/sweet/pure things (and people); Dororo only has a smallish part
S1 E40 - this just shows how chaotic the Platoon as a whole can get, Dororo being forgotten, and Kururu actually not liking being unpopular
S1 E47A - "Kururuko" helps the rest of the Platoon (including Dororo, this time! bad idea) make Hinamatsuri "more interesting"
S1 E49A - Dororo's not in this one, but Kururu shocks everyone by not being a jerk... for a bit, maybe
S1 E51 - the Platoon "leaves forever" (only not)
S2 E64B - Keroro's been a dick to Dororo since childhood, also Kururu's a genius
S2 E68B - Kururu's not really in this one; Dororo re-meets a dog, though!
S2 E82A - Dororo's not in this one; "Kururuko" enters a competition to "meet 623"
S2 E83B - Kururu accidentally gets turned into a baby!
S2 E98B - Kururu's not in this one; Dororo first meeting Koyuki
S2 E101 - the Garuru Platoon invades; this episode and the next two are a three-parter, plotty and actually kinda serious
S2 E102 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S2 E103 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S3 E134B - Dororo's not in this one, but Kururu and Fuyuki go to Akihabara and it has some fun stuff in it
S3 E135B - Dororo and Kururu work together in this one to fuck with Keroro and it's great
S3 E153 - first of a more serious two-parter; the Platoon disappears
S3 E154 - second of the more serious two-parter; Dororo helps save the day
S4 E155 - this just shows the Platoon including both them being. ridiculous. songs and also resonance.
S4 E161 - the Platoon is attacked by an outside group; Kururu and Dororo (and Mutsumi) help stop them
S4 165A - Kururu's just great in this one; Dororo's minor but they interact?
S4 171B - Dororo's not in this one, but it shows a bit more of Kururu's personality and way of doing things!
S4 E189 - Kururu's not really in this one, but Dororo has to face his old assassin teacher in what seems to be a fight to the death!
S4 E199 - Dororo's minor in this one, but Kururuko becomes an idol!
MOVIE 3 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel - again plotty and kinda serious
S5 E214 - Dororo's not in this one much, but Kururu quits temporarily for the dumbest reason and it's great
S5 E229 - B story focuses on Kururu (and Mutsumi) but A story sets up context; plotty and kinda serious when it gets to that point, has Dororo jump in to help Kururu a bit and more firmly establishes their friendship than most episodes
MOVIE 4 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 4: Gekishin Dragon Warriors - again, plotty and kinda serious, has some nice scenes with both and a cute moment at the end
S6 E259 - Kururu's not in this one, but we get to see Dororo and Koyuki revisit their old ninja village
S6 E260 - flashback to the Platoon's first time meeting and working together!
S6 E284 - the Platoon gets taken over by an asshole, they turn on Dororo, Dororo ends up having to save all their asses, also Kururu's a genius
S6 E307 - has some cute moments for the characters separately and shows that they'll all be together in the future
MOVIE 5 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 5: Creation! Ultimate Keroro, Wonder Space-Time Island - again, plotty and kinda serious; has some cute moments with both of them
S7 E312A - Dororo vs. Zeroro (his own past self!) with some good moments from Kururu
S7 E318A - no one's ever seen Dororo's mouth (he eats, drinks, sleeps, etc. with it on and always has) and it seems to be a bit embarrassing and very personal for him!
S7 E319 - there's a hacker in the base and this part has great moments with both of them; Dororo's not in the second half but Kururu is bright and also has a soft spot!
S7 E320A - literally just the Platoon using bishounen robots to invade if you want to see them as those (Dororo looks like Trowa and Kururu looks like Zechs)
S7 E336A - Kururu's barely in this one but it has Dororo vs. Zoruru again!
S7 E356A - the Platoon turns into dragons again to save Keron; has at least one or two neat moments for them both
S7 E357 - fun situation where Keron decides to take over the invasion, and it shows how attached all the Platoon's gotten to Earth
Watch just whichever ones you feel like, tbh!]
(I've watched most of Keroro Gunso, and I think I've seen every episode that has a focus on either of these two, or at least most of them; I don't mind spoilers at all for any episodes I haven't seen, so feel free to refer to anything. I've also seen all the movies. As for the manga, I've read up through Volume 19, and I'm spoiled for stuff from later volumes! I prefer the characterizations in the anime on the whole, but feel free to incorporate details from the manga to spice things up because I do love it too!)
My love for this ship isn't 100% about their canon interactions, honestly; those are fairly few, somewhat far between, and the two don't seem all that close necessarily. However, they do have some interactions and little details about them that make me feel like they have the potential to grow closer or could have done so in the background of the series! From the start, Dororo being in actual legit trouble did seem to worry the entire Keroro Platoon, including Kururu, and whenever any of the Platoon are in real trouble Dororo often abruptly swoops in to save the day. But more than that...
Even all the way back in Season 3, in the second half of Episode 135, Dororo and Kururu unexpectedly bond a bit over Keroro not valuing a single grain of rice (weirdos) and team up to fuck with him over it to teach him a lesson! Near the end of Season 5, Episode 229, Dororo realizes something's wrong and knocks Keroro and Giroro the fuck out so that Kururu can help/save Mutsumi, and his little speech about how sometimes someone gets caught up in something they can't explain but you try your best to do everything you can to help them as a friend applies to him and Kururu in that moment as much as Kururu and Mutsumi! (Who I also ship, so that got me.) At the end of the fourth movie, when Kururu gets knocked over it's Dororo who tries to help him up, and in the fifth movie it's shown that Kururu and Mutsumi are playing shogi on a rooftop when it's usually Dororo and Mutsumi doing that (so they apparently all three have that in common, or Kururu learned!). In the first part of Episode 312 in Season 7, Kururu seems to become concerned and realize something's wrong at the same moment as Giroro, who's known Dororo a lot longer, and twigs onto what's really happening at the same time as Koyuki, who's the closest person to him. And by the second-to-last episode (and what feels like more of a series finale than the actual finale, honestly), Episode 357 of Season 7, the entire Platoon devotes themselves to being the Earth Defense Force -- actually calling it "Earth" as well, rather than Pekopon, which only Dororo had ever done before -- all of them, including Kururu, catching up to Dororo's devotion in that regard. And honestly, just the little detail that Kururu is the only person in the entire series Dororo has ever said the name of without any honorific attached fascinates me a little by itself!
So there are some neat moments every so often, even if they're few and far between, and ones that can even be read as a progression of either regard or closeness or both if one wants to! But I also really like them in a more general sense for the possibilities on top of their actual interactions. They could have a very interesting dynamic if they did get closer! Kururu is "the biggest jerk in the universe" who cares about other people more than he seems to want to and definitely more than he likes to let on, while Dororo is a sweetheart dedicated to peace and protection, with a soft heart, who can be ruthless at times and used to be the Keron Army's top assassin. Kururu goes out of his way to be a jerk seemingly more for the sake of it than anything else, while Dororo is dedicated to being fair, honorable, and (usually) kind. Dororo is traumatized by being forgotten and mistreated, while in the early episodes the closest thing to a "trauma switch" Kururu seems to have (despite his purposeful jerkishness!) is being called out as unpopular and actually disliked. Kururu seems outright allergic to sweet and cute things and people, especially Mois, but seems unbothered by Dororo as well as Mutsumi. For their own very different reasons, they're the two Platoon members most likely to go "nah, not interested" and just peace out of participating in a mission, or to decide they want to do their own thing. And just for more minor things, Kururu's eyes are always covered up by his glasses and Dororo's never seen without his mask, and Dororo is the nature-oriented while Kururu is more tech-oriented (though Dororo seems to appreciate Kururu's skills despite that). Basically, I could actually see them coming to appreciate each other, especially if Dororo saw under Kururu's jerk exterior and decided he was worth being patient and trying for closeness.
Actually Requested Tags
- This fandom is small; I consent to any hurt/comfort scenario you think I'd like
- Character A abandons plans in order to rescue Character B
- Character being their usual awful self is strangely comforting
- Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges
- Comforter Becomes Unusually Demonstrative with Hurt Character
- Comforter stunned by how much comfortee trusts them
- Sick/hurt character indispensable on case/mission; team looks after them while they get things done
- Taken Off Guard By Small Displays Of Affection
- Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings
- Unexpected rescue followed by tenderly patching up wounds
First I want to bring up some ideas that definitely work best if Dororo is the one hurt! (Though some of them also work the other way around quite well.)
The thing that comes immediately to mind for me for this is the fact that Dororo is easily forgotten, and there are some potential tags that could really lean into this. Absence of Team Loner/Odd Person Out/Black Sheep Noticed Too Late - Bad Thing Happens to Absentee and Searching for injured partner/friend who was left behind are the two most obvious, as Dororo not being noticed or remembered by the rest of the Platoon (including Kururu or not, if he was backing them up from his lab or just not interested in the situation at first) is obviously very common and could easily be played for both emotional and physical hurt, or emotional hurt and physical danger! They thought no one was coming; got rescued by unexpected person could also play into this very easily. All of these tags work for Kururu as well, however; he is somewhat of a black sheep that the Platoon occasionally purposefully tries not to involve, and if he had to be left behind in a situation for some reason it makes sense for Dororo the ninja to be the extraction or the one to swoop in and save him, just for two examples.
Then there's stuff that has to do with Dororo's past, either trauma-wise or as an assassin! It would be easy to lean into that for hurt/comfort; several episodes canonically sort of went there with the latter (episodes 189, versus Jirara; 312A, versus a shadow version of his past self; and 336A, versus Zoruru), and while his trauma switch is played for laughs it obviously does affect and upset him. Character ground down by emotional abuse builds up self-esteem and happiness is a great tag for recovering from trauma, while Character Volunteering for Trauma Because They're Used to It is a possibly darker possibility and Emotional/mental scars manifesting as physical wounds could be even darker (but could also potentially be done with Kururu instead/as well!); Character is betrayed by good friend unfortunately works well for fuckery from Keroro, who does that a lot, and it could be played as either more serious or more ridiculous in tone like in the show! Unresolved childhood trauma catches up to adult character is just generally what happens repeatedly in the show and again could be done in the show's tone (irreverent) or taken more seriously, and maybe works best for Dororo but could also be done with Kururu if you preferred! Character's Past Comes Back to Haunt Them (in a really bad way) could easily go beyond trauma switch stuff and straight into something like in those episodes, where someone from Dororo's assassin past or even a version of his past self shows up to cause trouble! Maybe even haunting from an actual ghost of someone Dororo actually assassinated back when he was Zeroro? (Or something/someone pretending to be that?) But maybe instead Kururu "gets to" take a turn with this one, having someone he made upset return (Tororo or someone else entirely? someone he supplanted when he became the Keron Army's youngest Major before being demoted again?) or being haunted by his own past self for some reason this time?
Then there's other possibilities that work really well with a hurt Dororo specifically... or work really well with Kururu as comforter, specifically! The tag Character A insists they doesn't care about Character B; also insists on providing comfort jumps out as being quite fitting for that, and on the other side of things, Character being their usual awful self is strangely comforting and Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting would both work very well for, well, Kururu as a comforter! Comforter Becomes Unusually Demonstrative with Hurt Character could work for either, honestly, but Dororo is the more demonstrative of the two generally so it again might fit Kururu as comforter more. Gently touching a character's scar(s) could be played with if you think that Dororo might have scars from his childhood, assassin training, or something during the war (maybe even a scar at his mouth that's usually hidden by his mask?). Protectiveness - Character A still tries to protect Character B despite A being injured feels like it especially fits Dororo as Character A, being sort of a Determinator and perfectly willing to push through things/used to it due to training and childhood. Finally, the tag Strong A skilled in combat is injured; weaker B must protect them both could work well for Dororo being A (even if it's mutual comfort), as Kururu is brilliant at what he does but not a front-line fighter at all.
Then there's some ideas that came to mind for Kururu being the hurt one specifically! Some ideas don't work physiologically quite as well the other way around. The first thing that came to mind looking at the tags was a situation where Dororo has to carry Kururu: Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety and Character is carried while barely conscious were the tags that jumped out at me for that, but feel free to go with anything! There's also a bunch of tags about huddling for warmth/sharing body heat, and Dororo's training allowing him to ignore and not actually be affected by extreme temperatures combined with Keronians' usual weakness to cold makes that kind of thing work well if Kururu's the one in trouble but Dororo can actually help! Character A shares body heat with Character b to keep them alive and warm is the most obvious tag for this, but even just more character needs help staying warm or Huddling For Warmth while pining (with either or both pining!) work really well!
And there are also ideas that work best with Kururu being the one hurt due to characterization reasons... You could really lean into Kururu's jerkishness from the hurt side of things as well, which makes tags like Character is an awful patient and/or Character is prickly and bad-tempered while recovering from hurt; comforter is chill about it very fitting; Character being their usual awful self is strangely comforting could actually even work here as well, with Kururu acting like himself despite injury or sickness being reassuring. Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection could really be both of them, honestly, but Kururu seems outright the least used to it! Something like A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk with Kururu as A also works really well, as does Sick/hurt character doesn't often show vulnerability (so it's a big deal when they do) as Dororo is much more open to showing vulnerability and Kururu is... not so much. Finally, I'm a sucker for things like Taking Off Sick/Hurt Character's Glasses and would love something like that with Kururu, too!
Then there are the things that work with either or both of them being hurt; I like a lot of the more general tags (wound bandaging and patching up, bedsharing and bedside vigils and refusing to leave the other's side, seeing someone hurt or nearly losing them or taking care of them causing feelings or a realization of feelings...) and Big Damn Rescue (with comfort) and Unexpected rescue followed by tenderly patching up wounds are also just great tags, so you could do a lot just with any of those! While, as mentioned, Dororo is great with the cold, if the temperature is actually extreme enough that both are in some danger, Characters have to share body heat to avoid hypothermia could work as a tag. Wounded Characters Try To Care For One Another could easily be physical wounds that they're trying to patch up, but could instead (or also?) be emotional/psychological wounds and the two trying to care about each other anyway!
I also love some more specific scenarios suggested by some of the tags, too: Bathing together as comfort works really well for a species that likes water and humidity so much, and Character with injured hands requires assistance (which turns sexual) could work well for either of them (though Kururu jumps to mind given his work needing a lot of typing and detail work with his hands, Dororo is probably more likely to have his injured, so it works both ways) and is very appealing! Both characters can be really vital to missions in different ways, so either would work in a scenario like the one presented by the Sick/hurt character indispensable on case/mission; team looks after them while they get things done tag. The tag A protects B from injury with their own body; B is deeply affected by A being hurt could easily be either of them, actually, given that while it's very rare Kururu has pulled this shit before (with Mutsumi) and I could absolutely see Dororo doing it too. And both of them have come to the other's rescue before in a professional capacity, so seeing Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe in a ship capacity with either as Character A could be great!
Finally, there are three somewhat vaguer H/C scenario ideas that I always love that I think could work well for these two, that you could do a lot of different things with and I'd adore it! Feelings being unintentionally given away due to extreme situations is great; the tags Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, and Delirious character unintentionally reveals their regard for their comforter work well for that but there are a lot of other things you can do with it. I also love moments of sort of... quiet intimacy in H/C; Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, works well there, too, as do the tags Character resigned to loneliness finds unexpected intimacy with other(s), Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges (with the "low key" part making it feel like maybe the other only notices because they've come to know each other well), Quiet comfort after stressful hurt, and Taken Off Guard By Small Displays Of Affection. That last one also works really well for my final H/C love, which is feelings or revelation of some coming as a big shock: something like Character A is surprised when Character B wants their help and not someone else's could work well with either of them as either character, and could even come along with Comforter stunned by how much comfortee trusts them, and there's also A is surprised at how much they're willing to risk to protect/save hurt character B on the other side of things!
Links to Previous Letters
Unfortunately, I have not requested this ship in exchanges before!
Canon-Specific DNWs
- Kururu flipping Dororo's trauma switch on purpose (I realize I forgot to put this one in my signup so that one's totally on me)
- non-canon background pairings I'm good with are Koyuki/Natsumi, Fuyuki/Momoka, Alisa/Fuyuki, Fuyuki/Mutsumi, Chiruyo/Momoka, Asami/Mois, Garuru/Pururu, Tororo/Zoruru, and/or Mekeke/Putata, if any of them show up
- I'm also into Dororo/Kururu/Mutsumi, either as a full OT3 or poly with either Kururu in the center, but it's obviously not necessary!
- I'm also equally happy with the Platoon in their usual Keronian bodies, or in human bodies due to one of Kururu's inventions or something! or in human-looking robots! any would be good, so go with whatever you feel like...
- Kururu's dorky taste in music and his love of curry everything (and the fact that he's yellow because of bathing in curry...)
- how Kururu blatantly does care about his teammates and being liked more than he lets on
- how sometimes these two really do seem to get along better than expected
- the opposites-attract sorta feeling I get from them (nature and tech, huge jerk of a genius inventor and calm sweetheart of an ex-assassin ninja...)
- NAMING CONVENTIONS! honorifics and even nicknames! Kururu always calls Dororo either Dororo-senpai or Dororo Heichou (Lance Corporal Dororo), but Dororo seems to call Kururu either Kururu-dono (like he does for everybody) or just Kururu, which he doesn't for anyone else. why? Kururu sometimes (rarely) busts out a cute thing to call one of the other Platoon members for no obvious reason (like calling Keroro Kekero-kun once), and oddly they seem to do the same for him sometimes (Keroro calling him Ki-chan and Tamama calling him Kinkin once), so I don't even think it's out of the question for them to call each other -kun at some point (or even Doro-kun/Kuru-kun or something else similar!)... or just switch entirely to names without honorifics?
- genderswaps and genderswap AUs! m/m, f/f, and m/f are all fine!
- if you're interested, I like trans headcanons for either/both of these characters! I like the idea of Dororo as a trans woman or nonbinary, but trans man is also good; I could see Kururu as being outside of the human binary but I can also see him as a trans woman or as bigender (Kururuko). trans headcanons for any other characters that show up are also 100% good (though I'd prefer you leave Koyuki and Natsumi as girls, whether cis or trans!). and of course trans headcanons aren't obligatory!
Keroro Gunsou | Sgt. Frog
Kururu/Saburo Mutsumi
(Kururu hurt, Mutsumi hurt, or both hurt)
[Where you can find the series: Here or here!
Most Pertinent Episodes:
S1 E9A - introducing both characters
S1 E28B - Mutsumi's not in this one, but shows Kururu's personality + how he's "allergic" to cute/sweet/pure things (and people)
S1 E47A - Mutsumi's not in this one, but "Kururuko" helps the rest of the platoon make Hinamatsuri "more interesting"
S1 E49A - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururu shocks everyone by not being a jerk... for a bit, maybe
S1 E51 - the Platoon "leaves forever" (only not)
S2 E82A - 623 hosts a competition to let one fan meet him face-to-face; "Kururuko" enters
S2 E83B - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururu accidentally gets turned into a baby!
S2 E101 - the Garuru Platoon invades; this episode and the next two are a three-parter, plotty and actually kinda serious
S2 E102 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S2 E103 - the Garuru Platoon invades; three-parter continued
S3 E112 - Kururu and Mutsumi first meet, and Mutsumi winds up with Kururu's reality pen
S3 E134B - Mutsumi's not really in this one, but Kururu and Fuyuki go to Akihabara and it has some fun stuff in it
S4 E161 - the Platoon is attacked by an outside group; Mutsumi shows up to help
S4 165A - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururu is just great in it
S4 171B - Mutsumi's not in this one, but it shows a bit more of Kururu's personality and way of doing things!
S4 E199 - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururuko becomes an idol!
MOVIE 3 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel - again plotty and kinda serious, some fun shippy scenes
S5 E214 - Mutsumi's not in this one, but Kururu quits the Platoon temporarily for the dumbest reason and it's great
S5 E229 - B story focuses on them but A story sets up context; plotty and kinda serious when it gets to that point and VERY SHIPPY including the credits
MOVIE 4 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 4: Gekishin Dragon Warriors - again, plotty and kinda serious, has some nice scenes with both
S5 E237 - part of a story arc with the Platoon on another world; Kururu encourages the version of Mutsumi of that world
S5 E240A - this one's convoluted and dumb (complimentary) but there's a sauna sequence and the two of them working together on something... interesting
S6 E298B - Kururu's not in it; Mutsumi regularly uses the reality pen to check in on himself in alternate dimensions
S6 E307 - has some cute moments for the characters separately and shows that they'll all be together in the future
MOVIE 5 - Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 5: Creation! Ultimate Keroro, Wonder Space-Time Island - plotty and kinda serious; has a cute scene near the beginning with both of them
S7 E320A - Mutsumi's not in it; literally just the Platoon using bishounen robots to invade if you want to see Kururu as one of those (he looks like Zechs)
S7 E354B - Kururu helps Mutsumi fake being a Venusian and keep broadcasting as 623 without risking his identity
S7 E357 - fun situation where Kururu invites Mutsumi to visit Keron, things go bad, and it shows how attached all the Platoon's gotten to Earth
Watch just whichever ones you feel like, tbh!]
(I've watched most of Keroro Gunso, and I think I've seen every episode Mutsumi is in; I don't mind spoilers at all for any episodes I haven't seen, so feel free to refer to anything. I've also seen all the movies. As for the manga, I've read up through Volume 19, and I'm spoiled for stuff from later volumes! I prefer Kururu's personality in the anime and prefer anime Saburo Mutsumi to manga Hojo Mutsumi, but feel free to incorporate details from the manga to spice things up because I do love it too! I especially love the spoilers about Mutsumi from later volumes...)
I fucking love these two assholes! I love how they don't seem like they'd click at all, except they're canonically on the same wavelength and are so obviously best friends, and care about each other in ways that are absolutely uncharacteristic for both of them. Mutsumi is friendly as hell but doesn't really get that close to anyone, keeping a mysterious distance most of the time and even not being that close to Fuyuki or Natsumi even when he gets closer to them as friends. He also seems to find a lot fairly boring, and is just so stoked by everything the aliens are doing, even (especially!) when that's invasion-of-Earth stuff; he always seems delighted to get involved in their antics! And Kururu is "the most unlikeable guy," likes to make it well known he doesn't give a shit about most things, wants to put people off, hates sweetness and light to the point that it physically injures him... and yet this upbeat, bright-eyed, adorable, kinda cool but kinda dorky teen is his BFF.
When they first meet, Mutsumi spends the whole time metaphorically pulling pigtails because he's decided he 100% wants this alien in his life; he blushes when Kururu gives him the Reality Pen! When the Keronians are all dimension hopping and they meet an alternate universe version of Mutsumi, Kururu pep talks him. Whenever Kururu's in trouble, he seems to know exactly how to get Mutsumi to come help. When Mutsumi's life is in danger in Episode 229, Kururu blows the entire budget on making him another reality pen, shows the clearest concern he's maybe shown in his entire life racing to the rescue, and puts himself right between a deadly blast and Mutsumi in order to toss him the pen. When given the opportunity to invite the humans they care about to visit Keron, Kururu immediately does, Keroro knows he has without being told, and Kururu's the one who investigates the whole invitation and sounds the alarms on it being a trap. At one point, Mutsumi and Kururu go to a sauna together and Mutsumi agrees to make a steamy video for him, because why not? Mutsumi asked Kururu to teach him how to resonate, which is something Platoons do together but can also canonically be romantic!
These two do not seem like they would work, and yet they absolutely do, know they do, and embrace it. It's wonderful. I don't even have more to say, I just love how all-in they are on each other... not even "despite themselves," per se, because they don't seem to resist it at all after Kururu's reluctance on that first day!
Actually Requested Tags
- This fandom is small; I consent to any hurt/comfort scenario you think I'd like
- Big Damn Rescue (with comfort)
- Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B
- Character A hides illness/injury perfectly; Character B can still tell
- Character being their usual awful self is strangely comforting
- Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them
- A is surprised at how much they're willing to risk to protect/save hurt character B
- The one person you trust to be weak in front of
- Nearly losing someone reveals deeper feelings
- A protects B from injury with their own body; B is deeply affected by A being hurt
First, I'd just like to note that I really like some very general H/C scenarios for these two: ones suggested by tags like Bandaging wounds, Bedsharing while one of the characters is injured, Bedside Vigils, Big Damn Rescue (with comfort), Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured, Mutually patching up injuries after battle, Refusing to Leave Hurt Character's Side, and Wounded Characters Try To Care For One Another are all somewhat more general and great scenarios that I'd be happy with either/both hurt!
There's also somewhat less general scenarios, ones to do with rescue and recovery and realization of feelings. Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them, A is surprised at how much they're willing to risk to protect/save hurt character B, and Nearly losing someone reveals deeper feelings are all great examples of a scenario where one of them being hurt/in danger leads to the other realizing their own feelings, which is catnip to me! There's also a bunch of tags where someone's feelings form or come to light during the recovery period, sometimes with pining, all of which I also love and could be used as prompt inspiration: A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury, Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B, Comforter Becomes Unusually Demonstrative with Hurt Character, Delirious character unintentionally reveals their regard for their comforter, and Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings are great examples of this! Alternately, there's the scenario that the tag Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe suggests, where feelings aren't only just coming to light or forming necessarily (though they could be!) but one pushes themself hard to help the other. And finally there's soft, maybe intimate moments of comfort, like the ones implied in tags like Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges and Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable, where they also obviously have to know each other well and quietly care about each other.
I'm also really into scenarios that feel more specific to the two of them in some way, at least a bit. Things like Awkward Comforter and Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best are intriguing to me with these two, with either of them as the comforter, since Mutsumi doesn't seem like he's especially close to people before and besides Kururu, and Mutsumi might also be the only person Kururu would actually attempt to actually comfort; for similar reasons, things like Character resigned to loneliness finds unexpected intimacy with other(s) could work well for either or both of them as well! Since they're on the same wavelength (or rather, "radio wave buddies," which feels potentially even deeper than that!), scenarios like the ones presented with Character A hides illness/injury perfectly; Character B can still tell, Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them, and even The one person you trust to be weak in front of work really well for these two, and Character A shows up on Character B's doorstep because they didn't know where else to go also shows how close they are (and either could be either character; Kururu might actually know where Mutsumi lives and Mutsumi could always go to Kururu's lab!). Character has a history of pretending to feel better than they do seems to be true for both of them in different ways, but maybe especially Mutsumi; Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection seems to be true for both of them in different ways, but maybe especially Kururu; Sick/hurt character doesn't often show vulnerability (so it's a big deal when they do) just in general seems to be true of both of them, and maybe they wouldn't even express it in front of anyone else the way they do with each other! Comforter stunned by how much comfortee trusts them could work especially well in their early days, potentially, but could also take even them aback later...
There are also two tags that really jumped out at me, that could be read as more general but feel surprisingly specific when it comes to these two! Identity Issues is a slightly more vague tag that I feel could be really interesting when applied to one or both of these two. Especially taking his manga past into account, Mutsumi didn't seem to care much about Earth, humanity, or people in general before meeting Kururu and didn't really have friends before him, only becoming more friendly with Dororo, Natsumi, and Fuyuki afterwards; he may actually be changing as a person a lot. You could also potentially play with the fact that he regularly observes other universe's versions of himself! And Kururu has a very strong sense of identity as a jerk, but sometimes he tempers that (a bit) play-acting as as Kururuko and he in general seems to be a lot less of a jerk with Mutsumi as a rule, and even alternate universe versions of Mutsumi... So he's compromising that aspect of himself, and is he changing at all? And then there's A protects B from injury with their own body; B is deeply affected by A being hurt, which really stood out to me because we kind of did see it in Episode 229 in a more minor way! Kururu got in the way of a deadly blast for Mutsumi, and it was a form of trust fall and they were both unharmed, but it definitely shows that Kururu at least would definitely pull that kind of shit for Mutsumi and Mutsumi definitely looked horrified for a moment. I'd love to see him pull some shit like that again, or to see Mutsumi actually do that for him instead. (It WOULD be easier for Mutsumi to shield Kururu with his body to be fair, and I love both ideas equally!)
Some scenarios and the tags that made me think of them work especially well if Kururu is the one injured: Bathing together as comfort could have to do with Keronians doing well with water and humidity, though it could also work for a "both hurt" scenario, and could work for physical or emotional/psychological hurt; tags like Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety and Character is carried while barely conscious work better if Mutsumi is carrying Kururu, but Kururu could also carry Mutsumi if using a robot or other invention (or even as Kururuko!). Something like Character A Doesn’t Know How To Help Hurt B Because Of Their Nonhuman Biology also works especially well with Kururu as Character B, of course, but it could also be a scenario where Kururu finds out Mutsumi's not entirely human anymore via his physiology being different during dangerous situation/while Mutsumi's hurt! Character A shares body heat with Character b to keep them alive and warm and other similar scenarios work best with Kururu being the one in danger, since Keronians are more threatened by the cold and are also smaller, though I'm also a sucker for things like Huddling For Warmth while pining as maybe mutual danger with either or both of them pining. And situations like Character is an awful patient and Character is prickly and bad-tempered while recovering from hurt; comforter is chill about it certainly work well with Kururu being the one recovering! Something like A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk could also work really well with Kururu as A, and of course while I'm a sucker for things like Taking Off Sick/Hurt Character's Glasses it only really works with Kururu! Finally, I'm a sucker for things like Character A drops the lighthearted facade when Character B is in danger, and Mutsumi definitely works better as Character A (though this could be mutual hurt as well!).
And some others work better with Mutsumi as the one hurt, or I somewhat prefer them that way! Kururu is the one who has solid plans more often, it seems, so something like Character A abandons plans in order to rescue Character B works well with Mutsumi as Character B. Character being their usual awful self is strangely comforting could work with Kururu being awful even while hurt or sick and that being comforting, but using it with him as the actual comforter also makes a lot of sense, kinda like the tag Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting! A scenario like Character is trapped in another dimension and communicates through dreams is a really unique one, and works well with Mutsumi being trapped given his jaunts into other dimensions using his reality pen; he might be emotionally/psychologically hurt, in actual danger, or even physically injured depending on the dimension, but it could also be a mutual hurt situation with focus also on Kururu's worry and/or getting hurt to get him back! While I'm super happy for a scenario like Character with injured hands requires assistance (which turns sexual) to apply to either (since they both do a lot of work with their hands including in actively dangerous situations), tags like Impaled through the hand or impaled through the wrist I REALLY like applied to Mutsumi -- maybe while he was trying to use the Reality Pen? I also really like things like A doesn't know how to help shaken-up B after B nearly dies with Mutsumi as B, though that's maybe more mutual hurt with focus on both of their psychological/emotional pain? Finally, after Episode 229 especially and some of Mutsumi's other carelessness, a scenario like the one implied in A fails to sacrifice self for greater good; LI becomes conscious of A’s broken/suicidal state really appeals to me with Mutsumi as A; it could even be in response to the events of 229, though it could also be something totally different/new!
I'd also be interested in certain AU situations for these two! Character goes through psychological hell in Silent Hill AU is such a fascinating tag to me; I love characters being stuck in Silent Hill and having to deal with the strange and horrifying things there that are geared specifically to their own psychology and history... For that tag it being mutual would work well but if Silent Hill is mostly focused on one of them I think it'd make sense if it were Mutsumi, who was at least born on Earth (maybe one of his parents was born in Silent Hill and/or part of its cult, and/or he was born there for some reason?). Character taken prisoner; expects torture/humiliation; gets kind & honorable treatment could be an interesting scenario for a universe in which the Keroro Platoon or the Keron Army actually proceeded with the invasion from the start, but it could also be in a situation where Mutsumi stayed with the N326ans and maybe they and the Keronians were at war? Either could capture the other, really! I am also totally into soulmate AUs with these two; the tags Soulmark AU - Culturally Inappropriate Soulmate and Soulmates - Everyone has soulmarks; A & B don't immediately jumped out at me as promising, but anything could be fun! Maybe for the first, it's culturally inappropriate for Keronians to have non-Keronian soulmates, or soulmates from a planet they're meant to be invading? For the second, would Kururu and Mutsumi not having soulmarks be explained by them having alien soulmates, if Keronians and humans (or N326ans!) have different soulmate indicators? For the first tag, or any other variation of a soulmate AU you do, I want to also mention that I in general love the idea of different species having different soulmate indicators, as well as loving the idea of Keronians being able to identify their soulmates by resonating together! And while wingfic can be done in ways that aren't AU -- Mutsumi being able to manifest tiny little wing things in the manga, and seeming like maybe he automatically does so when he floats or uses N326an powers? -- I'd also love an AU where he actually has legit wings or can pull them out or suddenly forms them, maybe also due to N326an influence, or one where they're maybe a part of the Keronian life cycle, with feathers or without! 54. Wingfic - bandaging damaged wings, Wingfic - Wing injuries, and Wingfic - grooming neglected wings were the three that immediately jumped out at me; maybe for the first two the wings come out or grow during an emergency situation, and maybe for the last Mutsumi usually keeps them hidden or Kururu just doesn't bother taking care of them much?
Finally... this is the one ship where I would actually like noncon/dubcon, but specifically noncon/dubcon where it's being forced on one or both of them by an outside force! Tags like Aftermath - Character doesn't tell anyone they were tortured/raped; is found out anyway, A doesn't know how to help shaken-up B after B is nearly raped or A doesn't know how to help shaken-up B after B is raped where Mutsumi is the character in question/Character B are great. Mutual Bad Guys Made Them Do It is great, especially with a tag like Comforting each other during forced mutual noncon by bad guys or Forced mutual noncon by another but nonetheless tries to comfort the other, and Comfort after Fuck Or Die scenario would also work well whether any part of the actual scene is written or not! Finally, Captivity - Hurt!A begs/flirts to draw captor away from molesting B (succeeds) would be great as well with either in either role, but I admit I immediately pictured Mutsumi as A. (All/any of these are also another situation where I'd be interested in a crossover/AU, particularly Togainu no Chi, but it would also work great with any enemy including other invading aliens or even other Keronians!)
Links to Previous Letters
If you want more ideas for prompts, I've asked for them in exchanges a couple times before!
Canon-Specific DNWs
- N/A, really!
- non-canon background pairings I'm good with are Koyuki/Natsumi, Fuyuki/Momoka, Alisa/Fuyuki, Chiruyo/Momoka, Asami/Mois, Garuru/Pururu, Tororo/Zoruru, and/or Mekeke/Putata, if any of them show up
- I'm also into Dororo/Kururu/Mutsumi, either as a full OT3 or poly with either Kururu or Mutsumi in the center, but it's obviously not necessary!
- I'm also equally happy with the Platoon in their usual Keronian bodies, or in human bodies due to one of Kururu's inventions or something! or in human-looking robots, or even Mutsumi in a Keronian body! any would be good...
- the way these two seem so different but just Vibe, with that whole "on the same wavelength" thing
- how effortlessly Mutsumi seems to be able to make Kururu act uncharacteristically...
- including how easily Kururu just gave Mutsumi an uber-powerful, uber-rare reality pen, TWICE
- and tbh, also vice-versa? Mutsumi is distant and secretive and mysterious to literally everyone except, it seems, Kururu!
- how into the alien and alien-invasion (and maybe alien-experimentation?) stuff Mutsumi is; he wants excitement!!
- all those alternate universe versions of him!
- THAT MANGA REVEAL THAT HE WAS RAISED BY ALIENS... could it possibly even mean he's not fully human anymore somehow, maybe due to being raised by aliens or growing up on another planet?
- those stupid haikus and his dorky fashion sense
- Kururu's dorky taste in music and his love of curry everything (and the fact that he's yellow because of bathing in curry...)
- how Kururu blatantly does care about his teammates and being liked more than he lets on
- the idea of Mutsumi learning how to resonate with Kururu's help, just because (especially since it can be, like, a relationship thing as well as a team bonding/agreement thing)
- listen, I like that they just call each other by name (and that Mutsumi calls him by "Kururuko" while Kururu's in the robot), but I feel like either of them might potentially give sickeningly sweet pet names in public to troll the other if the chance came up but that they might like it despite it also being painfully ridiculous tbh
- genderswaps and genderswap AUs! m/m, f/f, and m/f are all fine!
- if you're interested, I like trans headcanons for either/both of these characters! I like the idea of Mutsumi as a trans girl because of that alternate universe thing, or nonbinary/outside of human binary, but trans boy is also good; I could see Kururu as being outside of the human binary but I can also see him as a trans woman or as bigender (Kururuko). trans headcanons for any other characters that show up are also 100% good (though I'd prefer you leave Koyuki and Natsumi as girls, whether cis or trans!). and of course trans headcanons aren't obligatory!
The Last Halloween (Webcomic)
Dr. Fugue/Robert
Dr. Fugue/Robert & Mona
Dr. Fugue/Robert & Shirley
(Fugue hurt, Robert hurt, both hurt, Mona hurt, or Shirley hurt)
[Where you can find the comic: Here!
Book 1 is by far the most pertinent; that's 7 chapters/about 114 pages.]
For Dr. Fugue/Robert, this takes a little bit of explaining, since their interactions are minor and not particularly significant. But the more I thought about them individually, I liked what their slight interplay does say about them and how the shapes of their arcs kinda work together.
Doctor Fugue is undead, a doctor and supernatural (mad) scientist, a Victorian-ish ghost. One who haunts the church and can't leave. He employs what he thinks of as a little group of undead children to help him graverob bodies for his raising-the-dead experiments (as well as upgrading/replacing Jangles's various bits). He's a big faker: Robert flat-out says he's not a good doctor, which is proven very correct when Mona comes back; he not only hands a ten year old a magic weapon he knows nothing about and sends her and the other "kids" out with completely incorrect information, he's apparently sent multiple "group[s] of untrained misfits to their deaths without actually nowing what was going on," to the point that Charon's chewed him out about it at least once before. His whole arc seems to involve him getting a huge dose of guilt for once in his unlife, realizing just how badly he fucked this little group up, seeming to have a change of heart about the "playing Dr. Frankenstein" thing and trying in some small ways to start to make amends.
Robert, on the other hand, is posing as an undead, a doll cursed to life by voodoo. Until he tells Mona and Shirley, literally no one in the group including Fugue knows that he's a monster, not undead at all, and is also immortal (or what they call immortal) due to killing his human several decades prior; he claims to be an undead to avoid the attention of the Phagocyte. He's around 117 years old, if not a bit older, and he's often the closest thing the group has to a straight-man; he keeps his own secrets, even when it would be really helpful to share, because he rarely feels invested in others, and he doesn't tend to personally lend much of a hand, especially not to save people. He's calm and soft-spoken, good with normal human adults, and very calmly makes threats when called for as well (and sometimes even commits violence against his undead "friends," such as sewing Ringley's mouth shut, though they don't seem to mind). His own arc involves him actually becoming attached to the situation and its people for once, to the point of purposefully sacrificing his life to give Mona a chance to survive and succeed (on what is, unbeknownst to them, a fool's errand), even admitting his own origins and past and coming face-to-face with the fact, for the first time, that maybe his nature as a monster is something he can choose to act counter to.
...So Fugue sends Mona, Robert, and the others off on a pointless quest that gets one of them killed and nearly kills two more of them, and is having to live with that fuck-up (figuratively speaking). And by the end of Book One he still hasn't even been made aware that Robert was a monster the whole time and has sort of... fused with the magic sickle that's supernaturally bonded to Mona.
And then of course, for this relationship, there's also a lot of potential in adding Mona and/or Shirley to the mix! Mona is ten years old during the events of Book One, and incredibly aware that she is ten and should not be involved in this shit. Fugue shoves a magic sickle in her hands and pushes her out the door with a few undead "child" chaperones during the Apocalypse, including Robert and Shirley, so she can go take care of it; this is a whole bunch of terrible decisions all in a clump, made worse by him not understanding the situation and actually sending them on a wild goose chase in the end. Mona has to chop up and even kill multiple monsters, nearly dying more than once and actually losing an arm to the ordeal, something she makes clear to Fugue that she'll never forgive him for (which he finds fair). Shirley is a ghoul who doesn't seem to really have time for what's going on, glued to her phone all night... which she reveals is because the Internet is going nuts due to the Apocalypse, with humans, undead, and monsters all recording everything, and her Intenret savvy and connections prove vital when it turns out the Heir they're after to save the world is actually an Internet friend of hers.
Robert, for his part, goes along to keep everyone on track and give them even a tiny chance, but he saves Mona's life once and tells her he'll never do it again so she'd better learn to save herself. Mona does learn, however, despite him keeping a lot of information back and outright lying at times, and he becomes more attached to her and Shirley both and invested in the outcome of their mission. It even gets to the point that he eventually fully opens up, becomes somewhat more reassuring (and even open to affectionate touch, which was Not a thing for him at first), sort of steps into a mentor role to Mona, and promptly sacrifices his own life to give her a fighting chance. Shirley is obviously shaken and sympathetic when she finds out he was a monster the whole time; Mona and Fugue are obviously both hit by his death, and Fugue definitely comes to regret his choices and the results they had on Robert, Mona, and Shirley (who herself almost died, and the Dr. Frankensteinian Dr. Fugue actually swears off using corpses to make more undead for a while as he decides to use one of the fresh corpses to save Shirley's life instead). It's just a very interesting set of characters and relationships, imo, who are all affected and shaken badly by the general situation but also by the lies told and secrets kept, primarily by Fugue but also arguably by Robert.
Actually Requested Tags
- This fandom is small; I consent to any hurt/comfort scenario you think I'd like
- "I Already Forgave You" - Character w/ Redemption Arc Injured Protecting Ally they Previously Hurt
- Aftermath of Resurrection
- Awkward Comforter
- bringing someone back from the dead with magic and feeling responsible for them
- Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety
- Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges
- Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable
- Comforter stunned by how much comfortee trusts them
- Guilt Felt Over Another's Injury
- Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best
- Past wrongs result in not quite forgiveness and not quite not forgiveness either
- Regretting a Lie
- Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting
- wanting to change oneself
- Wounded Characters Try To Care For One Another
Unlike in the other sections of this letter, I think it will be clearest if I simply split this up by: prompts that work for Fugue hurt, prompts that work for Robert hurt, prompts that work for Mona or Shirley hurt, and finally all the prompts that work for more than just one of the above.
First, the prompts that work especially well for Dr. Fugue being the one who's hurt, or with a focus on his hurt! Given that Robert sacrifices himself near the end of Book 1 and Fugue obviously feels responsible for that, one of the first H/C scenarios that popped into my mind for them was Fugue helping bring Robert back somehow: as a ghost, and/or by finding his remains in the Shadow Dimension and being able to bring him back somehow with those, and/or with some revelation that he's still sort of alive somehow in Mona's sickle and can be brought back somehow because of that. The tags bringing someone back from the dead with magic and feeling responsible for them and Feeling responsible for someone's death; bringing them back to life fit really well for that concept specifically! Guilt over Other Character's Sacrifice is another tag that works for Fugue's guilt over that in general, whether or not he helps bring Robert back himself. Scenarios focusing on forgiveness and/or trust also work really well for Fugue, and there are some tags that work great as prompts for that! "I Already Forgave You" - Character w/ Redemption Arc Injured Protecting Ally they Previously Hurt could work no matter who Fugue gets hurt for, but I feel like Robert would be very matter-of-fact about it; character presumes themself hated/disowned might be true just kinda in general, I think Fugue actually knows he fucked up and isn't necessarily expecting to be forgiven by anyone at this point; Past wrongs result in not quite forgiveness and not quite not forgiveness either could be a really interesting dynamic with him and a lot of other characters in general, and I love complicated relationships so this could be really fun with Fugue/Robert, and given Robert's own lies it could even apply to him as well (maybe they're both in that circumstance by Mona and bond a bit over it? or are both wary of but increasingly drawn to each other?). Finally, Fugue seems to be a more... historical ghost (Victorian?) as well as probably being less well-socialized/more shut up in his own place since becoming as ghost than he even had been before, and also shows no interest in any grown woman around him (admittedly only Jangles and Marta) while showing negative interest in women in general. He seems to still have definite Victorian hangups, so tags like Character is helped with internal queerphobia provide an interesting sort of prompt, IMO! Whether Robert is written as actually male or more like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ gender, undead and monsters both have little reason to care about human (enforced) norms and hangups and so it could be nice to see Fugue be able to work past something like that.
Then there are the prompts that work well for Robert being hurt specifically! As I said with Fugue, one of the first H/C scenarios that popped into my mind for them was Fugue helping bring Robert back somehow: as a ghost, and/or by finding his remains in the Shadow Dimension and being able to bring him back somehow with those, and/or with some revelation that he's still sort of alive somehow in Mona's sickle and can be brought back somehow because of that, and several tags work as prompts that would work for that on Robert's side as well! (And of course that means the scenario could also work for "both hurt.") Aftermath of Resurrection, Aftermath of Temporary Character Death, Character comes back from the dead, dying ... and then waking up, Recovering from traumatic resurrection, and Resurrection after violent death all suggest similar things with varying levels of trauma, being shaken up, and the exact source for same (the death, the actual resurrection?) and some with potential simply for him still being injured somehow. There are also the somewhat more specific tags Character expected to die but didn't and has no idea how to live anymore. Other helps & comforts., Character resigned to their death survives; doesn't know how to cope, and Character Who Expected To Die But Didn't Is Unsure How To Live that could be played with for a scenario in which Robert is brought back and hadn't been expecting to even if he likely empowered the sickle on purpose -- where the fact that he brought up immortality being more of a curse than a blessing could be leaned into as he readjusts to not being dead again even if he's not actively seeking to die. I am also totally up for AUs where Robert survives the situation with Ba'al outright somehow; Alternate Universe - Character Lives but is still badly hurt is a more specific tag for this than something like Fix-it - Character survives canonical death but anything similar to either could work! A tag like Soulbonding is the only way for A to save severely injured B's life suggests an even more specific and intriguing scenario, where either Robert barely survives or Fugue has to bring him back and this is the only way to do it properly -- what is the result of a monster being soulbonded to ANY-one or anyone being soulbonded to a ghost? Does this get rid of Robert's immortality entirely (maybe shunting it fully into Mona and/or the sickle), as if he'd never killed his human because he's attached to Fugue now, but someone would still need to be able to kill a ghost for Robert to actually die? Does Robert himself come back as some sort of spirit, being saved via ghost soulbond? And/or does being soulbonded to a monster start messing with Fugue? (That could make for mutual hurt if it's disorienting or alarming enough!) Then there's the tag Searching for injured partner/friend who was left behind which has interesting implications for multiple possible scenarios... By which I mean, Fugue can't leave the church he haunts, it seems. What would make that possible to do -- an "exorcism" or some other kind of spell, the church being destroyed, the land itself being fucked with somehow (with magic or just desecrated)? Who would he ask for help if he does want to leave and find -- probably (most of) Robert's pieces for reparation or resurrection? Marta, Charon, Shirley, Ringley's dad? Would he even tell them that's what he wants to do? Character A Doesn’t Know How To Help Hurt B Because Of Their Nonhuman Biology could be interesting, and COULD have to do with Fugue trying to help his injuries or bring him back from his canon sacrifice, but it could also just be general injuries that Fugue doesn't really now how to deal with because... seeming doll but also monster? Is Robert any more vulnerable if his immortality is being shared with the sickle (and potentially Mona)? Finally, A pretends to fall asleep on B to get tenderness without having to talk is just a cute tag and I kind of love Robert maybe not initially being the most clearly communicative despite his straight man/realtalk impression, not being used to asking for tenderness or touch AT ALL, and he and Fugue have known each other long enough that Fugue might at least suspect that Robert doesn't actually sleep so that could lead to fun banter!
Now we get to the prompts that came to my mind due to tags that only work for either Mona or Shirley being the hurt one. There aren't that many but I love the general scenario of one of them being hurt and one or both of the others awkwardly trying to help with it somehow! So always feel like you can go with just something with that. The tags non consensually made immortal and Unwilling immortality immediately jumped out at me, because I LOVE the idea that while Robert's sacrifice was meant to confer his immortality to the sickle... he also at least strongly suspected that the blade's mystical connection with Mona would mean that it would be conferred over to HER as well. Is it just that she can't die now (maybe that's why she actually survived being overdosed with the painkillers?), or does she realize at some point that she's no longer aging and realize what Robert actually did? I'd prefer she didn't fully hate him over it, but anger and/or some really mixed feelings would certainly make sense! And finally, of course, there's the tag Past wrongs result in not quite forgiveness and not quite not forgiveness either which is a sort of dynamic I LOVE, these complex feelings even among people who care about each other! Again, this could work for either Mona or Shirley, and it could work with either what Fugue did, Robert's own culpability, and/or Robert making Mona immortal without asking or even telling her. Do the two maybe become closer, even, due to both being in the same awkward "we fucked up and we're sssort of but not really forgiven" situation?
Finally, there's ideas and tags that work with multiple of the requested characters being hurt, either individually or all at once! First, for ones that work for Fugue/Robert with either or both being injured but Mona or Shirley not necessarily being hurt/involved at all. First there's the past and guilt-related stuff that focuses more on past wrongs than current injuries, and focuses more on the pain of those who fucked up than the ones who suffered for it. Comforting character who feels extremely guilty over past misdeeds and character A tries to work character B through their guilt could be Robert helping Fugue, or even Fugue helping Robert or both, through the other's guilt and regrets, maybe specifically since neither of them particularly feels any strong negativity towards the other. Regretting a Lie is less outright about comfort but could also fit in with those two tags/prompts! Finally, I would like to specifically re-mention Past wrongs result in not quite forgiveness and not quite not forgiveness either for Fugue/Robert as well, because again, I really like the kinda complicated relationship this entails; I don't mind if there's full forgiveness by the end but a sort of "yeah that was a BIG mistake but I'm not particularly upset about it," maybe with some lingering trust issues, or maybe without the trust issues but still not quite letting it go? That could be really fun. Then there's the tag Character's Past Comes Back to Haunt Them (in a really bad way) which really jumped out at me to suggest a FUN prompt: what if "haunt them" is straight up literal, or very close to it? Did Fugue make enemies back when he was still alive that might show up as ghosts or other undead now? Fugue is also implied to have sent people carelessly out to their deaths before; does one or more of them show up, still alive or as a ghost or as another undead (or maybe they were already undead...) and vengeful? Did Fugue's monster actually kill him, and do they run into it again and it's still dangerous somehow/for some reason? And as the Robert alternative... Well, a big point was made of how he killed Gene. Does Gene come back to haunt him as a literal ghost? Does someone who loved Gene, family or friend, as a ghost or other undead? Then there are the tags that made me go "this doesn't seem to be possible in canon but I'd love it" -- Time Loop where A repeatedly dies makes B realize feelings for A and Time Travel - Character changes the past to prevent traumatic events and succeeds could SO EASILY work for Fugue wanting to make his mistakes right and prevent what went down with Mona and company! Does Robert find out about the time travel somehow... or even abou the time loop while it's happening? Finally, there's the tag wanting to change oneself, which is a kind of general prompt but could be very fun with either or both of these two... Fugue seems to be legitimately improving as a person after the end of Book 1, and seems to be both trying to do so (actively working to save Mona and Shirley and not make any more Frankensteins for a while) and also just inherently doing so (how strongly everything hits him when he's actually forced to see the consequences). Robert, for his part, seemed to be growing and changing as well, opening up with more honesty, being more comfortable with touch and giving reassurance, and seeming like he was really having to square for the first time with the things he did re: Gene NOT solely being "in his nature," that being something he can actually decide to change. Either would be fun to focus on, and maybe if it's both their efforts to change quietly bring them closer to each other in understanding?
Then there are some tags that suggest prompts that could work for various combinations of Fugue, Robert, Mona, and/or Shirley being hurt. Identity Issues kind of ties in with the wanting to change oneself prompt and could be used in a similar way, but what about the changes that happen when one isn't actively trying for them? When Fugue's been the same for ages, who is he when he changes? If Robert has a lot more choice in how he behaves even with his monstrous urges, who is he really and who might he become? Mona is just a child but has become a warrior, a monster slayer, a savior of humanity, off to kill the Phagocyte... she's lost her childhood abruptly so who is she growing to be? And if she's immortal now, how might that change her? Finally, Shirley's got an entirely new body now that isn't hers, that belonged to a former friend and said friend's mother is still grieving him, which I'm sure could cause some issues itself! Tags like Awkward Comforter, Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best, and Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting could definitely work as prompts for Fugue, Robert, or both, as neither really seem used to or good at being comforting, no matter who's hurt. Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured and Guilt Felt Over Another's Injury could work in a general sense for both Mona or Shirley, either for the injuries they experienced in canon or new ones if they run into trouble; for the former it'd certainly make sense for Fugue to feel guilty, but might Robert as well, for not telling them the truth and outright helping earlier? And it could also work for Robert being injured post-Book 1 and Fugue feeling guilty over that, or a scenario where either one of them gets hurt and the other feels like they're at least partly responsible for some reason! Carrying a sick/injured/unconscious character to safety and Character is carried while barely conscious could work with Fugue carrying any of the other three, frankly. If it's Mona or Shirley, is Robert helping hold anything off while he retreats with them? If it's Robert, what could put him in that state? (I would also take Fugue being the one being carried if Robert having the help of Suzannah or something like that would count!)
A scenario having to do with trust and someone having thought they'd lost trust or not earned it could also be great; no matter who's wanting help, Character A is surprised when Character B wants their help and not someone else's could work with either Fugue or Robert as Character A, but it might especially work for Fugue -- and maybe especially if Mona needs his help (with figuring out why she's not aging and/or resurrecting Robert?), but either of the others really work too. And honestly, Comforter stunned by how much comfortee trusts them could work for either of them no matter who needs comfort as well, if they both know they crossed some lines or haven't been fully trustworthy in the past. Some of the tags that really jumped out at me are ones that could really lead to scenarios with mild, surprisingly soft moments, quiet understanding, and quiet support: Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges could honestly work for any of them trying to hold it together (maybe not Shirley as much as the other three, but maybe!); Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable is a tag I love for how it's an attempt to help with something huge in small and maybe even actually comforting ways; Sick/hurt character doesn't often show vulnerability (so it's a big deal when they do) probably doesn't work as well for Mona, but it could work with Shirley and honestly works REALLY well with both Fugue and Robert. Little simple moments suggested by the tags Bandaging wounds and Wounded Characters Try To Care For One Another could work no matter who's injured, or with multiple, and with the latter it could even be a situation where the wounds aren't physical... And finally, I'd love anything that falls into Exploring canon injuries in more detail with ANY of them! Robert had his head crushed (and lost his arm) and died; Mona's arm was horrifically broken and she ended up losing it, Shirley was ripped apart and had to have her head put on an entirely new body, and even Fugue seemingly got kinda torn up by a monster (how does that even work with a ghost???). Exploring any of those or any combination of those would be great!
Links to Previous Letters
If you want more ideas for prompts, I've asked for this ship a few times now, including a couple times with Mona, though not with Shirley yet:
- My Automagic trickortreatex2022 signup! (some slight Fugue and Robert and Mona stuff)
- Playlist Exchange 2022 (Fugue/Robert as well as with Mona)
- Candy Heart Exchange 2023 (just Fugue/Robert)
- a strong focus on Fugue's sexism (I'd prefer for him to be capable of at least a bit of growth there; bringing it up somewhat in the context of internalized homophobia is fine)
- Fugue being entirely unrepentant post Book 1, actually
- Mona easily and completely forgiving Fugue unless otherwise requested
- implications that Robert and Gene never loved each other, especially that Robert never loved Gene, if that character comes up
- Halloween, spooky, and outright horror stuff works especially well for this canon!
- Ringley's dad/Mona's parent as a background ship is super cool; feel free to give them names (and/or surnames) or not
- Fugue helping Mona resurrect Robert (probably partly out of guilt)
- AU where Robert didn't die against Ba'al
- forgiveness, second chances, trying again somehow
- post-canon (or post-Book 1) fic in general
- Robert still being alive in Mona's sickle and being able to be brought back and/or show up as a ghost that way
- the sickle thing, if that idea is used, meaning that Mona is now immortal and also not aging (oops)
- Fugue finding out super belatedly that Robert is a monster, like possibly even 1-3 years after Book 1 (but less time than that is also good)
- protectiveness of any of the requested characters towards any of the others
- Fugue eventually being forgiven, at least mostly, at least by most of the characters
- Mona softening a bit on Fugue but still not forgiving him (like, noticing he's trying hard and maybe feeling sorry for him, maybe he makes her feel more tired than angry now)
- nonhuman characters, particularly monsters, being ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about gender
- trans headcanons in general! like I said, I like to imagine especially monster (rather than undead) characters being pretty ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about gender, so an interpretation of Robert not actually having anything like human gender would be cool; I can imagine him having absolutely no preferred pronouns and just going with whatever anybody calls him, but feel free to go with whatever! Fugue figuring out some odd gender stuff himself could also be interesting (nonbinary?), but maybe he was also a trans man all the way back when he was alive and mad scienced himself a transition, or his ghost shows up as the way he sees himself? (just not a trans woman for him, please!) other characters being trans if they're included could also be fun and I encourage it. and of course trans headcanons aren't obligatory!
- nicknames! pet names! names in general! Fugue just calls Robert by name, and I don't think he would accept a nickname (from anyone but Gene) frankly, and he calls Fugue "Doctor Fugue" pretty constantly. what might make him shorten that to Fugue? or does Fugue have a first name (or can he not recall)? and of course Mona and Shirley are just called Mona and Shirley; under what circumstances might a nickname be used on them? (or come from them? would Robert be fine with Mona calling him a nickname?) and if you could sell me on an endearment being used by either Fugue or Robert I would LOVE it!
- for horror stuff specifically, if you go that route, feel free to kill off OCs but not any canon characters that didn't die in canon; psychological and cosmic horror, but body horror can be great, as can ghosts and other monsters, isolated horror, and characters just telling scary stories, and I'm fine for gore and injury for this particular canon, though not exactly perma-death (obviously Dr. Fugue is perma-dead, but like, also a ghost about it, and ghosts don't count for me)
- ...I am also open to unusual takes on smut if you do include any, since Robert is a living doll and Fugue is a ghost; how might either of them sexually interact with a human or with each other? can Fugue still get aroused and/or orgasm? how/why? does Robert not have genitalia but have some other erogenous places, and/or not get aroused or orgasm like humans but still have something sort of analagous, or does he pick up on others' feelings and emotions in a sort of psychic-ish stimulation? or feel free to go full unusual xeno; I do not mind and would be into it!
Vampire Cleanup Department (2017)
Yip Chi Chau/Yeung Chung
(Chau hurt, Chung hurt, or both hurt)
[Where you can find the movie: Here!
(turn on the English closed captions in the bottom right if you need them; it's also available in Spanish!)
Or for free on Youtube with hard-coded English subtitles!
Also, enjoy these gifs as an enticement to get into this canon (with some spoilery moments) :D]
Vampire Cleanup Department is a Hong Kong comedy-horror-romance movie that came out four years ago and short version: The titular VCD is a secret government-created agency that disguises themselves as cleaners but really go around using talismans and other magical items to hunt down and destroy vampires, specifically jiangshi (which means they hop around with their arms outstretched, and this is by turns played as creepy, funny, and cute). But when the main character Tim Cheung joins up after being bitten by a vampire and not turning, he finds out that his dead parents used to work for the VCD until a mission went terribly wrong, and accidentally winds up bonding with a vampire named Summer who starts changing and gaining more human emotions and mentality after biting him. He trains with the VCD while keeping the fact that he didn't actually destroy her when he was supposed to a secret.
I am here for different characters, however! And oh man I am so into them. Yip Chi Chau is Tim's "master," the early-50s-ish combat expert of the VCD who trains Tim in how to fight vampires; he knew Tim's parents and was close friends with his father, Yat Lung Cheung, and promised them that he'd take care of Tim as they were dying. Yeung Chung, or "Uncle Chung," is an older man in his 70s who's the director of the VCD and their "technical support" and a more openly kindly figure.
Where Chau is an incredibly skilled fighter and trainer, Chung is definitely not a combatant... but he is still brave enough to go into the field, and to step in to help people when they're in trouble, and he's great at directing the others during a fight. Where Chau is closed-off and hot-headed, Chung is calm, amiable, and understanding, good at being diplomatic when it's needed (and at distracting people so the others can work)... and also good at calming Chau down and redirecting him. They've worked together for decades, and despite what Chung says multiple times to Chau about training new blood so that they can eventually retire, neither of them seems to be willing to just quit. They know each other incredibly well ("Have I ever misjudged anyone? And you... never mean what you say."), Chau saved Chung and a rookie police officer in the very first scene (while Chung called for his help), when Tim was in trouble Chung called Chau back from a chase...
And in a moment that really got me, when Tim's "final test" went wrong and Chung tried to step in to help him against the vampire that was trying to kill him. Summer showed up to help as well and accidentally flung both the vampire and Chung through a table, and Chau reacted with such immediate alarm to kill the vampire before it could attack Chung! Chung was hurt and needed medical attention, and with Chung hurt and also not around to calm him down, Chau was furious with Tim. (I will also say that during that final test, Chau was acting like a nervous parent... while Chung sat on the couch and video taped everything, also like a parent, haha.)
Even when Tim is the one training the new recruits at the end of the movie, it's Chau and Chung standing on the walkway above watching and obviously still involved despite any talk of retirement, chatting and comfortable with one another. I just really love their shared history, how obvious it is that Chau cares deeply about certain people -- Chung, Tim, and Tim's father in the past -- despite him not saying it or being touchy-feely, and how comfortable with one another they are and how well they work together and know one another as people.
Actually Requested Tags
- This fandom is small; I consent to any hurt/comfort scenario you think I'd like
- Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured
- Character A is a reluctant vampire who is disgusted by urge to drink from B
- Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable
- Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them
- Pining for vampire who might only want your blood
- Possession - Character A Is/Was Possessed And Character B Is/Was The Only One To Notice
- A protects B from injury with their own body; B is deeply affected by A being hurt
- Quiet comfort after stressful hurt
- Sick/hurt character sleeping in the back seat of a car
I love, like, basically casefic for this canon and this ship, and rescue- and protection-based H/C can work especially well for dangerous missions, whether they go drastically wrong or not! Very basic tags can work for this, like Big Damn Rescue (with comfort), but some other tags jumped out as interesting scenarios for these two specifically. Given that Chung seems to be the planner and tactician (the "director" of the VCD), Character A abandons plans in order to rescue Character B is interesting to me no matter which of them is Character A -- is it Chau abandoning the plan to rescue Chung, or is Chung abandoning his own plan? Protectiveness - Character A still tries to protect Character B despite A being injured works especially well with Chau as Character A, since he's the fighter and has probably pushed himself to get up and keep fighting in the past; a scenario like Strong A skilled in combat is injured; weaker B must protect them both works especially well with Chung as "weaker B," not the swordfighter at all, figuring out a way to keep them both alive. A tag like Character A comes to B's rescue then passes out due to sustained injuries/exhaustion once B is safe might then seem to suggest a scenario where Chau is definitely Character A, and he very easily could be! But Chung could be instead, pushing himself especially into exhaustion to make sure Chau makes it out of a situation alive; similarly, I would love A protects B from injury with their own body; B is deeply affected by A being hurt as a scenario with either one of them as Character A! Chau is the protective one who gets in there with his sword and protects others, but I can easily imagine Chung not wanting Chau to die and maybe even reasoning that he's old anyway. Since I also really love Chung pining, one-sided at least at first, for years before Chau catches on, both ways also work really well for that reason too! And saying that, I really like the tag A is surprised at how much they're willing to risk to protect/save hurt character B as a little prompt with Chau as Character A -- maybe starting to realize or acknowledge his own feelings? Finally, the tag Sick/hurt character A takes shelter in/under stationary vehicle; rescued by B when danger is past could be interesting for either of them, having to hide maybe from jiangshi or maybe something else until the coast is clearer and/or the others can get to him, and Sick/hurt character indispensable on case/mission; team looks after them while they get things done could work really well for either of them as well -- with Chung as the indispensable tactition and Chau contributing by physically keeping him safe, or with Chau as the indispensible fighter and Chung helpeing look after him tactically.
There's also a LOT of potential for post-mission H/C focusing on recovery. It can be really great for realizing one's feelings; I especially love A’s pining found to be requited as B helps them recover from serious injury and Character A gives away Feelings by being Overly Tender with hurt Character B with Chung as A, and Character gets hurt; comforter realizes they can't stand to lose them and Taking care of hurt friend(s) leads to realization of romantic feelings with Chung as the hurt one. As said, I love Chung being the one pining/the one pining for longer, so tags like Comforter accidentally brushes hands with sick/injured character (who they're pining for) and Delirious character asks for the one they're pining for with Chung as the one pining work really well for me, while Delirious character unintentionally reveals their regard for their comforter could work for either and Mutual pining during slow recovery from near-fatal injury could be really enjoyable as well! (Maybe it's even newer to Chau, but maybe he's had feelings too for longer than Chung things?) Tags like BAMF character A is hurt/sick and is still a BAMF; character B provides comfort anyway and Character is prickly and bad-tempered while recovering from hurt; comforter is chill about it suggest scenarios where Chau is the one hurt. Blaming Themself for the Other Character Being Injured makes me think of either Chau blaming himself for not protecting Chung better (as he seems protective of the entire VCD as well as quite attached to Chung) or Chung blaming himself for not having a better handle on the situation if Chau got hurt, as the one in charge. Comforter Becomes Unusually Demonstrative with Hurt Character could honestly work with either as the comforter, maybe with Chung's feelings not so easily hidden for once or Chau being softer than with most people/most of the time? And Nearly losing someone reveals deeper feelings could be a revelation of feelings to oneself, one realizing how he himself feels, or could be the impetus for someone to say how he feels! Characters live together while one recovers from hurt could be any scenario with either (or both) hurt, but it could also follow immediately after the events near the end of the movie before the little time-skip, with Chung having to still recover some from his head injury, Chau having to recover from his near-jiangshi-transformation (or wait for the cure?), or just generally one or both of them basically living at the department. Finally, more general tags like Bandaging wounds, Bedsharing while one of the characters is injured, Bedside Vigils, and/or Refusing to Leave Hurt Character's Side make for great scenarios for either being injured (or both)!
Since I brought up the injuries at the end of the movie, I also want to quickly touch on a category of prompts/tags that I can't really pin down into any of the other categories as neatly! Exploring canon injuries in more detail is a great tag and I'd love a fic that focuses on the recovery from the jiangshi attack during Tim's test or the Vampire King's attack on Chau. I feel like Chau could be interpreted as not particularly skilled at comfort, so tags like Inexperienced comforter does their awkward best or Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually comforting could be used as inspiration. Wounded Characters Try To Care For One Another could mean physically wounded, either after a mission or while actively in a dangerous situation, or it could mean emotional or psychological wounds; does the weight of losing people, not being able to save everyone, facing monsters with such regularity, and/or not being able to live normal lives weigh on either of them? Seeing character hurting prompts unexpected feelings could work with either of them first coming to have feelings for the other, and could be physical, psychological, or emotional hurt! And finally, the tag Sick/hurt character sleeping in the back seat of a car jumped out at me; both have acted as the driver for the VCD/at least one of the other members before, so either could be sick/hurt and either could be driving in this scenario, or the non-sick/hurt one could be keeping him company in the back, even?
I also absolutely adore hurt/comfort that contains an element of quiet intimacy and/or knowing the other person really, really well. Checking For Fever With A Gentle Touch That Lingers and Taking Off Sick/Hurt Character's Glasses imply small physical intimacies, at least one of which that really strikes the other ("that lingers"!) while Character A hides illness/injury perfectly; Character B can still tell and Comforting a Hurt Character by Indulging Them in a Way That Reveals You Really Know Them suggest scenarios where the characters know one another in a deep way that maybe never even gets talked about or clearly acknowledged. In some ways, so do the tags Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges (it says "clearly" but the "low-key" could easily mean that others might not even notice) and Comfort focusing on little hurt because the big hurt is massive and unapproachable (knowing the other enough to know not to touch on the big hurt, at least not just yet, but knowing each other well enough that the focus on the little hurt maybe helps some anyway?). The one person you trust to be weak in front of suggests a definite closeness to one another above anyone else; they do seem to be quite close among the VCD and it's likely that those outside the department can't really understand; Quiet comfort after stressful hurt maybe suggests quietly intimate moments and knowing that smaller softer things would help after something bigger. Finally, the tag Taken Off Guard By Small Displays Of Affection really caught my attention as someone who loves how well these two seem to know each other; having "taken off guard" implies that there are still unexpected things there! Did they miss something about one another or is one (or both) trying not to notice or think about certain things?
I am also super into an AU that changes the ending of the movie so that, instead of being cured, Chau remains a good/"human" jiangshi like Summer was, learns how to function as one (and relearn things like how to walk normally, how to fight, maybe even how to speak in time?), and stays on with the VCD that way! Some tags work really, REALLY well as prompts for that: dying ... and then waking up is obvious, as is becoming less human / becoming something Else. character A has gone feral and character B tries to bring them back to themselves and Forced to restrain character who is violent due to an altered mental state could work for a scenario where Chau maybe loses control temporarily at some point. Character expected to die but didn't and has no idea how to live anymore. Other helps & comforts. and Character Who Expected To Die But Didn't Is Unsure How To Live are similar tags that suggest a scenario where as soon as Chau was bit he knew what his fate would be but was WRONG and is having a hard time adjusting to being a jiangshi instead; Identity Issues and Mourning one's past self also make a lot of sense with that, especially since he hated all jiangshi for the longest time and it was only at the end that he even started coming around on Summer. Finally, Pining for vampire who might only want your blood fits the idea of Chung having been in love with Chau for a while, and the similar Character A is a reluctant vampire who is disgusted by urge to drink from B suggests the interesting scenario of, well... If Chau finds himself drawn to Chung, is it just the desire to drink blood? But if he wants to drink Chung's blood specifically at certain points, is that a sublimated desire from something else? Are the two things mixed up for him? (Also, I keep imagining a moment where Chau almost does bite Chung/strongly seems tempted or about to, and Chung almost lets him, and he DOESN'T but both of them are kind of shaken up in more than one way by both that Chau almost did and that Chung wasn't going to resist it.)
Finally, I am also into scenarios that add in different supernatural things for the VCD to face with! I love things from Hong Kong folklore and mythology being used, here, but anything could be fun really! Ghosts specifically and possessions suggest some really fun options: Forced to restrain character who is violent due to an altered mental state from the above section could work for someone being possessed or under the influence of a spirit or curse, maybe, and the similar Possession - Possessed Character Forced To Hurt Their Loved Ones could also work well! Recovery after ghost possession is a more general variation on the general idea, and Aftermath Of Finding Out Character A Was Possessed And No One Noticed but B could be great for these two characters who seem to know each other actually incredibly well; Possession - Character A Is/Was Possessed And Character B Is/Was The Only One To Notice is very similar to the previous tag but could include scenes of the actual possession itself! And while these could be totally natural things and I'd be completely open to Chung and Chau just huddling for warmth from the cold in a mostly normal scenario (or in the middle of a mission gone wrong but it's just, like, cold), the tags Character A shares body heat with Character b to keep them alive and warm and character needs help staying warm jumped out at me for being phrased in ways that they could be used for one of the two being at risk of freezing for some supernatural reason. (There's also the shui gui, the ghosts of people who've drowned who lurk in the waters where they died and attempt to drown others and then possess their bodies; maybe Chau or Chung saved the other from actually being successfully drowned but the water was way too cold?) Huddling For Warmth while pining can work with these as well, obviously!
Links to Previous Letters
If you want more ideas for prompts, I've done several freeform exchanges!
Canon-Specific DNWs
- permanent character death of requested characters (temporary is fine; having either be "human"/good vampires/jiangshi is fine)
- noncanon background pairings I actually enjoy if they happen to come up: Ginger/Kui(/M), Tim/Winter
- Tim/Summer is ofc also good in the background
- Summer surviving or not are both fine (feel free to just handwave)
- Chau having been in love with Yat Lung before he died
- AU where no cure exists, Chau remains a jiangshi at the end of the movie, and he stays on with the VCD as a good jiangshi like Summer
- PINING. even extended, like, years-or-decades-long pining.
- nicknames! pet names! names in general! they seem to refer to one another as Chau (or Ah-Chau) and Chung (or sometimes, semi-sarcastically, "Uncle" Chung). do they always stick to that however close they are? do they ever call one another by first name, or shift over to doing so? though the subs don't make it clear, Chung tends to call Chau "Ah-Chau" (or Young Chau); does Chau ever call him Old Chung or old man/grandpa in the somewhat disparaging (but still fond) sense? does either absently or purposefully get affectionate, calling the other something like dear/darling or old man (in the boyfriend/husband sense...) or even one of the endearment forms of silly/fool/dummy/idiot? does Chung ever call Chau Master/Sifu like Tim does, just to refer to him as Tim's master, and does it hit different coming from Chung than when Tim calls him that? seriously, I love any type of this shit, go nuts!
- some exploration of sexuality stuff for these two! Chung has a granddaughter but no other family is mentioned; is he bi and is just seperated from his wife or she died, or is he gay and had a wife and child back before admitting it to himself/them and they separated after that? Chau seems to be a bachelor; is he gay or bi or does he think he's straight (but oops he's not)?
- if you're interested, I could like trans headcanons for either of these characters. for Chung I most like the idea of trans man, but nonbinary is also good, just not trans woman. for Chau anything goes, though, and anything is fine for any of the other characters as well! and of course trans headcanons aren't obligatory.
- this canon is also good for spooky or outright horror stories; I love monster/ghost horror especially for it, either canon-typical jiangshi dealings or the VCD having to deal with some other sort of creature or ghost; other supernatural phenomenon such as curses welcome, and cult stuff and/or characters being stranded could work great here as well; feel free to injure the characters, just no gore and no permanent cognitive issues, and temporary character death is absolutely on the table so long as they're both alive (or "human" jiangshi) by the end and there's a happy ending; feel free to kill off other characters as well, just not Tim or (if Summer died as in canon) Winter