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Dear Yuletide Writer,

What a year! More than ever, please have fun with this, and I look forward to reading whatever magic you create. I’ve requested a seemingly mismatched set of cooking shows, a historical drama, and one that’s both, but basically that’s been my comfort watching this year, and whichever you choose will be gladly received.

A general comment about my Fabulous Female Cooks requests: I love cooking, I love eating out, I love detailed books of esoteric culinary techniques, I love the history of food and hospitality and recipe writing, I love awful 1970s recipes and faded food photography, I love women who unashamedly love to eat and drink. If you love any of these things then please feel free to go hog wild with them. I'm normally not a fan at all of crossovers or AUs, but in this case I would be pleased to make several exceptions as explored below.

Cuisine Queens RPF

Any (Mary Berry, Valerie Bertinelli, Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten, Nigella Lawson, Monica Galetti, Alex Guarnaschelli)

First up, any combination of some or all of these “characters” would be welcome, and a crossover/fusion with Two Fat Ladies would also be a delight if the whim took you. I’m not remotely looking for strenuous research or any sense of “realism”, just a love of food and cooking and lusty ladies. My knowledge of these women’s lives is entirely limited to onscreen personas and a few well known facts/relationships, and a hearty appreciation of their gusto.

When I first started thinking about nominating this as a fandom, following too many exhausted nights slumped on the couch watching Food Network, for some reason there sprang to mind a vision of the ladies caught up in some sort of period murder mystery, think Gosford Park or Murder on the Orient Express or even Murder She Wrote if “she” were a travelling celebrity cook instead of a novelist. I’d really love to see (some or all of) them at a country house or on a train or stranded on an island or any of the other classic mystery settings, teaming up to solve a murder most foul. (I’m sure he deserved it.) Even better if the mystery somehow revolves around food or cooking, or the solution hinges on detailed knowledge of the culinary arts.

Obviously, if that doesn’t appeal then any other idea you have would be great as well. Some or all of the women are contestants on the current season of Masterchef (UK please, not US). Two or more of the women were naughty schoolgirls together having regular midnight feasts with lashings of ginger beer. One of our mild mannered chefs is secretly a superhero or a secret agent/spy and the fate of the world is in her hands. Mary Berry and the Queen had adventures together during WWII. Feel free to toss in as many digressions about food or the history of food or anecdotes stolen from the lives of famous chefs or restaurateurs or society madams as you like, and link or footnote any fantastic recipes that seem relevant.

Mary Berry: I love the fact she famously likes a drink. Never enough booze in the cakes during Bakeoff. I’ve been watching her recently touring the stately homes of Britain and cooking in the historical kitchens, and boy she looks good in an evening dress, or dancing a Highland reel at Scone. “That’s a bit of all right!” Could definitely see her Miss Marple-ing her way through a mystery all while turning out impeccable cream teas.

Valerie Bertinelli: Former child star. Famous rocker (or period appropriate musician) ex-husband. Addicted to lemon curd!

Giada De Laurentiis: Glamorous blonde granddaughter of famous movie producer (theatre impresario?) brings an air of Italian mystery to an English country weekend.

Ina Garten: Shockingly made her fortune running a shop! Or is she actually, really, a runaway (barefoot even) Contessa?

Nigella Lawson: I’ve always appreciated her buxom figure and sheer exuberance bordering on gluttony. “To some people, using half a kilo of chocolate to make twelve biscuits may seem excessive, but I don’t put a price on alleviating human suffering.”

Monica Galetti: Frighteningly competent during the skills test. Any sort of local colour from New Zealand or Samoa welcome, or stick to her years in the UK/on Masterchef.

Alex Guarnaschelli: Frighteningly competent on Iron Chef, extremely kind to small children on Chopped.

Two Fat Ladies (TV)

Clarissa Dickson Wright, Jennifer Paterson

As mentioned above, a crossover/fusion with my Cuisine Queens RPF request would be welcome, and, together or separately, any of the prompts from that section of my letter apply equally to this fandom and these characters. Feel absolutely free to mix and match as much as you’d like, or just to wholesale steal those prompts and apply them to this fandom and these characters instead.

I absolutely loved this show when I first saw it almost twenty-five years ago, and some of the recipes really haven’t aged well on rewatch, but the ladies are just as large and loud and full of unashamed lust for life as they ever were. If anything, I can imagine a scenario where the fact they’re actually pretty far from expert cooks is part of the grand reveal that they’re really a pair of travelling detectives who only pretend to be chefs as a way to infiltrate the houses of the rich and suspicious, and drive around the countryside in their bike and sidecar solving dastardly crimes.

Again, any other story you want to tell would please me, from the days of their misspent youths to their travels to exotic foreign ports to their storied careers as cooks, housekeepers, and hostesses. I’d prefer minimal focus on Clarissa’s alcoholism or any of the domestic abuse allegations from her childhood; please just concentrate on the adventures and the food and the singing Jerusalem while beating eggs and the references to “those poor unfortunate vegetarians”.

A few gems from a recent rewatch:

“None of this nonsense about yoghurt instead of cream, yoghurt is not instead of cream!”

“Add great dollops of butter, that’s always a good idea.”

“The young, they exhaust one so.”

“Larding needle: a wonderful weapon, stick it in a burglar.”

“No good ever came out of Brussels but the odd chocolate.”

The Duchess of Duke Street (TV)

Louisa Trotter/Charles Tyrrell|Lord Haslemere

I loved this show from the first episode I saw – in fact I can remember the very first scene, it was the one where Louisa has been working so hard to pay off her debts that she collapses in the street at dawn, only to be discovered by Charlie slinking home on a walk of shame. I was just a kid at my grandma’s for the holidays, but it was love at first sight. It’s one of the great BBC costume dramas, and everything about it is so good, from the actors to the costumes to the fact Louisa’s life and career spans three reigns but even as a very wealthy woman she never loses her working class accent or scorn for airs and graces.

I requested Louisa and Charlie, but I love the whole Bentinck family, and would love to see any of Mary, Starr, Merriman, and/or the Major appear as well if it suits the story. In terms of what that story should be, almost anything would be a delight. Obviously I’d love to see episodes from Louisa and Charlie’s relationship, whether from the early forbidden romance days, to an AU where they really did get married “when the guns stop”. What kinds of adventures would Louisa have got up to as Lady Haslemere? Or any episode typical capers, whether at the hotel, or on Louisa’s inevitable run-ins with society matrons, like the visit to Cowes. Cooking a magnificent banquet for royalty. Having to host a banquet, but stay out of the kitchen and leave the poor harried cooks at the Haslemere estate to run their own affairs below stairs.

Rome (TV 2005)

Mark Antony

Full Disclosure: I'm a classicist by trade, but my specialty is Greek history not Roman. In any case, one of the writers on the show put it best when he said they were going for authenticity, not accuracy. That's more than good enough for me. But if you *enjoy* research then any number of historical easter eggs are certainly welcome.

I finally got around to watching S2 a couple of months ago, went back and rewatched S1 for the first time in years, and... God. I adore James Purefoy's Mark Antony, so if you do too, just about anything that revisits and explores him would be great. I’m most interested in his relationships with Caesar, Atia, Octavian, and Vorenus. I do ship Antony/Atia as long as it’s terrible and back bitey and unsaccharine, albeit with a hidden thread of sincerity. As far as Caesar and Vorenus go I mostly see them as just friends, but cheerful friends with benefits in Gaul for Caesar, and miserable in Egypt with Vorenus might work too. Or did he really love Caesar? DNW: any suggestion of Antony/Octavian or significant focus on Antony/Cleopatra. Explicit sex welcome but not required.

Antony himself is crass and corrupt but oh so charming when he wants to be, and an utter opportunist but also oddly loyal, and greedy, and generous, and cruel and kind, and amazingly competent but also an impetuous disaster, and I guess I'm saying what I love about him is he's a land of contrasts? Also he has great relationships with great (also terrible) people. Julius Caesar maybe puts it best when he says, "He has a vulgar streak. I don't mind it."

The first time I watched Rome I found Atia quite repulsive, but this time round I grew to love her. Partly for her terribleness, partly a genuine sympathy with how the tables turn with Octavian and how trapped she is by the end. And partly for her relationship with Antony which veers from friends with benefits to a political alliance to I'm pretty sure a genuine love affair to... where do we end? A woman scorned and a man who's convinced himself he loves someone else? I feel like the compressed timeline of S2 does no favours to the Antony/Cleopatra relationship, and I personally am utterly unconvinced by it... but Antony's refusal to either kill or more importantly humiliate Atia in front of her rival still struck a chord. And of course the whole triangle (not love triangle!) with Octavian. The way the adults underestimate child Octavian while they're still in a position to order him around, and how he seizes the upper hand so decisively when he's (just a little) older. The way Atia, as Octavia so rightly points out, *wanted* to make Octavian first man in Rome, but likes the results a little less than she expected.

Vorenus, of course, is Vorenus, so rigid he'll break rather than bend, but I love the way he ultimately stands by Antony to the very bitter end. That suicide scene, and the way he washed and dressed Antony's body after, oh my God. But also the way Pullo knows it's Antony who'll know how to pull him out of his post-Niobe crisis. All the ways they insist they don't like each other but admit they need each other.

And Caesar... I loved Ciaran Hinds' Caesar. I also love how genuinely, sincerely loyal to him Antony seemed to be. Embezzling funds, sure. An eye on his own opportunities, sure. But when Atia tells him he won't risk his own life to save Caesar and he says so coldly, but also with a sense of wonder in his voice, "Will I not?" it just kills me.

So anyway. Sorry there's no concrete prompts there, but that's what I love, and hopefully you can do something with it. You've got a free rein. Origin story for Antony and Caesar's friendship. Vorenus' stunned moment of realisation that he kind of loves Antony after all, it isn't just financial or spiritual desperation. Missing scenes from Antony and Atia and Octavian's life together. ("He's family, darling." "Actually, he isn't.")

Also, one of the few AUs I really, really love is canon divergence, so if Caesar lives and everything (or nothing) is different, or Antony and Octavian manage to remain friends of a sort (or at least allies), or Antony wins Actium, or Antony and Atia do get married, or any other hinge point you want to pivot on... That'd be amazing.

Thanks very much, and have a great Yuletide.

Hi there,

I'm really sorry for not having this letter up and ready to go when assignments went out; over the last three weeks at home I've completely lost track of time. I absolutely love this exchange though, so thanks for matching with me on a fandom/pairing I really care about and am super excited at the thought of a 5K story for. As always, this letter is a crazy quilt of bits and pieces I've scavenged from older exchange letters -- if I've received it before and am asking for it again it means I still love it and will always want more; if I haven't, clearly I still live in hope! -- along with updates and additions and a whole new fandom.

Please don't feel too constrained by the genre tags I chose for any given request – I was aiming to give an indication of some of my favourite kinds of stories, while also trying to leave some room for you to work. Let your own muse be your guide, and please feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or to use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start. (Also, if it seems like I might contradict myself between general and specific likes/dislikes, then please go with the specific, there are always exceptions.)

I dislike mundane and/or modern AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings or time periods and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes in fic, though as a general rule as part of character development rather than pure PWP, so if you enjoy writing them please go ahead. If you prefer lower ratings then super intense feelings and emotions tickle my id just as well.

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, friends to enemies to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• unasked for kinks
• mundane/modern AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

*****

Rome

Group: Mark Antony/Atia & Octavian
Group: Mark Antony & Lucius Vorenus
Group: Mark Antony & Julius Caesar
Mark Antony
Interpersonal Drama, Character Development, AU - Canon Divergence

Full Disclosure: I'm a classicist by trade, but my specialty is Greek history not Roman. In any case, one of the writers on the show put it best when he said they were going for authenticity, not accuracy. That's more than good enough for me.

I finally got around to watching S2 a couple of months ago, went back and rewatched S1 for the first time in years, and... God. I adore James Purefoy's Mark Antony, so if you do too, just about anything that revisits and explores him would be great. Pick whichever of the relationships I've requested, or mix and match them, I think they're all fascinating.

Antony himself is crass and corrupt but oh so charming when he wants to be, and an utter opportunist but also oddly loyal, and greedy, and generous, and cruel and kind, and amazingly competent but also an impetuous disaster, and I guess I'm saying what I love about him is he's a land of contrasts? Also he has great relationships with great (also terrible) people. Julius Caesar maybe puts it best when he says, "He has a vulgar streak. I don't mind it."

The first time I watched Rome I found Atia quite repulsive, but this time round I grew to love her. Partly for her terribleness, partly a genuine sympathy with how the tables turn with Octavian and how trapped she is by the end. And partly for her relationship with Antony which veers from friends with benefits to a political alliance to I'm pretty sure a genuine love affair to... where do we end? A woman scorned and a man who's convinced himself he loves someone else? I feel like the compressed timeline of S2 does no favours to the Antony/Cleopatra relationship, and I personally am utterly unconvinced by it... but Antony's refusal to either kill or more importantly humiliate Atia in front of her rival still struck a chord. And of course the whole triangle (not love triangle!) with Octavian. The way the adults underestimate child Octavian while they're still in a position to order him around, and how he seizes the upper hand so decisively when he's (just a little) older. The way Atia, as Octavia so rightly points out, *wanted* to make Octavian first man in Rome, but likes the results a little less than she expected.

Vorenus, of course, is Vorenus, so rigid he'll break rather than bend, but I love the way he ultimately stands by Antony to the very bitter end. That suicide scene, and the way he washed and dressed Antony's body after, oh my God. But also the way Pullo knows it's Antony who'll know how to pull him out of his post-Niobe crisis. All the ways they insist they don't like each other but admit they need each other.

And Caesar... I loved Ciaran Hinds' Caesar. I also love how genuinely, sincerely loyal to him Antony seemed to be. Embezzling funds, sure. An eye on his own opportunities, sure. But when Atia tells him he won't risk his own life to save Caesar and he says so coldly, but also with a sense of wonder in his voice, "Will I not?" it just kills me.

So anyway. Sorry there's no concrete prompts there, but that's what I love, and hopefully you can do something with it. You've got a free rein. Origin story for Antony and Caesar's friendship. Vorenus' stunned moment of realisation that he kind of loves Antony after all, it isn't just financial or spiritual desperation. Missing scenes from Antony and Atia and Octavian's life together. ("He's family, darling." "Actually, he isn't.")

Also, one of the few AUs I really, really love is canon divergence, so if Caesar lives and everything (or nothing) is different, or Antony and Octavian manage to remain friends of a sort (or at least allies), or Antony wins Actium, or Antony and Atia do get married, or any other hinge point you want to pivot on... That'd be amazing.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Group: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Morgan Stark
Action/Adventure, AU - Canon Divergence, Character Development, Fix-it Fic

My most fevered hope, heading towards the end of the OG MCU, the original Avengers team, was that Tony could hang up the suit and settle down with Pepper. Throwing an adorable kid into the mix just made me feel it even more. I wound up hugely invested in their little family, in a way I never saw coming. I'll come right out and say it: the end of Endgame broke me. I still found myself crying randomly months afterwards. So my one and only, most important, desperate request here, is to fix it. Do something different. I don't really mind what, just have Tony and Pepper and Morgan live happily ever after. In the immortal words of Steve Rogers and the team, whatever it takes.

I can't pretend I wasn't a huge Steve/Tony shipper back in the day, but I always loved Pepper, and I really did grow to love her relationship with Tony as it developed in the MCU. I was surprised by how sad I was when Tony said they broke up in Civil War, I cheered out loud in the theatre when they were back together in Homecoming, and I bawled my eyes out when she told him he could finally rest in Endgame. I want to see them live together. I want them to grow old together. It's so amazing when Pepper shows up in the final battle in the suit he made her. Let them walk off the battlefield together. Or you can jump into the future a bit and show me what they're doing later. Maybe he's a house husband and she's back at Stark Industries. Maybe he's retired and she's taken over the superheroing. I don't care as long as they're happy and together.

I'm not usually one for kidfic, but my God I fell in love with Morgan at first sight. Give me dad and daughter tinkering in the lab. Give me a growing girl wrestling with life as a legacy. Give me grown up Morgan as a hero/inventor/businesswoman. With parents like Tony and Pepper we know Morgan's going to be a genius, plus I bet there's even more interesting tech just hiding in that garage she's not supposed to go into, so why not one more miracle. Teen or adult Morgan goes back with a better solution for Tony, whether that's yanking him forward to her present, or fudging "the rules" a bit to save him back then so he didn't miss seeing her grow up, and accepting whatever other changes that might bring.

Black Sails

Group: Captain Flint | James McGraw/Thomas Hamilton
Getting Together, Interpersonal Drama, Character Development, AU - Canon Divergence

I could have very happily watched a whole season of these two making cow eyes at each other and arguing about politics, even before they actually got together. But once they did! I would dearly love to have a story set in London, pre the fall. I just adore them, in all their starchy, buttoned down glory. There's a million fics set after the series, and who can blame anyone writing after that happy ending, but I'd rather have something set before, even if that means it ends sadly. (We all know it'll fix itself later.) This is also a case where I'd love various kinds of canon divergence AUs.

I love their friendship, and their love affair of the mind that starts long before the physical one, whereby Thomas, who presumably has learned the hard way from his father that trust can be misplaced, can say to the man who is sleeping with his wife "I have come to trust you very much", and James, who has likewise fought his way to a position not his by right and somewhat precarious, can throw caution to the winds and order a peer of the realm out of his own house.

I'm not a huge fan of pining or misunderstandings, so don't particularly want a drawn out exploration of either of them thinking their feelings are one sided, but I do enjoy internalised homophobia and period-appropriate issues with acknowledging one's very real feelings. Likewise, qualms about class and status difference etc.

Any of the following canon divergences (or others you come up with in similar vein) would be cool: Hamilton and Hennessey never find out about the affair and James and Thomas head out to Nassau together to put the pirate-plan in motion; Ex-Royal Navy officer turned pirate captain James meets Governor of the Bahamas Thomas; Thomas goes *with* James on his exploratory mission to Nassau...

Whitechapel

Group: Joseph Chandler & Ray Miles
Character Development, Horror, Worldbuilding

DNW: Chandler/Kent, or pining Kent or asexual Chandler. Please just keep this one gen and plot/case focused.

Joe and Ray's relationship is everything I like in mismatched colleagues turned loyal friends, from the initial terrible start, to sharing confidences and trusting each other with weaknesses, to firmly having each other's backs by the end. Miles trying to reassure Chandler in the sewer that his coat was salvageable tugged on my heartstrings in the final episode. How far they've come! Tell me more about how these two very different people find common ground and fight the good fight together.

I love the sudden swerve the show took in the final season, and would enjoy seeing it more fully explored, but equally, I've always been a fan of historical crime, and would be happy with a continued focus on more earthly policing. I like the whole team, and would be happy to see more of any/all of them. I would also be interested, in either case, in the whereabouts of Commander Anderson, and the ongoing impact on Chandler's once promising career. Are the team ever going to bring their villain in alive?

Is the police station built on a Hellmouth? Did Original Flavour Jack the Ripper leave some kind of psychic taint on the vicinity, like calling to like? Is the mythology of the place just a self fulfilling prophecy that affects the easily suggestible? Or is it all the inevitable result of poverty and neglect? The final few episodes making explicit what had been creeping in round the edges opened up a whole new world to explore. Is it "real" though, in the sense of demonic activity on earth, or are we witnessing some sort of folie a deux/mass hysteria/psychic assault etc?

Lastly, I remain a sucker for faves in peril, so if something ghastly (but recoverable!) happens to Chandler and Miles has to rescue him that'd be grand. Otherwise, facing danger together or with the team, all great in my book.

*****

Thanks very much, dear writer. Hopefully *something* here was helpful. Have fun writing, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thanks for sharing a small fandom with me, I can't wait to see what you come up with!

My requests fall into two broad themes this year: fabulous female cooks, and a more traditional (though still rare on the fic front) movie and tv show. I've requested the latter before, so that section of this letter might read as more polished than the rest, but I would be absolutely delighted by fic in any of these very small or non-existent fandoms.

Most of my usual list of likes and dislikes feels less relevant this year, my requests are so different, so I guess I'll just say that you're very welcome to look back at past fic exchange letters if you want to, but otherwise anything in the general spirit of these vague prompts will please me very much. And sorry for the vague if you (like me!) enjoy specifics.

A general comment about my Fabulous Female Cooks requests: I love cooking, I love eating out, I love detailed books of esoteric culinary techniques, I love the history of food and hospitality and recipe writing, I love awful 1970s recipes and faded food photography, I love women who unashamedly love to eat and drink. If you love any of these things then please feel free to go hog wild with them. I'm normally not a fan at all of crossovers or AUs, but in this case I would be pleased to make several exceptions as explored below.

Cuisine Queens RPF

Any (Mary Berry, Valerie Bertinelli, Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten, Nigella Lawson)

First up, any combination of some or all of these “characters” would be welcome, and a crossover/fusion with Two Fat Ladies (TV) would also be a delight if the whim took you. I’m not remotely looking for strenuous research or any sense of “realism”, just a love of food and cooking and lusty ladies. My knowledge of these women’s lives is entirely limited to onscreen personas and a few well known facts/relationships, and a hearty appreciation of their gusto.

When I first started thinking about nominating this as a fandom, following too many exhausted nights slumped on the couch watching Food Network, for some reason there sprang to mind a vision of the ladies caught up in some sort of period murder mystery, think Gosford Park or Murder on the Orient Express or even Murder She Wrote if “she” were a travelling celebrity cook instead of a novelist. I’d really love to see (some or all of) them at a country house or on a train or stranded on an island or any of the other classic mystery settings, teaming up to solve a murder most foul. (I’m sure he deserved it.) Even better if the mystery somehow revolves around food or cooking, or the solution hinges on detailed knowledge of the culinary arts.

Obviously, if that doesn’t appeal then any other idea you have would be great as well. Some or all of the women are contestants on the current season of Masterchef (UK please, not US). Two or more of the women were naughty schoolgirls together having regular midnight feasts with lashings of ginger beer. One of our mild mannered chefs is secretly a superhero or a secret agent/spy and the fate of the world is in her hands. Mary Berry and the Queen had adventures together during WWII. Feel free to toss in as many digressions about food or the history of food or anecdotes stolen from the lives of famous chefs or restauranteurs or society madams as you like, and link or footnote any fantastic recipes that seem relevant.

Mary Berry: I love the fact she famously likes a drink. Never enough booze in the cakes during Bakeoff. I’ve been watching her recently touring the stately homes of Britain and cooking in the historical kitchens, and boy she looks good in an evening dress, or dancing a Highland reel at Scone. “That’s a bit of all right!” Could definitely see her Miss Marple-ing her way through a mystery all while turning out impeccable cream teas.

Valerie Bertinelli: Former child star. Famous rocker (or period appropriate musician) ex-husband. Visiting American getting away from it all?

Giada De Laurentiis: Glamourous blonde granddaughter of famous movie producer (theatre impresario?) brings an air of Italian mystery to an English country weekend.

Ina Garten: Shockingly made her fortune running a shop! Or is she actually, really, a runaway (barefoot even) Contessa?

Nigella Lawson: I’ve always appreciated her buxom figure and sheer exuberance bordering on gluttony. “To some people, using half a kilo of chocolate to make twelve biscuits may seem excessive, but I don’t put a price on alleviating human suffering.”

Two Fat Ladies (TV)

Clarissa Dickson Wright, Jennifer Paterson

As mentioned above, a crossover/fusion with my Cuisine Queens RPF request would be welcome, and, together or separately, any of the prompts from that section of my letter apply equally to this fandom and these characters. Feel absolutely free to mix and match as much as you’d like, or just to wholesale steal those prompts and apply them to this fandom and these characters instead.

I absolutely loved this show when I first saw it almost twenty-five years ago, and some of the recipes really haven’t aged well on rewatch, but the ladies are just as large and loud and full of unashamed lust for life as they ever were. If anything, I can imagine a scenario where the fact they’re actually pretty far from expert cooks is part of the grand reveal that they’re really a pair of travelling detectives who only pretend to be chefs as a way to infiltrate the houses of the rich and suspicious, and drive around the countryside in their bike and sidecar solving dastardly crimes.

Again, any other story you want to tell would please me, from the days of their misspent youths to their travels to exotic foreign ports to their storied careers as cooks, housekeepers, and hostesses. I’d prefer minimal focus on Clarissa’s alcoholism or any of the domestic abuse allegations from her childhood; please just concentrate on the adventures and the food and the singing Jerusalem while beating eggs and the references to “those poor unfortunate vegetarians”.

A few gems from a recent rewatch:

“None of this nonsense about yoghurt instead of cream, yoghurt is not instead of cream!”

“Add great dollops of butter, that’s always a good idea.”

“The young, they exhaust one so.”

“Larding needle: a wonderful weapon, stick it in a burglar.”

“No good ever came out of Brussels but the odd chocolate.”

The Duchess of Duke Street (TV)

Louisa Trotter/Charles Tyrrell|Lord Haslemere

I loved this show from the first episode I saw – in fact I can remember the very first scene, it was the one where Louisa has been working so hard to pay off her debts that she collapses in the street at dawn, only to be discovered by Charlie slinking home on a walk of shame. I was just a kid at my grandma’s for the holidays, but it was love at first sight. It’s one of the great BBC costume dramas, and everything about it is so good, from the actors to the costumes to the fact Louisa’s life and career spans three reigns but even as a very wealthy woman she never loses her working class accent or scorn for airs and graces.

I requested Louisa and Charlie, but I love the whole Bentinck family, and would love to see any of Mary, Starr, Merriman, and/or the Major appear as well if it suits the story. In terms of what that story should be, almost anything would be a delight. Obviously I’d love to see episodes from Louisa and Charlie’s relationship, whether from the early forbidden romance days, to an AU where they really did get married “when the guns stop”. What kinds of adventures would Louisa have got up to as Lady Haslemere? Or any episode typical capers, whether at the hotel, or on Louisa’s inevitable run-ins with society matrons, like the visit to Cowes. Cooking a magnificent banquet for royalty. Having to host a banquet, but stay out of the kitchen and leave the poor harried cooks at the Haslemere estate to run their own affairs below stairs.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan

I've requested this fandom for Yuletide before, and received a couple of really great gifts, but with less than a dozen fics in existence I will always be greedy for more.

I really love this film, and my favourite part has always been Will and Chuckie's relationship. It hits on so many of my favourite tropes, from lifelong friendships to ride or die loyalty to emotionally stunted chuckleheads who communicate best by having each others' backs in a bare knuckle brawl. Sean summed it up well when Lambeau was complaining about Will's choice to hang out with a "retarded gorilla" and he responded, "That retarded gorilla would take a bat to your head if he asked him to." [We've come quite some way in understanding inappropriate slurs since 1997 but I think the sentiment is still clear.] Likewise when one of the other boys hesitates about getting into a fight to support Will, and Chuckie says something to the effect, "When I'm done with them I'm coming for you." It's like catnip to my love of found family, "you and me against the world" friendships, and undying loyalty in the face of all common sense.

Anyway, there is so little fic available featuring these two that pretty much anything you can come up with would be very welcome indeed. I would love fic where Will and Chuckie are together, whether they get together before, during, or after the film. I'd prefer for them not to split up permanently, though I'm more than happy for them to get back together after a separation. Actually, breakups followed by makeups are a favourite romantic trope of mine, so putting them through some sort of emotional wringer would be great as long as there's a happy ending. I'd prefer Skylar be dealt with as briefly and respectfully as possible, whether via off screen break up or simple, time honoured, assuming that's been dealt with and moving forward.

Most of the dozen fics in existence explore Will returning to Boston, so maybe Chuckie heading out to California instead would be a nice change? (I'd be just as happy with more of the same, to be honest. Whatever suits. That's the beauty of tiny fandoms, everything is new and delightful.) Chuckie is my favourite character in the film, cypher though he largely is, so I'd love to see him explored a bit more. What's his back story? What are his dreams and ambitions, apart from reclaiming his boy?

I like get together fic, first times, established relationships, rifts and reconciliations, the whole kit and kaboodle, so fic set at any time or at any point in Will and Chuckie's relationship would be great. I'd be really interested to check in several years down the track, actually, to see these two at thirty instead of twenty, and what they've made of their lives.

I do enjoy explicit fic, so if you're interested in writing smut then please feel free to check out my letter for Smut Swap for further details.

Whitechapel (TV)

Joseph Chandler, Ray Miles

DNW: Chandler/Kent, or pining Kent or asexual Chandler. Please just keep this one gen and plot/case focused.

I'm five years late to this fandom, with tiger balm, and frankly quite broken hearted that we'll never get to see just where it was all going. I marathoned the whole show recently, and loved just about everything about it. I've liked Rupert Penry-Jones since I first saw him in Cambridge Spies as a teenager, but I was particularly delighted to see Phil Davis again, who I remember loving to hate as Prince John in Robin of Sherwood even longer ago. Their relationship was everything I like in mismatched colleagues turned loyal friends, from the initial terrible start, to sharing confidences and trusting each other with weaknesses, to firmly having each other's backs by the end. Miles trying to reassure Chandler in the sewer that his coat was salvageable tugged on my heartstrings in the final episode. How far they've come! Tell me more about how these two very different people find common ground and fight the good fight together.

I love the sudden swerve the show took in the final season, and would enjoy seeing it more fully explored, but equally, I've always been a fan of historical crime, and would be happy with a continued focus on more earthly policing. I like the whole team, and would be happy to see more of any/all of them. I would also be interested, in either case, in the whereabouts of Commander Anderson, and the ongoing impact on Chandler's once promising career. Are the team ever going to bring their villain in alive?

Is the police station built on a Hellmouth? Did Original Flavour Jack the Ripper leave some kind of psychic taint on the vicinity, like calling to like? Is the mythology of the place just a self fulfilling prophecy that affects the easily suggestible? Or is it all the inevitable result of poverty and neglect? The final few episodes making explicit what had been creeping in round the edges opened up a whole new world to explore. Is it "real" though, in the sense of demonic activity on earth, or are we witnessing some sort of folie a deux/mass hysteria/psychic assault etc?

Lastly, I remain a sucker for faves in peril, so if something ghastly (but recoverable!) happens to Chandler and Miles has to rescue him that'd be grand. Otherwise, facing danger together or with the team, all great in my book.

*****

Thanks very much, dear writer, and I hope you have a great Yuletide.

Dear Mystery Writer,

This is my first time doing this exchange, and I'm excited about it. Thanks for matching with me, and I hope you can have fun with some of these prompts. These were the ideas that first called to me when nominating ships and AUs, but anything that lines up with my basic list of likes should make me very happy.

Full disclosure: I've sometimes said in the past that I don't much like AUs, and many of my old exchange letters list them as a DNW. In fact, there are a few AUs that I really love, and those are the ones I've requested for this exchange.

Favourite AUs

Road Not Taken -- I love canon divergences that springboard off a decision a character or characters make that could just as easily have gone the other way

Want of a Nail -- I love it when key events happen differently, or at different times, or don't take place at all, affecting everything that happens afterward

Just This Once Everybody Lives -- I love angst, but sometimes when I'm feeling tender I just want to see all my faves survive

Role Reversal -- Sometimes I really want to see what would happen if my faves traded places/powers etc

Sedoretu -- I'm usually pretty strict about my OTPs, but this is a relationship configuration I adore

Fusion -- If there's another canon where I love the worldbuilding, I'll sometimes want to see my favourite characters transplanted into it

DNW AUs

Mundane -- I'm not at all interested in seeing superheroes without their powers, soldiers or sailors or spies without their training, etc

Modern -- I'm generally not interested in seeing historical characters/events translated to the present day, though other time periods are sometimes okay

Crossover -- I like close focus on my favourite characters and relationships, and I don't usually want to see them interacting with others from other canons

TL;DR: Basically I love canon divergences, but the further an AU gets from what I love about canon the less it tends to work for me.

Fic General Likes

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, friends to enemies to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising

Fic General Dislikes

• major character death
• infidelity
• non-con
• bdsm
• unasked for kinks
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• modern attitudes to sexuality in historical contexts

*****

Marvel Cinematic Universe

I'm an unabashed fan of the entire MCU, despite certain decisions along the way that have irked me, and I mostly loved Endgame, though again there are individual things I personally would have done differently. I cried a lot and for the purposes of this exchange would very much enjoy happier endings for various characters.

Some of these AUs have inbuilt relationships contained in them, which clearly we have in common; some of the others could be gen, which I'm more than happy with, or if we share a ship I'm happy to have it included, but please don't add any unrequested ones that I don't mention in the following list. I ship Steve/Bucky and am happy to have it included if you do too, or leave it as a very strong friendship if you don't. I've shipped Steve/Tony hard in the past, but am very invested in Tony/Pepper now, after all these years, so would rather leave that canonical as is, especially once Morgan is born. I ship Thor/Loki, but again, also happy to leave it as a very close brotherly relationship if you don't. Natasha having a past with Bucky is fine too.

Group: Team Time Heist

MCU: The Entirety of Endgame Was An Increasingly Complicated Time Heist

Honestly, when the big battle started in Endgame I sort of sighed exhaustedly and wished we could have just kept on with the shenanigans. I'd have loved three hours of that. Time travel has always been one of my favourite tropes, though I admit I prefer closed time loops or the Back to the Future model - even if it is bullshit ;-p - to what we wound up with, so I would love some further adventures of the team elsewhere in time. If you want to scale down your focus, my favourite characters are Tony, Steve, Thor, and Natasha, and I don't particularly love Clint, though I do love that Nat loves him. Bruce, Scott, Rhodey, Nebula, and Rocket are less interesting to me overall, though they're all more than welcome to play smaller parts.

I'd be particularly interested in scenarios like Thor dealing with Loki somewhere in the past, Steve running across the Winter Soldier earlier, Natasha having known Bucky before, Tony having to deal with his past choices, any sort of collision with Civil War, etc, but anything you come up with where things could have gone differently, or characters have to deal with themselves/their loved ones before significant changes, would be great. Accidentally making things worse and having to go back further is always a good time. Feel free to fudge "the rules" a bit in service of the shenanigans. Happy ending for all strongly preferred. Though that said, various tragic/angsty "endings" that then get overwritten on the next pass are more than welcome.

MCU: Characters Choose Different Points In The Timeline To Retrieve Infinity Stones

How could the time travel shenanigans have been organised differently? Were there different time points/different team combinations that could have gone more smoothly? Can we get a better deal on Vormir? Any variations welcome, as long as they lead to a happy ending. Steve and Nat face the Red Skull together? Or get another chance to face the Winter Soldier? Tony and Thor deal with Loki? Or with their parents at different points? Rhodey and Clint go to Morag thereby avoiding the problem with Nebula's tech? Any and all variants welcome.

Group: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark & Morgan Stark

MCU: Tony Stark Lives/Iron Man Retires

All I want is a happy ending. That was my most fevered hope going into Endgame, that Tony could hang up the suit and settle down with Pepper. Throwing an adorable kid into the mix just made me feel it even more. I wound up hugely invested in their little family, in a way I never saw coming, I cannot lie, and I can't tell you how much I cried at the end. So, in the immortal words of Steve Rogers and the team, whatever it takes.

Morgan Stark

MCU: Morgan Stark Goes Back In Time To Save Her Dad

With parents like Tony and Pepper we know Morgan's going to be a genius, plus I bet there's even more interesting tech just hiding in that garage she's not supposed to go into, so why not one more miracle. Teen or adult Morgan goes back with a better solution for Tony, whether that's yanking him forward to her present, or fudging "the rules" a bit to save him back then so he didn't miss seeing her grow up, and accepting whatever other changes that might bring.

Group: Lila Barton & Harley Keener & Cassie Lang & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark

MCU: Young Avengers Go Back In Time To Save The OG Avengers

Another five or so years in the future, and the kids go back to save their mentors. Whether that means they've already put their own team together, and decide they're now ready for this giant task, or whether the inability to let go of the past/their loved ones is what brings them together in the first place. Peter will be very much the elder statesman, I imagine, especially after the events of Far from Home, which I've seen, so no worries about spoilers. Morgan might be too little still, I guess, to be an Iron Lady, but maybe she's the girl in the chair, or the financier, or just their techie. Harley's an obvious Iron Lad, Lila a Hawkeye, Cassie either Giant Girl or a wee Wasp, or whatever she prefers. They've got the benefit of hindsight, and a very good plan, and if the adults try to tell them off after, well at least they're alive to do it.

MCU: Characters Choose Different Points In The Timeline To Retrieve Infinity Stones

Same basic idea as above, but let the kids go places/times that are meaningful to them. Peter and Harley to meet Tony? Lila to see a different side of Clint? Cassie and Morgan to see their dads? Again, with the benefit of hindsight, the kids work out the combo that works.

Group: James "Bucky" Barnes/Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov

I absolutely love sedoretus, both generally, and particularly in a situation where I've been hugely into a slash ship, but also really love the canonical relationships too. This is one I'd love to see explored.

MCU: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanov Sedoretu

Unlike my Endgame linked requests, I'd be happy for this one to stay angsty, or a combination of happy, sad, and happy for now, if that's the way it shakes out given all four members were never in the same place at the same time.

MCU: Steve and Bucky both leave and take the long way back to the present in Endgame

Two things I know for sure: Steve would never leave Bucky behind like that, and he'd save Natasha if there was any way he could. The first is easily fixed, the second might be harder. But I'd love to see you try.

Thor

Group: Loki/Thor

MCU: Asgard never became peaceful

Princes of a warlike Asgard that brooks no opposition in its control of the realms, do Thor and Loki still fall out? Or is there conquest, glory, and rule enough for both of them.

MCU: Thor and Loki work together to beat Thanos

Before Infinity War, I'd imagined/hoped for a scenario where the time travel we'd vaguely heard rumoured might involve Thor going back and negotiating with Battle of New York Loki to do things differently. Or maybe they just plan ahead, post Ragnarok, and are ready for Thanos when he arrives. Or even 2012 Loki figuring out what's happened somehow, and coming back to help 2023 Thor. Any scenario welcome.

MCU: Loki and Bucky survive Thanos/the Snap and go on missions for/with the Avengers during the 5 years

A bit of a wildcard here, since this AU was probably meant for Loki/Bucky shippers, but I'm stealing it. Pretend Thor and Steve got neck snapped/dusted instead, and Loki and Bucky work together (and together with the team as necessary) to fix both. If you ship Steve/Bucky as well as Thor/Loki then two sulkily commiserating broken hearts would be great, but if not then best friends is fine.

X-Men Movieverse

Group: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier (Alt Timeline), Group: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier (Orig Timeline)

XMFC: No Ten Year Time Gaps

The decade long jumps between movies felt increasingly pointless to me as the series went on. No one really seemed to age, and it just felt mean spirited to have everyone separated for such huge chunks of time when it seldom added to the story. So let's stop pretending, and collapse the timeline so that the entire thing from First Class to Dark Phoenix takes about ten to fifteen years total. You don't have to cover the entire thing, obviously, but pick any point along the way to set your story, whenever takes your fancy. What changes? Is an Erik who doesn't spend a decade in solitary confinement underground a bit less homicidal in Paris? Is a Charles who's effectively a big brother rather than a father figure more or less manipulative?

XMFC: Charles and Erik Always Had The Opposite Power

No real mystery here, but what I'm really interested in is how different both Charles and Erik's lives would have been, rather than just a straight up romance where very little has changed. For starters, I can't imagine Erik's experience in the camp would have been remotely similar. Does he manage to talk his and his parents' way out? Or is he too weak/inexperienced for that and still goes through some form of Schmidt's tortures? Does he become an even more terrifying Nazi hunter than before? What about Charles? He'll still have the privilege of an invisible mutation, but he'll have to work to get to know people rather than claiming to know everything about them from the start. How do they meet? Does Cuba end more happily?

X-Men: The Fixed Future We See In DoFP

I screamed out loud in the theatre when I saw Jean and Scott and everyone else at the school when Logan got back to the future in Days of Future Past. I'd love to see something, anything, set in that future. I think that moment is probably sometime shortly after the original trilogy wrapped, but I'd be happy with anything between the end of Dark Phoenix and then. I'm assuming Charles spends a certain amount of time healing in Genosha with Erik, and then maybe they go back to the school together, but I'm not too wedded to the fine details, as long as we wind up happy and everyone -- except Mystique, who tragically really was absent from that future, though if you want to fix that too that's fine, but not necessary -- is there alive and well and together.

I strongly prefer original timeline Scott and Jean, so if they feature in the story at all, please use those characterisations.

ALL: Characters Meet at a Different Point in Their Canon

In the original X-Men movie Charles says that he met Erik when he was seventeen. The exact age difference is never explicitly mentioned I don't think, but let's assume Erik isn't more than a couple of years older. So where and how did they meet? What would a version of First Class with Charles and Erik that age -- the same age as the rest of the team, so very much friends and comrades, not mentors -- have looked like?

The Man From UNCLE

Group: Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

MUNCLE: Cold War Without UNCLE

Any permutation whatsoever of Illya and Napoleon meeting as adversaries, reluctant allies, friends with benefits, enemies with benefits, in a world where they're both at the top of their game, but UNCLE never forms. Could be post the one off Rome mission, or a world where that never happened at all. I love the cold war, and I love espionage, but you don't need to write a whole caper if you'd prefer to focus on their relationship.

MUNCLE: Illya is a Winter Soldier

The facts speak for themselves. Can Napoleon save the noble adversary who turns out to have an even more tragic backstory than he'd imagined?

If you'd like to read my letter for Smut Swap, please feel free.

Black Sails

Group: Captain Flint | James McGraw/Thomas Hamilton

I ship these two madly, and would be more than happy to see them put through the emotional wringer, but ultimately would like them to have a happy ending. Or they could actually be careful in this AU and be happy all along. ;-p I enjoy reading explicit sex scenes if that's in your wheelhouse/works for the story you want to tell, so please do include them if you want to. If you'd like to read my letter for Smut Swap, please feel free.

Black Sails: Flint and Hamilton first meet as Pirate King and Governor

James McGraw has somehow managed to get himself drummed out of the Navy before he ever got a chance to meet Thomas Hamilton. He's possibly slightly less driven in this AU, since he doesn't have the rage of injustice and a broken heart goading him on, but I imagine he's still pretty efficient at commandeering a pirate ship and gaining a fearsome reputation, and his understanding of battle tactics is still second to none in the Caribbean. Thomas has been a bit more circumspect in his amours, or possibly just more easily bullied by his father, and has taken a more conventional approach to the pirate problem, accepting an appointment as the next governor of the Bahama Islands, based in New Providence. However they meet up, be it arrest, abduction, negotiation under banner of truce, or whatever, I imagine sparks still fly.

I expect Miranda is present in Nassau as the governor's wife, but I'd prefer this story not turn into a threesome. I'd also prefer minimal appearance by John Silver, though anyone else can show up as appropriate.

Black Sails: Master and Commander AU

Master and Commander is one of my all time favourite movies, and I'd love to see some sort of fusion (time shift from C18th to C19th, and basic character roles, not specific storylines, and definitely not a crossover). James McGraw as a Jack Aubrey-esque naval captain, devoted to his duty, eyes on the prize, charismatic, successful, a master seaman, occasionally obsessive about the chase, you get the picture. And his best friend Thomas Hamilton, Stephen Maturin-esque ship's doctor and man of letters, maybe a player in politics or even espionage if it suits the story. They eat toasted cheese, argue about politics and philosophy, fall deeply in love -- I'd be happy with a first meeting story, or one where they've been friends for ages and finally take the next step, or any other variation -- and go on adventures together, whether it be fighting the French, brawling or duelling over slights of honour, exploring, etc. Internalised homophobia on James' part, as well as concern for his command and the real possibility of being hanged for violating the Articles of War, are all welcome. Everything doesn't have to be smooth sailing (ha!) and obstacles and angst on the way to a happy ending are more than fine.

I've read all the books too, so no worries about spoilers of any kind, but don't feel you need to mimic Patrick O'Brian's style, I'd prefer the characters speak as they did in the show/movie, ie period appropriate, but not too idiosyncratic with the language. If you want to have Gates play Killick, and so on, that'd be fun, but don't try too hard to make the characters fit. I love just about the whole cast, and would be happy to see appearances from anyone as appropriate, with the exception of John Silver, who just rubs me the wrong way. Please keep him to an absolute minimum.

Group: Captain Flint/Charles Vane

I enjoy reading explicit sex scenes if that's in your wheelhouse/works for the story you want to tell, so please do include them if you want to. If you'd like to read my letter for Smut Swap, please feel free.

Black Sails: Flint and Vane met in England

Whatever it takes to get Vane to London -- captured pirate, pressed sailor whether on merchantman or in the navy, free privateer. And whatever it takes for them to meet. Brief encounter before later meeting for real, or totally new adventure. Anything would be great.

Black Sails: Master and Commander AU

Master and Commander is one of my all time favourite movies, and I'd love to see some sort of fusion (time shift from C18th to C19th, and basic character roles, not specific storylines, and definitely not a crossover). James McGraw as a Jack Aubrey-esque naval captain, devoted to his duty, eyes on the prize, charismatic, successful, a master seaman, occasionally obsessive about the chase, you get the picture. And Charles Vane as a fellow captain, though whether that's as friend and comrade (in battle and carouse) like Heneage Dundas, or a rival for promotion and prizes, or a sworn enemy for some slight, imagined or otherwise, who nonetheless can put aside differences for the greater good (or the sexual attraction, whichever seems more likely). Or an enemy captain, maybe an American trying to run the blockade? Captured and giving his parole? Or a privateer, carrying letters of marque? Adventures on the high seas, or in port, or marooned, or in prison, or wherever strikes your fancy, are all very welcome indeed.

I've read all the books too, so no worries about spoilers of any kind, but don't feel you need to mimic Patrick O'Brian's style, I'd prefer the characters speak as they did in the show/movie, ie period appropriate, but not too idiosyncratic with the language. If you want to have Gates play Killick, and so on, that'd be fun, but don't try too hard to make the characters fit. I love just about the whole cast, and would be happy to see appearances from anyone as appropriate, with the exception of John Silver, who just rubs me the wrong way. Please keep him to an absolute minimum.

Group: Miranda Barlow/Thomas Hamilton/Captain Flint | James McGraw

All: Sedoretu

I absolutely love sedoretus, and this one was one of the first things that popped into my head when thinking about tags to nominate. It's the canonical threesome, but in this case, in this universe, instead of the James/Thomas part of the threesome that's forbidden, it's the James/Miranda. The Thomas/Miranda marriage is rock solid, James/Thomas is a perfect match, but by the strict rules of the sedoretu, they should be looking for another suitable girl for James, him sleeping with Miranda is sacrilege. I'd love any or all of the story, from forming the relationship, to having it betrayed and punished. Happy or sad ending fine.

Black Sails: Thomas is the new governor of New Providence

The relationship isn't revealed, and all three sail out to Nassau. How does their effort at dealing with the pirate problem go? Does their scandalous life just fade in comparison with every other challenge?

Hi there, mystery writer. It's good to see you (again).

Full disclosure right away: a lot of this letter has been cribbed from letters I've written over the last several years, for a variety of exchanges. Partly because I'm signing up last minute again, and I don't want to keep you waiting, and partly just because, at the end of the day, my tastes don't change very much. These are fandoms and pairings I absolutely love, and the thought of a 5K fic for any of them makes me very happy. They're small fandoms though, my gift and my curse, so I know there's a chance our paths have crossed already. If that's the case, then please know that I have loved everything you've ever written for me. I'm sorry I can't come up with much new to say, and if you have an idea of your own then please just go for it, I know it'll be great. If it's the first time we've matched, then anything you write that meets the spirit of my basic likes and dislikes list will be a delight.

Please don't feel too constrained by the genre tags I chose – I was aiming to give an indication of some of my favourite kinds of stories, while also trying to leave some room for you to work. Let your own muse be your guide, and please feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or to use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

I dislike mundane and/or modern AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings or time periods and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes in fic, though as a general rule as part of character development rather than pure PWP, so if you enjoy writing them please go ahead. If you prefer lower ratings then super intense feelings and emotions tickle my id just as well.

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, friends to enemies to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

*****

Black Sails

I love this show, and both these relationships, though not together or combined! Please don't mix and match these two quite different requests, though the lingering shadow of a lost Thomas is perfectly welcome in a Vane story, as appropriate. If you do wind up writing reunion fic, then a James struggling to re-become McGraw having to deal with his past with Vane, even as he rebuilds a future with Thomas, would be cool too.

Captain Flint/Charles Vane

AU - Canon Divergence: The obvious one is a sharp left at Vane's supposed execution, and I'm here for any variation on that, but I'd also love an AU that fudges the timeline slightly and has James McGraw on a navy ship running into a young pirate (not yet Captain?) Vane.

Character Development: I'd like to hear more about Charles especially, whether his escape from slavery, or his decision to break with Teach, or anything else. I love that Vane was the first to recognise and enunciate the value of the pirate legend, and to be willing to put aside his differences to defend the pirate life. How does he go from sitting on the beach waiting to be the first to see Flint brought low, to standing at Flint's side to defend their home?

Smut: What can I say? Despite (or even because of) his bad behaviour and questionable hygiene, Vane's swagger is irresistable to me. Flint's no hardship to look at either, though in his case it's more his broken edges that call to me. Either way, fighting, fucking, fighting leading to fucking, fighting while fucking... is fucking while fighting a thing? It should be. (Unexpected tenderness would actually be a delight as well.)

Both these men are canonically in love with someone else, and I kinda love that. I love the symmetry of it first and foremost – I actually really liked the conversation Vane had with Max about Eleanor, too, where they recognised what they had in common despite the horrible oppositional situation they were in – and I love the way they arguably both can be said to have loved "not wisely but too well". Obviously it ends somewhat differently in each case, but let's not be troubled by trifles. I'm more than happy, then, to have that spectre hanging over them, whether they ever discuss it or not, or even just to recognise a sort of fellow feeling.

I would be happy to have a story set at any time, whether pre-show, or at any point during the show. When young, broken hearted, very angry and lost James McGraw arrives in Nassau, does he meet a (presumably even younger) Charles Vane second in command (?) to the famous Edward Teach? Does a newly-made-captain Vane try to make common cause with the other new boy in town? Presumably their paths crossed a million times in the next ten years (possibly to the great annoyance of both, given the terms they're on in episode 1) so what on earth happened in that time? Or post-Charlestown, or post Vane's escape from the noose – that totally happened – when they're both well aware of their status as mythmakers and legend builders. Or into some hypothetical future.

I love pretty much everyone else in the supporting cast, especially Gates, Billy, Jack, and Anne, and would be happy to see appearances from the two crews as appropriate. Except Silver. I'd prefer his presence be kept to a minimum, please.

If you're interested in writing smut then please check out my letter for Smut Swap for further details.

Captain Flint/Thomas Hamilton

AU - Canon Divergence: What if Thomas and James hadn't been given away, and they really did sail out to Nassau together, the new Governor and his loyal naval attache? Could they possibly have corralled the rest of the cast into a working, prosperous, Nassau? Could they at least have lived the life they wanted to live, together, away from London?

Getting Together: We know the basics, but that leaves a lot of room to work. Was that kiss a shock to either or both of them, or the natural culmination of a long path from strange pairs to trusted friends to truest loves?

Established Relationship: Realistically they weren't together very long before the disaster, but I'm sure they packed a lot in around the edges of politicking and planning. Life in London, the country, juggling responsibilities... We know they were less discreet than they should have been; was the honeymoon period really so intoxicating they both lost their wits?

Smut: Gentle and romantic first times, or fast and furious fucking once they know what they're about, or anything in between.

(Not remotely a DNW, but a strong preference: We've seen a lot of reunion fics set post S4. I would really, really love to read something set at any other point in their shared story.)

I could have very happily watched a whole season of these two making cow eyes at each other and arguing about politics, even before they actually got together. But once they did! I would dearly love to have a story set in London, pre the fall. I just adore them, in all their starchy, buttoned down glory.

I love their friendship, and their love affair of the mind that starts long before the physical one, whereby Thomas, who presumably has learned the hard way from his father that trust can be misplaced, can say to the man who is sleeping with his wife "I have come to trust you very much", and James, who has likewise fought his way to a position not his by right and somewhat precarious, can throw caution to the winds and order a peer of the realm out of his own house.

I'm not a huge fan of pining or misunderstandings, so don't particularly want a drawn out exploration of either of them thinking their feelings are one sided, but I do enjoy internalised homophobia and period-appropriate issues with acknowledging one's very real feelings. Likewise, qualms about class and status difference etc.

I do like to imagine a world where they didn't come to grief quite so spectacularly, so consider this an exception to my usual preference for avoiding AUs: both the "posted to Nassau" AU I mentioned in my signup, or a canon divergence where they weren't given away so early, in quite the same way, or indeed at all.

I really like Miranda as a character, and do believe she loved both James and Thomas very much, and they her, so while I'm not after a threesome story at this time, if she has a role to play in your story please go ahead. If not, that's fine too, but please don't vilify her in any way.

If you're interested in writing smut then please check out my letter for Smut Swap for further details.

*****

The Man From UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I'm still desperately sad there will likely never be a sequel to this beautiful, silly, fantastically charming film, and we'll never get to see the legendary friendship develop.

Character Development: I would dearly like to know more about both Illya and Napoleon. Backstory, their genuine feelings about the Cold War and the espionage game, their "real world" interests when not working/playing a part.

Getting Together: Enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, fuckbuddies to lovers... Any and all paths to sex and something more.

Interpersonal Drama: The course of true love is unlikely to run smooth for these two, and I am totally here for the ups and downs thereof.

Smut: They're super hot. (And super tall. I cannot lie, with the accompanying strength that seems like a winning combination.)

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I'd love to see some of that journey, whether the whole way or just the final step. Equally, I love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship.

For me, a major part of the attraction is the setting, so if at all possible I'd love to have a fic recognisably set in the time period, ie 1963. I love the Cold War as a historical period, but I also just love the conventions of the spy game genre – I was practically raised on it as my dad was a big fan, both books and movies. That said, I don't need a complicated plot; some vague caper to act as a backdrop to Illya and Napoleon's relationship is more than fine with me. Likewise if your focus is on movie style shenanigans rather than politics, that's A-OK.

Don't feel you have to do huge amounts of research on the Cold War if you're not a history buff – though if you are please go ahead, by all means – but please don't just handwave societal attitudes to homosexuality etc either. I find it really jarring when reading fic set in the 1960s to suddenly stumble over supportive best friends and organisations that are oddly embracing of their agents' personal lives. Gaby might put her friendships first, but I still think Illya and Napoleon would go out of their way to conceal their relationship from her to avoid putting her in that position. UNCLE, and certainly the CIA and KGB, would absolutely have viewed a homosexual relationship as an intolerable security risk. If you find writing about historical homophobia unpleasant then it's not something you need to explore, but I would very much prefer it if the relationship is kept under wraps.

Other than that, I am super interested in both Illya and Napoleon's backstories. Are they right when they psychobabble each other in that cafe in the park? Was it just a sense of adventure that drove Napoleon to join the army at sixteen? Does Illya have a genuine loyalty to the KGB, or does love of Mother Russia override the pain the state has caused him? How does their friendship, and then their affection for each other, grow?

I'm intrigued by the prospect of what would happen to Illya, in particular, if ties to UNCLE were somehow severed -- he's the one that's going to find himself stranded in hostile territory, unlike Napoleon and Gaby. I'm also dubious that the KGB would really ever allow him to return home after his extended time in the decadent West. Would he ever defect?

I just really love comrades who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin. I like the hothouse atmosphere created when you can't share how much you love someone with anybody else.

If you're interested in writing smut then please check out my letter for Smut Swap for further details.

*****

Fast and the Furious Series

Brian O’Conner/Dominic Toretto

One of my long time cherished favourite fandoms, and I'm having a bit of a renaissance.

Character Development: I'd love to know more about both of the guys, but I feel like Dom's maybe the one we know best, whereas we never get Brian's backstory except that one talk about his father. Fill in some of those blanks.

Established Relationship: Up to you when it all got started, but where's it going from here?

Getting Together: When did it all get started, and how?

Smut: Two stunningly attractive people. I'm all in.

I ship Dom and Brian pretty goddamn hard, and always have, so basically anything you write me exploring their relationship, at any point in the series, would be fantastic. I’ve been surprised by how little fic is actually set during the first movie, though, so if you can manage to pull that off, it’d be fantastic. The Fast and the Furious is far from being the best film of the series, but it is still, in many ways, my favourite.

It was a perfect storm of instant, undying, friendships, love at first sight, ambiguously charming and endearing designated “villains” with tragic backstories, police officers incapable of fulfilling their sworn duty in the face of said “villains”, and the fundamental identity porn involved in a guy who is not who he says he is, all bullet proof kinks of mine. I think what I love most about it is the sheer histrionic fervour with which Dom and Brian’s friendship unfolds. They’ve barely met before Dom is confiding his deepest, darkest secrets, and another five minutes after that Brian is throwing away his career and maybe even his freedom to save him. There’s no other explanation for that but love at first sight.

I’d like to see an exploration, then, of their feelings towards and about each other within the time frame of the film. How much more betrayed would Dom feel if this guy he thinks he’s entering into a relationship with turns out to be someone else entirely? He trusts him so hard, so fast, telling a near stranger things it’s pretty clear he never talks about with anyone else; why? And how fucked up must Brian be if he’s fallen into this thing he can’t get out of and doesn’t want to, and who is he lying to the hardest – Dom, his bosses, or himself? Is he completely out of his depth from the start, or is he trying to be calculating and just completely underestimates the pull of gravity?

If you feel your strengths/interests lie a bit more strongly in plot development than emotional turmoil then I do have an idea for a slightly more plot focused fic. When Hobbs says in Fast Five that Brian has been in “deep cover” for five years, let’s pretend that’s not just a lazy handwave and/or a continuity error. Instead, let’s say that Brian has totally been an agent of some sort the entire time, and in the first film is undercover inside the LAPD/FBI as well as inside the Toretto organisation. Identity porn squared! Of course, to my mind he still falls for the mark, and it’s even more screwed up and complicated than before, but go where the story takes you.

If you enjoy writing AUs, I do have one madcap idea for one, an exception to my usual preferences. My friends and I often used to joke that Faster and Furiouser Fifteen would be set in space. So give me all the wacky space adventures of outlaw Dom and interstellar agent Brian.

Just one caveat here: I love both Letty and Mia, especially as the series goes on, and I don’t want to see any kind of unpleasantness about them. Do what you gotta do to get them offstage, be it handwave or breakup, but I don't really want to see protracted cheating or broken hearts, and I certainly don't want either woman vilified.

If you're interested in writing smut then please check out my letter for Smut Swap for further details.

*****

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan

With less than ten fics in existence, the world is our oyster.

Character Development: Tell me more about Will and Chuckie. Backstory or where to from here. Chuckie especially is a blank slate I'd love to see filled in.

Established Relationship: They've totally been doing it on the sly since they were kids.

Getting Together: Or maybe not. After California? A few years down the track, older and wiser?

Smut: Maybe one of those ten fics is rated Explicit. That seems like a challenge to me.

I love this film so much, and more than anything I adore Will and Chuckie's relationship. Chuckie's part in the movie is comparatively small, but he speaks a thousand words with every grin, smirk, and glare, and I am an absolute sucker for his brand of love and loyalty combined with straight talking and the ability to give a shove where required. It seems very obvious, without much exposition, that he and Will have known each other forever, and always been there for each other through thick and thin. He's also a big enough person to let Will go – heck, make him go – though of course I am selfishly asking you to undo that somehow and get them back together. Sorry, not sorry.

Sean summed it up well when Lambeau was complaining about Will's choice to hang out with a "retarded gorilla" and he responded, "That retarded gorilla would take a bat to your head if he asked him to." [We've come quite some way in understanding inappropriate slurs since 1997 but I think the sentiment is still clear.] Likewise when one of the other boys hesitates about getting into a fight to support Will, and Chuckie says something to the effect, "When I'm done with them I'm coming for you." It's like catnip to my love of found family, "you and me against the world" friendships, and undying loyalty in the face of all common sense.

Anyway, there is so little fic available featuring these two that pretty much anything you can come up with would be very welcome indeed. I would love fic where Will and Chuckie are together, whether they get together before, during, or after the film. I'd prefer for them not to break up, though I'm more than happy for them to make up or get back together after a separation. I'd prefer Skylar be dealt with as briefly and respectfully as possible, whether via off screen break up or simple, time honoured, assuming that's been dealt with and moving forward.

I guess my major question is: where to from the end of the movie? What happens next? Given that Chuckie was so set on Will leaving, and more importantly not wasting his gifts and opportunities, it seems like he wouldn't accept Will just giving up on California and coming home to the same old same old. So what changes? Does Chuckie follow him out there? Does Will come home but to a new life in Boston? Can Will help Chuckie realise a few dreams of his own? What kind of life can they build together? Is it, by choice or necessity, a closeted life? When and how does that change?

That brings me to one of the other things that intrigues me, namely how much the world has and hasn't changed between 1997 and today. So I'm interested in that too. If you want to set your fic in 1997 or shortly thereafter, great; if you want to look in at what the guys are doing now, that'd also be awesome. Please, please, don't write them as having not spoken or seen each other for huge chunks of time in those intervening years though, I can't bear that thought.

If you're interested in writing smut then please check out my letter for Smut Swap for further details.

*****

Anything within the general spirit of these prompts would please me very much. Have fun, and enjoy the exchange. I very much look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Hi there, my dearest writer, if you're still checking in (and if you're not that's totally fair enough, omg) I am so, so sorry to keep you waiting for such a long time. Life and work just got away from me. If you've already started, or have an idea you're keen about, that's inspired by, or fits the spirit of, any of the million letters I've written in the past, then please go with it. That will absolutely delight me, and I should have just said so in the first place. I wish I had, but I signed up last minute and in a frazzle, so again, my sincere apologies.

If we've matched up in the past, I have loved absolutely everything you've ever written for me, and just about everything you've ever written, fullstop, so feel free to set sail without further fussing on the dock. ;-p If it's the first time we've matched, then anything that you write that meets the spirit of my basic likes and dislikes list will make me very happy. Everything else in this letter is gravy. (I love gravy! But I love roast potatoes just fine on their own too.)

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, or my favourite, lol, friends to enemies to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death (unless otherwise specified)
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

*****

Black Sails

I love this show more than anything I’ve watched in the last how many years, and am hugely invested in both these relationships, though not together or combined! Please don't mix and match these two quite different requests, though the lingering shadow of a lost Thomas is perfectly welcome in a Vane story, as appropriate. Actually, it occurs to me now that a James struggling to re-become McGraw having to deal with his past with Vane, even as he rebuilds a future with Thomas, would be cool too, but that’s probably beyond the scope of a Smut Swap fic.

Captain Flint/Charles Vane

I've always been a sucker for antagonistic pairings, and I loved every iteration of Flint and Vane's relationship, from undermining, to outright opposition and violence, to recognition of each other's reputations and importance to the pirate legend, to partnership in the defence of their shared home and way of life. I'd be happy to have fic set at any point along the way, including pre-series. When young, broken hearted, very angry and lost James McGraw arrives in Nassau, does he meet a (presumably even younger) Charles Vane second in command (?) to the famous Edward Teach? Does a newly-made-captain Vane try to make common cause with the other new boy in town? Presumably their paths crossed a million times in the next ten years (possibly to the great annoyance of both, given the terms they're on in episode 1) so what on earth happened in that time? Or post-Charlestown, or post Vane's escape from the noose – that totally happened – when they're both well aware of their status as mythmakers and legend builders. Or into some hypothetical future.

• enemies to lovers
• enemies to friends to lovers

Perhaps my very oldest narrative kink, from my earliest days in fandom. I love both versions, whether straight from enmity and violence to unwilling attraction, or the long way via a grudging then more genuine friendship and the development of feelings. Feel free to play with anything along these lines, including the slightly more complicated friends to enemies to lovers – yes, I love a rift fandom and always have – or any other combination of shifting sands and unsure footing.

• anal sex
• rough sex
• multiple sex positions
• barebacking

No real surprises here. They're two extremely physical people, more accustomed to violence than tenderness at this point in their lives. I'd have no objection if a little gentleness did creep in, but it would probably be a surprise, after the way things started. I have no preference with regard to topping/bottoming, and would enjoy either configuration or switching. A little bit of manhandling wouldn't go astray either.

• sex after fighting/battle
• antagonism leads to sex
• fighting as foreplay

Do I even have to explain myself? The way these two looked at each other before, during, and after trading foul looks and/or blows always seemed to me like they were inches away from something else. And the way Flint looked in the middle of a battle – or even McGraw in the middle of a fight, frankly, that beast was always there, just caged – made the effect of violence on him absolutely canonical.

• drunk sex

There was enough booze spilt in this show to sink a ship, and frankly, the decision making was often bad enough sober, so any combination of Flint, Vane, happiness, sadness, celebration, mourning, even boredom, and the demon drink, is likely to prove combustible.

• in captivity together
• prison sex

I love prison sex, in all its varied forms. Perhaps a mild AU where they spend a few days in the cells in Charlestown before the show trial, or something that goes slightly further sideways and they get captured by Hume or Rogers or an angry Teach or anybody else.

• anonymous sex

Where was I going with this? Hmmm. Maybe the early days before either of them knew who the other was? Before either of them really had a name for the other to be aware of in any case? Two ships that pass in the night (*groan*)? Two young wannabe pirates who hook up in Port Royal or wherever before they’ve really found their feet in Nassau? Is it a one off drunken encounter, or a short lived relationship? Do they even remember in the morning? Do they just agree never to speak of it again? Does (a much younger, less experienced) Vane want to and that’s why he’s so mad at Flint later?

• in love with someone else
• first time having sex inside a relationship

Both these men are canonically in love with someone else, and I love that. I love the symmetry of it first and foremost – I actually really liked the conversation Vane had with Max about Eleanor, too, where they recognised what they had in common despite the horrible oppositional situation they were in – and I love the way they arguably both can be said to have loved "not wisely but too well".

Thomas is always present for Flint, but I also enjoyed the way Vane never really got over Eleanor either. We've seen something along these lines from Flint's perspective a few times, and I would definitely enjoy another spin on it, but if you feel like a challenge, how about Vane's perspective? How does he feel about Flint and his obvious misery, vis a vis his own experiences?

Obviously the first time in a relationship isn’t that they’ve never been in a relationship before, when they so obviously have, but the first time they realise (with shock and horror? or with secret pleasure?) that they are in a relationship.

But really, again, I will love whatever you come up with, so let the muse run free. And sorry again for being so tardy with this.

Captain Flint/Thomas Hamilton

I could have very happily watched a whole season of these two making cow eyes at each other and arguing about politics, even before they actually got together. I love their friendship, and their love affair of the mind that starts long before the physical one, whereby Thomas, who presumably has learned the hard way from his father that trust can be misplaced, can say to the man who is sleeping with his wife "I have come to trust you very much", and James, who has likewise fought his way to a position not his by right and somewhat precarious, can throw caution to the winds and order a peer of the realm out of his own house.

Feel free to set your fic in London 1705 or Savannah 1715, Lord Thomas Hamilton and Lieutenant James McGraw or Been Through the Fire Thomas and Captain Flint Will Have to Go Away James, or wherever they go and whoever they become after that. And if you want to play with that a little bit, then feel free to do that too, identity porn is one of my favourite things.

• anal sex
• barebacking
• intercrural sex
• held down

No real surprises here, I don't think. I love intercrural sex, whether as a preference to, substitute for, prelude to, or stage on the road as a relationship builds towards, anal sex. If you want to bring in classical allusions, feel free, I love that sort of thing. I mostly prefer Thomas topping, but go with what feels right for your story. I do like the image of him holding James down though, perhaps surprising him a little with how strong he really is under those fancy clothes (or has gotten in the years apart).

• forbidden/secret relationships
• period-typical homophobia

The status of homosexuality as not just frowned upon, but illegal and punishable by death is such an important part of this story, and it's heartbreaking for me just how bad James and Thomas both were at keeping their relationship under wraps. They're clearly both so swept away by their feelings, and it's practically shining out of their faces that last day we see them together. The show never explains when and how Peter Ashe finds out, or what makes Alfred Hamilton suspect in the first place, but I'd be interested in your take on it.

• internalised homophobia
• first time with a man
• first time bottoming

Shame, self knowledge, and self acceptance is such an important through line not just of the relationship, but of the whole first two seasons. On the most basic level Thomas has a lot of confidence in himself and his position that James doesn't have, but when it comes to the physical relationship I'd be happy to see you play with this any way you feel like. How much prior experience do either of them really have?

• friends to lovers
• first time having sex inside a relationship

I love the way these guys were friends first, and the way that so much trust built between them so fast. I don't at all mind if you mention Miranda in this context, though I'm not after threesome fic this time, because I do think she was such an important part of that trust and that relationship. But at the same time that this really was something new and special and unexpected, just as much for Thomas as for James. And of course the whole idea that even if they've (one or both of them) had same sex encounters before, this is the first time they've done so within an ongoing and treasured relationship.

• erotic literature
• language kink

I'm a classicist by profession and inclination, but any other body of literature that you're familiar with and think Thomas would have in his extensive library, or James might have picked up on his travels, would be welcome. Likewise, I can read French as well as Latin and Greek, but if you want to have Thomas giving James Spanish lessons, or indeed anything else, feel free.

• political debate as foreplay

I didn’t nominate this tag, but God, it was made for these two. It’s practically canon. I’m honestly surprised the whole: “They’re traitors to the Crown.”/”What does that matter?”/”It matters quite a bit to the Crown.” bit didn’t lead to shagging on the carpet there and then.

• protectiveness

The look on Thomas' face when James defends him to his father just kills me. It does feel very much like no one has ever stood up for him before, at least not so forcefully, though I'm sure Miranda has supported him as much as she can from her more restricted position. Thomas, with all his status and power, is answerable to very few people, but it seemed pretty clear that he was, if not afraid, at least wary of his father, and rightly so given how things turned out. Having someone willing to step bodily as well as philosophically between them must have been intoxicating. It's no surprise it triggered the change in their relationship.

• reunion sex

I love reunions, so whether you want to address the single night they have together when James returns from Nassau before everything goes wrong – I love Thomas' desperate "three months, feels twice as long" – or try out your own spin on the big miraculous finale reunion, either would be equally welcome.

*****

The Man From UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I'm still desperately sad there will likely never be a sequel to this beautiful, silly, fantastically charming film, and we'll never get to see the legendary friendship develop. But at least there’s still fic!

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I also love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship. I love partners who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin. For me, a major part of the attraction is the setting, so if at all possible I'd love to have a fic recognisably set in the time period, ie 1963.

• anal sex
• barebacking

No real surprises here. I very much prefer Illya topping during anal sex. I think Napoleon is much more confident in himself and more comfortable in his sexuality. I don’t want to see him as a wilting flower or a damsel though. Nothing could be further from the truth.

• first time with a man
• first time having sex inside a relationship

Illya’s never looked at a man like this before. Never let himself look at a man like this before. The USSR in 1963 is no place for these sort of feelings. But maybe Rome or Athens or Paris, or even London, could be. And Napoleon’s certainly gorgeous enough to turn anyone’s head. Napoleon, on the other hand, has looked at plenty of men like this. But he’s never loved one before. Never wanted to live with one. Never been willing to die for one. Too bad the awful truth is that the last of those is probably the easiest.

• internalised homophobia
• secret relationships/forbidden relationships
• thank god we're alive sex

As far as plot goes, I do prefer fic that operates in a vaguely realistic 1960s world. I really do just love the claustrophobic nature of relationships no one else can know about, especially in a canon where life is dangerous. Removing the support network of friends/relatives/colleagues serves to intensify the emotional dependency on each other. I also enjoy a bit of difficulty in coming to terms with feelings that may not initially be welcome, though not excessive self flagellation. Given that dangerous setting I also like the inevitable reactions to facing/narrowly escaping/being about to go into threatening situations.

• power dynamics
• dominance struggle
• held down
• manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
• wall sex
• rough sex
• marathon sex
• multiple sex positions
• fucked raw

I like fighting leading to fucking. I like general aggressive physicality between (almost) evenly matched men who are skilled fighters. I really like the thought of one partner using his full strength to hold the other one down. Rough sex and manhandling seem like exactly the sort of thing two guys as physical as this would get up to, and I can see the two of them wrestling/battling for dominance/rolling around and switching positions. I love the thought of Illya manipulating Napoleon into exactly the best positions for the deepest, hardest fucking. I also enjoy the thought of Napoleon making him absolutely work for it.

Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a not small partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too. Illya’s very strong and Napoleon’s almost certainly flexible so I can certainly see them going at it against a wall (I’m thinking of the ‘climb you like a tree’ incarnation rather than both standing facing it). Also, realism aside, marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

• prison sex
• in captivity together

Some sort of scenario where they find themselves in prison together, whether undercover, or as friends and partners arrested together in a third country, or maybe a pre-UNCLE Napoleon gets arrested trying to break into the Hermitage. [DNW: non con, though I'm fine with the threat of non con from others in this situation.]

• identity porn
• enemies with benefits
• enemies to lovers
• enemies to friends to lovers

I’d love any form of mild AU that plays on one or other or both of the guys not knowing each other’s true identity. Meeting up in a bar while both undercover as a non-spy from a neutral country? Yes. One trying to game the other and falling for his own mark? Oh yes. The other one knowing the whole time and just playing along? Yep. One or both being ordered to seduce the other and pulling out all the stops to do it but finding the mark means more to him than the organisation? Hell yeah. Or just two very competent and attractive agents who meet up occasionally in between jobs (or indeed during jobs). Or anything that plays with the transitions in their relationship.

• breakup sex

I don't know where this came from, but it popped into my head and wouldn't let go. Illya's being recalled to Moscow, or UNCLE is disbanding, and it's all over. Angry or sad or anything in between, but definitely emotional. If you want to come up with a happy ending somehow that's fine, but equally if you don't/can't then a bittersweet parting is welcome too. [DNW: any suggestion of infidelity or betrayal; this is a breakup brought about by external factors only.]

*****

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan

I am crazy in love with this movie and this pairing right now, and I can't really explain why it hit so suddenly twenty years down the track, except that I stumbled across it on tv in a hotel room one afternoon last year, and it brought so much flooding back to me about being a student in 1997, and suffice it to say I am heartbroken there isn't more fic for it. Of particular relevance to this exchange there is very little smut indeed, and there should be more!

• anal sex
• barebacking
• drunk sex

No real surprises here. I feel like these two are probably fairly vanilla in their tastes? At least in the beginning. Whether because they start as kids, or because it's a bit of a difficult journey to acknowledge their feelings go beyond friendship, or whatever. I think I'd prefer Will topping. I can imagine alcohol playing a part in mustering up the courage to make the first move, or just good natured drunken shenanigans on a typical Friday night.

• first time
• first time bottoming
• first time with a man
• first time having sex inside a relationship

It's absolutely up to you when you set your fic, and which of these might apply. If they get together as teenagers it may be their first time full stop; if later maybe just first time with a guy. If it's an established relationship maybe it's the first time they graduate to full on anal sex rather than the handjobs/oral they're used to. I'd prefer it to be Chuckie bottoming if so.

• friends to lovers
• fuckbuddies to lovers

Again, up to you when your fic is set, but I'm interested in transitions either way. The moment they go from friends to lovers if that's a big change rather than a gradual thing, or if they've been fooling around for a long time the moment when they realise actually this is something real.

• gay for you
• internalised homophobia
• secret relationships/forbidden relationships

It's 1997, they're 21, and they keep fairly masculine company. I can see this being a situation where either or both are uncomfortable with sexuality/identity issues but totally comfortable with each other. Or maybe there's some discomfort and some difficulty adjusting to/acknowledging new feelings. Or maybe they're both fine with it but don't want anyone else to know. Maybe they're not quite as fine as they think.

*****

Fast and the Furious Series

I ship the slash pairing and the foursome (sedoretu or more traditional) equally, and as long as everyone's happy I'm happy. In my own imagination I tend to lean towards the OTP in the early days, and the foursome later on, but if you have a different idea then that's entirely up to you, and I will definitely enjoy it however it shakes out. My favourite films in the series are probably The Fast and the Furious, Fast Five, and Furious 7. I didn't enjoy Fate of the Furious as much for various reasons, so please ignore it for the purposes of this fic.

Brian O'Conner/Letty Ortiz/Dominic Toretto/Mia Toretto

• sedoretu

Two gay marriages, two straight marriages, two sets of siblings, one happy family. The perfect configuration for all four of my favourite people to settle down together and formalise their relationship.

• secret relationships/forbidden relationships

But what if it doesn’t work out so neatly? What if one or both of Letty and Brian aren’t the correct moiety to match up with Dom and Mia? What if Brian was lying about that too? What if Dom and Mia are the products of the two halves of their parents’ sedoretu rather than just one, and thus can’t (publicly) form a sedoretu together?

If you matched on this tag but not sedoretu, then how does the foursome navigate around Dom and Mia’s sibling status? Do they just have a really big bed that Brian and Letty take the middle of, swapping sides and partners as necessary/desired?

• group soulbonds

How does it work when four people are bonded together? Is it the psychic equivalent of a daisy chain, or is everyone connected to everyone else?

• loyalty kink
• trust kink
• vulnerability

Maybe more for the surrounding narrative than the sex itself, but these four stick together through thick and thin.

• power dynamics
• possessive behavior

Who runs this household? I think Dom thinks it’s him, but sometimes I suspect it’s Mia. Who takes the lead in bed? I have no idea, so surprise me. It goes without saying that anyone from outside who tries to move in is going to get a short shrift, but who’s particularly possessive within the group?

• reunion sex
• rescue sex
• ‘thank God we’re alive’ sex

Reconciling after the rift post the first movie. Welcoming Letty home after her resurrection post the sixth movie. Saving Mia from Shaw. Any other scenario where they’re all together again after an absence. The response to any of a million canonical or made up for the purpose life-risking escapades.

• manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
• marathon sex
• multiple sex positions
• size kink

I find the prospect of two really big guys hauling their tiny womenfolk around to be both comical but also really hot. Especially if they “teamwork” it. All combinations and positions welcome.

• barebacking
• wet & messy
• breeding

Absolutely no incest here please, but wouldn’t it be hot for both couples to be trying to conceive at the same time in the same bed, with Dom and Brian egging each other on because what in their lives isn’t a competition/race?

Brian O’Conner/Dominic Toretto

• danger/adrenaline kink
• desperate sex
• ‘thank God we’re alive’ sex

Whether breaking the law, enforcing the law, avoiding officers of the law, escaping criminals, assisting officers of the law, becoming criminals, or just generally breaking the laws of physics for fun, there’s no denying these guys are adrenaline junkies. Devote as much or as little time to the plot as you like as long as it leads to some kind of climax.

• loyalty kink
• vulnerability
• first time with a man
• first time bottoming

Maybe more for the surrounding narrative than the sex itself, but these two stick together through thick and thin, and were comfortable sharing their secrets from surprisingly early in the piece. Plus anything that plays with the trust issues inherent in first times and new experiences.

• anal sex
• barebacking
• come as lube
• wet & messy

I’m a big fan of anal for this pairing but have no top/bottom preference except for certain specific scenarios (some detailed below). Dom is, well, Vin Diesel, but Brian is no shrinking violet either. He can hold his own in any situation. Let both their physicalities shine through. The rest is fairly obvious, I think.

• bruises
• marking

Bruises acquired during wild adventures, more added in bed, fingertip impressions on wrists or hips, bitemarks…

• held down
• rough sex
• marathon sex
• fucked raw
• manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
• wall sex

I really like the thought of one partner in a (fairly) evenly matched pair using his full strength to hold the other one down. Strikes me more as the sort of thing Dom would do, but if you’d like to convince me that Brian could do it I am absolutely here for it.

Rough sex and manhandling seem like exactly the sort of thing two guys as physical as this would get up to, and I can see the two of them wrestling/battling for dominance/rolling around and switching positions.

Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a not small partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too. Dom’s strong and Brian’s flexible so I can certainly see them going at it against a wall (I’m thinking of the ‘climb you like a tree’ incarnation rather than both standing facing it).

Also, realism aside, marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

*****

Thanks so much, dear writer, and I hope something here resonated for you. Enjoy your writing time, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Happy Yuletide!

Thanks for matching with me on something tiny and underappreciated. I dearly love everything I've requested this year, so whatever you choose to write will be a delight. Feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or to use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

It shouldn't really be an issue with this year's requests, but I dislike mundane and/or modern AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings or time periods and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes in fic, though as a general rule as part of character development rather than pure PWP, so if you enjoy writing them please go ahead. If you prefer lower ratings then super intense feelings and emotions tickle my id just as well.

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

*****

Whitechapel

Joseph Chandler, Ray Miles

I love Joe and Miles, and the whole course of their relationship, from terrible first impressions and stereotyped assumptions, to loyalty and support, to genuine friendship. Tell me more about how these two very different people find common ground and fight the good fight together.

Is the police station built on a Hellmouth? Did Original Flavour Jack the Ripper leave some kind of psychic taint on the vicinity, like calling to like? Is the mythology of the place just a self fulfilling prophecy that affects the easily suggestible? Or is it all the inevitable result of poverty and neglect? The final few episodes making explicit what had been creeping in round the edges opened up a whole new world to explore. Is it "real" though, in the sense of demonic activity on earth, or are we witnessing some sort of folie a deux/mass hysteria/psychic assault etc?

What happened next? How does it all resolve? Commander Anderson disappeared as the genre shift ramped up, but I imagine he's still watching; where next for Joe's career? Are the team ever going to bring their villain in?

DNW: any hint of Chandler/Kent.

I'm five years late to this fandom, with tiger balm, and frankly quite broken hearted that we'll never get to see just where it was all going. I marathoned the whole show over Easter, and loved just about everything about it. I've liked Rupert Penry-Jones since I first saw him in Cambridge Spies as a teenager, but I was particularly delighted to see Phil Davis again, who I remember loving to hate as Prince John in Robin of Sherwood even longer ago. Their relationship was everything I like in mismatched colleagues turned loyal friends, from the initial terrible start, to sharing confidences and trusting each other with weaknesses, to firmly having each other's backs by the end. Miles trying to reassure Chandler in the sewer that his coat was salvageable tugged on my heartstrings in the final episode. How far they've come!

I like the whole team, and all their strengths and weaknesses, and would be happy to see any or all of them play a part in your story. I don't mind Kent's crush on Chandler as long as it stays firmly in the doe eyed hero worship sector, but any sort of reciprocation is a hard DNW for me. Please keep this request gen.

I love the sudden swerve the show took in the final season, and would enjoy seeing it more fully explored, but equally, I've always been a fan of serial killers, both historical and modern, and would be happy with a continued focus on more earthly policing. I would be interested, in either case, in the whereabouts of Commander Anderson, and the ongoing impact on Chandler's once promising career.

Lastly, I remain a sucker for faves in peril, so if something ghastly (but recoverable!) happens to Chandler and Miles has to rescue him that'd be grand. Otherwise, facing danger together or with the team, all great in my book.

*****

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting, Chuckie Sullivan

With less than ten fics in existence, the world is our oyster.

Tell me more about Will and Chuckie. Backstory or where to from here. Chuckie especially is a blank slate I'd love to see filled in. I ship it pretty hard, so any variation of a romance between them would be great, from a situation where they've totally been doing it on the sly since they were kids, to post-California, older and wiser.

I love this film so much, and more than anything I adore Will and Chuckie's relationship. Chuckie's part in the movie is comparatively small, but he speaks a thousand words with every grin, smirk, and glare, and I am an absolute sucker for his brand of love and loyalty combined with straight talking and the ability to give a shove where required. It seems very obvious, without much exposition, that he and Will have known each other forever, and always been there for each other through thick and thin. He's also a big enough person to let Will go – heck, make him go – though of course I am selfishly asking you to undo that somehow and get them back together. Sorry, not sorry.

Sean summed it up well when Lambeau was complaining about Will's choice to hang out with a "retarded gorilla" and he responded, "That retarded gorilla would take a bat to your head if he asked him to." [We've come quite some way in understanding inappropriate slurs since 1997 but I think the sentiment is still clear.] Likewise when one of the other boys hesitates about getting into a fight to support Will, and Chuckie says something to the effect, "When I'm done with them I'm coming for you." It's like catnip to my love of found family, "you and me against the world" friendships, and undying loyalty in the face of all common sense.

Anyway, there is so little fic available featuring these two that pretty much anything you can come up with would be very welcome indeed. I would love fic where Will and Chuckie are together, whether they get together before, during, or after the film. I'd prefer for them not to break up, though I'm more than happy for them to make up or get back together after a separation. I'd prefer Skylar be dealt with as briefly and respectfully as possible, whether via off screen break up or simple, time honoured, assuming that's been dealt with and moving forward.

I guess my major question is: where to from the end of the movie? What happens next? Given that Chuckie was so set on Will leaving, and more importantly not wasting his gifts and opportunities, it seems like he wouldn't accept Will just giving up on California and coming home to the same old same old. So what changes? Does Chuckie follow him out there? Does Will come home but to a new life in Boston? Can Will help Chuckie realise a few dreams of his own? What kind of life can they build together? Is it, by choice or necessity, a closeted life? When and how does that change?

That brings me to one of the other things that intrigues me, namely how much the world has and hasn't changed between 1997 and today. So I'm interested in that too. If you want to set your fic in 1997 or shortly thereafter, great; if you want to look in at what the guys are doing now, that'd also be awesome. Please, please, don't write them as having not spoken or seen each other for huge chunks of time in those intervening years though, I can't bear that thought.

If you are interested in writing smut for this pairing you are a hero indeed, so please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I let my id flag fly on the subject.

*****

The Dukes of Hazzard (TV)

Bo Duke, Luke Duke

I'm going to just cut right to the chase and say that I am in a mood to have my cherished childhood memories utterly debauched. I have no real ideas for a plot, nor do I really require one unless something calls out to you, in which case feel free. Any sort of caper or mcguffin would do the trick. Include as many car chases, exploding arrows, and Boss Hogg shenanigans as you see fit, or spend most of your focus on Bo and Luke's little shared bedroom at the farmhouse with its gingham curtains and twin beds (or the stables, or the back of the General Lee, or out by the creek, or anywhere else that takes your fancy).

Speaking of debauchery...

I would love to see any sort of scenario where Bo and Luke realise their feelings towards each other aren't exactly cousinly. Love, lust, and all the associated guilt that comes with it, thanks both to the 'cousin thing' and also the 'guy thing'. I can't imagine either of the cousins having modern ideas about sexuality or the terminology to express them, so however clumsily they fumble through these realisations and come to act upon them is fine. Inclusion of both internalised homophobia and the fear of discovery by a hostile community both also fine. If you wanted to use Boss and Roscoe and the fact that the boys are technically still on parole as a serious threat and legitimate source of fear then that would be welcome too, but again not necessary.

I like first times but don't kink on virginity, so inexperience coupled with enthusiasm would be preferred. If Luke has some experience from his time in the Marines that'd be cool, but I'm not into age gaps or power imbalances, so playing up his feelings as the older cousin corrupting Bo isn't really something that would do much for me. I'd prefer they both stumble along on an even-ish playing field there. That said, I feel like I'm getting a bit prescriptive now, so really, wherever the muse takes you would be great. Explicit fic very welcome, pile on as much angst as you like, ultimately a happy-ish ending would be great, but bittersweet with ongoing secrecy fine too.

An exception to my general dislike of AUs, it suddenly occurred to me the other day that a sort of fusion (not crossover) with Supernatural could be hilarious. I don't want to see Daisy on the farmhouse ceiling, but Bo and Luke roaming the highways and byways of the south in the General, saving people, hunting things... That could work.

One last thought: Growing up in New Zealand I didn't have much context for the civil war iconography that's present in the show. I understand it a lot better now, but for Yuletide I'd prefer to think of Hazzard County as a fairytale place somewhat out of time, divorced from historical background. There's enough reality in real life right now.

*****

Hopefully there's something here that will be useful to you. Anything within the general spirit of these prompts would please me very much. Have fun, and enjoy the exchange. I very much look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Hi there.

This letter is a bit more lopsided and higgledy piggledy than I usually prefer, and I'm sorry about that. More than anything, I know that two of these fandoms have nice concise signups at AO3 and then I wax lyrical here, whereas the other two have more details in the signup box, and are shorter and less polished here. Please don't read anything into that. All it means is that a couple of sections are cribbed from old letters, and the others are getting made up on the fly. I promise I am crazy in love with all four of these fandoms, and very keen indeed to see what you come up with.

Please don't feel too constrained by the genre tags I chose – I was aiming to give an indication of some of my favourite kinds of stories, while also trying to leave some room for you to work. Let your own muse be your guide, and please feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or to use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

I dislike mundane and/or modern AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings or time periods and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes in fic, though as a general rule as part of character development rather than pure PWP, so if you enjoy writing them please go ahead. If you prefer lower ratings then super intense feelings and emotions tickle my id just as well.

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

*****

Black Sails

I love this show, and both these relationships, though not together or combined! Please don't mix and match these two quite different requests, though the lingering shadow of a lost Thomas is perfectly welcome in a Vane story, as appropriate.

Captain Flint/Charles Vane

AU - Canon Divergence: Take a sharp left at Vane's supposed execution. Billy's mad agitation skills start a riot. Flint knows that everyone else is incompetent and if he wants a job done well he has to do it himself. However it happens, Vane lives to fight (and fuck) another day. He and Flint sail off together, whether into the sunset or to become the absolute terror of the high seas. People thought they were bad separately? They had no idea.

Character Development: I'd like to hear more about Charles especially, whether his escape from slavery, or his decision to break with Teach, or anything else. I love that Vane was the first to recognise and enunciate the value of the pirate legend, and to be willing to put aside his differences to defend the pirate life. How does he go from sitting on the beach waiting to be the first to see Flint brought low, to standing at Flint's side to defend their home?

Smut: What can I say? Despite (or even because of) his bad behaviour and questionable hygiene, Vane's swagger is irresistable to me. Flint's no hardship to look at either, though in his case it's more his broken edges that call to me. Either way, fighting, fucking, fighting leading to fucking, fighting while fucking... is fucking while fighting a thing? It should be. (Unexpected tenderness would actually be a delight as well.)

Both these men are canonically in love with someone else, and I kinda love that. I love the symmetry of it first and foremost – I actually really liked the conversation Vane had with Max about Eleanor, too, where they recognised what they had in common despite the horrible oppositional situation they were in – and I love the way they arguably both can be said to have loved "not wisely but too well". Obviously it ends somewhat differently in each case, but let's not be troubled by trifles. I'm more than happy, then, to have that spectre hanging over them, whether they ever discuss it or not, or even just to recognise a sort of fellow feeling.

I would be happy to have a story set at any time, whether pre-show, or at any point during the show. When young, broken hearted, very angry and lost James McGraw arrives in Nassau, does he meet a (presumably even younger) Charles Vane second in command (?) to the famous Edward Teach? Does a newly-made-captain Vane try to make common cause with the other new boy in town? Presumably their paths crossed a million times in the next ten years (possibly to the great annoyance of both, given the terms they're on in episode 1) so what on earth happened in that time? Or post-Charlestown, or post Vane's escape from the noose – that totally happened – when they're both well aware of their status as mythmakers and legend builders. Or into some hypothetical future.

I love pretty much everyone else in the supporting cast, especially Gates, Billy, Jack, and Anne, and would be happy to see appearances from the two crews as appropriate. Except Silver. I'd prefer his presence be kept to a minimum, please.

If you're interested in writing smut I threw up a slightly rough and ready letter for Smut Swap, so feel free to check that out if you like.

Captain Flint/Thomas Hamilton

AU - Canon Divergence: What if Thomas and James hadn't been given away, and they really did sail out to Nassau together, the new Governor and his loyal naval attache? Could they possibly have corralled the rest of the cast into a working, prosperous, Nassau? Could they at least have lived the life they wanted to live, together, away from London?

Getting Together: We know the basics, but that leaves a lot of room to work. Was that kiss a shock to either or both of them, or the natural culmination of a long path from strange pairs to trusted friends to truest loves?

Established Relationship: Realistically they weren't together very long before the disaster, but I'm sure they packed a lot in around the edges of politicking and planning. Life in London, the country, juggling responsibilities... We know they were less discreet than they should have been; was the honeymoon period really so intoxicating they both lost their wits?

Smut: Gentle and romantic first times, or fast and furious fucking once they know what they're about, or anything in between.

(Not remotely a DNW, but a strong preference: We've seen a lot of reunion fics set post S4. I would really, really love to read something set at any other point in their shared story.)

I could have very happily watched a whole season of these two making cow eyes at each other and arguing about politics, even before they actually got together. But once they did! I would dearly love to have a story set in London, pre the fall. I just adore them, in all their starchy, buttoned down glory.

I love their friendship, and their love affair of the mind that starts long before the physical one, whereby Thomas, who presumably has learned the hard way from his father that trust can be misplaced, can say to the man who is sleeping with his wife "I have come to trust you very much", and James, who has likewise fought his way to a position not his by right and somewhat precarious, can throw caution to the winds and order a peer of the realm out of his own house.

I'm not a huge fan of pining or misunderstandings, so don't particularly want a drawn out exploration of either of them thinking their feelings are one sided, but I do enjoy internalised homophobia and period-appropriate issues with acknowledging one's very real feelings. Likewise, qualms about class and status difference etc.

I do like to imagine a world where they didn't come to grief quite so spectacularly, so consider this an exception to my usual preference for avoiding AUs: both the "posted to Nassau" AU I mentioned in my signup, or a canon divergence where they weren't given away so early, in quite the same way, or indeed at all.

I really like Miranda as a character, and do believe she loved both James and Thomas very much, and they her, so while I'm not after a threesome story at this time, if she has a role to play in your story please go ahead. If not, that's fine too, but please don't vilify her in any way.

If you're interested in writing smut I threw up a slightly rough and ready letter for Smut Swap, so feel free to check that out if you like.

Whitechapel

Joseph Chandler & Ray Miles

I'm five years late to this fandom, with tiger balm, and frankly quite broken hearted that we'll never get to see just where it was all going.

Character Development: I love Joe, and Miles, and the whole course of their relationship, from terrible first impressions and stereotyped assumptions, to loyalty and support, to genuine friendship. Tell me more about how these two very different people find common ground and fight the good fight together. Elaboration on Joe's backstory/ongoing issues very welcome.

Worldbuilding: Is the police station built on a Hellmouth? Did Original Flavour Jack the Ripper leave some kind of psychic taint on the vicinity, like calling to like? Is the mythology of the place just a self fulfilling prophecy that affects the easily suggestible? Or is it all the inevitable result of poverty and neglect?

Horror: The final few episodes making explicit what had been creeping in round the edges opened up a whole new world to explore. Is it "real" though, in the sense of demonic activity on earth, or are we witnessing some sort of folie a deux/mass hysteria/psychic assault etc? Strong preference for supernatural/psychological/suspense elements of horror rather than gore.

Canon-Style Plot: I miss the old days of "virtual seasons". What happened next? How does it all resolve? Commander Anderson disappeared as the genre shift ramped up, but I imagine he's still watching; where next for Joe's career? Are the team ever going to bring their villain in?

DNW: any hint of Chandler/Kent.

I just marathoned the whole show over Easter, and loved just about everything about it. I've liked Rupert Penry-Jones since I first saw him in Cambridge Spies as a teenager, but I was particularly delighted to see Phil Davis again, who I remember loving to hate as Prince John in Robin of Sherwood even longer ago. Their relationship was everything I like in mismatched colleagues turned loyal friends, from the initial terrible start, to sharing confidences and trusting each other with weaknesses, to firmly having each other's backs by the end. Miles trying to reassure Chandler in the sewer that his coat was salvageable tugged on my heartstrings in the final episode. How far they've come!

I like the whole team, and all their strengths and weaknesses, and would be happy to see any or all of them play a part in your story. I don't mind Kent's crush on Chandler as long as it stays firmly in the doe eyed hero worship sector, but any sort of reciprocation is a hard DNW for me.

I love the sudden swerve the show took in the final season, and would enjoy seeing it more fully explored, but equally, I've always been a fan of serial killers, both historical and modern, and would be happy with a continued focus on more earthly policing. I would be interested, in either case, in the whereabouts of Commander Anderson, and the ongoing impact on Chandler's once promising career.

Lastly, I remain a sucker for faves in peril, so if something ghastly (but recoverable!) happens to Chandler and Miles has to rescue him that'd be grand. Otherwise, facing danger together or with the team, all great in my book.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan

With less than ten fics in existence, the world is our oyster.

Character Development: Tell me more about Will and Chuckie. Backstory or where to from here. Chuckie especially is a blank slate I'd love to see filled in.

Established Relationship: They've totally been doing it on the sly since they were kids.

Getting Together: Or maybe not. After California? A few years down the track, older and wiser?

Smut: Maybe one of those ten fics is rated Explicit. That seems like a challenge to me.

I love this film so much, and more than anything I adore Will and Chuckie's relationship. Chuckie's part in the movie is comparatively small, but he speaks a thousand words with every grin, smirk, and glare, and I am an absolute sucker for his brand of love and loyalty combined with straight talking and the ability to give a shove where required. It seems very obvious, without much exposition, that he and Will have known each other forever, and always been there for each other through thick and thin. He's also a big enough person to let Will go – heck, make him go – though of course I am selfishly asking you to undo that somehow and get them back together. Sorry, not sorry.

Sean summed it up well when Lambeau was complaining about Will's choice to hang out with a "retarded gorilla" and he responded, "That retarded gorilla would take a bat to your head if he asked him to." [We've come quite some way in understanding inappropriate slurs since 1997 but I think the sentiment is still clear.] Likewise when one of the other boys hesitates about getting into a fight to support Will, and Chuckie says something to the effect, "When I'm done with them I'm coming for you." It's like catnip to my love of found family, "you and me against the world" friendships, and undying loyalty in the face of all common sense.

Anyway, there is so little fic available featuring these two that pretty much anything you can come up with would be very welcome indeed. I would love fic where Will and Chuckie are together, whether they get together before, during, or after the film. I'd prefer for them not to break up, though I'm more than happy for them to make up or get back together after a separation. I'd prefer Skylar be dealt with as briefly and respectfully as possible, whether via off screen break up or simple, time honoured, assuming that's been dealt with and moving forward.

I guess my major question is: where to from the end of the movie? What happens next? Given that Chuckie was so set on Will leaving, and more importantly not wasting his gifts and opportunities, it seems like he wouldn't accept Will just giving up on California and coming home to the same old same old. So what changes? Does Chuckie follow him out there? Does Will come home but to a new life in Boston? Can Will help Chuckie realise a few dreams of his own? What kind of life can they build together? Is it, by choice or necessity, a closeted life? When and how does that change?

That brings me to one of the other things that intrigues me, namely how much the world has and hasn't changed between 1997 and today. So I'm interested in that too. If you want to set your fic in 1997 or shortly thereafter, great; if you want to look in at what the guys are doing now, that'd also be awesome. Please, please, don't write them as having not spoken or seen each other for huge chunks of time in those intervening years though, I can't bear that thought.

If you are interested in writing smut for this pairing you are a hero indeed, so please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I let my id flag fly on the subject.

The Man From UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I'm still desperately sad there will likely never be a sequel to this beautiful, silly, fantastically charming film, and we'll never get to see the legendary friendship develop.

Character Development: I would dearly like to know more about both Illya and Napoleon. Backstory, their genuine feelings about the Cold War and the espionage game, their "real world" interests when not working/playing a part.

Getting Together: Enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, fuckbuddies to lovers... Any and all paths to sex and something more.

Interpersonal Drama: The course of true love is unlikely to run smooth for these two, and I am totally here for the ups and downs thereof.

Smut: They're super hot. (And super tall. I cannot lie, with the accompanying strength that seems like a winning combination.)

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I'd love to see some of that journey, whether the whole way or just the final step. Equally, I love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship.

For me, a major part of the attraction is the setting, so if at all possible I'd love to have a fic recognisably set in the time period, ie 1963. I love the Cold War as a historical period, but I also just love the conventions of the spy game genre – I was practically raised on it as my dad was a big fan, both books and movies. That said, I don't need a complicated plot; some vague caper to act as a backdrop to Illya and Napoleon's relationship is more than fine with me. Likewise if your focus is on movie style shenanigans rather than politics, that's A-OK.

Don't feel you have to do huge amounts of research on the Cold War if you're not a history buff – though if you are please go ahead, by all means – but please don't just handwave societal attitudes to homosexuality etc either. I find it really jarring when reading fic set in the 1960s to suddenly stumble over supportive best friends and organisations that are oddly embracing of their agents' personal lives. Gaby might put her friendships first, but I still think Illya and Napoleon would go out of their way to conceal their relationship from her to avoid putting her in that position. UNCLE, and certainly the CIA and KGB, would absolutely have viewed a homosexual relationship as an intolerable security risk. If you find writing about historical homophobia unpleasant then it's not something you need to explore, but I would very much prefer it if the relationship is kept under wraps.

Other than that, I am super interested in both Illya and Napoleon's backstories. Are they right when they psychobabble each other in that cafe in the park? Was it just a sense of adventure that drove Napoleon to join the army at sixteen? Does Illya have a genuine loyalty to the KGB, or does love of Mother Russia override the pain the state has caused him? How does their friendship, and then their affection for each other, grow?

I'm intrigued by the prospect of what would happen to Illya, in particular, if ties to UNCLE were somehow severed -- he's the one that's going to find himself stranded in hostile territory, unlike Napoleon and Gaby. I'm also dubious that the KGB would really ever allow him to return home after his extended time in the decadent West. Would he ever defect?

I just really love comrades who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin. I like the hothouse atmosphere created when you can't share how much you love someone with anybody else.

If you are interested in writing smut for this pairing please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I let my id flag fly on the subject.

*****

I feel like I've practically written a 5K fic now, but hopefully there's something here that will be useful to you. Anything within the general spirit of these prompts would please me very much. Have fun, and enjoy the exchange. I very much look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Hi there.

I'm a little unhappy with the state of this letter, but work's just not letting up, and I don't want to keep you waiting any longer than I already have. Please don't read anything into the order of fandoms, or relative length and level of polish. All that means is that some sections are cribbed from old letters, and some are getting made up on the fly. I promise I am crazy in love with all four of these pairings, and very keen indeed to see what you come up with.

Let your own muse be your guide for how much plot surrounds your porn, and please feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, and obviously we may have only matched on a few or even one of these tags, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan

I am crazy in love with this movie and this pairing right now, and I can't really explain why it hit so suddenly twenty years down the track, except that I stumbled across it on tv in a hotel room one afternoon last year, and it brought so much flooding back to me about being a student in 1997, and suffice it to say I am heartbroken there isn't more fic for it. Of particular relevance to this exchange there is very little smut indeed, and there should be more!

1) anal sex
2) barebacking
3) drunk sex

No real surprises here. I feel like these two are probably fairly vanilla in their tastes? At least in the beginning. Whether because they start as kids, or because it's a bit of a difficult journey to acknowledge their feelings go beyond friendship, or whatever. I think I'd prefer Will topping. I can imagine alcohol playing a part in mustering up the courage to make the first move, or just good natured drunken shenanigans on a typical Friday night.

4) first time
5) first time bottoming
6) first time with a guy

It's absolutely up to you when you set your fic, and which of these might apply. If they get together as teenagers it may be their first time full stop; if later maybe just first time with a guy. If it's an established relationship maybe it's the first time they graduate to full on anal sex rather than the handjobs/oral they're used to. I'd prefer it to be Chuckie bottoming if so.

7) friends to lovers
8) fuckbuddies to lovers

Again, up to you when your fic is set, but I'm interested in transitions either way. The moment they go from friends to lovers if that's a big change rather than a gradual thing, or if they've been fooling around for a long time the moment when they realise actually this is something real.

9) gay for you
10) internalised homophobia
11) secret relationships/forbidden relationships

It's 1997, they're 21, and they keep fairly masculine company. I can see this being a situation where either or both are uncomfortable with sexuality/identity issues but totally comfortable with each other. Or maybe there's some discomfort and some difficulty adjusting to/acknowledging new feelings. Or maybe they're both fine with it but don't want anyone else to know. Maybe they're not quite as fine as they think.

I went on at considerably more length about why I love this couple in my Yuletide letter, so if you'd like to check that out for background, please feel free.

The Man From UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I also love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship. I love partners who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin.

1) anal sex
2) barebacking
3) wet & messy

No real surprises here. I very much prefer Illya topping during anal sex. I think Napoleon is much more confident in himself and more comfortable in his sexuality. I don’t want to see him as a wilting flower or a damsel though. Nothing could be further from the truth.

4) internalised homophobia
5) secret relationships/forbidden relationships
6) thank god we're alive sex

As far as plot goes, I do prefer fic that operates in a vaguely realistic 1960s world. I really do just love the claustrophobic nature of relationships no one else can know about, especially in a canon where life is dangerous. Removing the support network of friends/relatives/colleagues serves to intensify the emotional dependency on each other. I also enjoy a bit of difficulty in coming to terms with feelings that may not initially be welcome, though not excessive self flagellation. Given that dangerous setting I also like the inevitable reactions to facing/narrowly escaping/being about to go into threatening situations.

7) dominance struggle
8) held down
9) manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
10) wall sex
11) rough sex
12) marathon sex
13) multiple sex positions
14) fucked raw

I like fighting leading to fucking. I like general aggressive physicality between (almost) evenly matched men who are skilled fighters. I really like the thought of one partner using his full strength to hold the other one down. Rough sex and manhandling seem like exactly the sort of thing two guys as physical as this would get up to, and I can see the two of them wrestling/battling for dominance/rolling around and switching positions. I love the thought of Illya manipulating Napoleon into exactly the best positions for the deepest, hardest fucking. I also enjoy the thought of Napoleon making him absolutely work for it.

Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a not small partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too. Illya’s very strong and Napoleon’s almost certainly flexible so I can certainly see them going at it against a wall (I’m thinking of the ‘climb you like a tree’ incarnation rather than both standing facing it). Also, realism aside, marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

15) bodyswap

Handwave (or not, as you choose) a macguffin that switches the guys into each other’s bodies, and treat it as seriously or humorously as you like. Wild sex in each other’s bodies would definitely be a priority, I imagine.

16) prison sex

Some sort of scenario where they find themselves in prison together, whether undercover or as friends and partners arrested together in a third country, or maybe a pre-UNCLE Napoleon gets arrested trying to break into the Hermitage. [DNW: non con, though I'm fine with the threat of non con from others in this situation.]

And a few exceptions to my usual preference for canon-based fic:

17) breakup sex

I don't know where this came from, but it popped into my head and wouldn't let go. Illya's being recalled to Moscow, or UNCLE is disbanding, and it's all over. Angry or sad or anything in between, but definitely emotional. If you want to come up with a happy ending somehow that's fine, but equally if you don't/can't then a bittersweet parting is welcome too. [DNW: any suggestion of infidelity or betrayal; this is a breakup brought about by external factors only.]

18) identity porn
19) enemies with benefits

I’d love any form of mild AU that plays on one or other or both of the guys not knowing each other’s true identity. Meeting up in a bar while both undercover as a non-spy from a neutral country? Yes. One trying to game the other and falling for his own mark? Oh yes. The other one knowing the whole time and just playing along? Yep. One or both being ordered to seduce the other and pulling out all the stops to do it but finding the mark means more to him than the organisation? Hell yeah. Or just two very competent and attractive agents who meet up occasionally in between jobs (or indeed during jobs).

20) alpha bottoming to another alpha (alpha/beta/omega dynamics)

In a vaguely a/b/o world, both Illya and Napoleon are alphas. No omegas, no omega angst, no unnecessary political exploration, just two incredibly hot guys whose sheer physical attractiveness (and maybe loyalty/affection/other charms) trump biology. Battle for dominance or negotiate a compromise. Angst about the forbidden nature of the relationship by all means, and keep it strictly secret, or shout to the heavens that we’re alphas, damn it, and we live a dangerous life, and we do what we goddamn want.

Black Sails

I just watched this show for the first time last month, but it was love at first sight, and I'm already two thirds of the way through my second viewing. It has pretty much every one of my bulletproof kinks at some point or another, from true love to tragedy to fire forged friends to rivals with crazy chemistry. The only thing I don't love is Long John Silver. I can't explain it, he just rubbed me wrong from the start. So please, no appearances by him, but any other members of the Flint, Hamilton, or Vane families would be welcome if they have a part to play in your story.

Captain Flint/Thomas Hamilton

I just adored these two from the moment Thomas walked into frame in that appalling grey wig. I loved the way they were friends first, the whole "these past few months I have grown to trust you very much", the way James' more cynical, worldly wise nature was won over by Thomas' infectious idealism, and maybe most of all the sheer fierceness with which James defended Thomas at the dinner table that fateful night.

Feel free to set your fic in London 1705 or Savannah 1715, Lord Thomas Hamilton and Lieutenant James McGraw or Been Through the Fire Thomas and Captain Flint Will Have to Go Away James, or wherever they go and whoever they become after that. And if you want to play with that a little bit, then feel free to do that too, identity porn is one of my favourite things.

1) Anal Sex
2) Barebacking
3) Intercrural Sex
4) Held Down

No real surprises here, I don't think. I love intercrural sex, whether as a preference to, substitute for, prelude to, or stage on the road as a relationship builds towards, anal sex. If you want to bring in classical allusions, feel free, I love that sort of thing. I mostly prefer Thomas topping, but go with what feels right for your story. I do like the image of him holding James down though, perhaps surprising him a little with how strong he really is under those fancy clothes (or has gotten in the years apart).

5) Forbidden/Secret Relationships
6) Period-Typical Homophobia

The status of homosexuality as not just frowned upon, but illegal and punishable by death is such an important part of this story, and it's heartbreaking for me just how bad James and Thomas both were at keeping their relationship under wraps. They're clearly both so swept away by their feelings, and it's practically shining out of their faces that last day we see them together. The show never explains when and how Peter Ashe finds out, or what makes Alfred Hamilton suspect in the first place, but I'd be interested in your take on it.

7) Internalised Homophobia
8) First Time with a Guy
9) First Time Bottoming

Shame, self knowledge, and self acceptance is such an important through line not just of the relationship, but of the whole first two seasons. On the most basic level Thomas has a lot of confidence in himself and his position that James doesn't have, but when it comes to the physical relationship I'd be happy to see you play with this any way you feel like. How much prior experience do either of them really have?

10) Friends to Lovers
11) First Time Having Sex Inside a Relationship

I love the way these guys were friends first, and the way that so much trust built between them so fast. I don't at all mind if you mention Miranda in this context, though I'm not after threesome fic this time, because I do think she was such an important part of that trust and that relationship. But at the same time that this really was something new and special and unexpected, just as much for Thomas as for James. And of course the whole idea that even if they've (one or both of them) had same sex encounters before, this is the first time they've done so within an ongoing and treasured relationship.

12) Erotic Literature
13) Language Kink

I'm a classicist by profession and inclination, but any other body of literature that you're familiar with and think Thomas would have in his extensive library, or James might have picked up on his travels, would be welcome. Likewise, I can read French as well as Latin and Greek, but if you want to have Thomas giving James Spanish lessons, or indeed anything else, feel free.

13) Protectiveness

The look on Thomas' face when James defends him to his father just kills me. It does feel very much like no one has ever stood up for him before, at least not so forcefully, though I'm sure Miranda has supported him as much as she can from her more restricted position. Thomas, with all his status and power, is answerable to very few people, but it seemed pretty clear that he was, if not afraid, at least wary of his father, and rightly so given how things turned out. Having someone willing to step bodily as well as philosophically between them must have been intoxicating. It's no surprise it triggered the change in their relationship.

14) Reunion Sex

I love reunions, so whether you want to address the single night they have together when James returns from Nassau before everything goes wrong – I love Thomas' desperate "three months, feels twice as long" – or try out your own spin on the big miraculous finale reunion, either would be equally welcome.

Captain Flint/Charles Vane

I don't think I much liked Charles Vane at first, but from the moment he crawled out of his own grave, naked and homicidal, I was won over. I loved his friendships with Jack and Anne, his reluctant alliances with Flint, and his eventual discovery that he loved Nassau and its freedom and its people just as much as Flint did.

I've always been a sucker for antagonistic pairings, and I loved every iteration of Flint and Vane's relationship, from undermining, to outright opposition and violence, to recognition of each other's reputations and importance to the pirate legend, to partnership in the defence of their shared home and way of life. I'd be happy to have fic set at any point along the way, including pre-series.

1) Anal Sex
2) Barebacking
3) Angry Sex
4) Antagonism Leads to Sex
5) Rough Sex
6) Multiple Sex Positions

No real surprises here. They're two extremely physical people, more accustomed to violence than tenderness at this point in their lives. I'd have no objection if a little gentleness did creep in, but it would probably be a surprise, after the way things started. I have no preference with regard to topping/bottoming, and would enjoy either configuration or switching. A little bit of manhandling wouldn't go astray either.

7) Enemies to Lovers
8) Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Perhaps my very oldest narrative kink, from my earliest days in fandom. I love both versions, whether straight from enmity and violence to unwilling attraction, or the long way via a grudging then more genuine friendship and the development of feelings.

9) Anonymous Sex

I'd love to see a scenario where Flint and Vane had some kind of encounter or short lived relationship pre-series, whether it's a mild AU or they both just tacitly agree never to speak of it again. Maybe when Flint first arrives in Nassau, broken and angry and trying to drown his sorrows? Flint's a stranger, Vane's just a young guy on Teach's crew, and neither of them have a name yet. It probably doesn’t work very well, but I do think it would be hot.

10) In Captivity Together

I love prison sex, in all its varied forms. Perhaps a mild AU where they spend a few days in the cells in Charlestown before the show trial, or something that goes slightly further sideways and they get captured by Hume or Rogers or an angry Teach or anybody else.

11) In Love With Someone Else

Thomas is always present for Flint, but I also enjoyed the way Vane never really got over Eleanor either. We've seen something along these lines from Flint's perspective a few times, and I would definitely enjoy another spin on it, but if you feel like a challenge, how about Vane's perspective? How does he feel about Flint and his obvious misery, vis a vis his own experiences?

Good luck, dear writer. Hopefully there's something here you can work with. Anything within the general spirit of these prompts would please me very much.

Thanks very much for your patience, dear mystery author, and I hope this letter was worth waiting for. :-)

I love everything I've requested this year, so whatever you choose to write will be a delight. (Please don't read anything into the fact that some sections of this letter may be more polished than others -- all it means is that some perennial faves have been repeated from past letters. Likewise, if I've received fic in a given fandom in prior Yuletides or any other exchange it means I still love it and would always enjoy more of it.)

Feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or to use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• fast friendships/camaraderie
• loyalty
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, friends to enemies to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• you and me against the world
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• first times
• identity porn
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• fork in the road AUs
• historical or period or location details

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• unasked for kinks
• bdsm
• parental incest or any related kink (sibling/cousin is fine)
• major character death
• mundane/modern AUs
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings

Some General Comments about Fic:

Speaking very broadly I'm more into characterisation and relationships than complicated plots. That's not to say I won't love and appreciate a well-plotted story, just that 'casefic' isn't really my thing, and I prefer to focus on characters' personal lives and the way they interact with each other.

I dislike mundane and/or modern AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings or time periods and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes in fic, though as a general rule as part of character development rather than pure PWP, so if you enjoy writing them please go ahead. If you prefer lower ratings then super intense feelings and emotions tickle my id just as well.

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

*****

The Dukes of Hazzard (TV)

Bo Duke, Luke Duke

I'm going to just cut right to the chase and say that I am in a mood to have my cherished childhood memories utterly debauched. I have no real ideas for a plot, nor do I really require one unless something calls out to you, in which case feel free. Any sort of caper or mcguffin would do the trick. Include as many car chases, exploding arrows, and Boss Hogg shenanigans as you see fit, or spend most of your focus on Bo and Luke's little shared bedroom at the farmhouse with its gingham curtains and twin beds (or the stables, or the back of the General Lee, or out by the creek, or anywhere else that takes your fancy).

Speaking of debauchery...

I would love to see any sort of scenario where Bo and Luke realise their feelings towards each other aren't exactly cousinly. Love, lust, and all the associated guilt that comes with it, thanks both to the 'cousin thing' and also the 'guy thing'. I can't imagine either of the cousins having modern ideas about sexuality or the terminology to express them, so however clumsily they fumble through these realisations and come to act upon them is fine. Inclusion of both internalised homophobia and the fear of discovery by a hostile community both also fine. If you wanted to use Boss and Roscoe and the fact that the boys are technically still on parole as a serious threat and legitimate source of fear then that would be welcome too, but again not necessary.

I like first times but don't kink on virginity, so inexperience coupled with enthusiasm would be preferred. If Luke has some experience from his time in the Marines that'd be cool, but I'm not into age gaps or power imbalances, so playing up his feelings as the older cousin corrupting Bo isn't really something that would do much for me. I'd prefer they both stumble along on an even-ish playing field there. That said, I feel like I'm getting a bit prescriptive now, so really, wherever the muse takes you would be great. Explicit fic very welcome, pile on as much angst as you like, ultimately a happy-ish ending would be great, but bittersweet with ongoing secrecy fine too.

One last thought: I'd prefer to think of Hazzard County as a fairytale place somewhat out of time, divorced from real world context or historical background. There's enough reality in real life right now.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting, Chuckie Sullivan

I love this film so much, and more than anything I adore Will and Chuckie's relationship. Chuckie's part in the movie is comparatively small, but he speaks a thousand words with every grin, smirk, and glare, and I am an absolute sucker for his brand of love and loyalty combined with straight talking and the ability to give a shove where required. It seems very obvious, without much exposition, that he and Will have known each other forever, and always been there for each other through thick and thin. He's also a big enough person to let Will go – heck, make him go – though of course I am selfishly asking you to undo that somehow and get them back together. Sorry, not sorry.

Sean summed it up well when Lambeau was complaining about Will's choice to hang out with a "retarded gorilla" and he responded, "That retarded gorilla would take a bat to your head if he asked him to." [We've come quite some way in understanding inappropriate slurs since 1997 but I think the sentiment is still clear.] Likewise when one of the other boys hesitates about getting into a fight to support Will, and Chuckie says something to the effect, "When I'm done with them I'm coming for you." It's like catnip to my love of found family, "you and me against the world" friendships, and undying loyalty in the face of all common sense.

Anyway, there is so little fic available featuring these two that pretty much anything you can come up with would be very welcome indeed. I would love any sort of fic where Will and Chuckie are together, whether they get together before, during, or after the film. I'd prefer for them not to permanently break up, though I'm more than happy for them to make up or get back together after a separation. I'd prefer Skylar be dealt with as briefly and respectfully as possible, whether via off screen break up or simple, time honoured, assuming that's been dealt with and moving forward.

I guess my major question is: where to from the end of the movie? What happens next? Given that Chuckie was so set on Will leaving, and more importantly not wasting his gifts and opportunities, it seems like he wouldn't accept Will just giving up on California and coming home to the same old same old. So what changes? Does Chuckie follow him out there? Does Will come home but to a new life in Boston? Can Will help Chuckie realise a few dreams of his own? What kind of life can they build together? Is it, by choice or necessity, a closeted life? When and how does that change?

That brings me to one of the other things that intrigues me, namely how much the world has and hasn't changed between 1997 and 2017. [I can't believe this film was twenty years old this year! Where did the time go???] So I'm interested in that too. If you want to set your fic in 1997 or shortly thereafter, great; if you want to look in at what the guys are doing now, that'd also be awesome. Please, please, don't write them as having not spoken or seen each other for huge chunks of time in those intervening years though, I can't bear that thought.

Oh, if you do want to go early? Underage is fine, though I'd prefer it if we stick with 16+.

If you are interested in writing smut for this pairing you are a hero indeed, so please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

The Nice Guys (2016)

Jackson Healy, Holland March

I just watched this movie for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was instantly charmed by it. I loved all the little period and setting details -- the ubiquity of porn ads in public places, the pollution, the casual smoking and drinking (and driving!), the architecture, the clothes, the cars, etc etc. I'm not American so I don't really know how historically accurate that all was, but it certainly made for a colourful backdrop, and I'd love to see elements of that included in a fic.

I'm a bit of a sucker for characters discovering they're better than not just others but they themselves think they are, and that was a through line of the film I really enjoyed: both Jackson getting to realise what wasn't even a dream he'd really acknowledged of being a real detective instead of an enforcer, and Holland getting over his guilt and self destructive ways and using his genuine talents constructively.

I found the chemistry between the leads to be a hoot, and I didn't even need my foe!yay glasses given how quickly they went from rivals to grudging colleagues to friends and partners. I'd enjoy any sort of getting together fic, whether set against the backdrop of some sort of caper or otherwise. I'm not hugely into casefic so a complicated plot isn't necessary, but I do love classic mcguffins that serve to mirror developments in the personal lives of characters. If you're in the mood to write explicit fic I'd certainly be happy to read it! If not, then stick to ratings that you're comfortable with.

One last thought: Holly was a lovely character and I'd be happy to see her included in a story, but I'm not a huge fan of kidfic so would prefer she not be a major focus.

Alexander the Great RPF

Alexander, Hephaistion, Ptolemy, Perdikkas

Alexander and the whole late classical/early Hellenistic period is my abiding passion, history wise, so I'd love pretty much anything here. I do teach it, but don't let that put you off! Feel free to include as much or as little recognisable detail from the historians as you like, but I'm also more than willing to take your interpretations of characterisation and events on board. I picked historical rpf as a tag rather than one of the fictionalised canons because I'd rather get your take on things than Renault's or Stone's or Manfredi's or anyone else's.

As a partial exception to my likes/dislikes about settings: Despite my general dislike of AUs I do very much enjoy a light hand and sense of irreverence when dealing with Alexander's more histrionic fervours, so if the muse drags you that way I would not be averse. That said, I 100% enjoy a serious period piece played straight as well, so the field is open to you here.

I don't at all require all four characters in one story if they don't fit naturally, and would be open to two separate scenarios: I ship Alexander and Hephaistion like fire and would enjoy a story focused on their relationship, but I also enjoy Ptolemy and Perdikkas' bitter rivalry and would be interested in seeing that unfold. Were they better friends once and fell out? Secret lovers? Does rivalry and ambition trump gentler feelings? Is it all jealousy in the end, personal or professional?

Any time period, be it schooldays, the early days of the campaign, the latter days of empire, or indeed post Alexander's death if you take the Ptolemy/Perdikkas option, would be equally welcome. (Obvious exception to my deathfic dnw in this case.) I'm totally here for explicit fic in either configuration, but no mixing and matching please!

Midnighter | Midnighter and Apollo (Orlando)

Apollo, Midnighter

I really like the new continuity established in the Orlando run of Midnighter and the Midnighter and Apollo mini, and I'd love to receive just about anything set there. There's still a lot of gaps to fill and mysteries to explore, and I'd enjoy anything from first meetings, to first times, to the first time back together after the breakup... It's all pretty open to interpretation, and just crying out for fic. Whatever story you want to tell would be very welcome.

Between retcons, mind wipes, and galactic resets, we never really find out enough about either Apollo or Midnighter, or their previous lives, in any continuity. Feel free to mix and match or cherry pick from existing canon, or come up with something new, as far as backstory goes. I've read all the prior incarnations so would be happy to have elements of past continuities included, but the current one is my favourite at the moment so I'd prefer that as the basic framework.

With all our reboots we've never seen the actual get together play out in full -- the closest was in Stormwatch, but even then things were a bit confused by the end. Or, of course, the second get together, the reconciliation after the break up, if you prefer.

Are there wedding bells in the future? Comfortable "old marrieds" several years down the track? Are they perfectly happy with the way things are, thank you very much? Is someone gearing up to propose?

I am absolutely here for some wall breaking superpowered sex too, if you're so inclined. Please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

X-Factor (Comics)

Julio Richter, Shatterstar

Rictor and Shatterstar’s relationship was always central to both of their characters, and yet at the same time it got pretty short shrift as far as actual plot went. I’d dearly love to see it fleshed out and explored. How much longer can Rictor put up with Shatterstar’s ideas about open relationships? Is that actually what Shatterstar really wanted, or was it all a misunderstanding? Does he even know, finally, what he does want? They’ve broken up several times in the past, are they going to make it this time and stay together? (Spoiler: I hope so. I love a bit of angst along the rocky path to true love, but would prefer an ultimately happy ending. I love break ups that end in make ups though. And make up sex…)

With the end of Vol 3, the boys are essentially in comic book limbo (eta: apart from one very brief reappearance and some dodgy moustaches) so I’d like to know where to from here? What do they do after Mojoworld? Do they stay there to fight the good fight? Do they go on dimension hopping adventures? Do they come back to Earth and try to settle down? (For a value of settling down that these two crazy kids are capable of achieving, which I somehow imagine involves sudden sword fights through the newly renovated apartment.)

That said, I do love the histrionics and drama of their young days, so if the whim takes you, I'd enjoy fic set in earlier continuities they've shared too. First times, and all those break ups and makeups on the road to the final one.

We’re talking about mutants/extra-dimensional beings/superheroes here, so a bit of wall slamming, furniture breaking, Olympic style stamina and fortitude wouldn’t go astray in any sex scenes...

Thanks very much in advance, and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Hi there. Thanks for matching with me on a fandom I love! These pairings are all far too small, so new fic is going to be an absolute delight, whichever you choose to write.

I've mostly cobbled this letter together from exchanges I've participated in in the past -- if I haven't received fic for a given request yet then I still desperately want it, and if I have been lucky then I still want more of it!

Let your own muse be your guide, and please feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or to use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, friends to enemies to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

Some General Comments about Fic:

My greatest loves in fan fiction – and in canon, to be honest – are character development and relationships. I do enjoy well-plotted stories, of course, but I get a lot of emotional satisfaction out of seeing the plot show me new things about characters that I love. My favourite tropes tend to centre round things like found family, undying loyalty, you and me against the world vows, nemeses turned sworn comrades, reconciliations after rifts, and identity porn.

I dislike mundane AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes in fic, though as a general rule as part of character development rather than pure PWP, so if you enjoy writing them please go ahead. If you prefer lower ratings then super intense feelings and emotions tickle my id just as well.

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

*****

DCU (Comics)

Apollo/Midnighter

I've just recently read the latest run of Midnighter and the Midnighter and Apollo mini, and I loved them both, which is such a great welcome home after being largely disappointed in what Stormwatch did to The Authority. I'd really love just about anything set in the new continuity. First meetings, first times, first time back together after the breakup... It's all pretty open to interpretation, and just crying out for fic. Whatever story you want to tell would be very welcome.

We never really find out enough about either Apollo or Midnighter, or their previous lives, in any continuity. Feel free to mix and match or cherry pick from existing canon, or come up with something new, as far as backstory goes.

With all our reboots we've never seen the get together play out in full - the closest was in Stormwatch, but even then things were a bit confused by the end. Or, of course, the second get together, the reconciliation after the break up, if you prefer.

Are there wedding bells in the future? Comfortable "old marrieds" several years down the track? Are they perfectly happy with the way things are, thank you very much? Is someone gearing up to propose?

I am absolutely here for some wall breaking superpowered sex too, if you're so inclined. Please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

Marvel (Comics)

Julio Richter/Shatterstar

Rictor and Shatterstar’s relationship was always central to both of their characters, and yet at the same time it got pretty short shrift as far as actual plot went. I’d dearly love to see it fleshed out and explored. How much longer can Rictor put up with Shatterstar’s ideas about open relationships? Is that actually what Shatterstar really wanted, or was it all a misunderstanding? Does he even know, finally, what he does want? They’ve broken up several times in the past, are they going to make it this time and stay together? (Spoiler: I hope so. I love a bit of angst along the rocky path to true love, but would prefer an ultimately happy ending. I love break ups that end in make ups though. And make up sex…)

With the end of Vol 3, the boys are essentially in comic book limbo, so I’d like to know where to from here? What do they do after Mojoworld? Do they stay there to fight the good fight? Do they go on dimension hopping adventures? Do they come back to Earth and try to settle down? (For a value of settling down that these two crazy kids are capable of achieving, which I somehow imagine involves sudden sword fights through the newly renovated apartment.)

That said, I do love the histrionics and drama of their young days, so if the whim takes you, I'd enjoy fic set in earlier continuities they've shared too. First times, and all those break ups and makeups on the road to the final one.

We’re talking about mutants/extra-dimensional beings/superheroes here, so a bit of wall slamming, furniture breaking, Olympic style stamina and fortitude wouldn’t go astray in any sex scenes... I don't have a Smut Swap letter for this pairing, unfortunately, but a relevant list of kinks would include:

• superpower sex
• anal sex
• barebacking
• first time
• make up/reconciliation sex
• rough sex
• sleepy sex/morning sex
• sex after fighting/battle
• manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
• marathon sex
• multiple sex positions

Fast and the Furious Series

Brian O'Conner/Letty Ortiz/Dominic Toretto/Mia Toretto

This relationship is somewhat unique in my heart in that I started out in the fandom ages ago as a slash OTP shipper, but over time I have fallen so deeply for the foursome. I love their little family so much, and seeing it thrive in fic makes me very happy, especially now that we won't be seeing it on screen anymore.

My favourite films in the series are probably The Fast and the Furious, Fast Five, and Furious 7. I didn't enjoy Fate of the Furious as much for various reasons, so please ignore it for the purposes of this fic.

So where to after eight movies??? I'd love to know more about everyone, but I feel like Dom's maybe the one we know best, so more focus on the others would be great. We never get Brian's backstory except that one talk about his father. What's Letty's version of Dom's tall tale about their meet cute? How does Mia really feel about being the responsible one who keeps the home fires burning? We hear a lot about Dom and gravity, but what's it really like, being the three planets orbitting Dom's sun?

Anything you write me exploring this relationship, at any point in the series, would be fantastic. I have a lot of love in my heart for Furious 7 for how beautifully it built a happy ending in less than ideal circumstances. Dom, Brian, Letty, and Mia as a family are one of the great loves of my fannish life, and I love what the film gave us with the building of Brian and Mia’s young family, and its revelations about Dom and Letty. So if you want to explore that happy ending, I'd love something set after this movie. (No sad endings here please!) Is Dom ever going to settle down? What is retirement going to look like? How does everyone balance their new lives and responsibilities? Are there going to be kids for Letty? Does Brian (sneakily? accidentally?) become head of the family simply by virtue of being a much more experienced dad?

By contrast, Mia and Letty get pretty short shrift in most fic set in the early days, and in the first few movies too, to be honest. If you want to mix things up and set a foursome fic at this point in the timeline, please do go for it. I would love to see how it turns out. (If the answer is bittersweetly then that's cool -- the timeline fixes itself in this case.) How does the foursome (start to) come together? How does Brian's betrayal affect it? Does it break it, or does strength of numbers somehow manage to bring about a different ending?

I can never get enough of the worldbuilding potential and relationship exploration of the sedoretu. In this case I sort of imagine Mia and Letty as childhood friends (I know the first film especially is slightly wonky on relative ages) and from the moment Letty catches Dom’s eye, the two girls are on the lookout for their perfect fourth. When Brian appears on the scene it’s not just Dom who falls like a tonne of bricks at first sight... On the other hand, if you’d rather write a more “traditional” foursome that puts itself together in “our” universe then that’d be just as welcome. Maybe a threesome born out of mourning Letty and trying to rebuild that becomes a foursome when she finds her way home?

If you enjoy writing AUs, I do have one madcap idea for one, an exception to my usual preferences. My friends and I often used to joke that Faster and Furiouser Fifteen would be set in space. So give me all the wacky space adventures of outlaw Dom and interstellar agent Brian, with the girls, and maybe the gang too, along for the ride.

Just one caveat: I don’t want to see any kind of third wheel issues. No cheating, no reluctant sharing, no painful negotiations, just a wholehearted enthusiasm from everyone. They all love each other, and couldn’t possibly be happy without each other.

If you are interested in writing smut please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for last year's Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan

I love this film so much, and more than anything I adore Will and Chuckie's relationship. Chuckie's part in the movie is comparatively small, but he speaks a thousand words with every grin, smirk, and glare, and I am an absolute sucker for his brand of love and loyalty combined with straight talking and the ability to give a shove where required. It seems very obvious, without much exposition, that he and Will have known each other forever, and always been there for each other through thick and thin. He's also a big enough person to let Will go – heck, make him go – though of course I am selfishly asking you to undo that somehow and get them back together. Sorry, not sorry.

Sean summed it up well when Lambeau was complaining about Will's choice to hang out with a "retarded gorilla" and he responded, "That retarded gorilla would take a bat to your head if he asked him to." [We've come quite some way in understanding inappropriate slurs since 1997 but I think the sentiment is still clear.] Likewise when one of the other boys hesitates about getting into a fight to support Will, and Chuckie says something to the effect, "When I'm done with them I'm coming for you." It's like catnip to my love of found family, "you and me against the world" friendships, and undying loyalty in the face of all common sense.

Anyway, there is so little fic available featuring these two that pretty much anything you can come up with would be very welcome indeed. I would love any sort of fic where Will and Chuckie are together, whether they get together before, during, or after the film. I'd prefer for them not to break up, though I'm more than happy for them to make up or get back together after a separation. I'd prefer Skylar be dealt with as briefly and respectfully as possible, whether via off screen break up or simple, time honoured, assuming that's been dealt with and moving forward.

I guess my major question is: where to from the end of the movie? What happens next? Given that Chuckie was so set on Will leaving, and more importantly not wasting his gifts and opportunities, it seems like he wouldn't accept Will just giving up on California and coming home to the same old same old. So what changes? Does Chuckie follow him out there? Does Will come home but to a new life in Boston? Can Will help Chuckie realise a few dreams of his own? What kind of life can they build together? Is it, by choice or necessity, a closeted life? When and how does that change?

That brings me to one of the other things that intrigues me, namely how much the world has and hasn't changed between 1997 and 2017. [I can't believe this film will be twenty years old this year! Where did the time go???] So I'm interested in that too. If you want to set your fic in 1997 or shortly thereafter, great; if you want to look in at what the guys are doing now, that'd also be awesome. Please, please, don't write them as having not spoken or seen each other for huge chunks of time in those intervening years though, I can't bear that thought.

Oh, if you do want to go early? Underage is fine, though I'd prefer it if we stick with 16+.

If you are interested in writing smut for this pairing you are a hero indeed, so please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

Takers (2010)

Gordon Cozier/John Rahway

Honesty compels me to agree that this movie is not exactly a cinematic masterpiece, but I love it a lot anyway. The protagonists are handsome and charming and impeccably dressed. They all seem to love each other a lot, and any one of them would risk his life for the rest. There is honour among thieves. They pull off brilliantly planned, flawlessly executed heists. Until the last one. I still shake my fist at the screen when Ghost appears, and demand to know why they trust him. Oh, well. So goes the world.

We know next to nothing about anybody's backstory, with the obvious exception of Gordon's childhood with Naomi in the Caribbean, so there's a totally blank slate to work with there, but I thought the film did a good job of setting up Gordon and John's friendship especially, and they do basically drive off into the sunset together at the end, so I'd love any kind of fic that explores their relationship, whether before, during, or after the film.

Where and when and how did Gordon and John meet? Where did they pick up their unique skill sets? Why are they so loyal to each other? How did they put the gang together? Do the rest of the guys know about their relationship, or is that just one more secret in a life chock full of them? Where do they go after the movie ends? Do they make it to a well-earned retirement on some tropical island, or are they on the run somewhere? I'd love anything along these lines, be it prequel or sequel.

Lastly, I think there is one explicit fic for this pairing (not counting Paul Walker crossovers) so if you want to be the person to change that it'd be pretty fantastic. :D

Top Gun (1986)

Tom "Iceman" Kazansky/Pete "Maverick" Mitchell

This section of my letter is probably going to be shorter or rougher than the others, I'm afraid, but only because it's a new addition to my wishlist so I haven't been honing the request forever and a day. Please don't think for a second it indicates lack of enthusiasm!

Anyway, Top Gun is one of those films that reminds me how great it was to be a kid in the eighties, at least when you were spending your long, hot summers at the movie theatre, rather than worrying about the Cold War or anything like that. ;-p I think I owe a good deal of my love for Navy dress whites to the graduation scene, too.

We really don't know much about any of the characters, so anything you choose to draw out and explore would be grand. There's more to Maverick than just a chip on his shoulder about his dad and his rejection from the Academy. There must be way more to Ice than just perfect flying. Feel free to make up any sort of backstory you want, or to move forward from the end of the movie in any direction you like. Do they stay at Top Gun? Do they (soon or eventually) return to combat status? How does their newfound and hard won friendship blossom into something more?

I'm here for all the classic military tropes from internalised homophobia to keeping things on the absolute d-low. I almost typed DADT, but of course that's still seven years in the future at the point the movie was made! If you don't want to deal with historical homophobia you don't have to, but please do keep the relationship under wraps, I find anachronistic attitudes to homosexuality really jarring in period fic. (At this point I'm chuckling ruefully at the thought that the smash hits of my childhood are now period pieces.)

If you enjoy writing explicit fic then please feel free to do so, it will be gratefully received. I have very few specific preferences because there just isn't enough in existence to have built up any clear ideas. Blatantly stealing from another section, a few things I do generally like include:

• anal sex
• barebacking
• first time
• make up/reconciliation sex
• rough sex
• sleepy sex/morning sex
• sex after fighting/battle
• manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
• marathon sex
• multiple sex positions

One last thought: My two favourites of the few fics that are available for this pairing are both told from Maverick's point of view, so it'd be interesting to see something from Ice's. Not remotely necessary, though, if it doesn't flow easily.

Thanks very much in advance, and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Hi there. Thanks for matching with me on a fandom I love!

I've mostly cobbled this letter together from exchanges I've participated in in the past -- if I haven't received fic for a given request yet then I still desperately want it, and if I have been lucky then I still want more of it! These are three fandoms I love very dearly indeed so I'll be delighted whichever you match on.

Let your own muse be your guide, and please feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or to use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

Some General Comments about Fic:

My greatest loves in fan fiction – and in canon, to be honest – are character development and relationships. I do enjoy well-plotted stories, of course, but I get a lot of emotional satisfaction out of seeing the plot show me new things about characters that I love. My favourite tropes tend to centre round things like found family, undying loyalty, you and me against the world vows, nemeses turned sworn comrades, reconciliations after rifts, and identity porn.

I dislike mundane AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes in fic, though as a general rule as part of character development rather than pure PWP, so if you enjoy writing them please go ahead. If you prefer lower ratings then super intense feelings and emotions tickle my id just as well.

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

*****

DCU (Comics)

Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Tim Drake & Damian Wayne

The Batfamily as a family, and Bruce's ridiculous claim to be darkness, the night, and a loner whilst having assembled it, is one of my favourite things in all of comics, so I'd love anything that's built around that basic structure. I prefer neither to drown in angst nor in sugar, so somewhere in the middle is my sweet spot.

One vaguely plot related question I have: How did an eligible bachelor/rich eccentric convince Child Services he was a fit and proper person to be acquiring guardianship over a passel of young boys? What hoops did he jump through? Did they get harder over the years as the Brucie act developed? Is there a corridor full of perfectly preserved kiddie bedrooms upstairs at the Manor?

Other than that...

Bruce Wayne loves all his wayward boys, however appalling he might be at showing it, and I firmly believe (hope?) that the Robins do know, deep down, that he does, despite the misunderstandings and despite his unwillingness/inability to enunciate his feelings in anything less than the direst of circumstances. That said, he can be an emotional minefield, and he’s not the only one. The boys can be just as bad, if not worse. So that’s what I’m looking for here. Fathers, and sons, and brothers. Relationships and partnerships. Don't worry about balancing all five characters equally, if that's getting in the way of the story.

I do have a particular fondness for efforts (on anyone's part) to reintegrate Jason into the family, or just to reconcile in small ways. No saccharine "all is forgiven" required, baby steps are fine. Or any other family oriented idea you happen to have.

I have a general preference for older continuities, ie pre Nu52 and Rebirth, but am otherwise happy with mixing and matching or cherry picking.

DNW: Any suggestion of non-filial relationships between Batman and any of the Robins, or amongst the Robins. Please keep this fic strictly gen.

Fast and the Furious Series

Brian O’Conner/Dominic Toretto
Brian O'Conner/Letty Ortiz/Dominic Toretto/Mia Toretto

I ship the slash pairing and the foursome (sedoretu or more traditional) equally, and as long as everyone's happy I'm happy. In my own imagination I tend to lean towards the OTP in the early days, and the foursome later on, but if you have a different idea then that's entirely up to you, and I will definitely enjoy it however it shakes out. My favourite films in the series are probably The Fast and the Furious, Fast Five, and Furious 7. I didn't enjoy Fate of the Furious as much for various reasons, so please ignore it for the purposes of this fic.

So where to after eight movies??? I'd love to know more about everyone, but I feel like Dom's maybe the one we know best, so more focus on the others would be great. We never get Brian's backstory except that one talk about his father. What's Letty's version of Dom's tall tale about their meet cute? How does Mia really feel about being the responsible one who keeps the home fires burning? We hear a lot about Dom and gravity, but what's it really like, being the three planets orbitting Dom's sun?

I ship Dom and Brian pretty hard, and always have, so basically anything you write me exploring their relationship, at any point in the series, would be fantastic. I think what I love most about the first film is the sheer histrionic fervour with which their friendship unfolds. They’ve barely met before Dom is confiding his deepest, darkest secrets, and another five minutes after that Brian is throwing away his career and maybe even his freedom to save him. From there on out, every subsequent film just doubles down on the loyalty and "I'd do anything for you" nature of the relationship between them.

Mia and Letty get pretty short shrift in most fic set in the early days, but if you want to mix things up and set a foursome fic at this point in the timeline, please do go for it. I would love to see how it turns out. (If the answer is bittersweetly then that's cool -- the timeline fixes itself in this case.)

By contrast, I have a lot of love in my heart for Furious 7 for how beautifully it built a happy ending in less than ideal circumstances. Dom, Brian, Letty, and Mia as a family are one of the great loves of my fannish life, and I love what the film gave us with the building of Brian and Mia’s young family, and its revelations about Dom and Letty. So if you want to explore that happy ending, I'd love something set after this movie. (No sad endings here please!)

One plot related idea: When Hobbs says in Fast Five that Brian has been in “deep cover” for five years, let’s pretend that’s not just a lazy handwave and/or a continuity error. Instead, let’s say that Brian has totally been an agent of some sort the entire time, and in the first film is undercover inside the LAPD/FBI as well as inside the Toretto organisation. Identity porn squared! Of course, to my mind he still falls for the mark(s), and it’s even more screwed up and complicated than before, but go where the story takes you.

If you enjoy writing AUs, I do have one madcap idea for one, an exception to my usual preferences. My friends and I often used to joke that Faster and Furiouser Fifteen would be set in space. So give me all the wacky space adventures of outlaw Dom and interstellar agent Brian, with the girls and/or the gang along for the ride.

I can never get enough of the worldbuilding potential and relationship exploration of the sedoretu. In this case I sort of imagine Mia and Letty as childhood friends (I know the first film especially is slightly wonky on relative ages) and from the moment Letty catches Dom’s eye, the two girls are on the lookout for their perfect fourth. When Brian appears on the scene it’s not just Dom who falls like a tonne of bricks at first sight... On the other hand, if you’d rather write a more “traditional” foursome that puts itself together in “our” universe then that’d be just as welcome. Maybe a threesome born out of mourning Letty and trying to rebuild that becomes a foursome when she finds her way home?

Just one caveat here: I don’t want to see any kind of third wheel issues. No cheating, no reluctant sharing, no painful negotiations, just a wholehearted enthusiasm from everyone. They all love each other, and couldn’t possibly be happy without each other.

If you are interested in writing smut for either of these combinations please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for last year's Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

The Man From UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I'd love to see some of that journey, whether the whole way or just the final step. Equally, I love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship.

For me, a major part of the attraction is the setting, so if at all possible I'd love to have a fic recognisably set in the time period, ie 1963. I love the Cold War as a historical period, but I also just love the conventions of the spy game genre – I was practically raised on it as my dad was a big fan, both books and movies. That said, I don't need a complicated plot; some vague caper to act as a backdrop to Illya and Napoleon's relationship is more than fine with me. Likewise if your focus is on movie style shenanigans rather than politics, that's A-OK.

Don't feel you have to do huge amounts of research on the Cold War if you're not a history buff – though if you are please go ahead, by all means – but please don't just handwave societal attitudes to homosexuality etc either. I find it really jarring when reading fic set in the 1960s to suddenly stumble over supportive best friends and organisations that are oddly embracing of their agents' personal lives. Gaby might put her friendships first, but I still think Illya and Napoleon would go out of their way to conceal their relationship from her to avoid putting her in that position. UNCLE, and certainly the CIA and KGB, would absolutely have viewed a homosexual relationship as an intolerable security risk. If you find writing about historical homophobia unpleasant then it's not something you need to explore, but I would very much prefer it if the relationship is kept under wraps.

Other than that, I am super interested in both Illya and Napoleon's backstories. Are they right when they psychobabble each other in that cafe in the park? Was it just a sense of adventure that drove Napoleon to join the army at sixteen? Does Illya have a genuine loyalty to the KGB, or does love of Mother Russia override the pain the state has caused him? How does their friendship, and then their affection for each other, grow?

I'm intrigued by the prospect of what would happen to Illya, in particular, if ties to UNCLE were somehow severed -- he's the one that's going to find himself stranded in hostile territory, unlike Napoleon and Gaby. I'm also dubious that the KGB would really ever allow him to return home after his extended time in the decadent West. Would he ever defect?

I just really love comrades who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin. I like the hothouse atmosphere created when you can't share how much you love someone with anybody else.

If you are interested in writing smut for this pairing please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

*****

Hopefully there was something here that will be useful to you. Have fun, and enjoy the exchange. I very much look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Hello there, dearest mystery writer. First up let me apologise for being late with this letter, I've just been slammed at work in a way I wasn't expecting. I hope it's at least helpful to you, to justify the wait.

I'm unsure quite where to begin with this particular exchange, except to say that you shouldn't feel too constrained by the genre tags I chose – I was aiming to give an indication of some of my favourite kinds of stories, while also trying to leave some room for you to work. Let your own muse be your guide, and please feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or to use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

Some General Comments about Fic:

My greatest loves in fan fiction – and in canon, to be honest – are character development and relationships. I do enjoy well-plotted stories, of course, but I get a lot of emotional satisfaction out of seeing the plot show me new things about characters that I love. My favourite tropes tend to centre round things like found family, undying loyalty, you and me against the world vows, nemeses turned sworn comrades, reconciliations after rifts, and identity porn.

I dislike mundane AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes in fic, though as a general rule as part of character development rather than pure PWP, so if you enjoy writing them please go ahead. If you prefer lower ratings then super intense feelings and emotions tickle my id just as well.

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

*****

DCU (Comics)

A quick pre-emptive comment about Bruce and Dick: I ship them, and I enjoy their relationship as father and son, but I absolutely do not cross the streams. Parental (as opposed to fraternal) incest is a hard no for me. Please do not mix and match these two very separate requests.

When I think of Dick as a son I imagine classic continuities where he was very young – maybe eight? – when Bruce took him in. In ship fic I prefer the more modern continuities where he was in his early teens and significantly more independent. Bruce can stay in his early to mid twenties either way, which keeps him an editorially approved mid thirties now after a decade of Batmanning. Yes, I do like to have my cake and eat it too, and I thank comics as a genre for giving me that option.

Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Tim Drake & Damian Wayne

The Batfamily as a family, and Bruce's ridiculous claim to be darkness, the night, and a loner whilst having assembled it, is one of my favourite things in all of comics. I prefer neither to drown in angst nor in sugar, so somewhere in the middle is my sweet spot.

Worldbuilding: How did an eligible bachelor/rich eccentric convince Child Services he was a fit and proper person to be acquiring guardianship over a passel of young boys? What hoops did he jump through? Did they get harder over the years as the Brucie act developed? Is there a corridor full of perfectly preserved kiddie bedrooms upstairs at the Manor?

Character Development/Interpersonal Drama: Any sort of interplay between fathers, sons, and brothers. The Robins are all very different people and their interactions with Bruce, and with each other, differ wildly too.

Fix-It: A special plea for Jason, and his reintegration. I'd love to see how the relationship(s) are worked on, rather than jumping straight to the happy ending. He's done different awful things to different people at different times, and equally has his own grudges and injuries to nurse.

I prefer "older" continuities, ie pre Nu52 and Rebirth, but am otherwise happy with mixing and matching or cherry picking.

DNW: Any suggestion of non-filial relationships between Batman and any of the Robins, or amongst the Robins.

Please keep this story strictly gen, though I don't mind angst or violence if/where appropriate.

I love the whole Batfamily, and I love the fact that they are a family. Not a perfect one, and not one where everything runs smoothly, but a family nonetheless, that loves and supports and protects each other. Bruce Wayne loves all his wayward boys, however appalling he might be at showing it, and I firmly believe that the Robins do know, deep down, that he does, despite the misunderstandings and despite his unwillingness/inability to enunciate his feelings in anything less than the direst of circumstances. It's more difficult for some of them than others to see, maybe, and no two of them have an identical relationship with him, or indeed with each other.

That said, he can be an emotional minefield, and he’s not the only one. The boys can be just as bad, if not worse. There’s so much jealousy, rivalry, and jockeying for position alongside the absolute loyalty they show each other out in the field. Some of them actually think of themselves/each other as brothers, some of them are in denial, some are lying to each other, some are lying to themselves. So that’s what I’m looking for here. Fathers, and sons, and brothers. Relationships and partnerships. Don't worry about balancing all five characters equally, if that's getting in the way of the story. I do have a particular fondness for efforts (on anyone's part) to reintegrate Jason into the family, or just to reconcile in small ways. No saccharine "all is forgiven" required, baby steps are fine. Or any other family oriented idea you happen to have.

Dick Grayson/Bruce Wayne

My enjoyment of incest pairings is limited to brother/brother rather than father/son, so please don't bring any of that vibe here. I don't mind a bit of angst on Bruce's part about whether something has gone terribly wrong when these new feelings start to develop, but would prefer Dick to be a) in his twenties, and b) 100% clear in his own mind that he doesn't regard Bruce as a father and never has. Guardian, partner, chum, all good. Dad? No. It's fine if the other Robins are a bit weirded out at first, but I'd like them to understand that nothing inappropriate has occurred.

Character Development/Interpersonal Drama: Separately from Bruce's relationships with the other Robins, I think it's a fair argument that Dick has always been the person he loves and admires most. It's not for nothing that when weighing the relative merits of different universes Bruce asks about their Dick Grayson. But that doesn't mean it's smooth sailing, and their whole relationship is fraught with misunderstandings and wounded feelings.

Smut: Bruce is very strong. Dick is very flexible. They're both incredibly fit. The options are endless.

DNW: Incest Kink or Underage, or any other Bat/Robin or Robin/Robin pairings.

I'd very much prefer Dick to be in his early twenties and well into his independent life as Nightwing, please. I have no problem with Bruce angsting, in his Bruce way, about the situation, but please, no suggestion whatsoever that he was secretly lusting after Robin all along. It’s a new thing! And from Dick's perspective, he had a father, and his name was John Grayson. Bruce has been a mentor and a friend and a partner, and now he's a different kind of partner. (In another example of having my cake and eating it too, I'm actually happy for other Robins to have mixed reactions, I just don't want any confusion from Dick.)

I'd really enjoy something set during or after Dick's time as Batman, whether that status shift acts as a catalyst, or whether it was Bruce's "death" that finally brought some sharp realisations, or whatever. Dick's need for independence and Bruce's boundary issues have always been stumbling blocks in their canonical relationship, so anything that touches on that is welcome. Or during/after Dick's time as Grayson, and the changes that must have brought to their partnership. Or anywhere in an unspecified continuity as long as Dick is an adult.

I'm totally here for explicit fic too, if the whim takes you. Superpowered sex is a kink of mine, and the Bats may not be metas but they have superpowers all their own. Strength and flexibility go a long way... Please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

Dick Grayson/Jason Todd

I enjoy brother/brother incest pairings so play that up as much or as little as you like, as long as both Dick and Jason are over eighteen. I don't mind if there was some teenage pining on Jason's part, but would prefer it if Dick was merrily oblivious.

Character Development/Interpersonal Drama: How do Dick and Jason reconcile? Do they make friends first, or cut straight from adversaries/rivals to lovers? Is there a step along the way for brothers, or does that relationship never (re)form? How do they juggle their differing approaches to crime-fighting? Is this a relationship that's always going to be kept under wraps, or will they try to share it with the family? How does the family react? (A struggle that comes to an understanding, for preference.)

Smut: Fit young men in the prime of life. Adrenaline. Fights and flights. Narrow escapes. Doesn't take the world's greatest detective...

DNW: Underage, or any other Bat/Robin or Robin/Robin pairings.

I find Dick and Jason's relationship, or as much of it as we see, fascinating. There was always going to be some kind of issue, whether from Dick's perspective – suddenly no longer an only child – or from Jason's – growing up in the shadow of such a brother – and Jason dying just took that and turned it to eleven.

As adults, there's the whole complicating factor of their differing approach to crime fighting, as well as their different relationships with Bruce. I'm interested in seeing either or both explored. Do they reconcile as brothers first? Or cut out the middle step and build a new relationship independent of the old one? What compromises have to be made?

I like external reactions, so I'm happy to see the way Bruce or the other Robins would greet such a change, but equally I love the pressure secrecy places on a relationship so I'd enjoy seeing what happens if they try to keep it under wraps. (I don't think Bruce would ultimately be particularly puritanical about it, though I do think he'd be disapproving for a million reasons at first, and worry for Jason, not just for Dick, would be part of that.)

I do enjoy rough sex and fighting leading to fucking, as well as the general athleticicm involved in vigilante sex, rooftop or otherwise... Please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

Apollo/Midnighter

I love these two and their relationship in just about every era, though I'm adoring the current Orlando run. There's so much about them that's still mysterious, though.

Character Development: We never find out enough about either Apollo or Midnighter, or their previous lives. Feel free to mix and match or cherry pick from existing canon, or come up with something new, as far as backstory goes.

Getting Together: With all our reboots we've never seen the get together play out in full - the closest was in Stormwatch, but even then things were a bit confused by the end. Or, of course, the second get together, the reconciliation after the break up, if you prefer.

Established Relationship: Are there wedding bells in the future? Comfortable "old marrieds" several years down the track? Are they perfectly happy with the way things are, thank you very much? Is someone gearing up to propose?

Smut: Superpowered sex. Need I say more?

DNW: Permanent break ups or infidelity.

I've just recently read the latest run of Midnighter and the current Midnighter and Apollo, and I loved them both, which is such a great welcome home after being largely disappointed in what Stormwatch did to The Authority. I'd really love just about anything set in the new continuity. First meetings, first times, first time back together after the breakup... It's all pretty open to interpretation, and just crying out for fic. Whatever story you want to tell would be very welcome. (Actually... anything set anywhere/anywhen would be great. Feel free to mix and match too if you want to.)

I am absolutely here for some wall breaking superpowered sex too, if you're so inclined. Please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

Fast and the Furious Series

Brian O’Conner/Dominic Toretto
Brian O'Conner/Letty Ortiz/Dominic Toretto/Mia Toretto

I ship the slash pairing and the foursome (sedoretu or more traditional) equally, and as long as everyone's happy I'm happy.

Character Development: I'd love to know more about everyone, but I feel like Dom's maybe the one we know best, so more focus on the others? We never get Brian's backstory except that one talk about his father. What's Letty's version of Dom's tall tale about their meet cute? How does Mia really feel about being the responsible one who keeps the home fires burning?

Established Relationship: Up to you when it all got started, but where's it going from here?

Getting Together: When did it all get started, and how?

Smut: Two or four stunningly attractive people. I'm there either way.

I ship Dom and Brian pretty goddamn hard, and always have, so basically anything you write me exploring their relationship, at any point in the series, would be fantastic. I’ve been surprised by how little fic is actually set during the first movie, though, so if you can manage to pull that off, it’d be fantastic. The Fast and the Furious is far from being the best film of the series, but it is still, in many ways, my favourite.

It was a perfect storm of instant, undying, friendships, love at first sight, ambiguously charming and endearing designated “villains” with tragic backstories, police officers incapable of fulfilling their sworn duty in the face of said “villains”, and the fundamental identity porn involved in a guy who is not who he says he is, all bullet proof kinks of mine. I think what I love most about it is the sheer histrionic fervour with which Dom and Brian’s friendship unfolds. They’ve barely met before Dom is confiding his deepest, darkest secrets, and another five minutes after that Brian is throwing away his career and maybe even his freedom to save him. There’s no other explanation for that but love at first sight.

I’d like to see an exploration, then, of their feelings towards and about each other within the time frame of the film. How much more betrayed would Dom feel if this guy he thinks he’s entering into a relationship with turns out to be someone else entirely? He trusts him so hard, so fast, telling a near stranger things it’s pretty clear he never talks about with anyone else; why? And how fucked up must Brian be if he’s fallen into this thing he can’t get out of and doesn’t want to, and who is he lying to the hardest – Dom, his bosses, or himself? Is he completely out of his depth from the start, or is he trying to be calculating and just completely underestimates the pull of gravity?

If you feel your strengths/interests lie a bit more strongly in plot development than emotional turmoil then I do have an idea for a slightly more plot focused fic. When Hobbs says in Fast Five that Brian has been in “deep cover” for five years, let’s pretend that’s not just a lazy handwave and/or a continuity error. Instead, let’s say that Brian has totally been an agent of some sort the entire time, and in the first film is undercover inside the LAPD/FBI as well as inside the Toretto organisation. Identity porn squared! Of course, to my mind he still falls for the mark, and it’s even more screwed up and complicated than before, but go where the story takes you.

If you enjoy writing AUs, I do have one madcap idea for one, an exception to my usual preferences. My friends and I often used to joke that Faster and Furiouser Fifteen would be set in space. So give me all the wacky space adventures of outlaw Dom and interstellar agent Brian.

Likewise, it was far from a perfect film, but I have a lot of love in my heart for Furious 7 for how beautifully it built a happy ending in less than ideal circumstances. Dom, Brian, Letty, and Mia as a family are one of the great loves of my fannish life, and I’m feeling it more strongly than ever after Furious 7’s continued building of Brian and Mia’s young family, and its revelations about Dom and Letty. So if you want to explore that happy ending, I'd love something set after this movie. That said, I'd also love fic set at any other point in the series, and if it's set earlier I don't mind angst along the way as long as I have that happy ending to look forward to.

I can never get enough of the worldbuilding potential and relationship exploration of the sedoretu. In this case I sort of imagine Mia and Letty as childhood friends (I know the first film especially is slightly wonky on relative ages) and from the moment Letty catches Dom’s eye, the two girls are on the lookout for their perfect fourth. When Brian appears on the scene it’s not just Dom who falls like a tonne of bricks at first sight… On the other hand, if you’d rather write a more “traditional” foursome that puts itself together in “our” universe then that’d be just as welcome. Maybe a threesome born out of mourning Letty and trying to rebuild that becomes a foursome when she finds her way home?

Just one caveat here: I don’t want to see any kind of third wheel issues. No cheating, no reluctant sharing, no painful negotiations, just a wholehearted enthusiasm from everyone. They all love each other, and couldn’t possibly be happy without each other.

If you are interested in writing smut for either of these combinations please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for last year's Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan

With only six fics in existence, the world is our oyster.

Character Development: Tell me more about Will and Chuckie. Backstory or where to from here. Chuckie especially is a blank slate I'd love to see filled in.

Established Relationship: They've totally been doing it on the sly since they were kids.

Getting Together: Or maybe not. After California? A few years down the track, older and wiser?

Smut: Not one of those six fics is rated Explicit. That seems like a challenge to me.

I love this film so much, and more than anything I adore Will and Chuckie's relationship. Chuckie's part in the movie is comparatively small, but he speaks a thousand words with every grin, smirk, and glare, and I am an absolute sucker for his brand of love and loyalty combined with straight talking and the ability to give a shove where required. It seems very obvious, without much exposition, that he and Will have known each other forever, and always been there for each other through thick and thin. He's also a big enough person to let Will go – heck, make him go – though of course I am selfishly asking you to undo that somehow and get them back together. Sorry, not sorry.

Sean summed it up well when Lambeau was complaining about Will's choice to hang out with a "retarded gorilla" and he responded, "That retarded gorilla would take a bat to your head if he asked him to." [We've come quite some way in understanding inappropriate slurs since 1997 but I think the sentiment is still clear.] Likewise when one of the other boys hesitates about getting into a fight to support Will, and Chuckie says something to the effect, "When I'm done with them I'm coming for you." It's like catnip to my love of found family, "you and me against the world" friendships, and undying loyalty in the face of all common sense.

Anyway, there is so little fic available featuring these two that pretty much anything you can come up with would be very welcome indeed. I would love fic where Will and Chuckie are together, whether they get together before, during, or after the film. I'd prefer for them not to break up, though I'm more than happy for them to make up or get back together after a separation. I'd prefer Skylar be dealt with as briefly and respectfully as possible, whether via off screen break up or simple, time honoured, assuming that's been dealt with and moving forward.

I guess my major question is: where to from the end of the movie? What happens next? Given that Chuckie was so set on Will leaving, and more importantly not wasting his gifts and opportunities, it seems like he wouldn't accept Will just giving up on California and coming home to the same old same old. So what changes? Does Chuckie follow him out there? Does Will come home but to a new life in Boston? Can Will help Chuckie realise a few dreams of his own? What kind of life can they build together? Is it, by choice or necessity, a closeted life? When and how does that change?

That brings me to one of the other things that intrigues me, namely how much the world has and hasn't changed between 1997 and 2017. [I can't believe this film will be twenty years old this year! Where did the time go???] So I'm interested in that too. If you want to set your fic in 1997 or shortly thereafter, great; if you want to look in at what the guys are doing now, that'd also be awesome. Please, please, don't write them as having not spoken or seen each other for huge chunks of time in those intervening years though, I can't bear that thought.

If you are interested in writing smut for this pairing you are a hero indeed, so please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

Marvel 616

Julio Richter/Shatterstar

I'm gutted that these two have vanished into Marvel limbo. There are so many more tales to tell.

Character Development: We never really find out enough about either Rictor or Shatterstar, or not as much as I'd like to know anyway. Feel free to mix and match or cherry pick from existing canon, and fill in some of those gaps.

Established Relationship: Set your fic during or after X-Factor with a publicly acknowledged relationship, or during or after X-Force with something more secretive.

Getting Together: Just how did they get together in the first place? And when? Again, choose your time period and feel free to work with or around canon.

Smut: Superpowered sex. Hollow bones. Mutant strength. Go wild.

Rictor and Shatterstar’s relationship was always central to both of their characters, and yet at the same time it got pretty short shrift as far as actual plot went. I’d dearly love to see it fleshed out and explored. How much longer can Rictor put up with Shatterstar’s ideas about open relationships? Is that actually what Shatterstar really wanted, or was it all a misunderstanding? Does he even know, finally, what he does want? They’ve broken up several times in the past, are they going to make it this time and stay together? (Spoiler: I hope so. I love a bit of angst along the rocky path to true love, but would prefer an ultimately happy ending. I love break ups that end in make ups though. And make up sex…)

With the end of Vol 3, the boys are essentially in comic book limbo, so I’d like to know where to from here? What do they do after Mojoworld? Do they stay there to fight the good fight? Do they go on dimension hopping adventures? Do they come back to Earth and try to settle down? (For a value of settling down that these two crazy kids are capable of achieving, which I somehow imagine involves sudden sword fights through the newly renovated apartment.)

That said, I do love the histrionics and drama of their young days, so if the whim takes you, I'd enjoy fic set in earlier continuities they've shared too. First times, and all those break ups and makeups on the road to the final one.

We’re talking about mutants/extra-dimensional beings/superheroes here, so a bit of wall slamming, furniture breaking, Olympic style stamina and fortitude wouldn’t go astray in any sex scenes... I don't have a Smut Swap letter for this pairing, unfortunately, but a relevant list of kinks would include:

• superpower sex
• anal sex
• barebacking
• first time
• make up/reconciliation sex
• rough sex
• sleepy sex/morning sex
• sex after fighting/battle
• manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
• marathon sex
• multiple sex positions

The Man From UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I'm still desperately sad there will likely never be a sequel to this beautiful, silly, fantastically charming film, and we'll never get to see the legendary friendship develop.

Character Development: I would dearly like to know more about both Illya and Napoleon. Backstory, their genuine feelings about the Cold War and the espionage game, their "real world" interests when not working/playing a part.

Getting Together: Enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, fuckbuddies to lovers... Any and all paths to sex and something more.

Interpersonal Drama: The course of true love is unlikely to run smooth for these two, and I am totally here for the ups and downs thereof.

Smut: They're super hot. (And super tall. I cannot lie, with the accompanying strength that seems like a winning combination.)

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I'd love to see some of that journey, whether the whole way or just the final step. Equally, I love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship.

For me, a major part of the attraction is the setting, so if at all possible I'd love to have a fic recognisably set in the time period, ie 1963. I love the Cold War as a historical period, but I also just love the conventions of the spy game genre – I was practically raised on it as my dad was a big fan, both books and movies. That said, I don't need a complicated plot; some vague caper to act as a backdrop to Illya and Napoleon's relationship is more than fine with me. Likewise if your focus is on movie style shenanigans rather than politics, that's A-OK.

Don't feel you have to do huge amounts of research on the Cold War if you're not a history buff – though if you are please go ahead, by all means – but please don't just handwave societal attitudes to homosexuality etc either. I find it really jarring when reading fic set in the 1960s to suddenly stumble over supportive best friends and organisations that are oddly embracing of their agents' personal lives. Gaby might put her friendships first, but I still think Illya and Napoleon would go out of their way to conceal their relationship from her to avoid putting her in that position. UNCLE, and certainly the CIA and KGB, would absolutely have viewed a homosexual relationship as an intolerable security risk. If you find writing about historical homophobia unpleasant then it's not something you need to explore, but I would very much prefer it if the relationship is kept under wraps.

Other than that, I am super interested in both Illya and Napoleon's backstories. Are they right when they psychobabble each other in that cafe in the park? Was it just a sense of adventure that drove Napoleon to join the army at sixteen? Does Illya have a genuine loyalty to the KGB, or does love of Mother Russia override the pain the state has caused him? How does their friendship, and then their affection for each other, grow?

I'm intrigued by the prospect of what would happen to Illya, in particular, if ties to UNCLE were somehow severed -- he's the one that's going to find himself stranded in hostile territory, unlike Napoleon and Gaby. I'm also dubious that the KGB would really ever allow him to return home after his extended time in the decadent West. Would he ever defect?

I just really love comrades who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin. I like the hothouse atmosphere created when you can't share how much you love someone with anybody else.

If you are interested in writing smut for this pairing please feel free to check out the relevant section of my letter for Smut Swap where I waxed somewhat lyrical on the subject.

*****

I feel like I've practically written a 5K fic now, but hopefully there was something here that will be useful to you. Have fun, and enjoy the exchange. I very much look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Hi there. Writing a letter for Smut Swap feels slightly more awkward than for Yuletide or other exchanges, in that my id feels rather exposed, but hopefully we have some kinks in common as well as some fandoms. If you do notice certain repeated themes and motifs please don't take that for a failure of imagination; rather a sign that I am a woman of simple and consistent tastes. In any case, thanks for taking me on, and I hope you enjoy the exchange.

I have a tendency to be wordy, so I'm going to try to keep this brief. Let your own muse be the guide for how much plot surrounds the porn, and please feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts, or use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. I don't want to cramp your style too much, and obviously we may have only matched on a few or even one of these tags, so please just take this as a wish list that you can mix and match from as suits you. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

DCU (Comics)

Apollo/Midnighter

I've just recently read the latest run of Midnighter and the current Midnighter and Apollo, and I loved them both, which is such a great welcome home for an old favourite OTP. I'd enjoy just about anything set in the new timeline, but I'm not hugely wedded to continuity as a whole, so feel free to cherry pick if you need to set up some kind of background/backstory.

1) superpower sex

After all the time I've done in comics and comics adjacent fandoms this is one of my great abiding kinks, and one from which many others flow. Super strength? Endurance? Multiple orgasms/non-existent refractory periods? Creative use of powers and abilities? 100% here for all of it. I'll elucidate further below.

2) anal sex
3) barebacking

No mystery here. I tend to think of Midnighter bottoming more often, but am more than willing to be won over.

4) first time
5) make up/reconciliation sex
6) reunion sex
7) emotional sex

I'd be equally happy with fic set at the beginning of the relationship where they get together for the first time, or later on after the break up and make up.

8) rough sex
9) sleepy sex/morning sex

I can imagine these two having a very varied sexual repertoire that depends on mood, surroundings, stage of relationship, etc. Maybe everything's more tentative after the break up, until finally it isn't anymore and they can let go the way they used to. Or maybe that's the beauty of having figured a few things out; that things don't need to be so fraught all the time. Here for it either way.

10) sex after fighting/battle

Adrenalin fuelled triumphant sex, panicked I almost lost you sex, the whole gamut.

11) size difference

I'm actually not sure what the canonical size difference is any more, the art's changed so much over the years, and Midnighter is no shrinking violet, obviously, but he is only human, albeit enhanced, and Apollo is a hyperclass metahuman. I'm sure there's some fun still to be had here.

12) held down
13) manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
14) flexibility
15) wall sex
16) marathon sex
17) multiple sex positions
18) fucked raw

I like general aggressive physicality between (almost) evenly matched men who are skilled fighters. I really like the thought of one partner using his full strength to hold the other one down. Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a not small partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too. Apollo’s very strong and Midnighter’s almost certainly flexible so I can see them going at it against a wall (I’m thinking of the ‘climb you like a tree’ incarnation rather than both standing facing it). Marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

19) bodyswap

Handwave (or not, as you choose) a macguffin that switches the guys into each other’s bodies, and treat it as seriously or humorously as you like. Wild sex in each other’s bodies would definitely be a priority, I imagine.

20) role reversal

An exception to my usual rule about strongly preferring canonical settings to AUs. Sunny, good natured Andrew Pulaski becomes the Midnighter, and "Lucas Trent" becomes Apollo. How does their relationship change?

Dick Grayson/Bruce Wayne

I'd very much prefer Dick to be in his early twenties and well into his independent life as Nightwing, please. I have no problem with Bruce angsting, in his Bruce way, about the situation, but please, no suggestion whatsoever that he was secretly lusting after Robin all along. And from Dick's perspective, he had a father and his name was John Grayson. Bruce has been a mentor and a friend and a partner, and now he's a different kind of partner.

I'd really enjoy something set during or after Dick's time as Batman, whether that status shift acts as a catalyst, or whether it was Bruce's "death" that finally brought some sharp realisations, or whatever. Dick's need for independence and Bruce's boundary issues have always been stumbling blocks in their canonical relationship, so anything that touches on that is welcome. Or during/after Dick's time as Grayson, and the changes that must have brought to their partnership. Or anywhere in an unspecified continuity as long as Dick is an adult.

1) anal sex
2) barebacking

No real mystery here, I don't think, but while a majority of fic tends to assume Dick bottoms exclusively in this relationship, I'm not so sure.

3) first time with a guy
4) first time bottoming

Bruce has slept with a million women – or has he; is the playboy reputation all an act? – but this is his first time with a man, whether because he never met another man he was attracted to, or, perhaps more likely, never met another man he trusted. Or perhaps he has had fleeting one night stands, but he's certainly never bottomed before. There's never been anyone he'd trust that much.

5) emotional sex
6) vulnerability

There's so much riding on this relationship, years or even decades of friendship and partnership and family. Both parties are putting themselves on the line here, and it shows.

7) secret relationships/forbidden relationships

If word got out that Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are sleeping together it could be awkward. If the wrong people found out Batman and Nightwing are in love it could be catastrophic.

8) manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
9) size difference
10) held down
11) marathon sex
12) multiple sex positions
13) flexibility
14) wall sex
15) rough sex
16) fucked raw

I really like the thought of one partner in a pair using his full strength to hold the other one down. Strikes me more as the sort of thing Bruce would do, and certainly he's bigger and stronger, but if you’d like to convince me that Dick could do it I am absolutely here for it. Rough sex and manhandling seem like exactly the sort of thing two guys as physical as this would get up to, and I can see the two of them wrestling/battling for dominance/rolling around and switching positions.

Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too. Bruce is strong and Dick’s very flexible so I can certainly see them going at it against a wall (I’m thinking of the ‘climb you like a tree’ incarnation rather than both standing facing it). Marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

17) identity porn

I'm always up for couples with multiple identities playing with them to their very fullest potential. In this case there's no secrets to cause confusion, but Bruce Wayne, Brucie Wayne, Dick Grayson, Officer Dick Grayson, Batman, Nightwing, and Batman II is still a good selection of likely suspects. [DNW: any appearance by Robin; adult identities only.]

18) role reversal

Batman Incorporated and the whole post-Batman RIP status quo was over far too quickly, and I'd like to revisit it or something like it. Dick's Batman now. He's also Damian's father figure and head of the family. It's Bruce that's on the wrong foot for once, trying to find a place for himself in the family and re-forge a partnership that means the world to him.

19) bodyswap

Handwave (or not, as you choose) a macguffin that switches the guys into each other’s bodies, and treat it as seriously or humorously as you like. Wild sex in each other’s bodies would definitely be a priority, I imagine. Well, for Dick, anyway, and I'm sure he could persuade Bruce.

20) prison sex

Any set up whatsoever to get him there – undercover, captured, framed, mistakenly arrested, vague handwave, whatever – but Dick is far too pretty to be left in prison on his own, so Bruce soon follows. [DNW: non con, though I'm fine with the threat of non con from others in this situation.]

Dick Grayson/Jason Todd

I'm a fan of fraternal incest, but Dick and Jay's relationship has varied a lot across years and continuities so feel free to engage with that as much or as little as suits the story you're telling. Please also feel free to cherry pick if you need to set up some kind of background/backstory.

1) anal sex
2) barebacking
3) wet & messy

No real mystery here, I don't think. I don't have a set dynamic in mind either, so go with whatever suits the story best.

4) dominance struggle
5) emotional sex

There's a lot of baggage to be unpacked here, whether it's jealousy, a desire to sully Daddy's golden boy, disagreement/disapproval/disappointment over attitudes to vigilantism and crime fighting, or misreading each other's feelings. There's nothing simple here, and there are certainly strings attached.

6) secret relationships/forbidden relationships

Does Jason even have a public identity these days? Who's that guy that's been seen with the Wayne heir? When/if the rest of the family finds out Dick and Jason are sleeping together it could be awkward. If the wrong people find out Nightwing and Red Hood are in love it could be catastrophic.

7) thank god we're alive sex

Adrenalin rushes, close calls, and narrow escapes. Sure fire recipe for life affirming sex.

8) manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
9) size difference
10) held down
11) marathon sex
12) multiple sex positions
13) flexibility
14) wall sex
15) rough sex
16) fucked raw

I really like the thought of one partner in an evenly matched pair using his full strength to hold the other one down. Strikes me more as the sort of thing Jason would do, and certainly he's bigger, though not better trained or practised I don't think. Rough sex and manhandling seem like exactly the sort of thing two guys as physical as this would get up to, and I can see the two of them wrestling/battling for dominance/rolling around and switching positions.

Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too. Jason’s strong and Dick’s very flexible so I can certainly see them going at it against a wall (I’m thinking of the ‘climb you like a tree’ incarnation rather than both standing facing it). Marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

17) identity porn

I'm always up for couples with multiple identities playing with them to their very fullest potential. In this case there's no secrets to cause confusion, but Dick Grayson, Officer Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Batman, Nightwing, and Red Hood is still a good selection of likely suspects. [DNW: any appearance by Robin; adult identities only.]

18) role reversal

An exception to my usual rule about strongly preferring canonical settings to AUs. What if Jason was youthful Bruce Wayne's ward and Dick the son he adopted later? What if everything else was unchanged but it was Dick that died and came back? What if Bruce left the Batman identity to Jason, or Jason somehow won the battle for the cowl?

19) bodyswap

Handwave (or not, as you choose) a macguffin that switches the guys into each other’s bodies, and treat it as seriously or humorously as you like. Wild sex in each other’s bodies would definitely be a priority, I imagine.

20) prison sex

Any set up whatsoever to get him there – undercover, captured, framed, mistakenly arrested, vague handwave, whatever – but Dick is far too pretty to be left in prison on his own, so Jason soon follows. [DNW: non con, though I'm fine with the threat of non con from others in this situation.]

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan

I am crazy in love with this movie and this pairing right now, and I can't really explain why it hit so suddenly twenty years down the track, except that I stumbled across it on tv in a hotel room one afternoon last year, and it brought so much flooding back to me about being a student in 1997, and suffice it to say I am heartbroken there isn't more fic for it. Of particular relevance to this exchange there is very little smut indeed, and there should be more!

1) anal sex
2) barebacking
3) drunk sex

No real surprises here. I feel like these two are probably fairly vanilla in their tastes? At least in the beginning. Whether because they start as kids, or because it's a bit of a difficult journey to acknowledge their feelings go beyond friendship, or whatever. I think I'd prefer Will topping. I can imagine alcohol playing a part in mustering up the courage to make the first move, or just good natured drunken shenanigans on a typical Friday night.

4) first time
5) first time bottoming
6) first time with a guy

It's absolutely up to you when you set your fic, and which of these might apply. If they get together as teenagers it may be their first time full stop; if later maybe just first time with a guy. If it's an established relationship maybe it's the first time they graduate to full on anal sex rather than the handjobs/oral they're used to. I'd prefer it to be Chuckie bottoming if so.

7) friends to lovers
8) fuckbuddies to lovers

Again, up to you when your fic is set, but I'm interested in transitions either way. The moment they go from friends to lovers if that's a big change rather than a gradual thing, or if they've been fooling around for a long time the moment when they realise actually this is something real.

9) gay for you
10) internalised homophobia
11) secret relationships/forbidden relationships

It's 1997, they're 21, and they keep fairly masculine company. I can see this being a situation where either or both are uncomfortable with sexuality/identity issues but totally comfortable with each other. Or maybe there's some discomfort and some difficulty adjusting to/acknowledging new feelings. Or maybe they're both fine with it but don't want anyone else to know. Maybe they're not quite as fine as they think.

I went on at considerably more length about why I love this couple in my Yuletide letter, so if you'd like to check that out for background, please feel free.

The Man From UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I also love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship. I love partners who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin.

1) anal sex
2) barebacking
3) wet & messy

No real surprises here. I very much prefer Illya topping during anal sex. I think Napoleon is much more confident in himself and more comfortable in his sexuality. I don’t want to see him as a wilting flower or a damsel though. Nothing could be further from the truth.

4) internalised homophobia
5) secret relationships/forbidden relationships
6) thank god we're alive sex

As far as plot goes, I do prefer fic that operates in a vaguely realistic 1960s world. I really do just love the claustrophobic nature of relationships no one else can know about, especially in a canon where life is dangerous. Removing the support network of friends/relatives/colleagues serves to intensify the emotional dependency on each other. I also enjoy a bit of difficulty in coming to terms with feelings that may not initially be welcome, though not excessive self flagellation. Given that dangerous setting I also like the inevitable reactions to facing/narrowly escaping/being about to go into threatening situations.

7) dominance struggle
8) held down
9) manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
10) wall sex
11) rough sex
12) marathon sex
13) multiple sex positions
14) fucked raw

I like fighting leading to fucking. I like general aggressive physicality between (almost) evenly matched men who are skilled fighters. I really like the thought of one partner using his full strength to hold the other one down. Rough sex and manhandling seem like exactly the sort of thing two guys as physical as this would get up to, and I can see the two of them wrestling/battling for dominance/rolling around and switching positions. I love the thought of Illya manipulating Napoleon into exactly the best positions for the deepest, hardest fucking. I also enjoy the thought of Napoleon making him absolutely work for it.

Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a not small partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too. Illya’s very strong and Napoleon’s almost certainly flexible so I can certainly see them going at it against a wall (I’m thinking of the ‘climb you like a tree’ incarnation rather than both standing facing it). Also, realism aside, marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

15) bodyswap

Handwave (or not, as you choose) a macguffin that switches the guys into each other’s bodies, and treat it as seriously or humorously as you like. Wild sex in each other’s bodies would definitely be a priority, I imagine.

16) prison sex

Some sort of scenario where they find themselves in prison together, whether undercover or as friends and partners arrested together in a third country, or maybe a pre-UNCLE Napoleon gets arrested trying to break into the Hermitage. [DNW: non con, though I'm fine with the threat of non con from others in this situation.]

And a few exceptions to my usual preference for canon-based fic:

17) breakup sex

I don't know where this came from, but it popped into my head and wouldn't let go. Illya's being recalled to Moscow, or UNCLE is disbanding, and it's all over. Angry or sad or anything in between, but definitely emotional. If you want to come up with a happy ending somehow that's fine, but equally if you don't/can't then a bittersweet parting is welcome too. [DNW: any suggestion of infidelity or betrayal; this is a breakup brought about by external factors only.]

18) identity porn
19) enemies with benefits

I’d love any form of mild AU that plays on one or other or both of the guys not knowing each other’s true identity. Meeting up in a bar while both undercover as a non-spy from a neutral country? Yes. One trying to game the other and falling for his own mark? Oh yes. The other one knowing the whole time and just playing along? Yep. One or both being ordered to seduce the other and pulling out all the stops to do it but finding the mark means more to him than the organisation? Hell yeah. Or just two very competent and attractive agents who meet up occasionally in between jobs (or indeed during jobs).

20) alpha bottoming to another alpha (alpha/beta/omega dynamics)

In a vaguely a/b/o world, both Illya and Napoleon are alphas. No omegas, no omega angst, no unnecessary political exploration, just two incredibly hot guys whose sheer physical attractiveness (and maybe loyalty/affection/other charms) trump biology. Battle for dominance or negotiate a compromise. Angst about the forbidden nature of the relationship by all means, and keep it strictly secret, or shout to the heavens that we’re alphas, damn it, and we live a dangerous life, and we do what we goddamn want.

Good luck, dear writer. Hopefully there's something here you can work with. Anything within the general spirit of these prompts would please me very much.

Hi! Happy New Year, and thanks for loving something I do and matching with me. I hope you enjoy the exchange.

I have a tendency to be wordy, so I'm going to try to keep this brief. If you'd like more detail on anything you're very welcome to check out any of my other Dear Writer letters; unless I say something explicitly contradictory here you can assume it all still applies. (Please don't assume any rank or preference based on existence or number of letters, either. Absence just means I (re)discovered something more recently. Fandoms are listed alphabetically.)

Feel free to work with the spirit rather than the letter of any prompts too – snippets from larger ideas, timestamps, etc. Use anything I suggest to set the mood rather than dictate a plot. Hopefully I've given you somewhere to start.

General Likes:

• found family/families of choice
• friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers
• characters knowing each other really well
• size/strength difference even when it's only a bit or especially if it's surprising
• first times
• reconciliations after rifts
• breakups followed by makeups
• loyalty
• you and me against the world
• identity porn
• fork in the road AUs

General Dislikes:

• infidelity
• non-con
• major character death
• unasked for kinks
• mundane AUs
• bdsm
• obliviousness/drawn out pining/misunderstandings
• parental incest or any related kink

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Mick Rory/Len Snart

I'm particularly intrigued by the canonical origin story of Mick and Len's partnership, namely the knife fight in Juvie. I would love a story that looks at that incident, or that starts there and then follows their burgeoning relationship through the early years. Alternatively, I do have a fondness for prison fic (and prison sex, as long as it's occurring between partners/cellmates who are already genuinely interested in each other) so something set a little later when they find themselves in Iron Heights together would be great. Absolutely no third parties or non con, please, though I'm fine with the threat of non con in this situation.

Other than that, what prompted Mick and Len's first break up? Why aren't they together when we first meet them in The Flash? What does it take for them to get back together? Is it easier or harder when they have to reconcile a second time in Legends? How does Mick really feel about the way Len keeps leaving him? How does Len reconcile his commitment to the concept of partners with his changing sense of morality and personal ethics? I'm quietly confident Snart is out there somewhere in the multiverse/timestream just waiting to be found, so any way you want to deal with the current inconvenience is fine.

One thought: the age of consent in New Zealand is 16, so I'd prefer it if Len is at least that old for any explicit encounters.

DCU (Comics)

A quick pre-emptive comment about Bruce and Dick: I ship them, and I enjoy their relationship as father and son, but I absolutely do not cross the streams. Parental (as opposed to fraternal) incest is a hard no for me. Please do not mix and match these two very separate requests.

When I think of Dick as a son I imagine classic continuities where he was very young – maybe eight? – when Bruce took him in. In ship fic I prefer the more modern continuities where he was in his early teens and significantly more independent. Bruce can stay in his early to mid twenties either way, which keeps him an editorially approved mid thirties now after a decade of Batmanning. Yes, I do like to have my cake and eat it too, and I thank comics as a genre for giving me that option.

Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Tim Drake & Damian Wayne

Please keep this story strictly gen, though I don't mind angst or violence if/where appropriate.

I love the whole Batfamily, and I love the fact that they are a family. Not a perfect one, and not one where everything runs smoothly, but a family nonetheless, that loves and supports and protects each other. Bruce Wayne loves all his wayward boys, however appalling he might be at showing it, and I firmly believe that the Robins do know, deep down, that he does, despite the misunderstandings and despite his unwillingness/inability to enunciate his feelings in anything less than the direst of circumstances. It's more difficult for some of them than others to see, maybe, and no two of them have an identical relationship with him, or indeed with each other.

That said, he can be an emotional minefield, and he’s not the only one. The boys can be just as bad, if not worse. There’s so much jealousy, rivalry, and jockeying for position alongside the absolute loyalty they show each other out in the field. Some of them actually think of themselves/each other as brothers, some of them are in denial, some are lying to each other, some are lying to themselves. So that’s what I’m looking for here. Fathers, and sons, and brothers. Relationships and partnerships. Don't worry about balancing all five characters equally, if that's getting in the way of the story. I do have a particular fondness for efforts (on anyone's part) to reintegrate Jason into the family, or just to reconcile in small ways. No saccharine "all is forgiven" required, baby steps are fine. Or any other family oriented idea you happen to have.

Dick Grayson/Bruce Wayne

I'd very much prefer Dick to be in his early twenties and well into his independent life as Nightwing, please. I have no problem with Bruce angsting, in his Bruce way, about the situation, but please, no suggestion whatsoever that he was secretly lusting after Robin all along. It’s a new thing! And from Dick's perspective, he had a father, and his name was John Grayson. Bruce has been a mentor and a friend and a partner, and now he's a different kind of partner. (In another example of having my cake and eating it too, I'm actually happy for other Robins to have mixed reactions, I just don't want any confusion from Dick.)

I'd really enjoy something set during or after Dick's time as Batman, whether that status shift acts as a catalyst, or whether it was Bruce's "death" that finally brought some sharp realisations, or whatever. Dick's need for independence and Bruce's boundary issues have always been stumbling blocks in their canonical relationship, so anything that touches on that is welcome. Or during/after Dick's time as Grayson, and the changes that must have brought to their partnership. Or anywhere in an unspecified continuity as long as Dick is an adult.

I'm totally here for explicit fic too, if the whim takes you. Superpowered sex is a kink of mine, and the Bats may not be metas but they have superpowers all their own. Strength and flexibility go a long way...

Dick Grayson/Jason Todd

I find Dick and Jason's relationship, or as much of it as we see, fascinating. There was always going to be some kind of issue, whether from Dick's perspective – suddenly no longer an only child – or from Jason's – growing up in the shadow of such a brother – and Jason dying just took that and turned it to eleven.

As adults, there's the whole complicating factor of their differing approach to crime fighting, as well as their different relationships with Bruce. I'm interested in seeing either or both explored. Do they reconcile as brothers first? Or cut out the middle step and build a new relationship independent of the old one? What compromises have to be made?

I do like external reactions, so I'm happy to see the way Bruce or the other Robins would greet such a change, but equally I love the pressure secrecy places on a relationship so I'd enjoy seeing what happens if they try to keep it under wraps. (I don't think Bruce would ultimately be particularly puritanical about it, though I do think he'd be disapproving for a million reasons at first, and worry for Jason, not just for Dick, would be part of that.)

I do enjoy rough sex and fighting leading to fucking, as well as the general athleticicm involved in vigilante sex, rooftop or otherwise...

Oliver Queen & Roy Harper & Connor Hawke

I should probably be clear right off the bat that I’m looking for pre-DCNu/Nu52 characterisation here. I haven’t read the latest run of Green Arrow, and wouldn’t know where to begin with fic set there. That said, I'm not a stickler for the minutiae of continuity here, so I'd be happy to have interesting bits and pieces of all three characters' back stories pulled in from their own individual runs pre-reboot.

I know there wasn’t a huge amount of interaction between all three characters even in the glory days of Green Arrow Vol 3, but I always felt like there should have been. The whole Arrow Clan was in a pretty great space for a while – or maybe that’s just in contrast to the Bats – and it really tickled my found families id. For better or for worse, these guys chose each other, and they had some terrible fights and rifts and upheavals, but I like to think they’d always get back together.

Ollie is a pretty terrible father most of the time – let’s not even touch on his failings as a husband – but it felt like he was trying. I really liked the idea of an Ollie who was older, and just a little wiser, trying to rebuild some bridges, or kickstart some relationships with his sons as adults that hadn’t existed/worked earlier. It’s really hard to be a father to an adult man if you fucked it up when he was a boy, but it’s fertile ground for fic exploration. I don’t really have any specific plot prompts, other than maybe Three Idiots Go on a Road Trip Together and Fail to Talk About Their Feelings (With or Without Bonus Sneaking Around Hotel Rooms), but anything you come up with would be great. Gen only please.

Roy Harper/Connor Hawke

I ship Roy/Connor pretty hard, for all that there’s maybe a dozen fics in existence. Obviously if you don’t like incest pairings then there’s no need to go in that direction. Roy and Connor weren’t raised together, and don’t think of each other as brothers in anything but the most metaphorical sense. Instead, it’d be great to explore the unique and awkward position these guys find themselves in vis a vis Ollie – the ward that he was never really a very good parental figure to, and the son that he abandoned/ignored. Where to, then, when they meet as adults? Bonding after a good cathartic moan about absent fathers, rivalry/scrambling for position, the classic posturing between two heroes on the same turf, or a sense of instant rightness, a missing piece come home? Whatever way you want to take this would be cool.

If you do like incest pairings though, feel free to play that up as much or as little as you like. I can certainly imagine Ollie having something to say about his worldly son debauching his virginal one, and both of them in their own unique and distinctive ways telling him to take a long walk off a short pier. Or would they pre-empt that awkwardness in the first place by trying to keep things very much on the QT?

Dick Grayson/Roy Harper

Another vanishingly rare pairing, so almost anything would be welcome, set in any period or continuity. I'd be equally happy with them as angsty eighteen year olds in the Titans when Dick first left Gotham and Roy was on the outs with Ollie too, or as much more experienced but frankly not much less angsty adults in the Outsiders, or when they were both responsible grownups in the Justice League, or whenever. Commiserating about their guardians who just don't understand them would be pretty hilarious, Dick helping Roy cope with bringing Lian home, or with his addiction issues, or any other more serious ideas would be just as welcome. I'm also so there for all the tongue in cheek references to the Arrows' status as wannabe Bats...

Apollo/Midnighter

I've just recently read the latest run of Midnighter and the current Midnighter and Apollo, and I loved them both, which is such a great welcome home after being largely disappointed in what Stormwatch did to The Authority. I'd really love just about anything set in the new continuity. First meetings, first times, first time back together after the breakup... It's all pretty open to interpretation, and just crying out for fic. Whatever story you want to tell would be very welcome. (Actually... anything set anywhere/anywhen would be great. Feel free to mix and match too if you want to.)

I am absolutely here for some wall breaking superpowered sex too, if you're so inclined.

Fast and the Furious Series

Brian O'Conner/Dominic Toretto
Brian O'Conner/Letty Ortiz/Dominic Toretto/Mia Toretto
Brian O'Conner/Letty Ortiz/Dominic Toretto
Brian O'Conner/Dominic Toretto/Mia Toretto

I love just about everything about this franchise, from the action to the stunts to the humour to the international location work to the diverse casts to the eternal genre hopping. The thing I love by far the most, though, is the characters and the unbreakable bonds between them. I’ve always had a thing for passionate friendships and rifts and reconciliations, but I don’t think I’d ever realised how much I loved found families till I found this series. I've waxed lyrical about it several times in the past, so in the interests of this entry not breaking lj I'll link you to my most recent Ship Swap letter, and if you're so inclined to last year's Smut Swap letter. Everything I say there could just as easily have been written today.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting/Chuckie Sullivan

I was lucky enough to match on this fandom for Yuletide, but I am insatiable now and I need more. Five fics on AO3 is not enough. (There could never be enough.)

I love this film so much, and more than anything I adore Will and Chuckie's relationship. The love and trust and perfect understanding between them just does it for me so well. It's a perfect combination of found family, "you and me against the world" friendships, and loyalty through thick and thin.

I would love pretty much anything, set at any point in their relationship. First time? Yep. Fumbling teenagers? Sure. Reunion post California? Absolutely. Couple years down the road when they're living together and making a go of it? Hell yes.

I went on at considerably more length in my Yuletide letter, so if you'd like to check that out, feel free.

Aside: There is not one single explicit fic for this pairing in existence. That is an outrage. Just saying.

Marvel 616

Julio Richter/Shatterstar

Rictor and Shatterstar’s relationship was always central to both of their characters, and yet at the same time it got pretty short shrift as far as actual plot went. I’d dearly love to see it fleshed out and explored. How much longer can Rictor put up with Shatterstar’s ideas about open relationships? Is that actually what Shatterstar really wanted, or was it all a misunderstanding? Does he even know, finally, what he does want? They’ve broken up several times in the past, are they going to make it this time and stay together? (Spoiler: I hope so.)

With the end of Vol 3, the boys are essentially in comic book limbo, so I’d like to know where to from here? What do they do after Mojoworld? Do they stay there to fight the good fight? Do they go on dimension hopping adventures? Do they come back to Earth and try to settle down? (For a value of settling down that these two crazy kids are capable of achieving, which I somehow imagine involves sudden sword fights through the newly renovated apartment.)

That said, I do love the histrionics and drama of their young days, so if the whim takes you, I'd enjoy fic set in earlier continuities they've shared too. First times, and all those break ups and makeups on the road to the final one.

We’re talking about mutants/extra-dimensional beings/superheroes here, so a bit of wall slamming, furniture breaking, Olympic style stamina and fortitude wouldn’t go astray in any sex scenes...

Takers (2010)

Gordon Cozier/John Rahway

Honesty compels me to agree that this movie is not exactly a cinematic masterpiece, but I love it a lot anyway. The protagonists are handsome and charming and impeccably dressed. They all seem to love each other a lot, and any one of them would risk his life for the rest. There is honour among thieves. They pull off brilliantly planned, flawlessly executed heists. Until the last one. I still shake my fist at the screen when Ghost appears, and demand to know why they trust him. Oh, well. So goes the world.

We know next to nothing about anybody's backstory, with the obvious exception of Gordon's childhood with Naomi in the Caribbean, so there's a totally blank slate to work with there, but I thought the film did a good job of setting up Gordon and John's friendship especially, and they do basically drive off into the sunset together at the end, so I'd love any kind of fic that explores their relationship, whether before, during, or after the film.

Where and when and how did Gordon and John meet? Where did they pick up their unique skill sets? Why are they so loyal to each other? How did they put the gang together? Do the rest of the guys know about their relationship, or is that just one more secret in a life chock full of them? Where do they go after the movie ends? Do they make it to a well-earned retirement on some tropical island, or are they on the run somewhere? I'd love anything along these lines, be it prequel or sequel.

The Man From UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I'd love to see some of that journey, whether the whole way or just the final step. Equally, I love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship.

I'm also super interested in both Illya and Napoleon's backstories. Are they right when they psychobabble each other in that cafe in the park? Was it just a sense of adventure that drove Napoleon to join the army at sixteen? Does Illya have a genuine loyalty to the KGB, or does love of Mother Russia override the pain the state has caused him? How does their friendship, and then their affection for each other, grow?

I'm intrigued by the prospect of what would happen to Illya, in particular, if ties to UNCLE were somehow severed -- he's the one that's going to find himself stranded in hostile territory, unlike Napoleon and Gaby. I'm also dubious that the KGB would really ever allow him to return home after his extended time in the decadent West. Would he ever defect?

I just really love comrades who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin. I like the hothouse atmosphere created when you can't share how much you love someone with anybody else.

If you're so inclined, please feel free to check out my Smut Swap letter.

Top Gun (1986)

Tom "Iceman" Kazansky/Pete "Maverick" Mitchell

An absolute wild card, I have no idea what to say about this fandom, other than the fact that I love this film in all its cheesy glory. The eighties were a great time to be alive. ;-p

I'm here for all the classic military tropes from internalised homophobia to keeping things on the absolute d-low. I almost typed DADT, but of course that's still seven years in the future at the point the movie was made! I like Mav and Ice's antagonism, and I like their hard won friendship and loyalty. Anything you come up with would be great.

Thank you so much, and I hope you found something in this epic tome to work with.

Happy Holidays in advance! I hope you have a great Yuletide. Apparently we share a love of something small and under-appreciated, so I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance. This is a sampler of things I’d love to see, in fandoms I dearly wish had more fic and more fans, but I'm sure I'll be delighted by wherever the muse takes you. (For the record, I’m arysteia at AO3 as well. And also on twitter if you’re into that sort of thing.)

My greatest loves in fan fiction – and in canon, to be honest – are character development and relationships. I do enjoy well-plotted stories, of course, but I get a lot of emotional satisfaction out of seeing the plot show me new things about characters that I love. My favourite tropes tend to centre round things like found family, undying loyalty, you and me against the world vows, nemeses turned sworn comrades, reconciliations after rifts, and identity porn.

I dislike mundane AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes in fic, though as a general rule as part of character development rather than pure PWP, so if you enjoy writing them please go ahead. If you prefer lower ratings then super intense feelings and emotions tickle my id just as well.

My tastes in sex scenes are fairly vanilla, though I do like to read explicit fic. Exceptions would be rough sex, fighting leading to fucking, and one partner holding the other down/using their full strength on them (consensually). [That said, if you're into that sort of thing, feel free to have a look at my letter for Smut Swap earlier this year. I'm talking about completely different pairings, but most of the non-AU stuff in the first couple of sections is fairly generally applicable. I know I'm contradicting myself a bit here, so feel free to clarify via anon comment if you want to.]

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

Good Will Hunting (1997) – Will Hunting, Chuckie Sullivan

I love this film so much, and more than anything I adore Will and Chuckie's relationship. Chuckie's part in the movie is comparatively small, but he speaks a thousand words with every grin, smirk, and glare, and I am an absolute sucker for his brand of love and loyalty combined with straight talking and the ability to give a shove where required. It seems very obvious, without much exposition, that he and Will have known each other forever, and always been there for each other through thick and thin. He's also a big enough person to let Will go – heck, make him go – though of course I am selfishly asking you to undo that somehow and get them back together. Sorry, not sorry.

Sean summed it up well when Lambeau was complaining about Will's choice to hang out with a "retarded gorilla" and he responded, "That retarded gorilla would take a bat to your head if he asked him to." [We've come quite some way in understanding inappropriate slurs since 1997 but I think the sentiment is still clear.] Likewise when one of the other boys hesitates about getting into a fight to support Will, and Chuckie says something to the effect, "When I'm done with them I'm coming for you." It's like catnip to my love of found family, "you and me against the world" friendships, and undying loyalty in the face of all common sense.

Anyway, there is so little fic available featuring these two that pretty much anything you can come up with would be very welcome indeed. As far as my preferences go, obviously I do ship it and would love to receive a fic where Will and Chuckie are together, whether they get together before, during, or after the film. I'd prefer for them not to break up, though I'm more than happy for them to make up or get back together after a separation. I'd prefer Skylar be dealt with as briefly and respectfully as possible, whether via off screen break up or simple, time honoured, assuming that's been dealt with and moving forward.

I guess my major question is: where to from the end of the movie? What happens next? Given that Chuckie was so set on Will leaving, and more importantly not wasting his gifts and opportunities, it seems like he wouldn't accept Will just giving up on California and coming home to the same old same old. So what changes? Does Chuckie follow him out there? Does Will come home but to a new life in Boston? Can Will help Chuckie realise a few dreams of his own? What kind of life can they build together? Is it, by choice or necessity, a closeted life? When and how does that change?

That brings me to one of the other things that intrigues me, namely how much the world has and hasn't changed between 1997 and 2016. [I can't believe this film will be twenty years old next year! Where did the time go???] So I'm interested in that too. If you want to set your fic in 1997 or shortly thereafter, great; if you want to look in at what the guys are doing now, that'd also be awesome. Please, please, don't write them as having not spoken or seen each other for huge chunks of time in those intervening years though, I can't bear that thought.

Thanks very much in advance, and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Takers (2010) – Gordon Cozier, John Rahway

Honesty compels me to agree that this movie is not exactly a cinematic masterpiece, but I love it a lot anyway. The protagonists are handsome and charming and impeccably dressed. They all seem to love each other a lot, and any one of them would risk his life for the rest. There is honour among thieves. They pull off brilliantly planned, flawlessly executed heists. Until the last one. I still shake my fist at the screen when Ghost appears, and demand to know why they trust him. Oh, well. So goes the world.

We know next to nothing about anybody's backstory, with the obvious exception of Gordon's childhood with Naomi in the Caribbean, so there's a totally blank slate to work with there, but I thought the film did a good job of setting up Gordon and John's friendship especially, and they do basically drive off into the sunset together at the end, so I'd love any kind of fic that explores their relationship, whether before, during, or after the film. I do ship it quite hard, despite the veritable non-existence of fic.

Where and when and how did Gordon and John meet? Where did they pick up their unique skill sets? Why are they so loyal to each other? How did they put the gang together? Do the rest of the guys know about their relationship, or is that just one more secret in a life chock full of them? Where do they go after the movie ends? Do they make it to a well-earned retirement on some tropical island, or are they on the run somewhere? I'd love anything along these lines, be it prequel or sequel.

Thanks very much in advance, and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Green Arrow (Comics) – Roy Harper, Connor Hawke, Oliver Queen

I should probably be clear right off the bat that I’m looking for pre-DCNu/Nu52 characterisation here. I haven’t read the latest run of Green Arrow, and wouldn’t know where to begin with fic set there. To the best of my knowledge it wouldn’t have anything like the character dynamics or interaction I’m looking for anyway, even if it’s great in its own right. That said, I'm not a stickler for the minutiae of continuity here, so I'd be happy to have interesting bits and pieces of all three characters' back stories pulled in from their own individual runs pre-reboot.

I know there wasn’t a huge amount of interaction between all three characters even in the glory days of Green Arrow Vol 3, but I always felt like there should have been. The whole Arrow Clan was in a pretty great space for a while – or maybe that’s just in contrast to the Bats – and it really tickled my found families id. For better or for worse, these guys chose each other, and they had some terrible fights and rifts and upheavals, but I like to think they’d always get back together.

Ollie is a pretty terrible father most of the time – let’s not even touch on his failings as a husband – but it felt like he was trying. I really liked the idea of an Ollie who was older, and just a little wiser, trying to rebuild some bridges, or kickstart some relationships with his sons as adults that hadn’t existed/worked earlier. It’s really hard to be a father to an adult man if you fucked it up when he was a boy, but it’s fertile ground for fic exploration.

I ship Roy/Connor pretty hard too, for all that there’s maybe a dozen fics in existence. Obviously if you don’t like incest pairings then there’s no need to go that way. Roy and Connor weren’t raised together, and don’t think of each other as brothers in anything but the most metaphorical sense. Instead, it’d be great to explore the unique and awkward position these guys find themselves in vis a vis Ollie – the ward that he was never really a very good parental figure to, and the son that he abandoned/ignored. Where to, then, when they meet as adults? Bonding after a good cathartic moan about absent fathers, rivalry/scrambling for position, the classic posturing between two heroes on the same turf, or a sense of instant rightness, a missing piece come home? Whatever way you want to take this would be cool.

If you do like incest pairings though, feel free to play that up as much or as little as you like. I can certainly imagine Ollie having something to say about his worldly son debauching his virginal one, and both of them in their own unique and distinctive ways telling him to take a long walk off a short pier. Or would they pre-empt that awkwardness in the first place by trying to keep things very much on the QT?

Use your discretion as to how best to include all three characters. I feel like this might be a great opportunity for an external POV – Ollie’s perspective on the relationship and how he feels when he finds out about it; equally a fic centred on Roy and Connor where they talk about/worry about/argue about Ollie would work too. If you had a great idea that only involved Roy and Connor I'd be fine with that as well. Obviously if you're writing sex scenes I don't want Ollie to be present!

I don’t really have any specific plot prompts, other than maybe Three Idiots Go on a Road Trip Together and Fail to Talk About Their Feelings (With or Without Bonus Sneaking Around Hotel Rooms). I’m sure that anything you come up with that incorporates some of these general requests would make me very happy though.

Thanks very much in advance, and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Hi! Thanks for loving something I love and matching with me!

My greatest loves in fan fiction (and in canon, to be honest) are character development and relationships. I do enjoy well-plotted stories, of course, but I get a lot of emotional satisfaction out of seeing the plot show me new things about characters that I love. Even a PWP can reveal heretofore unrealised aspects of a particular character’s personality, and I love it when they do. My favourite tropes tend to centre round things like found family, undying loyalty in the face of all common sense, you and me against the world vows, nemeses turned sworn comrades, reconciliations after rifts, and identity porn.

I dislike mundane AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. My tastes in sex scenes are pretty vanilla, though I do like to read explicit fic. Exceptions would be rough sex, fighting leading to fucking, and one partner holding the other down/using their full strength on them (consensually).

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

*****

The Man from UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I'd love to see some of that journey, whether the whole way or just the final step. Equally, I love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship.

For me, a major part of the attraction is the setting, so if at all possible I'd love to have a fic recognisably set in the time period, ie 1963. That doesn't mean huge amounts of research on the Cold War if you're not a history buff -- though if you are please go ahead, by all means -- but please don't just handwave societal attitudes to homosexuality etc either. I find it really jarring when reading fic set in the 1960s to suddenly stumble over supportive best friends and organisations that are oddly embracing of their agents' personal lives. Gaby might put her friendships first, but I still think Illya and Napoleon would go out of their way to conceal their relationship from her to avoid putting her in that position. UNCLE, and certainly the CIA and KGB, would absolutely have viewed a homosexual relationship as an intolerable security risk. If you find writing abut historical homophobia unpleasant then it's not something you need to explore, but I would very much prefer it if the relationship is kept under wraps.

Other than that, I am super interested in both Illya and Napoleon's backstories. Are they right when they psychobabble each other in that cafe in the park? Was it just a sense of adventure that drove Napoleon to join the army at sixteen? Does Illya have a genuine loyalty to the KGB, or does love of Mother Russia override the pain the state has caused him? How does their friendship, and then their affection for each other, grow?

I'm intrigued by the prospect of what would happen to Illya, in particular, if ties to UNCLE were somehow severed -- he's the one that's going to find himself stranded in hostile territory, unlike Napoleon and Gaby. I'm also dubious that the KGB would really ever allow him to return home after his extended time in the decadent West. Would he ever defect?

I just really love comrades who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin. I like the hothouse atmosphere created when you can't share how much you love someone with anybody else.

This ship hits a lot of relationship tropes I really like, and if the whim takes you I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes. I hugely enjoy evenly matched partners struggling for dominance, and fighting leading to fucking as long as both parties are equally into it. I have a basic preference for Illya topping, but I can well imagine Napoleon making him work for it. Feel free to check out my Smut Swap letter for ideas. If you're uncomfortable with higher ratings, however, please stick to what you’re comfortable with.

*****

Legends of Tomorrow

Mick Rory/Len Snart

This is my first time requesting this fandom/pairing, so apologies if this section seems less polished than the others. I'm absolutely smitten with it, though, and will be delighted with just about anything since it's all so new. One thing I've noticed, however, is that a lot of the fic available so far seems very fluffy, and while I don't want anything particularly grim, I'd prefer to have a little more acknowledgement of the rogues' status as, well, rogues.

I am particularly intrigued by the origin story of Mick and Len's partnership, namely the knife fight in Juvie. I would love to have a story that starts there and then follows their burgeoning relationship through the early years. Alternatively, I do have a fondness for prison fic (and prison sex, as long as it's occurring between partners/cellmates who are already genuinely interested in each other) so something set a little later when they find themselves in Iron Heights together would be great. Absolutely no third parties or non con, please, though I'm fine with the threat of non con in this situation.

Other than that, what prompted Mick and Len's first break up? Why aren't they together when we first meet them in The Flash? What does it take for them to get back together? Is it easier or harder when they have to reconcile a second time in Legends? How does Mick really feel about the way Len keeps leaving him? How does Len reconcile his commitment to the concept of partners with his changing sense of morality and personal ethics?

If the whim takes you I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes. I hugely enjoy evenly matched partners struggling for dominance, and fighting leading to fucking as long as both parties are equally into it. I have a basic preference for Mick topping, but I can well imagine Len making him work for it. One thought: the age of consent in New Zealand is 16, so I'd prefer it if Len is at least that old for any explicit encounters. If you're uncomfortable with higher ratings, please stick to what you’re comfortable with.

*****

Fast and the Furious Series

Dominic Toretto/Brian O’Conner

I ship Dom and Brian pretty goddamn hard, and always have, so basically anything you write me exploring their relationship, at any point in the series, would be fantastic. (Maybe not after Furious 7 since I feel like that one was so family oriented I don't want to mess with canon, but use your discretion.)

For me this whole series was a perfect storm of instant, undying, friendships, love at first sight, ambiguously charming and endearing designated “villains” with tragic backstories, police officers incapable of fulfilling their sworn duty in the face of said “villains”, and the fundamental identity porn involved in a guy who is not who he says he is, all bullet proof kinks of mine. I think what I love most about the first film is the sheer histrionic fervour with which Dom and Brian’s friendship unfolds. They’ve barely met before Dom is confiding his deepest, darkest secrets, and another five minutes after that Brian is throwing away his career and maybe even his freedom to save him. There’s no other explanation for that but love at first sight. And it never lets up after that, even if it does mellow with age and familiarity.

I’m not a fan of AUs, so please adhere to the canon universe, and the themes that were prominent in the film(s). I am so here for cops and robbers/identity porn/rifts and reconciliations/break ups and make ups/found family, etc etc. With just one exception... My friends and I often used to joke that Faster and Furiouser Fifteen would be set in space. So give me all the wacky space adventures of outlaw Dom and interstellar agent Brian.

As far as ratings go, if you are so inclined then I would dearly love to read explicit fic. Feel free to check out my Smut Swap letter for ideas. If you are not, however, then super intense feelings and emotions will do the trick as well. It’s that kind of thrill and passion and connection that I’m most interested in.

*****

Hopefully there's something there that you can work with! Thank you again for writing for me.

Well, this is certainly a different kind of exchange letter than I’ve ever tried to write before! We must have a kink or two in common to have matched though, so welcome. If it is only a kink or two, then please feel free to ignore the rest of this lengthy list. If it’s more though, or anything else catches your eye, then mix and match as you like, within the broad parameters I’ve indicated (and observing a few DNWs). Any ordering/grouping within the list for each relationship is more about ease of composing a readable letter than providing a laundry list to check off.

*****

The Man from UNCLE

Illya/Napoleon

If you’re interested in my general feelings about this fandom and this pairing, feel free to read my letter for the current round of Ship Swap. I’ve come to the fandom and the pairing only in the last month, so that’s why this is a newcomer in the annals of challenges past. I am very keen on it though!

1) anal sex
2) barebacking
3) wet & messy

No real surprises here. I very much prefer Illya topping during anal sex, but not because I think it says anything about Napoleon’s personality. Well, unless you count the fact that he comes across as much more confident in himself and therefore arguably more comfortable in his sexuality, which I do think is a reasonable inference. I don’t want to see him as a wilting flower or a damsel though. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s all about the physical aesthetic for me, and I’ll elucidate below.

4) fight sex
5) power dynamics
6) held down
7) manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
8) wall sex
9) rough sex
10) marathon sex
11) multiple sex positions
12) fucked raw

Feel free to show as much or as little of the transition from reluctant allies to lovers as you like. I can certainly imagine them continuing to have both petty and serious disagreements about ideology, method, or general philosophy though. I like fighting leading to fucking, I like breakups and makeups, I like general aggressive physicality between (almost) evenly matched men who are skilled fighters. I really like the thought of one partner in that evenly matched pair using his full strength to hold the other one down.

Rough sex and manhandling seem like exactly the sort of thing two guys as physical as this would get up to, and I can see the two of them wrestling/battling for dominance/rolling around and switching positions. I love the thought of Illya manipulating Napoleon into exactly the best positions for the deepest, hardest fucking. I also enjoy the thought of Napoleon making him absolutely work for it.

Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a not small partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too. Illya’s very strong and Napoleon’s almost certainly flexible so I can certainly see them going at it against a wall (I’m thinking of the ‘climb you like a tree’ incarnation rather than both standing facing it).

Also, realism aside, marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

13) internalized homophobia
14) secret relationships/forbidden relationships
15) bruises
16) 'thank God we're alive' sex
17) desperate sex

As far as plot goes, I do prefer fic that operates in a vaguely realistic 1960s world. Apart from being a history/cold war fan, I really do just love the claustrophobic nature of relationships no one else can know about, especially in a canon where life is dangerous. Removing the support network of friends/relatives/colleagues serves to intensify the emotional dependency on each other. I also enjoy a bit of difficulty in coming to terms with feelings that may not initially be welcome, though not excessive self flagellation. Given that dangerous setting I also like the inevitable reactions to facing/narrowly escaping/being about to go into threatening situations.

18) identity porn
19) bodyswap
20) alpha bottoming to another alpha (alpha/beta/omega dynamics)

Three exceptions to my usual rule about strongly preferring canonical settings to AUs.

I’d love any form of mild AU that plays on one or other or both of the guys not knowing each other’s true identity. Meeting up in a bar while both undercover as a non-spy from a neutral country? Yes. One trying to game the other and falling for his own mark? Oh yes. The other one knowing the whole time and just playing along? Yep. One or both being ordered to seduce the other and pulling out all the stops to do it but finding the mark means more to him than the organisation? Hell yeah. Or indeed any other scenario you can come up with.

Handwave (or not, as you choose) a macguffin that switches the guys into each other’s bodies, and treat it as seriously or humorously as you like. Wild sex in each other’s bodies would definitely be a priority, I imagine.

In a vaguely a/b/o world, both Illya and Napoleon are alphas. No omegas, no omega angst, no unnecessary political exploration, just two incredibly hot guys whose sheer physical attractiveness (and maybe loyalty/affection/other charms) trump biology. Battle for dominance or negotiate a compromise. Angst about the forbidden nature of the relationship by all means, and keep it strictly secret, or shout to the heavens that we’re alphas, damn it, and we live a dangerous life, and we do what we goddamn want.

*****

Fast and Furious Series

Dom/Brian

1) sex in a car

Self explanatory surely; it felt strange to request this fandom and not include a car somewhere. Sex on a car is just as good. Sex while building cars, racing cars, chasing cars, crashing cars…

2) adrenaline
3) desperate sex
4) ‘thank God we’re alive’ sex

Whether breaking the law, enforcing the law, avoiding officers of the law, escaping criminals, assisting officers of the law, becoming criminals, or just generally breaking the laws of physics for fun, there’s no denying these guys are adrenaline junkies. Devote as much or as little time to the plot as you like as long as it leads to some kind of climax.

5) loyalty
6) vulnerability

Maybe more for the surrounding narrative than the sex itself, but these two stick together through thick and thin, and were comfortable sharing their secrets from surprisingly early in the piece.

5) fight sex

Based around the canonical rift and reconciliation, or any subsequent falling out or disagreement.

6) anal sex
7) barebacking
8) come as lube
9) wet & messy

I’m a big fan of anal for this pairing but have no top/bottom preference except for certain specific scenarios (some detailed below). Dom is, well, Vin Diesel, but Brian is no shrinking violet either. He can hold his own in any situation. Let both their physicalities shine through. The rest is fairly obvious, I think.

10) bruises
11) marking

Bruises acquired during wild adventures, more added in bed, fingertip impressions on wrists or hips, bitemarks…

12) held down
13) rough sex
14) marathon sex
15) fucked raw
16) manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
17) wall sex

I really like the thought of one partner in a (fairly) evenly matched pair using his full strength to hold the other one down. Strikes me more as the sort of thing Dom would do, but if you’d like to convince me that Brian could do it I am absolutely here for it.

Rough sex and manhandling seem like exactly the sort of thing two guys as physical as this would get up to, and I can see the two of them wrestling/battling for dominance/rolling around and switching positions.

Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a not small partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too. Dom’s strong and Brian’s flexible so I can certainly see them going at it against a wall (I’m thinking of the ‘climb you like a tree’ incarnation rather than both standing facing it).

Also, realism aside, marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

20) bodyswap

This one’s my wildcard, the one exception to my general dislike of AUs, but it would be pretty cool I think. Don’t worry about needing to come up with an explanation – though if you want to don’t let me stop you! – just cut straight to the chase. Wild, weird, wonderful, sex in the “wrong” body.

Dom/Brian/Letty/Mia

1) sedoretu

Two gay marriages, two straight marriages, two sets of siblings, one happy family. The perfect configuration for all four of my favourite people to settle down together and formalise their relationship.

2) secret relationships/forbidden relationships

But what if it doesn’t work out so neatly? What if one or both of Letty and Brian aren’t the correct moiety to match up with Dom and Mia? What if Brian was lying about that too? What if Dom and Mia are the products of the two halves of their parents’ sedoretu rather than just one, and thus can’t (publicly) form a sedoretu together?

If you matched on this tag but not sedoretu, then how does the foursome navigate around Dom and Mia’s sibling status? Do they just have a really big bed that Brian and Letty take the middle of, swapping sides and partners as necessary/desired?

3) group soulbonds

How does it work when four people are bonded together? Is it the psychic equivalent of a daisy chain, or is everyone connected to everyone else?

4) loyalty
5) trust kink
6) vulnerability

Maybe more for the surrounding narrative than the sex itself, but these four stick together through thick and thin.

7) power dynamics
8) possessive behavior

Who runs this household? I think Dom thinks it’s him, but sometimes I suspect it’s Mia. Who takes the lead in bed? I have no idea, so surprise me. It goes without saying that anyone from outside who tries to move in is going to get a short shrift, but who’s particularly possessive within the group?

9) reunion sex
10) rescue sex
11) ‘thank God we’re alive’ sex

Reconciling after the rift post the first movie. Welcoming Letty home after her resurrection post the sixth movie. Saving Mia from Shaw. Any other scenario where they’re all together again after an absence. The response to any of a million canonical or made up for the purpose life-risking escapades.

12) manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
13) marathon sex
14) multiple sex positions
15) size kink
16) anal sex

I find the prospect of two really big guys hauling their tiny womenfolk around to be both comical but also really hot. Especially if they “teamwork” it. All combinations and positions welcome.

14) barebacking
15) wet & messy
19) breeding

Absolutely no incest here please, but wouldn’t it be hot for both couples to be trying to conceive at the same time in the same bed, with Dom and Brian egging each other on because what in their lives isn’t a competition/race?

20) bodyswap

As above, a bit of a wildcard, and the one exception to my general dislike of AUs, but I think it could be hilarious (and hot!) to see how a bodyswap works here. Given the Mia/Dom complication, I assume it’d have to be a girls swap bodies with “their” guys, and then mightily enjoy running the show and doing the physical heavy lifting, rather than mix and matching and arguing about whether it’s incest if it’s your body but not your mind or vice versa. Non-siblings stay in the middle of the sandwich!

Dom/Brian/Letty

1) rescue sex
2) reunion sex
3) desperate sex
4) ‘thank God we’re alive’ sex

Reconciling after the rift post the first movie. Welcoming Letty home after her resurrection post the sixth movie. Letty rescuing Brian from his cliff dive in the seventh movie. (You know Dom was so impressed with her as well as so grateful). Any other scenario where they’re all together again after an absence. The response to any of a million canonical or made up for the purpose life-risking escapades.

3) loyalty
4) possessive behaviour
5) power dynamics

The first is self evident. The rest? Well, Dom is just pleased as punch to have both his beloveds back where they belong. But if he thinks he’s in charge… Letty has a thing or two to say about that. (No one ever thought Brian was in charge. Least of all Brian.)

6) double penetration
7) spitroasting
8) het anal
9) anal sex
10) barebacking

Speaks for itself, but I would love to see Dom and Brian doubleteaming Letty, with her full consent and enthusiasm, and quite possible her direction. There’s the “classic” dp positions, but I also saw a picture on tumblr once of two guys holding up a woman basically folded in half between them to form a giant capital M, and it was smoking hot.

11) size difference
12) size kink

Tiny Letty. Giant Dom and Brian. U-huh.

13) manhandling/shows of athleticism during sex
14) marathon sex
15) multiple sex positions
16) rough sex
17) held down
18) riding

The picture of Letty holding Brian down for Dom to do whatever he wants really works for me. So does Letty just climbing on top of one of the boys and riding hard, possibly with a little assistance from the other.

These are three very physical people so rough sex and manhandling seem like exactly the sort of thing they’d get up to, and I can see a lot of wrestling/battling for dominance/rolling around and switching positions. Shows of athleticism, including hauling/heaving a smaller partner around, as well as acrobatic positioning all work too.

Also, realism aside, marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

*****

Daredevil

Foggy/Matt

I’ve only just watched Daredevil, and it’s very much a new fandom for me, which is why it doesn’t have any prior exchange letters written for it. I’m excited about all the kinks I’ve requested though, so will very much enjoy anything you come up with based on those tags. I’ve elaborated a little below.

1) Anal Sex
2) Barebacking
3) Wet & Messy

No real surprises here. I very much prefer Foggy topping during anal sex, and being a bit aggressive about it, just taking Matt apart. Matt’s stronger than him physically, but I like to imagine he enjoys not being remotely in charge for once, and just giving up responsibility entirely.

4) Vulnerability
5) Internalized Homophobia

There’s surprisingly little fic that really deals with how Matt might reconcile his Catholicism with his homosexuality, so I’d be interested in some form of exploration of that. Is it just one more sin he’ll eventually need to answer for, or is he in denial about the whole thing, or has he earned this one indulgence by all his other sacrifices? Or any other ideas you might have. Feel free to include as much or as little surrounding plot as you like.

6) Rough Sex
7) Desperate Sex
8) Bruises
9) Scars
10) Marking
11) Possessive Behavior
12) Size Difference
13) Large Cock
14) Trust Kink
15) Held Down
16) Fucked Raw

The relationship is so fraught at the moment, and Foggy’s worry and fear for Matt so palpable, that I imagine every night he works himself up into a frenzy waiting for him to come home, terrified that this will be the night that he doesn’t. And then when he finally does stagger in, it all just boils over, and he finds himself cataloguing every bruise and scar and then replacing them with marks of his own.

I love the thought of Foggy manipulating Matt into exactly the best positions for the deepest, hardest fucking, and using his body weight to overcome Matt’s strength and hold him down and just make him take it, however he wants to give it. And Matt trusts him so implicitly that he just lies back and lets him do it, lets him be utterly in charge and take all the choices and responsibility out of his hands and off his shoulders.

Also, realism aside, marathon sessions that last forever and involve multiple positions, sex acts, orgasms etc are more than welcome. As are the inevitable results in the form of aching, well used bodies lying wrecked in bed after.

17) Identity porn

Anything that plays with Matt’s double identity would be welcome. Foggy fucking Daredevil without realising he’s Matt? Foggy pretending he doesn’t realise it’s Matt? Foggy pretending to be a super villain taking advantage of Matt? Pretty much any scenario you can come up with that includes some of my other preferences would be A-OK with me.

18) Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics
19) Knotting
20) Breeding

This is where I go crazy and let my id utterly take over. Matt’s a terrible omega who breaks every single rule of tradition and common sense so Foggy has to bring him to heel hard when they’re at home together? They’ve both come to terms with the fact Matt does what he has to do but that just makes it even more important that he can relax and submit when he takes off the mask? Foggy has a secret nagging desire to knock Matt up and thus get him in off the street for good? (Please no angst on Matt’s part about being an omega, he’s fine with it, he just doesn’t let it get in the way of his other life. Foggy, on the other hand, can wish and worry all he wants.)

Hi there! I hope the New Year has been treating you well, and thanks for volunteering to write something for me.

My greatest loves in fan fiction (and in canon, to be honest) are character development and relationships. I do enjoy well-plotted stories, of course, but I get a lot of emotional satisfaction out of seeing the plot show me new things about characters that I love. Even a PWP can reveal heretofore unrealised aspects of a particular character’s personality, and I love it when they do. My favourite tropes tend to centre round things like found family, undying loyalty in the face of all common sense, you and me against the world vows, nemeses turned sworn comrades, reconciliations after rifts, and identity porn.

I dislike mundane AUs, so please keep the characters in their own settings and retain their own backstories and abilities/powers. Also, please, no non-con, no infidelity, no unasked for kinks. My tastes in sex scenes are pretty vanilla, though I do like to read explicit fic. Exceptions would be rough sex, fighting leading to fucking, and one partner holding the other down/using their full strength on them (consensually).

I have a basic preference for third person narration, and also for a fairly tight POV, rather than an omniscient narrator. That’s not a hard and fast rule though, so don’t feel bound by it if it doesn’t suit the story you want to tell.

*****

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

My nominations were originally for Fast and the Furious Series, but they somehow wound up under The Fast and the Furious (2001). That’s not a problem for me, given that the first film is very much my favourite, but I just wanted to be clear that I’m actually happy with you setting your fic anywhere in the series you’d like.

As you can see, I’ve requested a slash OTP, a threesome, a triad, and a foursome, and I am equally open to any of these combinations. I’ll go into more detail about how I see each one working in my letter, rather than try to pack it all into this box, but basically, I love all four of these characters a very great deal, so if they’re happy and together that’s bound to make me happy.

I’m not a fan of AUs, so please adhere to the canon universe, and the themes that were prominent in the film(s). I am so here for cops and robbers/identity porn/rifts and reconciliations/break ups and make ups/found family, etc etc. The one thing wildly outside canon I'd be keen to see is The Fast and the Furious IN SPACE.

Dominic Toretto/Brian O’Conner

I ship Dom and Brian pretty goddamn hard, and always have, so basically anything you write me exploring their relationship, at any point in the series, would be fantastic. (Maybe not after Furious 7 since I feel like that one was so family oriented it would suit the foursome better, but use your discretion.)

For me this film was a perfect storm of instant, undying, friendships, love at first sight, ambiguously charming and endearing designated “villains” with tragic backstories, police officers incapable of fulfilling their sworn duty in the face of said “villains”, and the fundamental identity porn involved in a guy who is not who he says he is, all bullet proof kinks of mine. I think what I love most about it is the sheer histrionic fervour with which Dom and Brian’s friendship unfolds. They’ve barely met before Dom is confiding his deepest, darkest secrets, and another five minutes after that Brian is throwing away his career and maybe even his freedom to save him. There’s no other explanation for that but love at first sight.

I do have one exception when it comes to AUs. My friends and I often used to joke that Faster and Furiouser Fifteen would be set in space. So give me all the wacky space adventures of outlaw Dom and interstellar agent Brian.

As far as ratings go, if you are so inclined then I would dearly love to read explicit fic. If you are not, however, then super intense feelings and emotions will do the trick as well. It’s that kind of thrill and passion and connection that I’m most interested in. If you do go the porn route then I have a few relevant kinks – basically we’re talking about size differential and man-handling. Before you say, “Are you crazy, lady? Brian is taller than Dom!”, let me say yes, I am well aware of that. That’s one of the things I like here – the fact that this kink works both ways in this pairing. I’d like to see them both trying to be in charge, and both giving it their best shot to shove each other around. Whoever comes out on top (literally and figuratively) is fine by me, let the story dictate that.

Dominic Toretto/Brian O’Conner/Letty Ortiz/Mia Toretto

It was far from a perfect film, but I have a lot of love in my heart for Furious 7 for how beautifully it built a happy ending in less than ideal circomestances. Dom, Brian, Letty, and Mia as a family are one of the great loves of my fannish life, and I’m feeling it more strongly than ever after Furious 7’s continued building of Brian and Mia’s young family, and its revelations about Dom and Letty. So if you want to explore that happy ending, I'd love something set after this movie. That said, I'd also love fic set at any other point in the series, and if it's set earlier I don't mind angst along the way as long as I have that happy ending to look forward to.

I can never get enough of the worldbuilding potential and relationship exploration of the sedoretu. I was lucky enough to get a wonderful fic in this verse for Yuletide last year, but I would lap up more with a giant spoon. On the other hand, if you’d rather write a more “traditional” foursome that puts itself together in “our” universe then that’d be just as welcome. Maybe a threesome born out of mourning Letty and trying to rebuild that becomes a foursome when she finds her way home?

Just one caveat here: I don’t want to see any kind of third wheel issues. No cheating, no reluctant sharing, no painful negotiations, just a wholehearted enthusiasm from everyone. They all love each other, and couldn’t possibly be happy without each other.

Dominic Toretto/Brian O’Conner/Mia Toretto

Brian and Mia are pretty damn adorable together, and together with Dom they’re such a wonderful little family, especially once baby Jack makes his appearance. Pretty much anything about them as an ass-kicking family unit would make me happy. I think I ship this as a lambda rather than a full triangle – my brotherly incest kink hasn’t spread quite this far yet. Never say never though. Certainly I’m perfectly comfortable with the siblings being closer than close, while maintaining that one final distance.

Poor Brian never stood a chance when the full force of the Torettos hit him, so show me the sibs setting their sights on him and launching a two front offensive, or a more gentle coming together in later, sadder times, or whatever takes your fancy. I’d be okay with this being set after Letty’s “death”, but if she’s alive then please have her happily moved on, not abandoned or pining

Dominic Toretto/Brian O’Conner/Letty Ortiz

Brian and Letty haven’t really had a lot of interaction onscreen, though I can definitely see grounds for an angsty coming together if you set your fic later in the series, and I loved the way Letty had her car in exactly the right place to rescue Brian from his epic cliff dive in Furious 7. Dom loves them both so much, though, that I feel sure his “gravity” would pull them both into orbit.

All three of them are very physical people, and I can imagine some scorching encounters between them. If you like to write explicit fic then I’m all for it, and would be pleased to read the three of them getting up to all kinds of wild shenanigans, up to and including double penetration, as long as Letty’s an equal partner and totally into it. If you prefer lower ratings, or more plot driven stories, then maybe tell me the story of how they all came together, or the big reunion after Letty’s resurrection, or really anything else you can think of. It’s hard to imagine a universe where they’d leave Mia out in the cold, though, so I’d appreciate a quick handwave whereby she was never interested in Brian in this context.

*****

The Man from UNCLE (2015)

Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo

I just watched this film for the first time over the Christmas break, but have fallen quite madly in love with it, in all its stylish, stylised, glory, and watched it countless times since.

I'm a huge fan of antagonists falling for each other, so Illya and Napoleon's transition from foes to friends to something more works perfectly for me. I'd love to see some of that journey, whether the whole way or just the final step. Equally, I love a tale of comrades in arms who have a whole other relationship going on at the same time, and the way that that impacts their work, and/or the way the dangers thereof impact said relationship.

For me, a major part of the attraction is the setting, so if at all possible I'd love to have a fic recognisably set in the time period, ie 1963. That doesn't mean huge amounts of research on the Cold War if you're not a history buff -- though if you are please go ahead, by all means -- but please don't just handwave societal attitudes to homosexuality etc either. (You don't need to dwell on homophobia, whether external or internal, but let's have our spies be secretive at least.)

I love the Cold War as a historical period, but I also just love the conventions of the spy game genre -- I was practically raised on it as my dad was a big fan, both books and movies. That said, I don't need a complicated plot; some vague caper to act as a backdrop to Illya and Napoleon's relationship is more than fine with me. Likewise if your focus is on movie style shenanigans rather than politics, that's A-OK.

The one thing that does make a big difference is that I find it really jarring when reading fic set in the 1960s to suddenly stumble over supportive best friends and organisations that are oddly embracing of their agents' personal lives. Gaby might put her friendships first, but I still think Illya and Napoleon would go out of their way to conceal their relationship from her to avoid putting her in that position. UNCLE, and certainly the CIA and KGB, would absolutely have viewed a homosexual relationship as an intolerable security risk. If you find writing abut historical homophobia unpleasant then it's not something you need to explore, but I would very much prefer it if the relationship is kept under wraps.

Other than that, I am super interested in both Illya and Napoleon's backstories. Are they right when they psychobabble each other? Was it just a sense of adventure that drove Napoleon to join the army at sixteen? Does Illya have a genuine loyalty to the KGB, or does love of Mother Russia override the pain the state has caused him? How does their friendship, and then their affection for each other, grow?

I'm intrigued by the prospect of what would happen to Illya, in particular, if ties to UNCLE were somehow severed -- he's the one that's going to find himself stranded in hostile territory, unlike Napoleon and Gaby. I'm also dubious that the KGB would really ever allow him to return home after his extended time in the decadent West. Would he ever defect?

I just really love comrades who risk life and limb for each other. I like the stress it places on relationships, but also the way those relationships are intensified by omnipresent danger. I like extreme loyalty, and sticking together through thick and thin. I like the hothouse atmosphere created when you can't share how much you love someone with anybody else.

This ship hits a lot of relationship tropes I really like, and if the whim takes you I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes, though I'm not much for kink. I do hugely enjoy evenly matched partners struggling for dominance however, and fighting leading to fucking as long as both parties are equally into it. I have a basic preference for Illya topping, but I can well imagine Napoleon making him work for it. If you're uncomfortable with higher ratings, please stick to what you’re comfortable with.

*****

The Chronicles of Riddick Series

Richard B. Riddick/Vaako

I love these wacky films, and while I prefer the setting of Chronicles for its space opera sense of grandeur, as far as time period goes I'd be equally happy with fic set after Riddick too.

I'd enjoy just about anything about Riddick and Vaako and their relationship. Enemies to friends to lovers is a favourite trope of mine, so something that explores that journey would be great. I'm also a big fan of rifts and reconciliations, break ups and make ups, so if you want to jump into the story somewhat later that'd be cool too.

If you're into worldbuilding, I'm always interested to see variations on both Riddick and Vaako's backstories -- what Furya and/or Vaako's unknown homeworld were like, how Necromonger society works, whether Vaako’s religious faith is genuine, whether Riddick could ever convert for real.

Some questions the film(s) left me with: Why do Necromongers, who explicitly don’t breed, get married? If regular purification leaves you unable to feel physical pain, how much physical pleasure can you feel? Or is it emotional pain it purges, in which case how do you form relationships if you can’t feel?

If Vaako and Riddick evolve some kind of relationship from rivalry to comradeship to friendship to love, how does that path work for Vaako? How much of the Necromonger Way does he have to give up? Were his “religious” convictions ever real, or was he motivated solely by ambition? We all began as something else –- what did Vaako begin as, and is there anything of it left? And what about Riddick? Does he overthrow Necromonger society the way Aereon and Imam and the others hoped he would? Does he ever convert? Does he just plain enjoy having an army and an armada at his back? If these two manage to learn to trust each other, what does the future hold?

This ship hits a lot of relationship tropes I really like, and if the whim takes you I do enjoy reading explicit sex scenes, though I'm not much for kink. I do hugely enjoy evenly matched partners struggling for dominance however, and fighting leading to fucking as long as both parties are equally into it. If you're uncomfortable with higher ratings, please stick to what you’re comfortable with.

One note: please don’t dwell on any kind of unpleasant outcome for Dame Vaako. She made a play for power in exactly the same way Vaako did, and is no more guilty for it.

*****

Hopefully there's something there that you can work with! Thank you again for writing for me.

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Locus Classicus

"I'm just interested in men who ruled the world before they were thirty"

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