DEAR SMUT SWAP WRITER
Mar. 3rd, 2019 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arysteiaHi 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.
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.
