Fandom Growth Exchange 2019 letter
Jul. 24th, 2019 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
verecundaDear FGE creator,
Hi! Thank you so much for creating me something about one of my rare faves! I’m already champing at the bit to see what you come up with. :D
This letter includes a list of some general likes and dislikes, as well as a lot of waffle about my requested fandoms/relationships, and some potential prompts. If you find them inspiring, that’s great, but please don’t feel restricted to what’s here. If you see these characters in a slightly different way, or you have an idea of your own, I’d love to see that!
Some prompts are longer than others, but don’t take that as a mark of preference. I’ll be equally delighted to get something for any of the fandoms I’ve signed up for here.
If you have any queries, don't hesitate to get in touch, either through the mods or anon message.
I can be found on AO3 at![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
Verecunda.
Likes:
*Most genres: gen, romance, humour, angst, fluff, darkfic, hurt/comfort, slice-of-life, canon divergence AUs, character exploration, plotty pieces, happy endings, sad endings, ambiguous endings. I’ve got a special fondness for filling in characters’ backstories and “missing scenes” from canon.
*Intelligent, competent characters being intelligent and competent.
*Characters with tough/stoic/snarky exteriors having to confront and/or show their vulnerabilities.
*Pairings and friendships that cross cultural/class/professional lines, and how they navigate the conflicts that arise.
*Odd couples. I love opposites that attract (romantically or platonically): characters who seem so different but who end up complementing each other perfectly.
*Banter! I love witty characters who have a good back-and-forth.
*Pining!! I live for good old-fashioned, hopeless pining, especially if it’s mutual and all parties are in silent agonies, equally convinced it can never be. Unrequited love also hurts so good.
*Quiet moments of intimacy: characters having heart-to-heart talks, kisses on cheeks, foreheads, noses, etc., hand-holding, light touches, face-stroking, hair-stroking, cuddles, resting heads on shoulders or chests, etc.
*First times - first kiss, first confession of love, first time having sex (with each other, not necessarily losing their virginity).
*Established relationship fic.
*Smut is great, but by no means obligatory. I’ll happily read sweet vanilla cuddle!sex, consensual kink, all the way through to hate-sex, Consensual but not Safe or Sane, up to and including dub-con and non-con. (I tend to indicate below what sort of sexytiems I’m into for a certain pairing.)
DNW:
*Modern/mundane/coffee-shop AUs for period drama and fantasy fandoms.
*Soulmate AUs.
*A/B/O.
*Issuefic.
*Unrequested trans headcanons.
*Smut/kink specific: watersports, scat, rimming, underage (under 16, as per UK age of consent), mpreg, tentacles.
*I don’t mind non-con/dub-con in a kink context, but I’ve become really jaded towards rape/sexual abuse/prostitution as plot devices for tragic character backstory, so would prefer not to read about it, unless it’s already canon.
Craobh-Òir agus Craobh-Airgid | Gold Tree and Silver Tree
Relationship: Gold-Tree/The Prince/The Prince's Second Wife
I’ve always liked this fairytale for the strong, supportive relationship between the two wives, and the canon OT3 at the end. And I think like most people, my favourite character is the Second Wife, for her intelligence, cunning and resourcefulness.
I like to think that by the end, the three of them are all equally in love with each other, and I’d love to read about them settling into their HEA together. Feel free to write pure domestic fluff if you like. How does Gold-Tree feel, going from having a murderously jealous mother, to having two spouses who love and cherish her? Maybe the Second Wife still feels a little uncertain about her place in the marriage, and the Prince and Gold-Tree have to reassure her that yes, she absolutely belongs with them. Or the Prince just being constantly awed by his two extraordinary wives. What’s their domestic situation, and how do they deal with matters of state together?
It might also be quite interesting to delve into what must have been the fairly complicated emotions surrounding the Prince’s second marriage. He must have felt quite guilty on two fronts, perhaps feeling like he was betraying Gold-Tree’s memory, while also feeling that he was being unfair to his new wife while he was still in love with his first. And what about the Second Wife’s feelings? I can imagine the memory of Gold-Tree was still pretty strong when she arrived in the Prince’s kingdom. Maybe it was even a bit Rebecca-esque. Or did she hear so much about Gold-Tree that she was already a bit in love with her even before she found her?
An outsider POV could also be quite fun. How do their families/servants/subjects feel about their ménage? Is polygamy something that’s traditionally practised in the Prince’s kingdom, or are people absolutely Scandalised at first? What about visiting royalty or dignitaries? Maybe some are from realms where polygamy is decidedly Not A Thing, while some are from realms where it is. I wonder what the travellers’ tales from the land ruled by the Prince and his two wives are like!
If you want to write some smut, I’d be all for that. Their first time together as a threesome, perhaps? Maybe after her sort-of resurrection, Gold-Tree has an excess of pent-up energy that she just needs to get out of her system right away!
Feel free to play up the gothic aspects of the story if you like. Being unable to bring yourself to bury your apparently-dead wife and instead laying out her beautiful corpse in a room in your castle, all the while telling your second wife never to go in there? Pretty damn gothic, right there. I’m also open to alternate settings: a Regency or Victorian AU, Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree IN SPAAAACE… surprise me! I have modern AUs in my DNWs, but in this case I’d be happy to waive that a bit, if you fancied putting the story in an urban fantasy/magical realism setting.
Endeavour (TV)
Relationship: Endeavour Morse/Jim Strange
These two really are different sides of the same coin: young officers who have both struggled for promotion, and ended up achieving it by very different means. Personality-wise, too, they’re very different: Strange has a stolid pragmatism about him which is a nice counterweight to Morse’s intellectual, maverick persona, and I like how he sees through Morse and calls him out on being a contrary bugger. Yet at the heart of it, they’re both good men who want to see the right thing done.
Series 6 made me a firm shipper of these two. Strange pretending Morse was a Freemason so he could get him promoted back into CID, then in the last episode basically turning round and telling the Lodge Master where to get off for Morse’s sake? HEART EYES. Morse being subtly concerned for Strange’s investigation into the drugs racket - “I hope you’re a more convincing liar when it matters. Your life may depend on it.” - LOOK JIM HE REALLY DOES LOVE YOU. And of course: “Not lost the old charm, then?” Gosh, I love them.
If you want to write anything centred around the events of series 6, that’d be great. Maybe something dealing with the fallout of the finale? In the Morseverse, no one goes against the Lodge lightly, so I can imagine Strange expects consequences for his actions in Degüello. Has Morse worked out Strange was responsible for his promotion - and if so, what’s his reaction? Or something about the pair of them struggling with the distance that Cowley's closing has put between them (and everyone else).
I’ll also never be over their living situation in series 5, and I could've watched so much more of that, so if you want to do some prickly-fluffy domestic fic, I’d be all for that! Morse not being able to get eleven across on the Mail’s crossword because Strange is playing that bloody trombone again, Strange wanting a decent kip after a long day, but Morse is having an existential crisis in the middle of the night and playing bloody Verdi as loud as it'll go. The possibilities are endless!
I've only seen a few episodes of the original Inspector Morse, but I have a decent idea of their dynamic in that, so feel free to reference it, if you feel so inclined.
Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson
Relationship: David Balfour/Alan Breck Stewart
One of the books of my heart, and one of my all-time favourite literary double acts. I love their back-and-forth, and their strong mutual loyalty and respect, despite the vast cultural and political differences between them. Also the shippy potential is incredible: They both sleep under Alan’s coat! Also: “Whereupon he gave me both of his [hands], saying surely I had cast a spell upon him, for he could forgive me anything.” I mean!!
Possible prompts: missing scenes from their trek across the Highlands. Perhaps some snuggling for warmth during a particularly dreich night in the heather turns into something else entirely? Or Alan fussing over Davie while he’s ill in Balquhidder. Their making-up after their quarrel is so hilarious and sweet at the same time, and I’d love to know what sort of heart-to-heart talks they had as soon as Davie was better!
Or what about something set after the book? In the sequel Catriona, Alan visits Davie at his student digs in Holland, so you could do something along those lines. Or maybe David going across to visit Alan in France. One post-canon scenario I’d love to see is Alan sneaking back to Scotland to visit David at the House of Shaws, with Davie being like “YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT” while really being touched. Maybe Alan meets Mr. Campbell, the minister, and has to grit his teeth and be polite to him for Davie’s sake! Or even an AU where they both have to escape to France, after all.
I do like Catriona, the sequel, but if you don’t know it, or don’t like it, feel free to ignore its existence completely.
Little Dorrit (TV, 2008)
This is one of my favourite period dramas of all time. I love the emotional journeys of the characters and the merciless social satire, all while preserving the right measure of Dickensian quirkiness. And it’s such a stellar cast, which probably goes a long way to explain why I love these characters so much. I’ve requested a few pairings below, but feel free to bring in as many of the characters as you like apart from that. I love them all! I’ve also not read the whole book (yet!), but if you have, please don't hesitate to bring in any canon from that.
Relationship: Mr Pancks/Flora Finching
I love these two so much, both comic characters who are nevertheless good and decent people, and they both deserve a happy ending. And they’ve both had their lives controlled and made miserable by Flora’s father for so long, wouldn’t it be nice if they just went to hell with it and eloped together? (With Mr F’s aunt in tow, obviously!) That could be a fun story in itself. Just imagine the wacky schemes and shenanigans it would involve. :D
Pancks has worked for Casby for quite a while, and he has dinner with the family, so maybe he's had a bit of a soft spot for Mrs Finching for some time. I'd love to know what Pancks-style pining is like!! Maybe some missing scenes from canon, such as when he borrows her scissors to cut the Patriarchal hair at the end. Did he pilfer them, or did he ask to borrow them - and did she guess what he intended to do with them?
I like pairings that involve class differences, and that could definitely apply here. Flora's grown up in a rich household, but however silly she might appear, she's not really a wilting flower, and she seems quite fine about visiting rougher areas like the Marshalsea and Bleeding Heart Yard on her own.
Another thing that might be fun, after they get together, is having Flora help out with him "moling" things out. She does try to help get some information about Rigaud's disappearance, after all. Married private investigators! As long as involves these two being fun and cute, I’ll take it. :D
Pairing: Minnie “Pet” Meagles/Harriet Beadle | Tattycoram, Minnie “Pet” Meagles & Harriet Beadle | Tattycoram
I wonder how they’d get on after the events of the story, now that they both have a bit more experience of the world and have both been burned by people who weren’t really as kind as they first appeared. We see Harriet returning to the Meagles’ house at the end, and I imagine once Pet’s marriage to Gowan inevitably hits the skids (I’m pretty sure in the book she separates from him), she’ll return to her parents. I’d be fascinated to see what sort of relationship develops between them after that. I’d like to think Pet’s experiences have made her grow up a bit, become less silly and spoiled, and maybe Harriet’s have made her less impulsive and hot-tempered. I like to imagine they could start off with a clean slate.
Fic could be as sweet and domestic as you like, from a potentially awkward reunion, to discovering something new. What about them looking after Pet’s baby together? (Somehow I don’t get the feeling that Henry Gowan would be particularly bothered about pressing for custody.) That could be especially nice for Harriet, considering she was a foundling. Maybe their experiences help them support each other: Pet has enough sensitivity now to get her parents to use Harriet’s real name and not keep telling her to count to five-and-twenty! And I guess if Mrs. Gowan ever shows up again and tries to start shit, Harriet can flare up in a righteous fury and send her packing.
So far, so fluffy. But I’d also be open to something angsty, if you prefer. After all, they’ve both been through some pretty rough times, and they might both have a way to go emotionally. So it could be interesting explore any lingering tensions and personality clashes there might be before they can come to a new understanding. That would make a happy ending all the more satisfying, after all. :)
Also food for thought: Pet knew Rigaud was a bad lot pretty much from the off. How would she react to discover Harriet had been in his company more than once?
Requesting this as either a ship or gen, in case you’d rather write about them platonically. If you want to reference past Harriet/Miss Wade, that’s fine, since it is pretty much canon-by-subtext. And all my prompts here are post-canon, but if you’d prefer to do something pre- or during canon, that would be absolutely welcome too.
Rome (TV, 2005)
Just finished rewatching this show for the nth time, and I just love it. Brutus is by far my favourite character. I just find everything about him heartbreaking: his conflict between his friendship with Caesar and the ancestral demands of his family name, constantly torn between his various loyalties, how he starts off being pushed into the role of Hero of the Republic but then starts to embrace it, only to wind up at Philippi… And frankly, I’m forever vaguely miffed that he was the only one of the core cast who never got any gratuitous HBO sexytiems. Considering everything he goes through, I think he deserves some loving! (Hence these prompts. :P)
Relationship: Marcus Junius Brutus/Gaius Cassius Longinus
I’ve been fascinated by the whole Brutus/Cassius dynamic since reading Julius Caesar in high school, and their Rome incarnations are my favourite after the Shakespearean ones. There’s a strange, twisted kind of intimacy in being bound together like something like conspiracy and assassination, and their relationship involves the tension between idealism and the murkier side of high politics. Plus, the way Cassius looks at Brutus…!
There are a few ways I can see this ship working. One is that Cassius starts off intending simply to convince/manipulate Brutus into the conspiracy, but ends up catching feelings along the way. Always a good trope! Or on the other hand, his first line when he appears in the series - “Lovely to see you again, it’s been too long” - could suggest that they already have a History (teenage boyfriends, perhaps?) which is gradually rekindled as they’re thrown together. Perhaps Servilia even knows that Cassius has feelings for her son, and uses that to recruit him into her revenge plot. Given that Cassius is so often portrayed as the great manipulator, it could be quite fun to have him being manipulated in kind!
But for all the manipulations and conspiracy, I love the genuine affection between them. I also love the banter they have when they’re getting along well. We didn’t get to see nearly enough of them in series 2, but the ups and downs between them that we did get are fascinating. I’d adore absolutely anything about Cassius trying to take care of Brutus during his downward spiral of despair (that scene in the tent gets to me every time). Or anything later on, when Brutus is back on form. How does Cassius react to Brutus’ spiritual rebirth? They seem to get on much better after that, and are working well together, so it could be interesting to follow the development of their relationship once Brutus is more emotionally equipped to handle it. I also like the dynamic we see at the start of “Philippi”, with Brutus as the idealistic one, and Cassius the grumpy, practical one. Always a dynamic I’m weak for! Also: Cassius’ armour kink. “You look magnificent,” indeed! 👀
Brutus’ “No more running…” scene just before the Battle of Philippi always breaks my heart in about a hundred ways. He’s so ready to face his fate, and there’s such a sense of deep understanding between them. Plus the looks and the sad little smiles that pass between them… it’s just beautiful, and I’d love something that built on that. An emotional last night together, perhaps?
Historically, Cassius was married to Brutus’ sister Junia Tertia, while Brutus of course was married to his cousin Porcia, but since both are Lady-Not-Appearing-In-This-Series, I’ll leave it up to you if you want to sneak them in somehow, or just stick to the characters in the show. And don’t be afraid about including character death if you have to. I like a bit of tragedy!
Relationship: Marcus Junius Brutus/Gaius Julius Caesar
I know, I know, I’m a garbage creature, but bear with me! I’m a bit of a sucker that involves any character being forced to destroy someone they love, and this fits Brutus and Caesar to a T. Also my sister and I always say that the scene at the start of episode 1.10 where they hug and the other senators start clapping has a definite wedding vibe.
Apart from the whole murder thing, of course, this pairing is made even more dysfunctional by the fact that Caesar in the show very definitely stands as a father figure to Brutus. (Told you I was garbage!) I’m not asking for full-on daddy kink here, more something that plays with, or at least acknowledges, that side of their relationship.
I’m quite fascinated by the duality of how Caesar sees Brutus: he’s obviously well aware of the advantages of having Brutus as his political ally, but he obviously loves him deeply too. (Their faces just before Brutus delivers the final blow in the s1 finale kills me dead every time.) So, then, I’d love anything that plays with the various tensions and ambiguities in their relationship. It could be something set in the latter part of series 1, when Caesar is in the ascendancy and Brutus is essentially in his power. Maybe after Pharsalus, Caesar exerts from him a rather more personal kind of surrender or demonstration of loyalty? With Brutus hating himself for giving in but also craving Caesar’s love. Do they have any more encounters after Brutus has joined Cassius et al? It could be quite heartbreaking to have Caesar thinking things are all right between them again after Macedoniagate, while Brutus is in agonies because he knows.
Or what about something set before the events of the series? Perhaps when Brutus comes of age Servilia asks Caesar to help him through the facts of life, and Caesar, being Caesar, takes it upon himself to give a personal demonstration. (Advanced garbage level: Caesar acknowledging some resemblance between Brutus and Servilia while all this is going on.) Or perhaps when Brutus comes to see Caesar in Gaul, they both have an “oh no he’s not” moment, after not seeing each other for years. Cue the Conflict™.
In a nutshell, then: I’d love anything angsty and complicated and just a bit dirtybadwrong, full of torn loyalties and a nice sense of impending doom. :)
Mark Antony/Marcus Junius Brutus
Not even gonna lie here, folks, I want this cos it’s hot. This is one of those pairings where I would quite happily read ALL THE PORN. Let’s blame it on James Purefoy’s ability to have ridiculous amounts of sexual tension with everyone he shares a scene with in this show.
Ahem. So. Prompts. Angry hate-sex is always a delightful option where these two are concerned, and I’d love anything about Antony trying to get a rise out of Brutus that somehow gets out of hand. But I think there’s room for some more complicated emotions in there too. Even before the civil war and Caesar’s assassination, they almost seem to have an unspoken - possibly unacknowledged, even unrealised? - rivalry for Caesar’s friendship, so it could be interesting to consider that angle.
I’m definitely into the idea of these two being into each other, despite themselves. When Brutus says, “The way he carries on, one might think he came from no family at all,” it’s easy to imagine there might be a shade of protesting too much in there. Maybe he does hate Antony’s vulgarity, but at the same time there’s a part of him that finds it a rather distasteful turn-on. Then there’s his insistence that Antony shouldn’t be killed, despite Cassius and Servilia being all for it. Could just be an attempt to be noble, but what if there’s something else lurking at the heart of it?
As for Antony, I definitely think he shows the spark of a morbid fascination when he says to Brutus, “Knives in the Senate house? Didn’t think you had it in you.” He sounds almost impressed that haughty Brutus has turned out to be capable of something like murder. Maybe before Brutus leaves the city, Antony’s curiosity gets the better of him, and he goes back to see him and… well, I’ll leave that up to you.
Hi! Thank you so much for creating me something about one of my rare faves! I’m already champing at the bit to see what you come up with. :D
This letter includes a list of some general likes and dislikes, as well as a lot of waffle about my requested fandoms/relationships, and some potential prompts. If you find them inspiring, that’s great, but please don’t feel restricted to what’s here. If you see these characters in a slightly different way, or you have an idea of your own, I’d love to see that!
Some prompts are longer than others, but don’t take that as a mark of preference. I’ll be equally delighted to get something for any of the fandoms I’ve signed up for here.
If you have any queries, don't hesitate to get in touch, either through the mods or anon message.
I can be found on AO3 at
Likes:
*Most genres: gen, romance, humour, angst, fluff, darkfic, hurt/comfort, slice-of-life, canon divergence AUs, character exploration, plotty pieces, happy endings, sad endings, ambiguous endings. I’ve got a special fondness for filling in characters’ backstories and “missing scenes” from canon.
*Intelligent, competent characters being intelligent and competent.
*Characters with tough/stoic/snarky exteriors having to confront and/or show their vulnerabilities.
*Pairings and friendships that cross cultural/class/professional lines, and how they navigate the conflicts that arise.
*Odd couples. I love opposites that attract (romantically or platonically): characters who seem so different but who end up complementing each other perfectly.
*Banter! I love witty characters who have a good back-and-forth.
*Pining!! I live for good old-fashioned, hopeless pining, especially if it’s mutual and all parties are in silent agonies, equally convinced it can never be. Unrequited love also hurts so good.
*Quiet moments of intimacy: characters having heart-to-heart talks, kisses on cheeks, foreheads, noses, etc., hand-holding, light touches, face-stroking, hair-stroking, cuddles, resting heads on shoulders or chests, etc.
*First times - first kiss, first confession of love, first time having sex (with each other, not necessarily losing their virginity).
*Established relationship fic.
*Smut is great, but by no means obligatory. I’ll happily read sweet vanilla cuddle!sex, consensual kink, all the way through to hate-sex, Consensual but not Safe or Sane, up to and including dub-con and non-con. (I tend to indicate below what sort of sexytiems I’m into for a certain pairing.)
DNW:
*Modern/mundane/coffee-shop AUs for period drama and fantasy fandoms.
*Soulmate AUs.
*A/B/O.
*Issuefic.
*Unrequested trans headcanons.
*Smut/kink specific: watersports, scat, rimming, underage (under 16, as per UK age of consent), mpreg, tentacles.
*I don’t mind non-con/dub-con in a kink context, but I’ve become really jaded towards rape/sexual abuse/prostitution as plot devices for tragic character backstory, so would prefer not to read about it, unless it’s already canon.
Craobh-Òir agus Craobh-Airgid | Gold Tree and Silver Tree
Relationship: Gold-Tree/The Prince/The Prince's Second Wife
I’ve always liked this fairytale for the strong, supportive relationship between the two wives, and the canon OT3 at the end. And I think like most people, my favourite character is the Second Wife, for her intelligence, cunning and resourcefulness.
I like to think that by the end, the three of them are all equally in love with each other, and I’d love to read about them settling into their HEA together. Feel free to write pure domestic fluff if you like. How does Gold-Tree feel, going from having a murderously jealous mother, to having two spouses who love and cherish her? Maybe the Second Wife still feels a little uncertain about her place in the marriage, and the Prince and Gold-Tree have to reassure her that yes, she absolutely belongs with them. Or the Prince just being constantly awed by his two extraordinary wives. What’s their domestic situation, and how do they deal with matters of state together?
It might also be quite interesting to delve into what must have been the fairly complicated emotions surrounding the Prince’s second marriage. He must have felt quite guilty on two fronts, perhaps feeling like he was betraying Gold-Tree’s memory, while also feeling that he was being unfair to his new wife while he was still in love with his first. And what about the Second Wife’s feelings? I can imagine the memory of Gold-Tree was still pretty strong when she arrived in the Prince’s kingdom. Maybe it was even a bit Rebecca-esque. Or did she hear so much about Gold-Tree that she was already a bit in love with her even before she found her?
An outsider POV could also be quite fun. How do their families/servants/subjects feel about their ménage? Is polygamy something that’s traditionally practised in the Prince’s kingdom, or are people absolutely Scandalised at first? What about visiting royalty or dignitaries? Maybe some are from realms where polygamy is decidedly Not A Thing, while some are from realms where it is. I wonder what the travellers’ tales from the land ruled by the Prince and his two wives are like!
If you want to write some smut, I’d be all for that. Their first time together as a threesome, perhaps? Maybe after her sort-of resurrection, Gold-Tree has an excess of pent-up energy that she just needs to get out of her system right away!
Feel free to play up the gothic aspects of the story if you like. Being unable to bring yourself to bury your apparently-dead wife and instead laying out her beautiful corpse in a room in your castle, all the while telling your second wife never to go in there? Pretty damn gothic, right there. I’m also open to alternate settings: a Regency or Victorian AU, Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree IN SPAAAACE… surprise me! I have modern AUs in my DNWs, but in this case I’d be happy to waive that a bit, if you fancied putting the story in an urban fantasy/magical realism setting.
Endeavour (TV)
Relationship: Endeavour Morse/Jim Strange
These two really are different sides of the same coin: young officers who have both struggled for promotion, and ended up achieving it by very different means. Personality-wise, too, they’re very different: Strange has a stolid pragmatism about him which is a nice counterweight to Morse’s intellectual, maverick persona, and I like how he sees through Morse and calls him out on being a contrary bugger. Yet at the heart of it, they’re both good men who want to see the right thing done.
Series 6 made me a firm shipper of these two. Strange pretending Morse was a Freemason so he could get him promoted back into CID, then in the last episode basically turning round and telling the Lodge Master where to get off for Morse’s sake? HEART EYES. Morse being subtly concerned for Strange’s investigation into the drugs racket - “I hope you’re a more convincing liar when it matters. Your life may depend on it.” - LOOK JIM HE REALLY DOES LOVE YOU. And of course: “Not lost the old charm, then?” Gosh, I love them.
If you want to write anything centred around the events of series 6, that’d be great. Maybe something dealing with the fallout of the finale? In the Morseverse, no one goes against the Lodge lightly, so I can imagine Strange expects consequences for his actions in Degüello. Has Morse worked out Strange was responsible for his promotion - and if so, what’s his reaction? Or something about the pair of them struggling with the distance that Cowley's closing has put between them (and everyone else).
I’ll also never be over their living situation in series 5, and I could've watched so much more of that, so if you want to do some prickly-fluffy domestic fic, I’d be all for that! Morse not being able to get eleven across on the Mail’s crossword because Strange is playing that bloody trombone again, Strange wanting a decent kip after a long day, but Morse is having an existential crisis in the middle of the night and playing bloody Verdi as loud as it'll go. The possibilities are endless!
I've only seen a few episodes of the original Inspector Morse, but I have a decent idea of their dynamic in that, so feel free to reference it, if you feel so inclined.
Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson
Relationship: David Balfour/Alan Breck Stewart
One of the books of my heart, and one of my all-time favourite literary double acts. I love their back-and-forth, and their strong mutual loyalty and respect, despite the vast cultural and political differences between them. Also the shippy potential is incredible: They both sleep under Alan’s coat! Also: “Whereupon he gave me both of his [hands], saying surely I had cast a spell upon him, for he could forgive me anything.” I mean!!
Possible prompts: missing scenes from their trek across the Highlands. Perhaps some snuggling for warmth during a particularly dreich night in the heather turns into something else entirely? Or Alan fussing over Davie while he’s ill in Balquhidder. Their making-up after their quarrel is so hilarious and sweet at the same time, and I’d love to know what sort of heart-to-heart talks they had as soon as Davie was better!
Or what about something set after the book? In the sequel Catriona, Alan visits Davie at his student digs in Holland, so you could do something along those lines. Or maybe David going across to visit Alan in France. One post-canon scenario I’d love to see is Alan sneaking back to Scotland to visit David at the House of Shaws, with Davie being like “YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT” while really being touched. Maybe Alan meets Mr. Campbell, the minister, and has to grit his teeth and be polite to him for Davie’s sake! Or even an AU where they both have to escape to France, after all.
I do like Catriona, the sequel, but if you don’t know it, or don’t like it, feel free to ignore its existence completely.
Little Dorrit (TV, 2008)
This is one of my favourite period dramas of all time. I love the emotional journeys of the characters and the merciless social satire, all while preserving the right measure of Dickensian quirkiness. And it’s such a stellar cast, which probably goes a long way to explain why I love these characters so much. I’ve requested a few pairings below, but feel free to bring in as many of the characters as you like apart from that. I love them all! I’ve also not read the whole book (yet!), but if you have, please don't hesitate to bring in any canon from that.
Relationship: Mr Pancks/Flora Finching
I love these two so much, both comic characters who are nevertheless good and decent people, and they both deserve a happy ending. And they’ve both had their lives controlled and made miserable by Flora’s father for so long, wouldn’t it be nice if they just went to hell with it and eloped together? (With Mr F’s aunt in tow, obviously!) That could be a fun story in itself. Just imagine the wacky schemes and shenanigans it would involve. :D
Pancks has worked for Casby for quite a while, and he has dinner with the family, so maybe he's had a bit of a soft spot for Mrs Finching for some time. I'd love to know what Pancks-style pining is like!! Maybe some missing scenes from canon, such as when he borrows her scissors to cut the Patriarchal hair at the end. Did he pilfer them, or did he ask to borrow them - and did she guess what he intended to do with them?
I like pairings that involve class differences, and that could definitely apply here. Flora's grown up in a rich household, but however silly she might appear, she's not really a wilting flower, and she seems quite fine about visiting rougher areas like the Marshalsea and Bleeding Heart Yard on her own.
Another thing that might be fun, after they get together, is having Flora help out with him "moling" things out. She does try to help get some information about Rigaud's disappearance, after all. Married private investigators! As long as involves these two being fun and cute, I’ll take it. :D
Pairing: Minnie “Pet” Meagles/Harriet Beadle | Tattycoram, Minnie “Pet” Meagles & Harriet Beadle | Tattycoram
I wonder how they’d get on after the events of the story, now that they both have a bit more experience of the world and have both been burned by people who weren’t really as kind as they first appeared. We see Harriet returning to the Meagles’ house at the end, and I imagine once Pet’s marriage to Gowan inevitably hits the skids (I’m pretty sure in the book she separates from him), she’ll return to her parents. I’d be fascinated to see what sort of relationship develops between them after that. I’d like to think Pet’s experiences have made her grow up a bit, become less silly and spoiled, and maybe Harriet’s have made her less impulsive and hot-tempered. I like to imagine they could start off with a clean slate.
Fic could be as sweet and domestic as you like, from a potentially awkward reunion, to discovering something new. What about them looking after Pet’s baby together? (Somehow I don’t get the feeling that Henry Gowan would be particularly bothered about pressing for custody.) That could be especially nice for Harriet, considering she was a foundling. Maybe their experiences help them support each other: Pet has enough sensitivity now to get her parents to use Harriet’s real name and not keep telling her to count to five-and-twenty! And I guess if Mrs. Gowan ever shows up again and tries to start shit, Harriet can flare up in a righteous fury and send her packing.
So far, so fluffy. But I’d also be open to something angsty, if you prefer. After all, they’ve both been through some pretty rough times, and they might both have a way to go emotionally. So it could be interesting explore any lingering tensions and personality clashes there might be before they can come to a new understanding. That would make a happy ending all the more satisfying, after all. :)
Also food for thought: Pet knew Rigaud was a bad lot pretty much from the off. How would she react to discover Harriet had been in his company more than once?
Requesting this as either a ship or gen, in case you’d rather write about them platonically. If you want to reference past Harriet/Miss Wade, that’s fine, since it is pretty much canon-by-subtext. And all my prompts here are post-canon, but if you’d prefer to do something pre- or during canon, that would be absolutely welcome too.
Rome (TV, 2005)
Just finished rewatching this show for the nth time, and I just love it. Brutus is by far my favourite character. I just find everything about him heartbreaking: his conflict between his friendship with Caesar and the ancestral demands of his family name, constantly torn between his various loyalties, how he starts off being pushed into the role of Hero of the Republic but then starts to embrace it, only to wind up at Philippi… And frankly, I’m forever vaguely miffed that he was the only one of the core cast who never got any gratuitous HBO sexytiems. Considering everything he goes through, I think he deserves some loving! (Hence these prompts. :P)
Relationship: Marcus Junius Brutus/Gaius Cassius Longinus
I’ve been fascinated by the whole Brutus/Cassius dynamic since reading Julius Caesar in high school, and their Rome incarnations are my favourite after the Shakespearean ones. There’s a strange, twisted kind of intimacy in being bound together like something like conspiracy and assassination, and their relationship involves the tension between idealism and the murkier side of high politics. Plus, the way Cassius looks at Brutus…!
There are a few ways I can see this ship working. One is that Cassius starts off intending simply to convince/manipulate Brutus into the conspiracy, but ends up catching feelings along the way. Always a good trope! Or on the other hand, his first line when he appears in the series - “Lovely to see you again, it’s been too long” - could suggest that they already have a History (teenage boyfriends, perhaps?) which is gradually rekindled as they’re thrown together. Perhaps Servilia even knows that Cassius has feelings for her son, and uses that to recruit him into her revenge plot. Given that Cassius is so often portrayed as the great manipulator, it could be quite fun to have him being manipulated in kind!
But for all the manipulations and conspiracy, I love the genuine affection between them. I also love the banter they have when they’re getting along well. We didn’t get to see nearly enough of them in series 2, but the ups and downs between them that we did get are fascinating. I’d adore absolutely anything about Cassius trying to take care of Brutus during his downward spiral of despair (that scene in the tent gets to me every time). Or anything later on, when Brutus is back on form. How does Cassius react to Brutus’ spiritual rebirth? They seem to get on much better after that, and are working well together, so it could be interesting to follow the development of their relationship once Brutus is more emotionally equipped to handle it. I also like the dynamic we see at the start of “Philippi”, with Brutus as the idealistic one, and Cassius the grumpy, practical one. Always a dynamic I’m weak for! Also: Cassius’ armour kink. “You look magnificent,” indeed! 👀
Brutus’ “No more running…” scene just before the Battle of Philippi always breaks my heart in about a hundred ways. He’s so ready to face his fate, and there’s such a sense of deep understanding between them. Plus the looks and the sad little smiles that pass between them… it’s just beautiful, and I’d love something that built on that. An emotional last night together, perhaps?
Historically, Cassius was married to Brutus’ sister Junia Tertia, while Brutus of course was married to his cousin Porcia, but since both are Lady-Not-Appearing-In-This-Series, I’ll leave it up to you if you want to sneak them in somehow, or just stick to the characters in the show. And don’t be afraid about including character death if you have to. I like a bit of tragedy!
Relationship: Marcus Junius Brutus/Gaius Julius Caesar
I know, I know, I’m a garbage creature, but bear with me! I’m a bit of a sucker that involves any character being forced to destroy someone they love, and this fits Brutus and Caesar to a T. Also my sister and I always say that the scene at the start of episode 1.10 where they hug and the other senators start clapping has a definite wedding vibe.
Apart from the whole murder thing, of course, this pairing is made even more dysfunctional by the fact that Caesar in the show very definitely stands as a father figure to Brutus. (Told you I was garbage!) I’m not asking for full-on daddy kink here, more something that plays with, or at least acknowledges, that side of their relationship.
I’m quite fascinated by the duality of how Caesar sees Brutus: he’s obviously well aware of the advantages of having Brutus as his political ally, but he obviously loves him deeply too. (Their faces just before Brutus delivers the final blow in the s1 finale kills me dead every time.) So, then, I’d love anything that plays with the various tensions and ambiguities in their relationship. It could be something set in the latter part of series 1, when Caesar is in the ascendancy and Brutus is essentially in his power. Maybe after Pharsalus, Caesar exerts from him a rather more personal kind of surrender or demonstration of loyalty? With Brutus hating himself for giving in but also craving Caesar’s love. Do they have any more encounters after Brutus has joined Cassius et al? It could be quite heartbreaking to have Caesar thinking things are all right between them again after Macedoniagate, while Brutus is in agonies because he knows.
Or what about something set before the events of the series? Perhaps when Brutus comes of age Servilia asks Caesar to help him through the facts of life, and Caesar, being Caesar, takes it upon himself to give a personal demonstration. (Advanced garbage level: Caesar acknowledging some resemblance between Brutus and Servilia while all this is going on.) Or perhaps when Brutus comes to see Caesar in Gaul, they both have an “oh no he’s not” moment, after not seeing each other for years. Cue the Conflict™.
In a nutshell, then: I’d love anything angsty and complicated and just a bit dirtybadwrong, full of torn loyalties and a nice sense of impending doom. :)
Mark Antony/Marcus Junius Brutus
Not even gonna lie here, folks, I want this cos it’s hot. This is one of those pairings where I would quite happily read ALL THE PORN. Let’s blame it on James Purefoy’s ability to have ridiculous amounts of sexual tension with everyone he shares a scene with in this show.
Ahem. So. Prompts. Angry hate-sex is always a delightful option where these two are concerned, and I’d love anything about Antony trying to get a rise out of Brutus that somehow gets out of hand. But I think there’s room for some more complicated emotions in there too. Even before the civil war and Caesar’s assassination, they almost seem to have an unspoken - possibly unacknowledged, even unrealised? - rivalry for Caesar’s friendship, so it could be interesting to consider that angle.
I’m definitely into the idea of these two being into each other, despite themselves. When Brutus says, “The way he carries on, one might think he came from no family at all,” it’s easy to imagine there might be a shade of protesting too much in there. Maybe he does hate Antony’s vulgarity, but at the same time there’s a part of him that finds it a rather distasteful turn-on. Then there’s his insistence that Antony shouldn’t be killed, despite Cassius and Servilia being all for it. Could just be an attempt to be noble, but what if there’s something else lurking at the heart of it?
As for Antony, I definitely think he shows the spark of a morbid fascination when he says to Brutus, “Knives in the Senate house? Didn’t think you had it in you.” He sounds almost impressed that haughty Brutus has turned out to be capable of something like murder. Maybe before Brutus leaves the city, Antony’s curiosity gets the better of him, and he goes back to see him and… well, I’ll leave that up to you.
