X-Ship Exchange 2019
Dec. 11th, 2019 05:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aurillyCrossovers are my very favorite things! I like to leave lots of info for those who want it, but I'm not wedded to the prompts; it's okay to ignore them and instead write something you're excited about, maybe with a general like or two thrown in. I know the prompt sections are of wildly different lengths, but I promise I want them all equally!
How This Is Organized
First are general likes/DNWs. Then there are fandom-specific likes/DNWs for canons that appear more than once. Then I have the actual requests grouped loosely together. So please check all the relevant sections to the thing you matched on (sorry! I know this is long).
Here are anchor links to the different sections:
Fandom Overviews, My Family & Other Animals Crossovers, Psmith/Good Omens, Psmith/Narnia, MCU/Narnia, MCU/Game of Thrones, MCU/Lost, David Blaize Crossovers
Things I Always Love
• General Fic Stuff: Feel free to skip the set-up or meet-cute; you can start in media res, after they’ve already become friends. What I'm most interested in is what happens next--the adventures characters share, what they bond about, how they move from friends to more, etc. For example, I'm more than happy to start after characters have arrived in Narnia or wherever, no explanation for how they got there needed. You could even assume characters are old friends and start with their reunion. Basically, stories that end shortly after the introductions make me sad.
• Devoted Odd Couples: enjoying one another's company; laughing at one another; fond exasperation; loyalty; self-sacrificial gestures; contrasting speech patterns; reunions
• Earning Your Happy Ending: self-help; tough love; getting over some of your baggage; finding home where you least expect it; whump and angst with a happy ending
• Adventures & Journeys: vacations gone awry; fish out of water; exploring new territory; daring rescues or escapes; espionage
• Competence & Resourcefulness: complementary skill sets; badassery; laughing in the face of danger or absurdity; the pen is mightier than the sword; but swords are more fun
• Friends to Lovers: I like many variations, including, a) friends with benefits or sex before feelings that becomes more; b) fics that start after the first kiss/declaration and focus on how they navigate the relationship transition in the days or weeks that follow, c) adventures that cause people to realize they have more than platonic feelings and decide to make a move d) awkward or ill-advised sexual situations that lead to a later relationship
• Sexy Times: I don't care who tops or bottoms in m/m. I have general porn likes HERE; it's for all ships, not just the ones listed there. There's a more egregiously detailed version HERE (but honestly, the other one is enough).
• Forced Proximity or Sex: captured or stranded together; forced to have sex (by the bad guys, for cultural or initiation rites, to cast a spell, as part of undercover roles, sex pollen, etc) where people are angsty and pining during the sex and they realize afterwards that feelings are requited.
— General Crossover Likes: applying skills/knowledge from one world to another world's problems; contrasting or reconciling differences in how a concept manifests across canons (ex. immortality, magic, realm hopping, time shenanigans); magic in one canon originates from another; characters coming up with logical but incorrect theories before discovering the truth; assuming characters have a past together (ex. cousins, met during long-ago vacation, old school chums, etc) and starting the story when they reunite in their cracked-out present
Do Not Wants
— age differences caused by disparate release/publication dates (please pretend one canon took place earlier or later so that shipped characters are around the same age as each other, as well as around the age they were at some point in canon)
— tragically unresolved age mismatches caused by lifespan differences or timey-wimey stuff
— fourth wall breakage (ex. Game of Thrones should not exist as a fictional thing in our world)
— fusions, setting AUs, or goofy crack (but crack played seriously is great!)
— crossovers of more than two canons at a time (unless specifically prompted)
— fics where none of the main characters ever find out about the others' backgrounds or magic (the reveal doesn't have to happen 'on-screen', but please don't let it end with everyone still thinking everyone else is normal!)
— Ships: non-canon romantic pairings other than the ones specifically requested; poly or threesomes; conflicting requested ships (ex. no Bucky/Edmund + Bucky/Tirian in the same story)
— Things That Upset Me: permanent death of requested characters; the afterlife; un-averted apocalypses; bleak endings; 'it was all a dream' or mind-wipe endings
— Sex & Relationship-Related: underage/overage sex or romance; D/s dynamics; soulmates; shovel talks; yentas and matchmakers; pregnancy; adultery; characters written as ace, aro, or demi; gender identity headcanons; dark dynamics within my requested ships; non-canonical pet names or terms of endearment
— Writing Things: 1st & 2nd person POV (exception for Gerry); phonetically spelled dialogue (my brain genuinely struggles to process it)
**A Note: Obviously, sending a character through a portal to another world does not count as a "setting change AU" for me. What I do count as a setting change AU is if, like, Bucky was a born and bred Westerosi, instead of being a guy from our world. Similarly, assuming supernatural elements exist in the otherwise canonical world of a seemingly 'mundane' canon doesn't count as a setting change AU to me (ex. PG Wodehouse's world turns out to have portals to Narnia, or Frank turns out to have fairy powers or something... it's all good!).
Fandom Overviews
MCU
Please let Bucky be a fully functional badass with at least a glimmer of a sense of humour. I like stories about him trying to move on and build a new life, not ones where he's brainwashed or pathetic for most of it, or that are all about his agonizing recovery. I have a pet peeve about Bucky (and Steve) saying "ain't". Can they please speak as properly as they do in the films? Cursing is totally fine, though. DNW characters or canon from the TV shows, as I'm not familiar with them.
Part of the reason I request so many Bucky crossovers is because I desperately want him to make friends, connections, and a life of his own, not just befriend Steve's best friends; because of this, I would prefer no appearances by Sam or Natasha. That said, as long as Bucky&crossover character's friendship is the central thing, I’m cool with background Steve/Bucky in the gen crossover requests (or Bucky/Loki, which I very earnestly ship). However, if you're writing a crossover ship request, please don’t let Bucky and Steve ever have had more than platonic feelings for one another.
Narnia
I love everyone's competency, earnestness and courage when it counts, but also their flaws, fears, and sass. I love Golden Age fics, 'Everybody Lives' post-series canon divergences, and fics that diverge from canon (as wildly as you like!) at any point before the closing chapters of the Last Battle. I love that being redeemed and growing into a wise and just warrior king didn't entirely cure Edmund of being a cranky, sarcastic little shit. Tirian started off as a hot mess of a king, but he’s such a wonderful guy, and quite resourceful and clever when you rouse him out of his decadence. (He was my first crush.)
The end of Narnia, train crash, and afterlife/Aslan's country are my biggest DNWs. Please let it be clear that everyone will get to live out their lives. You don't necessarily need to write a fix-it. It's fine to pretend none of it ever came up! I love most of the protagonists, so anyone you want is welcome in the background. That said, I'm not super invested in Peter, Susan, or Magician's Nephew characters as a major focus (Peter and Susan are, of course, welcome as cameos in Golden Age fic). I don't care about the religious allegories.
Psmith – PG Wodehouse
I love how they are such an odd couple, but understand one another so well. I love their loyalty and what generous, self-sacrificing heroes they both are, while also being total little shits. Psmith's dialogue! Mike's pragmatism! I love it all. You could set it when they're at Sedleigh, the bank, Cambridge, NYC, post-Cambridge, in a wild canon divergence… Whatever! Feel free to inflict as much whump (of any kind, as long as there's no permanent physical damage) as you like on either of them; I love hurt/comfort for them. Wodehouse's books are all so timeless; like the Jeeves books, these could easily have taken place 20-30 years later, to line up with the Durrell or Narnia books—please pretend they did!
I'm rabidly OTPish about these two. While I'm fine with them having been with other people before they got together, I need them to be over the old person by the end and totally into each other, with absolutely no hint that they will ever be with anyone else in the future. Please set it before they met their canon love interests and/or pretend they never did. That said, I don't need the Mike/Psmith shipping aspect to be heavy (though it can obviously be, and I would be over the moon about it!). Even one line about how they're more than just friends offscreen or have feelings or something would be fine if you want to focus more on the crossover-ness.
David Blaize
I've never encountered a character more in need of a nice boyfriend. He's such a fascinating and endearing blend of judgmental, whimsical, bossy, charismatic, and melancholic. The chapter where he devises the plan to catch the cheaters was such fun, as was his love of the macabre. I love his cleverness, snark, take-chargeness, and sense of whimsy. While his anguished self-loathing is super compelling, I ultimately want him to get over it (and get over himself, a little). I want him to find happiness and self-acceptance with someone new—with actual kissing, or more! Please let Frank completely get over his tragic crush on David and be entirely into the new person, without bashing David (whom I do like!). And please set it when Frank is anywhere between 18-30 (ie. canon divergence, or shortly post-canon), so he doesn't have to wait long to be happier. DNW something set before he met David and became all repressed; the whole point is that I want him to un-repress!
With the exception of Theodore, I do not want big age differences in my ships, so my biggest ask is to please pretend the Benson books were set earlier or later so that there's no more than a 10 year difference between Frank and the person I'm shipping him with. Benson apparently wrote the books based on his 1880s boarding school and university experience, and the books don't read any differently from WWII-era stories in the genre. They feel timeless within that range, and therefore could took place in the 1880s (so that Frank's around the same age as Penny Dreadful's Frankenstein in the early 1890s), or much later (so that he's the same age as Bucky or Edmund Pevensie in the 40s/50s). I see Richard as stuck in his thirties, so Frank in his twenties is fine.
Corfu Trilogy – Gerald Durrell
These books have long counted among my most reliable pick-me-ups. The delightfully varied character types and voices, the interplay of everyone's eccentricities, the loving nostalgia, the exuberant chaos... I love it! I adore the whole family, as well as Spiro, Theodore, Larry’s guests, and Gerry's tutors (especially tree-fighting George). I love everyone's dynamics with everyone. I want crossover characters to hang out with as few or as many people in the ensemble as you like. While I generally skim past the parts where Gerry's outside observing wildlife, I enjoy when the animals come home and interact with the family and friends. But it's also fine to completely downplay the wildlife aspect, as you like.
Fic does not need to be from Gerry's first person POV, especially if the fic focuses on crossover character's dynamic with someone other than Gerry. I mean, if you really want to write a pastiche, the other canons have a fun narrative voice, too! It could be fun to get an outsider's perspective on the family. Please pretend the other canons took place later so that the requested characters are ~18-25 during the 1930s. Canon-specific DNWs include: a) incest or underage/overage, b) fic set anywhere/anytime other than while the family was living in Corfu c) rehashes of existing book episodes (I want something new!), d) Captain Creech, and e) anything from their 'real lives', or based on TV adaptations (I haven't seen them).
Lost
This will always be my most favorite show. I love the characters, the setting, the action/adventure, the humor, the hugs. I love the theme of characters getting over their baggage via self-help and forced proximity friendships/romances. I love how exuberantly bonkers it was, and how the characters mostly rolled with whatever happened. I adore the whole thing, but for crossovers, I'm only interested in later season stuff. DNW fic set in the sideways universe, during characters' pre-island flashbacks, or during the on-island portions of S1-3 (for example, DNW Bucky as a passenger on Oceanic 815). Although the afterlife is generally a massive nope for me, Miles's superpower and Smokey's projections don't bother me. He's fine in the background, but I would prefer not to have a major focus on Ben.
As an exception to my non-canon ship and conflicting ship DNWs, Jacob/Richard is welcome even if shipping Bucky/Richard or Frank/Richard. Everything about Jacob/Richard was so sensual, fucked up and delicious. Richard was so hyper-devoted and worshipful, and Jacob was so lonely and seemed so into him in spite of all the secrets. I mean, Jacob literally gave Richard a special touch to make him into his immortal companion, WOW. This is almost the only time I'd be cool with a love triangle. But I'd like the crossover guy to provide a healthier option for Richard and "win", even if it's only for a little while, or only after Jacob dies. Is Richard conflicted between his worshipful duty to Jacob and his more normal feelings for the crossover guy? (Working through 19th century Catholic internalized homophobia would not be amiss. Like, maybe he convinced himself it was okay to reciprocate an 'angel's' advances, but freaks out when he's attracted to a normal man. Or maybe he wasn't actually attracted to Jacob, but didn't think he was allowed to say no--Jacob/anyone dubcon is fine!) Does Richard feel the need to keep this other romance a secret? Does Jacob find out anyway? How does Jacob feel about it all? Does Jacob offer the new guy his own magic gift? If so, what is it and does he take it? I would even be open to an exception of my poly DNW to allow for Jacob/Richard/Frank or Jacob/Richard/Bucky, but preferably if the non-Jacob leg is the 'healthier' leg. MIB's thirst for Richard and attempts to seduce him to the darkside were also fascinating, even though I was glad Richard didn't go for it. Does MIB unrequitedly thirst for the new guy, too? Or does he try to pit the new guy against Richard or against Jacob? How does crossover guy fight him?
Corfu Trilogy Crossovers
• Frank Maddox (David Blaize) & The Durrells
• Psmith/Mike (Wodehouse) & The Durrells
Frank Maddox & The Durrells
I'd love to see Frank befriending the Durrells during one of his trips to Greece. Perhaps as a friend of one of Larry's friends who comes to stay? Or is he a friend of a friend who tags along for the visit? Or is he one of Gerry's tutors? How does he get the boy to learn the Classics, and does tutoring him lead to interactions with the rest of the cast? Is he an archaeologist the family befriends because he's one of the few Englishmen on Corfu? Or is he a relative come to stay? Or something else? There are more prompts in the Psmith/Durrells section below that could also work for Frank. Anything!
It was great how, after the mom's initial shock, everyone was so blasé about all their gay guests. I'd love for Frank to experience that tolerance, and maybe also one of their mad parties. I don't want him shipped with anyone in the family, but Frank with Sven or George or older mentor Theodore would be wonderful. Theodore was described as so handsome, like a Greek god, and also he's the best; I don't think the books mentioned a wife, so I always pictured him as a bachelor. He was supposed to be ~40 during the time of the books (I do want the age difference here, so it's an exception to that DNW). I ship it so hard. But if you don't ship any of those, gen hanging out with the family that results in Frank getting over a bit of his baggage would be great!
Psmith/Mike (Wodehouse) & The Durrells
Think of the combined eccentricity! It would be amazing. How does Mike feel surrounded by this insanity? Does Psmith feel right at home, or do the Durrells manage to flummox even him? How does the experience help Psmith/Mike get together? Or were they already together? Please pretend Psmith and Mike were 18-25 during the 1930s.
Did they spend a summer before/between university years in Corfu? Or did Sedleigh's archaeological society take a school trip to Corfu? Or were they some of Larry's houseguests? Or maybe Leslie knew Mike from Wrykyn before they were both sent away (Mike to Sedleigh and Leslie to Corfu)? Are they party guests (I love the Durrells' parties!)? Or maybe instead of getting married/going into the fish business, they moved to Greece, too, after both of their dads lost their money; what kind of life do they set up there and how do they interact with the Durrells? A sail in the Bootle Bumtrinket gone awry? Does something about being around Psmith and Mike help Larry get unstuck on a plot point in his latest novel? Does Psmith soothe Mother, or is he her most confounding guest yet? Is Margo crushing on Mike, only to find out he's in love with Psmith? Does a magpie out-mischief Psmith? Including a conversation between Psmith & Spiro (how does Psmith react to Spiro's English?) or Psmith & Thoedore (the puns!) would be hilarious. Anything!
Psmith/Good Omens (TV)
• Psmith/Mike & Aziraphale/Crowley
My main Good Omens interest is with Crowley and Aziraphale (and the other angels/demons in the background), not so much Newt, Anathema, Shadwell, Adam, etc, who weren't even born yet for this fic. It would be amazing to see Aziraphale and Crowley bounce off Mike and Psmith in the ~1920s (DNW Psmith and Mike transplanted to other time periods). What were the angel and demon up to then? Are Psmith and Aziraphale members of the same club? Does Psmith try to buy a book from the shop? Does the adventure result in Crowley getting his Bentley? Do Psmith and Mike help the angel and demon get out of trouble with their bosses? Does the adventure result in Psmith/Mike getting together? If you can't fit in Aziraphale/Crowley shippiness, don't worry about it! I'm more here for the crossover aspects (and Psmith/Mike).
You could also write something where, instead of the way things actually went, A) Psmith or Mike is the Antichrist and B) Armaggedon was scheduled during Psmith canon's time period/setting. Since the Antichrist is a different character and age, and it's a different time period, things should go quite differently and be a different story. Please don't force fit Psmith and Mike into a rehash of canon GO plot points. How do this Antichrist's powers manifest, and what does he do with them? What would he name the hellhound (if he has one; or maybe there's no dog in this version)? Do Crowley and Aziraphale go undercover as Sedleigh masters or bank managers or something? Or no undercover, and they instead take some wholly different approach to averting the apocalypse than they took in canon? Maybe Crowley wasn't given the baby job in this AU, and they only find out about the Antichrist's existence much later. If so, how? What brings the Antichrist back from the brink (I don't want Armageddon to actually happen)? Does Psmith talk rings around Satan? Does Mike challenge Death to a cricket match? Something else bonkers played straight? Melodramatic acts of loyal self-sacrifice that turn out okay in the end? How does this whole hullaballoo help get Psmith/Mike together, or were they already together?
Psmith/Narnia Crossovers
• Psmith/Mike & Tirian
• Psmith/Mike & Edmund
• Psmith/Mike & Corin
I will never get enough of Psmith and Mike visiting other worlds! What are their reactions? How might they help characters there? What do the Narnians think of them? How does this adventure help them get together (or were they already together?)? Please pretend the Psmith books happened later than the publication date so that they are the same age as the requested Narnia characters during the story.
— Does Edmund or Tirian blow the horn, summoning Psmith and Mike for help with a problem? Fighting giants, espionage, outwitting Calormene spies, implementing educational policies, dealing with the Rabadash situation? Something else? Or just exploring or partying with royalty in either of these eras/countries! Is Psmith or Mike erroneously jealous of someone (could be anyone, not just Ed, Corin or Tirian), leading to stoic angst before they sort it out?
— Helping Golden Age Edmund remember his previous life? Is this the only time they meet, or do they reconnect at boarding school or Cambridge?
— Is it Mike or Psmith's house that Edmund burgles to get the rings, resulting in them going on adventures to other realms together instead of Edmund dying? Exploring the Wood, or deserted Charn, or Westeros, or a world you make up? Or traveling to Narnia together to help Tirian?
— Corin is like the Narnia version of a public school story character. I think he’d get along splendidly with Psmith and Mike. Does he take them traveling through Archenland? Do they team up to play pranks on his new twin brother? Do Psmith and Mike help him keep score against the bear? Something else? What it’s like for Corin to suddenly not be the crown prince, or to suddenly have a twin who is basically a foreigner, or having grown up with a sweet but sad dad who was mourning his queen and son? How can Psmith and Mike help him work through any of his potential issues?
— Most of the prompts in the Bucky/Tirian section directly below could work for Psmith/Mike & Tirian, too. Just replace "Bucky" with "Psmith and Mike" and make them friends with Tirian instead of lovers.
MCU/Narnia
• Bucky/Edmund
• Bucky/Tirian
Bucky/Tirian
They would be so competent and delightful and hot together. Fairytale king + Brooklyn street smarts, yum. Tirian was so cutely nerdy about history and hero-worshipping the Friends; what would he make of actually being in our world? I really don't care how Bucky and Tirian get here or there. Feel free to leave it unexplained. I'm happy to pretend the Friends had nothing to do with The Last Battle (ie., Jill and Eustace never came), so you can assume Tirian's reign lined up with some earlier or later time on Earth (ie. Post-TWS!Bucky/Tirian! Yay!). Or throw timelines to the wind! I like all the 'nice' people in TLB, so include whoever you want.
— Met In Dreams First: You know how Tirian astrally projected to the Friends of Narnia that one time? Well, what if he's been doing it on the regular, with Bucky? They have always secretly thought they had an imaginary friend (or are going nuts), but one day they meet, either in Narnia or on Earth. Is it possible because of Tirian's star heritage magic (IDK), or does Bucky seek him out, somehow getting his hands on the rings, or does Tirian blow the horn? Something else? What happens when they meet in the fleshthe bone!? What I'm most interested in is what happens when they meet in the flesh, so you can background the vision part, if you want.
— Narnians In Our World: What if, instead of astrally projecting, Tirian actually goes! Either during WWII, or to our present-day, or multiple points in time! Is there something here that could help? Does he rescue Bucky from Hydra, or do they meet after Bucky's already escaped? Does he help the Howlies with a mission? Or maybe he arrives post-TWS and there's hurt/comfort as Bucky is pulling himself together. How do they take care of one another and get together?
— Caught In Calormen: Bucky somehow joining Tirian for a pre-TLB jaunt into Calormen? Is he there for espionage, diplomacy and/or undercover partying? How do they get together? Does this adventure result in the whole Calormene invasion getting nipped in the bud so the world doesn't have to end?
— Canon-Divergent Post-TLB: What if, instead of the world ending, Tirian & Co ran away to the mountains and started a resistance to the Calormene occupation, like they talked about doing at one point? I love espionage, desperate missions, angsty last stands and people bonding while struggling to survive in nature. How does Bucky end up with them (maybe he was the one who was summoned while he was tied to the tree, or someone blew Susan's horn?), how he can help, and how do he and Tirian fall for one another? Does Tirian know more secret hideouts full of wine? Does Puzzle (the darling!) somehow end up saving the day along with Bucky? Do Bucky and Tirian go on a quest to the magic garden place? The more horrible of an ending for Shift, the better.
Bucky/Edmund
I want them to love each other as much as I love them, and to have adventures, and be competent, and make out (or more!). What aspects of their angsty backgrounds can they pep talk each other through? How can their experiences and skill sets help each other or help solve an issue in either canon? How do they figure out one another's backstories, and what do they think of the other's (they MUST find out!)? How do they fall in love? There's delicious potential for angsty separations and happy ending reunions in this ship, too, if you want.
Edmund being a kid and Bucky being a soldier during WWII is too situationally intrinsic to both characters for my usual timeline adjustment approach. However, time between realms is so untethered and random that I could easily buy something like post-TWS Bucky traveling to the Golden Age. Or maybe at the end of Endgame, Bucky time travels to the 50s/60s when Edmund is grown up again, either as the initial premise of the story or as the happy ending epilogue. Basically, do whatever you need to avoid an age discrepancy ending and I'll roll with it. (It's okay if adult!Bucky temporarily sees/hangs with kid!Edmund at some point, as long as he doesn't touch the kid, and endgame is with grown-up Ed).
— Edmund in the Future: The story starts when grown up again Edmund returns from going on adventures with the rings. However, because of handwavey reasons, the rings have dropped him off decades after he left… Whoops! How do he and Bucky meet? Does Ed rescue him from Hydra (possibly earlier than in canon?), or is it post-TWS? Or even post-Endgame? Out of time together, hurt/comfort, etc. Is Hydra after one or both, or is it more slice of life? Do they use the rings again? Something else?
— Bucky In Golden Age Narnia: Maybe someone blows the horn, summoning Bucky? Or he fell off the train and into Narnia? Or some other way, I don't care. Getting together while dealing with giants, espionage, outwitting Calormene spies, implementing educational policies, the Rabadash situation? Something else? Is it a divergence where the Pevensies ruled the Golden Age their whole lives? Or do Bucky and Edmund reunite later back in our world?
— Traveling with Rings: Hydra sends the Winter Soldier to the Professor's childhood home to get the rings on the same day that Edmund goes, resulting in them going to other realms instead of Edmund dying. Exploring the Wood, or deserted Charn, or Asgard, or back to Narnia to help Tirian, or GoT's Westeros, or a world you make up?
— Canon-Setting Spies: I enjoy the fanon that Edmund grows up and becomes a spy. Does he get partnered with the Asset, is like, "gah, this poor guy" and run away with him? Or do they go on a spy mission while Bucky's in Narnia?
MCU/Game of Thrones
• Bucky & Final Small Council
• Bucky & Team Daenerys (Mereen or Dragonstone editions)
I desperately want Bucky to go to Westeros/Essos (DNW fic want set in our world), have an adventure there, and make friends with people I like. How can Bucky's skills or experiences help GoT characters and vice versa? Fish out of water? What do the GoT characters make of him and the idea of other worlds? Bucky riding dragons, Bucky with a sword, Bucky’s arm acting as Valyrian steel, Bucky as the actual prince who was promised… Any and all of this would make me scream with joy. As usual, I don’t care about the realm travel mechanics, so feel free to start with him already there. You don't need to explain how he got there at all!
I will always adore a canon divergence—as wild as you like—that branches off whenever. Or set it post-series! You can keep Daenerys's madness and death, or pretend she was sane and won, or somewhere in the middle. I have only seen the TV show, but you can include bits of book canon as long as Bucky learns about it with me. My main GoT DNW is any appearance by Ramsay Snow or the Sand Snakes. The afterlife is one of my general DNWs, but zombies and whatever was going on with Jon and Beric don't count as afterlife to me. Canon pairings are fine to include in the background (and Jorah/Daenerys or Tyrion/Sansa would make me smile). I'm fine keeping canon deaths as long as those deaths don't wipe out a majority of the characters with whom Bucky has made friends; but I also love divergences that keep people alive. However, Shireen is the exception; if she's in the story, she MUST live!
— Post-Series King's Landing: Whether you keep the canon ending or pretend Dany won or something else, I'm sure there's a lot of work to be done rebuilding the kingdom or paying the debts or repairing King's Landing, or… How can Bucky help? Does he get a role on the small council? Does Brienne knight him? Something else?
— With Team Daenerys in Mereen: What if she had stayed there and rebuilt? How could Bucky help? How does he end up in the inner circle? Does Tyrion try to get him drunk? Is Daario rightfully jealous of this amazing warrior? Do Bucky and my beloved Missandei save the day (or make out)? Or Maybe Bucky/Dany? Bonding over soldier slavery with Greyworm? Are Bucky and Jorah quietly loyal friends? Do the dragons like Bucky's plated arm?
— In Valyria: What if, instead of going to Westeros, Daenerys decided to rebuild Valyria? They either take Bucky with them, or meet him there. I once heard a book spoiler that Daenerys and Tyrion are immune to greyscale (though I don't know why), and I'm assuming Jorah can't get it again, and that Bucky is immune. That would make most of them safe to explore (with some yummy protectiveness of Missandei). Did the Doom stem from some MCU-related event, or can MCUish stuff help fix things? What magic (if any) do they find in Valyria? How do they work together and what do they accomplish?
— Anything! Really. There are so many characters I love and divergence opportunities in GoT that I extra doubly mean it when I say not to limit yourself to the prompts. Characters I love/want fic for most include: Missandei, Tyrion, Daenerys, Gendry, Davos, Shireen, Tormund, the Hound, Jaqen, Brienne, Podrick, Sam, Gilly, Yara, Margaery, Olenna, and all the Mormonts.
MCU/Lost
• Bucky & Left Behind in the 70s Ensemble
• Bucky/Richard Alpert
Basically, I want Bucky to make friends with any/all of: Juliet, Sawyer, Miles, Jin, Richard, with a focus on whichever one(s) you like best. I love the idea of Bucky joining this bunch of snarky misfit woobies, pep talking or tough loving each other and facilitating self-help after years of ongoing wtf trauma. How do they all find out about one another's backstories and become friends? It can be set on the island during the 70s, or even post-series back in the real world with the subset that escaped (I love the idea of Sawyer, Miles and Richard sticking together). You can also ignore deaths and pretend more people made it off the island. I would be excited to ship Bucky with Juliet or Miles, in addition to the Richard option (but only one of those ships, please!); or gen with the 70s ensemble. Including background Sawyer/Juliet or Miles/Richard is welcome if you're not shipping them with Bucky.
As usual, I don't care how Bucky meets everyone or gets to the island. Feel free to start with him already established as part of the group. That said, here are a couple of ideas, in case you're stuck… 1) The Winter Soldier was one of the soldiers on the freighter, the only one to survive (I mean, Lost DOES have a Hydra Island where they brainwash people! and Widmore WAS on that council with Fury!) and a white flash took him to the 70s, too? 2) Hydra sent him to the island on a mission (either in the 70s, or some other Richard time), and he falls in with the Lostaways. Does all this lead to him escaping earlier than in canon?
— 1974-1977 DHARMA: Bucky as a member of the secret time travelers clique within the DHARMA. Wearing a jumpsuit, sharing a yellow house with someone, getting a Sawyer nickname, maybe he speaks Korean, visiting the lighthouse, mechanic!Juliet repairs his arm, Smokey gives him visions/tests, maybe the island cures him for as long as he's on it... You get the idea. Does his presence lead to canon death situations never even coming up? Does he end up sneaking off to hang with the Others, and get together with Richard?
— Post-Series: Do Sawyer, Miles and Richard take Bucky in while he's on the run post-TWS? Did Bucky know them before (if so, does he even remember? Or are they the ones who rescue him from Hydra?)? Or do they meet for the first time post-Lost finale? Post-series Bucky and Richard as fish out of water because they've both had extremely limited experience in the regular world in the past 70-150 years? Feel free to include Desmond and/or Penny. I love them!
— Bucky/Richard: Does Bucky land on the island after falling from the train (instead of being found by Hydra)? If so, maybe the first wave of Others hasn't yet arrived, and Richard, Jacob and MIB are still the only ones around. How does Bucky get caught up in their weird drama? What does he think of it all? Is he a Candidate? Does MIB try to tempt him? Or maybe Bucky helps Richard establish the first group of Others? Or helps Richard bury Jughead in 1954? Did Richard or Jacob try to recruit Bucky in Brooklyn or during the war, and now he meets him/them again on the island? Do Bucky and Richard reunite later, post-series? Richard, Jacob and Bucky in an angsty love triangle that Bucky eventually wins, even if only when he reunites with Richard post-series? There are a lot of other prompts in the Lost section.
— The Constant: This whole concept is sooooo angsty and feelingsful; it should happen to more people! But DNW a replacement or rehash of Desmond's experience. I want to know how the concept would play out for Bucky, while still keeping Desmond's experience canon. When does it happen? The trigger could be following the wrong coordinates again, or a 70s DHARMA experiment gone wrong, or a Hydra experiment at one of the other electromagnetic spots on Earth, or handwave it (I really don't care), or…What year does his consciousness flash back and forth to (please not army training, because, again, I don't want a Desmond rehash)? Do his mind issues or MCU canon make it even angstier or more difficult to resolve? Do the Lostaways help him, given that they know about this rigamarole from when it happened to Des? What/who is his constant and how do they connect? Is it Steve (gen or ship)? Or, does the story take place back in the regular world, the Constant is someone he met on the island, and confused MCU people have to help him? Constants can also be a non-person—whatever you want!
David Blaize Crossovers
• Frank/Edmund (Narnia)
• Frank/Tirian (Narnia)
• Frank/Bucky (MCU)
• Frank/Thor (MCU)
• Frank & Psmith/Mike (Wodehouse)
• Frank/Ethan (Penny Dreadful)
• Frank/Victor (Penny Dreadful)
• Frank/Richard (Lost)
Frank/Edmund (Narnia)
Frank coming up with well-reasoned but incorrect theories to explain Edmund’s weirdness before eventually figuring it out? What is post-Narnia life like for Edmund? Is he also frustrated (sexually or otherwise)? Carrying around knowledge or experience that he can’t use? Desperate because he remembers adult relationships but has (until now) been too young/lacked opportunity/hasn’t liked anyone enough/other? Or maybe he’s actually quite inexperienced. What draws them to each other and how do they get together? My biggest asks are a) for Frank to find out about Narnia/Edmund’s secret and b) to pretend the David Blaize books were set later so that they are around the same age.
— Boarding School or University: Edmund attending Marchester and/or Cambridge, too. Are they both prefects? On a team together? Is Edmund really good at sneaking out/around? Have they always liked one another, or do they start as rivals but end up falling for one another? Wet and full of adrenaline after a sailing race or tennis match?
— Golden Age: What are Frank's reactions to Narnia? How does Edmund, who probably doesn't have a ton of attractive humans around, react to having this nice, smart, handsome Brit in the castle? Did they know each other from before, or do they meet here? Can Frank help Ed and his siblings remember their lives from before?
— Using the Rings: I'm obsessed with Edmund using the rings to go adventuring. Maybe it's Frank's parents' house that Edmund burgles to get the rings, and that's how they meet and go off on adventures together? Or were they friends before and decide to adventure together? Visiting the Wood Between the Worlds or not-so-dead Charn? Back to Narnia? Westeros/Essos (I only know the TV show).
— Other Post-Series: Does Edmund also become an archaeologist? Or does he study something else at Cambridge that allows them to travel to Greece together? Voyages on trains or ships (and possibly stranded when the vehicle breaks down)? Finding ancient magic here on earth? Partying with Bacchus, who's an old acquaintance or lover of Ed's? Or they get jobs post-university and meet in London?
Frank/Tirian (Narnia)
Frank finds himself in Narnia, in a canon divergence that pretends most of The Last Battle never happened. Do they nip the Calormene plot way in the bud? Or ignore the whole book entirely and do something else with them! Partying together with Bacchus? Fighting Northern giants together? Something else? Or maybe Tirian comes here and they have an adventure in Greece or Cambridge or in London. Frank enchanted by Tirian's literal fairytale prince-ness, or irritated by his rashness or decadence? Tirian having hero-worship about yet another person from our world? Does Narnia have Edwardian values, so that they both have to overcome same-sex hangups, or are Narnians more open-minded, leaving Tirian confused as to what Frank's problem is? Also see the Bucky/Tirian section for more prompts. As usual, please pretend David Blaize took place later so that they're around the same age.
Frank/Bucky (MCU)
I would like a WWII getting together story. Please pretend the books were set later so that they are around the same age (DNW age differences). They’d make such a great odd couple. The Brooklyn boy/posh Brit, classical education/street smarts, etc. How do they overcome Frank’s (possibly also Bucky’s?) internalized homophobia and find something good? Is Bucky more open-minded or experienced with men than Frank? Or has he always denied himself, and Frank initiates him?
I have a pet peeve about Bucky (and Steve) saying "ain't" and sounding like a gangster movie. Can they please speak as properly as they do in the films? Cursing is fine, though. Feel free to pretend Bucky didn’t fall off the train so they can have a happily ever after. Or maybe Frank rescues his brainwashed old flame from Hydra in, like, 1950 (ie. before there’s a major age difference), or Bucky travels back in time with Steve at the end of Endgame for a happily ever after. Or you can make it bittersweet, with Bucky still falling, but even though he grieves, their time together has left Frank in a healthier place to live and love again without such self-loathing (and WE know Bucky will eventually be okay, per canon).
Is Frank initially jealous of Bucky’s friendship with Steve, because he’s projecting his own experiences with David onto Steve&Bucky? Does Bucky scoff because he and Steve aren't like that at all, or is Frank actually correct in thinking Bucky has been unrequitedly pining (this is the one sort-of exception to my 'no conflicting ships' DNW)? If Bucky had been crushing on Steve, I need him to get over it completely as he and Frank fall for one another, without bashing Steve. Or you could not bring up Steve/Bucky as a question or issue at all!
— Met Fighting In WWII (general soldiering edition): Maybe the 107th is camped alongside Frank’s unit before or after their capture? Sharing a foxhole together? Exploring or hiding in a bombed out village together? Left behind and forced to trek to safety together? Saving one another? Does the desperation of war get them over their issues enough to act on their feelings?
— Met Fighting in WWII (Howling Commandoes edition): Frank as part of the gang? Getting together while using their combined smarts on a mission, either with the whole group, or a side project just for them? I’m thinking stakeouts, disguises, need for quick thinking, getting information at a party, stranded in a snowy cabin, down time at a bombed out pub… anything!
— Met In Captivity (Azzano edition): Do they huddle together between torture/experimentation sessions, clinging to each other and their identities? Hurt/comfort and desperate “we’ll probably die tomorrow” hookups? Nazis humiliating them or forcing them to do it or confess feelings or watch each other be hurt? Or maybe they only get together after Steve’s rescued them, when they begin to realize the experiments left permanent changes on them (i.e. superpowers). The more hurt/comfort the better.
— Canon-Setting Spies: Sent on an espionage + sniper mission together? Or maybe Frank isn’t a soldier, but rather some sort of archaeologistcivilian who is asked to use his knowledge to help the war effort. Maybe Hitler’s after some Ancient Greek occult blah blah and the mission is to prevent the Nazis from getting it?
Frank/Thor (MCU)
I love Thor to absolute distraction. He balances godly/regal gravitas and deadliness with jolliness, earnestness, gentleness, and a delightful alien weirdness. He would be such a fascinating foil for Frank's complicated temperament, and just generally, it would be boiling hot. Please let Frank find out who/what Thor is! What is Frank’s reaction to this literal fairytale prince? Thor’s reaction to this lovely but sad earthling? How do they get along and get together? Are Asgardians nonchalantly bisexual? If so, how does Thor react to Frank’s repression? Or do Asgardians have their own hangups? If so, how do their different hangups intersect and how do they get over them together?
It can be forever love (if so, please handwave a mention of magical solutions to the lifespan issues), or a fling that ends amicably when Thor has to go home again, leaving Frank in a healthier and happier headspace to continue on with the rest of his life, both of them retaining fond memories of their time together. I love every iteration of Thor, but for this ship, I want pre-Endgame Adonis!Thor. Loki and anyone else is welcome to be around, too, if you want!
— Does Thor carefully, joyfully, overwhelmingly seduce and fuck Frank’s repression away? Like, not even Frank’s dedicated self-denial can hold strong. And if an actual god is so into it/him, who is Frank to say this is ‘beastly’ or wrong?
— A canon divergence where Thor was banished to Frank’s time and location, whether Cambridge or Frank’s backyard or one of his archaeology digs? Or maybe Thor landed here/then during Ragnarok instead of Sakaar. Or maybe it’s set pre-Thor canon, when he snuck over to Earth for some secret fun and got stuck here (or Loki played a prank that got him stuck here)? Or, maybe it’s set pre-Thor 1, and Thor was actually rather inexperienced (with men, or in general), and they learn together, or Frank initiates him.
— Greece Setting: I love that Frank is an archaeologist! Maybe during one of his digs, he stumbles into an ancient place and accidentally sets off a magical thingy that summons gods, except a different set than expected arrive. Or some wholly other reason for Thor being in Greece? I don’t actually care how Thor gets there; feel free to skip over that part.
— Disguised/Fish Out of Water: Thor trying to blend into 1920s Cambridge, or a Wodehouse-style club, or with Frank’s family... What do Frank’s friends make of Thor? What does Thor make of everything? How does Thor take to having to keep their relationship on the DL? Is he even capable of it?
— Random Optional Details: Thor using Mjolnir to fly Frank somewhere gorgeously remote; switching; spanking
Frank & Psmith/Mike (Wodehouse)
I'd love a crossover that facilitates an endgame of Frank/a guy (but not Psmith or Mike, since I’m rabidly OTP-ish about them). Does Frank end up with Adair or Monty Bodkin or David (this option is the only exception to my overarching "get over David" need)? Or some other nice Wodehouse guy (not Jeeves, please, and DNW background Jeeves/Wooster slash)? Or OMC? Or maybe the end is simply that Frank is feeling better and ready to accept love in the future.
Cambridge hijinks facilitating friendship and romance? Teaming up to rag on a professor or defeat a bully? Cricket, since Frank and Mike were obviously teammates on the Cambridge eleven? Or maybe it’s set post-university, and they meet while visiting the same country estate, or have gotten to know one another at the clubs. Or they're all in WWI together; do they meet Frank for the first time in the trenches, or did Frank already know one of them?
As long as they get over it so that Psmith/Mike is endgame (DNW OT3), Frank hooking up or having hooked up with one or both of them could be fun to include. Perhaps it happened when Marchester's team played Eton, Wrykyn or Sedleigh in cricket, or during holidays, or at Cambridge before Psmith/Mike got together, or some other time? Regardless of whether it happened recently or years ago, what I actually care about is how that previous hookup affects my actual ship(s) later on, when they are all at university together. How does Psmith find out about Mike having hooked up with Frank (or vice versa)? Is there misplaced jealousy or awkwardness that leads to feelings revealed? Something else? Or, they can meet for the first time during the story, with neither Psmith nor Mike having hooked up with Frank. Whatever!
I don’t want matchmaking or yentas, but maybe getting an outsider POV on one character's angst or happiness or whatever inspires someone from the other canon to do something about his own feelings. Ex. Maybe Frank reexamines his stance on 'beastliness' when he finds out that Mike, whom he thinks is great, has a thing with Psmith. Or maybe seeing Frank so miserably repressed makes Mike decide to seize the day with Psmith. (But Frank must stop being miserable by the end, too!) Something else? I will love anything!
Frank/Ethan OR Frank/Victor (Penny Dreadful)
Please pretend the David Blaize books took place earlier, so that Frank is around the same age as Victor or Vanessa. I adore Vanessa, so would love a background friendship between her and Frank, if it fits; no worries if not. Perhaps Frank grew up in the same area as the Murray/Ives houses, and was a childhood friend of Vanessa’s? Does Peter haunt him? Did Vanessa and Frank initially bond because they were trying to stamp out what was 'wrong' with them, only to realize later on that there's nothing 'wrong'? Or perhaps Victor went to Marchester or Cambridge with Frank? Was Frank the only boy for whom haughty little Victor felt hero worship/a crush? Or was he the only person who disliked Maddox? Regardless of the backstory, what I'm most interested in what happens when they reunite in London as adults. Do they reunite by chance, like, at a ball? Or do Victor or Vanessa pull their old acquaintance Frank into the gang's latest project? Is that how Frank meets Ethan? Or…?
Or maybe Frank's never met any of them before, and Lyle brings him as a Classics expert, a colleague from the museum, where he works once he's finished his fellowship. Does Frank help Victor with his addiction? Does Vanessa give him the kind of pep talks she gives Victor? Does dealing with all this demi-monde insanity put 'beastliness' into new perspective for Frank (I mean, Ethan is LITERALLY a beast, so Frank kind of needs to hush)? Do they have to infiltrate a creepy gathering or society event? Vanessa and Frank undercover as a couple? Does Ethan take Frank out on a date, and maybe Frank doesn't initially realize because he'd never think this hunky American would be like that? Do Frank or Ethan teach each other some kind of skill, the way Ethan taught Victor how to shoot? Going undercover as brothers with one of the guys while desperately pining? Does Frank fuck Dorian before ending up in a more feelings-ful ship with one of the others? Or, does Frank help with post-canon adventures (either keeping the ending or pretending Vanessa didn't die)?
I loved this show for Ethan, Victor, Vanessa, Malcolm, Sembene, and Lyle's teamwork and found family. I was way more invested in Victor's struggles to connect with the living than I was in anything having to do with his creations. While I didn't hate it or anything, I wasn't a big fan of the Ethan/Vanessa ship, so feel free to pretend they never had feelings for one another. Actually, Victor/Vanessa is my Penny Dreadful OTP, so you could even have them be the background ship if you're writing Frank/Ethan. Extreme canon divergences that ignore last the episode, last season, or stuff even before that, are definitely welcome! Like, maybe Victor never zombified Brona? Maybe Sembene survived? Maybe the Scooby Gang all stayed in London at the end of season 2 and found a new supernatural thing to fight (one of the reasons I wasn't fond of the last season was because they were all separated)?
Frank/Richard (Lost)
This would be so hot and satisfying, since they both have soooo much baggage. My main ask is for Frank on the island! Like, a canon divergence in which his ship sinks on one of his trips to Greece or something. Start at some point after he's washed ashore. Frank exploring the island and its mysteries? Does Frank help Richard set up the first settlement of Others? Does Richard feel confused or self-loathing about his attraction to Frank (so much internalized homophobia with these two!)? And vice versa? Can they get over their hang-ups together? How does Frank react to Jacob, this pseudo-god figure who probably doesn't care who people love, and the fact that Richard is so devoted to him? Does this create tension? Are there class or hero worship or religious or other issues that they overcome together? Does Jacob have a job or role for Frank, too? Most of my prompts about Richard ships are in the Lost fandom write up; you can also use the Bucky/Lost prompts, but tweak them for Frank. (I know it feels like I'm taking a short-cut, and this is the last request, but I promise I love it just as much! I just don't want to be so repetitive.)
How This Is Organized
First are general likes/DNWs. Then there are fandom-specific likes/DNWs for canons that appear more than once. Then I have the actual requests grouped loosely together. So please check all the relevant sections to the thing you matched on (sorry! I know this is long).
Here are anchor links to the different sections:
Fandom Overviews, My Family & Other Animals Crossovers, Psmith/Good Omens, Psmith/Narnia, MCU/Narnia, MCU/Game of Thrones, MCU/Lost, David Blaize Crossovers
Things I Always Love
• General Fic Stuff: Feel free to skip the set-up or meet-cute; you can start in media res, after they’ve already become friends. What I'm most interested in is what happens next--the adventures characters share, what they bond about, how they move from friends to more, etc. For example, I'm more than happy to start after characters have arrived in Narnia or wherever, no explanation for how they got there needed. You could even assume characters are old friends and start with their reunion. Basically, stories that end shortly after the introductions make me sad.
• Devoted Odd Couples: enjoying one another's company; laughing at one another; fond exasperation; loyalty; self-sacrificial gestures; contrasting speech patterns; reunions
• Earning Your Happy Ending: self-help; tough love; getting over some of your baggage; finding home where you least expect it; whump and angst with a happy ending
• Adventures & Journeys: vacations gone awry; fish out of water; exploring new territory; daring rescues or escapes; espionage
• Competence & Resourcefulness: complementary skill sets; badassery; laughing in the face of danger or absurdity; the pen is mightier than the sword; but swords are more fun
• Friends to Lovers: I like many variations, including, a) friends with benefits or sex before feelings that becomes more; b) fics that start after the first kiss/declaration and focus on how they navigate the relationship transition in the days or weeks that follow, c) adventures that cause people to realize they have more than platonic feelings and decide to make a move d) awkward or ill-advised sexual situations that lead to a later relationship
• Sexy Times: I don't care who tops or bottoms in m/m. I have general porn likes HERE; it's for all ships, not just the ones listed there. There's a more egregiously detailed version HERE (but honestly, the other one is enough).
• Forced Proximity or Sex: captured or stranded together; forced to have sex (by the bad guys, for cultural or initiation rites, to cast a spell, as part of undercover roles, sex pollen, etc) where people are angsty and pining during the sex and they realize afterwards that feelings are requited.
— General Crossover Likes: applying skills/knowledge from one world to another world's problems; contrasting or reconciling differences in how a concept manifests across canons (ex. immortality, magic, realm hopping, time shenanigans); magic in one canon originates from another; characters coming up with logical but incorrect theories before discovering the truth; assuming characters have a past together (ex. cousins, met during long-ago vacation, old school chums, etc) and starting the story when they reunite in their cracked-out present
Do Not Wants
— age differences caused by disparate release/publication dates (please pretend one canon took place earlier or later so that shipped characters are around the same age as each other, as well as around the age they were at some point in canon)
— tragically unresolved age mismatches caused by lifespan differences or timey-wimey stuff
— fourth wall breakage (ex. Game of Thrones should not exist as a fictional thing in our world)
— fusions, setting AUs, or goofy crack (but crack played seriously is great!)
— crossovers of more than two canons at a time (unless specifically prompted)
— fics where none of the main characters ever find out about the others' backgrounds or magic (the reveal doesn't have to happen 'on-screen', but please don't let it end with everyone still thinking everyone else is normal!)
— Ships: non-canon romantic pairings other than the ones specifically requested; poly or threesomes; conflicting requested ships (ex. no Bucky/Edmund + Bucky/Tirian in the same story)
— Things That Upset Me: permanent death of requested characters; the afterlife; un-averted apocalypses; bleak endings; 'it was all a dream' or mind-wipe endings
— Sex & Relationship-Related: underage/overage sex or romance; D/s dynamics; soulmates; shovel talks; yentas and matchmakers; pregnancy; adultery; characters written as ace, aro, or demi; gender identity headcanons; dark dynamics within my requested ships; non-canonical pet names or terms of endearment
— Writing Things: 1st & 2nd person POV (exception for Gerry); phonetically spelled dialogue (my brain genuinely struggles to process it)
**A Note: Obviously, sending a character through a portal to another world does not count as a "setting change AU" for me. What I do count as a setting change AU is if, like, Bucky was a born and bred Westerosi, instead of being a guy from our world. Similarly, assuming supernatural elements exist in the otherwise canonical world of a seemingly 'mundane' canon doesn't count as a setting change AU to me (ex. PG Wodehouse's world turns out to have portals to Narnia, or Frank turns out to have fairy powers or something... it's all good!).
Fandom Overviews
MCU
Please let Bucky be a fully functional badass with at least a glimmer of a sense of humour. I like stories about him trying to move on and build a new life, not ones where he's brainwashed or pathetic for most of it, or that are all about his agonizing recovery. I have a pet peeve about Bucky (and Steve) saying "ain't". Can they please speak as properly as they do in the films? Cursing is totally fine, though. DNW characters or canon from the TV shows, as I'm not familiar with them.
Part of the reason I request so many Bucky crossovers is because I desperately want him to make friends, connections, and a life of his own, not just befriend Steve's best friends; because of this, I would prefer no appearances by Sam or Natasha. That said, as long as Bucky&crossover character's friendship is the central thing, I’m cool with background Steve/Bucky in the gen crossover requests (or Bucky/Loki, which I very earnestly ship). However, if you're writing a crossover ship request, please don’t let Bucky and Steve ever have had more than platonic feelings for one another.
Narnia
I love everyone's competency, earnestness and courage when it counts, but also their flaws, fears, and sass. I love Golden Age fics, 'Everybody Lives' post-series canon divergences, and fics that diverge from canon (as wildly as you like!) at any point before the closing chapters of the Last Battle. I love that being redeemed and growing into a wise and just warrior king didn't entirely cure Edmund of being a cranky, sarcastic little shit. Tirian started off as a hot mess of a king, but he’s such a wonderful guy, and quite resourceful and clever when you rouse him out of his decadence. (He was my first crush.)
The end of Narnia, train crash, and afterlife/Aslan's country are my biggest DNWs. Please let it be clear that everyone will get to live out their lives. You don't necessarily need to write a fix-it. It's fine to pretend none of it ever came up! I love most of the protagonists, so anyone you want is welcome in the background. That said, I'm not super invested in Peter, Susan, or Magician's Nephew characters as a major focus (Peter and Susan are, of course, welcome as cameos in Golden Age fic). I don't care about the religious allegories.
Psmith – PG Wodehouse
I love how they are such an odd couple, but understand one another so well. I love their loyalty and what generous, self-sacrificing heroes they both are, while also being total little shits. Psmith's dialogue! Mike's pragmatism! I love it all. You could set it when they're at Sedleigh, the bank, Cambridge, NYC, post-Cambridge, in a wild canon divergence… Whatever! Feel free to inflict as much whump (of any kind, as long as there's no permanent physical damage) as you like on either of them; I love hurt/comfort for them. Wodehouse's books are all so timeless; like the Jeeves books, these could easily have taken place 20-30 years later, to line up with the Durrell or Narnia books—please pretend they did!
I'm rabidly OTPish about these two. While I'm fine with them having been with other people before they got together, I need them to be over the old person by the end and totally into each other, with absolutely no hint that they will ever be with anyone else in the future. Please set it before they met their canon love interests and/or pretend they never did. That said, I don't need the Mike/Psmith shipping aspect to be heavy (though it can obviously be, and I would be over the moon about it!). Even one line about how they're more than just friends offscreen or have feelings or something would be fine if you want to focus more on the crossover-ness.
David Blaize
I've never encountered a character more in need of a nice boyfriend. He's such a fascinating and endearing blend of judgmental, whimsical, bossy, charismatic, and melancholic. The chapter where he devises the plan to catch the cheaters was such fun, as was his love of the macabre. I love his cleverness, snark, take-chargeness, and sense of whimsy. While his anguished self-loathing is super compelling, I ultimately want him to get over it (and get over himself, a little). I want him to find happiness and self-acceptance with someone new—with actual kissing, or more! Please let Frank completely get over his tragic crush on David and be entirely into the new person, without bashing David (whom I do like!). And please set it when Frank is anywhere between 18-30 (ie. canon divergence, or shortly post-canon), so he doesn't have to wait long to be happier. DNW something set before he met David and became all repressed; the whole point is that I want him to un-repress!
With the exception of Theodore, I do not want big age differences in my ships, so my biggest ask is to please pretend the Benson books were set earlier or later so that there's no more than a 10 year difference between Frank and the person I'm shipping him with. Benson apparently wrote the books based on his 1880s boarding school and university experience, and the books don't read any differently from WWII-era stories in the genre. They feel timeless within that range, and therefore could took place in the 1880s (so that Frank's around the same age as Penny Dreadful's Frankenstein in the early 1890s), or much later (so that he's the same age as Bucky or Edmund Pevensie in the 40s/50s). I see Richard as stuck in his thirties, so Frank in his twenties is fine.
Corfu Trilogy – Gerald Durrell
These books have long counted among my most reliable pick-me-ups. The delightfully varied character types and voices, the interplay of everyone's eccentricities, the loving nostalgia, the exuberant chaos... I love it! I adore the whole family, as well as Spiro, Theodore, Larry’s guests, and Gerry's tutors (especially tree-fighting George). I love everyone's dynamics with everyone. I want crossover characters to hang out with as few or as many people in the ensemble as you like. While I generally skim past the parts where Gerry's outside observing wildlife, I enjoy when the animals come home and interact with the family and friends. But it's also fine to completely downplay the wildlife aspect, as you like.
Fic does not need to be from Gerry's first person POV, especially if the fic focuses on crossover character's dynamic with someone other than Gerry. I mean, if you really want to write a pastiche, the other canons have a fun narrative voice, too! It could be fun to get an outsider's perspective on the family. Please pretend the other canons took place later so that the requested characters are ~18-25 during the 1930s. Canon-specific DNWs include: a) incest or underage/overage, b) fic set anywhere/anytime other than while the family was living in Corfu c) rehashes of existing book episodes (I want something new!), d) Captain Creech, and e) anything from their 'real lives', or based on TV adaptations (I haven't seen them).
Lost
This will always be my most favorite show. I love the characters, the setting, the action/adventure, the humor, the hugs. I love the theme of characters getting over their baggage via self-help and forced proximity friendships/romances. I love how exuberantly bonkers it was, and how the characters mostly rolled with whatever happened. I adore the whole thing, but for crossovers, I'm only interested in later season stuff. DNW fic set in the sideways universe, during characters' pre-island flashbacks, or during the on-island portions of S1-3 (for example, DNW Bucky as a passenger on Oceanic 815). Although the afterlife is generally a massive nope for me, Miles's superpower and Smokey's projections don't bother me. He's fine in the background, but I would prefer not to have a major focus on Ben.
As an exception to my non-canon ship and conflicting ship DNWs, Jacob/Richard is welcome even if shipping Bucky/Richard or Frank/Richard. Everything about Jacob/Richard was so sensual, fucked up and delicious. Richard was so hyper-devoted and worshipful, and Jacob was so lonely and seemed so into him in spite of all the secrets. I mean, Jacob literally gave Richard a special touch to make him into his immortal companion, WOW. This is almost the only time I'd be cool with a love triangle. But I'd like the crossover guy to provide a healthier option for Richard and "win", even if it's only for a little while, or only after Jacob dies. Is Richard conflicted between his worshipful duty to Jacob and his more normal feelings for the crossover guy? (Working through 19th century Catholic internalized homophobia would not be amiss. Like, maybe he convinced himself it was okay to reciprocate an 'angel's' advances, but freaks out when he's attracted to a normal man. Or maybe he wasn't actually attracted to Jacob, but didn't think he was allowed to say no--Jacob/anyone dubcon is fine!) Does Richard feel the need to keep this other romance a secret? Does Jacob find out anyway? How does Jacob feel about it all? Does Jacob offer the new guy his own magic gift? If so, what is it and does he take it? I would even be open to an exception of my poly DNW to allow for Jacob/Richard/Frank or Jacob/Richard/Bucky, but preferably if the non-Jacob leg is the 'healthier' leg. MIB's thirst for Richard and attempts to seduce him to the darkside were also fascinating, even though I was glad Richard didn't go for it. Does MIB unrequitedly thirst for the new guy, too? Or does he try to pit the new guy against Richard or against Jacob? How does crossover guy fight him?
Corfu Trilogy Crossovers
• Frank Maddox (David Blaize) & The Durrells
• Psmith/Mike (Wodehouse) & The Durrells
Frank Maddox & The Durrells
I'd love to see Frank befriending the Durrells during one of his trips to Greece. Perhaps as a friend of one of Larry's friends who comes to stay? Or is he a friend of a friend who tags along for the visit? Or is he one of Gerry's tutors? How does he get the boy to learn the Classics, and does tutoring him lead to interactions with the rest of the cast? Is he an archaeologist the family befriends because he's one of the few Englishmen on Corfu? Or is he a relative come to stay? Or something else? There are more prompts in the Psmith/Durrells section below that could also work for Frank. Anything!
It was great how, after the mom's initial shock, everyone was so blasé about all their gay guests. I'd love for Frank to experience that tolerance, and maybe also one of their mad parties. I don't want him shipped with anyone in the family, but Frank with Sven or George or older mentor Theodore would be wonderful. Theodore was described as so handsome, like a Greek god, and also he's the best; I don't think the books mentioned a wife, so I always pictured him as a bachelor. He was supposed to be ~40 during the time of the books (I do want the age difference here, so it's an exception to that DNW). I ship it so hard. But if you don't ship any of those, gen hanging out with the family that results in Frank getting over a bit of his baggage would be great!
Psmith/Mike (Wodehouse) & The Durrells
Think of the combined eccentricity! It would be amazing. How does Mike feel surrounded by this insanity? Does Psmith feel right at home, or do the Durrells manage to flummox even him? How does the experience help Psmith/Mike get together? Or were they already together? Please pretend Psmith and Mike were 18-25 during the 1930s.
Did they spend a summer before/between university years in Corfu? Or did Sedleigh's archaeological society take a school trip to Corfu? Or were they some of Larry's houseguests? Or maybe Leslie knew Mike from Wrykyn before they were both sent away (Mike to Sedleigh and Leslie to Corfu)? Are they party guests (I love the Durrells' parties!)? Or maybe instead of getting married/going into the fish business, they moved to Greece, too, after both of their dads lost their money; what kind of life do they set up there and how do they interact with the Durrells? A sail in the Bootle Bumtrinket gone awry? Does something about being around Psmith and Mike help Larry get unstuck on a plot point in his latest novel? Does Psmith soothe Mother, or is he her most confounding guest yet? Is Margo crushing on Mike, only to find out he's in love with Psmith? Does a magpie out-mischief Psmith? Including a conversation between Psmith & Spiro (how does Psmith react to Spiro's English?) or Psmith & Thoedore (the puns!) would be hilarious. Anything!
Psmith/Good Omens (TV)
• Psmith/Mike & Aziraphale/Crowley
My main Good Omens interest is with Crowley and Aziraphale (and the other angels/demons in the background), not so much Newt, Anathema, Shadwell, Adam, etc, who weren't even born yet for this fic. It would be amazing to see Aziraphale and Crowley bounce off Mike and Psmith in the ~1920s (DNW Psmith and Mike transplanted to other time periods). What were the angel and demon up to then? Are Psmith and Aziraphale members of the same club? Does Psmith try to buy a book from the shop? Does the adventure result in Crowley getting his Bentley? Do Psmith and Mike help the angel and demon get out of trouble with their bosses? Does the adventure result in Psmith/Mike getting together? If you can't fit in Aziraphale/Crowley shippiness, don't worry about it! I'm more here for the crossover aspects (and Psmith/Mike).
You could also write something where, instead of the way things actually went, A) Psmith or Mike is the Antichrist and B) Armaggedon was scheduled during Psmith canon's time period/setting. Since the Antichrist is a different character and age, and it's a different time period, things should go quite differently and be a different story. Please don't force fit Psmith and Mike into a rehash of canon GO plot points. How do this Antichrist's powers manifest, and what does he do with them? What would he name the hellhound (if he has one; or maybe there's no dog in this version)? Do Crowley and Aziraphale go undercover as Sedleigh masters or bank managers or something? Or no undercover, and they instead take some wholly different approach to averting the apocalypse than they took in canon? Maybe Crowley wasn't given the baby job in this AU, and they only find out about the Antichrist's existence much later. If so, how? What brings the Antichrist back from the brink (I don't want Armageddon to actually happen)? Does Psmith talk rings around Satan? Does Mike challenge Death to a cricket match? Something else bonkers played straight? Melodramatic acts of loyal self-sacrifice that turn out okay in the end? How does this whole hullaballoo help get Psmith/Mike together, or were they already together?
Psmith/Narnia Crossovers
• Psmith/Mike & Tirian
• Psmith/Mike & Edmund
• Psmith/Mike & Corin
I will never get enough of Psmith and Mike visiting other worlds! What are their reactions? How might they help characters there? What do the Narnians think of them? How does this adventure help them get together (or were they already together?)? Please pretend the Psmith books happened later than the publication date so that they are the same age as the requested Narnia characters during the story.
— Does Edmund or Tirian blow the horn, summoning Psmith and Mike for help with a problem? Fighting giants, espionage, outwitting Calormene spies, implementing educational policies, dealing with the Rabadash situation? Something else? Or just exploring or partying with royalty in either of these eras/countries! Is Psmith or Mike erroneously jealous of someone (could be anyone, not just Ed, Corin or Tirian), leading to stoic angst before they sort it out?
— Helping Golden Age Edmund remember his previous life? Is this the only time they meet, or do they reconnect at boarding school or Cambridge?
— Is it Mike or Psmith's house that Edmund burgles to get the rings, resulting in them going on adventures to other realms together instead of Edmund dying? Exploring the Wood, or deserted Charn, or Westeros, or a world you make up? Or traveling to Narnia together to help Tirian?
— Corin is like the Narnia version of a public school story character. I think he’d get along splendidly with Psmith and Mike. Does he take them traveling through Archenland? Do they team up to play pranks on his new twin brother? Do Psmith and Mike help him keep score against the bear? Something else? What it’s like for Corin to suddenly not be the crown prince, or to suddenly have a twin who is basically a foreigner, or having grown up with a sweet but sad dad who was mourning his queen and son? How can Psmith and Mike help him work through any of his potential issues?
— Most of the prompts in the Bucky/Tirian section directly below could work for Psmith/Mike & Tirian, too. Just replace "Bucky" with "Psmith and Mike" and make them friends with Tirian instead of lovers.
MCU/Narnia
• Bucky/Edmund
• Bucky/Tirian
Bucky/Tirian
They would be so competent and delightful and hot together. Fairytale king + Brooklyn street smarts, yum. Tirian was so cutely nerdy about history and hero-worshipping the Friends; what would he make of actually being in our world? I really don't care how Bucky and Tirian get here or there. Feel free to leave it unexplained. I'm happy to pretend the Friends had nothing to do with The Last Battle (ie., Jill and Eustace never came), so you can assume Tirian's reign lined up with some earlier or later time on Earth (ie. Post-TWS!Bucky/Tirian! Yay!). Or throw timelines to the wind! I like all the 'nice' people in TLB, so include whoever you want.
— Met In Dreams First: You know how Tirian astrally projected to the Friends of Narnia that one time? Well, what if he's been doing it on the regular, with Bucky? They have always secretly thought they had an imaginary friend (or are going nuts), but one day they meet, either in Narnia or on Earth. Is it possible because of Tirian's star heritage magic (IDK), or does Bucky seek him out, somehow getting his hands on the rings, or does Tirian blow the horn? Something else? What happens when they meet in the flesh
— Narnians In Our World: What if, instead of astrally projecting, Tirian actually goes! Either during WWII, or to our present-day, or multiple points in time! Is there something here that could help? Does he rescue Bucky from Hydra, or do they meet after Bucky's already escaped? Does he help the Howlies with a mission? Or maybe he arrives post-TWS and there's hurt/comfort as Bucky is pulling himself together. How do they take care of one another and get together?
— Caught In Calormen: Bucky somehow joining Tirian for a pre-TLB jaunt into Calormen? Is he there for espionage, diplomacy and/or undercover partying? How do they get together? Does this adventure result in the whole Calormene invasion getting nipped in the bud so the world doesn't have to end?
— Canon-Divergent Post-TLB: What if, instead of the world ending, Tirian & Co ran away to the mountains and started a resistance to the Calormene occupation, like they talked about doing at one point? I love espionage, desperate missions, angsty last stands and people bonding while struggling to survive in nature. How does Bucky end up with them (maybe he was the one who was summoned while he was tied to the tree, or someone blew Susan's horn?), how he can help, and how do he and Tirian fall for one another? Does Tirian know more secret hideouts full of wine? Does Puzzle (the darling!) somehow end up saving the day along with Bucky? Do Bucky and Tirian go on a quest to the magic garden place? The more horrible of an ending for Shift, the better.
Bucky/Edmund
I want them to love each other as much as I love them, and to have adventures, and be competent, and make out (or more!). What aspects of their angsty backgrounds can they pep talk each other through? How can their experiences and skill sets help each other or help solve an issue in either canon? How do they figure out one another's backstories, and what do they think of the other's (they MUST find out!)? How do they fall in love? There's delicious potential for angsty separations and happy ending reunions in this ship, too, if you want.
Edmund being a kid and Bucky being a soldier during WWII is too situationally intrinsic to both characters for my usual timeline adjustment approach. However, time between realms is so untethered and random that I could easily buy something like post-TWS Bucky traveling to the Golden Age. Or maybe at the end of Endgame, Bucky time travels to the 50s/60s when Edmund is grown up again, either as the initial premise of the story or as the happy ending epilogue. Basically, do whatever you need to avoid an age discrepancy ending and I'll roll with it. (It's okay if adult!Bucky temporarily sees/hangs with kid!Edmund at some point, as long as he doesn't touch the kid, and endgame is with grown-up Ed).
— Edmund in the Future: The story starts when grown up again Edmund returns from going on adventures with the rings. However, because of handwavey reasons, the rings have dropped him off decades after he left… Whoops! How do he and Bucky meet? Does Ed rescue him from Hydra (possibly earlier than in canon?), or is it post-TWS? Or even post-Endgame? Out of time together, hurt/comfort, etc. Is Hydra after one or both, or is it more slice of life? Do they use the rings again? Something else?
— Bucky In Golden Age Narnia: Maybe someone blows the horn, summoning Bucky? Or he fell off the train and into Narnia? Or some other way, I don't care. Getting together while dealing with giants, espionage, outwitting Calormene spies, implementing educational policies, the Rabadash situation? Something else? Is it a divergence where the Pevensies ruled the Golden Age their whole lives? Or do Bucky and Edmund reunite later back in our world?
— Traveling with Rings: Hydra sends the Winter Soldier to the Professor's childhood home to get the rings on the same day that Edmund goes, resulting in them going to other realms instead of Edmund dying. Exploring the Wood, or deserted Charn, or Asgard, or back to Narnia to help Tirian, or GoT's Westeros, or a world you make up?
— Canon-Setting Spies: I enjoy the fanon that Edmund grows up and becomes a spy. Does he get partnered with the Asset, is like, "gah, this poor guy" and run away with him? Or do they go on a spy mission while Bucky's in Narnia?
MCU/Game of Thrones
• Bucky & Final Small Council
• Bucky & Team Daenerys (Mereen or Dragonstone editions)
I desperately want Bucky to go to Westeros/Essos (DNW fic want set in our world), have an adventure there, and make friends with people I like. How can Bucky's skills or experiences help GoT characters and vice versa? Fish out of water? What do the GoT characters make of him and the idea of other worlds? Bucky riding dragons, Bucky with a sword, Bucky’s arm acting as Valyrian steel, Bucky as the actual prince who was promised… Any and all of this would make me scream with joy. As usual, I don’t care about the realm travel mechanics, so feel free to start with him already there. You don't need to explain how he got there at all!
I will always adore a canon divergence—as wild as you like—that branches off whenever. Or set it post-series! You can keep Daenerys's madness and death, or pretend she was sane and won, or somewhere in the middle. I have only seen the TV show, but you can include bits of book canon as long as Bucky learns about it with me. My main GoT DNW is any appearance by Ramsay Snow or the Sand Snakes. The afterlife is one of my general DNWs, but zombies and whatever was going on with Jon and Beric don't count as afterlife to me. Canon pairings are fine to include in the background (and Jorah/Daenerys or Tyrion/Sansa would make me smile). I'm fine keeping canon deaths as long as those deaths don't wipe out a majority of the characters with whom Bucky has made friends; but I also love divergences that keep people alive. However, Shireen is the exception; if she's in the story, she MUST live!
— Post-Series King's Landing: Whether you keep the canon ending or pretend Dany won or something else, I'm sure there's a lot of work to be done rebuilding the kingdom or paying the debts or repairing King's Landing, or… How can Bucky help? Does he get a role on the small council? Does Brienne knight him? Something else?
— With Team Daenerys in Mereen: What if she had stayed there and rebuilt? How could Bucky help? How does he end up in the inner circle? Does Tyrion try to get him drunk? Is Daario rightfully jealous of this amazing warrior? Do Bucky and my beloved Missandei save the day (or make out)? Or Maybe Bucky/Dany? Bonding over soldier slavery with Greyworm? Are Bucky and Jorah quietly loyal friends? Do the dragons like Bucky's plated arm?
— In Valyria: What if, instead of going to Westeros, Daenerys decided to rebuild Valyria? They either take Bucky with them, or meet him there. I once heard a book spoiler that Daenerys and Tyrion are immune to greyscale (though I don't know why), and I'm assuming Jorah can't get it again, and that Bucky is immune. That would make most of them safe to explore (with some yummy protectiveness of Missandei). Did the Doom stem from some MCU-related event, or can MCUish stuff help fix things? What magic (if any) do they find in Valyria? How do they work together and what do they accomplish?
— Anything! Really. There are so many characters I love and divergence opportunities in GoT that I extra doubly mean it when I say not to limit yourself to the prompts. Characters I love/want fic for most include: Missandei, Tyrion, Daenerys, Gendry, Davos, Shireen, Tormund, the Hound, Jaqen, Brienne, Podrick, Sam, Gilly, Yara, Margaery, Olenna, and all the Mormonts.
MCU/Lost
• Bucky & Left Behind in the 70s Ensemble
• Bucky/Richard Alpert
Basically, I want Bucky to make friends with any/all of: Juliet, Sawyer, Miles, Jin, Richard, with a focus on whichever one(s) you like best. I love the idea of Bucky joining this bunch of snarky misfit woobies, pep talking or tough loving each other and facilitating self-help after years of ongoing wtf trauma. How do they all find out about one another's backstories and become friends? It can be set on the island during the 70s, or even post-series back in the real world with the subset that escaped (I love the idea of Sawyer, Miles and Richard sticking together). You can also ignore deaths and pretend more people made it off the island. I would be excited to ship Bucky with Juliet or Miles, in addition to the Richard option (but only one of those ships, please!); or gen with the 70s ensemble. Including background Sawyer/Juliet or Miles/Richard is welcome if you're not shipping them with Bucky.
As usual, I don't care how Bucky meets everyone or gets to the island. Feel free to start with him already established as part of the group. That said, here are a couple of ideas, in case you're stuck… 1) The Winter Soldier was one of the soldiers on the freighter, the only one to survive (I mean, Lost DOES have a Hydra Island where they brainwash people! and Widmore WAS on that council with Fury!) and a white flash took him to the 70s, too? 2) Hydra sent him to the island on a mission (either in the 70s, or some other Richard time), and he falls in with the Lostaways. Does all this lead to him escaping earlier than in canon?
— 1974-1977 DHARMA: Bucky as a member of the secret time travelers clique within the DHARMA. Wearing a jumpsuit, sharing a yellow house with someone, getting a Sawyer nickname, maybe he speaks Korean, visiting the lighthouse, mechanic!Juliet repairs his arm, Smokey gives him visions/tests, maybe the island cures him for as long as he's on it... You get the idea. Does his presence lead to canon death situations never even coming up? Does he end up sneaking off to hang with the Others, and get together with Richard?
— Post-Series: Do Sawyer, Miles and Richard take Bucky in while he's on the run post-TWS? Did Bucky know them before (if so, does he even remember? Or are they the ones who rescue him from Hydra?)? Or do they meet for the first time post-Lost finale? Post-series Bucky and Richard as fish out of water because they've both had extremely limited experience in the regular world in the past 70-150 years? Feel free to include Desmond and/or Penny. I love them!
— Bucky/Richard: Does Bucky land on the island after falling from the train (instead of being found by Hydra)? If so, maybe the first wave of Others hasn't yet arrived, and Richard, Jacob and MIB are still the only ones around. How does Bucky get caught up in their weird drama? What does he think of it all? Is he a Candidate? Does MIB try to tempt him? Or maybe Bucky helps Richard establish the first group of Others? Or helps Richard bury Jughead in 1954? Did Richard or Jacob try to recruit Bucky in Brooklyn or during the war, and now he meets him/them again on the island? Do Bucky and Richard reunite later, post-series? Richard, Jacob and Bucky in an angsty love triangle that Bucky eventually wins, even if only when he reunites with Richard post-series? There are a lot of other prompts in the Lost section.
— The Constant: This whole concept is sooooo angsty and feelingsful; it should happen to more people! But DNW a replacement or rehash of Desmond's experience. I want to know how the concept would play out for Bucky, while still keeping Desmond's experience canon. When does it happen? The trigger could be following the wrong coordinates again, or a 70s DHARMA experiment gone wrong, or a Hydra experiment at one of the other electromagnetic spots on Earth, or handwave it (I really don't care), or…What year does his consciousness flash back and forth to (please not army training, because, again, I don't want a Desmond rehash)? Do his mind issues or MCU canon make it even angstier or more difficult to resolve? Do the Lostaways help him, given that they know about this rigamarole from when it happened to Des? What/who is his constant and how do they connect? Is it Steve (gen or ship)? Or, does the story take place back in the regular world, the Constant is someone he met on the island, and confused MCU people have to help him? Constants can also be a non-person—whatever you want!
David Blaize Crossovers
• Frank/Edmund (Narnia)
• Frank/Tirian (Narnia)
• Frank/Bucky (MCU)
• Frank/Thor (MCU)
• Frank & Psmith/Mike (Wodehouse)
• Frank/Ethan (Penny Dreadful)
• Frank/Victor (Penny Dreadful)
• Frank/Richard (Lost)
Frank/Edmund (Narnia)
Frank coming up with well-reasoned but incorrect theories to explain Edmund’s weirdness before eventually figuring it out? What is post-Narnia life like for Edmund? Is he also frustrated (sexually or otherwise)? Carrying around knowledge or experience that he can’t use? Desperate because he remembers adult relationships but has (until now) been too young/lacked opportunity/hasn’t liked anyone enough/other? Or maybe he’s actually quite inexperienced. What draws them to each other and how do they get together? My biggest asks are a) for Frank to find out about Narnia/Edmund’s secret and b) to pretend the David Blaize books were set later so that they are around the same age.
— Boarding School or University: Edmund attending Marchester and/or Cambridge, too. Are they both prefects? On a team together? Is Edmund really good at sneaking out/around? Have they always liked one another, or do they start as rivals but end up falling for one another? Wet and full of adrenaline after a sailing race or tennis match?
— Golden Age: What are Frank's reactions to Narnia? How does Edmund, who probably doesn't have a ton of attractive humans around, react to having this nice, smart, handsome Brit in the castle? Did they know each other from before, or do they meet here? Can Frank help Ed and his siblings remember their lives from before?
— Using the Rings: I'm obsessed with Edmund using the rings to go adventuring. Maybe it's Frank's parents' house that Edmund burgles to get the rings, and that's how they meet and go off on adventures together? Or were they friends before and decide to adventure together? Visiting the Wood Between the Worlds or not-so-dead Charn? Back to Narnia? Westeros/Essos (I only know the TV show).
— Other Post-Series: Does Edmund also become an archaeologist? Or does he study something else at Cambridge that allows them to travel to Greece together? Voyages on trains or ships (and possibly stranded when the vehicle breaks down)? Finding ancient magic here on earth? Partying with Bacchus, who's an old acquaintance or lover of Ed's? Or they get jobs post-university and meet in London?
Frank/Tirian (Narnia)
Frank finds himself in Narnia, in a canon divergence that pretends most of The Last Battle never happened. Do they nip the Calormene plot way in the bud? Or ignore the whole book entirely and do something else with them! Partying together with Bacchus? Fighting Northern giants together? Something else? Or maybe Tirian comes here and they have an adventure in Greece or Cambridge or in London. Frank enchanted by Tirian's literal fairytale prince-ness, or irritated by his rashness or decadence? Tirian having hero-worship about yet another person from our world? Does Narnia have Edwardian values, so that they both have to overcome same-sex hangups, or are Narnians more open-minded, leaving Tirian confused as to what Frank's problem is? Also see the Bucky/Tirian section for more prompts. As usual, please pretend David Blaize took place later so that they're around the same age.
Frank/Bucky (MCU)
I would like a WWII getting together story. Please pretend the books were set later so that they are around the same age (DNW age differences). They’d make such a great odd couple. The Brooklyn boy/posh Brit, classical education/street smarts, etc. How do they overcome Frank’s (possibly also Bucky’s?) internalized homophobia and find something good? Is Bucky more open-minded or experienced with men than Frank? Or has he always denied himself, and Frank initiates him?
I have a pet peeve about Bucky (and Steve) saying "ain't" and sounding like a gangster movie. Can they please speak as properly as they do in the films? Cursing is fine, though. Feel free to pretend Bucky didn’t fall off the train so they can have a happily ever after. Or maybe Frank rescues his brainwashed old flame from Hydra in, like, 1950 (ie. before there’s a major age difference), or Bucky travels back in time with Steve at the end of Endgame for a happily ever after. Or you can make it bittersweet, with Bucky still falling, but even though he grieves, their time together has left Frank in a healthier place to live and love again without such self-loathing (and WE know Bucky will eventually be okay, per canon).
Is Frank initially jealous of Bucky’s friendship with Steve, because he’s projecting his own experiences with David onto Steve&Bucky? Does Bucky scoff because he and Steve aren't like that at all, or is Frank actually correct in thinking Bucky has been unrequitedly pining (this is the one sort-of exception to my 'no conflicting ships' DNW)? If Bucky had been crushing on Steve, I need him to get over it completely as he and Frank fall for one another, without bashing Steve. Or you could not bring up Steve/Bucky as a question or issue at all!
— Met Fighting In WWII (general soldiering edition): Maybe the 107th is camped alongside Frank’s unit before or after their capture? Sharing a foxhole together? Exploring or hiding in a bombed out village together? Left behind and forced to trek to safety together? Saving one another? Does the desperation of war get them over their issues enough to act on their feelings?
— Met Fighting in WWII (Howling Commandoes edition): Frank as part of the gang? Getting together while using their combined smarts on a mission, either with the whole group, or a side project just for them? I’m thinking stakeouts, disguises, need for quick thinking, getting information at a party, stranded in a snowy cabin, down time at a bombed out pub… anything!
— Met In Captivity (Azzano edition): Do they huddle together between torture/experimentation sessions, clinging to each other and their identities? Hurt/comfort and desperate “we’ll probably die tomorrow” hookups? Nazis humiliating them or forcing them to do it or confess feelings or watch each other be hurt? Or maybe they only get together after Steve’s rescued them, when they begin to realize the experiments left permanent changes on them (i.e. superpowers). The more hurt/comfort the better.
— Canon-Setting Spies: Sent on an espionage + sniper mission together? Or maybe Frank isn’t a soldier, but rather some sort of archaeologistcivilian who is asked to use his knowledge to help the war effort. Maybe Hitler’s after some Ancient Greek occult blah blah and the mission is to prevent the Nazis from getting it?
Frank/Thor (MCU)
I love Thor to absolute distraction. He balances godly/regal gravitas and deadliness with jolliness, earnestness, gentleness, and a delightful alien weirdness. He would be such a fascinating foil for Frank's complicated temperament, and just generally, it would be boiling hot. Please let Frank find out who/what Thor is! What is Frank’s reaction to this literal fairytale prince? Thor’s reaction to this lovely but sad earthling? How do they get along and get together? Are Asgardians nonchalantly bisexual? If so, how does Thor react to Frank’s repression? Or do Asgardians have their own hangups? If so, how do their different hangups intersect and how do they get over them together?
It can be forever love (if so, please handwave a mention of magical solutions to the lifespan issues), or a fling that ends amicably when Thor has to go home again, leaving Frank in a healthier and happier headspace to continue on with the rest of his life, both of them retaining fond memories of their time together. I love every iteration of Thor, but for this ship, I want pre-Endgame Adonis!Thor. Loki and anyone else is welcome to be around, too, if you want!
— Does Thor carefully, joyfully, overwhelmingly seduce and fuck Frank’s repression away? Like, not even Frank’s dedicated self-denial can hold strong. And if an actual god is so into it/him, who is Frank to say this is ‘beastly’ or wrong?
— A canon divergence where Thor was banished to Frank’s time and location, whether Cambridge or Frank’s backyard or one of his archaeology digs? Or maybe Thor landed here/then during Ragnarok instead of Sakaar. Or maybe it’s set pre-Thor canon, when he snuck over to Earth for some secret fun and got stuck here (or Loki played a prank that got him stuck here)? Or, maybe it’s set pre-Thor 1, and Thor was actually rather inexperienced (with men, or in general), and they learn together, or Frank initiates him.
— Greece Setting: I love that Frank is an archaeologist! Maybe during one of his digs, he stumbles into an ancient place and accidentally sets off a magical thingy that summons gods, except a different set than expected arrive. Or some wholly other reason for Thor being in Greece? I don’t actually care how Thor gets there; feel free to skip over that part.
— Disguised/Fish Out of Water: Thor trying to blend into 1920s Cambridge, or a Wodehouse-style club, or with Frank’s family... What do Frank’s friends make of Thor? What does Thor make of everything? How does Thor take to having to keep their relationship on the DL? Is he even capable of it?
— Random Optional Details: Thor using Mjolnir to fly Frank somewhere gorgeously remote; switching; spanking
Frank & Psmith/Mike (Wodehouse)
I'd love a crossover that facilitates an endgame of Frank/a guy (but not Psmith or Mike, since I’m rabidly OTP-ish about them). Does Frank end up with Adair or Monty Bodkin or David (this option is the only exception to my overarching "get over David" need)? Or some other nice Wodehouse guy (not Jeeves, please, and DNW background Jeeves/Wooster slash)? Or OMC? Or maybe the end is simply that Frank is feeling better and ready to accept love in the future.
Cambridge hijinks facilitating friendship and romance? Teaming up to rag on a professor or defeat a bully? Cricket, since Frank and Mike were obviously teammates on the Cambridge eleven? Or maybe it’s set post-university, and they meet while visiting the same country estate, or have gotten to know one another at the clubs. Or they're all in WWI together; do they meet Frank for the first time in the trenches, or did Frank already know one of them?
As long as they get over it so that Psmith/Mike is endgame (DNW OT3), Frank hooking up or having hooked up with one or both of them could be fun to include. Perhaps it happened when Marchester's team played Eton, Wrykyn or Sedleigh in cricket, or during holidays, or at Cambridge before Psmith/Mike got together, or some other time? Regardless of whether it happened recently or years ago, what I actually care about is how that previous hookup affects my actual ship(s) later on, when they are all at university together. How does Psmith find out about Mike having hooked up with Frank (or vice versa)? Is there misplaced jealousy or awkwardness that leads to feelings revealed? Something else? Or, they can meet for the first time during the story, with neither Psmith nor Mike having hooked up with Frank. Whatever!
I don’t want matchmaking or yentas, but maybe getting an outsider POV on one character's angst or happiness or whatever inspires someone from the other canon to do something about his own feelings. Ex. Maybe Frank reexamines his stance on 'beastliness' when he finds out that Mike, whom he thinks is great, has a thing with Psmith. Or maybe seeing Frank so miserably repressed makes Mike decide to seize the day with Psmith. (But Frank must stop being miserable by the end, too!) Something else? I will love anything!
Frank/Ethan OR Frank/Victor (Penny Dreadful)
Please pretend the David Blaize books took place earlier, so that Frank is around the same age as Victor or Vanessa. I adore Vanessa, so would love a background friendship between her and Frank, if it fits; no worries if not. Perhaps Frank grew up in the same area as the Murray/Ives houses, and was a childhood friend of Vanessa’s? Does Peter haunt him? Did Vanessa and Frank initially bond because they were trying to stamp out what was 'wrong' with them, only to realize later on that there's nothing 'wrong'? Or perhaps Victor went to Marchester or Cambridge with Frank? Was Frank the only boy for whom haughty little Victor felt hero worship/a crush? Or was he the only person who disliked Maddox? Regardless of the backstory, what I'm most interested in what happens when they reunite in London as adults. Do they reunite by chance, like, at a ball? Or do Victor or Vanessa pull their old acquaintance Frank into the gang's latest project? Is that how Frank meets Ethan? Or…?
Or maybe Frank's never met any of them before, and Lyle brings him as a Classics expert, a colleague from the museum, where he works once he's finished his fellowship. Does Frank help Victor with his addiction? Does Vanessa give him the kind of pep talks she gives Victor? Does dealing with all this demi-monde insanity put 'beastliness' into new perspective for Frank (I mean, Ethan is LITERALLY a beast, so Frank kind of needs to hush)? Do they have to infiltrate a creepy gathering or society event? Vanessa and Frank undercover as a couple? Does Ethan take Frank out on a date, and maybe Frank doesn't initially realize because he'd never think this hunky American would be like that? Do Frank or Ethan teach each other some kind of skill, the way Ethan taught Victor how to shoot? Going undercover as brothers with one of the guys while desperately pining? Does Frank fuck Dorian before ending up in a more feelings-ful ship with one of the others? Or, does Frank help with post-canon adventures (either keeping the ending or pretending Vanessa didn't die)?
I loved this show for Ethan, Victor, Vanessa, Malcolm, Sembene, and Lyle's teamwork and found family. I was way more invested in Victor's struggles to connect with the living than I was in anything having to do with his creations. While I didn't hate it or anything, I wasn't a big fan of the Ethan/Vanessa ship, so feel free to pretend they never had feelings for one another. Actually, Victor/Vanessa is my Penny Dreadful OTP, so you could even have them be the background ship if you're writing Frank/Ethan. Extreme canon divergences that ignore last the episode, last season, or stuff even before that, are definitely welcome! Like, maybe Victor never zombified Brona? Maybe Sembene survived? Maybe the Scooby Gang all stayed in London at the end of season 2 and found a new supernatural thing to fight (one of the reasons I wasn't fond of the last season was because they were all separated)?
Frank/Richard (Lost)
This would be so hot and satisfying, since they both have soooo much baggage. My main ask is for Frank on the island! Like, a canon divergence in which his ship sinks on one of his trips to Greece or something. Start at some point after he's washed ashore. Frank exploring the island and its mysteries? Does Frank help Richard set up the first settlement of Others? Does Richard feel confused or self-loathing about his attraction to Frank (so much internalized homophobia with these two!)? And vice versa? Can they get over their hang-ups together? How does Frank react to Jacob, this pseudo-god figure who probably doesn't care who people love, and the fact that Richard is so devoted to him? Does this create tension? Are there class or hero worship or religious or other issues that they overcome together? Does Jacob have a job or role for Frank, too? Most of my prompts about Richard ships are in the Lost fandom write up; you can also use the Bucky/Lost prompts, but tweak them for Frank. (I know it feels like I'm taking a short-cut, and this is the last request, but I promise I love it just as much! I just don't want to be so repetitive.)