Fandom 5K 2020

[aurilly]

Hello, dear writer! This is my very favorite exchange. :D What I want most is something YOU are having fun writing, so don't feel like you need to stick to the specific prompts. Feel free to write your own idea for these pairings instead, maybe trying to incorporate one of the general likes? As long as there's a happy/hopeful ending, I'm sure I'll love it. Thank you! I'm aurilly on AO3 as well.

Here are anchor links to the different sections:
• Penny Dreadful – Victor/Vanessa
• Narnia – Emeth/Tirian
• MCU – Bucky/Loki, Bucky/Thor
• Bucky (MCU) + Game of Thrones Crossovers
• Bucky (MCU) + Narnia Crossovers
• David Blaize Crossovers
• Wodehouse – Psmith/Mike


General Notes
1) I've requested the same genre tags for all fandoms: AU – Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Canon-Style Plot, Action/Adventure, and Smut. That said, I'm not that invested in the genre tags. As long as my & pairings become friends and my / ships unambiguously get together, don't worry about how well your fic fits whichever tag we matched on or whether there's "enough" of the tag.

2) I'm often interested in watching characters deal with what comes after a prompted premise than I am in the premise itself. What I'm most interested in is what happens next-- the dynamics they forge, the adventures they have, the things they learn, their teamwork, how they get together, etc. For example, I don't particularly care how characters who don't canonically know each other get to the same place and meet. Feel free to skip past that to start in media res, after they’ve already become friends, or even years later when they're reuniting after a separation. Basically, stories that end shortly after the introductions make me sad. Similarly, when I ask for characters who died in canon, I care much more about the adventures the character has months after they didn't die than I care about precisely how their death was averted.


Things I Always Love
• Devoted Odd Couples: enjoying one another's company; laughing at one another; fond exasperation; friends to lovers (including for characters who never met in canon; you can skip the initial meeting to start the story when they’re already friends, so you can focus on the 'to lovers' part)

• Adventures: fish out of water; exploring new territory; finding out about magic; complementary skill sets; badassery; laughing in the face of danger or absurdity; the pen is mightier than the sword (but I also really love swords)

• Reunions: assuming characters have a past together (ex. cousins, long-lost school chums, briefly visited the other world as a child, etc) and starting the story when they reunite in the present; not immediately recognizing old acquaintances due to canon-inspired plot reasons; still getting along despite having grown or changed

• Crossovers: applying skills/knowledge from one world to another world's problems; characters coming up with logical but incorrect theories about what's going on before discovering the truth; contrasting or reconciling differences in how a concept manifests across canons (ex. immortality, magic, realm hopping, time shenanigans); magic or plot point in one canon has roots in another (ex. The Doom in GoT vomited up Valyrian steel that magically made it to Earth, known here as vibranium, or the mysterious guy who smuggled baby Shasta to Calormen was actually Bucky)

• Historical or Fantasy Settings: SWORDS!; also crossbows; carriages (and sex therein); knighting; tournaments; balls; forced to share a horse; camping; rowdy taverns

• Not Originally Sexual Bondage: I prefer restraint when it, at least initially, occurs for plot reasons. A ties B to the bed for sexy fun? Not my thing. A ties B to the bed to keep B from hurting himself while possessed? Yes! Whether or not it then turns sexy in the story (it certainly can!), it's already sexy to me. Examples... tied or chained up for a ritual or because of imprisonment; stoicism and nobility while bound, stripped, whipped, jeered at, or nonconsensually touched; captives find ways to kiss and touch despite being bound; strong character submits or pretends to be unable to break out of bonds for reasons

• Hurt/Comfort: external force/person makes A hurt B; forced to watch loved one endure something awful; stoic character trying to joke their way through pain or hide wounds; shame about desires or how badly they want it; comforter is hiding their own hurt; bedside vigils; patching up loved one's wounds; helping one another through an awful ordeal; fainting; "I thought you were dead!"

• Loyalty & Self-Sacrifice: taking the rap for loved one; jumping in front of a bullet; sacrificing career, safety, reputation or happiness for loved one (but it turns out okay in the end!); volunteering to be beaten, humiliated, tortured, fucked, etc to spare loved one or to secure some benefit for them; trying to keep sacrifice or hurt secret from loved one, either out of shame or because A doesn't want B to feel beholden/guilty or because A doesn’t want B to know the extent of A's feelings; B finding out anyway

• Sexy Times: I have no top/bottom preferences in m/m. This letter is so long, so I left general porn likes HERE; they're applicable to any ship, not just the ones there. There's a more detailed version HERE (but the first one is enough, don't worry).

• Clothing Porn: suits, leather, armour, uniforms, boots, breeches; admiring how good (or ridiculous) love interest looks in the above; not sure how to get these weird clothes off; neckties and the many uses thereof

• External Force/Party Makes Them Have Sex: for cultural or initiation rites, to cast a spell, bad guys made them do it, etc. I'll take these for the flimsiest of reasons, so handwave away or even skip the set-up. I like dubcon tropes with an ultimately happy ending--where at least one of them is awkward, angsty, pining and/or guilt-ridden during the sex, and they realize only during or afterwards that feelings are requited. Or they develop feelings during the ordeal. I also love stories that focus more on the awkward aftermath and getting together.


Do Not Wants
*These are the same as in my signup, but with a little more explanation on some. The category headers and organization don't mean much; I'm just trying to loosely group to reduce scrolling.

• Death & Endings: permanent death of requested characters; the afterlife; depressing endings; as-if-it-never-happened erasure endings (ex. "it was all a dream" or events of fic are permanently mind-wiped away)
• Sex-Related: BDSM; underage/overage sex or romance; A/B/O; pregnancy; condoms (I'll assume the sex does not result in pregnancy or STDs)
• Ship-Related: fic that ends before they're in love or have made out; non-canon romantic ships, unless prompted (however, mentions of backstory relationships with OCs are fine); conflicting requested ships (ex. A/B and A/C in same fic), unless prompted; non-canonical nicknames (ex. "Stevie"); shovel talks; adultery; yentas and matchmakers; soulmates or any form of destined/fated love; my ship doesn't actually like each other
• Writing-Related: 1st & 2nd person POV; phonetically spelled dialogue (my brain genuinely struggles to process it)
• Other: fusions; setting change AUs**; goofy crack (but crack taken seriously is fine!)
• Crossover-Related: unprompted crossovers of more than two canons at a time; fourth wall breakage (ex. World A characters know World B as fiction); crossover fics where the main characters remain unaware of each others' backgrounds or magic (the reveal doesn't have to happen 'on-screen', but please don't let it end with everyone thinking everyone else is normal, in a 'ships passing in the night' kind of way)


**A Note on setting change AUs: I welcome invented mechanisms, like portals, to get characters from one world to another. I also welcome the addition of supernatural elements to a canon (ex. selkies exist, someone's mom was a fairy, time loops are possible, Stonehenge is a magical place, some Greek myths were real, etc.). Shifting timelines within a late 19th/early 20th century range is also fine! My DNW for setting change AUs is meant to cover scenarios where the supernatural elements that form a canon's premise are wholly removed, or a requested character's pre-canon backstory beats are wholly unrecognizable (ex. Bucky as a born and bred Narnian instead of an early 20th century Brooklynite), or a canon is moved into a wildly different location or time period (ex. 21st century, space, pirates).


Penny Dreadful
• Vanessa/Victor

From the meet-cute over scalpels, to how they've both memorized all this Romantic poetry, to the shopping trip, to their tender heart-to-hearts and pep talks, to their playful teasing and arch banter… There's so much fondness, mutual respect, and loyalty here. They’re both so lonely and haunted, simultaneously proud and self-loathing about their monstrous states. I shipped them from the first episode. I want them to find something good in their shared darkness, unambiguously get together--with actual makeouts, or more!--and be endgame with a hopeful vibe.

I loved this show for Victor, Vanessa, Ethan, Malcolm, Sembene, and Lyle's Scooby Gang teamwork and found family, so a bit of that would be fun, if it fits your idea. I was vastly more invested in Victor's awkward efforts to connect with the living than I was in anything having to do with John Clare or Lily, so would prefer the story not to focus on them (mentions or super brief cameos are fine). DNW Victor to bring anyone else back to life. No sex while Vanessa is possessed, please. If you include a sex scene, please no pegging, anal, or knives.

Please pretend Vanessa never died. Best would be avoiding the entire storyline about her falling for Dracula, and setting the story either after (with handwaving) or before, or in a divergence where she never met him. More extensive canon divergences are also welcome, like erasing all of S3, or pretending Victor never brought Brona back to life, or Sembene never died, or everyone stayed in London after S2, whatever you want. You can pretend Vanessa/Ethan wasn’t a thing, or pretend it was only a mild crush that they're both over by the time the fic starts. I similarly want Victor to completely get over Brona|Lily (or never have known her).

— Maybe everyone stayed in London at the end of S2 and found a new thing to fight. Catching the Ripper? Dealing when Jekyll goes full Hyde? Taking care of Ethan during a full moon? Investigating a haunted house? Something else? Whatever it is, how does the adventure help Victor/Vanessa get together?

— Undercover as a couple or marriage of convenience: How does the experience deepen their bond and lead to real feelings? What's their wedding night like? How do the others react? How does it lead to something real?

— Some ritual or magic plot blah blah requires that Victor be relieved of his virginity... Vanessa volunteers. Or the sex has to be between people who feel pure, redemptive fondness for one another, even if they don't initially realize it's more than friendly. Either way, it makes them realize they want more.

— Does Vanessa invite Victor to live in Granage Place after S2 (maybe it's just her and Sembene, who doesn't die, dammit)? Or does she prefer Victor's garret? Helping each other get over their breakdowns/addictions? Can she--with her ghoulish love of taxidermy--assist him with science? Or can her witchcraft help with his addictions or other problems? Or do they both take the therapist's advice and try to have fun--but this time together (never meeting Dracula)? What do attempts at fun look like for them and how do they get together?

— Leaving London entirely? Do they go on a vampire-hunting mission, just the two of them (or with the whole gang), or heal a haunted house? A trip to Bath or some other place that their fancy names get them into but where their personalities don't quite fit? Back to the moors? Or some kind of stranded together or captured together scenario? Some other project that requires them to combine their talents and knowledge?

— They’ve both strayed quite far from their similarly posh country childhoods. Exploring the dichotomy between the Victorian high society they were born into (Victor's family estate is enormous!) and the demi-monde that brought them together would be fascinating as a side theme. Like, maybe Victor comes into his family money, or has to put on the persona of the Frankenstein family, or…

— We never got anyone's reactions to Victor's extracurricular activities! Separately, I wanted more about him reconciling the existence of monsters and biblical demons with his scientific belief system. Incorporating either of these themes into a getting-together story would be great.


Narnia
• Emeth/Tirian

General Narnia Notes (for Narnia crossovers as well as Emeth/Tirian)
Tirian and Edmund were my very first favorite characters, and Narnia's worldbuilding elements formed most of my narrative interests. I love Golden Age fics and fics that diverge from canon (as wildly as you like!) at any point before the closing chapters of the Last Battle. The end of Narnia, train crash, and afterlife are my biggest DNWs. Please let it be clear that everyone will get to live out their lives. I don't need a fix-it (i.e. a fic focused on how their canon death was averted that day). I prefer to pretend it just never came up! I'm not at all invested in the religious allegory elements.

I love everyone's competency, earnestness, and courage when it counts, but also their flaws, fears, and crankiness. Tirian has such human flaws, and he started off as a hot mess of a king, but he means so well, and is quite resourceful and clever when you rouse him out of his decadence. I love that being redeemed into a just warrior king didn’t entirely cure Edmund of being a cranky, sarcastic little shit.


Emeth/Tirian
I would like them to fall in love in life and have a hopeful ending that assumes the world continues. Emeth should win a prize for the level of admiration and affection he was able to inspire in so few pages. I loved the conflict he faced between his reason, his duty, his devotion, and his desire to prove himself. I think they’re perfect for one another—brave, noble warriors (and all-around lovely guys) who could come to respect and love one another despite their differences. I have a weakness for forbidden/secret relationships and 'honour and nobility know no sides' and 'love across enemy lines'. This ship has so much potential for both! You could keep Jill and Eustace, or make a divergence where they didn’t come during TLB… whatever works!

— What if they had met in Narnia while Emeth was undercover as a merchant, and their love changes the course of the story?

— Canon divergence where Calormen conquered Narnia, but no apocalypse. Tirian as war trophy, slave, or sacrifice to Tash? Tirian being kingly and stoic while tied up and beaten was very, um, interesting to me as a child; as long as there's subsequent comfort from Emeth and a hopeful ending, you can whump him as hard as you like, including with noncon (perpetrated by a third party!). What makes Emeth decide to help Tirian? How do they fall in love? Do they run away together? Anything!

— Tirian in a Groundhog Day loop in which he, with Emeth's help, goes through some kind of personal growth? It could be something that leads to the apocalypse not happening, or it could be set in a divergence where none of it was an issue and you make up a day and problem that he loops through.

— We saw the beginning of Emeth's disillusionment. I'd love a canon divergence where he deserts to help Tirian and Narnia. Does he see Tirian tied to the tree and free him, only for both of them to be captured, possibly without Eustace and Jill ever arriving? How horrible is their captivity (hopefully very)? Are they kept in a dank tower cell? Or in Tirian's own castle? Are they beaten or humiliated in some way? Cold and wet and hungry yet stoically noble and finding out commonalities and falling in love? Or did they not get captured at all? What happens in that case?

— 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, people bonding while struggling to survive in nature, etc. It could be set while they’re still setting it all up. Or you could start it later on, when the resistance has grown strong enough to start making moves. When/why does Emeth end up joining them? Did he defect due to his side’s lack of honor, or because Tirian blows the horn and summons him (from not super far away)? Or something else? How does Emeth fit in? In this divergence, had they met and liked each other before, or are they meeting for the first time now? How do they get together? How do they make strides in the pro-Narnia project? Does Puzzle (the darling!) somehow end up saving the day? Do Emeth and Tirian go on a quest to the magic garden place? Anything!

— Maybe Tirian is given to Emeth as a war prisoner or war trophy (with Emeth as kind and noble jailer, please!), or to someone horrible and Emeth rescues him? Or maybe it’s Narnia that wins the war, and Emeth who ends up as (kind and noble!) Tirian’s prisoner? Angst because crushing on your prisoner might not be honorable? How do they get past that? Or, if you want to go to a more fucked-up place… Do Calormene or Narnian traditions require a conquering soldier to fuck his war trophy, or require the Narnian king to fuck one of the conquered soldiers as a symbol of victory? Are they already in love by the time the ritual happens or do they fall for each other afterwards? Something else? Lots of hurt/comfort and stoicism, please!

— Optional themes to incorporate into any of the above…. Do the two countries have different views about same-sex romance? It doesn't have to be "Calormen=repressed, Narnia=free love" (though it could); maybe Calormen has a complicated Ancient Greek-style culture, or Narnia's never shaken its Victorian influences. Some other take? Separately, does Tirian’s star heritage give him some sort of magic?


MCU
• Bucky/Thor
• Bucky/Loki

General Bucky Notes (for MCU-only pairings and crossovers)
Please let Bucky quickly recover or start the story as 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. I have a pet peeve about fics where Bucky (and Steve) say "ain't" and sound like characters from a 1930s gangster movie. I'd like them to sound like they do in canon, where they speak as 'correctly' as, say, Howard or Bruce do. Cursing is fine, though.

It’s always been important to me that Bucky make new friends and a new life of his own; with people and concerns other than Steve’s best (Earth) friends. Hence why I frequently request him with the space/cosmic or Wakandan side of things, or crossovers. Steve is welcome, but if you want/need to give Bucky other background friends/acquaintances (that would be lovely, if it fits your idea), I'd be excited to see Okoye, Shuri, M’Baku, T'Challa, Ramonda, Peter Parker, Aunt May, Pepper, Jane, Frigga, Heimdall, Valkyrie, Thor, Loki, The Ancient One, the Guardians, Howard, or crossover characters play this role, instead of Natasha or Sam.


Bucky/Loki
I think these two would be amazing together, an entertainingly snarky, angsty and badass odd couple. They might be able to get each other, and/or tough love each other to a better place. I'd love to see them bond over unexpected complements in their personalities, backstories, or skillsets.

I've spent years requesting 'instant attraction→sex' and 'sex for ~reasons before feelings' for these two, and the results have been amazing! However, I'd also love to read something that starts weeks or months or years after they meet, for a 'pre-existing friends or colleagues lurching towards lovers' feel. Something with yearning, uncertainty, and knowing each other well before they develop feelings or get together or sleep together.

What does a friendship and/or partnership between them look like? Have both of them been pining? Or has only one been pining, and the events of the fic lead the other to finally reciprocate feelings? Who makes the first move? Does it go well, or is it a one step forward two steps back kind of thing before the happy ending? Do not want incompatible lifespan issues, so please assume the serum makes you immortal like an Asgardian, or that magic can make Bucky immortal. I also find replacing a love interest with an alternate universe version incredibly depressing (ex. do not want Bucky had a crush on or was dating Loki; Loki rejected him or died, and Bucky moves on with the 2012 version).

— Undercover as a Couple: I love this trope for how the forced proximity (and possibly also domesticity!) pushes relationships forward and helps characters learn new things about each other--both delightful and irritating. Or, you could do stranded or captured together for similar forced proximity results.

— Random Ways They Could Have Met, In Case You're Stuck (but not necessarily the focus of the story): Is it a canon divergence where Loki survived IW and Bucky didn't get snapped? Have they been doing space missions for the Avengers or Carol? Building New Asgard in Norway (maybe Thor got snapped, leaving Loki as leader)? Looking for a new planet for the Asgardians to settle? Or maybe it's the Thanos-free 2014 universe, in which the Asgardians made it safely to Earth and settled in Wakanda. Have they been there for a couple of years, and now T'Challa or Shuri have sent Bucky and Loki on a mission somewhere on Earth?

— Most of the Bucky/Thor prompts below could be tweaked to work for Bucky/Loki, if you assume Loki didn’t die or IW/EG never happened, or you diverge even earlier than that.

— Post-TDW: Does presumed dead Loki get stranded on Earth at the end of the Convergence (instead of impersonating Odin), in the place where Bucky is? The two of them on the run/living in hiding/something else together?

— 2012!verse: The Loki who escaped rescued the Winter Soldier earlier than in canon, for some reason. Bucky quickly recovers and they go on adventures together, or move in together, or anything!

— A thinks he’s just B’s rebound (but he’s not): I’m happy for either of them to be A or B, but please let them get over any previous feelings for other people and be 100% in love with each other by the end, NOT 'settling'. How does paranoia affect how A acts with B? Does realizing that A has been expecting B to move on 'for real' with someone else leave B hurt, too? How do they sort out this mess for a happy ending? Maybe it really DID start as a rebound for B that, unbeknownst to A, has quickly turned into the real deal. Maybe Bucky had been unrequitedly pining (or actually dating?) Steve, who ultimately went back in time to Peggy. Or maybe Bucky/Steve were casual FWB, and while Bucky misses his best friend, the sex meant very little to him (but Loki assumes Bucky was actually in love with Steve). Or maybe Bucky wasn't crushing on Steve or anyone at all, and Loki's just imagining things. Or, is Bucky the angsty one, because of real or imagined feelings Loki has about Thor or someone else, IDK? You could also do a take where it isn’t about ‘rebounding’ per se. Maybe A thinks B is simply bored or looking for something convenient and meaningless, not realizing that B has always had, or has recently developed, feelings.

— Touch-Starved Character Having Overwhelming Tender Long Foreplay First Time Sex: This works so well for either, both, anything, yes. Is this the first time Bucky has been touched tenderly since he came out of the ice? Is it also his first time with a man? Is Loki angsting throughout because he's so... Loki? Meaning, stuck in his own head, has a standoffish rep to maintain, etc? Is Bucky the first person Loki has let touch him sexually in ages? If so, why? Is Loki in denial about how much he needs/wants this? Does Bucky have angst or disgust about his arm that Loki gets him over? Or is Loki super clenched and afraid of turning blue, thinking it'll disgust Bucky (he can turn blue for a minute or so, but I don't want him blue for the whole sex scene). Kissing and praise and hair stroking and hand-holding... Held down by super strength, fingered by the metal arm… Maybe one needs it really rough but the very roughness is tender, or they go past what one thinks he can take (but it turns out he can take it just fine). Is the one providing the tenderness petrified of accidentally exposing the full extent of his feelings, especially if it's one of those 'friends need to have sex for ~reasons' situations, or because it's just supposed to be comfort sex, or they saying it's just FWB? I’ll take anything. (The questions above are just thought-starters; please don’t think the answers should be ‘yes’ or that I want as many incorporated as possible; I swear I don't.)


Bucky/Thor
Bucky and Thor (plus Loki) are my very favorite MCU characters, so of course I want them to love each other as much as I love them, and unambiguously get together--with actual makeouts (or more!). I think they'd get along great—a deadly odd couple who could help each other fully recover from previous traumas. Their temperaments would make a lovely contrast, and generally, they would also be insanely hot together.

Feel free to start in media-res of their acquaintance or friendship. I adore Thor at every point in his character journey, from pre-canon to post-Endgame. DNW incompatible lifespan issues, so please assume the serum makes you immortal like an Asgardian, or that they can find some magic to make Bucky immortal. The general 'requested character death' DNW applies only to people in the ship you're focusing on; it's fine if Loki is canonically dead in Bucky/Thor fic (but you can also pretend he didn't die!).

— Tropes: undercover as a couple; marriage of convenience; friends with benefits becomes more; captured together, road trip in space… I'm into these tropes for the forced proximity bonding and working together that results; you can handwave the set-up!

— New New Asgard: Bucky and Thor traveling the stars, looking for a more permanent planet that the Asgardians can settle? What adventures do they have and how does it get them together? Do they find Loki, who turns out not to be dead?

— Post-TWS: Does Bucky get sent to Asgard to hide from Earth authorities who want to arrest him? How does Thor take care of him and how do they fall in love?

— The Dark World: What if Bucky had been the one to get infected by the Aether instead of Jane? Does Thor still take him to Asgard? What if Bucky had been able to harness the power, instead of being damseled by it? How would the plot play out differently with this change, and how does it help them get together?

— Post-Endgame: Bucky accompanies Thor into space for a change of pace (especially since Thor is in a similarly self-defining place)? Could be with the Guardians, or Carol drops them off somewhere… I don't care about the set-up. I just want to know what adventures they have, how they help each other heal, and, most importantly, get to making out.

— Endgame: Pretend Bucky didn't get snapped. You can keep Thor's breakdown, or maybe this divergence with Bucky helped prevent it. I'd love something that picks up mid-way or at the end of the five years, for a friends to lovers story. What have they been doing together? Did Bucky get kicked out of Wakanda as soon as T'Challa and Shuri were dead, and that's how he ended up with Thor? Building up New Asgard in Norway? Missions for Carol? Stranded in space together? What finally pushes them to be more than just friends? Maybe Bucky went on the Aether mission with Thor instead of Rocket, or went to get a different stone. How does it go differently? Or perhaps they are sent to return the stones instead of Steve. What adventures do they have in this case (on any planet, not just Asgard) and how does the experience help them get together?

— Wakanda: Start some time after the Asgardians arrived safely on Earth and settled in Wakanda; no Thanos. How have Bucky and Thor gotten to know each other? Has Bucky shown the Asgardians the ropes of living here? What new things do they show him? Midnight swims, fun with goat-herding or rhinos, an adventure regarding Wakandan mysteries or Asgardian magic, bounty hunters after Bucky, dealing with a restless Loki or drunk Valkyrie, Heimdall sees something they need to deal with… Anything! How do they fall in love?

— Reunions: Bucky and Thor somehow met (and maybe hooked up?) before or during WWII. However, what I'm actually interested in is what happens when they reunite post-TWS. When/how does their reunion happen? What with the brainwashing, amnesia, etc, it could be so angsty or identity porny, or hurt/comforty. Yum. Does Thor find a way to rescue or cure Bucky? Or do they reunite after Bucky has escaped? Is it on Earth or in Asgard? I want the focus on the present day, but you can include the flashbacks as well, or just handwavily mention the backstory in passing.

— Optional Additional Details: Lightning powers + metal arms + sex... This could lead to careful precautions, or extra excitement, or... I'm not really sure. But I feel like it would be hot?




MCU/Game of Thrones Crossovers
• Bucky/Jaqen H'ghar
• Bucky & Final Small Council
• Bucky & Team Daenerys (Mereen or Dragonstone editions)

I desperately want Bucky to go to Westeros/Essos (I’m much less interested in fic set mainly 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! See the beginning of the MCU section in this letter for general Bucky and MCU notes.

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!

— Bucky/Jaqen: Something playing with ideas of assassins, shapeshifting, of being ‘no one’ or a ‘ghost’, of losing/reclaiming your identity, etc. Does the Many-Faced God owe Bucky? Is newly arrived and confused Bucky seeking refuge at the temple, or does Jaqen seek him out to recruit him? Do they meet in Bravos or while Jaqen is traveling? Do they have a bittersweet fling, but that's all it can be because being nobody means you can't have lasting relationships? Or does Jaqen's shapshifting help Bucky work through their feelings for someone else (ex. Steve; platonic or gen)? Arya can be around or not, up to you. It's great if there's some shapeshifting, but the shallow part of me would like a majority of Wlaschiha!Jaqen in the shippy parts.

— 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? Sam geeking out over Bucky? Tyrion finding a nice use for Bucky’s talents? 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, as long as Greyworm isn’t fussed about it)? Or Maybe Bucky/Dany? Bonding over soldier slavery with Greyworm? Are Bucky and Jorah quietly loyal friends? Does Selmy survive? 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 possible divergence opportunities and characters I love 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/Narnia Crossovers
• Bucky/Tirian
• Bucky/Edmund

General MCU/Narnia Notes
General Bucky and Narnia fandom notes are at the beginning of the MCU and Narnia sections, respectively. Time between these realms is already untethered and random, and I welcome as much timey-wimey handwaving as you want to add.
Ex. there's no reason why post-TWS Bucky couldn't travel to the Golden Age or Tirian’s reign.

Bucky/Tirian
They would be so competent and delightful and hot together. Fairytale king + Brooklyn street smarts, yum. I really don't care how Bucky and Tirian get here or there. Feel free to leave it unexplained and/or start with him already there. I like all the 'nice' people in TLB, so include whomever you want. If it’s easier not to include the Friends of Narnia, that’s fine, too!

— 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. Maybe Tirian inherited star magic, which makes this possible? Or Bucky seeks him out, somehow getting his hands on the rings? Or Tirian blows the horn? Something else? What I'm most interested in is what happens when they are together in the flesh, so you can even background the vision part, if you want.

— Tirian 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. Tirian was so cutely nerdy about history and hero-worshipping the Friends; what would he make of actually being in our world? Is there something here that could help him or that he could help with? 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 Tirian 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. It could be set near the start when they’re corralling Narnians and spiriting them to safety. Or you could start it later on, when the resistance has grown pretty strong and they’re ready to start making moves. How/when does Bucky end up with them (maybe Bucky was the one who was summoned while Tirian 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?


Bucky/Edmund
I’ve gotten a few fics for this pairing already, but there will never be enough (I spiced up the prompts with a few new beats). I want them to love each other as much as I love them, and to have adventures, and be competent, and unambiguously get together, with actual makeouts (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? 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, I’m great with post-TWS Bucky traveling to the Golden Age or some other point in Narnian history. 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 hangs out with kid!Edmund at some point, as long as he doesn't touch the kid, and the happy ending 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 inter-realm time shenanigans, the rings have dropped him off decades after he left, and now he's stuck in the future… Whoops! Or maybe it's a canon divergence where the Pevensies return from the Golden Age to the 21st century as adults instead of deaging to kids at the moment they'd left? Does Ed rescue Bucky 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?

— 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, 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? What adventures do they have together?

— Bucky In Golden Age Narnia: Maybe someone blows the horn, summoning Bucky? Or the Tesseract or Bifrost takes him there? Or he fell off the train and into Narnia? Or some other way, or leave it unexplained, I don't care. Getting together while dealing with giants, or during some annual tournament in Archenland? Helping Edmund get rid of the remaining werewolves or hags from the Witch’s reign? Sea voyage adventures on the Splendour Hyaline? Outwitting Calormene spies, implementing educational policies, the Rabadash situation? Something else? Is it a divergence where the Pevensies ruled for longer? Or do Bucky and Edmund reunite later back in our world?

— Reunions: Does Bucky encounter the Pevensies while they’re still rather young (whether during ‘Prince Caspian’, VoDT, early on during the Golden Age, or during WWII); nothing shippy happens then, but it does when they reunite once Edmund is an adult and Bucky basically hasn’t aged? Or maybe they never met before, but Bucky went to Narnia (or had some Narnia-related experience) during a time when the Pevensies weren’t there, and he meets adult Edmund back in our world; how do they figure out their Narnia connection while also falling for one another? Or maybe some of the mythical figures that exist in both Narnia and Earth (ex. Bacchus, Father Christmas) help them find one another again, either here or there? You can include the flashbacks, or just focus on the reunions!


David Blaize Crossovers
• Frank/Bucky (MCU)
• Frank/Thor (MCU)
• Frank & Psmith/Mike (Wodehouse)
• Frank/Edmund (Narnia)
• Frank/Ethan (Penny Dreadful)

General David Blaize Notes
I've never encountered a character more in need of a nice boyfriend than Frank. He's such a fascinating and endearing blend of judgmental, whimsical, bossy, charismatic, and melancholic. I love his cleverness, snark, take-chargeness, and sense of whimsy. The chapter where he devises the plan to catch the cheaters was such fun, as was his love of the macabre. 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—unambiguously, with actual kissing, or more! If you want to run with the thing where he cured David with the power of love to a place where Frank literally has some kind of magic (whether he knew it or not at the time), go for it!

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 only a few years 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!


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 Wodehouse prompt 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 everyone gets over it so that Psmith/Mike is endgame (DNW threesomes), 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 (feel free to background that whole part), what I actually care about is how that previous hookup affects my actual ship(s) later on. 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 ever hooking up with Frank. Whatever!

I don’t want matchmaking or lectures/interventions, but maybe getting an outsider POV on one character's angst or happiness or whatever inspires someone from the other canon to proactively 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/Edmund (Narnia)
See Narnia notes at the beginning of the Narnia section of this letter. My biggest asks are a) for Frank to find out about Narnia/Edmund’s secret (it doesn’t have to be a whole written-out info-dump or happen on-screen at all) and b) to pretend the David Blaize books were set later so that they are around the same age (DNW age differences).

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?

— University: Edmund at Cambridge, too! Taking the same lecture, on the same teams, or occupying neighboring dorm rooms? Wet and full of adrenaline after a sailing race or tennis match? Some other aspect of college life brings them together? More naked swimming? What does Frank think of Edmund before and after he finds out why Ed is the way he is? Do they first meet at Cambridge, or did Edmund go to Marchester, too? Were they in the same class? Or was Ed a year or two older and they’re reuniting at Cambridge? If so, what was their dynamic before?

— Frank Visits During 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? Or does Frank arrive while Edmund is in Calormen or on a sea voyage? Did they know each other from before, or do they meet here? Can Frank help Ed and his siblings remember their lives from before? I don’t care how Frank gets there, so feel free to start in media res.

— 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 spy? Or something else 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 or some society event? Or as guests at a mutual friend’s estate?

— Some of the Bucky/Edmund prompts would work for these two, too!


Frank/Bucky (MCU)
I would especially 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. 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?

See Bucky notes at the beginning of the MCU section of this letter. 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 brings Frank to the future. 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 (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, foreign languages, need for quick thinking, getting information at a party, stranded in a snowy cabin, down time at a bombed out pub, appreciating the beauty of Europe despite the horror of war… anything!

— Canon-Setting Spies: Sent on an espionage + sniper mission together? Or maybe Frank isn’t a soldier, but rather some sort of archaeologist-civilian who is asked to use his knowledge to help the war effort. Is the mission to get information, or to prevent the Nazis from getting some Ancient Greek occult blah blah? Does Frank have to go ‘undercover’ as gay (when he already repressedly is)?

— Met In Captivity (Azzano edition): Was Frank also a prisoner in Azzano, possibly also getting experimented on? 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 have sex or confess feelings or watch each other be hurt? Or maybe they only get together after Steve’s rescued them (in a wartime hospital? as members of the Howlies? Other?) when they begin to realize the experiments left permanent changes on them (i.e. superpowers). Are they still traumatized, leading to even more closeness? The more hurt/comfort the better.

— 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? Bucky probably also needs some TLC after Azzano, even if Frank wasn't there with him… Does the desperation of war get them over their issues enough to act on their feelings?

— Frank Goes to the Future: For a non-WWII option that I'm equally excited about, perhaps the story starts after Frank has been sucked into the present-day. Maybe some MCU-related cosmic business has brought him here/now, or he fell into a portal, or he is actually magical… It doesn't matter. How do he and Bucky get together? Bonding over both being 'out of time', Frank's reactions to the future, Bucky finding healing by helping Frank adjust… Can Frank's knowledge, skills or perspective help with an MCU-type plot?


Frank/Thor (MCU)
I love Thor so very much. He balances godly/regal gravitas and deadliness with jolliness, earnestness, gentleness, slyness, 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-Ragnarok Adonis!Thor. Loki and other Asgardians are welcome to be included, too, if you want.

— Frank really needs to get laid. 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? Or is Thor actually rather inexperienced (with men, or in general) at this point in his life, and they learn together, or Frank initiates him? I would prefer Frank to become an enthusiastic, curious and active participant, not just lie down and take it the whole time.

— A canon divergence from the first film, where Thor was banished to Frank’s time and location, whether Cambridge or Frank’s backyard or one of his archaeology digs? 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)?

— 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; marathon sex; held down by Mjolnir so that Frank is completely at Thor's mercy


Frank/Ethan (Penny Dreadful)
I basically want Frank to hang with the PD gang in London and get involved with their supernatural drama. Does finding out about and 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 calm his angst)? Does Frank find out about Ethan's werewolfness? If so, how does he react (hopefully some hurt/comfort?)?

Please pretend the David Blaize books took place earlier, so that Frank is around the same age as Victor or Vanessa in the early 1890s, with the same age difference as between either of them and Ethan (I think he’s a few years older?). Check out the Penny Dreadful section in this letter for fandom notes and DNWs; however, it’s okay to keep Vanessa’s death if writing post-series Frank/Ethan. I really do want Ethan/Frank to be wholly into one another, so please pretend Vanessa/Ethan wasn’t a thing or that he’s moved on (from both Vanessa and Brona) by the time he meets Frank.

Maybe Frank knew one of the gang before the story started, and their reunion is how he meets Ethan. I’ll give some examples for backstory to spark you, but what I’m most interested in is what happens after they’ve reunited and Frank meets Ethan through them, not a fic about these backstories. Ex. maybe Frank grew up in the same area as the Murray/Ives houses, and was a childhood friend of Vanessa’s? Or perhaps Victor went to Marchester or Cambridge with Frank? Do they reunite by chance, like, at a ball or at a scene of supernatural violence that Frank manages to survive? Or do Victor or Vanessa recruit him for help with their latest monster endeavor? Or maybe Frank works at the museum after his fellowship, and Lyle brings him in as a needed Classics or archaeology expert.

— Do they have to infiltrate a creepy gathering or society event? Does Frank help with post-canon or alternate S3 adventures (either keeping the ending or pretending Vanessa didn't die)? Going undercover as brothers with Ethan while pining? Do Frank or Ethan teach each other some kind of skill, the way Ethan taught Victor how to shoot? Does Vanessa give Frank the kind of pep talks she gives Victor?

— Or run with the thing where Frank cured David with the power of love to a place where Frank is literally magical; how does he realize he's part of the demi-monde and start helping (but DNW Frank to be a werewolf or vampire)?

— Does Ethan take Frank out on a date, and maybe Frank doesn't initially realize that's what it is, because he'd never think this hunky, seemingly 'normal' American would be like that, only to find out that Ethan has slept with at least one man without angsting about it? Does Frank angstily and unhealthily fuck Dorian before ending up in a more feelings-ful romance with Ethan? Do they bond about how everyone ends up fucking this guy?

— You can also twist many of the Victor/Vanessa prompts elsewhere in this letter to work for Frank/Ethan instead.


Psmith
• Psmith/Mike

I want anything where they unambiguously get together (this is the one ship where I requested both 'getting together' and 'established relationship', since I'd be happy with either). DNW any hint that they will ever be with anyone else in the future; please set it before they met their wives and/or pretend they never did. I’ve requested them so many times that, at this point, I have endless prompts. But feel free to write whatever you want, even if there isn’t a prompt for it.

— First Times - Acting Out Sex Scenes from a Novel as a Sex Guide: Are they roleplaying scenes from an imaginary novel, or Victorian erotica, or imagined deleted scenes from a real novel? Is it a sexy chapter from the schoolboy story Psmith quipped about in their first scene together? Or does Psmith ship Ivanhoe/Richard I, or something? How/why did they end up doing this for their first time? Does one make this suggestion as a way to overcome their nerves? Or is this Psmith's kink that Mike fondly goes along with? Is one embarrassed about something, but the other doesn't mind? Is it sweetly vanilla? Or is one surprised or a little hesitant about an aspect of the roleplay?

— Like Canon, Except More Gothic: I love this genre (but retaining happy endings and a sense of humour). Weird stuff happening around the archeological ruins near the school/university? Something eerie about their apartment building or neighbor? Mirrors not working how mirrors should? Learning alchemy at school? Or any gothic trope or idea that tickles your imagination! How does this creeptastic or atmospheric adventure get them together and show off how well they work together?

— Time Loops: I don’t care which one is in the loop (or maybe both!). I also don't care how/why it starts or stops; feel free to handwave or leave things unexplained. Does the loop focus on a quotidian time (ex. redoing a day at Sedleigh, or on the ship voyage to New York, or a normal day from 'Psmith in the City', or Cambridge Boat Races day) or something super dramatic (ex. NYC gangsters, WWI battles). I enjoy a variety of loop iterations—from wacky, to “give no fucks”, to suicidal, to exploratory, to the darkest timeline, to erroneously thinking it’s over, etc—and using these iterations to explore a character's more extreme sides. For example, what does "giving no fucks" or "suicidal" look like for this character? Do they only get together at the end? Or do they hook up in the middle but something angsty prevents the looping character from trying again for awhile? Or maybe they're in the loop together and this is the kind of intense forced proximity they need to get together. I love all kinds of takes, such as 'A is forced to watch their loved one die repeatedly until loop is broken', 'can only be broken by getting together with love interest', or 'looping until A can improve B's lot', or any other take you come up with!

— WWI: The boys meeting at boarding school is usually sacrosanct to me, but something about the army's strict rules, complicated hierarchies to navigate, all-male forced proximity, ragging potential, etc, creates a similar environment—only with even more opportunities for whump, action, and angst. You could also keep them having met at Sedleigh, as in canon, and go on to fight in the war. Either way! Fighting together, espionage missions, winning a key battle through impertinent ragging, unexpected application of cricket talents, writing for The Wipers Times, the REAL story behind the Angels of Mons… Meeting or reuniting during training, in the trenches, as prisoners… Do they have special skills or jobs? Mike the accidental war hero, keeping one another warm in their trench, making out in a bombed out Belgian village, the desperation of war causing them to reveal long-secret pining, Psmith going behind enemy lines to rescue Mike… Lots of whump and hurt/comfort welcome.

— Random Acquisition of Superpowers: I don’t care which of them gets it or how/why it happens, so feel free to skip that or leave it unexplained. It would just be fun to see how they react, in a world where having superpowers is not supposed to be a thing. What kind of angst or hurt or confusion does the power cause? How does the other help him through this weird time? Is it fun and awesome, or awkward and awful? What uses do they find for the power? Do they accidentally hurt each other (hurt/comfort and angst!)? Or do they improve their lot with it? How does this premise help them get together? Any superpower would be great, from traditional ones to something super random and seemingly useless.

— Genie Grants Three Wishes: I love stories where the wording of the wishes results in unexpected stuff, or the wisher didn’t realize his randomly voiced thought counted as a wish, or… What are the wishes, how do they go awry, how do the boys set things right in the end, and how does the experience help them get together?

— Like Canon but With Slavery: In the same way that fic writers add A/B/O or soulmates to the canon-ish setting, how about slavery? Or, instead of adding slavery to Edwardian England, you could write this as a crossover with Narnia (like, some portal spits them out in the Lone Islands), or a GoT crossover (a portal takes them to Essos). Either way, it's a great excuse for whump, hurt/comfort, and loyalty. Does Psmith secretly take Mike's chores, beatings and/or sex duties to spare him? Or vice versa? Are they forced to watch one another be abused? Forced to put on a show? What breaks them (if anything)? Does the trauma get them to finally act on their feelings? Or does Psmith arrange things so that life as slaves is actually pretty good, no rape or beatings, just lots of cricket? How do they escape? Or do they get revenge on their master(s)? Or do they organize a Socialist revolution? Some wholly other direction you want to take this? I'l love anything!! Lots of OCs are (obviously) welcome; if you're doing the crossovers, it's fine if the other canon's characters don't appear, though they can if you want. No body modification, branding, or permanent damage please.

— Condition-Ridden Inheritance: Set after one or both of their father's has lost his money, as in canon. Which one has a distant relative die? Or is the inheritance from a non-relative? If so, why? What are the stipulations? Is it something they have to do once they have the money/stuff, or is it a quest they have to undertake in order to claim it? Make it as wacky or angsty or anything as you like! If it leads to angst, do they decide to give up the money? Or does it facilitate them living their best lives (and what does that look like?)? Or does it give them a challenge to overcome together?

— Canon Setting Spies: God, they'd be the best/worst spy team. Is it for the war? Or do they open a spy/detective business when their dads lose all their money? What is the job? Is it domestic espionage or are they abroad working for the government? Does it require a moment of pretending to be together (like, the mark is in gay club or something)? Or is it more action-based (I love badass Psmith and Mike fighting together)? Do they get caught? Are there disguises? Anything!

— Ritual Sex: Maybe it's part of a team or society club initiation, like some sort of rite of passage? Ideally (for me, not for the characters), this is their awkward first time together, before they've confessed their feelings. Or maybe the experience helps at least one of them to realize they like the other? I like it to feel angsty and fraught in the moment (no pre-arranged discussions of consent, please), and they find out only later that they were both into it and get together.

— Non-Con and/or Whump Perpetrated by a Third Party/Force: Similar to above, but even more whump-y. Are they forced to have sex, or watch one another be nonconned, or submit to torture? Are the perpetrators boarding school bullies, evil masters, NYC gangsters, random magic, or is it a canon divergence in which they fought in WWI? Another angle is voluntarily submitting to horrible things for the other one’s sake. Like, one really wants to join a club, or needs money, or owes gambling debt to a bookie or something, IDK, and the only way the other can help is by letting a gross perv or trash party have their way with him. Or A learns that B traded getting nonconned or whumped for B's release from captivity or something. What I'm here for is stoicism, self-sacrifice, hurt/comfort and/or feelings revealed. Psmith's tragic bon mots, Mike's repressed despair or bubbling anger, etc. Tender looks exchanged, falling into one another's arms, aftercare, bandages, bathing, kisses, declarations... That sort of thing.

— Crossovers: With childhood best friend ships like this, I ship it SO HARD, but often feel like they need some bonkers scenario to make them finally get together, since they haven't already. Hence the crossovers! I'm looking for the experience of being fish out of water together breaking down remaining barriers or masks, forcing them to have long overdue conversations, discovering surprising new sides, skills or qualities about each other, etc. And makeouts (or more!). I want to hear what Psmith and Mike have to say about these weird people and places. Please focus the story on their adventure in the other place; no explanation for how they got there needed—you could even start after they've arrived! You can send them to the Narniam world, to Westeros/Essos or the world of the Witcher (I only know the TV show versions of these IPs). You could pretend Psmith canon was set in the 1890s, so that they are around the same age as Victor and Vanessa from Penny Dreadful, and have a supernatural adventure with that gang. You could tweak crossover prompts from earlier in this letter to work for Psmith/Mike instead of whomever I wrote them about. Or come up with your own idea!