Rare Male Slash Exchange 2021

[aurilly]

Hello, dear writer! 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:
• Atlantis (UK TV)
• Narnia
• Sinbad (UK TV)
• Once Upon a Time
• MCU
• MCU/GoT Crossover
• MCU/Narnia Crossovers
• David Blaize Crossovers

General Notes
I say it throughout, but just in case I missed one… I’m much less interested in how/why characters fell into a portal or first met than I am in what comes after--when they’re past the immediate ‘wtf’ or introductions stage. The dynamics they forge, the adventures they have, the things they learn, how they get together, stuff like that. (Also, it’s sometimes easier to write yummy pining and ‘friends to lovers’ if you don’t also have to include the meet-cute.) So, feel free 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, I'm often more interested in watching characters deal with what comes after a prompted premise than I am in the premise itself.


Things I Always Love
• Devoted Odd Couples: enjoying one another's company; laughing at one another; fond exasperation; long-lost friends and reunions; friends to lovers (including for characters who never met in canon; I love stories that start after they’re already friends in order to focus on the ‘to lovers’ part)

• Adventures: exploring new territory; dramatic rescues or escapes; 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)

• Sexy Times: This letter is already long, so I left general porn likes/dislikes HERE (they’re for any ship, not just the ones listed there).

• 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

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

• Loyalty & Self-Sacrifice: taking someone else’s blame or punishment; 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; A trying to keep sacrifice secret from B; B finding out anyway

• Not Originally Sexual Bondage: I prefer restraint when it, at least initially, occurs for plot reasons. For example, 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, please! 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; noble struggling and writhing

• Crossovers: applying skills/knowledge from one canon to another canon’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

• Historical or Fantasy Settings: SWORDS!; also archery and daggers; kneeling; knighting; tournaments; balls; "I don't know how to ride a horse!"; one horse goes lame so we have to share; camping in virgin forests; suddenly shot at by unseen archers; sleeping in haylofts; rowdy taverns; contrasting speech patterns; historical/fantasy characters intrigued by stuff or knowledge brought by realm hoppers; characters researching the magical answer to a problem (books!)


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; bleak 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; A/B/O; any mention of pregnancy or fertility issues
• Headcanons: ace, aro, demi or gender identity headcanons
• Ship-Related: shovel talks; yentas and matchmakers; fated love or soulmates; unrequested non-canon romantic ships (however, mentions of backstory relationships with OCs are fine); poly/threesomes; non-canonical adultery or open relationships; conflicting requested ships (ex. A/B and A/C in same fic), unless prompted; non-canonical nicknames
• Writing-Related: 1st & 2nd person POV; phonetically spelled dialogue (my brain genuinely struggles to process it)
• Crossover-Related: age differences of more than ~10 years within a ship (based on appearance for immortals); unprompted crossovers of more than two canons at a time; crossovers where the requested characters remain unaware of each others' backgrounds or magic (the reveal/explanation doesn't have to happen 'on-screen', but please don't let it end with, for example, Frank thinking Thor is some normal human guy, in a 'ships passing in the night' kind of way)
• Other: fusions; setting change AUs**; goofy crack (but crack taken seriously is fine!); real-life current issues (ex. Covid, US/UK politics)

**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 mundane canons (ex. time loops, someone's mom was a fairy, Stonehenge is magic, etc.). Shifting timelines within a late 19th/early 20th century range to minimize age differences is also encouraged! 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, or a canon is moved to a wildly different location or time period (ex. 21st century, space).


Atlantis
• Pythagoras/Icarus

They are wonderful together. They make a great team. I truly believed in both their friendship and their love. And the angst! So much delicious, yummy angst. I love how their first instinct is to bottle up their pain, even as they wear their bleeding hearts on their sleeves. I love the contrasts between them, both physical and temperamental. I love Pythagoras’s quiet courage, detached braininess, awkward bluntness, and waspish sarcasm; I love that he is a bit cranky, not some blandly flawless ray of sunshine. I love Icarus's dry banter and his dynamic with his dad, where he was the responsible one, but could still be talked into shenanigans; he's very clever and resourceful in his own way, the practical everyman of the group. He always knows a useful guy here, or a secret entrance there... He’s like a well-connected street urchin, except without being a street urchin. If possible I’d love some tender, fumbling first times—I'm not only thinking of sexual ones—as they transition from friends to lovers.

I love all the protagonists, so feel free to include anyone you like! This is random, but I quite liked Korinna and her friendship with literally everyone; feel free to pretend she never died and include her in the background, if it makes sense. I’m also weirdly obsessed with the idea of Icarus and Cassandra being buddies? DNW Hercules/Medusa. Please pretend Hercules never had a crush on her or set it after her death.

— Alternate Post-Series In Atlantis: A canon divergence that assumes Jason and Ariadne took the throne, or they didn't have to flee, or Pasiphae died for real, or whatever you like. What things do the gang have to deal with in their new situation, and how does this affect the ship?

— Canon Divergent Get-Togethers: I loved canon, but I could also read a million other ways they might have gotten together. As long as you keep basic character backstory facts intact (ex. Jason as Pasiphae's secret son raised in our world, Pythagoras as daddy-killing Samos expat mathematician, etc.), feel free to change everything else about the canon plot. Maybe they got together much earlier, during a missing myth-of-the-week? Could be something monstrous like cetea, dracaenae, or something more fun like satyrs or Silenus. Do they encounter a real god in its human form? Avert the unaddressed upcoming tsunami?

— Save Medusa!: I loved her so much and wanted her to be un-gorgoned and live happily ever after (but not with Hercules). Maybe it’s a divergence where Pythagoras and Icarus worked together to save her in the episode where we met Daedalus (and the project helps them get together). Or maybe it’s sometime later when the gang comes up with a plan. (If you want to background ship her with Jason instead of his canon pairings, that would make me smile, but is totally optional gravy.)

— Not Their First Kiss: While I definitely buy that they only got together in the finale, their interactions in the last few episodes could also be read as those of people who had already hooked up, making it THAT much more of a betrayal. Run somewhere with that! Had they been fully dating before Pythagoras ran away to live in the woods? If so, when/how did they get together? Did Jason and Hercules know (did they even know Pythagoras and Icarus were such good friends?). Or was Pythagoras keeping it secret? If so, why? Or, were they friends with benefits (pining for more) long before the viewers met Icarus? How did that start? Or was it just a drunken hookup that they don’t get a chance to sort out until the end of the series? You can focus the fic on this missing stuff, or background all that to explore how that might fit into a post-series story about their first few weeks together on the Argo, or a blend, or… Anything!

— Resolving the Dropped Plot Thread: It frustrated me how the show just stopped addressing that Jason was from a different world (the Oracle established that it was realm travel, NOT time travel). Did he slowly forget our world, the way the Pevensies forgot in the Narnia books? Or does he angstily keep it secret, as the Oracle told him to? Or does he only tell one person? Does he miss his life at all? Is he secretly stressed out about the tsunami that's supposed to come?!?! If someone figures it out, who and how? Can knowledge from our world help with something? How does any of this result in a plot for Icarus/Pythagoras?

— Fleece Quest: Relationship development on the high seas! What about a stop on an island with a magical premise or adventure that results in a personal or relationship breakthrough (kind of like the stops in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, if you know that book)? You can draw from actual Argonaut legend, or just make stuff up. What are everyone's contributions to the quest? Does Icarus (unnecessarily) continue to try to make up for his betrayal? Does Cassandra have a prophecy? Does Pythagoras finally figure out the damn theorem? Does Hercules accidentally complete one of his mythological acts of heroism? General "on a boat" likes are near the top of this letter.


Narnia
• Emeth/Tirian
• Edmund/Bacchus

General Narnia Notes
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.

Edmund/Bacchus - A Bonus Option!
This ship is in the tagset, but not in my official signup because I specifically want Golden Age Ritual Sex, and that didn’t seem fair for a non-freeform exchange. However, if you would like to write that instead of whatever we matched on, go ahead! I want it quite desperately. There’s a hysterical barrage of optional ideas about it HERE (I really let it all out), if you’re interested. Ignore the stuff about Lucy, given that this is an m/m exchange.

Emeth/Tirian
Tirian has such human flaws, and he started off as a hot mess of a king (like, why did it take him so long to hear/notice what was going on?), but he’s so noble and brave and driven, and he’s quite resourceful and clever when you rouse him out of his decadence. 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 would like them to fall in love while living, with actual makeouts (or more!) and have a hopeful ending that assumes the world continues and they don’t die. 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 all of these! You could keep Jill and Eustace, or make a divergence where they didn’t come during TLB… whatever works! You could include their first meeting, but you really don’t have to; I’d be super into something that starts later, when they already know each other, in order to focus on pining and getting together instead of insta-love/lust/etc.

— 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 (but only if 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.

— 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 dubcon 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? 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?


Sinbad (TV)
• Sinbad/Gunnar

I shipped Gunnar/Sinbad from the moment they first made eye contact, and then they proceeded to eyefuck in every scene. Please make them kiss (or more!)! I love the idea of them pining, but I also adore watching people's feelings morph from platonic to longing for more and/or realizing that they have more than friendly feelings (and then straightforwardly making a move, without pining). Or a combination!

I loved their wry banter. I loved their self-sacrificing loyalty and protective instincts. I am weak for Gunnar's self-loathing about his past, as well as for Sinbad's guilt and character growth. They're such a lovely odd couple. Gunnar is so quiet and methodical while Sinbad is so brash and impulsive. I love how they defer to one another even though their approaches to things are so different. I love how thirsty Sinbad always looks whenever he sees Gunnar fight, and all the wistfully fond looks Gunnar gives Sinbad.

Some random details that I especially loved: Sinbad's kohl eyeliner; Gunnar's whole muscles + tattoo + sword look; every single time Sinbad starts melodramatically choking to death does he end up with a choking kink?; general "on a boat" canon details (see General Likes section at the top of this letter for a list).

— Random Acquisition of Superpowers: Gunnar gets walloped with a superpower. No need to explain how/why he gets it unless you really want to; handwave away! Any superpower would be great, from traditional ones to something super random and seemingly useless. Does he try to keep it secret, but Sinbad finds out? If Sinbad finds out, how does he help Gunnar through this weird time? Or does he get greedy and want Gunnar to use it for something he probably shouldn't? Is having the power fun and awesome, or awkward and awful? Does Gunnar accidentally hurt someone he cares about (the angst potential!)? Or can he use it to improve the group's lot? Does Gunnar need to quest to get rid of it (sort of like a curse)? How does this premise help them get together?

— Other Tropes: I will buy anything, no matter how handwaved. For example: undercover tropes (as a couple, as master/slave, as enemies, as…); bad guys made them do it; "fuck or die"; body swap; ritual sex (bonus points if the ritual involves bodypainting one another); captured together (bonus points if there's hurt/comfort and angsty hookups in their cell or whatever); Aladdin's lamp/wishes gone awry; heists gone awry; vacations gone awry…

— Other Curses: Canon divergence where Amma's curse was something completely, wildly different than 'choking to death if too long on land'. I have no idea what; let your imagination run wild! How would the gang (or just Gunnar, IDK) find out about the curse? How could Gunnar hurt/comfort Sinbad? Or, maybe it's only Cook or someone who knows, and the curse creates some kind of angsty, ridiculous impediment to Sinbad being with Gunnar until it's resolved?

— Gunnar's Northern Past: Having to face some aspect of his past, and all the angst that brings out. Maybe we find out that the only way he finally got out of the Valsgarde was through some sort of magic or deal that finally catches up with him, and problems ensue? Or maybe they run into some Valsgarde guys he used to know, and they expect him to be the same old Gunnar (was he chattier then? drunk? other?), which makes him feel really awkward/angsty? Do they make fun of his new weird friends or make lewd jokes about thinking Gunnar's fucking one of them (doesn't have to be Sinbad)? Or something else?

— Cook: Sinbad and Gunnar getting together as a result of an adventure that revolves around Cook and some issue or mystery about him. What was his deal? He refused to leave the ship, didn't seem to have a name, and was so incredibly wise. Was he the spirit of the ship? Was he cursed in some way that prevented him from leaving it? Was there a magical reason why he was the only one of the original crew to survive? How did he gain all of his knowledge about magic? Or maybe it's less about his backstory and more about something that happens to him in an adventure-of-the-week way. A new (or old) recipe that goes awry?

— Whump: I love when super strong and stoic characters are made to suffer, and Gunnar would be perfect for this. Maybe some sort of magic makes him do bad things, or turns him into a berserker, or he accidentally hurts one of his new friends. Or maybe someone blackmails/coerces him into betraying (or seeming to betray) his friends, or bad people threaten to hurt Sinbad unless Gunnar does a bad thing... which makes the gang angry with Gunnar and he angsts... Or something else, possibly something more physically whump-y than the above? IDK. Either way, followed up by some sweet, sweet comfort from Sinbad (and possibly also the rest of the gang!).

— If I have a criticism of the show, it's that it was a little too focused on Sinbad (even though, obviously, I adore him). I wanted more of everyone's dynamics with one another, not just with him. Ex. I loved Anwar&Rina, and wished all combinations of characters had gotten a focus like that. So, something that explores Gunnar's friendship with someone else, leading to Sinbad/Gunnar would be great!

— Time Loops: I love individual journeys of self-discovery, as well as self-help adventures in which people learn life lessons, overcome some baggage, figure out priorities, etc. This trope is amazing for all that! I don't really care how/why it starts or stops; feel free to handwave or leave things unexplained. I also don’t care which character is in the loop (or maybe both!). Depending on whether it would be in-character for the character at hand, I enjoy a variety of reactions and loop iterations—from wacky, to “give no fucks”, to suicidal, to darkest timeline, to erroneously thinking it’s over, etc. This trope gets a little creepy for me when it’s solely focused on making someone fall in love with you, or where character B is treated simply as character A's oblivious reward. However, as long as the loop person has other goals/projects (or if the non-loop person already had feelings), I'll be ecstatic. Or maybe find a way for the non-loop person to have agency?


Once Upon a Time
• Jefferson | Mad Hatter/Dr Whale | Victor Frankenstein

A show that’s basically one giant crossover? Yes, please! I fell in love with Jefferson and Whale from each of their first appearances. Separately, the ‘Wood Between the Worlds’ is my favorite magical concept. So, imagine my delight when it turned out that my two faves had a whole ‘realm-hopping bros’ backstory! Everything about them bursts with romantic potential (both little r and capital R aesthetic). I wanted to see so much more of them together--whether it’s more pre-curse adventures, during the curse while Jefferson was the only one who remembered, or season 2 post-curse in Storybrooke when they were all trying to deal with their new dualities/reality. Even better would be a mix! Basically, anything where they unambiguously get together--with actual makeouts, or more!--would be great. Bonus points for holding hands as they jump into the hat, and/or self-indulgent descriptions of their custom leather wardrobes.

I love the mix-and-match characterization possibilities this show gives us, and the opportunities to explore the core qualities from which a character’s multiple personas stem. You’ve got 1) earnest, reclusive, aristocrat scientist Victor; 2) mercenary adventurer-thief Jefferson; 3) snarky horndog (but still a caring doctor) Whale; and 4) desperate, crazed Jefferson. How do these different qualities play off one another and/or coalesce in a ship? (I know Grace|Paige was a lot of his motivation, but I didn’t care nearly as much about Papa!Jefferson, so will not care if you ignore or minimize her existence/importance. I’d prefer not to think about whoever her mother was.)

I stopped watching in late S2 (after August ‘died’), but Jefferson never appeared again and the OUAT wiki suggests that Whale didn't have any significant appearances after that. However, please don’t stress about--or feel like you need to rewatch to remember--the exact line of what canon I know vs what I don’t. If your story includes concepts introduced after I stopped watching, I’ll happily roll with it. Or you can wildly canon diverge from a point even before I stopped watching.

Any other characters or canon ships are fine to include in the background, or you can pretend them away, if you didn’t like them, whatever you want! However, bonus points for Graham (I’ll never be over him or Emma/Graham), Granny, or Ruby (I loved the ep where she and Whale became friends), as well as mentions of past Whale/Mary Margaret (I shipped them, too, and always wished the show had at least done a ‘one night stand → friends’ arc with them).

— The hurt/comfort possibilities for this ship are epic. Jefferson was so tortured during the curse, and Whale was so drunk/suicidal after; helping each other heal would be lovely. Plus, given that Whale is the only person from his world in Storybrooke, Jefferson is the only friend he has from his old life. How do they reconnect and restart their relationship (whether they were lovers before or not) once the curse is broken? Or maybe a canon divergence where, sometime in late s2, they take a hat back to Whale’s world and save Gerhardt?

— Anything about Jefferson yearning for Whale, who doesn’t remember him. Had they been romantically involved before Jefferson got stuck in Wonderland (or not together, but at least one of them was already pining, or...), and the curse gives them this angsty second chance? Does he try to “meet” or befriend Whale, or follow him around like a sad person? Does he keep hurting himself as an excuse to go to the hospital? Does Jefferson manage to seduce Whale (or the other way around!), but have a lot of angst, either because it’s not really Victor, or because he feels like he’s taking advantage of an amnesiac, or because the groundhog day effect of the curse keeps erasing their progress, or…? And then happy ending when the curse breaks. Or, what is this like from Whale’s perspective? (It’s fine if the curse doesn’t work exactly as it did in canon.)

— More pre- or post-curse adventures, working together to acquire artifacts that Jefferson wants to sell, or that will help Victor’s experiments. Differences in approach or fun partnerships between magic and science? Does Jefferson come up with projects for them to do mainly so he has excuses to hang out with Victor? Did Jefferson ever meet Gerhardt or Victor’s awful dad, or incognito attend a fancy ball hosted by the Frankensteins? Does pining Victor always try to get Jefferson to stay longer? If they return to Victor’s world after the curse, what’s going on there?

— Crossover Adventures: The room of doors that the hat took you to suggested Narnia and Oz among the options; I never saw what (if anything) the show did with those worlds, but I’d be up for Jefferson/Whale on a crossover adventure with the book versions. Or, they could go to Westeros/Essos (I only know the show), or the Witcher world (I only know the show), or Fillory from the Magicians TV show (just, please not Narnia and Fillory in the same fic, as the fourth wall-ness would break my brain).

— I reject the canon that Rumpelstilskin was the one who first sent Jefferson to Whale. It was pretty clear they only did that scene because Sebastian Stan was not available. I would love for them to have met and become friends on their own, without any intervention from Rumple, before the con on Regina. How did it happen? Was Jefferson just exploring and found himself in the gothic horror world? Was he stranded there for a bit for some reason? Did Victor take him in? Anything!

— I always wish the show had spent more time playing with the concept of identity and the mental/emotional impact of the curse in the weeks after it was broken. Like, how do they reconcile memories that actually happened vs knowledge that was implanted? For example, David once said he hadn’t ever actually read a certain book, but his curse self ‘remembered’ reading it as a child. What does that feel like? How do you reconcile traits or knowledge the curse gave you vs your actual lived reality? As another example, if every day was the same for 28 years, and he didn't have sex on that 'day', then Snow might be the only person Victor has ever actually slept with, despite his reputation as a womanizer. What’s that like for him? Jefferson had two sets of memories the whole time; how much of what we saw was his curse self manifesting? Was it frightening for him to feel this other personality trying to make space in his consciousness? Some of these concepts might have been addressed in canon (I have no idea), but probably not for these guys, since they were such minor characters; you could extrapolate applications of canon explanations to them, or write your own thing that contradicts canon.


General Bucky Barnes Notes
• Bucky/Loki
• Bucky/Thor
• Bucky/Heimdall

General Bucky Notes (also for crossover ships)
I have loved Bucky since TFA, before I had any idea he wasn't really dead. I love his self-sacrificing loyalty, empathy, kindness, badassery, common sense smarts, wry sense of humor. I love what a stoic woobie he is; he has been bottling up ridiculous amounts of pain and self-loathing since TFA, even as it shows all over his expressive face. I love that he gets exasperated and can be a little shit.

All I’ve ever wanted is fic exploring Bucky beyond the Cap sub-franchise--befriending people other than Steve’s closest friends, having weirder adventures than canon tends to give him, and/or dealing with concerns beyond the usual Cap franchise plots/themes. Hence why I tend to request him with the space/magic or Wakandan parts of the MCU, or crossovers. FAWS was fantastic, but didn’t change my fic wants. So, I’d really like something that doesn’t focus on Bucky with Natasha, Sam, Sharon, Peggy, Zemo, or Tony. If you want to include background friendships for Bucky other than Steve, I’d love to imagine someone more unexpected for the role! (Just not Darcy, please.)

I’d love fic that canon diverges from any point in his story. I could read a million ways that Bucky finds healing. How do these canon divergent adventures help, and how could he help other characters? Or maybe he found healing in some canon divergent way before the fic started; what does he do next? Note: I have a pet peeve about fics where Bucky (and Steve) say "ain't" all the time and sound like characters from a 1930s gangster movie. Cursing is fine, though.

Bucky/Heimdall
I just love them both a lot and want them to love each other, too. Heimdall is so solemn and wise (but he also smiles, and I think he has a deadpan funny side)... and so hot. I like his giant sword (I’m literally talking about the sword), and the whole watcher thing is fascinating. You can include their first meeting, but I also love stories that start later, when they’re already friends/partners, to focus on “to lovers”. Anything where they unambiguously get together--with actual makeouts, or more!--will be great.

Explanations for why Heimdall is alive are neither needed nor desired! I really don’t want to talk about or ‘fix’ Heimdall’s death; please pretend that he (and Loki and the other Asgardians, if you want) made it to Earth before the story started, or that IW/EG never happened at all. You could also pretend IW DID happen, but that Heimdall didn’t die at the start, and that Bucky didn’t get snapped. Whatever you like!

— Maybe post-TWS, Bucky got extradited to Asgard to keep him safe, and he meets Heimdall there? Does Bucky like hanging out in the Bifrost dome? Does he ask Heimdall how people on Earth are doing, only to end up falling for the watcher? Does Heimdall like the company? Had Heimdall been watching Bucky before he got there?

— Does Bucky meet a younger version of Heimdall while getting/retrieving the Stones, but also know him in the present time? Does Heimdall do the mind-meldy thing with Bucky? Anything! Just please make them kiss (or more!).

— Do the Asgardians settle in Wakanda, where they can meet Bucky? Or do they settle in Norway, as in canon? If the latter, does Bucky end up having to take refuge in New Asgard for some reason, and they meet there? Either way, what does Heimdall make of his new life on Earth and new role? I mean, he stayed in that dome for thousands of years, and now it’s gone; he must have feelings about that. Does he feel freed to be more normal or social? Or does that secretly unnerve him? Or does he fashion a new role for himself? How can he and Bucky figure out the next phase of their lives together?

— Do they fall in love while trying to keep Loki from pranking the hell out of everyone? Or are they teaming up to prank Thor?

— Or maybe the Asgardians settle on Earth, but think of it as a temporary refuge. A small group takes to the skies again to look for a planet of their own, and, for whatever reason, they take Bucky, too.


Bucky/Loki OR Bucky/Thor
I think Bucky/Loki 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 think Bucky/Thor would get along great and be just as fantastic—a deadly odd couple who could help each other get over previous traumas. Their temperaments would make a lovely contrast, and generally, they would be insanely hot together. However, please pick just one ship! The other brother is welcome to play a major role in the fic, but DNW love triangles, threesomes, or yentas.

Anything where they unambiguously get together--with actual makeouts, or more!--will be great. I adore these three at every point in their character journeys, from pre-canon to post-Endgame, so set it whenever you like. My 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!), or you can pretend Thor got snapped in Bucky/Loki fic, or… you get the idea. Or you can use something from upcoming Loki show. However, I find replacing a love interest with an alternate universe version incredibly depressing. Meaning, DNW Bucky to have known the original Loki and then date the 2012 version once OG!Loki is dead. Also 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.

You can start with the first meeting, if it makes the most sense for your idea, but, for either of these ships, I would LOVE to read something that starts weeks or months or years after they met, for a 'pre-existing friends or colleagues lurching towards lovers' feel. Something with pining, uncertainty, and/or hurt-comfort. Something where the characters know each other well before they get together and/or sleep together.

— 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: 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? Or does he end up meeting Loki, who maybe isn’t in prison in this divergence?

— 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 whichever ship get together? Or, what if Loki had been stranded on Earth at the end of the Convergence, and Bucky happened to be in London that day, and takes Loki in while he recovers?

— Post-Endgame: Bucky accompanies Thor (and Loki, who isn’t dead?) 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, and has been friends with Thor and/or Loki (who didn’t die). 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 Asgardians? 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 Bucky/Loki went to get a different stone. How does it go differently? Or perhaps the ship is sent to return the stones instead of Steve. What adventures do they have in this case 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 the Asgardians gotten to know each other? Has Bucky shown them 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, Heimdall sees something they need to deal with… Anything! How do they fall in love?

— 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!

— Reunions: Bucky and either/both brother 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/comfort-y. Yum. Does the love interest 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.


MCU/GoT Crossover
• Bucky/Jaqen H'ghar

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? 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, or even already have been there long enough to be over the initial “wtf, what happened, where am I?” reactions. You don't need to explain how he got there at all! General Bucky notes are above here.

Something playing with ideas of assassins, shapeshifting, of being ‘no one’ or a ‘ghost’, of losing/reclaiming your identity, etc. What does Bucky think of this whole Faceless Man thing? 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 Jaqen can't have lasting relationships? Or does Jaqen's shapeshifting help Bucky work through their feelings for someone else (ex. Steve; platonic or gen)? What kinds of tests does Bucky have to pass? Or do he and Jaqen have to work a job together? Or does Bucky decide, “fuck this” (which perhaps turns out to be what ‘passes’ him? IDK)? Arya can be around or not, up to you. Is the Waif as awful to Bucky as she was generally? Does he take her down a peg (please!)? Learning more about this corner of the world in general (ex. visiting markets, attending plays, interacting with a Red Priest(ess), etc)?

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! Mentions of canon rape are okay, but please don’t add any new rape.


MCU/Narnia Crossovers
• Bucky/Edmund
• Bucky/Tirian

General
I love fics that diverge from canon (as wildly as you like!) at any point before the closing chapters of the Last Battle. Time between these realms is already untethered and random, and I welcome as much timey-wimey handwaving as you want to add (honestly, I'm begging you!). For example, I see no reason why post-TWS Bucky couldn't travel to the Golden Age or Tirian’s reign; no explanation needed. General Bucky notes are above here.

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 deaths were averted). I prefer to pretend it just never came up! I'm not at all invested in the religious allegory elements.


Bucky/Tirian
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. They would be so competent and delightful and hot together. Fairytale king + Brooklyn supersoldier 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! Anything where they unambiguously get together--with actual makeouts, or more!--will be great.

— Does Bucky seek Tirian or Narnia out? Somehow getting his hands on the rings? Or Tirian blows the horn? Something else?

— 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? 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.

— 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, 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 love that being redeemed into a just warrior king didn’t entirely cure Edmund of being a cranky, sarcastic little shit. I want him and Bucky 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’d be thrilled to ignore or break the timelines to make it work in other ways. For example, post-TWS Bucky traveling to the Golden Age or some other point in Narnian history works for me, no explanation needed! 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 as adults 15 years later 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?

— 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 the Witcher (TV) world, 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 Narnian 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 meet or reunite, 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/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/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?

General Bucky notes are above here. Feel free to pretend he 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 Commandos 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!

— 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?

— 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.

— 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 Ethan’s a few years older?). 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.

I loved this show for Victor, Vanessa, Ethan, Malcolm, Sembene, and Lyle's Scooby Gang teamwork and found family, so a bit of that in the background would be fun, if it fits your idea. I wasn’t very interested in John Clare or Lily’s plots, 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.

Maybe Frank knew one of the gang before the story started. I’ll give some examples for backstory to spark you, but what I’m most interested in is what happens after they’ve incorporated Frank into the group, not a fic that’s all about these backstories or his first meeting with Ethan. 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.

— 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? Something else? Whatever it is, how does the adventure help Frank/Ethan get together?

— 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)?

— Some ritual or magic plot blah blah requires that Frank be relieved of his virginity... Ethan volunteers.

— 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 society place? Or some kind of stranded together or captured together scenario? Some other project that requires them to combine their talents and knowledge?

— 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?