Fandon5K 2022 Letter

[corvusumbranox]

Fandom 5K 2022 Letter

AO3 Username: StopTalkingAtMe

Welcome to my letter, Mystery Creator. Let me start by saying I’m open to a LOT of different things, and to endings of all kinds from tooth-rottingly happy to bleak despair. The only exception to that is for ‘Whisky Galore!’ for which I’d prefer no dark themes.

I’m also open to unrequested crossovers, so as long as you have good reason to believe I’m into a fandom, then go for it. And while my general likes might lean towards the bleak and angsty, believe it or not, I do also really love more light-hearted styles of fic. Some of the sections here may be longer than others but please don’t read anything into that – I’d be delighted with a gift for any one of them. I’m excited to see what you come up with! :D

I have gifting enabled, and treats are always welcome.

Table of Contents

• General Likes
• Smut Likes
• DNWs
• Death Goes to School (1953)
• The Great Escape
• Hamlet (1969)
• Poirot (TV)
• The Professionals
• Supernatural: Night of the Marionettes (1977)
• Upstairs Downstairs (1971)
• Whisky Galore! (1949)

General Likes and DNWs

General Likes

• Character studies and introspection
• Loneliness and isolation
• Angst
• Atmospheric description, scenery porn, sensory description
• World-building, backstory, and character development.
• Horror.
• Closed Circle - Stranded with a murderer in your midst, whether in horror or murder mustery. Think And Then There Were None.
• Case-fic, whether fully realised or just touching on elements from a case.
• Whump, hurt/comfort and hurt/no comfort.
• Endings of all kinds, happy, bleak or bittersweet.
• Canon-divergent AUs, especially post-canon ones where the bad guys win.
• Pining, whether mutual or one-sided
• Repression and stoicism
• Descriptions of scars
• Main Character Death and grief; characters getting together while still grieving for previous partners, taking solace in each other, the dead character still seeming like a presence in the relationship, etc. (Please note the exception for Whisky Galore!)
• Crossovers, especially oddball crossovers that come completely out of left field, although I do tend to prefer crack played straight rather than outright crack. If you have reason to believe I know and like the other fandom, then I encourage you to go for it. (and for the record, I’m not sure why The Professionals has become the fandom I would really love to see crossed over with everything, but for some reason it has.)
• Post-Apocalypse scenarios, with focus on angst and the struggle for survival. This includes zombie apocalypse AUs.
• Stranded Together With No Way Home, us against the world, deep mutual dependence on the other party because there’s no one else around (which may not be entirely healthy)
• Time Loops
• Older characters finding love.
• Age gap relationships
• I really love historical detail and extensive research notes, so if that’s what you’re into then feel free to go wild. (If that’s not your thing, then please don’t worry: I am in no way an expert, and I love tropey indulgent stuff and cheerfully anachronistic fics just as much).
• Hair kink. Hands pushed into hair, coiling it around fingers, routinely cutting another character's hair if appropriate in context (e.g. in post-apocalyptic scenarios), hairwashing as part of hurt/comfort, yanking head back by the hair, etc
• Textiles, especially knitwear and embroidery; men in jumpers; historical and cultural details and craft in general
• Cigarette kink: descriptions of smoking, sharing cigarettes, lighting cigarettes for each other, etc.
• Finally, and I cannot emphasise this enough, men in pyjamas.

Smut Likes

• Sex Pollen and aftermath, and any other kind of something made them do it scenario
• Angry Sex, rough sex, hate sex, rough sex that turns tender
• Clothed Sex, or clothed/naked
• Comfort Sex
• Dubcon when requested (mutual dubcon of the something-made-us-do-it kind is ALWAYS okay even when not explicitly requested)
• Mild bondage and other forms of gentle restraint
• Oral Sex, especially cunnilingus in all its forms, and ESPECIALLY cunnilingus with fingering
• Rough Sex - Lots of Scratching and Biting and Hair-Grabbing/Pulling and Holding Partner(s) Down
• Sex in grimy, grim, uncomfortable places
• Threesomes
• Situations where one character is too tired, injured etc to orgasm themselves, but takes great pleasure in making the other person come, so long as it's part of a wider give-take relationship when it comes to sex.

DNWs

• A/B/O
• Unreqested Noncon (Bad Guys Made Them Do It scenarios are fine though)
• Dubcon involving unaroused characters
• Unrequested Incest
• Bestiality (monsters don't count here)
• Scat and waterplay
• Formalised D/s dynamics (bondage and other forms of restraint are OK)
• Underage
• Het anal sex
• Breathplay (antagonistic choking is fine)
• Fisting
• Sexualised lactation
• Any variation of the word 'come' in a sexual context spelled as 'cum' (please use 'come', 'came', 'precome' etc)
• Infidelity (Applies to Doctor Who and Whisky Galore! only)

Death Goes to School (1953)

Requested ships: DI Campbell/Miss Shepherd
Requested Freeforms: Action/Adventure, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Character Development, Established Relationship, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Interpersonal Drama, Mystery/Procedural, Smut

Available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnOlzfp3bgo. It’s a second feature, and is very short, just over an hour long.

Note: I don’t think either of them actually gets a first name at any point in canon. It’s based on a novel but I haven’t been able to get hold of a copy or find out much about it. I do semi-headcanon hers as Anne, probably because I read Cat Among the Pigeons at about the same tame and associated her with Ann Shapland, but go with whatever you want.

~~

This. Is. Delightful. I’m a sucker for murder mysteries with schools as the setting, so this appeals so damn hard with its closed circle-esque setting and everyone into each other’s business, and the two leads are so, so shippy and charming together, even with Campbell’s occasional sexist dickishness – he’s otherwise so sweet (the scarf he gives her at the end, and the way that whole business pans out – I’m sure he knows exactly where those pills came from.), that I can’t take his comments seriously, and they just make his dynamic with Miss Shepherd more appealing. YMMV, of course, but I can’t help thinking his pronouncements are mostly bullshit and he doesn’t mean half of it, and it’s at least partly to tease her, but then I’m wearing shipper goggles, so who the fuck knows. I love what a period piece it is too, with the way the plot depends on rationing and his precious hoarded bars of chocolate, and the way his manner towards her shifts from disinterest to respect/admiration, winding up on him asking for her help in the case. And especially the way the help she gives him is part cooperation, part competition, with her staying one step ahead of him until the end.

I’d love to see a post-canon fic, where their paths cross again, possibly involving another murder, although I should stress that I am absolutely fine with the case not being fully realised, with maybe just snippets from a case as background to the ship. I’d love to see more of their semi-competitive dynamic, with her trying to prove his chauvinistic nonsense wrong. Or skip ahead to a future where they’re in an established relationship of any kind – married, engaged, or right at the point of becoming engaged. I’d particularly love something tropey and romantic and smuttily indulgent for these two, and despite what I said about case fic a minute ago, PWPs are absolutely welcome.

Optional Prompts

• cigarette kink – Ah, the 50s. When everyone and their mother was lighting up, and that includes the schoolkids. When it comes to cigarette kink, canon alone is pretty damn good to me. I love all the sexual tension descriptions and focus on smoking can provide, and the intimacy that comes from offering each other cigarettes, lighting up for each other, sharing their last cigarette, etc…
• A first time, whether it be their first time together, first time as a married couple, first time as an engaged couple, first time for full sex…
• Competence Kink - Rivals Are Incredibly Turned On By Each Other's Talent – I LOVE this for these two. I’d just love more of them competing with each other to solve a case, and that whole thing bringing them closer together.
• "Thank God You're/We're Alive" Sex – A slightly more hazardous case leads to frantic sex, with optional get together and feelings confession.
• trapped together – yep, I will never get sick of this trope as a catalyst for shipfic. Interpret this however you want, whether a very small cramped space like a wardrobe or the two of them being stranded in an isolated building. Either way, I love the awkwardness of forced proximity, especially when the sexual tension is laid on with a trowel.

The Great Escape

Requested Ships: Roger Bartlett/Andrew MacDonald
Requested Genres:

~~

I mean, there’s a reason why it’s a classic: all that loyalty and friendship, and the sheer scale of what they achieved, and the ingenuity that went into the escape. I really liked the way it echoes a heist film, but in reverse, with everyone having their designated tasks, and the stoic attitude to suffering from just about everyone, and all the opportunities for competence porn. The whole thing is so gripping and heartwrenching, especially towards the end when it’s almost impossible to look away, and just… damn. There are a lot of things in it that break my fucking heart, but what happens to Roger and Mac is particularly painful to watch. I would love something which explores their relationship, whether shippy or gen or something in between.

I’m fascinated by the motivations behind the film too, the idea of the attempts to escape not necessarily being about escaping, but about it being their duty as officers to refuse to sit the war out quietly, and to what degree it’s about trying to stop themselves from cracking, and that potentially unanswerable question at the end, given what happened, was the price worth it?

I’m here for hurt/comfort, honour and loyalty and friendship, intense relationships whether platonic or otherwise (or something in between). Stoicism, and character studies, and historical detail, and mutual support, Roger stoically dealing with PTSD from his treatment at the hands of the Gestapo, bad dreams, keeping busy because otherwise you’ll lose your damn mind, missing scenes from any point in the film, and just generally studies of their relationship.

Optional Prompts

• The lead-up from between Mac and Roger being recaptured to that moment when they’re let off the truck to ‘stretch their legs’. Because goddamn.
• Missing scenes from their escape. Maybe a chance for a brief moment of respite, conversation, and a shared cigarette, at a moment when freedom close, and they’re trying not to hope that they might actually make it.
• Is it romance? Is it friendship? I don't know but we're important to each other -- Their intensely close, and potentially ambiguous, relationship. Extremely interwoven lives resulting from captivity and mutual dependence. Sharing moments of intimacy, but also fiercely guarding not only their own moments of privacy, but also each other’s.
• Details of their everyday lives, all the gardening and singing and shopwork they do to distract the guards, and the complicated feelings that result when they actually find themselves sort of enjoying the activities. An apparently rose-tinted fic which seems to show them enjoying themselves but then the bleak little details start to creep in.
• Quiet moments of beauty and hope in the middle of captivity.
• A fix-it where the escape goes differently and they both meet up in Britain after the war is over.

Hamlet (1969)

Requested Ships: Hamlet/Horatio
Requested Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, AU - Canon Divergence, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Character Development, Fix-it fic, Getting Together, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Interpersonal Drama, Mystery/Procedural, Smut, Worldbuilding

~~

When I started watching this version of Hamlet my thoughts for it went something along the lines of, yep, okay, I’m basically just watching this for one particular actor, but hey, I have been meaning to watch more Shakespeare for a while, so I might as well start here, and it’s not like I’m going to end up shipping it or anyth-- dammit.

Seriously, though. Horatio. Baby. <3<3<3 He’s so lovely in this, sweet and smiley and bookish, and he gives Ophelia the loveliest hug, and the dynamic between him and Hamlet is… well, uhm, how do I put this, I was very definitely getting a low-key Horatio is desperately in love with Hamlet subtext up until the final scene, at which point it ceased to be subtext and became about as close to being text-text as it’s possible to get without them actually kissing, and in a way that appeals extremely strongly to my id.

There are forehead presses and hands pushed into hair and Horatio cradling Hamlet in his arms, and that ‘more an antique Roman than a Dane’ sure does look a whole lot like a moment of ‘I don’t want to live in a world without Hamlet in it’ grief. The way it’s filmed means that there’s heavy focus on faces and the whole bit is just this extremely heartwrenching understated moment of grief and love on both sides which took me from ‘aww, I semi-ship it’ to ‘THEY HAVE MY SWORD’. (Also, and I know this is goofy as fuck, they have matching beards, which it took me far too long to realise was a very deliberate attempt at mirroring. Apparently, it took them gazing into each other’s eyes – no really – for me to figure it out. *facepalm*)

Put short, it’s one of the shippiest things I’ve ever seen.

I don’t know Hamlet that well, so can’t really say much about how it compares with other performances in terms of what they’ve cut and how they’ve rearranged scenes, and I definitely raised an eyebrow at Nicol Williamson (Hamlet) being only a year younger than Judy Parfitt (Gertrude), but what it does have is a young(ish) Anthony Hopkins being sexy as fuck as Claudius (if that’s your thing. It sure as hell is MINE), and some incestuous vibes between Ophelia and Laertes. Also, I love how pared back and intimate it is.

In fact, the filming is pretty odd, in that it’s something between a film and a filmed performance (and I may well be talking bollocks here, but bear with me XD). The sets are stripped back, but unlike with a filmed performance where you might make allowances for the moving of the sets etc. because it’s treated more like a film, it almost makes it feel like it’s taking place in this weird unreal liminal space. So if you at all want to take advantage of that, then please do. Is it purgatory? This unreal place between worlds? Some weird time-fuckery?

As for Hamlet/Horatio, ahhh, man. <3<3<3 My personal headcanon for these particular versions is that they love each other, but it’s platonic on Hamlet’s side, however it’s entirely up to you whether you go with that, or if you want to have Hamlet reciprocating, whether or not he takes it as seriously as Horatio does. I’d love to see hurt/comfort, backstory for them, explorations of the class issues, pining (mutual or otherwise), missing scenes, post-canon fics, whether canon-divergent or otherwise (and I am more than happy for Main Character Death and heavy focus on grief here, just for the record). Or a post-canon thing focusing on the theme of truth? Also ghosts, supernatural fuckery, Horatio dealing with the aftermath of canon and essentially being the last man standing. That moment when Horatio hugged Ophelia also got me wondering about how the relationship between the three of them might pan out, and I’m also open for fics that explore the Horatio-Hamlet-Ophelia relationship, whether its a triad or v-shaped.

Finally, while I’m not in any way an expert on Hamlet, I would very much like to understand more about its themes, use of language, and references, etc, so if you happen to have studied it in any great detail, then please consider this carte blanche to dig deep into its themes to an indulgent degree. I’m especially drawn to the references to stage-craft and in-jokes to the audience – Horatio probably going off into an advert for Julius Caesar in one of the alternative texts, for example – so if you want to explore some fourth-wall breaking stuff then do. If it’s not your thing, don’t worry; I’ll also be delighted with something fun and iddy, or creepy, or smutty, or angsty, or… well, look, basically anything.

Optional Prompts

• Was there ever a canon more suited for ghosts? Maybe in the aftermath, Horatio sees Hamlet’s ghost, but is it really Hamlet? I am open to all explorations of the supernatural, I love creepiness in general and ghost stories in particular, but, uh, I’m also partial to ghost-fucking if you wanted to go smuttier, or really delve into the guilt and grief and sense of loss.
• "Casual" Sex Turning Tender" – So maybe while they were both at Wittenberg, he and Horatio had a casual sexual relationship. Give me all the pining while having sex, Horatio believing he isn’t good/rich/noble enough for Hamlet, and knowing he should stop it because it will end up breaking his heart, but he can’t bring himself to finish it.
• Character expected to die but didn't and now has no idea how to live anymore – Although everyone else who dies, still dies, somehow Hamlet survives the poison, and okay, yes, he’s revenged his father, but unfortunately with one or two casualties along the way. Which raises again the question of the ghost’s motivations, and plunges him into a whole new quagmire of guilt and grief while Horatio tries to bring him through it.
• Characters A and C brought together by shared love for B – Specifically Horatio and Ophelia. I’d really love to see the relationship between this version of Horatio and Ophelia explored. That hug, and what exactly is going on between her and her brother. I absolutely 100% believe that this version of Horatio adores Hamlet, but also he’s lovely, and I can completely see him Horatio pining for Hamlet and making the decision to love Ophelia too because he believes Hamlet loves her. Seriously, that hug.
• Characters Are In Love But Duty Will Keep Them Apart Forever Until Something Makes Them Do It – Always and forever, ‘Something made them do it’ scenarios are one of my favourite tropes. The nature of the something that made them do it is up to you, but… drugs? Alcohol? Pirates?
• Pining. All the pining, whether one-sided or mutual, whether they have a sexual relationship or not. Maybe Horatio’s awareness of the differences in their stations, or because he believes Hamlet is in love with another (or using Horatio as a substitute, which yes, fine, but the heartache), or because Hamlet is straight.
• Drunken Confessions – Danes or not, turns out they’re both very bad at being drunk.
• A has amnesia and forgets everything but B –
• That Time of Night So Late It's Early Again (And the Liminal Conversations Had At This Hour) – Hamlet and Horatio get into the habit of staying out late in the hopes of seeing the ghost again. Conversations, huddling for warmth, lack of sleep...
• A canon-divergent fic where Claudius decides that it might be wiser to let Hamlet return to Wittenberg after all, but the ghost still won’t leave him alone while he’s there.
• Elsinore as a weird liminal space between life and death, and Horatio as the only character who’s actually real/alive? A time loop, where events keep repeating themselves?
• Time Loop – The whole thing as a semi-neverending story. On explaining the story to Fortinbras (which happens off-screen in this production which ends with the ‘Goodnight sweet prince’ line, making it feel even more like a tragic Hamlet/Horatio love story), Horatio keeps looping back to the beginning and living it all over again. Gradually, reality starts to break down, and he begins to realise it’s all starting to feel a bit familiar.
• It's partly the mirroring in the matching beards and partly the note on the text which points out that Horatio is whatever the script (or Hamlet) needs him to be at that particular moment. So play with that. Horatio as the ghost? Or Horatio as a creation of Hamlet's mind which has brought forth at a time of extreme stress, with Horatio's disapproval at the killing of Rosencranzt and Guildenstern an echo of Hamlet's own guilt?

Agatha Christie’s Poirot

Requested Ships: Charles Cartwright/Hermione "Egg" Lytton Gore
Requested freeforms: Action/Adventure, Angst, AU - Canon Divergence, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Character Development, Established Relationship, Fix-it fic, Fluff, Getting Together, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Interpersonal Drama, Mystery/Procedural, Smut

While normally I'm equally divided between whether I prefer the show version or the book, in this case I particularly prefer the series, mainly because the characters seem significantly more likeable, there’s the wonderful dynamic between Poirot and Sir Charles, and, um, *cough* Martin Shaw arguably at his hottest in a tragic May-December romance. Which… God, I’d just LOVE to see more of. I ship Egg and Sir Charles so freaking hard. They love each other so much, and I especially adore the bleak turn taken in the denouement, when Egg realises the truth, and just damn my freaking heart. I adore Sir Charles – he’s so very much a luvvie, but then towards the end that mask slips the tiniest bit, and everything he does is so utterly ruthless and terrible, and completely inexcusable, and yet… I’d really love to see more of them, and especially a glimpse of a world where things went differently.

I love the way the age gap is dealt with, the no one’s really judgemental of it even if it does raise a couple of eyebrows – it’s treated as natural and understandable on both their parts, and they just adore each other so much in a way that I am completely weak for. I love the moment where Egg’s mother points out that an older man’s discretions are mostly behind him, and whether that’s right or wrong I can’t help making hearteyes at the pair of them.

Go with a permanent fix-it, or a temporary fix-it only to make things much much worse (and let me just say I am completely fine with Main Character Death here), something canon-compliant or something which looks at how differently things might have gone had the circumstances been different. (Background Egg/Oliver Manders is fine too, especially in post-canon canon-compliant fics). And if you want to go hard on that delicious loyalty kink between Sir Charles and Poirot then that’s welcome too. :D

Optional Prompts

• Missing scenes and sweet little moments from their courtship and the investigation. The two of them bonding over clue-hunting, or going sailing together, Sir Charles trying to be noble and self-sacrificing (ha!) and Egg not standing for it. (In age gap relationships I’m particularly fond of the younger party doing the pursuing)
• A canon-divergent fix-it of sorts? Because for whatever reason there’s no impediment to the marriage. Sweetly indulgent fluff or does the tragic part just happen differently? Do they end up tangled up in another murder, and if so, is one of them the victim or the murderer??
• Poirot investigates Tollie’s murder as a cold-case after Sir Charles and Egg are married.
• A role reversal AU where Egg is the murderer.
• What would have happened if Egg had recognised Sir Charles at Strange’s party, and he was forced to pass it off as a joke?
• They hold their own murder mystery party.
• On the one hand, I ship it so hard. On the other, he’s so horribly ruthless, and I suddenly remember one of the potential murder victims could have been her mother. So what if it was Egg’s mother who drank the poisoned cocktail? How would that affect the plot?
• After Egg and Sir Charles are married, he’s approached by a blackmailer.
• Pure indulgent fluff or smut with the very slightest edge of darkness.

The Professionals

Requested Ships: William Bodie/George Cowley, William Bodie/Ray Doyle, William Bodie/Ray Doyle & George Cowley, George Cowley/Any Female Character,

God, I love this show so much. I could spend forever watching the dynamic between Cowley, Bodie, and Doyle, the banter, the jokes, the friendly rivalry, the way their different backgrounds give them different insights and skills, and the vibe I get that Cowley, who I adore beyond all reason (*gestures sheepishly to most of the rest of my sign-up*) is actually harder than Bodie and Doyle put together. Cowley chewing them out because they've disobeyed his orders and then immediately doing a U-turn and supporting them to the hilt, the way their characters shift and adapt over time, the uncomfortable questions it raises about their methods… Oh, and the whump. Getting shot and beaten up and captured and generally getting the shit kicked out of them. So damn here for all of that. XD I love the way it subverts expectations too, with all the literary references and the acknowledgement of CI5’s often deeply questionable tactics.

I’d also like to make it clear that I am extremely here for Bad Guys Made Them Do It for all the ships I’ve requested. Handle that however you want with Bodie/Doyle, but for Cowley/Bodie I’d prefer Cowley topping if it comes to penetrative sex. Beyond that I have no topping preferences. I’m also open to noncon scenarios involving noncon by a third party, whether on or off-screen, for the purposes of hurt/comfort or whumpy hurt/no comfort scenarios because they’re too damn stoic to talk about it and must suffer in silence like the emotionally constipated blokes they are (and my Dubcon with Unaroused Victims DNW doesn’t apply here).

I also really, really love Apocalypse AUs (including zombies), and this is one of those series that I would absolutely LOVE that trope for, whatever style of apocalypse it is. Oh, and while I know my chances of getting it are extremely slim, I’ll mention it on the off-chance: I particularly adore the 70s version of Survivors, and I cannot emphasise enough how much I would love a crossover set in that world, even if just in the very beginnings of the series. I’ve requested it before, including some suggestions for crossovers, so take a look at my other letters if you’re interested, but even if you just give me one of them nursing the other through the illness and the tiniest glimpse of society falling apart, OH MY GOD I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER OH MY GOD. (Fair warning that Survivors is grim though. Really, really grim. XD)

William Bodie/Ray Doyle, George Cowley/William Bodie, William Bodie/Ray Doyle & George Cowley

For Bodie/Doyle, explore the mutual codependence that comes as a result of working in close confines in a way that may not be entirely healthy, the tedium of surveillance, working and training together, working late and falling asleep at your desk, actively threatening to murder a suspect if anything happens to your partner… Anything goes here from explicit smut to pining (mutual or otherwise), and including canon-style relationships with women is fine too. Maybe they come to the realisation that while women come and go, their relationship remains immutable. They also sure do seem to get shot/beaten up on the reg, and look very pretty doing it, *especially* Doyle, so if you wanted to go hard on the whump… I absolutely love all the moments of character interaction, the bonding moments in Mixed Doubles and that bit where Bodie interrupts Doyle’s brooding session by just sitting there and looking at him? Yeah…

I am so, so here for the contrast between them. And Bodie, Bodie. <3<3<3 The way his character shifts and changes over the course of the series, and those bleak little glimpses of darkness, and that sense that he hasn’t really believed in anything until he came to CI5… The way the show alludes to his time in Northern Ireland, and how intensely private he is and prickly when Doyle asks, and just… *sigh*, I’m struggling to put into words why I love them so much.

Give me canon style casefic or something that takes them out of their comfort zones, backstory for either one of them, or post-canon fic. Also here for character studies, and anything that digs into any moral qualms they might have about CI5 and its methods, especially Doyle.

And then there’s Cowley/Bodie. This ship hit me pretty hard after a chance comment got me thinking how it would work, and then in the middle of that I watched Need to Know, and noticed that little bit where Cowley brushes back Bodie's hair after administering oxygen (all Doyle gets is a cheek pat), and huh, okay, turns out I do actually ship it, and turns out I really ship it.

I'm nearly always drawn to age-gap relationships anyway, and something about this particular age gap ship just really appeals -- it's something about the mix of loyalty, trust issues, and the low-level disapproval on Cowley's part - his little dig about how it's not like Bodie will ever have to worry about it when the subject of them needing his permission to get married comes up (also Bodie's 'Wait, what?' reaction, XD). Even aside from the age gap, there are so many fundamental differences between them -- faith, repression, romanticism, etc -- but in a way that gets me wanting to see just how they'd fit together, as well as all the different ways they could fit together.

I’m also fascinated by the way Bodie and Cowley sort of mirror each other in their early lives, and the way they both ran away from home at a young age to fight abroad… A LOT of this is headcanon, but I see Cowley as having left a happy and supportive home to fight for a cause he absolutely believed in, while Bodie is basically the polar opposite, running away from an abusive home, and fighting for one group or another, and ultimately never believing in anything, until maybe CI5, and even then it takes him a while to come round to that.

Repression and trust issues and pining (mutual or otherwise) are always golden, as well as imperfect awkward sex and scenarios where they're both out of their depth and forced to rely on each other. Not to mention having to keep any relationship secret and/or self-denial because of Cowley's 'No Fraternisation Between Agents' rule. And Bad Guys Made Them Do It scenarios, which take on an extra layer of interest if it's Cowley being made to fuck Bodie -- that delicious additional guilt during and afterwards because ultimately Cowley is the one responsible for their safety. Just... fucking yes please. That, and the delicious guilt and angst of the aftermath.

There absolutely doesn't need to be a happy ending. Oh, and I should mention that background Bodie/Doyle is welcome here too.

Optional Prompts (some of these have been written with specific ships/characters in mind, but please feel free to mix and match)

• Casefic, or elements from a partially realised casefic, whether canon-typical or something which takes them out of their comfort zones.
• 5 + 1 ways of livening up surveillance detail.
• Bonding in captivity – whether as a result of trauma and torture, or being imprisoned together somewhere dark and claustrophobic.
• Ever seen Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)? Well, that AU, where one half of the pairing is a ghost the other can’t see, whether the ghost is potentially a sign that the other one is cracking up, or an actual literal ghost, and the first case they have to solve together is who murdered him. I was thinking Bodie/Doyle for this, with one of them as the ghost, but Cowley as the ghost (and absolutely livid about it) would be great too, whichever ship you go with.
• If they do get together, how does it happen? How do they come to realise they have feelings for the other? When it starts is it just about sex, or is the sexual attraction develop out of a result of their bond?
• The bit in Stake Out where Bodie flung himself across a bowling alley to manhandle Doyle to the floor to stop him from kicking off at an aggressive member of the public, including hooking his leg over Doyle's in the process, did things to me. More undercover stuff please, with them both trying to keep a low profile, and having to rely on the other one to rein them in. Additional manhandling is optional, but very much appreciated.
• ”Casual” sex turning tender - (both ships) neither character thinks the other has any genuine feelings, or maybe the sex is just something that keeps happening without either of them ever intending it to. What happens when tenderness starts creeping in? Is it mutual? Is the other party unnerved by it? Into it? Or both?
• Aftermath of Torture – Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges - Either paring, any character. Trying to remain stoic and refusing help much to the frustration of the other/s. If Cowley’s the whumped character then maybe it could be a semi-fakeout, where he’s using his weakness as bait, and it works, but actually he’s suffering too.
• Agonisingly slow build-up of sexual tension - Along with copious amounts of mutual self-denial and pining, while trying to hide the mutual attraction from each other/other people/themselves.
• A zombie apocalypse AU, or some other apocalyptic scenario. Always and forever one of my favourite tropes. Or alternatively, if you’re familiar with it, a crossover with Survivors, even if it only uses the other series as a backdrop for desperate ‘us against the crumbling world’ sex.
• Character A confesses feelings because they think Character B is unconscious - Man, the awkwardness and painful aftermath, the self-doubt and the questioning – did they mishear? Should they say anything, or would it be better to pretend they didn’t hear?
• While working undercover, one half of the couple is forced to torture the other to maintain their cover
• Complicated feelings of love and loyalty and hurt and resentment - For either pairing really, although I have to admit I have Cowley/Bodie in mind specifically. Just a relationship study, really, examining all the complicated trust issues and matters of loyalty
• Estranged Characters – Injured A shows up on B’s doorstep saying ‘I didn’t know where else to go’. – future fic or canon-divergent where the injured character has gone AWOL or otherwise rogue.
• Fighting/sparring as foreplay – I mean, the usual, but for Cowley/Bodie this would probably also include Cowley watching (disapprovingly?) as Bodie gets the shit kicked out of him by Macklin, followed by something that could theoretically be described as comfort if you squint. For Bodie/Doyle, them enjoying sparring with each other.
• Cowley goes rogue. Is it for real, or another ruse?
• Country House Party – Weird time-slip where they find themselves in an interwar house party that ended in murder. Ghosts? Inexplicable events that are never explained beyond handwavy nonsense? A Sapphire & Steel crossover? Or is this just an excuse to get them into period dress?
• Time Loop – the part where the looper breaks and stops giving any fucks – Again any character, but I admit I’m thinking of Cowley here, mainly because I’m delighted by the idea of him being thwarted at every turn and then just going FUCK THIS.
• Character A and Character B Mutually Pine For Each Other While They Fuck Other People Together -- I'm specifically thinking of Bodie/Doyle (Cowley would NEVER), but dear god do I love it for them. The drunken aftermath of a double date turns orgiastic, or else one of the lads has been stood up or had an argument with his girlfriend, and the other's girlfriend insists he join them to cheer him up.
• And of course now that I've said that Cowley would NEVER, I'm immediately trying to think of situations in which he would. *sigh* I suppose the most likely scenario is a combination of the procuring an undercover Bodie claims to do in Take Away and everything that happens with Anna in The Untouchables -- another party who knows this is a CI5 operation and is working with full consent. So a 'Sex while undercover' scenario, probably?
• Bodysharing - one of them commenting/giving orders while the other jerks off -- Ahaha, <3. I love this tag so much. Either pairing, either character. Although I do have to admit, that while it would be especially weird and filthy and fun for Bodie/Doyle, the idea of this for Cowley/Bodie fills me with glee. God, it would be excruciating and I can't figure out which scenario I like more: Bodie trying to have a surreptitious wank when he thinks Cowley isn't looking, and his dawning horror at the first sour comment, or while Bodie's inside Cowley some of his general horniness rubs off on him, and even when Cowley was young he hadn't been as horny as this all the damn time, what the hell, man? It appeals so much, the two of them trying to make it work as best they can until they can get the mess fixed, and grudgingly actually getting sort of into it, weird and fucked up as it is.
• sex under the stars – Ohhh, I love this tag: the romanticism of sex outdoors, the setting and potential for scenery porn, the low-level risk of semi-public sex, and the suggestion that they’re so turned on they can’t keep their hands off each other. How does it come about? Are they camping for plot reasons, on a stake-out, stranded in nature for some reason?
• Authority Figure Societally Expected To Have Sex With Subordinate – I obviously had Cowley/Bodie in mind for this, but if you want to use it for Bodie/Doyle instead, then please do. I can see a couple of ways that’d work – an AU where either Bodie or Doyle is the other’s subordinate, OR where Cowley being expected to have sex with his subordinates is part of the background to the Bodie/Doyle ship (a Droit du Seigneur situation which arises when two of his subordinates are in a relationship, which is part of the reason why Cowley discourages relations between his agents because he hates having to fulfil his duties and he is extremely unimpressed every time it happens?) Either way, what appeals with this is how utterly awkward and uncomfortable it would be, and Cowley’s reluctance and impatience with the whole business. I’d love to see the worldbuilding explored whichever ship the focus is on. Would Cowley put it off or grit his teeth and get it over with as soon as possible? Is it a one-off, or is he expected to keep it up on a regular basis? (and oh, bless him, but he’s not as young as he used to be and CI5 has a LOT of agents) Or maybe he does usually try to keep it a one-off, although nominally it isn’t meant to be, but for some reason he keeps fulfilling his statutory duties with Bodie more often than he does with his other agents… (or that Droit de Seigneur situation again, where Bodie keeps submitting fraternisation request forms for different people, and Cowley gets progressively more exasperated every time he has to fuck him, until he realises that Bodie hasn’t so much as gone on a date with the party named in the most recent form (but why? Is it an excuse to fuck Cowley, or a form of bratty non-violent protest, which leads to the two of them bonding over their mutual resentment at the practice).
• A Doomsday fusion (the 2008 Neil Marshall film). I'm assuming Cowley's in the Bob Hoskins role, as much as I'd secretly love to see him facing off against a bunch of Mad Max style Scottish cannibals. (And it's not like he's explicitly sending them north of the wall to get him some Scotch, but have you seen what the price of single malt is on the black market these days?)

George Cowley/Any Female Character

Uh, so apparently part of the joy of watching this show for me is the gradual accumulation of people I ship George Cowley with. XD I should probably have seen it coming, tbh. Put it down to the chemistry the man has with, well, basically everybody. He has very fast become one of my favourite characters in anything ever: it’s that combination of implied loneliness and stoicism, dedication to the life he’s chosen even if he might have been happier on another path, repression and self-sacrifice and sarcasm, the clash of his staunch code of ethics combined with some very questionable tactics, and the conflict of him wanting to look after the woman he’s fallen in love with, but of course it’s his fate to only ever fall in love with tough-as-nails women like Annie Irvine, who wouldn’t want to be looked after in a million fucking years. <3<3<3 Look, there are very few characters I love quite as much as Cowley, and I just want him to be happy, dammit. I’m open to any kind of relationship here, from stoic one-sided pining, to indulgent smut, to a happy ending. I specifically ship him with Annie Irvine, Geraldine Mather and Elizabeth Walsh, but go with any character you want, or an OC.

The episode in which Annie appears was an absolute delight. From Bodie and Doyle’s reaction to the idea of Cowley in a relationship with a woman (that conversation in the car! Doyle slightly dubiously describing him as attractive :D) to the way Cowley actually behaves when he meets her and then quietly having his heart broken all over again (and oh god, my heart).

And the backstory we get for him, picking his education back up after the war, as a student going to political meetings, and falling in love with a woman who he keeps loving even after she breaks his heart. Just that line about him watching her. And that line about how she never knew him at all? Damn. It’s so up my street I can’t even say: quiet loneliness and a lingering feeling of regret even while you’re getting on with all the shit that needs to get done will get me every time. Him wanting to look after her when she’s not the sort of woman who wants to be looked after, and if she had been, then he probably wouldn’t have fallen in love with her as hard as he did.

Then there’s Geraldine Mather, the young lawyer from the Rack who somehow manages to outmanoeuvre Cowley at every turn. There’s a pretty good chance that if it hadn’t been for the lucky break in the case at the end she’d have won, and the idea of Cowley of all people losing to a young, idealistic lawyer is just the most delightful thing. Not only that, I’m pretty sure Cowley has a bit of a thing for strong women, and I’m pretty sure he’d be into it, even if he denies it at every step.

I ship them (oh god, do I ship them), and I love the thought of seeing them meeting outside of a trial, either butting heads or, to their mutual surprise, actually getting along. They’re both so passionate about their beliefs, and they share a strong belief in the importance of freedom in particular, but their approaches are so diametrically opposed and they’re both so entrenched in their viewpoints. And still there’s such a strong feeling of mutual respect between them, even if they do spend most of the episode butting heads. I’d just love to see them encounter each other again, have them find each other frustrating and fascinating, and maybe find some common interest over a glass or two of single malt.

And finally there’s Elizabeth Walsh, who out of everyone that I ship him with, is the relationship I can actually see working long-term. Spy Probe worked out as the last episode I watched, so there’s nothing to contradict my head-canon that the two of them get together post-canon, or that one of his primary motivations for getting her involved in the case (other than keeping her safe and the possibility of her being behind the killings) is to buy him a little time while he dithers about asking her out for dinner, and after the case has been solved he’s got the perfect excuse – how else is he going to thank her for all her help? He spends a significant part of the episode making impressed hearteyes at her, and they clearly have a history, but back then he was still deeply mired in pining for Annie, but now… Well, let’s just say that the idea of them finally getting together in middle age really appeals.

And she’s perfect for him: she’s a retired spy so she knows and understands the demands of the work, she’s intelligent and trustworthy enough that he can pick her brains, and she’s independent enough not to mind doing her own thing while he turns up every now and then like an outdoor cat looking for food and affection, and in fact she’d probably hate having him under her feet all the time so the situation works perfectly for both of them.

Optional Prompts

• Okay, so what the hell did happen with Annie Irvine? Explore their backstory. When they meet Annie says it’s been about ten years since they last met, so depending on how you figure the timeline that must have been significantly after their university days. Was he at her wedding? I have so many questions.
• What did Annie actually say to Bodie and Doyle which made them so reluctant to share with Cowley?
• Give me something that follows on from the ending of Look After Annie. Do their paths cross again? Where do they go from there?
• Give me an AU of that episode where events go differently.
• Bad Guys Made Them Do It. Always. <3<3<3 (and oh god, the guilt! The terrible all-consuming guilt!).
• A zombie apocalypse AU, or some other apocalyptic scenario. Always and forever one of my favourite tropes. Or alternatively, if you’re familiar with it, a crossover with Survivors, even if it only uses the other series as a backdrop for desperate ‘us against the crumbling world’ sex.
• Hurt/Comfort - Cowley is injured during a case, and the other character reluctantly starts looking in on him despite his protests.
• Experience – Experienced/Inexperienced – Look, he’s been pining after Annie for, what, twenty years or so, so chances are he hasn’t had that much experience with women.
• They’re stranded at some isolated out-of the way place, which is potentially derelict, where the forced proximity puts them in a position where they have to work together and get over any potential awkwardness.
• Geraldine and Cowley’s paths cross again, professionally or otherwise. They’re drawn to each other, and fall into the habit of meeting on a regular basis to argue politics and human rights over a Scotch or two.
• Pregnancy Sex – Most likely with Geraldine than either of the others due to their age, but I’ve requested it for all three because pre-canon is always a possibility. Is the baby his or not? For the record the idea of a tropey indulgent fic where Cowley becomes a father late in life really appeals (accidental pregnancy? *hearteyes*), but I’m also here for situations where the baby isn’t his, maybe with a little angst and regret over that and him missing the chance to be a father, along with all the awkward practicalities of pregnant sex. Especially heavily pregnant sex.
• The aftermath of Spy Probe. Cowley takes Elizabeth out to dinner as a way of saying thank you (well, he claims that’s his primary motivation), and walks her back to her hotel room afterwards. (and while I haven’t requested it for this particular exchange I do love the freeform: Late-Night Discussions Outside in the Gently Falling Rain.) Luckily she’s not quite as reticent as he is, and since someone did just try to have her murdered, the least he could do is double-check her hotel room to make sure it’s safe.
• Or Cowley/Elizabeth but a slower courtship, where he starts picking her brains on a regular basis and they start to see more and more of each other, until they’ve get as familiar with each other as an old married couple, only without the sex. And then they have sex.
• Back in their MI5 days Cowley and Elizabeth narrowly avoided having to have sex to maintain their cover. They both pretended to be relieved about it at the time, but secretly they’ve both regretted it since then.
• The AU where my completely off-base assumption that Elizabeth was behind the killings wasn’t quite so off-base, and her arranging her own attempted murder was a set-up to get her inside CI5 because she knew Cowley wouldn’t be able to resist. Except he suspects, and the whole thing is the two of them trying to out-think each other, combined with genuine professional mutual admiration and sexual attraction.
• An epistolary fic where Cowley and Annie (or Cowley and Geraldine. Or Cowley and anyone) keep in touch by exchanging letters over the years.
• Get Together – Character recovering from torture gets taken care of by the person they’re pining for – When Cowley and the other character's paths meet again after a case has gone wrong, she reluctantly starts looking in on him despite his protests.
• Smut – guiding an inexperienced partner in how to perform cunnilingus – Look, he’s been pining after Annie for, what, twenty years or so, so chances are he hasn’t had that much experience with women. Possibly including a painfully awkward moment where he absolutely definitely isn’t asking Bodie for sex advice? He was being sarcastic, damnit.
• Undercover as a couple leads to mutual feelings – When their paths cross again, Cowley poses as Annie’s lover to protect her. Or for whatever reason, Geraldine insists on being involved, perhaps because the case is personal to her.
• 5 Times Cowley had his heart broken.
• Enemies or Rivals to Lovers – A gets injured saving B which makes B see A in a new light - I’m specifically thinking of Geraldine here, since we know how that went with Annie, but if you want to do it with her, then please do.

Supernatural: Night of the Marionettes (1977)

Requested Ships: Howard Lawrence/Mary Lawrence
Requested Freeforms: Angst, AU - Canon Divergence, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Character Development, Darkfic, Established Relationship, Fix-it fic, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Interpersonal Drama, Mystery/Procedural, Smut, Worldbuilding

Currently up on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuqafiyLnN4. The episode is also available from Amazon Prime UK. It's just under an hour long.

And while it should go without saying, if you’re at all in any doubt regarding my DNW, this very much counts as requested incest, whatever level of explicitness you go with. :D Please avoid any suggestions of anything underage though: a huge part of why I love the dynamic between them is the implication that Mary isn’t that young and that she’s fast approaching spinsterhood.

~~

Hah, well, damn, turns out that when you go trawling through an actor’s back catalogue, you find some… I want to say gems, but I’m not sure if that’s really the work for this batshit fever dream of a horror show. I wish to god it was longer: there’s a whole novel’s worth of Gothic WTFery to unpack here.

This is a standalone episode from a 1970s BBC anthology series of gothic horror stories, gloriously overwrought, somewhat stagey, and just bonkers from start to finish. (The puppet show. Oh, god, the puppet show.) All the episodes feature a narrator telling a grisly tale to the members of a Club in the hopes of becoming a member themselves: if they fail to convince, it means their death, and that’s really all you need to know about the wider series (although the other episodes are also worth watching).

This episode is so gloriously fucking weird. Scenery-chewing, Hammer-horror-esque sets, Howard in a loose shirt and undone waistcoat exploring darkened corridors and brandishing a candelabra, the heavily implied incestuous attraction between him and his daughter…. uh, and FYI, those scenes between them are some of the most uncomfortably hot things I’ve ever seen – her touching his hand, the way he eases her down onto the bed, while he touches her face and searchingly gazes at her. The slowly dawning realisation that the slight incesty vibes I was getting weren’t actually accidental, and oh, hey, turns out I ship it. Oh, damn, he’s really distraught and guilty over what happened? Turns out I REALLY ship it.

I’ve watched it twice and I’m still not 100% sure I know what’s going on. Is Mary possessed by the spirit of Mary Shelley? Are the Huberts actually murderers or have they been unfairly castigated when all they really wanted to do entertain? Who the fuck knows? Certainly not me! Go with whatever head canon takes your fancy and hand-wave whatever you need to.

I have so many questions. Like, what happened at the Villa Diodati that meant he needed rest? What’s going on with Mary? And for that matter, what’s going on with Howard? Who’s really to blame for what happened? What’s with the lack of crucifixes in the guesthouse? It’s entirely up to you what headcanon you go with (part of the joy of fanfiction for me is seeing other people’s takes), but I really like the idea of the Huberts using their, uh, skills to fulfil needs beyond the puppet shows, such as helping people come to terms with bereavement. The mix of rich and poor in the audience enthralled me too. Who are these people? What the hell is going on? Thinking about it, I’m leaning towards the idea that Mary, and possibly Howard too, are possessed or influenced by an entity that also may have possessed Mary Shelley. It just seems to fit with the theme of puppetry, and it makes the weird coincidence of them turning up in this specific guesthouse a bit more likely.

And finally there’s the relationship between Mary and Howard. I really, really love their dynamic, the fact that she isn’t all that young, but probably about 30 or so, a bluestockingy spinster destined for an unmarried life dedicated to helping her father with his research. They are so utterly devoted to one another, but at the same time he’s so horribly selfish and caught up with his own obsessions. It’s so uncomfortable to watch: the way they’re clearly such a happy loving family at the start, but the cracks are already there, and they’re beginning to deepen, with the father-daughter team developing their own little world with Elsbeth excluded – partly because she’s simply not interested in his work in the same way Mary is, and partly because of her alcoholism. Also, I really love the idea of the relationship between Howard and Mary shifting in the Villa Diodati: perhaps Elsbeth was feeling unwell and had to take to her bed, which led to them spending more time with each other, and all that Byronic influence taking its effect.

I'm open to any level of explicitness for the ship, from canon-style uncomfortable smarm to explicit sex, but I'd also love to see something that concentrates on the gothic atmosphere/plot, and which treats it as an entirely non-incestuous father-daughter relationship.

Optional Prompts

• So, uh, that scene where the Monster turns up in Mary’s bedroom? I’m not sure how much this fits with canon (fudge it if you need to, and bear in mind the whole thing could be filtered through Howard’s narration anyway), but it occurred to me that maybe part of the way they entertained themselves at the Villa Diodati could have been through putting themselves in the Shelleys’ mindset by reenacting Regency-style games like Charades (that dressing up and posing in tableaux thing). So what if her first thought when she sees the Monster is that it’s her father in a costume? And that raises some major fucking questions given the turn the puppet show takes.
• Unreliable narrator. Play with this however you want. Assume the whole thing is filtered through Howard’s narration, and that events may not necessarily have played out as he claims. Maybe the whole thing comes about because of his obsession with Mary Shelley? Maybe there are no animated corpses, but just people in costume, or maybe they are just puppets, and the whole thing is an invention of his fevered brain because he feels so horribly guilty about an affair with his daughter? And maybe he was in fact the Monster that turned up in her bedroom in a moment of delusion.
• A Rashomon-style narrative where we see the other versions of the story. I’d particularly love to get the Huberts’ take if they’re more or less innocent of actual murder – this overwrought maddened candelabra-wielding academic who’s clearly got a thing for his daughter feverishly accusing them of fuck knows what. (“Ghouls! Murderers! Frankenstein! Frankenstein!” XD) And it never fails to crack me up that he makes certain to question Hubert about his pet academic theory before accusing him of murder. Priorities!
• Explore the aftermath of canon. Like, fuuuuck, that ending and everything that happens to Mary, and what we learn of her fate, and how distressed he is about it, which. Is. Catnip. Is she mad? Is she dead and somehow been reanimated? Does she have lucid moments? Is she specifically reenacting the role of that female marionette? She’s mostly the one who knowingly initiates most of the inappropriate touching: I’d love to see some of the aftermath where he’s stuck caring for this poor broken creature whom he still adores, but she keeps on with the inappropriate touching. Maybe it distresses her not to have the puppet show reenacted, so he plays along with it as much as he can bear, resisting letting it go too far, but in a way she doesn’t really feel like his daughter any more, until one day in a moment of weakness, he breaks and sleeps with her, and oh god the guilt, the horrible horrible GUILT.
• Hurt character offered comfort they think they don’t deserve – Or the aftermath of canon and Howard caring for Mary, as above, but something painfully tender and bittersweet, where he genuinely loves his daughter and would never take advantage of her in that way, he knows he should never have let things get to that point in the first place, and he should probably send her to an asylum, but her delusions are real, and she’s the proof that his were real in turn so he can’t bring himself to do it. And if she does try to do the inappropriate touching thing he’s learned from his mistakes and quickly disengages. Hair washing, and the whole thing heavy with grief and guilt and love and attempting to atone, and her trying to comfort him as much as he’s trying to comfort her, and look, just rip my heart out and have done with it, okay?
• Keeping with the marionette theme, maybe he gradually begins to suspect that there’s someone or something controlling her. Perhaps a ghost which has been influencing their actions (and possibly Elsbeth’s too) since the Villa Diodati.
• Explore his reasons for approaching the Club in the first place. Why was he trying to join? (The Club features throughout the series, but we never learn much about it other than what I’ve written about it above so you really have an open book). If he doesn’t convince them of his story (and at the end of canon it seems very much like he hasn’t), it means his death, so why has he gone to them? Has Mary died? Do they have the rumoured power to bring her back, or somehow reunite him with her spirit, or is he so guilt-ridden he’s secretly hoping he’ll fail?
• Just give me more of the horribly awkward and uncomfortably father-daughter incesty smarm. Slice-of-life moments from their time together pre-canon or during the early part of the episode. I did sort of feel everything happened a little too fast, so I’d really love to see some missing scenes and expansions which take canon events and slow them down to dwell on them a bit longer. Their chess games, Elsbeth’s alcoholism, the transition between ‘o what a lovely peaceful guesthouse’ to ‘clearly these people are murdering their guests.’ Or answer the question of what really happened at the Villa Diodati.
• Epistolary – Entirely suited for the setting. Mary’s diaries, especially if she has occasional lucid-ish moments post-canon? Perhaps she has no memory of what happened, or of who she really is, and is still playing out the story she saw in the puppet show, or something similar? Letters that explore what’s going on, pre, during or post-canon, or which explore another story, perhaps from an Outsider POV, where Howard and Mary have moved, and to make it easier to explain away the occasional moments of inappropriate touching, he’s decided to pretend she’s his wife rather than his daughter. It makes things simpler. Except it doesn’t, of course.
• Incest – platonic touching slowly turning less platonic – Yeah, okay, look, as far as I’m concerned, the incesty bits are fucking hot. So, uh, that, basically. The slow creep from affection to something much darker.
• Possessiveness – Bites and scratches and bruises as claiming – Yep, also something that I basically just think is hot. :D I’d love to see a darker take on what Mary becomes, where she isn’t just this innocent broken doll, but something with a malicious streak, maybe something which isn’t entirely his daughter anymore. And maybe Howard has given up and is already sleeping with her, or he’s trying to be noble and self-sacrificing (successfully or otherwise), but either way as far as she’s concerned, he belongs to her in every way: as father, lover, husband, victim, and marks him accordingly.
• Outsider POV – Especially one which goes all-out on the Gothic atmosphere, such as the point of view of the nurse/companion Howard brings in to look after Mary, who gradually begins to get the impression that something isn’t quite right in the house.
• What happens between Howard and the Huberts in the aftermath of what happens in canon? I’m fascinated by the Huberts’ whole deal – there’s a moment where you see the woman’s grim, faintly despairing expression just before the puppet show begins – and I really do like the idea that they’re not actually murderers, and are, in fact, decent people, corpse-desecration aside. And hey, maybe they have permission for the corpse-desecration. Maybe it’s considered an honour. Maybe they have other sources of income other than what they earn from the shows, such as offering solace to the recently bereaved. And maybe, if Howard hadn’t gone poking about where he didn’t belong and encouraging Mary to do the same, nothing bad would have happened other than some restless nights (No fucking wonder no one stays in that guesthouse if they can help it with that racket going on). So give me that confrontation with Herr Hubert, either in the immediate aftermath, or over a longer period of time with Herr Hubert visiting him occasionally in England in an attempt to persuade Howard to come to terms with his daughter’s death so that she can finally laid to rest, and they become friends of a kind.

Upstairs Downstairs (1971)

Request One: Angus Hudson/Kate Bridges
Requested Freeforms: Angst, AU - Canon Divergence, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Character Development, Established Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Interpersonal Drama, Mystery/Procedural, Slice of Life, Smut

~~

God, I love this series so, so much. It’s one of the few things that I find utterly gripping, holding me absolutely spell-bound until the closing credits in a way very few things do. The cast of characters, flawed and imperfect though they all are, are the ‘I love everyone in this bar’ kind of ensemble, and I am especially here for life below stairs and for the lives of the women in general, the petty little cruelties and the painful inevitabilities of that sort of life. And loss and missed opportunities, and what might have been, like Rose’s dead fiance, and all the different relationships between the characters, both above and below stairs. And the life of servants in general, the contrast between the absolute chaos when something’s going on and the quiet moments when there’s nothing to do except fall asleep by the fire. I especially love how many of the stories revolve around women. There’s so much I’d love to see explored.

I am absolutely here for intricate and indulgent levels of historical detail, and the social history of the way domestic service changed throughout the 20th century is one that particularly fascinates me, but I’d like to stress that I am by no means an expert, and I’d be just as delighted with a cheerfully anachronistic tropey fic, so if historical research isn’t your thing, then please don’t worry. I also love character studies, smut, romance, fics in the style of canon, or apocalyptic AUs. Or crossovers – canon stretches from around 1905 to 1930, so timewise there’s a lot of leeway – Marple or Poirot? Or Vampyr.

And as for Hudson/Mrs Bridges, well, huh, this absolutely was not the OTP I was expecting to end up shipping when I went in, but it’s hit me pretty damn hard. It’s that whole thing of middle-aged people getting together, especially when they both of them have reason to think they’ll be alone for the rest of their lives, and the mix of mutual affection and respect with it being a practical arrangement, and I am so, so here for it turning out to be a much more passionate arrangement than either of them ever expected.

And then on top of that there’s everything that happens in the episode where they get… betrothed? Engaged? Well, whatever the hell it is – S1E9, Why is her Door Locked, which was an unmitigated delight from start to finish. Accidental baby acquisition! The store of endless resources Hudson is willing to employ to get the family out of a fix while everyone else is basically useless! His grand romantic gesture! – Proposing! In a court room! While his loved one is in the dock! His dedication to domestic service despite the fact that he clearly secretly wishes he was a lawyer (and what might have been if not for the options available at the time). Lady Marjorie walking the tightrope between callousness and genuine concern for the well-being of her servants (and yes, it really is dreadfully sad, but WHAT ABOUT HER DINNER PARTY ON THURSDAY?).

And then there’s the potential aftermath of Your Obedient Servant (S2 E7), and that glimpse Hudson gets into a life he could have had with a wife and family, and the suggestion that perhaps he’s not as content with the constraints of a life in service as he claims he is after all. And everything that happened with Lily, which was so horribly painful to watch, but which only made me ship them harder. All that quiet heartbreak, and the horrible fascination of almost seeing him throw everything away on an infatuation, and the way Mrs Bridges is ready to support him whatever he wants to do, and that whole speech he makes about what Lily is to him, completely unaware he's breaking Mrs Bridges's heart, and ow, my heart, ow. D:

Ah, Hudson, Hudson. It was probably inevitable that he'd be my favourite character, although there's a couple of others who come pretty damn close, but god I adore him. All that quiet grief for the road not taken which he won't admit even to himself, the loyalty to the family, all his pride and pettiness and self-deluding ways, and the repression.

Loneliness in all its forms is one of my favourite tropes. That includes lonely people finding love, whether or not the finding love brings an end to the loneliness or just mitigates it somewhat. Or maybe it’s not so much love as (non-platonic) companionship, or maybe it starts as the latter and deepens until they love each other more deeply than they ever could have imagined. Then there’s the proposal itself (which I think is very possibly one of my favourite proposals of all time). Where the hell did that come from? Did he go into the witness box planning on it, or was it a last resort? Did he consider it a necessary sacrifice for the greater good of the family and for Mrs Bridges’ well-being, or was it a genuine opportunity for himself to find some companionship for when he finally leaves service? Was he already semi-pining for her? (the actress who plays her was pretty damn lovely when she was young, and they’ve known each other a long time...) Did they have a thing in the past?

I’d love to see some explorations of that, and the possibility of them developing a somewhat sexual relationship. Even though neither of them is in the first flush of youth, there still might be moments when they realise they don’t have to lead entirely abstinent lives any more – they are engaged, after all. (Although it would have to be kept secret from the other servants, naturally.) He’s so pleased with himself and adorably solicitous of her in the episode that follows, which got me wondering a bit about what had happened between them in the gap between those two episodes, not to mention the twenty-five years or so that pass before they actually do get married. They’re two sensible (well, he is) people living in a highly claustrophobic environment – they’re probably not going to be all over each other like lovestruck teenagers, but a sexual aspect to their relationship would be great, whether that’s just occasional moments of sexual tension (heightened by self-denial and the lack of privacy) to a sex life that’s so unexpectedly passionate it takes the two of them completely by surprise, and all the practical difficulties of keeping it a secret and setting a good example to the other servants. Oh, and every time he calls her Kate. <3

I’d love to see any part of this relationship explored, from where the line between love and duty lies, to the two of them being more suited to each other than they realised (and the converse of that – that they aren’t perfect for each other but they find ways to compromise), moments from that long, long courtship (and the oddness of a courtship that essentially happens after they’ve got engaged), or what happens to them post-canon. There was apparently going to be a spin-off series focused on the two of them running a guest house in Hastings that never came about, and I’m very curious about what that would have looked like. But generally, I am utterly head-over-heels in love with this fandom, so anything you write about it will be welcome, whether it focuses on the relationship between them, or if that goes on the back-burner for something more in line with canon.

Optional Prompts

• Accidental Baby Acquisition – Emphasis on the accidental. Given the catalyst that got them together in the first place, this seemed appropriate. :D Maybe Mrs Bridges or one of the other servants offers to take care of a baby for the mother, and the mother is waylaid so they’re stuck looking after the child for longer than expected. It’s up to you whether you treat this as humour, with a farce of Mrs Bridges repeatedly finding herself lumbered with small children, this time accidentally, or something more serious, that touches on the poignancy of being too old to have children of your own.
• Character A Learning To Cook Character B's Favorite Food To Show Affection – Because this is absolutely how Mrs Bridges would show her love.
• Established Relationship - The Inherent Romance And Eroticism Of Being Known – They’ve known each other for a very, very long time. They both came from Southwold when Lady Bellamy came to marry Richard Bellamy, and the Bellamys have adult children at the start of canon, so by the end of canon they much have known each other and worked in close quarters for, what, forty-five years, at least, so they’ll know each other inside out. Are there any surprises when they finally marry, or is it like settling down on the sofa for a comfort-watch of something you’ve seen a thousand times before? I’m really drawn to the idea of them settling into a sexual relationship that feels very natural from the outside, even if (or because) they remained more or less celibate for their entire engagement, (with maybe one or two moments of UST).
• In denial - Pretending Sex is for Reasons Other Than Desire – God, I am so, so into this, whether it’s set during canon, and they’re having to be more inventive about their reasons as they probably shouldn’t be having sex at all, or after they’re married, where it’s just a necessary part of their marital duties, and they can both definitely take or leave it, although, uh...
• Late-Night Discussions Outside in the Gently Falling Rain – Ohhhh, this tag. Inclement weather and implied intimacy. <3 The two of them carving out some privacy from the other servants, going out together on their days off (and what do they do together on their days off?), and strolling back to the house. Lingering outside, because the moment they go back inside they have to go back to being sensible middle-aged people.
• Stranded at Roadside Motel (Storm Optional) – Or the British equivalent. As always, I love forced proximity due to being stranded (along the lines of And Then There Were None). Either the Closed Circle thing, where they’re trapped with a potential killer, or the place might be haunted, or otherwise spooky, or just use the need for shelter as a trope to take them out of their comfort zone and force them to rely on each other.
• There Was Only One Bed – Go hard on the tropeyness on this. Maybe they’re supposed to be following the family up to Scotland on the train, but the train breaks down, and the only place they can find to stay in only has one room, and they’re sensible people who are entirely capable of sharing a bed without any funny business, and, well, they are engaged. Especially if they have been mostly celibate up until this point.
• Time Travel – However you want to handle it. Maybe the two of them time travel into younger versions of themselves. Outsider POV of a third party aware that they’re acting differently even if they can’t figure out why.
• Case-fic of the murder in a large country house kind. Rose gets drawn into the investigation by a handsome amateur detective (who may or may not be either the killer or an idiot). Mr Hudson disapproves as it’s not their place to investigate their betters. And also they’re going about it entirely the wrong way.
• Competence – highly effective teamwork – After a dinner party narrowly avoids ending in disaster, they’re exhausted and relieved and elated, and their realising and celebrating how well they work together leads to feelings. I love the contrast of the serene harmony above stairs and the frantic scrambling below stairs.
• Finding someone sleeping and putting a blanket or coat over them – I love quiet little displays of affection and tenderness, particularly when the other person might not necessarily be aware of it, perhaps where one member of the ship has fallen asleep by the fire after a long day, or because they’re waiting up for a member of the family.
• And speaking of that fire, quietly intimate conversations at the end of the day.
• Time Loop – both stuck and escape by both revealing feelings – A disastrous dinner party keeps repeating itself, and at first they assume that’s what they have to fix. (In Time Loops I particularly love it when one or both parties snap and do something terrible on purpose.)
• A post-canon fic where Lily (heavily pregnant?) turns up at their guesthouse because she didn't know where else to turn.

Whisky Galore! (1949)

Requested Ships: George Campbell/Catriona Macroon

Requested Freeforms: Action/Adventure, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Character Development, Established Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Interpersonal Drama, Mystery/Procedural, Slice of Life, Smut

Canon-specific DNWs: Heavy angst, dark themes, unhappy endings

~~

Oh god, this film is absolutely delightful. It’s just the loveliest film, and I love everything about it: the central message of how every problem can be solved with bootleg whisky, the quiet understated humour, and especially all the scenes of island life, the rèiteach, and all the Gaelic, and the scenery (even if it doesn’t quite come through in b&w), and the two central romances, particularly George and Catriona, who were adorable. I’d love to see more of the two of them, whether it follows them post-canon, or if it’s set in the period leading up to the events in the film. The film focuses a lot on the men of the island, so if you want to expand on the two sisters and their relationship with each other, and the other women of the island, especially George’s mother, then please do. I’d really love either something which captures the tone of the film (sweet and fluffy and gently funny) OR something atmospheric which captures the character and beauty of the island.

Generally I’d love to see something indulgently fluffy and heartwarming, home guard shenanigans, or some other low-stakes conflict, something domestic, sweet or smutty (or both), or alternatively something which goes hard on the atmosphere, details of island life, and scenery porn, or domestic details of married life as their marriage evolves over the years and the seasons. A gentle murder mystery or some other kind of casefic would also be wonderful.

Optional Prompts

• The scenes where the islanders hide bottles of whisky everywhere made me laugh quite a bit, because you just know they’ll never be able to find them all again later, so they’ll be finding bottles of whisky in unexpected places for months afterwards. So… stumbling across a carefully hidden bottle after you thought it had all run out? Digging multiple places because you can’t remember exactly where you hid it?
• Weddings - I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted something tooth-rottingly fluffy. I’d love to see something which captures the film’s gentle humour and relatively low-stakes here. The trials and tribulations of holding a wedding during rationing (wedding dress details, because I’m also here for home sewing), trying to keep George’s mother sweet, pre-wedding nerves, bickering between the sisters, or a minor home guard crisis (suspected German spy who turns out to be a birdwatcher? Unexploded bomb?). Is it a double-wedding?
• First Time - Wedding Night – And speaking of wedding nights… *ahem* I’m a sucker for inexperienced couples figuring things out. Smut? Or George discreetly tries to seek advice from Sergeant Odd
• Inclement weather - Storms and heavy snow and sea fogs, whether just for atmosphere, or for tropey situations like huddling for warmth, mildly perilous rescue attempts, or just a reason for the two of them to shelter inside with only each other for company. And then nine months later…
• Falling in love - How did they come to fall in love? Pre-canon quiet pining, or the two of them getting to know each other. Were they childhood sweethearts? Why didn’t his mother like Catriona?
• His mother! Using whisky as the solution to all life’s problems is great, until the whisky runs out. Has his mother permanently come around to their relationship, or are there still going to be some blips along the way? Is there a permanent battle of wills between Catriona and Mrs Campbell, or do they find some common ground?
• Scenery Porn - I am completely here for something plotless and quiet and atmospheric, maybe just vignettes of their life together set at different times of the year. A year (or longer) in the life of a relationship, where the island itself plays a part.
• Pregnancy – Yeah, I really wasn’t kidding about wanting indulgent fluff. All the pregnancy tropes, George sweating it about not being ready to be a father, Catriona and his mother butting heads about how to raise a baby, getting the nursery ready, both the sisters pregnant at the same time…
• 5 times fic – Five things George and Catriona have argued about.

Thanks for reading!

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

Excuse me dropping by, but I did a literal double take when a request for Death Comes to School turned up on my reading page via 5kex. It seemed so unlikely, but then I looked again, and took in the rest of the requests and it all made perfect and complete sense and only showed your good taste. (I was there more for Babs, but I like Gordon, too. He was the only thing worth watching any of the Pros for, for me, and is amazing in UD.)

Anyway, hope you don't mind me saying, hi! We actually have watched quite a lot of the same old brit telly, as I've noticed via some of your yule requests, and things, so I had to wave. (The timing has never worked out, but anyway...)

Also, if you would like to hang out ever in a place where at least 2 other people know what Death Comes to School is and would certainly sympathise and enable tackling an old Brit actor's imdb to the bitter end, there is an old brit Tv discord & I can give you an invite no probs if you wanted one. (I'm not v good at Discord, but apparently when people talk about old brit tv on it, i can manage.) Also we could friend here, but idk if you use it for anything outside of exchanges.

Anyway, whatever, just had to say something. XD Enjoy your ancient voyages over the beige ocean! ;-)

[corvusumbranox]

Hi! And ha, I never thought I'd actually come across anyone who was already familiar with that film. XD

Anyway, hope you don't mind me saying, hi! We actually have watched quite a lot of the same old brit telly,

I remember! Sapphire & Steel and Survivors, right? (I still keep meaning to watch the Survivors reboot.)

And oooh, yes, please do send me that Discord invite. I am pretty rubbish at Discord too, but since I seem to be permanently stuck in 70s Britain right now, it seems like it would be right up my street.

[thisbluespirit]

It is a VERY unlikely film to know! That was why I was doing a double take. I only watched it because Mariocki from tumblr recced it to me (they're on the Discord too), so I had to say something. And, yes, S&S and Survivors and I suspect from a glance a bunch of other things as well! I'd forgotten I@d actually commented before, lol. <3


Here's the invite! It's pretty small, but it's very nice to have a bunch of people who understand and have even watched some of this stuff to chat to: https://discord.gg/yDDUw9Kq