Id Pro Quo Letter 2022

Id Pro Quo 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 heavy angst.

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. 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. All requests are for both art and fic. I’m excited to see what you come up with! :D

Table of Contents

• General Likes
• Art Likes
• Smut Likes
• DNWs
• Doctor Who (1963)
• The Great Escape
• The Professionals
• Survivors (1975)
• 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).
• Textiles, especially knitwear and embroidery; men in jumpers; historical and cultural details and craft in general

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

General Art Likes

In terms of artwork I'm open to a lot of different things. I'd love to see something which captures the atmosphere of canon, whether that be beautiful scenery, or something grim and gritty. I love contrast and lots of rich intricate detail, whether in colour, or intricate detailed monochrome line art, but I also love softer, more muted colours if that's your style.

I really love depictions of inclement weather, whether it's the contrast between the lovely warm cabin the characters are huddling by a fire in and the storm raging outside, or focus on the actual weather itseld - watercolour landscupes with lots of drifting fog, or heavy rain, or snow. I also love the use of stylised borders which incorporate themes and objects from canon, such as clockwork, books, or vines. Artist-wise, I'm particularly fond of art nouveau, but seriously, anything.

DNWs

• A/B/O
• Noncon (Bad Guys Made Them Do It scenarios are fine though)
• Dubcon involving unaroused characters
• Incest
• Bestiality (monsters don't count here)
• Scat and waterplay
• Formalised D/s dynamics (bondage and other forms of restraint are OK)
• Underage (normally <18, but for Ceolbert, <16)
• 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)

Doctor Who (1963)

Requested Ships: Jo Grant/The Third Doctor
Vislor Turlough/Tegan Jovanka
Peri Brown/Sixth Doctor
Requested Freeforms: Undercover - Undercover as a Couple brings out Feelings, Accidental Marriage, Slow Burn - Soulbonding is the only way for A to save seriously injured B's life, Stranded alone together for a very long time, Aftermath of sex pollen - sex pollen leads to realization of romantic feelings, Captivity - hurt/comfort between fellow captives leads to sex, Character Who Believes They'll Be Tortured/Killed Begs Mercy For Another, Clothing - Clothes Pulled Out Of Way, Dimension travel to a universe where the characters are in a relationship, Sex Pollen with mutual pining, forehead kiss, Getting Together - One character wearing the other's clothes leads to feelings realization, Lost/trapped together in a strange/spooky/dangerous place, Mutual Protectiveness, Pining - Mutual pining that both characters think is unrequited pining, Agonisingly slow build-up of sexual tension; result of explosive sex optional, What Passes for Normalcy When You Know You're in a Cosmic Horror Story, Trying to conceal building sexual tension from others which only makes things hotter, Self-Sacrifice - Character A attempts to sacrifice themself for B; B gets very upset, Bodyswap can only be reversed with sex

*On the subject of my infidelity DNW, if it comes to it (e.g. for anything more than unrequited or unrealised pining), then either disregard Clifford Jones or have them be separated UNLESS you choose to indulge my ridiculous 'Clifford Jones is actually the Doctor' headcanon, in which case anything goes.

~~

Jo Grant/The Third Doctor

”Jo, you've got all the time in the world, and all the space. I'm offering them to you.” *hearteyes*

I was already kind of shipping them because I am a sucker for hand-holding and they are always holding hands or hugging, but then I skipped ahead to The Green Death and oh my fucking god. I can’t see that speech at the beginning with the Doctor offering her the universe as anything but a love confession. It’s not just the words, but his delivery, which is ridiculously solemn given that he’s just giving her the choice of which shithole planet she wants to fail to get to. And she says no! And then the end of the story where he says goodbye to her and gives her the sapphire from Metebelis 3 as a wedding present (the way their hands touch!) and then she looks back at him as he slips out of the celebrations. Uh, which is to say that The Green Death got me from kind of shipping it to shipping it like burning.

Even if you set the ship aside, the Third Doctor and Jo are one of my favourite Doctor-Companion combinations. I absolutely fucking love the Pertwee years, and I love Jo so much: even back when Dr Who wasn’t on TV I had a battered novelisation of The Daemons that I read to death… (and rewatching it recently I’ve realised that may well be the source of my love for the trapped-in-a-creepy-village trope. The bit in Time Monster where the Master calls the Doctor's bluff and the Doctor can't bring himself to sacrifice Jo, so she makes the decision to sacrifice the both of them. <3<3<3 She’s tougher than she looks and she’s adaptable, but she’s still so vulnerable at times, and he’s so protective of her – all the putting his arm round her, and her flinging herself into his arms and being willing to sacrifice herself for him, him going in to kiss the top of her head… Yeah, I ship them hard.

Set it during canon or alternatively years late when Jo is older and wiser. I’m not really familiar with what the extended media has Jo doing after she leaves the show, so you’ve got an open book there as far as I’m concerned and I’m not bothered about spoilers for other media. Follow that canon or disregard it entirely: it’s up to you. The same goes for the fate of UNIT.

Regarding Clifford Jones, I happen to have a completely unsubstantiated headcanon that he's a previously unmet regeneration of the Doctor under the influence of the Chameleon Arch (perhaps one prior to Three who’s been forgotten about for some reason). It all kind of fits – his eccentricity, his name, his research being, according to the Doctor, remarkable for the age he lives in. Alternatively, I’m fine with him being ignored completely or for him and Jo to have gone on to divorce further down the line.

Optional Prompts

• Remember my headcanon about Clifford Jones? Well, after Jo’s marriage, the Doctor is distracted by inconvenient memories of her, memories which shouldn’t belong to him at all.
• Years after her marriage to Clifford breaks up, Jo finds herself meeting the Third Doctor again. A time paradox at Llanfairfach? The Master?
• Something ridiculously tropey – there’s only one bed, or they arrive on a planet where they’re forced to pose as husband and wife. Or, my favourite, trapped in a cupboard and hiding from monsters.
• Explore the shift in their relationship. Why did the Doctor go from not giving a damn about her flirtation with the Peladon to being so protective of her over Clifford?
• That speech the Doctor gave at the start of The Green Death: what would have happened if she’d agreed to go with him to Metebelis 3 (on the assumption that it would be a stop-off on the way to Llanfairfach).
• Undercover - Undercover as a Couple brings out Feelings - On arriving on a planet, the Doctor and Jo attempt to blend in (Curse of Peladon-style) by pretending to a pair of expected visiting government officials. Unfortunately, those government officials are actually husband and wife and events -- mysterious murders? -- mean they have to pretend to be married so as not to draw suspicion to themselves, and they find themselves enjoying the act. Or maybe they stage a breakup but the act of arguing actually draws them closer together.
• Accidental marriage - <3<3<3 I have no idea how this could come about... maybe a planet where marriage is a requirement and so Jo insists on marrying the Doctor to save his life, and then it proves not to be quite so easy to annul as they'd anticipated.
• outsider pov - One of the things I really love about the Pertwee-era is how different the Doctor's manner was with Liz and Jo and it would be fantastic to see Jo's relationship with the Doctor explored through her bonding with Liz. Maybe it just started with Jo seeking out advice for how to work with the Doctor, and then it gradually becomes clear to Liz that Jo is falling in love with him.
• Slow Burn - Soulbonding is the only way for A to save seriously injured B's life e - God, I love this concept so much. I could see this working with either character in the life-saving role. All the angst and guilt and anger, whether the anger is directed at the other character or that the other character had to be put in that position, or a messy mixture of both. <3
• Captivity - hurt/comfort between fellow captives leads to sex - I mean, it’s the Third Doctor and Jo. Is there another pair of characters throughout the series who get thrown into captivity together more than these two? And the canonical hurt/comfort between them is delicious. The Doctor’s Daisiest Daisy story. Jo comforting him in Frontier of Space after their captors have used the mind probe on him. All the mutual support and protectiveness and hurt/comfort, and fear resulting in at least we’re not dead yet comfort sex.

Peri Brown/Sixth Doctor

First, a heads up that I haven’t seen the Sixth Doctor’s full run yet, but I will have done by the end of reveals (so please don’t worry about spoilers). Unfortunately it makes prompting a little bit trickier, but hopefully you can get some ideas from what I am able to write and my general likes.

Somehow, I have managed to go my entire life of being a Dr Who fan without having seen a single Colin Baker episode. Turns out season 22 is the most fun I’ve had watching Dr Who since Three & Jo’s run. So far I adore Six as the Doctor, love him and Peri together, and thoroughly appreciate the darker edge to the character (a fucking acid bath? God, Vengeance on Varos was glorious from start to finish). I love the way he bickers with Peri, his terrible jokes, even the coat… And that regeneration scene, damn. There’s a moment after he tries to kill her in his fit of mania when he realises she’s terrified of him, and I love that moment so damn much, the utter bewilderment in his voice. He’s the Doctor – innocent young women aren’t supposed to be scared of him, and yet...

Shipwise, I love the bickering, the way he keeps putting his arm around her, (I’m a simple girl – gestures of affection like that get me every time). I’m also really drawn to the… oddness of this ship, which doesn’t strike me as an obvious ship in the way Three/Jo does (although YMMV, obviously :D), but I really love the idea of them being drawn together despite everything – despite the bickering and the rocky start and his fashion sense and the sheer weirdness of how the whole situation must have felt for Peri, going from Five (who she called sweet!) to Six, who almost immediately tried to kill her (especially since that came straight after everything that happened with Sharaz Jek). But she’s tough and she sticks things out, even when she isn’t feeling entirely courageous, and I really like the way they sometimes each have to encourage the other to get involved. I like that this Doctor is dangerous, I like that he’s more violent than he usually is and more inclined to kill to solve his problems. And I also like the trust that develops between them despite the rocky start to their travelling together.

Delve into the weirdness of this ship, Peri telling herself she absolutely definitely isn’t attracted to this Doctor (and if you want to explore the potential weirdness of her having first been attracted to the Fifth Doctor first, only to then be confronted by this guy, then do), except, oh wait, actually she kind of sort of is. Or give me a quieter moment between then, more hugging, all the goodnatured (ish) bickering, hurt/comfort with neither of them necessarily being comfortable about it… Whatever you come up with, I’m sure I will be delighted.

Optional Prompts

• Oh no, he’s hot – Maybe there’s a moment while they were travelling together when the Doctor’s removed his coat, maybe rolled his sleeves up, or changed his clothes, and Peri realises to her quiet horror/astonishment that this version of the Doctor is, uh, pretty fucking sexy actually.
• Undercover as a couple – For whatever reason, no matter how spurious, whether because they need to do it to protect Peri, or because they’re pretending to be other people who happen to be married, or because they’re investigating somewhere that requires them to be married. It doesn’t matter how spurious it is, just go all out on the tropeyness, especially if it’s combined with there only being one bed. And if no one believes they’re newly weds, because of all the bickering. An old married couple on the other hand...
• Stranded together for a very long time – Look, I’m a sucker for characters being put in the position of being forced to rely on each other and being drawn together because of that. This is recycled from my Three/Jo request, and I’m fascinated by how differently Peri would react given how different her motivations are for travelling with the Doctor compared to Jo.
• Sex pollen and its aftermath, where they’re either both equally affected or Peri is more affected than he is and he’s resisting but she can’t, and if they don’t have sex she’ll die. Please err on the pleasurable rather than traumatic side for Peri (awkwardness is fine though), but feel free to delve into his feelings of unease about losing control and what happened when he regenerated (and any residual guilt about not being able to protect her from Sharaz Jek). Or if you’d rather keep it lighter then go with the sex pollen making it easier for them to act on existing feelings, and acting as a catalyst to get them together (with an optional awkward ‘well that was weird’ aftermath)
• As a semi-apology for being a dick about her American vernacular, the Doctor takes her to an important moment in American history, past or future.
• They meet up with Turlough again, and while she’s reminiscing with him about the Fifth Doctor, Peri realises the Sixth Doctor isn’t that bad actually, or maybe getting to the point where she can reconcile the concept of the Doctor as being two different personalities but still the same person with Turlough’s help.
• Just give me a quieter moment from their travels together.
• Hurt/comfort – the Doctor is injured or sick and is refusing to cooperate with Peri’s attempts to care for him.
• Huddling for warmth. Especially – especially – if it involves if it involves Peri wearing the Doctor’s coat.

Tegan Jovanka/Vislor Turlough

The more I watched the harder I shipped them. Turlough is one of my favourite companions, mainly because of the way he was introduced and what a delightfully amoral little shit he is, and how he goes from that point to actually being pretty damn brave. His relationship with Tegan reflects that too, how at first she wouldn’t trust him as far as she could throw him to me getting the feeling that there really was something going on between them, or that at least Turlough wanted there to be – the way he looks at her when they’re reunited in Resurrection of the Daleks, for example. It’s all pretty damn dark in a way that really appeals to me.

Tegan is not in a good place at this point, what with Adric’s death (and his being replaced with Turlough, who is, let’s face it, a shifty little fucker, at least at first), and Nyssa’s departure (I ship Tegan/Nyssa too btw), and the general gloomy hopelessness and depressing atmosphere of some of those episodes, and the feeling that Tegan’s chasing something that she’s never going to get back, all the fun’s been sucked out of it, and the way she leaves, oh GOD – it’s heartbreaking and bleak and angsty in a way that is so completely up my street. Give me something that reflects that, OR alternatively something where they actually enjoy themselves for once.

Here for anything from one-sided unrequited pining to meaningless sex/friends-with-benefits, to Tegan drowning her pining for Nyssa/grief about Adric by having angsty sex with Turlough, to something sweeter with genuine feelings gradually beginning to evolve between them. Set it during their time travelling in the TARDIS, or have them reconnect later sometime after she’s left, or a canon-divergent fic where either she doesn’t leave the TARDIS at that point, or he stays around for a while, whether on purpose or accidentally. Or they’re stranded somewhere together. Also, er, turns out Turlough tied up and being menaced by a knife by a buxom pirate queen in Enlightenment is RTMI. Do with that what you will. XD

It’s not immediately clear how old Turlough actually is, btw, but with the whole alien thing I headcanon him as being over eighteen. There’s no need to mention that, but please don’t contradict it.

Optional Prompts

• After the events of Terminus, in which Turlough spent most of his time trapped in a series of crawl spaces looking at Tegan’s backside, he develops an inconvenient crush on her.
• Explore how Tegan goes from actively distrusting Turlough (probably for good reason, admittedly), to feeling like she can rely on him
• From the pyrrhic victory of Warriors of the Deep to the Doctor almost taking on the role of executioner in Resurrection of the Daleks, those last few episodes of Tegan’s run were bleak as fuck, and that’s not even counting Adric’s death and Nyssa’s departure (which might have been on her terms, but was still pretty grim). Dig into all the angst and give me some hurt/comfort and/or comfort sex, whether it’s just sex or leads to actual feelings.
• Sex pollen leads to mutually dubiously consensual of the enabling kind, and/or its awkward aftermath.
• They’re separated from the Doctor and end up stranded somewhere together for a lengthy period of time, which brings them together. Are they somewhere relatively safe, or in an isolated wilderness where they have to struggle to survive?
• Some time after the Doctor and Turlough leave Tegan on Earth, she meets up with Turlough again.
• Or go with something tropy: undercover as a couple, or they have to attend a masked ball.
• Smut – Poor Turlough gets himself tied up again. Tegan rescues him, but they get a little bit distracted.
• A slice of everyday life in the TARDIS, one of those moments when things are just normalish for once. Smut, angst, or quiet hurt/comfort and grief. Maybe Tegan sees the changes Turlough’s made to Adric’s old room.
• What Passes for Normalcy When You Know You're in a Cosmic Horror Story – Damn, I love this freeform so much. :D Use it for any of the other ships, but something about Tegan and Turlough being stranded together in a nightmarish Lovecraftian hellhole really appeals for some reason. Non-Euclidian geometry, terrifying monstrosities that defy that powers of description (and maybe that’s the real reason why Turlough reacted to the Tractators the way he did).

Optional Art Prompts

I love the look of the series as a whole, and the differing styles of the various different eras, so anything that captures the look of the characters and canon will be appreciated. I particularly love it when Dr Who goes a bit darker and horror tinged, especially the folk horror elements that appear in the Third Doctor’s era. Folk Horror is basically catnip to me, so feel free to incorporate that (or any other kind of horror elements) however you want. I especially love the various costumes and clothing styles (and height differences).

For Jo and the Third Doctor, show me a moment of hurt/comfort or the two of them in captivity together, all the touchy feely hugs and other displays of affection. Give me something set on an alien planet or set during the UNIT years.

For Peri and the Sixth Doctor, the clooooothes. Oh god, the clothes. Or that huddling for warmth prompt where Peri wears the Doctor’s coat because she needs it more than he does. I also love the height difference, and every time the Doctor puts his arm around her shoulders.

For Tegan/Turlough, possibly something darker tinged, or which shows the course of their relationship from the early days when Tegan didn’t trust him to later on when they were closer? If you can capture the way Turlough looked at her when they’re reunited in Resurrection of the Daleks then I will be over the moon.

The Great Escape

Requested Ships: Roger Bartlett/Andrew MacDonald
Roger Bartlett & Andrew MacDonald

Requested Freeforms: Smoking kink - sharing your last cigarette, Smoking kink - Lavish descriptions of smoking including the way character holds the cigarette, Smoking kink - Lighting a cigarette for the other person while it's in their mouth, Rashomon-style narrative, Hurt/Comfort - Character is weak and fatigued but doesn't slow down because they're "just tired", Is it romance? Is it friendship? I don't know but we're important to each other, Agonisingly slow build-up of sexual tension; result of explosive sex optional, Trying to conceal building sexual tension from others which only makes things hotter, Looking pretty damn hot in a scruffy jumper/sweater, Is it romance? Is it friendship? I don't know but we're important to each other, Missing Scene, Slice of Life, Seeming fluff that’s actually incredibly bittersweet due to surrounding circumstances, Whump the stoic - hurt/no or minimal comfort even if others would like to give it, Dreams – Nightmares, Hurt/Comfort – Character allows only one person to see them ill/hurting, Pining - Mutual pining that both characters think is unrequited pining, Pining - Mutual pining that both characters figure out is requited but that's terrifying, Relationship Study

~~

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.

Optional Art Prompts

Quiet moments of intimacy and beauty, the two of them sharing a cigarette in a snatched moment. Conspiratorial moments. The two of them meeting up after the war. (and damn is this shallow, but, uh, there’s a particular jumper that Mac looks great in, so, um… that?)

The Professionals

Request One: William Bodie/Ray Doyle
George Cowley/William Bodie

Request Two: Annie Irvine/George Cowley
Geraldine Mather/George Cowley

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 fucking adore beyond all region) 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. 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 – all the literary references in particular, 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.

Request One: William Bodie/Ray Doyle and George Cowley/William Bodie

Freeforms: Aftermath of Torture - Character trying to hold it together is clearly low-key fraying at the edges, Bad Guys Make Them Do It, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character with injured hands requires assistance (which turns sexual), Character Working Undercover Behind Enemy Lines Must Torture Loved One To Avoid Breaking Cover, Coming to terms with the permanent effects of significant injuries, Complicated relationships of love and loyalty and hurt and resentment, Estranged Characters - Injured A shows Up on B's doorstep Saying "I didn't know where else to go", Fighting/Sparring as Foreplay, Getting Together - Recovering from Shared Trauma Leads to Feelings and Codependency, Hurt/Comfort - Character is weak and fatigued but doesn't slow down because they're "just tired", I'm now dark broody and wearing a leather jacket, Country House Party, Made-Them-Do-It-Aftermath: Mutual Victims Each Sure the Other Must Hate Them Now (and Are Wrong), Rashomon-style narrative, Scars - Touching Another Character's Scars, Time Loop - The part where the looper breaks and stops giving any fucks, Whump the stoic - hurt/no or minimal comfort even if others would like to give it, Hurt/Comfort - Captured and tortured together & doing their best to help each other through it

~~

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…

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.

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 being 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.
• 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.

Request Two: Annie Irvine/George Cowley and Geraldine Mather/George Cowley

Freeforms: Enemies or Rivals to Lovers - A is in grave danger; B as the one rescuing them leads to feelings, Enemies or Rivals to Lovers - A gets injured saving B which makes B see A in a new light, Epistolary, Get Together - Character Recovering from Torture Gets Taken Care of by the Person They're Pining for, Guiding an inexperienced partner in how to perform cunnilingus, Hardened/cynical man is so in love he can barely breathe, A Is Kidnapped and B Will Burn Down the World to Get A Back Safely, Morning After (Incredible Sex the night before), Pining - Mutual admiration, Stranded at Roadside Motel (Storm Optional), Undercover - Undercover as a Couple Leads to Mutual Feelings, Unrequited Love, Younger A seducing older B who was unwilling at first, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Emotionally repressed but deeply in love character finally breaks and gives into feelings, Is it romance? Is it friendship? I don't know but we're important to each other, Whump the stoic - hurt/no or minimal comfort even if others would like to give it, Bad Guys Make Them Do It

~~

When I started watching this series, I was completely unprepared for how hard and how quickly I’d fall for Cowley, although in retrospect, and given the way my id tends to shake out, I, uh, probably should have seen it coming. :D I think it’s a combination of his dynamic with Bodie and Doyle and the heavily implied suggestion that he’s tougher than the pair of them put together, along with his ethics and stance against bigotry, and if I’d been in the slightest bit of doubt the episode where they meet Annie sealed it. Yep, I utterly, unreservedly adore him, and with every episode I watch, I love him a little bit more.

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. (for the record I’ve sort of got Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler in mind)

I ship them (oh god, do I ship them), and if there’s even the slightest hint of shippiness my heart might actually explode in delight, but I want to stress that for these two I’d also be delighted with something entirely gen. I just 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.

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? Once the shock’s worn off, does she forgive him for what happened with Stanley, or is the whole thing just too messed up for her to deal with?
• Give me an AU of that episode where events go differently.
• Although when I think of Bad Guys Made Them Do It I had the Cowley/Bodie and Bodie/Doyle ships in mind, I keep thinking about how gloriously horribly traumatic it would be if it happened with Cowley/Annie or Cowley/Geraldine (the guilt! The terrible all-consuming guilt!), so holy shit, yes please.
• An epistolary fic where Cowley and Annie (or Cowley and Geraldine) 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.
• Stranded at a roadside motel (storm optional) – Or the British equivalent. Or 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.
• 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 by Annie Irvine.
• 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.
• 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.

Optional Art Prompts

I’d love to see something which captures the tone of canon here, guns and fight scenes, possibly focusing on them, the way they work together, their banter and general dynamic, with added shippiness, whether they’re in a relationship or pining (mutual or otherwise).

Survivors (1975)

Requested Characters: Jenny Richards/Greg Preston
Jenny Richards/Alec Campbell
Lizzie Willoughby & John Millon
Solo: Abbie Grant
Requested Freeforms: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Suddenly there are Triffids, Stranded alone together for a very long time, Hurt/Comfort - Character is weak and fatigued but doesn't slow down because they're "just tired", Scenery Porn, Sex as Solace, Crossover with any canon you have reason to think I might like, Rashomon-style narrative, Getting together while grieving for previous partner/s, Character Study, Complicated relationships of love and loyalty and hurt and resentment, this fandom is tiny gimme whatever you think I'd like (other than DNWs) I trust you, Trapped together - snowed in, Travel between alternate timelines, Wilderness Survival

Fandom-specific DNW: I like the idea of John and Lizzy (and possibly baby Paul) ending up in a relationship when they’re adults. That’s fine, and my incest DNW doesn’t apply to them either, but please no on-screen sexual content for the aged-up characters.

~~

So far, in my quest for the grimmest piece of seventies British sci-fi, Survivors is winning hands down. XD It is incredibly bleak, and can be tough to watch, particularly these days with everything that’s going on with Covid, but personally I’ve actually found it quite comforting. YMMV, though, and I’m really not kidding: it is grim. Content warnings include pressure to have babies, bad things happening to children and animals, and the occasional threat of sexual violence (mostly low-level, but there's at least one death which is strongly implied to have to do with rape although it isn't clear what exactly took place). It’s on UK BritBox, and it also looks like a lot of the episodes are currently available on YouTube, and the first episode is here.

This series is an absolute gem, despite (or perhaps because of) how grim it is. I’m still thinking about the themes it raises some time after finishing watching and hankering for a rewatch because it raises so many different issues – all the philosophising chat about planning for short-term survival vs planning for the long-term future, all the competence porn (Greg MacGyvering his way through the apocalypse will forever be one of my favourite things), the immediate aftermath of the plague and the race to form communities, with some groups making power grabs, while others struggle to get settled. And the way it deals with trauma and grief, and the way that sometimes all that has to be set aside while people are trying to get on with the business of surviving. The moral issues it raises, and the way Greg and Charles sort of each represent a different path, with Charles’ way being looking backwards to a simpler way of life, while Greg is all about engineering and the future and restarting industry.

I love it. I love it so damn much, and I am here for any aspect of the show being explored. I especially love how heavy it is on female characters. One of my favourite things about the early season, aside from watching the early days of the plague unfold – all the rural, soggy, muddiness of rural England – was the core relationship between Abby, Jenny and Greg, and the way the group ultimately grows up around the three of them. I ship Jenny/Greg pretty hard, and I really liked the way their relationship came about almost as an afterthought, but deepened as time went on, and also how that arc came to an end (and on that subject: oh dear god), and I ship Jenny/Alec pretty damn hard too, and would love to see something of how their relationship develops after the end of the series. The whole situation is so incredibly real and messy and painful, and a particular weakness of mine is relationships that come about originally out of solace which deepen into something much more serious, and both Jenny/Greg and Jenny/Alec hit that dead-on. They’re not necessarily healthy relationships, but frankly that’s a feature rather than a bug.

I adore Abby and Jenny both, Abby for how competent and tough she is, and how her arc isn’t entirely defined by her being a mother. I love that she’s the group’s original leader, and I’d love to see something following her after she leaves. We hear mentions of her, but we never quite find out what happened to her. Does she find Peter? Is she still around during the events of the third season? I’d love to see that explored, with her potentially meeting up with the other characters during the course of season 3. I also absolutely love Jenny to bits, particularly in the third season when she actually gets stuff to do. She’s simultaneously lovely, but also has a temper – and I am completely here for those little moments like her yelling at Charles and bickering with Ruth about soap, especially because she’s so apparently mild-mannered so much of the time. While the stakes are usually pretty high, I love all the low-stakes stuff, like the domestic conflicts that arrise in the different groups when characters don’t get one.

And then there’s Lizzie and John. Child characters can be tricky things, but I think Survivors is one of those shows that really gets it right. I like them both a lot, and I’d love to see something exploring the way they fit into the world, and adapt to the trauma of losing their families and all the subsequent upheavals. The games they play and the stories they tell, and what it’s like to be a kid existing in that world. I’d also love to see future-fic with them aged up, exploring the way things pan out after canon (and for the record I’m completely here for the two of them sort of ending in this weirdly intense semi-incestuous but almost inevitable relationship once they’re adults, possibly poly including Baby Paul as well).

Oh, and as someone who likes post-apocalyptic stuff in general (including zombies), I’m also fascinated by the way the show uses tropes and to what extent it’s inspired other post-apocalyptic media. Like Mad Dog, which reminds so so damn hard of zombie tropes, even though it was screened before Dawn of the Dead.

Optional Prompts

• A missing scene from Jenny and Greg’s relationship filling in the bits it didn’t show. Like in the episode Gone to the Angels, when it goes from Greg outright stating that they’re together to them being in bed together. What happened in the interim? He’s pretty obviously trying to protect her and it’s entirely understandable under the circumstances, but it does smack a bit of chauvinism and him riding rough-shod over her opinions. So what happened in between? Did they argue about it? Was she angry, annoyed, relieved?
• I don’t often request slice-of-life, but I’m requesting it here, whenever it’s set, whether during the early days or when they reach the Grange, or at Whitecross in series 2, or during series 3 and the long search for Greg. I love the way the group grows up around that little kernel of three, Abby, Jenny and Greg, and how they’re the heart of their community. So just that really, moments from their lives and just the general small scale practicalities of their lives, trying to get hold of farm animals, another dog to breed with Ben, looking after the kids...
• Worldbuilding – give snapshots of the end of the world from the beginning to the long-term future, showing how things evolve.
• I’d love to see something exploring the conflict and dilemma that arises towards the end of series 2 and onwards – the difficult choice between the long-shot attempt to re-establish civilisation and industry and returning to a semi-medieval way of life, after years of modern life, antibiotics, industrial farming, and contraception. And the series makes it explicit that there is a price to pay for that, given what happens to Dr Adams and his community. And it’s all very well for people in the Scottish Highlands, but if some of them have never come into contact with with original virus, then are they still at risk of it?
• Something along the lines of the Canterbury Tales. Season 3 seems like a good point to set it, but any other point in canon would do. A group of people gather together somewhere to shelter and share their stories about the Death.
• Mad Dog made me want a zombie-apocalypse AU.
• And speaking of Mad Dog, give me something similarly tense and gripping with any of the characters and I will be beyond delighted.
• What happened to Abby? We get a few mentions of her after the first season but never anything concrete, so I'd love to see something following her after she leaves to find her son. Or bBring her into the events of the third season.
• Something bittersweet and sad following Jenny and Alec after the final episode. I’d love to see their building relationship, with Jenny grieving for Greg and Alec still grieving his wife.
• Futurefic with John, Lizzy and Paul as older teenagers/adults. How does the next generation to the new world, especially kids like Paul who've never known anything else. How do they grow up thinking about Greg, who by this point might have taken on an almost mythical status?
• Another semi-domestic fic involving John and Lizzy at White Cross. Maybe they think one of the cottages is haunted.
• Suddenly there are Triffids – Probably self-explanatory (although the Triffids can be there at the start). I suspect the series owes quite a bit to Day of the Triffids, with all the focus on the practical sides of surviving after the apocalypse, so it’d be pretty interesting to see elements from the novel included, whether just the Triffids or a more extensive fusion.

Optional Art Prompts

Scenery porn. I really like the look of 70s rural Britain, with everything looking a bit rubbish and muddy. Mud-splattered cars, and the seasons passing, and camping, and everyone bundled up against the cold. The play of light and shadow and people gathering around oil lamps or candles, domestic scenes, and trying to figure out agriculture. Those moments when everyone comes together – moments of celebration and moments of grief. The horror of the apocalypse, and moments of triumph. Quiet moments of intimacy.

Upstairs Downstairs (1971)

Request One: Angus Hudson/Rose Buck
Request Two: Angus Hudson/Kate Bridges

Note on my DNWs: Canon-style references to rape are okay, although please no explicit rape onscreen or directly involving any of the requested characters.

~~

First, a confession: I’ve only really just started watching this, but holy shit, it’s so damn good. My attention span is semi-shot to pieces at the moment, but what episodes I’ve seen so far are utterly gripping, holding me absolutely spell-bound until the closing credits in a way very few things do. I’m only about halfway through season 1 at the moment, but OMFG, it’s so, so good. I’m not sure where I’ll be at by the time of reveals, but all I can do is apologise for the general and inevitable crapness of my prompts and ask you please not to worry about spoilers. Whatever you give me for this fandom, I’m sure I’ll be delighted.

All the individual episodes are so absorbing, just perfectly crafted little individual teleplays, with a cast of characters that I adore. They’re all flawed and real, and I love the way the series dips in and out of the semi-contained episodes, often with long time-skips between them and characters coming and going depending on the plot. 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. 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 character studies, smut, romance, fics in the style of canon, or apocalyptic AUs (That War of the Worlds AU was nominated with this fandom particularly in mind, but I also kinda love the idea of an Edwardian zombie apocalypse). Or crossovers – canon stretches from around 1905 to 1930, so timewise there’s a lot of leeway – Marple or Poirot? Or Vampyr.

Request One: Angus Hudson/Rose Buck

Request One Freeforms: Requested Freeforms: Agonisingly slow build-up of sexual tension; result of explosive sex optional, Country House Party, bickering like an old married couple, Case Fic, Character A Confesses Feelings Because They Think Character B is Unconscious, Character Study, Complicated relationships of love and loyalty and hurt and resentment, Competence - highly effective teamwork, Emotionally repressed but deeply in love character finally breaks and gives into feelings, Epistolary, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Feelings Reveal - Character A with injured hands requires B's assistance, Finding Someone Sleeping and Putting a Blanket or Coat Over Them, Gratuitous wallowing in historical detail, Pining - Mutual pining that both characters think is unrequited pining, Pining - Unwilling to admit pining for fear of ruining existing relationship, Time Loop - Both Stuck And Escape by Both Revealing Feelings, Sexually repressed butlers; it's like a law or something, Trying to conceal building sexual tension from others which only makes things hotter, Falling In Love

~~

I adored Rose right from the very first episode, and I love her a bit more with every episode she’s in. I really loved her relationship with Sarah, the contrasts between them, with Rose’s realism and practicality. And then there’s Mr Hudson, and ah, damn. <3 Somewhere mixed up in this is the fact that I read The Remains of the Day recently, and honestly it’ll be a cold day in hell when a sexually repressed butler isn’t extremely RTMI. I am completely here for treatments of pining, and heartache, and missed opportunities, and age gap relationships are catnip to me anyway. Go with pining, whether one-sided or otherwise, UST, mutual request and support, sexual repression, the awkwardness over the age gap, and/or avoiding a relationship because it’s not the done thing, Rose still quietly grieving for her fiance, and finding solace in another relationship.

Optional Prompts

• After what happens in the episode I Dies of Love, Rose and Mr Hudson are so rushed off their feet that they barely have time to process what happened, let alone grieve. What happened doesn’t hit them until later, and when it does they turn to each other for comfort.
• bickering like an old married couple – There’s disharmony in the servants’ hall, with Rose and Mr Hudson arguing and generally driving each other up the wall.
• 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.
• Character A confesses feelings because they think character B is unconscious – I could see this happening either way. A carriage accident? Cradling the other one in their arms, all the horrible awkwardness afterwards.
• 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.
• Emotionally repressed but deeply in love character finally breaks and gives into feelings – Is it a love confession or just a realisation of feelings? One-sided pining or otherwise? Ultimately requited or not?
• Epistolary – A canon-divergent AU where Rose leaves for another household, but they maintain a correspondence with each other. Or diary entries, where almost everything is left unsaid.
• Fake/pretend relationship – For reasons, Rose has to pretend to be Mrs Hudson, and it leads to feelings.
• 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.
• Pining – Unwilling to admit pining for fear of ruining existing relationship – Especially as it might make it untenable for Rose to stay in the house, and it wouldn’t exactly be appropriate for Rose to have a crush on the butler.
• Rose is talking to Elizabeth about what sort of man she’d marry if she could, and is taken aback when Elizabeth jokes that he sounds a little bit like Mr Hudson. Which is clearly absurd.
• 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.)
• Agonisingly slow build-up of sexual tension; result of explosive sex optional – Just explore that whole dynamic of having very little personal space and privacy, and of being confined to a very small part of the house, with the other servants constantly overlooking then and knowing their business, forcing them to have to hide their attraction to the other, except that they’re everywhere they turn, they keep accidentally touching, and having to hide it is only making the attraction more intense.

Request Two: Angus Hudson/Kate Bridges

Request Two Freeforms: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alternate Universe - War of the Worlds Fusion, Angst – Existential Loneliness, Marriage of Convenience, Character A Learning To Cook Character B's Favorite Food To Show Affection, There Was Only One Bed, Established Marriage - Happy and Domestic, Epistolary, Established Relationship - The Inherent Romance And Eroticism Of Being Known, getting together in middle age after decades of pining, In denial - Pretending Sex is for Reasons Other Than Desire, Late-Night Discussions Outside in the Gently Falling Rain, Love Languages - Characters With Very Different Ones Work Towards Showing Each Other Love, Obligatory sex for arranged marriage turns intensely pleasureable, Relationship Study, Repressed and serious character gets to be horny, Stranded at Roadside Motel (Storm Optional), There Was Only One Bed, Time Travel

~~

While Hudson/Rose gets me right in the awkward age gap feels part of my id, this ship hits me in the id for very different reasons – middle-aged people getting together, especially when one or both of them have reason to think they’ll be alone for the rest of their lives. 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 more seriously, all the social history stuff about the Bellamys thinking the law really oughtn’t to apply to apply to them, and the clash between social classes, and Hudson’s attitude towards being in service, and… fucking hell, I just loved it so damn much, and I can’t help but flail in delight about how the way it played out and the way it’s left me with a ship that I’m utterly delighted by and want to see explored in all the ways, especially as I wasn’t really expecting to ship it, but oh huh, who knew.

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.

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.

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.

Optional Art Prompts

Clothing porn and period costume. Sharing a private moment by the fire at the end of an exhausting day. Play with contrasts: above and below stairs, light and shadow, quiet lulls and moments of chaos. A cut-through of the house, showing them in their different rooms, thinking of each other.

Whisky Galore! (1949)

Requested Ships: George Campbell/Catriona Macroon

Requested Freeforms: Gratuitous wallowing in historical detail, Weddings, inclement weather, Scenery Porn, Pregnancy, Loving focus on textiles: knitwear and/or embroidery, First Time - Wedding Night, Humor, Case Fic, Character A removing Character B's uniform, Relationship Study, Falling In Love, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort – Huddling for warmth, Rescue - Character did not actually need rescued but appreciates the effort

Canon-specific DNWs: Unhappy endings, Heavy angst, Character death and focus on death (Unless killing off OCs for the purposes of a cosy murder mystery. References to characters who may have died pre-canon such as George’s father and Catriona’s mother are also fine.)

~~

Oh god, this film is absolutely delightful. I’d 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.

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.

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. And I know this might sound slightly goofy, but this is a canon where I’d really love some focus on traditional Scottish knitwear if that’s your thing. I’m pretty sure George wears a gansey at one point, and I just… look, I’m weak for that sort of historical detail, okay?

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.

Optional Art Prompts

I’d absolutely love to see some scenery porn, something where the island is virtually a character in its own right, all mists and wet drizzle and sheep and the sea. But also the islands of the Outer Hebrides are pretty good locations for seeing the Northern Lights. Maybe the two of them against the backdrop of the island, or something sweet and quietly understated, a moment of quiet in the middle of the rèiteach, them holding hands, or one of them watching the other when they think the other can’t see them. Oh, and, uh, that gansey.

Thanks for reading!