Trick or Treat Letter 2024

Trick or Treat 2024 Letter

AO3 Username: StopTalkingAtMe

Welcome to my letter, Mystery Creator. Let me start by saying I’m open to a LOT of different things, including unrequested crossovers with other fandoms that I’m into. If I’ve ever written it or requested it or otherwise given you reason to think I’m a fan then go ahead.. 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 as well as pure unadulterated smut. Do whatever you want with my prompts. Use them, subvert them, or ignore them completely and go off my general likes if you’d prefer. 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

Table of Contents

• General Preferences
  
  • General Likes
  • Smut Likes
  • DNWs
• Fallout 4
• Fallout (TV)
• The Pale Blue Eye - Louis Bayard
• Re-Animator (Movies)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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 of all kinds, understated ghost stories, body horror, cosmic horror, claustophibic horror where the characters are trapped underground, potentially with monsters (think The Descent), etc.
• Closed Circle - Stranded with a murderer in your midst, whether in horror or murder mystery. 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.
• 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.
• Post-Apocalypse scenarios, including zombies (probably my favourite AU scenario of all time), with focus on angst and the struggle for survival.
• Stranded Together With No Way Home, intense (and probably pretty damn unhealthy) fire-forged relationships that come about as a result of being isolated together and being able to rely on no one but each other.
• 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
• Unusual structures and ways of telling a story, such as Rashomon plots, non-linear narratives, outsider POVs, epistolary works, etc.
• Cigarette kink: descriptions of smoking, sharing cigarettes, lighting cigarettes for each other, etc.
• Finally, and I cannot emphasise this enough, men in sleepwear, particularly pyjamas and dressing gowns.

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

• Omegaverse
• Noncon between requested ships (Something Made Them Do It scenarios are always okay though, including Bad Guys Made Them Do It)
• Dubcon involving unaroused characters
• Unrequested Incest
• Bestiality (monsters don't count here)
• Scat and waterplay
• Formalised D/s dynamics (more casual power play, bondage and other forms of restraint are OK)
• Underage
• Het anal sex
• Breathplay (antagonistic choking is fine)
• Fisting
• Lactation kink
• Any variation of the word 'come' in a sexual context spelled as 'cum' (please use 'come', 'came', 'precome' etc)

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Fallout 4

Requested Ship:
John Hancock/Female Sole Survivor
Requested mediums:
Fic, Art

Right, so after watching the series, I finally gave Fallout a shot without scurrying off back to Skyrim after about an hour of gameplay and I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE. I love this game so much, (and have a whole bunch of thoughts about how it compares to Skyrim and TES in general, which I will spare you here, but for the record, if you want to do a crossover or some kind of fusion, then please do). I was hesitant to request it as I haven't been playing long (although I seem to be burning through it), but since I'm not sure when I'll get another chance, fuck it, it's in. XD Please don't worry about spoilers (I will do my damndest to have finished the main quest by reveals) and I apologise in advance for any shortcomings in my request, and my prompts in particular. Please just know I love this setting and the characters I have met so far (Preston! Piper! Nick! Hancock!) to absolute bits and I'm sure I'll love whatever you come up with.

I love the look of the game, the decayed retrofuturistic Americana, the flavour of the Boston setting, and the scrappy against the odds determination to make the Commonwealth a better place.

John Hancock/Female Sole Survivor

Oh hot fucking damn. <3 Hancock absolutely had my heart from the moment he shivved that other ghoul for me, but having now romanced him, I cannot get over how much I ADORE him. His outfit, his backstory, those scars. And yeah, okay, the ghoul thing, which I just find so fascinating (and not just because it's hot as fuck): the ever-present fear of the slide into becoming feral, which is something the world never lets you forget.

He's such a fascinating character, the weird mingling of genuine kindness and altruism with the way he maintains control over Goodneighbour through a mixture of ultraviolence and fairness. Add in the vulnerability over being a ghoul and the way he thinks he isn’t good enough for the Sole Survivor (CATNIP), and how utterly heartfelt and sincere his lines are when he’s romanced (MY HEART), that I’m kind of at a loss for words. His first romance line where he admits to having impure thoughts (me too, Hancock, me too) did not in any way prepare me for the way romancing him was going to pan out. I was not expecting him to be so lovely, and while I shipped it early on, I have gone on to absolutely, overwhelmingly ship it like burning.

It’s been a while since I fell for a ship and a character quite this hard. Plus their dynamic is delightful: he’s just all-in and utterly loyal and delighted to be fighting by the Sole Survivor’s side, and their dynamic just makes me want to cackle with glee. One little detail I really love is the playful teasing way she tells him to ‘stay’ when she wants him to temporarily stay put, like she’s going to pat him on the head and call him a good boy. Okay, it’s probably the same line she uses with all the (romanced?) companions, but with him it plays exactly into what I like about their dynamic and the desperately loyal golden retriever boyfriend vibes he gives off if you romance him. More of that playfulness and potentially the Sole Survivor getting to have fun for the first time since she escaped the Vault (maybe feeling a little conflicted about it) would be very welcome.

There are so many things I love about this pairing, and so much that I wish had been incorporated into the game, all of which I would be delighted to see explored (and this is a little tricky as I’m still on my first playthrough, so bear with me). I wish we’d got something when he accompanies the Sole Survivor to Diamond City and goes up to the Mayor’s Office (and I have been vaguely spoiled that there’s more going on there that I haven’t got to yet, but still, there should be something if you take him up to the office before that plot point…).

And the aftermath of the Sole Survivor taking him back to Vault 111, and his line when he sees your spouse in the Vault and that horrible moment of realisation, combined with his self-doubt about whether he really deserves her alongside the potential for emotional hurt/comfort in the renewal of the Sole Survivor’s grief... Again: catnip. I’m afraid I’m a sucker for the fridged spouse trope (and there are few spouses quite so comprehensively fridged as the Sole Survivor’s), and all the painful ins and outs of falling for someone while still grieving for a significant other.

I am completely here for him and the Sole Survivor as a battle couple, the way the Sole Survivor’s arrival in Goodneighbour acts as a catalyst for him deciding to leave. I’d love to see his reasons for leaving Goodneighbour explored a little more too, as well as his relationship with the town in general: it feels like there’s some really interesting character stuff to get into there: like him being relatively young in comparison to most of the other ghouls, and the way he had to adopt a whole new persona in order to have the courage to fight back, complete with a changed name and stolen clothes. And the way he talks about himself before he became a ghoul: this hot-headed, passionate, self-destructive idealist, and the way everything he’s been through has changed him. I would love to see a younger version of Hancock explored, particularly early on in his transformation into a ghoul, and when he’s going up against Vic.

Optional Prompts

• Survival Horror, and surviving in the Commonwealth in general. Injured and stranded and out of ammo, they have to fight to survive something hunting them.
• Clothing porn – THAT FUCKING COAT THOUGH. I’m not even sure what I want from this, beyond descriptions of his coat, but I just love the backstory behind why he’s wearing it (and I note that a disproportionate number of my prompts seem to be coat-related), and the way it provided the inspiration to finally stand up and fight.
• First time together naked – because out in the wilderness, you’re not going to risk making yourself vulnerable by undressing, which makes the first time they fuck in safety and are able to get undressed all that much more significant.
• Altered States – Drugs (Recreational) – I mean… *gestures at Hancock* Maybe they get time for that chem break, and get a little carried away.
• Role play as a feral – ahaha, oh GOD. Maybe it comes about accidentally, they’re goofing around, possibly while under the influence of something, (recreational or some sort of sex pollen situation), and it leads to something more. I do really love the idea of a playful dynamic for these too, particularly combined with filthy, filthy sex.
• Bad Guys Make Them Do It – Always and forever. I love this trope in all its forms, from lighter treatments where it’s more ‘Bad Guys Enable Them’ to something darker. For this, I especially love focus on mutual emotional support, and the two of them bonding over a traumatic experience. Also vengeance.
• Bad Weather – I love the atmosphere when there’s a radiation storm, how bleak and moody it gets, and those lightning flashes. Anything from something quiet and contemplative while they’re waiting for the storm to pass (or the two of them trying to find something to do and playing Blast Radius ain’t quite cutting it), or hurt/comfort or survival with the two of them trying to find somewhere to take shelter. Or Hancock trying to shield her from the radiation.
• Bathing/Washing – indulgent descriptions of luxuriating in the process of getting clean. A bathhouse in the game world could probably make a killing. Possibly literally? So maybe they stumble across a bathhouse which is really a front for stealing from and murdering its guests.
• Character A drapes their coat over B's shoulders – And we’re back to the clothing porn again. :D
• Distracting an addict from addiction with sex – Tricky to imagine a world where Hancock runs out of drugs, admittedly, but what if. Maybe they’re in captivity or stranded in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe it’s the Sole Survivor who’s trying to break the habit. Here for hurt/comfort and/or smut.
• Identity Porn - Masked Ball As An Excuse for Inadvisable Sex – masked, perhaps, because wherever the hell they are doesn’t let in ghouls. Maybe there’s a plotty reason for them investigating the ball (and indulgent descriptions of the crumbling but grand old building where the ball is being held are particularly welcome), or maybe it’s just an excuse for smut.
• Comparing Scars – and scars in general. Just mmph, yes please.
• A canon divergent fic where the Sole Survivor thaws out a few years earlier than in-game and comes out of the vault early, say round about the time when Hancock is gearing up to overthrow Vic.
• Any of the missing moments that feel like they should be in game, but aren’t, like The Talk after a romanced Hancock sees the Sole Survivor’s body in the Vault, a companion quest that digs into the relationship between him and his brother, or the conversation that should have taken place with a romanced Hancock after the Sole Survivor leaves the Institute having learned the truth about his brother.
• Time loops, and watching the person you love die over and over again.
• The Silver Shroud questline was a fucking delight from start to finish, one of the highlights being the Sole Survivor's Wes Johnson impression. Plus more Hancock content. I loved the way it started as the two of them goofing around a little, before becoming more serious. Just pure fun. I'd love to see something exploring the questline, whether the Sole Survivor and Hancock are travelling together yet or not. Identity porn and more ridiculous impressions welcome, as is pure unadulterated smut with the Sole Survivor roleplaying as the Silver Shroud.

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Fallout (TV)

Requested ships:
Chet/Norm MacLean
Cooper Howard/Lucy MacLean
Requested mediums:
Fic, Art

Note on my DNWs: Regarding the fact that Norm and Chet cousins, I’d prefer no heavy angst or focus on it, or it being treated by any of the characters as a major obstacle. If you want to touch on it, I really like the matter-of-fact way canon handled it, acknowledging it as less than ideal, but not something to make a huge deal about.

I absolutely loved the post-apocalyptic setting, the retrofuturism vibes, and the way the show mixed the darkness with moments of humour. And also tongue-in-cheek meta nods to video game mechanics, like Cooper's line about getting distracted by bullshit in the Wasteland, and Lucy's skill building speech in the first episode, are always fun to see.

Norm/Chet

Oh, god, these two. I'd love to see them explored more, And Norm especially: this prickly, apathetic, little weirdo, forever stuck in the shadow of his prettier, perkier, overachieving sister! And the way his inability to give a shit about any kind of work is ultimately vindicated by the show, and that it actually turns out he's pretty damn brave after all. I am also an absolute SUCKER for vulnerable men, and there is SO much opportunity for that with him, not just from external threats, but everything involving Chet having previously been in love with Lucy and Norm's potential anxiety about being a stand-in for his sister, not to mention everything that happens with Steph, and I just... oof, it's so horribly messy with so much potential for pain and self-doubt. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that size difference.

Explore their history, or how things might pan out post-canon, or alternatively get them up on the surface and exploring the world beyond the vaults. Does Lucy try to contact him via another vault to tell him what she's learned about their mother and their past? What if for whatever reason she wasn't in a position to leave the vault, and so he went in her stead, and unlike her didn't stop Chet when he offered to come? How would that difference affect canon? How would Norm, who has a very different set of skills to Lucy (and again, I love the meta concept of him as a different character 'class'), respond differently to the same threats? And Chet is quite passive in canon and easily manipulated: how would he react to leaving the vault? I am completely here for the character study of it all, but also for survial, the threats of the Wasteland, whether human or monstrous, hurt/comfort, resentment, and loyalty kink. And also the gradually unfolding realisation of how utterly fucked up Valut-Tec is.

I'd also love to see Norm's relationship with his sister explored, and how he'd react to her with Cooper if they end up reuniting. As for Chet, he's so passive in the show, and I'd love to see that developed.

Optional Prompts

• Instead of Lucy, it's Norm and Chet who leave the Vault in search of Norm's father. How would that affect canon? Would they still get involved in the hunt for the head? Or would they find their way to Moldaver by another route? Would they meet Max or the Ghoul? Something plotty is very welcome, but I'd also be here for scenery porn, the struggle for survival, and the two of them huddling for warmth by campfires.
• Pining while having sex - Norm thinking that the only reason Chet is sleeping with him is as a stand-in for Lucy, and maybe that is how it started (or not: it's up to you), but things change pretty quickly.
• Sparring. Norm has to learn to fight so that he can protect himself.
• So far on my rewatch something that stood out to me was Chet saying that he doesn’t know who he is any more after he’s demoted and is no longer the gatekeeper, which chimes with Norm’s whole ‘lacks enthusiasm’ thing, because maybe he doesn’t know who he is either, and it takes them leaving the vault and finding a place in the world to figure out who they are and where they belong.
• Manhandling with Norm/Chet in mind. That height difference, man. It doesn't feel like something Chet would do naturally, but maybe something happens which leads Norm to realise how easily Chet can handle it, and how hot he finds it.
• Clothing porn
- realising their jumpsuits make them stand out now that they're no longer in the vaults, Norm and Chet find some new clothes, which leads to weird feelings seeing each other in a different light.
• A desperate fight for survival -- for either pairing, but particularly Norm/Chet, partly because they're not quite as competent or good at surviving, so it makes the fight all the more desperate. Maybe they're attacked by raiders or ghouls, or stuck somewhere freezing and have to huddle for warmth. Anything where they get the chance to show off their own skills and knowledge especially.
• Something where Norm is convinced that the only reason Chet wants to sleep with him is as a stand-in for Lucy, and turns him down as a result. Chet decides to stop being so passive and decides to go after what he wants for a chance.
• Bad Guys Make Them Do It – always and forever. I love this trope so much, the potential for guilt and self-blame, the way it can act as a catalyst for revelation of feelings and abs an obstacle to them (that delicious guilt), the hotness of being forced to go through public or semi-public sex, mutual protectiveness and bonding, and the potential threat from the onlookers. I like it both as something fun and tropey, where it’s more Bad Guys Enabled them, and as something darker where there is a genuine threat from the bad guys and it’s traumatic (but they still find it sexually arousing).
• Lucy and Norm are reunited in the Wasteland post season one.
• Accidental Baby Acquisition – delightful for either pairing, honestly. If they’re out in the Wasteland, I love all the complications of having to feed it and keep it alive, and the potential for characters to behave in unexpected ways. Norm and Chet are stuck looking after Steph’s baby?

Lucy/Cooper

Ohhhh, be still my enemy-shipping heart. God, this ship is a *delight*, and I hold my hands up to finding the whole thing scorching hot, aside from all the fucked up complications of their relationship -- the way he treated her when they first met, the finger, her ultimately saving his life and telling him she's not like him (even though she potentially kinda is, or vice versa). I'd love to see something exploring how the two of them might change each other while they’re travelling together whether they’re still in the antagonistic phase of their relationship or if it happens once they’re allies. What's going to happen when she learns who he used to be (and probably still is) and that she grew up watching his films? Western themes and references are very welcome, as are canon divergent fics where they stay together for longer while they're still enemies. How would the slow burn enemies-to-lovers shift come about in that case? What would have happened if they were still travelling together when they find themselves in Vault 4? I’d also like to draw your attention to my hand kink like, and my like for cunnilingus with fingering.

I’d also love to see anything exploring the way he’s changed, and the almost certainly hopeless futility of his quest, and if he ever finds his family, he almost certainly isn’t going to like what he’s going to find. And how the hell he thinks a reunion with his daughter is going to go, given what he’s become. Given he’s an actor, I also have a lot of thoughts about the act of putting on a costume in order to able to pretend to be something you’re not (and if you’re familiar with Fallout 4, I have Hancock pretty solidly in mind here), and to what extent he’s become that character.

And speaking of Hancock, if you’re familiar with F4 and up for doing a crossover, then I would absolutely love a crossover where they meet, whether it’s Hancock and the Sole Survivor (ftr, I ship Hancock/Female Sole Survivor) or just Hancock on his own. Mainly because it amuses me how much Hancock would absolutely HATE him.

So long as Lucy/Cooper is endgame, I'm fine with Cooper/Barb and references to their relationship (particularly thinking about the memory , and especially with explorations of all the messy fallout (ha) of the way it ended, plus some residual feelings for her on his part.

Art Prompts

I love the visuals of the show so much, the bleak post-apocalyptic imagery, the retrofuturism, the body horror elements of the ghouls and THIS ghoul in particular. Also feel free to pack in as many Western tropes and references as you can, tumbleweed, cinematic Western visuals, smut, the contrast between the cleanliness of the Vaults and the decay of the Wasteland.

Optional Prompts

• Body Swap - Characters Are Alarmingly Good At Being Each Other – And body swaps in general. Maybe it can only be reversed with sex.
• Something that focuses on Shady Sands and the things that have happened there over the years. A 5+1 piece, maybe, about past, present, and future. Or something written from the point of view of Shady Sands itself.
• The episode where Lucy and Maximus find themselves in Vault 4 was one of my favourites, and I’d love to see that Vault explored more, whether it’s an expanded version of that episode which takes more time over what’s going on, (maybe an AU version where it’s Lucy and Cooper) or an entirely different visit to the Vault. In particular, I’d really love to find out more about what the hell was going on with the Mother of Flames culty stuff, because canon skipped waaaay too quickly over that for my liking, but also I’d just really love to spend more time with that overly polite helpful bunch of adorable weirdos. (OH GOD THE CYCLOPS GUY <3<3<3)
• Tentacles - RoboTentacles as a Sex Toy - For either pairing. Up to you whether this is entirely consensual and the characters choose to incorporate them into their sex, or if the robotentacles are malfunctioning and there's a dubcon element at play. Either way, NICE.
• Time loop - Either pairing, and the details are up to you. Is one character stuck, or are they both trapped? Is one character repeatedly dying, or having to watch the other one die? And feel free to incorporate meta elements of gameplay.
• "I can make them worse" with Lucy/The Ghoul in mind, because the process of redemption fascinates me, and I can’t help envisaging a situation where he’s starting to go back to being a better person, but for plot reasons, Lucy has to stop or slow down the redemption process and force him to be temporarily worse again.
• Accidental Baby Acquisition – delightful for either pairing, honestly. If they’re out in the Wasteland, I love all the complications of having to feed it and keep it alive, and the potential for characters to behave in unexpected ways. For Lucy/Cooper, her being taken aback that he’s unexpectedly good with kids, even if he’s making noises about it being better to abandon it.
• Sex Pollen – Always and forever one of my favourite tropes, whether it focuses on the event or the aftermath or both. Either pairing, one character affected, or both? If it’s just Cooper affected, then I’d especially love to see his reaction to Lucy’s matter-of-fact attitude to sex and her willingness to get on with it.
• Alternate Univerve - Zombie Apocalypse – I just love zombie apocalypses so much, and I’d love to see the characters reimagined in this universe. Did the turn happen a long time ago, or is it more recent (and how would that affect the characters?) Is Cooper a zombie hybrid of some kind? Or alternatively, the ghouls hit some very similar tropes, so go with a survival horror in which the characters have to defend themselves from a bunch of feral ghouls.
• Lucy and Norm are reunited in the Wasteland post season one.
• Bad Guys Make Them Do It – always and forever. I love this trope so much, the potential for guilt and self-blame, the way it can act as a catalyst for revelation of feelings and abs an obstacle to them (that delicious guilt), the hotness of being forced to go through public or semi-public sex, mutual protectiveness and bonding, and the potential threat from the onlookers. I like it both as something fun and tropey, where it’s more Bad Guys Enabled them, and as something darker where there is a genuine threat from the bad guys and it’s traumatic (but they still find it sexually arousing).
• Due to some handwavy technological simulation, Cooper becomes stuck in his memories of the past and thinks he’s his old self again with the end of the world nothing but a bad dream. Lucy has to travel into his mind and memories to remind him of who he really is and get him to snap out of it before he dies. Only trouble is he’s happier there, and meanwhile Lucy gets to meet some familiar faces. (I wrote this prompt before I realised there was precedent in Fallout 4 XD. Up to you if it operates along the same principles or if it’s something wholly new)
• So what does Cooper plan to do when he finds his family?
• All the Body Horror and/or hurt/comfort/whump that comes from turning into a ghoul, whether Cooper's condition is worsening, or one of the other characters is also turning into a ghoul, with their respective partner stuck in the position of being unable to do anything other than help them through it.
• character reveals feelings while out of it from illness/injury/alcohol - I particularly have Cooper in mind here, mainly because of the sheer depth of secrets/feelings he could spill, but this would absolutely apply to any of the other characters too.
• UH OH, Lucy's pregnant, and the baby is Cooper's. CAN ghouls father children? That's up to you, but perhaps some kind of Vault-Tec fuckery where his sperm was somehow kept on ice, and a malfunctioning AI 'misreads' their relationship, which is entirely platonic they *swear,* and knocks her up. Cue all the complicated feelings for Cooper of a baby on its way, and a half-sister for Janey, and for Lucy of finally getting the chance to reproduce, but it's with this guy.
• Character that acts tough and stoic is secretly vulnerable and needs to be tenderly fucked - I specifically have Cooper in mind here, and OK OK, I will admit there are limits to how vulnerable he's capable of being, but at the same time, I’m really drawn to redemption arcs and to all those tough layers being torn away to reveal the traumatised gooey centre.
• Manhandling, specifically with Lucy/Cooper in mind. I mean, goddamn, thouse scenes from early canon with him dragging her around were so fucking hot. I'd love something along those lines with her giving as good as she gets. Maybe something where they're working together now and they have to pretend to be antagonistic and that she's his prisoner, with all the rough handling necessary for show and infused with sexual tension, and afterwards they spar which leads to angry angry sex. (and for something set when they're more antagonistic, Lucy fighting back also leads to angry sex.).
• Emotionally repressed but deeply in love character finally breaks and gives into feelings - Specifically thinking about Lucy/Cooper here, because OH GOD YEP. What would this moment look like? How long would it build until it gets to this point? Would there be a catalyst?
• Cooper goes feral; Lucy has to bring him back. I don’t know if it’s reversible in canon, but handwave that if you need to. Maybe there’s an external plot reason why she has to bring him back, while other characters are telling her to abandon him or kill him outright, or maybe there isn’t and she knows they’re probably right but still can’t bring herself to do it. All the hurt/comfort here, her chaining him to a bed and trying to nurse him through it, while he gets flashes of lucidity and maybe even he’s telling her she should just kill him, idk.
• Hurt/Comfort - Buried Alive & Rescue and Locked in a coffin together –Grade A whump. Maybe Lucy is captured and buried because hey, she’s a vaultie, so surely she’ll be happier underground, and Cooper has to rescue her. Feel free to dive into the trauma, horror and claustrophobia of this set-up, or her trauma in the aftermath, and Cooper’s complicated feelings. Also, if they’re buried together, Lucy’s realisation that this is something that’s happened to him before, and the UST that arises from the forced proximity.
• A Fallout 4 crossover. Lucy and the Ghoul meet up with the Sole Survivor and Hancock. (preferably female Sole Survivor, since that’s the only version I’ve played, and I ship them HARD). Maybe they’ve come south chasing one of Mama Murphy’s prophecies; maybe there’s a case of mistaken identities because Dom Pedro’s men are looking for a ghoul and a woman travelling together. The potential similarities between the Sole Survivor’s story and the Ghoul’s intrigue me too, and if anyone’s in a position to tell him to be careful what he wishes for...

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The Pale Blue Eye - Louis Bayard

Requested Ships:
Augustus Landor/Edgar Allan Poe
Requested mediums:
Fic, Art

~~

God, I loved this book so much. The way the narrative unfolds, the contrast between Landor’s more straightforward entries (ha!), and Poe’s gloriously overwrought entries, ridiculously over the top and gothic and full of all earnest little asides. Landor and Poe are both sensitive, damaged men, and it delights me that right from the start they’re drawn to each other right, and not only that but helplessly charmed by each other. It’s just a pure unadulterated joy to read. And shippy. Hot fucking damn, is it shippy.

Poe’s feelings towards Landor are a little ambiguous. I’m inclined towards thinking they’re mostly platonic, and he’s just developed an intense attachment because Landor is one of the first few people to show him any regard, BUT that if he realised the truth he’d come around pretty damn quickly. But as for Landor… Yeah, nope. His crush on Poe is so big it could probably be seen from SPACE! Look, if your reaction to your on-off lover telling you in the middle of sexual activity that you’re 'not so old' is to immediately recall that time when Poe said the exact same thing, I’m afraid the definitely-only-paternal-feelings-here plausible deniability ship has sailed. :D

Ship-wise, I have so many favourite moments: Poe’s excitement at having solved the puzzle of the scrap of paper and how deflated he is when he realises Landor already knew what he was going to say; his delight at seeing Landor’s books; all the moments when Landor thinks about Poe (and he’s constantly thinking about Poe); Landor virtually having an ‘Oh no he’s hot!’ moment in reaction to Poe in disguise; the whole tear-my-heart-out-and-stamp-on-it (ha!) of the ending; Landor deliberately breaking Poe’s heart; and the intimacy of the times they spent talking together in the darkness. If I had to pick one favourite moment, though, it’d be the bit where Landor tells the story about the time he saw Poe’s mother perform while Poe’s sitting on the floor completely spellbound. It’s such a heartbreakingly intimate little moment.

I kept seeing patterns in it, like the repeating hints of threesome pairings: like Poe’s half-joking suggestion that he, Landor and Lea should run off together, (at which my mind just went: !), and Poe/Lea/Artemus (also: !), but also, less overtly: Landor/Poe/Mattie. That moment towards the end when Landor wishes Mattie had met Poe, and that they might have become a family, hit me so damn hard. All the messy potential and the need for each other: the blurred lines between wanting Poe as his son-in-law vs wanting him as his lover, and the fact that under certain circumstances it could have been very possible indeed – if Mattie hadn’t died, and some other event led to them meeting Poe (perhaps another murder), it’s a pretty good bet that Poe would fallen for her as hard as he did Lea – the two of them bonding over Byron, while Landor is completely perplexed by his daughter’s oddball of a beau, and yet drawn to him as well… Which is to say that I’m very open to the way Poe/Mattie could cast light on Landor/Poe (whether she’s alive or not.).

And then there’s everything involving ghosts, with that reveal at the end strongly hinting that they exist, which raises so many questions about why Mattie was drawn to Poe in the first place, and whether the ritual to save Lea’s life might actually have worked? My read on that ritual, btw, is that Poe’s life was never in danger (Although I’m 50-50 on whether Lea and Artemus would actually have taken him with them when they ran away), but either way it makes the consequences of Landor’s actions so much more painful. (And maybe Poe has to tell himself Landor absolutely did save his life that second time, because it’s too painful otherwise, but every now and then he has his doubts…)

I’d love to see anything for this fandom, whether it’s explicitly shippy or on a similar subtextual level as canon. Pining is extremely welcome, whether one-sided or mutual. Hurt/comfort and hurt/no comfort, a post-canon fic, whether immediately, or a number of years down the line. Landor’s ghost visiting an older Poe, perhaps now dying himself? A canon-divergent fic where Mattie never died? Or something exploring the nature of ghosts and the implications their presence raises? Pure, unadulterated smut, or something quieter and more subtle and smarmy with one of those late-night moments where Poe and Landor are staying up into the night bonding?

Optional Prompts

• Bedside Vigils – Post-canon or otherwise. Maybe Poe is more seriously injured during Ballinger’s attack on him than he is in canon, and the closest place to take him is Landor’s room in the hotel. Or post-canon, with Poe sitting by Landor’s bedside, with all the grief and guilt and resentment and loyalty that entails.
• Bittersweet Reunions - Everything's changed but that's okay – The way the relationship between them stands at the end of canon is like catnip to me: all that devotion and loyalty and resentment and grief. Landor and Poe reunite several years down the line. How has the dynamic between them changed?
• Conversations In Liminal Spaces On The Border Of One World And Another – Perhaps a 5+1 fic of Conversations Poe has had with Ghosts. Or just Landor’s ghost visiting Poe throughout the years.
• 'Oh No They're Hot' moment leads to feelings realization – I don’t know if it was the result of shipping goggles, but the moment where Landor sees Poe in disguise completely reads as an Oh No He’s Hot moment to me, given how Landor cannot help but note how well the borrowed uniform fits and how the moustache makes Poe look older and more handsome. XD Take that moment and turn it up a couple of notches, and maybe add a little more UST into the moment where Landor points out that the moustache has come detached.
• Exploration of Aftermath of Canon Events – A fic set immediately post-canon where Poe interrupts Landor considering suicide.
• Gently and Lovingly Taking Partner's Virginity – I am, for the record, 100% here for smut.
• A canon-divergent fic where Mattie is still alive and both she and Landor come into contact with Poe, perhaps as a result of Landor being called in to investigate a different murder-mutilation. Because it seems like there’s a lot of potential to dig into with that dynamic of Landor’s confusion over whether his feelings for Poe are romantic or paternal. How would canon pan out differently if it was Mattie Poe fell passionately in love with? A less damaged Landor completely baffled yet drawn to his daughter’s new beau, and feeling excluded by their passionate conversations about Byron, and Poe still just as devoted to Landor, but this story will have a very different ending.
• Letting your body be used as a conduit so that man you’re pining for can lose his virginity to his ghostly beloved who also happens to be your daughter – Yeaaaah, okay, this is just hot and messy and deeply deeply uncomfortable and awkward. Is Poe also pining for Landor, or is this genuinely entirely about Mattie for him (either is fine by me)? For Poe, is there some ghostly influence where the body feels female, or is it a case of feeling Landor’s male body but having to pretend otherwise? A one-off or otherwise? How blurry do those lines get over time if this is more than just a one-time deal? Maybe this is about Mattie deliberately trying to bring them together, and one day she just fades out and leaves them fucking each other? Or maybe one day Poe accidentally says Landor’s name? (if you go with this prompt, then regarding my incest DNW, I’d ideally prefer no focus on direct incestuous feelings/contact between Landor and Mattie, but if you’re at all in doubt then please err on the side of assuming its fine. Ambiguity is great.)
• Mutual Pining – Explore all the time they spent together, all those intimate late nights sitting in the darkness in Landor’s room, drinking, and talking, and maybe they get onto the subject of whether Landor thinks he might be right about whether Fry could have gone to meet a man.
• I’m curious what induced Poe to approach Landor in the first place, and whether at this point it might potentially have had something to do with Mattie.

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Re-Animator

Requested Ships:
Herbert West/Dan Cain
Requested mediums:
Fic, Art

Canon-specific DNW: Please pretend that the scenes of sexual violence against women in Beyond Re-Animator never happened. References to the Meg/Hill scene in the first film are fine though, and I’m also fine with Dan or Herbert being nonconned (onscreen or otherwise) by a third party for the purposes of whump or hurt/comfort.

~~

I fell absolutely head over heels in love with the first Re-Animator film from the first moment I saw it – it’s so much damn fun to watch, funny, gory, obscene, and I think Herbert West might actually be one of my favourite characters in anything ever (and while I have some reservations about the sequels I do really like them both). As for Dan/Herbert, I shipped it right from the scene where they bring the cat back, and specifically from the moment where they’re side by side with weapons in hand, although with Herbert hanging back a little bit and clinging onto Dan’s shirt, because obviously.

The way from that moment they’re just… together, and there’s no way Dan is going to do anything other than help Herbert. I love that, and I love the way Dan sticks with Herbert through thick or thin (right up until the moment that he doesn’t, but more of that in a minute). So many things about this ship are tailor-made to my id: the combination of earnest/obsessive and likeable/abrasive, the constant touching with Herbert grabbing Dan at every single opportunity (this in particular just freaking delights me XD), the potential for hurt/comfort and protectiveness, and a complicated mixture of loyalty, manipulation, and betrayal that will get me every damn time.

I’d love anything that goes hard on the hurt/comfort and mutual protectiveness between Herbert and Dan, or anything that captures the tone and bonkers exuberance, gore, humour and horror of the films. Maybe something that explores what happens in between the films, especially between the first and second films, because damn, are there some unanswered questions there – like how did Meg’s heart come to be outside of her body (from the autopsy presumably, but WHAT IF...), and how the hell did Herbert manage to persuade Dan to go to Peru with him? And any of the reunions where an apparently dead Herbert pops up again. I also cannot emphasise enough how here I am for Herbert getting menaced and/or whumped.

I know it’s a deleted scene, but I find it really interesting that it doesn’t seem to be the prospect of having to give Dr Hill the credit for his work that gets Herbert to break the hypnosis, but Hill threatening Dan’s life. And the way he immediately abandons their current work to switch focus onto making the Bride to stop Dan from moving out. On the one hand, it’s a terrible manipulative thing to do, but on the other hand… *eyes* And also, what the hell was Herbert’s ultimate plan with the Bride anyway? How did he see that whole thing panning out long-term, beyond a short-term fix to keep Dan from leaving?

And then there’s the third film. While I have reservations about it, Dan turning state’s evidence on Herbert actually isn’t one of them. I am a complete sucker for complicated relationships, and I actually really love the way it shifts the balance of their relationship, especially considering the unfortunate consequences and the hellhole of a prison Herbert ends up getting thrown into. The way it hints at the way he’s suffered without ever quite going into details (the years in solitary), along with that moment when the warden hits him… and Herbert’s very deliberate act of revenge on the warden, which I firmly believe is something the Herbert of thirteen years previously would not have contemplated in a million fucking years, just shows how much the experience has changed him. That, and the way he reacts when Howard calls him doctor when they first meet. Mmph. It’s all very painful in a way that hits me right in the id.

I’m also delighted by how differently Herbert acts towards Howard, particularly at the end of the third film, where he comes across Howard cradling Laura’s head, looks at him for a moment, and then just effectively shrugs and yoinks his ID card. It’s a detail that brings home just how important Dan is to him. As far as I’m concerned, at the end of the 3rd film he is 100% going off to find Dan, and I would love something that explores them meeting again post-canon, and how the dynamics between them might shift with a Herbert who’s hurt at the betrayal and bruised by everything he’s been through and a Dan who’s not quite so naive and trusting.

Art Prompts

I am completely here for smut and shippy moments, as well as schlocky gore, the rampaging dead, and body-horror. Also the two of them in middleage, whether they’re reuniting after an estrangement or solidly established as partners (however you want to interpret that XD). Crossovers with other canons featuring Jeffrey Combs, or Herbert meeting the version of himself from Lovecraft’s original story, Herbert as a ghost! Eldritch Lovecraftian horrors, or historical AUs (Herbert in Regency clothing!!!!! *eyes*)

Optional Prompts

• 5 Times Dan Assumed Herbert was Dead – Because in various places, namely the screenplay and the novelisation, he is explicitly stated to have died at the end of the first film and I like the idea of him repeatedly appearing to die and popping up again mostly unscathed (and I’m amused that the one film where he doesn’t appear to die at the end is the one in which Dan does not appear. XD).
• Accidental Baby Acquisition – I mean, they’re doctors. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that they might find themselves in a situation where they have to deliver a baby in a crisis (possibly involving zombies), and end up separated from the mother and stuck having to look after the baby.
• Addiction - Character tries to distract Addict from addiction with sex – Dan tries to break Herbert’s reliance on the serum.
• Alternate Universe - Russian Doll Fusion – I love time loops in all their forms anyway, but this one in particular, with its focus on constant, unrelenting death, and the way the discovery that the loop is being shared with another person would play out with these two is perfect. (and for time loops in general, I’m amused by the way Herbert would probably adapt his work to take full advantage of the loop (er, an endless supply of fresh corpses with no consequences – hey, how is it murder if they don’t stay dead? – having to memorise the results because he can’t write them down, etc.)
• Hurt/Comfort – Hurt/Comfort is always welcome, but one thing I’d love to see is Dan helping Herbert through withdrawal from the serum. Mainly because I really wish that deleted scene had been included in the film. I have some quiet headcanons about Herbert’s addiction to reagent, and amongst them is the fact that avoiding sleep is really, really not a good idea, and that maybe the times when he’s at his most batshit are the times when he’s suffering from chronic sleep-deprivation. All of which convinces Dan to help him to break the habit.
• Bad Guys Made Them Do It – and every other iteration of Something Made Them Do It.
• Betray them to save them – Dan’s presence looms so large in Beyond Reanimator even though he doesn’t appear. I can definitely see a situation where Dan got to a point where he couldn’t see any other choice, and he genuinely believed if things carried on the way they were that Herbert was going to get himself killed. I’d love to see that decision explored and the fallout when/if they’re reunited and he realises what Herbert’s been through.
• Hurt/Comfort - Character with injured hands requires assistance (which turns sexual) – Here for the hurt/comfort and smut potential of this (and also very fond of one character shaving another.)
• Inspired by the novelisation, Dan is completely taken by surprise when Herbert unexpectedly turns out to be massively into ice hockey. Maybe it’s a hobby he only occasionally spares the time for, but either way Dan is extremely weirded out by the prospect of Herbert going to bars and talking to fans.
• You Hurt Me More Than Anything; But Being Without You Hurts More – Herbert goes in search of Dan after the end of Beyond Reanimator. Is he planning on revenge (even if he ultimately can’t face going through with it?) Does something else happen as a catalyst that forces them to work together again? I’d love to see all the messy hurt/comfort and emotional fallout of everything that happened.
• Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence – How might things have played out if Meg hadn’t been so hostile to Herbert from the get-go? Maybe if she hadn’t been there when he came about the room, allowing Dan to prime her for his oddball roommate beforehand? And if she hadn’t walked in on them bringing Rufus back, which meant that Dan wouldn’t have fallen out with Dean Halsey, who then wouldn’t have died, etc etc. It’s interesting how differently Herbert treats Francesca. While he’s not exactly polite to her (XD) he tolerates her presence in a way he doesn’t really tolerate Meg’s, and I can’t help but read that as at least partially being the result of Meg’s attitude towards him.
• Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence – A canon-divergent AU where Francesca isn’t on the scene and the creation of the Bride is much more successful, and she isn’t quite so much of a monster. Mainly because I’m really curious what the hell Herbert actually had in mind beyond keeping Dan with him at all costs. (And for the record, I’m completely open to Herbert/Dan/The Bride in whatever form that takes.)
• Hurt/Comfort - Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually very comforting – Okay, so Herbert is pretty terrible at doing the whole comfort thing, but the fact that he even tries is pretty damn significant.
• Road trip after the end of the world – Any post-apocalypse scenario will do, but I am particularly fond of zombie apocalypses, which seems particularly apt for this canon. Was it Herbert’s fault, or was he entirely innocent for once? Where are they going? What’s the plan? And how does reagent factor into things?
• Estranged Characters - Injured A shows Up on B's doorstep Saying "I didn't know where else to go" – My first thought with this was Herbert turning up out of the blue, but what if it’s the other way around? What if, potentially after Herbert’s prison break, he considered hunting Dan down, but reluctantly decided not to follow through, only for Dan to suddenly turn up unexpectedly, and turns out he’s been keeping track of Herbert all these years and somehow or other the shit’s about to hit the fan?
• Herbert and Dan take the places of the narrator and the version of Herbert in the original story by Lovecraft. – I read the story after watching the films, and I was really not expecting to find that so much of what happens in the first two films came more or less directly from the story (with a fair few changes along the way). I’m fascinated by the way the films work as adaptations, but especially by the similarities and differences between the two Herberts (running away screaming the first time they reanimate a corpse? Film!Herbert would never. On the other hand the stuff with the revolver? Yeeeeah, he totally would). So perhaps a historical AU where Herbert and Dan are from that period, or where they’re still their 80s selves but have switched places with the versions of themselves from the story. Or maybe it’s just Dan who’s switched places, and he has to content with a different version of Herbert, who is BLOND (and, y'know, also slightly more actively murderous than Dan's Herbert, and has a disconcerting habit of eyeing his healthy physique with a covetous eye). (If you haven’t already read it, be warned it has some racist elements. I’d prefer for those to be avoided if you go with this prompt, please)
• A Re-Animator/Ghosts (UK) crossover. Why, yes, this is goofy as hell but I want it. :D In the eighties or nineties Dan and Herbert rent out Button House. Unfortunately something goes wrong and Herbert ends up dying on the property and coming back as a ghost. Or alternatively, Dan and Herbert are estranged, and Dan inherits the house from a mysterious relative, only realising who his benefactor is when he stumbles across the lab.
• A rewatch of Bride of Re-Animator left me wondering what a M*A*S*H cross over would look like. So that, basically, whether it's Re-Animator reimagined as a half-hour sitcom set during their time in Peru, with slashy vibes between Herbert in the Frank role and Dan as Hawkeye. Or a more traditional crossover with MASH if you'd prefer to go with that.

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Requested Ships
Quark/Brunt
Odo/Weyoun
Mirror Brunt/Weyoun 6
Requested mediums:
Fic, Art

DS9 is easily my favourite Star Trek series. I love all the shades of grey, the complicated questions of morality it raises, everything to do with the Dominion War and the Cardassians and the damn Ferengi. One of my favourite things about it is how it deals with the overturn of the status quo on a planetary scale, whether on Bajor, Cardassia, in the Dominion, and even on Ferenginar. I love what this series did with the Ferengi so, so much. They could just have been comic relief, but instead they’re so much more complicated than that. Partly it’s because the whole Ferenginar plotline ties in with the themes of the rest of the series, but it’s also because Quark is actually one of the most complicated characters in the whole show. I particularly love the way he’s used to comment on the Federation, and on humans in particular. His speech to Nog about how humans are only wonderful and friendly so long as their bellies are full in the Siege of AR-558 gives me the shivers.

Art Prompts (for all pairings)

Again, whatever I’d like in a fic, I’d also love to see explored in a piece of art. Action, hurt/comfort, romance, adventure, horror, smut. Explorations of alien worlds (especially Ferenginar!), the grimdark bleakness of the Mirror Universe, sexual tension between Brunt and Quark, or Weyoun’s slavish devotion to Odo and Odo’s grudging discomfort, Weyoun’s facial expressions alone... The visuals of changeling transformations, Ferengi clothing porn! Rain and other forms of inclement weather.

Odo/Weyoun

Go with any Weyoun you want, whether past, present, or future. In the relaunch novels, Odo creates a ninth clone to act as his aide, and while I’m not otherwise tied to the canon of the relaunch novels, as far as I’m concerned, Odo bringing Weyoun back absolutely happened, and that is a hill I will die on. :D

I’d love to see their relationship explored in all its forms, whether gen or shippy. There’s so much to explore in their relationship, and just what each character says about the other. I've shipped Odo/Weyoun pretty damn hard right from Weyoun's first episode, and Weyoun 6 sacrificing himself and then dying in Odo’s arms certainly didn’t make me ship them any less, but their gen relationship is fascinating too. There's so much to dig into: the complexities of the Vorta and their inbuilt loyalty to Changelings, the potential for changes to the way the Vorta are created and how that might affect the Dominion, Odo's blind spot for his people, and the fact that they're both capable of leading very long lives. Even when almost every other solid Odo’s known in his life has passed on, Weyoun could potentially still be around, and there are a lot of possibilities there.

There’s also a moment in A Time to Stand when Weyoun 5, gloriously insincere arsehole that he is, talks about the habitat ring echoing with the sound of happy children, but this is a man who’d knowing preside over wiping out the population of entire planets, and of course the Vorta don’t have children or childhoods in the usual way, and that’s probably something else the Dominion have taken away from them. It’s pure nightmare fuel.

I have a lot of feelings about everything that happens between them both in Faith, Treachery and the Great River, and what it says about both their characters. That story Weyoun 6 tells Odo about the origins of his people, and the way Odo seems to take it as kindness when actually what the Founders did was at the very least mass enslavement, and possibly even something akin to genocide? The suggestion that the Vorta are powerful is laughable, given that their entire purpose, over and above their own wellbeing, is to serve the Founders, and Odo of all people should know that. Would he have thought of himself as powerful when he was facilitating the Cardassians on Terok Nor? (Yeah, I wasn’t kidding about having a lot of feelings about that episode. XD) There are a lot of interesting parallels to be drawn.

Optional Prompts

• DS9: Post-canon attempt to return the Vorta to sexual reproduction; first non-clone baby born - With Weyoun and Odo being at the heart of the attempt.
• A canon-divergent fic where Weyoun 6 survives to defect to the Federation, exploring how their relationship goes after the war is over.
• A canon-divergent AU where the canonical baby Changeling turns up while the station is in the hands of the Dominion and Weyoun is involved with Odo's attempts to look after it.
• Complicated emotions at being pregnant with a baby character believes is a god - somehow Weyoun ends up knocked up, whether it's some kind of handwavy transporter accident type accident, or the result of a sex pollen incident necessary to save Odo's life and neither of them realised Weyoun could get pregnant that way. Is there some kind of side effect from the pregnancy which leaves Weyoun with some degree of shapeshifting powers, or the ability to link with the baby, which is amazing but also very uncomfortable because he's just a Vorta.
• Cloning Accident result in creating a baby - The real reason Weyoun 6 tried to defect. :D Is it a wholly new person or just a baby version of Weyoun, and what are the implications of it not being going through the full cloning process?
• character that thought they had zero parenting instincts goes into hardcore protective mode - I love Weyoun as a villain at least partly because of how very... unintimidating he is in a lot of ways. He's small and slight and vulnerable and he keeps dying, and I'm really drawn to this prompt both for him embracing his violent side in the interests of protecting a baby and for the potential to explore his character because I’ll always love a character study.
• a 5+1 fic exploring the way Odo's relationship with the various different Weyouns changes over the years.
• Sex Pollen – Whether it’s Odo affected and Weyoun willingly sacrifices himself to save the Founder, or Weyoun is affected and is horrified/pathetically grateful at Odo being willing to help. Or the aftermath of the sex pollen situation with all the fallout.
• A canon-divergent AU where Odo remains human for longer, and he’s still a solid when he meets Weyoun 5 for the first time. What effect would Odo's becoming a solid have on their dynamic? How would the Vorta conceptualise the concept of a god becoming a solid, and what does that mean for the way Weyoun’s worldview? I’d be delighted with anything from a character/relationship study that follows their time on the station together, or perhaps something plottier where they're stranded on a planet together and have to work together to survive, but now Odo's just as vulnerable as Weyoun is. (Sex pollen always welcome)
• Hurt/Comfort - Character Treats Other Character's Injuries – Weyoun is injured and Odo has to treat his injuries, whether it’s Weyoun 6 or one of the other ones. I’m just fascinated by all the messy feelings of faith and awe, and Odo’s discomfort at being thought of as a god.
• Slow and painful process of recovering from lifetime of cultural brainwashing – Whether it happens over the course of one Weyoun or several. I really love all the tangled complexities of the way the Vorta see the world. Maybe this is a canon-divergent fic where Weyoun 6 survives and Odo tries to deprogram him? Or maybe a future Weyoun where the process has begun but isn't quite there yet.
• Whump - A sacrifices themself to protect B; B is forced to watch A being tortured – The obvious candidate for self-sacrifice is Weyoun, but Odo sacrificing himself and Weyoun's struggles watching him being tortured (perhaps that Romulan device that stops him from changing shape) would be delicious too.

Quark/Brunt

These two had my enemy-shipping heart right from the moment Brunt got his Nausicaan goons to beat Quark half to death. *hearteyes* They are so, so shippy I can’t even: from how ridiculously unsubtle the show was about the subtext at the end of Ferengi Love Songs, to the air-kiss Quark blows him in Profit and Lace, to basically everything that happens between them in Body Parts. Brunt spending a small fortune purely to fuck Quark over, turning up in his quarters and reclining on Quark’s couch as he talks gleefully about his plans planning on defiling Quark’s remains (and that moment of ‘what do I do with my hands?!’ panic when Quark suddenly moves closer to him?)… yeah, um, that… that right there is a Ferengi who might just be up for some contract renegotiation.

It’s fascinating how much their relationship shifts throughout the series, going from entirely antagonistic to some degree of them being willing to work together even though Brunt’s ultimately always out for himself. There’s actually a lot of common ground between them – compared to just about everyone else in his family Quark’s a traditional Ferengi (or at least he wishes he was a traditional Ferengi), and it’s probably only because of his very non-traditional mother (Ishka, you glorious creature, you <3<3<3) that they end up at odds. I’m fascinated by the question of what makes a good Ferengi, and by Quark, who despite his first appearances as an amoral little schemer actually has a pretty strong moral code, and I found their reactions to the changes on Ferenginar in The Dogs of War, with Quark being outraged and Brunt much more pragmatic, pretty damn interesting, given how very, very bound to tradition Brunt’s been throughout the series. Granted he’s seen the changes first hand, and is trying to suck up to and manipulate Quark, but still… (and as an aside, that bit when he drops to his knees and kisses Quark’s hand? *eyes*)

I’d love to see anything from any moment of their relationship, from the early days when Brunt is so obsessed by (and horny for) Quark that he’s willing to do virtually anything to destroy him, to later when Brunt is more focused on his own gain and becoming Grand Nagus himself, to a post-canon fic which focuses on how their relationship might develop after the end of the series and the massive sweeping changes on Ferenginar. Similarly, tone-wise I’d be delighted with anything from UST and pining (one-sided or mutual), to hate-fucking, to something more genuine, and anything on the enemies-to-lovers to enemies-to-enemies-who-fuck scale.

Explore the worldbuilding – how progressive is Ferenginar when it comes to gay relationships? (and repression, denial, and internalised homophobia on one or both their parts is always welcome.) Alternatively, maybe Ferengi are actually pretty relaxed about it when it comes to casual relationships, or in the context of an M/M/F poly relationship because at least that solves the question of who pre-chews the tube grubs? In theory at least...

It’s also fine to write about their mirror universe counterparts instead, whether the story is focused on the actual mirror universe versions (and canon-divergent AUs are always welcome, btw), or something that involves pining while fucking the mirror-universe counterpart of the object of your affections, or a selfcest threesome (We barely saw Mirror!Quark, but Mirror!Brunt is such a sweetheart and I just want him to have nice things. D:). I also really, really love the look of (male) Ferengi clothing, so if you want to go all-out on clothing porn, then please do, as well as exploring any avenues of clothed or clothed/unclothed sex you might want to go down.

Optional Prompts

• 'Dirty little secret' relationship leads to Too Many Feelings leads to unexpected marriage proposal – Because I am so here for the two of them having a secret relationship on the downlow, and maybe they keep telling themselves it’s just about sex and it doesn’t mean anything, but actually...
• Accidental Marriage – When they’re on an alien planet negotiating a contract, they accidentally wind up married (maybe because in that planet’s laws rivalry is considered a sign of great regard), and this cannot stand. Turns out getting it annulled is a little trickier than first envisioned, and in the meantime pining, forced proximity, and sex-of-convenience ensues.
• Hate Sex – I am so, so here for the two of them hatefucking, and for moments of unexpected tenderness in the middle of the hatefucking, and for hate sex where they gradually start to develop feelings.
• Exploration of Aftermath of Canon Events – A relationship study that looks at how things might develop between the two of them after the end of the series, with neither of them entirely happy about the changes on Ferenginar.
• Characters don't realise they're in a relationship but everyone else can see it – Maybe Brunt keeps finding reasons to return to Deep Space Nice to make Quark’s life a misery, and Quark does everything he can to irritate Brunt, and neither of the two of them wants to admit that actually they’re sort of starting to enjoy each other’s company, while as far as everyone else is concerned they’re already basically together.
• A post-canon fic with an established relationship between Quark and Brunt. They’re… sort of settled. Almost happy. And then, like a hand grenade tossed into the middle of their relationship, Quark’s old lover Natima Lang comes back. Somehow Brunt finds out what happened between them and is torn between horrified disgust at Quark being willing to abandon everything to run off with her and seething jealousy because he thinks, rightly or wrongly, that Quark wouldn't do that for HIM in a million years. Maybe Quark and Natima have both moved on with no lingering feelings other than a faint poignant ‘what might have been’, or maybe they’re still as in love with each other as ever and the only way to resolve this is with Quark/Natima/Brunt.
• 5+1 Things – A post-canon 5+1 fic exploring the ways every single member of Quark’s family undermines their attempts at (semi-)tradition Ferengi parenting (preferably of a boy, please, unless the focus is on them both overcoming their terrible ingrained sexism to the point where it’s probably going to be a bit ooc, let’s face it).
• Having met by chance with an oddly familiar stranger in a bar who shares his animosity for Quark, Brunt obtains a copy of a unique holosuite program involving Major Kira with Quark’s head in return for a discounted price and the promise to use it to destroy Quark. Which would be easier to do if he could just stop thinking about how it would be better with Quark’s head on Quark’s body. To facilitate Getting Revenge, obviously. (And just as soon as he figures out why the hell Quark would make the program so damn good at oo-mox if it was written for a non-Ferengi).
• So, um, those scenes in The Dogs of War when Brunt is sucking up to Quark because they both think Zek is going to appoint him the next Grand Nagus? He’d be remiss if he forgot Rule 113 of the Rules of Acquisition: Always have sex with the boss.
• Ishka figures out why Brunt is so fixated on bringing Quark down. And, well, okay, yes, Brunt is terrible, but also he’s a good Ferengi, and frankly, Quark could probably do worse.
• Time Travel Fix-It – Brunt and Quark travel back to a point where they’re in a position to alter the course of Ferengi history and prevent the sweeping changes brought about by Quark’s mother, but potentially ruining their fortunes in their present, since with the franchisement of Quark’s they’re actually doing pretty damn well for themselves. Do they go through with it, or disagree about whether they should go through with it?

Mirror Brunt/Weyoun 6

Because a passing stray thought that Mirror Brunt and Weyoun 6 should hook up got into my head and then refused to go away. Which I can understand, because fucking hell, yes. I have absolutely no idea how it would work or how it would come about, but goddamn do I want it to happen.

As ships go, this is absurdly self-indulgent, but at the same time there are some potentially really interesting dynamics and parallels to be drawn between them. They're both more sympathetic versions of more or less antagonistic characters, both desperately loyal to another person with whom they have a somewhat one-sided relationship, (and they're both adorable tragically doomed cinnamon rolls. D:) Maybe Weyoun finds himself stranded in the Mirror universe – does the fact that it isn’t his universe provide a loophole that allows him to override his inbuild loyalty to the Dominion? (Keevan shows that not all Vorta are unquestionably loyal, which suggests that Weyoun is just like that, unswervingly terrifyingly loyal, whether to the Dominion or to Odo, and I love him all the more for that) Does he immediately set out to try to find a way back to his universe, or to find the wormhole in the Mirror universe? How does Mirror Odo complicate matters? Does he shift his loyalties to Mirror Brunt?

There are countless things I’d love to see here, and explore it however you want, but I do really love the idea of him gradually coming to terms with being stranded in the Mirror universe, and even though it’s a grimdark hellhole, realising he’s better off there, even though he’s conflicted about staying. And as for Mirror Brunt, mmph, these two sweethearts would be absolutely perfect for each other. Just get them together and make them kiss, however you have to do it. And maybe they’re both pining for other people at first, but gradually they catch feelings for each other. They’re both so lovely: they deserve some happiness.

Optional Prompts

• Look, if in doubt, please just make them kiss and I will be happy. :D
• Body Swap - Characters Are Alarmingly Good At Being Each Other
• Conflicting loyalties – Explore the issue of loyalty and how it manifests in each of them. Especially Weyoun, whose loyalties are at least somewhat artificial. How does the Mirror universe affect his loyalties to the Founders? Is he able to override it? Perhaps because he’s stuck there he gradually becomes used to feeling free of his obligations to the Dominion, and transfers his loyalties to Mirror Brunt instead, but then an opportunity to return to the prime universe arises and he has to deal with his conflicting loyalties.
• Weyoun has fallen in with M!Ezri and M!Brunt and has been working with them for a while without issue until they capture Mirror!Odo. And maybe he can override his instinctive loyalties because this is the Mirror!Universe version and so not a true Founder, but it doesn’t come easily.
• Character finally finds an unconditionally good relationship; not sure how to handle it - They're both just so damn sweet, and while everything else might be going to hell, the two of them still manage to carve out some moments of sweetness in the middle of the nightmarish dystopia that is the Mirror Universe.
• Character isn't used to being loved and shown tenderness/affection – Because loving relationships aren’t normally part of a Vorta’s life experience, and Weyoun isn’t quite sure how to handle it.
• Food as part of the language of love – They both have interesting relationships with food. Given Mirror Brunt’s tendency to make sure everyone’s fed (with tube grubs, but still...), and the way Weyoun works his way through everything on the replicator’s menu, it seems like this would be the perfect way for them to bond. And okay, maybe Brunt can’t get his hands on kava nuts or rippleberries but there must be something.
• Creating your moral code from scratch after the last one imploded – So let’s say Weyoun is stranded, temporarily or otherwise, in the Mirror universe. He’s finally free of his obligations to the Dominion, because there is no Dominion there, and so has to figure out a few things and relearn the sort of person he wants to be.
• Gently touching a character's scar(s) – Because again this is one of the contrasts between them, Mirror Brunt being scarred (because picking up scars in the Mirror Universe is inevitable, let’s face it) while Weyoun is almost entirely scar-free due to being a recent clone. I’m particularly here for scar kink, and all the associated fascination and sympathy and tenderness, but you could also play with the issues over cloning: Weyoun’s memories of injuries sustained by other Weyouns, which aren’t reflected on his body, but which maybe he feels as phantom scars of some kind?
• Emotional hurt/comfort – Ordinarily Vortas’ memories of their previous deaths and injuries are suppressed as part of the cloning process to ensure they remain motivated and willing to sacrifice themselves, but every now and then those suppressed memories return in full force.
• Identity Porn - A scam/heist requires that they both have to pose as their other selves.
• Smut - experimenting with and exploring interspecies biology.
• on the run together – Whether from the Alliance or from some kind of crime syndicate (potentially run by Mirror Ishka XD), and bonding in the process.
• Two tired people taking quiet comfort in each other – Exhausted sex, moments of respite in the middle of the world going to hell, the two of them finding moments of common ground, etc.
• Competence Kink - And the two of them being quietly impressed and turned on by the other’s competence: Brunt’s toughness and fighting skills and Weyoun's innate diplomacy and negotiating skills.

Thanks for reading!

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