Yuletide Letter 2016
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Thank you for writing something for me and taking the time to look at this letter. My letters always get terribly long - I prefer listing a variety of things I like and hoping that some of it works for you rather than only prompting two things you might hate. I've listed some general likes and dislikes - that's the important stuff, really. It's followed by a list of kinks I like reading about, should you feel inclined to write porn, and then fandom-specific sections with a variety of prompts. But if those don't work for you, that's fine - if you write something that includes a couple of things I enjoy and doesn't include any of my DNWs, I'm sure I will enjoy it.
As a general rule, I enjoy all ratings, I like darker, angstier fic and more light-hearted stories, although neither completely conflictless fluff nor completely bleak darkfic with no ray of hope are quite my thing. I like shorter fics and plotty longfic. I prefer shipfic to gen, but if you don't want to write my ship, I think many of my prompts and likes also work for gen. As long as there's some focus on the relationship between the characters I've requested, I'm still happy, even if it's not a romantic/sexual relationship in your fic. I'd only ask that you don't pair off these characters in other ships I didn't request.
I am in love with every single one of the fandoms I'm requesting and would be happy to receive a fic in any of them. Some fandom-specific sections turned out longer than others, but that's only because I had more prompt ideas for some of them, not because I like any one of them better than the others.
I use the same username on AO3 and tumblr.
Things I like to read about:
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Chris Mannix, Marquis Warren
What I like about this canon:
I ship Warren/Mannix like mad and would prefer to get a fic focusing on their relationship, whether shippy or not. I like all the other characters in the movie, especially Warren's and John Ruth's past is interesting, although I'm not sure how you'd fit any of them in since I'm mostly requesting post-canon fic. I don't have any other ships for this canon.
What I would like to see in fic:
Rivers of London
Thomas Nightingale, Peter Grant
Note on The Hanging Tree: Update now that I've read the new book. I enjoyed it a lot and there weren't really any plot developments I hated and wouldn't want to see in my gift. It has confirmed again for me that I don't like Peter/Beverley, but I already knew/said that before. I liked the new plot developments with regard to the Faceless Man and would love to see a fic that continues that, that explores what his plan or his next step is or how Peter and Nightingale will proceed to stop him, if you felt like writing something plotty. Or anything about the Third Principia. Oh, and I adored Seawoll so much in The Hanging Tree that I'm even more interested in Seawoll/Nightingale now, if that was something you felt like including. Obviously I don't expect you to have read The Hanging Tree when you write your fic, so don't worry about it if you haven't. :)
What I like about this canon:
I ship Nightingale/Peter, and they're the two characters I find most interesting in the books. I also like Seawoll a lot, as well as Walid, Stephanopoulos, and Molly, and I'd be happy to see them appear in supporting roles. OCs are of course fine if you need them for casefic or for Nightingale's past, as long as the focus stays on Peter and Nightingale. I firmly headcanon Nightingale as gay, so please no het for him - if you don't want to write him as gay, I'd prefer if his sexual orientation just wasn't mentioned in the fic. I don't ship Nightingale/Mellenby. Past Nightingale/Seawoll could be interesting.
Please no Peter/Beverley or Peter/Lesley. I'd generally prefer if the Rivers didn't appear. Lesley appearing briefly is fine, but I'd rather the fic didn't focus on her.
What I would like to see in fic:
Feel free to ignore this if you don't know both canons or just don't like crossovers or hate this particular idea. I'd love to see a crossover between Rivers of London and Blitz. They're both canons about London coppers, so it'd be easy to have Nightingale and Peter and Brant and Nash meet on a case. Maybe Brant and Nash are trying to solve a murder that turns out to have a magical background. Brant would think Nightingale is the poshest snob he's ever met, Peter would hate Brant's obnoxiousness and violent tendencies, Nash would desperately try to get Brant to behave around the gentlemen who can do magic ... (and who knows, maybe Nightingale is into Brant, I'd be very amused by a Nightingale/Brant hookup ;)) A casefic in which these four have to work together and keep clashing with each other would be wonderful to read.
Blitz (2011)
Tom Brant, Porter Nash
What I like about this canon:
I love Brant/Nash so much. I would be happy with any of the supporting characters appearing in the fic, but I'm mostly here for Brant and Nash.
What I would like to see in fic:
Feel free to ignore this if you don't know both canons or just don't like crossovers or hate this particular idea. I'd love to see a crossover between Rivers of London and Blitz. They're both canons about London coppers, so it'd be easy to have Nightingale and Peter and Brant and Nash meet on a case. Maybe Brant and Nash are trying to solve a murder that turns out to have a magical background. Brant would think Nightingale is the poshest snob he's ever met, Peter would hate Brant's obnoxiousness and violent tendencies, Nash would desperately try to get Brant to behave around the gentlemen who can do magic ... (and who knows, maybe Nightingale is into Brant, I'd be very amused by a Nightingale/Brant hookup ;)) A casefic in which these four have to work together and keep clashing with each other would be wonderful to read.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Alfred Pennyworth
I am fine with a fic including only Bruce & Clark, or focusing on Bruce & Alfred with only minor appearances from Clark. I would obviously love to see all three of them in one fic, but it's not a must.
What I like about this canon:
I mostly came away from this movie shipping Bruce/Clark. I've been fond of Bruce/Alfred for a while (partly thanks to Gotham), and I can easily imagine that ship having happened in the past in this verse or still happening every now and then, though probably not on a regular basis. I love just about everyone in BvS, so feel free to include Diana, Martha Kent, Perry ... Just please no Lois and no Clark/Lois (I'm fine with off page breakups, them not getting back together after Clark's return from the dead, versions in which they were friends rather than lovers, I don't really care how you handle it). I've seen Suicide Squad, if you want to include any characters from that movie.
I'd be happy to see the other characters that have been hinted at in the movie, especially Dick and Jason, mostly because I'd like to see what they are like in this verse and how they would interact with this specific version of Bruce. I also ship Bruce/Dick, Bruce/Jason, Jason/Dick, and Bruce/Jason/Dick, you can include any of those if you like. I'm not into het for Bruce besides his random hookups with models and starlets because that's what Bruce Wayne does. For some reason I ship Alfred/Diana, so if you felt like throwing that in in the background, I would be absurdly delighted.
What I would like to see in fic:
And that should be it. I hope that there's something in this letter that works for you, dear author, some trope you love to write or some prompt that inspires you. Happy Yuletide, and I hope you receive a wonderful gift fic yourself. :)
Thanks!
linndechir
Thank you for writing something for me and taking the time to look at this letter. My letters always get terribly long - I prefer listing a variety of things I like and hoping that some of it works for you rather than only prompting two things you might hate. I've listed some general likes and dislikes - that's the important stuff, really. It's followed by a list of kinks I like reading about, should you feel inclined to write porn, and then fandom-specific sections with a variety of prompts. But if those don't work for you, that's fine - if you write something that includes a couple of things I enjoy and doesn't include any of my DNWs, I'm sure I will enjoy it.
As a general rule, I enjoy all ratings, I like darker, angstier fic and more light-hearted stories, although neither completely conflictless fluff nor completely bleak darkfic with no ray of hope are quite my thing. I like shorter fics and plotty longfic. I prefer shipfic to gen, but if you don't want to write my ship, I think many of my prompts and likes also work for gen. As long as there's some focus on the relationship between the characters I've requested, I'm still happy, even if it's not a romantic/sexual relationship in your fic. I'd only ask that you don't pair off these characters in other ships I didn't request.
I am in love with every single one of the fandoms I'm requesting and would be happy to receive a fic in any of them. Some fandom-specific sections turned out longer than others, but that's only because I had more prompt ideas for some of them, not because I like any one of them better than the others.
I use the same username on AO3 and tumblr.
Things I like to read about:
- first time/getting together: slow burn, pining, UST finally getting resolved, but also antagonistic hate sex or casual hookups that are only later followed by feelings
- developing relationships: relationship conflicts after the characters got together, trying to figure out how to make things work, some things maybe not working at first, temporary breakups, basically anything that doesn't assume that first time sex -> perfect relationship
- porn, especially porn with feelings/porn that says something about their relationship (see list below for kinks I like)
- enemies to lovers, partners to lovers
- reluctant allies grudgingly starting to like each other
- non-verbal expressions of affection
- familiarity, intimacy, characters getting to know each other better (their habits, their hangups etc.)
- pre-canon/background stories
- post-canon fic
- canon divergence
- casefic
- moral dilemmas, characters having to question/go against their principles
- loyalty, devotion, trust, but also trust/commitment issues
- obsessive, codependent, complicated relationships (whether sexual/romantic or not)
- unhealthy/weird relationships that should be a trainwreck, but work for the characters involved
- us-against-the-world
- jealousy, possessiveness
- age differences
- competence, characters being smart and skilled and good at what they do; characters with different skill sets complementing each other
- hurt/comfort (after injuries/exhaustion, not so much with illness)
- angst: self-doubts, guilt, shame, internalised homophobia, nightmares, fears, self-destructive tendencies, alcohol abuse ...
- infidelity (not between my requested ships, but one half of my ship cheating on their previous partner with the other half of my ship)
- outside POVs, different POVs than in canon (more "usual" POVs are great, too)
- I like darker elements (violence, murder, noncon/dubcon, manipulation, depression, whatever fits your plot and isn't on my DNW list), but I'd prefer a happy or semi-happy ending. Feel free to make me bawl my eyes out, but please cheer me up again afterwards.
- character death of characters I like (random side characters or antagonists dying is fine)
- serious illnesses, permanent injuries (blood and wounds that will heal again are fine)
- completely tragic/bleak endings
- animal death/cruelty
- genderbend of any kind, mpreg, A/B/O, characters being werewolves/vampires/anything than what they are in canon
- unrequested ships (including canon ships)
- unrequested crossovers or fusions
- complete AUs (canon divergence is fine, but please no high school AUs, coffee shop AUs etc.)
- permanently unrequited love or permanent breakups for my ships (gen is fine, but please no "A loves B and B doesn't love A back")
- unnecessary epithets, please use characters' names/pronouns unless their name isn't known to the POV character
- 1st and 2nd person fic (unless the canon itself is in 1st person, then it's fine)
- for porn: detailed kink negotiation, safewords for scenes that don't involve consent play; scat, watersports, crossdressing, feminisation, body modification, ageplay/infantilisation, non-human genitalia
- anal, oral, fingering, rimming, intercrural, and frottage are all great
- biting, bruising, marking, branding
- asphyxiation/choking/breathplay
- rough/angry sex, hate sex, fighting/sparring leading to sex
- dressed sex, dressed/naked, clothes kink (suits, uniforms, gloves, boots etc.), neat characters being dishevelled for once, casual characters cleaning up nicely
- size kink, strength kink
- D/s (for my requested ships I prefer casually developing kink rather than minutely negotiated, formalised BDSM; if anything under-negotiated kink is a plus for me)
- bondage, chains, ropes, collars
- spanking, riding crops (and for BvS also more extreme stuff like whips)
- gun play, knife play, blood play
- consent play
- dirty talk (including the humiliating kind), voice/accent kink
- banter, teasing
- hand kink; fisting
- stubble/beard burn
- messiness (sweat, come play, dishevelled hair/clothes)
- characters being overwhelmed, begging for more, becoming speechless ...
- sex on tables, against walls, on the floor, on a chair, in the shower ... (sex in beds is great, too)
- masturbation/fantasising about the other before getting together
- competence kink, admiration
- praise kink
- scars and their history
- oral fixation (while smoking, drinking, talking ...)
- sharing cigarettes, clothes, food ...
- sleep-related themes: waking each other from nightmares, falling asleep on each other's shoulder etc.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Chris Mannix, Marquis Warren
What I like about this canon:
- the dialogues - I'm generally a huge Tarantino fan, I could listen to great actors delivering his lines all day long
- the historical setting: I find both the Civil War itself and the post-Civil War era fascinating and I love what the movie has done with this, throwing together characters from both sides of the conflict, showing how in their minds it isn't over yet, how the war and the immediate post-war era have shaped the way they see the world and other people - so if you want to throw in any more historical background stuff, I'd love that (I'm not super fussed about complete historical accuracy for a Tarantino canon, so don't worry about getting everything 100% right)
- Warren in all his confident, brilliant, scheming, adaptable glory; he's smart and ruthless and manipulative and so unapologetic about who he is
- Mannix because he is such a layered character: ostensibly just a violent racist asshole, and yet he admires Warren from the start; he's loud and talkative and confident, but also incredibly eager to please and ready to submit to someone else's lead (possibly because he's the youngest of who knows how many brothers and used to doing as he's told?); at first he doesn't seem very bright, but he's the only character perceptive enough to see through Warren's bullshit Lincoln letter
- Warren and Mannix's relationship: Mannix admires him, Warren seems weirdly amused by him; they have to work together despite antagonising each other from the start and despising each other on principle, and yet they work together so well; the fact that Mannix defers to Warren immediately ("please, Major, let me shoot that ugly bastard" - you'd think that a guy like Mannix wouldn't ask a black man for permission to do anything, and yet he does), the fact that Mannix refuses to betray Warren, that easy camaraderie they fall into at the end.
- the claustrophobic tension of the movie (although I don't think that can really be replicated in a fic set before or after the movie)
I ship Warren/Mannix like mad and would prefer to get a fic focusing on their relationship, whether shippy or not. I like all the other characters in the movie, especially Warren's and John Ruth's past is interesting, although I'm not sure how you'd fit any of them in since I'm mostly requesting post-canon fic. I don't have any other ships for this canon.
What I would like to see in fic:
- post-canon fic in which they somehow survive - I think most of my prompts go in that direction (please let's pretend Warren only got shot in the upper thigh and everything is still intact? or, idk, he got one ball shot off, but the rest is still there)
- maybe Mannix was less injured and manages to patch Warren up, and they weather the storm together until someone finds them? Warren dealing with the fact that Chris Mannix of all people saved his life, twice.
- Sheriff Mannix and bounty hunter Warren having a drink every time Warren brings in a bounty and slowly developing the oddest friendship
- the two of them working together as bounty hunters (with lots of competence kink and being turned on by the other one being so damn good at killing people, while also being disgusted when remembering where the other one learnt to kill so well)
- antagonistic friendship where they get along great at times and want to strangle each other at others
- protectiveness, loyalty kink, especially if they're surprised by how much they've grown to care about each other
- anything about Warren's or Mannix's past: where Warren grew up, how he escaped (I'm assuming that's what's happened), his time in the Union army and afterwards; Mannix's family, his childhood as the runt of the litter, how obsessed he is with his father (daddy issues!), his war experiences, the Mannix Marauders ... Feel free to have them meet old friends or old enemies in your fic.
- them being amoral bad guys who are both awful in their own way - they're not nice or good people and I like that
- hate sex; or huddling for warmth leading to sex; or post-battle sex in the blood of their enemies/bounties ...
- for porn: I usually don't have fixed top/bottom preferences, but in this particular case, I doubt Warren would be okay with not being completely in charge of anything that happens between them. And Mannix seems to be pretty okay with letting Warren call the shots.
- kinks: uniform kink, scars, D/s, Warren ordering Mannix around and getting off on the way Mannix calls him "sir", humiliation kink, daddy issues (Warren teasing Mannix in bed with how disappointed his father would be in him if he could see him right now), size kink, restraints, a bit of spanking/flogging, discipline/punishment, gun play, knife play, boot kink, rape roleplay (Mannix can't admit what he wants, but he's fine with letting Warren take it as long as Mannix can pretend he doesn't want it), dirty talk, praise kink (because Mannix can be such a good boy) ... any of these would be great :D
- dubcon with Warren manipulating Mannix into doing things he's not 100% okay with, although I'd prefer if Mannix ended up enjoying it, even if he feels very ashamed about it
- shame, internalised homophobia, guilt: I doubt Mannix is happy with being attracted to men, I don't know if Warren is; either way they're both probably very unhappy with being attracted to this particular man
Rivers of London
Thomas Nightingale, Peter Grant
Note on The Hanging Tree: Update now that I've read the new book. I enjoyed it a lot and there weren't really any plot developments I hated and wouldn't want to see in my gift. It has confirmed again for me that I don't like Peter/Beverley, but I already knew/said that before. I liked the new plot developments with regard to the Faceless Man and would love to see a fic that continues that, that explores what his plan or his next step is or how Peter and Nightingale will proceed to stop him, if you felt like writing something plotty. Or anything about the Third Principia. Oh, and I adored Seawoll so much in The Hanging Tree that I'm even more interested in Seawoll/Nightingale now, if that was something you felt like including. Obviously I don't expect you to have read The Hanging Tree when you write your fic, so don't worry about it if you haven't. :)
What I like about this canon:
- Peter's narrative voice: his jokes, his pop culture references, his inability to talk or even think clearly about his own feelings, his dry humour, his admiration of Nightingale (for this canon I don't mind 1st person fic from Peter's POV)
- Nightingale: I adore everything about Nightingale. His loneliness and his sense of humour and his stoic devotion to his duty; how he's so set in his ways sometimes, but he still took Peter on as his apprentice; the fact that he can be a ridiculous show-off at times; how posh he is without being snobbish; the fact that he apparently has a history of befriending unusual people nobody expected him to befriend (Molly, Peter).
- Nightingale and Peter's relationship: Peter's hero worship without putting Nightingale on a pedestal, Nightingale's protectiveness and willingness to listen to Peter, the fact that they listen to and respect each other but aren't afraid of criticising each other, how well they complement each other, how very quickly they get used to each other because they live together
- the sense of history: the bits and pieces we know about the Folly's past, about Nightingale before the war, about Nightingale's friends and family, about what exactly happened during and right after the war
- the cases they work in canon: murder (or other crimes) with magic is fun; I also love pretty much all the other police characters we've met in canon
I ship Nightingale/Peter, and they're the two characters I find most interesting in the books. I also like Seawoll a lot, as well as Walid, Stephanopoulos, and Molly, and I'd be happy to see them appear in supporting roles. OCs are of course fine if you need them for casefic or for Nightingale's past, as long as the focus stays on Peter and Nightingale. I firmly headcanon Nightingale as gay, so please no het for him - if you don't want to write him as gay, I'd prefer if his sexual orientation just wasn't mentioned in the fic. I don't ship Nightingale/Mellenby. Past Nightingale/Seawoll could be interesting.
Please no Peter/Beverley or Peter/Lesley. I'd generally prefer if the Rivers didn't appear. Lesley appearing briefly is fine, but I'd rather the fic didn't focus on her.
What I would like to see in fic:
- any kind of getting together fic: pining and slow burn and UST and worrying about their working relationship or the power imbalance, Peter maybe not being entirely comfortable with falling in love with a man?
- developing relationship: if they do get together, how do they negotiate their private and their working relationship? Does it lead to any conflicts? Do they want the same things from a relationship? Peter clearly has some commitment issues in canon, while I imagine Nightingale as someone who takes relationships very seriously, so that might not work out immediately.
- casefic: magical murder or theft, faeries, ghosts, demons, other wizards, supernatural creatures we haven't seen yet in canon, mind control, magical diseases, rare books or other magical items getting stolen or disappearing, someone breaking into the Folly ...
- any case that requires both Nightingale's and Peter's respective skills so they can only solve it by working together
- combining supernatural elements and modern technology - something like the Rivers but for the internet or the train system, magical cyber crime, industrialised magic, cyberpunk demons, hacker ghosts ...
- I'd love to know more about Nightingale's past: flashbacks, Nightingale telling Peter about previous cases (or about more private things), an old case coming back to haunt Nightingale ...
- anything domestic: Latin and magic lessons, midnight conversations when they both can't sleep, being there for each other, drinking together, going out for dinner together, Peter getting excited about things while Nightingale is exasperated and confused, or maybe Nightingale getting excited about something for once, playful banter, comfortable silences - just show me how easily they've become part of each other's lives and how good they are for each other
- hurt/comfort and protectiveness (in either direction, but I am always here for Nightingale kicking ass when someone threatens his apprentice)
- random AU idea: in which Peter was born in the early 20th century and becomes Nightingale's apprentice in the 1930s, to the rest of the Folly's dismay and shock, but Nightingale doesn't care because he likes Peter and The Nightingale can afford to do what he wants; anything with this would be great - how Peter became Nightingale's apprentice in this AU, Nightingale's friends being weirded out by his odd choice of an apprentice, them travelling the world together because that's what Nightingale did before the war, Peter being one of the few people left after the war (maybe his apprenticeship wasn't finished yet during the war?) ...
- even in canon (flashbacks? visions? dreams?) I'd love to see Peter somehow seeing or interacting with the pre-war Folly
- for porn: I think Nightingale/Peter is the least kinky ship I've requested this Yuletide, but praise kink or dirty talk could be fun, suit porn definitely, or some light bondage; I could also see them getting a little competitive about making the other one lose it first, or teasing each other a lot. I usually imagine Peter having no previous sexual experiences with men and Nightingale teaching him a thing or two, but that's not a must if you want to write it differently.
Feel free to ignore this if you don't know both canons or just don't like crossovers or hate this particular idea. I'd love to see a crossover between Rivers of London and Blitz. They're both canons about London coppers, so it'd be easy to have Nightingale and Peter and Brant and Nash meet on a case. Maybe Brant and Nash are trying to solve a murder that turns out to have a magical background. Brant would think Nightingale is the poshest snob he's ever met, Peter would hate Brant's obnoxiousness and violent tendencies, Nash would desperately try to get Brant to behave around the gentlemen who can do magic ... (and who knows, maybe Nightingale is into Brant, I'd be very amused by a Nightingale/Brant hookup ;)) A casefic in which these four have to work together and keep clashing with each other would be wonderful to read.
Blitz (2011)
Tom Brant, Porter Nash
What I like about this canon:
- Brant is such an asshole and I love him for it: he's unabashedly violent and manipulative and selfish and dishonest; at the same time he does care about people (Robinson, Falls), and it's not like he doesn't have a sense of humour
- Nash seems at first so much more polite and well-adjusted, but then you realise that he's tough as nails underneath and almost as fucked up as Brant, just a lot better at hiding it
- the fact that both these smart, tough guys have a ton of issues - nightmares, blackouts, a drinking problem ...
- their immediate rapport: how Brant respects Nash right away despite insulting him, how he goes to Nash's place in the middle of the night to talk about his problems, how Nash opens up to him in return - basically that entire scene when Brant shows up at Nash's place is my favourite thing
- their trust and their willingness to do fucked up shit together; moments like Nash quietly handing Brant a gun to kill someone with after he just as quietly watched Brant beat the crap out of them
- I love that for all his assholery and homophobic comments Brant doesn't seem to have even the slightest problem with Nash being gay
I love Brant/Nash so much. I would be happy with any of the supporting characters appearing in the fic, but I'm mostly here for Brant and Nash.
What I would like to see in fic:
- casefic, especially if they use somewhat unconventional methods again ;)
- slow burn getting together fic in which they work together for ages and neither of them wants to make the first step (Nash because he knows better than to hit on his apparently straight macho coworker, Brant because he's very uncomfortable with having feelings for a guy)
- or conversely: rough hookups they never talk about and pretend didn't happen, because they just work together, it's not like there are any feelings involved, right?
- internalised homophobia and masculinity issues on Brant's part, especially contrasted with how comfortable Nash is with his sexuality (I'm fine both with Brant being so completely in denial he's never slept with a man before, or just deeply closeted and hooking up with men in secret and horrified by the very idea of anyone who knows him ever finding out he's gay)
- jealousy: maybe Nash starts seeing someone and that's the kick in the ass Brant needs (either to finally make the first step, or to admit that their hookups meant more than he liked to admit)
- anything dealing with how fucked up they both are, Brant's alcoholism, his blackouts, both their violent streaks ...
- more about their past: are they still in touch with their families? any nice, friendly exes of Nash's who might show up on the doorstep and wonder what the hell he's doing with this alcoholic, chainsmoking macho asshole? any unsolved old cases being re-opened? old enemies wanting revenge?
- for porn: I'm open to anything, but one idea I'd love to see would be Nash as a dominant bottom who loves telling Brant exactly how to fuck him. If you want to go kinkier with this - Brant getting off on Nash ordering him around, humiliating dirty talk about how Brant is just a dumb brute who's not good for anything but fucking Nash, Nash putting a collar on him ... But, again, totally optional, if you want to write fluffier, gentler sex, I have no objections to that. :)
Feel free to ignore this if you don't know both canons or just don't like crossovers or hate this particular idea. I'd love to see a crossover between Rivers of London and Blitz. They're both canons about London coppers, so it'd be easy to have Nightingale and Peter and Brant and Nash meet on a case. Maybe Brant and Nash are trying to solve a murder that turns out to have a magical background. Brant would think Nightingale is the poshest snob he's ever met, Peter would hate Brant's obnoxiousness and violent tendencies, Nash would desperately try to get Brant to behave around the gentlemen who can do magic ... (and who knows, maybe Nightingale is into Brant, I'd be very amused by a Nightingale/Brant hookup ;)) A casefic in which these four have to work together and keep clashing with each other would be wonderful to read.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Alfred Pennyworth
I am fine with a fic including only Bruce & Clark, or focusing on Bruce & Alfred with only minor appearances from Clark. I would obviously love to see all three of them in one fic, but it's not a must.
What I like about this canon:
- how disillusioned and broken and lonely this Bruce clearly is, how much he's lost, and how he goes from being utterly cynical to finding hope again over the course of the movie
- his relationship with Alfred: how Alfred is not afraid to criticise him and doesn't put up with his bullshit, but he's also 100% loyal and would never turn his back on Bruce
- how this version of Clark is still trying to find his way in the world, still figuring out what it means to be Superman; he's introverted and brooding and conflicted and he seems to have so many self-doubts, and it clearly hurts him when other people doubt him when he's just trying his best to help
- the difference in age and experience between Bruce and Clark
- Bruce realising that he was wrong about Clark; Clark trusting Bruce to save his mother
- Clark and Martha's relationship is beautiful, I love how much he trusts and relies on her
- Diana's everything: so unimpressed by Bruce when they first meet, and yet willing to come back and help him despite the fact that she clearly vowed to stay out of humans' affairs
- this whole atmosphere of loss and hopelessness that eventually gives way to Bruce finding hope again (and Diana, too)
- the hints at Bruce's past and his family, with the bloodied Robin costume and the burnt out Manor
I mostly came away from this movie shipping Bruce/Clark. I've been fond of Bruce/Alfred for a while (partly thanks to Gotham), and I can easily imagine that ship having happened in the past in this verse or still happening every now and then, though probably not on a regular basis. I love just about everyone in BvS, so feel free to include Diana, Martha Kent, Perry ... Just please no Lois and no Clark/Lois (I'm fine with off page breakups, them not getting back together after Clark's return from the dead, versions in which they were friends rather than lovers, I don't really care how you handle it). I've seen Suicide Squad, if you want to include any characters from that movie.
I'd be happy to see the other characters that have been hinted at in the movie, especially Dick and Jason, mostly because I'd like to see what they are like in this verse and how they would interact with this specific version of Bruce. I also ship Bruce/Dick, Bruce/Jason, Jason/Dick, and Bruce/Jason/Dick, you can include any of those if you like. I'm not into het for Bruce besides his random hookups with models and starlets because that's what Bruce Wayne does. For some reason I ship Alfred/Diana, so if you felt like throwing that in in the background, I would be absurdly delighted.
What I would like to see in fic:
- post-BvS, Clark comes back from the dead: do he and Bruce get along better? Do they have a very antagonistic relationship even while working together? Do they make a great team, but start arguing the moment there's no imminent danger? Did Bruce maybe get an idealised image of Clark while Clark was dead, but is still mostly irritated by the real him? Appearances from Diana or the rest of the League would be great.
- Clark being unsure of what to do when he comes back from the dead, doubting himself; Bruce having to give him hope again the way Clark gave him hope
- Clark and Alfred interacting: I'd imagine they'd get along well enough after some initial weirdness (Kansas farmboy vs. English butler); bonus if they bond over Bruce's more difficult sides
- Bruce and Clark actually getting to know each other once Clark comes back from the dead, learning what the other one is truly like, since they only exchanged a few sentences before Clark's death
- competence kink and admiration: Clark being mindblown by all the things Bruce (and Alfred!) can do, Bruce constantly thinking that Clark is a better person than he is
- minor canon divergence AUs: What if Clark had managed to talk Bruce out of fighting him? What if Bruce and Clark had got to know each other better for whatever reason before Batman tried to kill Superman, and would the eventual identity reveal have changed anything?
- identity porn: the movie cheated us out of this so cruelly by having both their identities' revealed to each other so quickly, so I would love to see any AU where this isn't the case, especially where Clark doesn't know that Batman is Bruce Wayne when he comes back from the dead - give me all the entangled identity porn tropes, Superman falling in love with Batman while Clark Kent despises Bruce Wayne; or Clark Kent starting to think that Bruce Wayne maybe isn't so bad while Superman still wants to strangle Batman half the time; or Clark falling in love with both Batman and Bruce Wayne and feeling awful about not being able to make up his mind ... Alfred spending a lot of time facepalming about them being idiots
- anything related to the fact that Bruce is ten years older than Clark and has been doing this whole vigilante thing for way longer; Bruce giving Clark advice, Clark questioning why Bruce does things the way he does them and Bruce being irritated by it ...
- casefic because Bruce getting to do some detective work is always great
- for Bruce/Clark, kinky porn: re-enactments of Bruce's nightmare with lots of consent play and chains; kryptonite pain play because Clark is amazed by the fact that Bruce can hurt him (chains and whips and kryptonite needles and whatever else you can think of); arguments leading to violent hate sex; manhandling, wall sex, size kink, marking and bruising and Clark getting off on just how much Bruce can take, Bruce getting off on Clark wearing him out completely; lots of switching and power play; sex in costumes, sex in Bruce Wayne's gorgeous suits, sex on rooftops, sex in dark corners at fancy galas; dirty talk, D/s, making each other beg ...
- also for Bruce/Clark: commitment and trust issues, both thinking that the other one isn't as serious about their relationship as they are, temporary breakups, non-verbal shows of affection; both of them being emotionally constipated idiots
- for Bruce/Alfred, I love a sense of history, of them having been together for a very long time, on and off, sometimes not sleeping with each other for months or even years, but always being so completely wrapped up in each other's lives that they couldn't possibly be apart. (I'm fine with mentions of past underage if you see them getting together that early, it's all good with me.) I'm very happy with Bruce/Clark and Bruce/Alfred (and Bruce/Dick or Bruce/Jason) co-existing, I don't see Bruce as monogamous, really.
- how do Dick and Jason fit into the DCEU verse? Bruce hardly comes across like a man who has a healthy relationship with his surviving son in BvS, so I'd imagine that he and Dick are extremely estranged. I'd love to see a post-BvS reunion and reconciliation, or Dick's reaction to hearing that Bruce tried to kill Superman (when he didn't kill the Joker), or Dick and Clark meeting, or Dick coming to see Alfred ... And I'm always here for Jason coming back from the dead, too.
- hurt/comfort: Bruce or Clark getting hurt, in a fight or even after getting tortured (Bruce by one of his villains, Clark maybe by Lex if he managed to get free again). Bruce especially being utterly awful at accepting help from Clark or Alfred or anyone else and pretending he's fine when he clearly isn't. (Post-rape hurt/comfort and recovery would also be interesting for either of them, though I'd prefer no healing cock.)
- you know Matches Malone, Bruce's hilariously sleazy gangster alter ego in the comics? I'd love to see that happen in a movie verse fic, especially Clark's reaction to him. :D
And that should be it. I hope that there's something in this letter that works for you, dear author, some trope you love to write or some prompt that inspires you. Happy Yuletide, and I hope you receive a wonderful gift fic yourself. :)
Thanks!
linndechir