mm_rares: Dear Author/Artist letter
Dear mm_rares author (or artist!):
First, thank you first for reading this letter, and for potentially creating for one of my requested ships! I hope I can give you some ideas and inspiration, and I really appreciate the effort that goes into writing a story or creating a piece of art to someone else’s request.
In general I’m fairly easy to please and would simply be thrilled to see more work about any of these ships and characters. If one of my prompts inspires you, terrific! If not and you have your own idea, by all means feel free to run with it. I won’t be disappointed if you don’t follow my prompts but I know some people prefer to work from them, so it’s totally your choice.
Let me start off with a few general comments on what I especially enjoy in fanfic, and a few things I’m not as crazy about.
Things I (really) like:
With all of that out of the way, let me continue on with some specifics for my requested ships:
Law & Order SVU
SVU is my main fandom these days, and if it’s not obvious I’m a total diehard fan of the Munchkin-John Munch, that is. Overall I prefer the earlier seasons to the later ones (1.0 vs. 2.0) but stories set during any time period in the canon are fine. In general I enjoy episode “missing scenes” that explore the characters’ relationships and how they respond to the cases they deal with; I love a good case fic where the characters’ relationship is somehow tested or made stronger through what they encounter on the job.
John Munch/Fin Tutuola: This pairing is my major love these days. Seriously there is nothing that doesn’t make me happy about Munch & Fin together! I love all kinds of different stories about them, everything from first time scenarios (at any point during their partnership, or even after John retires) to established relationship fic.
More specifically, I would love to see more fic dealing with each other’s relatives, such as meeting the family for the first time, dealing with coming out to them, etc. “Uncle” is one of my favorite episodes, so I’d love to see a story set during the few weeks Andrew is living with John and trying to sort out his mental state, and how Fin & John navigate that. Or afterwards when things go so terribly wrong, some much needed emotional comfort for John, from Fin. I also love the storyline with Darius and the trial in the episodes “Venom” and “Screwed”…Fin goes through so much in those episodes, particularly during Darius’ trial, that I really need some fic showing how John offers him emotional support through it all.
Art prompts: Sunday morning sleep in/lazy sex (I love the mental image of John with his hair all mussed up from sleep); walking through Central Park in the snow (maybe pausing for a quick kiss); both look hot as fuck when wearing their dress uniforms, too, so any excuse for that (even a little dominance role-play with handcuffs involved…yum).
Nick Amaro/John Munch: This is my dirty-bad-wrong ship that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone write before but dear lord, do I want to read it. They had such a wonderful mentor-like relationship on the show, which I love in its own right, but I also love the idea of there being some undercurrents of attraction between them that some day somehow lead to seriously explosive sex. This is also one pairing where I wouldn’t mind AU scenarios, either. (Rentboy!Nick, perhaps?)
Art-wise: I would love something naughty…maybe even a little kinky with some bondage involved (dom!John/sub!Nick).
Brian Cassidy/John Munch: Poor Brian is such a sweet innocent noob in the first season, he definitely needs to learn a few things about human sexuality in all of its kinky possibilities from Munch. I know that’s a fic scenario that’s been written a lot in the past but damn do I enjoy it. Alternatively, I’d enjoy a story where they hook up/maybe rekindle an old flame later on…maybe after Brian and Olivia break up, John is there for the rebound? Or maybe there’s some jealousy simmering there while Brian and Olivia are together?
Art-wise: John illustrates to Brian the difference between “frottage” and “frommage”.
Lennie Briscoe/John Munch: These two were epic warriors of snark (and slash subtext) every time they were on screen together! The world needs more stories where they take the joking and innuendo to the next obvious level.
This is also one ship where I also wouldn’t mind death!fic, in the sense of John learning about Lennie’s death and how he mourns his passing. Perhaps they had a casual fling in the past, or were occasional lovers, and it gives John pause to remember those times, think about his own mortality.
Art-wise: Just something laced with innuendo and desire…or maybe casually snuggling together on the sofa after a hard day on the job, ties and shirts undone, the promise of something more soon to follow…
Crossover Fandom:
Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone)/Elliot Stabler (Law & Order SVU)
Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone)/John Munch (Law & Order SVU)
Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone)/Tim Bayliss (Homicide: Life on the Street)
I love the idea of these fandoms crossing over (and am surprised, actually, that it’s never been done before, save for Brimstone being such a rare fandom in general). I mean, Ezekiel was a NYC detective, and early on Brimstone was set in NYC right around the time that SVU’s first season began…what if one of the escaped souls is causing sex-related crimes and the case ends up being caught by SVU, either by Elliot or John?
I could see Ezekiel and Elliot finding a lot in common with each other in their sense of justice (and if Elliot finds out what’s happened to Ezekiel, how would that play into his Catholic faith?) And with John, the man of many conspiracy theories and lost faith…well, I’d love to see how he’d react to Stone, the devil, and the idea of escaped souls from hell causing havoc in the city. Similarly, what if one of the escaped damned souls ends up in Baltimore and Ezekiel ends up crossing paths with Tim? Again I’d love to see the interaction of those characters play out.
Homicide: Life on the Street
I got into Homicide by way of SVU, because of course I needed all of the Munch backstory. I love the show (critically even more so than SVU) and all of the characters. The ships I’m requesting are pretty damn rare, but I’d just love to see what a writer could do with them.
Mike Kellerman/John Munch: I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between these two any time they worked together (“Kaddish”, for example, of course one of my favorite episodes.) Maybe one night they’re commiserating over their failed relationships/divorces and one thing leads to another? Or they cross paths later on, once John is in New York and Mike is still working as a PI, following a lead on a case.
Tim Bayliss/John Munch: Whatever happened to Tim? After confessing to killing Ryland to Pembleton, the ending is left unclear, and with a lot of implication that he killed himself (In SVU, John mentions having a partner who took things too personally and killed himself). But did Tim actually commit suicide? What if John tries to stop him (knowing how John feels about suicide given his father, and other things we learned on SVU)? What if Tim simply vanishes for a time, and one day shows up in New York under a new identity? I don’t know, there are interesting what ifs to explore here, especially give the implication that John killed Gordon Pratt and how that both links them, in a way, as having killed someone in cold blood.
The Police (Band)
Andy Summers/Sting
Stewart Copeland/Andy Summers
Stewart Copeland/Sting
This is my one burning rare RPF fandom; I’ve been a fan of the band for over 30 years and always desperately wish more people (besides me) were interested in writing fic about them! The tension between Sting & Stewart especially, but really between all three of them if you spend time doing the research or have simply watched the band through the years.
My main ship is Sting/Stewart, but I seriously could go for any pairing within the band. I would love to read stories set in and around the reunion tour of 2007-2008...how hard was it to go back to working & touring together for the first time since the 1980s? Were any “old romances” rekindled, or feelings acted upon for the first time after so many years?
Art-wise I could go for anything that captures the tension between them, maybe a fight turning into a(n angry) kiss. Alternatively something unusually peaceful and romantic during better times, maybe on the beach (in the evening) on Montserrat when they were recording Ghost in the Machine or Synchronicity there.
First, thank you first for reading this letter, and for potentially creating for one of my requested ships! I hope I can give you some ideas and inspiration, and I really appreciate the effort that goes into writing a story or creating a piece of art to someone else’s request.
In general I’m fairly easy to please and would simply be thrilled to see more work about any of these ships and characters. If one of my prompts inspires you, terrific! If not and you have your own idea, by all means feel free to run with it. I won’t be disappointed if you don’t follow my prompts but I know some people prefer to work from them, so it’s totally your choice.
Let me start off with a few general comments on what I especially enjoy in fanfic, and a few things I’m not as crazy about.
Things I (really) like:
- “Old married couple” established relationship stories. As fun as it is to explore the excitement of a new relationship, I love stories that go beyond that and show what makes a relationship strong and lasting in the long run. We’re not talking generic curtain-fic here (though I’m not opposed to happy fluff that feels in character), but having the couple face some kind of conflict or challenge together that they can work through in a way that spotlights how good they are for each other, how much their relationship works beyond sexual attraction. Also, I enjoy stories that deal with some of the realities of growing older, especially in a relationship that already has an age difference (one of my general likes, if not outright kinks). And nothing gives me happy-sighs more than reading about a couple who are still deeply in love with each other 5, 10, or however many years down the road they are into their relationship.
- Intimate fun that doesn’t necessarily involve “insert A into tab B”, “1-finger-2-finger-3-finger-fuck” intercourse. I’ve got no problem with that (if you can make it sexy and hot and not generic), but I wish there were more stories that focused on other intimate acts; characters so hot for each other they get off on just touching, kissing, dry humping...or even romantic snuggling/erotic massages. I really love scenes focused just on kissing, touching, finding unexpected erogenous zones, etc.
- Humor, especially in dialog. A lot of my favorite characters are snarky, sarcastic (yet lovable) bastards, so I enjoy a story that can capture at least some of their wit and conversation patterns.
- Character death, unless it’s canonical in the source. Please don’t kill off one of my favorites just for the angst.
- Heavy BDSM and pain-play. I do enjoy characters exploring some light bondage, spanking or roleplay (crossdressing is always enjoyable to me), but I’m not into 24/7 master/slave scenarios, or scenes that involve extreme pain, permanent scarring, bloodplay, etc.
- Graphic rape and/or torture that’s more for kink than h/c potential. I can wallow in a well-written recovery fic, one that deals with the after-effects of an assault and how the characters in a ’ship deal with it. But I’m not keen on stories that are more about the explicit details of an assault and eroticizing it.
- Extreme AUs. Changing a few details of the canon to fit a story…no problem (example: Elliot doesn’t leave SVU, Munch hasn’t retired, etc.) But I’d prefer no major AU scenarios like high school/coffeeship, a/b/o, mpreg, etc. unless specifically requested below as one of my prompts.
- Crossovers-unless it’s with one of the other fandoms I’ve requested so I am definitely familiar with the source! I tend not to be into a lot of big/popular fandoms so it’s likely I may not know another canon all that well.
With all of that out of the way, let me continue on with some specifics for my requested ships:
Law & Order SVU
SVU is my main fandom these days, and if it’s not obvious I’m a total diehard fan of the Munchkin-John Munch, that is. Overall I prefer the earlier seasons to the later ones (1.0 vs. 2.0) but stories set during any time period in the canon are fine. In general I enjoy episode “missing scenes” that explore the characters’ relationships and how they respond to the cases they deal with; I love a good case fic where the characters’ relationship is somehow tested or made stronger through what they encounter on the job.
John Munch/Fin Tutuola: This pairing is my major love these days. Seriously there is nothing that doesn’t make me happy about Munch & Fin together! I love all kinds of different stories about them, everything from first time scenarios (at any point during their partnership, or even after John retires) to established relationship fic.
More specifically, I would love to see more fic dealing with each other’s relatives, such as meeting the family for the first time, dealing with coming out to them, etc. “Uncle” is one of my favorite episodes, so I’d love to see a story set during the few weeks Andrew is living with John and trying to sort out his mental state, and how Fin & John navigate that. Or afterwards when things go so terribly wrong, some much needed emotional comfort for John, from Fin. I also love the storyline with Darius and the trial in the episodes “Venom” and “Screwed”…Fin goes through so much in those episodes, particularly during Darius’ trial, that I really need some fic showing how John offers him emotional support through it all.
Art prompts: Sunday morning sleep in/lazy sex (I love the mental image of John with his hair all mussed up from sleep); walking through Central Park in the snow (maybe pausing for a quick kiss); both look hot as fuck when wearing their dress uniforms, too, so any excuse for that (even a little dominance role-play with handcuffs involved…yum).
Nick Amaro/John Munch: This is my dirty-bad-wrong ship that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone write before but dear lord, do I want to read it. They had such a wonderful mentor-like relationship on the show, which I love in its own right, but I also love the idea of there being some undercurrents of attraction between them that some day somehow lead to seriously explosive sex. This is also one pairing where I wouldn’t mind AU scenarios, either. (Rentboy!Nick, perhaps?)
Art-wise: I would love something naughty…maybe even a little kinky with some bondage involved (dom!John/sub!Nick).
Brian Cassidy/John Munch: Poor Brian is such a sweet innocent noob in the first season, he definitely needs to learn a few things about human sexuality in all of its kinky possibilities from Munch. I know that’s a fic scenario that’s been written a lot in the past but damn do I enjoy it. Alternatively, I’d enjoy a story where they hook up/maybe rekindle an old flame later on…maybe after Brian and Olivia break up, John is there for the rebound? Or maybe there’s some jealousy simmering there while Brian and Olivia are together?
Art-wise: John illustrates to Brian the difference between “frottage” and “frommage”.
Lennie Briscoe/John Munch: These two were epic warriors of snark (and slash subtext) every time they were on screen together! The world needs more stories where they take the joking and innuendo to the next obvious level.
This is also one ship where I also wouldn’t mind death!fic, in the sense of John learning about Lennie’s death and how he mourns his passing. Perhaps they had a casual fling in the past, or were occasional lovers, and it gives John pause to remember those times, think about his own mortality.
Art-wise: Just something laced with innuendo and desire…or maybe casually snuggling together on the sofa after a hard day on the job, ties and shirts undone, the promise of something more soon to follow…
Crossover Fandom:
Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone)/Elliot Stabler (Law & Order SVU)
Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone)/John Munch (Law & Order SVU)
Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone)/Tim Bayliss (Homicide: Life on the Street)
I love the idea of these fandoms crossing over (and am surprised, actually, that it’s never been done before, save for Brimstone being such a rare fandom in general). I mean, Ezekiel was a NYC detective, and early on Brimstone was set in NYC right around the time that SVU’s first season began…what if one of the escaped souls is causing sex-related crimes and the case ends up being caught by SVU, either by Elliot or John?
I could see Ezekiel and Elliot finding a lot in common with each other in their sense of justice (and if Elliot finds out what’s happened to Ezekiel, how would that play into his Catholic faith?) And with John, the man of many conspiracy theories and lost faith…well, I’d love to see how he’d react to Stone, the devil, and the idea of escaped souls from hell causing havoc in the city. Similarly, what if one of the escaped damned souls ends up in Baltimore and Ezekiel ends up crossing paths with Tim? Again I’d love to see the interaction of those characters play out.
Homicide: Life on the Street
I got into Homicide by way of SVU, because of course I needed all of the Munch backstory. I love the show (critically even more so than SVU) and all of the characters. The ships I’m requesting are pretty damn rare, but I’d just love to see what a writer could do with them.
Mike Kellerman/John Munch: I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between these two any time they worked together (“Kaddish”, for example, of course one of my favorite episodes.) Maybe one night they’re commiserating over their failed relationships/divorces and one thing leads to another? Or they cross paths later on, once John is in New York and Mike is still working as a PI, following a lead on a case.
Tim Bayliss/John Munch: Whatever happened to Tim? After confessing to killing Ryland to Pembleton, the ending is left unclear, and with a lot of implication that he killed himself (In SVU, John mentions having a partner who took things too personally and killed himself). But did Tim actually commit suicide? What if John tries to stop him (knowing how John feels about suicide given his father, and other things we learned on SVU)? What if Tim simply vanishes for a time, and one day shows up in New York under a new identity? I don’t know, there are interesting what ifs to explore here, especially give the implication that John killed Gordon Pratt and how that both links them, in a way, as having killed someone in cold blood.
The Police (Band)
Andy Summers/Sting
Stewart Copeland/Andy Summers
Stewart Copeland/Sting
This is my one burning rare RPF fandom; I’ve been a fan of the band for over 30 years and always desperately wish more people (besides me) were interested in writing fic about them! The tension between Sting & Stewart especially, but really between all three of them if you spend time doing the research or have simply watched the band through the years.
My main ship is Sting/Stewart, but I seriously could go for any pairing within the band. I would love to read stories set in and around the reunion tour of 2007-2008...how hard was it to go back to working & touring together for the first time since the 1980s? Were any “old romances” rekindled, or feelings acted upon for the first time after so many years?
Art-wise I could go for anything that captures the tension between them, maybe a fight turning into a(n angry) kiss. Alternatively something unusually peaceful and romantic during better times, maybe on the beach (in the evening) on Montserrat when they were recording Ghost in the Machine or Synchronicity there.