Trick or Treat 2015
Hello and a pre-emptive thank you for writing for me! This exchange was a blast last year and I'm so excited. Sorry if my letter's a bit rambling; I keep cobbling exchange letters together out of pieces of previous letters.
I like anything from angst to fluff to humor to PWP. I don't like really graphic violence or gritty nihilistic hopelessness - though none of these canons really lend themselves to that, IMO.
Normally I don't like horror or supernatural occurences in settings that don't have them, but this exchange is absolutely an exception. I still prefer if the main characters are alive and (mostly) well by the end, and I still would prefer avoiding graphic depictions of violence, but other than that, ghosts and monsters and creepiness and general overall weirdness are very welcome.
I LOVE Halloween itself and will gladly read anything related to the holiday for any of these fandoms. Trick-or-treating, costume parties, characters trying to scare each other via pranks or ghost stories -- anything at all.
When it comes to sex scenes I like m/m, m/f, or m/m/f threesomes (I have a couple of those in my prompts.) I like fairly vanilla sex scenes mostly -- light bondage is great, anything involving serious pain/injury or body fluids not typically associated with sex, not so much. I'm fine with super graphic PWPs, if that's where your inclinations take you, but feel free to fade to black or not write any sex at all if you prefer! In-character canon-compliant gen is also great. I'll list my ships in the specific fandoms, but that doesn't mean you should feel obligated to write shipfic.
I feel like browsing what I've written and bookmarked on ao3 is a pretty good indication of the kind of thing I like. But honestly, I'm REALLY not very picky. Optional details are ENTIRELY OPTIONAL - don't feel the need to use any of them if you don't want to. I'd rather have you enjoy yourself than stress over trying to write the perfect fill.
On to the prompts! Yes, a couple of these are copy-pasted from previous exchanges. I still want them, so I'm still requesting them.
Around the World in 80 Days
any (nominated: Monique, Phileas, Passepartout)
This movie is silly but adorable, and I love all three characters and their relationships. I was dismayed that there is no fic for them at all, even though they have such an obvious ot3 setup! (I love Phileas/Monique too, though.) Any fic at all would be wonderful, but some general ideas:
-Does Passepartout stay in England? If so, does he get homesick? If not, does he ever miss Phileas and Monique, or do they ever visit China?
-Does Phileas actually like being in charge of the science academy? He's been a loner for so long, that might be quite an adjustment.
-There are some blanks in the narrative that could be fun to fill in -- side adventures. The most obvious is, how did Passepartout end up lost in the desert with a deer skull on his head, anyway? (...and what the heck were the Wright Brothers doing there to find him... they're from Ohio. This movie did not much care about historical accuracy; research very much not required. ...Phileas/Wilbur Wright crackfic is a thing I have considered.)
-Porn! Fluffy fun porn preferred. Phileas sure does get hung up on the crossdressing thing -- bringing that into play is optional.
-want to go somewhere darker? It's Victorian England, after all, and that setting is ripe for ghosts or Frankenstein monsters. How would Phileas react to a supernatural occurence science couldn't seem to explain?
Playing House
any (nominated: Emma, Maggie, Zach, Bruce, Charlotte)
I really love the characters in this show - I think Emma and Maggie's friendship is realistic and wonderful, and I love how they both have selfish and mean moments but are at heart good people who've got each others' backs. I'd take any fic at all for this show and be thrilled; there's definitely a lot of opportunity for adorable fluff involving Charlotte. I really love the episode where Bruce and Zach babysit and would love more of that; I also love Maggie and Zach's relationship and how she feels protective of him. Something about their childhoods might be fun, or them in the aftermath of their parents' death, if you want to go a darker, sadder route. Or something on the crackier side, involving Bosephus or the raccoons who lived in the playhouse in the first episode (or both at once?).
I don't particularly ship anything in this series; I could probably be convinced of Emma/Maggie pretty easily but I love their friendship the way it is, and I think Bruce and Maggie's arc in season 2 has been pretty cute. I also have a weird desire for some poorly thought out Emma/Zach that goes somewhere awkward and embarrassing. I'm mostly ambivalent toward the Emma/Mark canon arc; I like them both but I'm not sure they'd be good for each other in the long run. Really though, as I said, anything goes.
The Royal Tenenbaums
any (nominated: Chas, Eli, Richie, Margot, Royal, Etheline)
I got an absolutely adorable Chas/Eli fic last year, but I still love this movie and these characters and would love more fic. While Chas and Eli are my favorites and I'd love more about them (either shippy or just friendship; they're two lonely people who, I think, could be really good for each other), I love everyone else too. Other ideas:
-the Tenenbaums as kids and how Eli fits into the family, or doesn't; he's Richie's friend, but is he close to Chas or Margot? Etheline seems to have a lot of sympathy for him, but what about Royal?
-there are a few notable deaths over the course of the movie - Rachel before it starts, and Royal, and even Buckley. Are any of the characters haunted, either literally or figuratively?
-(how awful does Eli feel about what happened to Buckley? He definitely seems upset in the movie when he realizes what happened.)
-I am totally okay with the Richie/Margot relationship, but how does the rest of the family feel about it?
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
any (nominated: Sean, Cheryl, Walter, Rich, Odessa, Edna (Walter's mom))
This is my favorite movie ever, and while there are a few really good fics, I always want more. I really strongly ship Walter, Sean and Cheryl as an ot3, but I could live with Walter paired with either of them as long as the other is still a close friend. (I wouldn't say no to Cheryl/Sean either although that seems kind of unfair to Walter! But hey, if you want to play with the idea, go for it.)
I'd also be interested in fic about Walter's childhood, or young adulthood after his dad's death, which is why I nominated his mom and sister this time around also. Or fic about Cheryl's son Rich - do he and Walter get along once Walter's dating Rich's mom? What does Rich think of Sean? Is Sean any good with kids? How aboud Odessa? Edna seems like she would love being a surrogate grandma.
I realize I'm basically prompting nothing but fluff for this, but there's certainly opportunity for something darker, either in Walter's imagination or in reality, especially considering that Sean's job could take him literally anywhere. Maybe Walter (and Cheryl?) accompany him somewhere.
Silicon Valley
(Jared, Richard, Erlich, Dinesh, Gilfoyle, Bighead, Carla)
This is a shiny new fandom for me (well, "new" as in I started watching it midway through season 2). I love this show for being surprisingly sweet once you look past all the profanity and innuendo. Richard is my favorite character - he's an unusually realistic depiction of someone with anxiety, but he's also really smart, has a good heart, and usually manages to pull himself together once he's backed into a corner, and I think that's awesome. Jared and Erlich are close behind him, but really, I love the whole main cast.
Jared/Richard is the juggernaut ship for a reason, but lately I've also found myself shipping Jared/Erlich or Erlich/Richard (or... even a threesome?? I haven't read that yet but I absolutely would if someone were to write it.) I just love how both Jared and Erlich are so concerned with Richard's well-being in their own ways. I also love Richard's friendship with Bighead; for a minute it seemed like the plot was going to head toward them being rivals, but nope, they seem as close as ever even if they don't see each other that often.
I'm having a hard time thinking of specific prompts. Halloween must have happened sometime during season 2, but we never saw it onscreen, so it seems like there'd be opportunity to fill it in there - assuming the crew even had time to have a party or acknowledge it at all! I would actually enjoy seeing the cast react to ridiculous horror scenarios, like a zombie apocalypse, as long as it was played mostly for laughs. Also, the Winchester Mystery House is in San Jose; just tossing that idea out there, ha. Or any combination of characters interacting in fic that we don't really see interacting in canon much; Carla and Erlich? Jared and Bighead? Dinesh or Gilfoyle one on one with basically anyone who isn't the other?
The Watch
any (Evan, Bob, Jamarcus, Paul)
So I have a little bit of a celebrity crush on Ben Stiller, which is the only reason I ever picked up this movie; it didn't look like something I'd enjoy at all, but boy, did I misjudge. Don't get me wrong, it's an incredibly stupid movie, but it has a surprising amount of heart, and Evan's actually one of my favorite characters, from anything, ever. He's so driven and cares so much (he actually reminds me a bit of Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation), even if he's sometimes misguided, and the scene where he's talking to Bob about his problems having kids is actually kind of sort of touching in a way I didn't expect from a goofy comedy about aliens invading Costco. Bob in general is kind of a sweet doofus, although the "overprotective dad" schtick can be annoying. I actually thought Bob was flirting with Evan at first and that was why he joined the neighborhood watch (the random butt-slap on their first meeting, I mean, come on), so heck, explore that if you want.
As much as I love Evan, the character that interests me the most is actually Jamarcus. I have SO MANY questions about Jamarcus. Is that his real name? Where does he live both during and after the film? Are his species monogendered or what? If they are, exactly what is he getting up to at Paul's orgies, anyway? (PS: If you are a porn writer, Paul gives you the perfect excuse to write a total PWP. I'm cool with xenophilia in this case too!) What's Jamarcus doing post-movie - does he have a job? Is the rest of the neighborhood watch helping him fit in and keep himself a secret? Does he ever get homesick? Is he physically transformed into a human or is it some kind of disguise? His blood is still green, after all. Can he turn back into his alien self and win all the Best Costume awards at every Halloween party ever?
And have the aliens really given up on invading Earth? And what were they taking people's skin for, anyway?
I like anything from angst to fluff to humor to PWP. I don't like really graphic violence or gritty nihilistic hopelessness - though none of these canons really lend themselves to that, IMO.
Normally I don't like horror or supernatural occurences in settings that don't have them, but this exchange is absolutely an exception. I still prefer if the main characters are alive and (mostly) well by the end, and I still would prefer avoiding graphic depictions of violence, but other than that, ghosts and monsters and creepiness and general overall weirdness are very welcome.
I LOVE Halloween itself and will gladly read anything related to the holiday for any of these fandoms. Trick-or-treating, costume parties, characters trying to scare each other via pranks or ghost stories -- anything at all.
When it comes to sex scenes I like m/m, m/f, or m/m/f threesomes (I have a couple of those in my prompts.) I like fairly vanilla sex scenes mostly -- light bondage is great, anything involving serious pain/injury or body fluids not typically associated with sex, not so much. I'm fine with super graphic PWPs, if that's where your inclinations take you, but feel free to fade to black or not write any sex at all if you prefer! In-character canon-compliant gen is also great. I'll list my ships in the specific fandoms, but that doesn't mean you should feel obligated to write shipfic.
I feel like browsing what I've written and bookmarked on ao3 is a pretty good indication of the kind of thing I like. But honestly, I'm REALLY not very picky. Optional details are ENTIRELY OPTIONAL - don't feel the need to use any of them if you don't want to. I'd rather have you enjoy yourself than stress over trying to write the perfect fill.
On to the prompts! Yes, a couple of these are copy-pasted from previous exchanges. I still want them, so I'm still requesting them.
Around the World in 80 Days
any (nominated: Monique, Phileas, Passepartout)
This movie is silly but adorable, and I love all three characters and their relationships. I was dismayed that there is no fic for them at all, even though they have such an obvious ot3 setup! (I love Phileas/Monique too, though.) Any fic at all would be wonderful, but some general ideas:
-Does Passepartout stay in England? If so, does he get homesick? If not, does he ever miss Phileas and Monique, or do they ever visit China?
-Does Phileas actually like being in charge of the science academy? He's been a loner for so long, that might be quite an adjustment.
-There are some blanks in the narrative that could be fun to fill in -- side adventures. The most obvious is, how did Passepartout end up lost in the desert with a deer skull on his head, anyway? (...and what the heck were the Wright Brothers doing there to find him... they're from Ohio. This movie did not much care about historical accuracy; research very much not required. ...Phileas/Wilbur Wright crackfic is a thing I have considered.)
-Porn! Fluffy fun porn preferred. Phileas sure does get hung up on the crossdressing thing -- bringing that into play is optional.
-want to go somewhere darker? It's Victorian England, after all, and that setting is ripe for ghosts or Frankenstein monsters. How would Phileas react to a supernatural occurence science couldn't seem to explain?
Playing House
any (nominated: Emma, Maggie, Zach, Bruce, Charlotte)
I really love the characters in this show - I think Emma and Maggie's friendship is realistic and wonderful, and I love how they both have selfish and mean moments but are at heart good people who've got each others' backs. I'd take any fic at all for this show and be thrilled; there's definitely a lot of opportunity for adorable fluff involving Charlotte. I really love the episode where Bruce and Zach babysit and would love more of that; I also love Maggie and Zach's relationship and how she feels protective of him. Something about their childhoods might be fun, or them in the aftermath of their parents' death, if you want to go a darker, sadder route. Or something on the crackier side, involving Bosephus or the raccoons who lived in the playhouse in the first episode (or both at once?).
I don't particularly ship anything in this series; I could probably be convinced of Emma/Maggie pretty easily but I love their friendship the way it is, and I think Bruce and Maggie's arc in season 2 has been pretty cute. I also have a weird desire for some poorly thought out Emma/Zach that goes somewhere awkward and embarrassing. I'm mostly ambivalent toward the Emma/Mark canon arc; I like them both but I'm not sure they'd be good for each other in the long run. Really though, as I said, anything goes.
The Royal Tenenbaums
any (nominated: Chas, Eli, Richie, Margot, Royal, Etheline)
I got an absolutely adorable Chas/Eli fic last year, but I still love this movie and these characters and would love more fic. While Chas and Eli are my favorites and I'd love more about them (either shippy or just friendship; they're two lonely people who, I think, could be really good for each other), I love everyone else too. Other ideas:
-the Tenenbaums as kids and how Eli fits into the family, or doesn't; he's Richie's friend, but is he close to Chas or Margot? Etheline seems to have a lot of sympathy for him, but what about Royal?
-there are a few notable deaths over the course of the movie - Rachel before it starts, and Royal, and even Buckley. Are any of the characters haunted, either literally or figuratively?
-(how awful does Eli feel about what happened to Buckley? He definitely seems upset in the movie when he realizes what happened.)
-I am totally okay with the Richie/Margot relationship, but how does the rest of the family feel about it?
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
any (nominated: Sean, Cheryl, Walter, Rich, Odessa, Edna (Walter's mom))
This is my favorite movie ever, and while there are a few really good fics, I always want more. I really strongly ship Walter, Sean and Cheryl as an ot3, but I could live with Walter paired with either of them as long as the other is still a close friend. (I wouldn't say no to Cheryl/Sean either although that seems kind of unfair to Walter! But hey, if you want to play with the idea, go for it.)
I'd also be interested in fic about Walter's childhood, or young adulthood after his dad's death, which is why I nominated his mom and sister this time around also. Or fic about Cheryl's son Rich - do he and Walter get along once Walter's dating Rich's mom? What does Rich think of Sean? Is Sean any good with kids? How aboud Odessa? Edna seems like she would love being a surrogate grandma.
I realize I'm basically prompting nothing but fluff for this, but there's certainly opportunity for something darker, either in Walter's imagination or in reality, especially considering that Sean's job could take him literally anywhere. Maybe Walter (and Cheryl?) accompany him somewhere.
Silicon Valley
(Jared, Richard, Erlich, Dinesh, Gilfoyle, Bighead, Carla)
This is a shiny new fandom for me (well, "new" as in I started watching it midway through season 2). I love this show for being surprisingly sweet once you look past all the profanity and innuendo. Richard is my favorite character - he's an unusually realistic depiction of someone with anxiety, but he's also really smart, has a good heart, and usually manages to pull himself together once he's backed into a corner, and I think that's awesome. Jared and Erlich are close behind him, but really, I love the whole main cast.
Jared/Richard is the juggernaut ship for a reason, but lately I've also found myself shipping Jared/Erlich or Erlich/Richard (or... even a threesome?? I haven't read that yet but I absolutely would if someone were to write it.) I just love how both Jared and Erlich are so concerned with Richard's well-being in their own ways. I also love Richard's friendship with Bighead; for a minute it seemed like the plot was going to head toward them being rivals, but nope, they seem as close as ever even if they don't see each other that often.
I'm having a hard time thinking of specific prompts. Halloween must have happened sometime during season 2, but we never saw it onscreen, so it seems like there'd be opportunity to fill it in there - assuming the crew even had time to have a party or acknowledge it at all! I would actually enjoy seeing the cast react to ridiculous horror scenarios, like a zombie apocalypse, as long as it was played mostly for laughs. Also, the Winchester Mystery House is in San Jose; just tossing that idea out there, ha. Or any combination of characters interacting in fic that we don't really see interacting in canon much; Carla and Erlich? Jared and Bighead? Dinesh or Gilfoyle one on one with basically anyone who isn't the other?
The Watch
any (Evan, Bob, Jamarcus, Paul)
So I have a little bit of a celebrity crush on Ben Stiller, which is the only reason I ever picked up this movie; it didn't look like something I'd enjoy at all, but boy, did I misjudge. Don't get me wrong, it's an incredibly stupid movie, but it has a surprising amount of heart, and Evan's actually one of my favorite characters, from anything, ever. He's so driven and cares so much (he actually reminds me a bit of Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation), even if he's sometimes misguided, and the scene where he's talking to Bob about his problems having kids is actually kind of sort of touching in a way I didn't expect from a goofy comedy about aliens invading Costco. Bob in general is kind of a sweet doofus, although the "overprotective dad" schtick can be annoying. I actually thought Bob was flirting with Evan at first and that was why he joined the neighborhood watch (the random butt-slap on their first meeting, I mean, come on), so heck, explore that if you want.
As much as I love Evan, the character that interests me the most is actually Jamarcus. I have SO MANY questions about Jamarcus. Is that his real name? Where does he live both during and after the film? Are his species monogendered or what? If they are, exactly what is he getting up to at Paul's orgies, anyway? (PS: If you are a porn writer, Paul gives you the perfect excuse to write a total PWP. I'm cool with xenophilia in this case too!) What's Jamarcus doing post-movie - does he have a job? Is the rest of the neighborhood watch helping him fit in and keep himself a secret? Does he ever get homesick? Is he physically transformed into a human or is it some kind of disguise? His blood is still green, after all. Can he turn back into his alien self and win all the Best Costume awards at every Halloween party ever?
And have the aliens really given up on invading Earth? And what were they taking people's skin for, anyway?