what's this? what's this? there's white things in the air...

[daken]

dear yule-writer!

Thank you for offering any of these fandoms.

I'm so excited to see what you come up with! I tried to make this as skim-friendly as possible. The tl;dr of it all is that if you touch on anything I mention liking even slightly (and I have a lot of things that I like!), I'll be elated ♥

I always have way too much fun when it comes to letter writing; below is a page jump so you can hop to whatever fandom we matched on quickly. Please take my note at the top seriously, pick whatever you like, and burn the rest of it, honestly.

(LIKES | DISLIKES)
A SINGLE MAN | LEGEND
PARIS JE T'AIME / LE MARAIS
VERSAILLES | X-TREME X-MEN

( quick note )

I’ve tried to break the prompts into a format that works for the less-is-more writer and the more-is-more writer. Feel free to pick and choose aspects of the prompts that you like, and disregard or change whatever doesn’t work for you.

If you come up with an idea that’s similar to a prompt I left below, but not quite on the nose, go for it! If ¾ of a prompt really works for you, but the final ¼ doesn’t, only work with the bit that does! Mixing and matching is also completely fine.

⟿The top level prompt suggestions are generalized, complete ideas. Know what you want to write now? Great!

Not sure what to write? Mind swimming with too many possibilities? Not enough possibilities? The questions and ideas following the top-level are here for you, just in case you need more prompting!

Don't feel like you have to spend a bunch of time on setting up a universe or plot. I already know what 'verse I requested or what situation I've set up in a prompt, so please feel free to jump right in the "middle" of a story/in media res and start right when stuff is getting interesting.

likes!

⟿ I really like strong relationships. I am super into reading about how their relationships work; their dynamics, how they support one another, how they relate to each other, how they interact [pre-, post-, and during-canon when “offscreen”], where their wants and needs mesh up, where they differ; all that interests me immensely.

⟿ I also love fucked up, unhealthy relationships. Codependent relationships, dependent personality disorders being exploited by someone with a histrionic personality disorder, obsessive relationships: you can be giving it all to me. I love when a character is willing to literally let the world burn, should the world try to come between them and the person they love (romantically or platonically).

I love them doing questionable things or neglecting themselves in order to make their partner happy. I don't need it sugar coated or spun to make it seem healthy and alright, in fact I love it when the characters know — fully or merely suspecting — that what they're feeling, to the level they're feeling it at, isn't healthy, but they enjoy it so much they wouldn't even think of getting help or trying to back off. Them being equally, fuck-up-ed-ly invested in their relationship is what I live for.

⟿ I love when people are equally invested in whatever they’re doing; completing a mission, building a relationship, putting together IKEA furniture! Them putting in the same amount of care and time into what they're doing/building together, and them respecting each other enough not to play games are all stuff that I like.

Rather than miscommunication causing drama, I love it when bluntness and frankness causes that tension instead! Characters saying what they want or what they've done, point blank, and then leaving it to the other character to decide if they can handle that; quiet characters taking their time and really mulling over their choices before telling the other person what they want: It’s all great.

⟿ I love codas, alternate canons, semi-alternate universes, and canon divergences, and/or slight changes to canon. I also love established relationships/friendships, and domesticity. If you want to write me slice-of-life that details their routine or daily life, I'll eat that shit up.

⟿ I actually really like stuff that starts in the "middle"/in medias res of a fic. I don't need a lot of world building, especially if that's not something you're super into doing. If you've decided to take up one of my AU or canon-divergence ideas, I already know the basic background of what's going on so you can go right on ahead with the action of the story.

⟿ When it comes to ratings, anything from G-rated schmoop to NC-17 PWP sex is alright in my book.

Should you write a sex scene, here’s a list of kinks/scenarios that I like to read:

age regression, age differences, underage, made-them-do-it, a/b/o, water sports (for marking/scenting and/or intimacy; less about being super into pee or humiliation), conditioning, frottage, gentleness, roleplay, rough sex, marking/branding, switching/no set sexual “roles”, possessiveness, power issues, abuse of power, dubcon, semi-public sex, sensory overload, sex addiction/compulsion, silence, d/S that’s focused on taking care/being cared for more than pain/humiliation, size differences and power dynamics — feel free to have the "smaller”/younger/more docile dude be more "dominant”/aggressive member of the relationship—, touching, slavefic, delayed emotional intimacy, captivity.

⟿ Finally, a general list of tropes/scenarios that I never turn down:

stuck in isolation together, forced closeness, age gaps, amnesia, viking/tribe/barbarian/pre-history au, android aus, hooker aus, western/rancher/farmer aus, trope inversions & subversions, sex before feelings, d/s that’s focused on taking care/being cared for more than pain/humiliation, soul mates/soul bonds, fake relationships, forced/arranged marriages, bodyswaps, exploring physical disabilities (losing sight/hearing/the ability to a speak).

⟿ Yuleporn- & Crueltide-centric tropes can be found in their respective comments!

dislikes!

⟿ Deathfic wherein a character dies and then the story ends; if they’re brought back to life via something supernatural, are reborn, are turned into a cyborg, etc. or the story continues on in the ~afterlife~, then fine! As long as the story doesn't end with "[…] and they died, the end", it's perfect.

⟿ Excessive angst wherein the majority of the fic is sadness/miscommunications and a tiny bit at the end is happy/resolution; if from the outside, as an observer, it's sad but the character(s) living that reality as their everyday lives are happy/content/blind to it, then that's fine! I just don't like it when 50% or more of the fic is focused on someone's sadness/angst and how they react or wallow in said angst.

⟿ Embarrassment/humiliation (kink or otherwise), painplay/torture kink, cheating/infidelity, high school/university au, yentas/matchmaking/meddling friends, epistolary fic, crossdressing, noncon, genderswap/always-a-[opposite gender].

⟿ Not a fan of crossovers, but fusions are always cool.

A Legend fusion with X-Treme X-Men, where Teddy and Ron are villain-slaying, bloodthirsty mutant/demigod husbands would be fantastic. Any kind of Le Marais fusion with Versailles where Prince Gaspard and his live-in boyfriend Elie give zero fucks about who knows that they're dating is a must-read. Or even a Versailles fusion with A Single Man where Philippe and Chevalier get to live out their days in blissful domesticity.

⟿ I’d like fics best when background pairings are kept to a minimum. Side relationships existing in the background (or canon relationships showing up) are completely fine, but an extended subplot detailing their relationship angst or them getting together will make my eyes glaze over. I've requested all canon couples this year and you can of course not make their relationship central to the plot, but I'd ask you not break them up. Thank you!

⟿ No preference between past and present tense, although I prefer 3^rd-Person Narration well above all others.

A SINGLE MAN (2009)

George & Jim.

Watch on Netflix or Putlocker.

This film captured perfectly the soft quality that I loved about the book and it managed to hold onto it as George slowly starts to regain his desire to live and things are (visually) more vibrant. Even more than that, though, exists my love for how the mood becomes this electric, sensual thing whenever he recalls his time with Jim; how even the boring, mundane moments of their lives was made better purely by Jim being around. I always got the feeling that George never took a moment of their time together for granted, even though it was clear that he never expected to outlive Jim.

Aspects of this canon I adore: the easy, back-and-forth domesticity between George and Jim, George's listlessness and sporadic disdain for the at-times basic and bigoted section of students he had to teach, the easy way George and Jim teased and were sensual with one another at equal turns, how the daily routine George had been so happy with when it was shared with Jim suddenly became lifeless and unbearable without him.

That these two have years worth of built-in history to be explored and also the opportunity to hit-the-ground running as canon itself did and exist in the pre-built world of their lives is so alluring and wonderful to me.

Jim was sure of himself from a young age — he never felt the need to sleep with women, and from the way he went after George the first time they met, he never seemed shy about going after what he wanted, even if it meant possibly risking rejection, jail time, or worse — and that carried over into everything he did, from enlisting into the military or just bossing George around their house, and it's probably my favorite thing about him. George obviously puts up a good front when around strangers, but around Jim he was himself, and all his rough edges seemed to be smoothed by Jim's more malleable personality.

I ship George/Jim but I'm also alright with George/Carlos and George/Kenny, so if you wanted to write a canon-divergent George-doesn't-die AU where he ends up with one of them, I'd be alright with that! Or an canon-divergent AU where Jim survives (and Geroge dies from the heart attack), and Jim ends up with Carlos/Kenny somehow? I don't know; I'm here for it all.

⟿ The first few days/weeks/months of George and Jim's relationship.

Has George ever had a Great Romance like this? What's it like for him to have Jim move in with him? After seeing all his friends pair up and get married, does George finally feel like he's attainted that since of permanency? Does he feel like maybe their love is even greater a thing because most of his straight friends have their relationships crash and burn, be he and Jim are rock solid thoughout the years?

⟿ We know way more about George's life than we do Jim's, so I'd love to see snapshots of Jim's life over the years: his first crush as a boy, enlisting into the Navy, meeting lovely men in various ports during his leave and having to leave them behind, arriving in Los Angeles, meeting George, dating/courting George, them basically being married.

⟿ General domesticity between George and Jim. We saw what George's morning routine was post-Jim, but what was it like with the two of them puttering around the house? Was it different on a weekday compared to a weekend, or even during summer break when George would be a around all the time?

⟿ Fix-it, of course. Jim doesn't die.

Maybe he walks away from the accident without a scratch, or maybe he's slightly disabled or temporarily injured — broken leg; blind; deaf? He and George learn how to deal with that.

Would George still die? Or would Jim being around mean that someone would be there to call an ambulance, and save his life? Maybe Jim is completely fine, but the heart attack/stroke means that Jim has to take care of him for a little while.

⟿ If none of that works for you, how about some alternate first meeting AUs?

“We’ve never met before, but I live in the apartment next door and I can’t go to work for the next week so could you buy me some groceries and medicine I promise I’ll pay you back" au

“i see you jogging around my block every morning so i guess it’s my fault i accidentally left my curtains open when changing while you passed by” au

"We’re both professors in the same department and it enhances your reputation with the students as a mysterious enigma and my reputation as a stone-cold terror if we pretend to hate each other, plus when we back each other up in departmental meetings everybody’s so surprised they give in right away" au"

“i’m a cab driver and you’re late to a business meeting and you are literally the most demanding pretentious piece of shit i’ve ever had the displeasure of driving but i also kind of want to fuck you in that suit” au

LEGEND (2015)

Ronnie & Teddy.

Watch it on Putlocker.

I followed this film all the way through production since the moment it was announced, and while it certainly isn't all that good and it didn't give me enough of what I wanted, the Ronnie and Ronnie/Reggie and Ronnie/Teddy made it worth the wait for me.

These two are so wonderfully fucked up. They're psychotic, codependent, don't practice safe BDSM, seem to take turns at who's the dom and who's the sub given Ronnie's moods, evil, violent bastards and I love them for it. They're the embodiment of what I mean when I say "onlookers are horrified by their situation but the people inside the relationship see it as everything they ever wanted". And that's not even getting into the other relationship that Ronnie was in — the somehow more disfunctional relationship he had with his brother.

I'm far more interested in the slightly sterilized film version than their real life counterparts, but if you want to bring in aspects of their lives to flesh out your fic, go for it. John Pearson claims that Ronnie told him that he and Reggie had an incestious relatioship most of their lives ("in the early days they had sex with each other because they were terrified of people finding out" that Ron was gay and Reggie being bi), they were spoilt and dominated their dad, they were "discordant identical twins" (which is when only one — Ronnie — suffers from a nervous ailment), they had diphtheria at age three (Reg recovered quickly; Ron nearly died — it's why Reggie felt he had to care for his "weaker" twin even though Ron was more violent), "they lived in their own private world, goading each other on to ever wilder exploits", their "telepathy", Reg reffering to Ron as "my other half" even after Ronnie drove his wife to suicide.

If you'd like to include past Ron/Reg or background Ron/Reg alongside Teddy and Ronnie's relationship, that'd be fine. I'd also love to read Ronnie/Teddy/Reggie.

⟿ Building a codependent relationship with someone who's already in a lifelong codependent relationship.

So Ronnie couldn't stand losing his brother to Francis and his attempts to break them up is largely what drove her to kill herself. Meanwhile, Ronnie had Teddy and Reggie seemed to…accept him? Especially considering that Teddy came before Francis?

Why? Is it because he isn't trying to change Ronnie and/or take him away from Reggie? Does Reg not mind him because even though he enables Ron, he helps to rein him in too — does he think Teddy is good for Ronnie? Are there lots of moments where Reg will pull a power trip and summon Ron or shoo Teddy away just to exert his power as the most important thing in Ron's life? Do Teddy and Reg actually have a good relationship where the conspire to keep Ron out of trouble behind the scenes and check in with one another?

Is Teddy jealous of how close Ronnie and Reggie are? Does he not care? (If you want to include the possibly canon incest, is it still going on? Does that bother him? Does he not mind? Is he involved in it?) Is he accepting that there will always be Ronnie&Reggie things that he won't be privy too, or does he try to worm his way into that part of Ronnie's life as well?

Does Ronnie realize that his and Teddy's relationship is approaching or has already hit codependency? Does it frighten him? Is he happy, since during that period Reggie was moving away and there was a codependent hole in his life that needed filling? Did he specifically go after (and groom?) Teddy because he could see that kind of future for them and sensed Teddy would be an even better "fit" for him than Ron?

⟿ Ronnie's paranoia had him thinking he worked for MI5 at one point. Canon divergence or alternate universe where he does?

If you've seen the Craig-verse Bond films, is he more of a James Bond-, a Raul Silva-, or maybe even an Alec Trevelyan-type? Is he actually unstable or is it all an act? Is Teddy a honeypot, someone who's actually a criminal that agent!Ronnie has fallen for, or a fellow agent himself?

If you've seen Kingsman, is Teddy a Kingsman/more-lawless-spy-agency agent who's undercover? Maybe he confessed it to Ronnie, and Ronnie's mind assumed that if Teddy was secretly a good guy, he must be too? If Ronnie's actually an MI5 agent, maybe they're having a inter-agency team-up (or competition) on this gang assignment?

⟿ Crime King & His Kept Boy

The film fast forwards for a lot of their life. Give me the lingering details of Ronnie being so feared and rich that nobody gives him shit for being gay and having his boyfriend trail along everywhere. What exactly did they get up to?

⟿ "I've never seen a man so desperately in need of reassurance." How and in what ways/at what times does Teddy reassure him?

⟿ Psychopaths in love and cohabiting.

It'd be interesting to play with their various psychological issues.

What was life like in that trailer of theres like? Do their various instabilities compliant, contrast, or enable one another? Is this a good or bad thing? Do any of Ron's paranoias or tics seem over the top to Teddy, or does he roll with them/see them as perfectly reasonable? When they have disagreements, are they drag-out fights that go way too far but they fail to see it as such? Or is the only time they're actually peaceful when they're alone with one another, because having someone who doesn't judge them (or see anything wrong with them) mellows them out?

⟿ How they met! The progression of [lust or love?] at first sight to Teddy being accepted into the inner crime circle to them shacked up in the trailer.

⟿ Teddy is the "crazier" one.

Ron is probably every East End gay boy's wet dream. Teddy's main-squeeze status is probably threatened all the time.

How does he deal with this? Does he let Ron have one night strands (or threesomes with him?) because he knows the other boys won't stick around? Does he make sure those boys don't stick around? Does Ron actually get to sleep with other people at all, or does Ted masterfully steer things into a monogamous setup without Ronnie even noticing that the random boys he flirts with never make it home or into a back room with him?

Ronnie's stronger physically, but Teddy's clearly got the mental upper hand. Does he have Ron eating out of the palm of his hand? Does he control everything Ron does from behind the scenes?

⟿ Tropey tropes?

These two deserve some tropey fic.

D/S 'verse with Dom Ronnie and Sub Teddy? Service-top Ronnie? A/B/O verse with Alpha Teddy and Omega Ronnie? Alpha Ronnie and Omega Teddy? Beta Reggie? Beta Ronnie with Alpha Reg?

Soulbonds? Hooker canon divergence?

Alternate Canon where crime families are like royalty and Teddy is the second son of the Smith syndicate who gets arranged-married to Ron?

Teddy's family falls into hard times and owe the Kray's money? They give Ronnie their son to wipe their debts clean?

Footie player Teddy and crime-lord team-owners Ron & Reg?

Delivery boy Teddy who Ron is enamored with and always finds reason to hire? Maybe he starts placing orders for threatening-flowers to be sent to all his enemies rather than doing personal visits just so he can see Teddy? Or message delivery boy keeps having to run letters between a bemused Reg (who can see exactly what his brother's game is) and a flirty Ron?

PARIS, JE T'AIME / LE MARAIS (2006)

Elie & Gaspard.

Watch it on Youtube.

Technically what could be considered a five minute fandom (the film is literally six minutes), since this particular short is from a longer film, but it honestly has been haunting me for the last eight fucking years. I could read 500k sprawling epics about these two — that's how much I've thought about and am invested in this little short movie. I feel like this short film is the audio-visual equivalent of a perfect 1k fic!

I love the overall tone and mood that's established in such a short amount of time: Elie would rather sit quietly and not admit that he has no idea what in the hell it is Gaspard is going on about; Gaspard never allows Elie's silence to dissuade him from trying to form a connection.

It seems like they're opposites, but I think that Elie's just as much of a romantic as Gaspard when it comes down to it, and you can really see that part of his personality shine through when he bails from work to try to track Gaspard down.

I have no preference if you go with Elias’ character’s name being Eli, Elie, or even Elias.

⟿ If you’d care to be literal, a spontaneous soul bond could’ve manifested between the two of them. It guides Elie to Gaspard and you can take it from there!

What are the realities of being stuck to another person, especially a stranger? Is this a super rare thing that never ever happens, or is it a world where soulbonds are the norm? How do they navigate the waters of feeling so utterly and devastatingly connected to this person that they know is perfect for them in theory, but who they’ve only known for five minutes?

If you’ve always wanted to explore soulbond tropes and deconstruct them, or really look into the realities of being stuck to another person, especially a stranger — I do love my unhealthy relationships after all: if you wanted to deal with how possibly not-good it is to instantly have your sense of self tied to another person you don't know, while each of you are now dedicated to making the other person happy even more than taking care of yourself combined with the trail and error of figuring out just what in the hell does make that other person happy — then I give you free reign. A sweet, domestic take on it is also perfect and wonderful and very much do want.

⟿ If you’d like to make it just be an intense connection between them rather than anything paranormal, I’d love Elie catching up to Gaspard — it can even be days or weeks before they reunite again, maybe when Gaspard comes back to pick up the prints? — and the two of them go on dates; anything really exploring the general progression of their relationship from that first meeting to however you want it to end up!

⟿ I also love, love, love language barriers, so literally anything to do with them getting past their language handicaps.

Elie working on getting his French better while Gaspard stumbles through English? He translates for his boss, but is his English largely work related and so do interpersonal and more daily/slang words trip him up? Maybe them coming up with a Franglish-hybrid language? A complicated system of hand gestures to make up for their shared language failings?

⟿ Seriously, domestic schmoop with Gaspard mooning over Elie while they do the most basic of things by itself or stuck in the middle of these prompts would be great.

⟿ If you want to go in a completely different divergent direction, here is an interview GVS did about the film, where he says that he originally meant for the story to take place in a furniture shop. He also says that his original story ended with Elie confused, wondering what in the hell Gaspard was going on about.

How does that version of Elie feel? Did he go about the rest of his day — his week? — feeling unsettled? When Gaspard comes back to pick up his side table or whatever, does he try to pick up their conversation where they left off? Is Elie so bemused by Gaspard that he asks him out on a date? What’s their relationship like, with Gaspard being so intensely into Elie, while Elie feels things at a much more casual level?

⟿ Another Gus Van Sant film that I love is My Own Private Idaho, and a fusion with that could be very interesting.

If you haven't seen it, I love hookerfic in general and so just going with a complete alternative universe or a slight alternate canon to make that happen would bring a smile to my face.

Maybe Elie and Gaspard have been hookers for a while, with Gaspard longing after Elie? Is Elie not so sure they'll work out the reason why he stops them from being a thing?

Maybe Gaspard is a john who picks Elie up and falls in love with him right when from the moment they met, and he makes it his mission in life to convince Elie to be his?

⟿ If none of that works for you, alternate First Meeting fic?

"a hopeless romantic and a single-but-proud meet at a store on valentine’s day. the latter is buying valentine cards ironically, the former buying them sincerely in hopes of getting a date" au

"my friend can’t stop talking about how they want to set me up with their other friend so we start texting each other and they’re hilarious but shy about meeting and ALSO there’s a cute bike delivery guy who brings my mail at work and winks at me whenever i sign for a package" au

"i hired a dog walking company and i’ve never met the person who comes to my apartment but they leave me really cute notes and they give my dog presents and i kind of love them because my dog does and ALSO one of the artists at this gallery opening is hella cute and i want them to paint me like one of their french boys" au

VERSAILLES (TV 2015)

Philippe & Chevalier.

Watch it on Putlocker.

Love me this show, bad wigs and all. Chev & Philippe are actually one of my favorite historical couples and I feel like the show does the the justice to the absolute mindbogglingly public and longevity of their relationship, possibly-historically-inaccurate problematic aspects and all.

I love how Chevalier always has a teasing word and schmoopy nickname for Philippe ready for any occasion. I love their devotion and the depth of feeling between them. I love how Chev has no fucking chill and will laugh at the king's face when it's obvious the Louis is being serious — even if he sounds insane — because he knows nothing can be done to him. I love how his an Philippe's relationship is one of equals, so that Chevalier can call Philippe out when he's being dense and Philippe can kiss him quiet and tell Chev to take his pretty ass back to bed.

I love Philippe's relationship with his brother and all the ways Louis seems torn between enabling Philippe to his hearts content and trying to protect/control him — either of which depending entirely on Louis' mood and temperament on any given day.

Philippe can read and manipulate his brother his brother like a pro and the ability isn't exactly mutual. It's so fascinating to watch how desperate they are for the other to understand them and the hardships of their respective stations in life, but their key point of difference is that Louis is all alone at the end of the day, but Philippe has Chevalier to go home to and share all his thoughts and concerns with.

If you're watching the show as it currently airs in the USA and haven't seen all of it by the time the collection opens and/or you start writing your fic to be set after a certain episode but before you've seen the rest, don't worry about being jossed! I won't mind. As you can see, I love canon divergences on all flavors.

⟿ Domesticity.

Vlahos said "The two show runners, Simon Mirren and David Wolstencroft, came up to me very early on and said, “The truest relationship in this whole series is the one between Philippe and Chevalier”, Louis has a relationship with six/seven women in the show, and they are either driven through religion, duty,  passion, lust, but it is never based on love. And we needed to make sure to portray this relationship between these two guys, and needed to make sure it was love that we showcased" about Philippe and Chev's relationship.

I think the show does a great job of showing the tender domesticity between the two of them while still keeping the plot moving with all the scheming. They're never far from one another, they spend so much of their time in Philippe's (their?) room and they discuss practically everything. I'd love a fic about their daily routines in Versailles or — possibly even better yet — at Philippe's own home?

I really love how they're "rough" with one another and aren't afraid to play fight — or actually fight — so don't shy away from the more antagonistic ways they show their affection for each other if that's something you like about them too.

⟿ Modern Retelling?

A lot of Louis' whole deal was that he wanted to be a progressive ruler who made his own rules. With that in mind, a fun direction to go might be an everything's-the-same-except-it's-the-modern-day alternate canon?

What would change and what would be the same? Does Louis still want to set aesthetic for living? Are people still looking to kick Louis to the curb and see Philippe as a more desirable figurehead? What's the plot against him look like in 2016? Is it a social media smear campaign or do people want him dead? Is Louis trying to give the royal family more power again so that his title of "king" actually matters or is he only into being famous? Does he succeed? Are things less strained between Louis and Philippe without the ever-present loom of "Louis is the King and you always have to submit to him" hanging over their heads in a way that actually mattered?

Philippe and Chev would obviously still be an out couple, but in this day he wouldn't have to marry Henriette out of duty; how does the public feel about him gracing the society pages with that gorgeous boyfriend Chevalier on his arm? Do people still accuse Chev of being a gold digger? Do they realize that he's as fiercely into Philippe as Philippe is into him? Is Philippe still a decorated military man for the French army? Does the media have fun with the fact that they're both named Philippe? Are they just your typical 20-something couple?

Are people salivating at the thought of their royal wedding? It's definitely a matter of "when" and not "if", it's be real.
⟿ Not-So-Arranged Marriage?

In real life, Philippe actually asked Chevalier permission to love/marry Henriette because that's how loyal he was to his and Chev's relationship. He was willing to go against his brother's wishes if it would've upset Chev.

What if Chevalier had decided to be selfish and said no?

What if Philippe's stubbornness and loyalty over Chev put Louis in such a hard position that the only option he had was to marry Philippe off to Chevalier if he wanted any hopes of marrying his brother at all (and reaping any benefits from it). Chev had the title of prince étranger which is technically a prince in that good ol' vague way. Louis bent so many rules for Philippe's sexuality anyway, what's one more by way of making it legal for two men to marry?

⟿ Louis joins in from time to time?

Louis has always seemed more demanding of his brother' attentions than the other way around. He's also a hedonist and — I honestly blame this more on Blagden & Vlahos than I do the actual nature of the brother's relationship — they come off as flirty a lot of the time for me and are stupidly codependent sometimes. Did I also mention he's a hedonist?

Ergo, Louis trying to insert himself into Chev and Philippe's relationship.

Given that Philippe/Chevalier are the show's single example of true love, is Louis' motiviation that he wants in as a means to experience what unconditional/selfless/pure love is like?

Is it not about that and is merely another extension of Louis' control freak nature? Is he just very invested about staying an important figure and his brother's life and doesn't like that he has no leverage with Philippe when it comes to his sexuality? Is it all about control/possessiveness?

Regardless of his motivations, do Philippe or Chev know why he does it?

Does sex actually ever happen, or is Philipe not into it? Or is he into it — but Chevalier forbids it due to that jealous streak of his? Is Louis even attracted to his brother? Does Louis not want to have sex with Philippe, so he merely touches/kisses/etc Chev at random times? If that?

Is it completely platonic? Does Louis come into their rooms while they're being all domestic and revel in this happy normalcy that he'll never have for himself? Do Chev & Philippe put up with it to this keep bossy, entitled big brother happy or do they not mind Louis hanging about at all? Does Philippe not mind, but Chev does? Does Chev not mind, but Philippe does?

⟿ How they got to be where/the way they are.

Chevalier said of their first night together, "Do you remember what I said to you when we awoke in the morning? Henceforth, every day that I do not touch you, taste you, feel you, will be a day of death and mourning. I meant it then and I meant it now."

That's a pretty over the top response — especially since we know that TPTB say unequivocally that he is not a golddigger, and is totally in love with Philippe — for their first time, so how did they meet and how good was that night they shared to have the ever-cynical and practical Chevalier wax poetic in such a way?

What were their first few days/weeks/months like? Were they inseparable from the very start? Were they apart for a while (Philippe playing hard to get?) and exchanged letters or visits (or even "oh what a coincidence seeing you here" meet-ups that aren't a coincidence at all?) with increasing frequency until one day they realized they hadn't parted for a while and decided they'd never part again?

⟿ Codependency & Possessiveness.

You knew it was coming!!

Chevalier says stuff like, "If you don't love me, no one loves me" and Philippe absolutely melts. Philippe says variations of the "With you by my side, I can overcome anything" line throughout. Philippe literally puts his life on the line any time he tells Chevalier something treasonous — and vice versa, when Chev says treasonous things about Louis to Philippe — or shares court secrets with Chevalier that are supposed to stay between Philippe and his brother.

Chevalier was totally game to blow that random dude before he was murdered in front of Chev's eyes but he gets jealous any time a pretty boy at court so much as glances Philippe's way. What exactly is and isn't allowed in their relationship? At Phillipe's orgy, it seemed as if all the other boys were live-action porn and they had the bed to themselves? Or did they have a threesome with the waify redhead but Chev doesn't allow boys to double dip?

Is it healthy? Is it bad? How deep does it run? When did it start to happen — was their devotion an instant thing or was it more gradual?

We get to see the big things they do for one another, plot-wise; what are the smaller-scale things that they do on a daily basis to ensure they stay the most important person in one another's lives and/or make the other happy?

⟿ Canon divergence where Chevalier wasn't involved in the whole scheming subplot.

In real life, Henriette complained to Louis incessantly about Chev until he finally caved and banished/imprisoned Chev to first near Lyon and then father off at Château d'If. That was in January. Philippe complained and pleaded with Louis so much that by the time February came around, Chevalier was back.

I'd love to read about Chevalier being banished for less than 30 days — aka nearly as short as his prison sentence for scheming/treason seemed to be in the show; Philippe's so miserable to be around that his brother caves and lets him return. Maybe to work within the scale of the show, Chevalier is banished to Philippe's home within smoke-sighting distance? Give me the melodrama of them sending forbidden love notes to one another, clandestine meetings in the forest fifteen times a day, Philippe bitching to Louis, and their eventual reunion.

Or, what if Chevalier took Philippe up on his offer to join him in war? Him tagging along the front would mean that he wasn't in Versailles to be blackmailed/threatened and forced to participate in the scheme.

How much more of a keyed-up maniac would Philippe in war now that he's able to lay with his boyfriend each night & indulge in his testosterone and adrenaline surplus? Or would it have a more calming/steadying effect that has him less impulsive/cocky but just as efficient and successful?

Would the horrors of war hit him less hard with Chevalier there to help him decompress each night & talk through all the horrible things Philippe witnessed daily that so clearly bothered him?

⟿ Canon divergence where Philippe becomes king.

Philippe never quite believed it was possible, but Chevalier always knew what was up.

How does it happen?

Does Louis continue to fall ill to the point where someone has to step in for a while, and the prince is too small to rule, so Philippe is the stop-gap until Louis recovers or the prince comes of age? Does Louis and/or the prince die and so Philippe is the king for real?

Either way, does he take to it easier than Louis did? Is he a good king? Do the people love him like everyone said they would?

Does his fuck-the-rules spirit have him staying a bachelor? Does he have the same "fuck the rules"/"I make the rules now" his brother has and he starts using his power to make things easier for himself and save himself from needing to remarry? Is Chevalier upgraded to Prince Consort or a similar princely role so that he stands even more firmly and officially at Philippe's side?

Be as handwavy or historically-well-thought-out of the realities and repercussions of King Philippe as you like.

X-TREME X-MEN V2

Hercules & Howlett.

Read it on ReadComicOnline (+ Age of Apocalypse #13-14 + Astonishing X-Men #60-61 + X-Termination) or here.

So I reread the Apocalypse event as a lead-up to to get myself hyped for the newest X-Men film before it came out and was hit with so much nostalgia for these two. I scribbled them down as a must nom! for Yuletide, and here we are.

They essentially a pairing comprising of my two favorite things. I love the rough'n'tumble of westerns in the Old West, I love mythology and things set during Greco-Roman antiquity, I love this ship.

Howlett has just as much a tragic past as Wolverine ever does — but he's actually happy. Willingly taking on the responsibly of being Governor-General of Canada (making him unique in his own right) and then fucking off to go on a (panuniversal?) adventure with the guy who would later become his boyfriend (and ending up with a little blue son for his trouble)? Now there's a guy who's learned how to do more than just roll with the punches. He's done everything within his power to carve out a life for himself and I love him for it.

I love how Hercules has always billed himself as "whatever Thor can't do — Hercules can accomplish more mightily!" and that carried over into this Earth-12025 version of him. Out of all the multiverse versions of characters we know and love that had awesome 12025 multiverse alts, Hercules was the one that they didn't change a lick, which makes absolute sense.

I love how he's affectionate and a little dense/thick-headed and always picking up his shorter boyfriend and doesn't blink an eye whenever his little adopted blue son crawls over his shoulders.

He lost track of Howlett for who even know's how long and clearly never gave up hope that they'd run into each other again — he was elated but not entirely surprised to see Howlett again and they picked up their relationship exactly where it left off; neither of them were in a relationship with anyone else, which would be shocking considering their 616 counterparts, but makes absolute sense for these two, who seem to be it for one another.

They're a really great duo — in the past where they've run into one another, Wolverine once had a line a the Herc run that said "I've seen it, in bar after bar. Whatever women want, that guy's got it…" which is fun knowing what we know about 12025 — who share lots of physical (suspended aging, regenerative healing, expert combatant) and personality (snarky, highly competitive, complicated relationship with family, loyal to a fault, get off on that bloodlust, sensitive when they wanna be, neither of them bothering with a dual identity) traits that made them a couple you absolutely bought would brave the depths of Hell for one another and have a great time doing it. They're 12025's greatest heroes and it's biggest OTP by a mile. And even though I didn't request him, I love X-Treme's version of Kurt and you can stick him as much as you'd like!

⟿ We know they fell in love during their adventures and were the world's greatest heroes, so give me the adventures of Hercules and Howlett.

How did they get from A (dynamic duo) to B (secretly dating) and then finally C (coming out and changing their lives forever)?

What exactly was the progression of their relationship? Did Hercules' no-shame attitude have him talking Howlett into brothers-of-arms shield-lovers who had celebratory sex after each victory to make sure their bond could never be broken and they'd be a cohesive unit, as good ol' Pammenes advised? Did it then morph from a buddyfucking situation into something with feelings? Was there already feelings by that point and so the "buddy" aspect was a lie anyway?

Did they share lots of glances during shared-bathing times? All the tenderness of a relationship without the physical aspect until they finally couldn't take it anymore?

When did Hercules gift Howlett the Adamantine? It's the same material as Hercules' Golden Mace; was the gifting Hercules' way of proposing?

⟿ Hercules is so tactile. It's hard to believe that they successfully hid their relationship for however long as they did! What was their closeted time like?

Was Hercules only touchy in private and somehow managed to be stoic in public? Was he just as hands-on as he is when we first meet him, and Howlett had to play it off as a joke?

Anything about their private time in general, honestly. Hercules is so aggressively-tender and affectionate. Howlett doesn't really seem to mind at all. How much of their down-time was Hercules fawning over Howlett while Howlett quietly reveled in every second of it? Does he actually hate it and only puts up with it because he knows it's what Hercules needs to be happy in a relationship?

Their backstory flashback said "The gods had always been polyamorous…but mighty Zeus didn't take kindly to any god but himself consorting with mortals." so what exactly was the line for them? Was it that that joking about being together was fine, but actually admitting it was the no-no? Was admitting to being in love with only Howlett the issue? I'd be interesting the the worldbuilding of Earth-12025 as seen through what they could and couldn't do as a couple. They seemed to be getting it from both sides, with homosexuality forbid in the Dominion of Canada and Zeus frowning upon god-mortal relationships. Were they able to act differently depending on if they were up on Mount Olympus or in the Dominion?

⟿ Those four years of banishment to the pits of Tartarus.

Was it the worst time of their lives or the best? They clearly love killing things, so being banished together in a place where all they have to do is fight damned souls and fuck? doesn't seem like the worst punishment. They were together, after all, and they didn't have to hide their relationship.

Was it a hell for them? Heaven?

⟿ Domestic happy family.

I love domesticity and established relationships; feel free to give me both of those things. If you can invent a way for Howlett and Hercules (and Kurt?) to be happy in one of the multiverses, I'm all for it. You can be as world-building specific — they end up in a good place? Reborn into a world where they can finally be together? Canon divergence where Earth-12025 does forbid homosexuality and so their coming out wasn't a big deal and they got to live a life worthy of a Governor-General and demigod? — or hand-wavy as you like, just deliver that sweet, sweet established goodness.

⟿ Ancient Greece canon divergence/alternate universe?

Hercules as the demigod he is and Howlett as the mortal he loves? Is Howlett well-respected in the military not only because of his prowess in battle but because he's favored/sponsored by such an amazing god?

Howlett being sacrificed for his village at the temple of Hercules — and instead of killing him, Hercules takes Howlett as a lover? Perhaps as a sex slave?

Finally, and this is really dumb, but I love the show Atlantis, and a fusion with that might be cool? The tl;dr is that Jason & the Argonauts with dude-who-came-from-the-future!Jason, Pythagoras (yes, of the algebraic theorem fame), and Hercules all set in the not-yet-lost city of Atlantis. It's a great show (the BBC made it to keep the Merlin fanbase around, if you watched and enjoyed that show). Anyway! If you wanted to swap out Mark Addy's Hercules (I'm love you, Herc. I'm sorry!) for Earth-12025's Hercules, I think that would be a fun thing. Or it can just be Hercules in the world, who alongside his mutant boyfriend solves moster-of-the-week capers (with their mathematician son Kurt?)! What more is there to want in life?

⟿ Late 1890s/early 1900s canon divergence/alternate universe?

Governor Howlett and the very strong, very tall, very handsome foreman of his ranch/farm/spread?

That Governer/etc sure is a real catch, it's too bad that he's so surly that he scares away all the girls that might be good for him. That big place of his must be so lonely and he hardly ever takes care of it. Maybe that strong new guy who just showed up in town can help him run it right?

Sheriff/General/Marshall (Mountie?) Howlett and his deputy Hercules?

⟿ "Ha! Come on James…I've always said you should wear more leather."

⟿ "Howlett! You've come back to me! And just as sweet as ever!"

⟿ Howlett is taller than Wolverine but Hercules can still man handle him until the cows come home. Give me something about their size — and strength? Exactly which of them is stronger? — difference.

⟿ Fix-it!

They don't die, take it from there!

There do die and are reborn in another multiverse/the same multiverse, take it from there!

They die and end up back in Tartarus or a different level of Hades, take it from there!

⟿ A tie-in with X-Men: Apocalypse?

Since this run was one of the titles that led to the Apocalypse event, a tie-in with the film and/or comics event itself might be fun? I'm not particularly interested in seeing any of the characters from film canon, just the 'verse/world that the movies are currently at.

How would it work?

What if during the Weapon X torture, Howlett's consciousness finds itself in Wolverine's body? After escaping thanks to the kids, he goes off trying to find Hercules in this multiverse so they can be reunited? Does Hercules wake up in in consciousness of his film-verse counterpart as well — and who is that guy? — or does he appear in the same way they were known to do during their multidimensional antics? Was he reborn in this multiverse and is waiting — subconsciously? consciously? — for Howlett? How bitter is Howlett that he's now stuck in this shorter body with less impressive facial hair?

(Does he find Waggoner too? Perhaps the reason Mystique didn't come forward as his mother is because she isn't in this universe; Kurt is Waggoner, who showed up in this dimension for Reasons™ and misses his two adopted dads a lot and has been struggling to get by?)

If you want a more angsty saga, maybe Wolverine is sharing his body with Howlett as a result of the mind control stuff? Is he feral still or did Jean fix him so that he's memories-wiped-but-still-Logan? He's always been alone and had a pretty miserable life; does he fight to be the main one in control of their body, or does the Wolverine-Howlett hybrid take to this loving relationship and built-in family like a duck to water? How does Hercules (and Kurt?) feel about this; is he happy to have Howlett back any way he can have him, or is he sad/bitter/resentful/frustrated that this other guy is now in their relationship? Does he like Wolverine at all or just tolerate him? Again, I'm way more interested in the X-Treme than the X-Men film part of this fusion, so please try to stick closer to that than the movies if you're interested in this one.

Or, maybe scrap the Wolverine angle all together and while all this Apocalypse drama is going down, Hercules and Howlett (and Waggoner?) watch from their home as the world threatens to be destroyed? 70's USA seems like a safer place for a same-sex relationship than their original universe. They're two big guys who can take care of themselves even without their mutant/godly powers; what's it like for them to live in a world where they (& their adopted blue son?) can be together and relatively safe? How did they end up there: was it a rebirth thing or did they not really die & just regenerated there? Do they still fight evil? Have they got normal jobs? Is Hercules normal, a mutant, or still a demigod? Did they want to join in on the world-saving? Did only one of them want to, and the other one was like #lolno?

⟿ Marvel's Midnighter/Apollo?

Though they're from rival publishers, I think it's kinda fun that Howlett/Hercules are similar to Midnighter/Apollo in more than a few overlapping ways?! If you've read any of The Authority/Midnighter's solo-run/the New52 stuff and could think of a way to fuse X-Treme with new!Midnighter (young Adventures of Hercules & Howlett?) or The Authority/old!Midnighter (old marrieds raising their kid and trying to juggle time-hopping and their relationship), I'd love it.

thanks for reading!
spock

Comments

[aurilly]

OMG, so I've had 'My Own Private Idaho' on my (very long) to-watch list four a couple of years, because of your Yuletide letters mentioning it in reference to Paris Je T'aime. I'm finally watching it right now and OMG. Why did no one ever tell me there was a movie where baby Keanu and River Phoenix are USTy best friends and gay hookers?!?! With bonus constant epilepsy and Scott being a rich kid!! I mean... the epilepsy! Scott always carrying Mike around bridal-style! The two of them riding on that motorbike, Roman Holiday-style! Mike's epic hair! I just got past the part where Mike confesses his love. I'm flailing here.

[daken]

!!!!!!!! MOPI is one of my top three favorite films of all time ꒰⁎′̥̥̥ ⌑ ‵̥̥̥ ꒱ It's so good; I'm so happy that you're enjoying it.

I just got past the part where Mike confesses his love. I'm flailing here.

∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃) I just had to sit on my hands, literally, hahahaha.

I love Keanu so much but man do I miss River. He was so amazing and his plate after MOPI was so amazing. Have you seen Total Eclipse (1991)? He was slated to play Arthur Rimbaud — the role went to Leonardo Dicaprio after River's death and it's so wild to think about how the reason Leo has the career he has is because of River's death, and how River probably would have been prolific in his portrayal of gay/bi characters if his then-existing role choices would have been any inclination. We were robbed, I say. Robbed!

(Can you tell that I'm trying to avoid talking about MOPI to prevent spoiling you?!)

I guess a vague semi-spoiler I can share with you is that MOPI is a modern take on Henry IV? Gus Van Sant really is a master but the layers of this film really are astonishing. If you find yourself getting really fannish and into it, there's a lot written about how much reworking he did to get the perfect blend of Shakespeare while also being true to the gutterpunk and sex worker reality — in fact, the non-principal cast hustlers are actual hookers and not actors. The interviews they give about their first times are the actors actually telling their own stories.

On a Keanu/River front, Keanu signed on first and River's agent refused to even show him the script. Keanu hopped on his motorcycle and delivered it personally to River's house over Christmas. Also, River almost entirely wrote the confession scene himself and he also moonlit with some hustlers and allegedly turned some tricks himself to get into the role. (Keanu shadowed some hustlers too but didn't turn tricks.)

ALRIGHT THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT. Feel free to report back when you finish ｡･ﾟ’(*/益＼*) ‘ﾟ･｡ I can honestly talk about any detail of this film all day, every day for eighty years.

[aurilly]

AAAAAAAAA I JUST FINISHED IT! THE DUAL FUNERALS!!!! Man, that was amazing amazing amazing. And then those assholes took his SHOES!?!?! The whump in this was just... I've never seen anything like it. MIKE! The part where Mike is shivering and passed out in the street and then Scott's limo and new suit slide into the frame... What a gut punch.

Actually, I wasn't really thinking about it because I'd gotten sucked in, but the second you said Henry IV, all of the characters and plot slotted into place for me. YES! It's so obvious. Of COURSE Bob is Falstaff, and Scott is Hal and all the rest of it. That scene in the fancy restaurant was a perfect recreation (I also loved that Hans was there, but didn't play a role in it at all). Brilliant! As brilliant an updating as Emma.

It's weird, I actually did get a feeling during that scene where the hookers talk about their first times that it was... it felt like we'd switched a little bit to a documentary? It was super subtle, not jarring, but I could sense that.

I was so shocked when the production ACTUALLY went to Rome! So few non-blockbusters actually cough up the money to do that, but it meant so much to the film to have that scene of Mike just standing in the middle of that beautiful piazza, and it's so different from anything else that came before. Also the idyllic Italian countryside place. And the ways that the Italian hooker kids were weirdly exactly the same but with slightly different faces than the Portland hooker kids.

Keanu hopped on his motorcycle and delivered it personally to River's house over Christmas.
Great, now I ship this.

River almost entirely wrote the confession scene himself
I can't. I just can't. *flails* It was so good. Actually, it reminded me a little bit of the scene in The Stand where he pours out his love for the main kid and his writing or what ever. He always nails these scenes. I have loved him since I was a wee tot because of Indiana Jones, but I actually haven't seen that much with him (probably because he didn't get a chance to keep making things... sniff!!).

he also moonlit with some hustlers and allegedly turned some tricks himself to get into the role. (Keanu shadowed some hustlers too but didn't turn tricks.)
Wow wow wow.

Thank you for this rec! I would never have watched it without you mentioning it.

[daken]

Thank you for this rec! I would never have watched it without you mentioning it.

AHHH I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT ೕ(⁍̴̀◊⁍̴́ฅ) Getting as many people as possible to watch all the junk I love and obsess over is one of my main goals in life so thank you.

Filming on location truly gives the film it's soul? Their budget was nonexistent and it almost didn't get made about fifteen different ways but the production value they managed is amazing. I agree with you totally about the hookers; the jumps from Portland to Seattle to Idaho make everything feel really Americana and then suddenly they're actually in Europe and the grittiness and similarities feel — Europe-icana? The usual luxury of it is stripped away because at the end of it all, is there any difference between Mike's brother(/...dad's) place and the Italian farm?

Mike's narcolepsy makes everything all the more dreamy and fleeting; there's this feeling of both helpless and like it all just has to work out for him and slkjdklasjasd;alds;klsdj god, do I love this film hahaha.

but I actually haven't seen that much with him (probably because he didn't get a chance to keep making things... sniff!!).

I'm not crying ૮( ꒦ິ࿄꒦ີ)ა

[aurilly]

I basically started crying when he started getting twitchy while listening to Scott bang Carmella through the wall. I love how we got like three scenes of that. Really hammered home the heartbreak.

And then when he's about to have a big dramatic run down the stairs and tell Scott not to go... it's too late.

And yeah, the sameness of Rome-Portland and Italian Farm-Mikes family place are just... it's all the fucking same. In the best and worst way, all at the same time.

I weirdly wanted him to just stay in Rome and pick up a life there like nothing had changed. That probably wouldn't have worked with the Henry IV parallels, but in a movie that wasn't trying to do that, it would have been great!

Oh, so it was narcolepsy? I was so confused. All I knew was that he kept twitching and passing out and I had SO MANY FEELINGS. They might have said more explicitly in the beginning when I was a little distracted (I got all in about 15 minutes into it). The first time Scott wasn't there to pick him up... sniff!

Poor Mike. I'm so devastated right now. I don't know what to do with myself. It's 1am. What I should probably do is go to sleep.

[daken]

Oh, so it was narcolepsy? I was so confused. All I knew was that he kept twitching and passing out and I had SO MANY FEELINGS. They might have said more explicitly in the beginning when I was a little distracted (I got all in about 15 minutes into it).

Yeah, it's narcolepsy! You may have been distracted — or it may have been missing from whatever version of the film you were watching? — but the first shot/image of the film is a highlighted passage of a dictionary for the definition of narcolepsy.

Really hammered home the heartbreak.

I've seen it [mumbles to obscure embarrassing number] times and Mike's stress-related narcoleptic episodes kill me. God, please let him have found the man of his dreams who is still taking care of him, as he deserves!!, to this very day ╥﹏╥ (And let it be Scott, who finally came to his senses.)

I weirdly wanted him to just stay in Rome and pick up a life there like nothing had changed.

Yes. Yes. Yes. I've thought about this so much; especially with the Henry IV origin story, I would have loved for Mike to have stumbled into a modern Edward II (Gaveston!), Richard I, or my personal favorite, James IV and I.

What I'm saying is, I wan some gay 90s European prince — being a private citizen but wealthy would also work, but this is a dream fantasy ending here — to catch sight of Mike, fall instantly in love (you already know my fondness for soulbonds), and then take Mike as his Favourtite ™ and lavish him in love and kindness and nice things until they're old and grey. Scott needs to follow his Shakespearean threadline, but Mike's a free agent, damn it!

The first time Scott wasn't there to pick him up... sniff!

Alright, I'm crying.

I don't know what to do with myself. It's 1am. What I should probably do is go to sleep.

You'll never be free of MOPI. Welcome to hell. (Sleep well!)