we built this city on yule and tide

[daken]

happy yuletide!

Thank you for offering any of these fandoms ♥

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 as I'm sure you'll realize, I have a lot of things that I like — I'll be elated. Please take my note at the top seriously, pick whatever you like to write, and burn the rest of it!


GENERAL LIKES | DISLIKES
MAN IN AN ORANGE SHIRT | ROCKETMAN | SIRENS (UK)
THE LIGHTHOUSE | VELVET GOLDMINE | WESTWORLD (TV)

( quick note )

⸰ Prompts are formatted to (hopefully!) work for the less-is-more writer and the more-is-more writer. The top level prompt suggestions are generalized, complete ideas. Know what you want to write now? Great!

If you come up with an idea that’s similar to a prompt, go for it! If ¾ of a prompt works for you, but the final ¼ doesn’t, only work with the bit that does. I’d also love to see prompts mixed. All these general questions and ideas following the top-level exist just in case you want more to work with.

GENERAL LIKES!

⸰ Strong relationships! I'm super into reading about how relationships work: their unique 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, as well as where they differ.

Established relationships are kind of my jam because I love seeing how people get along after they've gotten together; that's where the really interesting stuff shows up for me. The day to day of their lives and intricacies therein fascinate me endlessly — this is also why I'm into so many soap fandoms, haha. How do they fit one another into their routine? What things do they do (or don't do) because they've got that other person in their lives?

That said, get-togethers are also my bread and butter and I've yet to meet one I didn't like.

⸰ Fucked-up, unhealthy relationships! Codependent relationships, obsessive relationships, and so on: 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.

Them doing questionable things or neglecting themselves to make their partner happy. I love it when they put themselves or the other person in precarious situations just so they can have their desired outcome; letting the ends justify the means. My favorites are when the characters know — be it fully or a suspicion — that what they're feeling, and the degree to which they're feeling it, isn't healthy, but they enjoy it so much they can't bring themselves to care. Them being equally, fuck-up-ed-ly invested in their relationship is what I live for.

⸰ Rather than miscommunication causing drama, I love it when bluntness and frankness cause 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 mulling over their choices before telling the other person what they want.

⸰ Stories that starts in the "middle"/in medias res of the overarching plot. I don't need a lot of world-building setup, 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 and you are welcome to go right on ahead with the action of the story.

However, if half the fun of AUs/divergences involves delving deep into the universe and making yourself at home there, go wild!

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

⸰ Here are my Yuleporn and Crueltide signups, which include additional prompts and likes!

⸰ Anything from G-rated schmoop to NC-17 sex is alright in my book.

Should you write a sex scene, here’s a general list of kinks/scenarios that I'm cool with:

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, identity porn/anonymous sex, rough sex, marking, 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 paired with very quick physical intimacy, captivity.

⸰ Tropes that I never fail to love:

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

DISLIKES!

⸰ Deathfic as an ending. If they’re brought back to life via the supernatural, reincarnation, turned into a cyborg, etc — or the story continues in the afterlife, I'm good. As long as the story doesn't end with "[…] and they died, the end", you're fine.

⸰ Whump/excessive angst wherein the majority of the fic is self-pity/sadness or miscommunications, and a tiny section at the end is happy/resolution; if from the outside, or as an observer, the events are sad but the character(s) living that reality as their everyday life are happy, content, and/or blind to it, then that's fine! I dislike when half or more of the fic 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, polyamory, epistolary, crossdressing, noncon (wherein one half completely hates the sex; if they come to like it/are mindbroken, we're good!), genderswap/always-a-[opposite gender.

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

⸰ If you don't share my ships, that is fine! All I ask is that you don't break them up or put them with other relationships.

⸰ Not a fan of crossovers (some exceptions noted in their respective fandom sections), but fusions are always cool.

An Rocketman fusion with The Lighthouse John and Elton are to English lads that get thrown into a pressure cooker of a two-man job would be great. Sirens fused with Westworld, wherein Ashley and the boys slowly start to realize that all the misery of their lives is by design is very much related to my interests. Velvet Goldmine fused with Man in an Orange Shirt that has Arthur and Curt as two misfits that find love during the second World War? I love.

MAN IN AN ORANGE SHIRT (TV)
Michael Barryman & Thomas March

Stream it on BBC, PBS, here.

I'm so insanely fond over this fandom. Barring the tragic ending (which is, of course, essentially what all my prompts request that you do), MIAOS is basically everything I love.

I love how easily Tom and Michael fit together, how natural and seamless their relationship is, even when they're at odds or hurting one another. For all the various angst and drama that befell them from the moment they met, they always were completely themselves with one another, and just being near together seemed to make everything alright.


Almost all of their scenes are a big blinking why I love these two banner, but if I had to nail some of them down, it would be the following:
Michael heading straight to Thomas after the war, not even bothering to let anyone else know that he was back home; that shy excitement Thomas had when he saw him.

Michael writing to Thomas in his head every single day, and that Thomas wrote unsent letters to him. That Thomas brought them with him to the cottage! How domestic they always seemed to be, including during the war itself, before they'd even kissed. The low-level thrum of desire that they can't seem to turn off and which certainly would have outed them should an interested party know what to look for.

How they literally cannot keep their hands off one another and are constantly being frisky as all get out! How utterly affected by their kiss in the bathroom Michael was, and how he practically begged Thomas to beard-up to protect himself. That Thomas comforted Michael even though he was the one with reason to be angry and upset.

That love letter, god.

That they always kept finding a way back to one another, and that their love was so apparent and long-lasting that Adam was able to suss it out after they were long gone!

Also, I love Adam and Steve, so if you wanted to muddy the timelines or have elder Thomas and Michael still alive so that Adam(/Steve) could be in their lives, I wouldn't question any of it.

PRE-CANON

⸰ Boarding school

"Was I a beast to you? At school?” “Well actually, you were very kind.” “What a relief.”

What if Michael and Thomas had been more than passing acquaintances during their time at school? What if their relationship began there and carried into the war? Beyond?

CANON

⸰Their time together in the war at the recovery home.

Canon compliant or a bit of canon manipulation to draw out their time together at the convalescence home — perhaps moving the kiss up sooner so it wasn’t on their last day? — and explore all the ways that Thomas and Michael hid and nurtured their growing relationship behind the homosocial lad culture going on there.

⸰ Their time together at the cottage. Give me all the domestic day to day goings-on for the happiest period of their lives.

Them fucking against every single surface they’re ever even slightly next too. Them cuddled up in bed in the cold autumn morning, Thomas having just brought tea. Their cheeky “Morning March.” “Captain.” Going shopping at neighboring farms, washing dishes together, Michael modeling for Thomas without a single complaint.

Drag it all out and tell me about their little world!

⸰ How tactile they are with one another.

⸰ That Michael has no qualms about picking Thomas up and that Thomas is very happy to be man handled and to climb Michael like a tree.

POST-CANON

⸰ After getting out of prison, Thomas falls into prostitution to support himself until his art career picks back up; Michael all but falls over himself to hire him

⸰ Flora urges Michael to visit Thomas in Cassis — or for Michael to get Thomas to stay in London.

During their department store run-in, Flora seems keen on getting Michael to go to Thomas' art opening. We know later that there was never any love on her end for Thomas or his relationship with Michael, so maybe at that point in her life she was seeing it as a the devil you know situation and she wanted Michael to be with one man who even she trusted rather than a randoms that could blackmail him?

⸰ Rebirth/reincarnation? Michael and Thomas get a second chance at it all.

How do they meet? Are they both still soldiers at some point? Just one of them? Completely different careers? What path do their lives and relationship take?

Is it a clean rebirth where there's some lingering connecting but they're entirely new people — or do they remember the past? Do they recognize one another instantly when they meet in this new life, or is it just an Intense Feeling that draws them to one another?

Maybe they move in together right away, and get married as soon as possible, leaving all their friends are shocked and thinking it's far too soon — but they don't care? Or if they do remember, maybe they're so happy that they actually can be married this time; Thomas once said that he didn't want to be Michael's platonic!family, and now he doesn't have to be.

CANON DIVERGENCE + ALTERNATE CANON

⸰ Thomas got Michael's letter in prison. They get to do all the things Michael’s fantasized over and more.

⸰ Michael gets himself arrested so that Thomas doesn't have to deal with prison alone

I'm a sucker for prison romances — Oz, Shameless (US), you name it. It's close quarters and high pressure; give me all those things.

⸰ Michael saves both him and Flora grief by not marrying her.

Michael resolves himself to be a confirmed bachelor for the rest of his days — now what?

Do he and Thomas move in together? No? Do they relocate to the cottage for privacy? What sort of job does he take up? What about Thomas? Is Thomas happy that they can be together, or are there hurt feelings that Michael almost went through with the marriage?

⸰ Michael is there for Thomas after he gets out of prison, and they start their lives together from that point going forward.

Do they take up Thomas' mother on her offer of the cottage? Or do they make a go of it in the city?

⸰ Soulmate/soulbond AU

⸰ Different first meetings!

Thomas’ parents died in the raid and so he’s a young man with no family/relations to tell him how to live his life. That leaves a lot of opportunities for him to do — whatever he wants.

What if he became a mountain man/lumberjack — that chest hair deserves to exist in all its glory amongst nature, okay! — who Thomas runs into while working on a series of nature paintings?

Michael needs a painting done for reasons and hires Thomas? Does Michael start collecting Thomas’ work as a courting ritual?

They meet whilst cottaging, and anonymous sex turns into something far more?

“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”?

⸰ Thomas as an artist and Michael as his muse?

⸰ A fusion with Maurice?

Their class differences deserved to be explored!

What if they took a page from Maurice’s book and did decide to run off to the cottage together, with Michael forsaking his background so that they could work the land together — or probably more likely, Michael works the land and Thomas faffs off making art — and live in their own little world, away from raids and prying eyes?

Is it easy for Michael to give up his status because Thomas is worth it? Or does he struggle? How does Thomas help him get accustomed to his new status and life?

⸰ Something Downton Abbey- or A Place To Call Home-esque?

Perhaps Michael is a bit richer than he is in canon, and he’s a young lord who has his estate used as a recovery house. Thomas is a patient staying there whom Michael never wants to leave? A doctor working there to support the war effort? With his parents dead, Michel has to take over the family's title and house, all while he deals with falling in love with Thomas, his butler?

Maybe Thomas needs some extra cash to support his artist lifestyle and he picks up Michael’s ad in the paper to be a butler/footman/cook? A handyman/builder that Michael keeps finding excuses to hire just so that he can see him again?

ROCKETMAN (2019)
Elton John & John Reid

Stream it here.

This film was a gift. I'm very much here for you making this as dark as the movie gave us hints at, or putting in the work to get them back into a place where they aren't miserable together (whatever that looks like)! While this is a ship based on a real-life couple with public and documented history, I'd prefer that you not draw too much on that (specifically in John's case) and instead work within the versions of them both that the film gave us. For John's (and Elton's, kinda) cheating, you don't need too pretend it didn't happen if it matters to your plot. I just ask that it not be a huge part of the story and it doesn't happen in graphic detail on-screen. Canon is a great baseline for what won't hit my DNW.

So! I love that Elton is so thoroughly gay that he can't keep himself from staring after cute boys the moment he clocks them. And that even after he's bagged them, he's still prone to zoning out in the face of their beauty when they're having conversations. The way he fucks off in the middle of work to make out with John is both hilarious and deeply problematic, and I love that he never even thinks to interrogate his choices there.

As for Reid, you have to wonder what went wrong there. He doesn't seem to have the same substance abuse issues as Elton had — did that serve as the reason for why he tired of him? Was that a sense of heartbreak on his part, to see Elton lose himself? Or is that far too generous for someone that would strike their partner in the middle of the street?

Is John a gold-digger that was never that interested in Elton to begin with? Was there ever a moment where he was as love with Elton (was it ever as deeply as Elton loved him?) or was it always about the power he felt by having likely the most famous gay man at the time so thoroughly in love with him?

While I'm fine with John being the complete asshole he is, I'm not too into the idea that Elton didn't have his moments or that they weren't both good at hurting one another in their ways. If you want to have John sort himself and be a better partner, I'm all for it; but I'd rather not have John being the devil incarnate with Elton being a hapless victim who can do no wrong along for the ride.

CANON

⸰ Groundhog Day

John reliving one of the days where he's at his most vile. What breaks the loop — finally being compassionate, or shifting the bar even lower for himself?

⸰ Honky Cat-era living it large and Elton being John's sugar daddy

⸰ Elton gives as good as he gets

Take it any way you please. We know that he wasn't the nicest person during the period that the film encompassed. Do he and John bring out the worst in one another, and they both kind of love it?

⸰ Momentary bliss

As much as I love fucked up stuff, I'm a sucker for schmoop too. Give me the domesticity of the honeymoon period between Elton and John, where they were free to be kind with one another and it was non-stop learning what their bodies were good at with one another.

Are there ever periods where they ran into one another and that spark came right back? Do they give their relationship another go (or a third, or a fourth)? Do they ever get it right?

⸰ Tactile affection

They're both very touchy-feely. Tell me all about it

⸰ Un 👏 health 👏 y 👏 Re 👏 la 👏 tion 👏 ships 👏

As seen in canon or as dreamt up in your most dastardly of minds.

Elton tells himself that all he does is give and give to the man in his life, but he's exceptionally good at taking!

Things can't be bad with John all the time?! What sorts of things does he pull out (and when? why?) to make sure there's still enough good feelings between them that Elton just can't bring himself to leave. (Gaslighting to make Elton think there's good times counts too, if that's your thing.)

POST-CANON

⸰ Reconciliation

We know that Elton gets clean and is much happier post-canon — what about John? Does he also get off drugs? Does it make him kinder? Were drugs never the issue and it's something like therapy that sets him straight?

Are he and John able to give things another go? Does it work this time?

⸰ Elton manages to quit a lot of his bad habits, but John (...and shopping #canoncompliant) is one that he can't quite manage to kick

They meet up at events, parties, through mutual friends. Elton always tells himself that he won't...but then he and John always end up fucking. Is it just that, a one-off that doesn't last the night? Do they last longer, until they remember all the reasons it never works out?

CANON DIVERGENCE + ALTERNATE CANON

⸰ John was actually a trick that Bernie hired to help Elton (a) actually enjoy California and (b) finally squash his crush on Bernie.

⸰ Going back to my plow!

I loved ranch/farm/old west AUs and Elton loves country. Give me a good ol' fashioned farmer au. Make up or your own or go full Brokeback or Gods Own Country, I'll love 'em all.

⸰ Rocketman

It's lonely out in space!

Is Elton a The Martian-type (stranded?) astronaut or is this a future where it is a manual-labor-ish job as the song suggests? Is John up there with him, or waiting for him back on Earth...or is he a figment of Elton's contact-starved imagination? Is he an alien life-form? Are we talking Vulcans here or something more terrifying?

Pick the space au/fusion of your heart and run with it.

⸰ One of them is a paranormal parasite of some nature

Elton's love keeps John alive, quite literally.

Do they know it from the start? How is it revealed if they were unaware? How does the fed-off party feel? IS it a violation or do they use it to their advantage because hey, at least it means he can't leave me, right?

⸰ Fuse it with their roles in other canons!

Have fun and go wild.

John as an asshole EMT who hitches his wagon to a cute boy. John as an evil lord that sees the vaguely-global-warning themed writing on the wall and makes sure to secure himself a marriage to one of the most eligible bachelors in the realm, said bachelors consent to such a thing entirely optional. John as a bodyguard with issues whos assignment may need saving from John more than anything else.

Elton as a spy that can't stop hooking up with an agent from a rival branch that just isn't good for him. Elton finding true love in the trenches of WWII. Elton as the sucky athlete the entire nation can't help but cheer on. Elton as the boyfriend of a very fucked up crime boss. (Something something Robin Hood.)

SIRENS (UK)
Ashley Greenwick

Stream it on YouTube (01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06)

I'm so excited to see this in the tagset! This show was an absolute gem and I loved the trio so much. Ashley and Stuart had such great chemistry — and history! — yet they welcomed Rachid like he was the missing piece to their triad. The humor was so blissfully dry and cutting, yet they still managed heartfelt moments that never felt OOC for the world or characters they'd built.

Ashley is endlessly fascinating to me; he's so great with friendships, honestly, yet his romantic history is abysmal. I'd be happy to see him find love and settle down, but I'm equally interested in what we saw in the finale where he sort of came to terms with being alone, and how that'll manifest itself in his hookups.

Will they be a bit more healthy, or will he accidentally let his mild preference for a Bit Of Rough still lead to him being tied up and left in a cupboard from time to time?

When it comes to ships, I'm game for anything! Any of his canon hookups are welcome to come back into his life; maybe that bully really did have a thing for Ashley, or Ashley finds himself missing The Nester, or perhaps the hot builder is worth Ashley having to switch from time to time? He and Ryan give it another go?

I'd also be happy for Rachid's bizarre preoccupation with Ashley's sex life being a precursor to feelings, for for the reason Stuart being so codependent with Ashley being because he's in love with his fit friend that's way out of his league. OMC's are extremely welcome as well. Richard's worked opposite some very handsome men (Kit, Taron, Guido Caprino, Douglas Booth) so feel free to fancast if you like.

PRE-CANON

⸰ Ashley's time at school

First form, Sixth, or University: whichever you like.

Ashley said that he was bullied for being gay, but then he started using his looks and sexuality to his advantage, presumably, the worst of his tormentors get with him (or getting himself a bigger, burlier man to love him as a means of protection) to make that stop. I'd love to see that explored! Did Ashley ever like them back, or was it all about power? How did he go about seducing them?

CANON

⸰ Ashley being a slut

And loving it. Just give me another episode — or a missing scene — set during the season where Ashley gets to be the beautiful bastard he is with that gorgeous accent.

POST-CANON

⸰ Ashley meets his first proper boyfriend while at work

Who is he? A patient, a fireman, another EMT, a doctor, a copper, a bystander? How does it go?

⸰ Rachid is in love with Ashley

The body type is certainly a draw, but Ashley hardly takes Rachid seriously? How does he get Ashley to give him the time of day?

⸰ Stuart is in love with Ashley

Ashley can quite literally pull anyone he likes. How does Stuart get past the competition? Ashley clearly doesn't consider him that way, and he knows just how awful a boyfriend Stuart can be, so how does Stuart get Ashley to take his interest seriously?

CANON DIVERGENCE + ALTERNATE CANON

⸰ The whole alpha/beta/omega thing was real

I still can't believe they devoted a whole episode to devoting to where the three of them fell in a/b/o sorting. So, Ashley is very happy being an omega! Run with that however you like. Is it a biological thing? Is this just a d/s type world that uses that terminology?

I'm fairly open-minded when it comes to a/b/o stuff, and don't mind if it's played straight or subverted. The only things I usually tend to skim when they show up in fic is self-lubrication and the associated tropes that go with that, but mpreg is fine if that's your preference! If you want to follow my personal a/b/o headcanon, I pretty much subscribe to this model based on wolf behavior, as well as this take on omegas. tl;dr is that alpha-type overly aggressive wolves threaten the pack and are kept on the outskirts rather than being the MVPs that all constantly joust for power. Omega's are the aggression outlets that also provide comedic relief, and in return they only have to do the bare minimum pack duties, if that.

Who will be the alpha that finally gets him to settle down? What's it like to so thoroughly control the men he desires and then just use 'em and leave 'em?

⸰ Rentboy

Maybe Ashley has a dry spell, or maybe he's tired of not being on the same page as his hookups, but Ashley just wants sex on the regular with no strings. He gets himself a renter — how does that go?

⸰ A visiting prince gets hurt while in Leeds and it's Ashley and the boys that care for him

⸰ Crossovers!

This one is an exception to my usual crossover aversion, because Ashley deserves a good boyfriend and one never appeared in the show!

Feel free to pick from any of my other requested canons (Ashley is an EMT that takes care of Elton John? Ashley gets a ticket to Westworld and falls for Logan/a Host? Ashley is working as a medic during the war? Does Ashley take a job as a wickie? Ashley falls for a journalist or musician?), a canon I've ever asked for in the past or written for myself, or pull from Richard Madden's roles (one of the GoT boys?).

If you've got your own crackship that you think would be the perfect match for Ashley, I'm very happy to be sold even if I don't know the canon!

Also, Ben Mitchell from EastEnders is very much Ashley's type, is all I'm sayin'!

THE LIGHTHOUSE
Ephraim Winslow & Thomas Wake

Currently in Theaters.

This was something else and I loved every second of it.

I'm here for close quarters and isolation. You could spot Thomas's mindfuckery from the start and I loved how twisted things got as each day progressed. I fully admit to being gaslit as much as Ephraim because by the end I was wondering if he was as awful as Thomas claimed and we'd been watching the film from an unreliable narrator's lens the entire time!?

It's really hard to nail down the canon details that I loved, because the only way this film could have been more relevant to my interests is if they'd actually let Rob and Willem fuck? And for all that they didn't, we got the emotional affair between them anyway so it almost felt like they did (especially since they watched one another jerk off about fifteen times that we know off...)

But, for the sake of helping you write, I love the slow defrosting between them, and how Ephraim eventually seemed to truly love Thomas even though he was always suspicious of him. I loved the bizarre dichotomy of how much of a total asshole Thomas was during the day compared to how downright domestic and effusive he was during their nights.

I loved that nothing in the entire film felt like it was given to you straight on. Was Thomas trying to fuck Ephraim over with his log (and why!?) or was Ephraim way worse than what we saw in the film? Did Ephraim do the identity theft and murder or was it all something he dreamed up? Is Thomas some sea spirit or was that all Ephraim's fantasies? Is there anything special about the light at all? Was the gull an asshole or the ghost of the last assistant trying to tell him to get out?!?!

With regard to the tentacle aspect, I'm ambivalent to them? They aren't anything close to a DNW, but there's no allure with regards to them being in sex or platonic scenes. Their use in the film is basically my exact sweet-spot. I like the movie with them more than I would without; which is to say random, unexpected appearances to make you go what the fuck?! and then them flailing about while Ephraim fucks/chokes the hell out Thomas is pretty much my speed. I guess I see them as another pair of arms, so they're about as sexy or kinky as a right hand is.

If you'd like to include them in your fic I wouldn't mind at all, but the fun of them playing a heavy part in the narrative or being the main feature in a sex scene will be lost on me ( *´ﾉｪ`)

Also, I've only seen the film once and barring a cam leak, I likely won't see it again before fics go live. If you don't have time to canon review or feel like you may have gotten some details wrong, please don't worry about it because I won't mind.

CANON

⸰ Thomas wasn't being an asshole that wanted to sabotage Ephraim's career — Ephraim actually was that awful

Doing shoddy work, masturbating all the time, Ephraim was the worst and he's lucky Thomas was still nice to him! What other things Ephraim prone to doing that he has no memory of?

⸰ More of the d/s, please

Thomas ruled during the day, but it was Ephraim who domineered at night. Your choice as to which of them is more dominant! Does Thomas get off on making Ephraim do everything he says? Does Ephraim finally feel happy when he has Thomas as his dog? Are they both switches that love masochism as much as they enjoy being sadists, so their particular canon arrangement has them euphoric?

⸰ "Handsome lad, with eyes as bright a lady. [...] Pretty as a picture."

⸰ Ephraim loves it when Thomas' starts to use his name

⸰ Thomas' weird visions were real

When he thought he was fapping, he was actually fucking Thomas. Do with that what you will!

⸰ What if they actually had kissed while they were slow dancing?
⸰

POST-CANON

⸰ That little rock of theirs was actually purgatory

Is it a groundhogs day situation where he has to repeat it over and over again until he doesn't kill the seagull/Thomas? Were the notes Ephraim found in the log actually an indictment of a previous try by Ephraim, where he was much worse? Was this his first try? Does he decend into a worse level of hell next?

CANON DIVERGENCE + ALTERNATE CANON

⸰ Ephraim was brought there to be a wife

Being a wickie is lonely work and the Navy learned that men are likely to go mad without the comforts of home, so they devise a system of having apprentices be the main wickie's spouse. Give me the canon with how much wilder (or better?) things would have been if there was one bed up in that little shared room of theirs!

⸰ What would have happened if they'd been picked up on schedule?

Would they invent reasons to meet up again even if they don't work together again?

What was Thomas' goal with his bad review of Ephraim? Was it meant to ensure he wouldn't get another posting and would have to come back with Thomas? Did he mean to make Ephraim ruined/unemployable so that he'd have to rely on Thomas?

⸰ Flip the script/role reversal

Thomas, spurned by his family and unable to work on ships any longer (and perhaps mad at the sea for taking so much from him?) gets a job as a lumberjack, and is charged to worth with Ephraim?

⸰ Thomas is a Sea King

What if he caught sight of Ephraim one day and set this whole thing into motion? Did he use his siren call to drive the boy mad, twisting fate so that he becomes a wickie, putting him in the perfect position to systematically break him down until he's willing to give up the land and join him in the sea?

⸰ The marketing (and Rob) is very into the psychosexual overtones. Rob said that all Ephraim wants is a daddy. Give that to him!

How does it work? Thomas reads Ephraim better at the start and is much more sweet and tender?

⸰ Ephraim is ruined after he kills the original!Ephraim, even with the new identity. With the Navy/wickie's unwilling to take him, he turns to renting?

Surely he wouldn't have enough to move away from the seatown he'd tried to find work in, right? Perhaps Thomas comes back from one of his stints on the rock and is eager to find a handsome young lad to share his company and blow some of his earnings on?

⸰ Anything that deals with the Greek mythology that this movie hints at

⸰ ...Fight Club? Fight Club

They're both named Thomas. What if one of them is actually posted out there on their own, and the other is a figment of their imagination/the person they wish they were and also who they wish they were wiht?

VELVET GOLDMINE
Arthur Stuart & Curt Wild

Stream it here

I've been so nostalgic for this film lately!

Arthur and Curt are so different and yet such a perfect match. I love that Arthur idealized Curt as a teen and tried to model himself after he and Brian, and all the complicatedness that must have brought to their first time together as well as their eventual end-game.

They both had their families let them down and yet became their own person who didn't fold or cave under that pressure. That Curt played a major part in Arthur finding his happiness, and how much later in their lives, Arthur gave that same thing back to Curt.

They met at a defining moment for them both: Arthur finally on his own and discovering who he is, Curt on the other side of what looked like his lowest point.

I love that as virtual strangers (with that imbalance of Arthur knowing so much more about Curt than Curt does about him) they share this turning point and form a connection that carries through to their eventual reunion — and beyond. I'm also very into their age difference (although if you'd rather downplay it, that's fine too) so exploring that at any time of their lives is relevant to my interests! Also, please use as much magical realism as you like!

On that note, it should go without saying that I'm all-in on Ewan's post-canon epilogue theory.

CANON

⸰ Their affair

It seemed a little like what they had lasted for more than a single night, with Arthur being a groupie that trailed along with the tour for a bit. How much time did they have together? What types of things did they talk about? How much sex did they have? Fill that missing scene!

POST-CANON

⸰ Arthur's career brings him into contact with Curt

Covering gigs leads to Curt and Arthur running into one another more and more? Eventually, they start coordinating rather than it being an "accident"? Maybe Arthur makes Band Reviews with Curt Wild™ a bit of a thing, and that's what helps give him a second career?

⸰ How they get together!

I can never read enough of this. Does Curt show up at the paper and pitch a 'Where Are They Now' story about himself now that the Brian Slade one was canned, but he demands Arthur be the one to cover it? Does Curt produce a chart-topper that Arthur needs to do a piece on? Do they both frequent the same bathhouse? Is Curt a frequent reader of Arthur's paper (or does he become one after their reunion) and he starts writing in letters to the editor/fanmail? It turns out that they live in the same apartment building?

CANON DIVERGENCE + ALTERNATE CANON

⸰ Velvet Goldmine: Queer Renaissance AU?

Not the Italian Renaissance, although I certainly wouldn't turn down Curt and Brian as rival-contemporary versions of Michelangelo and Da Vinci, with Arthur as the beautiful boy that may or may not inspired a bunch of Ganymede and Zeus love notes....

Anyway — back on topic! Right now we're in this interesting space of a ton of LGBT artists: Frank Ocean, Troye Sivan, Perfume Genius, Olly Alexander, Sam Smith, Lil Nas X, the list goes on.

I think it would be really interesting to see a modern AU with Velvet Goldmine as a contemporary thing. Pop and Rap and even Country are getting some good gay content, but Punk and Rock could use a little more rep! What would Curt's career and fame look like if it was happening now during the Youtube and Twitter era, and how would Arthur's standom manifest? (Arthur sliding into his DMs very much welcome.)

⸰ Rentboy AU

After running away from his parents, Arthur starts turning tricks to get by? Curt just needs some affection after his life comes crashing down, and Arthur's the boy he picks up?

⸰ Homeless AU

Curt doesn't manage to clean himself up like we see in his and Arthur's reunion (or maybe he spirals after that and falls off the wagon?) and one day when coming home from work, Arthur realizes one of the men sitting near an alleyway has a face he knows?

⸰ Sentinel & Guide AU

I don't know! Every fandom needs one? Curt has so much trouble controlling his emotions and Arthur is generally very calm?!?

⸰ Fusions with their other roles?

Christian and Ewan have such meaty filmographies that I think would give a lot of fun twists to the VG verse.

Arthur becomes a vigilante and one day his and Curt's lives reconnect after Arthur saves Curt from a mugging? Arthur is one half of a secret twin duo that falls in love with Curt? Arthur is a sociopathic businessman on the verge of snapping, and, unfortunately, Curt comes into his life at this time (lucky for him, Curt knows something about hitting rock bottom)? Arthur is a wizard placed under a curse and Curt is the only one who can break it (and something-something Jack Fairy is a prince turned into a broomstick)? ...I don't fully remember the plot to 3:10 to Yuma but I love westerns/cowboy AUs so!

Curt never manages to kick the drugs, and Arthur falls into that life as well? Curt is a famous space knight across the galaxy that fell from grace, and Arthur is a boy from a tiny planet that has always worshiped him? Curt is a member of a cabaret that Arthur falls deeply in love with? Arthur investigates a conspiracy within the church where he meets Curt, who joined up to get clean? They meet in prison and then one of them does the most insane breakouts of all time to continually be reunited with the other? Curt dreams of Arthur as an imaginary friend in his childhood, and is shook beyond belief when Arthur tumbles into his life once he's an adult?

WESTWORLD (TV)
Logan Delos

Stream it on HBO or here.

Justice! Justice for Logan, the bisexual legend who saw all the awfulness of Westworld coming but didn't have his genius foresight appreciated.

He was the only one who saw that WW was worth investing in, that WW was something that they should outright try to buy and took it upon himself to do research to make that happen, tried to vet his future brother in law because he knew there was something off about him (+1 for intuition Logan), and was the only one who realized that nothing good would come out of whatever immortality/mass surveillance and non-theme-park related goings-on Delos was planning before it was far, far too late.

Is the dude messy? Yes. Is he an idiot? No. I'd love to see Logan get the treatment he deserves, and that we had confirmed for us in season two. So much of his life is a mystery and I'd like to see any of it explored. I was extremely happy when we saw that The Forge took Logan's form and personality, and so if you'd like to base your fic around that portion of Logan's life (such as it is), I'll take it!

I loved that the show never tried to hide Logan's aggressive bi-ness, but its a shame that we never actually got to see him with a man, beyond that foursome nipple play in S1 or his trying to hook up with the cute Asian man in S2.

I ship Logan with just about every male host at the park, including, but not limited to, Akecheta, Lawrence, Major Craddock (that headed look during the pitch scene!), Hector, and Teddy, and will happily accept any Original Male Host or Guest you want to pair him with, if that's your thing. I'm also alright with William/Logan.

Some of my prompts may be specific to a certain host, but if you'd rather slot a different one in there, go right ahead.

PRE-CANON

⸰ Logan has his own "fell in love with a host" backstory.

[Host, including Hector even though Lee wasn't working there at the time; I don't care] just seems so real that Logan can't help falling in love

⸰ Anything about Logan's backstory in general

Who was Logan's first boyfriend? He always seems to be looking for sex, but does he ever look for love? Why or why not? Did he have a great love that didn't work out and so he's playing the field when we meet him?

During the trip with William, does Logan have a boyfriend/fiancé himself who doesn't mind him sleeping with hosts? When Logan comes back from that trip broken/raging, does he help put Logan back together for a while? Does he believe Logan about the man William really is?

⸰ Roles that [Host] have held and the ways that Logan always finds new ways to fall for them?

CANON

⸰ Different Parks/Worlds

Logan playing the hero (or villain) in Chronicles of Narnia World? Victorian England/Dorian Gray World?

Meeting Craddock in Sports/MMA Boxer/Kingdom World? American Gods World? Crime Fighting….Hannibal….Justified…World? Hector in Roman-Persian/300 World? Ben-Hur World? Akecheta in Longmire...World? Teddy in X-Men World?

Somewhere else? Futuristic Star Trek/Star Wars World? Overwatch World? Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy World? Nightmare Before Christmas world? Whatever!

⸰ Somewhere, in one of the parks, is a Logan Host

What's his narrative? Who made him? How close is he to the real deal?

⸰ Ghost Logan in the Shell

Anything and everything about The Forge taking Logan's form and how much of it really is Logan!

CANON DIVERGENCE + ALTERNATE CANON

⸰ Akecheta takes Logan with him

A more specific canon divergence of Logan being alive in one of the parks!

What if Akecheta took Logan with him instead of leaving him there? How does Logan fit into ghost nation? What would the season have been like if Logan had secretly been a part of what was happening all along? How does Akecheta — and Logan — deal with Logan aging?

⸰ [Host/Guest] helps Logan kick his bad habits and rebuild his life

⸰ Logan faked his death

What's he up to now? Is he still secretly on the Delos board or did he take his money and run? Has he been with someone for a while or does he find love later in life?

After hearing about what's gone down on the island, does Logan use this as his chance to take Delos over from William? Has he been helping Ford since the start? Is he at the park himself? With the hosts becoming sentient, do he and [Host/Guest] have a chance to fall in love?

⸰ Logan never takes William to the Park.

This is the reality that Logan and Delores & Maeve deserve!

Does William therefore never "get" it, and so when he takes over the rest of Delos, he leaves WW mainly in Logan's hands as a consolation prize? Does Logan become the rightful heir to the Delos empire because William never has a chance to take over without his WW play?

Does Logan have [Host] brought to the outside world to be his live-in lover, or is he constantly going into the Park to meet with them, a la Ford's private childhood section?

Is there a Guest that has Logan settling down? Do they meet at one of the Parks? Outside of it? Is he on the board? Another CEO?

⸰ Logan as the Man In Black

Except not literally, because Logan doesn't take things out on others and it didn't take him 30 years to figure out the park is a bad idea — but you know, semantics.

What's WW like with a Chaos Agent that likely would have worked with Ford/the hosts rather than serve as their antagonist? Has Logan been pining after and running loops with [Host] for years?

Does Logan finally join up with the resistance when Hector shows up? I can't see Logan and Delores getting along, but Maeve and Logan would likely be best pals. Would Logan team up with Hector and the Maeve crew post-revolution just like MiB has with Lawrence? (With Hector taken, would Maeve end up with Clementine!! Or Armistice!! Or Akane!!!)

Would slowly coming to remember his history with Logan be what makes Teddy turn on Delores? Would Akecheta and Logan work under the radar to set the host free sooner? Craddock and Logan bringing down the board with guns blazing?

⸰ Logan is a host

What park is he in? Is he a "good" guy or a "bad" guy within the narrative? Does he fall in love with [Host] in an act of his growing sentience, or is it a part of his narrative? Does an OMG fall in love with him and realize that Logan is more than he appears?

Does his father need an heir, and so he commissions Logan (and his sister?) to be made by Argos? Does Logan know he's a host, or does he think he's human? How do Craddock/Hector/OMH/OMG play into that?

thanks for reading!
spock