Not Prime Time Letter

[linndechir]

Dear Not Prime Time Writer,

First, I want to thank you for writing a fic for me and for taking the time to have a look at this letter. I've copied and pasted lots of stuff from my Yuletide and Shipswap letters because my general preferences haven't really changed in the last few months. This letter has a few general likes and dislikes, an overly long list of tropes I enjoy, as well as sections about the different fandoms and characters I requested, including some hopefully not too constraining prompts. Obviously I don't expect you to include every single thing that I mention in this letter, I don't even think that would be possible. I just thought I'd make this as detailed as possible and give you the possibility to pick and choose which of these things also appeal to you as a writer. I figured that would be more helpful than if I only listed three things I enjoy and made you despair if you hate all of those three things.

I use the same name on AO3 and tumblr as here.



Things I like:

- I generally prefer shippy fic to gen, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy gen about these characters as well. For ship fic, I like porn as much as I like more subtle sexual tension, I like first time fics and established relationships, I like fluffy vanilla sex with cuddles and filthy smut. If you don't ship my ships and would rather write gen, I'd still like the focus to be on the characters' relationship, even if it's not a romantic/sexual relationship in your fic. Also, I like plotty fics in which a bunch of other things happen  as well, so ship fic doesn't necessarily mean only romance.

- I also like: background stories about a character's past, missing scenes from canon, fics that explore why the characters made the choices they made in canon, plotty future/post-canon fics that explore where these characters are going, plotty what-if fics that explore what would have happened if a character had made a different choice, fics from a different POV than usual in canon, fics from an outside POV …

- I would love to receive smut in my fic, although I'd rather not get a complete PWP. There is, however, no need to include porn if you don't like to write porn or if it just doesn't fit into your fic.

- I'm fine with dark themes (violence, angst, depression, whatever you need for the story you want to tell, I have no particular triggers), but I'd prefer if my fic wasn't completely tragic. A bit of hope would be nice, and I'd rather my favourite characters/ships get a halfway happy ending, even if they have to go through terrible things before they get it.


Things I do not like:

- major character death, especially of my favourite characters, and completely tragic/dark endings. (The only exception for this is Niall's canonical death, I do like fics exploring the consequences of that.)

- complete AUs (a bit of canon divergence is fine, but no high school AUs, coffee shop AUs etc.) or crossovers/fusions

- I'm not interested in fic about any pairing that I didn't explicitly request. If you don't want to write any of these pairings, I would prefer to receive gen rather than a fic with a different ship.

- genderbend fics of any kind, mpreg, A/B/O, characters being vampires/werewolves/anything but human (unless they already aren't human in canon).

- I don't mind non-con in general, but please no non-con for my requested ships; I don't think it'd be IC for any of them.

- I have a major pet peeve for phrases like "the blond one said this", "the taller man did that", "the soldier replied". Please use people's names and pronouns.




Other tropes and kinks I like:

Again, there's absolutely no need to include any of these, but if they generally fit into your fic and if they're things that you like to write about, I would love it if you included any of the following themes/tropes/kinks.

Non-sexual:

- themes like loyalty, codependency, obsession, trust, and commitment issues
- characters dealing with moral dilemmas, having to question their principles, or simply wanting to do things they think they shouldn't be doing. This can be anything from "doing this would shake my entire worldview" to "maybe I shouldn't screw my boss".
- intimacy, familiarity, people learning/knowing about each other's everyday habits/hang-ups
- difficulties to express feelings verbally and non-verbal expressions of affection
- age differences
- protectiveness/going ballistic when the other one is threatened or hurt
- hurt/comfort, taking care of each other
- other people assuming the two characters are a couple (especially when they aren't yet)
- sharing food/drinks/cigarettes/clothes

Sexual:

- clothes fetishisation (sex between a dressed and an undressed person; one of them having a thing for the other's clothes (tailored suits, uniforms, leather gloves/boots/jackets, silk shirts etc.); people dressing/undressing each other; someone casual cleans up nicely, someone who's always prim and proper looks dishevelled for once)
- asphyxiation/breathplay, touching/kissing/biting/petting the other's throat/neck, oversensitive necks, hickeys, marking
- characters losing control in bed (speechlessness, whimpering, moaning, shivering, begging)
- messiness (sweat, come play, dishevelled clothes, dishevelled hair, breathlessness etc.)
- first time sex (i.e. first time between the two characters; exploring each other's bodies, finding out slowly what the other one likes)
- small gestures of affection/casual touching/discreet PDA; accidental touching/stimulation
- seduction (sweet talking, dirty talk, teasing, eyefucking)
- sexual fantasies, daydreaming, masturbation, especially before the characters get together
- massages, backrubs, stroking the other's hair
- friction, frottage, intercrural (anal is fine, too, obviously)
- banter/teasing (during sex and otherwise)
- competence kink/admiration
- body worship, people being madly attracted to each other, getting distracted because they're staring at each other
- scars and their history
- hand fetish (strong/soft/rough/calloused/gentle hands, long fingers, handling guns/knives/cigarettes etc., kissing the other's wrists/fingers)
- beards and stubble (especially on people who are usually clean-shaven), beard burn on the other person's cheek/neck/thighs …
- voice/accent kink
- oral fixation (licking/biting one's lips, drinking from beer bottles, smoking)
- oral sex, rimming
- light bondage/restraints (pinning someone down, holding their wrists, holding their mouth shut with one hand, blindfolds), D/s overtones (ordering the other to undress, to kneel, to hold still etc.)
- sex on tables/sofas/against walls etc. (sex in beds is great too)
- sleep-related themes, whether sexual or not (sharing a bed, falling asleep on the other's shoulder, waking the other, having dreams about each other, comforting the other after nightmares etc.)


About my fandoms:



The Raven Cycle

Fandom-specific Do Not Want, goes for both character sets:
I do not ship Ronan/Adam and Blue/Gansey and have no interest in reading about these pairings. So whether you write ship fic or gen, please do not include those two ships, not even on the same level as they exist in canon. Thanks.

First set of characters: Ronan Lynch, Declan Lynch, Niall Lynch

I mostly love these books for the characters, and my absolute favourite is Ronan (how original of me). There's so much in canon that's only hinted at about him and I'd love any fic that fleshes this out. And the few things we know about the Lynch family before Niall's death are so intriguing and I want more of that, too. I'm also incredibly fond of Declan, because for all his superficial charm and control freak tendencies, he truly cares about his family and tries in his own messed up way to keep them together, and at the same time he doesn't really have anyone who takes care of him. And Niall was clearly one hell of a crazy bastard and we know so little about him (because we only ever see him through Ronan's admiring eyes), and I'd love to find out more about him, about what he was up to when he was gone for months, about what he was thinking, raising his sons the way he did. I don't like any interpretations of Niall as outright abusive - he was by all accounts pretty strange and he had some weird ideas about raising his children, but I don't think he beat or mistreated them.

I ship pretty much every combination of these three - Ronan/Declan, Ronan/Niall, Declan/Niall. So if you want to write some incest fic for me, that would be amazing, but I certainly wouldn't say no to family gen fic about them either. Obviously you can include Matthew and Aurora in your fic as well, but I don't find them all that interesting on their own, so I'd rather not have my gift fic focus on them.

A few ideas/prompts:
I would love to read absolutely anything that explores the Lynch family dynamics before Niall's death. Were Ronan and Declan close or were they always a bit estranged? When did Declan first find out about his father's and his brother's dreamer abilities? How did he feel about the whole thing? Was he jealous or was he relieved that he didn't have those powers? I would als love to see some father/son moments between Niall and Declan because I do think Niall loved all his sons, just not equally, and he clearly thought highly enough of Declan that he left him in charge of his money and his brothers. You could also contrast this with how Niall treated Ronan, probably spoiling him rotten and clearly adoring him from day one in a vaguely incestuous way. Or anything about Niall teaching his sons to fight and to drink and not to take anyone's shit.
I would be just as happy about a fic set after Niall's death that explores Ronan and Declan's relationship (and obviously I'd be okay with Niall not actually showing up in a fic like that). Did they comfort each other in the first days before everything went to shit? How did they both react to Niall's death? I'd generally be interested in seeing something about how Declan dealt with his grief because canon, obviously, focuses more on Ronan. And while Ronan had Gansey, Declan didn't really have anyone to take care of him, anyone who wondered if he was okay and how he was coping. I would also LOVE to see anthing about Ronan and Declan reconciling a little bit, somehow, at some point, or just getting along better for once even if they argue again afterwards. Maybe they meet at the Barns at some point after they're allowed to return there, and actually have a proper conversation for once? Guilty, desperate, shameful brothercest would be a bonus, but it's not a must. ;)

I know that he wasn't nominated, so feel free to ignore this, but I also really love Gansey and ship Ronan/Gansey like it's my job. So if you want to include Gansey in your fic, I would definitely enjoy that.

Second set of characters: Adam Parrish, Declan Lynch

A while back I realised that Adam and Declan actually have a lot in common. They're both very ambitious (and, unlike Gansey and Ronan, interested in 'normal' stuff like going to college and having a career and a great job and being successful), they both take life very seriously, they're both used to not being particularly loved and to feeling lonely and like they have to take care of everything on their own. And I think under the right circumstances they might well realise that and actually get along great. It'd also help that Declan is one of the few characters in these books who can handle money like a sensible person and we all know that's something Adam appreciates enormously. That and Adam is clearly pretty fascinated by Declan, the way he stares at him every time they meet (like watching Declan make out with his girlfriend?). I also think that they're both emotionally constipated enough not to make each other uncomfortable with any budding feelings, so they could gradually grow closer in a relatively 'safe' way until they'd realise some day that they actually really like (or even love) each other a lot. I definitely ship Adam/Declan and would love it if you explored that as a romantic ship (or as a hook-up that will only turn romantic later), but I'll take gen fic as well. Just anything about them having a conversation or doing something together or running into each other somewhere and realising how similar they are in some regards and finding some sort of friendship/love/understanding in an unexpected place.

A few ideas:
- There's that moment in The Dream Thieves, when the Pig breaks down and Declan comes by with a new battery, and this is shortly after the Grey Man beat the crap out of him and his face is all bruised up and broken. And Adam sees him and realises that Declan is terrified (because Adam knows what fear looks like). I'd love to see a fic based on that. Maybe Adam goes to see Declan at his dorm to find out what happened, what Declan is afraid of?
- Declan giving Adam a ride at some point (potentially to have a talk with that new kid Ronan and Gansey befriended)
- bonding over how much of a pain in the ass Ronan can be
- They do talk a lot on the phone, since Ronan makes Adam take his calls, so maybe they somehow end up bonding a little that way? Talking about other stuff than only Ronan at times? Realising they actually really like each other? Maybe Adam once accidentally took Ronan's phone home and Declan calls? Maybe Declan actually starts calling Ronan's phone on purpose because he wants to talk to Adam?
- anything set post-canon: they could meet again when they're both undergrads or at law school or even later if they're both working as lawyers or something similar, and they end up hooking up a few times and then hooking up more and more often until they accidentally stumble into a relationship.
- if you do write Declan/Adam, and you include Ronan and Gansey eventually finding out about that and being kind of horrified by the idea, I would love you forever. (Again, I ship Ronan/Gansey as well, so feel free to include that, too. Adam and Gansey talking about the perks and annoyances of dating a Lynch could be hilarious.)





Gotham

Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne

Shiny new fandom that I only just got into, but already love very much! I really love almost everything about this show so far, but those two are my favourite thing. For one it's obvious how much they care about each other, how incredibly close they are and how lost they would be without the other. I also find it interesting how the power dynamics play out between them, on the one hand Alfred being Bruce's legal guardian and occasionally putting his foot down (about Bruce going to school, for example), and on the other hand Bruce being technically Alfred's boss and ordering him around and (mostly) getting to do what he wants. I also love how ruthlessly protective Alfred is of Bruce, and how Bruce is just as worried about anything happening to Alfred.

So if you write anything for me exploring their relationship in more detail, I will be a very happy recipient. Some things you could include: anything with Alfred protecting/saving Bruce, anything with either of them getting hurt and the other taking care of them (did I mention that I like hurt/comfort? because I like hurt/comfort), anything more about Alfred's past coming back to haunt him or how being around Bruce helps him deal with his past, or some plotty continuation of Bruce's attempts to find out what happened to his parents ... I'd also love to see how the Bruce we see on the show goes on to become Batman, so if you want to fastforward a few years and explore how that happens, I would absolutely LOVE to read it. Where does he get the idea? How does he go about it? Does he stay in Gotham the entire time or does he travel around for a bit? Does Alfred help him train and is generally a total enabler? (Okay, we know the answer to that last question is yes because Alfred likes enabling Bruce.) Also, their hugs on the show are utterly adorable, so if you have them hugging in your fic, I will appreciate that very much. All the hugs and clinging to each other and Alfred stroking Bruce's hair.

I will also admit that I ship them really hard, once Bruce is a bit older, of course. I'm okay with Bruce still being under 18 for anything shippy, just please not quite as young as he is on the show. So if you want to explore a more shippy angle with those two, I would love to read that. Something like Bruce realising over the years that he doesn't just love Alfred like family? Lots of pining because he thinks that Alfred could never feel the same way about him? Lots of angst and guilt on Alfred's side about falling for his ward? Angsty, slow-burn getting together fic, maybe only at some point in the future after Bruce already became Batman? Or before, that's cool, too. Or after one of them got hurt and they had another "I can't lose you" moment? Bruce being reasonable and mature and explaining to Alfred very seriously why there's no reason they shouldn't be together? Of course I also understand if you don't want to go there, dear writer, so I would be just as happy with gen fic about these two. :)

I like most other characters on this show, so if you want to include Gordon or whoever as well, that's cool. I'm just not a huge fan of the Penguin, but I don't think that should be a problem. And I like Bruce and Selina as friends a lot better than as some sort of budding teenage romance.





Kingsman

Harry Hart, Eggsy Unwin, Merlin

So, I'm absolutely crazy about this movie, saw it an unreasonable number of times in the cinema, and came out shipping my first proper OT3 ever. Obviously I love all three characters on their own: Merlin for being a perpetually unfazed, snarky badass who never loses his cool, Harry who walks that perfect line between being a consummate gentleman and being a killer machine who really enjoys getting into fights, and Eggsy who's both incredibly kind and good-hearted and a total little shit who loves teasing people. Together they fight crime. And I also love the relationships they all have with each other: Harry as Eggsy's mentor, as someone who sees potential in him but also expects a lot of him, Merlin and Harry as long-standing partners who know each other as well as they know themselves, Merlin and Eggsy who come to appreciate each other pretty quickly and like to tease each other a lot. However, I'm not really into fic that only ships two of them and the third one is just their friend/colleague; the obvious exception to this is Harry/Merlin before they even get to know Eggsy.

I'll be honest that I'm mostly here for OT3 fic about them. I'd mostly love to see anything that has Harry and Merlin as long-term partners in a more or less open relationship who've been together for decades and who both kind of fall for Eggsy and decide that they want him with them (and, well, Eggsy has a mile-wide crush on both of them). My favourite thing are all kinds of post-movie Harry-lives!fics. Maybe Merlin and Eggsy get closer to each other while Harry is recovering from his injuries? And by the time Harry wakes up, he's almost a bit worried that they don't need him anymore? I also always enjoy fics that have Eggsy being insecure about his place in the relationship because Harry and Merlin have been together since forever. Basically all kinds of angst and potential jealousy and figuring out how their relationship could work out is interesting to me, although I'd prefer if the whole thing ends happily for all of them. If you include any past stuff about Harry and Merlin, about how they met, how they got together, missions they worked together, that would be a bonus. And generally I think every single trope I mentioned in that long list above would work for these three. Oh, and I love anything about how much Eggsy turns into a mini-Harry and how both Harry and Merlin kind of love that. And I'm also really fond of outside POVs for these three, people wondering if Harry and Eggsy are father and son or lovers, and if Harry and Eggsy are lovers, what's going on with that third guy who's ... also with them and just kissed Eggsy? It just amuses me a lot. ;)

If you want to write porn, I'm all for daddy kink and dirty talk and rough sex and D/s, although I'm not into super codified BDSM for them with page-long kink negotiations and the like. My personal preference is for top!Harry, (pushy) bottom!Merlin, and switch!Eggsy, but I don't mind if you write them differently. The only thing I don't like is that whole "Harry and Merlin love each other but aren't actually sexually compatible, that's what they need Eggsy for" thing I've seen in some fics. Nothing against it, just not my kink for this ship.

If you absolutely do not want to write ship fic about them, I'd also generally be interested in Merlin and Harry's past, or something set during Eggsy's training (stuff either Harry or Merlin taught him about), or something post-movie when they're on a mission together, working undercover, kicking ass together, anything like that. I headcanon Merlin as a (former) field agent himself, so I'm not really into depictions of Merlin as a socially awkward geek who only knows about computers. I like him as a suave badass who can stand his own in a fight. Spy shenanigans, lots of snarky mission banter, use of cool spy gadgets, having fun with undercover roles, all that stuff is also cool. I like Roxy, too, if you want to include her, but please don't ship her with any of my requested characters.

Also, I know that this fandom likes to call everything trash, but I'd really appreciate not having my ship and its shippers called trash in the tags and author's note. I know, weird thing to get hung up about, but I'm a bit tired of seeing it everywhere.



As always my letter got incredibly long, but I hope it includes at least some things that you can work with and that you will enjoy writing. If you include at least some stuff I like and none of my dislikes, I'm sure I will enjoy whatever you write for me. :)

Thanks,
linndechir