![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mimmDear Pine4Pine writer,
Hi! I want you to have fun. If fun for you is reading this entire letter and making mental notes to follow, go ahead (and I'm sorry?). If it's picking a like or two and running with your own idea that avoids my DNWs, do that. Chances are high I'll like whatever you come up with.
Freeforms scare me a bit so I don't often do exchanges with them. But pining! I love pining. Always have, always will. The longing, the wanting, the choice between going for it or staying away because of unwanted repercussions, the worry about being found out, the joy of being found out and having the feelings reciprocated, the decision to go for it because the risk feels worth taking. All those are things I like. Basically, if it has pining in it, I'm happy. The freeforms I chose aren't the only things I like but they're things I'm certain to like. So if you happened to match on several, that's great, but if you only matched on one that's definitely enough.
DNW:
- noncon/rape between ship characters
- death of ship characters (temporary, presumed or faked for angsty plot reasons are great)
- bestiality
- A/B/O
- D/s
- daddy/mommy kink
- focus on pets, kids or pregnancy
- scat, emetophilia, watersports
- recreational drug use (getting drugged as an act of violence is good)
- AUs that drastically change the setting (coffeeshops, college, band, etc.)
- underage (teens with teens is fine, otherwise 15-ish and up)
- unrequested poly or trans fic
- ship characters as asexual or aromantic
LIKES:
- canon divergence AUs, roads not taken, what-ifs, fix-its, break-its (that get fixed), showing glimpses of parallel realities Sliding Doors style
- missing scenes, reinterpreted scenes, post-canon, pre-canon meet cutes
- getting together
- friends or enemies to lovers
- unexpected feelings and struggling with feelings (incl. internalized homophobia if it fits the era/character)
- sexual tension and pining that gets resolved
- consensual incest
- older characters pining for younger ones (no grooming!) or vice versa thinking they wouldn't have a chance
- hurt/comfort (any type and any level for either)
- angst as long as there's hope by the end
- humour and banter
- working cases together (office, stakeout, business trip etc.)
- working undercover (that faked death mentioned as a non-DNW would work well here), concealed identity
- missions gone wrong (shooting, hostage situation, shuttle crash, getting caught, lost communication, caved in, stranded etc.)
- road trips, camping
- wilderness survival
- having to share a bed/motel room/cottage/tent/etc.
- "I had nowhere else to go" esp. with enemyships
- all kinds of accidental/deliberate touching
- watching the other sleep (touching's fine but I'm not into full somnophilia)
- first time doing something together (kiss, sex, visiting the other's place, meeting loved ones, fight, break-up that then gets fixed etc.)
- all imaginable time travel tropes (loops and groundhog days, visits to past or future, fixing things, getting stuck in wrong time, distorted pass of time, correspondence between people separated by time, anything really)
- visits to/from alternate universes, parallel dimensions
- elements of horror, haunted places, possessed items, ghosts, folklore being real, secret societies and cults
- for smut, I don't usually have a strong preference for who tops/bottoms (and in rare cases where I state a preference the other isn't a DNW), and I like most sex acts (anal regardless of gender, vaginal, handjobs, blowjobs, intercrural, fingering, pegging, rimming, sex toys or pervertables, condoms or barebacking, partly or fully clothed as well as naked)
Any POV, any tense, any rating (either for sexual content or violence). With a low rating, I'd still prefer it to not be pre-slash or shippy-if-you-squint.
The fandom sections vary in length but that's no indication of what I want more. I want them all. I just have more thoughts about some than I do about others.
Under the cut, in alphabetical order:
The Alienist: Laszlo Kreizler/John Schuyler Moore (Laszlo, John or both pining)
Original Work: Ghost Haunting An Estate/The Descendant of Love Interest Who Moves In (M/M) (ghost pining)
Person of Interest: Harold Finch/John Reese (Reese or both pining)
Pride & Prejudice: Charles Bingley/Fitzwillian Darcy (Bingley, Darcy or both pining)
The Terror: Francis Crozier/Thomas Jopson (Jopson pining)
THE ALIENIST (TV)
Laszlo Kreizler/John Schuyler Moore (Laszlo pining)
Laszlo Kreizler/John Schuyler Moore (John pining)
Laszlo Kreizler/John Schuyler Moore (both pining)
I love this show. I love the look, the gritty details, the bond the main trio have. The storylines are interesting, the worldbuilding works for me, and while I'm mostly satisfied I'm still left craving more, whether that's a new case or just more of these people doing everyday things together.
What's a bit amusing, though, is how my brain's decided to take permanent residence in the John and Laszlo are endgame headcanon land. I start the show and watch it and I have to remind myself over and over again that no, it won't go there, it didn't the last time, I'm reasonably sure it won't this time either. But their chemistry and the way they act around each other, it's like my brain can't even deal with facts, it just goes, "But what if this time, what if?!" I'm so glad there's fanfic. :D
You can deal with the female love interests in any way you like, as long as the fic isn't an ode to infidelity or something. They didn't work out, they never happened, they're openly dating others, all of those are ok.
Character A tries to convince themself that a platonic relationship is enough
Character silently pines for someone due to fear of ruining their existing relationship
Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited
Character A pines for close friend who is unaware
They Both Think It's Unrequited
All pretty self-explanatory, I think. These could work well for either or both.
Pining character punishing themselves for their pining
I don't have any specific ideas here, and I'd happily read this for either (or both!), but this feels like a very Laszlo thing to me. He seems like a guy who keeps everything inside, the good and the bad, and is just waiting to burst at some point.
Maybe the pining turns into a bit of self-hatred. I have a slight preference for the punishment to be physical (I'm fine with bleeding, don't worry), but I'd also be intrigued by any form of emotional self-punishment. Like denying himself some things he enjoys. The physical punishment could be something like hitting a ragged stone wall until his knuckles bleed, or hitting his shins, or otherwise bruising himself. I've requested this tag under The Terror as well. The characters are different but maybe that'll give you an idea that feels like it might fit here. And if you feel like using this for John? Please, do. Show me how he'd do this.
Pining Due To Period-Typical Homophobia
A pines for B incorrectly assuming incompatible sexual orientations
These could work well here, the era being what it is. Focus on it or have it as one more thing in the pile of reasons for pining. Maybe the homophobia comes from the outside. I'm fine with internalized homophobia but I'd prefer to have no or very, very few slurs thrown between the two of them as accusations.
Or maybe both are openly ok with people being gay and know the other's ok with it, but they mistakenly think the other's only fine if it's "those other people, not you or me" and they just awkwardly avoid the subject.
Pining character reveals their feelings while not quite lucid (hurt/drunk/etc.)
Pined-for character reveals feelings to pining character while not quite lucid (hurt/drunk/etc.)
I don't think I'll ever get tired of scenarios like this. :) They work so well in so many places. The inability to keep on a facade due to whatever reasons. The shock of hearing that there is hope after all. Different routes, same goal.
A makes creative works inspired by their pining for B and B notices
I'm thinking of John and his drawings, but if you'd rather have this about Laszlo? Go ahead.
Character A pines for B who has fallen asleep on A's shoulder
When is this not lovely? The bittersweetness of being close and yet so far, of getting almost what you want but not quite (except maybe later).
ORIGINAL WORK
Ghost Haunting An Estate/The Descendant of Love Interest Who Moves In (M/M) (ghost pining)
Character A pines for their former lover
A makes creative works inspired by their pining for B and B notices
Pining while sharing a bed
I don't often request original works but this time I nominated some because I had a craving. This was one of them. :) Choosing freeforms was difficult because nothing quite fits, but also, I'm not picky with this because I love the idea of the ship itself and would take (almost) any variation of it.
First, I'm open for any era you feel like using. Victorian? Would be wonderful. Modern world? Also great. Something else? Go for it. I'd prefer this to be humans on Earth, but if you have a fantastic idea for some other world (fantasy type or other) then don't let me stop you. The time the ghost has been a ghost could be 50 years or 200 years or whatever, as long as the two never existed at the same time. Their age is up to you but I'd prefer it if they fell somewhere between the 17-65-ish age bracket. Age gaps are fine, and I don't mind who's younger and who's older.
The estate? Could be a manor, could be an entire castle with lots of land, could be a house by a lake or just a humble cottage that has been passed down from one generation to another. Maybe it's stayed with the same family, maybe not.
The ghost? Maybe he owned the place. Maybe he worked there. Maybe he was a family friend who visited, and he died there in an accident and can't leave the place. Maybe even he doesn't remember anymore.
The original love interest? Maybe he owned the place, or worked there, or died there, or he's an adopted heir or someone the ghost guy took an interest in. Maybe they were a couple, maybe it was a one-sided crush situation and the ghost guy lived and died pining.
The descendant? Maybe he inherits the place, maybe he buys it. He could be single or have a girlfriend/boyfriend, or he could be a (unhappily) married man moving in with his wife/husband.
Basically, anything goes. :D You want something more solid than just a bunch of choose your own adventure options? Ok, I'll try.
In the 1700s, there's a manor. The owner is lonely because even when he has friends and hosts gatherings and dinner parties he's expected to take a wife and he's just not into women. A young man shows up in the village one day and they have a fling. Maybe it lasts for the rest of his (shortened by an accident?) life and the young man becomes an adopted son, maybe they break up amicably, maybe there's a horrible scandal and the owner ends up killing himself by jumping off a balcony (or is pushed off it) or something. In the more modern times, a young man related to the love interest/heir inherits the manor and moves in. The place is a bit creepy and dusty but he's decided to make it his home. Then he starts getting visits from an entity of some sort, a presence. Items change places, messes he makes get tidied up when he's not looking, and there are some oddly familiar paintings in the wine cellar about his ancestors. And he could swear there are now two more than the last time, and isn't that one actually of him gardening just the way he was a week ago when he was all alone, and who is that man in the painting, standing close to him?
The love interest worked in a house in the early 1900s and fell for the young owner. It wasn't a nice relationship, the owner had a temper and one moment he was sweet, the other he was violent. During a drunken night of fighting, the love interest gets an axe in the head and is buried in the backyard. A few decades later, the owner's grandson shows up. The love interest (in this scenario, he's now the ghost) notices the similarities, feels hatred and wants the new owner gone. But he soon realizes that the new owner is nothing like his grandfather, instead he's quite the opposite, even has a boyfriend for a while that he treats nicely before he gets dumped. So when the ghost first tormented the poor man by tearing up curtains and wallpapers and breaking water pipes, making the man want to sell the place as soon as he can because it has to be cursed, he now sits on the side of his bed, wondering why he's in this situation and is there a way to get out, and how do you reach out to someone when you're a ghost?
Or take some kind of a reincarnation route and have the same guy in a relationship with several generations of his original love interest who are in fact the original love interest, they just don't know it until they move into the place and begin getting glimpses of their past lives.
Or scratch these and go in another direction. Really, I'm open to a lot of options here. :D Even those I haven't thought up on my own as possibilities. The ghost can remain a ghost, or magic could be involved and he regains his body, or maybe he occasionally borrows a body (with permission or not), or it's the future and his spirit can use an android body the new love interest builds? Or maybe they can't touch each other, except in some very, very rare instances.
PERSON OF INTEREST (TV)
Harold Finch/John Reese (Reese pining)
Harold Finch/John Reese (both pining)
I'm the slowest of slow people to hop on board with this one, but I'm here now and this show is so good, oh my god. I know people kept reccing it but my initial attempt failed and I thought this wasn't for me. Then I tried again after a few years and hello, head over heels here, thank you so much for existing. I just love the concept of a very stoic killing machine with a heart combined with a reclusive genius, and how they begin as business partners but somewhere along the way they start caring about each other. (I'm currently mid-S4-ish but don't worry about spoilers. If something I say sounds a little odd, chances are it's because of this, and I hope it won't put you off.)
As an aside, I love the rest of the gang as well. Carter? Yes please. Shaw? I love her so much. Fusco? Root? Definitely welcome. Bear's welcome, too! I also like Grace a lot, so I'd rather not have her hurt in the process of the fic. Any way you want to deal with her is fine. Want to include some AI stuff as well? Cool.
Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them
A pining because B is in a relationship with someone else
These sound like John to me. Maybe he decides to take a break and disappears because it's easier to leave than to deal with whatever it is he's feeling. Maybe the distancing is less literal and he just acts colder than he'd like. I don't know. I just like the thought of John hurting emotionally, ok? :D Physically, too.
Character A Pines For Character B Not Realizing It's Requited
A pines for B incorrectly assuming incompatible sexual orientations
Character A pining because they think a relationship would be inappropriate
Character silently pines for someone due to fear of ruining their existing relationship
These would fit both.
Pining character is too sick/hurt to hide their pining any more
Oh yes. The breaking point where everything gets spilled. Give. Make it awkward, make it sweet, make it terrifying, it's all good. Either one could be hurt here, or they might even both be hurt, bleeding and lying in some rubble, and one of them isn't sure they'll make it so there's a confession that was supposed to be a secret forever.
A Pining While Adjusting B's Shirt Collar/Cuffs
A pining while B wraps their arms around A platonically on a horse/motorcycle
Pining While Riding Behind Love Interest on a Horse/Motorcycle
Character A pines while pressed up against B while hiding/in small space together
Pining while having wounds tended
Physical closeness and intimacy ftw! Any of these, god, yes please. Helping out with a tie or cufflinks will never get old, and having arms wrapped around the other in either direction or hiding from the bad guys in some closet are both so good, and wound tending is great because there's hurt/comfort involved. You honestly can't go wrong with these if you tried. :D
I can't think of any specific, detailed prompts, sorry. I like all the various ways they interact on the show. Working on a case together, John depending on Harold to give him a cover and the intel he needs. Getting hurt and having the other fix him. Harold having to physically join a case, being not quite in his element except when it's his expertize and his pro mode kicks in and he's either a big nerd or just very intimidating. Both doing something together in undercover roles? Oh yes. Please, do. I also like it when we get to see their personal lives, moments when they're more vulnerable because there's no work mode to hide behind. Any of these would do just great, I promise.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE - JANE AUSTEN
Charles Bingley/Fitzwilliam Darcy (Bingley pining)
Charles Bingley/Fitzwilliam Darcy (both pining)
Charles Bingley/Fitzwilliam Darcy (Darcy pining)
I'm familiar with several version of this, including the book, the 1995 tv series that I rewatched recently (and fell in love with again, as I always do), the 2005 movie, and the zombies, and Lost in Austen that's not so much a version of P&P as a fanfic take on it. :) But it's lovely. And I'm pretty sure I've seen Laurence Olivier's Darcy as well. So rest assured, you're free to tweak the canon a bit instead of sticking 100% to the novel if you feel like it. Is Darcy a bit reserved at times? Good. Is Bingley a giant dork? Good. That's enough for me.
I wish I had lots of detailed prompts to give because I feel like lacking them makes me sound very unenthusiastic or ambivalent, but I'm definitely neither. I love P&P and I love these two characters (as well as Elizabeth, and Jane's very nice too). I'm open to a lot of things.
They Both Think It's Unrequited
Character A pines for close friend who is unaware
Character A tries to convince themself that a platonic relationship is enough
Character silently pines for someone due to fear of ruining their existing relationship
These work for both, and since I'm requesting either or both pining, the pining character could obviously be either. It's not the best of eras to be a guy falling for a guy, so clearly that's a part of their dilemma. But also, they're expected to marry women. They have obligations. It would be easier to ignore the feelings or try to get over them. And that? Brings us to lovely angsty moments of "I shouldn't because A, B and C, but oh it's hard". Not to mention falling for a friend can get very awkward if it's not mutual.
Character A distances themself from Character B to try and get over them
Guilty About Sexual Attraction
These could be either, but I'm feeling Darcy more than Bingley here, at least for the distancing part. Maybe it upsets Bingley he's suddenly away all the time. Or focus on the guilt in detail, make the pining hurt.
A only realizes feelings for B when B starts dating someone else
This could be about Bingley having his eyes on Jane, or Darcy having his eyes on Elizabeth, or it could be when they were younger.
A being taken care of during illness/injury by B whom they're pining for
A Pining While Adjusting B's Shirt Collar/Cuffs
Character pines for someone who thinks nothing of undressing casually in front of them
A selection of scenarios that sound very nice with these two. :) Could be a riding accident, or a shooting accident while hunting. Maybe they're on a boat and it capsizes and the other catches a horrible cold. And all those beautiful clothes, putting them on and taking them off, and throwing some awkward intimacy in the mix? Yes, please.
You're free to tweak the story lines as much as you want, or go with canon as much as you can.
What if Wickham focused on Bingley instead of Georgina? Sure, no dowry there, but he could get some money off it if he played the charmer role well. Or maybe a sweet moment where Darcy and Bingley practice dancing together? Or they jokingly try to come up with ways to woo a lady into dancing with them, and they get carried away when it turns a bit sideways and, um, are we still talking about ladies or what is this?
Or, you know, Darcy and Bingley marry Elizabeth and Jane, and they live happily meeting up all the time, and it's clear the guys have a thing for each other and it'd be a shame to not let them go there, because at least they're not cheating on their wives with anyone horrible, and it's clear they also love their wives a lot. (I'd rather not have a foursome or a poly ship living under the same roof, but some poly tendencies wouldn't be out of the question here. As long as no party is hurt, I'm happy. And if you want to ship the sisters together on the side? Please do, my likes up there include consensual incest, so there's a place for it here if you want.)
THE TERROR (TV 2018)
Francis Crozier/Thomas Jopson (Jopson Pining)
Ah, The Terror. One of those shows I request very rarely but enjoy very much. I don't even mind the cannibalism even when it's not my thing. :D But maybe don't focus on it here? Mention it if you need, sure. Anything in canon is fine to mention, in as bleak and gory a manner as you feel is necessary. I'm not squeamish at all.
This ship. This shiiiip. I'm so fond of (kind) master and his loyal, devoted servant dynamics, and if you add shippiness and pining into the mix, I'm done.
You can stay close to canon, take a sharp left somewhere and diverge as much as you want, or go for a complete U turn, it's all good. Crozier lives and Jopson dies? It's ok, it's canon. A fix-it where both live? Great. A twist where Jopson lives and Crozier dies? Actually... I'd be curious to see that. They're stuck far away from home together with no chance of returning home (at least for several years?? Nice. They meet in some kind of an afterlife? Oh, please do. They make it back home to live their traumatized, occasionally happy lives? Very nice. The story takes place pre-canon and they don't even get on the ship? This is good, too. Really, I welcome it all.
Or give me a glimpse of two or three different scenarios, in a kind of "Two times they didn't make it, and the one time they did". (Or 5+1, but that takes a lot more effort and I'm very happy with even 2+1. Come to think of it, even 1+1 would be nice, with a bad ending and a good ending.)
Drunken Confession of Feelings
Pining character reveals their feelings while not quite lucid (hurt/drunk/etc.)
Pined-for character reveals feelings to pining character while not quite lucid (hurt/drunk/etc.)
Mmm, yes. All good options. Either could be drunk, really, or feverish or just very, very hurt.
A being taken care of during illness/injury by B whom they're pining for
Jopson takes care of Crozier a lot, so of course I love the idea of the roles being reversed.
Character A pining because they think a relationship would be inappropriate
No great plot elements here, but this goes great if you're focusing on his internal thoughts.
A Pining While Adjusting B's Shirt Collar/Cuffs
Pining while shaving someone
You can never go wrong with either of these. Never. Like I said under Person of Interest, "Physical closeness and intimacy ftw! Any of these, god, yes please. Helping out with a tie or cufflinks will never get old." No matter the era, things like this will always make me melt a bit. Touching while trying to strain yourself so you won't get caught. Yesss.
Character pines for someone who thinks nothing of undressing casually in front of them
Trying to Ignore Feelings While Forced to Work in Close Quarters With Person of Their Affection
Yes, excellent pining fodder, both. Where do you even look when your look will reveal you? Where do you go when there's really nowhere to go, because this is your job, and you can't just stop doing your job?
Unexpectedly being kissed by the person you're pining for
I saw the tag, stopped for a second, then thought hey, actually, if this happened? I'd be thrilled to see how it happened and what happened next. It definitely would be unexpected. Maybe Crozier is drunk as fuck, maybe he's otherwise groggy, maybe he's a bit more than tipsy and Jopson thinks he's just too drunk but really, Crozier may not be sober but he knows what he's doing.
Pining character punishing themselves for their pining
I like this idea a lot. I don't know why but I do. I'd definitely be fine with self-inflicted physical pain as well as him denying himself things, like food or comfort. Although my brain immediately went to The Da Vinci Code and Silas, with that cilice he uses. It could be a less dramatic one that causes discomfort, or you can make it a full on spiky one that makes his thigh bleed. Hush, I like the idea of him physically hurting underneath all those clothes while going about his daily business, ok? He'd suffer so prettily. And what would be better than Crozier noticing and being shocked and pulling the truth out of him? Not a lot of things, I'm telling you. :D
I requested this under The Alienist as well, with some thoughts that fit a character there, if you're curious.
Character expects to be hurt because their pining was revealed
This could go with the self-punishment above, or on its own, or you can combine it with a confession done while drunk/feverish and waking up the next morning, remembering what happened the night before, and shiiiiit, this is going to end so badly, with the best case scenario being that he kicks me out.
But honestly? If it's this ship and it involves pining, and they're not two baristas working in a coffeeshop on Neptune, I'd be happy with anything.
My AO3 for possible treaters:![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
Mimm
Hi! I want you to have fun. If fun for you is reading this entire letter and making mental notes to follow, go ahead (and I'm sorry?). If it's picking a like or two and running with your own idea that avoids my DNWs, do that. Chances are high I'll like whatever you come up with.
Freeforms scare me a bit so I don't often do exchanges with them. But pining! I love pining. Always have, always will. The longing, the wanting, the choice between going for it or staying away because of unwanted repercussions, the worry about being found out, the joy of being found out and having the feelings reciprocated, the decision to go for it because the risk feels worth taking. All those are things I like. Basically, if it has pining in it, I'm happy. The freeforms I chose aren't the only things I like but they're things I'm certain to like. So if you happened to match on several, that's great, but if you only matched on one that's definitely enough.
DNW:
- noncon/rape between ship characters
- death of ship characters (temporary, presumed or faked for angsty plot reasons are great)
- bestiality
- A/B/O
- D/s
- daddy/mommy kink
- focus on pets, kids or pregnancy
- scat, emetophilia, watersports
- recreational drug use (getting drugged as an act of violence is good)
- AUs that drastically change the setting (coffeeshops, college, band, etc.)
- underage (teens with teens is fine, otherwise 15-ish and up)
- unrequested poly or trans fic
- ship characters as asexual or aromantic
LIKES:
- canon divergence AUs, roads not taken, what-ifs, fix-its, break-its (that get fixed), showing glimpses of parallel realities Sliding Doors style
- missing scenes, reinterpreted scenes, post-canon, pre-canon meet cutes
- getting together
- friends or enemies to lovers
- unexpected feelings and struggling with feelings (incl. internalized homophobia if it fits the era/character)
- sexual tension and pining that gets resolved
- consensual incest
- older characters pining for younger ones (no grooming!) or vice versa thinking they wouldn't have a chance
- hurt/comfort (any type and any level for either)
- angst as long as there's hope by the end
- humour and banter
- working cases together (office, stakeout, business trip etc.)
- working undercover (that faked death mentioned as a non-DNW would work well here), concealed identity
- missions gone wrong (shooting, hostage situation, shuttle crash, getting caught, lost communication, caved in, stranded etc.)
- road trips, camping
- wilderness survival
- having to share a bed/motel room/cottage/tent/etc.
- "I had nowhere else to go" esp. with enemyships
- all kinds of accidental/deliberate touching
- watching the other sleep (touching's fine but I'm not into full somnophilia)
- first time doing something together (kiss, sex, visiting the other's place, meeting loved ones, fight, break-up that then gets fixed etc.)
- all imaginable time travel tropes (loops and groundhog days, visits to past or future, fixing things, getting stuck in wrong time, distorted pass of time, correspondence between people separated by time, anything really)
- visits to/from alternate universes, parallel dimensions
- elements of horror, haunted places, possessed items, ghosts, folklore being real, secret societies and cults
- for smut, I don't usually have a strong preference for who tops/bottoms (and in rare cases where I state a preference the other isn't a DNW), and I like most sex acts (anal regardless of gender, vaginal, handjobs, blowjobs, intercrural, fingering, pegging, rimming, sex toys or pervertables, condoms or barebacking, partly or fully clothed as well as naked)
Any POV, any tense, any rating (either for sexual content or violence). With a low rating, I'd still prefer it to not be pre-slash or shippy-if-you-squint.
The fandom sections vary in length but that's no indication of what I want more. I want them all. I just have more thoughts about some than I do about others.
Under the cut, in alphabetical order:
The Alienist: Laszlo Kreizler/John Schuyler Moore (Laszlo, John or both pining)
Original Work: Ghost Haunting An Estate/The Descendant of Love Interest Who Moves In (M/M) (ghost pining)
Person of Interest: Harold Finch/John Reese (Reese or both pining)
Pride & Prejudice: Charles Bingley/Fitzwillian Darcy (Bingley, Darcy or both pining)
The Terror: Francis Crozier/Thomas Jopson (Jopson pining)
THE ALIENIST (TV)
Laszlo Kreizler/John Schuyler Moore (Laszlo pining)
Laszlo Kreizler/John Schuyler Moore (John pining)
Laszlo Kreizler/John Schuyler Moore (both pining)
I love this show. I love the look, the gritty details, the bond the main trio have. The storylines are interesting, the worldbuilding works for me, and while I'm mostly satisfied I'm still left craving more, whether that's a new case or just more of these people doing everyday things together.
What's a bit amusing, though, is how my brain's decided to take permanent residence in the John and Laszlo are endgame headcanon land. I start the show and watch it and I have to remind myself over and over again that no, it won't go there, it didn't the last time, I'm reasonably sure it won't this time either. But their chemistry and the way they act around each other, it's like my brain can't even deal with facts, it just goes, "But what if this time, what if?!" I'm so glad there's fanfic. :D
You can deal with the female love interests in any way you like, as long as the fic isn't an ode to infidelity or something. They didn't work out, they never happened, they're openly dating others, all of those are ok.
All pretty self-explanatory, I think. These could work well for either or both.
I don't have any specific ideas here, and I'd happily read this for either (or both!), but this feels like a very Laszlo thing to me. He seems like a guy who keeps everything inside, the good and the bad, and is just waiting to burst at some point.
Maybe the pining turns into a bit of self-hatred. I have a slight preference for the punishment to be physical (I'm fine with bleeding, don't worry), but I'd also be intrigued by any form of emotional self-punishment. Like denying himself some things he enjoys. The physical punishment could be something like hitting a ragged stone wall until his knuckles bleed, or hitting his shins, or otherwise bruising himself. I've requested this tag under The Terror as well. The characters are different but maybe that'll give you an idea that feels like it might fit here. And if you feel like using this for John? Please, do. Show me how he'd do this.
These could work well here, the era being what it is. Focus on it or have it as one more thing in the pile of reasons for pining. Maybe the homophobia comes from the outside. I'm fine with internalized homophobia but I'd prefer to have no or very, very few slurs thrown between the two of them as accusations.
Or maybe both are openly ok with people being gay and know the other's ok with it, but they mistakenly think the other's only fine if it's "those other people, not you or me" and they just awkwardly avoid the subject.
I don't think I'll ever get tired of scenarios like this. :) They work so well in so many places. The inability to keep on a facade due to whatever reasons. The shock of hearing that there is hope after all. Different routes, same goal.
I'm thinking of John and his drawings, but if you'd rather have this about Laszlo? Go ahead.
When is this not lovely? The bittersweetness of being close and yet so far, of getting almost what you want but not quite (except maybe later).
ORIGINAL WORK
Ghost Haunting An Estate/The Descendant of Love Interest Who Moves In (M/M) (ghost pining)
I don't often request original works but this time I nominated some because I had a craving. This was one of them. :) Choosing freeforms was difficult because nothing quite fits, but also, I'm not picky with this because I love the idea of the ship itself and would take (almost) any variation of it.
First, I'm open for any era you feel like using. Victorian? Would be wonderful. Modern world? Also great. Something else? Go for it. I'd prefer this to be humans on Earth, but if you have a fantastic idea for some other world (fantasy type or other) then don't let me stop you. The time the ghost has been a ghost could be 50 years or 200 years or whatever, as long as the two never existed at the same time. Their age is up to you but I'd prefer it if they fell somewhere between the 17-65-ish age bracket. Age gaps are fine, and I don't mind who's younger and who's older.
The estate? Could be a manor, could be an entire castle with lots of land, could be a house by a lake or just a humble cottage that has been passed down from one generation to another. Maybe it's stayed with the same family, maybe not.
The ghost? Maybe he owned the place. Maybe he worked there. Maybe he was a family friend who visited, and he died there in an accident and can't leave the place. Maybe even he doesn't remember anymore.
The original love interest? Maybe he owned the place, or worked there, or died there, or he's an adopted heir or someone the ghost guy took an interest in. Maybe they were a couple, maybe it was a one-sided crush situation and the ghost guy lived and died pining.
The descendant? Maybe he inherits the place, maybe he buys it. He could be single or have a girlfriend/boyfriend, or he could be a (unhappily) married man moving in with his wife/husband.
Basically, anything goes. :D You want something more solid than just a bunch of choose your own adventure options? Ok, I'll try.
In the 1700s, there's a manor. The owner is lonely because even when he has friends and hosts gatherings and dinner parties he's expected to take a wife and he's just not into women. A young man shows up in the village one day and they have a fling. Maybe it lasts for the rest of his (shortened by an accident?) life and the young man becomes an adopted son, maybe they break up amicably, maybe there's a horrible scandal and the owner ends up killing himself by jumping off a balcony (or is pushed off it) or something. In the more modern times, a young man related to the love interest/heir inherits the manor and moves in. The place is a bit creepy and dusty but he's decided to make it his home. Then he starts getting visits from an entity of some sort, a presence. Items change places, messes he makes get tidied up when he's not looking, and there are some oddly familiar paintings in the wine cellar about his ancestors. And he could swear there are now two more than the last time, and isn't that one actually of him gardening just the way he was a week ago when he was all alone, and who is that man in the painting, standing close to him?
The love interest worked in a house in the early 1900s and fell for the young owner. It wasn't a nice relationship, the owner had a temper and one moment he was sweet, the other he was violent. During a drunken night of fighting, the love interest gets an axe in the head and is buried in the backyard. A few decades later, the owner's grandson shows up. The love interest (in this scenario, he's now the ghost) notices the similarities, feels hatred and wants the new owner gone. But he soon realizes that the new owner is nothing like his grandfather, instead he's quite the opposite, even has a boyfriend for a while that he treats nicely before he gets dumped. So when the ghost first tormented the poor man by tearing up curtains and wallpapers and breaking water pipes, making the man want to sell the place as soon as he can because it has to be cursed, he now sits on the side of his bed, wondering why he's in this situation and is there a way to get out, and how do you reach out to someone when you're a ghost?
Or take some kind of a reincarnation route and have the same guy in a relationship with several generations of his original love interest who are in fact the original love interest, they just don't know it until they move into the place and begin getting glimpses of their past lives.
Or scratch these and go in another direction. Really, I'm open to a lot of options here. :D Even those I haven't thought up on my own as possibilities. The ghost can remain a ghost, or magic could be involved and he regains his body, or maybe he occasionally borrows a body (with permission or not), or it's the future and his spirit can use an android body the new love interest builds? Or maybe they can't touch each other, except in some very, very rare instances.
PERSON OF INTEREST (TV)
Harold Finch/John Reese (Reese pining)
Harold Finch/John Reese (both pining)
I'm the slowest of slow people to hop on board with this one, but I'm here now and this show is so good, oh my god. I know people kept reccing it but my initial attempt failed and I thought this wasn't for me. Then I tried again after a few years and hello, head over heels here, thank you so much for existing. I just love the concept of a very stoic killing machine with a heart combined with a reclusive genius, and how they begin as business partners but somewhere along the way they start caring about each other. (I'm currently mid-S4-ish but don't worry about spoilers. If something I say sounds a little odd, chances are it's because of this, and I hope it won't put you off.)
As an aside, I love the rest of the gang as well. Carter? Yes please. Shaw? I love her so much. Fusco? Root? Definitely welcome. Bear's welcome, too! I also like Grace a lot, so I'd rather not have her hurt in the process of the fic. Any way you want to deal with her is fine. Want to include some AI stuff as well? Cool.
These sound like John to me. Maybe he decides to take a break and disappears because it's easier to leave than to deal with whatever it is he's feeling. Maybe the distancing is less literal and he just acts colder than he'd like. I don't know. I just like the thought of John hurting emotionally, ok? :D Physically, too.
These would fit both.
Oh yes. The breaking point where everything gets spilled. Give. Make it awkward, make it sweet, make it terrifying, it's all good. Either one could be hurt here, or they might even both be hurt, bleeding and lying in some rubble, and one of them isn't sure they'll make it so there's a confession that was supposed to be a secret forever.
Physical closeness and intimacy ftw! Any of these, god, yes please. Helping out with a tie or cufflinks will never get old, and having arms wrapped around the other in either direction or hiding from the bad guys in some closet are both so good, and wound tending is great because there's hurt/comfort involved. You honestly can't go wrong with these if you tried. :D
I can't think of any specific, detailed prompts, sorry. I like all the various ways they interact on the show. Working on a case together, John depending on Harold to give him a cover and the intel he needs. Getting hurt and having the other fix him. Harold having to physically join a case, being not quite in his element except when it's his expertize and his pro mode kicks in and he's either a big nerd or just very intimidating. Both doing something together in undercover roles? Oh yes. Please, do. I also like it when we get to see their personal lives, moments when they're more vulnerable because there's no work mode to hide behind. Any of these would do just great, I promise.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE - JANE AUSTEN
Charles Bingley/Fitzwilliam Darcy (Bingley pining)
Charles Bingley/Fitzwilliam Darcy (both pining)
Charles Bingley/Fitzwilliam Darcy (Darcy pining)
I'm familiar with several version of this, including the book, the 1995 tv series that I rewatched recently (and fell in love with again, as I always do), the 2005 movie, and the zombies, and Lost in Austen that's not so much a version of P&P as a fanfic take on it. :) But it's lovely. And I'm pretty sure I've seen Laurence Olivier's Darcy as well. So rest assured, you're free to tweak the canon a bit instead of sticking 100% to the novel if you feel like it. Is Darcy a bit reserved at times? Good. Is Bingley a giant dork? Good. That's enough for me.
I wish I had lots of detailed prompts to give because I feel like lacking them makes me sound very unenthusiastic or ambivalent, but I'm definitely neither. I love P&P and I love these two characters (as well as Elizabeth, and Jane's very nice too). I'm open to a lot of things.
These work for both, and since I'm requesting either or both pining, the pining character could obviously be either. It's not the best of eras to be a guy falling for a guy, so clearly that's a part of their dilemma. But also, they're expected to marry women. They have obligations. It would be easier to ignore the feelings or try to get over them. And that? Brings us to lovely angsty moments of "I shouldn't because A, B and C, but oh it's hard". Not to mention falling for a friend can get very awkward if it's not mutual.
These could be either, but I'm feeling Darcy more than Bingley here, at least for the distancing part. Maybe it upsets Bingley he's suddenly away all the time. Or focus on the guilt in detail, make the pining hurt.
This could be about Bingley having his eyes on Jane, or Darcy having his eyes on Elizabeth, or it could be when they were younger.
A selection of scenarios that sound very nice with these two. :) Could be a riding accident, or a shooting accident while hunting. Maybe they're on a boat and it capsizes and the other catches a horrible cold. And all those beautiful clothes, putting them on and taking them off, and throwing some awkward intimacy in the mix? Yes, please.
You're free to tweak the story lines as much as you want, or go with canon as much as you can.
What if Wickham focused on Bingley instead of Georgina? Sure, no dowry there, but he could get some money off it if he played the charmer role well. Or maybe a sweet moment where Darcy and Bingley practice dancing together? Or they jokingly try to come up with ways to woo a lady into dancing with them, and they get carried away when it turns a bit sideways and, um, are we still talking about ladies or what is this?
Or, you know, Darcy and Bingley marry Elizabeth and Jane, and they live happily meeting up all the time, and it's clear the guys have a thing for each other and it'd be a shame to not let them go there, because at least they're not cheating on their wives with anyone horrible, and it's clear they also love their wives a lot. (I'd rather not have a foursome or a poly ship living under the same roof, but some poly tendencies wouldn't be out of the question here. As long as no party is hurt, I'm happy. And if you want to ship the sisters together on the side? Please do, my likes up there include consensual incest, so there's a place for it here if you want.)
THE TERROR (TV 2018)
Francis Crozier/Thomas Jopson (Jopson Pining)
Ah, The Terror. One of those shows I request very rarely but enjoy very much. I don't even mind the cannibalism even when it's not my thing. :D But maybe don't focus on it here? Mention it if you need, sure. Anything in canon is fine to mention, in as bleak and gory a manner as you feel is necessary. I'm not squeamish at all.
This ship. This shiiiip. I'm so fond of (kind) master and his loyal, devoted servant dynamics, and if you add shippiness and pining into the mix, I'm done.
You can stay close to canon, take a sharp left somewhere and diverge as much as you want, or go for a complete U turn, it's all good. Crozier lives and Jopson dies? It's ok, it's canon. A fix-it where both live? Great. A twist where Jopson lives and Crozier dies? Actually... I'd be curious to see that. They're stuck far away from home together with no chance of returning home (at least for several years?? Nice. They meet in some kind of an afterlife? Oh, please do. They make it back home to live their traumatized, occasionally happy lives? Very nice. The story takes place pre-canon and they don't even get on the ship? This is good, too. Really, I welcome it all.
Or give me a glimpse of two or three different scenarios, in a kind of "Two times they didn't make it, and the one time they did". (Or 5+1, but that takes a lot more effort and I'm very happy with even 2+1. Come to think of it, even 1+1 would be nice, with a bad ending and a good ending.)
Mmm, yes. All good options. Either could be drunk, really, or feverish or just very, very hurt.
Jopson takes care of Crozier a lot, so of course I love the idea of the roles being reversed.
No great plot elements here, but this goes great if you're focusing on his internal thoughts.
You can never go wrong with either of these. Never. Like I said under Person of Interest, "Physical closeness and intimacy ftw! Any of these, god, yes please. Helping out with a tie or cufflinks will never get old." No matter the era, things like this will always make me melt a bit. Touching while trying to strain yourself so you won't get caught. Yesss.
Yes, excellent pining fodder, both. Where do you even look when your look will reveal you? Where do you go when there's really nowhere to go, because this is your job, and you can't just stop doing your job?
I saw the tag, stopped for a second, then thought hey, actually, if this happened? I'd be thrilled to see how it happened and what happened next. It definitely would be unexpected. Maybe Crozier is drunk as fuck, maybe he's otherwise groggy, maybe he's a bit more than tipsy and Jopson thinks he's just too drunk but really, Crozier may not be sober but he knows what he's doing.
I like this idea a lot. I don't know why but I do. I'd definitely be fine with self-inflicted physical pain as well as him denying himself things, like food or comfort. Although my brain immediately went to The Da Vinci Code and Silas, with that cilice he uses. It could be a less dramatic one that causes discomfort, or you can make it a full on spiky one that makes his thigh bleed. Hush, I like the idea of him physically hurting underneath all those clothes while going about his daily business, ok? He'd suffer so prettily. And what would be better than Crozier noticing and being shocked and pulling the truth out of him? Not a lot of things, I'm telling you. :D
I requested this under The Alienist as well, with some thoughts that fit a character there, if you're curious.
This could go with the self-punishment above, or on its own, or you can combine it with a confession done while drunk/feverish and waking up the next morning, remembering what happened the night before, and shiiiiit, this is going to end so badly, with the best case scenario being that he kicks me out.
But honestly? If it's this ship and it involves pining, and they're not two baristas working in a coffeeshop on Neptune, I'd be happy with anything.
My AO3 for possible treaters:
