Candy Hearts 2023

[withinadream]

Thank you for writing and/or drawing for me! I am within_a_dream on AO3, and you can read my previous letters here if you want to see some of my previous exchange requests! I have requested both fic and art for all fandoms. Treats are welcome!

Feel free to grab prompts from previous letters if you want – my DNWs have changed over the years, but my general likes and fandom prompts pretty much haven’t.

If I don’t DNW a ship, feel free to include it in the background of a gift, I have very few NoTPs. Also feel free to include multiple requested ships in a gift or make any relationships poly. Trans characters, trans headcanons, and trans AUs always welcome. I enjoy aromantic, no-romo, friends-with benefits takes on ships and characters with unusual or nontypical attitudes towards romance (although I prefer for historical characters not to explicitly use the word aromantic). I’m also down for any amount of character death, graphic violence, and/or noncon.

Don’t feel bound to my prompts if none of them catch your interest – I’ll be happy with anything about my ships that doesn’t contain my DNWs!

DNWs

• Modern/mundane/no-magic AU


• Pregnancy, childbirth - mentions of canonical pregnancy are fine, but I don’t want art showing visibly pregnant characters or fics going into detail about pregnancy, related medical concerns, h/c related to pregnancy, etc. Exception for Queen's Thief – works set during canon pregnancies or involving miscarriage-related h/c are welcome.


• Trans characters having PIV sex - other types of vaginal penetration or uses of dicks are fine! Trans men post-phalloplasty using their dicks and trans women post-vaginoplasty using their vaginas also welcome.


• Unrequested infidelity - I don’t want explicit angsting about cheating on one’s spouse. For ships that break up a canon ship, I’m happy for you to retcon the canon ship/pretend it never happened, just not mention its existence in the fic/art, or make the canon ship an open relationship. For poly ships, I am very happy to read one or both members of a canon ship angsting about having feelings for someone else before the poly resolution, I just don’t want any physical infidelity happening. Exception for Downton Abbey, go wild with infidelity there!


• Unrequested noncon with a ship member as the perpetrator - past or onscreen noncon with an OC, or fuck-or-die/etc between my requested ships are always fine, as is one character being possessed and the thing doing the possessing using their body to noncon the other ship member/s


• Kinks I DNW - Oviposition, breeding kink, stuffing/feederism (other types of belly kink not focused on large weight gain are fine! I'd just like the character to start out chubby/fat rather than gaining weight as part of a kink)

General Likes

• I love all tenses and POVs!


• Fic about canonical children, Accidental Child Acquisition of OC children (especially for characters who are not at all parental and have no idea what to do with kids)


• Casefic, with a loose definition of "case" that encompasses mysteries for mystery fandoms, paranormal investigations for fantasy canons, espionage for spy canons, etc


• Ghost stories! Particular favorites include the "ghostly hitchhiker" urban legend and the setup where characters need to spend the night in a haunted house for Reasons


• Recovery or aftermath – of canonical traumatic events or noncanonical torture, rape, murder attempts, etc


• Whump, hurt/comfort, hurt/no comfort


• 5+1 fics


• Epistolary fic


• Trans headcanons/character-is-trans AUs


• Internal or external homophobia

Art Likes

• I love any art styles and media!


• Ships sharing each other’s clothes


• Disheveled characters (whether from fights or sex or anything else)


• Clothing/costume porn


• Clothed/unclothed, or discrepancies in level of dress, for shippy art


• Limited color palettes


• Blood, bruises, marks

Smut Likes

• Feel free to include any of your favorite kinks if you are writing or drawing me smut! My only squicks are in my DNWs – anything else goes.
  
• Any and all sex acts (vaginal, anal, oral, manual, frottage, intercrural, fisting, double penetration, sounding, etc) are great! I have no top/bottom or dom/sub preferences.


• My favorite words for genitals are cock and cunt, but I have no objections to whatever you’d like to use


• Pretty much anything under the BDSM umbrella. I am especially into unnegotiated or undernegotiated kink, and characters falling into kinky dynamics or things they enjoy (especially with the younger characters). I have no dom/sub preferences


• I would love noncon for any of my requested characters or fandoms – if you want to know more about what I like in dubcon or noncon I have a general list of kinks and tropes here in my Consent Issues letter. I generally prefer noncon with an OC or canonical antagonist as the rapist, and "fuck or die" setups between my requested characters are also great!


• Roleplay – I am into both serious roleplay and goofy scenarios that the characters can’t quite take seriously, and I am especially fond of rape roleplay/consensual non-consent


• Group sex, orgies, and gangbangs


• Gunplay, especially fucking someone with a gun


• Watersports – I am mostly into it for humiliation or marking aspects, and am neutral about drinking piss (and would prefer if any drinking happens it’s someone having their mouth pissed in directly rather than just drinking a glass of pee/etc)

The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself

• Gabriel Boutin/Nathan Byrn/Annalise O'Brien (Bastard Son TV) – I like these three as either a Nathan-centered V or a triad. I heard canon was shippy for these three but I did not expect to get as much as we did! I would especially love to see what they get up to post-canon. Perhaps they end up traveling? I'd also love some hurt/comfort centered on all of their canonical trauma/etc – Gabriel's fucked-up childhood (and adulthood), Annalise's new power and killing her father, the death of Nathan's grandma and everything he went through in canon… I also really love the magic in canon and would love to see any of the characters using their powers (and Nathan getting used to new powers!)


• Jessica Byrn/Mercury (Bastard Son TV) – I was so looking forward to seeing them interact in canon, but at least we have fanworks! I'd love to see Jessica meet her match in terms of manipulative magic women. Perhaps Mercury has a way for Jessica to get her power back, but it comes at a price...I'd also love to see the two of them working together to find Nathan. And I'm very into a relationship setup where they're both manipulating the other, and perhaps both think they have the upper hand.


• Jessica Byrn/Soul O'Brien (Bastard Son TV) – I loved the interactions these two had in canon and I just want more about them with some villainous sexual tension added in. I'd especially love something smutty and/or mindfucky with Jessica's shapeshifting – perhaps she takes the form of Soul's wife or brother or daughter (incest implications very welcome)

Doctrine of Labyrinths – Sarah Monette

• Kay Brightmore/Mildmay Foxe (Doctrine of Labyrinths) - Okay I loved their first interactions in Corambis (face-touching! Mildmay reading to Kay!) and I really want to see them fall for each other. The cultural differences in how sexuality is viewed seem like they could lead to a fun ship dynamic, with Kay feeling more guilty about the romantic feelings and Mildmay feeling more guilty about the sex. And I would just really love to see more of them interacting post-canon, and both of them ending up happier! Also I really want to see Mildmay's Big Bisexual Janus Awakening


• Mildmay Foxe/Felix Harrowgate (DoL – Monette) - I love these two anywhere on the spectrum from fully consensual to fuck-or-die (although I’d prefer no Felix raping Mildmay of his own volition or vice versa). The obligation d’ame is very fertile grounds for some soulbond-sex, I’d love to see sex while they’re bonded. I am also especially into post-canon-set works – I love the way we see their relationship grow through the books, and how much better of a place they’re in by the end of the books (of course, since it’s Felix and Mildmay, they’re both still kinda fucked up). I also love the ghost elements of the book, and would love to see the two of them facing down more ghosts together!


• Mildmay Foxe & Felix Harrowgate (DoL – Monette) – As with the shippy version, I'd love to see how their relationship grows post-canon. I'd also love to see them face down ghosts or magical shenanigans together. Something more antagonistic is also very welcome!

Downton Abbey

This is a fandom where I'm totally open to infidelity and associated angst, so you can disregard that DNW. Also, I like all the canon ships but I'd also like any of the women in my femslash ships realizing they're a lesbian, so feel free to break up or contradict canon ships for that. I'm assuming everyone-in-the-ship-lives AUs for my prompts, but if you want to do either a grief-focused work about a canonical character death or a work where the dead character comes back as a ghost, that is also welcome!

• Atticus Aldridge/Rose MacClare (Downton Abbey) – I did not expect to be as entranced by Rose's endgame ship as I was. They are so sweet together! Rose is so cheerfully determined to break down all obstacles to their relationship! I would love to see more of their life together after they move to New York, or them parenting. I'd also be really into Rose's first time celebrating (Jewish) holidays with Atticus, and perhaps Rose deciding to convert to Judaism. IF you go smutty, I'd love to see both of them really having fun in bed, with perhaps some laughter or goofy moments.


• Charles Blake/Mary Crawley/Anthony Foyle/Mabel Lane Fox (Downton Abbey) – you have intrigued me, nominator. I was really into Mary's interaction with all three of these characters in canon, and not gonna lie I just want Mary to have a sexy fun time while throwing propriety to the wind. Perhaps someone proposes the foursome as a joke after the Charles/Mary distraction kiss and things escalate. Perhaps Charles/Mary and Anthony/Mabel end up as married couples who are 'very close friends' on the outside and doing all sorts of wild foursomes and partner swapping in private.


• Edith Crawley/Lavinia Swire (Downton Abbey) – I accidentally talked myself into this ship and I realize they don't interact much in canon, but listen! I'm very into a dynamic where they both end up together after coming in second to Mary and Edith gets to step away from her family's expectations. Perhaps Lavinia survives the flu and she and Edith become friends as she recovers, or perhaps Edith reconnects with her after her pregnancy and they end up running off together to raise the baby. I'd also be into a dynamic where Edith gets to save the day by talking her girlfriend into loaning the Crawleys money after their money troubles and Lavinia's inheritance.


• Isobel Crawley/Violet Crawley (Downton) – I just think their bickering should develop into some hate-sex or an otherwise hate-fueled romantic/sexual relationship! I'd love to see Violet having had some flings with women during her apparently wild past. Arguing about any topic while kissing/fucking would be very fun. Or perhaps them unexpectedly coming to an understanding, shocking the rest of the Crawleys who don't know they came to this agreement during pillow talk.


• Mary Crawley/Lavinia Swire (Downton Abbey) – I just think it would be neat if the love triangle resolved with femslash! Perhaps an AU where Matthew dies instead of Lavinia, and Mary and Lavinia end up bonding over grief. Or perhaps Mary finds herself falling for Lavinia in a world where Matthew is still alive, and has to deal with the conflict between these scandalous feelings and her desire for propriety.


• Sarah Bunting/Daisy Mason (Downton) – I loved Daisy's education plotline, and I really wanted her to run off with Sarah when she left. Perhaps a lesson that turns romantic, or Sarah educating Daisy on lesbians and/or gay sex in addition to reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. I really loved seeing Daisy's confidence build as she succeeded in her lessons, and her becoming more socialist as she talked to Miss Bunting, and I'd love those aspects of their canon relationship to carry over into a romance!


• Sybil Crawley/Gwen Dawson (Downton) – I loved the dynamic between these two in the early seasons and I really want to see them fall for each other as Sybil is helping Gwen apply for secretarial jobs. Perhaps sneaking a kiss while going to or from one of Gwen's interviews? I'd also love an AU where Sybil doesn't die, and seeing how their relationship might evolve after Gwen gets a job outside of Downton Abbey.


• Tom Branson/Sybil Crawley/Gwen Dawson (Downton) – and adding Tom into the above ship! I'd love an AU where Gwen moves to Ireland with them, or perhaps they reconnect after Sybil returns to England and nearly dies in childbirth. Or perhaps Sybil does still die, and Tom and Gwen are left without the woman who brought them together and have to figure out where they go from there (whether they were a Sybil-centered V or an equilateral triad). Also, kidfic? Would love to see them caring for Sybbie.


• Thomas Barrow/Edward Courtenay (Downton) – I love these two and I so want more of them interacting than we got in canon. I am especially fond of AUs where Thomas saves Courtenay and Courtenay ends up 'hiring' him so they can live together. I love how they both have issues that they can help each other with, with Courtenay adjusting to his disability and Thomas not being used to having people who he can depend on/who actually care about him. Also, Thomas living in a less swanky household and potentially having to deal with farming and country life has the potential to be very funny.


• Thomas Barrow/Guy Dexter (Downton) – my favorite part of this relationship/the second movie is the big changes it represents for Thomas. As in all my Thomas ships, I love him having to get used to a lover he can actually depend upon and who loves him no matter what, but I'd also really love to see the transition from being a butler in England to a less-formal role in America. And I just want to see him getting to actually enjoy some gay social groups and nightlife!


• Thomas Barrow/Tom Branson (Downton) – these two have an intriguing early-show dynamic, with Branson's devotion to his political views and Thomas's careful neutrality. Perhaps Branson takes it upon himself to convert Thomas to the good word of socialism and a free Ireland and a spark develops? A post-Sybil relationship would also be really fun, with Branson still grieving and also, later on, not being able to tell the Crawleys why he's happy without looking for another wife. Perhaps they grow close due to Thomas's relationship with the children?

Felix Castor – Mike Carey

• Felix Castor/Rafael Ditko (Felix Castor), Pamela Bruckner/Felix Castor/Rafael Ditko (Felix Castor) – first off, I really love the worldbuilding in this series and would love to see a work involving ghosts. I also really like the complications of a post-possession relationship, where Felix (and Pen if you go for the threesome) love Rafi but have also seen Asmodeus do horrible things while wearing Rafi. I would love to see a glimpse of either of these relationships post-canon!

Queen's Thief – Megan Whalen Turner

Fandom-specific DNW - Attolia or Eddis having PIV sex with anyone who isn't their husbands, unless they're already pregnant at the time. Any other type of sex is fine, I just get irrationally worried about the line of succession if someone else could have possibly knocked them up!

DNW exception: works set during canon pregnancies or involving miscarriage-related h/c are welcome.

• Attolia | Irene/Eddis | Helen/Eugenides/Sophos (Queen's Thief) - Return of the Thief made me desperately want all of the monarchs in a poly relationship. Perhaps something with Attolia, Eddis, and Sophos back home worrying about Gen, or them all reuniting after their victory. I also really love the idea that they can be themselves rather than their ruler identities around each other.


• Attolia | Irene/Eugenides/Costis Ormentiedes (Queen's Thief) - One of my favorite things about this ship is the power imbalance. Costis very clearly views Attolia and Eugenides as monarchs rather than humans, which would make his relationship with them very interesting indeed? Who invites him to bed? Do they prefer to order him around, or let him take charge? If you want to get into D/s dynamics, I have a vague headcanon that Gen is a stubborn and mouthy sub—although things with Irene are complicated now because of their history, of course (maybe that’s where Costis comes in!). I’d love to see the same themes of overcoming power imbalance in non-porny works as well. I’d also love to see more of Attolia and Costis interacting, if you’d like. We see a fair bit of Gen and Costis interacting in The King Of Attolia, but I’d love to see Costis and Irene talk, especially involved in this romantic relationship (whether as a triad or two sides of a V).


• Attolia | Irene/Eugenides/Costis Ormentiedes/Kamet (Queen's Thief) – I just love combining all my favorite ships, and I'd love to see how this would change the Attolia/Gen/Costis and Kamet/Costis dynamics, assuming you're going for a union of two established ships. I really love the Kamet&Gen dynamic in canon, perhaps it's a scheme by Gen that brings all four of them together.


• Attolia | Irene/Eugenides/Relius (Queen's Thief) - The platonic relationship we see in the books already fascinates me (the loyalty kink! The intersection of personal and political relationships!), and I’m so here for making it explicitly romantic. I’m especially interested in Relius’s imprisonment and the aftermath, but I’d also be into pre-canon Irene/Relius that grows to incorporate Eugenides (as an Irene-centered V or a triad), or pretty much anything involving this ship. I’m also really into the mess that results from tangling duties as a monarch with personal feelings.


• Kamet/Costis Ormentiedes (Queen's Thief) - The culture clash between these two, Kamet adapting to life as a freedman, the sharing of myths and legends, Costis's mediocre Medean...there's nothing I don't love about these two and I desperately want more shippy content for them in my life. I'd love to see Kamet telling Costis more legends, how a romantic relationship would develop in parallel to the events in TaT, or what the two of them get up to during or after Return of the Thief (especially the war from their point of view!)


• Pheris Erondites & Eugenides (Queen's Thief) – I just really want to see more of them together post-canon, or something from Gen's point of view during canon. I love their relationship in canon, with Gen recognizing Pheris's true self and rescuing him from his family, but also having to involve him in the war and being harsh with him because of it.


• Pheris Erondites & Kamet (Queen's Thief) - I really love the tutoring and relationship we see in canon and I want to see more of it! Either something set during canon or something post-canon where we see how their relationship develops as Pheris grows into adulthood. I love Relius pushing for Pheris to learn useful things while still rewarding him with mathematics in canon, and I am just very emotional about Pheris having a good mentor


• Pheris Erondites & Relius (Queen's Thief) - I really love the tutoring and relationship we see in canon and I want to see more of it! Either something set during canon or something post-canon where we see how their relationship develops as Pheris grows into adulthood. I love Relius pushing for Pheris to learn useful things while still rewarding him with mathematics in canon, and I am just very emotional about Pheris having a good mentor


• Relius/Teleus (Queen's Thief) - I love what we see of their relationship in the books, and just really want more about them. Us seeing their relationship only from an outsider POV leaves lots of room for explorations of canon events from Relius or Teleus's POV, and I would also love to see more of their jobs. I'm also really into the relationship dynamic of Relius having many lovers and Teleus only having Relius, and would love to see something about Relius continuously returning to Teleus (or perhaps something smutty with Teleus fucking Relius after Relius comes back from another lover)

Rivers of London

In addition to the ships I've requested, I enjoy all canon ships as well as any m/m or f/f noncanon ships (or adding members to canon ships), so feel free to add those in as background!

• Abigail Kamara & Thomas Nightingale (Rivers of London) – somehow I missed Abigail's novella until my latest reread, and it made me fall in love with the Abigail & Nightingale dynamic. I'd love to see more of Abigail's magic lessons, and more of what Nightingale is like when he's teaching a kid rather than an adult. A snippet (or more) of casefic/art would be very fun as well!


• Francisca Velasco & Dani Wickford (Rivers of London), Peter Grant & Francisca Velasco (Rivers of London), Francisca Velasco/Original Female Character (Rivers of London), Heather Chalk/Francisca Velasco (Rivers of London) – okay, so I came out of Amongst Our Weapons absolutely entranced by Francisca. I absolutely love time-travelling characters who end up living in the modern day, and I just want to see Francisca exploring her new life, whether that's with a girlfriend or her Folly-appointed liaison (that's the premise of my Francisca & Dani and Francisca & Peter requests, though Francisca & any other Folly member is also very welcome). So many things for Francisca to discover: the Tube, museums, the library, modern food, lesbian sex, dating apps, vibrators!


• Lesley May/Zach Palmer (Rivers of London) – I found myself really enjoying these two on my latest reread. An unexpected relationship, but I'm really into them, especially the dynamic of Zach being one of the first people Lesley gets to know who met her after her injury, and Zach just not caring about the injury/scars. I'd also really love to see more of how their relationship works after Lesley switches sides, and how much Zach knows about her work with the Faceless Man and her triple-agent plans


• Peter Grant & Lesley May (Rivers of London), Peter Grant/Lesley May (Rivers of London) – I just want to see more of them together! Anything along the spectrum of friends to canon-typical non-acted-on attraction to full-on shippy is great here. I would love to see something pre-Lesley's turn with them learning magic or investigating magical crimes/incidents together, and I'd also love to see more of them post-Broken Homes too. I love their cat-and-mouse interactions and would love more of that, and would also love them to have an ill-advised hookup post-Broken Homes. If you want to get smutty, I'd be down for dubcon where Lesley has incapacitated Peter or dubcon/noncon where she's disguised as someone else (perhaps Peter realizes during the hookup and keeps going [whether to keep getting intel or for more emotional reasons] or perhaps he doesn't realize until it's over). Also! They should have had to commit harder to the fake relationship in Broken Homes and I will die on that hill.


• Peter Grant/Lesley May/Zach Palmer (Rivers of London) – so regarding Peter and Lesley having to commit harder to the fake relationship in Broken Homes, I also think they should have to sell Zach as part of their polyamorous triad once Lesley is seen in public being romantic with him. Commit to the bit, guys! Or if you prefer something later, an ill-advised threesome when Peter is trying to track Lesley down would also be very fun


• Molly (Rivers of London) & Thomas Nightingale (Rivers of London) – I love Molly so much and I love Molly and Nightingale's relationship. I would love to see something pre-canon with them, how their friendship developed or scenes from Nightingale's long tenure as the only Folly wizard. A scene during canon (especially involving one of the canon cases or an original case) would also be great!


• Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale (Rivers of London) – another ship where I love their canon relationship and would love anything else you want to create with them. I'm especially into magic lessons or other instances of Peter learning more about the demi-monde, magic, etc; Peter's experiments and Nightingale's reaction to them; or Peter showing Nightingale new things (technology-related? Something he's discovered in his magical experiments?)


• Peter Grant/Thomas Nightingale (Rivers of London) – anything above Except Also They Kiss is great. I also have a great fondness for undercover-as-a-couple (for an original case, or maybe it was Peter and Nightingale instead of Peter and Lesley at Skygarden in Broken Homes), sex pollen as a relationship catalyst, and either or both of them trying to ignore their feelings for the other.

SAS: Rogue Heroes

Preserving canon death or an Eoin-lives AU welcome, combining my two ships to a poly triad also welcome!

• Paddy Mayne/Eoin McGonigal (SAS:RH) – We see the end of their relationship, and I'd love to see more of the beginning! Especially how they met and how they ended up romantically involved. I canNOT stop thinking about these lines from Paddy's letter home: If I sit up barking and howling
  at night, as I sometimes do, he takes me for a walk and throws a stick for me. When I find myself become a devil, he reminds me that underneath I am a poet. Would absolutely love to see Eoin taking Paddy for a walk, whether you take that as Eoin comforting him or something more sexual (Paddy calming down by subbing to and/or blowing Eoin?) I'd also love to see some h/c or medical care after a fight.


• Augustin Jordan/Paddy Mayne (SAS:RH) – it was the gif of these two wrestling that first got me to try out the show, and I was not disappointed. Paddy is so fucked up from Eoin's death, and I'd love to see him becoming a bit less hostile and letting someone else in (or just having hatesex, that is also great). I'd also be really into seeing these two interact in the aftermath of one of Jordan's men turning traitor, and perhaps Paddy being less of a bastard about how he was right than expected.

Shamer Chronicles

• Nicodemus Ravens/Davin Tonerre (Shamer Chronicles) – listen, I just want these two to bond over their shared trauma and also kiss. Perhaps a scene late at night where the two of them are both being kept awake by bad dreams, or them sparring together. I'd also love something post-canon, perhaps involving Davin traveling with Nico or Nico returning home once it's been long enough that he's been forgotten.

Vienna Blood

• Max Liebermann/Oskar Rheinhardt (Vienna Blood TV) - I love the dynamic between Max and Oskar, everywhere from the beginning antagonism to their friendship by the end of the season. I’d love to see them kiss or otherwise admit their feelings after a particularly stressful moment on the job. Max applying his studies to the cases or himself or Oskar. I am also very into readings/portrayals of Max as gay, where part of his difficulties with his relationship with his fiancee is that he’s not interested in women and just hasn’t figured that out yet. As of season 3, I am lowkey obsessed with Max/Oskar breathplay, potentially with Max being really into being choked (and having a Freudian justification for it) and Oskar initially feeling guilty about his interest in choking Max because he feels it's morally wrong (see: his anger at how Max understands the first s3 killer)


• Leah Liebermann/Clara Weiss (Vienna Blood) – I loved seeing them interact more in s3 and I would love to see them fall in love! I'm also really into the idea of both Clara and Max realizing they're gay, and Clara's lesbian awakening being her fiance's sister would be great. Or perhaps Leah is jealous of Max and Clara and eventually realizes it's because she wants Clara. The two of them getting involved in their own crime-solving would also be great!