merryghoul | Dear Yuletide Writer 2014

I'm

merryghoul. I have a few media accounts here and there, but if you want to see what I'm into fic-wise, you can check out my Pinboard:

merryghoul. (It's the social network I update the most.)

In general I like casefic, hurt/comfort, noir AUs, fairy tale and/or mythology AUs, angst, fluff, the friends to lovers trope, magical people and worlds, and pretend couples. For all but one of the fandoms I've requested, I'm open to shipfic and/or porn if you feel like writing it. My favorite kinks are knifeplay, spanking, bondage, begging, and femdom. But if you want to write porn without any particular kink, I also like that as well. And I'm also open to genfic.

For Yuletide I would like to not read about the following: character bashing, characters constantly getting hurt, vomitplay, high school AUs, mundane AUs, schmoop. Unless it's for Fallen London, I would prefer not getting a fic in the second person. I'm fine with canonical children appearing in a fic (e.g. Charlie Westen or Mellie's children), but please no fics centered on a character's pregnancy.

For the TV shows I'm requesting, I'm up to date with the latest episodes. You won't spoil me for anything.

***

The Blacklist

Raymond Reddington, Dembe (Zuma)

Red and Dembe's relationship is one of my favorite parts of this show. As Red's bodyguard, Dembe attempts to protect Red from anything threatening him (and a lot of people really have it in for Red). He feels awful whenever he fails, but they always find a way back to each other. They're really close; I feel one example of their closeness can be demonstrated in the first part of "Anslo Garrick," where they're both reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ. And I like the idea that Red employed him because Red feels he owes Dembe in some way.

I'd be interested in any of the following:

Anything set between when the Mombasa Cartel kidnapped Dembe and the pilot. Maybe an expansion of how Dembe ended up in the state he was when Red found him, and how Red saved him? Or how Red convinced Dembe to go to university? Whatever you want to write for this, I'll be delighted to read it!

By the way, here's the Red quote from "The Mombassa Cartel" about Dembe from The Blacklist's Twitter account. I'm including it below, if you can't read the quote from the graphic:

You know, 29 years ago in Sierra Leone there was a farmer named Samwel Zuma who had the audacity to identify several low level Mombassa operatives to local authorities. The cartel massacred the entire family. But the youngest son, he was sold to a local ring of flesh peddlers. The majority of children in those circumstances don't last more than nine months. He survived eight years. He was 14 when I found him. Too old. Too tall. Too angry and dangerous to be of any further value. He was left to die chained to a standpipe in the basement of a squalid brothel in Nairobi. Branded. Burned. Barely alive. So I took him. Made him well. Saw to his education. He graduated university with a bachelor's in English literature. He speaks four languages fluently and can get by on half a dozen more. He is...splendid. His name is Dembe. Dembe Zuma.

Any of their adventures together. You can base it on something mentioned in the canon or come up with your own idea. What do they do? Are they tracking down someone on the blacklist? Or is Red looking for something special for himself?

Red is missing. Why is he missing, and how does Dembe find him?

I ship Red/Dembe (but gen is also fine, especially in light of "The Mombasa Cartel"). I'm not opposed to porn between those two.

Burn Notice

Michael Westen, Sam Axe, Fiona Glenanne

What drew me to this show was Bruce Campbell. What made me stick with the show wasn't the explosions and the recurrent burn notice business, but the way Michael and his team formed a bond. They were supposed to help him solve his burn notice mystery and help him make some money on the side, but they eventually became the family Mike didn't have before he first left Miami. And I love that they became a family of sorts during the show's run. All of them went from nearly getting into a fight over a failed gun deal to bickering co-workers to three people that cared about each other enough to band together to stay alive.

I'm also a huge fan of the show's writing; I've always thought it was clever. I like a lot of the show's in-jokes, from references to actors to television shows to even sexual innuendo.

I'd be interested in fic for any of the following:

fic centered around one of the team's jobs (related to the burn notice or not)

What the three of them do during their downtime. Do they go to the gun range? Hang out at the beach? Go out to one of Miami's fancier restaurants? Or do they do something else?

A canon AU where the burn notice plot is solved but, instead of what happens in the finale, the three of them stay in Miami. What do they do next?

I ship Mike/Sam, Mike/Fi and Mike/Sam/Fi. I am not opposed to porn between any of those pairings.

I don't mind if you include Jesse, Madeline and/or any other characters from the show, by the way. And if you do ship Jesse, I do ship him with all the members of Mike's team; you can put Jesse in any pairing or threesome combination or with Mike/Sam/Fi.

Fallen London

Absconding Devil, Sardonic Music-Hall Singer

I'm fascinated by the Sardonic Music-Hall Singer. She does a lot of things in-game: she helps mandrakes sing, she goes to gambling houses, she sings at salons, she occasionally comes by your Lodgings to cheer you up and leave a bottle of absinthe. She's very in demand all over the city, and somehow, she doesn't get tired. I wish you could actually get married to the character in-game, but I don't think the developers have any plans to do that yet.

The Absconding Devil is a curious figure. He's wealthy. He's involved in some businesses (a marble import business and a steel mill). And this Devil's infatuated with the Singer. He draws sketches of her. He tried to get married to her, but the Vicar of St. Dunstan's refused. Regardless, the Devil fled London; the Brass Embassy was after him. Whether he succeeded or failed (depending on how the case in solved), they're separated.

I'd be interested in any of the following:

fic on how the Singer and the Devil met

fic on any part of the Singer and the Devil's relationship while they were together

AU fic where the Singer and Devil stayed together. Can they get together? Does London scorn this relationship?

I have no problem with porn between these two.

In the Flesh

Amy Dyer, Philip Wilson

I adore Amy. She's relentlessly upbeat about everything in her life. She doesn't let anything--her PDS, people that fear PDS and anyone affected from it, losing her boyfriend to her best mate--get her down.

And Philip! He could've stayed a politician, hiding his "taboo" sex life from the residents of Roarton. But after he exposed himself, he met up with Amy and was brave enough to take on not only those that discriminate against PDS sufferers, but her "fuck it" attitude as well. These two had a happy, if brief, relationship before Maxine stabbed Amy to death. (Whether Amy's still alive or not depends on whether the show gets a third installment, but I'm fine with the show ending on this mystery if it never gets picked up for a third installment.)

I'd be interested in any of the following:

fic centered around the time when the two were dating

an AU where Amy wasn't stabbed to death--was she slowly becoming human again, or was it a fluke?

fic where Philip discovers Amy is alive post series 2. How does he find out she's alive, and how does he find her again?

I have no problem with porn between those two--I mean, they did have sex in canon, after all.

Nike "The Last Game" Commercial

(Any)

The commercial I'm referring to is here (it's on YouTube; not sure if it's anywhere else, if you can't see it), but I did round up a few other links here.

I'm interested in any sort of worldbuilding you can come up with for the universe of this short. How were the clones introduced into football games, and how did they slowly drive out the football players? How did the football players approach their new occupations, and how much do they like their new professions? What else is in that temple? And the end of the Last Game is ambiguous--did the players win it or did the clones win? Have fun with this canon--those are only a few questions I'm proposing with it.

Gen or slash is fine for this canon; please, no porn.

Scandal

Abby Whelan, Mellie Grant, Olivia Pope

I admire Olivia when she's able to step away from her personal problems and take charge fixing other people's problems. I know her job can drive her crazy; I sense she feels like she's one of the more sensible people in her world, especially since she's not a murderer like the majority of people she's around every day. (Even her parents!) But when she can shake off her personal problems, she seems damn near unstoppable.

When she's not in a funk, Mellie knows how to threaten others to bend to her will. And she doesn't need to use a weapon to do so. She does this while she's trapped in a loveless marriage and a relationship that doesn't allow her to have the power she'd like to have. That's what I like about her.

And finally, SASSY ABBY. I love that she has her opinions and she doesn't let a lot of people bend them. I love how she's the dominant one in her relationship with David. I love that she can sense and call out Olivia's bullshit every once in a while. I love that she bakes. And
sometimes, Abby gets some really good lines in this show.

I'd be interested in any of the following:

An AU where Olivia stays in DC after Season 3. Does she immediately go after Harrison or not? What do the other people in her life think? Is OPA still in business or does OPA shut down?

An AU where Olivia is able to do damage control with Abby after Mellie's Season 4-starting meltdown. What do they do to snap her out of her doldrums? Does this incident cause Abby to quit her position as Secretary of State, or not?

At OPA, Olivia and Abby take the lead on a case that affects Mellie and/or the Grants. (Can be set at any time of the canon, or can be AU.) How do they fix the Grants' latest problem?

I ship any combination of those three (Mellie/Olivia, Abby/Olivia, Mellie/Abby, Mellie/Abby/Olivia). I'm not opposed to porn between any of those pairings. Please no Olivia/Fitz, Olivia/Edison Davis or Olivia/Jake. Established and/or past Mellie/Fitz is fine, but please don't dwell on their relationship.

Thank you for writing for me! I'm very excited to read your fic!