merle_p | Dear Yuletide Creator

Happy Yuletide Season, dear creator 😊

Thank you so much for writing a story about my favorite characters in one of my favorite small fandoms. I am so excited to see what you come up with, and I hope it’s also fun for you!

I would love to receive fic about any of the requested fandoms and characters equally. Please don’t read anything into the length of the passages, the order of the fandoms (alphabetic), the nature of the prompts – if there are differences, it’s due to the nature of the fandom or the number of characters; it has nothing to do with how much I want one or the other request. Treats are great too!

I'm merle_p on AO3 as well.

GENERAL LIKES:

Feel free to pick and choose. These are all things I reliably love in fic, so I’ll be thrilled to receive a story that includes any one or two things from the lists below. But don’t feel like you need to fit as many likes or prompts as possible into your work if it doesn’t happen organically. I also enjoy a ton of other stuff, so don’t worry about including other tropes or themes not listed in this letter as long as they are not DNWs.

Plot/Trope/Character-related:

Any kind of hurt/comfort or angst with a happy/hopeful ending
Canon divergence (AUs in the canon setting that diverge from canon in small but significant ways, or where the story takes a different turn somewhere)
Trope subversion (e.g., "undercover as couple but not with the person they love" or "there's just one bed but they don't do it until they have a dorm room with ten beds to themselves" ...)
Crack treated seriously
Dialogue/banter; sarcasm, snark
Sidekick/underappreciated characters being appreciated
Competent people who are good at what they do; competence kink
Cynical and world-weary characters
Unhealthy coping mechanisms
Era- or location-specific details

Ship/Friendship-related:

Getting together/first times; getting back together
Friends-to-lovers, antagonists-to-lovers, reluctant-allies-to-lovers
Friendships of all kinds (with a soft spot for cross-gender friendships and supportive friendships between siblings)
Pining, jealousy, misunderstandings (as long as they get resolved in the end!)
Loyalty that has been earned, mutual trust, making sacrifices for each other
Deep emotions expressed in understated ways
People taking care of each other
People working well together as a team, team-bonding

Sex/Porn-related:

Spontaneous sex (i.e. out of desperation, after a declaration of feelings, due to intoxication, in an unusual location …)
Frantic/rough/messy sex
Porn with Feelings
Obsessive fixations
Un(der)negotiated kink
Kissing (also biting, licking, sucking, oral sex)
Hands (sucking on fingers, intertwined hands, fingering ... or just hands being sexy doing normal ... hand stuff)
Size difference/Size kink
Barebacking/unprotected sex

GENERAL DNWs:

Devastating endings or hopelessly unrequited affection
Permanent character death for requested characters
Readerfic
Omegaverse, Dom/Sub-verse, soulmate-verse
Mundane AUs (coffeeshop, highschool/college AUs, and similar scenarios)
Time travel and time loops
Genderswap, bodyswap, racebend, mpreg; non-canonical trans, ace, or neurodiversity headcanons for requested characters unless explicitly requested
Infantilism kink (including ageplay, diapers/pacifiers for adults, babytalk during sex)
Feederism/stuffing/weight gain kink (but things like food as love language, romantic dinners, feeding a sick person, etc. are all great)
Sex with or between characters under 14
Use of formalized safewords (I prefer the characters to say simply “stop” or “no” if needed), or explicit extended verbal kink and consent negotiation (But casually checking in with each other along the lines of “Is this okay?” – “Yes!” etc. is great)

FANDOMS/CHARACTERS:

Brilliant Minds: Josh Nichols

The character: My favorite hot brain surgeon with his big, capable hands and the goofy workout mix! I love his pragmatism and his no-nonsense attitude, his straightforward honesty, his dorky humor, his carefully hidden vulnerable side, the way he takes the responsibility that comes with his job so seriously, the soft spot he has for Wolf’s crazy shenanigans, and last but not least his wide shoulders. My official diagnosis is that he really needs a vacation and a good hug, but he is also so gorgeous when he’s angsting.

Other People: I adore Josh’s romance with Wolf, their snarky banter and the deep yearning underneath, so obviously anything involving this canon ship is very welcome – if you want to find a way to get them back together, or write something set in a future where they already are, something dramatic or romantic or steamy, it’s all good.

That being said: I am open to other options, if you want to branch out – feel free to write Josh with other men, whether it’s a backstory from his past before Wolf; or a rebound/hookup while they are split up (Dustin from the gym? The “other guy” from the Hamptons?); or simply another romantic relationship with any of the male canon characters if there’s someone you think he’d click with.

I also love his friendship with Carol (how did they end up in this mutual-matchmaker arrangement they've got going?), and am curious to know more about how he and Thorne get on (I feel like they approach medicine in somewhat similar ways). And I am starving for anything about Josh’s relationship to his own interns and residents – they clearly look up to him (literally and figuratively), but the show gives us so little beyond that.

If you are interested in crossovers, I also enjoy playing with the idea that Josh Nichols served together in the military with Jack Abbot (The Pitt) before they both went into medicine; something about them being brothers-in-arms who go way back and understand each other’s (war and/or medical) trauma would be lovely.

Prompts:

Mysterious Past: We know so little about Josh's background, so I’d love anything that delves deeper into what we only get glimpses of: his time in the military? His relationship with another man under DADT? What does he mean when he says all his previous relationships were “rushed”? What’s his family like? What does he do in his free time when he isn’t exercising or hooking up?

Knife-Edge: I do have a thing for those big surgeon hands and for competence, so anything that puts a spotlight on those is great. I know the show just did an entire episode on this, but I would love to read more about Josh’s job as a surgeon and how it’s by necessity very different from what Wolf does. He’s working under extreme pressure, can’t afford one wrong move – if you want to explore how he lives with that, what it does to his life, how it informs his personality? Yes please.

Hurt/Comfort: Put this man through the wringer and then have someone give him a proper hug. Does he come across an accident or crime site and has to operate under less-than-perfect circumstances? Does he have to do surgery on someone he knows and cares about? Does he have nightmares about his military deployment? What does it take to make him cry? And who would be there to provide a shoulder for him to lean on when that happens?

Étoile: Gabin Roux, Lucien
My gift must feature one or more of my chosen character tags (giver's choice)

The Characters: This is an and/or/either request – feel free to write something that features both of them, or a story that focuses on either Gabin or Lucien. I just want to read more about (one of) my favorite curly-haired high-strung limber divas!

I adore Gabin, with his raw talent and his sarcasm, his rage and his deep vulnerability. I love how he rebels against the unspoken hierarchies and pretentiousness of the ballet world. I love the way he works so hard to get where he wants to be but also self-sabotages when his insecurity gets the best of him, and the way he zeroes in on the people he cares about (aka Tobias).

And I love long-suffering Lucien, the way he is so exasperated with the dancers’ diva behaviors but also clearly has a flair for the dramatic himself. I love how loyal and devoted he is to Geneviève, and how he is the only one who not only actually knows who does what in that company, but also is in touch enough with the real world to really understand social media.

Prompts for Gabin &/Lucien:

Platonic: If you want to write a story about Gabin and Lucien together, I’d genuinely love that. Their bickering on the show is such fun, so I’ll always take more of that. Maybe Geneviève is in trouble somehow, or has to deal with a (professional) enemy, and Gabin and Lucien team up to rescue or avenge her? I feel like they would be excellent at scheming if they worked together.

Shippy: Would love to know more about their history together – how long have they been working together, how did they meet? I do have this idea in my head that they hooked up at some point – perhaps back in the day when they were both new to the company – and then decided to never speak of it again. Or if there is some alternative future in which Tobias goes back to New York for good and Lucien ends up comforting a heart-broken Gabin, I would be interested in that as well.

Prompts for Gabin:

I want to know everything about his background: What was it like for him to grow up in the banlieue? What kind of odd jobs did he work? How did he get involved with ballet?

How did boxing become his second outlet, who introduced him to the boxing gym, what’s his camaraderie like with the men there? Did he ever hook up with any of them?

His relationship with Geneviève: How did they meet, how did their bond form over time? How did she become his mentor/work mom? What kind of drama have they weathered throughout their friendship?

Or, if you would like to try your hand at a crossover where he's childhood friends with Leïto from Banlieue 13, I’m all for that. Would love to see them defend the neighborhood and do parkour together!

Prompts for Lucien:

How did he come to work for the ballet? Did he try to be a dancer but didn’t quite have what it takes? Or did he come from an entirely different industry and stumbled into the ballet world sort of accidentally?

What’s his relationship with the dancers, with the other staff, and with Raphaël? Does he pull strings by working his connections when something needs to be fixed? Does he have a boyfriend who works in stage design and gets to hear all the backstage gossip that way?

Lucien is so devoted to Geneviève, and I dig the idea of him being thrilled to be her boy toy/sugar baby/personal assistant. Maybe she’d worry a little about the power dynamic or the age gap before coming around to the fact that he just wants to make her coffee and staple her documents ... and also eat her out.

Nicked – M.T Anderson: Nicephorus, Tyun
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags

The characters: They are so delightful together, what a great duo - the prickly banter, the way they are so irritated and fascinated by each other, the way their opposites complement each other. I love Nicephorus for being so guileless and trusting, and at the same time so steadfast in his commitment to truth that is far greater than his commitment to the church. And I love Tyun for being so abrasive and closed off but also attention-seeking and vulnerable, and his complicated relationship with truth and deception.

The Ship: As much as I enjoyed the slowburn UST in the novel, the ending came way too soon: ~200 pages of yearning and jealousy and growing affection only for them to end things with a fade-to-black … I just really want to see more of them together once they actually figured themselves and each other out. Obviously I do ship them, storms and shipwrecks and sea battles and all, but anything is good here, whether you are leaning toward plotty case fic, or emotional hurt/comfort, or blatant smut, it’s all great!

Prompts:

Grave Robbery: The novel ends with the two of them making plans for future relic thefts – I want to know how that goes! I want them to explore the world, I want them to hunt treasures, I want Tyun to educate Nicephorus in the art of the heist (especially if it involves going undercover in drag), I want them to get entangled in geopolitical conflicts and barely escape with their lives.

Trust-Building: Anything about them slowly getting to know each other more intimately (spiritually and/or carnally). Can they work through their mutual trust issues? Can Tyun find a way to be truthful with Nicephorus eventually, or does his inclination toward lying keep causing problems for them? Does Nicephorus struggle with maintaining the balance between his affection for Tyun and his new life of crime on the one hand, and his faith and moral foundation on the other? And on a more hands-on level: What do their sexual encounters look like?

Lost and Found: Or maybe they do actually split up for a while after the events of the novel? Maybe Nicephorus goes back to the monastery after all, and Tyun leaves town, and theyhave to find their way toward each other again? Does it involve a lot of miserable pining? Does Nicephorus have another dream directing him toward Tyun? Is one of them in danger, and the other has to find and rescue him?

Olympo: Roque Pérez

The character: I have way too many thoughts about this man, but my main takeaway from the show is that Roque is just way too sweet for a place so full of backstabbery and jealousy. He’s like a big St. Bernard, but, like, an extremely sexy St. Bernard, one whose milkshake brings all the boys to the yard and so on. He needs love! And hugs! And while he seems to be doing okay on the sex front, he probably can use more of that too!

Other People: I very much ship Roque with Sebas, so anything about them together is great. I want them to have a chance at a proper relationship, I want them to have furniture-breaking sex in all the places, I want them to be domestic and sweet with each other, I want them to have dramatic arguments about their future followed by passionate make-up sex.

However, I am also very much up for anything that pairs Roque with other people, either platonically or romantically/sexually. I love the friendship between Roque and Amaia, the most competitive, hottest bad bitches at camp; and his bond with Cristian, how tender and affectionate they are with each other; so I’d be thrilled to receive fic about either of those friendships.

Or if you want to explore Cristian having a moment of bi-curiosity and propositioning Roque, and Roque being incapable of saying no to him … that, too, sounds great. I also enjoy the idea that Roque/Cristian/Amaia all messed around at some point: maybe they got drunk and decided that they should try that threesome thing at least once, maybe Amaia decided that it would be hot to see her two boys make out?

Or: How did Roque end up with Diego, and what was their affair/situationship like at its happiest? Does he bond with Zoe over their shared Olympo trauma after the events of the show? What about his friendship with some of the other guys on the rugby team?

Prompts:

Toppling Olympo: The first season ended on such a cliffhanger, where do they go from there? I really have no clear idea on how they are planning to resolve the mystery plot, should there be a second season, so I’m very open to all kinds of outcomes here, as long as Roque is in the middle of it. Does he take down Olympo with Sebas, Cristian, Zoe, and Renata? Does Olympo see them as a threat and tries to take them out? Does Roque try to infiltrate Olympe to expose the company from the inside?

Hugo: I found the exchanges between Roque and Hugo so fascinating, so if you want to go a little darker and delve into that toxic and coercive dynamic, I’d love to read it! More of Hugo preying on Roque’s vulnerability and trying to manipulate him, while also caring about him – perhaps not as a person but at least as an asset? Or if you want to make it sexual: anything from Hugo seducing Roque to bring him on board to heavy dubcon (Hugo taking advantage of a drugged Roque?) is welcome here. Or maybe Roque somehow flips the script on him and manages to get under Hugo’s skin to break him?

Rugby: What happens to Roque’s career in rugby now? Assuming he actually heals from his injuries, what is life like for him as he and Sebas face the world as an openly gay couple and as players for the national team? Do they become figureheads? Do they experience a lot of hostility? Do they end up on different teams and have to navigate a long-distance relationship? Or if Roque’s arm doesn’t heal well enough to play professionally – what does he do with his life? Does he start coaching? Does he do something else entirely?

Oreo "First Christmas" Commercial: Elf, Justin
My gift must feature all of my chosen character tags

The characters: I am obsessed with this commercial for how it somehow manages to be simultaneously the most wholesome thing you’ve ever seen and also lowkey naughty in unexpected ways – you didn’t have to lick the Oreo filling like that, Justin!!! Of course we only get the briefest of glimpses of the characters here, but I love this meet-cute between overly enthusiastic, nervous, dorky newbie Elf, and jaded, lonely, bored gas station employee who drew the short straw and has to work on Christmas Eve. There is just something magical (cough) about how they are instantly so delighted with each other.

Friend/Ship: Not sure what the Oreo people had in mind when they made this one, but once I noticed the sexual undertones, it was impossible to unsee them, so if you, too, ship Justin and Elf, then please go wild! But, of course, if you didn’t really get any of that from their encounter, or you are working for Nabisco, and you were hoping to write something sweet and wholesome about an unlikely friendship during Christmastime, I’ll genuinely be just as thrilled about that as well. I just want more of those two sweet dorks spending time together!

Prompts:

Any Genre: I’m honestly good with wherever you want to take this. I always love a good crack fic, especially crack-taken-seriously, if you want to lean into the absurdist humor of the whole scenario. But there is also something so tender about their first meeting, and I’m absolutely here for something emotional and hurt/comfort-y! Or if you want to let those two get their freak on and write straight-up smut/PWP, that’s excellent too.

What’s Next: Obviously the big question here is, what happens after Justin decides to go with them? How does Santa feel about all that? Does Justin take to the North Pole and doesn’t want to leave anymore? Or does he go back and sadly mopes around all year, only for Elf to return in time for the season … maybe this time even for good? Does Santa approve of Human-Elf relationships (whether platonic or romantic), or is that an issue they have to navigate?

The Oreo Universe: Who are the characters before we meet them? What do their lives look like when it’s not Christmas Eve? Do they have friends or families, or are they generally loners? How did Justin end up working for a gas station in the middle of nowhere? How did Elf get the job of accompanying Santa? Does Elf have a name, and if so, what is it? Why is Santa shopping for Oreos at gas stations anyway? What do Oreos taste like with orange soda? I want to know everything!