cousinshelley | Fic in a Box

Dear Mystery Writer,

I'm Cousin Shelley on AO3 and most fandom spaces.

My requests:

Prodigal Son
The Tick
Wellington Paranormal
Riptide
Starsky & Hutch
The Exorcist
Strange Angel

General likes:

Friendship, found families and love whether it's sexual or not
loyalty, deep emotional connections and devotion
supernatural elements where appropriate
third person POV
people figuring things out together
gray areas and difficult choices
casefic and plotty stories
displays of affection and respect
protectiveness, characters sacrificing their own comforts to help others
hurt/comfort, especially things like one comforting another after a nightmare, tending wounds, caring for them when they're ill or injured, hovering after something traumatic and trying to take their mind off things
missing scenes and fix-its
mutual pining with a happy ending, unrequited love finally realized
humor, snark and banter, laughing and joking with each other
characters who will move heaven and earth, even die, to protect the ones they love, and would rather die than betray them, will do anything for them trust, new and growing or already solid as a rock, with people being able to be secure in their friendships and relationships, confident that people love them and won't hurt them. An untrusting character developing real trust in another.
lots of affectionate physical contact like hand clasping, neck grabbing, hand on the shoulder, elbow bumps, all outside the context of sex (but it's all great in that context too)
happy endings

Smut Likes. I'll be perfectly happy with a story that contains no sex at all, I realize this isn't a smut swap, but here's some relevant info if you'd like to write something explicit:

porn with feelings, emotional sex
possessiveness and a little jealousy
first times
dubcon in some fandoms (I'll note it)
desperate and/or hungry kissing
one or both partners overwhelmed with passion and feelings
manhandling and displays of strength
looking into each other's eyes while having sex and it almost being too much for one/both of them
fake dating/marriage leading to sex as the characters realize their feelings
up against the wall sex
kneeling (especially for oral sex, but to kiss knees or thighs or anything like that, grand)
penetrative sex, oral sex, fingers, frottage, rimming, mutual masturbation or one watching the other
naked and half-naked or one clothed and the other naked, basically any combo of clothed/not clothed
necking, petting, face and neck and body stroking, kissing and/or licking pretty much anywhere
I really like up against the wall, one riding the other, especially if near the end the one on the bottom sits up and bounces the rider a lot more as things get intense, but any positions are fine
thank god you're/we're alive sex
bed-sharing or forced proximity that leads to romantic moments and/or sex
one character being suddenly so overcome with feeling and desire for the other they kiss them and initiate things out of the blue, like they can't wait another second--love those big music swell moments
bent over and fucked from behind
hurt/comfort that leads to romantic things and/or sex
light hair-pulling in the heat of the moment
either partner sucking the other's finger
one or both saying they need the other

I'm also okay with any sex scenes you want to write being written with more generalities and less blow-by-blow anatomical detail. You can focus on the emotions more than the acts, and I will love it!

DNWs

Anything pandemic-related (let's have it not exist please, no mentions, no masks, no distancing, no deaths). Anything political or related to social justice or current events, including names of any RL people or public figures.
AU (setting, A/B/O, genderswapping, etc.) but minor canon divergence to get non-canon couples together or see what happens if they go left instead of right are fine
Unhappy and otherwise bleak endings
First and second person POV. I cannot get into it unless the canon is in first person or it's a fandom where journal entries and epistolary stories makes sense. I like those, so I'll point them out. Otherwise, I don't read them.
Unrequested ships and original major characters
Kidfic and pregnancy including mpreg
Unrequested identity headcanons, a focus on gender identity or sexuality, issuefic, curtainfic, teach-me-a-lesson fic
Surprise serious illness, character death, as well as cruelty to animals/animal death, infidelity, partner betrayal
Holiday stories, crack/parodies, unrequested crossovers
Please avoid established relationship stories unless it's a pairing that's clearly had sex in canon. If they haven't, I greatly prefer getting there and first times rather than jumping ahead.

Sex DNWs:

Non-con
Characters calling each other daddy, baby boy/girl, slut, bitch, mommy or most pet names
lots of conversation during sex, though a little bit is fine
"dirty" talk that's supposed to be serious (a little in a joking way is okay). A well-placed "fuck me" is also great, (or fuck him/her in a participant voyeur situation!) but ongoing dirty talk doesn't do it for me.
constant "I love you"s and lots of baby and honey and stuff. I'd rather have subtlety than outright declarations about everything.
Minor/adult, and both characters underage unless they're both 16 or 17 (and I'll point out those exceptions)
sex toys, BDSM, fisting, insertions and things like edging, pain, torture, spitting, choking and hitting (unless it's a playful slap on the ass when they're really having fun or something)
bodily fluids or excretions, except sweat and tears (and blood where I mention it), come play or eating (in oral sex, swallowing is fine and I prefer that to the alternatives, but don't focus on the taste/texture, etc.)

I can't list everything sex-related I don't want, but if you stick to my likes, it'll be a winner.

To clarify on the surprise serious illness, things like referencing Malcolm's broken hand or trauma is fine but someone having a stroke or a life-threatening non-canon disease is a big no. Injuries are different. A character could get shot in something like a hurt/comfort or casefic scenario, things like broken bones, wounds (physical and mental) and even more minor injuries are fine as long as they'll heal.

Please don't feel constrained by my prompts. I offer them as suggestions about what I like a lot, but they're not requirements. Feel free to write a scenario of your own.

Prodigal Son
Malcolm Bright/Vijay Chandasara; Malcolm Bright/Edrisa Tanaka; Malcolm Bright & Owen Shannon

Malcolm's relationships with the people he knows and cares about are so different that it's hard to ship just one! I adore Edrisa, and I think they'd make a really good match if the show would lay off keeping her as a sort of comic relief. Her loyalty to Malcolm made me so happy at the end of the season. I want them to bond over dead bodies and weapons and nerd out together. With Dani he's been so vulnerable in a different way, since she's seen him shaken by a nightmare and out of his head on drugs. There's obviously a spark between them I'd like to see explored. And Vijay's appearance was so much fun by the end, with Vijay understanding Malcolm's covert instructions and the way they played off each other. I like to think their closeness could lead to more.

Prodigal Son-specific DNWs: Referencing Malcolm's canonical trauma is perfectly fine, but please no references to possible sexual abuse such as Malcolm/Martin or Malcolm/Paul Lazar. If you set the story near the end of the season, you can pretend Eve was never a thing or reference their relationship as you please. I don't care either way, but please don't make it a focus point.

Malcolm/Vijay:

After Vijay drives the car back into the warehouse and helps save the day, what happens? He and Malcolm are both hopped up on adrenalin, maybe they go back to Malcolm's loft to reconnect and talk old times and this leads to shippy and/or sexy things.
They reconnect at any point during or after the episode and talk about darker things, why they drifted apart, how hurt Vijay was at Malcolm's withdrawal. Comfort in the form of hugging, or kissing and hugging, or more is all perfectly fine with me!
Maybe Malcolm reveals his crush and how he wasn't sure Vijay returned it at the time, and hey, turns out he felt the same.
Hints that one or both (preferably both) have been pining all this time would be most welcomed!
Malcolm/Vijay is sort of an exception to my DNW of pet names. He does call Malcolm "baby boy" in the show, so him calling Malcolm that is a-ok with me, but please not in the middle of sex. Leading up to it, though, particularly during some flirting beforehand or just flirting in general, it'd be totally fine. And of course it's fine in general conversation the way it was done on the show.
Feel free to throw them into another case-related scenario after the episode that brings them closer together. Does Malcolm end up taking Vijay to see his Martin for some reason? That could be super interesting. Would Martin assume they're dating and say things like that, would he be jealous and show it so that Vijay might have to assert himself where Malcolm's concerned? Lots of possibilities.

Malcolm/Edrisa

For Edrisa, she and Malcolm bond over a crime scene or autopsy and maybe with their heads together peering at a wound or a photo or something, Malcolm turns his face and realizes how easy it would be to kiss her at that moment, and things (whether a romantic bonding moment or more) ensue (in the office, not next to the dead body, because Edrisa has yoo much respect for the dead, I think).
He invites her over to look at his weapons (or she invites him to look at some medical stuff she's collected or something) and at some point can't believe he's been only looking at her as a colleague all this time.
Edrisa is taken hostage by someone, maybe from a case they're working on, and Malcolm talks him down to save her. Maybe Malcolm's the one who recognizes how shaken she is and invites her home where comforting, comfort sex or thank god youre alive sex can happen (after appropriate non-sexual caring gestures, of course). Maybe she doesn't want to be alone and he doesn't think she should be alone, so he lets her sleep in his bed while he watches over her, and she's restless or having a nightmare so he gets into the bed to hold her. Sex or not, your choice. Let me double stress that I will be just happy with non-sexual romantic and/or shippy things for all of my prompts/fandoms.
Malcolm and Edrisa get trapped together in a relatively small space, maybe she needs some comfort so he holds her and they get closer.
For either pairing, discussion about his father or his childhood, or anything involving his past, leads his hand to shake and him to obviously be disturbed. The one he's with can take his hand to stop his shaking, and things move on from there (or that can be the pinnacle romantic moment, of course!).

Malcolm & Owen Shannon

I don't really have many prompts for this, but I'd love a story where Owen doesn't get killed at Lazar's grandmother's house and he and Malcolm get to work together again. I'd love a redemption arc for Owen, and it was great how well they worked together and played off each other once they set all the bullshit aside.
In the course of them working well together and discovering clues and solving things, Owen tries to make amends for terrorizing Malcolm further when he was a kid. Apologies are nice, as are frank discussions.
A canon divergence where not only does Owen not die, he saves Malcolm or Malcolm saves his life and they start to actually become friends.

I'd love a casefic or a plottier story that contains shippy elements between the pairings even if that isn't the focus of the story. As long as it's prominent, I'll enjoy it. And any characters showing up would be fine! As with most of my fandoms these days, I love everyone in this bar.

The Tick
Dot Everest/Overkill

I hate so much that The Tick ended when we were heading for so much good stuff between these two. I loved the show so much, but I looked forward to seeing their relationship really develop. Have some shippy prompts, and some sexy prompts if you're looking to write that.

I'd love to see Overkill trying really hard to have a "normal" relationship with Dot. He asks her on their first official date, let's say. What does that look like and how awkward/uncomfortable is he, though he's trying really hard for a traditional evening? Or maybe he takes her somewhere they can shoot targets or throw knives or something and she thinks they're just training but he thinks it's a date.What does romantic look like for each of them? I think there are a lot of great scenarios that could come out of their vastly different worldviews, and Overkill's emotional repression.
I like the idea of Overkill being hesitant to have an actual relationship since he canonically so uncomfortable with being vulnerable, and I would love for him to be vulnerable as things get more intense (and sexual if you want to go there) between them. At a certain point, he can get past that and go all in, and be growly and needy and a bit more aggressive. \o/
A situation where either is hurt and the other comforting them, and things get romantic/sensual and/or sexual.
Him kneeling for any reason, but for giving oral sex or doing anything sexy? YAY
Desperate kissing after defying death and/or saving each other that makes them realize things and leads to more (or not), all good stuff
I also really like the idea of a light touch here. Laughing and having a good time (though maybe mostly Dot, but him feeling the same even if he doesn't show it as much), and their first really romantic or sexual encounter just being a feel-good happy thing, I'm on board with that. I love the idea of Dot drawing him out of his lonewolf cave.
I also really like that he's so strong, but also that Dot is. So the manhandling tag, one just moving the other here and there, very athletic sex, whee.
Maybe Dot takes charge and asks him on an official date, and while he's uncomfortable and a little awkward about it, he obviously wants to be with her, so he agrees.
I really like the idea of one thinking the other has been killed, all the things unsaid and undone and feeling such loss and grief, and the elation on finding them okay being the catalyst for more.
Overkill making his moves after seeing someone else flirting with Dot would be good, too. Pining and jealousy fic as long as feelings are revealed in the end and they're going to be together? I'm good! Dot goes on a date (or he thinks she does) and it makes him absolutely crazy, preferably with an unexpected kiss at some point because he just can't hold back anymore.

I loved everything about these two, but I also loved the show in general. Any characters or plots are welcome as long as they're something obviously brewing between Dot and Overkill.

Wellington Paranormal

Officer O'Leary & Officer Kyle Minogue; Officer O'Leary & Officer Kyle Minogue & Sergeant Maaka

This show is so much fun. I think it's a wonderful spin-off of What We Do in the Shadows, which is one of my favorite movies.

Any kind of paranormal case or everyday interactions between Minogue and O'Leary, or Minogue, O'Leary and Sergeant Maaka would be great. I love their friendship, and really how O'Leary seems to be the lead and Minogue defers to her a lot. And I love how hell can break loose and their reaction is to explain the situation calmly and say "we'd better do something about that, hadn't we?" Any casefic or just casual conversation about anything driving around in the car or in Maaka's office would work for me. If you have fun with them, so will I.

Wellington Paranormal-specific DNW: I'm fully on-board with Lesbian O'Leary so you can do whatever you want in that context--flirting, dating, etc--but please don't make O'Leary being gay a point of comedy, like O'Leary talking about someone she likes and Minogue thinking maybe it's him or that kind of misunderstanding, or Minogue finally getting it and acting disappointed.

After exposure to some paranormal creature Minogue starts to grow a tail or horns some other bizarre thing. I can picture him trying to hide it at first and then revealing it, and O'Leary taking it in stride like, "Oh, well, that's not good, is it? No, it's not. Where will you find pants/a hat to fit? Tricky that," in the way they casually and hilariously deal with the most alarming things on the show. How do they solve the problem, or do they?
They have to use a ouija board or some other device to try to contact someone who's passed on for information about a case? How crazily wrong could that go if they lose track of the letters and decipher the message incorrectly?
One becomes psychic and drives the other crazy by constantly saying what will happen next, but only mundane things. Girl in the coffee shop's wearing purple today, before they get there, but not that someone naked is going to dash in front of their car, or something worth predicting.
One gets possessed and the entity has messages show up on their skin or some other way, and they both keep interpreting the meanings wrong, but somehow fix it anyway. Or the possessed one keeps getting scolded by the others for being rude, pushy, nasty, whatever. O'Leary especially will not put up with that nonsense!
They release a djinn or some other wish-granting entity and between them (whether the two or three of them) get three wishes. Through a comedy of errors or their special brand of simple goodness and incompetence, their wishes aren't going to be a million dollars, world peace and lifelong love. Does Minogue at least end up with a really good meat pie out of the deal?
Minogue or Maaka gets abducted by aliens, and can't convince the others that anything truly amazing/frightening/monumental happened. O'Leary especially keeps finding rational explanations for everything.

Riptide

Cody Allen/Nick Ryder

My favorite thing about Nick and Cody is that they are constantly in each other's personal bubble in a way that would feel awkward to most people, even the closest of friends. The whole show is like they're lovers who just haven't figured that out yet. When one sits down the other practically sits in his lap, and neither of them bat an eye. They really rub against my love of loyalty and devotion. And of course they've been there for each other through thick and thin, took care of each other in Vietnam, live together, sleep in the same room and even work together. There's only one way for them to get closer, and if you want to go there I will be on board, but it's also great if you write them getting to shippy without sex.

I'd really rather avoid a bunch of angst about being gay or bi in the 80s, but I do like when one is afraid to make it known because they worry about damaging the friendship, and the happiness when it's revealed that of course nothing could damage the friendship and they felt the same all along, yay! Love first times for them, whether with revelation of feelings or all the way to sexy times, and really prefer no established 'ship stories.

Plots like we saw on the show involving peril and concern for each other, like one getting kidnapped for some reason and the other frantic to rescue them. And if the cops think the kidnapped one is dead but the other refuses to give up and accept that, I love that kind of stuff. One rescuing the other, doesn't matter which is which, is my jam.
Undercover as gay is a winner here. Maybe they have to pretend to be a couple for a case and it makes them realize some things. And if they're in a hotel or somewhere and, oh no, there's only one bed, all the better. Sex isn't necessary for me to enjoy the story even in a bedsharing situation, but if you want to write, I'll enjoy it!
Being mistaken as a couple by someone on the outside, a new person they're helping with a case, and that person explaining why they thought that could be good. Someone pointing out that straight heterosexual guys don't generally sit almost in each other's laps when there are several feet of space on either side of them might make them realize some things.
PTSD nightmares and flashbacks that have the other person comforting them, particularly with bedsharing, is great. I like one dreaming of the other dying and waking up frantic to grab ahold of him to assure himself he's okay. Lots of touching, holding, grabbing, that kind of thing. They're very handsy with each other, so more of that!
One gets shot while they're on a case, and they can't get to help right away so the other has to take care of them until help comes.
I like a scenario where they're both taken by the bad guys out far enough in a boat that only a really strong swimmer could make it back to sure, and threatened for some information they genuinely don't have. Maybe they're going to push Cody overboard if Nick doesn't tell them what they want, and he clearly would give up anything or anybody to prevent that but genuinely does not know the info they're after, so Cody gets tossed over, maybe knocked out first or weighted down in an effort to get Nick to talk, and Nick has to fight them off enough to jump in after him and rescue him. The near drowning causing some nightmares/flashbacks that Nick has to help him through would be a bonus.
In any kind of danger situation, the whole "not him, take me instead" thing is fantastic both for the self-sacrifice of it but what it does to the other person. I like a lot of angst, as long as there's a happy ending.
Also a fan of one being tortured to hurt the other in a hostage/kidnapping situation where they're trying to get information about something or just revenge, as long as the hurt one is rescued before it gets too bad. No permanent maiming or anything, just enough hurt to cause massive pain to the other party who's helpless to stop it.
For a lighter story, maybe the guys get invited to some conference and though they have the opportunity to date a couple gorgeous women, they prefer to hang out together instead. Feel free to have Murray there, maybe he drags them to something they're not looking forward to, and end up going off alone to do the same kinds of things they'd do on the Riptide, and start to realize what that means.
Some kind of party game they get roped into participating in, like a Newlywed Game or trivia-about-your-partner type thing, where in front of everybody they basically reveal how they have absolutely intimate knowledge of each other, maybe even with one of them joking they ought to date, could be great fun.
One getting jealous over the other is always great, as long as it ends up resolved with them together.

Starsky & Hutch

Ken Hutchinson/David Starsky

Another older TV show that I still love so much, and it's all because of the friendship and love between the leads. They're also incredibly phsyically present in each other's personal bubble, so lots and lots of that will make me happy. Captain Dobie and Huggy Bear are welcome to appear, too. Casefic would be great, as would something similar to a peril-for-one episode that the show as so good at doing. Plague, Sweet Revenge, A Coffin for Starsky, etc. One hurt, the other comforting and caring for him, that would be fantastic. Lots of touching, teasing, joking around like in canon would be great, too.

Post show, a story showing Hutch taking care of Starsky after he's discharged from the hospital and helping him recuperate, and that leading to a new relationship, would be great.
I like the prompts I gave for Riptide for S&H too, with some modifications to fit the canon better. S&H having to go undercover would be great, and if they needed cops to play gay to get close to some kingpin or something, it'd be great if they realize feelings while pretending, but I also think it'd be great if only one goes undercover with the cop who's an expert on the person they're after, and it makes the other one jealous.
That prompt would work without them playing gay, too. One goes undercover with a female cop, and the other is crazy jealous. If the one not part of the couple is also undercover and around to witness the couple stuff, even better.
Any kind of expansion on what we saw on the show, like Starsky having to help Hutch through fighting his addiction after that episode is over, any kind of hurt/comfort and recuperation for either of them would be great.
In the episode where the woman they were both hot for was going to come between them, and she basically offered not to choose and for the three of them to be together, first I loved that they turned her down and walked away with their arms around each other. Maybe that makes them realize things? Or maybe they don't turn her down and give it a try, and find that they end up neglecting her in favor of each other anyway. She could point that out, even.
I'm a big fan of trauma causing nightmares that require help from a partner to get through, and these two have had their share of nightmare-inducing situations. A plague, being poisoned, being shot, being tortured and an intended sacrifice for a CULT--write a post-ep story where the injured party has trouble sleeping, eating, or moving on and lots of comfort from the other.
Same as the Riptide prompt: in any kind of danger situation, the whole "not him, take me instead" thing is fantastic both for the self-sacrifice of it but what it does to the other person. I like a lot of angst, as long as there's a happy ending.
Same as the Riptide prompt: Also a fan of one being tortured to hurt the other in a hostage/kidnapping situation where they're trying to get information about something or just revenge, as long as the hurt one is rescued before it gets too bad. No permanent maiming or anything, just enough hurt to cause massive pain to the other party who's helpless to stop it.
On the lighter side, the staff at Huggy's bar thinks they're a couple, and S&H are surprised by then, and then it starts to make sense. Or they're somewhere meeting new people and someone mildly familiar with them introduces them as a couple, and they go with it to be polite but have to figure out why people think that and what it means.

The Exorcist

Marcus Keane/Tomas Ortega

Ben Daniels made Marcus Keane one of my favorite fictional characters anywhere. And I love how flawed but strong they made Tomas. They fit so well together, as friends and brothers in arms, and in my view the UST screams out of the TV with these two. What I'd like most is to maintain that kind of thing that shows their friendship and devotion, and the more hand-clasping and nape-touching you can get in there, the better. And if you want to get them to sex, by all means, but I think there'd be a desperation to it, with each--Marcus particularly--knowing he's going to regret it later and/or guilt that he didn't resist.

I'm a big fan of possessions that last and the possessed person has to behave normally in some situations, either with others knowing or not knowing the truth, so most of my prompts involve that kind of thing in one way or another. If you're really moved by an idea that's completely different from my prompts but is still focused on horror that also showcases their devotion to their cause and each other, write that!

The Exorcist-specific DNWs: My general request was that any sex should fit in with the tone of the show if it could be shown on-screen, but while noncon could happen (hell, it has happened) on the show, I don't want noncon in a gift story. I'd also prefer no PWP. However, we can pull out that magical thing that only really exists in fiction, dubcon, in a story with, say, one of them possessed and being seductive toward the other. There was a lot of Marcus up against Tomas whispering into his ear, and that kind of thing, my friend, that is my jam, but not possessed-Marcus throwing him down and fucking him.I'd also really prefer if god or religion didn't end up some kind of hero or saving grace in the story, aka don't let a miracle save the day or anything.

Marcus doesn't leave Tomas but stays to help him through what will surely be some post-demon PTSD. The hurt/comfort is strong with these two.
A dream where first-season dark Marcus is whispering things in Tomas' ear would be good, too. Or possessed-Marcus does it, and it can lead to some sort of seduction or not.
Post-show continuation. What's Marcus been doing all this time, and why does he tearfully whisper Tomas' name? Have him find Tomas (with or without Mouse still around) and help him.
If god could convince Marcus that loving someone and expressing that through sex wouldn't make him less an exorcist, that'd be really great. Tomas might point out that he'd know if that were evil with his newfound skills and all.
Just about anything--post-exorcism conversation and comfort (I loved the bar scene at the end of season 1), navigating each other's spaces, a story about something they did together between S1 and S2, investigating the church.
If you want to throw another character into some kind of exorcism or adventure, I do love Devon Bennett and his relationship to both of them. So if you'd like to write something where he could be there helping, feel free! Maybe post-show Marcus finds Tomas (with or without Mouse) and together they find Bennett and save him. I know he's integrated but maybe he can be an exception and get saved.
Any hurt/comfort scenario, expansion on any episode from either season
A possession story in which Tomas is possessed and Marcus suffers the horror of it at least as much, if not more, because of his helplessness in the face of it and guilt that he couldn't protect him. It can be a straight up 'Tomas gets possessed, Marcus struggles to exorcise the demon' story in which the demon in Tomas taunts Marcus before he manages to banish it. The old gray lion and the cub thing kind of does it for me, those references are fine, so the demon!Tomas taunting him about losing his cub, wanting his cub (if you ship it), or about denying himself, whatever. It can hurt, badly, as long as the demon's cast out in the end and they get a least an embrace or a moment of comfort after.
Tomas is possessed with his consent and it's destroying him. I like the idea that he allows a demon inside for some reason--maybe in a Supernatural-like scenario the demon convinced them that they needed it to defeat a bigger, badder demon or something worse. Marcus can't exorcise it, they need its power to defeat that worse evil, and waiting for that time is hell for both of them. Sometimes the demon's in control, taunting Marcus, behaving like a predator around other people, but when it lets Tomas emerge from time to time, each time he's a little more broken and struggling to hang on, and in need of a lot of support from Marcus. I realize what a long and complicated story that has the potential to be, but I think it would be fine to jump in when the demon's already in him, they'd already made the horrible decision (and heck maybe Tomas made it and Marcus is still upset about that), and so there's no need to go into the reasons for it. The story could even start after whatever they needed to defeat has been defeated (or in mid-battle), and when it's over, the demon is reluctant to leave as it had agreed to. Or maybe it will do what it said, but they had to agree to terms beforehand and it gets a few hours or days after the other thing is defeated to remain as part of the agreement, and they have to ride that out. I think there are lots of possibilities here.
Another idea I really like is a similar type of thing where Tomas has no idea what's happening. Maybe part of the deal the demon insisted on was hiding the truth from Tomas once it's inside him to keep him from being resistant to it. But when he "wakes up" for a few hours at a time, though he doesn't know he's willingly taken on a demon, he suffers in other ways and thinks he's losing his mind because of memory fragments or lost time. And Marcus can't tell him the truth, not until it's over.
Marcus is possessed and knows it, but can't manage to communicate this Tomas because he's too busy fighting the demon who keeps trying to get him to hurt or kill Tomas. Tomas figures it out (maybe because Marcus ends up taunting him much like a couple scenes on the show, whispering in his ear and whatnot) and exorcises the demon, but not before some close calls and Marcus suffering at the idea that he's going to tire eventually and the demon will hurt or kill Tomas using his hands.
A non-possession story idea I like is for either Marcus or Tomas to get captured by an integrated priest or group of them to be offered up for possession or even just sacrificed to a demon or Satan himself. One seeing the other tortured or on the verge of being killed or integrated while trying to figure out a way to burst in and save them sounds (deliciously) horrific to me. And it occurs to me just now that'd be a great scenario for Tomas to come to an agreement for a demon to possess him, to go into wherever Marcus is being held and use its powers to free Marcus from those people before permanent damage is done. Then Marcus has to watch Tomas suffer for the remainder of the time he agreed to let the demon stay inside him knowing that it was all to save him.
A lighter story that involves Marcus teaching Tomas his ways, maybe with Tomas messing up quite a lot, and them not entirely exhausted all the time or in danger would be great, too. As long as there's obvious shippy affection between them, even if they're both fighting it, and lots of touching and standing far too close together, I'm down.

Just toss Marcus and Tomas in a scene together being who they are with each other and whee. :)

Strange Angel

Jack Parsons/Ernest Donovan

This CBS All Access show was cancelled after two seasons, and I hate-hate-hate the direction they took Ernest in season 2, aside from a couple of tender moments with Jack and the revelation about the lover he had while he was gone, so we will handwave all that away and roll in their season 1 dynamic, yes we will!

(I'm working on compiling their scenes and those immediately relevant (including some Maggie and Susan stuff because it helps understanding, and also I love them) for each episode in season 1: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/kpds36ib3futy/Strange_Angel

If you're at all interested, I recommend watching full eps either through CBS All Access or movies123.net. You get a lot more context that way and some other interesting plot movements. I enjoyed the show a lot, though my favorite things are Jack and Ernest. Susan's journey is fantastic, though. I think she's the character who grows and changes the most, and it's fun to watch. I love the idea of Susan/Maggie (and really three or four of them in a pig pile, maybe with Magus throw on top). S2 is great for Susan/Magus feels, and whoa, I have them. Anyway.)

Jack and Ernest have such a strange and intense relationship. I really thought in the first season the relationship between these two might go a little differently. It's obvious Ernest wants him, what with surreptitiously watching Jack get a blowjob, his reaction when called on it, and of course the awesome scene of him following a Jack look-a-like into a gay bar. All were more than enough for me to feel like his desire for Jack is super clear. Add in his expressions, the touching...yup.

I'd love anything set in the first season that gets them together, whether a new scene or changing an old one, whether in the context of Thelema sex magick or a spontaneous encounter while they're alone together. Go full sexytimes or have one of their intimate friendship scenes or even when they're fighting lead to a kiss and some tension and no further, up to you. There doesn't have to be explicit sex for me to love it, but that's great, too!

I'm just so taken by Ernest's devotion to Jack, and Jack's belief that Ernest has helped him break through to another level. Ernest is so sure that Jack in his life is somehow going to reveal his own true purpose, and getting Jack's dreams to come true is going to help him. His level of belief is so damn endearing and incredibly intense. Each man is so important to the other, and they make no bones about it (mostly). Love that. More of that!

Ernest is so screwed up and lost (and I do have a thing for broken characters). The guy needs about a million hugs and to be needed and any story where Jack fills that emptiness for him, smutty or not, is good for me.

The scene where Jack found Ernest in the desert after their peyote trip, Ernest's expression during the second hug, the way he sort of melted and looked so happy, that scene could use expanding. What was he thinking? What did they talk about after the hug before they went back to camp? What if they kissed afterward? Ernest had to be so happy and feel so close to Jack then, and I'd love to see it.
I love the scene where after they've fought Jack recruits him to help with his rocket project in the desert, even though Ernest is put out with him, and says love is the law no matter what form it takes, and of course Ernest is going to help him. The gentle touching there! The looks! Deep dive into it. That's the kind of thing I love.
The whole love is the law philosophy and the fact that Thelema puts not restrictions on with whom or what gender you have sex. That should have made it so much easier for Ernest to express his feelings to Jack. Why didn't it? Argh. Make it happen!
Let them both get so exhausted or so relaxed that truth comes out and Ernest has to face his fear of being that vulnerable to someone whose rejection could crush him. (I did DNW focus on sexuality and identity, but in a shippy story where Ernest comes out to Jack, that would be perfectly fine. I can't see him saying hey Jack I'm bisexual or gay or anything, but he'd make it clear in that Ernest way of his.)
Hurt/comfort such as Jack being the one to bail him out and nurse his wounds after the fight and arrest at the gay bar, or Ernest helping Jack through a rocket-related injury. Jack comforting Ernest during one his more lost moments.
Them alone in the desert, doing more than talking about Thelema and rockets (or doing just that, in their intense and interesting way). As I've already said, I would love to read a first-time story between them set somewhere during the first season.
What if instead of watching secretly when Jack went into the room to get a random blowjob, Ernest followed him? Would he stand there and maintain eye contact with Jack? Would he touch himself? Would he shove the woman out of the way and take over? Jack's reactions to any of those, shocked at first but then going with it, the way he does with Ernest no matter what pretty much all the time.
At the lodge, when the ceremony has ended but people break off into couples and groups for sex, the two of them can pair off, maybe reluctantly at first, maybe encouraged to by the Magus, but whoo boy, I'm not ashamed to admit that them getting into it and being full of feelings and banging away in some kind of religious and sexual euphoria sounds pretty damned delicious. I can see Jack being the more reluctant and Ernest having to coax him into doing something he really does want to do, but that's okay. That's their relationship.
While I don't want Ernest the betrayer in S2, I do like the idea of either changing things so he doesn't disappear for a couple of years after acting like he was going to fly the plane into Jack at the end of S1. Let him land it, and let their relationship go on from there. OR, let him steal it and disappear for a shorter time, have his lover and go through the torture and trauma he did, and come home broken for Jack to take care of him without Susan's stepfather interfering and convincing Ernest to betray the Agape.

I love these two awful, selfish dumbasses so much.

Please remember that for any of my requests, if you don't want to write sex, ship away without it. Sexual tension is mighty fine! If you write something that showcases the unique dynamics between the characters and it's shippy at all, I'll be excited to read it.