learnedfoot | Id Pro Quo 2023 Letter (Reply)

Dear Id Pro Quo Creator,

Hello! I’m LearnedFoot on A03! You’ve matched (or, if you’re a pinch hitter, chosen) on one of these pairs and freeforms, which already means we have things in comment. Excellent! I am very excited to see what you come up with!

To start, even though I’ve written a fair amount here, I want to say I’m actually very easy to please. As long as you stick in the general area of my likes and respect my DNWs, I’m going to be delighted. Also, I’m equally excited about all of these options! Some sections are longer than others because I have more specific ideas about certain character combos, but I didn’t request anything I wouldn’t be over the moon to receive.

I am open to both fic and art treats for all requests!

Here is what this letter contains:

General Likes
Art Likes
DNWs
The Bear: Carmy/NY Chef [Fic]
MCU: Various Tony [Fic]
Suits: Harvey/Mike (and some plus bad guys) [Fic]
Suits: Harvey/Mike, Harvey/Mike/Jessica [Art]
White Lotus: Jack, Jack/Quentin, Jack/Male OC(s) [Fic]

General Likes
Big Picture Points

Characters are the most important thing for me in fic. I certainly appreciate a good plot, but seeing more of the characters I love is my number one priority.

For requests where I’ve asked for romantic ship fic, I define that broadly — everything from pining/flirting/other pre-relationship up through established relationship can make me happy. If you want to write smut I’ve included information on my likes, but I’d be just as happy with something lower rated.

A note about links to past letters: In some cases, I’ve included links to past letters where I have requested these ships before. I in no way expect you to go reading past letters—those are only there if you WANT extra inspiration.

A note about the structure of the fandom-specific sections: Since the freeforms work as prompts on their own, in the fandom-specific sections I mostly I focused on general thoughts about the requests, with some prompts that can be mixed with a number of the freeforms, and expanded thoughts on certain freeforms. Please do not take the fact that I expanded on some freeforms and not others as suggestions those are the ones I want the most; those are just the ones that I thought it might be helpful to have some clarification or further thoughts on.

General Likes

Banter

Being taken off guard by small displays of affection, unexpected tenderness, etc. (platonic or otherwise)

Bonding over shared or similar trauma

Characters realizing what someone else means to them, especially when that realization comes as a surprise

Characters revealing what someone else means to them, especially if they are nervous about it but it turns out the feelings are reciprocated

Characters who keep getting back up no matter how many times they’re down

Complex, long lasting relationships with a rich sense of history

Confessions of feelings when out of it (drunk, feverish, exhausted, etc.)

Hurt/comfort [if you want ridiculous amounts of specifics on my H/C likes, you can check out my H/C letter]

Stoic and/or emotionally closed off character being forced to accept help (emotional or physical)

Strong character voices

Trapped in an isolated or otherwise dangerous location

Small romantic gestures:

Carried to Bed
Character A drapes their jacket over B's shoulders
Finding Someone Sleeping and Putting a Blanket or Coat Over Them
Finger kisses in a scene that wasn't sexual up to that point
Forehead Kisses
Helping Someone Undress for Practicality's Sake (Mostly)
Holding Hands
Sharing clothing

Unlikely friendships

UST and mutual pining

Whump

Wounded people slowly opening up

Smut Likes: Consensual

Emphasis on what the sex means to the characters/the emotion of the moment

“Come,” not “cum”

Drunk/high sex

Dom/sub dynamics that develop without the characters talking about it (but not negotiated BDSM relationships unless requested), and with particular emphasis on:

the sub getting off on pleasing the dom
the dom praising the sub (and the sub getting off on that)
bondage and blindfolds
hair pulling, scratching, manhandling, and generally rough sex
choking (on cocks or otherwise)
Face fucking
pain, but nothing that would draw more than a little blood or lead to permanent damage (nipple clamps and spanking are great/the level I’m aiming at)

Sex in semi-public/public places

Generally prefer it without getting caught, but close calls, or trying to hide what's going on while one person fingers the other under a table or the like is great

Exploring new sex acts/kinks/etc.

I’m happy to see the exploration go really well, or for someone to discover nah, they don’t like the thing. Or for them to like it but not be good at it at first, etc.
In general, awkward, realistic sex is just as loved as perfect, mind-blowing sex

Tender sex, including:

Being generally amazed at the other person's everything
hand holding
hand/palm kissing
forehead kisses
neck kissing
thigh kissing
hair stroking
face touching
tender kissing
expressions of affection and love, etc.

If you want more information on my smut likes, you can check out my Smut Swap letter

Smut Likes: Non-con and Dub-Con

“Soft” dub-con likes (e.g., sex pollen and the like — though feel free to draw from the hard dubcon likes for that too, if you want):

Mutual pining
Guilt (because they think they are the only one who wants it)
Feelings reveals (during or after)
Oversensitivity, heightened pleasure
Having to go for a long time, or come multiple times, or etc. And if only one side is pollened, that being hard for the non-pollened party
Mix of pleasure and pain (pollen makes them go too hard/fast/long, etc.)
Pollen makes them do it at an inconvenient time or in an inconvenient place (including public)

”Hard” dub-con and non-con likes (e.g., for villain doing them or bad guy made them do it):

Manipulation and confused emotions on the victim’s part
Victim gets in over their head
Victim is drugged, drunk, or otherwise not all there
Forced pleasure (including multiple orgasms)
Forced to give blow jobs, rough blowjobs and face-fucking
Rough sex
Verbal humiliation (calling them a slut/whore, talking up how much they really wanted this, etc.)
Sex that keeps going until victim is too limp and tired to do anything but lie there and take it
Victim crying
Victim feelings shame (about the forced pleasure, about what they’ve agreed to do, etc.)
Use by multiple people, passed around parties
Public sex (including super public for non-con; pressure into going further in public than really wanted for dub con)

For more details on non-con and dub-con likes, check out my Consent Issues letter.

[back]

Art Likes
I don’t really know much about how to describe art, and I will pretty much be guaranteed to love whatever you create because I am just amazed at anyone who can make art, but some specific patterns I’ve noticed in things I like:

Colors

Black and white + one color (esp. red, but really any)
Rich colors, colors that glow
Blue is my single favorite color, generally

Styles

Some styles I’ve noticed I like: pop, graffiti, realism, cute & cartoon-y.
I don't like porny or super romantic chibis, but I like it for gen or shippy stuff that’s leaning into the cute
I’ve enjoyed both sketchier line art type things and more solid filled in things (<--I really don’t know how to use art terminology, sorry!)

Content

Emphasis on touch between two characters. E.g:
- hugging
- carrying
- hand-holding
- cuddling
- one arm thrown over the other
- Kissing for ships, whether that be on the mouth or hand/head/face, etc.
Emphasis on facial expressions
Emphasis on pretty/unusual clothing
For Suits in particular there is a lot of opportunity to play with formalwear in particular. Or the half-undressed look. Is there anything hotter than a loose bowtie and sleeves rolled up at the end of the night?
For ships: one character wearing the other's clothing, esp. smaller character in bigger character's oversized t-shirt, hoodie, button up, etc.

H/C scenarios and/or characters be whumped. Some specific images I enjoy in this category:

Captivity: Chained up with arms above head
Character A drapes their jacket over B's shoulders
Draping a Blanket or Coat Over an exhausted, sleeping character
Injured character being bandaged up
Injured character being carried

Incorporation of dialogue (even if it’s just one line)

Funny/cute reactions and scenes

For smutty art: really anything from my general smut likes list applies, but if you want specific ideas:

clothing being ripped off or pushed aside or general clothed sex/partially clothed/clothing in disarray
biting/marks
tender touch
one hand around a neck (choking or simply resting there, depending on the vibe)
cocks being held
one character bent over and being fucked
Semi-public sex (hiding in a coat closet? Under the table? Etc.)
Victim looking really whumped in non-con scenarios

[back]

DNWs
General DNWs

Hopelessly unhappy endings

Things don't have to be perfect or even close to it, I just want at least a general sense that things are gonna work out for the characters (and for the ship if it's a ship request). So for instance, if it’s a captivity fic, at I want to leave the fic knowing the characters did or will escape, etc. etc.

First or second person

Identity headcanons (trans, race, other) (However, I'm fine with assuming a character’s sexuality is more fluid than canon may let on)

Permanent, non-canon death of requested canon characters

Focus on pregnancy (including requested characters being pregnant even in A/B/O requests)

Basically, fine to mention pregnancy being a thing or a side character being pregnant, but I don’t want it to be the focus of the story or something that happens within the requested ship

There are also some fandom specific DNWs and DNW exceptions noted in the relevant sections

Sex Related DNWs

Any character portrayed “on screen” in sexual situations under the age of 15 (backstory references okay)

Breeding kink, lactation kink

Body modifications, including forced feminization

Cross-dressing kink

Daddy/mommy kink (in particular, use of the word “daddy” or “mommy”)

Enemas

Extended, on-screen consent negotiations

Feeding, weight gain, inflation, anything in that realm

Insertion of large objects, anal tearing, extreme stretching, sounding

Non-sexual body fluids in sex scenes (with the exception of a few drops of blood from scratching or because they were injured before sex)

Roleplay scenarios

Sex rough enough to permanently injure or leave severe scars

E.g., spanking someone until their skin feels raw = fine; literally skinning them = please no. Choking someone = go for it; crushing windpipes = please no. If you’re not sure, feel free to ask through the mods!

Unrequested non-con

Non-con requests from any of the other letters I link for inspiration are considered requested

Unrequested dub-con

However, I am fine with drunk!sex, or sex on drugs, as long as the characters are subjectively aware of what they're doing while they are having sex. So, not when one half of the pair is passed out drunk. But, for example, I am totally fine with two characters getting high together and having sex (in fact, I love it!)
Dub-con requests from any of the other letters I link for inspiration are considered requested

Completely physically pleasureless sex for the victim even in a dubcon/noncon scenario

Forced orgasm, being ashamed of their body responding positively, etc. is all great

AU DNWs

I like canon divergence AUs where the fic is based in the canon setting but goes in a different direction after a certain installment, or changes the outcome of a certain event. So those are fine across the board, whether or not they relate to a specific prompt. But I DNW the following types of AUs unless specifically requested (including requested in my linked AUEx letter):

AUs that change the canon setting, era, or rules of the universe (e.g., mundane AUs, addition of fantastical elements in a non-fantastical canon, soul mark worlds, A/B/O, high school setting, etc.).
AUs that drastically change the structure of character relationships or fundamentals of their identity (making people related who are not, erasing characters from existence, etc.)

[back]

The Bear Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto/New York Chef
[Fic]

A non-exhaustive lists of other freeforms I also enjoy for this request:

Altered States – Hallucinations
Altered States – Drugs (Nonconsensual)
Altered States – Drugs (Recreational)
Character is forced to work with someone who scares them
Competence Kink - Character A Annoyed By How Hot They Find Character B’s Competence
doggy style for dominance reasons
Degradation
Humiliation - Involuntary arousal mocked by rapist(s)
Character A puts cigar (or cigarette!) out on character B
Loneliness
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD

Request Specific DNW Exceptions: Fine with having the NY Chef character die!

General Thoughts: I am just very into the idea of Carmy being in some sort of abusive dubcony thing with Joel McHale’s character, whether that’s an actual relationship, coerced sex, or Joel McHale’s character simply using sexual harassment as one more tool in his douchebag boss toolbar. Why? Because Carmy whump, that’s why. You know he would repress the shit out of that experience, and I want that angst. Feel free to go as dark and angsty with this as you want! I just want some glimmer of hope that Carmy will emotionally survive it.

A note on other characters and ships: Feel free to bring in whichever canon characters you want—I love all of them. And any ships between those characters is fine!

Prompts That Can Be Combined With Freeforms & Thoughts on Some Specific Freeforms:

Carmy in New York, as this is happening. Does he have anyone he can turn to for help, or does he deal (or not) all on his own? Does he realize how bad it is, or is he in denial? Is this part of why he was throwing up before work every morning?
Carmy runs into the chef years later. Maybe he comes to check out The Bear, surprising Carmy in his workplace? Or they run into each other at some sort of panel or cooking event? How does the chef react. Does he taunt Carmy? Try (or possibly succeed) to get back to their old dynamic? Act like nothing happened? Act like he doesn’t remember Carmy at all? How does Carmy react? Bottling it all up? Freaking out? Flashbacks? Is anyone else with him? What do they make of his reaction?
Carmy finally reveals the truth to someone else in his life. Sydney? His sister? Someone at Al-Anon? How do they react? How does he feel saying the words out loud?
The NYC chef dies, and Carmy has very complicated feelings about it. Does he attend the funeral? Read about it in the newspaper? Do people in the restaurant realize he seems off?
The NYC chef is exposed in an expose. How does Carmy react? Does any reporter try to track him down? Do his friends/family have any questions about if the same thing happened to him? Does he deny it? Admit it? Does it cause flashbacks?
Character's Sexual Trauma Revealed During Consensual Sex They Thought They Could Handle: I really ship Carmy/Sydney, so if you want to have the consensual sex be with Sydney I’d love that. But also very open to OCs of any gender! Or Richie!

[back]

MCU Tony Stark
Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
[Fic]
• Canonically dead character comes back as annoying ghost

Request Specific DNWs:

Peter referring to Tony as like a father, or Tony referring to Peter as like a son. (Discussion of their mentor/mentee bond is fine, it's just those words or the concept of being like family I want avoided)

General Thoughts: Listen, I don’t have a lot to say about this one. I just saw this freeform, could not get it out of my mind for Tony. He would be the most annoying ghost! In the best way! I just want you to run with it.

In terms of ships, I am very into my two requested ships, and also down for Tony/Pepper, Tony/Bruce, Tony/Nat, or Tony/Rhodey. Also would be more than happy with gen!! I’d be happy to see him paired with anyone you think would be interesting, though some of my fave Tony relationships include Tony & Peter, Tony & Rhodey, Tony & Nat, Tony & Morgan, and Tony & Nebula.

If you would like some more thoughts on these different pairings, check out my ChocoBox 2021 Letter (Peter/Tony, various Tony gen) and MCU Exchange (Peter/Tony, various Tony gen) letters.

A Few Prompts, Though Seriously, Run With This in Whatever Direction You Want

Tony and other character(s) work on a way of turning Tony from annoying ghost to annoying living person again.
Tony and other character(s) figure out a way to happily live with Tony as a ghost.
Tony’s ghost somehow gets anchored to a character he doesn’t know, or doesn’t know well. Yelena? Kate? Scott? Bucky? Sam? Maybe they’re the only one who can see him and they have to work out why?
Tony’s ghost comes back in spaaaaaace
Tony's ghost comes back to haunt an earlier version of Tony

[back]

Suits
Harvey/Mike: AUs [Fic] | Harvey/Mike + Bad Guys [Fic] | Harvey/Mike, Harvey/Jessica/Mike [Art]
While I’ve divided these freeform into different themes for organization’s sake, please feel free to mix and match as makes sense to you. In particular, the bad guy whump and AU scenarios can mix really well if you are so inclined! And the art requests are also things I love in fics! And if you're inspired by the fic requests for art, I want to see it!

Request Specific DNWs:

DNW poly or open relationships for Harvey/Mike
- Obviously does not apply to the Harvey/Mike/Jessica art request
- More than fine with having them sleep with others while they are sleeping together casually, but if they “define the relationship” over the course of the fic then I want the relationship structure to be monogamous
- In terms of dealing with canon love interests, fine with anything other than cheating or killing off the canon love interests. Setting the fic when they’re both single, adding a breakup during a fic, AUing an earlier breakup or AUing the relationship away all together, etc. are all fine.
DNW Mike and Harvey cheating, either on each other or on anyone else
- Obviously I do not count any sort of dubcon/non-con sex with bad guys as cheating
DNW use of “Alpha” and “Omega” honorifics in A/B/O AUs (ie. “Yes, Alpha!”)

General Thoughts That Apply Across All Harvey/Mike Requests: This ship is my biggest OTP right now. They have everything I love in a mentor/mentee ship. Being centrally important to each other! Enough of an age gap and experience differential to really have a mentorship! But the mentee character still being very brilliant at what they do (for a rookie) and having their own POV about how to go about things! An easy banter and generally just very much enjoying each others’ company! Clear admiration for each other! But also emotional repression and difficulty expressing approval/affection on Harvey’s side! Intense, crazy, “I will risk destroying my own life for you” loyalty from the word go! Epically painful fights! But always, always forgiving each other in the end!

In terms of sexual dynamics, I like everything from vanilla through having D/s-y dynamics in bed, preferably with Mike in the sub role (though that does not have to mean physically bottoming!). However, I am not into formalized BDSM unless it is in a prostitute AU where Harvey specifically hires Mike for that purpose, or a BDSM AU.

A note on other characters and ships: Feel free to include whichever other characters! I especially adore Harvey's relationship with Jessica if you want to bring that in. In terms of non-Mike and Harvey characters, feel free to include any other ships you want.

Harvey/Mike - AUs
[Fic]

A non-exhaustive lists of other freeforms I also enjoy for this request:

A/B/O - Omega doesn't realize they're in heat but alpha does
Character Doesn't Expect Tenderness But Gets It Anyway (esp. for different universe AUs where, e.g., Mike had a bad experience as a slave, sub, etc.)
Touch-Starved Character gets their hair stroked & gets other kind gentle touches & cuddles (same)
Touch-Starved Character Having Overwhelming Tender Long Foreplay First Time Sex (same)
"We'll just have sex one time to get it out of our systems" ... but it makes the longing worse
"Casual" Sex Turning Tender

A General Thought on AUs: Obviously a lot of these requests could lead to Harvey and Mike meeting under very different circumstances than in the actual show. For me, the key to their dynamic no matter the setting or how they meet is: a) they get along great; b) Mike starts out in a not-great situation/wasting his potential due to past mistakes; c) Harvey quickly recognizing Mike is different (brilliant) and deciding he wants to help him, preferable in a way that goes out on a limb; and d) resulting intense loyalty on both sides. If you get that in there, I’m going to be thrilled.

Prompts That Can Be Combined With Freeforms & Thoughts on Some Specific Freeforms:

Hurt/Comfort: All the hurt/comfort! Obviously some of my freeforms lend themselves to particular kinds of hurt comfort, but I love general H/C as well! One working themselves to exhaustion or working through being sick? Mike takes a spill on his bike? Someone is mugged? Gets in a fight? I love Harvey being brusque but caring to a hurt Mike, or a hurt Harvey being resistant but ultimately giving into being cared for/comforted by Mike.
Fuckbuddies, FWB, One Thinks It’s Just a Rebound, etc.: Just some casual sex between a wildly loyal mentor/mentee pair, what could possibly go wrong? Surely they are emotionally equipped to handle this, mmhmm. I love this trope so, so much, so any way you want to throw it into the mix, I’m down. Maybe this is a background for bad guy whump? Perhaps the whump is what finally pushes them over the edge into realizing/admitting how much they actually mean to each other? Or add it into an AU scenario for maximum emotional confusion…
Jealousy: I’m not into these characters being jealous and insecure once they are in a committed relationship. But before that? Sign me up. Mike’s heart breaking a little bit every time an evening out with Harvey ends with Harvey taking home a hot waitress. Harvey gritting his teeth through watching Mike flirt with Rachel. Either of them misinterpreting what are actually just platonic friendships (thought: Harvey being jealous over Mike risking so much for Kevin Miller?). Either of them finally reaching a breaking point and confessing feelings. Etc. etc. etc.
Harvey does not hire Mike in the pilot: Harvey makes a slightly more sane decision in the pilot: as much as he wants to, he can’t actually hire a kid with no degree. But maybe they keep running into each other. Or he can’t get this brilliant kid out of his brain. Or he tries to think of other ways to help him. Or Mike gets into trouble with the law and out of desperation calls up that one lawyer he felt like he kind of hit it off with…
Different First Meetings: I love the idea of them meeting in different ways, particularly in setups where Harvey is still a lawyer but he either meets Mike at a somewhat different time, or when Mike has chosen a different path to try to make ends meet. It’s easy to imagine, since their original meeting was down to chance anyway. If you want specific ideas, I have a bunch at my AU Exchange Letter. But I’m open to basically any idea you have! The one thing I’m not interested in is a first meeting where Mike is already a successful lawyer (or successful at any fulfilling job) or law student at a top school. A key part of their dynamic for me is Harvey being surprised by Mike’s brilliance and his unexpected willingness to give him an opportunity Mike is beyond grateful for, so I prefer Mike being in a situation where he’s not living up to his potential
Prostitution - Younger Prostitute Character A/Older Not-a-John Character B: Mike was in desperate need for money for Grammy, maybe Trever knew a guy, and now here he is. I love the idea of Harvey meeting him in this situation in some scenario other than Harvey being a john. Some ideas (though feel free to use your own!):
- Mike runs into legal trouble. Harvey ends up his lawyer or meeting him through that. Maybe the legal trouble is related to a Pearson Hardman client, and the meeting is initially adversarial? Or a Pearson Hardman client is also one of Mike’s clients and likes him, so pays for Harvey to help him?
- Mike is an escort. They meet when he accompanies someone else to an event Harvey is at.
- Mike tries to pick Harvey up at a bar (accurately reading he is rich, inaccurately reading a willingness to pay for sex). Harvey figures out what’s going on eventually, but is already intrigued…
- They meet when Mike is trying to get away from abusive client. Like maybe he literally runs into Harvey on the street, or Harvey notices something wrong in the bathroom at a bar, or, IDK, whatever you can think of
BDSM AUs: I love these for Harvey/Mike a lot. I prefer Harvey as the dom and Mike as the sub, but I also like them bucking against those roles, particularly in a world where subs are legally inferior in some way to doms. Maybe Mike has no interest in giving away his autonomy at all. Maybe Harvey has no interest in having that kind of responsibility for someone else (commitment issues, much?). Do they suffer socially or physically for denying their roles? Maybe Pearson Hardman only hires doms and Mike has to fake it (with or without Harvey’s knowledge)? Maybe Pearson Hardman requires partners to have subs and that’s how Mike and Harvey come in contact?
- For this request, I am obviously fine with formalized BDSM.
- For more thoughts, check out my AU Exchange Letter
Slavery AUs: I prefer Mike as the slave character here. Debt slavery seems particularly fitting given Mike’s money problems at the start of canon, or slavery as a consequence of crime (maybe he gets caught with those drugs?), but I am down for basically whatever worldbuilding you want here. Is it explicitly sexual slavery, or service in general, maybe with an understanding that SOME owners use their slaves in that particular way?
- Color me idealistic, but I prefer Harvey not be an enthusiastic participant in the whole system. Maybe he literally inherits Mike and then has to figure out what to do with him, or a client “gifts” him, or he initially belongs to a client but Harvey realizes he’s being mistreated, or he initially belongs to a client but is a bit too lippy for the client’s tastes and by that point Harvey is intrigued and offers to take him off the client’s hands, or he unexpectedly wins him in a poker game, or it’s a required status symbol that Harvey is very reluctantly pressured into, or etc., etc., etc.
- Alternatively, for slavery as a result of a crime, maybe it could be linked to Mike being caught as a fraud? Maybe it's between prison and slavery and obviously he picks being Harvey's "slave." In that situation I would assume they'd go into it agreeing Mike would not actually be subserviently in that way, but maybe they have to pretend in public, or other people make assumptions, or they have to navigate Mike's loss of legal autonomy... Or maybe Harvey isn't able to be the one to own Mike right away, and he has to fight through hell and high water to get him back from someone else (perhaps someone abusive?)
- For more thoughts/prompts in this real, check out my AU Exchange Letter
A/B/O: I prefer Harvey as an alpha and Mike as an omega, but as with the BDSM AU, very into them bucking against those roles and finding them confining. I enjoy Mike not wanting to be submissive, and Harvey finding the idea of having his biology control him in any way offensive. Either or both of them overly relying on suppressants is great, as is Mike pretending to be a beta or an alpha (maybe Pearson Hardman only hires Alphas? Maybe he just hates that he’s seen as lesser as an omega so has always pretended? Etc.).
- In general, things I enjoy about A/B/O are inequality, difficult or impossible to control mating urges, bonding, knotting/being stuck together for a while. Scenting is fine but not my kink. I’m not very interested in the breeding kink element, and DNW Mike or Harvey getting pregnant. DNW use of Alpha and Omega as titles, especially during sex scenes (ie., no “Oh yes, Alpha!”).
- Down for a wide range of worldbuilding, from worlds where all “genders” are theoretically equal (even if there is social bias, etc.) to dystopian worlds where omegas have few to no rights (though if the latter, I prefer Harvey not really being comfortable with that, even if he pretends to go along with it for appearances’ sake).
- Fake relationships/claiming/etc: They already know each other, and do this when it become necessary for whatever reason. Or! They meet through some sort of matching database or etc.
- For more thoughts/prompts in this real, check out my AU Exchange Letter
Punishment Collar: Could combine well with one of these other AUs, or just be its own AU—like maybe everything is the same, except punishment collars are a thing for parolees or as an alternative to prison, and Mike ends up with one after Season 5/6.

[back]

Any Bad Guy/Harvey Specter & Mike Ross/Harvey Specter
Any Bad Guy/Mike Ross & Mike Ross/Harvey Specter
Mike Ross/Harvey Specter & Any Male Villain
Mike Ross/Original Sleazy Male Client

A non-exhaustive lists of other freeforms I also enjoy for this request:

Brutal facefucking
Character A scolds Character B for endangering themselves
"Thank Fuck You're Alive!" Emotions Turn Into Frantic Fucking
Character A attempts to sacrifice themself for B; B gets very upset
Loyalty Kink: even if the entire world turns against you I will never doubt you

A General Thought on Bad Guy Requests Bad things happy to Mike and/or Harvey: the request! I am very into a) bad guys made-them-do-it (ideally with mutually pining); b) bad guys assaulting (sexually or not) one character and the other rescuing them/finding them in the aftermath/helping them heal/etc.; c) dubcon due to financial or other pressure (not between Harvey and Mike, but between them and others); d) dubcon or sexual assault or other abuse as backstory. While I didn’t request Suits for it, my Consent Issues letters gives many more details on my likes for these kinds of scenarios.

Feel free to use any baddies that make sense to you, whether from the show or OCs.

Prompts That Can Be Combined With Freeforms & Thoughts on Some Specific Freeforms:

Remember those drug dealers who were after Mike because of Trevor in Season 1? Yeah, make that worse.
A client pressures Mike into sexual favors. He’s in over his head and doesn’t want to let Harvey down. Or maybe the client gets him drunk or drugs him. Maybe this is set during the Season 2 finale fight, and Mike doesn’t think he can turn to Harvey for help? Etc. etc. Fore more prompts along these lines, check out my FIAB letter
Mike used to be a prostitute, escort, etc. A Pearson Hardman client turns out to be an old client of his. Does the client try to use that to get back in his pants? To blackmail him as his lawyer? Or maybe the client acts totally normal (perhaps doesn’t even remember him) but Mike freaks out anyway and Harvey notices? Or maybe this is someone on the other side of the table (opposing counsel?), and they try to use it to gain an upper hand in the legal battle...
Daniel Hardman seeks revenge. Maybe he hires goons? Has mob connections? Etc.
Gallo doing or having his goons do even worse to Mike in prison than what we get in canon. Or in a role swap where Harvey goes to prison instead, Gallo going after Harvey. Or torturing an in-prison Harvey by sending goons after an out-of-prison Mike, when Harvey can’t do anything about it…
Someone else from Harvey’s DA days comes back to haunt him.
Mike actually goes to work for Forstman. Maybe Forstman himself turns out to be a creep of the sexual sort. Or maybe some of the unsavory characters he works with are creeps. Maybe he pressures Mike into doing anything to seal the deal…yes, anything… Or maybe he works with mob types who put the good ol' fashioned beat down on Mike when things don't go their way.
Kidnaped together. I love this scenario and all the ways it can go from there. One non-conned or beaten in front of the other; one trying (successfully or not) to make the bad guys focus on them instead of the other; made-them-do-it; comforting each other on the aftermath; etc. etc. etc.
One is non-conned and tries to keep it hidden from the other. How long does it take the other to notice? How do they react?
Harvey and Cameron Dennis once had a fraught and not very healthy sexual relationship in which Cameron took advantage of his status as Harvey’s mentor. Harvey has never properly dealt with this (because lol, when has Harvey ever properly dealt with any emotional scars?). It makes his feelings for Mike even more complicated…
Character prostitutes themselves out of desperation; has complicated feelings about it: Was mostly thinking Mike pre-canon, though I think it would also be really interesting if this was Mike sometime after he and Harvey meet. Maybe he gets fired for the lie and is deperate for income, or things are worse for him after prison…? (Also open to the character being Harvey if you have an idea for that!)
A/B/O - Omegas in heat available for free use: Would particularly enjoy Mike as the omega here. Maybe he accidently slips up with his suppressants and a bad guy takes advantage?
For slavery, Mike-is-a-hooker etc. type AUs, Mike having bad experiences with others = great (sorry, Mike). Whether that’s pure backstory, or terrible present clients, it’s all good.

[back]

Harvey/Mike
Harvey/Jessica/Mike
[Art]

General Thoughts: These are just some freeforms the struck me as particularly good for art! Though for Harvey/Mike, if you’re inspired by one of the freeforms/requests from above, feel free to role with that, too. Also down for just Harvey/Jessica, esp. for the smuttier or clothing porn freeforms!

For Harvey/Mike, if there are any sort of dom/sub dynamics implied (always hot!), I prefer Harvey as the dom and Mike as the sub. For Harvey/Mike/Jessica, Jessica as the dom, Mike as the sub, and Harvey going either way. (For Harvey/Jessica, Jessica as the dom and Harvey as the sub).

Prompts That Can Be Combined With Freeforms:

Late nights at the office. Fucking in Harvey or Jessica’s office, over a desk, in front of that amazing view, etc.
Harvey’s apartment, and its gorgeous view and nice furniture
Fancy formal events
Getting high together
Harvey being hilariously out of place all dressed up in Mike's shitty original apartment
Mike wearing Harvey's too-large clothing
Harvey and/or Jessica dressed down
For Harvey/Jessica: Harvey when he was younger. In a Harvard sweatshirt? In the mailroom?

[back]

White LotusJack
Jack/Quentin
Jack/Original Male Character(s)
[Fic]

Jack/Quentin & Jack/Original Male Character(s) Freeforms

Jack/Original Male Character(s) + Solo Jack Freeforms

A Non-Exhaustive List of Other Freeforms I Like for This Request:

Altered States – Drugs (Recreational)
While not lucid character A accidentally lets slip a secret they think B will hate them for
Character beaten within an inch of their life by OC bad guy
Complicated relationships of love and loyalty and hurt and resentment
Degradation
doggy style for dominance reasons
Humiliation - Involuntary arousal mocked by rapist(s)
Humiliation - Rape is Livestreamed/Recorded
Injured A shows Up on B's doorstep Saying "I didn't know where else to go"
Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Codependency - Actively Encouraging Each Other's Self-Destructive Tendencies

Canon specific DNWs and DNW exceptions:

DNW killing off an original character if they are positioned as a positive post-canon love interest for Jack. (It’s fine to kill OCs who are bad/ambiguous, or to have a positive love interest die as part of Jack’s tragic backstory.)

General Thoughts: Did I expect to come out of Season 2 of White Lotus with a new ~poor little meow meow~ style despicable woobie fave? No, no I did not. And yet, Jack happened. I am just so endlessly fascinated by him and his very rough edges and his whump potential. What was the dark, dark hole he was in before Quentin rescued him? Is he gay at all, or does he just fuck Quentin (and presumably his friends) for the benefit of his money? How does he feel about any of this? If he is gay/bi, could he one day move on to an actually positive, healthy (or at least healthy-ish, or at least truly loving) relationship with a man?

Feel free to incorporate any other characters from the show you want, as you see fit, and any other ships.

Prompts:

Prompts That Can Be Combined With Freeforms & Thoughts on Some Specific Freeforms:

Backstory! What was the very fucking deep hole? Was Jack prostituting himself? In gambling debt? Drug addiction? Some combo? How did Quentin find him, how did Quentin decide to rescue him? How does Jack feel about any of it?
What is Jack/Quentin’s relationship? Is this a pure gay for pay thing, or is Jack at least somewhat into guys? If he is into guys, is that something he’s accepted about himself? Regardless, is he/was he ever into Quentin or not? Did it start out as something Jack thought might be ~real~ only for him to discover Quentin thought of it as more transactional, or did Jack know the deal the whole time?
Obviously, a lot of these freeforms lend themselves to dubcon or non-con porn, and I am all about that. Jack turns his first trick. Quentin shares Jack like a party favor at one of his parties. Jack is loaned out to one of Quentin’s guests. Etc. etc. Feel free to go any range of dub to non-con here. Jack is nominally consenting, but he doesn’t really like it, he’s just here for the money. Or Jack DOES like it, but all those feelings are complicated by also being in it for the money. Or Jack starts off liking it but finds he’s in over his head. Or Jack is just in the wrong place and the wrong time and gets completely non-conned.
How does he react when he finds out Quentin is dead? Is he relieved, sad, stressed? Does he get caught up in the police investigation? If so, how does he get out of it (and does it possibly include sleeping with an officer)? Did Quentin leave him anything in his will, or is he on his own with nothing again? Does he run off with cash/expensive trinkets/etc. from the villa? What does he do, where does he go? Does he have anyone to turn to?
Tragic first love. Maybe Jack had a person he really cared for, and something terrible happened? Maybe that kicked him into his downward spiral?
On the flip of all of the above: Jack gets a real significant other! I’m thinking especially post canon for this. Like, to his surprise (or not), he finds a person he actually likes and wants to be with. How is that relationship complicated by his past? How/when/does he open up? If it's a guy, how does he feel about being in love with a man? How does he feel about sex now? Is he afraid he’s unlovable? Is this relationship actually healthy, or are they co-dependent in ways that are probably not good for them?
Jack finding recovery through friendships, community, on his own, etc.
Jack runs into Portia again one day. Do they find any kind of understanding? Does she find a way to forgive him? Do they possibly reconnect on a romantic level? For more prompts about Jack and Portia, check out my Candy Hearts letter

[back]

Id Pro Quo 2023 Letter

Post a comment in response: