Just Married 2022

[learnedfoot]

Dear Just Married 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 thing sin 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 freeforms 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 or a broader range of desired freeforms, but I didn’t request anything I wouldn’t be over the moon to receive. Also, if you have any questions about where the line is for any of my DNWs, please feel free to ask through the mod!

I requested fic for all of these, but would also be thrilled to receive art or podfic as a treat!

Here is what this letter contains:

General Likes
Art Likes
DNWs
BoJack Horseman: Bojack Horseman &/ Mr. Peanutbutter
Hacks:Ava Daniels &/ Deborah Vance
Suits: Harvey Specter/Mike Ross
Superstore: Garrett McNeill &/ Jonah Simms
The Great: Catherine/Peter III

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.

I’m fairly open on tone and genre — fluff, angst, and basically everything in-between is generally good by me.

For requests where I’ve asked for 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 relationships, 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

Canadian shack, road trips, anything where they are spending a lot of time alone together (platonic or shippy)

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]

People who don’t like each other working together

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

Strong character voices

Tentative beginnings (romantic or otherwise)

Trapped in an isolated or otherwise dangerous location

Romance tropes! Some things that never go wrong for me:

• Fake dating/marriage, where the stakes are commensurate with medium-to-high stakes for the canon (so, for something like the MCU, probably something mission related; for a slice of life canon, needing a date to a wedding so people will stop asking about your ex is fine)
  
• Forced to share a bed, huddle for warmth, hide in a tight space, anything along those lines
  

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

Using (or even just mentioning) the fact that Peter Parker is suuuper strong.

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 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
  
• 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)
  
• Also just normal black and white/greyscale/etc.
  
• Rich colors, colors that glow
  
• Blue is my single favorite color, generally

Styles

• Some styles I’ve noticed I like: pop, graffiti, realism, watercolor, 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 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

Unhappy endings

• Things don't have to be perfect or anything, 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, unless otherwise noted)

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)

Infidelity involving the requested characters (unless okayed in the fandom specific section)

Permanent, non-canon death of the requested characters

Poly or otherwise open relationship between the requested characters (unless okayed in the fandom specific section)

• I'm fine with the characters seeing other people in the context of "we're just FWB/dating casually/no commitments" (particularly if that is used to cause pining or jealousy between the ship). But once the characters define the relationship/have the "we are committed to each other" talk/are in an established relationship/etc., I want the relationship structure to be monogamous unless otherwise requested

Focus on pregnancy

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 (unless in requested BDSM AU)

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 until near or even actually passing out = 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, making major friendships or relationships never have happened unless requested or it’s a result of diverging canon before they get together, etc.)

[back]

BoJack Horseman
Bojack Horseman &/ Mr. Peanutbutter
• Accidental Engagement - Joke Marriage Proposal on TV Mistaken As Real by the Press
• Accidental Marriage
• Accidental Marriage - Marriage Assumed To Be Fake/Done As Prank Is Actually Legally Binding
• Accidental Marriage - Woke Up Married After A Drunk Night
• Accidental Marriage - Series Of Mishaps Prevent Annulment Of Accidental Marriage
• Divorce - Keep 'Forgetting' to Annul Accidental Marriage
• Celebrity Marriage - Getting Fake Married to Piss Off the Press
• Celebrity Marriage - Media Have Strong Reaction to Marriage
• Celebrity Marriage - Epistolary media coverage/social media reaction/etc.
• Celebrity Marriage - Lies During TV Interview About How They Proposed and How Spouse Agreed
• Celebrity Marriage - Married on Reality TV Show
• Fake Marriage - To Get On A Reality Show
• Fake Marriage - Characters Playing Married In A Movie Or Play Actually Develop Feelings
• Fake Marriage - Pretending To Be Married For Method Acting
• Fake Marriage - Turns Into Real Love
• Marriage Laws - Roommates Realize They’re Considered Married Because of Common Law
• Proposal - Fake Dating ends in real proposal/marriage
• Proposal - Informal Co-Parenting Leads to Proposal
• Wedding Ceremony - Crashing the Wedding to Prevent Bad Marriage
• Wedding Ceremony - Crashing the Wedding so They Can Marry Loved One Instead

A non-exhaustive list of other freeforms I like for this pair:

• Fake Marriage - Practical Joke Results in Pretending to be Married
  
• Marriage of Convenience - Agrees for PR Purposes
  
• Marriage of Convenience - Marriage To Avoid Scandal
  
• Marriage of Convenience - Marriage To Evoke Scandal
  
• Marriage of Convenience - Marriage to Save Reputation(s)
  
• Proposal - Drunken Proposal
  
• Proposal - Having To Convince The Person They're Asking That Their Proposal And Feelings Are Genuine
  
• Proposal - Joke proposal becomes mutual running joke until whoops - we mean it
  
• Proposal - Joke Proposal Taken Seriously
  
• Proposal - Passive-Aggressive Proposal
  
• Proposal - Serious Proposal Thought to be a Joke
  
• Wedding - Kicks Off Massive Intrigue With Accidental Baby Acquisition
  
• Wedding - Drunken Marriage
  
• Wedding - Drunken Marriage (Vegas Edition)

What I Like About the Relationship: When I first started watching this show, I never would have predicted finding this dynamic as interesting as I do. I love that BoJack sees Mr. Peanutbutter as a rival and an annoyance, and meanwhile Mr. Peanutbutter is all “this is my good friend BoJack, I love him so much.” It would have been so easy to have them just be rivals—especially because of the Diane of it all— and yet, the show refused to make it that simple, and I love that by the end Mr. PB is one of the few people from BoJack's old life who still wholeheartedly supports him. The way he stuck by him in the final season was really sweet.

I requested both gen and ship, because I think it would be just as fun to see them dealing with these freeforms in a gen way as it would having them be a catalyst for them to get together. If you do go shippy, happy I’m for it to either oddly work out OR be a complete disaster (or a complete disaster that still ends in a nice friendship).

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

• The way that Mr. Peanutbutter’s happy-go-lucky attitude is clearly covering for his own pain is what makes him so interesting to me, and it was nice to see him get some self-awareness at the end there. BoJack getting to see more of that side of him, them dealing with their pain together, and/or trying to grow together would be great.
  
  
• Post-finale: After he gets out of prison, does BoJack crash with Mr. PB again for a while? Does Mr. PB help him get on his feet in other ways? Does faking a marriage somehow help with this? Do they stumble into an accidental marriage because they end up living together for so long? Or as a prank or a misunderstanding related to suddenly spending a lot of time together? Press rumors start because they’re living together/spending a lot of time together?
  
  
• Accidental baby acquisition! One learns they had a kid they didn’t know about, and predictably freaks out. How does the other help (or make things worse)? Or one ends up responsible for a kid in some other way. Maybe this leads to unexpected bonding, proposals, press rumors that then need to be delt with…
  
  
• Playing Married: BoJack and Mr. Peanutbutter are playing married in a movie or play or TV show. They go method and get too into it, or it makes them develop real feelings, or they somehow accidently sign a real marriage license, or any combination thereof!
  
  
• Media/Social Media Related: How does the media react to their marriage (fake or otherwise)? The fans? Or maybe they get married (or fake married) in reaction to something in the media. Maybe there are (false) rumors they’re together and it turns out they are very popular with the fans, so they roll with it. Maybe it’s a PR stunt to revive a failing career. Maybe it’s to revive BoJack’s image post-everything…
  
  
• Reality Show: Anything related to going on a reality show, getting married for a reality show, etc. Maybe they go on a Celebrity Big Brother style show to revive their careers and end up falling and love and getting married on camera? Maybe they get fake married so they can have a docuseries about their wedding or married life? Maybe they end up on a celebrity dating show?
  
  
• Crashing a Wedding So Character Can Marry One Of The Participants Instead: I would love it if the one whose marriage is being crashed had no idea the other felt that way.
  
  
• Crashing a Wedding to Prevent a Bad Marriage: Maybe Mr. PB has found himself in yet another bad-idea relationship. Or it could be BoJack who’s rushing into something in an attempt to prove he’s All Better Now. Does the person who crashes the marriage have feelings, or is this purely a friend helping another friend? Or maybe they think it’s platonic, but later realize there were also feelings involved?

A note on timelines: Set it whenever makes sense to you!

A note on other characters: Any and all other characters are welcome. I’m fine with infidelity and open relationships/poly, etc. in this fandom. I also ship Diane/BoJack, Diane/Guy, and PC/Judah, and while I don’t exactly ship Diane/Mr. Peanutbutter, I find their relationship fascinating and like seeing it explored. And really, I’m good with backstory or background any character/any character, except for non-canon pairings with Todd or Hollyhock. This is Hollywoo(b), baby, I’d buy that they’ve all had sex.

Fandom specific DNWs and DNW exceptions:

• DNW detailed smut (don’t stress out about this. I just won’t get much out of smut-as-smut in this fandom, so I prefer the focus elsewhere, but I’m not going to be upset if you blur the line between T and M/E)
  
• My poly/open relationship and infidelity DNWs are waived
  
• Endings anywhere from happy to bittersweet are fine

[back]

Hacks
Ava Daniels &/ Deborah Vance
• Accidental Engagement - Joke Marriage Proposal on TV Mistaken As Real by the Press
• Accidental Marriage - Woke Up Married After A Drunk Night
• Accidental Marriage - Because of Drunk Bet/Dare/Game of Chicken
• Accidental Marriage - Trying To Keep Accidental Marriage Secret
• Accidental Marriage - Can't Annul without Ruining Spouse's Reputation
• Divorce - Keep 'Forgetting' to Annul Accidental Marriage
• Elopement - Celebrate Victory with Spontaneous Act of Marriage
• Celebrity Marriage - Getting Fake Married to Piss Off the Press
• Celebrity Marriage - Media Have Strong Reaction to Marriage
• Celebrity Marriage - Epistolary media coverage/social media reaction/etc.
• Fake Marriage - Turns Into Real Love
• Marriage of Convenience - Agrees for PR Purposes
• Proposal - Informal Co-Parenting Leads to Proposal
• Proposal - Blurting Out Proposal Unplanned
• Proposal - Drunken Proposal
• Proposal - Joke proposal becomes mutual running joke until whoops - we mean it
• Proposal - Passive-Aggressive Proposal
• Wedding Ceremony - Crashing the Wedding to Prevent Bad Marriage
• Wedding Ceremony - Crashing the Wedding so They Can Marry Loved One Instead
• Wedding - Running Away with Your Lover on the Day of Your Wedding to a Third Party

A Non-Exhaustive List of Other Freeforms I like for this pairing:

• Celebrity Marriage - Lies During TV Interview About How They Proposed and How Spouse Agreed
  
• Fake Marriage - Practical Joke Results in Pretending to be Married
  
• Marriage of Convenience - So You Can't Testify Against Each Other In Court
  
• Marriage of Convenience - Marriage to Save Reputation(s)
  
• Proposal - Joke Proposal Taken Seriously
  
• Proposal - Serious Proposal Thought to be a Joke
  
• Proposal - Rejected Proposal due to Misunderstanding
  
• Proposal - Unexpected Proposal due to Misbelieving It was Just a Fling
  
• Wedding - Drunken Marriage
  
• Wedding - Drunken Marriage (Vegas Edition)

What I Like About the Relationship: What DON’T I like about this relationship? It feeds both my love of mentor/mentee-ish relationships and my love of enemies (or at least annoyed-at-each-other-ies)-to-friends/lovers. I love how prickly and complicated their relationship is from the start, and that it continues to be that way even as they get to know/like/respect each other. I mean, is there anything more perfect than the fact that Deborah is suing Ava while continuing to work with her? I love Ava slowly unpeeling the layers of *The* Deborah Vance and getting to really know her (and maybe helping Deborah know herself better); I love that ultimately Deborah respects Ava’s talent and does listen to what she has to say some of the time, even if she doesn’t always acknowledge it or takes a while. I also like the show’s reflections on fame—its benefits and its pitfalls, and what it takes to be a woman in comedy. And most of all, I love that Deborah and Ava are both deeply flawed and allowed to be that way, but we still root for them.

I requested both gen and ship, because I think it would be just as fun to see them dealing with these freeforms in a gen way as it would having them be a catalyst for them to get together. If you do go shippy, happy I’m for it to either be them ending up together, or it being a brief fling, ONS, friends-with-benefits, whatever. But even if they don’t end up together romantically, I’m hoping to see their relationship deepen in one way or another.

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

• They start casually or sporadically sleeping together. They don’t talk about what it means much, so it comes as a surprise when one of them drunkenly/impulsively/etc. proposes.
  
  
• We know Ava has had at least one sex dream about Deborah. Maybe she has more, and ends up drunkenly confessing that, or Ava overhears her talking in her sleep on that small bus…
  
  
• Ava got in Deborah’s head with her talk about queerness on the lesbian cruise. Now she can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to be with a woman. Maybe she tries it out with a different woman, and Ava has some surprising Feelings about that. Or maybe she (drunkenly?) decides that the easiest and safest person to experiment with would be Ava…
  
  
• I always love seeing them work on jokes together. Maybe a that gets them talking about relationships and marriage and leads places they don’t expect?
  
  
• Accidental or Impulsive Marriage: A drunk night in Vegas or out on the road is the first thing that comes to mind, but anything else you can think of here works for me! How do they react? Do they have to keep it hidden from the press? Are they reluctant to annul because that could draw press attention? (And if so…is that REALLY the only reason they’re reluctant?). Do they tell their friends, or keep it hidden from everyone? How does the rest of the cast react when they find out?
  
  
• Media Related: Rumors that they’re in a relationship hit the presses (true or not). How do they react? Maybe it’s actually great for Deborah’s image so she insists they lean into it? Or maybe they fake a marriage as a fuck you over something in the press or weird speculation about their relationship being abusive or inappropriate? OR: How does the press react to them actually getting married (accidently, on purpose, whatever). The fans? How do they deal with the reaction? Or paparazzi pictures of them together start a buzz. Maybe they realize from looking at the pictures that they are looking at each other in a way that is NOT platonic…
  
  
• Informal Co-Parenting Leads to Proposal: I love the idea of them having to deal with a baby or young child. Maybe Ava gets pregnant from a ONS and decides to keep it? Or one of them somehow gets saddled with a relative’s child? Or a temporary situation where one of the crew gets sick and they have to deal with taking care of their kid?
  
  
• Wedding crashing: I could see either of them making Bad Marriage Choices, so this could go in either direction!
  
  
• Wedding - Running Away with Your Lover on the Day of Your Wedding to a Third Party: Maybe they’ve been secretly carrying on an affair. Or maybe they had a brief fling that ended, but they never really got over it. Either way, one of their wedding days makes them rethink who they really want to be with…
  
  
• Post-Season 2 finale [WARNING THIS PROMPT HAS SEASON 2 FINALE SPOILERS]: As you can probably tell, most of these prompts were written pre-Season 2 finale, and envision them still working together. Feel free to roll with that in a canon divergence AU from pre-finale, or where Deborah doesn't fire Ava in the finale.
  
  HOWEVER, I am also OBSESSED with the place the finale left them. Deborah firing Ava for her own good, Ava's devastation about that ("I just want to be where you are"? LOVE). So if you want to lean into that estrangement/time apart and the all sorts of complicated feelings stemming from it, please do! A few ideas in that realm off the top of my head, but seriously, run wild, switch up my other prompts and freeforms to fit, etc.:
  
  
  • They're working together again -- years later.
    
    
  • Deborah is in LA for an event after they haven't seen each other for a while. She and Ava spend a wild, nostalgic, complicated night together...and whoops, it ends in a proposal or marriage.
    
    
  • Some paparazzo got a picture of Ava crying while Deborah fired her and thinks it's a different kind of break up.
    
    
  • They slowly get back in touch and over time build to something unexpected.
    
    
  • Ava makes it big enough in her own right that people pay attention to her standup/Tik Tocs/interviews/whatever. Which is why when she makes an offhand joke about the time she had a sex dream about her old boss, people put two and two together, and suddenly the story is viral
    
    
  • They haven't seen each other in years when one crashes the other's wedding

A note on timelines: Set it whenever makes sense to you!

A note on other characters: Any and all other characters are welcome. I’m fine with infidelity and open relationships/poly, etc. in this fandom.

Fandom specific DNWs and DNW exceptions:

• My poly/open relationship and infidelity DNWs are waived

[back]

SuitsHarvey Specter/Mike Ross

AUs Freeforms
• A/B/O - Friends Consummate Mating During Accidental Heat/Rut; Disagree on Marital Status
• A/B/O - Legally Obligated To Get Married After Spending Surprise Heat Together
• A/B/O - Marriage to Protect Omega Character From Worse Fate
• A/B/O - Alphas Expected to Marry an Omega by a Certain Age
• Arranged Marriage - Algorithmic-selected Partner but They Lied On The Questionnaire
• Arranged Marriage - Avoiding It by Marrying Someone Else
• Arranged Marriage - Contract Bought Out By Someone Else
• BDSM - Marriage to Protect Sub Character From Worse Fate in BDSM AU World
• Courtship - Marriage Ball Held to Find a Spouse
• Marriage Contest - Marriage Contract Won in Gambling Match
• Marriage Laws - Marriage Required as a Form of Criminal Rehabilitation
• Marriage Laws - Must Marry By Certain Age
• Marriage of Convenience - Marriage To Save Criminal from Other Punishment
• Marriage of Convenience - Saving A Sex Slave/Sex Worker In Need By Marrying Them
• Marriage of Convenience - To prevent character from being forced into slavery
• Royal Marriage - Modern Royalty AU
• Soul Bond - Soulmates Legally Obligated To Marry
• Fake Marriage - Random Person Hired to Act as Spouse at Work or Family Gathering
• Fake Marriage - Escort Hired to Act as Spouse at Work or Family Gathering
• Fake Marriage - Marriage is a Job Requirement

Accidental, Fake & of Convenience Marriage Freeforms
• Accidental Marriage - Because of Drunk Bet/Dare/Game of Chicken
• Accidental Marriage - Can't Annul without Ruining Spouse's Reputation
• Accidental Marriage - Causes Scandal
• Accidental Marriage - Marriage Assumed To Be Fake/Done As Prank Is Actually Legally Binding
• Accidental Marriage - Trying To Keep Accidental Marriage Secret
• Accidental Marriage - Woke Up Married After A Drunk Night
• Divorce - Keep 'Forgetting' to Annul Accidental Marriage
• Fake Marriage - Farcical Conclusion of Increasing Escalation in Performative Intimacy
• Fake Marriage - Made Legally Binding by Helpful Third Party
• Fake Marriage - Practical Joke Results in Pretending to be Married
• Fake Marriage - Pretending to be Married for the Inheritance
• Fake Marriage - To Cover Even Bigger Secret
• Fake Marriage - While Mutually Pining; Both Believe Feelings Are Unreciprocated
• Fake Marriage - Turns Into Real Love
• Marriage of Convenience - Both Refuse to Lose a Bet
• Marriage of Convenience - Getting Married was the More Complicated Solution to This Problem
• Marriage of Convenience - Helps You Advance In Your Career
• Marriage of Convenience - So You Can't Testify Against Each Other In Court
• Proposal - Fake Dating ends in real proposal/marriage
• Wedding - Drunken Marriage

Proposals & Weddings Freeforms
• Bachelor(ette) Party – Damage Control
• Elopement - Celebrate Victory with Spontaneous Act of Marriage
• Elopement - Eloping After Wide Disapproval of Relationship
• Elopement - Eloping While on the Run from the Law
• Elopement - Family and/or Friends Constantly Meddling in Wedding Preparations Results in Elopement
• Engagement - Engaged in Secret
• Engagement - Relationship was Assumed to be a Fling Until Surprise Engagement Announcement
• Marriage - Regularly Being Mistaken as a Married Couple Leads to Real Marriage
• Marrying for Love - Everyone Thought They Were Joking About Getting Married
• Proposal - Blurting Out Proposal Unplanned
• Proposal - Drunken Proposal
• Proposal - Getting Married Would Be a Terrible Idea but They Want Each Other Too Much Not To
• Proposal - Having To Convince The Person They're Asking That Their Proposal And Feelings Are Genuine
• Proposal - Informal Co-Parenting Leads to Proposal
• Proposal - Proposal Misunderstood as Being for Ulterior Motives
• Proposal - Rejected Proposal due to Misunderstanding
• Proposal - Unexpected Proposal due to Misbelieving It was Just a Fling
• Proposal - Joke proposal becomes mutual running joke until whoops - we mean it
• Wedding - Best Man/Bridesmaid Crushing On The Groom/Bride
• Wedding Ceremony - Objecting

I’ve divided my freeforms up into different themes for organization’s/readability’s sake, but PLEASE feel free to mix and match as makes sense to you!!!

A Non-Exhaustive List of Other Freeforms I Like for this Pair:

• A/B/O - Omega Agrees To Marry For Greater Freedom; Also Enjoys Getting Topped By Alpha
  
• Anniversary - Forgetting the Date
  
• Bachelor(ette) Party – Hijinks & Shenanigans
  
• Elopement - Getting Married on a Whim
  
• Engagement - Comfort and Promising to Do Better Than Dysfunctional Birth Family of Spouse(s)
  
• Honeymoon - First Time Travelling Abroad
  
• Honeymoon - Working While on Honeymoon
  
• Marriage Laws - Marriage Is A Requirement For Promotion
  
• Newlyweds - Insatiable During the Honeymoon Period
  
• Newlyweds - First Fight as Married Couple
  
• Proposal - Attempts to Propose are Continuously Interrupted
  
• Proposal - Proposing on a Whim
  
• Proposal - Joke Proposal Taken Seriously
  
• Proposal - Serious Proposal Thought to be a Joke
  
• Secret Marriage - marrying just for each other
  
• Vow Renewal - After Falling in Love after Marrying for Convenience/Accidentally
  
• Wedding - Kicks Off Massive Intrigue With Accidental Baby Acquisition
  
• Wedding - Drunken Marriage (Vegas Edition)
  
• Wedding Reception - Someone Gives Worst Speech Ever
  
• Wedding Reception - Having Sex at the Reception

What I Like About the Relationship: 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 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!

I am most interested in get together fic for them, and/or fic that focuses on how they deal with early, growing stages of their relationship. I love pining, and can see it easily on either/both sides. Harvey is clearly not very good at being in touch with his emotions in the first place, plus he has strict moral codes around relationships, which makes it easy for me to imagine him thinking he should not go there even if he does realize his own feelings. Mike, meanwhile, wears his heart on his sleeve, but also knows what an opportunity Harvey has given him and doesn’t want to risk messing it up. Plus, he could have the impression that Harvey doesn’t Do Relationships anyway. Plus, either of them could easily assume the other is straight.

But extended pining isn’t the only option for them! I am also down for either/both developing feelings over the course of the fic, and/or either/both being oblivious dumbasses who don’t realize their own feelings at first. Or if it’s a fic focusing on them being in a relationship, I’m interested in communication issues, and how Harvey’s various relationship hang-ups might keep rearing their ugly head as the barrel towards commitment.

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 in a requested BDSM AU.

Prompts:

• I love romantic tropes for them! Seriously, if there is a fan-ficcy romance trope that you can think of combining with this pairing and one of these freeforms, I want it. Accidental baby acquisition? Please. There’s only one bed? Duh! Stuck in an elevator? Maybe that’s where someone proposes! Canadian shack? Amazing. Pining while fucking? Always. Etc. etc. etc.
  
  
• For any freeform that’s about being drunken (drunken marriage, drunken proposal, etc.): Feel free to substitute “high” instead if you want—I enjoy both for these two!
  
  
• They keep joking about being married…and then escalating the jokes…and escalating… Or they make a single offhand joke about being married, are overheard, and suddenly it’s a rumor around the firm and it becomes this whole THING they have to deal with.
  
  
• Fake or of Convenience Dating/Engagement/Marriage: Why? Go wild! I’m willing to accept a very loose understanding of the law for any excuse you want to come up with. But a few canon-based ideas, if you want them (I talk about AUs more later):
  
  
  • Someone is sniffing out Mike’s secret, so he or Harvey impulsively comes up with this as a lie to distract them, only now they’re stuck with it.
    
    
  • For spousal immunity, either because of Mike’s secret or because of some other wrongdoing that they don’t want to have to reveal.
    
    
  • Grammy’s fading, and her dying wish is to see Mike happy with someone. This is what he comes up with (though he’s pretty surprised that Harvey’s willing to go along…)
    
    
  • Listen, it’s not a FORMAL requirement that a named partner be married (Jessica sure as hell isn’t), but Harvey’s playboy reputation sometimes rubs clients the wrong way, and some of the other senior partners make it clear they aren’t ever going to support his promotion if he doesn’t settle down soon…So of course his move is to pick the (fake) spouse most targeted to piss them off!
  
  
• Accidental/Impulsive Marriage: Happy for these kinds of freeforms to be applied to situations where they had absolutely no romantic relationship prior to getting married, or to where they had SOME romantic/sexual relationship, but they were in no way close to ready for marriage (for instance, if they’re “casual” fuckbuddies). How do they react? Do they immediately flip out? Realize that there was a reason they were drawn to do this? Both agree it should clearly be annulled, but then keep finding excuses to put that off? Whatever you want!
  
  
• Proposal Related: Again, happy for these to come out of the blue when they aren’t together, or come in an established relationship, especially if it’s still unexpected (like maybe they’ve only been together a short time or haven’t talked about marriage at all). Between their constant jokey-ness, Harvey’s fear of abandonment and inability to say exactly what he means, and Mike’s overeagerness on one hand and perhaps insecurity (thinking Harvey won’t really want to stick with him for good) on the other, there’s all sort of potential for proposals coming at an unexpected time, or being misunderstood or not believed, or one needing to be convinced the other really means it, etc. etc. etc.
  
  
• Surprise announcement/secret engagement/etc: They keep their relationship private, because it would be bad for both their reputations, and maybe also because they don’t want their friends weighing in all the time. (Plus, it’s kind of sexy and nice to have this part of their lives just to themselves.) What hijinks and shenanigans do they go through to keep things under wraps? How do people react if/when they do find out?
  
  
• Elopement - Eloping After Wide Disapproval of Relationship: I would like it if their friends EVENTUALLY come around, but it’s easy to see why they might initially get a WTF reaction…
  
  
• Elopement - Family and/or Friends Constantly Meddling in Wedding Preparations Results in Elopement: On the other hand, would their friends being FULLY on board be any less of a disaster? Between Donna, Louis, and Rachel, I imagine they would be getting a LOT of opinions on wedding planning…
  
  
• Elopement - Eloping While on the Run from the Law: Remember when Harvey made a joke about them fleeing the country when Mike thought he’d been caught? What if not a joke, though...
  
  
• Wedding - Best Man Crushing On The Groom/Wedding Ceremony – Objecting:
  
  • I was mostly thinking about Mike marrying Rachel with these two freeforms, and that’s how the rest of my prompts are written, but feel free to swap it up if you’re drawn in the other direction!
    
    
  • Maybe Harvey is trying his very best to be an amazing best man, but Mike realizes something’s wrong and gets a feelings confession out of him. Or Harvey doesn’t mean to do anything to interfere—he’d never plan this—but he can’t stop himself from objecting in the moment.
    
    
  • Feel free to lean into the angst here, but I do want Mike and Harvey to end up together in the end. And please don’t bash their love interest (obviously this is a hard situation and it’s totally fair if Rachel or whoever is hurt/angry and it’s fine to show that, I just don’t want like, “oh they are totally awful, they deserve to have their wedding ruined anyway”).
  
  
• Different Universe and Different First Meeting AUs: Obviously I requested a whole bunch of different universes or different first meeting type AUs. Across the board, for me the key to their dynamic no matter how they first meet or what universe they’re in is: a) Mike starts out in a not-great situation/wasting his potential due to past mistakes; b) they get along great; c) Harvey quickly recognizing Mike is different (brilliant) and decides he wants to help him, preferable in a way that requires going out on a limb; and d) resulting intense loyalty on both sides.
  
  
  • Please feels free to mix and match within different kinds of AU freeforms if you so desire. Like, maybe arranged marriage is part of an A/B/O or BDSM world or Modern Royalty AU; sexual slavery is something that happens to subs or omegas; etc. etc.
    
    
  • A/B/O: I prefer Harvey as an alpha and Mike as an omega, but 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.
    
    
    • 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).
      
      
    • Feel free to lean into the dubcon-ness of heat/rut if you want, but I would prefer that they both enjoy it physically (even if they are also like OMG what is happening???)
      
      
    • Love them meeting as in canon and then navigating A/B/O urges, social rules, etc. in a way that ends up with them married (or fake married that becomes real feelings…). But also down for different first meetings. Maybe Harvey has reached an age where as an alpha he must marry, and instead of interviewing for associates, he’s interviewing for omegas. Or there’s some sort of matchmaking database or service, etc…
    
    
  • BDSM AUs I love these for Harvey/Mike a lot. I prefer Harvey as the dom and Mike as the sub, but as with A/B/O I 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? Maybe marriage is required for subs or doms of a certain age, and that’s why they end up getting married. Or maybe just being an unclaimed sub puts Mike in a bad position, and Harvey refuses to let anything happen to him…
    
    
    • For this request, I am obviously fine with formalized BDSM.
      
      
    • Some other freeforms from the tagset I really like when combined with this:
      
      • BDSM - Collaring and Contract Signing as Marriage Equivalent
        
      • BDSM - Sub Agrees To Marry For Greater Freedom; Also Enjoys Getting Topped By Dom
        
      • BDSM - Sub Agrees To Marry For Greater Freedom; Is Terrified of Dom [especially for situations where marriage is how they’re meeting]
    
    
  • 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 Mike initially belongs to a client but Harvey realizes he’s being mistreated and marries him to save him, 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 married 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?). Maybe they marry because they realize that’s the only way Harvey can truly keep Mike safe?
    
    
  • Modern Royalty AU: My thought here: Harvey is a prince (or whatever). He needs to get married, much to his chagrin. He meets this charming totally not-acceptable-partner-for-a-prince young man, and decides fuck it: they’re going to lie and say Mike is somehow royalty. Aaaaand, go!
    
    
  • Soul Bond - Soulmates Legally Obligated To Marry: I prefer if Mike and Harvey are soulmates, but I love it if either or both are very skeptical of the whole thing. In particular I could see Harvey REALLY not liking the idea that he would be forced to marry someone. And maybe his parents were soulmates and his mom still cheated, so why should he trust any of this shit? Feel free to use whatever kind of soulmate worldbuilding you want! The only thing I don’t really like is them being able to hear each others’ thoughts.
    
    
  • Mandatory marriage by a certain age: Make this a society wide AU! And either Harvey turns to Mike after they already know each other because he needs SOMEONE; OR it’s a different first meeting AU where they meet through some sort of match-making service or whatnot.
    
    OR I am also down for a version where this is just some weird Pearson Hardman bylaw. Like you can never be managing partner or a named partner or something else unless you’re married. Or hell, make it a different first meeting AU where you can’t make senior partner without being married. Maybe instead of interviewing for associates Harvey is interviewing for spouses…
    
    
  • Other Worldbuilding AUs: Worlds where there are algorithmic matchmakers everyone uses whether or not they want to, arranged marriages that may or may not be somewhat coerced, etc. etc. Whatever my selected freeforms inspire, go for it! I particularly love somewhat dystopian flavored options, with the boys bucking against or finding ways around the system, or being surprised to find happiness with each other despite the badness of the system.
    
    
  • Random Person or Escort Hired to Act as Spouse at Work or Family Gathering: I was thinking of Harvey hiring Mike, whether that be Mike as an escort, or, like, Mike as a random dude he met at a bar. Maybe this is otherwise our canon world, and he needs a “spouse” to woo a client or something. Or maybe it combines with one of these AU worlds, where marriage is more literally a job requirement, or there’s an A/B/O or D/s element or whatever else!
    
    
  • Consent Issues: A number of these are potentially dark worlds. If you would like to include sexual trauma/rape/etc. either on screen or in backstory (especially for Mike if he was an abused sub, sex slave, etc.), please feel free. Not between Harvey and Mike, please, but between either of them and OCs or canon baddies = great. I have more thoughts about my likes in that direction here.
    
    
    • Relatedly, a number of these scenarios have the potential for dub-con power dynamics between Mike and Harvey, in situations where Mike's status as an omega/sub/slave means he has less legal autonomy, and especially for different-first-meeting AUs where they don't already know each other before they end up entangled. I prefer no straight up noncon between Harvey and Mike, but I'm fine with playing with the fraught consent issues that could come up in these scenarios, if you're interested in that.
      
      I really love them being attracted to each other and having really great sex that is nonetheless emotionally tangled, especially in situations where Mike comes into the whole situation abused. Or Mike trying to seduce Harvey even though originally the marriage was supposed to be platonic/just to save him, because fuck it, he likes the guy and no matter what the law says he still has autonomy, and Harvey being worried that this is just Mike trying to survive or is done out of guilt. Or them falling into a sexual relationship but neither being sure if it’s real love. Etc. etc. etc. I prefer a happy ending, but cool with lots of angst along the way!
    
    
  • For more thoughts about AUs, check out my AUex and Id Pro Quo letters.

A note on timeline: For canon-based fic, set whenever makes sense to you! I’ve seen the whole canon, and will be happy with anything from Season 1 to post-canon.

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 other relationships—frankly, with this ship I am fine with Harvey and Mike having what amounts to an emotional affair while in other relationships, but I 100% do not want them physical cheating because that is such a big moral code for Harvey. I am also down with Harvey and Mike dating OCs during the fic if you want (esp. if it makes the other jealous), again as long as there is no physical cheating. I am also down with any sort of backstory relationships you want to add for them, including Harvey/Jessica.

In terms of dealing with the canon love interests, I’m fine with any solution you can think of other than poly or killing the canon LIs off. Setting the fic during a period where they are both single (as much as you can find one of those for Mike XD )? Totally! AU where the canon couples never got together, or broke up at some point prior to the fic? Yep. Breakup over the course of the fic? Yep. AU where the canon pairs never had a romantic spark and really were always just friends? Totally. AU where Donna and/or Rachel are actually super gay and maybe into each other? All for it.

In terms of non-Mike and Harvey characters, feel free to include any other ships you want.

Fandom specific DNWs and DNW exceptions:

• DNW killing off canon love interests so Harvey and Mike can get together.
  
• DNW use of “Alpha” and “Omega” honorifics in A/B/O AUs (ie. “Yes, Alpha!”)
  
• DNW Mike or Harvey getting pregnant.

[back]

Superstore
Garrett McNeill &/ Jonah Simms
• Accidental Engagement - Joke Marriage Proposal on TV Mistaken As Real by the Press
• Accidental Marriage - Because of Drunk Bet/Dare/Game of Chicken
• Accidental Marriage - Marriage Assumed To Be Fake/Done As Prank Is Actually Legally Binding
• Accidental Marriage - Woke Up Married After A Drunk Night
• Accidental Marriage - Series Of Mishaps Prevent Annulment Of Accidental Marriage
• Divorce - Keep 'Forgetting' to Annul Accidental Marriage
• Elopement - Family and/or Friends Constantly Meddling in Wedding Preparations Results in Elopement
• Fake Marriage - Hold Fake Wedding to Obtain Gifts From Rich People (and They Really RSVP)
• Marriage of Convenience - Going Way Too Far in Order to Prove a Point
• Marriage of Convenience - So They Can Put Really Expensive Kitchen Ware On Their Registry
• Marriage - Characters Marry for the Benefits (Don't Count on Falling in Love)
• Fake Marriage - Pretending to be Married for the Inheritance
• Fake Marriage - To Get On A Reality Show
• Marriage Laws - Roommates Realize They’re Considered Married Because of Common Law
• Proposal - Drunken Proposal
• Proposal - Having To Convince The Person They're Asking That Their Proposal And Feelings Are Genuine
• Proposal - Informal Co-Parenting Leads to Proposal
• Proposal - Joke proposal becomes mutual running joke until whoops - we mean it
• Proposal - Joke Proposal Taken Seriously
• Proposal - Serious Proposal Thought to be a Joke

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

• Fake Marriage - Practical Joke Results in Pretending to be Married
  
• Fake Marriage - Under Suspicion of Faking Marriage for the Benefits
  
• Marriage of Convenience - So You Can't Testify Against Each Other In Court
  
• Marriage of Convenience - Both Refuse to Lose a Bet
  
• Marriage of Convenience - Married For The Tax Benefits
  
• Proposal - Fake Dating ends in real proposal/marriage
  
• Wedding - Drunken Marriage
  
• Wedding - Drunken Marriage (Vegas Edition)
  
• Wedding Reception - Someone Gives Worst Speech Ever

What I like about the relationship: I find this show endlessly charming and fun. These two are my fave pair in the whole thing. I love how Jonah's so earnest and just completely desperate for any sign of approval or affection from Garrett, and how much Garrett totally knows that, and messes with him all the time (I find Garrett’s dry humor hilarious. And everything about him. I adore Garrett). But I think it’s clear that under that all, Garrett really cares about Jonah too, it’s just hard for him to express that.

In general, I love the upbeat tone and humor of the show, and I’m looking for a fic that matches that general feel. Feel free to let the fic get serious if/when it needs to—the show does!—but I am hoping for an overall vibe that’s more fun and hijinks than dark and painful. (I also love how political the show is, so feel free to incorporate that if you want.)

I requested both gen and ship, because I think it would be just as fun to see them dealing with these freeforms in a gen way as it would having them be a catalyst for them to get together.

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

• It all starts as a prank, but somehow gets much more legal than it was supposed to…
  
  
• Drunken shenanigans lead to consequences they realize they don’t really mind…
  
  
• Married for gifts/inheritance/benefits/etc.: Somehow, this seemed like a great plan at the time! Maybe the goal is to scam Jonah’s rich [insert relative(s) here]? Or maybe Corporate has some ~morale boosting~ initiative where they send nice gifts to employees who marry other employees?
  
  
• Proposal Confusion: Between Garrett’s dry humor and refusal to take anything seriously and Jonah’s weird earnestness, there are so many fun opportunities for misunderstanding and things taken the wrong way, in all sorts of directions!
  
  
• Accidental Engagement - Joke Marriage Proposal on TV Mistaken As Real by the Press: Maybe they’re on TV because something exciting (or at least exciting enough for local TV) happened at the store and news is around. Maybe someone caught a robber mid-theft, or someone had a baby and staff helped deliver it, or the store sold the most stuff on black Friday, or a unionization effort succeeded, etc. etc. Or maybe this is connected to the reality show ideas…
  
  
• Reality Show Related: Maybe they want to go on some reality show where you need to be a pair, and they figured they’d have a better shot at getting on if they said they were a couple, only it worked and now they have to keep up the act. Or maybe they both end up on a dating show (maybe their coworkers submitted them?), only they find themselves more interested in spending time with each other than anyone else…
  
  
• Informal Co-Parenting: I especially love the idea of one of them having to suddenly deal with a kid they did not expect. Maybe one of them finds out an old one-night stand had a baby? Or a relative drops a kid at their door? Maybe this is when they’re roommates so the other is forced to help out?
  
  
• Elopement - Family and/or Friends Constantly Meddling in Wedding Preparations Results in Elopement: Between Jonah’s family and the Cloud Nine staff, can you really blame them?
  
  
• If you go for the gen version for any of these, feel free to incorporate Jonah/Amy and/or Garrett/Dinah and how either or both of the women react. Are they frustrated as Jonah and Garrett fail to annual an accidently-legal marriage? If it’s a marriage to get something (reality show, gifts) do they think it’s a great idea, or terrible?

A note on timelines: I prefer this to be set after they’ve already become pretty good friends, but beyond that, feel free to set it whenever.

A note on other characters and ships: Any and all other characters are welcome. As mentioned in the prompts, feel free to incorporate the canon relationships if you’re doing the gen version. For the ship version, I definitely don’t want any cheating or canon love interests dying. I’m fine with any of the following: setting it at a time when the canon couples aren’t together; AU where they never got together; break up before the fic; break up over the course of the fic as the guys realize their feelings for each other.

Fandom specific DNW: Killing off canon love interests.

[back]

The Great
Catherine/Peter III
• Adultery - Discovery that Both Spouses are Cheating with the Same Extramarital Lover
• Adultery - Seducing Spouse’s Extramarital Lover
• Divorce - Coping with Missing Someone You Didn't Even Like Anymore
• Divorce - Co-parenting of children
• Divorce - Ex-Spouse Attempts to Murder New Love Interest
• Divorce - Ex-Spouse Attempts to Murder Them
• Divorce - Hung Up on Ex-Spouse Despite New Relationship
• Established Marriage - Attempting Suicide To Frame Their Spouse For Murdering Them
• Established Marriage - Framing Spouse for Murder by Faking Their Own Death
• Established Marriage - Suspects that Spouse is Trying to Kill Them
• Established Marriage - Bringing Breakfast to Sick Spouse in Bed
• Established Marriage - Pining For Spouse
• Estranged Spouses - Forced to Reunite
• Estranged Spouses - Tense Reunion after Separation on Bad Terms
• Marriage - Mutual Loathing
• Marriage - Mutual Pining
• Political Marriage - Plans to Kill Spouse

What I like about the relationship: I did not expect to come out of Season 2 half rooting for these two to somehow end up with a happy ending, and yet here we are. I love everything about their twisted, sometimes surprisingly romantic dynamic. Peter’s incompetent, stuttering attempts to be a better person, but also the sheer narcissism and childishness that keeps holding him back. Catherine’s reluctant lust and affection for him, turning into her embrace of his love, turning into her fury when she finds out about her mom. The complicated place we leave them. There’s just so much to explore, and I’m obsessed!

For these two, I’m happy with an ending anywhere from happy to tragic, as long as Catherine maintains her political power in the end. I even waive my no requested character death DNW for Peter’s death, if that’s the direction you want to go.

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

• Small moments of surprising shared intimacy and amusement. Shared moments of parenting joy. Hurt/comfort that is surprisingly comforting (even if they are also the one who caused the hurt…)
  
  
• Post Season-2: Peter knows Catherine was willing to kill him; Catherine knows how devastated doing that made her. There’s the continued struggle over the throne, the threat of war, the thing with Catherine’s mother. Where do they go from here? How does any or all of that play out? Can she ever forgive him? Does she even want to? If she doesn’t, do they keep sleeping together anyway? Does she send him away?
  
  
• AU where Catherine doesn’t find out about Peter and her mother. How do they develop from there? What happens if she finds out further down the line, maybe after they’ve been together for years or had another child? Might that inspire her to want to kill him again? Or not? Maybe he gets paranoid she will, whether or not she’s planning it?
  
  
• Peter successfully re-takes the throne, either post-Season 2, or in an AU at basically any point. Where does their dynamic go from there?
  
  
• I’m totally obsessed with Catherine’s anger and her brutalness in the scenes where she kills. Anything that plays with that would be fun.
  
  
• For any of the divorce freeforms, feel free to substitute in “estrangement” or any other situation where they aren’t technically divorced but aren’t TOGETHER, if that makes more sense for the story you want to tell than actual divorce.
  
  
• Adultery, new lovers, jealousy, etc: Historically, Catherine has many lovers. I can’t imagine Peter taking well to that, especially now. Or what if Peter goes back to his womanizing ways and Catherine finds she doesn’t like it at all?
  
  
• Cheating With Same Extramarital Lover/Seducing Spouse’s Extramarital Lover: Feel free to use whoever, though I especially love the idea of Grigor or Georgina for either of this situations. Or for Seducing Spouse’s Extramarital Lover, maybe a Season 1 AU where Peter tries to seduce Leo? I have more prompts along these lines here.
  
  
• While I prefer no straight non-con unless it's between Peter and Leo, feel free to lean into dubcon power dynamics, emotionally unhealthy sex, sex while one is threatening the other's life or power, etc. for any ship (Catherine/Peter or either of them with others).
  
  
  • By straight non-con, I mean a situation where one person is forcefully saying no and the other overrides that. But anything else, including coerced consent and no, no, yes seduction is a-okay with me.

A Note on Timelines: Feel free to go AU at any point, or keep it canon timeline.

A note on other characters and ships: In terms of other ships involving these characters, feel free to incorporate anything you like. Obviously, Georgina already looms very large, and I am more than happy to have her thrown into the mix in threesomes, or in separate ships in the same fic. I also really love Grigor shipped with either Peter or Catherine—or both! And, of course, the Grigor/Georgina/Peter threesome is a complicated blast as well. I also like Catherine/Marial, and basically any group sex combo of any of the above. Literally just like, throw them all together and bounce them against each other however you want to.

For ships not involving Peter and Catherine, I also really like Grigor/Georgina, Grigor/Marial, and Marial /& Archie. Honestly, I really like the entire cast, so feel free to get anyone else involved. And please feel free to incorporate other ships as you see fit even if I didn’t happen to mention them here. Like, seriously, it’s all good. (For more thoughts on many of these ships, check out my AU Ex, IPQ 2021 and Battleship letters.)

Fandom Specific DNWs/DNW Exceptions:

• My infidelity and poly/open relationships/etc. DNWs are waived.
  
  
• My focus-on-pregnancy DNW is waived. However, I would still prefer there not be a focus on the physicality of being pregnant (morning sickness, physical difficulty beyond the extent to which being less mobile effects a character’s plotting, etc.).
  
  
• My requested-character-death DNW is waived for Peter.

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