Dear Candy Hearts Exchange Creator 2026

[killerqueer]

Thank you so much for creating a fic for one of my requests! I hope there is something here that inspires you, but please don't feel obligated to include everything - or even most - of what is included here. I'm pretty easy to please as long as my DNWs are respected, so if there's anything you're excited about, feel free to take what you like and leave the rest!

Treats are more than welcome from anyone and I would be so stoked! The more the merrier 🤩

General/Non Fandom-Specific Info:

General Likes/Loves:

Re: ship fics, I particularly love getting together fics, but I also enjoy an established relationship as long as it's got something to drive the story forward! Basically, for ship or gen, I love some conflict - as long as there's a happy ending (this doesn't have to mean everything is perfect for everyone involved, but as long as there's a happy or at least hopeful ending, I'm happy!). Third person POV please, is the one thing I'm firm on!

 

As for specific content that I enjoy: Yearning. My soul for yearning. Mutual Pining. Incredible. For gen, loving/supportive relationships in general. I love banter/witty dialogue - generally my favorite characters tend to have that about them so when it gets incorporated in fics, I really love it. I also love an ensemble story so if there's other characters/ships featured in the background, that's always fun, but is not a requirement by any means. I really love when a character who has a lot of pressure on them - either from those around them or that they put on themselves - is made to rest/let someone else take care of them for awhile. I also enjoy when characters are made to question concepts and/or parts of their identities in ways that could drastically alter the trajectory of their lives. Love kissing/cuddling and smut that is tender or kinky or both - whatever you desire as long as my DNWs are kept out of it. I know it's losing favor for understandable reasons but I do love miscommunication/poor communication causing problems kind of fics. For established relationships, I love seeing people learning how to be together in new ways like moving in together for example, exploring new kinks, or (unless otherwise specified) foraying into polyamory and learning how to be a good and loving partner to more than one person, etc.

 

I feel like I'm rambling now so I'll stop, haha, it's just difficult to say "what I like" in fan content because I'm generally pretty easy to please - I like most things outside of my DNWs. So just because I don't mention it specifically here or in the fandom/ship specific notes, that doesn't mean it's not something I'm interested in! If you’re not sure, feel free to reach out via the mods to ask!

General Favorite Tropes (in no particular order):

This is another one that just because it's not listed here doesn't mean I don't like it! Feel free to ask if you're unsure about something that's not on the list! But for now here's a list to start with, in no particular order:

• Slow burn
• Friends to lovers
• Enemies to lovers
• Annoyances to lovers
• Fake relationship turns real
• And there was only one bed!
• Miscommunication/poor communication forcing a conflict to come to a head
• "Let me take care of you" someone who needs it being forced to rest/take a break
• Time loops
• Person A sees Person B kissing/hooking up with/etc someone else and is forced to the uncomfortable realization of how into Person B they are/how they can't keep hiding from themself if they're repressed/etc.
• Huddling for warmth turning into cuddling into kissing and maybe into more if you'd like!
• Hurt/Comfort (as long as there's plenty of comfort + a happy ending!)
• Relationship dynamics growing/developing
• Genderfuckery
• Sex Pollen (though I'd prefer there be an at least marginally-plausible explanation behind it)

General NSFW/Kink Likes:

• Begging
• Bondage
• CNC
• Cockwarming
• Consensual somno
• Coming clothed/partially clothed/untouched
• Desperation
• Dirty talk
• D/s play
• Edging
• Exhibitionism
• Facials
• Free Use
• Impact play
• Praise kink
• Public/Semi-public sex
• Sex Pollen
• Teasing
• Voyeurism

General Do Not Wants:

• 1st or 2nd Person POV
• Reader Inserts/OCs
• Social Media AUs/Chat fics
• Modern/Mundane AUs/AUs that leave the canon setting entirely - Canon divergence/adding magical/fantasy elements to the canon setting is fine/etc, but, unless otherwise specified, I prefer the established canon universe for these fandoms.
• Dark fic/Unhappy endings/Hurt w/ no comfort
• Non-Canonical Major Character Death
• Unrequited/one-sided love between chosen ship characters (side/background characters are fine)
• Non-Con (dub-con okay)
• A/B/O (I don't hate this inherently but I'm incredibly picky about it so I'd prefer not to receive it from a stranger. If you happen to be a close friend and you know what I like, I trust your judgement.)
• Cis Mpreg outside of A/B/O
• Cis Genderbending (making a character trans/nonbinary is great, but I do not want "has always been a cis [x gender]" type of gender bending.
• Abuse / Violence / Gore (with the exception that canon typical blood/violence/etc is fine)
• Smut involving bodily waste
• Outsider POV

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Fandom/Ship Specific Notes:

Knives Out (Wake Up Dead Man):

Below are Wake Up Dead Man specific likes/loves and DNWs, as well as specifics about the requested ship, including some prompts/suggestions, but the prompts are just there to try to be helpful, not as anything you have to use, so if you have other ideas that you're excited about, feel free to go your own way!

Likes/Loves

Oughhh this ship has captivated me completely over the last few weeks. Apparently the Kind-hearted Priest/Righteous Non-believer dynamic will fucking get me every goddamn time. I love the way their relationship develops over canon - the way they are together, the way they're drawn to each other, the way Blanc manhandles Jud/will shout at/be infuriated with him in ways he never was with Marta or Helen, but all the while being so endeared to him/captivated by him/in awe of him. Jud being in awe of Blanc in return in his own way. Blanc's clear religious trauma vs Jud's kind, open, acceptance. Jud's guilt/need to make up for it by throwing himself on the altar of crimes he did not commit vs Blanc's determination to finding justice/truth/to saving Jud from himself and the people who have happily attempted to frame him. The way they bicker, the way they question each other. I feel like I'm not being very eloquent here, but everything about them is making me go insane.

As for further specific likes/loves: Catholic guilt (obviously lmfao). Slow burn, mutual pining. Jud confessing to Bishop Langstrom (whether about having feelings for Blanc in general/wanting him or if it's post acting on it), and being so afraid that this will be the last straw/that he'll have to leave the priesthood if he isn't able to let go of Blanc, but Langstrom surprising him by being chill about it (it's reported that only about half of the priesthood are estimated to remain celibate, consensual relationships with other adults are incredibly common, a kind of open secret among the clergy), and not condemning Jud/kind of trying to ease his anxiety about it/telling him that it's more common than he thinks/etc/what have you. Blanc is tbh giving divorce era in WUDM and I'm so here for that but also down for infidelity wrt Phillip. Whatever direction you want to go in wrt that, I'm here for it. Angst/Hurt/Comfort with a happy/hopeful ending. Jud and Blanc continuing to have their back and forth about religion while being (for the most part, in Blanc's case,) respectful of each other's belief/lack of belief, and Jud not ever trying to convert Blanc. Explorations of Jud's past. Cy and his lawyers harassing them abt Eve's Apple as a catalyst that keeps bringing Judblanc together/giving them opportunities for their relationship to develop. If you wanted to incorporate Marta or Helen as part of the ensemble/part of Blanc's circle, I would be down, but it's not required! I could go on about Judblanc, probably, but I'll leave it there. 

DNWs

• Everything from the main DNW list unless otherwise specified in fandom or ship-specific likes/prompts
• Jud/Blancp/Phillip
• Blanc Converting/having a religious experience/Jud trying to convert Blanc
• Sidestepping Jud's vows. I do want him to break them, but I also want him to either struggle with the decision beforehand or have the fact that he isn't struggling with the decision be an intentional character and/or narrative choice vs just hand-waving them.
• Infantilizing Jud/portraying him as an innocent baby when it comes to sex or whatever just bc he's a priest
• Setting-change AU
• Any non-requested Archive Warnings

Judblanc prompts:

feel free to disregard these if you have an idea you're excited about but, in no particular order:

• sfw or nsfw: Jud and Blanc not being able to let go of the unspoken tension between them after the case/continuing to stay in touch - feelings developing and they each either ignore and/or subtly encourage them, even if they both know (for their own reasons) that they should nip this in the bud and try to move on until tension finally breaks and they can't hold it in anymore. Slow, failed attempt at a controlled burn turning into a forest fire kind of thing.
• sfw or nsfw: Blanc divorce era - Blanc wanting Jud and feeling guilty about it (maybe bc the divorce is fresh and he feels guilty for moving on so fast or because his and Phillip's relationship is on the rocks/divorce hasn't happened yet but is on the horizon). Jud also having feelings for Blanc and dealing w his own guilt about that re: both his faith/vows but also either knowing Blanc is in the middle of getting or is freshly divorced or bc he knows Blanc isn't divorced yet. Whatever direction you want, go for it. I love some angst as long as there's a happy/hopeful ending for at least Judblanc.
• nsfw: first time smut - mutual pining + the dam breaking and they can't hold back anymore. Jud maybe having agonized about this for so long but once things snap/he makes the decision to let go and let himself have what he wants, being all in in a way that is perhaps a surprise to Blanc.
• nsfw: Jud Top-Drop aftercare - if you wanted to go for Top Jud and wanted to play in this space: I do think it would be delicious to play with his anxieties about his (real or percieved) violent/aggressive instincts and how that might play out wrt sex/how that kind of. fear/guilt affects him both in the moment and after.

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M*A*S*H:



Below are M*A*S*H specific likes/loves and DNWs, as well as specifics about each requested gen pair/ship, including some prompts/suggestions, but the prompts are just there to try to be helpful, not as anything you have to use, so if you have other ideas that you're excited about, feel free to go your own way!
 

Likes/Loves

All from general + Daniel Pierce being the best father of all time. Two grown ass dudes sharing a single person army cot, R&R together, secret relationships, Swamp Rats shenanigans, queerplatonic Houlihawk my beloved. Mutual Pining, keeping things generally believable to the time period (canon typical anachronisms are all good), though pre-war (for some ships), during canon (for all), and post-war (for most) are all fine! Genderfuckery specifically wrt Hawkeye is loved but not required. The whole "Forcing person A (cough, Hawkeye, cough) to let Person B take care of them" trope is a big one for me in this fandom. Found family is a huge part of why I love M*A*S*H so that being included is always a plus. I also really love Jewish Hawkeye. And we can’t forget Hawkeye’s Canonical Breeding Kink.

DNWs

• Everything from the main DNW list unless otherwise specified in fandom or ship-specific likes/prompts
• Character bashing of BJ or Trapper (or anyone but Frank, really, but it's usually only something I see regularly for one of those two)
• Intense physical whump beyond exhaustion/fatigue/types of things that happen in canon. Someone getting injured in the line of duty (but ending up fine) is fine. Torture/gore/extreme direct violence/etc is not what I’m after.
• AUs that change the setting (see specific notes in ships)
• A/B/O (unless you know me personally/we have talked about what I like)
• Any non-requested Archive Warnings
• Lasting pregnancy (see: What's Up Doc prompt in Houlihawk section)

Gen or Ship Specific:

Hawkeye & Daniel

I really love the glimpses we get into Hawkeye's relationship with his father in the show and I would love to see something exploring that! I hc Daniel as being very loving & accepting of Hawkeye's queerness and I would not want to receive something that shows him not in that light, but other than that, the world is your oyster!

Some specific prompt ideas (though feel free to disregard if you have an idea you're excited about), in no particular order:

• Daniel noticing the ways Hawkeye is different (read: queer) throughout Hawkeye's life - maybe seeing it before Hawkeye does as a kid or noticing it but not saying anything outright until Hawkeye is ready to tell him himself. being very loving and accepting when Hawkeye does come out or if he perhaps caught Hawkeye & Tommy messing around or something, idk. could go in many different directions, whatever you want!
• Post GFA: Hawkeye coming back from the war/coming home to Crabapple Cove - he's different/broken/distant/etc. Not ready to help at the clinic and even when he does get to that point, can't be around any of their pediatric patients, etc. Daniel helping him find himself again/being a loving and supportive parent/etc.
• Daniel raising Hawkeye alone after his wife dies - struggling through his own grief while also trying to support his son through his. other challenges they face, etc. I tend to hc Hawkeye as Jewish via his mom, but that Daniel is not Jewish. would love to see him maybe struggle trying to help Hawkeye remain connected to the faith without any real support (not a lot of Jewish folks in a tiny rural Maine town in the 1920s), feeling like he's failing Hawkeye, etc. However this pans out, up to you!
• Hawkeye introducing Daniel to his partner at some point after the war - (Father Mulcahy? Sidney? BJ? Trapper? Whoever you like, really.) Perhaps the partner is nervous about being open about their relationship with Hawkeye's father, but Daniel is so welcoming and kind.

other likes:

• explorations of trauma
• Jewish Hawkeye, non-Jewish Daniel
• non-linear narratives
• banter
• fluff
• family bonding
• loving/supportive parental relationship
• specifically, Daniel being a supportive parent of a queer child while the setting/surrounding culture still being rooted in the reality of a queer person in the time period

Houlihawk

I don't tend to see Houlihawk as endgame romantic partners for each other, generally more in the queerplatonic direction or like. Being each other's comets in a poly/etc situation, but their love for each other is very important to me. I love the way their relationship grows throughout canon from coworkers who barely tolerate each other to tentative/begrudging respect to friends to best friends (Margbeejhawk best friendship is so real to me). I would be happy to receive something set in any stage of that relationship trajectory, though I do have a slight preference for the final three stages (though if you have a great idea for the 'coworkers who barely tolerate each other' face growing past that, go for it!)

Some specific prompt ideas, in no particular order:

(I signed up at the last min/in a hurry so these were all nabbed from my sign up for the H/C exchange last year, but you don't have to write Hurt/comfort, you can disregard these if you have other ideas you think I'd like!)

• sfw or nsfw: (somewhat both, but mostly hurt Margaret) What's Up Doc episode tag - the potential baby being Hawkeye's (happened practically RIGHT after Comrades in Arms & she hadn't seen Donald in awhile, despite the story she tries to tell in canon. Whether or not either of them acknowledge this verbally is up to you. Whether or not you go w/ canonical false alarm or actual pregnancy up to you, but would love to see something about that episode through the lens of that circumstance, If she is pregnant, having Hawkeye's support of whatever decision she makes/being there for both verbal/moral comfort as well as physical affection and she decides that she needs to get an abortion, both for her career/future in that sense, and maybe even for the marriage she's still trying to save. Even if Hawkeye has offered to "do the right thing" and told her he'd marry her if she wanted to divorce Donald (I especially love this in regard to them not necessarily even trying to kid themselves that they could work as a long term romantic partnership, but discussing the idea of doing it as friends for their kid). Them both having feelings about that, even if they know it's what's best. 
• sfw: (somewhat both, but mostly hurt Hawkeye) Another trip to an Aid Station in the mid/later season era - Hawkeye being seriously injured/can't stand long enough to treat patients/Margaret has to take over. getting Hawkeye stable, potentially with instruction from Hawkeye on surgical techniques that she isn't trained on/isn't confident enough to do on her own (even if she's been working in the MASH long enough that she probably could do it on her own). Doing the same thing to have Margaret do everything she can for the soldiers at the Aid Station. Perhaps the aftermath/further care/comfort as well once things have calmed down and either they're still waiting on help and have to sleep there overnight or if they get brought back to the 4077th.
• sfw or nsfw: (hurt Margaret) Hawkeye comforting Margaret after her dad being shitty - circumstances of what happened up to you - maybe it's after Father's Day or a disheartening or cruel (intentionally or unintentionally) letter. Maybe she broke the news of her divorce to her father and he was really shitty about it. Or whatever other ideas you have. Found family/best friend (or best friend with benefits) being there for her in the aftermath, comforting her/making her feel better. 
• sfw or nsfw: (hurt Hawkeye) Circa WTK - Margaret offering comfort to Hawkeye re: Trapper being gone. Maybe she knew about Trapper, maybe she didn't (if she did, I'd prefer to her being surprisingly cool about it, especially if this is the first time Hawkeye finds out that she knew). Perhaps past Margtraphawk. Hawkeye being comforted/understood in a safe way where he can be open about how upset he is without being afraid of his life being ruined by a blue discharge. Maybe she didn't know about Traphawk and she comes to him with the intention of chewing him out for not being as on top of things as before, even after all that time on R&R and he breaks down - either she figures it out on her own, or he's feeling low enough to tell her because things are already bad enough, what's one more life ruining thing? But she won't tell anyone/etc, stays with him/offers comfort when he needs it. Would even love some dumb light hearted lecherous Hawkeye comments towards the end where he's trying to save face and she lets it slide given the circumstances but not without telling him that's the only pass he gets and if he tries it again, she'll knock his teeth out or some shit.

other likes:

• strong/deep friendship/respect for each other despite bickering/sometimes being at each other's throats
• the ways their relationship grows and deepens throughout canon
• casual intimacy
• Hawkeye being a cad and Margaret telling him off for it
• non-linear narratives
• fluff
• found family

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Merlin:

Below are Merlin specific likes/loves and DNWs, as well as specifics about the requested ship, including some prompts/suggestions, but the prompts are just there to try to be helpful, not as anything you have to use, so if you have other ideas that you're excited about, feel free to go your own way!

Likes/Loves

Merlin ship of all time. Gwaine is my guy. He's my best friend, he's my pal. He's my home-boy, my rotten soldier. He's my sweet cheese, my good-time boy. Etc. Also he's so blatantly in love with Merlin from basically the moment he lays eyes on him and, while I love Merthur as much as the next guy, I love Merlin being seen by someone so clearly/being so openly adored and valued without pretense and offering that in return to Gwaine. Gwaine would go to the ends of the earth for Merlin, he is so goddamn devoted to him, i'm gonna be sick. And I love Merlin being that way to him in return - not eschewing his devotion to Arthur/their destiny and Gwaine not asking him to, but finding the capacity and love within himself to have space and devotion to both his duty/destiny with Arthur, but also his love for Gwaine. I love them so much.

Everything from main likes/loves ofc. Also Gwaine being a flirty little fuckboy with a heart of gold and being so smitten with Merlin right from the beginning. Gwaine getting upset on Merlin's behalf when Arthur treats him like shit/doesn't listen to him and Merlin coming to Gwaine's defense when Arthur/the Knights are on him for being annoying or whatever, knowing that it does bother Gwaine even if he never says anything about it. Gwaine thinking his feelings for Merlin are unrequited only for that to be proved false. Going on a quest together, Merlin revealing his magic to Gwaine. Merlin letting Gwaine take care of him/help carry the burden/take the weight off his shoulders. Etc.

DNWs

• Everything from the main DNW list unless otherwise specified in fandom or ship-specific likes/prompts
• Arthur-bashing
• Major Character Death (canonical or otherwise - either pre-Camlann or fix it please 😭)
• Merlin abandoning his destiny (they could fantasize about running away together but not actually do it, etc.)
• AUs that change the setting
• Any non-requested Archive Warnings

Merwaine prompts:

feel free to disregard these if you have an idea you're excited about but, in no particular order:

• sfw or nsfw: Merlin revealing his magic to Gwaine - either by accident or on purpose, by choice or by necessity. Whether Gwaine already knew or not is up to you! Gwaine promising he's with Merlin no matter what/will help him keep his secret/etc. Perhaps this coincides with a feelings confession from one or both of them/getting together fic.
• sfw or nsfw: Gwaine pining after Merlin and thinking Merlin is in love with Arthur - Whether Merlin does also have unrequited feelings for Arthur too is up to you, but he does have feelings for Gwaine regarless and they get together.
• sfw: Hurt/Comfort, Merlin getting whumped and Gwaine is there to save the day. - Gwaine either rescues him from whatever he's gotten himself into or, perhaps, helps him in the aftermath.
• nsfw: Merwaine ill advised drunken hook up after pulling off a scheme - neither of them has ever admitted their feelings beforehand and they have to deal with the emotional fall out the next morning/following days or weeks. How long it takes for them to get their shit together, up to you.

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Thank you! I can't wait to see what you write!! ♥️