Dear Yuletide Writer 2015
Oct. 25th, 2015 11:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dhampyresaDear writer,
Clearly you have excellent taste! Thank you for writing for me. I'm sure whatever you write me will be wonderful. (I may not be able to read and/or comment on your fic right away, but be assured that I will do so at the earliest possible opportunity!)
Feel free to poke around this journal or my Ao3 account (username: sevenofspade) if you want to.
I have three Do Not Wants: incest, rape and child abuse. When these are canon, please don't focus on them. I'd also prefer is you didn't dwell on any suicidal ideation or prolonged descriptions of grief. I would also prefer not to have to deal with people losing things important to them and toxic living arrangelents, be that family or roomates. Thank you.
On the other hand, there are a lot of things I do want. Here’s a partial list. (I obviously don’t expect you to stick all of these in one story, that would be impossible.)
I will now proceed to go massively TL;DR in your general direction. You can pick and choose from my prompts and if you don't feel like any of them work for you, that's okay too. It's more important to me that you enjoy your yuletide. Besides, I will love anything (ANYTHING!) in these fandoms.
• Plot. I prefer it to both introspection and porn, but it doesn’t have to be a massive epic.
• Hopeful and/or bittersweet endings, just not the unrelenting grim darkness of the far future
• FRIENDSHIP FIC. You can never go wrong with friendship fic as far as I’m concerned.
• Femslash, gen, het, poly and slash! I'm honestly not difficult. Most of my prompts are gen, but if you want to take them in a shippy direction, go right ahead! I've pointed out ships I ship, but if you ship something else, I'll gladly read it. I tend to ship ALL THE SHIPS.
• Dinosaurs.
• IN SPAAAAAAAAACE AUs
• Historical AUs
• Fandom AUs! Or better yet, fandom not!AUs, in which the canon is exactly the same, except everyone's in fandom!
• (Consider "They do yuletide" as your get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to plot.)
• Crack taken seriously.
• People on opposite side who care about each other! Whether it's enemies-turned-(grudging)-friends or friends-turned-(grudging)-enemies or any other variation on this theme, I love this trope very dearly.
• Complicated relationships and conflicted loyalties in general, really.
• Superpowers!
• Canon-divergent AUs! Allllllll the “WHAT IF” fics. ALL OF THEM.
• Identity porn! When someone (or several people) have secret identities (fannish, superheroic, all of the above, etc) and their interactions change depending on who's presenting as what at any given time.
• People being smart/competent!
• Timetravel! I love all the kinds of timetravel. The ones that create paradoxes and the ones that don't; the ones that are stable and the ones that aren't; the ones with alternate pasts/presents/futures and all the rest. Just. All the timetravel, yeah?
• Worldbuilding! Fuck yeah, worldbuilding. Tell me everything about a tiny (or not so tiny) canon detail. Show the parts of the world the canon never goes to. TELL ME ABOUT THE STORIES THEY TELL IN THAT UNIVERSE. (Seriously. Rewrite canon as a legend from that universe, that would be amazing.)
• Folktales/fairytales/etc.
• If all else fails, you can always stick any random combination of characters on a roadtrip/force them to work together and have them become friends and I will eat it up with a spoon.
There be spoilers and walls of text beyond this point. I want you to know that I love, love, love all of these fandoms and would be utterly delighted to get fic for any of them.
Carthaginian Mythology (Any: Dido | Elissa (Carthaginian Mythology), Tanith (Carthaginian Mythology) )
What's the canon: The mythology of the people of Ancient Carthage shares similarities with Phoenician mythology, but many aspects, such as Dido and most likely Tanith herself, are unique. The most famous myth of this mythology is probably Dido and Aeneas, but my favourite Dido story is the one where she founds Carthage.
Additional info: I fall on the PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN side as far as the child sacrifice issue is concerned. I don't mind if you don't, but please don't make it a central plot point.
Why I love it: I've always been fascinated by Dido as a person. Here's this woman, a princess of Tyre, who packs up everything and gets the fuck out of there to avoid getting dragged into a succession war. She ends up founding the city that would become one of the Ancient Mediterranean's greatest trade empires, but before that she still manages to free a bunch of women from ritual sacrifice AS YOU DO. I love how smart and brave she is.
Tanith is fascinating to me. She's Tanith pene Baal, the face of Baal, but where Baal is a Phoenician deity found throughout the Mediterranean, Tanith is resolutely Carthaginian. She's a goddess of fertility and war. She brings rain. If you're a trading city on the edge of the desert, you definitely want her on your side. They made coins with her face on them. I like that she can be said to be "the Carthaginian goddess of FUCK YOU", because look at her symbol. This is not the symbol of a goddess who has any fucks to give.
Prompts: You can write both of those in your fic or not. I've provided prompts for both alternatives.
I have so much Dido feelings lately, it's kind of embarrassing. Anyway, I would love a story set before Aeneas -- just Dido, Hanna and Carthage. Before Carthage could also be cool! I know Aeneas is the most famous part of her story, but to be entirely honest I don't care so much about Aeneas -- I mean, you can write about him, it wouldn't Ruin My Yuletide or anything -- and so I'd prefer to read about literally any other aspect of Dido's life, be that before, during or after. Dido in the Carthaginian underworld would be epic! I've always wanted to know more about her relationship with her sister and how it might have been impacted by her relationship to their brother or their flight from Tyre or anything else.
I kind of want to know everything about Tanith! From her relationship to Ba'al (I ship it, btw -- and my mental image of Ba'al is probably forever going to be the one in Stargate SG1, sorry) to her relationship with Carthage and what happened to it. In Flaubert Salammbô, there is sacred veil of Tanith. As far as I know Flaubert made it up, but what if he didn't? I would also love anything about Tanith interacting with other gods, be that from her pantheon or others. There's a city of Carthage today; is Tanith still there? Was she there when the treaty ending the Tird Punic War was signed (in 1985!)? I would love an AU where Carthage doesn't fall.
There is SO MUCH TO WORK WITH, here, if you go the "write both Tanith and Dido in the same fic" route. I mean, you could go with something about Dido's flight from Tyre, did that upset Tanith's careful plans or was it a part of it? Was there scheming among gods over wtf to do about this Aeneas dude? What about Dido at sea and Tanith ill at ease with leaving Phoenicia? Or the other way around, is the reason there's so little archaeological evidence of Tanith in Phoenicia because she's a purely Carthaginian goddess, because Dido made her? You could write about the early days of Carthage and Dido's patient struggle to build this city through peace and diplomacy with Tanith, goddess of war that she is, chomping at the bit for bloody conquest?
Crossover prompts: The obvious crossover here is with Punic Wars RPF and I came up with a bunch of prompts for that earlier, but this fandom can cross over with all my requested fandoms in some way. Maybe Yoo Eun Soo's timetravel adventures take her to Carthage. Maybe one of the Super!Gwens is kicking around the Ancient Mediterranean (Gwendusa or Gwen of Thunder seem the likelier suspects). Tanith vs Lovecraftian horrors! Loki and Verity pay a visit to Dido -- and save her from the pyre to take her on adventures!
Gwen Variants (Marvel Comics Covers) (Any of: Gwen Stacy | Black Gwidow (Black Widow #19 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Black Widow (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Brian Michael Gwendis (Ultimate End #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Capgwen (Captain America & the Mighty Avengers #9 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Captain America (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Dagwen (X-Men ’92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Doctor Spectrum (Squadron Sinister #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Dr Gwenge (Secret Wars #3 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | G.W.E.N.D.O.K. (S.H.I.E.L.D. #7 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwen Fury (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwen of Thunder (Thors #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwen Storm (X-Men ’92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwen the Duck (Howard the Duck #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenclops (X-Men ’92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwencrawler (X-Men '92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwendusa (Inhumans: Attilan Rising #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gweneto (Magneto #19 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwengela (1602 Witch Hunter Angela #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenolossus (X-Men '92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenom (Guardians of Knowhere #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenpool (Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenverine (Old Man Logan #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwoot (Groot #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Hawkeye (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Hulk (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Hyperion (Squadron Sinister #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Iron Gwen (Armor Wars #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Iron Man (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Nighthawk (Squadron Sinister #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Speed Demon (Squadron Sinister #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Spider-Gwen 2099 (Secret Wars 2099 #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Spider-Man (Ultimate End #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | The InGwenible Hulk (Future Imperfect #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Thor (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover) )
What's the canon: The canon is a series of variant covers Marvel put out last year to promote the Spider-Gwen comic launch. Each cover reimagines Gwen Stacy as one (or more) Marvel character.
Additional info: I follow many Marvel comic series and have followed more in the past. Don't hesitate to crossover with the wider Marvel-verse; if you have questions about my familiarity with any given series, please ask through the mods. Some titles I follow(ed) which might be relevant here: 1602 Witch Hunter Angela, Old Man Logan (v1 only so far), Secret Wars, Spider-Gwen, the Miles Morales run of Ultimate Spider-Man (at least up to Cataclysm) and Thors.
Why I love it: I like Gwen Stacy a lot. I think she's super smart and really kind and amazingly brave, be that in Spider-Gwen or the movies or Ults Spidey. I love canon-adjacent AUs too, especially role reversal AUs (I hesitate to call these canon-divergent, but they could be!), so this fandom is basically two great tastes that taste great together!
Prompts: Yes, I requested "any" for this fandom. I didn't misclick. I just couldn't pick which one I wanted more, so here I am, requesting "any" on a fandom with almost three dozens characters (I've combined the prompts of some characters). Feel free to combine prompts, have multiple Gwens in your story, go completely off-prompt or whatever else you feel comfortable doing.
Gwen Stacy | Black Gwidow & Gwen Stacy | Black Widow: This is the Black Widow!Gwen on this solo cover and the Black Widow!Gwen on the Gwenvengers cover. I am super curious how Gwen ended up as the Black Widow in this verse. Is she the product of the American response to/branch of the Red Room? The solo cover seems to suggest Spider-powers, does she have any? How did she end up teaming up with all those other Gwens?
Gwen Stacy | Brian Michael Gwendis: This is the bald Gwen on this cover. It's also the more meta of all the Gwens, because she doesn't stand in for a character but for a creator. Is the Gwen of this universe a comics writer? Was she just thrown off a bridge? What does Spidey mean when talking about "the woman who created me"? Is she a scientist?
Gwen Stacy | Capgwen & Gwen Stacy | Captain America: This is the Cap!Gwen on this solo cover and the Cap!Gwen on the the Gwenvengers cover. Is this Gwen a supersoldier? Related but independant question: is she from the 40s? How does the cultural image of Captain America change when Captain America is a woman?
Gwen Stacy | Dagwen: This is the Daken!Gwen on the X-Gwen cover. Going by Daken's origin, that would make this Gwen Wolverine's daughter. Is that the case? Is she more like X-23? If not, why does she have this powerset and how do her and Wolverine (or X-23) feel about having the same one?
Gwen Stacy | Doctor Spectrum: This is the quadri-colored Gwen from the Squadron Gwenister cover. Look, I don't want to lie to you: Doctor Spectrum is basically Marvel's answer to Green Lantern, so if you want to get all AU!Lantern Corps in here, please do! Beyond that, I'm very curious about how the Power Prism ended up in Gwen's hands and what the Squadron Gwenister can possibly be up to in this verse.
Gwen Stacy | Dr Gwenge: This is the Gwen!Dr Strange from the Secret Wars 3 variant cover. Okay, okay, bear with me a moment. I know there's no direct link between the covers and the content of the book, so there's no reason to think that Dr Gwenge is on Battleworld, but consider this: Sorcerer Supreme Gwen Stacy as God-Emperor Doom's right hand! Honestly, just the concept of Sorcerer Supreme Gwen Stacy is great. She can fight eldritch creatures from beyond Lovecraft!
Gwen Stacy | G.W.E.N.D.O.K. : This is the Gwen from this cover. The obvious question here is: what does G.W.E.N.D.O.K. stand for? In the comics, M.O.D.O.K. is linked to AIM. Is that also the case here?
Gwen Stacy | Gwen Fury: This is the Gwen!Nick Fury on the Gwenvengers cover. I want to know everything about Gwen Fury's adventures with SHIELD. How did she lose her eye? Was the Avengers always supposed to be ALL GWEN ALL THE TIME or is that just a side-effect of some inter-universal rift?
Gwen Stacy | Gwen of Thunder: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. She looks so happy to be wielding Mjolnir! Is this Gwen as one of the Thors on Battleworld? If so, casefic would be amazing! Is this Ults Spidey Gwen who picked up Mjolnir in the aftermath of Galactus?
Gwen Stacy | Gwen Storm: This is the Gwen!Storm on the X-Gwen cover. She can control weather patterns, how cool is that! I'd be curious to know what her relationship with Ororo (if any) is in this verse. I would also love for her to tackle natural disasters, not just super villains.
Gwen Stacy | Gwen the Duck: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. She's a duck who is in a band and fights crime dressed as a Spider. Is everyone in that world a duck? And if not does the fact that she's a duck draw attention in any way? Maybe you can write about her being in the band!
Gwen Stacy | Gwenclops: This is the Gwen!Cyclops on the X-Gwen cover. Can this Gwen control her eyebeams? How did her powers manifest? Is she functionally colourblind because of the visor? Does she have a 'Jean' or an 'Emma'? Did something like the Phoenix Five happen in this verse and was Gwen one of them?
Gwen Stacy | Gwencrawler: This is the Gwen!Nighcrawler on the X-Gwen cover.Why isn't her hair also blue? Is this Gwen more like the devout Catholic of the movies or the fuzzy elf from X-Men:Evolution? Does she also teleport through Hell? Is she Mystique's daughter by Destiny?
Gwen Stacy | Gwendusa: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. Unlike the Medusa of the comics, it looks like Gwen's hair isn't just hair, but actual snakes, taking her closer to her mythological namesake. Did she inspire the legends? Is there a Black Bolt (or Black Bolt equivalent) in this verse? What is their relationship like? On the cover, she's riding around on Lockjaw, are they on a quest?
Gwen Stacy | Gweneto: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. I have so much questions, here! Is this a clone? (Because that always works out so well.) Is it a case of her being his daughter, like Lorna? (Bonding time! with the Maximoffs, too.Retcon, wat retcon.) Is this Magneto bodyswapped into Gwen? If none of those, how much does this Gwen have in common with Magneto?
Gwen Stacy | Gwengela: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. I'm intrigued by the resemblance between Gwen and the Faerie Queen -- when Angela took her place to become the Faustian Queen, did she take Angela's place as a Witch Hunter and this Gwen is the result? Is this Gwen the one wingless angel in Heven, instead? Does she have someone like Serah? (Is it MJ?)
Gwen Stacy | Gwenolossus: This is the Gwen!Colossus on the X-Gwen cover. Is there a Gwen!Magik in this verse? Did people think they were twins as children? Was there a Phoenix Five in this verse and was Gwen part of it? What's her relationship with Kitty like?
Gwen Stacy | Gwenom: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. This is a very toothy Venom, wow! Did this Gwen have superpowers before being infected? Now that she's infected does she use her powers for good or evil (or is a loose canon anti-hero)? How much of Gwen is left inside Venom?
Gwen Stacy | Gwenpool: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. WHOSE POOL IS SHE IN? And why is there a dead body in there? How did she end up with those powers? Did she end up with those powers? Does she still have a reputation as The Merc With A Mouth?
Gwen Stacy | Gwenverine: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. The cover makes me think of werewolves -- is Wolverine-like powers that universe's equivalent of lycanthropy? Old Man Logan is a comic set many years after the villains of Marvel won, is that still the case here? is this Gwen a guardian of the wilderness? Are there legends about her? How old is she?
Gwen Stacy | Gwoot: This is the Gwen from this solo cover.How does she have hair? She's a tree! This Gwen is apparently friends with Spider-Ham. How did that happen? Is she also friends with Rocket Raccoon? Does she live in space or in New York? Does she say "I am Groot" or "I am Gwen"?
Gwen Stacy | Hawkeye: This is the Gwen!Hawkeye on the Gwenvengers cover. Is there a Kate in this Gwen's life? Was she Gwen's mentor/inspiration? What her relationship with Black Widow like? (Doesn't have to be Gwen!Black Widow or even Natasha!Black Widow! Could be MJ!Black Widow.) Was she raised by carnies?
Gwen Stacy | Hulk & Gwen Stacy | The InGwenible Hulk: This is the Gwen from this solo cover and the Gwen!Hulk on the Gwenvengers cover. How did Gwen end up as the Hulk? Was it on purpose, was it an accident? Can she control her transformation or her Hulk? Is she a scientist as a civilian? Does anyone know about her being the Hulk?
Gwen Stacy | Hyperion: This is the wingless flying Gwen from the Squadron Gwenister cover. There are half a dozen Hyperions running about, which one is this Gwen? Is she a new one? Maybe this isn't the Squadron Sinister equivalent, but Squadrom Supreme equivalent! Hyperion is basically Marvel!Superman, so if you want to give this Gwen a Lois Lane, Batman or Wonder Woman equivalent to hang out with, feel free!
Gwen Stacy | Iron Gwen & Gwen Stacy | Iron Man: This is the Gwen from this solo cover and the Gwen!Iron Man on the Gwenvengers cover. How did Gwen end up with an armour? Did she make it? Does Tony Stark have some sort of special program or what. Oh, I know, Gwen is Tony's bodyguard. And what's up with Spider-Ham! Is he a robot in this verse? How did Gwen end up with the Avengers?
Gwen Stacy | Nighthawk: This is the winged flying Gwen from the Squadron Gwenister cover. I have to admit, I'm intrigued by the fact that this Gwen has wings, because Nighthawk is usualy just Marvel!Batman. A story about that would be cool. I like the fact that Nighthawk only has powers from dusk till dawn, it's pretty cool. How does that affect Gwen?
Gwen Stacy | Speed Demon: This is the running Gwen from the Squadron Gwenister cover. In continuing with the theme of "Squadron Sinister is Marvel's take on DC's superheroes", Speed Demon is Marvel's take on the Flash. I would love to see this Gwen interacting with other speedsters of the Marvel universe, especially Tommy Shepherd (Speed). Is there a Speedforce for Gwen to access? (Avengers/JLA implies no Speedforce in 616, but then, this isn't 616, is it?)
Gwen Stacy | Spider-Gwen 2099: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. It's Spider-Gwen, in the year 2099! In what looks like a high-speed car chase à la Mad Max:Fury Road, so anything about the car chase would be awesome. Is it a chase for their lives, is it a contest, is it both? Does this Gwen have Spider-Powers or is that mask and costume just part of the persona? Who is that driver?
Gwen Stacy | Spider-Man: This is the masked Gwen on this cover. Is this a role reversal AU between Gwen and Miles? What's her relationship with that world's Peter Parker? Who threw Brian Michael Gwendis off a bridge and are they an archnemesis of Gwen's?
Gwen Stacy | Thor: This is the Gwen!Thor on the Gwenvengers cover. Is this Gwen the golden daughter of Asgard? Is "Gwen Stacy" her "Donald Blake"? How does she feel about Ragnarok? What's her relationship with Sif like? (I could ship it.) What about the other Asgardians?
Crossover prompts: Well, you can basically port any of the Gwens into any context, so knock yourself out. What about Gwen of Thunder as Tanith's Chosen to protect Carthage? And/or another in the Roman Republic's employ. None of Gwen's powers would look out of place in Faith's Goryeo. Dr Gwenge vs Lovecraft's eldritch horrors! One (or more!) of the Gwens on a roadtrip with Loki and Verity.
Locke & Key (Dodge (Locke & Key), Kinsey Locke)
What's the canon: It's a complete comics series that's 37 issues long (+ a couple of codas that aren't necessary to understand the main storyline). It's about the Locke family and their ancient family house in Lovecraft, MA, that has Keys with mysterious powers in it and a girl that lives in the well-house. It's horror, but even though it's got gore and can be quite violent, it relies more on psychological and body horror than anything. If you're interested by this canon and would like to know more (if it contains a particular squick of yours, for example), feel free to hit me up in the comments.
Additional info: It also exists as an audio drama, free on Audible as I write this. There was once a pilot for a TV series made, but all that's left is the trailer, which does a good job of not spoiling things, imho.
Why I love it: I like the way the art matures as the story goes on and goes from good to absolutely stunning by the end and the way that mirrors the evolution of the storyline. I love how intricately plotted it is. I love that it got a happy ending, despite everything (hell, pretty much everyone got a happy ending, of some sort). I love how much like a family the Lockes feel and how much like siblings the siblings feel. I love how brave everyone is and how smart. I love the art in that one issue where it's like Calvin and Hobbes. I love the twists and turns the story takes.
Prompts: You don't have to write both of them in your fic, you can just write one of them. If you do write both of them, I sort of ship Kinsey/Zack in a relly fucked up way, and I ship it even more if Dodge stays female, the way they apparently did in the TV pilot, but the fic can be gen. I just think they have a very interesting relationship in canon.
I would love worldbuilding fic and if you have to go canon-divergent AU or future!fic or past!fic (is that a thing? It should be a thing) to do it, then go right ahead. I would love fic that explore more mundane uses for the Keys or explains what this-or-that Key that never got used in canon does. Or make up an entirely new one! Or write about the Lovecraft psychiatrist (because SO MUCH THERAPY is needed, by pretty much everyone at every point) that somehow everyone tells the truth to and so has to deal with Lovecraftian terrors on their couch.
Dodge is an ELDRITCH CREATURE FROM BEYOND LOVECRAFT (I will never get tired of this joke) and the main antagonist of the series and I'm kind of curious what they would have done if the Lockes hadn't defeated them. (Maybe they remain in their female form and aren't recognised by Joe Ridgeway.) It's fascinating that their motivation is essentially to get a family that isn't full of cosmic horrors, but they're going about it completely the wrong way. The glimpses of Luke we see behind Dodge are interesting (Hello darkness my old friend, the insistence on keeping promises) -- how much of Dodge is Luke? (I have to admit that I kind of ship Jordan/Tyler/Zack. Sorry not sorry.)
Kinsey is all kinds of amazing and I want to read all about her adventures forever. What about an AU in which Rendell doesn't die and the Lockes move back to Lovecraft for entirely different reasons? I would also enjoy post-canon fic for Kinsey. My favourite cracky idea is for her to take up being a superhero by using the powers of the Keys. I want to read about the AU where she does become friends with Jordan and how that impacts the storyline. What's her new life with her new brother Rufus like? Did she ever find out what happened to Joe Ridgeway? What happened to her playing Ophelia in the winter Hamlet? I'd also love to hear about her friendship with Mandy Sawyer and their wild card games. I love Kinsey's canon relationship with Jamal, but I also ship her super hard with Jackie -- what about an AU where they did get that dance?
Crossover prompts: On the one hand this is a setting that's perfect for fusions. On the other hand, there can also be some great crossovers, here. Maybe the Locke kids use the Time Key to visit ancient Carthage and through shenanigans can interact with the inhabitants there, be that Dido or Hannibal. Maybe Kinsey becoming a superhero attracts the attention of any of the Super!Gwens. Maybe Yoo Eun Soo's jaunt through time lands her in Lovecraft. Maybe Loki and Verity come around to visit.
Loki: Agent of Asgard (Loki | Goddess of Stories (Agent of Asgard), Verity Willis (Agent of Asgard))
What's the canon: The canon is a comic series that lasted 17 issues and concluded recently. It's about Loki fighting tooth and nail for redemption and making friends along the way.
Additional info: I follow many Marvel comic series and have followed more in the past. Don't hesitate to crossover with the wider Marvel-verse; if you have questions about my familiarity with any given series, please ask through the mods. Some titles I follow(ed) which might be relevant here: Journey into Mystery, Young Avengers (both volumes), Secret Wars, Thors and 1602 Witch Hunter Angela. I like pretty much everyone in this comic and other Marvel characters I like are (not a complete list): Doctor Doom, Valeria Richards, Wanda Maximoff, Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, America Chavez, Leah, Rogue, Magik.
Why I love it: The Loki + Verity friendship is a thing of beauty and I love it so much. This series has a brilliant narrative about the role of stories in our lies and what it means to be a Trickster. It's about Loki achieving redemption, at long last and on his terms (long verison here).
Prompts: My main prompts here is POST-CANON ADVENTURES. I just want all the stories about Loki and Verity traipsing around the multiverse -- they can go to Doom's Battleworld, or they can go back into the past or they can go in the future or they can barge into any other fictional text or even go and talk to myth!Loki. Or they can stay in the void outside creation and explore what they find there (they could meet Lucifer, from the comic of the same name, who is also in the void outside creation post-that-canon). I mean, now that Those Who Sit In Shadows don't want to talk to Loki anymore, what is there to see in the void? What's behind Loki's "Next" door? Or you could write about Loki telling Verity about where the ring came from. You can also write about Verity's nine months without Loki -- did she find fanfiction while she was getting used to fiction?Did she do yuletide? Did she ever get in trouble due to being a "trusted ally" of Doom? Did Loki go straight to Verity or were stops made along the way? I would love to know how Verity manages to get a new body -- maybe Wanda and/or Doom help. There could also be a fic about Verity and Loki simply hanging out with each other before things went to hell. Maybe they made rhubarb jam.
Crossover prompts: Well, like I said above, the post-canon roadtrip is perfect for any kind of crossover you might want. Maybe they run into Tanith in the void. Maybe Verity ends up having to haunt Choi Young for ReasonsTM. Maybe they pick up one (or more!) of the Gwens to go adventures with them. Alternatively, in a Locke&Key fusion, maybe Loki is the eldritch horror Verity befriends. Or you could write an AU where they lived during the Second Punic War!
Punic Wars RPF (Hannibal Barca (Punic Wars RPF), Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major)
What's the canon: The two most badass generals in History! (...After Alexander and Pyrrhus, by their own admission. Whatever.) bias aside, Hannibal Barca and Scipio Africanus are the main players of the Second Punic War. The Second Punic War is a war that is full to the brim with feats of badassery (the Crossing of the Alps, Cannae, the fall of Carthago Nova) and things ridiculous, yet epic (Archimedes' death lasers and Hannibal's snake bombs). The canon is, well, history, but you don't have to dig into Polybius or Livy to appreciate the epic that is these two; (Although, if you want to, Polybius can be found on Project Gutenberg, Perseus and Wikisource, as can Livy.)
Additional info: I wrote you a primer! (With bonus follow-up questions, including the 100% legit scholarship of what they looked like.) There's a movie starring Alexander Siddig as Hannibal for the war itself and Extra Credit: Extra History: The Punic Wars for the war and some more context, both before and after. Not sure it's any help, but I might as well you to one of my favourite poems and my tag.
(I fall on the PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN side as far as the child sacrifice issue is concerned. I don't mind if you don't, but please don't make it a central plot point.)
Why I love it: Where do I start? I wrote a post about why I ship it some time ago, so that's a good place to start. I love how fucking competent both of them are (Cannae, obvs, but also Trebbia and Trasimene (and the one with the snake bombs) for Hannibal, Zama, Ilipa and Carthago Nova for Scipio and that's just battles). I love how much they fail at not being obvious how interested in each other they are: the incident in Ephesus has been described as Hannibal discreetly courting Scipio. I love how friendly the Ephesus thing shows them as being (and then they totally fucked). I mean, you'd expect a confrontation between people having the history together those two do (and especially considering the circumstances under which they last met) to be subtle attempts at espionage at best and downright hateful at worst, passing through merely antagonistic, but no! They're respectful of each other and friendly and have invitations to dinner. I also have this headcanon that since they both DIED THE SAME YEAR IN MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES with no body ever found, they faked their own deaths to elope end their days together.
Prompts: I ship this two something fierce, but I would also be open to gen fic about them, either together or separately. (Or even some ships, just saying. if you want to write Hannibal/Maharbal or Aemilia/Scipio, please do!)
Some prompts you could go with: WHATEVER HAPPENED IN EPHESUS (I vote for slow-burn romance), Scipio and his relationship with Jupiter Capitolinus, Hannibal and the blood oath, either of their relationship with their family (I'd be especially interested in Scipio + Cornelia Africana), their friendships (Hannibal and Maharbal, in particular), AU where Hannibal takes Rome, AU where Scipio takes Carthage, AU in which there's no war, magical realism AU, AU where they're both Romans or Carthaginians, AU where they're fucking IN SPAAAAACE...
I will read about their historical setting and I will read canon-divergent AUs and I will read setting displacement AUs where they Scipio is mayor or where they are part of a model UN competition and they fight each other in pun-filled debates like some sort of punny war (I LIKE PUNS). If you want them to time-travel or fight aliens, that's also good. Maybe trade negociations when Scipio is Consul (and gets his dinner parties trolled by Cato, because why not) and Hannibal is Suffete. Or maybe fic about the adventures after they faked their deaths. Or how about THEY FIGHT CRIME. Or zombies. Or zombie crime. (Also, none of these have to be AUs. Maybe it's still the Second Punic War, except for that one thing that's different, like them doing yuletide on the side and/or gods made manifest). Please don't feel like you to have to be An Expert TM to write fic set in the historical setting, because you really don't need to. You also don't have to write shippy or porny fic of these two; I will be just as happy with gen fic of both of them.
Crossover prompts: The obvious crossover here is with Carthaginian mythology and I came up with a bunch of prompts for that earlier. Yoo Eun Soo's jaunt through time takes her to the Second Punic War and she's the one who saves Hannibal's life when he comes down with his eye infection. The Second Punic War, but with Super!Gwens on both/either side. Hannibal and Scipio vs Eldritch horrors! Scipio wasn't talking to Jupiter, he was talking to Loki and Verity.
신의 | Faith | The Great Doctor (Any of: Choi Young, Hwa Soo In, Jang Bin, Yoo Eun Soo )
What's the canon: It's a 24 episodes long kdrama from 2012 about a modern day surgeon who gets kidnapped back into the past. It's "Jin meets X-Men in medieval Korea".
Additional info: I know subtitles for the show can vary depending on your source, so I have to say I have no preference for how you handle translation issues, so long as you stay coherent.
Why I love it: "I'm a doctor. To me there isn't anyone who shouldn't be saved." OMG EUN SOO I LOVE YOU SO. Because Yoo Eun Soo is great and I love me some doctors, especially doctors bonding over medicine, and I love me some timetravel and I love me some fantasy and I love me some political intrigue and basicaly, i love me every aspect of this show.
Prompts: I would read basically anything about this series.
I want the AU where Choi Young and Yoo Eun Soo go back to the door to heaven at the very beginning/the first time he asks the King and they do actually get to go and be left alone and he does become a fisherman. (I have no opinion on whether or not the door should open, i just know I don't wnat it to open right away.) Also, the AU in which they run away with the boy king is also good. Or the AU in which the marriage with the uncle went ahead and then there can be pining between her and Choi Young because he's still Captain of the Guard. Okay, I would also like to see the timeline in which Choi Young accepted Gi Cheol's offer and became king.
I really enjoy all the relationships and I ship a lot of them, such as Choi Young/Yoo Eun Soo, Yoo Eun Soo/Hwa Soo In, Hwa Soo In/Choi Young, Hwa Soo In/Sound Guy, Yoo Eun Soo/the Queen, the King/the Queen, Choi Young/the King (you could do something really cool with a Choi Young/Eun Soo/the Queen/the King sedoretu, just saying). Basically, you can write about any combination of these characters as romantic and I will gladly read along. My one exception to this is that I really really love the platonic friendship Yoo Eun Soo has with Jang Bing and while I would love love to read about them bonding over medicine some more, I'd rather it stayed platonic. (But you can totally ship him with Choi Young if that's your thing.)
Oh! What about a role reversal AU, in which Choi Young is the modern doctor and Yoo Eun Soo is the captain of the Wuldachi? That could be cool. Or how about the AU in which Choi Young is a girl and also a lesbian? Because that would be awesome. Canon-wise, you can do the fic where Choi Young teaches the King how to high-five and/or the Wuldachi how to pinky-swear. And if you want to break my heart, you can write about either of the timelines that lead to the other Eun Soos to leave messages to the Eun Soo we saw (the one where the house does blow up, the one where they don't go back to the palace) or the timeline where she's stuck in the present or the further past. (Also, can we pretend Dr Jang is not dead but recovering off-screen, please and thank you, that would be nice. No body, no death.)
I find the relationship between the pledged siblings fascinating, because how did that happen? How did three people with superpowers end up working together? Okay, I'm going to be that person who asks for fix-it fic for the villains and ask for fix-it fic for the villains. They can go recover off-screen with Dr Jang. I would also totally be up for fic where they do end up going to the future and what happens to them there.
Post-canon reunion fic would be amazing, I'm just saying. I would also love the fic where Yoo Eun Soo has to travel through several time periods before getting back to Choi Young (not even necessarily in Korean history, btw. Divine doctors for everyone!). I would love more bonding between Yoo Eun Soo and the Queen and/or Lady Choi and/or the Queen's bodyguards and/or the Wuldachi and/or her and the mute girl becoming friends. More friends for Yoo Eun Soo basically, yes.
The fic where she uses Choi as a defibrillator! Ooh! What about she shows somebody the recording of her parents? What about her life as Hwata? Did she teach anyone to read Hangeul?
Crossover prompts: Yoo Eun Soo's various trips through time at the end of the series are the perfect excuse for all manners of crossovers! Maybe she lands in newly-founded Carthage or in Rome after Cannae. Does the presence of one (or more) Super!Gwen impact the series? What if Hwata's door was actually the Black Door leading to the plains of Leng? How much trouble can Loki and Verity get up to?
In conclusion, please have the best possible yuletide! Any fic you write will be amazing.
[Edited October 31 for clarity.]
Clearly you have excellent taste! Thank you for writing for me. I'm sure whatever you write me will be wonderful. (I may not be able to read and/or comment on your fic right away, but be assured that I will do so at the earliest possible opportunity!)
Feel free to poke around this journal or my Ao3 account (username: sevenofspade) if you want to.
I have three Do Not Wants: incest, rape and child abuse. When these are canon, please don't focus on them. I'd also prefer is you didn't dwell on any suicidal ideation or prolonged descriptions of grief. I would also prefer not to have to deal with people losing things important to them and toxic living arrangelents, be that family or roomates. Thank you.
On the other hand, there are a lot of things I do want. Here’s a partial list. (I obviously don’t expect you to stick all of these in one story, that would be impossible.)
I will now proceed to go massively TL;DR in your general direction. You can pick and choose from my prompts and if you don't feel like any of them work for you, that's okay too. It's more important to me that you enjoy your yuletide. Besides, I will love anything (ANYTHING!) in these fandoms.
• Plot. I prefer it to both introspection and porn, but it doesn’t have to be a massive epic.
• Hopeful and/or bittersweet endings, just not the unrelenting grim darkness of the far future
• FRIENDSHIP FIC. You can never go wrong with friendship fic as far as I’m concerned.
• Femslash, gen, het, poly and slash! I'm honestly not difficult. Most of my prompts are gen, but if you want to take them in a shippy direction, go right ahead! I've pointed out ships I ship, but if you ship something else, I'll gladly read it. I tend to ship ALL THE SHIPS.
• Dinosaurs.
• IN SPAAAAAAAAACE AUs
• Historical AUs
• Fandom AUs! Or better yet, fandom not!AUs, in which the canon is exactly the same, except everyone's in fandom!
• (Consider "They do yuletide" as your get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to plot.)
• Crack taken seriously.
• People on opposite side who care about each other! Whether it's enemies-turned-(grudging)-friends or friends-turned-(grudging)-enemies or any other variation on this theme, I love this trope very dearly.
• Complicated relationships and conflicted loyalties in general, really.
• Superpowers!
• Canon-divergent AUs! Allllllll the “WHAT IF” fics. ALL OF THEM.
• Identity porn! When someone (or several people) have secret identities (fannish, superheroic, all of the above, etc) and their interactions change depending on who's presenting as what at any given time.
• People being smart/competent!
• Timetravel! I love all the kinds of timetravel. The ones that create paradoxes and the ones that don't; the ones that are stable and the ones that aren't; the ones with alternate pasts/presents/futures and all the rest. Just. All the timetravel, yeah?
• Worldbuilding! Fuck yeah, worldbuilding. Tell me everything about a tiny (or not so tiny) canon detail. Show the parts of the world the canon never goes to. TELL ME ABOUT THE STORIES THEY TELL IN THAT UNIVERSE. (Seriously. Rewrite canon as a legend from that universe, that would be amazing.)
• Folktales/fairytales/etc.
• If all else fails, you can always stick any random combination of characters on a roadtrip/force them to work together and have them become friends and I will eat it up with a spoon.
There be spoilers and walls of text beyond this point. I want you to know that I love, love, love all of these fandoms and would be utterly delighted to get fic for any of them.
Carthaginian Mythology (Any: Dido | Elissa (Carthaginian Mythology), Tanith (Carthaginian Mythology) )
What's the canon: The mythology of the people of Ancient Carthage shares similarities with Phoenician mythology, but many aspects, such as Dido and most likely Tanith herself, are unique. The most famous myth of this mythology is probably Dido and Aeneas, but my favourite Dido story is the one where she founds Carthage.
Additional info: I fall on the PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN side as far as the child sacrifice issue is concerned. I don't mind if you don't, but please don't make it a central plot point.
Why I love it: I've always been fascinated by Dido as a person. Here's this woman, a princess of Tyre, who packs up everything and gets the fuck out of there to avoid getting dragged into a succession war. She ends up founding the city that would become one of the Ancient Mediterranean's greatest trade empires, but before that she still manages to free a bunch of women from ritual sacrifice AS YOU DO. I love how smart and brave she is.
Tanith is fascinating to me. She's Tanith pene Baal, the face of Baal, but where Baal is a Phoenician deity found throughout the Mediterranean, Tanith is resolutely Carthaginian. She's a goddess of fertility and war. She brings rain. If you're a trading city on the edge of the desert, you definitely want her on your side. They made coins with her face on them. I like that she can be said to be "the Carthaginian goddess of FUCK YOU", because look at her symbol. This is not the symbol of a goddess who has any fucks to give.
Prompts: You can write both of those in your fic or not. I've provided prompts for both alternatives.
I have so much Dido feelings lately, it's kind of embarrassing. Anyway, I would love a story set before Aeneas -- just Dido, Hanna and Carthage. Before Carthage could also be cool! I know Aeneas is the most famous part of her story, but to be entirely honest I don't care so much about Aeneas -- I mean, you can write about him, it wouldn't Ruin My Yuletide or anything -- and so I'd prefer to read about literally any other aspect of Dido's life, be that before, during or after. Dido in the Carthaginian underworld would be epic! I've always wanted to know more about her relationship with her sister and how it might have been impacted by her relationship to their brother or their flight from Tyre or anything else.
I kind of want to know everything about Tanith! From her relationship to Ba'al (I ship it, btw -- and my mental image of Ba'al is probably forever going to be the one in Stargate SG1, sorry) to her relationship with Carthage and what happened to it. In Flaubert Salammbô, there is sacred veil of Tanith. As far as I know Flaubert made it up, but what if he didn't? I would also love anything about Tanith interacting with other gods, be that from her pantheon or others. There's a city of Carthage today; is Tanith still there? Was she there when the treaty ending the Tird Punic War was signed (in 1985!)? I would love an AU where Carthage doesn't fall.
There is SO MUCH TO WORK WITH, here, if you go the "write both Tanith and Dido in the same fic" route. I mean, you could go with something about Dido's flight from Tyre, did that upset Tanith's careful plans or was it a part of it? Was there scheming among gods over wtf to do about this Aeneas dude? What about Dido at sea and Tanith ill at ease with leaving Phoenicia? Or the other way around, is the reason there's so little archaeological evidence of Tanith in Phoenicia because she's a purely Carthaginian goddess, because Dido made her? You could write about the early days of Carthage and Dido's patient struggle to build this city through peace and diplomacy with Tanith, goddess of war that she is, chomping at the bit for bloody conquest?
Crossover prompts: The obvious crossover here is with Punic Wars RPF and I came up with a bunch of prompts for that earlier, but this fandom can cross over with all my requested fandoms in some way. Maybe Yoo Eun Soo's timetravel adventures take her to Carthage. Maybe one of the Super!Gwens is kicking around the Ancient Mediterranean (Gwendusa or Gwen of Thunder seem the likelier suspects). Tanith vs Lovecraftian horrors! Loki and Verity pay a visit to Dido -- and save her from the pyre to take her on adventures!
Gwen Variants (Marvel Comics Covers) (Any of: Gwen Stacy | Black Gwidow (Black Widow #19 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Black Widow (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Brian Michael Gwendis (Ultimate End #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Capgwen (Captain America & the Mighty Avengers #9 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Captain America (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Dagwen (X-Men ’92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Doctor Spectrum (Squadron Sinister #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Dr Gwenge (Secret Wars #3 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | G.W.E.N.D.O.K. (S.H.I.E.L.D. #7 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwen Fury (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwen of Thunder (Thors #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwen Storm (X-Men ’92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwen the Duck (Howard the Duck #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenclops (X-Men ’92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwencrawler (X-Men '92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwendusa (Inhumans: Attilan Rising #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gweneto (Magneto #19 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwengela (1602 Witch Hunter Angela #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenolossus (X-Men '92 #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenom (Guardians of Knowhere #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenpool (Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwenverine (Old Man Logan #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Gwoot (Groot #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Hawkeye (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Hulk (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Hyperion (Squadron Sinister #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Iron Gwen (Armor Wars #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Iron Man (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Nighthawk (Squadron Sinister #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Speed Demon (Squadron Sinister #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Spider-Gwen 2099 (Secret Wars 2099 #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Spider-Man (Ultimate End #2 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | The InGwenible Hulk (Future Imperfect #1 Gwen Variant Cover), Gwen Stacy | Thor (Secret Wars #4 Gwen Variant Cover) )
What's the canon: The canon is a series of variant covers Marvel put out last year to promote the Spider-Gwen comic launch. Each cover reimagines Gwen Stacy as one (or more) Marvel character.
Additional info: I follow many Marvel comic series and have followed more in the past. Don't hesitate to crossover with the wider Marvel-verse; if you have questions about my familiarity with any given series, please ask through the mods. Some titles I follow(ed) which might be relevant here: 1602 Witch Hunter Angela, Old Man Logan (v1 only so far), Secret Wars, Spider-Gwen, the Miles Morales run of Ultimate Spider-Man (at least up to Cataclysm) and Thors.
Why I love it: I like Gwen Stacy a lot. I think she's super smart and really kind and amazingly brave, be that in Spider-Gwen or the movies or Ults Spidey. I love canon-adjacent AUs too, especially role reversal AUs (I hesitate to call these canon-divergent, but they could be!), so this fandom is basically two great tastes that taste great together!
Prompts: Yes, I requested "any" for this fandom. I didn't misclick. I just couldn't pick which one I wanted more, so here I am, requesting "any" on a fandom with almost three dozens characters (I've combined the prompts of some characters). Feel free to combine prompts, have multiple Gwens in your story, go completely off-prompt or whatever else you feel comfortable doing.
Gwen Stacy | Black Gwidow & Gwen Stacy | Black Widow: This is the Black Widow!Gwen on this solo cover and the Black Widow!Gwen on the Gwenvengers cover. I am super curious how Gwen ended up as the Black Widow in this verse. Is she the product of the American response to/branch of the Red Room? The solo cover seems to suggest Spider-powers, does she have any? How did she end up teaming up with all those other Gwens?
Gwen Stacy | Brian Michael Gwendis: This is the bald Gwen on this cover. It's also the more meta of all the Gwens, because she doesn't stand in for a character but for a creator. Is the Gwen of this universe a comics writer? Was she just thrown off a bridge? What does Spidey mean when talking about "the woman who created me"? Is she a scientist?
Gwen Stacy | Capgwen & Gwen Stacy | Captain America: This is the Cap!Gwen on this solo cover and the Cap!Gwen on the the Gwenvengers cover. Is this Gwen a supersoldier? Related but independant question: is she from the 40s? How does the cultural image of Captain America change when Captain America is a woman?
Gwen Stacy | Dagwen: This is the Daken!Gwen on the X-Gwen cover. Going by Daken's origin, that would make this Gwen Wolverine's daughter. Is that the case? Is she more like X-23? If not, why does she have this powerset and how do her and Wolverine (or X-23) feel about having the same one?
Gwen Stacy | Doctor Spectrum: This is the quadri-colored Gwen from the Squadron Gwenister cover. Look, I don't want to lie to you: Doctor Spectrum is basically Marvel's answer to Green Lantern, so if you want to get all AU!Lantern Corps in here, please do! Beyond that, I'm very curious about how the Power Prism ended up in Gwen's hands and what the Squadron Gwenister can possibly be up to in this verse.
Gwen Stacy | Dr Gwenge: This is the Gwen!Dr Strange from the Secret Wars 3 variant cover. Okay, okay, bear with me a moment. I know there's no direct link between the covers and the content of the book, so there's no reason to think that Dr Gwenge is on Battleworld, but consider this: Sorcerer Supreme Gwen Stacy as God-Emperor Doom's right hand! Honestly, just the concept of Sorcerer Supreme Gwen Stacy is great. She can fight eldritch creatures from beyond Lovecraft!
Gwen Stacy | G.W.E.N.D.O.K. : This is the Gwen from this cover. The obvious question here is: what does G.W.E.N.D.O.K. stand for? In the comics, M.O.D.O.K. is linked to AIM. Is that also the case here?
Gwen Stacy | Gwen Fury: This is the Gwen!Nick Fury on the Gwenvengers cover. I want to know everything about Gwen Fury's adventures with SHIELD. How did she lose her eye? Was the Avengers always supposed to be ALL GWEN ALL THE TIME or is that just a side-effect of some inter-universal rift?
Gwen Stacy | Gwen of Thunder: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. She looks so happy to be wielding Mjolnir! Is this Gwen as one of the Thors on Battleworld? If so, casefic would be amazing! Is this Ults Spidey Gwen who picked up Mjolnir in the aftermath of Galactus?
Gwen Stacy | Gwen Storm: This is the Gwen!Storm on the X-Gwen cover. She can control weather patterns, how cool is that! I'd be curious to know what her relationship with Ororo (if any) is in this verse. I would also love for her to tackle natural disasters, not just super villains.
Gwen Stacy | Gwen the Duck: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. She's a duck who is in a band and fights crime dressed as a Spider. Is everyone in that world a duck? And if not does the fact that she's a duck draw attention in any way? Maybe you can write about her being in the band!
Gwen Stacy | Gwenclops: This is the Gwen!Cyclops on the X-Gwen cover. Can this Gwen control her eyebeams? How did her powers manifest? Is she functionally colourblind because of the visor? Does she have a 'Jean' or an 'Emma'? Did something like the Phoenix Five happen in this verse and was Gwen one of them?
Gwen Stacy | Gwencrawler: This is the Gwen!Nighcrawler on the X-Gwen cover.
Gwen Stacy | Gwendusa: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. Unlike the Medusa of the comics, it looks like Gwen's hair isn't just hair, but actual snakes, taking her closer to her mythological namesake. Did she inspire the legends? Is there a Black Bolt (or Black Bolt equivalent) in this verse? What is their relationship like? On the cover, she's riding around on Lockjaw, are they on a quest?
Gwen Stacy | Gweneto: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. I have so much questions, here! Is this a clone? (Because that always works out so well.) Is it a case of her being his daughter, like Lorna? (Bonding time! with the Maximoffs, too.
Gwen Stacy | Gwengela: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. I'm intrigued by the resemblance between Gwen and the Faerie Queen -- when Angela took her place to become the Faustian Queen, did she take Angela's place as a Witch Hunter and this Gwen is the result? Is this Gwen the one wingless angel in Heven, instead? Does she have someone like Serah? (Is it MJ?)
Gwen Stacy | Gwenolossus: This is the Gwen!Colossus on the X-Gwen cover. Is there a Gwen!Magik in this verse? Did people think they were twins as children? Was there a Phoenix Five in this verse and was Gwen part of it? What's her relationship with Kitty like?
Gwen Stacy | Gwenom: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. This is a very toothy Venom, wow! Did this Gwen have superpowers before being infected? Now that she's infected does she use her powers for good or evil (or is a loose canon anti-hero)? How much of Gwen is left inside Venom?
Gwen Stacy | Gwenpool: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. WHOSE POOL IS SHE IN? And why is there a dead body in there? How did she end up with those powers? Did she end up with those powers? Does she still have a reputation as The Merc With A Mouth?
Gwen Stacy | Gwenverine: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. The cover makes me think of werewolves -- is Wolverine-like powers that universe's equivalent of lycanthropy? Old Man Logan is a comic set many years after the villains of Marvel won, is that still the case here? is this Gwen a guardian of the wilderness? Are there legends about her? How old is she?
Gwen Stacy | Gwoot: This is the Gwen from this solo cover.
Gwen Stacy | Hawkeye: This is the Gwen!Hawkeye on the Gwenvengers cover. Is there a Kate in this Gwen's life? Was she Gwen's mentor/inspiration? What her relationship with Black Widow like? (Doesn't have to be Gwen!Black Widow or even Natasha!Black Widow! Could be MJ!Black Widow.) Was she raised by carnies?
Gwen Stacy | Hulk & Gwen Stacy | The InGwenible Hulk: This is the Gwen from this solo cover and the Gwen!Hulk on the Gwenvengers cover. How did Gwen end up as the Hulk? Was it on purpose, was it an accident? Can she control her transformation or her Hulk? Is she a scientist as a civilian? Does anyone know about her being the Hulk?
Gwen Stacy | Hyperion: This is the wingless flying Gwen from the Squadron Gwenister cover. There are half a dozen Hyperions running about, which one is this Gwen? Is she a new one? Maybe this isn't the Squadron Sinister equivalent, but Squadrom Supreme equivalent! Hyperion is basically Marvel!Superman, so if you want to give this Gwen a Lois Lane, Batman or Wonder Woman equivalent to hang out with, feel free!
Gwen Stacy | Iron Gwen & Gwen Stacy | Iron Man: This is the Gwen from this solo cover and the Gwen!Iron Man on the Gwenvengers cover. How did Gwen end up with an armour? Did she make it? Does Tony Stark have some sort of special program or what. Oh, I know, Gwen is Tony's bodyguard. And what's up with Spider-Ham! Is he a robot in this verse? How did Gwen end up with the Avengers?
Gwen Stacy | Nighthawk: This is the winged flying Gwen from the Squadron Gwenister cover. I have to admit, I'm intrigued by the fact that this Gwen has wings, because Nighthawk is usualy just Marvel!Batman. A story about that would be cool. I like the fact that Nighthawk only has powers from dusk till dawn, it's pretty cool. How does that affect Gwen?
Gwen Stacy | Speed Demon: This is the running Gwen from the Squadron Gwenister cover. In continuing with the theme of "Squadron Sinister is Marvel's take on DC's superheroes", Speed Demon is Marvel's take on the Flash. I would love to see this Gwen interacting with other speedsters of the Marvel universe, especially Tommy Shepherd (Speed). Is there a Speedforce for Gwen to access? (Avengers/JLA implies no Speedforce in 616, but then, this isn't 616, is it?)
Gwen Stacy | Spider-Gwen 2099: This is the Gwen from this solo cover. It's Spider-Gwen, in the year 2099! In what looks like a high-speed car chase à la Mad Max:Fury Road, so anything about the car chase would be awesome. Is it a chase for their lives, is it a contest, is it both? Does this Gwen have Spider-Powers or is that mask and costume just part of the persona? Who is that driver?
Gwen Stacy | Spider-Man: This is the masked Gwen on this cover. Is this a role reversal AU between Gwen and Miles? What's her relationship with that world's Peter Parker? Who threw Brian Michael Gwendis off a bridge and are they an archnemesis of Gwen's?
Gwen Stacy | Thor: This is the Gwen!Thor on the Gwenvengers cover. Is this Gwen the golden daughter of Asgard? Is "Gwen Stacy" her "Donald Blake"? How does she feel about Ragnarok? What's her relationship with Sif like? (I could ship it.) What about the other Asgardians?
Crossover prompts: Well, you can basically port any of the Gwens into any context, so knock yourself out. What about Gwen of Thunder as Tanith's Chosen to protect Carthage? And/or another in the Roman Republic's employ. None of Gwen's powers would look out of place in Faith's Goryeo. Dr Gwenge vs Lovecraft's eldritch horrors! One (or more!) of the Gwens on a roadtrip with Loki and Verity.
Locke & Key (Dodge (Locke & Key), Kinsey Locke)
What's the canon: It's a complete comics series that's 37 issues long (+ a couple of codas that aren't necessary to understand the main storyline). It's about the Locke family and their ancient family house in Lovecraft, MA, that has Keys with mysterious powers in it and a girl that lives in the well-house. It's horror, but even though it's got gore and can be quite violent, it relies more on psychological and body horror than anything. If you're interested by this canon and would like to know more (if it contains a particular squick of yours, for example), feel free to hit me up in the comments.
Additional info: It also exists as an audio drama, free on Audible as I write this. There was once a pilot for a TV series made, but all that's left is the trailer, which does a good job of not spoiling things, imho.
Why I love it: I like the way the art matures as the story goes on and goes from good to absolutely stunning by the end and the way that mirrors the evolution of the storyline. I love how intricately plotted it is. I love that it got a happy ending, despite everything (hell, pretty much everyone got a happy ending, of some sort). I love how much like a family the Lockes feel and how much like siblings the siblings feel. I love how brave everyone is and how smart. I love the art in that one issue where it's like Calvin and Hobbes. I love the twists and turns the story takes.
Prompts: You don't have to write both of them in your fic, you can just write one of them. If you do write both of them, I sort of ship Kinsey/Zack in a relly fucked up way, and I ship it even more if Dodge stays female, the way they apparently did in the TV pilot, but the fic can be gen. I just think they have a very interesting relationship in canon.
I would love worldbuilding fic and if you have to go canon-divergent AU or future!fic or past!fic (is that a thing? It should be a thing) to do it, then go right ahead. I would love fic that explore more mundane uses for the Keys or explains what this-or-that Key that never got used in canon does. Or make up an entirely new one! Or write about the Lovecraft psychiatrist (because SO MUCH THERAPY is needed, by pretty much everyone at every point) that somehow everyone tells the truth to and so has to deal with Lovecraftian terrors on their couch.
Dodge is an ELDRITCH CREATURE FROM BEYOND LOVECRAFT (I will never get tired of this joke) and the main antagonist of the series and I'm kind of curious what they would have done if the Lockes hadn't defeated them. (Maybe they remain in their female form and aren't recognised by Joe Ridgeway.) It's fascinating that their motivation is essentially to get a family that isn't full of cosmic horrors, but they're going about it completely the wrong way. The glimpses of Luke we see behind Dodge are interesting (Hello darkness my old friend, the insistence on keeping promises) -- how much of Dodge is Luke? (I have to admit that I kind of ship Jordan/Tyler/Zack. Sorry not sorry.)
Kinsey is all kinds of amazing and I want to read all about her adventures forever. What about an AU in which Rendell doesn't die and the Lockes move back to Lovecraft for entirely different reasons? I would also enjoy post-canon fic for Kinsey. My favourite cracky idea is for her to take up being a superhero by using the powers of the Keys. I want to read about the AU where she does become friends with Jordan and how that impacts the storyline. What's her new life with her new brother Rufus like? Did she ever find out what happened to Joe Ridgeway? What happened to her playing Ophelia in the winter Hamlet? I'd also love to hear about her friendship with Mandy Sawyer and their wild card games. I love Kinsey's canon relationship with Jamal, but I also ship her super hard with Jackie -- what about an AU where they did get that dance?
Crossover prompts: On the one hand this is a setting that's perfect for fusions. On the other hand, there can also be some great crossovers, here. Maybe the Locke kids use the Time Key to visit ancient Carthage and through shenanigans can interact with the inhabitants there, be that Dido or Hannibal. Maybe Kinsey becoming a superhero attracts the attention of any of the Super!Gwens. Maybe Yoo Eun Soo's jaunt through time lands her in Lovecraft. Maybe Loki and Verity come around to visit.
Loki: Agent of Asgard (Loki | Goddess of Stories (Agent of Asgard), Verity Willis (Agent of Asgard))
What's the canon: The canon is a comic series that lasted 17 issues and concluded recently. It's about Loki fighting tooth and nail for redemption and making friends along the way.
Additional info: I follow many Marvel comic series and have followed more in the past. Don't hesitate to crossover with the wider Marvel-verse; if you have questions about my familiarity with any given series, please ask through the mods. Some titles I follow(ed) which might be relevant here: Journey into Mystery, Young Avengers (both volumes), Secret Wars, Thors and 1602 Witch Hunter Angela. I like pretty much everyone in this comic and other Marvel characters I like are (not a complete list): Doctor Doom, Valeria Richards, Wanda Maximoff, Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, America Chavez, Leah, Rogue, Magik.
Why I love it: The Loki + Verity friendship is a thing of beauty and I love it so much. This series has a brilliant narrative about the role of stories in our lies and what it means to be a Trickster. It's about Loki achieving redemption, at long last and on his terms (long verison here).
Prompts: My main prompts here is POST-CANON ADVENTURES. I just want all the stories about Loki and Verity traipsing around the multiverse -- they can go to Doom's Battleworld, or they can go back into the past or they can go in the future or they can barge into any other fictional text or even go and talk to myth!Loki. Or they can stay in the void outside creation and explore what they find there (they could meet Lucifer, from the comic of the same name, who is also in the void outside creation post-that-canon). I mean, now that Those Who Sit In Shadows don't want to talk to Loki anymore, what is there to see in the void? What's behind Loki's "Next" door? Or you could write about Loki telling Verity about where the ring came from. You can also write about Verity's nine months without Loki -- did she find fanfiction while she was getting used to fiction?
Crossover prompts: Well, like I said above, the post-canon roadtrip is perfect for any kind of crossover you might want. Maybe they run into Tanith in the void. Maybe Verity ends up having to haunt Choi Young for ReasonsTM. Maybe they pick up one (or more!) of the Gwens to go adventures with them. Alternatively, in a Locke&Key fusion, maybe Loki is the eldritch horror Verity befriends. Or you could write an AU where they lived during the Second Punic War!
Punic Wars RPF (Hannibal Barca (Punic Wars RPF), Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major)
What's the canon: The two most badass generals in History! (...After Alexander and Pyrrhus, by their own admission. Whatever.) bias aside, Hannibal Barca and Scipio Africanus are the main players of the Second Punic War. The Second Punic War is a war that is full to the brim with feats of badassery (the Crossing of the Alps, Cannae, the fall of Carthago Nova) and things ridiculous, yet epic (Archimedes' death lasers and Hannibal's snake bombs). The canon is, well, history, but you don't have to dig into Polybius or Livy to appreciate the epic that is these two; (Although, if you want to, Polybius can be found on Project Gutenberg, Perseus and Wikisource, as can Livy.)
Additional info: I wrote you a primer! (With bonus follow-up questions, including the 100% legit scholarship of what they looked like.) There's a movie starring Alexander Siddig as Hannibal for the war itself and Extra Credit: Extra History: The Punic Wars for the war and some more context, both before and after. Not sure it's any help, but I might as well you to one of my favourite poems and my tag.
(I fall on the PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN side as far as the child sacrifice issue is concerned. I don't mind if you don't, but please don't make it a central plot point.)
Why I love it: Where do I start? I wrote a post about why I ship it some time ago, so that's a good place to start. I love how fucking competent both of them are (Cannae, obvs, but also Trebbia and Trasimene (and the one with the snake bombs) for Hannibal, Zama, Ilipa and Carthago Nova for Scipio and that's just battles). I love how much they fail at not being obvious how interested in each other they are: the incident in Ephesus has been described as Hannibal discreetly courting Scipio. I love how friendly the Ephesus thing shows them as being (and then they totally fucked). I mean, you'd expect a confrontation between people having the history together those two do (and especially considering the circumstances under which they last met) to be subtle attempts at espionage at best and downright hateful at worst, passing through merely antagonistic, but no! They're respectful of each other and friendly and have invitations to dinner. I also have this headcanon that since they both DIED THE SAME YEAR IN MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES with no body ever found, they faked their own deaths to elope end their days together.
Prompts: I ship this two something fierce, but I would also be open to gen fic about them, either together or separately. (Or even some ships, just saying. if you want to write Hannibal/Maharbal or Aemilia/Scipio, please do!)
Some prompts you could go with: WHATEVER HAPPENED IN EPHESUS (I vote for slow-burn romance), Scipio and his relationship with Jupiter Capitolinus, Hannibal and the blood oath, either of their relationship with their family (I'd be especially interested in Scipio + Cornelia Africana), their friendships (Hannibal and Maharbal, in particular), AU where Hannibal takes Rome, AU where Scipio takes Carthage, AU in which there's no war, magical realism AU, AU where they're both Romans or Carthaginians, AU where they're fucking IN SPAAAAACE...
I will read about their historical setting and I will read canon-divergent AUs and I will read setting displacement AUs where they Scipio is mayor or where they are part of a model UN competition and they fight each other in pun-filled debates like some sort of punny war (I LIKE PUNS). If you want them to time-travel or fight aliens, that's also good. Maybe trade negociations when Scipio is Consul (and gets his dinner parties trolled by Cato, because why not) and Hannibal is Suffete. Or maybe fic about the adventures after they faked their deaths. Or how about THEY FIGHT CRIME. Or zombies. Or zombie crime. (Also, none of these have to be AUs. Maybe it's still the Second Punic War, except for that one thing that's different, like them doing yuletide on the side and/or gods made manifest). Please don't feel like you to have to be An Expert TM to write fic set in the historical setting, because you really don't need to. You also don't have to write shippy or porny fic of these two; I will be just as happy with gen fic of both of them.
Crossover prompts: The obvious crossover here is with Carthaginian mythology and I came up with a bunch of prompts for that earlier. Yoo Eun Soo's jaunt through time takes her to the Second Punic War and she's the one who saves Hannibal's life when he comes down with his eye infection. The Second Punic War, but with Super!Gwens on both/either side. Hannibal and Scipio vs Eldritch horrors! Scipio wasn't talking to Jupiter, he was talking to Loki and Verity.
신의 | Faith | The Great Doctor (Any of: Choi Young, Hwa Soo In, Jang Bin, Yoo Eun Soo )
What's the canon: It's a 24 episodes long kdrama from 2012 about a modern day surgeon who gets kidnapped back into the past. It's "Jin meets X-Men in medieval Korea".
Additional info: I know subtitles for the show can vary depending on your source, so I have to say I have no preference for how you handle translation issues, so long as you stay coherent.
Why I love it: "I'm a doctor. To me there isn't anyone who shouldn't be saved." OMG EUN SOO I LOVE YOU SO. Because Yoo Eun Soo is great and I love me some doctors, especially doctors bonding over medicine, and I love me some timetravel and I love me some fantasy and I love me some political intrigue and basicaly, i love me every aspect of this show.
Prompts: I would read basically anything about this series.
I want the AU where Choi Young and Yoo Eun Soo go back to the door to heaven at the very beginning/the first time he asks the King and they do actually get to go and be left alone and he does become a fisherman. (I have no opinion on whether or not the door should open, i just know I don't wnat it to open right away.) Also, the AU in which they run away with the boy king is also good. Or the AU in which the marriage with the uncle went ahead and then there can be pining between her and Choi Young because he's still Captain of the Guard. Okay, I would also like to see the timeline in which Choi Young accepted Gi Cheol's offer and became king.
I really enjoy all the relationships and I ship a lot of them, such as Choi Young/Yoo Eun Soo, Yoo Eun Soo/Hwa Soo In, Hwa Soo In/Choi Young, Hwa Soo In/Sound Guy, Yoo Eun Soo/the Queen, the King/the Queen, Choi Young/the King (you could do something really cool with a Choi Young/Eun Soo/the Queen/the King sedoretu, just saying). Basically, you can write about any combination of these characters as romantic and I will gladly read along. My one exception to this is that I really really love the platonic friendship Yoo Eun Soo has with Jang Bing and while I would love love to read about them bonding over medicine some more, I'd rather it stayed platonic. (But you can totally ship him with Choi Young if that's your thing.)
Oh! What about a role reversal AU, in which Choi Young is the modern doctor and Yoo Eun Soo is the captain of the Wuldachi? That could be cool. Or how about the AU in which Choi Young is a girl and also a lesbian? Because that would be awesome. Canon-wise, you can do the fic where Choi Young teaches the King how to high-five and/or the Wuldachi how to pinky-swear. And if you want to break my heart, you can write about either of the timelines that lead to the other Eun Soos to leave messages to the Eun Soo we saw (the one where the house does blow up, the one where they don't go back to the palace) or the timeline where she's stuck in the present or the further past. (Also, can we pretend Dr Jang is not dead but recovering off-screen, please and thank you, that would be nice. No body, no death.)
I find the relationship between the pledged siblings fascinating, because how did that happen? How did three people with superpowers end up working together? Okay, I'm going to be that person who asks for fix-it fic for the villains and ask for fix-it fic for the villains. They can go recover off-screen with Dr Jang. I would also totally be up for fic where they do end up going to the future and what happens to them there.
Post-canon reunion fic would be amazing, I'm just saying. I would also love the fic where Yoo Eun Soo has to travel through several time periods before getting back to Choi Young (not even necessarily in Korean history, btw. Divine doctors for everyone!). I would love more bonding between Yoo Eun Soo and the Queen and/or Lady Choi and/or the Queen's bodyguards and/or the Wuldachi and/or her and the mute girl becoming friends. More friends for Yoo Eun Soo basically, yes.
The fic where she uses Choi as a defibrillator! Ooh! What about she shows somebody the recording of her parents? What about her life as Hwata? Did she teach anyone to read Hangeul?
Crossover prompts: Yoo Eun Soo's various trips through time at the end of the series are the perfect excuse for all manners of crossovers! Maybe she lands in newly-founded Carthage or in Rome after Cannae. Does the presence of one (or more) Super!Gwen impact the series? What if Hwata's door was actually the Black Door leading to the plains of Leng? How much trouble can Loki and Verity get up to?
In conclusion, please have the best possible yuletide! Any fic you write will be amazing.
[Edited October 31 for clarity.]