Dear Yuletide Writer
Oct. 18th, 2014 12:22 am![[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 have exactly three DNWs: child abuse, incest and underage. Stay away from these three and everything else if fair game.
Feel free to poke around this journal or my Ao3 account (username: sevenofspade) if you want to.
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.
I usually prefer hopeful fics and I'm not really looking for porn, but if either of these are what you want to write, please go for it. I like plot more than introspection, but don't sweat it. If any prompts look like they go against these, go with the prompts. Anything you write for me will be lovely.
As far as I'm concerned, you can never go wrong with friendship fic. I do not even care if the people have met in canon or not. Just stick them on a roadtrip or whatever else and have them become friends, possibly against their will, and I will be happy. Seriously. "Friendships in unlikely places" are like catnip to me.
Other things I like are:
- 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.
- Canon-divergent AUs! Allllllll the “WHAT IF” fics. ALL OF THEM.
- Dinosaurs! I don't feel like I should have to justify my love of dinos. T-Rex, velociraptor, triceratops, plesiosaurus, stegosaurus, it's all good to me. Because DINOSAURS.
- Fandom AUs! Or better yet, fandom not!AUs, in which the canon is exactly the same, except everyone's in fandom!
- 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.
- IN SPAAAAAAAAACE! Like canon, but IN SPACE.
- 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.
- Superpowers! Someone gets merged with Kree DNA or is a mutant or is the ambassadors of the Amazons.
- 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.)
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.
Bloodhound Files - D. D. Barant (Any, characters nominated: Azura (Bloodhound Files), Charlie Aleph, Gretchen Petra, Jace Valchek)
What's the canon: A complete series of 6 books, centering on Jace Valchek, FBI profiler extraordinaire who gets thrown into a world where only 1% of the population is human, the other 99% are vampires, werewolves or golems and guns don't work. (You can find them here.)
Why I love it: Because it's balls-to-the-walls insane and OTT and it's amazing. This is a series where Charlie, the secondary protagonist, is a GOLEM POWERED BY A T-REX. Because the worldbuilding is actually all kinds of interesting (what is up with Canada, anyway?). Because the main relationship/emotional core of the books is the Jace&Charlie friendship. Because Jace is astoundingly Bad At Feelings and it's hilarious. Because nothing about this series doesn't fill me with CAPSLOCK GLEE. Because Gretchen is ruthless efficient at everything, even raising children. Because ALL the friendships are important. Because Azura is badass beyond words and keeps on trucking after witnessing the end of her world. Because one book features a tense conversation about Batman's origin story in the climax. Because JACE TALKS BACK TO ELDER GODS. (I have a tag, btw, if you want to hear more of my thoughts on this series.)
Prompts: The Jace&Charlie Friendship HourTM. I would love anything with jace and Charlie. Do they go straight back to crime-fighting after the last book? Is Stoker still on the run? (I kind of ship Jace/Stoker in a fucked-up sort of way, btw.)
How does Azura deal with knowing about Brunt and the end of the world? However did she manage to be on the Jace Red-Dog DVDs? (I'm curious about that TV show. What does its fandom look like?) I want to know about her training to be an Astonisher or if and how she helped rebuild Night’s Shining Jewel after the events of Killing Rocks (Book 3). Does she team-up with Jace (or Charlie, or hell, Gretchen -- that would be hilarious) to fight crime again? And if you want to ship her with Jace, I will be right there with you.
I want to know if Charlie kept in touch with Bill Beta or about his reunion with Amy, if he had one after canon. Does the Quicksilver Kid start mentoring him in knife-throwing? What about the AU where he does take a position in the free golem state of Nevada. Charlie tells us that most golems are considered Jewish by default, but does that mean he considers himself Jewish? What's it like being A GOLEM POWERED BY A T-REX? (No, I will never stop writing this in all caps. All caps is the only way to express how awesome T-REX POWERED GOLEMS are.)
We never get to see the relationship between Gretchen and Saladin Aquitaine, which is a shame, because it would have been super interesting. Did she know about his superhero identity of Doctor Strange? I'd love to read something about her timesharing with Cassius: what's the legal precedent for this sort of thing? Is there a legal precedent or is Gretchen lawyering shit up like nobody's business? The books seem to imply that the events of the Dying Bites (Book 1) finale are making her go insane. Is she going to become Jace's nemesis?
Jace Valchek is so bad at feelings, seriously. I could read a whole fic of her being a feelings failboat and Charlie helping her out. (I don't ship Jace/Charlie at all, except as friends. Don't really ship any of Jace's canon romances either.) So, Jace, right? She's pretty awesome. She talks shit to elder gods! I wonder if she's still in contact with Inari? Does she feel robbed that it wasn't her who killed Ahasuerus or is she glad that it was Charlie who did avenged all the other Jaces, because he's Charlie, she's Jace and that was never going to end any other way? Does she still bond over obscure human pop bands likeU2 Sons of Vox with Xandra? (I love her obsession with finding music that’s the same in both worlds, btw.) What's her relationship with Gretchen's daughter like? I firmly believe she went back to Thropirelem at the end of the last book, btw.
Dans les Prisons de Nantes (Song) (Characters: The Jailkeeper's Daughter (Prisons de Nantes), The Prisoner (Prisons de Nantes))
What's the canon: The canon is traditional French song. You can find the lyrics here (with translation). There are several versions of the song being performed, but my favourite is the Nolwenn Leroy version.
Why I love it: I've always loved songs that told stories and this one is no exception; I love the little glimpse into a bigger story we get. I always went to sing along when it come on and, really, what more can a song ask for? Also, I love Nolwenn Leroy's voice.
Prompts: I confess that I've been wondering for years if the Prisoner ever returned to Nantes to marry the Jailkeeper's Daughter, as promised. (Also, one of the reasons I like the Nolwenn Leroy version so much is because it never fails to make me see the Prisoner as a woman, pronouns be damned.) How did the Prisoner end up in prison in the first place? (Something that merits hanging, apparently, but what?) Why does no one visit, except the Jailkeeper's Daughter? Why does she visit? Who builds a prison where there are no bars on the windows? Like WTF? Or the Prisoner is scarily thin, maybe. I'm sorry this section is so short compared to the others, but I assure you I love this canon no less than the others; it's just a hell of a lot shorter (the Nolwenn Leroy version lasts a little under three minutes).
Locke & Key (Any, characters nominated: Dodge | Echo, Jackie Veda, Lucas Caravaggio, 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. 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. It hard to describe the series without spoilers (and I read it utterly unspoiled and it was brilliant -- it's also brilliant on re-read, but in a different way). 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.
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: 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 | Echo (herefater referred to as Dodge an with the pronouns "they", for ease of reading and because ELDRITCH CREATURE FROM BEYOND LOVECRAFT, yep, still funny) is the main antagonist of the series and I'm kind of curious what they would have done if the Lockes hadn't defeated him. (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.
I was kind of pissed by the way Jackie got sidelined while Kinsey, Jamal and Scot were exploring the powers of the Keys. She never knew what was going on until it was too late. I'd love that would change that. I also really love her friendship with Kinsey and ship them together. I'm curious where and how possessed!Jackie got the wings at the end there and just about possessed!Jackie in general. Did she have an interview on Scot's tape? What did it say? How did her friendship with Kinsey and the rest change her? Besides the obvious, I mean. Did she have any opinions on Kinsey dating "Zack"?
I nommed Luke separately from Dodge, because they're not the same character. OR ARE THEY? I'm fascinated by the interaction between Luke and Dodge: to what extent are they the same? I'd also love fic about Luke before he became Dodge or after maybe, if somehow the Alpha Key didn't kill people. That would be an amazing AU, btw, because what happens next? How do you go from possessed by ELDRITCH CREATURE FROM BEYOND LOVECRAFT to living a normale life again? Do you go back to living a normal life?
Kinsey is all kinds of amazing and I want to read all about her adventures forever. 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 sort of ship Kinsey/Zack in a relly fucked up way, tbh, but I ship it even more if Dodge stays female, the way they apparently did in the TV pilot.) I'd also love to hear about her friendship with Mandy Sawyer and their wild card games.
(I have a tag, btw, if you need more prompts.)
Punic Wars RPF (Characters: 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.) 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.
Why I like it: Where do I start? I wrote a post about why I ship it sometime 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 toelope end their days together.
Prompts: ANYTHING! I mean this very seriously. If you want to write about their date in Ephesus with delicious slow-burn, please do. If you want them to time-travel or fight aliens, that's also good. I will read about their historical setting and I will read canon-divergent AUs and I will read setting displacement AUs where they own a bakery 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 to write about the AU where they're both Romans or Carthaginians or they're fucking IN SPAAAAACE or whatever, go right ahead. Maybe trade negociations when Scipio is Consul (and gets his dinner parties trolled by Cato, because why not) and Hannibal is Suffete (by the by, my thoughts on the child sacrifice issue can be summed up as: PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN, because the archeological isn't exactly conclusive and everyone knows the Romans have never embellished the truth for propaganda purposes *eyeroll*). Or maybe fic about the adventures after they faked their deaths. What about the universe in which Hannibal is Captain Carthage, granted powers of flight and lightning by Ba'al? 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 different, like the outcome being decided by a dance-off.) 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.
Spider-Man (Ultimateverse) (Characters: Gwen Stacy (Spider-Man Ultimateverse))
What's the canon: The canon is a Marvel comics series set in what's commonly known as the Ultimate universe, or Ultimateverse (or Ults-verse). The series has known two titular Spider-Men: Peter Parker and Miles Morales. The Miles Morales run, known as Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, is 28 issues long and the part of the canon this letter will be focusing on, as it's the one I'm most familiar with.
Why I like it: Because, unless the rest of Ultimateverse, it's light-hearted and fun. BECAUSE CALLED CAPTAIN AMERICA A JERK THAT ONE TIME. Note: he was President of the Unitied States of America at the time. (Just roll with it, it's Ultimates.)
Prompts: I would love fic about Gwen saving the day, either on her own or as part of a team. I kind of ship Gwen with all the girls in this series, even the ones she hasn't met, so if you want to write shippy Gwen/Katie Bishop or Gwen/Lana Baumgartner or Gwen/Jessica Drew or Gwen/anyone, go for it! I'm curious about what Gwen was doing during the timeskip and what her time in Paris was like. We never do see what her home life with May Parker is like, so that would be great. Does Gwen want to take up vigilantism but doesn't, because she can't put May through that again? We never find out what was going on with Dr Layla Miller and what her nefarious plan was/is, so something where Gwen foils said plan would be most excellent. (I like the 616 version of Layla, btw.) If you want to write Gwen going around and calling everyone out on their bad decisions (a full time job if there ever was one), be my guest. Maybe Gwen gets super-powers, somehow! (She's a mutant or being a clone gives her the power or she got bit by yet another power-giving spider...)
In conclusion, please have the best possible yuletide! Any fic you write will be amazing.
Clearly you have excellent taste! Thank you for writing for me. I'm sure whatever you write me will be wonderful.
I have exactly three DNWs: child abuse, incest and underage. Stay away from these three and everything else if fair game.
Feel free to poke around this journal or my Ao3 account (username: sevenofspade) if you want to.
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.
I usually prefer hopeful fics and I'm not really looking for porn, but if either of these are what you want to write, please go for it. I like plot more than introspection, but don't sweat it. If any prompts look like they go against these, go with the prompts. Anything you write for me will be lovely.
As far as I'm concerned, you can never go wrong with friendship fic. I do not even care if the people have met in canon or not. Just stick them on a roadtrip or whatever else and have them become friends, possibly against their will, and I will be happy. Seriously. "Friendships in unlikely places" are like catnip to me.
Other things I like are:
- 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.
- Canon-divergent AUs! Allllllll the “WHAT IF” fics. ALL OF THEM.
- Dinosaurs! I don't feel like I should have to justify my love of dinos. T-Rex, velociraptor, triceratops, plesiosaurus, stegosaurus, it's all good to me. Because DINOSAURS.
- Fandom AUs! Or better yet, fandom not!AUs, in which the canon is exactly the same, except everyone's in fandom!
- 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.
- IN SPAAAAAAAAACE! Like canon, but IN SPACE.
- 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.
- Superpowers! Someone gets merged with Kree DNA or is a mutant or is the ambassadors of the Amazons.
- 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.)
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.
Bloodhound Files - D. D. Barant (Any, characters nominated: Azura (Bloodhound Files), Charlie Aleph, Gretchen Petra, Jace Valchek)
What's the canon: A complete series of 6 books, centering on Jace Valchek, FBI profiler extraordinaire who gets thrown into a world where only 1% of the population is human, the other 99% are vampires, werewolves or golems and guns don't work. (You can find them here.)
Why I love it: Because it's balls-to-the-walls insane and OTT and it's amazing. This is a series where Charlie, the secondary protagonist, is a GOLEM POWERED BY A T-REX. Because the worldbuilding is actually all kinds of interesting (what is up with Canada, anyway?). Because the main relationship/emotional core of the books is the Jace&Charlie friendship. Because Jace is astoundingly Bad At Feelings and it's hilarious. Because nothing about this series doesn't fill me with CAPSLOCK GLEE. Because Gretchen is ruthless efficient at everything, even raising children. Because ALL the friendships are important. Because Azura is badass beyond words and keeps on trucking after witnessing the end of her world. Because one book features a tense conversation about Batman's origin story in the climax. Because JACE TALKS BACK TO ELDER GODS. (I have a tag, btw, if you want to hear more of my thoughts on this series.)
Prompts: The Jace&Charlie Friendship HourTM. I would love anything with jace and Charlie. Do they go straight back to crime-fighting after the last book? Is Stoker still on the run? (I kind of ship Jace/Stoker in a fucked-up sort of way, btw.)
How does Azura deal with knowing about Brunt and the end of the world? However did she manage to be on the Jace Red-Dog DVDs? (I'm curious about that TV show. What does its fandom look like?) I want to know about her training to be an Astonisher or if and how she helped rebuild Night’s Shining Jewel after the events of Killing Rocks (Book 3). Does she team-up with Jace (or Charlie, or hell, Gretchen -- that would be hilarious) to fight crime again? And if you want to ship her with Jace, I will be right there with you.
I want to know if Charlie kept in touch with Bill Beta or about his reunion with Amy, if he had one after canon. Does the Quicksilver Kid start mentoring him in knife-throwing? What about the AU where he does take a position in the free golem state of Nevada. Charlie tells us that most golems are considered Jewish by default, but does that mean he considers himself Jewish? What's it like being A GOLEM POWERED BY A T-REX? (No, I will never stop writing this in all caps. All caps is the only way to express how awesome T-REX POWERED GOLEMS are.)
We never get to see the relationship between Gretchen and Saladin Aquitaine, which is a shame, because it would have been super interesting. Did she know about his superhero identity of Doctor Strange? I'd love to read something about her timesharing with Cassius: what's the legal precedent for this sort of thing? Is there a legal precedent or is Gretchen lawyering shit up like nobody's business? The books seem to imply that the events of the Dying Bites (Book 1) finale are making her go insane. Is she going to become Jace's nemesis?
Jace Valchek is so bad at feelings, seriously. I could read a whole fic of her being a feelings failboat and Charlie helping her out. (I don't ship Jace/Charlie at all, except as friends. Don't really ship any of Jace's canon romances either.) So, Jace, right? She's pretty awesome. She talks shit to elder gods! I wonder if she's still in contact with Inari? Does she feel robbed that it wasn't her who killed Ahasuerus or is she glad that it was Charlie who did avenged all the other Jaces, because he's Charlie, she's Jace and that was never going to end any other way? Does she still bond over obscure human pop bands like
Dans les Prisons de Nantes (Song) (Characters: The Jailkeeper's Daughter (Prisons de Nantes), The Prisoner (Prisons de Nantes))
What's the canon: The canon is traditional French song. You can find the lyrics here (with translation). There are several versions of the song being performed, but my favourite is the Nolwenn Leroy version.
Why I love it: I've always loved songs that told stories and this one is no exception; I love the little glimpse into a bigger story we get. I always went to sing along when it come on and, really, what more can a song ask for? Also, I love Nolwenn Leroy's voice.
Prompts: I confess that I've been wondering for years if the Prisoner ever returned to Nantes to marry the Jailkeeper's Daughter, as promised. (Also, one of the reasons I like the Nolwenn Leroy version so much is because it never fails to make me see the Prisoner as a woman, pronouns be damned.) How did the Prisoner end up in prison in the first place? (Something that merits hanging, apparently, but what?) Why does no one visit, except the Jailkeeper's Daughter? Why does she visit? Who builds a prison where there are no bars on the windows? Like WTF? Or the Prisoner is scarily thin, maybe. I'm sorry this section is so short compared to the others, but I assure you I love this canon no less than the others; it's just a hell of a lot shorter (the Nolwenn Leroy version lasts a little under three minutes).
Locke & Key (Any, characters nominated: Dodge | Echo, Jackie Veda, Lucas Caravaggio, 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. 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. It hard to describe the series without spoilers (and I read it utterly unspoiled and it was brilliant -- it's also brilliant on re-read, but in a different way). 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.
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: 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 | Echo (herefater referred to as Dodge an with the pronouns "they", for ease of reading and because ELDRITCH CREATURE FROM BEYOND LOVECRAFT, yep, still funny) is the main antagonist of the series and I'm kind of curious what they would have done if the Lockes hadn't defeated him. (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.
I was kind of pissed by the way Jackie got sidelined while Kinsey, Jamal and Scot were exploring the powers of the Keys. She never knew what was going on until it was too late. I'd love that would change that. I also really love her friendship with Kinsey and ship them together. I'm curious where and how possessed!Jackie got the wings at the end there and just about possessed!Jackie in general. Did she have an interview on Scot's tape? What did it say? How did her friendship with Kinsey and the rest change her? Besides the obvious, I mean. Did she have any opinions on Kinsey dating "Zack"?
I nommed Luke separately from Dodge, because they're not the same character. OR ARE THEY? I'm fascinated by the interaction between Luke and Dodge: to what extent are they the same? I'd also love fic about Luke before he became Dodge or after maybe, if somehow the Alpha Key didn't kill people. That would be an amazing AU, btw, because what happens next? How do you go from possessed by ELDRITCH CREATURE FROM BEYOND LOVECRAFT to living a normale life again? Do you go back to living a normal life?
Kinsey is all kinds of amazing and I want to read all about her adventures forever. 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 sort of ship Kinsey/Zack in a relly fucked up way, tbh, but I ship it even more if Dodge stays female, the way they apparently did in the TV pilot.) I'd also love to hear about her friendship with Mandy Sawyer and their wild card games.
(I have a tag, btw, if you need more prompts.)
Punic Wars RPF (Characters: 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.) 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.
Why I like it: Where do I start? I wrote a post about why I ship it sometime 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
Prompts: ANYTHING! I mean this very seriously. If you want to write about their date in Ephesus with delicious slow-burn, please do. If you want them to time-travel or fight aliens, that's also good. I will read about their historical setting and I will read canon-divergent AUs and I will read setting displacement AUs where they own a bakery 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 to write about the AU where they're both Romans or Carthaginians or they're fucking IN SPAAAAACE or whatever, go right ahead. Maybe trade negociations when Scipio is Consul (and gets his dinner parties trolled by Cato, because why not) and Hannibal is Suffete (by the by, my thoughts on the child sacrifice issue can be summed up as: PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN, because the archeological isn't exactly conclusive and everyone knows the Romans have never embellished the truth for propaganda purposes *eyeroll*). Or maybe fic about the adventures after they faked their deaths. What about the universe in which Hannibal is Captain Carthage, granted powers of flight and lightning by Ba'al? 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 different, like the outcome being decided by a dance-off.) 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.
Spider-Man (Ultimateverse) (Characters: Gwen Stacy (Spider-Man Ultimateverse))
What's the canon: The canon is a Marvel comics series set in what's commonly known as the Ultimate universe, or Ultimateverse (or Ults-verse). The series has known two titular Spider-Men: Peter Parker and Miles Morales. The Miles Morales run, known as Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, is 28 issues long and the part of the canon this letter will be focusing on, as it's the one I'm most familiar with.
Why I like it: Because, unless the rest of Ultimateverse, it's light-hearted and fun. BECAUSE CALLED CAPTAIN AMERICA A JERK THAT ONE TIME. Note: he was President of the Unitied States of America at the time. (Just roll with it, it's Ultimates.)
Prompts: I would love fic about Gwen saving the day, either on her own or as part of a team. I kind of ship Gwen with all the girls in this series, even the ones she hasn't met, so if you want to write shippy Gwen/Katie Bishop or Gwen/Lana Baumgartner or Gwen/Jessica Drew or Gwen/anyone, go for it! I'm curious about what Gwen was doing during the timeskip and what her time in Paris was like. We never do see what her home life with May Parker is like, so that would be great. Does Gwen want to take up vigilantism but doesn't, because she can't put May through that again? We never find out what was going on with Dr Layla Miller and what her nefarious plan was/is, so something where Gwen foils said plan would be most excellent. (I like the 616 version of Layla, btw.) If you want to write Gwen going around and calling everyone out on their bad decisions (a full time job if there ever was one), be my guest. Maybe Gwen gets super-powers, somehow! (She's a mutant or being a clone gives her the power or she got bit by yet another power-giving spider...)
In conclusion, please have the best possible yuletide! Any fic you write will be amazing.